Church and Settlement in Ireland
James Lyttleton & Matthew Stout, editors
'The contents of this book make significant contributions to the subject of the title and it can therefore be recommended as a 'must read' for any student of the church in Ireland', Archaeology Ireland (Spring 2019).
'[These essays] continue the illuminating work on the Irish past of Irish archaeologists and historical geographers, as well as of orthodox historians using documentary sources. The collection benefits from some of the results of rescue archaeology ... the cumulative result of the volume is to clarify how the landscapes of Ireland responded to and still bear the impress of the abundant religious foundations', Toby Barnard, Journal of Ecclesiastical History (2019).
'Much valuable new work is presented here and linked to current debate ... The volume's papers have all been carefully edited and many are well illustrated with original maps and figures. The editors are also to be celebrated for including both a functional index and a consolidated bibliography, which makes finding cited material so much simpler. Overall this is an impressive and useful collection, showcasing the healthy state of Irish historic landscape studies', Deirdre O'Sullivan, Medieval Settlement Research vol.34 (2019).
'This valuable new edited book traces the relationship between settlement and the Church from the earliest evidence of conversion through to the 18th century ... Although themes analysed are diverse and span a range of disciplines, these contributions fit together well in a volume that has the relationship between belief and place at its heart; a number of the medieval contributions in particular contribute to the large-scale reframing of understandings of religious change in medieval Ireland that has proceeded apace over the last decade or so.' Patrick Gleeson, Medieval Archaeology, vol. 63.2 (December 2019).
'This wide-ranging and attractively produced volume originated in a joint conference in 2015, organized by the Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement and the American Society of Irish Medieval Studies ... James Lyttleton and Matthew Stout ... have done a good job ...In this interdisciplinary book archaeologists, geographers, historians and literary scholars explore the role of the church, broadly within the context of landscape history ... Comprehensively indexed and with a smattering of well-produced figures and plates this book is a valuable addition to the established and ongoing series published by the Four Courts Press in association with the Group for the Study of Irish Historic Settlement. Fittingly it is dedicated to the memory of Ralph Loeber (1942-2017), respected scholar and long-standing member of the Group. It is a worthy tribute.' Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies, no.79 (2020).
