Castles in Ireland

<p>The castles of Ireland are an essential part of the study of medieval Europe, but were, until recently, a subject neglected by scholars. A lord's power and prestige were displayed in the majesty and uniqueness of his castle. The remains of several thousand castles enable us to reconstruct life in Ireland during these crucial centuries.<br><em>Castles in Ireland</em> tells the story of the nature and development of lordship and power in medieval Ireland. Ireland formed the setting to the interplay of the differing roles of competing lordship: English and Irish; feudal European and Gaelic; royal and baronial. Tom McNeill argues that the design of the castles contest the traditional view of Ireland as a land torn by war and divided culturally between the English and Irish.</p> Introduction PART I: EARLY CASTLES: TO c. 1225 1 Before 1166 2 Early castles of stone 3 Early castles of earth and timber 4 Castles and the establishing of English lordships in Ireland PART II: FROM THE EARLY THIRTEENTH TO THE MID-FOURTEENTH CENTURY 5 The central period of English lordship 6 Castles in the English fashion 7 Castles in a divergent tradition 8 Lesser stone castles 9 Castles of the Irish 10 Summary PART III: CASTLES OF THE LATER MIDDLE AGES 11 The fourteenth century 12 Enclosure castles of the later middle ages 13 Tower-houses: dates and distribution 14 Tower-houses: structure and use 15 The later middle ages and the end of castles in Ireland, Epilogue