jmg@houxk.UUCP (12/14/83)
In order to realize the true magnitude of the crimes committed against Ireland throughout the British occupation one must have an understanding of what kind of society existed before the English. Here are some brief glimpses. In 1963 German historian Ludwig Bieler wrote: "Irish art...is not only unique in the Middle Ages, it is also the first, and in the West the only, example of an abstract art in an articulate civilization which was still spiritually integrated. One of the determining factors that shaped Carolingian art, its spirit can still be felt in the romanesque art of the 11th and 12th centuries. Gothic art broke away from this path and took a new direction. We at present stand at the end of the way which the art of Europe has since taken. Our eyes are open again for the appreciation of Irish art, which is one of the glories of our Western heritage." After Ireland received Christianity some time in the early 500's missionaries from Ireland went out all over Europe to spread their faith. Irish missionaries founded monasteries and universities in Iceland, Scotland, England (Oxford), France, Switzerland, Germany and Italy. They penetrated into Africa (still in the Middle Ages) and into Russia as far as Kiev. The city of Brandenburg, Germany is named after St. Brendan who established the Christian faith there. Ireland is considered by most historians to have functioned as the lifeboat for Western civilization during the Middle Ages. People came from all over Europe to study there and even to the sons of kings it was a place to marvel at. Prince Alfrid of Northumbria wrote: I travelled its fruitful provinces round And in every one I found Alike in church and palace hall Abundant apparel and food for all. I found God's people rich in pity Found many a feast and many a city. Piety, learning, fond affection, Holy welcome, and kind protection. Poets well skilled in music and pleasure Prosperous doings, mirth and pleasure. Flourishing pastures, valour, health Long-living worthies, commerce, wealth. Sweet fruits, good laws for all and each, Great chess players, men of truthful speech. Candor, joyfulness, bravery, purity, Ireland's bulwark and security. The laws of the country were upheld by the Fianna Knights (Fenians) who lived and fought under a strict code. Some of their knightly vows were: Never to seek a dowry with a wife, but to choose her for her good manners and virtue. Never to offer violence to a woman. Never to refuse any mortal in need anything one possesses. Never to flee from less than ten adversaries. In Elizabethan times an English writer described the Irish people as: "..of paines infinite, sharpe-witted, lovers of learning, capable of any studie whereunto they bende themselves, constant in travaile." In the 17th century Englishman William Camden wrote: "Our Anglo-Saxons of that day used to flock together to Ireland, as a market for learning whence it is that we continually find in our writers concerning holy men of old, 'he was sent away to be educated in Ireland.' It would appear that it was from that country our ancestors received the first instruction in forming letters, as it is plain they used the same characters which are still used in Ireland. Ireland which is now for the most part wild, half savage, and destitute of education, at that time abounded in men of holiness, piety and splendid geniuses, while the cultivation of literature elsewhere in the Christian world lay neglected and half buried." In my next article we will see how the changes described in the last paragraph came about.