Ireland and the Renaissance Court - (Studies in Early Modern Irish History) by David Edwards & Brendan Kane (Hardcover)

About the Book

This interdisciplinary collection of essays explores the court culture of Ireland and the Irish from the late-medieval period through to the revolutionary upheavals of the 1640s. By drawing on English, Irish and Latin sources, it paints a vivid and detailed picture of Irish politics and society in the European age of Renaissance.

Book Synopsis

Ireland and the Renaissance court is an interdisciplinary collection of essays exploring Irish and English courts, courtiers and politics in the early modern period, c. 1450-1650. Chapters are contributed by both established and emergent scholars working in the fields of history, literary studies, and philology. They focus on Gaelic cúirteanna, the indigenous centres of aristocratic life throughout the medieval period; on the regnal court of the emergent British empire based in London at Whitehall; and on Irish participation in the wider world of European elite life and letters. Collectively, they expand the chronological limits of 'early modern' Ireland to include the fifteenth century and recreate its multi-lingual character through exploration of its English, Irish and Latin archives. This volume is an innovative effort at moving beyond binary approaches to English-Irish history by demonstrating points of contact as well as contention.

From the Back Cover

Ireland and the Renaissance court sheds fresh light on Irish courts and court culture in the age of the European Renaissance. The collection of essays are written by established and emergent historians and literary scholars working with English, Irish and Latin sources.

The book is divided into three thematic and roughly chronological sections. The first, 'Indigenous court society in Ireland', considers the European aspects of Gaelic and Gaelicized aristocratic courts prior to the revolutionary religious and political changes instituted by Henry VIII. Looking back as far as the mid-fifteenth century, it demonstrates how Irish elite society was developing in ways similar to those found in England and on the continent. Part II, 'Made in Whitehall: Irish policy and a regnal court', argues that London, rather than viceregal Dublin, must be seen as the center for policy making in the new kingdom of Ireland. The third and concluding section, 'Positioning Ireland in the Renaissance court world', sets Irish élite culture within the broader dynamics of the late Renaissance. Its chapters reveal some of the ways in which Irish people, both at home and abroad, participated in an emergent, multi-lingual republic of letters and transnational intellectual community.

This volume is an essential guide to the European aspects of Irish high politics and society and, conversely, the Irish and Gaelic elements of the Renaissance world.

Review Quotes

"Ireland and the Renaissance Court represents an important and first-of-its-kind contribution to our understanding of the political governance, cultural politics and interconnections that took place between courts in early modern Ireland and England. The book's use of Irish-language sources, innovative methodologies, interdisciplinary approaches, and keen insights makes it an essential collection, and one that will influence the field for years to come."
Prof. Sarah Covington, Queens College and the Graduate Center, CUNY

About the Author

David Edwards is Senior Lecturer in History, University College Cork.
Brendan Kane is Professor of History, University of Connecticut.