Early Medieval Ireland 400 1200

This impressive survey covers the early history of Ireland from the coming of Christianity to the Norman settlement. Within a broad political framework it explores the nature of Irish society, the spiritual and secular roles of the Church and the extraordinary flowering of Irish culture in the period. Other major themes are Ireland's relations with Britain and continental Europe, the beginnings of Irish feudalism, and the impact of the Viking and Norman invaders. The expanded second edition has been fully updated to take into account the most recent research in the history of Ireland in the early middle ages, including Ireland’s relations with the Later Roman Empire, advances and discoveries in archaeology, and Church Reform in the 11th and 12th centuries. A new opening chapter on early Irish primary sources introduces students to the key written sources that inform our picture of early medieval Ireland, including annals, genealogies and laws. The social, political, religious, legal and institutional background provides the context against which Dáibhí Ó Cróinín describes Ireland’s transformation from a tribal society to a feudal state. It is essential reading for student and specialist alike.

10 The Viking age

In the first major work on the subject for over 30 years, Nancy Edwards provides a critical survey of the archaeological evidence in Ireland (c. 400-1200), introducing material from many recently discovered sites as well as reassessing the importance of earlier excavations. Beginning with an assessment of Roman influence, Dr Edwards then discusses the themse of settlement, food and farming, craft and technology, the church and art, concluding with an appraisal of the Viking impact. The archaeological evidence for the period is also particularly rich and wide-ranging and our knowledge is expanding repidly in the light of modern techniques of survey and excavation.

This is a study of Ireland's people, landscape, and place in the world from late antiquity to the reign of Brian Borama. The book narrates the story of Ireland's emergence into history, using anthropological, archaeological, historical, and literary evidence. The subjects covered include the king, the kingdom and the royal household, religion and customs, free and unfree classes in society, exiles, and foreigners. The rural, urban, ecclesiastical, ceremonial, and mythological landscapes of early medieval Ireland anchor the history of early Irish society in the rich tapestry of archaeological sites, monuments, and place-names that have survived to the present day. A historiography of medieval Irish studies presents the commentaries of a variety of scholars, from the 17th-century Franciscan Micheal O Cleirigh to Eoin Mac Neill, the founding father of modern scholarship. *** "Bhreathnach draws on archaeological evidence to supply insights into a society that has left only oblique views in the written record, proposing a revised view of the place of Ireland in medieval Europe....the book features eight pages of color plates and many photos, and is a must for academic libraries, particularly those with extensive history or archaeology collections. Essential." - Choice, Vol. 52, No. 4, December 2014 *** Featured in 'Outstanding Academic Titles', a prestigious list of publications for the year 2014. - Choice, January 2015 [Subject: History, Medieval Studies, Archaeology, Anthropology, Irish Studies, Religious Studies]

Medieval Ireland is often described as a backward-looking nation in which change only came about as a result of foreign invasions. By examining the wealth of under-explored evidence available, Downham challenges this popular notion and demonstrates what a culturally rich and diverse place medieval Ireland was. Starting in the fifth century, when St Patrick arrived on the island, and ending in the fifteenth century, with the efforts of the English government to defend the lands which it ruled directly around Dublin by building great ditches, this up-to-date and accessible survey charts the internal changes in the region. Chapters dispute the idea of an archaic society in a wide-range of areas, with a particular focus on land-use, economy, society, religion, politics and culture. This concise and accessible overview offers a fresh perspective on Ireland in the Middle Ages and overthrows many enduring stereotypes.

Medieval Ireland – The Enduring Tradition, the first instalment in the New Gill History of Ireland series, offers an overview of Irish history from the coming of Christianity in the fifth century to the Reformation in the sixteenth, concentrating on Ireland's cultural and social life and highlighting Irish society's inherent stability in an very unstable period. Such a broad survey reveals features otherwise not easily detected. For all the complexity of political developments, Irish society remained basically stable and managed to withstand the onslaught of both the Vikings and the English. The inherent strength of Ireland consisted in the cultural heritage from pre-historic times, which remained influential throughout the centuries discussed in Professor Michael Richter's engaging and informative book. Irish history has traditionally been described either in isolation or in the manner in which it was influenced by outside forces, especially by England. This book strikes a different balance. First, the time span covered is longer than usual, and more attention is paid to the early medieval centuries than to the later period. Secondly, less emphasis is placed in this book on the political or military history of Ireland than on general social and cultural aspects. As a result, a more mature interpretation of medieval Ireland emerges, one in which social and cultural norms inherited from pre-historic times are seen to survive right through the Middle Ages. They gave Irish society a stability and inherent strength unparalleled in Europe. Christianity came in as an additional, enriching factor. Medieval Ireland: Table of Contents - The Celts Part I. Early Ireland (before c. AD 500) - Ireland in Prehistoric Times - Political Developments in Early Times Part II Ireland in the First Part of the Middle Ages (c. AD 500-1100) - The Beginnings of Christianity in Ireland - The Formation of the Early Irish Church - Christian Ireland in the Seventh and Eighth Centuries - Secularisation and Reform in the Eighth Centuries - The Age of the Vikings Part III. Ireland in the Second part of the Middle Ages (c.1100-1500) - Ireland under Foreign Influence: The Twelfth Century - Ireland from the Reign of John to the Statutes of Kilkenny - The End of the Middle Ages - The Enduring Tradition

Ireland looms large in European history just after the fall of the Roman Empire. This book provides an entry-level' narrative to this period in Irish history. At the same time, it contextualizes the artistic, literary, and architectural achievements of the age. The tradition in Early Medieval Irish studies has been to examine the past in thematic rather than chronological terms; the sources almost demand this. As such, existing publications neglect a holistic approach in favor of specific themes. Politics is rarely incorporated with church history; art and archaeology remain distinct; law and literature remain un-contextualized either in time or place. So, this book contains extracts from primary sources and illustrations that make this golden age glow for its readers, and it is full of colorful maps and photographs. Deploying a historical synthesis in the spirit of the Annales School, it is a one-stop shop' for the history of Early Medieval Ireland, for students and the general reader.

This is the first book devoted to churches in Ireland dating from the arrival of Christianity in the fifth century to the early stages of the Romanesque around 1100, including those built to house treasures of the golden age of Irish art, such as the Book of Kells and the Ardagh chalice. � Carrag�in's comprehensive survey of the surviving examples forms the basis for a far-reaching analysis of why these buildings looked as they did, and what they meant in the context of early Irish society. � Carrag�in also identifies a clear political and ideological context for the first Romanesque churches in Ireland and shows that, to a considerable extent, the Irish Romanesque represents the perpetuation of a long-established architectural tradition.