Description
Book SynopsisThe Rhetorical Arts in Late Antique and Early Medieval Ireland represents the first study of the art of rhetoric in medieval Ireland, a culture often neglected by medieval rhetorical studies. In a series of three case studies, Brian James Stone traces the textual transmission of rhetorical theories and practices from the late Roman period to those early Irish monastic communities who would not only preserve and pass on the light of learning, but adapt an ancient tradition to their own cultural needs, contributing to the history of rhetoric in important ways. The manuscript tradition of early Ireland, which gave us the largest body of vernacular literature in the medieval period and is already appreciated for its literary contributions, is also a site of rhetorical innovation and creative practice.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements
Introduction: Early Irish Rhetoric
Ireland and the Roman Frontiers
Historiography and Medieval Rhetoric
A Note on Periodization
1 Late Antique and Early Medieval Ireland and the Latin West
Social and Ecclesiastical Organization in Early Ireland
2 Learning in Ireland in the Sixth through the Eighth Centuries
Ireland and Anglo-Saxon England
Ireland and Spain
Letter Writing and the Paschal Controversy
Columbanus
Learning at Iona
The Grammatical Handbook Tradition in Ireland
3 St Patrick and the Rhetoric of Epistolography
The Historical Context of Patrick’s Mission to Ireland
The Dating of Patrick’s Obit
Rhetoric of Epistolography
Patrick’s Learning
The Purpose of Patrick’s Mission
4 A Rhetorical Analysis of Patrick’s Epistola ad Milites Coroticus
Patrick and Paul
5 The Hisperica famina
Rhetorical Analysis of
Hisperica famina 6 Secular Learning and Native Traditions
Filidecht and Secular and Church Relations
Verbal Art and Early Irish Poetry – ‘The Cauldron of Poetry and Learning’
The Cauldron
‘The Cauldron of Poetry and Learning’ and The Trivium of the Liberal Arts
Conclusion and Considerations for Further Study
Bibliography
Index
