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Hello, I'm Dr. Eleanorianica and welcome to Gone Medieval from History Hit, the podcast that delves into the greatest millennium in human history.

We uncover the greatest mysteries, the gobsmacking details, and the latest groundbreaking

research from the Vikings to the Normans, from kings to popes, to the crusades. We delve into

the rebellions, plots, and murders that tell us who we really were. And how we got here.

In the year 431, soon after the abandonment of Britannia by Rome's famed legions,

a Romano-British monk arrived on the shores of the

Emerald Isle, schooled in the mystical practices of ancient Ireland's druids, and spurred on by

a holy vision. This churchman came with a sacred mission, to save the pagan Irish and convert them to a new and enlightened faith.

His name was St. Patrick.

And with his coming, medieval Ireland was born.

Years before, as a meek teenager, Patrick had been taken captive by Gaelic raiders and carried

across the Irish Sea. Enslaved in a strange land, he spent his days hurting animals on lonely

hillsides, learning the language and customs of the people who had taken him.

After escaping and returning home, Patrick would one day come back, not as a captive,

but as a missionary, determined to transform pagan Ireland through force of will alone.

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