Fortean Ulster by Shane Cochrane

Author:Shane Cochrane [Cochrane, Shane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-03-18T07:00:00+00:00

6. Of Snakes and Saints

St Patrick will always be associated with driving the snakes out of Ireland. It’s not known exactly when or where the story originated, and Patrick makes no reference to it in his own writings. There is a reference to the banishment in the twelfth century Life of Patrick. According to this text: “the saint, using the staff of Christ, collected the threefold plague – snakes, demons, magicians – and sent them headlong into the sea”. However, it’s believed that the story was being told a long time before this.

Patrick’s power over snakes may not be entirely unique. There are other saints for whom the same claim has been made. And strangely, they have strong connections with Patrick and Ireland.

One of the most important of these saints is Saint Honoratus. He was born into a pagan family, but converted to Christianity as a young man. Honoratus longed to live the life of a hermit, and travelled widely in his search for a place where he could be alone. In 400 AD he came to the small island of Lerins, near Cannes. It appeared to be the place he had been searching for, but it was infested with snakes. Honoratus prayed. And as he prayed, the sea rose and flooded the island. The snakes were drowned and washed away as the waters subsided again.

Though Honoratus had set out to create a place of solitude, others joined him – wishing to be his disciples. And soon even more arrived. This was the beginning of the Monastery of Lerins, a centre of learning for those entering religious life.

The monastery produced an extraordinary number of popes over the centuries, and a high number of its graduates were canonised. But there is one former student who is of particular interest. In the early years of the monastery, a young man named Patrick was a student. He spent nine years studying at the monastery – preparing for his life’s mission.

When it came time for Patrick to leave, Honoratus presented him with a staff. This was the staff that he himself had carried when he first arrived on Lerins, and the staff with which he had banished the snakes. Later, using this gift from Honoratus, Patrick would banish the snakes from Ireland.

At about the same time, an island off the coast of Brittany was being cleansed of snakes by a man called Maudez. Like Honoratus, Maudez arrived on his island to find a large population of snakes and set to work banishing them. Maudez, however, wanted to be sure that the snakes never returned – even after his death. And there’s a legend that before his death he received a “special favour”: that the earth in which his body lies will always be free of venomous reptiles.

Belief in the power of St Maudez over snakes is still strong in many parts of the world, and he is prayed to by those who wish to rid themselves of the venomous reptiles. St Maudez is venerated

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