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MYTHS AND LEGENDS
What land has more myths and legends than Ireland?
It is magical, mystical, mythical and lyrical. It is full of songs
and tales of heroes and goddesses, druids and bards, sorrow and
joy.
OVERVIEW
Irish history is rich with myths and legends. The
adventures of the famous seer-warrior Fionn Mac Cumhaill are still
known to many Irish people. These include how he gained his wisdom
as a boy by tasting the 'salmon of knowledge', how he triumphed
over miscellaneous giants and magicians, and how he had the truths
of life explained to him in a strange allegorical house. The champion
Lugh, originally a god of the Continental Celts, is also remembered
- especially how he slew his tyrant grandfather who had a horrific
eye which destroyed all on which it gazed.
The adventures of the super warrior Cú Chulainn
are spoken of and tales are also told of more true to life characters,
such as the quasihistorical High-King Cormac Mac Airt and the
historical though much romanticised Conall Gulban, son of the
great king Niall and contemporary of St Patrick.
Many of the myths and lore centres on the patron-saints
of the various localities. The saints, historical personages from
the early centuries of Irish Christianity, are portrayed in legend
as miracle workers who used their sacred power to banish monsters,
cure illnesses, and provide food for the people in time of need.
Holy wells, dedicated to individual saints, are still frequented
on their feast days in many areas, and people pray at these wells
for relief from different kinds of physical and mental distress.
The most celebrated saints in Ireland were the patron saint of
Ireland, Patrick, the great founder of monasteries, Colm Cille
and, second only to Patrick, Brighid who, as protectress of farming
and livestock, preserves many of the attributes of the ancient
earth goddess.
Ireland is famous for its fairy lore , which also contains vestiges
of prechristian tradition. The fairies are known in Irish as the
people of the sí (pronounced she), a word which originally
designated a mound or tumulus, and the Irish fairies can be connected
with early Celtic beliefs of how the dead live on as a dazzling
community in their burial chambers. Through their identification
in the medieval literature with the Tuatha Dé Danann ('People
of the Goddess Danu') they may also be connected directly to the
early pantheon of Celtic deities. In folk belief thousands of
'raths', which are ancient earthenwork structures which dot the
landscape, are claimed to be inhabited still be the sí-people,
and many stories are told of humans being brought into these hidden
palaces at night as guests at wondrous banquets.
STRUCTURE
The Irish mythological cycle can be divided into four major divisions.
The first is the historical-mythological cycle. Two important
texts are part of this cycle: the Leabhar Gahbala (Book of Invasions),
a mythological history of Ireland; and the Dinnshenchas (History
of Places), a mythological geography of Ireland. The main theme
in the historical-mythological cycle concerns the peopling of
Ireland and the fortunes of the Tuatha De Danann (People of the
Goddess Danann), who were the mythological ancestors of the Irish.
In the historical-mythological cycle the story of the predecessors
of the Irish settlement is told. The first group to come to Ireland
is led by a woman, Cesair; the majority of her group is composed
of women. This group arrives before the great flood, and all are
destroyed in the flood except one, Fintan, who in the form of
a salmon, eagle, or hawk witnesses all of the later settlements.
Fintan is the patron of the traditional lore and storytelling.
The next group is led by Partholan, but he and all of his people
die in a plague. A third group is led by Nemed; after suffering
many vicissitudes, this group divides into three parts and abandons
Ireland. Two of these groups, the Fir Bolg (Bolg Men) and the
Tuatha De Danann (People of the Goddess Danann), occupy the subsequent
history. The Fir Bolg return to Ireland, which they divide into
the five provinces of Ulster, Leinster, Munster, Connacht, and
Meath; they also introduce kingship. When the Tuatha De Danann
arrive, warfare ensues over possession of the land. One tradition
states that after the First Battle of Mag Tuired, the Fir Bolg
and Tuatha De Danann make peace and agree to live together in
harmony.
The Tuatha are described as demigods; they are beautiful people,
possessed with skill in music and the arts. They are always spoken
about within a context of fabulous magical powers and wonders,
which define the essence of their manifestation. A central theme
in the myth of the Tuatha is that of the Second Battle of Mag
Tuired. During the First Battle of Mag Tuired the king of the
Tuatha, Nuada, is wounded. Because he is now physically blemished,
he can no longer serve as king. The kingship is then given to
his adopted son, Bres. Bres's father is a king of the Fomoire,
a group of people with whom Nemed and his people had fought in
previous times. Bres's mother, Eriu, is, however, a Tuatha. The
choice of Bres is apparently an attempt to accomplish an alliance
between the Tuatha and the Fomoire.
Bres, however, demands severe tribute from the Tuatha and persecutes
them in many ways. A champion, Lug, arises from among the Tuatha;
Lug is a master of all the arts of magic and warfare. Meanwhile
Nuada, the blemished king, is restored to his kingship after he
has been equipped with a silver arm. Nuada takes counsel with
Lug, Dagda, the great god with the magic cauldron, and others
concerning the preparations for warfare with the Fomoire. When
the battle finally takes place, the Tuatha who are slain in the
fighting are magically restored to life. Lug also uses magic to
vanquish Balar "of the baleful eye." The Fomoire are
routed. The life of the captured Bres is spared when he promises
to advise on the proper times for sowing and reaping. Unlike similar
battles in other Indo-European mythologies, the Second Battle
of Mag Tuired does not end in a reconciliation and fusion of the
two parties. The skills imparted by Bres, however, serve the same
function of completing the functions needed in settled society.
The Tuatha are themselves later defeated by the Sons of Mil,
the immediate ancestors of the Irish people. The Tuatha are said
now to live in the underground of Ireland, in the fairy regions,
where the fairies are subject to them.
The second division is the Ulster cycle. These myths are stories
of the warriors of King Conchobar. The themes of those of honor
and prestige revolve around heroic deeds and the hero Cu Chulainn
(or Cuchulainn).
In the Ulster cycle the heroic accomplishments of Cuchulain are
related. Cuchulain in some versions is said to be a foster child
of Ulster, and in some respects his character is modeled on that
of Lug of the historical-mythological cycle. He is described as
a small black-browed man, beardless and full of gaiety. When he
is in battle a remarkable change comes over him; he increases
in size, and his body trembles and whirls about inside of his
skin so that his frontal features are turned to the rear. He can
draw one of his eyes back into his head, and his hair bristles
on end, with a drop of blood on the end of each hair. When he
is in a warrior frenzy he attacks anyone in the vicinity, friend
and foe alike.
The third division is that of Fenian. The Fenian Cycle recounts
the exploits of Finn Mac Cumhail and his companions and deals
with the cult and institution of warriors.
The last division deals with the institution and founding of
the great and lesser kings of Ireland.
DAGDA'S HARP
It is said that there were two quite different kinds of people
in Ireland: one set of people with long dark hair and dark eyes,
called Fomorians -- they carried long slender spears made of golden
bronze when they fought -- and another race of people who were
golden-haired and blue-eyed, and who carried short, blunt, heavy
spears of dull metal.
The golden-haired people had a great chieftain who was also a
kind of high priest, who was called the Dagda. And this Dagda
had a wonderful magic harp. The harp was beautiful to look upon,
mighty in size, made of rare wood, and ornamented with gold and
jewels; and it had wonderful music in its strings, which only
the Dagda could call out. When the men were going out to battle,
the Dagda would set up his magic harp and sweep his hand across
the strings, and a war song would ring out which would make every
warrior buckle on his armor, brace his knees, and shout, ``Forth
to the fight!'' Then, when the men came back from the battle,
weary and wounded, the Dagda would take his harp and strike a
few chords, and as the magic music stole out upon the air, every
man forgot his weariness and the smart of his wounds, and thought
of the honor he had won, and of the comrade who had died beside
him, and of the safety of his wife and children. Then the song
would swell out louder, and every warrior would remember only
the glory he had helped win for the king; and each man would rise
at the great tables his cup in his hand, and shout ``Long live
the King!''
There came a time when the Fomorians and the golden-haired men
were at war; and in the midst of a great battle, while the Dagda's
hall was not so well guarded as usual, some of the chieftains
of the Fomorians stole the great harp from the wall, where it
hung, and fled away with it. Their wives and children and some
few of their soldiers went with them, and they fled fast and far
through the night, until they were a long way from the battlefield.
Then they thought they were safe, and they turned aside into a
vacant castle, by the road, and sat down to a banquet, hanging
the stolen harp on the wall.
The Dagda, with two or three of his warriors, had followed hard
on their track. And while they were in the midst of theirbanqueting,
the door was suddenly burst open, and the Dagda stood there, with
his men. Some of the Fomorians sprang to their feet, but before
any of them could grasp a weapon, the Dagda called out to his
harp on the wall, ``Come to me, O my harp!''
The great harp recognized its master's voice, and leaped from
the wall. Whirling through the hall, sweeping aside and killing
the men who got in its way, it sprang to its master's hand. And
the Dagda took his harp and swept his hand across the strings
in three great, solemn chords. The harp answered with the magic
Music of Tears. As the wailing harmony smote upon the air, the
women of the Fomorians bowed their heads and wept bitterly, the
strong men turned their faces aside, and the little children sobbed.
Again the Dagda touched the strings, and this time the magic
Music of Mirth leaped from the harp. And when they heard that
Music of Mirth, the young warriors of the Fomorians began to laugh;
they laughed till the cups fell from their grasp, and the spears
dropped from their hands, while the wine flowed from the broken
bowls; they laughed until their limbs were helpless with excess
of glee.
Once more the Dagda touched his harp, but very, very softly.
And now a music stole forth as soft as dreams, and as sweet as
joy: it was the magic Music of Sleep.
When they heard that, gently, gently, the Fomorian women bowed
their heads in slumber; the little children crept to their mothers'
laps; the old men nodded; and the young warriors drooped in their
seats and closed their eyes: one after another all the Fomorians
sank into sleep.
When they were all deep in slumber, the Dagda took his magic
harp, and he and his golden-haired warriors stole softly away,
and came in safety to their own homes again.
THE FAERIE KINGS
The great Faerie king of Co. Galway in the west of Ireland is
Finnbheara (Finnvarr). Cnoc Meadha is his abode, a prominent hill
west of Tuam, on top of which is a burial mound. To the north
west is Magh Tuireadh, where the legendary battle between the
Fir Bolgs and the Tuatha De Danaans took place.
There are many stories which illustrate Finnbheara's liking for
earthly women. He would often draw young girls away to dance all
night with him in his palace, but the next morning they were always
found safely asleep in bed. One particular nobleman was not so
fortunate, however. His bride was taken one time by the Faerie
king. The bride's old nurse told the noble that he must dig down
into the sidhe mound, starting at the top. But during the night
the fairies of the mound filled the tunnel back in with earth.
This happened again on the second night. In despair the nobleman
turned to the old nurse again, who told him to sprinkle the earth
with salt and place a line of burning turf around the trench,
as the sidhe could not resist that. The following morning the
bride was found safe in her bed.
Finnbheara is also known to love horses, and he is usually seen
riding a black horse with flaring red nostrils.
Donn of Knockfierna
In Co. Limerick the Faerie king Donn of Knockfierna is well remembered.
There is a large earthern fort on his hill and a number of dolmens
known as the 'Giants Graves'. You can see the entrance to his
Faerie palace. Donn is the ancient Celtic god of the Dead who
rules the rocky islands to the south west on the Atlantic coast.
Donn is also known in Co. Fermanagh as the ancestor of the Maguires,
whom he helped in their battles. Sometimes he is seen riding on
a white horse on stormy nights, when people would exclaim: "Donn
is galloping in the clouds tonight". Donn now more closely
resembles a medieval Irish landlord than a god. He rules quite
strictly but will aid his people when needed. He is also believed
to fight against rival hosts in other counties, the winner carrying
off the best potato crop for that year.
It will be noted that the Faerie queens and kings are in fact
the old pagan gods and goddesses 'in disguise' who have long been
revered by the Irish. It has been said that the Celtic gods of
Ireland had long been wiped out, buried under the sway of Catholicism.
Yet anyone who has been to Ireland, or listened to her many folk
tales can see for themselves that this is very far from the reality.
The old gods live on in folk tales as the giants of the hill;
the Gobhan
Saor who built all the bridges of Ireland; the Gille Decair,
a clown and trickster; the carl (serf) of the drab coat and many
others. The old deities were once worshipped throughout Ireland,
however it is in the west that they are best remembered now, the
east having been more Christianized and anglicised, and subject
to more invasions. By contrast, the west of Ireland, to which
the native Irish were driven ("to hell or Connaught")
has held on longer to her ancient heritage.
THE CHILDREN OF LIR
Long ago there was a king in Ireland called Lir who was the father
of four beautiful children, a son, a daughter and twin sons. Their
mother (daughter of the High King of Ireland) died when they were
still young and needing loving care. And so it came about that
King Lir, who dearly loved his four children and wanted them to
have a new mother, married his wife's sister, Aoife, and gave
them into her charge.
But Aoife, seeing King Lir playing with the chidren and giving
them so much of his time, became jealous of them and thought how
she might have her King all to herself and the children out of
the way. One night she secretly bargained with a druid for the
use of his magic wand and made her plans while the children were
asleep.
Next morning,when they woke to a beautiful summer's day, Aoife
had perfected her plan. "Come with me," she said to
the children, "Today I am going to take you to the lake and
when the sun gets hot you can all go into the cool water for a
swim." When noonday came and the sun was at it's height in
the sky Aoife saw a dark cloud coming from the North and, fearing
her plan would be spoiled, shouted "Quickly now, into the
water with you all!" Then using the druid's magic wand Aoife
cast a spell on the four children, turning them one by one into
swans. The great dark cloud from the North turned black, shut
out the sun, burst into thunder and with a scream Aoife disappeared
into the cloud and was never seen again. But Aoife, with her druid's
wand, had not taken away the children's human voices; she had
told them they would be set free again from the spell in 900 years
time when St. Patrick would come to Ireland and they would hear
the sound of the first Christian bells.
And so at the end of 300 years on lake Davra, 300 years on the
sea of Moyle and another 300 years on the lake isle of Glora in
Mayo, the day came when they heard the distant sound of one of
the first Christian bells to ring in Ireland. They immediately
followed the sound until they came to the house of a Christian
called Caomhog and told him what had happened to them so long
ago.
They were lovingly cared for by the people of the house and people
came from far and near to see the swans who could talk and sing.
Then one day a princess sent her servants to try and steal the
swans. But just as the servants laid hands on them the time had
come for the swans to become humans again and the servants ran
away terrified.
Now that the swans were again human, although 900 years old,
Caomhog had them baptised and the bells rang out at their Christening.
Soon afterwards, when they had died of old age, Caomhog dreamt
on the very same night that he saw four beautiful children - a
boy, his sister and two twin brothers flying out over the lake
then straight up to heaven and he knew they really were the children
of Lir.
THE SHAMROCK
The trefoil or Shamrock, at one time called the "Seamroy",
symbolises the cross and blessed trinity. Before the Christian
era it was a sacred plant of the Druids of Ireland because its
leaves formed a triad.
The well known legend of the Shamrock connects it definitely to
St. Patrick and his teaching.
Preaching in the open air on the doctrine of the trinity, he
is said to have illustrated the existence of the Three in One
by plucking a shamrock from the grass growing at his feet and
showing it to his congregation. The legend of the shamrock is
also connected with that of the banishment of the serpent tribe
from Ireland by a tradition that snakes are never seen on trefoil
and that it is a remedy against the stings of snakes and scorpions.
The trefoil in Arabia is called shamrakh and was sacred in Iran
as an emblem of the Persian triads. The trefoil, as noted above,
being a sacred plant among the Druids, and three being a mystical
number in the Celtic religion as well as all others, it is probable
that St. Patrick must have been aware of the significance of his
illustration.
LEPRECHAUNS
Irish fairies fall into two main groups: sociable and solitary.
Perhaps the best known of the solitary fairies are the leprechauns.
Leprechauns have the distinction of being the most solitary of
the solitaries, avoiding contact with humans, other fairies, and
even other leprechauns.
Although the leprechaun has been described as Ireland's national
fairy, this name was originally only used in the north Leinster
area. Variants include lurachmain, lurican, lurgadhan. The ancient
origins of what we know today as the leprechaun was a Euro-Cletic
god named Lugh (pronouced "Luck"). Lugh was as important
a god to the ancient Euro-Celtic religion as Jesus is to our own
Christianity. Lugh was the great Sun God of the Irish and Eauro-Celts,
patron of Arts and Crafts, leader of the Tuatha dé Danaan.
Many Europena cities were named for Lugh such as London, Léon,
Loudan, Lyons and others.
These two-foot tall, unfriendly, gruff men (there are no female
leprechauns) prefer to pass their time making shoes for other
fairies. They usually wear a green coat, a green hat, and a shoemaker's
apron.
The name leprechaun may have derived from the Irish leath brogan
(shoemaker), although its origins may lie in luacharma'n , Irish
for small or little body or from Luch-chromain, meaning ?little
stooping Lugh?
Due to their thrifty nature, they are trusted to guard fairy
treasures and hide their pots of gold very carefully. But rainbows
and the sound of a shoemaker's hammer provide humans with visual
and audio cues as to the whereabouts of a leprechaun and his hidden
treasure.
According to legend, If caught by a mortal, he will promise great
wealth if allowed to go free. He carries two leather pouches.
In one there is a silver shilling, a magical coin that returns
to the purse each time it is paid out. In the other he carries
a gold coin which he uses to try and bribe his way out of difficult
situations. This coin usually turns to leaves or ashes once the
leprechaun has parted with it. However, you must never take your
eye off him, for he can vanish in an instant.
The leprechaun 'family' appears split into two distinct groups
- leprechaun and cluricaun. Cluricauns may steal or borrow almost
anything, creating mayhem in houses during the hours of darkness,
raiding wine cellars and larders. They will also harness sheep,
goats, dogs and even domestic fowl and ride them throughout the
country at night.
THE BANSHEE
Banshee or 'Bean-sidhe' is Irish for faerie woman - ban (bean),
meaning a woman, and shee ( sidhe), meaning faerie. The banshee
can appear in one of three guises: a young woman, a stately matron
or a raddled old hag. These represent the triple aspects of the
Celtic goddess of war and death, namely Badhbh, Macha and Mor-Rioghain.
She usually wears either a grey, hooded cloak or the winding sheet
or grave robe of the unshriven dead. She may also appear as a
washer-woman, and is seen apparently washing the blood stained
clothes of those who are about to die. In this guise she is known
as the bean-nighe or washing woman. She always has long flowing
hair and eyes red from crying.
When someone is about to die, the Banshee appears at the family's
home during the night and weeps and wails. Sometimes, the Banshee
cries for several nights in a row. Her sharp, cries and wails
are also called 'keen'. The wail of a banshee pierces the night,
it's notes rising and falling like the waves of the sea, it always
announces a mortal's death.
She is solitary woman fairy, mourning and forewarning those only
of the best families in Ireland, those with most ancient Celtic
lineages, whose names begin with 'Mac/Mc' or 'O'. According to
tradition, the banshee can only cry for five major Irish families:
the O'Neills, the O'Briens, the O'Connors, the O'Gradys and the
Kavanaghs. Intermarriage has since extended this select list.
Each Banshee has her own mortal family and out of love she follows
the old race across the ocean to distant lands. Her wails or keen
can be heard in America and England, wherever the true Irish have
settled.
When a member of the beloved race is dying, she paces the dark
hills about his house. She sharply contrasts against the night's
blackness, her white figure emerges with silver-grey hair streaming
to the ground and a grey-white cloak of a cobweb texture clinging
to her tall thin body. Her face is pale, her eyes red with centuries
of crying.
She is also know as White Lady of Sorrow and Lady of Death. Unseen,
banshees attend the funerals of the beloved dead. Although, sometimes
she can be heard wailing, her voice blending in with the mournful
cries of others.
SAINT BRIGHID
February 1 is the feast of St. Brigid, often called the Mary
of the Gael. Her feast day, along with that of St Patrick, and
Our Lady of Knock, are the official holy days of the Ancient Order
of Hibernians, who gather annually for a Mass in her honor.
St. Brigid's life was a remarkable one, and the places in Ireland,
associated with her, are scenes of pilgrimage throughout the year.
She was born in a society ruled by the old Gaelic Order and the
Druidic religion. St. Patrick had already reached Ireland, and
was in the process of changing all that, but though his message
had reached the court of Dubhtach, the powerful Leinster Chieftain
held firm to the old religion. In his religion, one of the most
powerful Goddesses was Brid or Brigid, the Goddess of Fire whose
manifestations were song and poetry, which the Celts considered
the flame of knowledge. Her feast day was the first festival of
the year and was held on February 1. It was the beginning of Spring;
the working season for farmers and fishermen, and a time of husbanding
of animals, and the Celts called on Brid to bless their work,
and bonfires were lit in her honor.
Patrick did not condemn the Celts as idolatrous pagans, but explained
their druidic customs in Christian terms, and gradually, Bible
heroes and Christian saints began to replace the Celtic Gods and
Goddesses on the Irish calendar. However, the personalities of
some of the Celtic deities was so strong that they could not be
replaced and one of these was Brid, and the rites associated with
her continued to be practiced each February 1 right into Christian
times. But that was soon to change.
At about 453 AD, a child was born out of wedlock between Dubhtach
and one of his Christian slaves named Brocessa. The slave girl
was sent to a cabin at the foot of the Cooley Mountains near Dundalk,
Co Louth, to have the child. The baby was a healthy girl, which
was no great joy to Dubhtach who wanted a son. The mother was
sold to a Chieftain in Connaught, and the child was given to a
Druid to be raised and educated. The child was named Brigid, perhaps
to seek the blessing of the Goddess, for from the very beginning,
there were indications that she was special. It was reported that
she was born at sunrise, and that the cottage in which she was
born burst into flame when she left it.
Brigid grew in beauty, and her love for all of God's creatures
knew no bounds. After her fosterage, she returned to her father's
house as a slave, although she enjoyed the privileges of family.
She was given to solitude, and loved to wander the woods befriending
the animals. She was renowned for her generosity, giving much
of her father's wealth away to the poor. Many are the stories
attributed to this remarkable lady, including her journey on foot
from Leinster to Connaught to find her mother, whom she freed
from bondage, and returned to the house of Dubhtach.
In keeping with the life planned for her, she became a vestal
virgin in service to the Goddess Brid, and eventually high priestess
at the Kil Dara (the temple of the oak), a pagan sanctuary built
from the wood of a tree sacred to the Druids. There she and her
companions kept a perpetual ritual fire, in honor of Brid.
The exact circumstance of her conversion to Christianity are
unknown, though it is certain that her Christian mother was a
guiding influence. Some claim that she personally met St Patrick,
which is possible since she was ten years old before he died,
but there is no proof of that. Whatever the circumstances, Brigid
and her companions in service to Brid, all accepted the Christian
faith, and formed Ireland's first Christian religious community
of women. Legend tells that upon her acceptance of her vows, fire
appeared above her head.
Brigid changed the pagan sanctuary of Kil Dara into a Christian
shrine, which gave its name to the present County Kildare. She
extinguished the ritual fire of the Druids, and lit a flame dedicated
to Christ which was thereafter maintained by her followers until
it was doused by the forces of Henry VIII. Brigid's wisdom and
generosity became legend, and people traveled from all over the
country to share her wisdom. Her monastery at Kildare became one
of the greatest centers of learning in Europe.
She continued her holy and charitable work until her death in
525 AD, when she was laid to rest in a jeweled casket at Kil Dara.
In 835, her remains were moved to protect them from Norse invaders,
and interred in the same grave that holds the remains of St. Patrick
and St. Columcille at Downpatrick.
So strong was the respect and reverence for this holy lady that
she became the patroness of parishes, towns, and counties, not
only in Ireland, but all across Europe.
During the age of Chivalry, she was so revered as a model for
women of every age, that gentlemen, knights, and nobles began
the custom of calling their sweethearts, their Brides - a custom
that has come down to this very day. In Ireland, the people likened
her to Brid, the ancient Goddess of fire and wisdom - for wasn't
Brigid's life touched with fire, and as for her wisdom - that
was undisputed. She even had a symbol.
As the shamrock became associated with St Patrick, a tiny cross
made of rushes was linked with St Brigid. Supposedly woven by
her to explain the passion of Christ to a dying pagan, similar
crosses are fashioned to this day as a defense against harm, and
placed in the rafters of a cottage on the feast day of St Brigid
- February 1.
So it was that reverence for this holy child of Ireland grew
so strong that she not only eclipsed Brid, for whom she was named,
but was given her feast day. And the Irish gladly accepted their
new saint, and revere her to this day in place of a forgotten
Celtic Goddess.
SAINT PATRICK
True history and legend are intertwined when it comes to St.
Patrick. There are many arguments over whether he was born in
Wales, England or Scotland but at the time of his birth these
places did not yet exist and the country was called Briton and
was under Roman rule and latin was the language. His parents were
also Roman so his given name was actually Patricus. Eventually
he was ordained as a deacon, then priest and finally as a bishop.
Pope Celestine then sent him back to Ireland to preach the gospel.
Evidently he was a great traveller, especially in Celtic countries,
as innumerable places in Brittany, Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and
Ireland are named after him. Here it is where actual history and
legend become difficult to seperate.
Patrick is most known the world over for having driven the snakes
from Ireland. Different tales tell of his standing upon a hill,
using a wooden staff to drive the serpents into the sea, banishing
them forever from the shores of Ireland. One legend says that
one old serpent resisted, but the saint overcame it by cunning.
He is said to have made a box and invited the reptile to enter.
The snake insisted the box was too small and the discussion became
very heated. Finally the snake entered the box to prove he was
right, whereupon St. Patrick slammed the lid and cast the box
into the sea. While it is true there are no snakes in Ireland,
chances are that there never have been since the time the island
was seperated from the rest of the continent at the end of the
ice age. As in many old pagan religions serpent symbols were common,
and possibly even worshipped. Driving the snakes from Ireland
was probably symbolic of putting an end to that pagan practice.
While not the first to bring Christianity to Ireland, it was
Patrick who encountered the Druids at Tara and abolished their
pagan rites. He converted the warrior chiefs and princes, baptizing
them and thousands of their subjects in the Holy Wells which still
bear that name.
According to tradition St. Patrick died on 17 March in A.D. 493
and was buried in the same grave as St. Bridget and St. Columba,
at Downpatrick, County Down. The jawbone of St. Patrick was preserved
in a silver shrine and was often requested in times of childbirth,
epileptic fits and as a preservative against the evil eye. Another
legend says St. Patrick ended his days at Glastonbury and was
buried there. The Chapel of St. Patrick still exists as part of
Galstonbury Abbey. There is evidence of an Irish pilgrimage to
his tomb during the reign of the Saxon King Ine in A.D. 688, when
a group of pilgrims headed by St. Indractus were murdered.
The great anxiety displayed in the middle ages to possess the
bodies, or at least the relics of saints, accounts for a the many
discrepant traditions as to the burial places of St. Patrick and
others.
The Life of St. Patrick is a more accurate, historical account
of his life, but it is a very long. For an account of St. Patrick's
life written by him you can go to Confession of St. Patrick which
is another long document.
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