Oh, how blessed it is to be Irish!~ 馃槃馃崁 I have always loved being Irish, but after reading this book, I am extremely proud of my culture! I have never bothered to look into the history of Rome, or any history after the resurrection of Jesus, but after learning only a fraction of what took place during that time, I am amazed that I didn't take it up sooner!
(Granted, this book was published in 1995, so I'm sure that additional information has been discovered since, but it does not take away from the authenticity of what is already truth)
What set the ball in motion, was the collapse of the Roman Empire. The book doesn't give one reason for this; rather, it gives a list of factors. For one thing, the Romans' way of life was being threatened. They were becoming overwhelmed from the "centuries of migrations across the porous borders of the Empire;" Rome was being endlessly bombarded by barbarians (the book's word choice, not mine 馃槄). The reason for the surge in migrants was because more societies were evolving from nomadic lifestyles into agricultural/farming ones.
There was also the "rise of the tax collector," if you will. In the first early centuries, the tax collector was born into his occupation (Jewish men were given the task due to anti-Semitism), and by the fifth century, "the imperial approach to taxation had produced a hopeless caste." As a result, there was a flight of curiales, where they began to flee to other regions of Europe.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Rome met its inevitable demise by the end of the fifth century, where the Romans "woke to find the king of the Visigoths, and all his forces parked at their gate."
Now, before the fall of Rome, it had been a very popular custom for lower-class families to send "their infants to be nursed by shepherds in the pure mountain air." However, after Rome's collapse, families "began to find it impossible to retrieve their children."
I did not realize that before the introduction of Christianity, the Irish were some of the most brutal barbarians, and that "in the slavery business, no tribe was fiercer or more feared than the Irish." Witnessing the Irish in battle was amazingly horrific:
(I found this part humorous because I am often curious, albeit I am also at a loss, as to why I feel such intense rage a lot of the time, to the point where even I have been called possessed! 馃槄 Even my frail, Catholic 96-year-old Nana has been known to shock others with her explosive anger! I have jokingly blamed the emotional rollercoaster on genetics -- perhaps my guess has not been so farfetched! 馃槀)
Anyway, back to the fall of Rome. So Rome had fallen and the lower-class families could no longer retrieve their children from shepherds, and many of those children inadvertently became slaves. One of those slaves was 16-year-old Patricius. He endured 6 years of his cruel situation, where he finally began to pray to God. However, "on his last night as a slave, he received in sleep his first otherworldly experience; a voice mysteriously spoke to him. It said,
With that, Patricius fled from his captors and walked until he eventually came across his ship, where the crew decided to simply trust Patricius at his word.
Miraculously, he made it back to his homeland of Britain, yet Patricius' journey was still unfinished. He continued to have visions, where he saw the words, "The Voice of the Irish." Once again voices spoke to him, this time asking Patricius to go to Ireland:
So, he became ordained as a deacon and traveled to Ireland, "the first missionary to barbarians beyond the reach of Roman law." Patricius began to preach the Gospel and baptize populations. He taught men to be bishops, a well-respected title that granted many of them access to royalty. In fact, "within his lifetime ... the Irish slave trade came to a halt," because Patricius taught the Irish that "the virtues of lifelong faithfulness, courage, and generosity were actually obtainable by ordinary human beings."
(Again, another thing that I was amazed to discover, was that much of the world at that time believed that positive attributes, such as love and generosity, could only be achieved by spiritual/enlightened individuals. Human beings did not yet realize the emotional capacity they possessed! 馃槷)
You may be wondering how it was possible for one man to achieve all of this. Prior to Patricius' arrival, sexual activity was rampant. The Irish had multiple partners, participated in "trial marriages," and had homosexual relationships among warriors. They practiced human sacrifice, "sacrificed prisoners of war to the war gods and newborns to the harvest gods."
Indeed, it was an extremely terrifying time to be alive, especially in such strange marshlands. Without order and understanding, trying to navigate the world was unsettling. The Irish believed that the world was full of hidden traps and trickster gods lurked behind every tree.
When Patricius revealed that God is a loving god, not a vengeful one, it changed the Irish's entire perspective on the world. "The magical world ... is no longer full of dread. Christ has trodden all pathways before us." Patricius taught them that their bodies are holy and should be treated as such. He told them that "sacrifices were no longer needed. Christ already died for all." Ireland was "the only land into which Christianity was introduced without bloodshed."
And the Irish continued to prevail and astonish the world! By 461, "as the Roman lands went from peace to chaos, the land of Ireland was rushing even more rapidly from chaos to peace." St. Patrick had brought with him the gift of literacy, he taught the Irish Christians how to read and write as well. "And so the first Irish Christians also became the first Irish literates." The monks built a university, where thousands of students from all over Europe flocked to learn their ways. "Astonishingly decorated Irish manuscripts of the early medieval period are today the great jewels of libraries in England."
Even after becoming Christians, the Irish were not like other Christians. They decided to still give respect to their pagan holidays, which is why we continue to celebrate Halloween to this day. While other Christian nations were partaking in book burning, the Irish believed that "churchmen did not burn books. Only barbarians did that."
The Irish managed to prevail because they refused to give up what made them unique: their identity. They remained happy-go-lucky, refused to take themselves too seriously, creatively made up their own languages. In fact, by this time, the Irish way had become the basis for all of medieval civilization.
Then the Vikings came... Then the Calvinists imposed their Penal Laws onto Christians, denying them their rights... Then the Great Famine happened... And still, the Irish continued to prosper. However, the author does leave us with a vital warning...
