Early medieval history of Ireland Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Early medieval history of Ireland - Term Paper Example Due to the relative isolation of Ireland by water, this magical land has been able to keep many of its medieval treasures intact, unlike most parts of Western Europe. With the fall of the Roman Empire, much of Western Europe lost its scholarship as Christianity tended to withdraw into its own sanctuaries. The medieval church in Ireland was powerful and brilliant. Splendid reminders of early Irish Christianity can be found in the stone, high crosses that melded the country's pagan roots with the newly imported faith. Unfortunately, not much can be said about pre-Christian era in Ireland. What little is known of this period comes from a few references in Roman writings, Irish poetry and myth, and archaeology (Raftery, 2005:134).However, traditions have it that the earliest inhabitants of Ireland, people of a mid-Stone Age, or Mesolithic culture, arrived sometime after 8000 BC, when the climate had become more hospitable following the retreat of the polar icecaps. At this time, settleme nts of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers have been found at about half a dozen sites scattered throughout the country: Mount Sandel in County Londonderry (Coleraine); Woodpark in County Sligo; the Shannon estuary; Lough Boora in County Offaly; the Curran in County Antrim; and a number of locations in Munster. It is thought that these settlers first colonised the northeast of the country from Scotland. Although sea levels were still lower than they are today, Ireland was probably already an island by the time the first settlers arrived by boat