Medieval Ireland: The Enduring Tradition

By Michael Richter

Book Overview

An overview of Irish society from the coming of Christianity in the fourth century to the Reformation in the sixteenth. 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 here. 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. "a new look at a period which has been studied more for its military and political activity than for anything else. This excellent book corrects the tilt by concentrating on social and cultural life."--Irish Independent.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0717132935
• ISBN13: 9780717132935
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Gill Books
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Medieval Ireland

Excellent, improved on what I knew about Ireland and the outside influences and why they've kept up the fight for so long (courage extrodinare). God Bless their cause of securing freedom from the "strangers."

Brief but not superficial

The book is a brief history of medieval Ireland. It covers the times from the prehistoric times to the fifteenth century. However, brief does not mean superficial. The author chooses some subjects he is interested in and discusses them trying to be impartial - from many different points of view. He does not try to describe the past in detail, but rather to point out the most important moments, problems and aspects in Irish history. Richter also poses some questions significant from the point of view of a contemporary person some of which remain open. The book is suitable for beginners as it is quite short and written in a comprehensible way as well as for people truly interested in the matter thanks to reliable bibliography record and references. It helps to understand the unusual political organization and the complicated and quite uncommon social structure of the Island in the middle ages. Obviously, history of medieval Ireland was greatly determined by the history of church, that is why the book deals mainly with the church's history, which was not less interesting in Ireland than political history. It is a very good book for a great start.