Department of History
Appalachian State University

Information

Courses Taught

Ireland in the Middle Ages

 
Course Description:
Never part of the Roman Empire, Ireland remained outside of the European mainstream for much of the Middle Ages.  The introduction of Christianity, and with it Latin and leadership in Rome, first began to bring Ireland into regular contact with a wider world.  A society full of warring chieftains on one hand and an almost embarrassing number of saints on the other, Ireland somehow maintained one of the most educated learned classes of its day.  The onset of Viking raids, and more importantly the establishment of the first towns, brought Ireland into continuous exchange with the rest of Europe.  The later English invasion and subsequent colonization laid the foundation for many of the troubles of today.  In this course, we will examine the history of this "fringe" land from the perspective of the many people who lived there, Irish and others, and look at how their interactions created the modern nation.

Course Objectives:
It is the aim of this course to address some of the basic political, social and economic questions concerning the great changes which occurred during the thousand years between the arrival of Christianity and the fifteenth century.  The emphasis in this course will be on using primary sources, sources which actually come to us from the Middle Ages, to understand how medieval Irish people viewed themselves and their world, and how others viewed them.

Readings:
Readings for this course have included: Fergus Kelly's Guide to Early Irish Law, The Táin, Song of Dermot and the Earl, and Irish Bardic Poetry

Grade:
In the past, grades have been based on: