Wednesday 18 January 2012

A HISTORY OF IRELAND IN 100 OBJECTS - THE IRISH TIMES - SAT, JAN 14, 2012


We are so fortunate to live in an age where we can share the history and culture of other lands by the click of a button.... Read more about the wonderful and intriguing history of Ireland in the article that follows...


FINTAN O'TOOLE
The Domhnach Airgid, circa 1350

The Domhnach Airgid – or Silver Church – is a splendid exercise in medieval retro. It is not just an antique; it is a very deliberate display of self-conscious antiquity.
One of the reasons the Anglo-Normans provided a far more potent threat to the established order in Ireland than the Vikings had ever done is that these newcomers were enormously interested in controlling the Irish church.
The reform of a supposedly decadent Irish Christianity was the key ideological justification for the Anglo-Norman invasions. This also justified the supplanting of native by foreign abbots and bishops.
Long before the coming of the Anglo-Normans, however, the Irish church was in touch with the reforming movements of European Christianity, including those in England. This was especially true of the Hiberno-Norse towns of Waterford and Dublin, whose bishop Giolla Pátraic was consecrated in 1073 by the archbishop of Westminster, whom he recognised as "primate of the Britains".
The reorganisation of the Irish church into territorial dioceses on the continental model was likewise completed before the Anglo-Norman invasion. 


For the full story, go to the link below...


http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2012/0114/1224310228113.html




Where to see it National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology, Kildare Street, Dublin 2, 01-6777444, museum.ie

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