User:Angusmclellan/Early Christian Ireland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Early Christian Ireland, conventionally dated from the fourth century AD until the beginning of the Viking Age in the ninth century, saw the rise of Christianity and the creation of a literate society.
In the largely prehistoric early period missionaries such as Palladius and Patrick established the Church in Ireland, and legendary kings such as Niall of the Nine Hostages and the Three Collas were credited with creating the political landscape. In later centuries, Irish churchmen, beginning with 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 people travelled from Britain and from European mainland to study in Irish schools.
When compared to neighbouring Insular societies, Early Christian Ireland is extremely well documented, but these sources have not always been easy to interpret. Many questions remain unanswered and the study of Early Christian Ireland continues to produce new theories and new discoveries. From the late nineteenth 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.