As Patrick Gleeson’s first monograph, Landscapes of Kingship in Early Medieval Ireland AD 400–1150 is a brilliant examination of medieval Irish kingship through a new lens. Gleeson brings together archaeological and historical evidence to produce a well-rounded interdisciplinary study of the topic. Across nine detailed chapters, he explores the ways in which power and landscape were intertwined in early medieval Ireland, and how kings and royal dynasties exploited and manipulated the landscape to establish, consolidate, and maintain power. Gleeson’s work is supported throughout by archaeological illustrations, such as the excavation plans from Navan Fort (287, fig. 9.5), and LiDAR modelling of sites like Ráith Airthir and Donaghpatrick (239, fig. 8.2).
After a comprehensive introductory chapter, opening with a passage from Audacht Morainn (The Testament of Morann), an eighth-century text containing advice about the conduct of kings, Gleeson gets straight to work in chapter 1, aiming to further introduce the reader to the royal landscapes of Ireland. Rather interestingly, he begins with an exploration of the human experience of landscape—considering concepts like phenomenology, liberalism, and humanism as aspects of this experience. Ultimately, this chapter concludes that while these “post-processual” (12) approaches to landscape are, by their nature, limited, they can provide an important framework through which early medieval royal landscapes can be viewed.
From here, the book moves to the second chapter, which opens with an apt passage from the twelfth-century Cogadh Gaedel ré Gallaib (The War of the Irish against the Foreigners), which describes the conflict between Brian Boru and the Vikings, including the battle of Clontarf, from an Uí Briain perspective: “Dál Cais assembled to one appointed place before Mathgamhain and he asked them what decision they wished to come to, namely whether they would have peace or war with the foreigners, and with the Danars. Then they all answered, both old and young [‘War’] … and this was the voice of hundreds as the voice of one man” (28). This passage serves as an appropriate introduction to Gleeson’s excellent analysis of the junction between landscape and assembly in early medieval Ireland. This chapter serves to examine the role of the assembly, and the óenach, in medieval Irish source material alongside archaeological evidence from named assembly sites. One particularly helpful aspect of this chapter is Gleeson’s map (41, fig. 2.1) that combines interdisciplinary evidence to map documented assemblies and óenaig, toponymic indicators of assembly sites, churches, and other likely assembly sites.
Equipped with the concepts explored in the first two chapters, Gleeson then spends the next four chapters exploring the relationship between the landscape of Munster and the power of the Eóganachta dynastic group. Across the first two of these four chapters, he explores the ways in which the Eóganachta evolved, and subsequently crafted their origin myth with texts like Conall Corc and the Corcu Loígde and archaeological evidence from Knockainy in county Limerick, and Cahir in county Tipperary. These two chapters determine that the Eóganachta were not a single dynastic group descendant from Conall Corc, but that they were a “confederation” of dynastic groups, mainly the Uí Maic Láire and Corcu Loígde. From here, Gleeson then examines in chapter 5 how Cashel evolved from earlier seats of power to become the center of power in the region. He ultimately suggests that the kings of Munster were acutely aware of European geopolitical trends, and that the building of a church at Cashel was an attempt to create a European-style royal capitol, like those at Aachen, Kingston-upon-Thames, and Forteviot. A final chapter about Cashel as both a defensive and ceremonial location highlights settlement patterns and a potential inauguration route in the landscape around the Rock of Cashel.
The seventh and eighth chapters of this book see Gleeson cast his focus northwards, towards the landscapes of the Uí Néill. Gleeson is particularly interested in the Síl nÁedo Sláine, a branch of the Southern Uí Néill based in the midlands in the medieval period. Chapter 7 is extremely detailed and presents a convincing view of Síl nÁedo Sláine's rise and fall within the greater Uí Néill network. Gleeson handles the nebulous concept of the Uí Néill well, and confidently tackles the scholarly myth of the Uí Néill as a single dynastic entity descended from Níall Noígiallach, suggesting that like the Eóganachta, the Uí Néill should be treated as a confederation of dynastic groups. While Gleeson's somewhat sympathetic approach to Brian Lacey’s radical suggestions relating to the Uí Néill, in publications such as Cenél Conaill and the Donegal kingdoms, AD 500–800 (2006), may draw some criticism, he is careful to present a balanced assessment of scholarly attitudes towards the Uí Néill. The chapter traces the rise and fall of Síl nÁedo Sláine alongside examinations of royal landscapes in Brú na Boinne, Lagore, and Mugdorna, to ultimately suggest that the need for Síl nÁedo Sláine to develop a new regional kingship as they lost control of the kingship of Tara is directly related to the increased significance of Brú na Boinne as a medieval royal landscape. This chapter, like the previous chapters, is helpfully illustrated with an array of maps and archaeological drawings, some of which include the map of the settlement landscape in Míde and Brega, featuring outlines of polities, multivallate ringforts, souterrains, and hilltop enclosures among others.
Following this chapter, Gleeson provides an in-depth analysis of the relationship between the kingship and landscape of Tara. This is another excellent chapter that aims to reassess Tara and its surrounding landscape, including sites like Uisnech and Tailtiu, as an important part of the kingship of Tara. Here, Gleeson addresses outdated ideas about the place of Tara on the medieval Irish political landscape, and by placing the kingship in its surrounding physical landscape, he is able to suggest that the location of important Uí Néill sites like Tara and Tailtiu in Síl nÁedo Sláine territory is directly linked to the role played by Síl nÁedo Sláine in the development of the Uí Néill dynastic network. Gleeson then draws on the previous chapters to provide one final chapter examining the ways in which community, identity, territory, and authority were constructed in early medieval Ireland.
Overall, Gleeson is successful in drawing together archaeological evidence and written source material to produce an in-depth, yet accessible, study of Irish kingship and power. Gleeson is unafraid to challenge traditional views, and while there will certainly be people who disagree with him, he navigates these topics with confidence. The book provides an excellent insight into the evolution of kingship in both northern and southern spheres of early medieval Ireland, demonstrating that royal dynasties were using their surrounding landscapes to construct both community and authority. Ultimately, Gleeson shows that royal landscapes were inherently tied to royal power, and that as this power fluctuated throughout the medieval period, so too did the landscape.
