At 10:23 PM 9/30/99 -0400, Francine Nicholson wrote:
> These sorts of things have struck me, too. In his Confession,
>Patrick certainly calls on biblical precedents as justifications for his
>actions, but he is just as likely to use New Testament parallels as those
>from the Hebrew Bible. Then, of course, Patrick was not Irish.
My question isn't so much why biblical precedent is invoked in writings
about Patrick. That answer seems obvious to me--it was the word of God to
the authors and their audience and hence held ultimate authority and
meaning. My question concerns why Moses in particular, and why the Jewish
connection is so emphasized that Patrick seems almost more a Jewish saint
than a Christian one in his early vitae. A somewhat related example: a
parallel is drawn between Íte and Habakkuk in her miraculous journey to
Cluain Ferta to receive the eucharist; apart from minor but significant
differences (she travels to be fed, Habakkuk to feed), the reasons for the
comparison are clear, and one does not get the sense that the hagiographer
added the tale to make Íte seem like Habakkuk, particularly since the event
is told elsewhere without the comparison and the comparison is not one to
immediately leap to mind. In reading Patrick's vitae, I did get the sense
that the burning bush was added to make Patrick more Moses-like, at least
partially; the 120 years do not consistently add up; the 40 days and 40
nights fast would seem a more immediate connection with Christ, and his
unknown grave could be a parallel with a number of holy figures (although
don't tell the folks in Downpatrick that their saint's resting place is
unknown!). Yet it is Moses in particular that his early hagiographers
and/or cult focused on, and that intrigues me. I don't think it can be
easily explained by similarities that the Irish may have shared with the
Hebrews, similarities a number of cultures could be said to share,
especially since the Patrick-Moses connection is the clearest Irish-Jewish
connection that I've encountered in Irish hagiography. And while Patrick
may not have been Irish-born, his cult was Irish, the Irish regard(ed) him
as their own, and he is the patron of and apostle to the Irish people. I
don't want to raise a nest of questions about ethnic/personal identity, but
regardless of what Patrick was in life, in his sainthood and cult he was
more Irish than not. Btw, I also find it interesting that, of the 3 patron
saints, Brigid is the only one to be born, live, and die in Ireland--Patrick
was born elsewhere and came to Ireland as an adult (although various legends
have him spending part of his childhood there), and Columcille left as an
adult for Iona, though of course still maintaining significant connections
with Ireland.
As for the history of the Jews in Ireland, I found Pat Sloane's remark that
Ireland may have been regarded as a place of refuge particularly
interesting, as one of the main reasons I'm curious about their history in
medieval Ireland is as it pertains to the history of religious persecution
in late medieval Ireland. Any other thoughts along that line would be most
appreciated.
Thanks,
Maeve
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