Square dance is a folk dance with four couples (eight dancers) arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, beginning with Couple 1 facing away from the music and going counter-clockwise until getting to Couple 4. Couples 1 and 3 are known as the head couples, while Couples 2 and 4 are the side couples. Each dance begins and ends each sequence with "sets-in-order" in the square formation. The dance was first described in 17th century England but was also quite common in France and throughout Europe and bears a marked similarity to Scottish Country Dancing. It has become associated with the United States of America due to its historic development in that country. Nineteen US states have designated it as their official state dance.

The various square dance movements are based on the steps and figures used in traditional folk dances and social dances of the various people who migrated to the USA. Some of these traditional dances include Morris dance, English Country Dance, Caledonians and the quadrille. Square dancing is enjoyed by people around the world, and people around the world are involved in the continuing development of this form of dance. Square dancers are prompted or cued through a sequence of steps (square dance choreography) by a square dance caller to the beat of music—almost a "Simon Says" in dance form. The caller leads, but usually does not participate in the dance. Whether a square dancer travels to China, France, or Mexico, he or she can enjoy attending a square dance because it will only be called in English. This is the only form of dance that is not translated into other languages.

The roots of the American folk music revival in New York City in the 1950s were in square dancing and folk dancing in the 1940s and musicians like Pete Seeger being involved providing the music and songs.

Two main types of square dancing

There are two broad categories of square dance:

Traditional square dance, which is also called "old time square dance". Traditional square dance is not standardized and can be subdivided into regional styles. The New England and Appalachian styles have been particularly well documented; both have survived to the present time. There are several other styles; some have survived or been revived in recent years, some have not. Traditional square dance is frequently presented in alternation with contra dances or with some form of freestyle couple dancing. One ancestor of New England style square dances is the quadrille, and older New England callers occasionally refer to their squares as “quadrilles.”

Modern Western square dance, which is also called "Western square dance", "contemporary Western square dance", or "modern American square dance". The basis of modern Western square dance was established during the 1930s and 1940s by Lloyd Shaw, who solicited definitions from callers across the country in order to preserve traditional American folk dance. Since the 1970s modern Western square dance has been promoted and standardized by Callerlab, the "International Association of Square Dance Callers". Modern Western square dance is sometimes presented in alternation with round dances.

Comparing square dance calls

In this context a "call" refers to the name of a specific dance movement. It may alternatively refer to the phrase used by a caller to cue the dancers so they dance the specified movement, or to the dance movement itself. It mirrors the ambiguity of the word "dance", which may mean a dance event, the dancing of an individual to the playing of one piece of music, or dancing in general.

A square dance call may take a very short time or a very long time to execute. Most calls require between 4 and 32 "counts" (where a count is roughly one step). In traditional square dancing the timing of a call is dictated by tradition; in some regional styles, particularly that of New England, the dance movements are closely fitted to the phrases of the music. In modern Western square dancing many calls have been given formally specified durations, based partly on direct observation of how long it takes an average dancer to execute them.

Traditional and modern Western square dancing have a number of calls in common, but there are usually small differences in the way they are performed. For example, the "Allemande Left" is traditionally performed by grasping left hands with the other dancer, pulling away from each other slightly, and walking halfway around a central axis then stepping through. In modern Western dance the grip is modified so that each dancer grips the forearm of the other, and there is no pulling (that is, each dancer supports his or her own weight). These modifications make it easier to enter and exit the movement, and thus easier to incorporate into a long sequence of calls.

Traditional square dance uses a comparatively small number of calls—between about ten and thirty, depending on the region and the individual caller. (Many traditional square dance calls are similar or identical to contra dance calls, which are described at Contra dance choreography). Every dance is explained before the participants dance it, unless everyone present is familiar with it. Participants are made to feel welcome to make mistakes (within limits), and the mistakes can sometimes make the dance a lot more fun.

In modern Western square dance the participants are expected to have learned and become proficient in a particular ''program'', a defined set of calls. Dancing modern Western square dance is constantly challenging and surprising due to the unknown or unexpected choreography of the caller (that is, the way the caller ties together the "calls" and the formations which result)—unlike traditional square dance, very rarely are two modern Western dances ever alike. Like traditional square dancing, recovering from occasional mistakes is often part of the fun, but dancers are usually encouraged to dance only those programs at which they are reasonably proficient.

Comparing square dance music

The two types of square dance are accompanied by different types of music.

Traditional square dance is danced to traditional "folk dance" music: Irish jigs and reels for the most part, as well as folk music from Quebec (Canada), England, Scotland, and other countries. The music is almost always performed live by a traditional dance music band, and played on acoustic instruments, such as the fiddle, banjo, guitar and double bass. "Old time music" is one form of dance music played at traditional square dances.

Modern Western square dancing is danced to a variety of music types, everything from pop to traditional country to Broadway musical to contemporary country music—even rock and techno. The music is usually played from recordings; the beat is also somewhat faster, as the "perfect" modern Western square dance tempo is 120–128 bpm. At this speed dancers take one step per beat of the music.

Other comparisons

Modern Western square dance is organized by square dance clubs. Clubs offer classes, social and dance evenings, as well as arrange for larger dances which are usually open to the general square dancing public (i.e. non-club members). Larger dances sometimes request a strict western-style dress code, which originated in the late '50s and early '60s and is known as "traditional square dance attire", although it was not traditional before that time. Clubs may choose to advertise their dances as requiring less strict dress codes known as "proper" or "casual" (no dress code). Traditional square dance groups are less structured and often have no particular dress code.

Square dance callers

Square dance calling is both an art and a science. The caller's task is to create dance sequences that have the qualities of good body flow, good timing, surprise dancers and are resolved with dancers in sequence and have the correct partner pairings. Some of the top modern western callers in the world are Jerry Story (USA), Dennis Kolecki (WHS), Paul Bristow (UK), Stefan Forster (Germany), Christer Bern (Sweden) and David Cox (Australia).

See also

Youth square dance

Minuet, a dance that is derived from square dancing

References

Further reading

External links

Callerlab: The International Association of Square Dance Callers

History and Heritage of Modern American Square Dancing

Information & Resources on Australia's 1950's Square Dancing BOOM!

History of Square and Contra Dance

Square and Round Dancing Australia/NZ - Square and Round Dancing in Australia and NZ - Australian Products and area Information for Square Dancing, Round Dancing and Clogging

Western Star Dancers - A modern GLBT square dance and social club in San Francisco. The first GLBT square dance club in the world, begun in March 1982, and a founding member of IAGSDC.

Square Dance Foundation of New England has an extensive collection of books, records, photographs and other materials relating to the history of both traditional and modern square dancing. On the site are interviews with many callers and recordings of dances from the early 1960s.

Virginia Square Dancer: Square Dancers of Virginia - Your one stop source for square dancing information and news for the Mid Atlantic Area of the USA.

Square Dance Federation of Minnesota Serving Minnesota, Northern Iowa, Western Wisconsin, and the Eastern Dakotas.

Category:American folk dances Category:Symbols of Colorado Category:Symbols of Connecticut Category:Symbols of Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Symbols of Oregon Category:Symbols of Utah

cs:Square dance da:Square dance de:Square Dance es:Square dance fr:Square dance ja:スクウェアダンス ru:Сквэр данс sv:Squaredans zh:方塊舞

Name	Sir Mix-a-Lot
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Anthony Ray
Born	August 12, 1963Seattle, Washington, U.S. |genre Hip hop, West Coast rap, old school hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, songwriter, producer, performer
Years active	1986–present
Label	Nastymix/Ichiban, American Recordings, Artist Direct/BMG
Website	www.sirmixalot.com }}

Anthony Ray (born August 12, 1963), better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot, is an emcee and producer based in Seattle, Washington. The founder of the Nastymix record label, he debuted in 1988 with ''Swass''. In 1992, he debuted on a major label with his album ''Mack Daddy'', whose single "Baby Got Back" reached the top of the American singles chart and won a Grammy Award.

Career

In 1986, Sir Mix-a-Lot and his DJ, Nasty Nes founded the Nastymix record label. His first hit, released in 1987, was the single "Posse on Broadway," whose title referred to a street in Seattle's Capitol Hill district. The Godzilla remix of "Posse on Broadway" contained a sample from David Bowie's 1975 hit "Fame," but neither the album version nor the original seven-inch edit version (which was used for the video) used the Bowie sample. ''Swass'', his debut album, was released in 1988, with two other singles: "Square-Dance Rap" and a hip hop cover of the Black Sabbath song "Iron Man" backed by the band Metal Church. In 1990, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified ''Swass'' platinum for selling a million copies.

Sir Mix-A-Lot debuted on the Def American label, which also bought the rights of his first two albums, with ''Mack Daddy'' in 1992. Its single "Baby Got Back" was a number-one hit that went double platinum and won the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. MTV aired the video for "Baby Got Back" only during evening hours because of its sexual nature. In 1993, Sir Mix-a-Lot collaborated with Seattle-based grunge group Mudhoney for the song "Freak Momma" on the ''Judgment Night'' soundtrack.

Low label promotion of his 1996 album ''Return of the Bumpasaurus'' led Sir Mix-a-Lot to leave the American label. During the three year break, Sir Mix-a-Lot worked closely with another group, The Presidents of the United States of America under the group name "Subset" with a combination of rock and rap music, but nothing was ever officially released. Sir Mix-a-Lot signed with the independent Artist Direct label for his 2003 album ''Daddy's Home'' with "Big Johnson" as its lead single. Despite having taken several years off from recording, Sir Mix-a-Lot is still known to mix frequently.

In 2010, Sir Mix-a-Lot announced his next album, Dun 4got About Mix. The lead single "Carz" was released to YouTube on 23 Nov 2010. By June 2011, the video had accquired over a million views, although no release date for the album has been set.

Film and Television

In 1995, Sir Mix-a-Lot starred as the titular character of the short-lived TV series ''The Watcher''. The show was one of the first dramas aired on the fledgling broadcast network, UPN. Reminiscent of series such as ''The Twilight Zone'', Sir-Mix-a-Lot functioned as an omniscient narrator who introduced each episode, which would feature a new tale set in the seamy underbelly of Las Vegas.

In 2006, Sir Mix-a-Lot appeared as himself in the second season episode of ''Tom Goes to the Mayor'', "My Big Cups", in which he raps the jingle for Tom's latest commercial enterprise, a store that sells big cups. He also appeared as himself in The Simpsons episode Treehouse of Horror XVII singing a parody of his song, Baby Got Back titled Baby Likes Fat. He is currently trying to make a comeback with a new label that should make its release at the end of 2011.

Sir Mix-a-Lot provides narration and commentary in ''Wheedle's Groove'', a 2009 documentary about the Seattle 1960s and 70s funk and soul scene.

Discography

''Swass'' (1988)

''Seminar'' (1989)

''Mack Daddy'' (1992)

''Chief Boot Knocka'' (1994)

''Return of the Bumpasaurus'' (1996)

''Daddy's Home'' (2003)

References

External links

Sir Mix-A-Lot Official site

Official site at Artist Direct

Sir Mix-A-Lot at MySpace

Subset

Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:African American rappers Category:People from Seattle, Washington Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Rappers from Washington (state) Category:Sony BMG artists Category:Universal Records artists

als:Sir Mix-a-Lot da:Sir Mix-A-Lot de:Sir Mix-a-Lot es:Sir Mix-a-Lot fr:Sir Mix-a-Lot gl:Sir Mix-A-Lot la:Antonius Ray pt:Sir Mix-A-Lot simple:Sir Mix-A-Lot tr:Sir Mix-a-Lot

Name	Johnny Preston
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	John Preston Courville
Born	August 18, 1939Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.
Died	March 04, 2011Beaumont, Texas, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals
Genre	Traditional popular music
Occupation	Singer
Years active	1959–2009
Label	MercuryImperialKapp
Website	}}

Johnny Preston (August 18, 1939 – March 4, 2011) was an American pop music singer, who was best known for his international number one hit in 1960, "Running Bear".

Life and career

Born as John Preston Courville in Port Arthur, Texas, of Cajun ancestry, Preston sang in high school choral contests throughout the state of Texas. He formed a rock and roll band called "The Shades", who were seen performing at a local club by J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.

Richardson offered Preston the chance to record a teenage tragedy song he had written, "Running Bear", which they did in Houston, Texas, in 1958. The "Indian" sounds on the record were performed by Richardson and George Jones. The record was released after the Big Bopper's death in the same plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. It entered the U.S. Hot 100 in October 1959, reaching number one in January 1960 and remaining there for three weeks. It was a transatlantic chart-topper, reaching #1 in the United Kingdom in March 1960. The sales of the record exceeded one million copies, earning Preston his first gold disc.

Preston quickly followed up with another hit called "Cradle of Love," (Billboard #7, UK # 2) and made several other records during the early 1960s that met with modest success. "Cradle of Love" was a hit in both the UK Singles Chart and in Athens, Greece. Preston's "I'm Starting to Go Steady", a song on the flip side of "Feel So Fine", (Billboard #14), was released in June 1960. Preston made appearances on ''American Bandstand'' (ABC-TV) and ''The Milt Grant Show'' and also ''The Buddy Deane Show'' (East Coast, United States).

Preston's pioneering contribution to the genre was recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He also performed at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater in Branson, Missouri. In 2009 and 2010, Preston performed with the LSCPA Touring Band at Lamar State College- Port Arthur, in his hometown.

Preston had coronary artery bypass surgery in 2010. He died of heart failure in Beaumont, Texas on Friday 4 March 2011, at the age of 71, after years of heart-related illnesses.

Discography

Chart singles

align=center align=center align=center align=center align=center

Billboard Hot 100>U.S. Hot 100 !!UK Singles Chart
rowspan=1	1959	"Running Bear"	1	1
rowspan=4	1960	"Cradle of Love"	7	2
"Feel So Fine"	14||align=center|18
"I'm Starting to Go Steady"
"Charming Billy"
rowspan=2	1961	"Leave My Kitten Alone"	73
"Free Me"	97||align=center

See also

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart

List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart

List of stage names

List of Mercury Records artists

References

External links

Category:1939 births Category:2011 deaths Category:American pop singers Category:People from Port Arthur, Texas Category:American male singers Category:Rockabilly Hall of Fame inductees Category:Imperial Records artists Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Swamp pop music Category:Deaths from heart failure

de:Johnny Preston et:Johnny Preston is:Johnny Preston it:Johnny Preston nl:Johnny Preston pl:Johnny Preston pt:Johnny Preston fi:Johnny Preston sv:Johnny Preston

{{infobox saint|name	Saint Patrick
Venerated in	Roman Catholic ChurchEastern OrthodoxyAnglican CommunionLutheran Church
Feast day	17 March (Saint Patrick's Day)
Major shrine	Glastonbury Abbey; Armagh
Patronage	Ireland, Nigeria, Montserrat, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, Boston, Loíza, Murcia(Spain), engineers, paralegals, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, invoked against snakes, sins, witchcraft}}

Saint Patrick (; Primitive Irish: ''*Qatrikias''; ; ; ; British: ''*Patrikios''; ; ; ; ; c. 387 – 17 March, 493 or c 460) was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the ''Apostle of Ireland'', although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints.

Two authentic letters from him survive, from which come the only universally accepted details of his life. When he was about 16, he was captured from Wales by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family. After entering the Church, he returned to Ireland as an ordained bishop in the north and west of the island, but little is known about the places where he worked. By the seventh century, he had come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland.

Most available details of his life are from later hagiographies from the seventh century onwards, and these are now not accepted without detailed criticism. Uncritical acceptance of the ''Annals of Ulster'' would imply that he lived from 340 to 440, and ministered in what is modern day Northern Ireland from 428 onwards. The dates of Patrick's life cannot be fixed with certainty, but on a widespread interpretation he was active as a missionary in Ireland during the second half of the 5th century.

Saint Patrick's Day is observed on March 17, the date of Patrick's death. It is celebrated both in and outside of Ireland, as both a liturgical and non-liturgical holiday. In the dioceses of Ireland it is both a solemnity and a holy day of obligation and outside of Ireland, it can be a celebration of Ireland itself.

Background

Most modern studies of Saint Patrick follow a variant of T. F. O'Rahilly's "Two Patricks" theory. That is to say, many of the traditions later attached to Saint Patrick originally concerned Palladius, who Prosper of Aquitaine's ''Chronicle'' says was sent by Pope Celestine I as the first bishop to Irish Christians in 431. Palladius was not the only early cleric in Ireland at this time. The Irish born Saint Ciaran Saighir (the Elder) lived in the later 4th century (352–402 AD) and was the first bishop of Ossory. Ciaran the Elder along with Saints Auxilius, Secundinus and Iserninus are also associated with early churches in Munster and Leinster. By this reading, Palladius was active in Ireland until the 460s.

Prosper associates Palladius' appointment with the visits of Germanus of Auxerre to Britain to suppress the Pelagian heresy and it has been suggested that Palladius and his colleagues were sent to Ireland to ensure that exiled Pelagians did not establish themselves among the Irish Christians. The appointment of Palladius and his fellow-bishops was not obviously a mission to convert the Irish, but more probably intended to minister to existing Christian communities in Ireland. The sites of churches associated with Palladius and his colleagues are close to royal centres of the period: Secundus is remembered by Dunshaughlin, County Meath, close to the Hill of Tara which is associated with the High King of Ireland; Killashee, County Kildare, close to Naas with links with the Kings of Leinster, is probably named for Auxilius. This activity was limited to the southern half of Ireland, and there is no evidence for them in Ulster or Connacht.

Although the evidence for contacts with Gaul is clear, the borrowings from Latin into the Old Irish language show that links with former Roman Britain were many. Saint Iserninus, who appears to be of the generation of Palladius, is thought to have been a Briton, and is associated with the lands of the Uí Cheinnselaig in Leinster. The Palladian mission should not be contrasted with later "British" missions, but forms a part of them.

In his own words

Two Latin letters survive which are generally accepted to have been written by Patrick. These are the ''Declaration'' () and the ''Letter to the soldiers of Coroticus'' (). The ''Declaration'' is the more important of the two. In it Patrick gives a short account of his life and his mission.

Patrick was born in Roman Britain at Banna Venta Berniae, a location otherwise unknown. Calpornius, his father, was a deacon, his grandfather Potitus, a priest. When he was about sixteen, he was captured and carried off as a slave to Ireland. Patrick worked as a herdsman, remaining a captive for six years. He writes that his faith grew in captivity, and that he prayed daily. After six years he heard a voice telling him that he would soon go home, and then that his ship was ready. Fleeing his master, he travelled to a port, two hundred miles away he says, where he found a ship and, after various adventures, returned home to his family, now in his early twenties.

Patrick recounts that he had a vision a few years after returning home:

I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: "The Voice of the Irish". As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea—and they cried out, as with one voice: "We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.

A. B. E. Hood suggests that the Victoricus of Patrick's vision may be identified with Saint Victricius, bishop of Rouen in the late 4th century, who was the only European churchman of the time to advocate or practice conversion of pagans, and who visited Britain in an official capacity in 396.

Much of the ''Declaration'' concerns charges made against Patrick by his fellow Christians at a trial. What these charges were, he does not say explicitly, but he writes that he returned the gifts which wealthy women gave him, did not accept payment for baptisms, nor for ordaining priests, and indeed paid for many gifts to kings and judges, and paid for the sons of chiefs to accompany him. It is concluded, therefore, that he was accused of some sort of financial impropriety, and perhaps of having obtained his bishopric in Ireland with personal gain in mind.

From this same evidence, something can be seen of Patrick's mission. He writes that he "baptised thousands of people". He ordained priests to lead the new Christian communities. He converted wealthy women, some of whom became nuns in the face of family opposition. He also dealt with the sons of kings, converting them too.

Patrick's position as a foreigner in Ireland was not an easy one. His refusal to accept gifts from kings placed him outside the normal ties of kinship, fosterage and affinity. Legally he was without protection, and he says that he was on one occasion beaten, robbed of all he had, and put in chains, perhaps awaiting execution.

Murchiú's life of Saint Patrick contains a supposed prophecy by the druids which gives an impression of how Patrick and other Christian missionaries were seen by those hostile to them: :Across the sea will come Adze-head, crazed in the head, his cloak with hole for the head, his stick bent in the head.He will chant impieties from a table in the front of his house; all his people will answer: "so be it, so be it."

The second piece of evidence that comes from Patrick's life is the ''Letter to Coroticus'' or ''Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus'', written after a first remonstrance was received with ridicule and insult. In this, Patrick writes an open letter announcing that he has excommunicated Coroticus because he had taken some of Patrick's converts into slavery while raiding in Ireland. The letter describes the followers of Coroticus as "fellow citizens of the devils" and "associates of the Scots [ie, the Irish of Argyll and northern Ireland] and Apostate Picts". Based largely on an 8th-century gloss, Coroticus is taken to be King Ceretic of Alt Clut. It has been suggested that it was the sending of this letter which provoked the trial which Patrick mentions in the ''Confession''.

Death

According to the latest reconstruction of the old Irish annals, Patrick died in AD 493 on March 17, a date accepted by some modern historians. Prior to the 1940s it was believed without doubt that he died in 420 and thus had lived in the first half of the 5th century. A lecture entitled ''"The Two Patricks"'', published in 1942 by T. F. O'Rahilly, caused enormous controversy by proposing that there had been two "Patricks", Palladius and Patrick, and that what we now know of St. Patrick was in fact in part a conscious effort to blend the two into one hagiographic personality. Decades of contention eventually ended with most historians now asserting that Patrick was indeed most likely to have been active in the latter half of the fifth century.

While Patrick's own writings contain no dates, they do contain information which can be used to date them. Patrick's quotations from the Acts of the Apostles follow the Vulgate, strongly suggesting that his ecclesiastical conversion did not take place before the early 5th century. Patrick also refers to the Franks as being pagans. Their conversion is dated to the period 496–508.

There is plentiful evidence for a medieval tradition that Patrick had died in 493. An addition to the Annals of Ulster states that in the year 553 (approximately two hundred and fifty years before the addition was made):

I have found this in the Book of Cuanu: The relics of Patrick were placed sixty years after his death in a shrine by Colum Cille. Three splendid halidoms were found in the burial-place: his goblet, the Angel's Gospel, and the Bell of the Testament. This is how the angel distributed the halidoms: the goblet to Dún, the Bell of the Testament to Ard Macha, and the Angel's Gospel to Colum Cille himself. The reason it is called the Angel's Gospel is that Colum Cille received it from the hand of the angel.

thumb|The reputed burial place of St. Patrick in Downpatrick The placing of this event in the year 553 indicate a tradition that Patrick's death was 493, or at least in the early years of that decade, and the Annals of Ulster report under 493:

Patrick, arch-apostle, or archbishop and apostle of the Irish, rested on the 16th of the Kalends of April in the 120th year of his age, in the 60th year after he had come to Ireland to baptise the Irish.

This tradition is also seen in an annalistic reference to the death of a saint termed Patrick's disciple, Mochta, who is said to have died in 535.

St. Patrick is said to be buried at Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, County Down, alongside St. Brigid and St. Columba, although this has never been proven. The Battle for the Body of St. Patrick demonstrates the importance of both him as a spiritual leader, and of his body as an object of veneration, in early Christian Ireland. Saint Patrick Visitor Centre is a modern exhibition complex located in Downpatrick and is a permanent interpretative exhibition centre featuring interactive displays on the life and story of Saint Patrick. It provides the only permanent exhibition centre in the world devoted to Saint Patrick.

Seventh-century writings

An early document which is silent concerning Patrick is the letter of Columbanus to Pope Boniface IV of about 613. Columbanus writes that Ireland's Christianity "was first handed to us by you, the successors of the holy apostles", apparently referring to Palladius only, and ignoring Patrick. Writing on the Easter controversy in 632 or 633, Cummian—it is uncertain whether this is the Cummian associated with Clonfert or Cumméne of Iona—does refer to Patrick, calling him ''our papa'', that is pope or primate.

Two works by late seventh-century hagiographers of Patrick have survived. These are the writings of Tírechán, and ''Vita sancti Patricii'' of Muirchu moccu Machtheni. Both writers relied upon an earlier work, now lost, the ''Book of Ultán''. This Ultán, probably the same person as Ultan of Ardbraccan, was Tírechán's foster-father. His obituary is given in the ''Annals of Ulster'' under the year 657. These works thus date from a century and a half after Patrick's death.

Tírechán writes

"I found four names for Patrick written in the book of Ultán, bishop of the tribe of Conchobar: holy ''Magonus'' (that is, "famous"); ''Succetus'' (that is, the god of war); ''Patricius'' (that is, father of the citizens); ''Cothirtiacus'' (because he served four houses of druids)."

Muirchu records much the same information, adding that "[h]is mother was named Concessa." The name ''Cothirtiacus'', however, is simply the Latinized form of Old Irish ''Cothraige'', which is the Q-Celtic form of Latin ''Patricius''.

The Patrick portrayed by Tírechán and Muirchu is a martial figure, who contests with druids, overthrows pagan idols, and curses kings and kingdoms. On occasion, their accounts contradict Patrick's own writings: Tírechán states that Patrick accepted gifts from female converts although Patrick himself flatly denies this. However, the emphasis Tírechán and Muirchu placed on female converts, and in particular royal and noble women who became nuns, is thought to be a genuine insight into Patrick's work of conversion. Patrick also worked with the unfree and the poor, encouraging them to vows of monastic chastity. Tírechán's account suggests that many early Patrician churches were combined with nunneries founded by Patrick's noble female converts.

The martial Patrick found in Tírechán and Muirchu, and in later accounts, echoes similar figures found during the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity. It may be doubted whether such accounts are an accurate representation of Patrick's time, although such violent events may well have occurred as Christians gained in strength and numbers.

Much of the detail supplied by Tírechán and Muirchu, in particular the churches established by Patrick, and the monasteries founded by his converts, may relate to the situation in the 7th century, when the churches which claimed ties to Patrick, and in particular Armagh, were expanding their influence throughout Ireland in competition with the church of Kildare. In the same period, Wilfred, Archbishop of York, claimed to speak, as metropolitan archbishop, "for all the northern part of Britain and of Ireland" at a council held in Rome in the time of Pope Agatho, thus claiming jurisdiction over the Irish church.

Other presumed early materials include the Irish annals, which contain records from the Chronicle of Ireland. These sources have conflated Palladius and Patrick. Another early document is the so-called ''First Synod of Saint Patrick''. This is a seventh-century document, once, but no longer, taken as to contain a 5th century original text. It apparently collects the results of several early synods, and represents an era when pagans were still a major force in Ireland. The introduction attributes it to Patrick, Auxilius, and Iserninus, a claim which "cannot be taken at face value."

In legend

St. Patrick banishes all snakes from Ireland

Pious legend credits St. Patrick with banishing snakes from the island, chasing them into the sea after they assailed him during a 40-day fast he was undertaking on top of a hill,. This hagiographic theme draws on the mythography of the staff of Moses, messenger of Yahweh to gentile Egyptians. In , Moses and Aaron use their staffs in their struggle with Pharaoh's sorcerers, the staffs of each side morphing into snakes. Aaron's snake-staff prevails.

However, all evidence suggests that post-glacial Ireland never had snakes, as on insular "Ireland, New Zealand, Iceland, Greenland, and Antarctica...So far, no serpent has successfully migrated across the open ocean to a new terrestrial home" such as from Scotland on the mainland of the neighboring island of Britain, where a few native species have lived, "the venomous adder, the grass snake, and the smooth snake," as National Geographic notes, and although sea snake species separately exist. "At no time has there ever been any suggestion of snakes in Ireland, so [there was] nothing for St. Patrick to banish," says naturalist Nigel Monaghan, keeper of natural history at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin, who has searched extensively through Irish fossil collections and records. The List of reptiles of Ireland has only one land reptile species native to Ireland, the viviparous or common lizard.

The only biological candidate species for appearing like a native snake in Ireland is the slow worm, actually a legless lizard, a non-native species more recently found in The Burren region of County Clare as recorded since the early 1970s, as noted by the National Parks and Wildlife Service of Ireland, which suspects it was deliberately introduced in the 1960s. So far, the slow worm's territory in the wild has not spread beyond the Burren's limestone region which is rich in wildlife.

One suggestion is that ''snakes'' referred to the serpent symbolism of the Druids during that time and place, as exampled on coins minted in Gaul (see Carnutes). Chris Weigant connects "Big tattoos of snakes" on Druids' arms as "Irish schoolchildren are taught" with the way in which, in the legend of St. Patrick banishishing snakes, the "story goes to the core of Patrick's sainthood and his core mission in Ireland."

St. Patrick uses shamrock in an illustrative parable

Legend (dating to 1726, according to the OED) also credits St. Patrick with teaching the Irish about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity by showing people the shamrock, a three-leafed clover, using it to illustrate the Christian teaching of 'three divine persons in the one God.' For this reason, shamrocks have definitely become a central symbol for St Patrick’s Day.

Nevertheless, the shamrock was also seen as sacred in the pre-Christian days in Ireland. Due to its green color and overall shape, many viewed it as representing rebirth and eternal life. The number three was sacred to the Morrigan, the "Triple Goddess" of ancient Ireland, most commonly identified as the "Badb", "Macha", and "Nemain".

St. Patrick's dead ash wood walking stick grows into a living tree

Some Irish legends involve the Oilliphéist, the Caoránach, and the Copóg Phádraig. During his evangelising journey back to Ireland from his parent's home at Birdoswald, he is understood to have carried with him an ash wood walking stick or staff. He thrust this stick into the ground wherever he was evangelising and at the place now known as Aspatria (ash of Patrick) the message of the dogma took so long to get through to the people there that the stick had taken root by the time he was ready to move on.

St. Patrick speaks with ancient Irish ancestors who were born long before his time

The 12th century work ''Acallam na Senórach'' tells of Patrick being met by two ancient warriors, Caílte mac Rónáin and Oisín, during his evangelical travels. The two were once members of Fionn mac Cumhaill's warrior band the Fianna, and somehow survived to Patrick's time.

Saint Patrick's Bell

The National Museum of Ireland, in Dublin possesses a bell first mentioned, according to the Annals of Ulster, in the Book of Cuanu in the year 552. The bell was part of a collection of "relics of Patrick" robbed from his tomb sixty years after his death by Colum Cille to be placed in a shrine. The bell is described as "The Bell of the Testament", one of three relics of "precious minna" (extremely valuable items), of which the other two are described as Patrick's goblet and "The Angels Gospel". Cille is described to have been under the direction of an "Angel" for whom he sent the goblet to Down, the bell to Armagh, and kept possession of the Angels Gospel for himself. The name Angels Gospel is given to the book because it was supposed that Cille received it from the angel's hand. A stir was caused in 1044 when two kings, in some dispute over the bell, went on spates of prisoner taking and cattle theft. The annals make one more apparent reference to the bell when chronicling a death, of 1356, "Solomon Ua Mellain, The Keeper of The Bell of the Testament, protector, rested in Christ." As a museum exhibit, the bell is accompanied by a shrine in which it was encased for King Domnall Ua Lochlainn sometime between 1091 and 1105. The shrine is a sparkling example of fine jewellry. Intricate and delicate Celtic design has been worked in gold and silver over every surface except where encrusted with large precious stones. The Bell was inscribed in Gaelic: "U INMAINEN" (which translates to: NOONAN) "who with his sons enriched/decorated it" (metal work was often inscribed for remembrance).

Although today one or two of the jewels are missing as well as some of the panels of Celtic artwork, full appreciation of the shrine's workmanship is unaffected and it is kept, along with Patrick's Bell, in glittering condition by the National Museum as a priceless national treasure. The bell itself is simple in design, hammered into shape with a small handle fixed to the top with rivets. Originally forged from iron, it has since been coated in bronze. The shrine is inscribed with three names, including King Domnall Ua Lochlainn's. The rear of the shrine, not intended to be seen, is decorated with crosses while the handle is decorated with, among other work, Celtic designs of birds. The bell is accredited with working a miracle in 1044 and having been coated in bronze to shield it from human eyes, for which it would be too holy. It measures 12.5 × 10 cm at the base, 12.8 × 4 cm at the shoulder, 16.5 cm from base to shoulder, 3.3 cm from shoulder to top of handle and weighs 1.7 kg.

Patrick's Bell and shrine were featured on RTE's the Late Late Show, the world's longest-running talk show, in March 2008 along with part of the 2000-year-old Broighter Hoard to mark celebrations for St Patrick's Day.

Sainthood and modern remembrance

thumb|175px|The neo-gothic [[St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York|St Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, as seen from Rockefeller Center.]] March 17, popularly known as St. Patrick's Day, is believed to be his death date and is the date celebrated as his feast day. The day became a feast day in the universal church due to the influence of the Waterford-born Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding, as a member of the commission for the reform of the Breviary in the early part of the 17th century.

For most of Christianity's first thousand years, canonisations were done on the diocesan or regional level. Relatively soon after the death of people considered to be very holy people, the local Church affirmed that they could be liturgically celebrated as saints. As a result, St. Patrick has never been formally canonised by a Pope; nevertheless, various Christian churches declare that he is a Saint in Heaven (he is in the List of Saints). He is still widely venerated in Ireland and elsewhere today.

St. Patrick is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on March 17. St. Patrick is also venerated in the Orthodox Church, especially among English-speaking Orthodox Christians living in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland and in North America. There are Orthodox icons dedicated to him.

Places associated with Saint Patrick

Slemish, County Antrim and Killala Bay, County Mayo

:When captured by raiders, there are two theories as to where Patrick was enslaved. One theory is that he herded sheep in the countryside around Slemish. Another theory is that Patrick herded sheep near Killala Bay, at a place called Fochill.

Saul, County Down () :It is claimed that Patrick founded his first church in a barn at Saul, which was donated to him by a local chieftain called Dichu. It is also claimed that Patrick died at Saul or was brought there between his death and burial. Nearby, on the crest of Slieve Patrick, is a huge statue of Saint Patrick with bronze panels showing scenes from his life.

Hill of Slane, County Meath

:Muirchu moccu Machtheni, in his highly mythologized 7th century ''Life of Patrick'', says that Patrick lit a Paschal fire on this hilltop in 433 CE in defiance of High King Laoire. The story says that the fire could not be doused by anyone but Patrick, and it was here that he explained the holy trinity using the shamrock.

Croagh Patrick, County Mayo () :It is claimed that Patrick climbed this mountain and fasted on its summit for the forty days of Lent. Croagh Patrick draws thousands of pilgrims who make the trek to the top on the last Sunday in July.

Lough Derg, County Donegal () :It is claimed that Patrick killed a large serpent on this lake and that its blood turned the water red (hence the name). Each August, pilgrims spend three days fasting and praying there on Station Island.

Armagh, County Armagh

:It is claimed that Patrick founded a church here and proclaimed it to be the most holy church in Ireland. Armagh is today the primary seat of both the Catholic and Protestant Churches in Ireland and both cathedrals in the town are named after Patrick.

Downpatrick, County Down () :It is claimed that Patrick was brought here after his death and buried in the grounds of Down Cathedral.

Other places named after Saint Patrick include: Ardpatrick, County Limerick () Patrickswell or Toberpatrick, County Limerick ()

St Patrick's Island, County Dublin

St Patrick's Isle, off the Isle of Man

Llanbadrig on the island of Anglesey in Wales

Templepatrick, County Antrim ()

In literature

Robert Southey wrote a ballad called ''Saint Patrick's Purgatory'', based on popular legends surrounding the saint's on yes name. Stephen R. Lawhead also wrote the fictional ''Patrick: Son of Ireland'' based on the life of the celebrated Saint.

Dutch/Scottish singer Chris Anderson wrote a poem called "Saint Patrick's Lament", based on the Saint's remembrance festival Saint Patrick's Day.

See also

Croagh Patrick

St Patrick's Purgatory

Saint Patrick's Flag

St. Patrick's blue

References

Further reading

External links

Writings of Saint Patrick

The Most Ancient Lives of Saint Patrick, edited by James O'Leary, 1880, from Project Gutenberg.

BBC: Religion & Ethics, Christianity: Saint Patrick (Incl. audio)

Opera Omnia by Migne Patristica Latina with analytical indexes

Oase Sankt Patrick

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork includes Patrick's ''Confessio'' and ''Epistola'', as well as various lives of Saint Patrick.

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