Relics and recluses revisited: some thoughts on Cormac's Chapel, Cashel

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dc.contributor.authorÓ Carragáin, Tomás
dc.contributor.editorPurcell, Emer
dc.contributor.editorMacCotter, Paul
dc.contributor.editorNyhan, Julianne
dc.contributor.editorSheehan, John
dc.date.accessioned2026-03-13T15:50:05Z
dc.date.available2026-03-13T15:50:05Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.description.abstractA few years ago I argued that most of the late eleventh- and twelfth-century double-vaulted churches found at important Irish ecclesiastical sites were, among other things, built to house relics and ascetic monks including one or more recluses. Their stone roofs kept the relics safe from fire, while the chamber between the two vaults was for domestic purposes. It was argued that these churches were a local expression of a European trend, for the institution of reclusion becomes more popular, better-defined and more closely regulated as part of the Gregorian reform movement, and architecturally this development is expressed by an increase in evidence for anchorholds throughout Europe from the later eleventh century.Thus, this is the very period when one might expect to find evidence that a church type was developed in Ireland with this institution in mind. The earliest and simplest of the double-vaulted churches is St Columba’s House, Kells (c.1080-94), while Cormac’s Chapel, Cashel (c.1134) is by far the most sophisticated. In this latter case, the evidence in favour of these twin functions is relatively equivocal but suggestive nonetheless. In this contribution aspects of this evidence are considered in more detail, leading to some revisions of my previous discussion. No other building expresses so eloquently the overlapping interests of church and ‘state’ in medieval Ireland. This essay is offered as a modest tribute to Donnchadh Ó Corráin who has made an immense contribution to our understanding of both of these spheres.en
dc.description.statusPeer reviewed
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.extent1661755
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.authororcidÓ Carragáin, Tomás §0000-0001-7227-4287
dc.identifier.authororcidPurcell, Emer
dc.identifier.authororcidMacCotter, Paul
dc.identifier.authororcidNyhan, Julianne
dc.identifier.authororcidSheehan, John
dc.identifier.citationÓ Carragáin, T. (2015) 'Relics and recluses revisited: some thoughts on Cormac's Chapel, Cashel', in Purcell, E., MacCotter, P., Nyhan, J. and Sheehan, J. (eds.) Clerics, Kings and Vikings: Essays on Medieval Ireland in Honour of Donnchada Ó Corráin. Dublin: Four Courts Press, pp. 326-338.
dc.identifier.endpage338
dc.identifier.isbn978-1-84682-279-7
dc.identifier.journaltitleClerics, Kings and Vikings: Essays on medieval Ireland in Honour of Donnchada Ó Corráin
dc.identifier.otherORCID: /0000-0001-7227-4287/work/208087804
dc.identifier.startpage326
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/18633
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherFour Courts Press
dc.rights© 2015, the author and Four Courts Press. All rights reserved.en
dc.subjectRelics
dc.subjectRecluse
dc.subjectCormac’s Chapel, Cashel
dc.subjectIreland
dc.subject[HumanEnvironment]
dc.titleRelics and recluses revisited: some thoughts on Cormac's Chapel, Cashelen
dc.typeBook chapter
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