Essays on Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity in Honour of Oded Irshai
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Book Series
Cultural Encounters in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, vol. 19
The Introduction of Christianity into the Early Medieval Insular World
Converting the Isles I
Roy Flechner, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh (eds)
- Pages: xx + 510 p.
- Size:156 x 234 mm
- Illustrations:9 b/w, 2 Maps
- Language(s):English
- Publication Year:2016
- € 145,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
- ISBN: 978-2-503-55462-4
- Hardback
- Available
- € 145,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
- ISBN: 978-2-503-55504-1
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The volume offers a cross disciplinary perspective on conversion to Christianity in the early middle ages in the Insular World, with contributions by leading historians, archaeologists, and literary scholars.
Subject(s)
Review(s)
“In conclusion, this is a rich, varied and well-designed volume, which stresses the necessity of fine distinctions between different regions, temporalities and aspects in the study of the process of conversion. We can only look forward to the publication of its forthcoming companion.” (Alban Gautier, in The Medieval Review, 11.05.2017)
“With its up-to-date bibliographies and state of the art summaries, this will be an important work of reference. But it also breaks new ground and opens new questions. The full results of this project will only be appreciated when volume ii appears, dealing more with material sources, literacy and learning, as well as bringing out overall conclusions. The success of volume i whets the appetite.” (Pauline Stafford, in Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 69, 2018, p. 127)
“Overall, this is a tighter and more focused volume that presents a range of useful comparative data, as well as rehearsing some of the key methodological issues that emerge in trying to integrate archaeological and textual sources.” (David Petts, in Society of Medieval Archaeology, 61/2, 2017, p. 437)
“Overall, this is a thought-provoking collection of papers which will deepen readers’ knowledge of conversion and Christianisation in north-west Europe. I look forward to reading and learning more in the second volume of the ‘Converting the Isles’ project.” (Clare Downham, in Saga-Book, XLII, 2018, p. 199)
“For a return to the issues of insular Christianity in the early medieval period, or for the advanced student tackling it for the first time, this volume presents relevant problems, with a historiography that is very much state-of-the art.” (Stephen Joyce, in Parergon, 35/1, 2018, p. 171)
Summary
Conversion to Christianity is arguably the most revolutionary social and cultural change that Europe experienced throughout Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. Christianisation affected all strata of society and transformed not only religious beliefs and practices, but also the nature of government, the priorities of the economy, the character of kinship, and gender relations. It is against this backdrop that an international array of leading medievalists gathered under the auspices of the Converting the Isles Research Network (funded by the Leverhulme Trust) to investigate social, economic, and cultural aspects of conversion in the early medieval Insular world, covering different parts of Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, and Iceland.
This is is the first of two volumes showcasing research generated through the ‘Converting the Isles’ Network. This volume focuses on specific aspects of the introduction of Christianity into the early medieval Insular world, including the nature and degree of missionary activity involved, socio-economic stimulants for conversion, as well as the depiction and presentation of a Christian saint. Its companion volume has the transformation of landscape as its main theme. By adopting a broad comparative and crossdisciplinary approach that transcends national boundaries, the material presented here and in volume II offers novel perspectives on conversion that challenge existing historiographical narratives and draw on up-to-date archaeological and written evidence in order to shed light on central issues pertaining to the conversion of the Isles.
See the companion volume -- Transforming Landscapes of Belief in the Early Medieval Insular World and Beyond -- at:
http://www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-9782503568683-1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction — ROY FLECHNER AND MÁIRE NÍ MHAONAIGH
The Comparative Method and Early Medieval Religious Conversion — CHRIS WICKHAM
Part I. The Historiography of Conversion
Conversion in Ireland: Reflections on the State of the Art — ROY FLECHNER
The Historiography of the Anglo-Saxon Conversion: The State of the Art — THOMAS PICKLES
Perspectives on Wales — NANCY EDWARDS
Conversion to Christianity in Scandinavia: A Historiographical Overview — SÆBJØRG WALAKER NORDEIDE
Part II. Missions
What is a Mission? — IAN WOOD
Martyrdom and the Rise of Missionary Hagiography in the Late Merovingian World — JAMES T. PALMER
Conversion in Ireland — COLMÁN ETCHINGHAM
Conversion in Context: Anthropological and Missiological Aspects from African Studies — TOMAS SUNDNES DRØNEN
Part III. Perceptions of Conversion
Plebs: Concepts of Community among Late Antique Britons — ALEX WOOLF
From Pagan to Christian in Anglo-Saxon England — BARBARA YORKE
Perceptions of Pagan and Christian: From Patrick to Gregory the Great — T. M. CHARLES-EDWARDS
Part IV. Society and Economy
Currency, Conversion and the Landscape of Power in the Early Middle Ages — RORY NAISMITH
Ideological Transitions in Pictland — MARTIN CARVER
Conversion and Cultural Change. Burial Paradigms in Viking Age Iceland — ORRI VÉSTEINSSON
Downland, Marsh, and Weald: Monastic Foundation and Rural Intensification in Anglo-Saxon Kent — GABOR THOMAS
Conversion to Christianity and Economic Change: Consequence or Coincidence? — WENDY DAVIES AND ROY FLECHNER
Part V. Saints and Hagiography
Shaping the Saint: Rewriting Tradition in the Early Lives of St Cuthbert — ALAN THACKER
The Saints in Narratives of Conversion from the Britonnic-Speaking Regions — BARRY LEWIS
The Missionary Saint and The Saga Hero: Viking ‘Hagiography’ — SIÂN GRØNLIE
Epilogue
Converting the Isles: Continuity and Transformation — MÁIRE NÍ MHAONAIGH
Index
