CCIV10020

Students will need a laptop and Wifi connection to participate fully in this module.

The course is designed as an introduction to early Irish society and culture. The period we cover was one of great change for Irish society – the arrival of Christianity with a new language, the rise of new, forceful power groupings and the opportunities and challenges posed by the intrusion of the Vikings. Underlying these transformations there was continuity and we will examine the evidence for the survival of earlier belief – in the burial record and in the role of women in the administration of associated rituals. We will look at the institution of kingship, with its rituals & taboos grounded in Paganism. Changes in the manifestation of kingship, especially the growth of over-kingship were a feature of this period. St Patrick, symbolic of Irish Christianity, was brought to Ireland as a slave and as the Vikings arrive the slave trade becomes more visible. We will consider the position of slaves in Irish society – their role in the running of the household and in the labour–intensive agricultural economy. This was one of the most dynamic periods in Irish history. A glance at the beautiful high crosses scattered across the Irish landscape indicate the wealth, patronage of the arts and appreciation of innovative ideas that were a mark of this era.