Top 10 Medieval Castles in Ireland
Ten great medieval castles from Ireland and Northern Ireland
The Apple in Early Irish Narrative Tradition: A Thoroughly Christian Symbol?
Echtrae Chonnlai is regarded as being one of the earliest extant tales in Irish, dating from the eighth or ninth century A.D.
The contribution of insect remains to an understanding of the environment of Viking-age and medieval Dublin
This paper examines the important contribution that sub-fossil insect remains can make to an understanding of the environment of Viking-age and medieval Dublin.
Time, space and power in later medieval Bristol
With a population of almost 10,000, Bristol was later medieval England’s second or third biggest urban place, and the realm’s second port after London. While not particularly large or wealthy in comparison with the great cities of northern Italy, Flanders or the Rhineland, it was a metropolis in the context of the British Isles.
How to help restore an Irish castle
The owners of a 16th-century Irish castle are hoping to raise €18,000 to restore the keep’s Great Hall.
Castle for Sale: Belvelly Castle
This picturesque Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland was once owned by Sir Walter Raleigh.
New Project to look at Medieval Miracles in the British Isles
A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge have started creating an online database to categorize the miracles found in saints’ lives that were written in Britain and Ireland between 500 and 1300.
The Economy of Early Medieval Ireland
The Old Irish law tracts have been the subject of many serious studies. In the early twentieth century the forensic philology of the great European Celticists, such as Rudolf Thurneysen or Kuno Meyer, prepared the ground for later philologists, such as Daniel Binchy and Liam Breatnach.
The Battle of Clontarf – then and now
HistoryHub and University College Dublin have teamed up to create two-part video series to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of the Battle of Clontarf.
Is the story of the Battle of Clontarf more fiction than fact?
The Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh is considered one of the most important sources about the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. However, new research is suggesting the tale is based more on the Trojan War than on historical sources.
Viking and Ancient boats discovered in Ireland
Archaeologists in Ireland have discovered the remains of boats dating back to the Bronze and Iron Age, including one from the 11th century that may have belonged to Viking raiders.
Trinity College Dublin marks anniversary of Battle of Clontarf with conference and exhibition
This year marks the 1000th anniversary of the Battle of Clontarf, one of the most important events in Irish history.
Saint Patrick’s Purgatory: a fresco in Todi, Italy
This essay deals with the tradition of the revelation of Purgatory to St. Patrick on Station Island in Lough Derg, whose popularity is testified not only in literary texts in the various languages of Medieval Europe but also in a unique work of art in the convent of the Sisters of Saint Clair at Todi, Umbria
St. Patrick’s Irish Pride
In honour of the day, it seems fitting to throw out some interesting facts about St. Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint.
Clontarf in the Wider World
While a lively debate has continued for decades between Irish historians concerning the impact of the battle, Clontarf’s place in a wider field of European events has received less attention.
Mordred: Treachery, Transference, and Border Pressure in British Arthurian Romance
This study focuses on the question of how Mordred comes to be portrayed as a traitor within the British Arthurian context.
800-year-old castle torn down in Ireland
Coolbanagher Castle has been completely demolished last week after storms in February led local officials to condemn the site as unsafe.
On the shape of the Insular tonsure
This paper carefully reviews the early medieval evidence and proposes that the tonsure was triangular in shape, resembling a Greek delta.
Warriors and warfare: ideal and reality in early insular texts
This thesis investigates several key aspects of warfare and its participants in the Viking Age insular world via a comparison of the image which warriors occupy in heroic literature to their concomitant depiction in sources which are primarily nonliterary in character, such as histories, annalistic records, and law codes.
Like a Duck to Water: Representations of Aquatic Animals in Early Anglo-Saxon Literature and Art
In the second book of his Life of Columba abbot Adomnan of Iona relates some details regarding the second and third voyages of the monk Cormac in search of ‘a desert place in the ocean’.
Medieval Museum in Waterford wins awards
Congratulations to the Waterford Medieval Museum for winning ‘Best Heritage Project’ and ‘Best Public Building’ from the Local Authority Members Awards
Sodomy and the Knights Templar
In this article, I will analyze testimony relevant to the charges of the Inquisition that members of the order of Knights Templar throughout Christendom practiced homosexual acts of various sorts from illicit kisses to sodomy.
Sex and obscenity in medieval art
When researching early or ‘forbidden’ historical subjects it can be a considerable challenge finding primary sources that give a first-hand experience of contemporary events.
The examination of the Book of Kells using micro-Raman spectroscopy
Until recently, studies of its dyes and pigments have relied exclusively on techniques such as visual and optical microscopic and spectroscopic examination, and comparison of the appearance of the pigment with specimens prepared using ancient or medieval recipes.