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Themes in the Celtic Church, Reformation and Post-Reformation Church

Patrick and the authority of Armagh

  • 3 things to know
  • A2

Overview

Book of Armagh, claim made by the Liber Angeli and tírechán compiling.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Evaluation

Give the strongest argument against the historical validity of Armagh's claims.

Key term

Does Patrick name Armagh anywhere in his own writings?

Key term

Why was Armagh a valuable site for a church to claim?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Does Patrick name Armagh anywhere in his own writings?

    Model answer

    Patrick never names Armagh in the Confessio or the Letter to Coroticus, so the whole association rests on sources written long after his death.

  2. 2

    Why was Armagh a valuable site for a church to claim?

    Model answer

    Armagh stands beside Emain Macha, the ancient royal centre of the Ulaid, so a church founded there inherited the prestige of the old capital of the north.

  3. 3

    What date do the Irish annals give for the foundation of Armagh?

    Model answer

    The Irish annals place the foundation of Armagh in 444, more than a decade after the traditional date for the beginning of Patrick's mission.

  4. 4

    What is the Book of Armagh?

    Model answer

    The Book of Armagh is a manuscript written at Armagh around 807 by the scribe Ferdomnach, gathering Patrick's own writings, the Lives by Muirchú and Tírechán, the Liber Angeli and a New Testament.

  5. 5

    State the claim made by the Liber Angeli.

    Model answer

    The Liber Angeli, or Book of the Angel, records an angel granting Patrick's see of Armagh authority over all the churches of Ireland and the right to hear appeals in major disputes.

  6. 6

    What was Tírechán compiling, and whose interest did it serve?

    Model answer

    Tírechán compiled a list of churches across Ireland said to have been founded by Patrick or handed over to him, which supported Armagh's claim to a paruchia reaching far beyond Ulster.

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