Agency Through Sainthood

Supposed grave of St. Patrick in Downpatrick, Wikipedia

Stained glass of St. Patrick, Wikipedia

Well, we all know that today is St. Patrick's day. I am posting this not only as an homage to St. Patrick but also to clarify what this day traditionally means. Today, an online friend of mine posted a comment under a photograph along the lines of "Christianity meets Ireland day" with a girl holding a beer in the image. I find it very odd that so many people get irrationally excited for a day that many of those people really know nothing about! It is not just a random day to wear green and get your drunk on with green beer or a good pint of dark, creamy Guiness. My online friend was partially right in that today is celebrated because of Catholicism spreading and gaining popularity in Ireland but the two concepts are one in the same on this day; "Ireland day" is the celebration of Catholicism on behalf of and because of St. Patrick and his work. I have sorted through a lot of information today and most of what I have found was much too long to read for a simple blog post, was not in English, or was very convoluted and all over the place with possible theories concerning St. Patrick's life and death.


I know that it is technically improper to directly quote an author but I could not say it more perfectly, fittingly, or beautifully in my own words. Howard Williams writes about agency in almost a poetic manner. He asks: "how might we consider the dead as having agency when, by definition, they cannot seemingly act or think on their own behalf"(Williams, 2004)? He then answers his question: "the key lies in the frequently observed evidence that, for many cultures, the social, symbolic and mnemonic significance of the dead body does not end with the extinguishing of vital signs"(Williams, 2004). This is particularly true in Western tradition for those individuals who are chosen by the Catholic Church and community to be designated saints. Their mnemonic, social, and symbolic significance lives on through feasts and special days devoted to these once living, holy people. Individuals regularly pray to specific saints and choose their favourites or choose saints most applicable to their life. These traditions have lived on and on for years. Others have acted on behalf of St. Patrick to keep his memory and important life works known and celebrated.


Not very many historical documents remain from the time of Patrick making it rather difficult to determine much about the mans life and/or death. Two Latin letters do survive and are thought to have been written by Patrick himself; "Declaration" aka the Latin "Confessio" is the most important and the "Letter to the soldiers of Coroticus" aka the Latin "Epistola" being of slightly lesser importance(wikipedia.com). Patrick, a decedent of Roman Britain born at Banna Venta Berniae(perhaps Glannoventa, current Ravenglass in Cumbria), was born into a God-serving family with his father Calpornius holding the title of deacon and his grandfather, Potitus, that of priest(wikipedia.com). At the age of sixteen, Patrick was captured as a slave and brought to Ireland where he worked as a captive herdsmen for six years; in this time his faith grew and grew while he prayed daily(wikipedia.com). Patrick heard "a voice" saying that he would be on his way home soon and that "his" ship was ready so Patrick fled and traveled two hundred miles until he reached a port, found a ship, boarded, and returned to England in his early twenties(wikipedia.com). Patrick had another vision while at home in which he felt a calling to return to Ireland to spread the word of God and, upon his return to Ireland, he ended up converting and baptizing many people(wikipedia.com). This is the biggest reason for the celebration of St. Patrick's day; a man and his life work. He single handedly aided in the conversion of a whole nation.


Now this is where is gets interesting. After the death of St. Patrick, people fought over his remains! This was titled the Battle for the Body of St. Patrick, accounted for in the Annals of the Four Masters, is said to have occurred shortly after his death on March 17th 493 AD(wikipedia.com). The Airgíalla and the Ui Néill wanted to bring Patrick's body to Armagh while the Ulaid wanted to keep it but the Airgíalla and Ui Néill ran into troubles with a flood while en route(wikipedia.com). After the floods, they decide on peace and the body went with the Airgíalla and Ui Néill and it (this part I dont understand) "appeared to each of them that each had the body conveying it to their respective territories, so that God separated them in this manner, without a fight or battle"(wikipedia.com). It is suggested in another reading that they separated without conflict because each party saw the body as being in it's own company(Rev. T. Olden). St. Patrick's body was laid to rest at Dun Da Lathglas and for the twelve days and nights of psalms and hymns, there was no night in Magh Inis or the surrounding areas but appeared to be full daylight(wikipedia.com). Prior to doing this research, I had no idea that St. Patrick's body caused so much unrest! All I used to hear was tales of him chasing snakes out of Ireland but nothing I found made any mention of that event. Some friends and I were chatting about this and started to suspect that snakes really just meant pagans.... but I digress. The honor of holding onto Patrick's remains had been claimed by several locals but the location of his burial has been more or less doubtful for many(Rev. T. Olden).


A true date of death for St. Patrick is difficult to discern and is quite controversial. The date of March 17th, 460 AD is accepted by some modern historians but, prior to the 1940s, it was undoubtedly believed that he died in 420 AD(wikipedia.com). In 1942, a publication entitled "The Two Patricks" was published by T. F. O'Rahilly which proposed that there were once two "Patricks", one named Palladius, and that the current St. Patrick is an intentional conglomeration of the two into one hagiographic identity(wikipedia.com). Patrick's own writings contained no dates but they do contain information such as quotations from Acts of the Apostles which follow the Vulgate and his mentions of the Franks as pagans prior to their conversion between 496-508 AD(wikipedia.com). The Annals of Ulster report under the year 493 AD that arch-apostle Patrick, or archbishop and apostle of the Irish, passed away on the 16th of April at 120 years of age, 60 years after his arrival in Ireland(wikipedia.com). Most historians now believe that Patrick was likely to have been active in the later part of the fifth century(wikipedia.com). Regardless of all this controversy over dates, March 17th remains as the day chosen to celebrate St. Patrick. His memory lives on.

–Maia B

Bibliography

(2013). Battle for the Body of St. Patrick. In Wikipedia (Vol. n/a, p. n/a). n/a: n/a. Retrieved March 17, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_for_the_Body_of_St._Patrick


Olden, T. (1893). On the Burial-Place of St. Patrick. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy (1889-1901), 2 (1891-93), 655-666. Retrieved March 17, 2013, from the Jstor database.


(2012). Saint Patrick. In Wikipedia (Vol. n/a, p. n/a). n/a: n/a. Retrieved March 17, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick#Death


Williams, H. (2004). Death Warmed up : The Agency of Bodies and Bones in Early Anglo-Saxon Cremation Rights. Journal of Material Culture, 2004(9), 263-291. Retrieved March 17, 2013, from the SAGE journals database.

Please note that APA does not permit for the citation of photographs;  links are provided below:

1)http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Saint_Patrick_(window).jpg/387px-Saint_Patrick_(window).jpg

2)http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Saint_Patrick's_grave_Downpatrick.jpg/800px-Saint_Patrick's_grave_Downpatrick.jpg