Christianity to Ireland? Reading and writing Christianity brought reading and writing to Ireland. The first reading and writing was done in Latin, which was the language of the Catholic Church. It was done by the early missionaries such as Palladius and St Patrick. New words came into the Irish language from Latin. Very soon, manuscripts were being written in Irish. These changes brought Ireland into written history. It also brought the learning of Roman scholars and early Church writers to Ireland. Some of this learning was used in compiling laws for the new Church and for society around it.
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An ogham stone with letters cut along the edge. On the right is the ogham alphabet.
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Ogham stones The first form of writing in Ireland was done on the side of stones. Lines carved along the edge of the rock represented words. The ogham alphabet of twenty letters was based on the Latin (Roman) alphabet. But it was the coming of Christianity to Ireland that made full use of the Roman alphabet which was used to write manuscripts in Latin and, later, in the Irish language.
Contribution to art Manuscripts
The monasteries produced manuscripts. Manuscripts are hand written books. The Gospels, the psalms, the lives of saints and the Celtic sagas (legends) were written down in Latin, the language of the Church. Later ones were written in Irish. Some manuscripts record the events of early Irish history.
