Patrick's Letter To The Soldiers Of Coroticus Analysis

Patrick’s Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus
Patrick’s letter to the soldiers of Coroticus is supposedly the second letter as he already had attempted to send a previous letter with a priest he ‘had taught since his infancy’ and other men of god, which suggests that he either brought the man with him from Britain, or that he had been in Ireland for several years already. When he realised that his newly baptised followers would not be released, he wrote this second letter. This document, however, was not only meant for the soldiers or Coroticus but written to ‘anyone living under the tyrant rules’, it gives us the indication that his message is public, he writes ‘so let everyone who fears God know’, and we do know that his letter was sent
‘It is neither the landscape of Ireland nor the landscape of Christianity’. The context of which the letter was written is far from ours, and the interpretations we give the letter will uncontrollably be coloured by our own culture’s norms and ethics. In the start of the letter he writes that what he has written ‘are to be sent, given and proclaimed to the soldiers of Coroticus’, however, later Patrick appeals to every Christian who can to spread the message of his letter, ‘so that every person, and Coroticus himself, should hear them.’ This tells us that not only was the letter written as a judgement for the soldiers to read, but as a public message to both sinners and Christians. What is interesting is that while the letter is set out to be a criticism of Coroticus and his soldiers, we are provided with very little knowledge in regards to who Coroticus was, ‘While Coroticus might have been the first recorded British commander whose soldiers massacred people in Ireland, he remains a shadowy figure and his identity is unclear’. Patrick’s letter to the soldiers of Coroticus is ‘so short that we can get an overview’ over the situation and also the society he is dealing with, without having to refer to other sources to understand the context. In his letter, he states that he is a foreigner ‘among the
The letter to the soldiers of Coroticus might not give us specific details, nevertheless, they provide us with an insight into the ‘mind of a Christian Roman of the twilight of the Empire, a mind difficult for us to understand’. To conclude this essay would argue that the letter to the soldiers of Coroticus is highly beneficial as it confirms Ireland being ruled by more than one king, it shows that while Christianity was established in Ireland, the country was not fully Christian, and we are also provided with a description of a baptism ritual. Furthermore, the document confirms slavery to have been a part of daily life, and it shows us that the connection between Ireland and Roman Britain existed trough trade. Without the letter to the soldiers of Coroticus we might have had a completely different view of Ireland in the fifth century