medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
The field next to the wonderful sandy beach of Porthmawr (Whitesands)
just west of St Davids, in west Wales, is known locally as Parc Padrig
(Patrick's field) or Parc y capel (Chapel field) - the theory being that
it was from here that P crossed over to Ireland. The field was excavated
in 1924 and the remains of a small chapel were uncovered, including
several burials. (see report in Archaeologia Cambrensis Volume 80 (1925)
Badger, A B & Green, Francis 'The chapel traditionally attributed to St
Patrick, Whitesand Bay, Pembrokeshire' pp 87-120). Such small
churches/chapels, built right on the shore-line, were not uncommon in
west Wales (see nearby church remains at St Nons, St Justinians,
Porthclais [no remains] and further south, St Govans). The story of St
Patrick is linked to that of St Davids, but the small field at
Whitesands (getting smaller thanks to erosion) may be the closest
physical link between Wales and Ireland at this fascinating time and on
into the Middle Ages when the little chapel may have been built. Some
even believe that Patrick's remains were buried there - but that's
another story!
Gerallt D. Nash
-----Original Message-----
From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious
culture [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of George
FERZOCO
Sent: 17 March 2008 00:03
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [M-R] St Patrick's birthplace
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
culture
Does anyone on the list know of any recent (serious) research on this? I
have read in several places that Patrick was supposedly born near to
where the River Severn enters into the Bristol Channel, and I have heard
several Bristolians claim that Avonmouth, the present-day port of
Bristol, was Patrick's birthplace.
Best wishes for St Patrick's Day from Bristol, George O'Ferzoco
--
[log in to unmask]
On 16 Mar 2008, at 23:46, John Dillon wrote:
>
> Today (17. March) is the feast day of:
>
> 1) Patrick (d. 5th cent.). P. is the apostle of Ireland and one of
> its patron saints. The son of a deacon and the grandson of a priest,
> he was captured at the age of sixteen from his home town in Britannia
> by pirates who sold him into slavery in Ireland. He toiled for six
> years as a herdsman before escaping and returning home. Later he
> experienced a nocturnal vision in which he was recalled by the Irish
> to minister unto them. After further divine prompting, P. returned to
> engage in pastoral activities of that sort (chiefly, it would seem, in
> Ulster). We have two genuine writings by him, the _Confession_ and
> the _Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus_. English-language
> translations of these are here:
> http://www.irishchristian.net/history/stpatrick/confessio.html
> http://www.irishchristian.net/history/stpatrick/coroticus.html
>
> By the seventh century, when his Life by St. Muirchu will have been
> written, P. was already the stuff of legend. Armagh claimed to have
> his remains and promoted his cult. A notable relic of this activity
> is the ninth-century Book of Armagh (now Trinity College, Dublin, Ms.
> 52), which in addition to the Gospels and other New Tesatment texts
> contains Muirchu's Life of P., another by bishop Tirechan (late
> seventh- or early eighth-century), and other writings bearing on P. A
> page from this manuscript is shown here:
> http://tinyurl.com/2n9cgq
> The Book of Armagh was long kept in an eighth-century satchel
> originally crafted for a larger book:
> http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/leather/armagh.jpg
>
> Another relic associated with P. is the very early (late sixth-
> century?) handbell known as the Black Bell of St Patrick and now kept,
> along with its late eleventh- or very early twelfth-century shrine, in
> the National Museum in Dublin. Views of both the bell and the shrine
> are here:
> http://tinyurl.com/3xy893
> http://members.aol.com/lochlan6/bell.htm
> Another view of the bell:
> http://www.dunningspub.com/images/cloch_dubh.JPG
>
> P. is the patron saint of Patrick in the Isle of Man, where the
> remains of an originally tenth- or eleventh-century church dedicated
> to him are enclosed within the walls of Peel Castle on St. Patrick's
> Isle. In the aerial view shown here, the ruin in question is visible
> between the round tower and the remains of the cathedral of St.
> German:
> http://tinyurl.com/2k9clf
> In this view it is the building at top center:
> http://tinyurl.com/2forte
> An illustrated account of the several stages of construction of this
> church is here:
> http://tinyurl.com/244t35
> A distance view of the islet:
> http://tinyurl.com/2qwvh3
> <snip>
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