Brehon Laws

Author: Jo Kerrigan
Publisher: The O'Brien Press Ltd
ISBN: 1788491939
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 164

Book Description
A fascinating look at the lifestyle and values of ancient Ireland Thousands of years ago, Celtic Ireland was a land of tribes and warriors; but a widely accepted, sophisticated and surprisingly enlightened legal system kept society running smoothly. The brehons were the keepers of these laws, which dealt with every aspect of life: land disputes; recompense for theft or violence; marriage and divorce processes; the care of trees and animals. Transmitted orally from ancient times, the laws were transcribed by monks around the fifth century, and what survived was translated by nineteenth-century scholars. Jo Kerrigan has immersed herself in these texts, revealing fascinating details that are inspiring for our world today. With atmospheric photographs by Richard Mills, an accessible introduction to a hidden gem of Irish heritage

In Search of Ancient Ireland

Author: Carmel McCaffrey
Publisher: Ivan R. Dee
ISBN: 1461655692
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Book Description
This engaging book traces the history, archaeology, and legends of ancient Ireland from 9000 B.C., when nomadic hunter-gatherers appeared in Ireland at the end of the last Ice Age to 1167 A.D., when a Norman invasion brought the country under control of the English crown for the first time. So much of what people today accept as ancient Irish history—Celtic invaders from Europe turning Ireland into a Celtic nation; St. Patrick driving the snakes from Ireland and converting its people to Christianity—is myth and legend with little basis in reality. The truth is more interesting. The Irish, as the authors show, are not even Celtic in an archaeological sense. And there were plenty of bishops in Ireland before a British missionary called Patrick arrived. But In Search of Ancient Ireland is not simply the story of events from long ago. Across Ireland today are festivals, places, and folk customs that provide a tangible link to events thousands of years past. The authors visit and describe many of these places and festivals, talking to a wide variety of historians, scholars, poets, and storytellers in the very settings where history happened. Thus the book is also a journey on the ground to uncover ten thousand years of Irish identity. In Search of Ancient Ireland is the official companion to the three-part PBS documentary series. With 14 black-and-white photos, 6 b&w illustrations, and 1 map.

Ancient Ireland

Author: Laurence Flanagan
Publisher: Gill & Macmillan Ltd
ISBN: 0717163679
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 297

Book Description
When the Celts first arrived in Ireland around 200 B.C., the island had already been inhabited for over 7000 years. Drawing on a wealth of archaeological evidence and the author's own mastery of the subject, Ancient Ireland returns to those pre-Celtic roots in a bid to discover the secrets of the island's first inhabitants: Who were they? And how did they live? Few accounts of the period are as exhaustively researched; fewer still are as alive with historical insight and compelling detail. At once accessible and comprehensive, Ancient Ireland is an indispensable guide to early Irish civilisation, its culture and mythology.

The Modern Antiquarian

Author: Julian Cope
Publisher: HarperThorsons
ISBN: 9780722535998
Category : Antiquities, Prehistoric
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
In this unique guide to Britain's megalithic culture, rock n' roller Julian Cope provides an inspired fusion of travel, history, poetry, maps, field notes, and pure passion.

The Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland, and Brittany

Author: Aubrey Burl
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300083477
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 492

Book Description
The spectacular stone circles of western Europe, some nearly 6000 years old, have intrigued viewers through the ages. This beautiful book about these megalithic rings explores their ancestry, methods of construction, and eventual desertion. A substantially revised version of Aubrey Burl's highly praised work The Stone Circles of the British Isles, it offers new insights into the purpose of stone circles. It also provides a new interpretation of Stonehenge and of Callanish in Scotland, the first overview of the cromlechs in Brittany, a discussion of the problems of archaeoastronomy as related to stone circles, a greatly expanded Gazetteer, and an up-to-date list of radiocarbon dates and recent excavations.

The Ancient Books of Ireland

Author: Michael Slavin
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0773573291
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Book Description
The Ancient Books of Ireland describes precious manuscripts that have survived for centuries. Slavin reveals not only their fascinating contents but their intriguing histories. Among the most important manuscripts described are :

Pre-Christian Ireland

Author: Peter Harbison
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 9780500278093
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Book Description
Tells the story of human settlement in Ireland from its beginnings 10,000 years ago to St Patrick's Christianizing mission in the 5th century AD. This is interwoven with accounts of major excavations at sites such as Carrowmore, Rathgall and Navan Fort.

A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland

Author: Patrick Weston Joyce
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Ireland
Languages : en
Pages : 618

Book Description

Mythical Ireland

Author: Anthony Murphy
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781838359331
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 350

Book Description
Mythical Ireland embodies the search for a soul among Ireland's ancient ruins, and is an attempt to retrieve something of deeper import from 5,000-year-old megalithic monuments and their associated myths. The book represents a fascinating and engaging journey through time, landscape and the human spirit. Dealing with archaeology, interpretive mythography, cosmology and cosmogony, the book attempts to grapple with a core meaning, something beyond the functional interpretations of academia. In this revised and expanded edition, Anthony Murphy delves further into the many enthralling aspects of this journey. Just how much knowledge did locals have of the secrets of Newgrange before it was excavated? Who is the Cailleach, the ancient hag goddess whose image is ubiquitous in the ancient landscape? What happened to make Ireland's Stonehenge disappear from the landscape? Who were the first kings of Tara? What were the indigenous Irish myths about the Milky Way? Did someone try to steal the Tara Brooch? Why are there myths in Ireland about ﬂooded towns and cities? Lavishly illustrated with exquisite photographs of the Irish landscape and ancient monuments, Mythical Ireland represents a personal and yet universal journey, a quest to reimagine the shrines as empowering and transformative sacred places. Murphy invokes the druids and poets of the Boyne and thus the sídhe of the ancient texts are reawakened for a modern and turbulent world.

Pagan Celtic Ireland

Author: Barry Raftery
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 9780500279830
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Book Description
The established impressions of early Celtic Ireland have come down to us through the great Irish sagas, but recent archaeological research has transformed our understanding of the period. Reflecting this new generation of scholarship, Barry Raftery presents the most convincing and up-to-date account yet published of Ireland in the millennium before the coming of Christianity. The transition from Bronze Age to Iron Age in Ireland brought many changes, including significant advances in travel and transport, and the construction of great royal centers such as Tara and Emain Macha. Professor Raftery also discusses the elusive lives of the common people; technology, arts, and crafts of the period; Ireland's contacts with the Roman world; and the complex religious beliefs of the Irish Celts. Generously illustrated throughout, Pagan Celtic Ireland will be read avidly by everyone interested in Ireland's mysterious past.