3


DiScOvErInG HiStOrY


D. How Christianity Influenced Ireland 1. The importance of monasteries


Founders of monasteries often chose to build them near existing notable locations, e.g. St Patrick’s monastery in Armagh was built beside the rath of Emain Macha. Some monasteries became quite wealthy and important. In some of these locations, the size of the monastery meant tenants were needed to help carry out the manual work. These tenants and their families lived in or beside the monastery or convent and worked in return for pastoral and religious care. Gradually, this level of activity drew more people to the monasteries and they grew into towns. Many towns’ names are connected to monasteries. For example, the name Kildare comes from the Gaelic for ‘Church of the Oak’. Another example is domhnach which is Gaelic for church. Usually any town that starts with Dona was connected with a church, e.g. Donaghadee or Donabate.


2. Centres of learning


Monasteries and convents became centres of learning. The missionaries who came to Ireland brought copies of the important works of literature available at that time. Monks and nuns read and wrote texts in both Latin and Irish. Soon, many monastic schools and libraries were full of important texts. Some monasteries even built schools in the sixth and seventh centuries. The growth of these centres of learning meant that more people became literate (able to read and write). As a result, the number of Irish scholars, monks and nuns increased. Some of these people began to travel, spreading Christianity abroad. Historians are very lucky that the monks and nuns chose to write down so much information from this time. Their accounts of society, their versions of the stories and sagas they heard, their records of the Brehon laws and their reports on local histories are important primary sources from that time.


3. The Irish monks abroad


The Roman Empire collapsed in the fifth century. Germanic and Slavic tribes spread across Europe. These tribes had their own gods and religions. Many Irish monks believed this meant it was even more important that they continue their missionary work to prevent the religions of the tribes replacing Christianity in Europe. Some travelled to mainland Europe and established monasteries there. St Aidan travelled to Northumbria, while St Fursa went to Anglia in England and to northern France. The most famous was St Columbanus who founded monasteries in France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Italy. St Colmcille of Donegal set up a monastery on the Scottish island of Iona. It is thought that the Book of Kells was first written there and then brought back to Kells at a later date. So important were these Irish missionaries and scholars that by the eighth century, Emperor Charlemagne remarked that if you could speak Greek, then you must be Irish!


Weblink Look at a list of monastic and religious orders in Ireland by searching online for: list – of – monastic – and – religious – orders – in – Ireland


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