St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography

St. Patrick wrote two letters that we know of. Neither of the originals has survived, but seven copies have been preserved. Since they were copied by hand, mistakes crept in, so they are not exactly the same. Whatever the form, though, they give us a glimpse of the man we celebrate on March 17 each year. It is from these two letters, "Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus" and "Confession" that Philip Freeman builds his biography of St. Patrick.

There isn't much that can be said definitively about Patrick's life, but there is much that can be surmised from the context of history. The method Philp Freeman uses to write this biography is to take that context and use it to try to fill in the blanks of a life only outlined by the remnants of show more two letters. It is an excellent exmple of critical reading, looking at each passage of the letters to see what it can tell us about the person who wrote it.

This book takes us on a journey through history, from the Roman Empire and its incursion into Britain, to the culture and history of Ireland. Freeman says, "We need to look back to a world completely foreign to us..." using "...Irish law, ancient literature, and Celtic mythology to recreate the culture in which he [Patrick] lived and worked." Freeman does this very well. Additionally, he examines the legends, traditions and myths regarding St. Patrick.

While this is a book of histroy, it is not heavy reading. It does not have footnotes or a bibliography, but does include a brief timeline from the founding of Rome through the first biographies of St. Patrick. It also includes suggested further readings regarding the topics presented in each chapter, if a person wants to know more about a particular subject. Translations of both of St. Patrick's letters are also included.

Philip Freeman has a PhD in Classical Philology and Celtic Studies from Harvard University. At the time of publication of this book, he was a professor of Classics at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. show less

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 show more 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 show less

This short book is a very good biography of St. Patrick. Using St. Patrick's surviving written work, Letter to Coroticus and Confession, Freeman paints of picture of what Patrick experienced in the late Roman Empire -- and as a slave and then bishop to the Irish. Freeman provides good historical background about Rome, the church and Ireland; and judicious interpretations and extrapolations from the written works. I highly recommend.

A lovely exploration of the life of St. Patrick. Imaginative, with fact-based reconstructions of significant events. Paints an altogether human portrait of the man. Utterly readable.

No nonsense straight forward handling based on primary and secondary source documents. It takes away the folklore, and discovers a real man...a real Christian...underneath.

I had no idea that there was so much documentation on this household name. As the Amazon reviewers, Swho praised it, wrote, the author sticks with fact, does not wander off into speculation.