About this title: The author's graceful mastery of both prose and history combine to express both the voice and content of Irish culture. Cahill traces Ireland's pivotal role in the preservation and transmission of the intellectual legacy of the West, from the fall of Rome under the barbarian invasions that brought the Dark Ages to the rise of Medieval Europe which ...
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Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Sceptre Lir
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780340637876ISBN:0340637870
Description: Good. This book is in GOOD overall condition. It shows signs of having been read and has general light wear to the cover, spine and pages. read more
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Teach Yourself Books
Date Published: 1995
ISBN-13:9780340637869ISBN:0340637862
Description: Very Good. Crease to cover. EXCELLENT value for money and ready for dispatch. Delivery usually within 3/5 days. Our reputation is built on our Speedy Delivery Service and our Customer Service Team. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Anchor Books
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780385418492ISBN:0385418493
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Highlighting/underlining. Attractive covers, very good binding, everything intact. Some highlighting. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 246 p. Contains: Illustrations. Hinges of History. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Anchor
Date Published: 1996-02-01
ISBN-13:9780385418492ISBN:0385418493
Description: Good. Cover has mild wear at the corners and a small ding at spine. Bottom block has a bit of wear near spine. Pages are lightly yellowed at the edges. No other faults. read more
Description: Good. 0385418493 Paperback, Condition: Good; somewhat worn; some pages are wavy due to prior exposure to moisture; will work well as a reading copy. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Anchor
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780385418492ISBN:0385418493
Description: Very Good. Slight cover wear. Previous owner's writing on first page. GoodwillnyBooks is committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. You may return new items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Anchor
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780385418492ISBN:0385418493
Description: Acceptable. A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (the dust cover may be missing). Pages can include considerable notes-in pen or highlighter-but the notes cannot obscure the text. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Anchor
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780385418492ISBN:0385418493
Description: Acceptable. A readable copy. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (the dust cover may be missing). Pages can include considerable notes-in pen or highlighter-but the notes cannot obscure the text. Return Policy Any defects, damages, or material differences with your item, must be reported to us within 7 days of receipt of the item or 30 days from date of shipment. The returned merchandise must be postmarked within 30 days of the shipment notification. Non-deliveries must be reported ... read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
"I've had this sitting on my shelf for a long time, and I wasn't particularly looking forward to it. But it turned out to be a delightful, informative, accessible read; an overview of the history of the Roman empire, Christianity, and Irish Christianity. Which was neat, because I previously had some vague notion of the saints as mythological-type rumored people, and I didn't realize how much concrete information exists about their actual existence. I didn't realize how literate early Ireland was, and how much of an emphasis was placed on transcribing writing (e.g. the Book of Kells).
His essential thesis is that "Latin literature would almost surely have been lost without the Irish, and illiterate Europe would hardly have developed its great national literatures without the example of Irish, the first vernacular literature to be written down. Beyond that, there would have perished in the west not only literacy but all the habits of mind that encourage thought." (p 193) Who knew?
I was also surprised to find this part in the Irish prayer "Saint Patrick's Breastplate," because it reminds me of the Navajo blessing song: "Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me..." (p 118)"
"I'm sorry to say, I was actually rather disappointed by this book. Perhaps it was the big build up many people had given it. Perhaps it was that I just have too much of a love for history and for Ireland. Hard to say really but given the chance to do it all over again I'd pass on it. I think my main problem is that I've been longing for a book to explain exactly what life was like for people of various ranks during the peek of the Roman Empire. I want to know how life changed during the fall and truely what was lost in the Middle Ages and how it was found again that lead to the Renaissance or if indeed it was more of a steady resurgance that lead to Renaissance Europe.
Cahill basically talks about literature through the whole book. Know I acknowledge that there is much for the edification of the soul to be found in literature and even some practicallity in Greek Philosophy, but I'm also a bit of a cynic when it comes to what philosophy can really do. As nice as it is to know that Aristophanes was saved thanks to Irish monks, did they save any Pythagorus? Did they save any Archimedes? Any treatises on how cement is made or on architecture, metallurgy, tool design? Were such things ever written down by Romans or were these trade secrets passed by mouth? If passed by mouth why did that knowledge die out or did it?
Cahill's argument is that by copying both catholic and secular texts, the Irish preserved Western civilzation and through their teaching, sparked a revival of learning in Europe, lessening the effects of the "Dark Ages". His argument is bollucks. The Irish did copy many books, he lists a few but never really gives a good impression of the scope or specifics of what was saved. Was it just a handful of Greek and Roman literature or really all of Western Civilization that was preserved? Second, Cahill himself mentions that the Bizintine Empire had not yet fallen, and when it finally does, it is conquered by Turks who have as much knowledge and in some respects more than the Byzantines. All this knowledge is preserved seperately and indeed our understanding of most of Greek and Roman civilization comes from this Eastern Roman Empire. Finally, Cahill says that the Irish monks taught anyone in Ireland willing to learn how to read (I can't argue with him I can only assume his sources are accurate) and then go out and found monasteries on the continent. He fails to mention if the teaching to all continues at these new monasteries. In fact he implies that only the wealthy could get such schooling. He cites that around these monasteries grew the major universities of Europe specifically pointing out the University of Salamanca. Unfortunately for his argument, shortly after its founding Salamanca, and all of Spain, was conquered by the Moors who brought with them the knowledge from Bizantium. When did learning really start on the continent, with the Irish or with the Muslims?
By the end I just found this book tiring. The measly amount of information he gives could easily be compressed to 100 pages instead of the 250 he wrote. It reads like literary criticism wrapped in a fan letter to Ireland rather than popular history. He jumps around, makes few connections, causal or otherwise, between all his topics and serves it to an America with Irish roots that sees itself as the new Rome. Frankly with the topic it couldn't be anyting but a bestseller, too bad a more worthy historian didn't get to it first. -B 5/14/09"
"As someone famous used to say "and that is the rest of the story"! Well, this book is certainly all you wondered about in ancient Irish History but were too shy to ask! I found it informative, entertaining, and in some ways shocking! (Think "why don't you ever hear about these things?) I recommend it, highly!"
"what an interesting read, illuminating a piece of history whose generalities are well-known, but whose details are not. i enjoyed cahill's presentation of history. in particular, i really liked the bits about how the irish catholic church was initially incredibly pluralistic, uninterested in focusing on sexuality, and who may have had female abesses, priests and even bishops! how fantastic and a shame that this part of the society did not formally survive. that said, perhaps my favorite part of the book is that cahill manages to convincingly portray the irish as saviors of literature and civilization yet reminds us that the role of Roman and Catholics could be played by anyone and could be easily reversed - even in present day society. He ends with noting, "Perhaps history is always divided into Romans and Catholics - or, better,catholics. The Romans are the rich and powerful who run things their own way and must always accrue more because they instinctively believe that there will never be enough to go around; the catholics, as their name implies are the universalists who instinctively believe that all humanity makes one family, that every human being is an equal child of God, and that God will provide." i thank my dad for raving about this book for 10 years and am glad i finally got around to reading it."
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