Anthony Bruodin facts for kids
Anthony Bruodin (who was also known as Antonius Bruodinus) was an important Irish Franciscan friar, a type of religious brother. He was born in 1625 and passed away on May 7, 1680. Anthony was a deep thinker, a theologian (someone who studies religion), and a historian. He wrote many books about religious ideas and collected information about Irish Catholics who were seen as martyrs (people who died for their beliefs) during a difficult time.
Bruodin had to leave Ireland. While living in Prague, he wrote his most famous book, Propugnaculum Catholicae Veritatis, in 1669. He felt it was his job to defend the Irish Gaels (the native Irish people) from writers like William Camden and Richard Stanihurst. These writers often said negative things about the Irish. Bruodin's family were traditionally ollamh (wise scholars or poets) for the Ó Briain family, who were kings in an area called Thomond.
Life Story
Bruodin was born in County Clare, which was part of the Kingdom of Ireland at the time. The area where he grew up, Thomond, had recently been an independent Irish kingdom. His family had a long history of being scholars.
When he was young, he joined the Franciscan order, becoming a Recollect friar at Quin, County Clare. In 1643, Bruodin traveled to Rome to continue his studies. There, he learned from Luke Wadding, who was also a Franciscan.
Around 1650, Bruodin moved to Bohemia (which is now part of the Czech Republic). He joined the Czech Franciscan community in Olomouc. From 1663, he held an important position there called custos, which is like a guardian or leader. In 1668, he moved to Prague and became a custos at the Church of Our Lady of the Snows. As a scholar, Bruodin taught philosophy at the Irish Franciscan College in Prague from 1656 to 1657. He also taught in other Czech monasteries.
His Writings
Anthony Bruodin wrote several important books. His most well-known work is:
- Propugnaculum Catholicæ Veritatis, Pars prima Historica (A Defense of Catholic Truth, Historical First Part), published in Prague in 1668. In this book, he strongly disagreed with the Anglo-Irish historian Thomas Carve. Bruodin felt Carve's book, Lyra Hibernica, was unfair to the Irish. This led to a series of arguments in print between the two writers. Bruodin even used a pen name, Cornelius O'Mollony, for one of his replies.
While his work on Irish martyrs was important, some parts of it have been found to have mistakes.
See also
