Courtney McGrailThe World of Saint Patrick
by Philip Freeman
(Oxford University Press, £14.99)
J. Anthony Gaughan
Many people are acquainted with the myths surrounding the life of St Patrick. There is the story that he drove the snakes out of Ireland, accounts of his battles with the druids and his use of the three-leaf shamrock to convert the pagan Irish to belief in the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity. Yet few are aware of the importance of Patrick’s writings in understanding ancient and early medieval Ireland.
Philip Freeman is Orlando W. Qualley Professor of Classical Languages at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and the author of several books both on Ireland and on the classical world.
In this volume he provides vibrant translations of Patrick’s Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus and his Confession. The former is a scathing denunciation of a British warlord and his men who had raided Ireland and either killed or kidnapped into slavery a number of Patrick’s recent converts. The latter is traditionally called “a confession”, although it is more of a declaration than an act of contrition.
This declaration – almost unique for its day in that we hear the true voice of an individual – is addressed to British bishops who had called Patrick home to face charges of corruption and to answer for an unknown sin committed when he was a teenager. He explains why he is innocent of any wrongdoing and why he refuses to return to Britain.
He describes his kidnapping by pirates at age 16 and subsequent slavery. Although his grandfather was a priest and his father a deacon, he had rejected his childhood faith in favour of atheism. He recounts how he regained his faith during his captivity, his escape from bondage and his eventual return to Ireland as a missionary.
The world of Patrick was a world with a high king and more than 100 independent tribes ruled over by their own kings. These ruled over small-scale farmers who based their worth on the number of cattle they owned. Their priests, known as druids, conducted divine worship to a variety of gods and goddesses.
To assist the reader in understanding this world, the author includes a number of incunabula associated with Patrick. The First Synod of Patrick is the earliest list of official Church decisions we possess from Ireland. The issues addressed indicate a time when druids and other non-Christians were still prevalent on the island.
The Hymn of Saint Secundinus, Saint Patrick’s Breastplate and Muirchú’s Life of Saint Patrick, written 200 years after his death, belong to the genre of writing know as hagiography.
This is not intended to be a historical description of a subject’s life as much as an inspiration for Christians in their own spiritual journey. These provide an insight into the development of the cults around the early Irish saints including Patrick.
Freeman also includes translations of the Life of Saint Brigid and the Voyage of Saint Brendan. St Brigid is the reputed foundress and first abbess of Kildare (Cill Dara).
Unlike the case of Patrick, there is no contemporary evidence for her existence as a person but her cult is well documented in hagiography. Thus most scholars regard her as a ghost personality generated in the period of transition from paganism to Christianity, replacing the pagan goddess Brigit.
St Brendan was a historic figure, founding monasteries as far apart as Ardfert in Co. Kerry and Clonfert in Co. Galway. On the other hand, his voyage is an allegory of the Christian life. For his readers the voyage was a spiritual journey in the dangerous and unpredictable seas of life in which one must sometimes unfurl the sails and let God take people where He wishes.
The ready access to these Patrician and post Patrician documents will be welcomed by all who have an interest in our early Irish saints and the ancient history of our island. Freeman is the author of Ireland and the Classical World; this book aids a deeper understanding of that link so important for Christianity in this island.