A Guide To Early Irish Law

Sixteen essays explore the end of ancient Christianity

The seventeen authors of this volume present an all-round picture of the person, the work, and the influence of the Russian medievalist Aron Gurevich who introduced innovative approaches to scholarship against all odds. Professor Janos Bak, Central European University

The convents, asylums, and laundries that once comprised the Magdalene institutions are the subject of this work. Though originally half-way homes for prostitutes in the Middle Ages, these homes often became forced-labor institutions, particularly in Ireland. Examining the laundries within the context of a growing world capitalist economy, the work argues that the process of colonization, and of defining a national image, determined the nature and longevity of the Magdalene Laundries. This process developed differently in Ireland, where the last laundry closed in 1996. The book focuses on the devolution of the significance of Mary Magdalene as a metaphor for the organization: from an affluent, strong supporter of Jesus to a simple, fallen woman.

Kids Those Days is a collection of interdisciplinary research into medieval childhood. Contributors investigate abandonment and abuse, fosterage and guardianship, criminal behavior and child-rearing, child bishops and sainthood, disabilities and miracles, and a wide variety of other subjects related to medieval children.

The book presents a critical edition and translation of a newly discovered early Irish legal text on lost and stolen property, Aidbred, and also includes editions of two other texts concerning property found on land, Heptad 64, and at sea, Muirbretha.