This module begins with the rise of Brian Ború from modest origins to become Ireland’s most famous high king – a spectacular career that ended in the iconic battle of Clontarf in 1014. We explore how Irish society and kingship changed in the aftermath of Clontarf as a result of inter-provincial warfare and the changing role of the church.

 

The second half of the module examines the causes and implications of the English (or Anglo-Norman) invasion of the late 1160s, perhaps the single most formative development in Irish secular affairs. We study the interaction of cultures in its aftermath and the Irish opposition to English rule that saw the emergence of England’s ongoing Irish problem through later centuries. The module closes with the most serious challenge to English power in medieval Ireland: the Scottish invasion (1315-1318) led by Edward Bruce, brother of Robert Bruce, King of Scots.

 

This course is led by Professor Seán Duffy, who specialises in the history of medieval Ireland and, in particular, three aspects: the political history of Ireland from the Viking Age to the Bruce Invasion; Irish relations with England, Scotland, and Wales in the same period; and lastly the history and archaeology of medieval Dublin.