The Transformation of the Irish Church in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries

312 Pages·2010·3.803 MB·English

by  Marie Therese Flanagan

spine 28.5 mm
A 24 Aug 10

F
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The twelfth century heralded a wide-ranging transformation of the Irish
N The Transformation of
church which was a regional manifestation of a pan-European reform
movement. This book, the first to offer a sustained account of this change,
the Irish Church
moves beyond the previous concentration on the restructuring of Irish
dioceses and episcopal authority, and the introduction of Continental in the Twelfth Century
monastic observances, to broaden the discussion. It charts changes in the
religious culture experienced by the laity as well as the clergy and takes
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account of the particular Irish experience within the wider European context. C
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The universal ideals that were defined with increasing clarity by h
e
Continental advocates of reform generated a series of initiatives from Irish u

churchmen aimed at disseminating reform ideology within clerical circles r T
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and transmitting it also to lay society, even if, as elsewhere, it often proved h r
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difficult to implement in practice. Whatever the obstacles faced by reformist n
i
clergy, their genuine concern to transform the Irish church and society n s
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cannot be doubted, and is attested in a range of hitherto under-exploited t o
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sources upon which this volume draws. r
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MARIE THERESE FLANAGAN is Professor of Medieval History at the
Queen’s University of Belfast. T a
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Cover: Plaque from the shrine known as Breac Maedhóg, c.1100 (National e
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Museum of Ireland). l
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Series: Studies in Celtic History
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GENERAL EDITORS: Dauvit Broun, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Huw Pryce n
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an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Marie Therese Flanagan
PO Box 9, Woodbridge IP12 3DF (GB) and
668 Mt Hope Ave, Rochester NY14620-2731 (US)
www.boydellandbrewer.com
Studies in Celtic History XXIX
THE TRANSFORMATION OF
THE IRISH CHURCH
IN THE TWELFTH AND
THIRTEENTH CENTURIES
The twelfth century saw a wide-ranging transformation of the Irish church, a
regional manifestation of a wider pan-European reform movement. This book,
the first to offer a full account of this change, moves away from the previous
concentration on the restructuring of Irish dioceses and episcopal authority, and
theintroductionofContinentalmonasticobservances,towidenthediscussion.It
charts changes in the religious culture experienced by the laity as well as the
clergy and takes account of the particular Irish experience within the broader
context of Continental reform. The universal ideals that were defined with
increasing clarity by Continental advocates of reform generated a series of
responses from Irish churchmen aimed at disseminating reform ideology within
clerical circles and transmitting it also to lay society, even if, as elsewhere, it
oftenproveddifficulttoimplementinpractice.Whatevertheobstaclesfacedby
reformistclergy,theirgenuineconcerntotransformtheIrishchurchandsociety
is attested in a range of hitherto unexploited sources this volume draws upon.
MarieThereseFlanaganisProfessorofMedievalHistoryatQueen’sUniversity,
Belfast.
STUDIES IN CELTIC HISTORY
ISSN 0261–9865
General editors
Dauvit Broun
Máire Ní Mhaonaigh
Huw Pryce
Studies in Celtic History aims to provide a forum for new research into all
aspects of the history of Celtic-speaking peoples throughout the whole of the
medievalperiod.Theterm`history’isinderstoodbroadly:anystudy,regardless
ofdiscipline,whichadvancesourknowledgeandunderstandingofthehistoryof
Celtic-speaking peoples will be considered. Studies of primary sources, and of
new methods of exploiting such sources, are encouraged.
Founded by Professor David Dumville, the series was relaunched under new
editorshipin1997.Proposalsorqueriesmaybesentdirectlytotheeditorsatthe
addressesgivenbelow;allsubmissionswillreceivepromptandinformedconsid-
eration before being sent to expert readers.
Professor Dauvit Broun, Department of History (Scottish), University of
Glasgow, 9 University Gardens, Glasgow G12 8QH
Dr Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, St John’s College, Cambridge, CB2 1TP
Professor Huw Pryce, School of History, Welsh History and Archaeology,
Bangor University, Gwynedd LL57 2DG
For titles already published in this series
see the end of this volume
THE TRANSFORMATION OF
THE IRISH CHURCH
IN THE TWELFTH AND
THIRTEENTH CENTURIES
MARIE THERESE FLANAGAN
THE BOYDELL PRESS
© MarieTherese Flanagan 2010
All Rights Reserved.Except as permitted under current legislation
no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast,
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
The right of Marie Therese Flanagan to be identified as
the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents act 1988
First published 2010
The Boydell Press, Woodbridge
ISBN 978–1–84383–597–4
The Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.
668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA
website: www.boydellandbrewer.com
A catalogue record of this publication is available
from the British Library
The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy
of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this
book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will
remain, accurate or appropriate.
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements vii
Abbreviationsandshorttitles viii
Introduction ix
1 Chartingchangeinthetwelfth-centuryIrishchurch: 1
the problem of sources
Bishops and dioceses
2 ‘RegulatingthediocesesofthebishopsofIreland’ 34
Gillebertus’streatiseonecclesiasticalgrades 54
3 ‘Amirrorandmodel’:exemplarybishopsandepiscopalculture 92
Varieties of monasticism
4 ‘Restoringthemonasticandcanonicalrulesofthechurchin 118
Ireland’: St Malachy and monastic reform
Malachy’sintroductionofCistercianmonasticism 123
TheintroductionofthecustomsofArrouaise 136
Cîteaux,ArrouaiseandSavigny 154
Theimpactofnewmonasticismonestablishedmonasticism 161
Lay society
5 ‘Rulesandgoodconduct’:there-formationoflaysociety 169
Warandviolence 161
Marriageintwelfth-centuryIreland 184
Ecclesiasticalpatronage,gift-givingandalms 195
6 ‘Rightfaithandgoodactions’:laypietyanddevotion 203
Conclusion: Universal ideals and regional responses 243
Bibliography 249
Index 279

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book would not have been completed without the support and cooperation
of colleagues in the School of History and Anthropology at the Queen’s
University of Belfast who so graciously carried an additional workload during
my period of sabbatical leave. I am grateful also to the Arts and Humanities
ResearchCouncilforprovidingresearchleavefundingandtoAllSoulsCollege,
Oxford, for a visiting fellowship that enabled me to exploit the splendid library
resources of the College and the Bodleian Library. The staff of the Interlibrary
Loans desk at Queen’s University dealt very patiently and efficiently with
numerous requests for material. My colleague and neighbour, Dr Evelyn
Mullally, obligingly proofread the original typescript, saving me from many
errorsandinconsistencies.IalsowishtothanktheeditorsoftheSeriesfortheir
helpfulandencouragingcommentsandtheproductionteaminBoydell&Brewer
with whom it has been an especial pleasure to collaborate.
MTF
vii
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