A Monk's LIfe

Since we were in Ireland at the tail end of winter (and the worst winter in Ireland in 50 years) the trees and grasses hadn't really started to green up and so the Emerald Isle was more like a pale green. We finally found some heather in bloom at Glendalough. It had been forced to bloom early in a greenhouse, but there it was nonetheless.

Glendalough is a partially restored monastic community that flourished here for about 600 years. There were many such communities in Ireland from about the early 5th century clear up to the 1200s or so. While monasteries were common throughout the world of the medieval Church, they were especially so in Ireland, and to a lesser extent, Britain. If you're already bored you can skip the next section.

Historic sidetrail: As Christianity spread through the Roman Empire it naturally came to Britain with the legions and Roman citizens as they came to and from Rome. Having never been invaded by the Romans, Ireland was slower to adopt the new religion. After the Roman legions left in the early 400s the Catholic Church in Britain and Ireland became somewhat isolated from the continent and became more dependant on the monasteries for instruction and knowledge.

Because the Irish were a largely rural society with no cities or major population centers, the monasteries grew in size and importance and exerted increasing influence over political and secular affairs. They became centers of not only religion, but population, trade, secular knowledge and craftmanship.

Glendalough's round tower, with the ruins of the church to the left. Round towers are a unique feature of the Irish church. This one is about 100 feet tall. Always associated with a monastic community they served as bell towers and an imposing focal point of the monastery.

We often think of monks as living ascetic lives, withdrawn from the everyday world and there were some who sought out remote and even dangerous locations (look up Church Island and Skellig Island) to better ponder the mysteries of God. But much more commonly monasteries were founded on good land, often on major waterways and overland travel routes, and grew into major urban centers consisting of not only the monastic orders, but tenants working the farms, craftsmen, servants, etc.

Besides spreading the word of God, monasteries preserved much of Ireland's culture, history, and language. The monastic influence on Irish religion and politics lasted until the Anglo-Norman invasions beginning in 1170.

This is the gateway into Glendalough, orginally believed to be two stories high. By the way, Glendalough is Irish for Valley of Two Lakes and indeed there is an upper and lower lake nestled between green hills on either side.

Just inside the first arch of the gateway is this cross carved into the rock wall. This marked the boundary of sanctuary, an area of refuge.

Sidetrail: The concept of sanctuary is found in the Old Testament (see Joshua 2). I wonder if that's where this idea came from. Of course a determined pursuer or invader wouldn't be deterred by a stone cross as witness the several times Vikings attacked Glendalough and its final destruction in 1398 by the English.

Another view of the round tower. The foundation of the tower is only three feet deep, but it is solid rock up up to about twelve feet above ground level. A ladder would've been used to gain access to the first floor, above which were five more floors, each with a small window. The top floor had four openings, the better to carry the sound of the bell across the valley. Scattered all about the grounds are hundreds of gravestones, some hundreds of years old, some fairly new.

This is the cathedral, built and added to over the span of several centuries. In the foreground is a Celtic cross gravemarker. Different theories try to explain the meaning of the circle on the cross. It could be a representation of the sun, added to the cross during the conversion of pagans to Christianity*, a way to show that God is all-encompassing, or merely a way to support the arms of the cross so the stone wouldn't break easily.

*This would be like the Spainards building churches on the foundation stones of Incan temples so that the conquered Incas would be more easily persuaded to enter.

Another view of the cathedral. Notice the large stones used on the corner of the building and they alternate lengthwise.

Even more monuments to the dead. There have got to be literally tens of thousands of people buried in and around here. It's just hard for us westerners to comprehend the age of places like this. All the people over all the centuries who were born, lived, worked, played, studied, married, etc. in this valley. And Glendalough is a youngster compared to Jericho and Damascus!

A view of the interior of the cathedral.

This is St. Kevin's church. St. Kevin lived in the late 500s and was the founder of Glendalough. This was built several hundred years after he lived. There are other scattered ruins of churches here and there, but....we were on a schedule!