Ego Patricius peccator rusticissimus
Et minimus omnium fidelium
Et contemptibilissimus apud plurimos
patrem habui Calpornium diaconum
filium quendam Potiti presbyteri
qui fuit vico Bannaventa Berniae
Villam enim prope habuit
ubi ego capturam dedi
Annorum eram tunc fere sedecim
Deum enim verum ignorabam
et Hiberione in captivitate adductus sumI, Patrick, a sinner, most ignorant
and least of all the faithful
and most contemptible among many,
had a father, Calpurnius, a deacon,
the son of a certain Potitus, a priest,
who was in the village Bannaventa Berniae,
for he had a villa nearby,
where I was made a captive.
I was almost sixteen years old,
and indeed ignorant of God,
and I was taken in captivity to Ireland.
Confessio of St Patrick, lines 1-11. Latin text from MS M.