Celtic Christianity

"Although the 'Breastplate of St Patrick' has been popular as a hymn ever since its translation into English in the nineteenth century, the earliest version known belongs to a time three centuries after Patrick's death.  What we can find in it--or in the hymn 'Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart'--is the atmosphere of this obscure period.  Here was a faith deeply personal but also securely orthodox, accepting battle against the magic of paganism, creating a Celtic Christianity full of confidence in its Lord and in itself."--from pp. 32-33, Christian England: Its Story to the Reformation by David L. Edwards