Medieval Ireland History 4-16th Century Vikings Normans Society Culture Religion

Description

Medieval Ireland: The Enduring Tradition by Michael Richter, with a Foreword by Proinseas Ni Chathain.
NOTE
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DESCRIPTION:
Hardcover 224 pages. Publisher: St. Martin's Press; (1988). Dimensions: 8¼ x 5¾ x 1 inch; 1 pound.
Irish history has traditionally been described either in isolation or in the manner in which it was influenced by outside forces, especially by England. This book strikes a different balance. First, the time span covered is longer then usual, and more attention is being paid to the early medieval centuries than to the later period. Whether the twelfth century marked a turning point in Irish history, as is normally taken for granted, is questioned here.
Secondly, less emphasis is placed in this book on the political or military history of Ireland than on general social and cultural aspects. As a result, a new interpretation of medieval Ireland emerges, one in which social and cultural norms inherited from pre-historic times are seen to survive right through the Middle Ages. They gave Irish society a stability and inherent strength unparalleled in Europe. Christianity came in as an additional, enriching factor.
“Medieval Ireland: The Enduring Tradition” is an overview of Irish society from the coming of Christianity in the fourth century to the Reformation in the sixteenth. Such a broad survey reveals features otherwise not easily detected. For all the complexity of political developments, Irish society remained basically stable and managed to withstand the onslaught of both the Vikings and the English. The inherent strength of Ireland consisted in the cultural heritage from pre-historic times which remained influential throughout the centuries discussed here.
CONDITION: VERY GOOD. Unread (but slightly "shop-soiled") hardcover w/dustjacket. St. Martin's Press (1988) 224 pages. The book is clearly unread, however the dustjacket is mildly edge-worn, and there are a number of very faint, very small coffe or tea splashes to the mass of closed page edges. There's a small (1/2 inch), faint, tan-colored tea/coffee/coke stain to the closed surface of the page edges, one each to the top surface, bottom surface, and fore-edge surface. They're very faint, very small, easy to miss. And by and large, the small, faint stains are limited to the surface of the closed page edges (often referred to as the "page block", and do not extend into the book itself or onto the interior pages. The exceptions are that there's a small 1/2 x 2 inch band running along the top edge of the spine hinge gutter between the underside of the front cover and the first unprinted page in the book (the "first free page) down along the spine side of the page edge. It's very faint, but obviously the liquid splash against the top surface of the closed page edges managed to seep between the underside of the front cover and the facing first free page. From the same stain to/ the top edge of the closed page edges, there are a very few pages (tow or three) within the book where there's an extremely faint, tan- colored tiny band (1/8 x 1/2 inch) along the top edge of each page, near the spine head, where the liquid managed to seep down the page edge to a miniscule degree. Our guess would be that the book was flat, someone spilled tea or coffee onto it, it was immediately wiped off, but a dribble of tea or coffee managed to run down the closed page edges, top, bottom, and fore-edge. There's no staining or wet damage to the dustjacket, to the covers, or indeed anywhere other than three very faint, tan-colored stains against the mass of the closed page edges. Notwithstanding the couple of pages with small tea stains against the page edge, the inside of the book is otherwise virtually pristine; the pages are pristine; clean, crisp, unmarked, unmutilated, tightly bound, unambiguously unread. The edge and corner shelfwear to dustjacket is principally in the form of modest crinkling and rubbing (faint abrasion) of the dustjacket edges and "tips" (the open corners of the dustjacket, top and bottom, front and back), including particularly the spine head and heel, where the abrasive rubbing is a little heavier (but still moderate in character). There is also a 1/4 inch closed, neatly mended edge tear along the bottom edge of the front side of the dustjacket. We carefully repaired the closed edge tear from the underside of the dustjacket and touched it up with an oil-based sharpie, minimizing the prominence of this superficial cosmetic blemish (it's almost impossible to see, even if you know where it is). Last, the flat surfaces of the gloss black dustjacket do evidence faint rubbing/scuffing, really only easily discerned if you hold the book up to a light source and scrutinize it intently. Beneath the dustjacket the covers are clean and without noteworthy blemishes. Except for the small, faint beverage stains against the closed surface of the page edges, the overall condition of the book is not too far distant from what might otherwise pass as "new" stock from an open-shelf bookstore environment such as Barnes & Noble or B. Dalton (for instance), wherein patrons are permitted to browse open stock (and drink tea or coffee), and so otherwise "new" books often have become blemished and/or show handling/shelf/browsing wear, oftentimes evidenced as cosmetic defects (such as edge and corner shelfwear to dustjackets) consequence simply of the ordeal of being repeatedly shelved and re- shelved. Satisfaction unconditionally guaranteed. In stock, ready to ship. No disappointments, no excuses. PROMPT SHIPPING! HEAVILY PADDED, DAMAGE-FREE PACKAGING! Meticulous and accurate descriptions! Selling rare and out-of-print ancient history books on-line since 1997. #1840m.
PLEASE SEE IMAGES BELOW FOR SAMPLE PAGES FROM INSIDE OF BOOK.
PLEASE SEE PUBLISHER, PROFESSIONAL, AND READER REVIEWS BELOW.
PUBLISHER REVIEW
:
REVIEW: Michael Richter studied History and English at the Universities of Marburg, Berlin, and London, obtaining his doctorate in 1968. After further research, he was Lecturer in Medieval History at University College Dublin from 1974 to 1986, with a short spell as visiting Professor at Vienna University between 1981 and 1982. Since 1986 he has been Professor of Medieval Constitutional History at the University of Konstanz.
PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS
:
REVIEW: To attempt to present the history of Ireland from its beginnings to the beginning of the sixteenth century is as hazardous in its way as crossing the Niagara Falls on a tightrope. The first thing that must be said is that Richter succeeded in passing from one end to the other with very few wobbles, and with all the caution necessary for the task. His knowledge of the literature is full and accurate, his judgment sane and his exposition lucid.
REVIEW: Medieval Ireland is an extended essay on Irish society from the coming of Christianity in the fourth century to the Reformation in the sixteenth. Seen in wider European context, medieval Ireland emerges as exceptional and her contributions to the shaping of Europe, outstanding.
REVIEW: An essay on medieval Irish society, from the coming of Christianity in the fourth century to the Reformation of the 16th century. It examines the influence of cultural, religious and political developments of Irish society. One of the valuable features of Dr. Richter’s handling of the early period is the skill with which he conveys the richness of the written sources.
REVIEW: The native ecclesiastical and secular background to Irish peregrination abroad is outlined succinctly. The author shows his familiarity with current research by, for example, his skillful use of the as yet largely unpublished archaeological excavations in medieval Dublin to highlight differences between the pre- and post-Norman periods.
READER REVIEW
:
REVIEW: The book is a brief history of medieval Ireland. It covers the times from the prehistoric times to the fifteenth century. However, brief does not mean superficial. The author chooses some subjects he is interested in and discusses them trying to be impartial - from many different points of view. He does not try to describe the past in detail, but rather to point out the most important moments, problems and aspects in Irish history. Richter also poses some questions significant from the point of view of a contemporary person some of which remain open.
The book is suitable for beginners as it is quite short and written in a comprehensible way as well as for people truly interested in the matter thanks to reliable bibliography record and references. It helps to understand the unusual political organization and the complicated and quite uncommon social structure of the Island in the middle ages. Obviously, history of medieval Ireland was greatly determined by the history of church. That is why the book deals mainly with the church's history, which was not less interesting in Ireland than political history. It is a very good book for a great start.
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