Early history of Ireland
Encyclopedia
The early medieval history of Ireland
, often called Early Christian Ireland, spans the 5th to 8th centuries, from the gradual emergence out of the protohistoric
period (Ogham inscriptions
in Primitive Irish, mentions in Greco-Roman ethnography) to the beginning of the Viking Age. The period notably includes the Hiberno-Scottish mission
of Christianized Ireland to pagan Great Britain and Europe.
. The population was entirely rural and dispersed, with small ringfort
s the largest centres of human occupation. Some 40,000 of these are known, while there may have been as many as 50,000, and "archaeologists are agreed that the vast bulk of them are the farm enclosures of the well-to-do of early medieval Ireland". Souterrains, underground passages and chambers for hiding in or escaping through, are common. It is likely that raiding Britain for slaves and other loot gave an important boost to an otherwise almost entirely agricultural economy. The lakeside enclosures called crannog
s continued to be used and seem especially associated with crafts.
The older view that early medieval Irish farming concentrated on livestock has been overturned by pollen
studies and other evidence, and it is now clear that cereal
farming was increasingly important from about 200 AD onwards, with barley
and oats
more important crops than rye
, wheat
and others. However cattle were greatly prized, and cattle-raiding constituted a large part of warfare, so that cattle needed the constant presence of a herdsmen in daylight hours, and were put in an enclosure at night. By the end of the period the largest herds were probably those of monasteries. However, generally mild Irish winters seem to have meant they were never put in roofed shelters in winter, although young calves might spend a period in the house. There was very considerable clearance of forests in the early part of the period, such that by 800 large tracts of forest appear to have been rare, and the native Scots Pine
cleared almost to extinction; the large areas of bogland were harder for the medieval Irish to affect.
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 Viking
s 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 brooch
es was much greater among royalty. The latter part of the period was the peak of the Irish contribution to Insular art
, whose surviving products include illuminated manuscript
s, most famously the Book of Kells
, brooches, which were worn by clergy as well nobles, carved stone high cross
es, and other isolated survivals of metalwork, such as the Derrynaflan Hoard and Ardagh Hoard.
societies, early Christian Ireland is well documented, at least for later periods, but these sources are not easy to interpret. Many questions remain unanswered and the study of early Christian Ireland continues to produce new theories and new discoveries. Since the later 19th century, when scholars such as Kuno Meyer
and 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.
The first reliable historical event in Irish history, recorded in the Chronicle of Prosper of Aquitaine
, is the ordination by Pope Celestine I
of Palladius
as the first bishop to Irish Christians in 431 - which demonstrates that there were already Christians living in Ireland. Prosper says in his Contra Collatorem that by this act Celestine "made the barbarian island Christian", although it is clear the 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. 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 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.
From the 7th century on, Irish churchmen such as Columbanus
and Columba
were active in Gaul
, in Scotland
and in Anglo-Saxon England. The mixing of Irish, Pictish
and Anglo-Saxon
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.
identified the "oldest certain fact in the political history of Ireland" as the existence in late prehistory of a pentarchy, probably consisting of the cóiceda or "fifths" of the Ulaid
(Ulster), the Connachta
(Connacht), the Laigin
(Leinster), Mumu (Munster
) and Mide
(Meath), although some accounts discount Mide and split Mumu in two. However, by the dawn of history this pentarchy no longer existed. The rise of new dynasties, notably the Uí Néill
in the north and midlands and the Eóganachta
in the south-west, changed the political landscape. The Uí Néill, or their parent group the Connachta, reduced the former fifth of the Ulaid to counties Down
and Antrim
in the 4th of 5th century, establishing the tributary kingdom of the Airgíalla
in the centre and the Uí Néill kingdom of 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 Cétchathach, 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.
History of Ireland
The first known settlement in Ireland began around 8000 BC, when hunter-gatherers arrived from continental Europe, probably via a land bridge. Few archaeological traces remain of this group, but their descendants and later Neolithic arrivals, particularly from the Iberian Peninsula, were...
, often called Early Christian Ireland, spans the 5th to 8th centuries, from the gradual emergence out of the protohistoric
Protohistory of Ireland
Ireland can be said to have had a protohistorical period, when, in prehistory, the literate cultures of Greece and Rome began to take notice of it, and a further proto-literate period of ogham epigraphy, before the early historical period began in the 5th century...
period (Ogham inscriptions
Ogham inscriptions
]There are roughly 400 known ogham inscriptions on stone monuments scattered around the Irish Sea, the bulk of them dating to the 5th and 6th centuries. Their language is predominantly Primitive Irish, but a few examples record fragments of the Pictish language...
in Primitive Irish, mentions in Greco-Roman ethnography) to the beginning of the Viking Age. The period notably includes the Hiberno-Scottish mission
Hiberno-Scottish mission
The Hiberno-Scottish mission was a mission led by Irish and Scottish monks which spread Christianity and established monasteries in Great Britain and continental Europe during the Middle Ages...
of Christianized Ireland to pagan Great Britain and Europe.
Overview
At the start of the period Ireland had emerged from a mysterious decline that archaeological evidence suggests had hit population levels and standards of living from c. 100 BC to c. 300 AD, called the Irish Dark Age by Thomas Charles-EdwardsThomas Charles-Edwards
Thomas Mowbray Charles-Edwards FRHistS FLSW FBA is an academic at Oxford University. He holds the post of Jesus Professor of Celtic and is a Professorial Fellow at Jesus College....
. The population was entirely rural and dispersed, with small ringfort
Ringfort
Ringforts are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Iron Age , although some were built as late as the Early Middle Ages . They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland...
s the largest centres of human occupation. Some 40,000 of these are known, while there may have been as many as 50,000, and "archaeologists are agreed that the vast bulk of them are the farm enclosures of the well-to-do of early medieval Ireland". Souterrains, underground passages and chambers for hiding in or escaping through, are common. It is likely that raiding Britain for slaves and other loot gave an important boost to an otherwise almost entirely agricultural economy. The lakeside enclosures called crannog
Crannog
A crannog is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes, rivers and estuarine waters of Scotland and Ireland. Crannogs were used as dwellings over five millennia from the European Neolithic Period, to as late as the 17th/early 18th century although in Scotland,...
s continued to be used and seem especially associated with crafts.
The older view that early medieval Irish farming concentrated on livestock has been overturned by pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
studies and other evidence, and it is now clear that cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
farming was increasingly important from about 200 AD onwards, with barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
and oats
OATS
OATS - Open Source Assistive Technology Software - is a source code repository or "forge" for assistive technology software. It was launched in 2006 with the goal to provide a one-stop “shop” for end users, clinicians and open-source developers to promote and develop open source assistive...
more important crops than rye
Rye
Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
, wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
and others. However cattle were greatly prized, and cattle-raiding constituted a large part of warfare, so that cattle needed the constant presence of a herdsmen in daylight hours, and were put in an enclosure at night. By the end of the period the largest herds were probably those of monasteries. However, generally mild Irish winters seem to have meant they were never put in roofed shelters in winter, although young calves might spend a period in the house. There was very considerable clearance of forests in the early part of the period, such that by 800 large tracts of forest appear to have been rare, and the native Scots Pine
Scots Pine
Pinus sylvestris, commonly known as the Scots Pine, is a species of pine native to Europe and Asia, ranging from Scotland, Ireland and Portugal in the west, east to eastern Siberia, south to the Caucasus Mountains, and as far north as well inside the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia...
cleared almost to extinction; the large areas of bogland were harder for the medieval Irish to affect.
By 800 small towns had started to form around some of the larger monasteries, such as Trim
Trim, County Meath
Trim is the traditional county town of County Meath in Ireland, although the county town is now Navan. The town was recorded in the 2006 census to have a population of 6,870....
and Lismore
Lismore
-Places:Australia*Lismore, New South Wales, city*Lismore, Victoria, townCanada*Lismore, Nova Scotia, villageIreland*Lismore, County Waterford, town*Lismore Castle*Lismore, County Down, a townland in County Down,Scotland*Lismore, Scotland, island...
, and some kings were based in them, but the foundation of larger towns by the Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
s 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 brooch
Celtic brooch
The Celtic brooch, more properly called the penannular brooch, and its closely related type, the pseudo-penannular brooch, are types of brooch clothes fasteners, often rather large...
es was much greater among royalty. The latter part of the period was the peak of the Irish contribution to Insular art
Insular art
Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, is the style of art produced in the post-Roman history of Ireland and Great Britain. The term derives from insula, the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style different from that of the rest of Europe...
, whose surviving products include illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
s, most famously the Book of Kells
Book of Kells
The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created by Celtic monks ca. 800 or slightly earlier...
, brooches, which were worn by clergy as well nobles, carved stone high cross
High cross
A high cross or standing cross is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradition in Ireland and Britain of raising large sculpted stone crosses, usually outdoors...
es, and other isolated survivals of metalwork, such as the Derrynaflan Hoard and Ardagh Hoard.
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 InsularBritish Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
societies, early Christian Ireland is well documented, at least for later periods, but these sources are not easy to interpret. Many questions remain unanswered and the study of early Christian Ireland continues to produce new theories and new discoveries. Since the later 19th century, when scholars such as Kuno Meyer
Kuno Meyer
Kuno Meyer was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of Celtic philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of World War I while traveling in the United States was a source of controversy.-Biography:...
and 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
Paleobotany
Paleobotany, also spelled as palaeobotany , is the branch of paleontology or paleobiology dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments , and both the evolutionary history of plants, with a...
, have contributed to the debate, while the volume of archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
evidence has increased.
Ecclesiastical history
Prosper of Aquitaine
Saint Prosper of Aquitaine , a Christian writer and disciple of Saint Augustine of Hippo, was the first continuator of Jerome's Universal Chronicle.- Life :...
, is the ordination by Pope Celestine I
Pope Celestine I
Pope Saint Celestine I was elevated to the papacy in the year 422, on November 3 according to the Liber Pontificalis, but on April 10 according to Tillemont....
of Palladius
Palladius
Palladius was the first Bishop of the Christians of Ireland, preceding Saint Patrick. The Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion consider Palladius a saint.-Armorica:...
as the first bishop to Irish Christians in 431 - which demonstrates that there were already Christians living in Ireland. Prosper says in his Contra Collatorem that by this act Celestine "made the barbarian island Christian", although it is clear the Christianisation of the island was a longer and more gradual process. The mission of Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints....
is traditionally dated around the same time – the earliest date for his arrival in Ireland in the Irish annals
Irish annals
A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century.Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days...
is 432 – although Patrick's own writings contain nothing securely dateable. It is likely that Palladius' activities were in the south of Ireland, perhaps associated with Cashel
Rock of Cashel
The Rock of Cashel , also known as Cashel of the Kings and St. Patrick's Rock, is a historic site in Ireland's province of Munster, located at Cashel, South Tipperary.-History:...
, while Patrick's were later, in the north, and associated with Armagh
Armagh
Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of 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 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.
From the 7th century on, Irish churchmen such as Columbanus
Columbanus
Columbanus was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries on the European continent from around 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil and Bobbio , and stands as an exemplar of Irish missionary activity in early medieval Europe.He spread among the...
and Columba
Columba
Saint Columba —also known as Colum Cille , Colm Cille , Calum Cille and Kolban or Kolbjørn —was a Gaelic Irish missionary monk who propagated Christianity among the Picts during the Early Medieval Period...
were active in Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and in Anglo-Saxon England. The mixing of Irish, Pictish
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
and Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
styles created the Insular
Insular art
Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, is the style of art produced in the post-Roman history of Ireland and Great Britain. The term derives from insula, the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style different from that of the rest of Europe...
style of art, represented by the Lindisfarne Gospels
Lindisfarne Gospels
The Lindisfarne Gospels is an illuminated Latin manuscript of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the British Library...
and the Book of Kells
Book of Kells
The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created by Celtic monks ca. 800 or slightly earlier...
. Ireland's reputation for scholarship was such that many scholars travelled from Britain and the European mainland to study in Irish schools.
Political history
Eoin MacNeillEoin MacNeill
Eoin MacNeill was an Irish scholar, nationalist, revolutionary and politician. MacNeill is regarded as the father of the modern study of early Irish medieval history. He was a co-founder of the Gaelic League, to preserve Irish language and culture, going on to establish the Irish Volunteers...
identified the "oldest certain fact in the political history of Ireland" as the existence in late prehistory of a pentarchy, probably consisting of the cóiceda or "fifths" of the Ulaid
Ulaid
The Ulaid or Ulaidh were a people of early Ireland who gave their name to the modern province of Ulster...
(Ulster), the Connachta
Connachta
The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King Conn Cétchathach...
(Connacht), the Laigin
Laigin
The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin , were a population group of early Ireland who gave their name to the province of Leinster...
(Leinster), Mumu (Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
) and Mide
Kingdom of Mide
Mide , spelt Midhe in modern Irish and anglicised as Meath, was a medieval kingdom in Ireland for over 1,000 years. Its name means "middle", denoting the fact that lay in the middle of Ireland....
(Meath), although some accounts discount Mide and split Mumu in two. However, by the dawn of history this pentarchy no longer existed. The rise of new dynasties, notably the Uí Néill
Uí Néill
The Uí Néill are Irish and Scottish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noigiallach , an historical King of Tara who died about 405....
in the north and midlands and the Eóganachta
Eóganachta
The Eóganachta or Eoghanachta were an Irish dynasty centred around Cashel which dominated southern Ireland from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, and its offshoot Carbery, well into the 16th century...
in the south-west, changed the political landscape. The Uí Néill, or their parent group the Connachta, reduced the former fifth of the Ulaid to counties Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
and Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
in the 4th of 5th century, establishing the tributary kingdom of the Airgíalla
Airgíalla
Airgíalla or Airgialla was the name of an Irish federation and Irish kingdom which first formed around the 7th century...
in the centre and the Uí Néill kingdom of Ailech
Ailech
Ailech was a medieval kingdom in Ireland, roughly centred on modern-day County Tyrone and the Inishowen peninsula in Ulster....
in the west of the old province. Early Irish annals
Irish annals
A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century.Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days...
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
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
/Offaly
County Offaly
County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly known as King's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Offaly County Council is...
border, and claiming the kingship of Tara
Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara , located near the River Boyne, is an archaeological complex that runs between Navan and Dunshaughlin in County Meath, Leinster, Ireland...
, beginning to be conceptualised as the High Kingship of Ireland
High King of Ireland
The High Kings of Ireland were sometimes historical and sometimes legendary figures who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over the whole of Ireland. Medieval and early modern Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings, ruling from Tara over a hierarchy of...
. This led to a new division of the country into two halves, Leth Cuinn, "Conn's half" after Conn Cétchathach, supposed ancestor of the Uí Néill and Connachta, in the north, and Leth Moga, "Mug's half", after Mug Nuadat
Mug Nuadat
In Irish mythological history Mug Nuadat was a legendary, supposed King of Munster in the 2nd century AD. He was, according to later medieval tradition, a rival of the High King, Conn of the Hundred Battles and for a time after the year 123 was the de facto ruler of the southern half of Ireland...
, 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.