Bibliography
Denis
Casey
Works authored
Casey, Denis, Tigernán Ua Ruairc and a twelfth-century royal grant in the Book of Kells, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2020. 60 pp.
abstract:
King-maker, land-grabber, wronged husband and vengeful man of honour — just some of the popular views of Tigernán Ua Ruairc (died 1172), the long-lived king of Bréifne (modern Cavan-Leitrim). He is so bound up with a narrative of the English invasion of Ireland that pivots around the abduction of his wife, Derbforgaill, that it is often forgotten he was also a successful king, who ruled for fifty years and presided over a rapid expansion of his kingdom at the expense of his neighbours. This study aims to reveal a king at work, by analysing a substantial grant of land in modern Co. Meath (stretching from Dulane to Slane) that Tigernán made to the church of Kells, which was originally recorded in the famous Book of Kells. His donation offered him political and military advantages, as well as an obvious outlet for his piety. In exploring medieval Irish kings’ use of land and their property-related relationships with the church, we gain an insight into why it was possible for contemporaries to hail Ua Ruairc, on his death, as ‘a man of great power for a long time’.
abstract:
King-maker, land-grabber, wronged husband and vengeful man of honour — just some of the popular views of Tigernán Ua Ruairc (died 1172), the long-lived king of Bréifne (modern Cavan-Leitrim). He is so bound up with a narrative of the English invasion of Ireland that pivots around the abduction of his wife, Derbforgaill, that it is often forgotten he was also a successful king, who ruled for fifty years and presided over a rapid expansion of his kingdom at the expense of his neighbours. This study aims to reveal a king at work, by analysing a substantial grant of land in modern Co. Meath (stretching from Dulane to Slane) that Tigernán made to the church of Kells, which was originally recorded in the famous Book of Kells. His donation offered him political and military advantages, as well as an obvious outlet for his piety. In exploring medieval Irish kings’ use of land and their property-related relationships with the church, we gain an insight into why it was possible for contemporaries to hail Ua Ruairc, on his death, as ‘a man of great power for a long time’.
Contributions to journals
Casey, Denis, “A man of no mean standing: the career and legacy of Donnchad mac Briain (d. 1064)”, Peritia 31 (2020): 29–57.
abstract:
This article offers a sympathetic appraisal of the career of Donnchad mac Briain, an overlooked eleventh-century king of Munster. In addition, it is argued that his association with the Crown of Ireland and position as a genuine and supposed ancestor of various Gaelic and Anglo-Irish families (as portrayed in bardic poetry and genealogies) suggests that he possessed a positive legacy during the medieval and early modern periods.
abstract:
This article offers a sympathetic appraisal of the career of Donnchad mac Briain, an overlooked eleventh-century king of Munster. In addition, it is argued that his association with the Crown of Ireland and position as a genuine and supposed ancestor of various Gaelic and Anglo-Irish families (as portrayed in bardic poetry and genealogies) suggests that he possessed a positive legacy during the medieval and early modern periods.
Casey, Denis, “Irish involvement in the First and Second Crusades? A reconsideration of the eleventh- and twelfth-century evidence”, Crusades 13 (2014): 119–142.
abstract:
The issue of Irish involvement in the crusades prior to the English invasion of Ireland (1160s), which has hitherto received scant attention in both crusader and Irish historiography, is examined here. A critique is offered of two important articles dedicated to this subject (Costello 1970 and Kostick 2003), both of which primarily utilized crusader chronicles to argue the case for Irish participation in the early crusades. A detailed, critical examination of the sources used in these articles demonstrates that those texts cannot be depended upon to provide reliable evidence for such involvement. Sources that have been largely or wholly ignored with regard to this topic are then scrutinized, including Irish annalistic texts and documents emanating from the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem; these too are shown to lack solid evidence for Irish crusaders. It is suggested that a differentiation should be made between Irish knowledge of, and active participation in, the crusades: although convincing evidence for pre-invasion Irish involvement in the crusades is wanting, Irish sources nonetheless display awareness of crusader actions. It is also argued that Irish Church reform in the twelfth century was an important link between Ireland and the world of the crusaders, and that crusader ideology may have had an influence upon Irish society. Finally, it is proposed that literary sources emanating from the reform movement should form an important component of future studies of Ireland and the crusades.
(source: Denis Casey (academia.edu))
abstract:
The issue of Irish involvement in the crusades prior to the English invasion of Ireland (1160s), which has hitherto received scant attention in both crusader and Irish historiography, is examined here. A critique is offered of two important articles dedicated to this subject (Costello 1970 and Kostick 2003), both of which primarily utilized crusader chronicles to argue the case for Irish participation in the early crusades. A detailed, critical examination of the sources used in these articles demonstrates that those texts cannot be depended upon to provide reliable evidence for such involvement. Sources that have been largely or wholly ignored with regard to this topic are then scrutinized, including Irish annalistic texts and documents emanating from the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem; these too are shown to lack solid evidence for Irish crusaders. It is suggested that a differentiation should be made between Irish knowledge of, and active participation in, the crusades: although convincing evidence for pre-invasion Irish involvement in the crusades is wanting, Irish sources nonetheless display awareness of crusader actions. It is also argued that Irish Church reform in the twelfth century was an important link between Ireland and the world of the crusaders, and that crusader ideology may have had an influence upon Irish society. Finally, it is proposed that literary sources emanating from the reform movement should form an important component of future studies of Ireland and the crusades.
(source: Denis Casey (academia.edu))
