Patrick of Ireland
c. 385 – c. 461 · Bishop of Armagh
Patrick was kidnapped by Irish slavers as a teenager, escaped, and went back as a missionary to the people who enslaved him. His Confession is the earliest substantial document from Christian Ireland and one of the earliest first-person accounts of any missionary anywhere. The conversion he led was bloodless, organised through monasteries rather than imperial power, and produced a Christianity literate enough to send missionaries back across Europe. He is also the reason there are so many Irish saints — the model he set up made saint-production a cottage industry.
Primary source for this figure.
— Patrick, Confessio
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