The Life of St. Patrick and His Place in History

by John Bagnell Bury

Until a leading historian published this classic biography in 1905, the facts about St. Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint, were clouded by obscurity, controversy, and conjecture. This carefully researched study brought the venerated figure into the light of history, exploring the many legends surrounding the saint and assessing their probability through scrupulous analysis of early sources.
A fascinating portrait of fourth-century life in the British Isles during the Roman occupation emerges as the author narrates the facts of the saint’s birth and boyhood in Britain. Patrick’s abduction at the age of 17 by Irish raiders led to a turning point in his spiritual development and brought him to the island with which he would forever be associated. In Ireland, he embraced his faith and spent most of his life converting pagans, founding churches, and making Ireland a formal part of universal Christendom.
The richly detailed text concludes with extensive appendixes, including a detailed account of the author’s sources. Still a valuable reference work after nearly a century, consulted and quoted by scholars, historians, and theologians, this very readable and accessible biography will fascinate all readers interested in the life of this saint and in Irish history.

Genres: Biography, History, Ireland

448 pages, Paperback

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.