(ABOUT A.D. 465.)
[Roman, and almost all Western Martyrologies, Bede, Usuardus, Ado,
&c. Authorities:--The most authentic are S. Patrick's Confession, and
his letter against Coroticus, Fiech's hymn, or metrical sketch of the
life of the saint, and the life by Probus. The hymn is attributed to
Fiech, bishop of Sletty, who lived in the 5th cent. The Bollandists
and other critics doubt his having been the author of it; but at any
rate it is very ancient, and not later than the 7th, or perhaps the
6th cent. Probus is supposed to have been teacher of a school at
Slane, who was burnt in a tower fired by the Danes, in 950. There
is also a hymn attributed to Secundinus, one of S. Patrick's first
companions, in which the saint is spoken of as still living. A very
interesting document, of the early part of the 7th cent., is a litany
in Anglo-Saxon characters, published by Mabillon, in which S. Patrick
is invoked. The Antiphonarium Benchorense, apparently of the 8th
cent., contains a hymn in honour of S. Patrick. There exist some
notes or scholia on Fiech's metrical life, which are usually quoted
under the title of Fiech's Scholiast. They were written partly in
Irish, and partly in Latin. These notes are of various dates, and by
different hands, and consequently of very different values. Colgan
gives some lives, which he calls the second, third, and fourth, but
these are full of fables, and seem to have been copied either from
each other, or from some common original. Here and there they contain
facts, but these are smothered in fable. Colgan is utterly wrong in
assigning to them a high antiquity. The Tripartite Life, so called
because it is divided into three parts, is published by Colgan, and
attributed by him wrongly to S. Evin, who lived in the 6th cent. This
work, though founded on older lives, was really put together in the
10th century, as certain persons are named in it who lived about that
period. With the exception of certain fables it contains, it is a very
useful work, and contains a much greater variety of details concerning
the proceedings of S. Patrick during his mission in Ireland than any
other of his lives. It is not to be confounded with a Latin work
quoted by Usher under the same title, and which belongs to a later
period. Of all the lives of S. Patrick this is the worst, though it
has been published oftener than the others. "So wretched a composition
is scarcely worth attending to," says Dr. Lanigan. Another authority
is Jocelin of Furness, who flourished about 1185, and compiled S.
Patrick's life at the request of Thomas, archbishop of Armagh,
Malachias (another Irish prelate) and John de Courcy, the conqueror
of Ulster. It is of little historical value compared with the earlier
and more authentic sources of information, which it not unfrequently
contradicts on the authority of some idle legend.]
The precise time at which Christianity was originally introduced into
Ireland cannot be ascertained. Nor is it to be wondered at, that, while
the first establishment of Christian Churches in Britain, Gaul, and
Spain, is enveloped in obscurity, a similar difficulty should meet
those seeking the origin of the Irish Church. Palladius, according
to Prosper, was the first bishop sent from Rome to Ireland. He was a
deacon of the Roman Church, who had already distinguished himself by
his exertions in delivering Britain from the Pelagian heresy. From this
and other circumstances, it seems probable that he was a native of that
country. He was consecrated bishop and sent into Ireland, accompanied
by some missionaries, four of whom, Sylvester, Solonius, Augustine, and
Benedict, are mentioned by name in some of the lives of S. Patrick. It
seems that his arrival was early in the year 431. The most authentic
accounts of his mission agree in stating that, besides having baptized
some persons, he erected three churches; and the news of his success,
perhaps magnified in its transit, excited such a confident assurance in
Rome of his complete conquest of the island to the Cross, that Prosper
did not hesitate to say that, through the exertion of pope Celestine,
Ireland was become a Christian country. This book "Against Cassian,"
was written not long after the mission of Palladius, and before he had
heard of the reverses which that pioneer of the Gospel had met with.
The success Palladius had met with alarmed the heathen, and he was
denounced to the king of that part of Ireland in which he then was, as
a dangerous person, and he was ordered to quit the country. He sailed
from Ireland towards the latter end of the same year, 431, in which
he had landed, and arriving in Britain, died, not long after, as is
commonly reported, at Fordun, in the district of Mearns, in Scotland.
The great work of the general conversion of the people of Ireland was
reserved for the ministry of S. Patrick, according to the Irish adage
that, "Not to Palladius, but to Patrick, did God grant the conversion
of Ireland."
The variety of opinions, and the many questions that have been
agitated, concerning the country and time of the birth of S. Patrick,
render it necessary to clear up these disputed points before proceeding
with the main story of his life. It would be a waste of time to examine
all the various opinions, that have been started on this subject, such
as his having been born in Cornwall, in Pembrokeshire,[51] or, what
is strangest of all, in Ireland itself. The prevalent opinion since
Usher's time has been that he was born at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton.
Usher was led astray by the scholiast on Fiech's hymn. Fiech says
that S. Patrick was born at Nemthur (the holy tower) in Britain, and
the scholiast identified this place with Alcwith, now Dumbarton.
The scholiast guessed this, not knowing that the term Britain also
applied to the whole of the North of Gaul, inhabited by the Armorican
Gauls.[52] Indeed Probus calls S. Patrick's country, and the town where
his family lived, Arimuric, or Armorica. In the life of S. Fursey,
we are told that this saint crossed the sea into the province of
Britain, and proceeded through Ponthieu. Now Ponthieu is a maritime
tract in Picardy, near Boulogne; and it is also to be observed that
this district is said in the life of S. Fursey "to be called by the
moderns Normandy." But S. Patrick in his confession says, "My father
was Calpurnius, a deacon, son of Potitus, a priest, of the town of
Bonavem Taberniæ. He had near the town a small villa Enon, where I
became a captive." Bonavem (Ben-avon, _British_, the headland above the
river) is the modern Boulogne-sur-mer, and the district of Taberniæ is
Terouanne, in which it is situated. Boulogne was the Bonona[53] of the
Romans, and its Gallic name Ben-avon, exactly describes its situation
on the summit of a hill. On the very edge of the cliff, a little east
of the port, are the remains of the tower built by Caligula (A.D. 40),
when he marched to the shore of the channel with an army of 100,000
men, boasting that he intended to invade the opposite coast of Britain,
but contenting himself with gathering a few shells, which he called the
spoils of the ocean. The tower is supposed to have been intended for
a lighthouse, and its modern name La Tour d'Orde, a corruption of
_Turris Ardens_, points it out as having been used for this purpose.
A very good case is, however, made out for a site on the Roman Wall,
in which case Patrick would be the son of one of the Roman colonists
or defenders of the wall, and a native of Cumberland. In his epistle
against Coroticus, S. Patrick tells us he was of an honourable family
according to the flesh, his father having held the office of decurion,
which conferred a certain amount of nobility. Clerks were not then
forbidden to hold such offices. He calls the Romans his fellow
citizens, and this circumstance, coupled with the fact, that the names
of S. Patrick, of his father, and of his grandfather, are purely Latin,
points to the conclusion that the family was of Roman extraction; but
his mother, whose name was Conchessa, was the daughter of Erkbalius, or
Ocbasius, (Erkbald?) a Frank.
[51] A Welsh tradition claims S. Patrick as the son of Mawon of Gower,
in Glamorganshire.
[52] The Morini occupied this part of Gaul; the name signifies their
maritime position, as does Amorica, the district "by the sea." The
ancient Amorica stretched along the whole of the north coast of Gaul;
but the Norman invasion and settlement cut the two Celtic peoples of
the Bretons and Morini apart.
[53] This name, about the time of Constantine, supplanted the older
Latin name of Gessoriacum.
[Illustration: S. PATRICK. After Cahier.
March 17.]
His birth took place about the year 387, for at his consecration to the
episcopate, a person divulged a fault he had committed thirty years
before, when a boy of fifteen; and he was consecrated at the end of
431, or the beginning of 432; when the news of the death of Palladius
reached him.
When S. Patrick was sixteen years old, Nial Navigiallach, or Nial of
the Nine Hostages, an Irish king, in ravaging the coasts of Great
Britain and Gaul, entered the port of Bonona, in 403, and carried
off S. Patrick and many other youths captive. On being brought to
Ireland, S. Patrick became the servant or slave of a man named Miliac,
or Milcho, who lived in Dalrhidia, which is now comprised within the
county of Antrim. Some say that he was a prince; others that he was
a _magus_, that is, invested with a religious function; and others
represent him only as a rich man. S. Patrick calls his master merely
"a man," without adding anything concerning his situation in life.
With that profound humility, which every line written by this truly
great saint breathes, he tells us that he had been very careless about
religion when a boy; but that, when he found himself in the misery of
slavery, God opened his eyes to behold the wondrous things of His law.
His occupation was to tend sheep on the wild brown bogs; and amidst
snow, frost, or rain, he rose before daylight, that he might "prevent
the day-break" with his prayers.[54]
[54] An instance of the way in which later writers have amplified the
incidents may here be given. Probus adds that he diligently perused
the psalter and hymns, and Jocelin that he read the whole psalter
through every day. "As if," says Dr. Lanigan, "he could have found
books containing them in the North of Ireland at that period, or, when
suddenly made a prisoner, had time to provide himself with religious
tracts, or, while still a careless boy, was anxious about them."
One night, after he had been in service for six years, as he slept, he
heard a voice cry to him, "Thou fastest well, and soon shalt return
to thy country." Presently once more the voice said, "Behold, a ship
is ready for thee." He tells this story himself. Moreover he heard
that the ship was far off on the coast, a great many miles from where
he then lived. So he betook himself to flight. "And by God's power,"
he adds, "I came to a good end;[55] and I was under no apprehension
until I reached the ship. She was then clearing out and I asked for
a passage. The master of the vessel angrily bade me not think of
going with him. On hearing this I retired to the hut where I had been
received and lodged, and on my way prayed. But, before I had finished
my prayer, I heard one of the men shouting after me, 'Come along! they
are asking for thee.' So I returned immediately. And they said, 'Come,
we will take thee on trust, (_i.e._, on the chance of getting paid the
fare on reaching Bononia); we are about to sail, and hope to reach land
in three days.'"
[55] "Et veni ... ad bonum," according to the Bollandists ought to be
"ad Benam," that is to Bantry Bay.
They at once set sail, and reached the coast of Gaul in three days, at
Treguier, in Brittany. They travelled for twenty-eight days through a
country rendered desolate by the ravages of the Franks. Whilst on their
way, he and his fellow travellers were near perishing for want of food;
and then the master of the ship or merchant, who had received Patrick
and given him a passage, and who was now travelling along the same road
with his wares, exclaimed, "Christian! thy God is powerful. Pray for
us, for we are starving." The saint desired them to turn with faith
to the Lord, and he prayed, and suddenly a drove of swine appeared
crashing through the bushes, and they chased and killed many of them,
and halted two days to recover and refresh themselves. The merchants
gave thanks to the God of Patrick, and shortly after, finding some
wild honey, they gave him a part, saying, "This is an offering. God be
thanked."
A very curious story of this journey is told by the saint in his
Confession. Having feasted on the pork, after long hunger, the natural
result was an attack of night-mare, that same night, which he says
seemed to him in his dream like Satan rolling a great rock upon his
chest. In an ecstasy of fear he screamed out "Elias, Elias!" and
thereupon he says, "Lo! the splendour of the sun shone on me, and
dispelled all the burden on me." Dr. Lanigan says this is evidence
of his invoking a saint. There can be little doubt that every
well-instructed Christian of the time would have invoked a saint,
but it seems probable here that this was not an invocation of the
prophet Elias, but an invocation common perhaps among the heathen
and half-converted Roman settlers, of "Helios!" the sun, which had
passed into an exclamation; and this will explain the passage which
immediately follows about the sun at once shining upon him. Patrick
at this time was not well instructed in Christianity, and he had been
stolen as a thoughtless boy from his home, before his education was
complete, or his mind had turned to the truths of Christianity. In his
old age he related this anecdote of himself, but it is impossible to
conclude from the context what he meant by the exclamation.
S. Patrick reached home about the year 409, and remained there for a
while. He was then aged twenty-two. Perhaps it was soon after this that
he went to Tours and studied for four years. He then returned home to
Bonona, and was again made captive, probably by a roving band of Frank
marauders; but his captivity was of short duration, lasting only sixty
days. His friends entreated him not to leave them, after all he had
endured, but he relates that he saw in a vision of the night a man
named Victoricius[56] bringing him a letter, at the head of which were
the words, "The voice of the Irish." And then he thought he heard the
cry of many persons from one of the Irish forests, where they strayed
in darkness and error, "We entreat thee, O holy boy, come and walk
still in the midst of us!" And greatly affected, Patrick awoke.
[56] Probably S. Victricius, one of the apostles of the Morini,
afterwards bishop of Rouen.
About the year 418, he placed himself under the direction of S. Germain
of Auxerre. After this period it is difficult, if not impossible,
to arrange correctly the succeeding transactions of his life, until
near the time of his mission. Nine years he spent in retirement in
an island which has been conjectured to be Lerins. It was during the
same interval, that S. Patrick accompanied S. Germain and S. Lupus of
Troyes in their spiritual expedition to Great Britain, in the year
429, for the purpose of extirpating the Pelagian heresy, which had
taken root in that island. This is stated in some accounts of S.
Patrick's proceedings; and the lives, though they are silent about
it, give nothing which might tend to invalidate it SS. Germain and
Lupus returned to Gaul at Easter, in 430. It is very probable that the
information which they might have obtained, during their residence
in Great Britain, concerning the wants of the Irish Christians, was
communicated to pope Celestine, who either had already determined
on sending a bishop to Ireland, or was advised to do so by these
prelates. And who was better calculated to take part in this mission
than Patrick, who had lived six years in Ireland, and had acquired a
sufficient knowledge of the language of that country? In 431, he was
sent to Rome by S. Germain, recommended by him to the pope as a person
fit to be employed in the work, of which Palladius was appointed the
chief. Whether he arrived in Rome before Palladius set out, or not long
after, cannot be ascertained. From the pope he received a benediction
for the great mission which he was about to undertake; but he does not
appear to have received episcopal ordination at Rome, for Palladius
was already consecrated, and the news of his banishment had not as yet
arrived. It appears, also, from the "Confession" of S. Patrick that
he was consecrated not far from his own country. The account of S.
Patrick's consecration by Celestine is not to be met with in any of
the lives except those two compilations of legendary matter, Jocelin's
and the Tripartite; whence it made its way into certain Breviaries. S.
Patrick left Rome either late in 431, or early in 432. He was perhaps
accompanied by Auxilius and Serenus or Iserninus. These were certainly
afterwards in Ireland with S. Patrick, but whether they accompanied him
from Rome, or were selected by him from among his acquaintance in Gaul,
cannot be ascertained; and it is not certain that they came to Ireland
till some years later.
We next hear of Patrick at Eboria (Eborica), Evreux, where he heard
the news of the failure of the mission of Palladius. On receiving this
information, it became necessary for him to be consecrated, and for
this purpose he applied to a bishop resident in the neighbourhood,
and from him received episcopal orders. His relations and friends
hurried to Evreux to prevent his ordination; he was insensible to
their entreaties, and then, hoping to raise a prejudice against him, a
friend divulged a fault Patrick had committed when a boy. But all their
efforts were in vain, for God was with him, and had marked him out for
his great work.
Everything being arranged, S. Patrick embarked, probably at the mouth
of the Seine, and had a prosperous voyage to Great Britain. According
to Probus and some of the lives he crossed that country without
stopping on the way.
He landed in Wicklow some time after April in 432. Pope Celestine was
dead, and Sixtus III. sat in the Chair of S. Peter. Having landed,
Patrick went to a place in the neighbourhood which cannot now be
identified, and being repulsed by the natives, was obliged again to go
on board his ship. He landed again at Lecale in the county of Down.
A herdsman, thinking it was a party of marauders, ran to the lord of
the district, named Dichu, and informed him of the arrival of a party
of strangers. Dichu armed his retainers and hasted to the shore,
but the peaceable appearance of the missioners disarmed him, and he
brought them to his house, which was at the place now called Saul, and
hospitably entertained them. There the saint had an opportunity of
announcing to him the Christian faith, and Dichu was the first-fruits
of his mission. All his family followed his example, and likewise
became Christians; and S. Patrick celebrated divine worship in the barn
of Dichu, which in after times became known as Sabhall Padruic, or the
Barn of Patrick; and in after years it was converted into a church, and
a monastery was attached to it.
S. Patrick did not remain many days at the house of Dichu, and left his
ship or boat in the care of this new convert, until he should return.
He then set out by land for the place where his old master, Milcho,
lived. He was an obstinate unbeliever, and on hearing of S. Patrick's
approach, was determined not to see and receive him.[57]
[57] An instance of the rodomontade of some of the later lives may be
quoted here. They say that to escape S. Patrick's persuasive eloquence
only one way lay open to him, to set fire to his house and furniture
and property, and precipitate himself into the flames. As a specimen
of the absurdity of some of the legends, the following will suffice. A
robber stole one of S. Patrick's goats and ate it. S. Patrick called
his goat, and it bleated to him out of the man's belly.
S. Patrick, finding his efforts for the conversion of Milcho
unavailing, returned to the district in which Dichu resided, and
remained there for several days, preaching the Gospel with great
success. One of his principal converts on this occasion was Ross, son
of Trichem, who lived near the present town of Downpatrick. In this
neighbourhood he met a youth, called Mochoe, whom, after instruction,
he baptized and tonsured, thus dedicating him to the ecclesiastical
state. He also gave him the book of the Gospels and some sacred
vessels. This must not, however, be understood as having all taken
place during the present stay of S. Patrick at Lecale.
S. Patrick resolved on celebrating the Easter of 433 near Tarah, where
the princes and nobles of the whole kingdom were to be assembled
about that time. He, therefore, left his friend and convert, Dichu,
and sailing southwards, arrived at Colp, in the mouth of the Boyne,
and leaving his boat there, set out with his companions on foot for
the plain of Bry, in which the city of Tarah was situated. On their
way they passed the night in the house of a man of substance, named
Seschuen, who became obedient to the faith, and was baptized, with all
his house, by S. Patrick. A son of his, whom at his baptism our saint,
considering his sweet disposition, called Benignus, became so attached
to him that he insisted on accompanying S. Patrick, and he became one
of the saint's most favourite disciples, and was afterwards consecrated
archbishop of Armagh. It is not, however, to be supposed that the
baptism of Seschuen and his family was accomplished on that occasion,
but probably took place after the Paschal solemnity, which was near at
hand.
On Easter-eve, S. Patrick arrived at Slane. He pitched his tent,
and made preparations for celebrating the festival of Easter, and
accordingly lighted the Paschal fire about night-fall. It happened
that at this very time the king Leogaire (Lear) and the assembled
princes were celebrating a religious festival in honour of the return
of the sun to power and heat. Part of the ritual of this festival
consisted in every fire being extinguished for some days previous,
that all might be relighted from the sacred fire in the palace or
temple of Temora, on Tarah hill, which was kindled on a certain day,
now near at hand. Twilight had settled over the great plain, and all
men waited for the red flame to shoot up on Tarah hill, a signal that
the festival was begun, and that all might rekindle their hearth fires
from the consecrated blaze. But a spark shone out far away on the
plain, from the tent of Patrick, and consternation at this sacrilege
and infringement of precedent became general. The king at once galloped
to Slane, followed by a crowd, and accompanied by two priests, who
assured him that unless this fire were extinguished, it would overpower
their fires, and bring the kingdom to its downfall. On arriving within
a short distance of the tent and fire, the king dismounted, seated
himself, ordered his followers to seat themselves, and not to rise
or show any respect to the violator of their laws, and then ordered
Patrick to be brought before him. On his presenting himself, one
alone rose and saluted him, breaking the king's command; this was the
little lad Herc, son of Drogo, and the saint thereupon blessed him. He
was afterwards bishop of Slane, and celebrated for his sanctity. He
was ordered to declare his object in coming to Ireland, and contend
with the wise men, or priests, next day. On Easter-day, therefore, he
preached before the king and his nobles, and strove with the captious
objections of the Wise-men. It was then, probably, when explaining
the mystery of the Trinity, and when questioned as to the triple
Personality of the One God, that he stooped and plucked a shamrock, and
exhibited it as a symbol of the Catholic doctrine of the Triune God.[58]
[58] Jocelin tells some absurd stories about his contest with the Magi
or Wise-men. He relates how that one of them, Lochu, a great friend
of the king, to show the power of his religion, rose in the air, as
though ascending to the skies. Then Patrick prayed, and angelic hands
flung a snow-ball at him out of heaven, which knocked him down, head
foremost, on a sharp stone at Patrick's feet, and that was the end of
him. Another miracle was as follows:--A house was built, one-half of
green wood, the other of dry timber. A Magus was vested in S. Patrick's
chasuble, and placed in the green wood part of the house; and Benignus
in the Magus's habit in that part which was of dry wood. The house was
set on fire. The green timber was burnt, with the Magus, but not the
chasuble; the dry timber would not burn, and Benignus escaped, only his
coat was reduced to ashes.
Passing over certain contests between S. Patrick and the Wise-men,
which are absurd parodies of those between Moses and the Egyptian
enchanters, we find Dubtach, an eminent bard, boldly submitting to
the faith, and dedicating his poetic talents to Christ. Some of his
works are still extant. The king was not converted, but he permitted
Patrick to preach freely the Word of God. From Tarah the saint
proceeded to Tailten, where public games were celebrated; and it seems
that the chiefs lately assembled for the religious solemnity at Tarah
had adjourned thither. The apostle preached to Carlre, a brother of
Leogaire, but was badly received by him. The conduct of Conall, another
brother, was different; he listened to S. Patrick with delight,
believed, and was baptized. To this memorable Easter week, which was
the first that occurred since the saint's arrival on his mission, must
be referred the origin of the festival of "S. Patrick's Baptism,"
anciently held in Ireland on April 5th.
Henceforth it becomes extremely difficult and next to impossible to
arrange, with chronological accuracy, the subsequent transactions of
S. Patrick's mission. After having celebrated Easter week, he set out
on the following Monday for other places in Meath, in which he seems
to have passed a considerable time. He tells us in his Confession,
that to gain the goodwill of the chieftains, he used to make presents
to them, and take some of their sons with him to educate them. When
on the point of quitting for some time these parts of Ireland, after
having established many flourishing colonies of Christians, and
ordained priests to minister to them, he turned a little northward for
the purpose of destroying the Crom-cruach (crooked-heap), a monument
dedicated to the sun; probably a great Druidical pile of stones,
superposed on uprights, standing in a plain near Feanagh, in the county
of Leitrim. After this, probably in 435, he set out for Connaught,
and crossing the Shannon, arrived at Dumha-graidh, where a remarkable
incident occurred.
As he was advancing into the plain of Connaught, he stopped with
his companions at a fountain near the royal residence Cruachan (now
Croghan, near Elphin), and at break of day began to chant the praises
of the Lord.
Ethnea the fair, and Fethlima the ruddy, daughters of king Leogaire,
were there, and had come very early to the fountain for the purpose of
washing themselves, when, looking up, they saw men clothed in white
garments, holding books in their hands, advance, chanting. The damsels,
full of wonder, asked them what manner of men they were, and Patrick
seized the opportunity of announcing to them the true God. They asked
him many strange questions, as to where God dwelt, whether he was rich,
and young or old, and how he was to be revered; and Patrick explained
to them the principal truths of the Christian religion in answer to
their questions. Delighted with his discourse, they declared themselves
ready to adopt this new and wondrous creed, so beautiful and awful,
and besought the stranger to instruct them further. He did so, and on
their having professed their belief in the doctrines he had propounded,
he baptized them. Then they told him that they desired to see, face to
face, that dear Lord who had come on earth for them on Mary's knee, and
had died on Calvary top so cruel a death; so Patrick explained to them
that great answer of the heart of Jesus to the heart of man, crying to
see Him--the Eucharistic Presence.
"Give us the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ," they asked,
"that we may be freed from the corruption of the flesh, and see our
Spouse who is in heaven."
Then S. Patrick celebrated Mass, and communicated them. He proceeded
west to Sligo and Roscommon, making many converts, and building
several churches, to which he attached priests. In Lent, he ascended
Croagh Aigle, now Croagh Padrig, in Mayo, for meditation and prayer.
He preached at Firawley to an assembly of seven princes, and baptized
them and 1,200 of their subjects. Passing through North Connaught, he
continued his course through West Cashel, to Ulster. Thus ended his
mission in Connaught, which lasted seven years. In 443, he entrusted
bishop Secundinus, who, with Iserninus and Auxilius, had received
consecration in Great Britain or Gaul, with the oversight of his
converts in Meath and North Ireland, while he went on a mission through
East Leinster and Munster.
In Leinster he baptized two princes. In Wicklow he was ill-received
by prince Deichin, but was hospitably entertained by Killan, a poor
man, who slew his only cow to feed Patrick and his followers. Dubtach
having recommended Fiech, his pupil in bardic lore, as a fit person
for ordination, Fiech received the tonsure and books for study from S.
Patrick, and afterwards became chief bishop of the district, and fixed
his seat at Sletty.
Entering Munster, in 445, S. Patrick went straight to Cashel; and
the king came forth to meet him. His son Ængus was converted, and
afterwards baptized, when he came to the throne on the death of his
father. During the performance of the Sacrament, as the bishop raised
his hands above the head of the king, he allowed his pastoral staff to
fall unintentionally on the foot of Ængus, and the sharp point wounded
him. The king made no remark, but bore the pain without flinching,
supposing this act formed a portion of the ceremony.[59]
[59] This was too good a story for Jocelin not to spoil it. So he
relates, in contradiction to the other historians, that the king felt
no pain, and the wound was miraculously healed on S. Patrick resuming
his staff.
S. Patrick here made many converts. He spent seven years in Munster,
and set out, in 432, to return to Leinster. He was followed by many
chieftains, and by much people, desiring his parting blessing, and to
take a last look of the dear face of him who had brought them out of
darkness into the clear light of the glorious Gospel of Christ. Moved
by their love, Patrick ascended a hill, and spreading forth his arms,
gave his apostolic benediction to the whole of Munster. Thus was he
parted from their sight in the act of blessing, like to his Divine
Master, who ascended out of His disciples' sight, with his hands
extended in benediction.
During his stay in Munster, Secundinus had died, the first bishop who
had expired in Ireland. An alphabetical hymn, in honour of S. Patrick
is, with good reason, attributed to him.
About the same time also, Cerotian, or Caradoc, a Welsh prince, made a
descent on the coast, and carried off captives. This called forth from
S. Patrick a letter, which is still extant. The particulars of this
inroad have been elsewhere related (March 23rd, S. Fingar), and need
not be repeated here.
Neither need we repeat here the escape of S. Patrick from a chieftain
in Leinster who sought his death, through the generous self-sacrifice
of his charioteer, Odran (Feb. 19th).
When S. Patrick reached Sabhall, his favourite retreat in Ulster, he
would not take that rest he so much needed, but spent his time in
completing the conversion of the natives, and building churches. But
the time had come for fixing on a spot for a metropolitan see. He,
therefore, went through the land, and coming into the district where
is the present Armagh, a man, named Macka, offered him a site on an
eminence. There he built a church and a monastery. A legend in the
Book of Armagh is too good not to be true; it could hardly have been
invented. According to this book, the owner of the hill was one Daeri,
and Patrick having set his heart on the site, asked for it; but it was
refused, and a portion of the valley offered him instead. One day the
noble brought to S. Patrick a large cauldron of foreign manufacture,
and presented it to him, saying, "There! this cauldron is thine."
"Gratias agam (I thank thee)," answered the saint in Latin. Daeri went
home muttering, "What a fool that fellow is to say only 'Gratzacham,'
for a wonderful cauldron containing three firkins. Ho! slaves, go and
fetch it back to me again." So the thralls went and brought back the
vessel. "Well, what said he to you, churls?" "He said 'Gratzacham'
again," they replied, "Gratzacham when I give, and Gratzacham when I
take away! The saying is so good, that for these Gratzachams he shall
have his cauldron back again. Ho! slaves, take the vessel back to
Patrick." Daeri accompanied the cauldron, and praised the saint for his
imperturbable self-possession; and then, in a fit of good-nature, gave
him the hill which he had at first refused him. Patrick went forth to
view the site, and found a roe with her fawn lying on the place where
the altar of the Northern Church now is. His companions would have
killed it, but the saint raised the fawn and laid it on his shoulders,
and the roe trotted after him, till he laid the fawn down in another
place.
He held two Synods at Armagh, at which canons for the whole of Ireland
were drawn up.
S. Patrick having thus established the see of Armagh, spent the
remainder of his life between it and his favourite retreat of Sabhul
or Saul. He may have made excursions to some of the districts adjacent
to both places; but we do not find any account that can be depended
upon, of his having thenceforth visited again the other provinces of
Ireland, much less of having undertaken any long journey. For we are
not to listen to Jocelin, who says that he then set out for Rome with
the intention of getting the privileges of the new metropolis confirmed
by the Holy See; and that when he arrived there, the pope decorated
him with the pallium, and appointed him his legate in Ireland. This
pretended tour to Rome, and the concomitant circumstances are all
set aside by the testimony of S. Patrick himself, who gives us to
understand that from the commencement of his mission he constantly
remained in Ireland, until he published his Confession, which was not
written till after the foundation of Armagh; and that he did not leave
it afterwards is equally plain, from his telling us that he was afraid
to be out of Ireland even for as much time as would serve for paying a
visit to his relations, because in that case he would be disobeying the
orders of Christ, who had commanded him to stay among the Irish for
the remainder of his life.
A singular fact is related as having occurred about the time of the
building of Armagh, which shows how strictly the fasting rules were
observed by the ancient Irish. One of the disciples of S. Patrick,
named Colman, having been one day greatly fatigued by getting in the
harvest, became exceedingly thirsty, but from fear of breaking the
rule of fasting till vesper-time, would not taste a drop of water. The
consequence was that he died of exhaustion. Had the saint been apprized
of the danger in which Colman was, he would certainly have dispensed
with his observance of the rule on this occasion.
At length we come to the last days of S. Patrick. In his extreme
old age he wrote his Confession, and he seems to have felt that his
dissolution was close at hand, for he concludes with these words: "And
this is my confession before I die"; and provides how the work is to
be carried on after his death. He had been through every province of
Ireland, and he speaks of the bulk of the nation as then Christian, and
of his having ordained clergy everywhere. His object in writing it was
to return thanks to the Almighty for his singular mercies to himself
and to the Irish people, and to confirm them in their faith, by proving
that God had assisted him in a most remarkable way. He also wished that
all the world, and particularly his relatives on the continent, who
had so urgently opposed his going to Ireland, should know how that the
Almighty had prospered his handiwork. For this reason he composed his
book in Latin, apologizing, however, for the rudeness of the style; for
his long sojourn in Ireland, and constant use of the Erse language, had
blunted his ease in expressing himself in his native tongue.
He was at Saul when attacked with his last illness. Perceiving that his
departure was at hand, he desired to go to Armagh, there to breathe
his last and lay his bones. But he is said to have been arrested on his
way thither by an angel, who ordered him to return to Saul. Be this as
it may, to that place he went back, and there he died seven days after,
on the 17th March, A.D. 465.[60] In Fiech's hymn we read that his
soul joined that of another Patrick, and that they proceeded together
to heaven. In this singular passage the author alludes to a second
Patrick, who, as he supposed, died just about the same time. Who this
Patrick was we do not know.
[60] This is the date assigned by Dr. Lanigan. Dr. Todd is certainly
wrong in giving 493.
It is curious to notice a mistake which has crept into some
martyrologies, where we find a Patrick, bishop of Avernia, or Auvergne,
mentioned on March 16th. But no such a Patrick is known in Auvergne;
and this Patrick is simply due to a mistake of some copyist, who
wrote Avernia for Hivernia or Hibernia, and so got his name into the
martyrologies as a separate saint, and, to avoid confusion, this
Patrick of Auvergne was placed on a different day.
There was also, or was supposed to be, a Patrick Senior, who is
commemorated on August 4th. This Patrick, according to Ranulph of
Chester (Polychronicron, lib. v. c. 4) was an Irish abbot, who in 850
retired to Glastonbury, and there died on the 25th of August. But that
being S. Bartholomew's day there, his festival was put back to the day
before. A great confusion arose, partly from this and partly from S.
Patrick being spoken of in the Annals as Sen Patrick, or Senex Patrick,
the old man Patrick, dying in 458.[61] Now, some of the writers of the
Lives were determined to give to S. Patrick a long life, equal to that
of Moses, just as they made the contest of Moses and the magicians a
model for a contest of Patrick and the Wise-men; so they made this Sen
Patrick into a Patrick the elder, distinct from the great apostle. And
this mistake has found its way into the catalogues of the archbishops
of Armagh, which has, besides S. Patrick, a namesake of his surnamed
_Senior_. But this subject has been further obscured by the fables
concerning Glastonbury, as the monks there, having a body of a Patrick
of Ireland, supposed or pretended that it was the body of the great S.
Patrick, and they asserted that he had come over to Glastonbury, and
had died and been buried there. The Irish writers finding themselves
puzzled by these Glastonbury stories, and unwilling to allow the
Glastonians the honour of having among them the remains of S. Patrick,
endeavoured to compromise the matter by giving them, instead of the
apostle, Sen-Patrick, or Patrick Senior. This, however, was not what
those monks wished for. They insisted on having the right S. Patrick,
and him alone they understood by the name of Patrick Senior.
[61] And in some of the most ancient lives, which speak of S. Patrick
at the end of his career as Sen-Patrick, the old man Patrick.
As soon as the news of the saint's death had spread throughout Ireland,
the clergy flocked from all quarters to celebrate his funeral. This
they did with extraordinary pomp and great profession of lights,
insomuch that for a considerable time, during which the obsequies were
continued, both day and night, we are told, darkness was dispelled,
and the whole time seemed one continuous day. This expression of
the ancient hymn of Fiech has given source to a legend that on this
eventful occasion the sun went not down, but real daylight lasted for
the whole function. It is said that a furious contest was very near
breaking out concerning the place in which S. Patrick's remains should
be deposited. To prevent bloodshed, matters were providentially so
managed that his body was interred at Down. It is said to have been
discovered and translated in 1185.
In art, S. Patrick is usually represented expelling serpents and
other reptiles from the island with his pastoral staff, or holding a
shamrock leaf. He is said to have had the golden rod of Jesus, given
him by a hermit in Gaul, wherewith he smote and slew the Peishta-More,
or Monster of the Lakes, and this is also frequently represented in art.