Literacy and Identity in Early Medieval Ireland Studies in Celtic History

the long version

Much of our knowledge of early medieval Ireland comes from the rich literature written in a variety of genres and in two languages, Irish and Latin. Who wrote this literature and what role did they play within society? What did the introduction and expansion of literacy mean in a culture where the vast majority of the population continued to be non-literate? How did literacy operate in and intersect with the oral world. Was literacy a key element in the formation and articulation of communal and elite senses of identity? This book addresses these issues in full.