Analysis: The father of English history was an admirer of Medieval Ireland's history and culture - and especially Irish missionaries
Ireland’s landscape and its rich past have been romanticised and admired by several Irish scholars and poets, such as W.B. Yeats and Seamus Heaney. Such admiration has long extended beyond our coastline and Ireland had attracted the gaze of another highly influential scribe as early as the medieval period. This scribe saw the Irish as integral in spreading the Christian faith and acting as pioneers of its teachings within England.
The scribe in question was St Bede, the "father of English history". He was clearly an early admirer of Ireland, the passages concerning the Irish in his writings fully aware of the country's rich history and culture. Thanks to Bede, we have a good understanding of the Irish efforts during his time as harbingers of the Christian faith.
Irish medieval history stands out as a remarkably diverse and rich period. It produced beautiful manuscripts, such as the Book of Kells, which survive to this day. They also have a rich Celtic past, with goddesses such as Brigid, whom the Roman Catholic Church later adopted as saints.
Bede is widely regarded as one of the most influential and essential scholars of the medieval period, supporting the AD dating system, which is still used in the Roman Christian calendar today. His most important work is the Ecclesiastical History of the English people, and it is this text that captures the Irish as proper Christians, crucial in converting the Anglo-Saxons of medieval England. The original text is in Latin, but an Old English translation was made during the 11th century. Bede’s work was also responsible for laying the foundation for a Christian relationship between Britain and Ireland, remarking that the Irish harboured no treacherous plots against their English neighbours.
Scholars have long debated whether Bede was being sincere in his writing and it is challenging to disregard what he has written. But what he says about Irish missionaries is truly impactful and left a lasting impact on the Anglo-Saxons of the medieval period. The Irish gave them the tools of faith, but they had to wait before using them against their own problems.
The Irish missionaries were described as inhabiting a "land of milk and honey", an island that provided literature so rich it could rid England of its spreading poison. Honey was an important edible in ancient times, especially for medicinal purposes, and Ireland’s association with it spoke volumes about its religious teachings and literature. He further remarked that "almost all things in the island are good against poison."
Serpents (reptiles in this instance) from Britain are also given a special mention, since when "scent of the air reaches them, they die". To Irish readers of Bede, this could seem like a homage to St. Patrick removing the snakes from Ireland. It is uncertain if Bede was explicitly referring to Patrick in this passage, but that does not mean he was not aware of their existence. While Bede did not personally visit Ireland during his time, he was well acquainted with the history of Irish saints such as St. Patrick and St. Columba.
On the other hand, Columba’s mission to Northumbria from Iona was critical in educating the English. This is often seen as an integral point in the establishment of the early medieval English church. It is through this that Irish influence in the early English church began to flourish. Perhaps seen by some as an exaggeration of their efforts, Bede made sure to litter his narrative with the Irish. After all, they held an important responsibility that shaped England.
The Irish missionaries had done what the native Britons (Wealas in Old English) initially failed to do: convert the Anglo-Saxons to their faith. For Bede, the Irish were just "much worthier heralds" than the Britons. For medieval instruction, the Irish missionaries were an exceptionally vital component, and Bede was highly aware of that. In his eyes, the Irish mission to convert the English and instruct their growing church was paralleled with their own conversion by Palladius in 431, an event that clearly left a lasting impact on them.
It is interesting to see this instance of history repeating itself, albeit under different circumstances, as it frequently occurs when students become the masters. It was apparent that the Irish left a lasting impact on the English, leading them to become great Christians in their own right. History tends to repeat itself, as they say, and that’s precisely what happened to the English in the ninth century with the Vikings.
We need your consent to load this Spotify contentWe use Spotify to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From PhD Pulse, interview with Aaron Keane about his research
Well after Bede’s time, the English, armed with the teachings of their Irish gentes, dealt a crushing blow to their pagan enemies when faced with the Great Heathen Army, never surrendering their beliefs for the ways of old. Perhaps if Bede had been around to see the Christian English triumph over the Heathen Army, it would remind him of the proper Christians he admired: the Irish.
Within a land of glistening grass and sprawling trees, they emerged, armed with their faith and nothing more, for that was all they needed to influence the medieval world. While the reality of the 'so-called’ Dark Ages blinded most onlookers, Ireland shone bright, immortalised forever in the writings of the Venerable St. Bede.
Follow RTÉ Brainstorm on WhatsApp and Instagram for more stories and updates
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
