Take a look at a book called "How the Irish Saved Civilization- The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe" by Thomas Cahill.
Here's a review:
Thomas Cahill's book How the Irish Saved Civilization is a wonderfully understandable look at a golden age in Irish history. He opens with a description of the final days of the Roman Empire in northern Europe, and a look at the classical civilization that had become endangered by the hordes of barbarians that had breached its borders.
Before long Cahill shifts to a look at Rome's contemporaries in Ireland in which the modern Irish spirit has its roots. Medh, the Queen of Connacht, appears as an early example of the strength of Irish womanhood. Her history lies in the fantastic tale of the Celts who arrive on the Irish island in the fourth century B.C.E. Those fierce warriors would establish a society marked by aggressive, violent interaction. Their moral code, which might have been "generous, handsome, and brave" would survive future invasions and become instilled in the Irish soul.
Cahill tells of how the Roman and Irish worlds met in a young Roman kidnapped from his British home by Irish marauders. Born Miliucc, he would spend six years in slavery, escape, and return as a Christian missionary. That missionary had learned much about the Irish people during his time as a slave and, blessed with a gentle faith and a wonder of the world around him, would make Ireland the only land converted to Christianity without violence. The Irish in turn would come to love their St. Patrick and approached Christianity with energy and fervor. A form of Christianity evolved that allowed the Irish to maintain some of the Celtic traditions that were an integral part of their world.
As Christianity settled in, monasteries were established throughout Ireland. The monks became passionate scribes not only of the Scriptures but also of other classical texts that were as risk of being lost after the fall of the Roman Empire. Celtic art forms were among the traditions that survived into the Irish Christian era and would lead to the development of spectacular illuminated manuscripts at the monks' hands. The Book of Kells is one well-known example of the monks' phenomenal artistry.
Cahill's book closes with tales of the first Irish missionaries to leave Ireland to spread their new faith. Once life had calmed down in the lands of the former Roman Empire the Irish monks moved out of their enclaves and brought Christianity back to Britain and continental Europe. Unfortunately, Viking invaders ravaged the peaceful world of post-Patrick Ireland. Other invasions would follow in centuries to come but none would destroy the Irish spirit or deny the role the Irish paid in "saving civilization."
Cahill's book is both thought-provoking and inspirational in its looks not only at the impact the Irish people had on European civilization but in its statements about the evolution of the Irish spirit, a people to this day - "generous, handsome, and brave."
How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe
Thomas Cahill
Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, New York
246 pages
ISBN: 0-385-41849-3
