How St. Patrick Rid Ireland of Snakes
The Ancient Irish Serpent Faith Replaced by Christianity
Mar 4, 2010 Paula I. Nielson St. Patrick was famous for banishing snakes from Ireland in the 4th century C.E. But how did he accomplish this and was this a literal or figurative purging?
Not much is known about pre-Christian religion in Ireland, however, the symbolism of the serpent is present everywhere, on stone monuments, jewelry, drawings, and in illuminated manuscripts. Where did this imagery come from and what did it mean? What happened to the snakes of the Emerald Isle? Did St. Patrick really rid Ireland of serpents?
Snakes in Ireland
The Irish-Catholic legend states that Saint Patrick bravely fought snakes and banished serpents from Ireland in the 4th century C.E. This was a fairly easy accomplishment as archaeologists assert that snakes have never lived in Ireland.The National Geographic reports that the climate in Ireland was inhospitable to snake species until 10,000 years ago, when the seas arose and snakes were unlikely to be able to find their way to Ireland in the frigid seas. Snakes cannot survive in areas that are frozen year round as Ireland was until after the Ice Age, and they do not swim great distances to migrate to other areas as is seen in Hawaii, New Zealand, Iceland, Greenland, and Antarctica which are all snake-free. Following the Ice Age, however, snakes did return to northern and western Europe, reaching as far as the Arctic Circle.
St. Patrick Symbolically Banished Snakes
Most scholars believe that St. Patrick did banish snakes from Ireland -- at least symbolically. These were the snakes found in the ancient religion of the non-Christian Irish. St. Patrick spent his life bringing Christianity to the people of the Emerald Isle and dispelling what he considered to be false traditions of the Irish, which would include the reverence for serpents.But not all of Celtic and pre-Celtic beliefs and myths, including those about serpents disappeared. St. Bernard, in his Life of Malachy, referred to the Irish of the 12th century C.E. as "Pagans, while calling themselves Christians." The Irish are still noted for retaining much of the old religion in their Christianity and artistry to this day.
Read more at Suite101: How St. Patrick Rid Ireland of Snakes: The Ancient Irish Serpent Faith Replaced by Christianity http://anthropology.suite101.com/article.cfm/how-st-patrick-rid-ireland-of-snakes#ixzz0iLET25Ut
XOXO-
Brian
