Saint Patrick

For other uses, see Saint Patrick (disambiguation).

Saint Patrick
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodoxy Anglican Communion Lutheran Church
Major shrine	Glastonbury Abbey; Armagh
Feast	17 March (Saint Patrick's Day)
Patronage	Ireland, Nigeria, Montserrat, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, Boston, Loíza, Murcia(Spain), engineers, paralegals, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, invoked against snakes, sins, witchcraft[1]

Saint Patrick (Latin: Patricius; Primitive Irish: *Qatrikias;^[2][3] Old Irish: Cothraige or Coithrige;^[4] Middle Irish: Pátraic; Irish: Pádraig; British: *Patrikios; Old Welsh: Patric; Middle Welsh: Padric; Welsh: Padrig; Old English: Patric; c. 387 – 17 March, 493^[5] or c 460^[6]) was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints.

Two authentic letters from him survive, from which come the only universally accepted details of his life.^[7] When he was about 16, he was captured from Wales by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family. After entering the Church, he returned to Ireland as an ordained bishop in the north and west of the island, but little is known about the places where he worked. By the seventh century, he had come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland.

Most available details of his life are from later hagiographies from the seventh century onwards, and these are now not accepted without detailed criticism. Uncritical acceptance of the Annals of Ulster would imply that he lived from 340 to 440, and ministered in what is modern day Northern Ireland from bye 428 onwards. The dates of Patrick's life cannot be fixed with certainty, but on a widespread interpretation he was active as a missionary in Ireland during the second half of the 5th century.^[8]

Saint Patrick's Day is observed on March 17, the date of Patrick's death.^[9] It is celebrated both in and outside of Ireland, as both a liturgical and non-liturgical holiday. In the dioceses of Ireland it is both a solemnity and a holy day of obligation and outside of Ireland, it can be a celebration of Ireland itself.

Background

Most modern studies of Saint Patrick follow a variant of T. F. O'Rahilly's "Two Patricks" theory.^[10] That is to say, many of the traditions later attached to Saint Patrick originally concerned Palladius, who Prosper of Aquitaine's Chronicle says was sent by Pope Celestine I as the first bishop to Irish Christians in 431.^[11] Palladius was not the only early cleric in Ireland at this time. The Irish born Saint Ciaran Saighir (the Elder) lived in the later 4th century (352–402 AD) and was the first bishop of Ossory. Ciaran the Elder along with Saints Auxilius, Secundinus and Iserninus are also associated with early churches in Munster and Leinster. By this reading, Palladius was active in Ireland until the 460s.^[12]

Prosper associates Palladius' appointment with the visits of Germanus of Auxerre to Britain to suppress the Pelagian heresy and it has been suggested that Palladius and his colleagues were sent to Ireland to ensure that exiled Pelagians did not establish themselves among the Irish Christians. The appointment of Palladius and his fellow-bishops was not obviously a mission to convert the Irish, but more probably intended to minister to existing Christian communities in Ireland.^[13] The sites of churches associated with Palladius and his colleagues are close to royal centres of the period: Secundus is remembered by Dunshaughlin, County Meath, close to the Hill of Tara which is associated with the High King of Ireland; Killashee, County Kildare, close to Naas with links with the Kings of Leinster, is probably named for Auxilius. This activity was limited to the southern half of Ireland, and there is no evidence for them in Ulster or Connacht.^[14]

Although the evidence for contacts with Gaul is clear, the borrowings from Latin into the Old Irish language show that links with former Roman Britain were many.^[15] Saint Iserninus, who appears to be of the generation of Palladius, is thought to have been a Briton, and is associated with the lands of the Uí Cheinnselaig in Leinster. The Palladian mission should not be contrasted with later "British" missions, but forms a part of them.^[16]

In his own words

Slemish, County Antrim, where Patrick is said to have worked as a shepherd while a slave.

Two Latin letters survive which are generally accepted to have been written by Patrick. These are the Declaration (Latin: Confessio) and the Letter to the soldiers of Coroticus (Latin: Epistola).^[17] The Declaration is the more important of the two. In it Patrick gives a short account of his life and his mission.

Patrick was born in Roman Britain at Banna Venta Berniae, a location otherwise unknown,^[18][19][20] though identified in one tradition as Glannoventa, modern Ravenglass in Cumbria .^[21] Calpornius, his father, was a deacon, his grandfather Potitus, a priest. When he was about sixteen, he was captured and carried off as a slave to Ireland.^[22] Patrick worked as a herdsman, remaining a captive for six years. He writes that his faith grew in captivity, and that he prayed daily.^[23] After six years he heard a voice telling him that he would soon go home, and then that his ship was ready. Fleeing his master, he travelled to a port, two hundred miles away he says,^[24] where he found a ship and, after various adventures, returned home to his family, now in his early twenties.^[25]

Patrick recounts that he had a vision a few years after returning home:

I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: "The Voice of the Irish". As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea—and they cried out, as with one voice: "We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.^[26]

A. B. E. Hood suggests that the Victoricus of Patrick's vision may be identified with Saint Victricius, bishop of Rouen in the late 4th century, who was the only European churchman of the time to advocate or practice conversion of pagans, and who visited Britain in an official capacity in 396.^[27]

Much of the Declaration concerns charges made against Patrick by his fellow Christians at a trial. What these charges were, he does not say explicitly, but he writes that he returned the gifts which wealthy women gave him, did not accept payment for baptisms, nor for ordaining priests, and indeed paid for many gifts to kings and judges, and paid for the sons of chiefs to accompany him. It is concluded, therefore, that he was accused of some sort of financial impropriety, and perhaps of having obtained his bishopric in Ireland with personal gain in mind.^[28]

From this same evidence, something can be seen of Patrick's mission. He writes that he "baptised thousands of people".^[29] He ordained priests to lead the new Christian communities. He converted wealthy women, some of whom became nuns in the face of family opposition. He also dealt with the sons of kings, converting them too.^[30]

Patrick's position as a foreigner in Ireland was not an easy one. His refusal to accept gifts from kings placed him outside the normal ties of kinship, fosterage and affinity. Legally he was without protection, and he says that he was on one occasion beaten, robbed of all he had, and put in chains, perhaps awaiting execution.^[31]

Murchiú's life of Saint Patrick contains a supposed prophecy by the druids which gives an impression of how Patrick and other Christian missionaries were seen by those hostile to them:

Across the sea will come Adze-head,^[32] crazed in the head,
his cloak with hole for the head, his stick bent in the head.
He will chant impieties from a table in the front of his house;
all his people will answer: "so be it, so be it."^[33]

The second piece of evidence that comes from Patrick's life is the Letter to Coroticus or Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus, written after a first remonstrance was received with ridicule and insult. In this, Patrick writes^[34] an open letter announcing that he has excommunicated Coroticus because he had taken some of Patrick's converts into slavery while raiding in Ireland. The letter describes the followers of Coroticus as "fellow citizens of the devils" and "associates of the Scots [ie, the Irish of Argyll and northern Ireland] and Apostate Picts".^[35] Based largely on an 8th-century gloss, Coroticus is taken to be King Ceretic of Alt Clut.^[36] It has been suggested that it was the sending of this letter which provoked the trial which Patrick mentions in the Confession.^[37]

Death

According to the latest reconstruction of the old Irish annals, Patrick die in AD 493 on March 17, a date accepted by some modern historians.^[38] Prior to the 1940s it was believed without doubt that he died in 420 and thus had lived in the first half of the 5th century.^[39] A lecture entitled "The Two Patricks", published in 1942 by T. F. O'Rahilly, caused enormous controversy by proposing that there had been two "Patricks", Palladius and Patrick, and that what we now know of St. Patrick was in fact in part a conscious effort to blend the two into one hagiographic personality. Decades of contention eventually ended with most historians^[who?] now asserting that Patrick was indeed most likely to have been active in the latter half of the fifth century.^[40]

While Patrick's own writings contain no dates, they do contain information which can be used to date them. Patrick's quotations from the Acts of the Apostles follow the Vulgate, strongly suggesting that his ecclesiastical conversion did not take place before the early 5th century. Patrick also refers to the Franks as being pagans. Their conversion is dated to the period 496–508.^[41]

There is plentiful evidence for a medieval tradition that Patrick had died in 493. An addition to the Annals of Ulster states that in the year 553 (approximately two hundred and fifty years before the addition was made):

I have found this in the Book of Cuanu: The relics of Patrick were placed sixty years after his death in a shrine by Colum Cille. Three splendid halidoms were found in the burial-place: his goblet, the Angel's Gospel, and the Bell of the Testament. This is how the angel distributed the halidoms: the goblet to Dún, the Bell of the Testament to Ard Macha, and the Angel's Gospel to Colum Cille himself. The reason it is called the Angel's Gospel is that Colum Cille received it from the hand of the angel.^[42]

The reputed burial place of St. Patrick in Downpatrick

The placing of this event in the year 553 indicate a tradition that Patrick's death was 493, or at least in the early years of that decade, and the Annals of Ulster report under 493:

Patrick, arch-apostle, or archbishop and apostle of the Irish, rested on the 16th of the Kalends of April in the 120th year of his age, in the 60th year after he had come to Ireland to baptise the Irish.

This tradition is also seen in an annalistic reference to the death of a saint termed Patrick's disciple, Mochta, who is said to have died in 535.^[43]

St. Patrick is said to be buried at Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, County Down, alongside St. Brigid and St. Columba, although this has never been proven. The Battle for the Body of St. Patrick demonstrates the importance of both him as a spiritual leader, and of his body as an object of veneration, in early Christian Ireland. Saint Patrick Visitor Centre is a modern exhibition complex located in Downpatrick and is a permanent interpretative exhibition centre featuring interactive displays on the life and story of Saint Patrick. It provides the only permanent exhibition centre in the world devoted to Saint Patrick.^[44]

Seventh-century writings

An early document which is silent concerning Patrick is the letter of Columbanus to Pope Boniface IV of about 613. Columbanus writes that Ireland's Christianity "was first handed to us by you, the successors of the holy apostles", apparently referring to Palladius only, and ignoring Patrick.^[45] Writing on the Easter controversy in 632 or 633, Cummian—it is uncertain whether this is the Cummian associated with Clonfert or Cumméne of Iona—does refer to Patrick, calling him our papa, that is pope or primate.^[46]

Two works by late seventh-century hagiographers of Patrick have survived. These are the writings of Tírechán, and Vita sancti Patricii of Muirchu moccu Machtheni.^[47] Both writers relied upon an earlier work, now lost, the Book of Ultán.^[48] This Ultán, probably the same person as Ultan of Ardbraccan, was Tírechán's foster-father. His obituary is given in the Annals of Ulster under the year 657.^[49] These works thus date from a century and a half after Patrick's death.

Tírechán writes

"I found four names for Patrick written in the book of Ultán, bishop of the tribe of Conchobar: holy Magonus (that is, "famous"); Succetus (that is, the god of war); Patricius (that is, father of the citizens); Cothirtiacus (because he served four houses of druids)."^[50]

Muirchu records much the same information, adding that "[h]is mother was named Concessa."^[51] The name Cothirtiacus, however, is simply the Latinized form of Old Irish Cothraige, which is the Q-Celtic form of Latin Patricius.^[52]

The Patrick portrayed by Tírechán and Muirchu is a martial figure, who contests with druids, overthrows pagan idols, and curses kings and kingdoms.^[53] On occasion, their accounts contradict Patrick's own writings: Tírechán states that Patrick accepted gifts from female converts although Patrick himself flatly denies this. However, the emphasis Tírechán and Muirchu placed on female converts, and in particular royal and noble women who became nuns, is thought to be a genuine insight into Patrick's work of conversion. Patrick also worked with the unfree and the poor, encouraging them to vows of monastic chastity. Tírechán's account suggests that many early Patrician churches were combined with nunneries founded by Patrick's noble female converts.^[54]

The martial Patrick found in Tírechán and Muirchu, and in later accounts, echoes similar figures found during the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity. It may be doubted whether such accounts are an accurate representation of Patrick's time, although such violent events may well have occurred as Christians gained in strength and numbers.^[55]

Much of the detail supplied by Tírechán and Muirchu, in particular the churches established by Patrick, and the monasteries founded by his converts, may relate to the situation in the 7th century, when the churches which claimed ties to Patrick, and in particular Armagh, were expanding their influence throughout Ireland in competition with the church of Kildare. In the same period, Wilfred, Archbishop of York, claimed to speak, as metropolitan archbishop, "for all the northern part of Britain and of Ireland" at a council held in Rome in the time of Pope Agatho, thus claiming jurisdiction over the Irish church.^[56]

Other presumed early materials include the Irish annals, which contain records from the Chronicle of Ireland. These sources have conflated Palladius and Patrick.^[57] Another early document is the so-called First Synod of Saint Patrick. This is a seventh-century document, once, but no longer, taken as to contain a 5th century original text. It apparently collects the results of several early synods, and represents an era when pagans were still a major force in Ireland. The introduction attributes it to Patrick, Auxilius, and Iserninus, a claim which "cannot be taken at face value." ^[58]

In legend

St. Patrick banishes all snakes from Ireland

A slow worm moving through grass

Pious legend credits St. Patrick with banishing snakes from the island,^[59] chasing them into the sea after they assailed him during a 40-day fast he was undertaking on top of a hill,.^[60] This hagiographic theme draws on the mythography of the staff of Moses, messenger of Yahweh to gentile Egyptians. In Exodus 7:8–7:13 , Moses and Aaron use their staffs in their struggle with Pharaoh's sorcerers, the staffs of each side morphing into snakes. Aaron's snake-staff prevails.^[61]

However, all evidence suggests that post-glacial Ireland never had snakes, as on insular "Ireland, New Zealand, Iceland, Greenland, and Antarctica...So far, no serpent has successfully migrated across the open ocean to a new terrestrial home" such as from Scotland on the mainland of the neighboring island of Britain, where a few native species have lived, "the venomous adder, the grass snake, and the smooth snake," as National Geographic notes,^[62] and although sea snake species separately exist.^[60][63] "At no time has there ever been any suggestion of snakes in Ireland, so [there was] nothing for St. Patrick to banish," says naturalist Nigel Monaghan, keeper of natural history at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin, who has searched extensively through Irish fossil collections and records.^[60] The List of reptiles of Ireland has only one land reptile species native to Ireland, the viviparous or common lizard.

The only biological candidate species for appearing like a native snake in Ireland is the slow worm, actually a legless lizard, a non-native species more recently found in The Burren region of County Clare as recorded since the early 1970s, as noted by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of Ireland, which suspects it was deliberately introduced in the 1960s. So far, the slow worm's territory in the wild has not spread beyond the Burren's limestone region which is rich in wildlife.^[62]

One suggestion is that snakes referred to the serpent symbolism of the Druids^[64] during that time and place, as exampled on coins minted in Gaul (see Carnutes). Chris Weigant connects "Big tattoos of snakes" on Druids' arms as "Irish schoolchildren are taught" with the way in which, in the legend of St. Patrick banishishing snakes, the "story goes to the core of Patrick's sainthood and his core mission in Ireland."^[65]

St. Patrick uses shamrock in an illustrative parable

The Shamrock

Legend (dating to 1726, according to the OED) also credits St. Patrick with teaching the Irish about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity by showing people the shamrock, a three-leafed plant, using it to illustrate the Christian teaching of 'three divine persons in the one God.'^[66] For this reason, shamrocks have definitely become a central symbol for St Patrick’s Day.

Nevertheless, the shamrock was also seen as sacred in the pre-Christian days in Ireland. Due to its green color and overall shape, many viewed it as representing rebirth and eternal life. Three was a sacred number in the pagan religion and there were a number of "Triple Goddesses" in ancient Ireland, including Brigid, Ériu, and the Morrigan.

St. Patrick's dead ash wood walking stick grows into a living tree

Some Irish legends involve the Oilliphéist, the Caoránach, and the Copóg Phádraig. During his evangelising journey back to Ireland from his parent's home at Birdoswald, he is understood to have carried with him an ash wood walking stick or staff. He thrust this stick into the ground wherever he was evangelising and at the place now known as Aspatria (ash of Patrick) the message of the dogma took so long to get through to the people there that the stick had taken root by the time he was ready to move on.

St. Patrick speaks with ancient Irish ancestors who were born long before his time

The 12th century work Acallam na Senórach tells of Patrick being met by two ancient warriors, Caílte mac Rónáin and Oisín, during his evangelical travels. The two were once members of Fionn mac Cumhaill's warrior band the Fianna, and somehow survived to Patrick's time.

Saint Patrick's Bell

The Shrine of St. Patrick's Bell

The National Museum of Ireland in Dublin possesses a bell first mentioned, according to the Annals of Ulster, in the Book of Cuanu in the year 552. The bell was part of a collection of "relics of Patrick" removed from his tomb sixty years after his death by Colum Cille to be used as relics. The bell is described as "The Bell of the Testament", one of three relics of "precious minna" (extremely valuable items), of which the other two are described as Patrick's goblet and "The Angels Gospel". Cille is described to have been under the direction of an "Angel" for whom he sent the goblet to Down, the bell to Armagh, and kept possession of the Angels Gospel for himself. The name Angels Gospel is given to the book because it was supposed that Cille received it from the angel's hand. A stir was caused in 1044 when two kings, in some dispute over the bell, went on spates of prisoner taking and cattle theft. The annals make one more apparent reference to the bell when chronicling a death, of 1356, "Solomon Ua Mellain, The Keeper of The Bell of the Testament, protector, rested in Christ."

The bell was encased in a "bell shrine", a distinctive Irish type of reliquary made for it, as an inscription records, by King Domnall Ua Lochlainn sometime between 1091 and 1105. The shrine is an important example of the final, Viking-influenced, style of Irish Celtic art, with intricate Urnes style decoration in gold and silver. The Gaelic inscription on the shrine also records the name of the maker "U INMAINEN" (which translates to "Noonan"), "who with his sons enriched/decorated it"; metalwork was often inscribed for remembrance.

The bell itself is simple in design, hammered into shape with a small handle fixed to the top with rivets. Originally forged from iron, it has since been coated in bronze. The shrine is inscribed with three names, including King Domnall Ua Lochlainn's. The rear of the shrine, not intended to be seen, is decorated with crosses while the handle is decorated with, among other work, Celtic designs of birds. The bell is accredited with working a miracle in 1044 and having been coated in bronze to shield it from human eyes, for which it would be too holy. It measures 12.5 × 10 cm at the base, 12.8 × 4 cm at the shoulder, 16.5 cm from base to shoulder, 3.3 cm from shoulder to top of handle and weighs 1.7 kg.^[67]

Sainthood and modern remembrance

The neo-gothic St Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, as seen from Rockefeller Center.

March 17, popularly known as St. Patrick's Day, is believed to be his death date and is the date celebrated as his feast day.^[68] The day became a feast day in the universal church due to the influence of the Waterford-born Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding, as a member of the commission for the reform of the Breviary^[69] in the early part of the 17th century.

For most of Christianity's first thousand years, canonisations were done on the diocesan or regional level. Relatively soon after the death of people considered to be very holy people, the local Church affirmed that they could be liturgically celebrated as saints. As a result, St. Patrick has never been formally canonised by a Pope; nevertheless, various Christian churches declare that he is a Saint in Heaven (he is in the List of Saints). He is still widely venerated in Ireland and elsewhere today.^[70]

St. Patrick is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on March 17. St. Patrick is also venerated in the Orthodox Church, especially among English-speaking Orthodox Christians living in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland and in North America.^[71] There are Orthodox icons dedicated to him.^[72]

Places associated with Saint Patrick

Slemish, County Antrim

St Patrick's statue at Saul, County Down

St Patrick's Oratory at the top of Croaghpatrick, County Mayo

• Slemish, County Antrim and Killala Bay, County Mayo

When captured by raiders, there are two theories as to where Patrick was enslaved. One theory is that he herded sheep in the countryside around Slemish. Another theory is that Patrick herded sheep near Killala Bay, at a place called Fochill.

• Saul, County Down (from Irish: Sabhall Phádraig, meaning "Patrick's barn")^[73]

It is claimed that Patrick founded his first church in a barn at Saul, which was donated to him by a local chieftain called Dichu. It is also claimed that Patrick died at Saul or was brought there between his death and burial. Nearby, on the crest of Slieve Patrick, is a huge statue of Saint Patrick with bronze panels showing scenes from his life.

• Hill of Slane, County Meath

Muirchu moccu Machtheni, in his highly mythologized 7th century Life of Patrick, says that Patrick lit a Paschal fire on this hilltop in 433 CE in defiance of High King Laoire. The story says that the fire could not be doused by anyone but Patrick, and it was here that he explained the holy trinity using the shamrock.

• Croagh Patrick, County Mayo (from Irish: Cruach Phádraig, meaning "Patrick's stack")^[74]

It is claimed that Patrick climbed this mountain and fasted on its summit for the forty days of Lent. Croagh Patrick draws thousands of pilgrims who make the trek to the top on the last Sunday in July.

• Lough Derg, County Donegal (from Irish: Loch Dearg, meaning "red lake")^[75]

It is claimed that Patrick killed a large serpent on this lake and that its blood turned the water red (hence the name). Each August, pilgrims spend three days fasting and praying there on Station Island.

• Armagh, County Armagh

It is claimed that Patrick founded a church here and proclaimed it to be the most holy church in Ireland. Armagh is today the primary seat of both the Catholic and Protestant Churches in Ireland and both cathedrals in the town are named after Patrick.

• Downpatrick, County Down (from Irish: Dún Pádraig, meaning "Patrick's stronghold")^[76]

It is claimed that Patrick was brought here after his death and buried in the grounds of Down Cathedral.

Other places named after Saint Patrick include:

• Ardpatrick, County Limerick (from Irish: Ard Pádraig, meaning "high place of Patrick")^[77]
• Patrickswell or Toberpatrick, County Limerick (from Irish: Tobar Phádraig, meaning "Patrick's well")^[78]
• St Patrick's Island, County Dublin
• St Patrick's Isle, off the Isle of Man
• Llanbadrig on the island of Anglesey in Wales
• Templepatrick, County Antrim (from Irish: Teampall Phádraig, meaning "Patrick's church")^[79]

In literature

Robert Southey wrote a ballad called Saint Patrick's Purgatory, based on popular legends surrounding the saint's on yes name. Stephen R. Lawhead also wrote the fictional Patrick: Son of Ireland based on the life of the celebrated Saint. ^[80]

Dutch/Scottish singer Chris Anderson wrote a poem called "Saint Patrick's Lament", based on the Saint's remembrance festival Saint Patrick's Day.

See also

• Croagh Patrick
• St. Patrick's blue
• St. Patrick's Flag
• St. Patrick's Purgatory

References

1. ^ "Roman Catholic Patron Saints Index". http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/patrons.asp. Retrieved 25 August 2006. 
2. ^ O'Rahilly, Thomas Francis (1942), The Two Patricks: A Lecture on the History of Christianity in Fifth-century Ireland, Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, pp. 43–44, http://books.google.com/books?id=DW8sAAAAIAAJ 
3. ^ Ball, Martin J.; Fife, James (2002), The Celtic Languages, USA: Routledge, pp. 82–83, ISBN 0-415-28080-X 
4. ^ Old Irish is a Q-Celtic language, which means that the sound /p/ in other languages is converted to the sound /k/.
5. ^ St Patrick in the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913).
6. ^ Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England, The Calendar, p. 7
7. ^ Macthéni, Muirchú maccu; White, Newport John Davis (1920). St. Patrick, his writings and life. New York: The Macmillan Company. pp. 31–51, 54–60. http://books.google.com/books?id=1OZlAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA31#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
8. ^ All About Saint Patrick's Day Church Year Retrieved 2011-02-20
9. ^ St. Patrick's Day The History Channel Retrieved 2010-02-11
10. ^ O'Rahilly, The two Patricks, Dublin 1942
11. ^ De Paor, p. 79.
12. ^ Byrne, pp. 78–79; De Paor, pp. 6–7 & 88–89; Duffy, pp. 16–17; Fletcher, p.300–306; Yorke, p. 112.
13. ^ There may well have been Christian "Irish" people in Britain at this time; Goidelic-speaking people were found on both sides of the Irish Sea, with Irish being spoken from Cornwall to Argyll. The influence of the Kingdom of Dyfed may have been of particular importance. See Charles-Edwards, pp. 161–172; Dark, pp.188–190; Ó Cróinín, pp. 17–18; Thomas, pp. 297–300.
14. ^ Duffy, pp. 16–17; Thomas, p. 305.
15. ^ Charles-Edwards, pp. 184–187; Thomas, pp. 297–300; Yorke, pp. 112–114.
16. ^ Charles-Edwards, pp. 233–240.
17. ^ Both texts in original Latin, various translations and with images of all extant manuscript testimonies on the "Saint Patrick's Confessio HyperStack website". Royal Irish Academy Dictionary of Medieval Latin from Celtic Sources. http://www.confessio.ie. Retrieved 2011-09-14. 
18. ^ De Paor glosses it as "[probably near] Carlisle" and Thomas argues at length for the areas of Birdoswald, twenty miles (32 km) east of Carlisle on Hadrian's Wall. There is a Roman town called Bannaventa in Northamptonshire, but this is likely too far from the sea. See De Paor, pp. 88 & 96; Thomas, pp. 310–314; Bury, p. 17.
19. ^ MacNeill, Eoin (1926), "The Native Place of St. Patrick", Papers read for the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin: Hodges, Figgis, pp. 118 – 140, http://www.archive.org/details/papersirishacad00macnuoft  – MacNeill argues for an origin in South Wales, noting that the western coasts of southern Scotland and northern England held little to interest a raider seeking quick access to booty and numerous slaves, while the southern coast of Wales offered both. In addition, the region was home to Uí Liatháin and possibly also Déisi settlers during this time, so Irish raiders would have had the contacts to tell them precisely where to go in order to quickly obtain booty and capture slaves. MacNeill also suggests a possible home town based on naming similarities, but allows that the transcription errors in manuscripts make this little more than an educated guess.
20. ^ The Catholic Encyclopedia states he was born in Kilpatrick, Scotland. "St. Patrick". 5 October 2011. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11554a.htm. 
21. ^ http://www.webanswers.com/social-sciences/spiritual-religious/who-is-saint-patrick-768a50 , http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3407708528/patrick-st.html and http://www.wikipedia.org/History_of_Cumbria
22. ^ De Paor, p. 96.
23. ^ "Confession of St. Patrick, Part 16". Christian Classics Ethereal Library at Calvin College. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/patrick/confession.iv.html. Retrieved 2010-03-11. 
24. ^ "Confession of St. Patrick, Part 17". Christian Classics Ethereal Library at Calvin College. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/patrick/confession.v.html. Retrieved 2010-03-11. 
25. ^ De Paor, pp. 99–100; Charles-Edwards, p. 229.
26. ^ De Paor, p. 100. De Paor glosses Foclut as "west of Killala Bay, in County Mayo", but it appears that the location of Fochoill (Foclut or Voclut) is still a matter of debate. See Charles-Edwards, p. 215.
27. ^ Hood p. 4
28. ^ Thomas, pp. 337–341; De Paor, pp. 104–107; Charles-Edwards, pp. 217–219.
29. ^ "Confession of St. Patrick, Part 50". Christian Classics Ethereal Library at Calvin College. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/patrick/confession.x.html. Retrieved 2010-03-11. 
30. ^ Charles-Edwards, pp. 219–225; Thomas, pp. 337–341; De Paor, pp. 104–107.
31. ^ De Paor, p. 107; Charles-Edwards, p. 221–222.
32. ^ This is presumed to refer to Patrick's tonsure.
33. ^ After Ó Cróinín, p.32; De Paor, p. 180. See also Ó Cróinín, pp. 30–33.
34. ^ "Letter To Coroticus, by Saint Patrick". Gilder Lehrman Center at Yale University. http://www.yale.edu/glc/archive/1166.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-11. 
35. ^ Todd, James Henthorn (1863), "The Epistle on Coroticus", St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, Dublin: Hodges, Smith, & Co. (published 1864), pp. 383 – 385, http://books.google.com/books?id=um44AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA383 
36. ^ De Paor, pp. 109–113; Charles-Edwards, pp. 226–230.
37. ^ Thomas, pp. 339 – 343.
38. ^ See Dumville, pp. 116–12; Wood, p. 45 n. 5.
39. ^ Byrne, pp. 78–82; the notes following Tírechán's hagiography in the Book of Armagh state that Palladius "was also called Patrick, while other sources have vague mentions of 'two Patricks'", Byrne, p.78. See De Paor, pp. 203–206, for the notes referred to.
40. ^ Why did St. Patrick Become a Saint Why Guides Retrieved 2011-02-20
41. ^ Stancliffe.
42. ^ De Paor, p. 122.
43. ^ De Paor, p. 121.
44. ^ About Us The Saint Patrick Centre Retrieved 2011-02-20
45. ^ De Paor, pp. 141–143; Charles-Edwards, p. 182–183. Bede writing a century later, refers to Palladius only.
46. ^ De Paor, pp 151–153; Charles-Edwards, p. 182–183.
47. ^ Both texts in original Latin and English translations and images of the Book of Armagh manuscript copy on the "Saint Patrick's Confessio HyperStack website". http://www.confessio.ie. Retrieved 2011-09-14. 
48. ^ Aideen O'Leary, "An Irish Apocryphal Apostle: Muirchú's Portrayal of Saint Patrick" The Harvard Theological Review 89.3 (July 1996), pp. 287–301, traces Muichù's sources and his explicit parallels of Patrick with Moses, the bringer of rechte Litre, the "letter of the Law"; the adversary, King Lóegaire, takes the role of Pharaoh.
49. ^ Annals of Ulster, AU 657.1: "Obitus...Ultán moccu Conchobair."
50. ^ De Paor, p. 154.
51. ^ De Paor, pp. 175 & 177.
52. ^ White, Newport J. D. (1920), St. Patrick, His Writings and Life, New York: The Macmillan Co, p. 110, http://books.google.com/books?id=1OZlAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover 
53. ^ Their works are found in De Paor, pp. 154–174 & 175–197 respectively.
54. ^ Charles-Edwards, pp. 224–226.
55. ^ Ó Cróinín, pp. 30–33. Ramsay MacMullen's Christianizing the Roman Empire (Yale University Press, 1984) examines the better-recorded mechanics of conversion in the Empire, and forms the basis of Ó Cróinín's conclusions.
56. ^ Charles-Edwards, pp. 416–417 & 429–440.
57. ^ The relevant annals are reprinted in De Paor, pp. 117–130.
58. ^ De Paor's conclusions at p. 135, the document itself is given at pp. 135–138.
59. ^ Robinson, William Erigena. New Haven Hibernian Provident Society. St. Patrick and the Irish: an oration, before the Hibernian Provident Society, of New Haven, March 17, 1842. pg 8. [1]
60. ^ ^{a b c} "Snakeless in Ireland: Blame Ice Age, Not St. Patrick - National Geographic News". http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080313-snakes-ireland.html. Retrieved 17 March 2011. 
61. ^ Hassig, Debra, The mark of the beast: the medieval bestiary in art, life, and literature (Taylor & Francis, 1999)
62. ^ ^{a b} "Snakeless in Ireland: Blame Ice Age, Not St. Patrick - National Geographic News". http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080313-snakes-ireland_2.html. Retrieved 17 March 2011. 
63. ^ "Why Ireland Has No Snakes - National Zoo". http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ReptilesAmphibians/NewsEvents/irelandsnakes.cfm. Retrieved 25 August 2006, 17 March 2011. 
64. ^ Keeper of the Celtic Secrets Google Books Retrieved 2011-02-20
65. ^ Weigant, Chris, "Saint Patrick and the Snakes," (Huffington Post, March 17, 2010)
66. ^ St. Patrick's Day Facts: Snakes, a Slave, and a Saint National Geographic Retrieved 2011-02-10
67. ^ The Bellshrine of St. Patrick, Clan McLaughlan website
68. ^ Great Synaxaristes: (Greek) Ὁ Ἅγιος Πατρίκιος Ἀπόστολος τῆς Ἰρλανδίας. 17 Μαρτίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
69. ^ "The Catholic Encyclopedia: Luke Wadding". http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15521d.htm. Retrieved 15 February 2007. 
70. ^ "Ask a Franciscan: Saints Come From All Nations - March 2001 Issue of St. Anthony Messenger Magazine Online". http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Mar2001/Wiseman.asp#F4. Retrieved 25 August 2006. 
71. ^ "St Patrick the Bishop of Armagh and Enlightener of Ireland". http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=100821. Retrieved 11 November 2007. 
72. ^ "Icon of St. Patrick". http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/patrick.htm. Retrieved 17 March 2008. 
73. ^ Placenames NI
74. ^ Placenames Database of Ireland: Croaghpatrick
75. ^ Placenames Database of Ireland: Lough Derg
76. ^ Placenames Database of Ireland: Downpatrick
77. ^ Placenames Database of Ireland: Ardpatrick
78. ^ Placenames Database of Ireland: Patrickswell
79. ^ Placenames Database of Ireland: Templepatrick
80. ^ "Patrick: Son of Ireland | Books". StephenLawhead.com. 2007-08-23. http://www.stephenlawhead.com/books/patrick.shtml. Retrieved 2009-10-04. ^{[dead link]}

Further reading

• Brown, Peter (2003), The rise of Western Christendom : triumph and diversity, A.D. 200-1000 (2nd ed.), Oxford: Blackwell, ISBN 0-631-22138-7 
• Bury, John Bagnell (1905), Life of St. Patrick and his Place in History, London 
• Byrne, Francis J. (1973), Irish Kings and High-Kings., London: Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-5882-8 
• Cahill, Thomas (1995), How the Irish Saved Civilization, New York: Doubleday, ISBN 0-385-41849-3 
• Charles-Edwards, T. M. (2000), Early Christian Ireland, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-36395-0 
• Dark, Ken (2000), Britain and the end of the Roman Empire, Stroud: Tempus, ISBN 0-7524-2532-3 
• De Paor, Liam (1993), Saint Patrick's World: The Christian Culture of Ireland's Apostolic Age, Dublin: Four Courts Press, ISBN 1-85182-144-9 
• Duffy, Seán,, ed. (1997), Atlas of Irish History, Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, ISBN 0-7171-3093-2 
• Dumville, David (1994), "The Death date of St. Patrick"", in Howlett, David, The Book of Letters of Saint Patrick the Bishop., Dublin: Four Courts Press, ISBN 1-85182-136-8 
• Fletcher, Richard (1997), The Conversion of Europe: From Paganism to Christianity 371–1386 AD., London: Harper Collins, ISBN 0-00-686302-7 
• Hood, A. B. E (1978), St. Patrick: his Writings, and Muirchú's Life, London and Chichester: Phillimore, ISBN 0-85033-299-0 
• Hughes, Kathleen (1972), Early Christian Ireland: Introduction to the Sources, London: Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-16145-0 
• Iannello, Fausto (2008), "Note storiche sull’Epistola ad Milites Corotici di San Patrizio", Atti della Accademia Peloritana dei Pericolanti, classe di Lettere, Filosofia e Belle Arti 84: 275–285 
•  Moran, Patrick Francis Cardinal (1913). "St. Patrick". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 
• McCaffrey, Carmel (2003), In Search of Ancient Ireland, Chicago: Ivan R Dee, ISBN 978-1566635257 
• MacQuarrie, Alan (1997), The Saints of Scotland: Essays in Scottish Church History AD 450–1093, Edinburgh: John Donald, ISBN 0-85976-446-X 
• Ó Cróinín, Dáibhí (1995), Early Medieval Ireland: 400–1200, London: Longman, ISBN 0-582-01565-0 
• O'Loughlin, Thomas (1999), Saint Patrick: The Man and his Works, London: S.P.C.K. 
• O'Loughlin, Thomas (2000), Celtic Theology, London: Continuum 
• O'Loughlin, Thomas (2005), Discovering Saint Patrick, New York: Orbis 
• O'Loughlin, Thomas (2005), The Capitula of Muirchu's Vita Patricii: do they point to an underlying structure in the text?, , Analecta Bollandiana 123: 79–89 
• O'Loughlin, Thomas (2007), Nagy, J. F., ed., The myth of Insularity and nationality in Ireland, Dublin: Four Courts Press, pp. 132–140 
• O'Rahilly, T. F. (1942), The Two Patricks: A Lecture on the History of Christianity in Fifth-Century Ireland, Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies 
• Stancliffe, Claire (2004). "Patrick (fl. 5th cent.)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/21562. Retrieved 2007-02-17. 
• Thomas, Charles (1981), Christianity in Roman Britain to AD 500, London: Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-1442-1 
• Wood, Ian (2001), The Missionary Life: Saints and the Evangelisation of Europe 400-1050, London: Longman, ISBN 0-582-31213-2 
• Yorke, Barbara (2006), The Conversion of Britain: Religion, Politics and Society in Britain c.600–800, London: Longman, ISBN 0-582-77292-3 

External links

• Writings of Saint Patrick
• The Most Ancient Lives of Saint Patrick, edited by James O'Leary, 1880, from Project Gutenberg.
• BBC: Religion & Ethics, Christianity: Saint Patrick (Incl. audio)
• Opera Omnia by Migne Patristica Latina with analytical indexes
• Oase Sankt Patrick
• CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork includes Patrick's Confessio and Epistola, as well as various lives of Saint Patrick.
• Saint Patrick's Confessio Hypertext Stack as published by the Royal Irish Academy Dictionary of Medieval Latin from Celtic Sources (DMLCS) freely providing digital scholarly editions of St Patrick's writings as well as translations and digital facsimiles of all extant manuscript copies.

Persondata
Name	Patrick, Saint
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	unknown, late 4th century to mid-5th century
Place of birth	Banna Venta Berniae, Britain (suggested to be near Birdoswald, Cumbria, England)
Date of death	17 March, (traditional), year unknown, mid to end 5th century[dubious – discuss]
Place of death