Monk in Early Christian Ireland

Imagine you are a monk in Early Christian Ireland, write about your life in a monastery.

Hints:

1. Reasons for joining the monastery;
2. The work you did in the monastery;
3. The activities of other monks;
4. The life of a monk.

Reasons for joining the monastery

• You were originally a Celt who believed in the Celtic gods like Dagda, the river god Boann and Lug.
• There were great festivals throughout the year like Samhain when the Celts honoured all the spirits of the Underworld or Lughnasa when they prayed for a bountiful harvest.
• As you grew up, you began to hear more about a new religion called Christianity. People had come into contact with it when they were trading with Britain and there were also some missionaries who came to Ireland to spread the religion.
• You met some (St.Patrick and St. Auxillius) missionaries and they persuaded you to convert. You decided to join the local monastery in Clonmacnoise/Clonfert/Kildare.

The work you did in the monastery

• You were very good at drawing and so you were asked by the head of the monastery, who is called the Abbot, to work in the scriptorium on the manuscripts. These manuscripts were beautifully written, illustrated and coloured copies of the Bible.
• The pages were either written on vellum (claf skin) or parchment (sheep skin). The writing was done using a quill from a goose feather and the ink was from ground-up colour stones or plants.
• There are many of these beautiful books written in different monasteries, e.g. the Book of Kells or the Book of Durrow. The oldest book is the Cathach which means the Battle Book.

The activities of the other monks

• All the other monks had jobs to do as well. Some monks had to do all the farming to make sure that the monastery had enough food. Other monks cooked the food and the meals were served in the refectory.
• Other monks worked all day making metal objects such as chalices, crosses or boxes known as reliquaries to hold the remains of saints called relics. The metalwork is very detailed and they used really fine strips of gold and silver called filigree and precious stones.
• Some monks also worked on stone masonry. They carved beautiful images of different stories from the Bible onto High Crosses so that the local population, who could not read, understood the stories.

The life of a monk

• Most of the day was spent either working at the different jobs that the Abbot gave his monks or praying and studying the Bible.
• Monks lived on food prepared in the monastery. It was usually very simple food, e.g. milk, cheese, fish and vegetables.
• All the monks lived in small huts called beehive huts made from wattle and daub or from stone.
• There was a round tower in the middle of the monastery. It was used either as a bell tower or for protection if anyone tried to attack the monastery.