Religion and society in Ireland

Abstract

This chapter deals with the primal, pagan religion of Ireland. As for the position of women, Irish society was strongly patriarchal: women were generally under the authority of their father, husband or son, and had limited scope for independent action. Irish society was hierarchical, and the law tracts list several different ranks, each with its own honour price. The basic structure was that of kings, lords, and ordinary freemen, all of whom were free and had their own legal independence. By ad 500, it is likely that Christianity had been preached throughout Ireland, but far from certain that it had yet been embraced by a majority of the population. In Ireland, paganism was so strongly entrenched that Christianity had to struggle for well over a century before winning formal acceptance. In Irish society, the hereditary principle was so ubiquitous that it was natural for it to apply within the church as well.

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