Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
![Loading indicator](/images/ajax-loader-bar.gif)
The perfect St. Patrick's Day gift, and a book in the best tradition of popular history -- the untold story of Ireland's role in maintaining Western culture while the Dark Ages settled on Europe. Every year millions of Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but they may not be aware of how great an influence St. Patrick was on the subsequent history of civilization. Not only did he bring Christianity to Ireland, he instilled a sense of literacy and learning that would create the conditions that allowed Ireland to become "the isle of saints and scholars" -- and thus preserve Western culture while Europe was being overrun by barbarians. In this entertaining and compelling narrative, Thomas Cahill tells the story of how Europe evolved from the classical age of Rome to the medieval era. Without Ireland, the transition could not have taken place. Not only did Irish monks and scribes maintain the very record of Western civilization -- copying manuscripts of Greek and Latin writers, both pagan and Christian, while libraries and learning on the continent were forever lost -- they brought their uniquely Irish world-view to the task. As Cahill delightfully illustrates, so much of the liveliness we associate with medieval culture has its roots in Ireland. When the seeds of culture were replanted on the European continent, it was from Ireland that they were germinated. In the tradition of Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror, How The Irish Saved Civilization reconstructs an era that few know about but which is central to understanding our past and our cultural heritage. But it conveys its knowledge with a winking wit that aptly captures the sensibility of the unsung Irish who relaunched civilization.
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
![Loading indicator](/images/ajax-loader-bar.gif)
Previews available in: English
Subjects
Learning and scholarship, Classical Civilization, Monastic libraries, Scriptoria, Civilization, Study and teaching, Cultuur, Books, Manuscripts, Irish influences, Transmission of texts, History, Nonfiction, Church history, Medieval, Ancient Civilization, Ireland, civilization, Civilization, classical, Libraries, ireland, Illumination of books and manuscripts, history, Large type books, Books, history, Libraries, europe, Europe, civilization, historyTimes
400-1400, Medieval, 500-1500, To 1172Showing 4 featured editions. View all 11 editions?
Edition | Availability |
---|---|
1
How the Irish saved civilization: the untold story of Ireland's heroic role from the fall of Rome to the rise of medieval Europe
1998, G.K. Hall
in English
0783801203 9780783801209
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
2
How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe
1996, Anchor Books, Doubleday
Paperback
in English
- 1st Anchor Books Trade Paperback
0385418493 9780385418492
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
3
How the Irish saved civilization: the untold story of Ireland's heroic role from the fall of Rome to the rise of medieval Europe
1995, Nan A. Talese, Doubleday
in English
- 1st ed.
0385418485 9780385418485
|
aaaa
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
4
How the Irish saved civilization: the untold story of Ireland's heroic role from the fall of Rome to the rise of medieval Europe
1995, Nan A. Talese, Doubleday
in English
- 1st ed.
0385418485 9780385418485
|
eeee
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
Book Details
Table of Contents
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Classifications
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Source records
Work Description
From the fall of Rome to the rise of Charlemagne - the "dark ages" - learning, scholarship, and culture disappeared from the European continent. The great heritage of western civilization - from the Greek and Roman classics to Jewish and Christian works - would have been utterly lost were it not for the holy men and women of unconquered Ireland.
In this delightful and illuminating look into a crucial but little-known "hinge" of history, Thomas Cahill takes us to the "island of saints and scholars," the Ireland of St. Patrick and the Book of Kells. Here, far from the barbarian despoliation of the continent, monks and scribes laboriously, lovingly, even playfully preserved the west's written treasures. With the return of stability in Europe, these Irish scholars were instrumental in spreading learning.
Thus the Irish not only were conservators of civilization, but became shapers of the medieval mind, putting their unique stamp on western culture.
Community Reviews (0)
Feedback?2 days ago | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
November 19, 2022 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
November 28, 2020 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
August 3, 2020 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
July 8, 2011 | Created by ImportBot | import new book |