Born in Britain around 390 AD, St Patrick was taken as a slave to Ireland at the age of 16. Instigated by divine dreams, he escaped to his native land and became a priest until - obeying further dreams - he returned to Ireland as a bishop around 432, converting many and establishing the first Irish church at Armagh. He died in Down, around 460. 'The Confession of St Patrick' and 'Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus' are both written by the Saint himself. The 'Confession' was penned as a response to (unfounded) attacks on Patrick's integrity, while the 'Letter' derives from a slave-collecting...

Patrick was the son of a Romano-British Christian who lived somewhere in the north of what is now England. At sixteen years old he, and many other of his people, were taken captive into Ireland. What follows is his own story of his realization of God's purpose for his life. In it, he gives interesting and valuable insights into the workings of his personal faith in Jesus Christ, as well as into life in the fifth century. It also may be that this document was written partly for the purpose of responding to charges made against him by unspecified persons, in his later years.

The date...