it was a cute little history book. ( )

I can understand some of the dissenting opinions about this book on Goodreads--much of the book didn't have to do directly with Cahill's thesis on how the Irish saved civilization. It had a long build-up. Personally, though, I am very interested in literature and philosophy, so I enjoyed learning about the Romans, Augustine, St. Patrick, etc.--both the history and the myths. It also served as a good "gateway book" for me to find and read more on the historical figures mentioned, plus other books by authors Cahill brought up such as Yeats.

And warrior monks. Awesomely righteous warrior monks. ( )

6.5/10
“How the Irish Saved Western Civilization” would maybe have been a better title…
The author is first a storyteller and this history book is made more readable by his style. I found some chapters to be a little dry and somewhat irrelevant to the overall thesis, but that changed once the focus zeroed in on Ireland. I think my familiarity with Irish lore and the fact that I’ve visited many of the places in Ireland and Scotland mentioned in the book made Parts III through VII more enjoyable and more pertinent. ( )

I just couldn't stay focused on hardly any of this. ( )

Between 400 and 600, the world as it had been previously known ended for Europe and the Near East.

We generally look at this period as a dark time since it featured the collapse of the Roman Empire, a loss from which Europe would strive to recover over the next 1400 years.

But that period looked quite different in Ireland, as well expressed by Thomas Cahill in How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe (affiliate link).

Cahill set the tone by exploring the Roman world and Ireland as they had existed at the turn of the fifth century: Rome, the inheritor of the legacy of the Classical world and over a millennium of philosophical, scientific, religious, etc. advancements and learning; Ireland, as pagan and remote as ever.

Cahill then explored the great reversal over the next two hundred years: overrun by the “barbarians” to the east, beset by plagues and famines, the Roman Empire collapsed, and in the urgency of survival, much of the ancient learning was lost. Patricius, a Briton Celtic born and raised as a Christian, was captured by Irish pirates and was enslaved; he escaped slavery but felt called to proclaim Jesus to the Irish. After getting some training, Patricius returned and found ways to well evangelize the Irish; he would become known as St. Patrick, and by the end of the fifth century Ireland had been well evangelized and mostly Christian. Cahill describes how the Celtic Christianity of this age was quite distinct from standard Roman Catholicism later, or even at that same time, and how little connection existed between Rome and Ireland.

Cahill then considered what would follow: many of the Irish would dedicate themselves to Jesus and the monastery, and not a few desired to cultivate learning. Irish monks and scribes would collect manuscripts of the Bible but also of the Greek and Latin classics and would copy them.

Thus Irish Christians preserved a lot of the classical works which remain to this day. The Book of Kells is a beautiful Irish manuscript. And Irish monks would spread throughout western Europe, setting up monasteries in Scotland, England, and what we consider France and Germany. Many of Charlemagne’s favored scholar monks were Irish. And wherever they went, they not only brought their distinctive expression of Christianity, but also dedication to copying manuscripts and preserving the heritage of a culture which had not been their own at the time.

While there were still conflicts among the Irish from 450-600, the chaos enveloping everywhere else left them alone: they would only begin suffering Viking, then Anglo-Norman, then British invasion after 750. In this way the Irish lost some of that distinctiveness in scholasticism and suffered themselves as other Europeans had been suffering in the fifth and sixth centuries.

But by the time the Vikings began to invade and pillage, the situation in France, Germany, England, etc. had somewhat stabilized. Their own would learn from the Irish monks and continue their work in their countries.

When the author told this story, it was not otherwise well known. The author likes to make broad characterizations which we today would find a bit prejudicial. But the story is quite engaging and powerful, and a reminder of the great power possible in the Gospel of Jesus Christ: for as the rest of the world was burning, Ireland found Jesus and enjoyed a golden age. ( )