Early Medieval Ireland 400-1200

Description

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. Cover Dedication Title Copyright Contents List of maps List of abbreviations Framework of events Author’s preface to the second edition Preface Acknowledgements to Second Edition Introduction to First Edition 1 Early medieval Ireland: sources Annals Genealogies A note on DNA and genealogy Early Irish law 2 The beginnings of Irish history Christianity in Gaul Christianity in Britain Channels of conversion Palladius and the Roman mission Patrick The first Christians Techniques of conversion Christianity and the ogam stones Religion, words, and names 3 Kingdoms, peoples, and politics, 400–800 Older population groups Saga and history The kingdom of the Ulaid The Battle of Móin Dairi Lothair The kingdom of Leinster Kings and saints The kingdom of Munster Early Munster population groups The kingdom of Connacht 4 Kings and kingship Regnal succession Tánaise Ríg: ‘heir apparent’? Procedures for selecting kings The king’s house Ordinary houses Kings’ protection Kings’ truth Rechtge, Cáin, and royal law 5 Land, settlement, and economy The medieval landscape Land and the law Agriculture Mills and milling Food and diet Bees and bee-keeping Population 6 Law, family, and community ‘National law’ or ‘territorial law’? Laws and institutions Early Irish law: its nature and its law texts Evolution, ‘uniformity’, and ‘immutability’ of the law The first law schools Roman law and barbarian law Clerical influence on Visigothic law Clerical influence on brehon law Women: marriage, law, and property Marriage and divorce The legal status of women Women, children, and the family Sureties The law: its function and workings Clientship and standards of living Family, kindred, and land Cooperative farming 7 The consolidation of the church The Gallican church in the fourth and fifth centuries Transformation? . . . organization Cummian’s letter Armagh and its claims to primacy Armagh and Sletty Opposition to Armagh Authority in the early Irish church Proprietary churches 8 The first Christian schools Roman scripts and Irish books Beginnings of Irish literacy British influence Learning Latin Columbanus and his teachers Monastic schools Scribes and calligraphers Grammars and grammarians Reputation of Irish schools Latin and the vernacular Scholars’ books 9 The ‘Golden Age’ Monastic rules and penitentials Columbanus, man of letters Controversies Bilingual texts and glosses Biblical interpretation Hagiography Hiberno-Latin flowering Spanish connections Hiberno-Latin poetry Discordant voices Wandering scholars Sedulius Scottus and Iohannes Eriugena The waning star: the tenth century and after 10 The Viking age The earliest Viking attacks: first and second phases The first longphorts Earlier raids? Character of the Viking impact Archaeological evidence: Dublin Westward from the continent to Ireland Irish recovery; captive Irish Danes, Norse, Irish, Britons The Vikings of Dublin, 873–902 Dublin abandoned and regained The second Dublin settlement The Viking achievement The Battle of Clontarf Viking influence after 1014 Cultural and economic influence 11 Ireland 1014–1200 Rule Britannia After Clontarf: new kings? Church reform Further church reform The Anglo-Normans and Henry II Rory O’Connor deposed The inevitable Anglo-Norman triumph? Feudalization in Ireland, c. 1000 Glossary Bibliography Index