According to tradition and contemporary history, St. Patrick died near Armagh, March 17, A.D. 455, in the seventj'-eighth j-ear of his age. The anniversary of his death has ever been held as a festive daj' by the Irish, not only on their own green isle, but in every other part of the wide world to which wars and oppres- sion have driven them. The early Irish, like the Asi- atic Christians, celebrated the dying day of their saints, rather than, as with us, the day of their birth. He was the honored means of introducing Christianity to a people who, more than any other in proportion to their number, have spread themselves over the globe, and who have alwaj's carried their religion with them, ■whether in its pure and primitive state, or unhappily in its later and vitiated form. St. Patrick's piet}' was deep and abiding. He would have been a saint in any age or country. He was a man of great meek- ness ; in his government of the Church and his inter- course among men, love and humility were always and everywhere predominant. His religion lifted him above the love of wealth or of worldly honor. Like the prophet Samuel in the Old Testament, he used to appeal to the people, after living with them thirty j-ears : "If in an}' way I have taken aught from you, tell me, and I will restore you fourfold." He kept his vow to God "never to leave Ireland." During his mission of thirty-four years among them he nearly lost the use of his mother tongue. He was perhaps the most successful missionary of the 5th cen- tury. The Roman Catholics have proudly and exclu- sively claimed St. Patrick, and most Protestants have ignorantly or indifferently allowed their claim, thus giving to error a gratuity which it is diihcult to re- cover. Put he was no Romanist. His life and evan- gelical Church of tlie 5th century ought to be better known. The familiar story of the expulsion of the reptiles from Ireland by this saint has the signification of many other legends and allegories, and figures the triumph of good over evil. His resting-place at Down, in the province of Ulster, is still venerated by the peo- ple, and his remains were preserved many years, but his church at Down was destroyed in the reign of Henry VIII, and such relics of him as remained were scattered either by the soldiers of Elizabeth or bv those under Cromwell. "When represented as bishop, he wears the usual dress with the mitre, co])e, and crosier, while a neopliyte regards him witli reveronce. As the apostle of Ireland, he should wear a hooded gown and a leathern girdle. The staff, wallet, standard with the
cross, and the Gospel are all his proper attributes. A serpent should be placed beneath his feet.
Those who desire all the knowledge so far obtained regarding this noted man and his relation to the Church must consult Potthast, Bibliotk. Hist. Med. yEvi, p. 840
j sq. Of the latest biographies, that by Miss Cusack (1870) gives the Roman Catholic side of the case ; that by Todd (Dublin, 1863) the Protestant view. Besides
' these, consult De Yinne's Jlist. of the Irish Primitive Church, together with the Life of St. Patrick (New York, 1870, 12mo), where the authorities on St. I'atrick's life, labors, and doctrines are given. See also Todd, Hist. nf the Irish Church; Inett, Hist, of the Early English Church; Mrs. J nmeson, Legends ; Lea, Hist, of Sacer- dotal Ce'ibacg ; Hill, Hist, of Eng. Monasticism, p. 63, and Append, iii : Maclear, Hist, of Missions in the 3Iid- clle Ages ; Contemp. Rev. Sept. 1868 ; Westminster Rev. Oct. 1868, p. 240 ; Brit. Qu. Re>\ Oct. 1867, art. i ; Harper's Monthly, Oct. 1871 ; Friends' Review, iv, 427 sq. (D. D.)
Patrick (St.), Knights of, is the title of the mem- bers of an Irish order of knighthood founded by king George III of Great Britain on Feb. 5, 1783, in honor of the great Irish apostle. As originally constituted, the order consisted of the sovereign, the grand-master (who was always the reigning lord-lieutenant of Ire- land), and fifteen knights ; but in 1833 the number of knights was increased to twenty-two. The order is indicated by the initials " K. P." Their dress is as follows : The collar (of gold) is composed of roses al- ternating with harps, tied together with a knot of gold, the roses being enamelled alternately white within red, and red within white, and in the centre is an im- perial crown surmounting a harp of gold, from which the badge is suspended. The ladge or jewel is of gold, and oval ; surrounding it is a wreath of shamrock proper on a gold field ; within this is a band of sky- blue enamel charged with the motto of the order, " Quts separahit. mdcclxxxiii,'''' in gold letters, and within this band a saltire gules (the cross of St. Pat- rick), surmounted by a shamrock or trefoil slipped vert, having on each of its leaves an imperial crown or. The field of the cross is either argent or pierced and left open. A sky-blue ribbon, Avorn over the right shoulder, sustains the badge when the collar is not worn. The star, worn on the left side, diflers from the badge only in being circular in place of oval, and in