Gone Medieval A Complete History of Medieval Ireland
Mar 27, 2026
James Hawes, historian and author of The Shortest History of Ireland, offers a lively tour of medieval Irish life. He traces St Patrick’s impact, the cattle-based economy and Brehon law. He explores Viking raids, Norse-Gaelic towns, Brian Boru and the real story behind Clontarf. He follows Norman invasion, cultural blending, and how English control shrank to Dublin by the late Middle Ages.
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How Celtic Christianity Adapted To Gaelic Law
- Early Irish Christianity became a Brehonized form that augmented, rather than replaced, native law and customs.
- Hawes highlights senchas mór and hereditary abbots showing the Irish church integrated with kin-based power, differing from Roman episcopal models.
Gaelgach Vikings Became Ireland's Urban Partners
- The second Viking wave became Gaelicised and founded Ireland's coastal towns, altering politics and commerce.
- Hawes recounts Gaelgach Vikings who already spoke Irish and settled cities like Limerick and Waterford, providing silver and naval power for Munster kings like Brian Bóruma.
How The High King System Extended Tribal Succession
- The High Kingship extended local Brehon succession rules nationwide, remaining non-hereditary and contested among royal families.
- Hawes compares the process to tribal succession where any male descendant of a shared ancestor could claim kingship and must assert it, often violently.