Dublin and the Pale in the Renaissance, c.1540–1660

Michael Potterton & Thomas Herron, editors

‘Dublin and the Pale carries on the editors’ goal to demonstrate the many and varied “connections between Ireland and the Renaissance world” and to place the developments in Ireland in the late medieval and early modern periods “in their international contexts” … the present volume manages to explore the regular contacts between Ireland and the Continent and goes a long way toward dispelling the assumptions about Ireland’s marginal or culturally challenged status in these years … [contains] many fascinating chapters … shows the benefits of an interdisciplinary approach to the topic … the contributors provide an impressive variety of lenses that offer significant new insights to both the period and the geographic space under consideration. Music, theatre, and gender appear as sources that will make this finely produced collection appealing to a wide range of readers, including any intrigued by the idea that the Mona Lisa may have been a relative of the Irish FitzGeralds', John Patrick Montaño, Journal of British Studies (July 2013).

‘This is a well-produced book, richly illustrated with colour plates and numerous images in the text, improved by a sewn binding and a proper index; the price is lower than one might have expected …. As proof of the sheer range of interest in this period of Irish history and culture, this volume contains much that repays attention', JPD Cooper, EHR (2013).

‘Impressively produced, presented and illustrated, and comprises seventeen chapters which contribute a great deal to our knowledge of early modern Ireland … this volume must be lauded warmly for encompassing such a rich range of scholarship on early modern Ireland', Henry A. Jefferies, Irish Historical Studies (November 2012).

‘An eclectic, interdisciplinary interrogation of Renaissance and cultural boundaries in early modern Ireland … centering on Dublin and its hinterland with its perimeter at Meath and Kildare. The collection’s strength is showing the Pale as a permeable area, with Gaelic, English and wider European Renaissance ideas interacting … the editors have set a yardstick for future research into cultural interactions in early modern Ireland … The editors make these new insights into Irish culture accessible, and of relevance, to a wider historical audience', Chris R. Langley, Sixteenth Century Journal (2013).

'This collection of essays provides the reader with a panorama of the Pale in the early modern period in two parts: 'History and Architecture' and 'Music, Language and Letters' ... a number of articles throw some interesting light on the religious history of Ireland', Lotz Heumann, Archive for Reformation History (2012).