From Paganism to Christianity: Relics and Social Customs in Seventh-Century Ireland

The cult of relics is not peculiar to Christianity, as it is a characteristic of a number of other religions as well. Indeed, the preservation and veneration of objects associated with persons who played an important part in the family, the tribe or the nation in the past is a very ancient and widespread human trait. This presentation will examine the key hagiographical texts from the period and reveal how relics were used by the early Irish Church to gain and solidify its prominent position within society. One finds in the uses of saints' relics an image of their role in society. Notwithstanding the recent interest in hagiography there has been relatively little research done on the cult of relics in Ireland, considering the comparatively rich examinations carried out on the continent. A likeminded exploration of relics from the Irish perspective will not only broaden our understanding of Irish history but will contribute to the international scholarship on this topic. Some of the foremost scholars studying early Christian Ireland and the cult of saints have argued that Ireland was slow to adopt relics, in particular that they were not as concerned with venerating bodily remains as their late Roman and Frankish contemporaries. This presentation seeks to explore these arguments and disprove them with reference to the seventh century sources. It will be argued that the Irish, while naturally different than their European counterparts, were actually more in agreement with continental practice than current historiographic models suggest.