celtic four leaf clover
celtic four leaf clover
The Legend of St. Patrick and Irish
photo credit: quinn.anya
What medick, the wood sorrels and the true clovers all have in common is a trifoliate leaf structure, i.e., a compound leaf with three leaflets. The number 3, of course, is significant in the Christian religion, because of the doctrine of the Trinity. Irish legend has it that the missionary, Saint Patrick demonstrated the principle behind the Trinity using a shamrock, pointing to its three leaflets united by a common stalk. But there is no way of determining with certainty the exact plant referred to in the legend. This much we can say about Irish shamrocks, however. By definition, for a clover to represent the Trinity, it would have to bear 3 (and only 3) leaves. So for all the good luck they allegedly bring, 4-leaf clovers technically can’t be considered shamrocks (not in the sense that St. Patrick made the latter famous, at least).
But the foregoing does explain the ease with which multiple “shamrock” representatives are accepted. A candidate’s trifoliate leaf structure can override its family history, including geographical anomalies. For instance, some of the wood sorrels widely used in the U.S. as Irish shamrocks are of South American or Central American heritage, which hardly conjures up images of the grassy slopes of the Irish countryside!
Page 2 will look at the belief in 4-leaf clovers as lucky charms….
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