St Patrick is today best understood in relation to his feast day of March 17th. However, the revelry and parading of modern celebrations which typify commemoration of the saint are a result of the great numbers of Irish people from the 18th century onwards who left in search of pastures new.
They brought with them their traditions and beliefs. For them, Patrick was a figure of commonality through which they could express their Irish identity. He provided an annual day where the diaspora could meet and proclaim their Irishness, not just to each other but to the communities where they now lived.
It is no surprise then that the first recorded parade for St Patrick’s Day is in the Americas. It took place at St Augustine, Florida, in 1601 and can be credited to the presence of a much-travelled Irish priest named Richard Arthur. Once Arthur left the Spanish colony, so too did the celebration.
It is because of individuals like Arthur and other Irish travellers that Patrick is known across the world today. Considerably less appreciated is the fact that even in the medieval period, Patrick and his legend had reached international audiences. This was not at all usual for medieval saints, who were most often remembered locally and by communities with easy access to their physical remains or church.
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The evidence for the spread of Patrick’s renown in medieval Europe is found in a whole range of objects, stories and sites associated with the saint, which were enjoyed by both Irish and non-Irish audiences.
The reasons for this success and notoriety find their origin in the fact that Patrick was important for the Irish from a very early stage in their Christian history. While the monastic community at Armagh claimed him as their founder, other important churches and clerics recognised him as their figurative leader.
An early letter by the Clonfert cleric, Cummian, to the Hebridean monastic community at Iona in 632, refers to Patrick as “papa noster” or “our bishop.” Even at this early point Patrick’s status expanded well beyond Armagh.
By the 11th century, would-be high-king of Ireland, Brian Boru sought to align himself with Patrick – the one figure whose status matched his ambition – in an attempt to solidify his island-wide credentials.
He symbolically signed his name into the ninth century Patrician manuscript known as the Book of Armagh, alongside the aspirational title imperator Scotorum, Emperor of the Irish.
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But the Irish were not speaking to themselves in a vacuum. Patrick’s importance was also acknowledged outside Ireland. One of the first records celebrating Patrick on the Continent is found in a short eighth century poem written at the monastery of St Fursa at Pérrone in Picardy, where the author mentions the dedication of a church to the saint.
By at least the 10th century, a connection to Patrick had also developed at Glastonbury. Here he was celebrated with yet another church dedication. This was bolstered by a tradition which stated that, following a lengthy mission in Ireland and frustrated by his inability to discipline the Irish, Patrick travelled to Glastonbury where he became abbot, died and was buried. A church dedicated to Patrick still exists at the site today.
Perhaps the greatest indication that, even in the medieval period, Patrick’s fame extended well beyond Ireland, is the evidence of the Lough Derg pilgrimage known as St Patrick’s Purgatory. Here pilgrims entered a cave that is said to have led to purgatory, spending a day and night inside.
The first writer to describe the site, the Anglo-Norman monk H of Saltrey, tells the story of its origin. Here, we are told, Patrick encountered difficulties in convincing the Irish to accept Christianity, and so the cave was revealed to him allowing him to complete his mission.
Patrick then built a church over the cave, where pilgrims continued to visit and purge their sins. While remote, the site became well known in Europe from the 12th century.
Perhaps most remarkable, however, is the great number of accounts written about these experiences. These exist in a range of languages by or about pilgrims who came from Ireland, Italy, England, France, Hungary and other places.
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Copied across the Continent (the account of H of Saltrey, for instance, exists in over 150 Latin manuscripts with as many translated into other languages) these tales became synonymous with Patrick.
So, as you celebrate Patrick on Tuesday, remember the remarkable fact that this is because of successive and diverse communities from the early medieval period onwards. Some communities were Irish, while others were not; some were based on the island of Ireland, while others were found elsewhere.
All, however, contributed to the global phenomenon experienced today.
Dr Elizabeth Dawson is lecturer in medieval history at St Patrick’s College, Carlow.
Rite & Reason: The evidence for the spread of Patrick’s renown in medieval Europe is found in a whole range of objects, stories and sites
