Life of St. Patrick and His Place in History

by John Bagnell Bury

This renowned biography of the great Catholic saint, famous for converting Ireland to Christianity, is also a stunningly vivid portrait of life in the British Isles in the fifth century. Born in Britain as a Roman citizen and kidnapped by raiders to Ireland as a teenager, where he remained to do his holy work, Patrick's life encapsulates the themes of the era, as the new religion won out of paganism as the Roman Empire fell. Almost as valuable as the biography itself are Bury's complex appendices, which comprise more than half the book, and include such important scholarly details as the author's notes on Patrick's own writings, the memoirs of the saint by other writers including Tírechán and Muirchu, an examination of other Irish source materials, and a look at the historical evidence for such events as the dates of Patrick's birth and captivity, his possible visit to Rome in 432, his consecration, the location of his burial, and much more. British historian JOHN BAGNELL BURY (1861-1927) was professor of modern history at Cambridge. His writings, known for a readability combined with a scholarly depth, include History of the Later Roman Empire (1889), History of Greece (1900), and Idea of Progress (1920).

Genres: Biography, History, Ireland

428 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1905

About the author

John Bagnell Bury (often published as J.B. Bury) was a classical scholar, historian, and philologist. He held the chair in Modern History at Trinity College, Dublin, for nine years, and also was appointed Regius Professor of Greek at Trinity, and Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University.

Reviews

[Kenneth]

This book is a landmark in scholars' study of St. Patrick. First published in 1905, Professor Bury had done a thorough sifting (as far as was possible at that time) of the historical sources for researching Patrick. Although in the years since, much more work has been done (Liam de Paor writes about such developments in his Introduction to this Dover edition that I read), this book remains a major source for anyone who wants to understand Patrick's place in history and his role in converting Ireland to Christianity. It's a profitable read and I highly recommend it.

[J.C. Shepard]

The first dedicated biography of Saint Patrick, by a dedicated historian of the Roman empire.
If you read it, consider the context of a Protestant Irish author before the Irish Free State.

[Michael Peter Ansell]

ST PATRICK MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE!

We know of Ireland's patron saint via a very simplistic story as to how he converted the whole nation to Christianity. This book tells in a good way, that things were not that simple. A very interesting book.