How The Irish Saved Civilization
The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe
Published on 3. March 2003
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-0-340-63787-6 (ISBN)
Description
'Shamelessly engaging, effortlessly scholarly, utterly refreshing'
Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler's Ark
'A small treasure'
New York Times
'This sweepingly confident overview is more entertainingly told than any previous account'
Sunday Telegraph
Ireland played the central role in maintaining European culture when the dark ages settled on Europe in the fifth century: as Rome was sacked by Visigoths and its empire collapsed, Ireland became 'the isle of saints and scholars' that enabled the classical and religious heritage to be saved.
In his compelling and entertaining narrative, Thomas Cahill tells the story of how Irish monks and scrines copied the mauscripts of both pagan and Christian writers, including Homer and Aristotle, while libraries on the continent were lost forever. Bringing the past and its characters to life, Cahill captures the sensibility of the unsung Irish who relaunched civilisation.
Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler's Ark
'A small treasure'
New York Times
'This sweepingly confident overview is more entertainingly told than any previous account'
Sunday Telegraph
Ireland played the central role in maintaining European culture when the dark ages settled on Europe in the fifth century: as Rome was sacked by Visigoths and its empire collapsed, Ireland became 'the isle of saints and scholars' that enabled the classical and religious heritage to be saved.
In his compelling and entertaining narrative, Thomas Cahill tells the story of how Irish monks and scrines copied the mauscripts of both pagan and Christian writers, including Homer and Aristotle, while libraries on the continent were lost forever. Bringing the past and its characters to life, Cahill captures the sensibility of the unsung Irish who relaunched civilisation.
Reviews / Votes
HOW THE IRISH SAVED CIVILISATION is a shamelessly engaging, effortlessly scholarly, utterly refreshing history of the origins of the Irish soul and its huge contribution to Western culture ... For its portrait of St Patrick alone, it will resonate in the memory. * Thomas Keneally * Lyrical, playful, penetrating and serious ... an entirely engaging, delectable voyage into the distant past, a small treasure * Richard Bernstein in the <i>New York Times</i> * This sweepingly confident overview is more entertainingly told than any previous account ... An elegant book * P.J. Kavanagh in the <i>Sunday Telegraph</i> *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Hodder & Stoughton
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
1x8pp b/w
Dimensions
Height: 202 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
199 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-340-63787-6 (9780340637876)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Thomas Cahill
How The Irish Saved Civilization
The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe
E-Book
09/2011
Two Roads
€4.49
Available for download
Person
Thomas Cahill is an author, historian, and publisher with a leading New York firm. He is married and has two children. He lives in New York, Paris and Rome.