The
Shamrock, at one time called the "Seamroy", symbolises the cross and blessed
trinity. Before the Christian era it was a sacred plant of the Druids of
Ireland because its leaves formed a triad.
The
well known legend of the Shamrock connects it definitely to St. Patrick
and his teaching. Preaching in the open air on the doctrine of the trinity,
he is said to have illustrated the existence of the Three in One by plucking
a shamrock from the grass growing at his feet and showing it to his congregation.
The legend of the shamrock is also connected with that of the banishment
of the serpent tribe from Ireland by a tradition that snakes are never
seen on trefoil and that it is a remedy against the stings of snakes and
scorpions.
The
trefoil in Arabia is called shamrakh and was sacred in Iran as an emblem
of the Persian triads. The trefoil, as noted above, being a sacred plant
among the Druids, and three being a mystical number in the Celtic religion
as well as all others, it is probable that St. Patrick must have been aware
of the significance of his illustration.
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