Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia brings together in one authoritative resource the multiple facets of life in Ireland before and after the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169, from the sixth to sixteenth century. Multidisciplinary in coverage, this A–Z reference work provides information on historical events, economics, politics, the arts, religion, intellectual history, and many other aspects of the period. With over 345 essays ranging from 250 to 2,500 words, Medieval Ireland paints a lively and colorful portrait of the time. For a full list of entries, contributors, and more, visit the Routledge Encyclopedias of the Middle Ages website.

Through violent incursions by the Vikings and the spread of Christianity, medieval Ireland maintained a distinctive Gaelic identity. From the sacred site of Tara to the manuscript illuminations in the Book of Kells, Anglo-Irish relations to the Connachta dynasty, Ireland during the middle ages was a rich and vivid culture. First published in 2005, Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia brings together in one authoritative resource the multiple facets of life in Ireland before and after the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1169, from the sixth to sixteenth century. Multidisciplinary in coverage, this A-Z reference work provides information on historical events, economics, politics, the arts, religion, intellectual history, and many other aspects of the period. Written by the world's leading scholars on the subject, this highly accessible reference work will be of key interest to students, researchers, and general readers alike.

In these proceedings of the May 2003 symposium, contributors present several detailed reports on recent local excavations, a description of the architectural features of St. Patrick's cathedral which came to be found in the churches supporting it, a new translation and interpretation of the Mass of the Drinkers, a determination of whether a list of

This impressive survey covers the early history of Ireland from the coming of Christianity to the Norman settlement. Within a broad political framework it explores the nature of Irish society, the spiritual and secular roles of the Church and the extraordinary flowering of Irish culture in the period. Other major themes are Ireland's relations with Britain and continental Europe, the beginnings of Irish feudalism, and the impact of the Viking and Norman invaders. The expanded second edition has been fully updated to take into account the most recent research in the history of Ireland in the early middle ages, including Ireland’s relations with the Later Roman Empire, advances and discoveries in archaeology, and Church Reform in the 11th and 12th centuries. A new opening chapter on early Irish primary sources introduces students to the key written sources that inform our picture of early medieval Ireland, including annals, genealogies and laws. The social, political, religious, legal and institutional background provides the context against which Dáibhí Ó Cróinín describes Ireland’s transformation from a tribal society to a feudal state. It is essential reading for student and specialist alike.

The twelfth century saw a wide-ranging transformation of the Irish church, a regional manifestation of a wider pan-European reform movement. This book, the first to offer a full account of this change, moves away from the previous concentration on the restructuring of Irish dioceses and episcopal authority, and the introduction of Continental monastic observances, to widen the discussion. It charts changes in the religious culture experienced by the laity as well as the clergy and takes account of the particular Irish experience within the wider European context. The universal ideals that were defined with increasing clarity by Continental advocates of reform generated a series of initiatives from Irish churchmen aimed at disseminating reform ideology within clerical circles and transmitting it also to lay society, even if, as elsewhere, it often proved difficult to implement in practice. Whatever the obstacles faced by reformist clergy, their genuine concern to transform the Irish church and society cannot be doubted, and is attested in a range of hitherto unexploited sources this volume draws upon. Marie Therese Flanagan is Professor of Medieval History at the Queen's University of Belfast.

This 7th volume of proceedings of the annual Friends of Medieval Dublin symposium contains, in the archaeological arena, John O Neill's assessment of the significance for Viking-Age rural settlement in the Dublin region of his excavations at Cherrywood, and, among other landmark studies, a report by Abi Cryerhall on her excavations of the medieval 'Hangman's Lane' (subsequently the site of Hammond Lane iron foundry). Roger Stalley studies the 'country retreat' of Dublin's archbishops at Swords Castle in the later Middle Ages, while Linzi Simpson's innovatory use of John Rocque's map enables her to retrace precise property boundaries in the medieval city. The very timbers that survive in the roofs of Dublin's two Anglo-Norman cathedrals are subjected to detailed analysis, Maire Geaney surveying those in the nave and south transept of Christ Church, while Charles Lyons presents remarkable new evidence that the roof-timbers of St Patrick's cathedral survive virtually intact from its medieval heyday. Historical essays range from Viking-Age Dublin and David Dumville's exploration of its wider international relations, to Tudor Dublin, and Brendan Scott's study of the opposition of its monastic houses to Henry VIII's plans for their dissolution.