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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

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