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Early Christian Ireland

Early Christian Ireland

Early Christian Ireland

T. M. Charles-Edwards, University of Oxford
July 2007
Available
Paperback
9780521037167

    This book provides a fully documented history of Ireland and the Irish between the fourth and ninth centuries AD, from St Patrick to the Vikings - the earliest period for which historical records are available. It opens with the Irish raids and settlements in Britain, and the conversion of Ireland to Christianity. It ends as Viking attacks on Ireland accelerated in the second quarter of the ninth century. The book takes account of the Irish both at home and abroad, including the Irish in northern Britain, in England and on the continent. Two principal thematic strands are the connection between the early Irish Church and its neighbours, and the rise of Uí Néill and the kingship of Tara.

    • A fully documented study of this period of Irish history, which relates early medieval Ireland to its European context, in matters of culture, society and religion
    • Covers both the early Irish church and the political history of the period in some detail, and explains how the special features of the Irish Church and kinship were related to early Irish society
    • Illustrated by specially drawn maps and tables

    Reviews & endorsements

    "A comprehensive survey of early-medieval Ireland..." Speculum

    "Charles-Edwards presents a first rate history of early Christian Ireland and the Irish at home, in Britain, France, and Italy, ranging from Patrick to the coming of Viking fleets...Required reading for serious students of Irish history." Religious Studies Review

    "...this book has set a high standard for the contention." Albion

    "Charles-Edwards....has written THE book on Ireland between the fourth and ninth centuries. [He] deftly blends extensive recent scholarhsip with perceptive analses of notoriously difficult narrative, legal, literary, and epigraphic texts. This rich book is a must-have for all those who teach and do research on Europe's early Middle Ages." HISTORY: Reviews of New Books

    See more reviews

    Product details

    January 2005
    Adobe eBook Reader
    9780511037221
    0 pages
    0kg
    14 maps 40 tables
    This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.

    Table of Contents

    • List of maps
    • List of tables
    • List of figures
    • Acknowledgements
    • Abbreviations
    • A note on pronunciation
    • A note on the Chronicle of Ireland
    • Introduction
    • 1. Ireland in the seventh century: a tour
    • 2. Irish society c.700: I. Communities
    • 3. Irish society c.700: II. Social distinctions and moral values
    • 4. Ireland and Rome
    • 5. Conversion to Christianity
    • 6. The organisation of the early Irish church
    • 7. Columba, Iona and Lindisfarne
    • 8. Columbanus and his disciples
    • 9. The Paschal controversy
    • 10. The primatial claims of Armagh, Kildare and Canterbury
    • 11. The origins and rise of Uí Néill
    • 12. The kingship of Tara
    • 13. The powers of kings
    • 14. Conclusion
    • Appendix: genealogies and king-lists
    • Glossary: Irish and Latin
    • Bibliography
    • Index.
      Author
    • T. M. Charles-Edwards , University of Oxford

      Thomas Charles-Edwards is Professor of Celtic in the University of Oxford. His previous books include Bechbretha (1983, with Fergus Kelly), The Welsh Laws (1989) and Early Irish and Welsh Kinship (1993).