Stephen White (Jesuit)
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Stephen White, SJ (1575–1646) was a
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
author and
antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...
who wrote about the early Irish saints.


Life

Stephen White was born in
Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...
,
County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...
, Ireland, in 1575."Stephen White", Ricorso
/ref> In 1592,
Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...
was founded, and S. White (in all probability Stephen White) was one of the few students named in the charter. Unwilling to take the
Oath of Supremacy The Oath of Supremacy required any person taking public or church office in the Kingdom of England, or in its subordinate Kingdom of Ireland, to swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church. Failure to do so was to be trea ...
, he left his native land and entered the Irish College at Salamanca, Spain, where in 1596 he joined the
Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...
, and taught from 1602 to 1606.Flaherty, Matthew. "Stephen White." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 24 July 2015
From 1606 to 1609 White was professor of
Scholastic Philosophy Scholasticism was a medieval European philosophical movement or methodology that was the predominant education in Europe from about 1100 to 1700. It is known for employing logically precise analyses and reconciling classical philosophy and C ...
at
Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...
. He also held the chair of Theology at Dilingen. He applied himself to the study of history and was generally reputed to be one of the most learned men of his time in Europe.
Archbishop Ussher James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific Irish scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his ...
called him a man profoundly versed in the ancient records, not of Ireland alone, but of other countries. His chief interest was in Irish history. To him is due the honour of fixing the historic label "
Scotia Scotia is a Latin placename derived from ''Scoti'', a Latin name for the Gaels, first attested in the late 3rd century.Duffy, Seán. ''Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge, 2005. p. 698. The Romans referred to Ireland as "Scotia" aro ...
" to Ireland. He called attention to the treasures of Irish literature preserved in the monasteries and libraries of Germany, and generously supplied many noted scholars, such as Ussher and John Colgan, with accurate copies of Irish manuscripts accompanied by critical emendations and commentaries. It was White who found a copy of Adamnan’s ''Vita Sancti Columbae'' ("Life of St. Columba") in a chest in
Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...
. His biographical notices of early Irish saints were utilized in the "Acta SS", and the
Bollandist The Bollandist Society (; ) is an association of scholars, philologists, and historians (originally all Jesuits, but now including non-Jesuits) who since the early seventeenth century have studied hagiography and the cult of the saints in Christia ...
s acknowledged the assistance which he gave to Father
Heribert Rosweyde Heribert Rosweyde (20 January 1569, Utrecht – 5 October 1629, Antwerp) was a Jesuit hagiographer. His work, quite unfinished, was taken up by Jean Bolland who systematized it, while broadening its perspective. This is the beginning of the a ...
. What gave him the bent towards early Irish history seems to have been the publication in Frankfurt by
William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland that relates la ...
of two works by
Gerald of Wales Gerald of Wales (; ; ; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taught in France and visited Rome several times, meeting the Pope. He ...
, which he felt libelled the
Irish people The Irish ( or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common ancestry, history and Culture of Ireland, culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has be ...
. In refutation he wrote his best-known work ''Apologia pro Hibernia adversus Cambri calumnias'', probably written some time before 1615. From 1623 to 1627 he was in the Province of Champagne, and from 1627 to 1629 at the college of Metz."Stephen White", Centre for Neo-Latin Studies, University College Cork
/ref> Around 1629 there was a Jesuit college established in Dublin under the patronage of Lady Elizabeth Kildare, widow of
Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Kildare Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Kildare (died 11 February 1612) was an Irish peer. Much of his adult life was dominated by litigation with relatives over the Kildare inheritance. Background Lord Kildare was the son of Edward FitzGerald, younge ...
. Jane Ohlmeyer believes Father White was probably the Superior. The college, however, was after a short time suppressed by the Government, and the property was confiscated and handed over to
Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...
. For some years he laboured in his native
Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
of
Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...
and Lismore, mainly engaged in teaching
catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...
to children. In 1645 he was Superior of the Jesuit College in Galway where he died.


References


Sources

* *HOGAN, ''Life of Father Stephen White, S.J.'' in ''The Waterford Archaeological Journal'', III (1897); * Reeves, William, ''Memoir of Stephen White'' (Royal Irish Academy, 1861) * {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Stephen 16th-century Irish Jesuits 17th-century Irish Jesuits 16th-century antiquarians 17th-century antiquarians Irish antiquarians 17th-century Irish historians Linguists from Ireland 1574 births 1646 deaths 17th-century Irish writers 17th-century Irish male writers Christian clergy from County Tipperary People from County Galway People of Elizabethan Ireland People from Clonmel Writers from County Tipperary