The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1963, Page 14

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
SUMMER 1963
THE ANCIENT SCHOOLS OF IRELAND
By HJALMUR F. DANIELSON
The background of the history of
the Icelanders, which begins in Nor-
way, has been told and retold in Ice-
landic literature, including Snorri
Sturluson’s Heimskringla, and illumi-
nated in the Eddas. On the other hand,
we seem to have ignored the back-
ground of the history of the Icelanders
which begins in Ireland, Scotland and
the Western Islands, especially in re-
gard to education, and literature and
the other arts. The Orkneyinga Saga
and the Vikinga Saga do not give any
information about the Irish schools.
Neither does GulSbrandur Jonsson*,
give any information about the Irish
schools in the chapter which he added
to the book which he translated: Ire-
land, by Dr. George Chatterton Hill.
Some historians claim that there is
thirty percent of Celtic blood in the Ice-
landic people. It may, therefore, be of
interest to Icelanders and people of
Icelandic descent to read about the
schools of their forefathers in Ireland
which were flourishing for three cen-
turies before Iceland was fully settled,
in 930 A.D.
In regard to the schools in Ireland
in early time, the Encyclopaedia Am-
ericana records this: “The fact that
the earliest writings extant in Ireland,
can be traced no further than the
seventh century, is far from proving
that previous to that time writing was
unknown in Ireland. That manuscripts
existed before that time is amply
proved. Ireland had at that time been
long in touch with Europe, and her
schools had supplied teachers and mis-
sionaries to the western world for cen-
turies. During the dark ages when
continental Europe was plunged in al-
most universal wars, Ireland was the
home of monastic schools, where the
learning of ages was preserved, and the
arts of writing and illuminating were
generously fostered.”
The strictly historical period in Ire-
land began with St. Patrick, in the
first half of the fifth century. The
authentic writings of St. Patrick are the
earliest written documents of Irish hi-
story. However, it is not considered
correct ito say that existence before
that was predristoric.
St. Patrick was sent as bishop to Ire-
land in A.D. 432. To him belongs the
chief credit of christianizing Ireland.
Ireland in common with Iceland has
the distinction of having adopted
Christianity without bloodshed.
Schools and the development of cul-
ture followed the introduction of
Christianity in Ireland, as in other
parts of the world. Berardis says in his
book, Italy and Ireland: “Of the three
great peoples of the ancient western
world, Greeks, the Celts and the Ro-
mans, it is the first two who had the
* Icelandic has p and 3 in common with the Anglo-Saxon, h is pronounced like
th in thought and S like th in father.