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Latin · canon-law ·

Canones Alli Sancti Patricio Ascripti

Patricius · ogl-pl

BothSourceEnglish
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machine-draft · no human review 3 passages · 448 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The Canones Alli Sancto Patricio Ascripti (Additional Canons Ascribed to Saint Patrick) is a set of Latin canon-law texts attributed pseudepigraphically to the fifth-century bishop Patrick. Surviving only in later Irish canonical collections, most notably the eighth-century Collectio Canonum Hibernensis, the canons address clerical discipline, penance, and ecclesiastical authority. Their composition is now dated to the seventh century or later, based on linguistic and legal parallels. The canons influenced later Irish penitentials and synodal decrees, and their attribution to Patrick lent them authoritative weight in early medieval Irish church law. The present edition is based on the OGL-PL transcription, which does not collate all manuscript witnesses.

The Canones Alli are significant as a key witness to the development of early medieval Irish canon law and the pseudepigraphical attribution of legal texts to Patrick. They illustrate how later compilers used Patrick’s authority to legitimize ecclesiastical norms, and they influenced the penitential tradition and synodal legislation in Ireland. Their survival in the Hibernensis shows their integration into a broader Insular canonical corpus.

Historical context

The canons are traditionally assigned to the fifth century and to Patrick, the apostle of Ireland, but modern scholarship places their composition no earlier than the seventh century. They survive only in later compilations, especially the Collectio Canonum Hibernensis (c. 700–750), which first attests the Patrician ascription. The canons reflect the concerns of an emerging Irish church hierarchy, addressing issues such as clerical marriage, penance for sexual offenses, and the authority of bishops. Their language and legal content show affinities with other early medieval Irish canon-law collections and penitentials. The transmission is fragmentary: no single early manuscript preserves the entire set, and variant readings among Hibernensis manuscripts are not systematically recorded in the OGL-PL edition. The canons were cited in later Irish synods and penitential handbooks, contributing to the development of a distinctive Irish ecclesiastical discipline.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

17 commentary units 3 structure3 term3 background2 scripture2 reception2 caution1 sense1 parallel 0 derived notes 7 open questions 3 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • coverageNo English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed.
  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: canon-law in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 3 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
tmp875.tmp875.opp-lat1:1 · narrativehigh
Source
CANONES. ALII S. PATRICIO ASCRIPTI. De judicio clericorum, ut non sit apud iniquos, aut apud infideles. Omnis mundialis sapiens, a si sapiens sit, non judicet judicia Ecclesiæ. II De subjectione populi principi. Ministri vos estis, et unusquisque vestrum principcm suum cui assistat et ministrat, timeat. III. De poenitentia blasphemantis principem bonum. Qui murmurat verba blasphemix contra principem bonum per odium aut invidiam, cum pane et aqua poeniteat septem diebus, exemplo Mariæ contra Moysen murmurantis. IV. De eo quod incertum sit, utrum priorem gradum epi scopus post lapsum recipiat. Patricius episcopus dicit: Qui sub gradu peccat, debet excommunieari, quia magna est dignitas hujus nominis; tamen potest redimere animam suam post pœnitentiam: ad priorem gradum venire difficile. Nescio an non. Deus scit. De recipienda adultera post pænitentiam, et de quan titate pænitentiæ.
English
Canons. Others Ascribed to St. Patrick. Concerning the judgment of clerics, that it not be before the unjust or before the unfaithful. Every worldly wise man, if he be wise, shall not judge the judgments of the Church. II Concerning the subjection of the people to the prince. You are ministers, and each one of you shall fear his own prince, whom he attends and serves. III Concerning the penance of one who blasphemes a good prince. Whoever murmurs words of blasphemy against a good prince out of hatred or envy, shall do penance on bread and water for seven days, after the example of Mary murmuring against Moses. IV Concerning the uncertainty whether a bishop receives his former rank after a lapse. Bishop Patrick says: He who sins under his rank ought to be excommunicated, because the dignity of this name is great; nevertheless, he can redeem his soul after penance: to come to his former rank is difficult. I know not whether or not. God knows. Concerning the reception of an adulteress after penance, and concerning the quantity of penance.
tmp875.tmp875.opp-lat1:2 · narrativehigh
Source
Si alicujus utor fornicala fuerit cum alio viro, non adducet aliam uxorem, quandiu viva fuerit uxor prima. Si forte conversa fuerit et agat pœnitentiam, suscipiet eam, et serviet ei in vicem ancillæ, et an. num integrum in pane et aqua per mensuram pœniteat, nec in uno lecto permaneant. VI. De alienis adeundis ad judicandum. Si quæ quæstiones in hac insula oriantur, ad sedem apostolicam referantur. VII. De pænitentia agenda in ultimo spiritu. Si quis infirmatur, agat pœnitentiam, etiam ex necessitate, quia misericors est Deus. VIII. De eo quod insipienles præesse non debent. Synodus totius mundi, et Patricius decrevit: Qui insipieus est, nullo modo præesse liceat, sed sub manu abbatis catholici opus suum exerceat. . IX. De collectura pecuniæ non vituperanda, necessitate cogente. Patricius ait: Si quis acceperit permissionetu pontificis, et collectum sit pretium capti vi, non plus exegerit quam necessitas poposcit. Si quid supra remanserit, ponat super altare, et indigentibus detur et captivis.
English
If any man’s wife has been a fornicator with another man, he shall not bring in another wife as long as the first wife lives. If she should happen to be converted and perform penance, he shall receive her, and she shall serve him in the place of a handmaid, and she shall do penance for a full year on bread and water by measure, nor shall they remain in the same bed. VI. Concerning resorting to outsiders for judgment. If any questions arise in this island, they shall be referred to the apostolic see. VII. Concerning penance to be performed at the last breath. If anyone falls ill, let him perform penance, even of necessity, because God is merciful. VIII. Concerning the fact that the unwise ought not to be in authority. A synod of the whole world, and Patrick, decreed: Whoever is unwise shall by no means be permitted to be in authority, but shall exercise his work under the hand of a catholic abbot. IX. Concerning the collection of money not to be reproached, when necessity compels. Patrick says: If anyone has received permission from the pontiff, and a price has been collected for a captive taken by force, he shall not exact more than necessity demanded. If anything remains over, he shall place it upon the altar, and it shall be given to the needy and to captives.
tmp875.tmp875.opp-lat1:3 · narrativehigh
Source
Item si quis colligit pecuniam sub nomine misericordiæ, non audeat spoliare Ecclesiam Dei, sed reges et plebiles, quibus melius est dare quam recondero.
English
Likewise, if anyone collects money under the name of mercy, he shall not dare to despoil the Church of God, but kings and commoners, to whom it is better to give than to hoard.
Citation. Tergwame, “Canones Alli Sancti Patricio Ascripti”, tmp875.tmp875.opp-lat1:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/tmp875.tmp875.opp-lat1#s1
Colophon. Source: ogl-pl · licence: Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0018 · generated 2026-11-15.