St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Philip Freeman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 24, 2004

Ireland's patron saint has long been shrouded in legend: he drove the snakes out of Ireland; he triumphed over Druids and their supernatural powers; he used a shamrock to explain the Christian mystery of the Trinity. But his true story is more fascinating than the myths. We have no surviving image of Patrick, but we do have two remarkable letters that he wrote about himself and his beliefs -- letters that tell us more about the heart and soul of this man than we know about almost any of his contemporaries. In St. Patrick of Ireland Philip Freeman brings the historic Patrick and his world vividly to life.

Born in Britain late in the fourth century to an aristocratic family, Patrick was raised as a Roman citizen and a nominal Christian, destined for the privileged life of the nobility. But just before his sixteenth birthday, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and abducted to Ireland, where he spent six lonely years as a slave, tending sheep. Trapped in a foreign land, despondent, and at the mercy of his master, Patrick's ordeal turned him from an atheist to a true believer. After a vision in which God told him he would go home, Patrick escaped captivity and, following a perilous journey, returned to his astonished parents. Even more astonishing was his announcement that he intended to go back to Ireland and devote the rest of his life to ministering to the people who had once enslaved him.

One of Patrick's two surviving letters is a declaration written to jealous British bishops in defense of his activities in Ireland; the other is a stinging condemnation of a ruthless warlord who attacked and killed some of Patrick's Irish followers. Both are powerful statements remarkable for their passion and candor. Freeman includes them in full in new translations of his own.

Combining Patrick's own heartfelt account of his life as he revealed it himself with the turbulent history of the British Isles in the last years of the Roman Empire, St. Patrick of Ireland brilliantly brings to life the real Patrick, shorn of legend, and shows how he helped to change Irish history and culture.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Born to an aristocratic British family in the fifth century, Patrick was kidnapped by slave raiders at age 15 and sold to an Irish farmer. After six years of tending sheep he escaped, walked 200 miles to a port city he had seen in a dream, and sailed for home. Years later, as a priest or bishop, he returned to Ireland. Bribing petty kings for safe passage through their rural domains, he preached, baptized and established churches in his beloved adopted land. This information about the saint's life is known from two lengthy letters he wrote late in life, both included in a lively translation by Freeman, a classics professor and author of three previous books about the Celtic world. Dismissing many familiar tales as myths, he relies on archeological discoveries as well as Greek and Roman writers to create a colorful picture of Ireland at the end of the Roman Empire: its kings and headhunting warriors, gods and human sacrifices, belief in the Otherworld. "I am a stranger and an exile living among barbarians and pagans, because God cares for them," Patrick wrote. Besides, time was running out: As Freeman observes, "The gospel had been preached throughout the world and was even then, by [Patrick's] own efforts, being spread to the most distant land of all. There was simply no reason for God's judgment to be delayed once the Irish had heard the good news." In the storytelling tradition of popular historian Thomas Cahill, this small book offers a fascinating and believable introduction to Ireland's patron saint.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–Readers will be drawn into the story of St. Patrick by the short preface that tells how the teen Patricius, accustomed to a life of ease and luxury in Roman Britain, was surprised and subdued in his parents' villa by Irish slave traders who led him and household servants in chains to boats that took them to the feared barbaric island. Freeman has based his biography on medieval copies of two letters written by Patrick near the end of his life. Each chapter opens with a few lines from one of them. The author has fleshed out the story using information from archaeological finds, Roman and medieval records, and Papal documents. When discussing Patrick's home, education, or experiences in Ireland, Freeman notes that he is describing what was typical in the fifth century. As readers learn about Patrick's captivity, servitude, and escape, they also find out about life in Roman Britain and Ireland. Marriage, fostering, the role of kings, and the practices of the druids are only a few of the topics covered. This is not a heavy academic tome; explanations are simple and clear. A time line, pronunciation guide, and 13 black-and-white photographs of archaeological sites and artifacts are included.–Kathy Tewell, Chantilly Regional Library, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1st Print edition (February 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743256328
• ISBN-13: 978-0743256322
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #916,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Philip Freeman is the Orlando W. Qualley Chair of Classical Languages at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. He earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Classical Philology and Celtic Languages and Literatures. He has taught at Boston University and Washington University in St. Louis and lectured at the Smithsonian Institution. His books have been reviewed in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other national publications.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars St. Patrick of Ireland, March 7, 2004

By 

Lee Freeman "lfreeman_histgen" (Florence, Al United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography (Hardcover)

Having read other, classic studies on Patrick, I wasn't expecting much from this book. But I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised. Philip Freeman's "St. Patrick of Ireland" is a well-researched, scholarly, yet very readable book. While there is little new information in the book, for readers who wish to know something about St. Patrick but don't care to go in-depth, this work should serve adequately. The book should also serve as a good introduction to readers who wish to proceed to more in-depth scholarly works such as the late R. P. C. Hanson's, J. B. Bury's or other more studies.

Instead of concentrating on the vexing questions of dates, chronology, Patrick's missing years, and other intriguing though problematical issues in Patrician studies, Freeman concentrates on what is definitely known of Patrick's life and career, giving little space to speculation. He does a particularly good job of setting Patrick in the context of his times, describing fourth-century Romano-British and Irish society and religion.

Freeman also includes his own translations of Patrick's only two surviving works, the "Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus," and the "Confession."

The maps of Britain and Ireland and the black-and-white photos at the beginning of each section are a nice change from other books on Patrick, and the book has a handsome dust jacket. The time line at the back of the book was convenient and helpful, as was the pronunciation guide for Celtic words. One wishes more works on Celtic history/theology provided pronunciation guides. The book also contains an index and a list of suggested readings for each chapter.

In "St. Patrick of Ireland" Philip Freeman does a very good job of presenting the life, career and writing of this mysterious and humble man of God.

As St. Patrick's Day pub-crawlers don green sweaters, sing Irish folk songs, quaff copius amounts of green beer, and radical gay activists fight for their right to march in St. Patrick's Day parades, one can only hope that some of them will pause for a moment to remember the great man and Christian Saint whose feast day this is.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars JUST THE BOOK I NEEDED ON THIS SUBJECT., February 20, 2008

By 

D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: St. Patrick of Ireland : A Biography (Hardcover)

There certainly is a very large amount of information packed into a very small book (by comparison) here. This is an excellent work for those who have been curious, or are curious, about this famous Irish Saint, yet who are not so curious that they want to dig through a mind numbing academic work which would be better than xanax to provide a good nap. I am one of those people and I am one who greatly appreciated this work. In other areas of history, yes, I want something more in depth, but not on this particular subject. It is written in a scholarly manner, appears to be very well researched, yet I found not one page that I did not learn something from nor one page that caused my eyes to roll back into my head and wish the author would just get on with it. It was a good and informative read.

I certainly am not going to rewrite the entire work in this form and call it a review. That has already been done. For greater detail refer to one of the well done and very in depth reviews already posted here. What I found most interesting about the book was the author's ability to paint a very vivid picture of the cultural and religious clash that too place in Ireland during St. Patrick's time. I enjoyed the brief look at the state of the Christian Church at that time and how it affected the people of that time. That story, to me, was just as fascinating as the one told by the author of the Great Saint himself. The brief look at the Celtic religious practices and beliefs was excellent. I also appreciated the author's ability to separate fact from all the fiction that has been dished out for years and years and do it in a nonoffensive way. This was quite refreshing. The author is quite careful to note fact from fiction, speculation from written and archeological fact. This was most helpful.

The author has a wonderful popular history style, yet writes in a mode that does not insult your credulity nor does Freeman sensationalize events simply to hold the reader's interest. The facts alone, and the way the author presents them, are enough to keep you turning the pages on this one. The black and white maps provided are quite helpful as is the "dictionary" and foot noting. I enjoyed the translation of the two surviving letters of St. Patrick's "Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus" and the "Confession." Both are a nice touch and added much to the value of the book.

A work such as this, where so much has been lost down through the years is not an easy thing to write, but this author, Philip Freeman has done an excellent job. Now there are books out there that go into much greater depth on the subject of this obviously great man and I certainly would recommend further reading for those who are interested or who want to become experts on the subject. For myself, this work fit my needs perfectly. I wanted to know a bit about the man and I certainly learned it here.

Recommend this one highly.

Don Blankenship

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than your money's worth, February 22, 2005

By 

M. McGaha "Shillelagh73" (Thomaston, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography (Hardcover)

Philip Freeman's biography on St. Patrick is an excellent read. The reader receives a very enriching view on the Patrick of history, rather than the Patrick of legend, which is precisely what I was looking for. Freeman's prose is academic and very thought provoking, without being so academic that it prones one to narcolepsy or repetitive trips to the thesaurus. It easily holds one's interest, but leaves the reader desiring more information. This desire is not a result of any fault of the author's, rather than the limited available information on St. Patrick. Should one seek further knowledge on the saint, Freeman helps the reader's search by providing a detailed Suggested Reading section for each chapter and aspect of Patrick's life and ministry.
There is a pleasant surprise contained in this book, which I appreciated most. That surprise is the treasure-trove of additional information on Celtic society and history within and without Ireland, Roman civilization throughout the Empire, early church structure, theology, and politics, and numerous other jewels. Freeman doesn't just settle on simply telling the story of a great man. He paints the world that Patrick lived in and struggled against to rise as a great historical figure. The author doesn't paint the picture of Patrick's greatness. The reader arrives at this conclusion on his or her own, by reading this great book.