Gillian Kenny provides a coherent picture of the lives of women in medieval Ireland through an examination of their marital circumstances. By comparing and contrasting the differing lives of Anglo-Irish and Gaelic singlewomen, wives, widows and nuns of late medieval Ireland, the author tries to identify how their functions and roles in society were affected by the differing rights enjoyed and by the restrictions imposed by their different societies. The book is constructed to reflect thematically the standard marital progression of women in medieval Ireland (both Gaelic and Anglo-Irish) from singlewomen to wives to widows. The machinery of church and state dominated and controlled how women conducted their lives. Within these structures, however, women were able, to differing extents, to transmit and receive land and movables, to work for a living as tradeswomen, craftswomen or merchants, or to devote themselves to the spiritual life as singlewomen, wives or widows.

An in-depth analysis of the key contribution made by the women members of this important ruling family in maintaining and advancing the family's political, landed, economic, social and religious interests.

Examines the complex interactions between English and Irish neighbours in the 'four obedient shires' and how this shaped English identity.

The twenty-four studies in this volume propose a new approach to framing the debate around the history of medieval art and architecture to highlight the multiple roles played by women, moving beyond today's standard division of artist from patron.

Draws from a wide range of disciplines to bring together 36 leading scholars writing about 400 years of modern Irish history

The thousand years explored in this book witnessed developments in the history of Ireland that resonate to this day. Interspersing narrative with detailed analysis of key themes, the first volume in The Cambridge History of Ireland presents the latest thinking on key aspects of the medieval Irish experience. The contributors are leading experts in their fields, and present their original interpretations in a fresh and accessible manner. New perspectives are offered on the politics, artistic culture, religious beliefs and practices, social organisation and economic activity that prevailed on the island in these centuries. At each turn the question is asked: to what extent were these developments unique to Ireland? The openness of Ireland to outside influences, and its capacity to influence the world beyond its shores, are recurring themes. Underpinning the book is a comparative, outward-looking approach that sees Ireland as an integral but exceptional component of medieval Christian Europe.

In 1919, Prime Minister David Lloyd George of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland noted that “there is a path of fatality which pursues the relations between the two countries and makes them eternally at cross purposes.” For better or worse, Ireland has frequently been defined by its relationship with its neighbor to the east. And for centuries, English monarchs and governments have struggled with what they came to term “the Irish Question.” Through 76 primary source documents, contextualized by informative introductions and annotations, this volume explores the political, economic, and cultural impacts of the relationship between Ireland and England.