History of Ireland (400–795)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
History of Ireland (400–800)
)

The early medieval

Christianised Ireland to regions of pagan Great Britain and the spread of Irish cultural influence to Continental Europe.[1]

Overview

Early Christian Ireland began after the country emerged from a mysterious decline in population and standards of living that archaeological evidence suggests lasted from c. 100 to 300 AD. During this period, called the

souterrains: underground passages and chambers for hiding in or escaping through.[3] It is likely that raiding Great Britain for slaves and other loot gave an important boost to an otherwise almost entirely agricultural economy. The lakeside enclosures called crannógs continued to be used and seem especially associated with crafts.[4]

The older view that early medieval Irish farming concentrated on livestock has been overturned by

Scots pine cleared almost to extinction; the large areas of bogland were harder for the medieval Irish to affect.[7]

By 800, small towns had started to form around some of the larger monasteries, such as Trim and Lismore, and some kings were based in them, but the foundation of larger towns by the Vikings had yet to occur. Otherwise, kings lived in ringforts larger than the norm, but generally similar; however the possession of luxury objects such as elaborate Celtic brooches was much greater among royalty.[8] The latter part of the period was the peak of the Irish contribution to Insular art, whose surviving products include illuminated manuscripts, most famously the Book of Kells, brooches, which were worn by clergy as well as nobles, carved stone high crosses, and other isolated survivals of metalwork, such as the Derrynaflan and Ardagh Hoards.

Early Christian history

Recorded Irish history begins with the introduction of Christianity and Latin literacy, beginning in the 5th century or possibly slightly before. When compared to neighbouring

Whitley Stokes applied an increasingly rigorous approach to the study of written sources, a great deal of new information has been extracted from the written material. New fields, such as paleobotany, have contributed to the debate, while the volume of archaeological
evidence has increased.

Ecclesiastical history

Gallarus Oratory, one of the earliest churches built in Ireland

The first reliable historical event in Irish history, recorded in the Chronicle of

Christianisation of the island was a longer and more gradual process. The mission of Saint Patrick is traditionally dated around the same time – the earliest date for his arrival in Ireland in the Irish annals is 432 – although Patrick's own writings contain nothing securely dateable.[9] It is likely that Palladius' activities were in the south of Ireland, perhaps associated with Cashel, while Patrick's were later, in the north, and associated with Armagh
.

By the early 6th century the church had developed separate dioceses, with bishops as the most senior ecclesiastical figures, but the country was still predominantly pagan. The

High Kings of Ireland continued pagan practices until the reign of Diarmait mac Cerbaill c. 558, traditionally the first Christian High King. The monastic movement, headed by abbots, took hold in the mid 6th century, and by 700 Ireland was at least nominally a Christian country, with the church fully part of Irish society. The status of ecclesiastics was regulated by secular law, and many leading ecclesiastics came from aristocratic Irish families. Monasteries in the 8th century even went to war with each other.[10]

From the 7th century on, Irish churchmen such as

Anglo-Saxon England. The mixing of Irish, Pictish, Anglo-Saxon and even Byzantine styles created the Insular style of art, represented by the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells
. Ireland's reputation for scholarship was such that many scholars travelled from Britain and the European mainland to study in Irish schools.

Political history

Ailech in the west of the old province. Early Irish annals also show regular warfare between the Uí Néill and the Laigin in the midlands, with the Uí Néill conquering as far south as the Kildare/Offaly border, and claiming the kingship of Tara, beginning to be conceptualised as the High Kingship of Ireland. This led to a new division of the country into two halves, Leth Cuinn, "Conn's half" after Conn of the Hundred Battles, supposed ancestor of the Uí Néill and Connachta, in the north, and Leth Moga, "Mug's half", after Mug Nuadat, supposed ancestor of the Eoganachta, in the south. Dynastic propaganda claimed this was a traditional division dating back to the 2nd century, but it probably originated in the 8th, at the height of Uí Néill power.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ Flechner & Meeder 2016, pp. 231–241.
  2. ^ Ó Cróinín, pp. 550.
  3. ^ Ó Cróinín, pp. 237–249, 550 (quoted) to 553.
  4. ^ Ó Cróinín, pp. 257–259.
  5. ^ Ó Cróinín, pp. 264–265, 559–536.
  6. ^ Ó Cróinín, p. 549.
  7. ^ Ó Cróinín, pp. 568–573.
  8. ^ Ó Cróinín, pp. 550–553.
  9. ^ Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, Early Medieval Ireland 400–1200, Longman, 1995, pp. 1, 14–40
  10. ^ Kathleen Hughes, "The church in Irish society, 400–800", in Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (ed.), A New History of Ireland Vol 1: Prehistoric and Early Ireland, Oxford University Press, 2005, pp. 301–330
  11. ^ Eoin MacNeill, Phases of Irish History, Dublin, 1920, pp. 98–132
  12. ^ Ó Cróinín, pp. 182–234.

Bibliography

  • Flechner, Roy; Meeder, Sven, eds. (2016). The Irish in Early Medieval Europe: Identity, Culture and Religion. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .
  • Green, Alice Stopford (1925). History of the Irish state to 1014. London: Macmillan.
  • Skene, William (1889). Celtic Scotland — A history of ancient Alban. Vol. III. Edinburgh: David Douglas.
  • Foster, R.F., ed. (1989). The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland. Oxford: Oxford University Press. .
  • Neill, Kenneth (1979). The Irish people. An illustrated history. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan. .
  • .
  • Downham, Clare (2017). Medieval Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .

External links