_Of Conallus and of his Shield._
And Saint Patrick addressed his well-beloved, the Prince Conallus; and
he enquired of him whether would he assume the habit of a monk. And
the prince replied that his heart was prepared to do whatsoever the
saint would command. Then the saint rejoicing at his devotion said
unto him, "For the sign of power and protection, and for the proof of
thy spiritual worth, shall thou bear thy shield and thy sceptre; the
name of a laic shalt thou show; but the mind and the merit of a monk
shall thou possess, inasmuch as many saints shall proceed from thee,
and many nations shall in thy seed be blessed." And he signed his
shield with the sign of the staff of Jesus, declaring that no one of
his progeny who should carry this shield in battle should ever by any
one be vanquished. And the chronicles of Hibernia declare, and her
bards record, that this the saint's prophecy unto Conallus and his seed
duly came to pass.