"The conference was ... the 16th in a sequence of annual symposia organized by the Friends of Medieval Dublin, the proceedings of which appear annually ... published by Four Courts Press"--Page 14.

Medieval Ireland is often described as a backward-looking nation in which change only came about as a result of foreign invasions. By examining the wealth of under-explored evidence available, Downham challenges this popular notion and demonstrates what a culturally rich and diverse place medieval Ireland was. Starting in the fifth century, when St Patrick arrived on the island, and ending in the fifteenth century, with the efforts of the English government to defend the lands which it ruled directly around Dublin by building great ditches, this up-to-date and accessible survey charts the internal changes in the region. Chapters dispute the idea of an archaic society in a wide-range of areas, with a particular focus on land-use, economy, society, religion, politics and culture. This concise and accessible overview offers a fresh perspective on Ireland in the Middle Ages and overthrows many enduring stereotypes.

When Henry II accepted the Leinster king Diarmait Mac Murchada as his liegeman in 1166, he forged a bond between the English crown and Ireland that has never been undone. Ireland was to be changed forever as a result of the momentous events that followed – so much so that it is normal for professional historians to specialise in either the pre- or post-invasion period. Here, for the first time, is an account of the impact of the English invasion on the Irish kingdoms in the context of their strategies across the whole twelfth century. Ireland’s leading men battled for spheres of influence, for recognition of their hegemonies and, ultimately, for the coveted title of ‘king of Ireland’. But what did it mean to be the king of Ireland when no one dynasty had secured their hold on it? This book takes a close look at each pretender, asking what it meant to them – and whether the political dynamics surrounding the role had an impact on the course of the invasion itself.

This book examines the way in which the central English government dealt with Irish ecclesiastical matters from the time of the invasion and partial conquest of Ireland by Henry II in 1171 up to the Statute of Kilkenny. The struggle involved the king, the clergy in Ireland, both Irish and English, and the pope. Using manuscript material and printed sources, which have not been previously used for this purpose, Dr Watt shows how an attempt was made to 'colonize' Ireland by ecclesiastical means, and traces the changing fates and fortunes of the 'two nations' in their relations with one another. Dr Watt also deals very fully with the rôle played in the struggle by the religious orders, particularly the Cistercians and the friars, and with the effect which the English common law had on the Irish clergy.

Examines the complex interactions between English and Irish neighbours in the 'four obedient shires' and how this shaped English identity.

The convocation records of the Churches of England and Ireland are the principal source of our information about the administration of those churches from middle ages until modern times. They contain the minutes of clergy synods, the legislation passed by them, tax assessments imposed by the king on the clergy, and accounts of the great debates about religious reformation; they also include records of heresy trials in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, many of them connected with the spread of Lollardy. However, they have never before been edited or published in full, and their publication as a complete set of documents provides a valuable resource for scholarship. This volume contains the texts of and evidence for all the Irish reforming synods from the twelfth century onwards, collated with parliamentary legislation from the same period. The peculiar nature of the Irish convocation as it developed from the time of Edward I onwards is charted in detail, and supplemented by what is known of contemporary provincial and diocesan synods. Much previously unpublished material, taken from the Armagh registers, from the surviving acts of the seventeenth century convocations and from a number of other scattered sources, is also made available.

These essays explore aspects of the English colony in medieval Ireland and its relations with the Gaelic host society. They deal both with the foundation and expansion of the English lordship in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, and with the problems sand adjustments that accompaneid its contraction in the later middle ages. Attention is paid both to the government and society of the colony itself, and to the interactions between settler and native.

Irish inhabitants of the 'four obedient shires' - a term commonly used to describe the region at the heart of the English colony in the later Middle Ages - were significantly anglicised, taking on English names, dress, and even legal status. However, the processes of cultural exchange went both ways. This study examines the nature of interactions between English and Irish neighbours in the four shires, taking into account the complex tensions between assimilation and the preservation of distinct ethnic identities and exploring how the common colonial rhetoric of the Irish as an 'enemy' coexisted with the daily reality of alliance, intermarriage, and accommodation. Placing Ireland in a broad context, Sparky Booker addresses the strategies the colonial community used to deal with the difficulties posed by extensive assimilation, and the lasting changes this made to understandings of what it meant to be 'English' or 'Irish' in the face of such challenges.

Contains a wealth of new scholarly research on Dublin's medieval past, including paired papers by Joseph Harbison & René Gapert re-examining skulls found on the site of the Hospital of St John the Baptist, Thomas Street. Paul Duffy presents the findings of his excavation at the site of the medieval church of St Peter of the Hill at Aungier St/Stephen's St. Aisling Collins explains the significant findings from the dig of the church and graveyard at St James's. Franc Myles reports the findings of his excavation at Keysar's Lane beside St Audeon's church in High Street; Jon Stirland reports on the discovery of two parallel ditches located to the rear of nos 19-22 Aungier St; and Edmond O'Donovan reports on his excavation in the internal courtyard at the site of the Bank of Ireland (Parliament House, College Green). Alan Hayden reports on his excavation of property plots fronting onto Kevin Street and New Street and what they tell us about the supposed 14th-century decline of Dublin. Historical papers include Brian Coleman's study of taxation and resistance in 15th-century Dublin, Stephen Hewer examines the oldest surviving original court roll of the Dublin bench, dating from 1290.