St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography

Freeman, Philip

ISBN 10 : 0743256344 ISBN 13 : 9780743256346

Editeur : Simon & Schuster, 2005

Synopsis

St. Patrick of Ireland The most authoritative modern biography of the patron saint of Ireland, an engaging account of a fascinating historical figure and the tumultuous times in which he lived.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur :

St Patrick did not drive the snakes out of Ireland (the island had no snakes), nor did he engage in epic battles of supernatural power with Irish druids. But the facts revealed in this eminently readable biography are no less astonishing than the myths that surround him.
Born in Britain in the late fourth century, Patrick was raised as a Roman citizen and a Christian nobleman, Just before his sixteenth birthday, he was captured by Irish pirates and enslaved. He spent six years tending sheep in Ireland, escaped and returned home to his astonished parents. Soon afterward, he announced that God wanted him to become a priest and convert the Irish to Christianity. Patrick spent the rest of his life in Ireland, leaving behind two remarkable letters that reveal more about him than we know about almost any contemporary figure.
Philip Freeman brilliantly reconstructs daily life in the British Isles during the last days of the Roman Empire, putting Patrick's achievements in context with the beliefs of the day. The Patrick who emerges is even more extraordinary than the patron saint of legend - a passionate, courageous and very human figure who exerted an incalculable impact on the course of Irish history.

Biographie de l'auteur :

Philip Freeman is Qualley Professor of Classics at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and a former professor of classics at Washington University in St. Louis. He was selected as a visiting fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton for January 2012. He earned the first joint Ph.D. in classics and Celtic studies from Harvard University, and has been a visiting scholar at the Harvard Divinity School, the American Academy in Rome, and the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C. The author of several previous books including Alexander the Great, St. Patrick of Ireland and Julius Caesar, he lives with his family in Decorah, Iowa. Visit him at PhilipFreemanBooks.com.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Simon & Schuster
• Date d'édition: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0743256344
• ISBN 13: 9780743256346
• Reliure: Livre broché
• Nombre de pages: 238