Research Catalog

Saint Patrick retold : the legend and history of Ireland's patron saint

Title
Saint Patrick retold : the legend and history of Ireland's patron saint / Roy Flechner.
Author
Flechner, Roy, 1975-
Publication
  • Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2019]
  • ©2019

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TextUse in library JFD 19-2201Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315

Details

Description
xvii, 277 pages : illustrations (black and white), maps (black and white); 23 cm
Summary
A gripping biography that brings together the most recent research to shed provocative new light on the life of Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick was, by his own admission, a controversial figure. Convicted in a trial by his elders in Britain and hounded by rumors that he settled in Ireland for financial gain, the man who was to become Ireland's patron saint battled against great odds before succeeding as a missionary. Saint Patrick Retold draws on recent research to offer a fresh assessment of Patrick's travails and achievements. This is the first biography in nearly fifty years to explore Patrick's career against the background of historical events in late antique Britain and Ireland. Roy Flechner examines the likelihood that Patrick, like his father before him, might have absconded from a career as an imperial official responsible for taxation, preferring instead to migrate to Ireland with his family's slaves, who were his source of wealth. Flechner leaves no stone unturned as he takes readers on a riveting journey through Romanized Britain and late Iron Age Ireland, and he considers how best to interpret the ambiguous literary and archaeological evidence from this period of great political and economic instability, a period that brought ruin for some and opportunity for others. Rather than a dismantling of Patrick's reputation, or an argument against his sainthood, Flechner's biography raises crucial questions about self-image and the making of a reputation. From boyhood deeds to the challenges of a missionary enterprise, Saint Patrick Retold steps beyond established narratives to reassess a notable figure's life and legacy.
Subjects
Genre/Form
Biography.
Bibliography (note)
  • Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents
1. Patrick's Britain -- 2. Patrick's Ireland -- 3. Captivity -- 4. Religion in Britain and Ireland -- 5. The Missionary Life -- 6. Imagining Patrick in the Middle Ages.
Call Number
JFD 19-2201
ISBN
  • 069118464X
  • 9780691184647
LCCN
2018962693
OCLC
1051135094
Author
Flechner, Roy, 1975- author.
Title
Saint Patrick retold : the legend and history of Ireland's patron saint / Roy Flechner.
Publisher
Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2019]
Copyright Date
©2019
Type of Content
text
Type of Medium
unmediated
Type of Carrier
volume
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Research Call Number
JFD 19-2201
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