> From: [log in to unmask] [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>
> Although perhaps not directly relevant to your question, I have long been
> fascinated by the frequent comparisons between Patrick and Moses made by
> his
> early hagiographers. Tírechán sums it up:
>
> In four things Patrick was similar to Moses:
> i first, he heard an angel (speaking) out of a thorn-bush;
> ii he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights;
> iii he spent 120 years in this present life;
> iiii nobody knows where his bones rest.
>
> But the comparisons run throughout the vitae. I have often wondered why
> his
> hagiographers/cult focused on Moses in particular and a Jewish 'prototype'
> in general, especially since little is made of the fact that, like Moses,
> Patrick gave "his people" the Law (according to tradition) or that Moses
> used to speak with God face to face. Another early hagiographer, Muirchu,
> likens Patrick not only to Moses, but also Elijah and Jonas, and draws a
> parallel between Ireland and Egypt. He also portrays the "pre-Christian
> Irish" (or whatever you want to call them, since they're not around to
> ask)
> much more like Jews who follow the golden calf than those who reject the
> teachings of Christ. The princess Monesan, who seems to have converted to
> Christianity independent of any human influence/exposure, is likened to
> Abraham.
>
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.
However, I think there's a lot of good reason why the medieval Irish
scribes would relate so strongly to the Hebrew Bible stories. Both were
tribal peoples who came from other places to land they considered sacred.
The Irish had their own tales of wandering around, trying to enter a land
that was not eager to receive them, and led by a figure--Amairgein--who had
many of the powers of Moses (or perhaps the author of LGE deliberately made
them similar). Both strongly valued traditional modes of behavior--the Irish
had traditional laws and customs before Christianity--and had a sense of
there being a right time and place for certain actions. The traditional lore
of both included long strings of genealogical lore. Both relied heavily on
herding and subsistence agriculture.
I'm only touching on the most superficial similarities. What I'm
trying to point out, however, is that the two groups had so many
similarities in their cultures, that it isn't surprising that the medieval
scribes reacted as if they had found lost kin when they became familiar with
the Hebrew Bible.
> It's been a while since I read the sources, but I remember a
> Jewish influence on Irish religious dietary practices and method of
> calculating Easter.
>
I think these are debated.
> I believe Kenney discusses the Irish attempt to fit themselves into the
> Old
> Testament in his Sources for the Early History of Ireland; Vol
> I:Ecclesiastical. But I've never encountered a study on Patrick as alter
> Moses, and would be very interested to read one, if it's out there.
>
In _Conversing with Angels and Ancients_ J.F. Nagy examined the use
of various Biblical precedents in the writings of Patrick and the later
writings about Patrick. I don't recall whether he specifically mentions
Moses.
Francine Nicholson
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|