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Cahill's How The Irish Saved Civilization - School Essays

Cahill's How The Irish Saved Civilization

Thomas Cahill opens his story describing Rome's fall, �For as the Roman
Empire fell, as all through Europe matted, unwashed barbarians descended on the
Roman cities, looting artifacts and burning books, the Irish who were just
learning to read and write, took up the just labor of copying all of western
literature - everything they could get their hands on. These scribes then
served as conduits through which Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian cultures were
transmitted to the tribes of Europe, newly settled amid the rubble and ruined
vineyards of the civilization they had overwhelmed.� (Cahill, p.3) The theme
of this book is that the scribes did something unique, they saved ...

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beyond Greco-Roman law �who looked into the
hearts of others.� (Cahill, p. 115)
Cahill notes Ireland is the only land where Christianity is introduced
without violence - there were no murdered Irish martyrs. (Cahill, p. 151) He
discusses the growth of monasteries in Ireland and their eventual spread to Iona
and beyond by Columcille and his �White Martyr� followers. (Cahill, pp. 171-
184) Growth continues as Columbanus establishes the first Italo-Irish
monastery where monks continue to pray and copy. Between these two men Irish
monasteries were established in England, Scotland, Italy, France and beyond.
Historically the Irish are not credited with a major role in this time
period and Cahill attempts to prove the society/culture of this time has its
roots in Ireland. He states, �Ireland, at peace and copying, stood in the
position to become Europe's publisher.� The Saxons had blocked routes to the
English mainland. A new, illiterate Europe was rising from Roman ...

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Cahill's How The Irish Saved Civilization. (2008, March 28). Retrieved November 28, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Cahills-How-The-Irish-Saved-Civilization/81234

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 3/28/2008 08:29:48 PM
Category: Book Reports
Type: Free Paper
Words: 741
Pages: 3

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