Ch.4 - Early Christian Ireland Flashcards
How did christianity come about?
When the roman emperor Constantine became a Christian and sent missionaries throughout Europe
Who did the first written record of Christianity in Ireland come from?
It came from prosper tiro in 431 A.D.
Who was the first Irish monastery set up by and where?
St. Enda on inis mór on the aran islands
Describe a monastery
- A stone or earthen wall surrounded it.
- In it there was an oratory (a small rectangular church) where monks prayed
- a refectory (meals eaten)
- huts -> each had own one and made of wood or stone with a corbelled roof (beehive), monks spent most of day here praying
- some had a round tower to store valuables and to hide in attack.
What does self-sufficient mean?
To grow and make everything for yourself
What was a scribes job?
To copy down manuscripts (religious books) e.g. The book of kells
What was a stone masons job?
They built large decorated stone crosses called high crosses to mark graves.
What was the job of a metalworke?
They made silver chalices decorated in coloured stones and gold wire. They learnt the art of filigree - twisting and weaving gold wire
What is the monk in charge of the monastery called?
The abbot
What did monks wear?
A white tunic with a cape and hood over it and leather sandals
Where do the monks copy down manuscripts?
In the scriptorium
Where do the monks live?
In beehive huts
What do the monks spend most of their time doing in the beehive huts?
Praying and reading the bible
How did the monks write the manuscripts?
They wrote on sheepskin (parchment) or calfskin (vellum) using a quill and herbs or plants to male the ink
What happens if a monastery was being attacked?
A bell in the round tower would ring and the monks would take the valuables and manuscripts and climb up the ladder of the round tower into the window and then the ladder is pulled up making it hard for enemies to reach them
