Summary: Examples of Written Language in the Early Medieval Period
Key dates:
At the beginning of the period the ogham stones were still in use. With the coming of Christianity monastic schools were soon established and Latin, Greek and Hebrew became widely used in the transcription of documents. The monks were well known for copying books by hand and these manuscripts are excellent examples of artistic work. Books such as the Books of Kells and of Durrow, show magnificent craftsmanship especially in the capital letters. Saint Colmcille himself wrote the Cathach, which is a copy of the Psalms.
In monasteries, the monks wrote on wax tablets with a metal stylus or pen. They later used quills and ink, and wrote on vellum which has lasted very well, especially for those books which were preserved in leather satchels.
As well as the monastic schools, there were bardic schools which trained people in folklore. This led to some of the first written accounts of the history of Ireland.
The Irish language changed in this period as new vocabulary, mainly associated with the church, came into being. An example of this link between Irish and Latin can be seen in the word for church; in Irish eaglais and in Latin ecclesia.
The Viking raiders were not very interested in reading but many of their words linger, such as berserk. The word ford, attached to town names, is also attributed to the Vikings.
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