An article by: Elijah Chaney
Did you know that about 86% of Ireland residents are religious? 84.6% of them are Christian, and 1.3% are Muslim. Of course, there are plenty of other religions, such as Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and more. But like any land with a multitude of religions, there is an expansive history of faiths that no longer exist, especially in the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages, otherwise called the Medieval times or the Dark Ages, was a period from 476 AD to 1492 AD. During this time, Ireland had several different religions. Some notable faiths include the Celts, Druidism, and Catholicism. Each of these religions is very different, but they all have an impact on Ireland.
Celts
The Celts arrived in Ireland around 500 BC, and they had an institution called the túath. An institution is the same thing as the government. It had a threefold structure of kings, nobles, and free commoners. The king was elected by the kin of his predecessor, though the heir did not have to be in the predecessor’s immediate family. The nobles were mostly men of knowledge and held high positions such as warriors, vates, bards, and more. The freeman had an honor-price, which was an assessment of his dignity. It was directly related to material wealth, an individual’s rights and status existed only in their túath. Unfortunately, the Celts ended up biting the dust and they wouldn’t be the only ones either.
Druidism
The Druids were a religious group heavily focused on death and rebirth. Their doctrine was that the
soul was immortal and passed at death from one person into another. They even had a form of baptism where you would enter a cave and leave it reborn. They considered themselves equal to every other
human and abstained from war. They were often of the high-ranking professional class and took positions such as religious leaders, legal authorities, lore keepers, and more.
Unfortunately, after the Roman invasion of Gaul, the Druids’ influence was heavily suppressed, which likely led to their downfall. There is one faith however, that has endured even to this day, and has made the greatest impact on Ireland.
Catholicism
The introduction of Catholicism to Ireland is in large part due to a man called St. Patrick and it has developed a lot since then. One of the earliest roles in Catholicism was the Bishop, an ordained minister that held the majority of the sacrament of holy orders and taught doctrine. In the Middle Ages, the church developed into a hierarchy with the pope as the head and became so powerful and rich that it owned ⅓ of Western Europe. In modern times, they are heavily involved in health care and education and are the largest organized religion in Ireland. Though others fell to the wayside, this faith continues to truck along!
There were many religions in Middle Ages Ireland, so this naturally invited competition between faiths. There were many fierce rivalries formed and each faith had its high point. And yet, Catholicism reigned and still reigns supreme in terms of numbers. Even with formidable rivals like the Celts and Druids, Catholics managed to beat them out. The Catholics managed to spread themselves far, and attain lots of power, which is why they were and still are on top.
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“CELTS IN NORTHERN IRELAND – Celtic Life International.” Celtic Life International - Celebrating the Celtic Life for over 30 Years, celticlife.com/celts-in-northern-ireland/.
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“Druid.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Sept. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druid.
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I loved how you thoroughly explained each religion and how you structured the article. It was a pleasure to read.
This article was amazing. I didn't find any errors in it, nor did I lose interest in your topic. You did an excellent job!
This is an amazing article. I didn't find any errors in this paragraph, nor did I lose interest while reading it. You did a great job and this article is amazing!