Sample pages History of Ireland in 100 Objects.pdf
Sample pages History of Ireland in 100 Objects.pdf
Sample pages History of Ireland in 100 Objects.pdf
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A <strong>History</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Ireland</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong><br />
1OO <strong>Objects</strong><br />
FINTAN O’TOOLE<br />
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisic<strong>in</strong>g<br />
elit, sed do eiusmod tempor <strong>in</strong>cididunt ut<br />
labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad<br />
m<strong>in</strong>im veniam, quis nostrud<br />
GASHSGD TIJDHSH
A <strong>History</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Ireland</strong> <strong>in</strong><br />
1OO <strong>Objects</strong>
A <strong>History</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Ireland</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong><br />
1OO <strong>Objects</strong><br />
FINTAN O’TOOLE<br />
RA I
GLENISHEEN GORGET 2400BC<br />
T<br />
he marks that run through the<br />
ridges on the right hand side <strong>of</strong> this<br />
dazzl<strong>in</strong>g gold collar show that it was<br />
roughly bent <strong>in</strong> two before it was thrust<br />
<strong>in</strong>to a rock fissure <strong>in</strong> the Burren, <strong>in</strong> Co<br />
Clare, where it was found by workmen <strong>in</strong><br />
1932. This is no accident: most <strong>of</strong> the other eight<br />
surviv<strong>in</strong>g examples <strong>of</strong> these uniquely Irish objects<br />
were bent <strong>in</strong> the same way. They were, it seems,<br />
“decommissioned” before be<strong>in</strong>g buried. Such was<br />
their power that they had to be broken before<br />
be<strong>in</strong>g let out <strong>of</strong> the hands <strong>of</strong> their owners. The<br />
Glen<strong>in</strong>sheen gorget is a technical and artistic<br />
achievement at the apex <strong>of</strong> goldwork<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the Europe<br />
<strong>of</strong> its time. It was made by apply<strong>in</strong>g a range<br />
<strong>of</strong> techniques: repousse, chas<strong>in</strong>g, rais<strong>in</strong>g, stamp<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
twist<strong>in</strong>g and stitch<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
The discs at the term<strong>in</strong>als <strong>of</strong> the collar are decorated<br />
with spiral patterns <strong>of</strong> extraord<strong>in</strong>ary f<strong>in</strong>esse.<br />
Heavily concentrated <strong>in</strong> Munster, this k<strong>in</strong>d<br />
<strong>of</strong> work can only have come from a highly evolved<br />
society with a population dense enough to support<br />
specialist artists, sufficiently settled to develop<br />
its own sophisticated traditions. There is evidence,<br />
<strong>in</strong>deed, that gorgets like this one may be an ultraluxurious<br />
and superf<strong>in</strong>e expression <strong>of</strong> a contemporary<br />
European fashion. On ma<strong>in</strong>land Europe at<br />
this time one <strong>of</strong> the most important high-status<br />
objects is the bronze cuirass, a piece <strong>of</strong> armour<br />
that fits the whole torso. This highly decorated armour<br />
is evidence <strong>of</strong> the emergence <strong>of</strong> a warrior<br />
caste with great prestige.<br />
These bronze cuirasses are not found <strong>in</strong> <strong>Ireland</strong>.<br />
But Mary Cahill <strong>of</strong> the National Museum <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Ireland</strong> has po<strong>in</strong>ted out detailed similarities <strong>in</strong><br />
structure and decoration between the Irish gorgets<br />
and the European cuirasses: the raised l<strong>in</strong>es<br />
on the Glen<strong>in</strong>sheen collar match the l<strong>in</strong>es on the<br />
armour that <strong>in</strong>dicate the warrior’s ribs, for example;<br />
the circular discs mimic the breast and nipples.<br />
What we have, then, is a very specific Irish version<br />
<strong>of</strong> the symbols <strong>of</strong> a European warrior cult. In Europe<br />
the object is bronze and takes the literal<br />
shape <strong>of</strong> the warrior’s body. In <strong>Ireland</strong> it is gold and<br />
abstract. Who needs ord<strong>in</strong>ary bronze when the<br />
overwhelm<strong>in</strong>g symbolic power <strong>of</strong> gold can be harnessed?<br />
The gorget may be a more self-consciously<br />
artistic representation <strong>of</strong> a European style,<br />
but it nonetheless belongs to the common ideal<br />
<strong>of</strong> a warrior elite. A rare rock carv<strong>in</strong>g from southwestern<br />
Spa<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> this period shows a warrior with<br />
sword, shield, spear and chariot. The shield has a<br />
highly dist<strong>in</strong>ctive V-shaped notch. Dist<strong>in</strong>ctive, that<br />
is, except for the fact that the only shield <strong>of</strong> this<br />
k<strong>in</strong>d was found at Cloonbr<strong>in</strong>, near Abbeyshrule,<br />
<strong>in</strong> Co Longford. The gorget, therefore, is a peculiarly<br />
Irish and especially ref<strong>in</strong>ed expression <strong>of</strong> a<br />
warrior cult that extended far beyond <strong>Ireland</strong>.<br />
11<br />
N<br />
WHERE TO SEE IT NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND -<br />
ARCHAEOLOGY, KILDARE STREET, DUBLIN 2, 01-6777444, WWW.MUSEUM.IE
CUNORIX STONE FOURTH CENTURY AD<br />
I<br />
It is a broken gravestone, with a crude <strong>in</strong>scription:<br />
CVNORIX MACVSMA VICOIE. The<br />
slab, found <strong>in</strong> 1967, had probably been reused<br />
from someone else’s burial. Yet it is a<br />
resonant object, evidence <strong>of</strong> the way Irish <strong>in</strong>vaders<br />
and raiders took advantage <strong>of</strong> the collapse<br />
<strong>of</strong> Roman Brita<strong>in</strong>.<br />
The slab was found <strong>in</strong> Wroxeter, near Shrewsbury<br />
<strong>in</strong> the western English county <strong>of</strong> Shropshire.<br />
This village was once Viroconium, the fourthlargest<br />
city <strong>in</strong> Roman Brita<strong>in</strong>, a thriv<strong>in</strong>g hub <strong>of</strong><br />
5,000 people - about the same size as Pompeii.<br />
After the Roman legions were withdrawn from<br />
Brita<strong>in</strong>, <strong>in</strong> 410, even places as far <strong>in</strong>land as Viroconium<br />
became vulnerable to attack from Irish<br />
raiders. The significance <strong>of</strong> this gravestone is that<br />
the <strong>in</strong>scription is <strong>in</strong> a partly Lat<strong>in</strong>ised version <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Irish language.<br />
It means “Hound-k<strong>in</strong>g, son <strong>of</strong> the tribe <strong>of</strong><br />
Holly”. Cunorix was Irish, and he was declar<strong>in</strong>g<br />
himself a k<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> this part <strong>of</strong> England. From the<br />
fourth century AD, the Romans were build<strong>in</strong>g forts<br />
on the west coast <strong>of</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> (at Holyhead and<br />
Cardiff) to defend aga<strong>in</strong>st the Irish raiders they<br />
called ‘Scotti’. (The name survives as Scotland.) We<br />
know from the Roman writer Ammianus that they<br />
had diplomatic relations with the Scotti but that<br />
<strong>in</strong> 360 AD the break<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> a treaty led to devastat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
raids from both <strong>Ireland</strong> and Scotland. The<br />
ability to mount major seaborne raids suggests a<br />
resurgence <strong>of</strong> wealth <strong>in</strong> <strong>Ireland</strong>, connected to the<br />
expansion <strong>of</strong> agriculture and the build<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> huge<br />
numbers <strong>of</strong> stone r<strong>in</strong>g forts. As Roman power collapsed<br />
entirely, Irish raiders were followed to<br />
Brita<strong>in</strong> by Irish settlers. The most important colony<br />
was Dyfed, <strong>in</strong> southwest Wales, but Argyll, <strong>in</strong><br />
western Scotland, the Isle <strong>of</strong> Man and parts <strong>of</strong><br />
southwest England were also colonised.<br />
This expansionary drive had huge consequences<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Ireland</strong>. The Romans had done deals<br />
with, and helped to keep <strong>in</strong> place, the old k<strong>in</strong>gships<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Ireland</strong>. But the new money that both<br />
drove and resulted from attacks on Brita<strong>in</strong> allowed<br />
the formation <strong>of</strong> numerous small tribal units, or<br />
túatha. “There were,” says Conor Newman <strong>of</strong> the<br />
National University <strong>of</strong> <strong>Ireland</strong>, Galway, “new kids<br />
on the block <strong>in</strong> these centuries. Before the fourth<br />
or fifth centuries you’ve got five great royal sites.<br />
It’s not co<strong>in</strong>cidental that Roman material has<br />
turned up at all <strong>of</strong> those sites. Afterwards, the<br />
country is fragmented <strong>in</strong>to 150 smaller túatha.<br />
Someth<strong>in</strong>g pretty radical has happened. I th<strong>in</strong>k it’s<br />
the impact <strong>of</strong> the collapse <strong>of</strong> the Roman Empire<br />
on <strong>Ireland</strong>. Brita<strong>in</strong> becomes an open cash register<br />
for Irish raiders. Th<strong>in</strong>gs are be<strong>in</strong>g robbed - and so<br />
are people.<br />
13<br />
N<br />
WHERE TO SEE IT WROXETER ROMAN CITY, SHROPSHIRE, ENGLAND,<br />
00-44-1743-761330, WWW.ENGLISH-HERITAGE.ORG.UK