Patrick: The Pilgrim Apostle of Ireland

By Maire B. De Paor and Máire B. de Paor

Book Overview

". . . whoever is pleased to look at or receive this writing, which Patrick, a sinner, untaught, to be sure, has composed in Ireland . . . this is my Confession before I die." Who was St Patrick? In the modern era his name still carries the aura of legend -- yet the truths of his life remain unknown to most readers. Now, in this new work of biographical reconstruction, M ire B. de Paor brings us as close as possible to the man behind the myth. Through a combination of painstaking research and a close reading of Patrick's two surviving works -- the Confessio and the Epistola, their texts included in full in this edition -- de Paor reveals a man at once poet and pilgrim, artist and apostle.The story of St Patrick, known to many as the patron saint of Ireland, is as complex and mythic as the Irish culture he took as his own. Kidnapped at the age of fifteen, Patrick was smuggled to Ireland in a time of Christian upheaval in Europe. On the rocky coasts of his new home, Patrick adopted the life of a shepherd and the words of his Gaelic companions. At night, however, the Irish hills darkened to reveal the pagan gods and monsters so foreign to Patrick's Christian sensibilities. Patrick prayed for release for six years, only to return to evangelize his pagan captors.Until recently, the modern consensus was that Patrick was a barely literate rustic struggling with a sense of inadequacy in a language he could not master. In her exhaustively researched biography, M ire B. de Paor uncovers the true Patrick as revealed through his two major literary works. Started as a defense against his accusers, Patrick's writings evolved into something more powerful -- a manifestation of the spirit that had gripped him. Set against a backdrop of the Catholic fervor of the fifth century, Patrick's words also reflect a fascinating time in religious history. As a religious figure, and as a captured slave, Patrick was the living embodiment of the conflict between the civilized Roman Catholics and the "dangerous heathen enemies of the Empire." A scholar of exceptional depth and insight, de Paor examines Patrick's written legacy with refreshing vigor and passion and discovers an artist of astonishing literary skill and a man of great spiritual depth.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060009020
• ISBN13: 9780060009021
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: William Morrow
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.1" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Fascinating, though academic

In this fascinating book, Irish religious scholar Maire B. de Paor examines Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland. In a scholarly manner, Ms. De Paor goes through Patrick's Confessio and Epistola Excommunicating Coroticus. Each line is examined in detail, producing a breathtaking amount of information about Patrick and his times.As the above description suggests, this book was written for the scholarly reader, but it is not inaccessible to even the casual reader. Though the text is often exhaustingly academic, what makes this book well worth reading is that it is such an overflowing well of information on Patrick. And, I must say that I enjoyed the author's religious stance, treating Patrick's faith as alive, rather than a historical artifact.So, if you really want to understand St. Patrick, then I highly recommend that you get this book.

Challenging but rewarding

The author has an obvious affection for Patrick, and I doubt you'll finish this wonderful book without growing to like him too. I recommend you read this book out of order: Start with the introduction (36 pages), and then skip to the back to read the author's translation of Patrick's two written works - his "confession" and letter to a roman officer. The rest of the book analyzes these two documents in light of the other facts known about this fifth century great.

The Definitive Work On This Fascinating Man

Máire Bríd de Paor, an Irish religious scholar and a Presentation Sister, has simply produced the most compelling work to date on St. Patrick. This is a book which anyone truly interested in the topic must own, and an absolute necessity for any library worth its salt! Its exhaustive yet essential resources include the complete original text (and the best English translation to date) of Patrick's own words in his two surviving works - the Confessio and the Epistola. Through a thoughtful and compelling exposition of these works, de Paor leaves us feeling closer to Patrick, in his lifelong quest to emulate Christ. More than 1,500 years before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mohandas Gandhi and Susan B. Anthony, St. Patrick was writing forcefully in favor of the end of slavery and the liberation of women. You'll read this marvelous book, savor it, refer back to it. It involves a bit of work, mind you, but with that investment, you'll be invigorated by the sheer power and energy of this great man, who reaches across the millenia with a message as fresh as when it was penned.