Rex timore perterritus: The Early Irish Saints with and against the Secular Authorities
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Special Session
Organizer Name
Brian Ó Broin
Organizer Affiliation
William Paterson Univ.
Presider Name
Bridgette Slavin
Presider Affiliation
Medaille College
Paper Title 1
Marcher Saints: Territorial Claims across Medieval Borders
Presenter 1 Name
Brian Ó Broin
Paper Title 2
Saint Adomnán, Iona, and the Political Nature of Cáin Adomnáin
Presenter 2 Name
Courtney Selvage
Presenter 2 Affiliation
Univ. of Toronto
Paper Title 3
Monastic Sites of Irish Saints in the Isle of Man: Suppressed and Revered
Presenter 3 Name
Valerie Dawn Hampton
Presenter 3 Affiliation
Western Michigan Univ.
Start Date
14-5-2017 8:30 AM
Session Location
Schneider 1340
Description
Ever since St. Patrick defied the High King of Ireland by lighting his own fire during Bealtaine, the spring festival, the Irish saints have had a tangled relationship with the kings around them, who have usually given them land for their monasteries and permission to proselytize. Saint Colmcille fomented a war against King Diarmaid after that king violated the saint's right of sanctuary; in exile Colmcille received the famous monastic island of Iona from the King of Dál Riata. Saint Aedh Mac Bricc was prone to enrage local authorities by smuggling slave girls out of royal compounds. Professor Pádraig Ó Riain has argued that many such interactions in the Irish saints' lives are representative of later diocesan land claims, with the saints and the kings acting as proxies for the dioceses and the secular authorities around them. This session will explore Irish saints' lives to examine their relationships with the rulers around them, and particularly test the idea that these interactions have a territorial and political component.
Brian É. Ó Broin
Rex timore perterritus: The Early Irish Saints with and against the Secular Authorities
Schneider 1340
Ever since St. Patrick defied the High King of Ireland by lighting his own fire during Bealtaine, the spring festival, the Irish saints have had a tangled relationship with the kings around them, who have usually given them land for their monasteries and permission to proselytize. Saint Colmcille fomented a war against King Diarmaid after that king violated the saint's right of sanctuary; in exile Colmcille received the famous monastic island of Iona from the King of Dál Riata. Saint Aedh Mac Bricc was prone to enrage local authorities by smuggling slave girls out of royal compounds. Professor Pádraig Ó Riain has argued that many such interactions in the Irish saints' lives are representative of later diocesan land claims, with the saints and the kings acting as proxies for the dioceses and the secular authorities around them. This session will explore Irish saints' lives to examine their relationships with the rulers around them, and particularly test the idea that these interactions have a territorial and political component.
Brian É. Ó Broin