The Ages of the World and the Ages of Man
Irish and European Learning in the Twelfth Century
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10778553 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael Clarke (0000-0003-1048-9586), Mike Clarke (0000-0002-2926-7257, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway, corresponding author), Máire Ní Mhaonaigh (University of Cambridge) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 95 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 467-500 |
| Publication date | 2020-04-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Speculum (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0038-7134 • E-ISSN: 2040-8072 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/708036 |
| OpenAlex | W3014547827 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 18 |
In the grand narrative of renewal and creativity in the Europe of the ‘long twelfth century’, it has been easy to assume that Ireland was marginal and backward-looking, with the energy of its thinkers and writers concentrated on preserving and continuing the cultural forms of the national past. In recent scholarship, however, it has become clear that Irish intellectual life in this period was much closer to the European mainstream than was once believed. This article presents a case study in this area, concerned with the schematisation of historical time and the course of human life in parallel systems of six ages. Two examples of Irish text-production from the early twelfth century – an extended marginal gloss of some theological subtlety, and a complex heroic image in a narrative eulogy – will be compared with parallel manifestations in three sources from the heart of mainstream European creativity in the period: an encyclopaedic compilation of history and theology, a sequence of newly-composed hymns for the Divine Office, and the iconographic programme of stained-glass windows in a newly rebuilt cathedral. The parallels will underline the fact that, despite the obvious differences in outer form, the modes of learned creativity reflected in Irish manuscript culture were closely aligned with international trends across Europe in the same period. To set this material in context, we preface our discussion with some general remarks on medieval Irish writing, before proceeding to the details of the chosen examples
Ancient history · Download · Irish · Linguistics · Middle Ages · Classics · Computer Science · Historical Studies of British Isles · History · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy
| Citations per year | 0.25 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2022 - 2022 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |