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The early medievalhistory of Ireland, often referred to asEarly Christian Ireland, spans the 5th to 8th centuries, from the gradual emergence out of theprotohistoric period (Ogham inscriptions inPrimitive Irish, mentions inGreco-Romanethnography) to the beginning of theViking Age. The period includes theHiberno-Scottish mission ofChristianised Ireland to regions of paganGreat Britain and the spread of Irish cultural influence toContinental Europe.[1]
Early Christian Ireland began after the country emerged from a mysterious decline in population and standards of living that archaeological evidence suggests lasted from c. 100 to 300 AD. During this period, called theIrish Dark Age byThomas Charles-Edwards, the population was entirely rural and dispersed, with smallringforts the largest centres of human occupation. Some 40,000 of these are known, although there may have been as many as 50,000,[2] and "archaeologists are agreed that the vast bulk of them are the farm enclosures of the well-to-do of early medieval Ireland". These commonly featuredsouterrains: underground passages and chambers for hiding in or escaping through.[3] It is likely that raidingGreat Britain for slaves and other loot gave an important boost to an otherwise almost entirely agricultural economy. The lakeside enclosures calledcrannógs continued to be used and seem especially associated with crafts.[4]
The older view that early medieval Irish farming concentrated on livestock has been overturned bypollen studies and other evidence, and it is now clear that cereal farming was increasingly important from about AD 200 onwards, withbarley andoats more important crops thanrye, wheat and others.[5] Cattle were greatly prized, and cattle-raiding constituted a large part of warfare, so cattle needed the constant presence of a herdsman in daylight hours and were put in an enclosure at night. By the end of the period, the largest herds were probably those of monasteries. Generally, mild Irish winters seem to have meant they were never put in roofed shelters in winter, although young calves might spend a period in the house.[6] There was a very considerable clearance of forests in the early part of the period, such that by the 9th century, large tracts of forest appear to have been rare, and the nativeScots pine cleared almost to extinction; the large areas ofbogland were harder for the medieval Irish to affect.[7]
By 800, small towns had started to form around some of the larger monasteries, such asTrim andLismore, and some kings were based in them, but the foundation of larger towns by theVikings had yet to occur. Otherwise, kings lived in ringforts larger than the norm, but generally similar; however the possession of luxury objects such as elaborateCeltic brooches was much greater among royalty.[8] The latter part of the period was the peak of the Irish contribution toInsular art, whose surviving products includeilluminated manuscripts, most famously theBook of Kells, brooches, which were worn by clergy as well as nobles, carved stonehigh crosses, and other isolated survivals of metalwork, such as theDerrynaflan andArdagh Hoards.
Recorded Irish history begins with the introduction of Christianity and Latin literacy, beginning in the 5th century or possibly slightly before. When compared to neighbouringInsular societies, early Christian Ireland is well documented, at least for later periods, but these sources are not easy to interpret. Many questions remain unanswered and the study of early Christian Ireland continues to produce new theories and new discoveries. Since the later 19th century, when scholars such asKuno Meyer andWhitley 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 aspaleobotany, have contributed to the debate, while the volume ofarchaeological evidence has increased.
The first reliable historical event in Irish history, recorded in theChronicle ofProsper of Aquitaine, is the ordination byPope Celestine I ofPalladius as the first bishop to Irish Christians in 431 – which demonstrates that there were already Christians living in Ireland. Prosper says in hisContra Collatorem that by this act Celestine "made the barbarian island Christian", although it is clear theChristianisation of the island was a longer and more gradual process. The mission ofSaint Patrick is traditionally dated around the same time – the earliest date for his arrival in Ireland in theIrish annals is 432 – although Patrick's own writings contain nothing securely dateable.[9] It is likely that Palladius's activities were in the south of Ireland, perhaps associated withCashel, while Patrick's were later, in the north, and associated withArmagh.
By the early 6th century the church had developed separate dioceses, with bishops as the most senior ecclesiastical figures, but the country was still predominantly pagan. TheHigh Kings of Ireland continued pagan practices until the reign ofDiarmait mac Cerbaill c. 558, traditionally the first Christian High King. The monastic movement, headed by abbots, took hold in the mid 6th century, and by 700 Ireland was at least nominally a Christian country, with the church fully part of Irish society. The status of ecclesiastics was regulated by secular law, and many leading ecclesiastics came from aristocratic Irish families. Monasteries in the 8th century even went to war with each other.[10]
From the 7th century on, Irish churchmen such asColumbanus andColumba were active inGaul, inScotland and inAnglo-Saxon England. The mixing of Irish,Pictish,Anglo-Saxon and evenByzantine styles created theInsular style of art, represented by theLindisfarne Gospels and theBook of Kells. Ireland's reputation for scholarship was such that many scholars travelled from Britain and the European mainland to study in Irish schools.
Eoin MacNeill identified the "oldest certain fact in the political history of Ireland" as the existence in late prehistory of a pentarchy, probably consisting of thecóiceda or "fifths" of theUlaid (Ulster), theConnachta (Connacht), theLaigin (Leinster), Mumu (Munster) andMide (Meath), although some accounts discount Mide and split Mumu in two.[11] However, by the dawn of history this pentarchy no longer existed. The rise of new dynasties, notably theUí Néill in the north and midlands and theEóganachta in the south-west, changed the political landscape. The Uí Néill, or their parent group the Connachta, reduced the former fifth of the Ulaid to countiesDown andAntrim in the 4th or 5th centuries, establishing the tributary kingdom of theAirgíalla in the centre and the Uí Néill kingdom ofAilech in the west of the old province. EarlyIrish annals also show regular warfare between the Uí Néill and the Laigin in the midlands, with the Uí Néill conquering as far south as theKildare/Offaly border, and claiming the kingship ofTara, beginning to be conceptualised as theHigh Kingship of Ireland. This led to a new division of the country into two halves,Leth Cuinn, "Conn's half" afterConn of the Hundred Battles, supposed ancestor of the Uí Néill and Connachta, in the north, andLeth Moga, "Mug's half", afterMug Nuadat, supposed ancestor of the Eoganachta, in the south. Dynastic propaganda claimed this was a traditional division dating back to the 2nd century, but it probably originated in the 8th, at the height of Uí Néill power.[12]
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