Now St. Patrick left the poets all their rights of divination by
wisdom, and all their ancient rights over story-telling with the music
of the harp, three hundred and fifty stories being allowed to the chief
poet. He also secured just judgments for their professional rights; so
that if land was mentioned in their songs as having been walled and
trenched by them, that was considered to be sufficient legal evidence
of title to the soil.
But what they received of St. Patrick was better, he affirmed, than
all the evil rites to devils which they had abandoned; along with the
profane practice of magic by the two palms, called _Imbas for Osna_, by
which lucid vision and the spirit of prophecy was supposed to come on
them after invocations to idols and demons—all of which evil practices
St. Patrick abolished, but left to the poets the skilled hand in music
and the fluent tongue in recitation; for which none can equal the Bards
of Ireland throughout all the world.
* * * * *
The ogham writing on the poet’s staff is mentioned in very old
manuscripts as in use in the Pagan period, before St. Patrick’s time,
though no specimen of ogham writing has yet been found of earlier date
than the Christian era.
St. Patrick introduced Latin and the Latin letters, which superseded
ogham. And after his time Latin was taught very generally in the Irish
schools.
St. Patrick also confirmed as right and proper for observance, whatever
was just in the Brehon laws, so as it was not at variance with the law
of Christ, for the people had been guided by the Brehon laws from all
antiquity, and it was not easy to overthrow them. Besides, many or most
of them were framed with strict regard to justice and morality.
When St. Patrick was dying, an angel of the Lord was sent to him,
who announced to the great and holy saint that God had granted this
favour to his prayers—namely, that his jurisdiction over the Church was
ordained to be for ever at Armagh; and that Patrick, as the Apostle of
Ireland, should be the judge of all the Irish at the last day, and none
other, according to the promise made to the other apostles, “Ye shall
sit upon twelve thrones judging the tribes of Israel.”