Reflections of a Divided Country? The Role of Tower Houses in Late-Medieval Ireland (original) (raw)

Abstract

"The proliferation of thousands of small castles and towers, known as tower houses, across the Irish landscape between c.1350 and c.1650 has for a long time been viewed as a consequence of years of incessant petty warfare, cultural segregation and oppression. Only ever partially colonised by the Anglo-Normans, Ireland has been presented as a divided, unruly country where private fortification was the only means to secure the safety of one’s family and possessions. Whilst security was obviously a significant priority, this paper seeks to reassess the role of towers in late-medieval Ireland with a particular focus on the indiscriminate nature of their uptake; by communities of both Anglo-Norman and Gaelic descent alike. Tower houses were the first stone castles to be built in any great numbers by the native Gaelic Irish people and as such they offer the opportunity to compare the priorities of different groups within late-medieval Irish society. Viewing each tower as the product of a considered balance of differing priorities in the minds of their patrons, this paper draws on evidence from over fifty structures across Ireland to assess what these priorities actually were and whether we can see differences in the role of towers across any perceived cultural or political divide. The results suggest that whilst the widespread adoption of the tower house can be viewed as a form of cultural assimilation c.170 years post-colonisation, the towers themselves also bear tantalising evidence of differing priorities and differing functions across Ireland’s multifaceted borders. Whilst other, more mundane, needs also influenced these differences in the architectural record, the significance of cultural difference, and the purposeful demonstration of that difference, cannot be overlooked as a possible motivating factor. "

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