Was St. Patrick Really Scottish?

The origins of St. Patrick and the legends surrounding Ireland's Patron Saint are the matter of some historical dispute. Some say St. Patrick was born in France, while the Irish want to claim him as their own. From chasing the snakes out of Ireland to the legend of the Shamrock , St. Patrick is certainly one of the most talked about Catholic Saints in the world. In this article, Herbert J. Percy, Webmaster of Basecamp, discusses some of the legends surrounding Saint Patrick and puts forth the theory that good Old St. Paddy was actually born in Scotland!

Possibly the only national holiday that is given recognition outside its native land is Saint Patrick's Day. This is a clear indication of the Irish influence thoughout the world. For instance in the United States, though not a national holiday, March 17th is recognized in many communities and cities.

Everything from parades, to the 'wearing of the green', to serving green beer (they really add green coloring to it!) to some places going as far as dying rivers green, mark the holiday of Ireland's Patron Saint. The biggest observance of all is, of course, in Ireland. Almost all businesses, with the exception of restaurants and pubs, close on the 17th of March. Being a religious holiday as well, many attend mass, where it is the traditional day for offering prayers for missionaries through out the world, before the serious celebrating begins in earnest. So who exactly was Saint Patrick?

Was St. Patrick Born in Scotland?

According to the much vaunted Catholic Enyclopedia, Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, was born at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, Scotland, in 387 A.D. And while it is true St. Patrick spent many years in France due to his religious studies, he lived most of his adult life in Ireland as a missionary and Bishop. He died in 493 A.D., and was buried in the same grave as St. Bridget and St. Columba, at Downpatrick, County Down, Ireland. Legend says 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 Saint 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 688 A.D., 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 the many discrepant traditions as to the burial places of St. Patrick and others.

True history and legend are intertwined when it comes to St. Patrick. It is known that he was born in Scotland and was kidnapped and sold in Ireland as a slave. He became fluent in the Irish language before making his escape to the continent. 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 traveler, 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.

St. Patrick Drove the Snakes out of Ireland?

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, where upon 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 separated 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 rights. He converted the warrior chiefs and princes, baptizing them and thousands of their subjects in the Holy Wells which still bear that name.

St. Patrick and the Shamrock?

The Shamrock, at one time called the "Seamroy", symbolizes the cross and the 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.

Story and images contributed by Herbert J. Percy
Webmaster of Basecamp

Links:

Famous Irish: St. Patrick

Famous Irish: St. Brigit

Famous Irish: St. Columba

The Catholic Encylopedia