King of mysteries

Early Irish religious writings

John Carey

This book presents a collection of texts, translated from both Latin and Irish, which provide a many-faceted view of the religious culture of Ireland in the early Middle Ages. A feature of the anthology is that it attempts to portray this culture in its own terms, rather than select material to suit modern tastes or preconceptions. Texts have been chosen which were particularly important to the medieval Irish themselves; and they are given together with the prefaces, notes, and comments which accompany them in the manuscripts. In this way, the reader gains a sense of what these crucial writings meant for the people who cherished and handed them on.

A general introduction places the pieces in their historical context; the anthology proper is divided into five sections: I Creator and Creation: texts reflecting the importance of the natural world in Irish spirituality. II The Coming of the Faith: texts illustrating how the Irish interpreted their own conversion to Christianity, and the overlap between Christian and pagan approaches to the supernatural. III The Saints: early hymns to Patrick and Brigit, and representative sections of Féilire Oengusso. IV The Holy Life: texts providing guidelines for regulating both the inner and the outer dimensions of a life dedicated to God. V The Last Things: 'The Vision of Adomnán', the most elaborate of the medieval Irish accounts of the afterlife.

John Carey is a graduate of Harvard and a lecturer in the Department of Early and Medieval Irish, University College Cork. He is the author of many articles and essays on Celtic and medieval history.