How The Irish Saved Civilization

The Untold Story of Ireland's Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe.

Ireland played the central role in maintaining European culture when the Dark Ages settled on Europe in the fifth century. As Rome was sacked by Visigoths and its empire collapsed, Ireland became 'the Isle of saints and scholars' that enabled the classical and religious heritage to be saved.

This is a compelling and entertaining narrative of the story of how Irish monks and scribes copied the manuscripts of both pagan and Christian writers, including Homer and Aristotle, while libraries on the continent were lost forever. Bringing the past and its characters to life, Cahill captures the sensibility of the unsung Irish who relaunched civilisation.