ARCH06044 2019 High and Late Medieval Ireland

This module introduces the student to later medieval Ireland - a period that experienced considerable societal change as well as much continuity. The beginnings of Church Reform; new ecclesiastical orders, the creation of the Diocesan system and the arrival of the Anglo-Normans were all factors that changed the cultural, architectural and physical landscape of the time. This is the period that saw the introduction of two major architectural styles: Romanesque and Gothic followed by Tudor and Elizabethan evident in both church and domestic elite settlement. In addition to this, an array of earthwork and stone castles as well as ringworks and moated sites were introduced, while crannogs and ringforts - the more traditional settlement types continued to be used by the Gaelic Irish. Later medieval vernacular domestic settlement, agriculture, economy, material culture, trade/exchange and the burial record is explored while art and devotion in Later medieval Ireland is examined through the study of architectural carvings, wall paintings, church fittings, ecclesiastical robes and church plate, stained glass, bone, antler, ivory and wooden artefacts as well as objects of devotion including jewellery; prayer books, books of devotion and bardic poetry.

`This eagerly awaited book is an outstanding and right up-to-date summary of every excavation and investigation undertaken in Ireland into the earthworks, castles, ecclesiastical buildings and towns of the period from the arrival of the Anglo-Normans to the mid-sixteenth century...a most welcome synthesis and will be valued by the layperson, student and professional archaeologist, historical geographer and historian alike.' Archaeology Ireland

Historical documents, bardic poetry, maps, place names, and archaeology are among the veins mined by primarily Irish scholars as they contribute to the rising interest in post-Norman Ireland and the post-Norman Gaelic world in general. They explore facets of political structure, social organization,

Tahdg O'Keeffe's lively and wide-ranging study addresses the need for a fresh archaeological study of medieval Ireland. Individual chapters re-examine such familiar themes as urban and rural settlement, military, domestic and ecclesiastical architecture, agriculture and craft, and trade and industry. Other topics discussed include diet, dress, burial rites, and entertainment. The cultural relations between the Gaelic Irish and English populations of medieval Ireland are explored throughout the book, as are Ireland's relations with her European neighbors. With its elegantly written text and numerous illustrations, this portrait of medieval Ireland will appeal to general readers as well as to students and professionals in the fields of archaeology, history, and historical geography.

It will come as a surprise to many that a wealth of Gothic art and architecture can still be found in Ireland. This text examines the most westerly expression of Gothic - on the edge of Europe - and traces its development from the beginning of the 13th century to the Reformation. Colum Hourihane offers insights into Gothic Irish art, and he presents a revised view of art in Ireland in the Middle Ages.

Barry, T. B. 1987. The Archaeology of Medieval Ireland, London and New York.

Duffy, P, Edwards, D and Fitzpatrick, E  (eds), 2001. Gaelic Ireland, c.1250-1650: Land, Lordship and Settlement, Dublin.

Fitzpatrick, E and Gillespie, R. 2006. The Parish in Medieval and Early Modern Ireland: Community, Territory and Building, Dublin.

Hourihane, C. 2003. Gothic Art in Ireland, 1169-1550, Yale University Press, New Haven and London.

Hunt, J. 1974. Irish Medieval figure sculpture 1200-1600: a study of Irish tombs with notes on costume and armour, 2 vols. Irish University Press, Dublin.

Leask, H. G. 1944. Irish Castles and Castellated Houses, (2nd edn.) Dundalk.

Leask, H. G. 1955-60. Irish Churches and Monastic Buildings, Vols. 1-3, Dundalk.

Ludlow J. and N. Jameson (eds),  Medieval Ireland: The Barryscourt Lectures i-x, (Cork, 2004).

O'Conor, K.D. 1998. The archaeology of medieval rural settlement in Ireland Discovery Programme Monographs 3, Dublin. (& esp. pp. 73-107).

O'Keeffe, T, 2000.  Medieval Ireland: An archaeology, Stroud.

Stalley, R. 1987. The Cistercian monasteries of Ireland. Yale University Press, London and New Haven.

Sweetman, D. 1999. The Medieval Castles of Ireland. Collins Press.

Medieval Archaeology

Ulster Journal of Archaeology

Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy

Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland

Jstor access to all journals.

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