Christianity Arrives In Ireland

Christianity Arrives In Ireland

Not much factual history is known previous to the arrival of the Christians to Ireland as they had become the first people to actually document historic events here.

By the time of their arrival in Ireland, approx 430AD, the country was dominated by the Celtic culture that had arrived during the Iron Age period. The people in Ireland were druids including the Kings and nobles, a challenge for any Christian.

Who brought Christianity to Ireland?

Many people believe that St Patrick was the one responsible for bringing Christianity to Ireland. Although he made a major impact on Christian Ireland he certainly wasn’t the first to arrive here. St Palladius was the first Christian to arrive in Ireland sent over from Rome by the Pope in 430AD, two years previous to St Patrick’s arrival. St Palladius wasn’t as successful in converting the Irish and Celtic druids to Christianity as St Patrick.

The monastic movement in Ireland

Christian’s in Ireland become known for their monastic (simple) lifestyle, they changed the way Christianity would be taught but also how they lived. They would build monasteries in remote places, away from main villages or towns and they themselves would become the centre of their own community.  The monks were extremely intelligent, the spoke and wrote Latin but also had great skills in art as proven with the creation of some of the finest illuminated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells. These places of worship help produce many Irish saints who would go to spread the word of the lord throughout Ireland, Europe and in some cases further.

Monks also loved to write and they started recording important events that were occurring in Ireland during their time. They were also known to record stories or ancient that had been handed down to families over generations and some of the stories date back when the Celts had become settled in Ireland. This was extremely important in terms of documents history, without the records from the monks we today would know very little about Ireland its early history.

After Christianity was introduced to Ireland the Irish Church set about re-introducing Christianity to Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire, they set-up religious settlements in France, and Italy. They spread the gospel to places like Germany and beyond where previously the word Christianity had not been heard.

The Golden Age 7^th and 8^th Centuries

http://www.100objects.ie/

Monasteries as patrons of the arts

The seventh century saw the start of the Irish Golden Age when schools of art, learning and missionary endeavour sprang up throughout Ireland. Under the patronage of monasteries and the wealthy elite Irish craftsmen produced some of Europe’s finest early medieval decorated manuscripts and artefacts of gold, silver and stone.

Schools of art

In this period continental and Anglo-Saxon art influences were combined by Irish craft workers to create an insular art style. ( The term derives from insula, the Latin term for "island"; in this period Great Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style different from that of the rest of Europe. ) Innovations in sculpture, ornamental metalwork, manuscript illumination and architecture, coincided with developments in literature, language and grammar and the establishment of new church practices.

Styles of art

The elaborate motifs and scenes executed in stone on the High Crosses reflect not only the skill of the stonemasons but also highlight the transfer of artistic concepts and designs between the crafts of stone, metal and manuscript illumination of the period. As free standing sculptures, Irish high crosses dominated the architecture of Ireland’s main church settlements

Although the Romans never invaded Ireland their influences travelled through trade and contact with them. One feature that travelled was writing based on the Roman alphabet known as ‘ogham’.

Ogham is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the so-called "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries), and later the Old Irish language (so-called scholastic ogham, 6th to 9th centuries). There are roughly 400 surviving orthodox inscriptions on stone monuments throughout Ireland and western Britain; the bulk of them are in the south of Ireland, in Counties Kerry, Cork and Waterford. We developed into a civilisation getting the island the title of ‘Saints and Scholars’.

 Metalwork 8^th-12^th

^{•          During the Christian era, new artistic traditions developed in Ireland}

fusing Germanic art with traditions from the Roman world and traditions around the Mediterranean. These fused to the La Tene style art. This style was found in manuscript illumination i.e. the Book of Durrow. And so began the link between the style of manuscripts and metalwork of the 7th and 8th centuries.

^•        

   ^{600 A.D. fine Irish craftsmen changed considerably from the late Iron Age. Solid silver objects had appeared, enamel was used more and the new technique of millefori glass (method of producing motifs by covering a cane of glass with layers of different coloured glass and cutting into short lengths) had been adopted.}

^{•           Now new types of objects were fashionable i.e. large pins for fastening garments and penannular brooches. There were workshops all over the country i.e. monastic site at Armagh and Ballinderry Crannog Co. Offaly. Penannular brooch got its name because of the gap in the ring which was developed from a Roman military-style brooch.}

^{•           Motifs in metalwork were also suitable for manuscripts. The colouring in manuscripts was approached in the coloured enamel in metalwork.}

^{•           8th century shows a huge range of techniques, all over decorations various effects found in other traditions.}

^{•           New techniques such as:}  

    ^{Gold Filigree}

     Filigree is a delicate kind of jewellery metalwork, usually of gold and silver, made with tiny beads or twisted threads, or both in combination, soldered together or to the surface of an object of the same metal and arranged in artistic motifs.

Gilding 

The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold.

^{•           Early 8th century era known as the ‘Golden Age’…… time of perfection.} 

^{Ballinderry Brooch}

^{•           Ballinderry Brooch, Co. Offaly 600A.D. National Museum of Ireland.}

^{•           Millefori glass in the little plate on the terminals, along with sunken areas of red enamel.}

^{•           Decorated with bands of lines, hatching and herringbone design.}

^{•           Full circle of bronze with a pin attached which would fasten through the garment.}

^{Rinnagan Crucifixion Plaque}

^{•           Rinnagan, Co. Rosscommon. National Museum of Ireland. Late 7th century.}

^{•           Also known as St. John’s crucifixion plaque.}

^{•           Possibly acted as a book cover suggested by several holes surrounding the piece.}

^{•           Made from bronze. Main attention directed to the face of Christ. Nailed feet point downwards, arms outstretched and nailed to the cross.}

^{•           Design combines herringbone pattern, spirals and zigzags. Ornament on the garment is La Tene style. Christ wears a long sleeved garment with interlace at the wrists. Around Christ small angels, they attend to Christ with spiral designs on their wings too.}

^{Ardagh Chalice}

^{•           Ardagh Chalice, National Museum of Ireland}

^{•           Found in 1868 near Ardagh, Co. Limerick by a boy digging potatoes. It was found with four brooches and a bronze chalice. Must have been part of the collection of a rich monastery.}

^{•           Simple design using gold and silver, moulded coloured glass and light engraving. There are large areas free of decoration. But the decoration used elsewhere involves plain interlace and animal interlace, scrolls, plaits and frets in gold wire filigree. Other techniques used are engraving, casting, enamelling and cloisonne, a method of enamelling which separates the colours with thin strips of metal.}

^{•           The three main elements of the chalice are the bowl, stem and broad foot.}

^{•           Complex gold filigree work forms a band around the chalice broken by red and blue glass studs. Under this band, engraved lightly into the silver, are the names of all the apostles except Judas.}

^{•           The bowl of the chalice is joined to the base by a thick bronze stem. Stem is heavily gilded (thin layer of gold impressed on to the metal). Here the decoration is the most intricate and involved of all. The base is formed by a cone-shaped foot around which is a decorated flange for extra stability. This flange has square blocks of the blue glass separated by panels of interlace and geometric ornament.}

^{•           In the centre of the underside of the base is a circular crystal surrounded by gold filigree and green enamels. The outer edge of the flange underside is divided into eight, with six copper studs and two silver.}

^{•           The handles on both sides are a concentrated area of rich colours and patterns. Decorated with coloured glass panels in red, blue, green and yellow, in between are tiny panels of complex and skilled gold wire filigree work, coloured glass and a cloisonne enamelled stud in the centre.}

^{•           The gold filigrees of the Ardagh Chalice and the Tara Brooch were apparently derived from Germanic work, reaching new heights of elaboration and minuteness}

^{Tara Brooch}

^{•           Tara Brooch, National Museum of Ire, 8th century}

^{•           Found near the seashore of Bettystown Co. Meath after the cliff collapsed by a jeweller and named it Tara and it remained.}

^{•           It’s a form of penannular brooch based on a Roman design. No particular Christian connection. Most likely to be made for the personal adornment of a queen or king or bishop.}

^{•           It is tiny and is a ring brooch. And there is no gap which the pin can pass through so it is called a pseudo-brooch chains and loops are needed for fastening a chain like this.}

^{•           The point where the chain joins the brooch is beautifully decorated: two glass studs in the form of human heads.}

^{•           Made of bronze, back covered in copper and glass studs, front with gold, amber and glass. Gold is worked into filigree panels, some of which have fallen off.}

^{•           Decorated with spirals, loops, animal and bird heads.}

^{•           Back of brooch is also highly decorated. There are two plates. La Tene style is dark against a silver background. Chain is attached to the brooch by two animal heads at each end of a little plate. Two human heads lie in the centre of this plate. These human faces are purple.}

^{•           Straight pin with triangular head with gold filigree, amber and glass.}

^{•           Cast and gilded kerbschnitt ornament appears on the shaft and head of the pin. Occurs also on the inner and outer edges of the ring. Kerbschnitt is a method of casting which imitates wood carving - chip carving.}

^{Derrynaflan Hoard}

^{•           National Museum of Ire, mid 8th century. Found at an ancient monastery of Derrynaflan, Co. Tipperary in recent years.}

^{•           The hoard contained a chalice very similar to the Ardagh Chalice. Suggesting this may have been a common design to the Irish Church. The hoard also contained a silver paten and a beautiful strainer-ladle}

^{•           The paten contains such techniques as filigree, enamelling, casting, stamping of thin gold and knitting of wire mesh.}

 The Viking Invasion – 9^th & 10^th Century

The Vikings conducted extensive raids in Ireland at first they founded Limerick in 812, then established a settlement near Waterford in 853, invaded Dublin and maintained control until 1169, and founded trading ports in Cork in the 9th century. The Vikings and Scandinavians settled down and intermixed with the Irish. Literature, crafts, and decorative styles in Ireland and Britain reflected Scandinavian culture. Vikings traded at Irish markets in Dublin. Excavations found imported fabrics from England, Byzantium, Persia and central Asia. Dublin became so crowded by the 11th century that houses were constructed outside the town walls.

The Vikings pillaged monasteries on Ireland's west coast in 795 and then spread out to cover the rest of the coastline. The north and east of the island were most affected. During the first 40 years, the raids were conducted by small, mobile Viking groups. By 830, the groups consisted of large fleets of Viking ships. From 840, the Vikings began establishing permanent bases at the coasts. Dublin was the most significant settlement in the long term. The Irish became accustomed to the Viking presence. In some cases they became allies and married each other.

^{Metalwork 11th and 12th Century}

^{•           Artistic production declined during the 9th and 10th century but continued in the production of stone crosses.}

^{•           The 11th and 12th century was a period of peace between the Vikings and the coming of the Normans, stoneworkers and metalworkers produced works of art equally.}

^{•           Almost all metalwork was produced for the church consisting mainly of highly ornamented shrines and reliquaries connected with Irish saints.}

^{•           Shrines like the Cross of Cong and the Shine of St Patrick’s Bell} 

^{were made to hold objects  or relics associated with the saints such as books or bells. While objects like the Shrine of St Lachtin’s arm may have been to hold bones of a saint.}

^{•           Processional cross, in the centre a crystal rock set in the silver mount and surrounded by gold filigree. Tubular silver edging surrounds the gently curved outline of the cross punctuated by bossed rivets. Cross surface divided into sections of cast bronze thread-like snakes holding animal shapes.}

^{•           The staff and cross are linked by animal jaws biting the base of the cross. animals have scaled heads, pointed ribbed snouts, little curved ears and blue glass eyes. Below these heads is an ornate knob similar to that found on croziers.}

^{•           Shrine of St Patrick’s Bell (first picture)}

^{•           Clonmacnoise crozier (second picture)}

^{•           Great care was taken creating these objects.}

^{•           In the Irish Christian Church, croziers were held in great reverence. It is one of the finest in Europe of this time.}

^{•           One notable feature of the metalwork is the blend of Scandinavian influences, seen through the use of animal imagery, with native Irish work.}

^{•           Craftsmanship shows high patronage by the rich and well-to-do clans and royalty.}

^{•           Shrine of St Patrick’s Bell, early 12th century. Has a tapering body and curved top. Front covered with a gilt silver frame in which there were originally 30 gold filigree panels. Variety of intertwined single or animal pairs forming regular figure eight shapes. Large rock crystal occupies the centre space. On the back, series of interlocking crosses pierced into a silver frame against a bronze background. Sides are decorated with panels of animal interlace separated by a circular cross. Rings at sides suggest it was meant to be carried.}

^{•           Clonmacnoise crozier, early 12th century}

^{Formed by two tubes of bronze wrapped around a wooden staff finished with a curved crook. Crook is hollow with animal interlace in silver, edged with niello (}black mixture of copper, silver, and lead sulphides) inlay down the sides. Front of crook, grotesque bearded human head with staring eyes. Behind this a crest running down the curve of the crook. The crest formed by a series of dog-like animals. Base of the crook, front and back formed with grotesque animal heads. Under the base, two pairs of cat-like animals standing with arched backs and legs entertwined and twisted tails

The Iron Age 500 BC to 400 AD

The Iron Age is the period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterised by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing agricultural practices, religious beliefs and artistic styles. The Iron Age as an archaeological term indicates the condition as to civilization and culture of a people using iron as the material for their cutting tools and weapons.   

In historical archaeology, the ancient literature of the Iron Age includes the earliest texts preserved in manuscript tradition. Sanskrit literature and Chinese literature flourished in the Iron Age. The principal feature that distinguishes the Iron Age from the preceding ages is the introduction of alphabetic characters, and the consequent development of written language which enabled literature and historic record.

Iron Age Structures: Before discussing the types of artifacts produced during the Iron Age, it is worth setting the scene with some information on the structures that were in place at the time. The most common form of building were forts. The term fort indicates some sort of defensive structure but it is thought that this is ont necessarily the reason for the existence of these buildings. There are three types:

·         Ring forts

·         Hill forts

·         Promontory (a point of high land that juts out into a large body of water; a headland.) forts

Ring Forts

      

 
 

These forts consist of a bank made of earth surrounding a circular space. In Ireland they are often known by other names such as rath, dun, or cathair. In the east of Ireland the banks are chiefly made of earth, where as in the west where stone ifs more plentiful, stone walls were used to circle the fort. Ring forts were a communal dwelling place, housing a number of small wattle and daub huts. It is likely that the walls or banks were used to defend the people anf animals from wolves and wild animals rather than invaders.  

                                   
 

Tradition claimed that ring forts were "fairy forts" filled with Druids' magic and believers in the fairies did not alter them. The early pre-Celtic inhabitants of Ireland came to be seen as mythical and were associated with stories of fairies, also known as the "Good People". Fairy forts were seen as entrances to their world. Even cutting brush, especially whitethorn, on fairy forts was reputed to be the death of those who performed the act.

There are many folk tales about supernatural events happening at fairy forts. Real accidents which happened at ring forts could be given supernatural explanations. For example a man who tried to blast a dolmen suffered a septic hand. The wrecked dolmen was subsequently left untouched.

    

The destruction of two ‘fairy forts’ in Kilmurry, Co Cork, was punished this year by fines and penalties of €20,000, and followed a €25,000 fine for a farmer in Kerry for the same offence.  These cases show that fairy forts are sacrosanct, protected by cultural traditions entwined within Irish rural life. Sitting in the cab of a JCB, the bucket poised, a nagging doubt or a cold trickle of fear is a definite possibility for the farmer, who might think it safer to just let the land be; after all, a quarter acre is a small sacrifice for peace of mind. As rural Ireland changes, is this self-imposed ban failing? Owen Driscoll is an agricultural consultant in West Cork and has worked with thousands of farmers. Driscoll says this taboo remains. “I think that 99% of farmers would be very slow to cause damage to a fairy fort or even a fairy tree,” he says. “I don’t see any change in that with younger farmers. There is a sense that if you mess with the devil, then he may mess with you. “You will still be told stories of a farmer who damaged a fort or removed a whitethorn tree and then died within a short time, or suffered some other tragedy. For an older generation, the idea that fairies existed went beyond a belief. It was considered absolute fact.” 

 Hill forts:

 

These are plentiful in Ireland and, as the name suggests, are found at the top of hills. A hill fort is a type of earthworks used to secure refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period. The fortification usually follows the contours of a hill, consisting of one or more lines of earthworks, with defensive walls, and external ditches. Hill forts developed in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, roughly the start of the first millennium BC.

  

 Promontory Forts

These forts are found in two locations – on the edges of cliffs and high on a spur of a mountain. A promontory fort is a defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus utilizing the landscape to reduce the defensive walls needed. Although their dating is problematic, most seem to date to the Iron Age. They are mainly found in Ireland, the Orkney Islands, the Isle of Man and Cornwall. Only a few Irish promontory forts have been excavated and most date to the Iron Age, though some, like Dunbeg (County Kerry) might have originated in the Bronze Age.

Bog bodies

The mummified remains of a body found in a Laois bog two years ago have been found to date back to 2,000BC, making it the oldest “bog body” discovered anywhere in the world. The 4,000-year-old remains, which predate the famed Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun by nearly 700 years, are those of a young adult male. He is believed to have met a violent death in some sort of ritual sacrifice. The body was unearthed in the Cúl na Móna bog in Cashel in 2011 by a Bord na Móna worker operating a milling machine. Initially, experts thought it dated from the Iron Age period (500BC-400AD), placing it on a par with similar finds in other Irish bogs.

However, radiocarbon tests on the body; the peat on which the body was lying; and a wooden stake found with the body, date the body to the early Bronze Age, around 2,000BC.

The discovery promises to open a new chapter in the archaeological record of Bronze Age burial in Ireland. He said the remains are those of a young adult male which were placed in a crouched position and covered by peat, probably on the surface of the bog.

The man’s arm was broken by a blow and there were deep cuts to his back which appear to have been inflicted by a blade, which indicate a violent death, Mr Kelly said. Mr Kelly believes the wounds on the body, combined with the fact that it was marked by wooden stakes and placed in proximity to an inauguration site, point to the individual being the victim of a ritual sacrifice. “It seems to be same type of ritual that we’ve observed in later Iron Age finds. What’s surprising here is that it’s so much earlier.” Because of the lack of calluses on the hands and the well-groomed fingernails observed in other finds, though not this one as the hands were not recoverable, Mr Kelly suggests the victims were most likely “high-born”. “We believe that the victims of these ritual killings are kings that have failed in their kingship and have been sacrificed as a consequence.” The chemical composition of bogs can preserve human bodies for thousands of years. Archaeologists have discovered more than 100 ancient bodies in Irish bogs but few as well-preserved as “Cashel man”.

The Arrival of the Celts

As the Bronze Age in Ireland drew to a close, there appeared in Ireland a new cultural influence. Developing in the Alps of central Europe, the Celts spread their culture across modern-day Germany and France and into the Balkans as far as Turkey. They arrived in Britain and Ireland around 500BC and within a few hundred years, Ireland's Bronze Age culture had all but disappeared, and Celtic culture was in place across the entire island.

Iron had been introduced to the Celtic peoples in Europe around 1000BC to 700BC, thus giving them the technological edge to spread as they did. Iron was a far superior metal to bronze, being stronger and more durable. On the other hand, it required much hotter fires to extract it from its ore and so it took a fair degree of skill to use iron. None of this is to be taken to mean that bronze fell out of use. Rather, iron simply became an alternative metal and many bronze objects have been found that were made in the Iron Age.

Everyday Life in Celtic Ireland:

Much of what we know about specifically Irish culture has come down through the years in the form of Heroic Tales, such as the Ulster Cycle which tells of the exploits of Cú Chulainn, the Hound of Ulster. Once thought to be historically unreliable, these Heroic Tales describe a way of life that fits well with what we now know about the Celts of mainland Europe. Thus it seems that, while the events described may have been embellished over the years, the underlying themes and props in the stories may be accurate descriptions of life in Iron Age Ireland.

It was, in many ways, a culture based around war. Ireland was divided into dozens - possibly hundreds - of little kingdoms. Within the kingdoms, it was the blacksmiths, druids and poets who were held in high esteem: the blacksmiths for making the weapons of war, the druids for making prophesies and soothsaying (the art or practice of foretelling events), and the poets for putting the exploits of warriors to verse, to be sung around the cooking fires. The aristocracy (a form of government in which power is in the hands of a small, privileged, ruling class) in this culture was made up of the warriors, who sought fame and recognition by doing battle with their enemies. The young warrior would be initiated by mounting his chariot (a two wheeled wooden cart pulled by two horses), before proceeding to battle and cutting off the heads of his enemies to bring them home as trophies. At the celebratory banquet afterwards, the warriors would compete for the "hero's portion" of the food being served. The weapons brandished by these warriors consisted of round wooden, bronze or iron shields, with iron spears or swords. The spear seems to have been more common than the sword.

        

Brehon Law 

The law that the Celts of Ireland used has been called Brehon law. Forms of Brehon Law were used in Ireland for hundreds of years. The idea was that a person's identity was defined by the kingdom in which they lived. A peasant had no legal status outside the tuath, with the exception of men of art and learning. Those who were tied to their tuath were unfree and worked for the king. All land was owned by families, not by individuals. Wealth was measured in cattle, and each individual had a status measured in terms of wealth. Almost any crime committed against an individual could be recompensed by paying a fine equal to the status of the individual. For example, a 50 cows for an important person, 3 cows for a peasant. There was no death penalty; but, an individual could be ostracised from the tuath in certain circumstances.