Early Christian Ireland

Question 1

What period is referred to as Early Christian Ireland?

Answer 1

The period when Christianity first came to Ireland.

Question 2

By which century had the Roman Empire spread to Britain?

Answer 2

By the third century AD.

Question 3

What is the first official source about Christianity in Ireland dated?

Answer 3

AD 431.

Question 4

Who was sent to the Irish who believed in Christ in AD 431?

Answer 4

Bishop Palladius.

Question 5

Who is the most famous bishop to travel to Ireland?

Answer 5

St Patrick.

Question 6

At what age was St Patrick brought to Ireland as a slave?

Answer 6

16 years old.

Question 7

What did St Patrick do after escaping to Britain?

Answer 7

He returned to Ireland as a bishop to spread Christianity.

Question 8

During which years did St Patrick work mainly in the north of Ireland?

Answer 8

432 to 461.

Question 9

What book did St Patrick write that provides insight into his life and work?

Answer 9

St Patrick’s Confessio.

Question 10

What did St Patrick claim to have done in his Confessio?

Answer 10

He ‘baptised thousands’ and ‘ordained clerics everywhere’.

Question 11

What festival became absorbed into Christianity, becoming Hallowe’en?

Answer 11

Samhain.

Question 12

What is a monastery?

Answer 12

A closed religious community where Christians live apart from society.

Question 13

What term is used for men who dedicate themselves to a religious order in a monastery?

Answer 13

Monks.

Question 14

What are women who devote themselves to God in closed communities called?

Answer 14

Nuns.

Question 15

Where was the first Irish monastery founded and by whom?

Answer 15

Inis Mór, founded by St Enda.

Question 16

Around what year was the first Irish monastery founded?

Answer 16

Around 500 AD.

Question 17

Name one other saint who founded a monastery in Ireland.

Answer 17

St Ciarán, St Colmcille, or St Brendan.

Question 18

Fill in the blank: St Patrick began to convert the pagan Celts to _______.

Answer 18

Christianity.

Question 19

True or False: Early Irish monasteries were open to the general public.

Answer 19

False.

Question 20

What term refers to the religious communities where nuns live?

Answer 20

Convents.

Question 21

What major historical event does the rock at Down Cathedral mark?

Answer 21

The burial site of St Patrick.

Question 22

What kind of lives did the monks lead?

Answer 22

The monks lived very strict, simple lives and spent their days praying and working.

Question 23

How many times did the monks pray each day?

Answer 23

They prayed six to eight times every day.

Question 24

What types of farm work did the monks do?

Answer 24

Farm work included ploughing, milking, harvesting, and grinding corn.

Question 25

Were the monks self-sufficient?

Answer 25

Yes, the monks were often self-sufficient - they produced all the food they needed.

Question 26

What role did monasteries play in education?

Answer 26

Monasteries became centres of learning, and Irish monasteries were famous for teaching poetry, literature, arts, and the Gospel.

Question 27

What was Ireland known as due to its monasteries?

Answer 27

Ireland became known as ‘the Land of Saints and Scholars’.

Question 28

Name some large monasteries in Ireland.

Answer 28

Large monasteries included Clonard, Kells, Clonmacnoise, Glendalough, and Clonfert.

Question 29

Where was a small monastery located?

Answer 29

A small monastery was located on Skellig Michael in Co. Kerry.

Question 30

What is a beehive hut?

Answer 30

A beehive hut is a small stone hut, shaped like a beehive, where a monk slept.

Question 31

Why was soil brought from the mainland to Skellig Michael?

Answer 31

Soil had to be brought from the mainland to plant and grow food.

Question 32

What was the benefit of the extreme isolation of the monks?

Answer 32

The extreme isolation meant that monks could better focus on God and work.

Question 33

What are the components of a typical Early Christian Ireland monastery layout?

Answer 33

The layout included an oratory, scriptorium, refectory, guesthouses, fields, cemetery, round tower, and wall.

Question 34

What is an oratory?

Answer 34

An oratory is a church made of wood or stone where monks attended Mass or prayed.

Question 35

What is a scriptorium?

Answer 35

A scriptorium is a room where manuscripts were copied by hand and illustrated by scribes.

Question 36

What is a refectory?

Answer 36

A refectory is where the monks ate their meals.