Saint Patrick's Breastplate
This earliest Christian ode of Ireland is said to have been composed by St. Patrick. It is sometimes called, “The Guardsman’s Cry,” and is recited as a protection against evil.
From: 400 C.E. To: 500 C.E.
Location: Ireland
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From The Masterpieces and the History of Literature, edited by Julian Hawthorne, 1902.
This earliest Christian ode of Ireland is said to have been composed by St. Patrick. It is sometimes called, “The Guardsman’s Cry,” and is recited as a protection against evil.
I bind on me to-day on the Triune a call
With faith on the Trinity-Unity--God over all.
I bind me the might of Christ’s birth and baptizing,
His death on the Cross, His grave, His uprising,
His homeward ascent, the power supernal
Of His coming for judgment eternal.
I bind me the might of the Seraphim’s love,
The angels’ obedience, the hope of arising
To guerdon above:
The prayers of the Fathers, prophetical teachings,
The virtue of virgins, apostolical preachings,
The acts of the True;
I bind to me, too,
Heaven’s dower, sun’s brightness,
Fire’s power, snow’s whiteness,
Wind’s rushing, lightning’s motions,
Earth’s stability, rock’s solidity,
Depths of ocean.
I bind me to-day
God’s might to direct me,
God’s power to protect me,
God’s wisdom for learning,
God’s eye for discerning,
God’s ear for my hearing,
God’s word for my clearing,
God’s hand for my cover,
God’s path to pass over,
God’s buckler to guard me,
God’s army to ward me
Against snares of the devils,
Against vice’s temptations,
Against wrong inclinations,
Against men who plot evils
To hurt me anew
Anear or afar, with many or few.
I have set all these powers around me,
Against danger and dole
Of all the foe-powers that would wound me
In body and soul;
Against each incantation
By false prophets breathen,
Against black legislation--
The laws of the heathen,
Against idolatry’s wares and heretical snares,
Against spells of the women, smiths, druids, the whole
Of that knowledge which blindeth the soul.
Christ keep me today
Against poison and burn,
Against drowning and wounding,
Until I may earn
The guerdon abounding.
Christ near, Christ here,
Christ be with me, Christ beneath me,
Christ within me, Christ behind me,
Christ be o’er me, Christ before me,
Christ on the left and the right,
Christ hither and thither,
Christ in the sight
Of each eye that shall seek me,
Christ in each ear that shall hear,
Christ in each mouth that shall speak me,
Christ not the less,
In each heart I address,
I bind me to-day on the Triune the call
With faith on the Trinity-Unity--God over all.
Hawthorne, Julian, ed. The Masterpieces and the History of Literature. Vol. 8. Hamilton Book Company. 1902.
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