Synod of Ráth Breasail
The Synod of Ráth Breasail (or Rathbreasail; Irish: Sionad Ráth Bhreasail) was a synod of the Catholic Church in Ireland that took place in Ireland in 1111.[1] It marked the transition of the Irish church from a monastic to a diocesan and parish-based church. Many present-day Irish dioceses trace their boundaries to decisions made at the synod.
Background
Viking raids on Ireland began around the start of the 9th century, and had a devastating effect on the Irish church. These disruptions, along with secular impositions by the invaders, produced a decline in Christian religious observance and the moral standards established by Saint Patrick and other early missionaries. Apathy towards these Christian teachings increased, causing many parts of Ireland to return to paganism by the 11th century, weakening Christianity's grasp on the populace.
Gradually, as the onslaughts of the Danes became less frequent, there was a revival of religious education, which prepared the way for the religious reforms of the 12th century.[2]
History
It was the second of four great reforming Irish
It was convened by the
The synod was attended by no fewer than fifty bishops, three hundred priests and three thousand laymen, including King Murtough O'Brien. There were no representatives of the provinces of Connaught and Leinster, in which the Reform movement had not yet established itself.[2] The synod's deliberations were prompted by the Gregorian Reform and guided by the relatively new powers of the Papacy as defined in Dictatus papae (1075–87) and Libertas ecclesiae (1079).
The Council established two provinces: Armagh and Cashel. Each province consisted of twelve territorial dioceses. The boundaries of the dioceses were only vaguely defined, however. The synod also made the
Dioceses established
The following 24 dioceses were established by the synod:
- Armagh
- Ardagh: East Connacht
- Cenél nEógain (excluding Inishowen)
- Cashel
- Uí Chremthainn
- Clonard: West Meath †
- Uí Maine
- Connor: Territory of the Dál nAraidi
- Cong was named as one of the five dioceses for Connacht, but no names of bishops have been recorded.
- Cork
- Down: Territory of the Dál Fiatach
- Duleek: East Meath - At the Synod of Uisneach, convened by the abbot of Clonmacnoise later in 1111, the See of Duleek was suppressed. West Meath was assigned to a new Diocese of Clonmacnoise and East Meath to Clonard. It appears, however, that a number of bishops of Duleek were appointed before 1160.
- Elphin: East Connacht
- Emly
- Ferns or Loch Garman (Wexford Haven)
- Glendalough
- Kildare
- Territory of Osraige
- Killala: Territory of the Uí Fiachrach Muaidhe
- Killaloe: Territory of Uí Fiachrach Aidhne
- Leighlin: One of five dioceses for Leinster
- Limerick
- Inis Eogain
- Corco Duibne and Eóganacht Locha Léin(moved to Ardfert by 1117)
- Tuam: One of five dioceses in Connacht
- Archdiocese of Canterburyprior to 1111
The
See also
Notes
- ^ Diarmuid Ó Murchadha,Placename Material from Foras Feasa Ar Éirinn; ÉIGSE (2005) p. 93: http://www.nui.ie/eigse/pdf/vol35/eigse35.pdf
- ^ a b c Lawlor, H.J., St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh, The Macmillan Company, London, 1920
- ^ Ó Murchada (1999) "Where was Ráith Breasail?" in Tipperary Historical Journal
- ^ Fleming J., "Gille of Limerick, architect of a medieval church" Four Courts Press, Dublin 2001.
References
- Peter Galloway, The Cathedrals of Ireland, Belfast 1992
- Geoffrey Keating. Foras Feasa Book I-II Geoffrey Keating. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100054/text089.html The History of Ireland http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/text090.html
- MacErlean, John (1914) Synod of Raith Breasail: Boundaries of the Dioceses of Ireland [A.D. 1110 or 1118]. Archivium Hibernicum, Vol. 3 (1914), pp. 1–33