Early Christian Ireland

1. Contribution to art

• Scribes created illuminated manuscripts in a scriptorium on vellum or parchment

• Monks carved high stone crosses to teach the illiterate Bible stories

• Monks also produced sliver chalices, croziers and broaches

• E.g. the Book of Durrow and the Book of Kells

• E.g. the Cross of the Scriptures in Clonmacnoise

• E.g. the Ardagh Chalice

2. Reading and writing

• Christianity brought reading and writing to Ireland

• Before: Ogham alphabet was used

After: Latin alphabet was used

• Monks created manuscripts in Latin and Irish

• Monks taught people in the local community 3. St. Patrick's

Day

• 17th March is a national holiday. It's celebrated nationally and internationally

• It's part of our cultural identity St. Patrick's Day is a major tourist attraction

• Abroad, in cities like Chicago and New York it brings the Irish Diaspora together

4. Christian culture developed

Pagan festivals were replaced by

Christian ones

• Imbolc was replaced by St. Brigid's Day

5. Laws and society

• Christianity, particularly Catholicism, played a large role in Irish society

• Lots of schools and hospitals have a religious ethos

• Divorce was legal in Celtic Ireland but then made illegal until 1996

6. Conflict

• There have been many conflicts based on religion on the island of Ireland

• E.g. the Troubles

7. Discrimination

The Penal Laws discriminated against non-members of the Church of Ireland

• E.g. there was a ban on Catholics inheriting Protestant land

• E.g. Presbyterian marriages were not recognised by the state 8. Religion changed

• Pagan religion was replaced by

Christianity

• The importance of the druids decreased

9. Links with Europe

Some Irish monks were abroad as missionaries

• St. Colmcille set up a monastery on lona, Scotland

• Historians view this period as the 'Golden Age' of Irish learning