Online Encyclopedia

kings and chiefs of clans. We are totally ignorant as to the extent and number of the pre-Patrician Christian communities in Ireland. It seems probable that they were, largely, if not wholly confined to the See also:

south-See also:

east of the See also:

ISLAND (O.E. ieg =isle, +land')

island. His See also:

ROMAN

Roman name has also survived in a hibernicized See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form, Patrick landed at Inverdea, the mouth of the See also:

RIVER

river Vartry in Cothrige, with the See also:

COMMON

common substitution of Irish c for Brythonic I See also:

WICKLOW

Wicklow, but we are not informed as to any of his doings in p (cf. Irish See also:

CAST (from the verb meaning " to throw "; the word is Scand. in origin, cf. Dan. kaste, and Swed. kasta; " cast " in Middle Eng. took the place of the A.S. weor pan, cf. Ger. werf en)

cast, See also:

Lat. pascha). Patrick was doubtless educated See also:

LEINSTER

Leinster at this See also:

period. According to the See also:

story, he immediately as a Christian and was imbued with reverence for the Roman proceeded northward to the See also:

KINGDOM

kingdom of Ulidia (east See also:

Ulster), See also:

EMPIRE

Empire. When about sixteen years of See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age he was carried off by a though a certain tradition represents him as going to See also:

MEATH (pronounced with th soft, as in the)

Meath. Landing on the shores of See also:

STRANGFORD, VISCOUNT

Strangford Lough, he commenced his labours in the See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain on the south-See also:

west See also:

side of that inlet.

A convert See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief named Dichu granted him a site for an establish- ment, and a wooden See also:

BARN

barn is stated to have been utilized for the purpose of See also:

WORSHIP (i.e. " worth-ship," O. Eng. weor8scipe)

worship, whence the See also:

MODERN

modern See also:

SAUL (Heb. shd'ul, " asked ")

Saul (Ir. saball, " barn "). Patrick's activity was See also:

BOUND, or BOUNDARY (from O. Fr. bonde, Med. Lat. bodena or butina, a frontier line)

bound to bring him sooner or later into conflict with the High-See also:

king Loigaire (reigned 428-467), son of Niall Noigiallach. Fedilmid, a See also:

BROTHER

brother of the monarch, is represented as having made over his See also:

ESTATE (through O. Fr. estat, mod. flat, from Lat. status, state, condition, position, stare, to stand)

estate at See also:

TRIM

Trim to the saint to found a See also:

church, and thus the faith was established within Loigaire's territory. The story in picturesque See also:

FASHION (adapted from Fr. facon, agon, Lat. factio, making, facere, to do or make)

fashion makes Patrick See also:

CHALLENGE (O. Fr. chalonge, calenge, &c., from Lat. calumnia, originally meaning trickery, from calvi, to deceive, hence a false accusation, a " calumny ")

challenge the royal authority by See also:

LIGHTING

lighting the See also:

PASCHAL (Paschalis)

Paschal See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire on the See also:

hill of Slane on the See also:

NIGHT

night of See also:

EASTER

Easter See also:

Eve. It chanced to be the occasion of a See also:

pagan festival at See also:

Tara, during which no fire might be kindled until the royal fire had been lit. A number of trials of skill between the Christian missionary and Loigaire's See also:

DRUIDS, ORDER OF

Druids ensue, and the final result seems to have been that the monarch, though unwilling to embrace the See also:

FOREIGN

foreign creed, under- took to protect the Christian See also:

bishop. At a later date the saint was probably invited by Loigaire to take See also:

PART

part in the codification of the Senchus M6r in See also:

order to represent the interests of the Christian communities. On another occasion Patrick is reported to have overthrown a famous idol known as Gems Cruaich or Cromm Cruaich in the plain of Mag Slecht (See also:

COUNTY (through Norm. Fr. comae, cf. O. Fr. cunte, conk', Mod. Fr. comae, from Lat. comitatus, cf. Ital. comitato, Prov. comtat; see COUNT)

county See also:

CAVAN

Cavan). Several churches seem to have been founded in the kingdom of Meath by the saint, but they cannot now be identified. Patrick is stated to 'have visited See also:

Connaught on three different occasions and to have founded churches, one of the most impor- tant being that at Elphin. As regards Ulster our See also:

INFORMATION (from Lat. informare, to give shape or form to, to represent, describe)

information is very scanty; though we find him establishing churches in the three kingdoms of the See also:

province (Ailech, See also:

Oriel and Ulidia). Patrick's See also:

WORK

work is more closely identified with the See also:

north of Ireland than with the south.

Traces of his See also:

MISSION

mission, however, are to be found in See also:

Ossory and Muskerry. But his task in the south was doubtless rather that of an organizer, and a See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of circular See also:

LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

letter has come down to us which was addressed by Patrick, Auxilius and Iserninus, to all the See also:

clergy of the island. There is some his natural diffidence, and opposition on the part of his relatives, Patrick resolved to return to See also:

Gaul in order to prepare himself for his mission. He proceeded to See also:

AUXERRE

Auxerre—a See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place which seems to have had a See also:

close connexion with See also:

BRITAIN (Gr. Hperavuml vi7vot, Bperravia; Lat. Britannia, rarely Britannia)

Britain and Ireland—and was ordained deacon by Bishop Amator, along with two others who were afterwards associated with him in spreading the faith in Ireland. The one was an Irishman called Fith, better known as Iserninus, the other Auxilius. Patrick must have spent at least fourteen years at Auxerre. It seems not unlikely that Pelagianism had taken See also:

root among seq.; Du Cange, Glossarium med. et infim. latinitatis, s.v. " Patricius" (431-432), whom Zimmer has endeavoured to identify with and histories of See also:

Charlemagne (q.v.; and his successors. For the Ger- , Patrick, is obscure. Tradition associates his name with the man Patriziertum see See also:

ROTH, JUSTUS LUDWIG ADOLF (1818-1892)

Roth von Schreckenstein, See also:

Des Patriziat in den mountains of Wicklow, and we are told that he retired to the deutschen Stadten, besonders Reiclstadten (2nd ed. See also:

FREIBURG

Freiburg, 1886) ; land of the Picts in North Britain, where he died. Patrick Foltz, Beitrage zur Gesch. des Patriziats in den deutschen Stadten (See also:

Marburg, 1899).

subsequently conferred on Charlemagne at his See also:

CORONATION (Lat. corona, crown)

coronation, and See also:

BORNE, KARL LUDWIG (1786–1837)

borne, as we gather from See also:

MEDIEVAL

medieval documents, indiscriminately, not only by subsequent emperors, but also by a See also:

long See also:

LINE

line of Burgundian rulers and See also:

minor princes of the See also:

MIDDLE

middle ages generally.' On the fall of the Carolingian See also:

house the See also:

TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title passed to Alberic II. Subsequently it was held by See also:

John Crescentius, and many leading men who received it from See also:

OTTO

Otto III. (e.g. Boleslaw Chabri of See also:

Poland). In ro46 it returned to the See also:

German See also:

Henry III. The See also:

EMPEROR (Fr. empereur, from the Lat. imperator)

emperor See also:

Frederick See also:

BARBAROSSA ("Redbeard")

Barbarossa was the last to See also:

WEAR

wear the insignia (in 1167). the See also:

GRANDSON (Ger. Grandsee)

grandson of a See also:

PRESBYTER (Gr. apactObTepos, elder, the comparative of IrOo-Oas, an old man)

presbyter named Potitus. His See also:

FATHER

father was a middle-class landed proprietor and a decurion, who is represented as living at a place called Bannauenta. The only place of this name we know is See also:

DAVENTRY

Daventry, but it seems more probable that Patrick's See also:

home is to be sought near the See also:

Severn, and Rhys conjectures that one of the three places called Banwen in Glamorgan-See also:

SHIRE

shire may be intended. The See also:

BRITISH

British name of the future apostle was Sucat, to which Mod. Welsh hygad, " warlike," corresponds. See also:

BAND

band of Irish marauders.

The latter were possibly taking part in the See also:

RAID

raid of the Irish king Niall Noigiallach, who met with his end in Britain in 405. Irish tradition represents the future apostle as tending the herds of a chieftain of the name of Miliucc (Milchu), near the See also:

mountain called Slemish in county See also:

Antrim, but See also:

Bury tries to show that the See also:

SCENE (Fr. scene, Lat. scaena, Gr. oflvil, a tent or booth, a stage or scene)

scene of his captivity was Connaught, perhaps in the neighbourhood of Croagh Patrick. His bondage lasted for six years. During this See also:

time he became subject to religious emotion and beheld visions which encouraged him to effect his See also:

ESCAPE (in mid. Eng. eschape or escape, from the O. Fr. eschapper, modern echapper, and escaper, low Lat. escapium, from ex, out of, and cappa, cape, cloak; cf. for the sense development the Gr. iichueoOat, literally to put off one's clothes, hence to sli

escape. He fled, in all See also:

PROBABILITY (Lat. probabilis, probable or credible)

probability to the See also:

COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast of Wicklow, and encountered a See also:

VESSEL (O. Fr. vaissel, from a rare Lat. vascellum, dim. of vas, vase, urn)

vessel which was engaged in the export of Irish See also:

wolf-See also:

DOGS, ISLE OF

dogs. After three days at See also:

sea the traders landed, possibly on the west coast of Gaul, and journeyed for twenty-eight days through a See also:

DESERT

desert. At the end of two months Patrick parted from his companions and betook himself to the monastery of Lerins, where he probably spent a few years. On leaving the Mediterranean he seems to have returned home. It was doubtless during this stay in Britain that the See also:

IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea of missionary enterprise in Ireland came to him. In a See also:

DREAM (from a root dreug, connected with Germ. trugen, to deceive)

dream he saw a man named Victorious bearing innumerable epistles, one of which he received and read; the beginning of it contained the words " The See also:

VOICE (Fr. voix, from Lat. vox)

Voice of the Irish "; whilst repeating these words he says, " I imagined that I heard in my mind the voice of those who were near the See also:

wood of Foclut (Fochlad), which is near the western sea, and thus they cried: ` We pray thee, See also:

HOLY

holy youth, to come and walk again amongst us as before.' " The See also:

FOREST

forest of Fochlad was in the neighbourhood of See also:

KILLALA (pron. Killklla)

Killala See also:

Bay, but it is possible that it extended considerably to the south. Despite 1 We even find a feminine form, patricissa, for the wife of a patricius. The See also:

GOLDEN

golden circlet worn on the See also:

head by the patricius as a See also:

SYMBOL (Gr. o-uµ(3oXov, a sign)

symbol of his dignity was called a See also:

PATRICIANS (Lat. patricius, an adjectival form from pater, father; not, as some say, from pater and ciere, to call)

patricians circulus.

2 His career is involved in considerable obscurity. Widely varying views have been held by modern scholars with regard to his activity, some going so far as to treat all the accounts of his labours as the fictitious creation of a later age. In the See also:

PRESENT

present See also:

ARTICLE (from Lat. articulus, a joint)

article Bury's reconstruction of the saint's See also:

LIFE

life has been chiefly followed. Apart from its importance in other respects, Bury's treatment of the subject has at any See also:

RATE

rate the merit of defending the traditional view of St Patrick's career. See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence that he made a See also:

JOURNEY (through O. Fr. jornee or journee, mod. Fr. journee, from med. Lat. diurnata, Lat. diurnus, of or belonging to dies, day)

journey to Rome (441–443) and brought back with him valuable See also:

RELICS (Lat, reliquiae, the equivalent of the English " remains " in the sense of a dead body)

relics. On his return he founded the church and monastery of See also:

ARMAGH

Armagh, the site of which was granted him by Daire, king of Oriel, and it is probable that the see was intended by him to be specially connected with the supreme ecclesiastical authority. Some years before his See also:

DEATH

death, which took place in 461, Patrick resigned his position as bishop of Armagh to his See also:

DISCIPLE

disciple Benignus, and possibly retired to Saul in Dalaradia, where he spent the See also:

REMAINDER, REVERSION

remainder of his life. The place of his See also:

BURIAL

burial was a See also:

MATTER

matter of dispute in early Ireland, but it seems most likely that he was interred at Saul. Two highly important documents purporting to have been written by Patrick have come down to us. Although the genuineness of these writings has been impugned on various occasions by different scholars, there seems to be no See also:

REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

reason for assuming that they did not emanate from the saint's See also:

PEN (Lat. penna, a feather, pen)

pen. The one is the See also:

CONFESSION (Lat. confessio, from confiteor, acknowledge, confess)

Confession, which is contained in an imperfect See also:

state in the See also:

BOOK

Book of Armagh (c. 8o7), but See also:

COMPLETE

complete copies are found in later See also:

MSS.

The Confession, written towards the end of his life, gives a See also:

general See also:

account of his career. Various charges had been brought against him by his enemies, among them that of illiteracy, the truth of which is borne out by the crudeness of his See also:

style, and is fully admitted by the writer himself. Before being admitted to deacon's orders he had communicated to a friend some See also:

FAULT (Mid. Eng. faute, through the French, from the popular Latin use of fallere, to fail; the originallof the Latin being replaced in English in the 15th century)

fault which he had committed when about fifteen years of age. This friend had not considered it an obstacle to ordination. Later the See also:

SECRET (Lat. secretum, hidden, concealed)

secret was betrayed and came to the ears of persons who, as he says, " urged my sins against my laborious episcopate." It is impossible to ascertain who these detractors were—possibly British See also:

FELLOW

fellow-workers in Ireland. The other document is the so-called Letter to Coroticus. The soldiers of Coroticus (Ceretic), a British king of See also:

STRATHCLYDE

Strathclyde, had in the course of a raid in Ireland killed a number of Christian neophytes on the very See also:

day of their See also:

BAPTISM

baptism while still clad in See also:

white garments. Others had been carried off into See also:

SLAVERY

slavery, and a deputation of clergy which Patrick had sent to ask for their See also:

RELEASE (O.Fr. reles, variant of relais, from relaisser, to release, let go, Lat. relaxare)

release had been subjected to ridicule. In his Letter the saint in very strong See also:

LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language urges the Christian subjects of the British king not to have any dealings with their ruler and his bloodthirsty followers until full See also:

SATISFACTION (Lat. salisfacerc, to satisfy)

satisfaction should have been made. The See also:

TEXT (Lat. textum, woven fabric, from texere, to weave)

text of this letter occurs in a number of MSS. but is not contained in the Book of Armagh. It is however certain that it was known in the 7th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century. A See also:

STRANGE, SIR ROBERT (1721-1792)

strange barbaric See also:

CHANT (derived through the Fr. from the Lat. cantare, to sing; an old form is " chaunt ")

chant commonly known as the Lorica or Hymn of St Patrick is preserved in the See also:

LIBER

Liber hymnorum.

This piece, called in Irish the See also:

FAED, THOMAS (1826-1900)

Faed Fiada or " Cry of the See also:

Deer," contains a number of remarkable grammatical forms, and the latest editors are of See also:

OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion that it may very well be genuine. From such slender material it is not easy to form a clear conception of the saint's See also:

PERSONALITY (from Lat. persona, originally an actor's mask, from personare,1 to sound through)

personality. His was evidently an intensely spiritual nature, and in addition to the qualities which go to form a strong man of See also:

ACTION

action he must have possessed an See also:

ENTHUSIASM

enthusiasm which enabled him to surmount all difficulties. His importance in the history of Ireland and the Irish Church consists in the fact that he brought Ireland into See also:

TOUCH (derived through Fr. toucher from a common Teutonic and Indo-Germanic root, cf. " tug," " tuck," O. H. Ger. zucchen, to twitch or draw)

touch with western See also:

EUROPE

Europe and more particularly with Rome, and that he introduced Latin into Ireland as the language of the Church. His work consisted largely in organizing the Christian See also:

SOCIETIES, LEARNED

societies which he found in existence on his arrival, and in planting the faith in regions such as the extreme west of Connaught which had not yet come under the sway of the See also:

GOSPEL (O. Eng. godspel, i.e. good news, a translation of Lat. bona annuntiatio, or evangelium, Gr. evayyeXwv; cf. Goth. iu spillon, " to announce good news," Ulfilas' translation of the Greek, from iu, that which is good, and spellon to announce)

gospel. Karts published by Whitley See also:

Stokes for. the Rolls See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series (1887). A Latin See also:

TRANSLATION

translation of a different copy of this work, now lost, was published by Colgan. Lastly a life by an otherwise unknown Irish writer named See also:

Probus occurs in the See also:

Basel edition of See also:

Bede's See also:

WORKS

works (1563) and was reprinted by Colgan. See J. B. Bury, The Life of St Patrick and his Place in History (See also:

LONDON

London, 1905) ; J. H.

Todd, St Patrick the Apostle of Ireland (See also:

DUBLIN

Dublin, 1861) ; H. Zimmer, article " Keltische Kirche " in Realencyklopadie firer protestantische Theologie and Kirche (1901; trans. by See also:

MISS

Miss See also:

Meyer, " The See also:

CELTIC

Celtic Church in Britain and Ireland," London, 1902) ; J. Gwynn, Liber Ardmachanus; Whitley Stokes, The Tripartite Life of St Patrick (London, 1887) ; N. J. D. White, " The Writings of St Patrick " (See also:

CRITICAL (in alphabetical order of authors)

critical edition) in Proceedings of the Royal Irish See also:

Academy (1904). (E. C.

End of Article: PATRICK, ST

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.

» Add information or comments to this article.

Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.

Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
PATRICK, SIMON (1626–1707)

[next]
PATRIZZI, FRANCESCO (FRANCISCUS PATRITIUS) (1529-15...