Chapter 6 Summary and Analysis

Patrick has a temper that flares when he sees injustice against the weak, but is also cheerful and good-humored. He does not take himself too seriously. In other words, he is an Irishman, more comfortable in Ireland than in his original home in Roman Britain. His gift to the Irish is a uniquely de-Romanized Christianity. He gets the Irish to put away slavery and the instruments of sacrifice, but allows them to remain Irish. Unlike church fathers on the continent, Patrick does not work to eradicate pagan influences. To this day, the Irish feasts of May Day and Halloween survive. In one town in Kerry, three days in August are devoted to a bacchanalia to Cernunnos, while in parts of Ulster the harvest god Lug is feted. Irish marriage customs are very un-Roman. As late as the twelfth century, they are...