A review of Dan Snow’s “How the Celts Saved Britain” (BBC)

Every year on the 17th of March, Christians around the world celebrate “St. Patrick’s Day,” particularly if they are of Irish descent. The name of the holiday clearly indicates whom it is named after, but who is this “St. Patrick,” anyway? And why was he so important to the church, particularly in Ireland? A television program from the BBC tries to answer this.

Saint Patrick

The host of this program (Dan Snow) is not a Christian himself, but he gives a sympathetic depiction of the era’s Christian missionaries despite this. Saint Patrick was one of these early Christian missionaries, and helped to convert the British Isles to Christianity. He preached the Catholic form of Christianity, which was the only kind of Christianity that was in existence at that time (at least in the Western Roman Empire). This was long before the Protestant Reformation, as it turns out, so there was no such thing as the “Presbyterian Church” or the “Church of England.” These (and other) forms of Protestantism are today the dominant religion of much of the British Isles. But Ireland is still Catholic today, and is very proud of that ancient heritage. Thus, Ireland is today the place where people best remember Catholic heroes like Saint Patrick. This may be why Saint Patrick is remembered today as the “patron saint of Ireland.”

Dan Snow, the host of this program

There are two surviving Latin works that scholars believe were written by Saint Patrick himself. One of them is the “Confessio” (or “Confessions”), which tells his life story. This book is basically an autobiography, and it recounts that Patrick was born in Roman Britain. His birth year is unknown, although most historians put it somewhere in the mid- to late-fourth-century. According to this account, he was captured by pirates and brought to Ireland as a slave, at the age of 16. He lived in Ireland for some six years tending animals, before he eventually escaped, and returned home to his family in Britain. He soon became a cleric in the young Christian church, which had only been made the official religion of the Roman Empire earlier in the century that Patrick was born in. Patrick eventually returned to northern and western Ireland, where he had great success as a missionary. He eventually became a bishop in the Christian church. I will let this summary of his life suffice for the present time.

Saint Patrick

So why is this documentary called “How the Celts Saved Britain,” anyway? I’m sure that part of it was that this was an attention-grabbing title, but it is also quite appropriate to the story of Saint Patrick himself. This is because the word “saved” has a double meaning (as you may know), and means more than just getting someone or something out of danger. It also refers to “salvation,” or the “saving” of one’s soul. This is the sense in which this film’s title uses the word “saved.” By endeavoring to convert the British Isles to Christianity, Patrick was thus “saving” it, and converting it away from its pagan heritage. As it turns out, there was already a Christian presence in the British Isles before Saint Patrick, but it did expand greatly under its famous missionary. Even many Protestants in Britain hold Patrick in high regard, because they see any form of Christianity as better than none. To Protestants in Britain, Patrick paved the way for later Protestant forms of Christianity; and for Irish Catholics, he converted many to their own special form of Christianity. I will not try to settle this controversy (or even enter it), so suffice it to say that admiration for Patrick crosses sectarian lines, and is felt throughout Christendom.

Saint Patrick

By way of historical background, the city of Rome was sacked in the year 410, and Roman legions completed their withdrawal from Britain in that same year. On paper, the Roman Empire would actually last until the year 476; but its influence in Britain ended much earlier than that, around the time that its capital city was sacked in the early fifth century. Scholars do not know exactly when Patrick died, but most believed that he lived on well into the fifth century, long after the Roman legions had already withdrawn from Britain. Most agree that he continued to be a Christian throughout his life, and it is universally acknowledged that Christianity survived in Britain (and Europe generally) long after the Roman Empire was gone. I am not trying to give a definitive history of the Roman Empire here, but some brief notes on its withdrawal from Britain would seem appropriate here as historical background (particularly given their massive effects on the story of Saint Patrick). Little is known about Patrick’s legendary life, but this documentary seems to be as good an introduction to it as any that exist for television. It is much recommended to anyone interested in Saint Patrick, or how the British Isles converted to Christianity.

Saint Patrick

Nonetheless, you aren’t likely to find a DVD that has only this documentary. The only option that I know of for seeing “How the Celts Saved Britain” on home video is to get the DVD set of Neil Oliver’s “A History of Scotland” (also by the BBC), which has “How the Celts Saved Britain” as a special feature. By contrast, “A History of Scotland” is some ten hours long, so the DVD set for this documentary tends to be a bit on the pricey side (and is not always worth it, depending on your point of view). But if you wish to see “How the Celts Saved Britain” (which is only two hours long), I know of no other option besides watching occasional reruns on the BBC. Fortunately, “A History of Scotland” is also a pretty good program, so you get two excellent documentaries for the price of the longer one (which is the more expensive one) if you go this route. But if you’re into the history of the British Isles as I am, it may be well worth it to see this program about Saint Patrick. If you know of another option for accessing this documentary, please feel free to leave a comment below, so that my viewers may be enlightened by your practical knowledge of viewing options. For now, I will just leave this up as my own spiel on this, and allow my viewers to do as they please.

DVD set of “A History of Scotland,” which contains “How the Celts Saved Britain” as a special feature

“A History of Scotland” DVD at Amazon (which has “How the Celts Saved Britain” as a two-hour special feature)

If you liked this post, you might also like:

A review of Neil Oliver’s “A History of Scotland” (BBC)

A review of Huw Edwards' “The Story of Wales” (BBC)

A review of Fergal Keane's “The Story of Ireland” (BBC)

A review of Simon Schama's “A History of Britain” (BBC)

A review of “Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire” (BBC)