Pope Vitalian’s Letter to King Oswiu of Northumbria and the Beginning of Armagh’s Claim to Primacy over the Irish Churches

Armagh’s adoption of a Roman outlook, and with it its claim of primacy over the Irish churches, is notoriously difficult to date. The window provided by the existing sources ranges from c. 640 to 690. Scholarship has traditionally favoured an early date, while more recent commentators are more inclined to place it late. A late date in the 680s paired with a more nuanced interpretation of the early medieval Easter controversy provides a new interpretative framework for late seventh-century Irish church history. Armagh’s claim of primacy has recently been viewed as a reaction, following the lead of Kildare, to the expansionist strategies of Canterbury and York. The scenario suggested here, however, shifts the focus back to Ireland. The Northumbrian debates of the 660s / early 670s and especially Pope Vitalian’s letter to King Oswiu of Northumbria provided Armagh with the crucial argumentation that set it apart from its two main competitors, Kildare and Iona. The strategy reached Ireland through the Northumbrians residing at Rath Melsigi and was communicated North by Áed of Sletty. This provides the background to the earliest surviving hagiography on St Patrick

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