ABSTRACT
Of all the clichés about Irish history, none has been more enduring nor enjoyed such universal popularity as the ‘Golden Age’ of early Irish culture. The high-tide of achievement in the area of fine metalwork alone, around the middle of the eighth century perhaps, saw the production of numerous items of exquisite jewellery and ecclesiastical altar-ware that culminated in masterpieces such as the Ardagh chalice and the Tara brooch – both iconic creations that still embody the popular image of the perfection of Irish art in the period between c. 600 and c. 800. The same period saw the emergence of the ‘Island of Saints and Scholars’ as a beacon for the rest of Europe in the fields of learning and literature when the continental countries languished in their ‘Dark Ages’, and Irish missionary monks who brought light to those regions; it is a cosy image whose afterglow persists to the present day.1 The picture of native scholars imparting their learning to foreign students free of charge is one of the most oft-cited passages in the Venerable Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People:
The Irish welcomed them all gladly, gave them their daily food, and also provided them with books to read and with instruction, without asking for any payment.
