People in History – A monk in Early Christian Ireland
Write this essay in the first person. “My name is Brother Sean and I live in a monastery at Glendalough…”
Do not mix this people in history essay up with a monk in a medieval monastery.
In your essay you should explain what time period you are talking about – You know from your study that
Christianity came to Ireland in the 5th century and that from the 6th Century onwards monasteries were set up
throughout Ireland.
“My name is Brother Sean and I live in a monastery at Glendalough. I am continuing the work of Palladius and St
Patrick who arrived in the last century, the 5th Century, to spread the word of God and to convert the Irish to
Christianity. My monastery in Glendalough was founded by St Kevin in the 6th Century.”
Points to include in essay
Describe monastery
 Glendalough built on
a lake. Many others
built along rivers.
Some in remote
places (Skellig
Michael)
 Like a large ring fort –
surrounded by a bank
or wall.
 Cemetery – monks
buried in cist graves.
 Abbot (head of
monastery) had his
own house.
 Monks lived in
individual cells
(beehive cells or
beehive huts) – made
from wattle and daub
or stone.
 Refectory for dining
 Guest house for
visitors.
 Oratory or church for
mass and prayer.
 Scriptorium for
copying manuscripts.
 Round Towers – bell
to call monks –
lookout – storage in
case of attack –
elevated door (3m
above ground.
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A typical day
Strict rules – monks
had to obey their
abbot.
Monks led very
simple lives.
Main activity was
prayer.
6 to 8 prayer
services each day.
Bell rings to call
them in from fields
to pray or eat.
Monasteries were
self-sufficient
(anything they
needed they made
themselves).
Monks worked in
the fields to
produce their own
food – ploughing,
milking, harvesting,
grinding corn.
Food was basic –
milk, cheese,
bread, fish,
vegetables
Those who didn’t
farm might have
cooked the food.
St Flannan’s College History Department
Different jobs – skills of
monks
 Scribes – worked
in scriptorium
copying
manuscripts (to
write by hand) –
used quills
(feathers) – wrote
on vellum
(calfskin) or
parchment
(sheepskin). Other
monks drew
illustrations on
these books –
often copied
passages from the
Bible.
 Metalwork –
making chalices,
crosses or
brooches – these
were made from
silver with gold
wiring (filigree)
 Stone masons –
monks carved high
stone crosses –
people were
illiterate (couldn’t
read) so they
depicted scenes
from the bible –
used to explain
religion
Services provided by
monasteries
 Health care –
monks were
skilled in the use
of herbs as
medicines.
 They gave alms
(charity – food
and other help)
to the poor.
 Guesthouses –
offered shelter
and hospitality
to people
travelling on
long journeys.
 Education –
monks among
the few literate
people in Ireland
– educated
young men in
religion, Latin,
Greek.
Irish monks abroad
Not all monks stayed in
Ireland – some went to
Europe to spread the
Christian message after
the fall of the Roman
Empire (Dark Ages) –
Colmcille and
Columbanus– island of
saints and scholars