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The Rest Is HistoryMar 17, 2022

164. Saint Patrick

Summary, books mentioned, transcript quotes, and timestamps for 164. Saint Patrick on The Rest Is History.

Books mentioned

How the Irish Saved Civilization The Holy Man in Late Antiquity Hamlet in Purgatory+1 more

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164. Saint Patrick mentions How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Carhill, The Holy Man in Late Antiquity by Peter Brown, Hamlet in Purgatory by Stephen Greenblatt, and St Patrick Retold by Roy Fletchner with timestamps, quotes, and episode context.

How the Irish Saved Civilization The Holy Man in Late Antiquity Hamlet in Purgatory St Patrick Retold

3 books from this episode

How the Irish Saved Civilization

Thomas Carhill

And this is how the Irish saved civilization.

The Holy Man in Late Antiquity

Peter Brown

Peter Brown, who you mentioned at the beginning of the podcast, one of the greatest living historians, one of his early works was about the holy man…

Hamlet in Purgatory

Stephen Greenblatt

this is how I came across the story in Stephen Greenblatt, the great Shakespeare scholar.

Episode summary

Happy St. Patrick's Day! No, Tom isn't turning Brixton's River Effra green, nor is Dominic distributing shamrocks throughout the Oxfordshire countryside, but they're here anyway with a very special pod on the mysterious Apostle of Ireland. When was St. Patrick alive? Where was he really born? Why was he kidnapped by pirates? And did he really banish the snakes from Ireland? All this and more on today's episode of The Rest Is History. Join The Rest Is History Club for ad-free listening to the full archive, weekly bonus episodes, live streamed shows and access to an exclusive chatroom community. Producer: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Jack Davenport *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on tour this autumn! See them live in London, New Zealand, and Australia! Buy your tickets here: restishistorypod.com Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook

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How the Irish Saved Civilization

Thomas Carhill

The host discusses the revolutionary impact of St. Patrick and Irish missionaries on the spread of Christianity beyon…

Card

The Holy Man in Late Antiquity

Peter Brown

The host discusses the role of holy men in society, particularly focusing on Patrick's influence in Ireland. They ref…

Card

Hamlet in Purgatory

Stephen Greenblatt

The host mentions 'Hamlet in Purgatory' by Stephen Greenblatt to highlight the historical context surrounding St. Pat…

Card

St Patrick Retold

Roy Fletchner

The host mentions 'St Patrick Retold' to explore the complexities surrounding the narrative of St Patrick's kidnappin…

Card

Fletchner

The host discusses Roy Fletchner's recent study on the life of Patrick, highlighting a unique theory regarding a nume…

Card

Book mentions5

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What is 164. Saint Patrick about?

Summary, books mentioned, transcript quotes, and timestamps for 164. Saint Patrick on The Rest Is History.

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What are the main takeaways from 164. Saint Patrick?

These are the strongest takeaways surfaced by the transcript, summary copy, and linked mentions for 164. Saint Patrick.

The conversation centers on Irish missionaries and civilization.
A second recurring theme is power of the holy man.
Referenced books include How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Carhill and The Holy Man in Late Antiquity by Peter Brown.
The strongest audience signal points to Historians and those interested in early Christian missions and Historians and those interested in religious studies.

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Which books are mentioned in 164. Saint Patrick?

How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Carhill, The Holy Man in Late Antiquity by Peter Brown, and Hamlet in Purgatory by Stephen Greenblatt are the clearest linked books in this episode, each tied back to transcript timestamps and quote cards.

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Top triggers

Irish missionaries and civilization(1)power of the holy man(1)Roy Fletchner's study(1)St Patrick's kidnapping narrative(1)St. Patrick's legends(1)

Mention sentiment

Deep Dive(5)

Audience signals

Historians and those interested in early Christian missionsHistorians and those interested in religious studiesReaders interested in Irish history and religious studiesHistorians and those interested in religious historyScholars and enthusiasts of historical analysis

Books Mentioned

The full list below is ranked by how useful each mention is to a listener: stronger recommendation language, clearer quote context, and better timestamp support rise first.

How the Irish Saved Civilization

Thomas Carhill

Best for Historians and those interested in early Christian missionsOften cited around Irish missionaries and civilization

“The impulse for Irish saints to go into exile is framed in Thomas Carhill's book, which discusses how the Irish church contributed to civilization.”

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Sentiment: Deep Dive

Trigger: Irish missionaries and civilization

For: Historians and those interested in early Christian missions

Key quote: “And this is how the Irish saved civilization.”

The host discusses the revolutionary impact of St. Patrick and Irish missionaries on the spread of Christianity beyond the Roman Empire. This leads to a mention of Thomas Carhill's book, which frames the narrative of how the Irish played a crucial role in preserving and spreading civilization during tumultuous times.

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The Holy Man in Late Antiquity

Peter Brown

Best for Historians and those interested in religious studiesOften cited around power of the holy man

“Peter Brown, the great historian, discusses Patrick's originality and the revolutionary thoughts he had about bringing barbarians to Christ.”

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Sentiment: Deep Dive

Trigger: power of the holy man

For: Historians and those interested in religious studies

Key quote: “Peter Brown, who you mentioned at the beginning of the podcast, one of the greatest living historians, one of his early works was about the holy man in late antiquity.”

The host discusses the role of holy men in society, particularly focusing on Patrick's influence in Ireland. They reference Peter Brown's work to draw parallels between Patrick and other holy figures in late antiquity, exploring the unique power dynamics at play.

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Hamlet in Purgatory

Stephen Greenblatt

Best for Readers interested in Irish history and religious studiesOften cited around St. Patrick's legends

“The speaker mentions a brilliant account of the story of purgatory in County Donegal found in Stephen Greenblatt's book, 'Hamlet in Purgatory'.”

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Sentiment: Deep Dive

Trigger: St. Patrick's legends

For: Readers interested in Irish history and religious studies

Key quote: “this is how I came across the story in Stephen Greenblatt, the great Shakespeare scholar.”

The host mentions 'Hamlet in Purgatory' by Stephen Greenblatt to highlight the historical context surrounding St. Patrick's association with purgatory. The book provides a detailed account of the legends and their evolution over time, particularly in relation to Irish nationalism and religious tensions.

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St Patrick Retold

Roy Fletchner

Best for Historians and those interested in religious historyOften cited around St Patrick's kidnapping narrative

“The book 'St Patrick Retold' by Roy Fletchner is discussed as being fantastic and full of brilliant insights regarding the kidnap of St. Patrick.”

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Sentiment: Deep Dive

Trigger: St Patrick's kidnapping narrative

For: Historians and those interested in religious history

Key quote: “The theory that that Fletchner puts forward in his book, he goes back to look at the role that Patrick's father is playing in the Curia in the kind of the town council of wherever this place is that he's growing up.”

The host mentions 'St Patrick Retold' to explore the complexities surrounding the narrative of St Patrick's kidnapping. Roy Fletchner's thesis challenges traditional views and suggests that there may be more to the story than commonly believed.

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Fletchner

Best for Scholars and enthusiasts of historical analysisOften cited around Roy Fletchner's study

“The theory that Fletchner puts forward in his book, he goes back to look at the role that Patrick's father is playing in the Curia.”

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Sentiment: Deep Dive

Trigger: Roy Fletchner's study

For: Scholars and enthusiasts of historical analysis

Key quote: “Roy Fletchner, who's written the most recent study of Patrick's life, has a brilliant theory as to why Patrick says 60 when it doesn't add up to 60.”

The host discusses Roy Fletchner's recent study on the life of Patrick, highlighting a unique theory regarding a numerical discrepancy in Patrick's account. This mention serves to illustrate the depth of analysis Fletchner provides in understanding historical texts.

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