Medieval Ireland : The Enduring Tradition

Rating:
Summary: Brief but not superficial
Review: The book is a brief history of medieval Ireland. It covers the times from the prehistoric times to the fifteenth century. However, brief does not mean superficial. The author chooses some subjects he is interested in and discusses them trying to be impartial - from many different points of view. He does not try to describe the past in detail, but rather to point out the most important moments, problems and aspects in Irish history. Richter also poses some questions significant from the point of view of a contemporary person some of which remain open.
The book is suitable for beginners as it is quite short and written in a comprehensible way as well as for people truly interested in the matter thanks to reliable bibliography record and references. It helps to understand the unusual political organization and the complicated and quite uncommon social structure of the Island in the middle ages. Obviously, history of medieval Ireland was greatly determined by the history of church, that is why the book deals mainly with the church's history, which was not less interesting in Ireland than political history. It is a very good book for a great start.