St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography

Gained info from the book!

In Phillip Freeman we have an excellent scholar whose biography of St. Patrick is more than a story of one of the most popular saints of the early church. It is a concise history of ancient Ireland, gathered from some of the best sources. Further, his work provides insight to the workings of the early church that was so far removed from Rome.Freeman's work separates Patrick from the popular myths arising over the centuries, revealing to us many facets of Patrick's life. We see Patrick taken from his gentrified British Roman lifestyle, being forced into a life of slavery among the Irish people; people who were viewed by those in Britian as barbarians. It is during his years in slavery that Patrick truly accepts Chrisitanity, having been at best a titular Christian prior to entering captivity.As Freeman takes us through a miraculous escape from and Patrick's return home, he reveals Patrick's vision that calls him to a life of Christian service. It is in this same vision that Patrick is called as well to minister to the Irish, to the same people who held him captive for 6 years.The next segment of this biography turns into a history of the early church; providing the reader insight into the educational process that Patrick as well as other called men went through to enter the service of the church. Freeman highlights the personal struggle of Patrick to make up for the lack of formal education due to his years in captivity; it is a struggle that continues until the end of the saint's life.When Patrick finally arrives in Ireland to start his ministry, interwoven with the trials and tribulations of the saint's missionary work; is a fairly detailed narrative of Irish life in the mid-fifth century. Freeman details the political, religious and social struture of the Irish people. We learn that the island nation was a land of large tribes ruled by minor kings, we learn about the Druids who we typically associate only with Stonehenge in England, lastly we learn about social fabric of the people both free and slave.As we travel with Patrick on his missions we find that he spent a great deal of time ministering to slaves, many who were Christians taken in raids on Britian. The second segment of the population that made up a sizable portion of his ministry were women; we learn of Patrick's concern for the well being in a harsh and rugged society.Freeman closes out his work by telling us how Patrick was falsely accused by British church leaders and his written confession which was his defense against those false charges. Do we learn how Patrick's life ended, the answer is no for there are no records, only stories intertwined with myth.While well written and researched, Freeman's work surprising is an easy read, not bogged down in minuatiae.

This book was good. It did leave me wanting more.

The author does an excellent job harmonizing history with the letters of St. Patrick. He brings in noteworthy, historical data that really fill in some of the gaps missing from the historical accounts of St. Patrick's life...given that the details of St. Patrick's life are largely shrouded in mystery.This book was not so much a biography…as it was a historical accounting of the church, that happened to lean on the story of St. Patrick (really only his letters and what the man himself wrote of his life).My one criticism of this work is that it was wrought with speculation. Well the author doesn't excellent job unpacking the details that are known of Patrick's life…he consistently filled in historical details with his own speculations about what Patrick, his family, and others may have been thinking throughout the book. It was highly distracting, in an otherwise well-written book.That said… I rated it four stars for a reason. It was a well-composed work, easy to read, and chock-full of accurate historical data verified by multiple sources. Definitely worth your time as a student of history. Further…the translations of St. Patrick's letters in the back of the book, are worth the price of admission alone.

In this work Mr. Freeman has presented a very lucid and well thought out accounting of the famous saint. Being of half Irish descent, I was naturally drawn to learn more about this illustrious figure of the distant past. I imagine that he may well have set my ancestors on the straight and narrow path of Christianity but, irregardless of that, his great and honorable role in helping moderate and humanize a people famed for their wild and uncivilized behavior may have also contributed to the fact that so many of America's ablest and most successful political leaders claim Ireland as their (or part of their) ancestral home. I feel that the author not only communicated with his readers in a very intimate and entertaining fashion but also obviously researched the subject thoroughly before composing his book. All in all, St. Patrick of Ireland is, in my humble opinion, a superior piece of authorship illuminating an often little understood icon of piety and religious dedication (who has long been celebrated at festivals worldwide in a most un-pious way) by helping the reader through careful and thorough research to seperate the man from the legend. This book, as such, should be recommended reading for high school and college students (to help temper their future celebratory revels, ofcourse).

I am enjoying this book because at the end he has a translation of one of St. Patrick's lasting letters and his Confessions. But I truly find it a little arrogant that he went to the trouble of translating these himself. I was surprised that he was able to fill a book this size about St. Patrick. It is said over and over throughout the book about how little is truly known about him. With a Title like "St. Patrick of Ireland," I had anticipated finding out so many of the beautiful truths about the story of this saints life. And all in all I am disappointed. In my estimation, the miracle that he is remembered at all and that the conversion of Ireland is accredited to him; and, in the liklihood of the power and nature of sainthood, he did convert the mind and Soul of Ireland to Catholicism, helping to create the strong Irish Catholic identity we have in America. However, he did not do this, by allowing us to truly know about him... we simply know his baseline. A man was enslaved, converted by Christ, redeemed, and accepted enslavement of Christ to convert those who had enslaved him. For learning the beauty of this mystery I am giving this three stars, because truly this is a feat to be followed.

A readable life of an extraordinary early Saint - extraordinary also because two long letters written by Patrick have survived, one a defence of his mission (against corruption and an unnamed teenage crime); and one an impassioned diatribe against a slave-raider from Britannia who had snatched a number of Patrick's flock (women and children), after killing the men.Freeman is an academic but does not often cite his sources, though he gives a generalised short bibliography. He works closely from the two texts and gives very useful historical context both for Ireland in the 5th century and its collapsing neighbour, Britannia. However, Freeman too often makes statements of certainty which are only his speculative guesswork - for instance, asserting that heavy iron chains were fastened round Patrick's neck when he was led away to slave captivity in Ireland, aged 15. He appears not to be aware of the textual analysis of Patrick's letters by T.M. Charles-Edwards, which shows that Patrick's style was far from the simple, dog-Latin which he claims he was only capable of.Still, this is an excellent introduction, particularly good on the historical context.

I really enjoyed this book about saint Patrick. Patron saint of Ireland. And how it shows how resilient Patrick was and the danger he went through to help the irish. Ironic that one of Irelands famous saints is British and believed in helping the people of Ireland.

A good book. Well written and researched despite scarsity of substantial material available.

Service was good, and the book was a good easy read. :)

This book is not just about St Patrick. It is also a description of the last years of Roman Britain and Ireland and early Christian time in this island with the challenges to overcome strong beliefs in druids, gods, superstition...Fully enjoyable.