Across the Sea: Ireland and its Neighbours in the Early Middle Ages

Overview

Overview

Much of insular history is determined by connections forged across the seas. This module explores significant times and places in insular history where this dynamic played an especially important role.

Beginning with an introduction to Ireland and Britain at the close of the Late Antique period, this module covers themes such as the dynamics of slave trade in relation to St Patrick and Ogham culture, the origin of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, the dynastic politics of Dal Riata and Iona, the cultural exchanges between Ireland and the English kingdoms in terms of book learning, the Easter controversy in the context of relations with Rome, and the significance of sea journeys in secular and ecclesiastical law and literature.

The second half of the module explores interactions, both political and scholarly, with the Merovingian and Carolingian courts and with the Germanic kingdoms as well as the arrival of the Vikings and their impact on trade, literature, kingship and the geography of Ireland and Britain.

The module explores each of these themes at the hand of primary sources contextualized with modern scholarship, allowing students to explore questions of historicity, genre, and source analysis.

Time, Date, and Place

This lecture-only module comprises of one lecture per week over one term, commencing the week beginning 15 September 2025. Lectures take place on the Trinity Campus.