Early Medieval Ireland is one of the phases of Irish history which most attracts international attention, as Ireland looms large in European history in the period after the fall of the Roman empire. Possessing the oldest written vernacular outside the classics, richly documented in both the written and archaeological record, and with the allure of the ‘Celtic’ attached to it, Ireland shines bright as a golden era in the dark ages, intriguing students and scholars all over the world. This book provides an ‘entry-level’ narrative to this period in Irish history. At the same time, it contextualises the artistic, literary and architectural achievements of the age.

The tradition in Early Medieval Irish studies has been to examine the past in thematic rather than chronological terms; the sources almost demand this. But the author feels strongly that the subject needed a book with a stronger chronological scaffolding, which also had a conceptual framework. Other treatments of the period closely reflect the methodological and disciplinary interests of the authors. As such, existing publications neglect a holistic approach in favour of specific themes. Politics is rarely incorporated with church history; art and archaeology remain distinct; law and literature remain uncontextualised either in time or place. This is why the book contains extracts from primary sources and illustrations that will make this golden age glow for its readers.

The book, full of colourful maps and photographs, addresses every facet of early Irish history, deploying a historical synthesis in the spirit of the Annales school; from pollen analysis to law, from archaeology to hagiography, from politics to religion, from art to industry. Accordingly, the author  has endeavoured to provide a ‘one-stop shop’ for the history of Early Medieval Ireland for students and the general reader.

260 pages

Size 180 x 245mm

ISBN: 978-1-9997909-0-5

Hardback

Illustrated with 100 images

€35

To be published 4 December 2017

Dr Matthew Stout lectures on the history of the Irish Landscape, Early Medieval Ireland, Medieval Archaeology, and International Historiography at Dublin City University. He has published on various aspects of early medieval settlement and the Irish landscape.