The Abbey of Knockmoy -A brief history. (original) (raw)
Related papers
2009
of Clairvaux, and the Cistercian order Writing in the 1070s in the monastery of Sankt Martin in Mainz, the Irish chronicler, Máel Brígte, known on the Continent as Marianus Scottus, described his native land as insula sanctorum-the first known attestation of this description-an 'island of saints' that was replete with innumerable saints and miracles.1 Marianus's description reflected a perception that derived principally from the careers of Irishmen on the Continent, such as Columbanus of Bobbio and Gallus in Switzerland, of both of whom Marianus made mention. So great indeed was the impression made by the Irish on European ideas of sainthood that it became a common motif in Continental hagiography to ascribe an Irish birth to saints whose origins were otherwise obscure or unknown.2 The concept of Ireland as an 'island of saints' was to prove enduringly attractive for Irish churchmen: it was to be harnessed, for example, in the context of Counter-Reformation ideology. From the early seventeenth century Irish clerics, 'writing up a nation' for both a Continental and an Irish audience, identified a political and a pastoral usefulness to the Lives of Irish saints, endeavouring to show that they had always been exemplary Catholics; and, alongside the saints of the foundational era of Irish Christianity-Patrick, Brigit, and Columba-the twelfth-century bishop,
Early Irish Monasteries and their Dynastic
2016
With the introduction of Christianity, kings were quick to use their patronage of the Church to influence political relationships within their kingdoms and those of their neighbors. In a similar fashion, Church leaders from dynastic kindreds were quick to use their family connections to promote their monastery’s goals. Although the number of kings found in Ireland during the Medieval period has been a source of differing opinions (Byrne 2001, 7; Ó Corráin 1978, 10-11), it is clear that at any one time there were several competing dynasties. Each of these royal dynasties could in turn split off into several branches (Charles-Edwards 2000, 14). With so many kings ruling throughout the land, it would only make sense for each to look for something to strengthen their position. Thomas Charles-Edwards in his Early Christian Ireland observes that even though it might have been impossible for some dynasties to maintain their royal standing, there were still other ways for them to maintain a...