Giraldus Cambrensis’s view of Europe

Giraldus (c.1146-c.1223) is famous, and infamous, for his works describing Wales and Ireland in the later twelfth century: they present both countries from the viewpoint of a Roman-minded Cambro-Norman cleric. […]

From Barrow Boy to Viscount

He started life as an illiterate barrow-boy and died a viscount, having taken three wives on the way. This is the incredible story of Matthew Barnewall. ‘Never without an idiot […]

Medieval Scotland & Ireland: overcoming the amnesia

There is one overriding and rather obvious dissimilarity between Ireland and Scotland: Ireland is an island. Throughout its early history, at least until the arrival of the Vikings at the […]

Northern Flames – Remembering Columba & Adomná¡n

Whether or not Glenveagh, County Donegal, and Scotland’s Great Glen are geologically connected is a question best left to specialists, but the fact remains that they look very much alike. […]

Ireland and Scandinavia in the Early Viking Age

The first Viking raid on Ireland is recorded in the Annals of Ulster for the year AD 795. The 1200th anniversary of this event in 1995 was marked by an […]