Sun Dancing

by Moorhouse, Geoffrey

• ISBN13: 9780156006026
• ISBN10: 0156006022
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-03-01
• Publisher: Mariner Books

Summary

Visible on a clear day off the west coast of Ireland, the Skellig Islands, a cluster of cruel rocks, rise spectacularly from the Atlantic Ocean. A sanctuary to birds and seals today, for over six hundred years during the middle ages it was a center for a particularly intense form of monastic life, one that acclaimed writer Geoffrey Moorhouse explores with utmost fascination, scholarship, and imagination in Sun Dancing. A must read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Celtic spirituality, Moorhouse's lively narrative is a superbly imagined account of the monks' isolated life-the spiritual struggles and triumphs and unbelievable physical hardships. To complement and enrich the book, Moorhouse establishes the historical context of Irish monasticism and describes the monks' influence and undeniable role in preserving western civilization, as well as unexpected connections between medieval Ireland and India, Egypt, and Byzantium, and the surviving impact of pagan mythology. An entertaining and enlightening work, Sun Dancing makes medieval Ireland come alive.

Table of Contents

Author's Note
The Tradition
AD 588	p. 3
AD 670	p. 19
AD 780	p. 35
AD 824	p. 55
AD 950	p. 71
AD 1044	p. 85
AD 1222	p. 105
The Evidence
Fionan	p. 119
Peregrinatio	p. 122
Pagans and Christians	p. 126
St. Patrick	p. 130
Brendan the Navigator	p. 136
Irish Monasticism	p. 143
Book Illustration	p. 146
The Scoti	p. 154
Antony and Cassian	p. 156
The Desert Fathers	p. 159
St. Antony in Art	p. 167
The Irish Kings and Tara	p. 173
Three Martyrdoms	p. 177
The Curach	p. 182
Fasting	p. 185
Monastic Dress	p. 190
The Gallican Creed	p. 192
Skellig Michael	p. 195
Nature Worship	p. 198
The World View	p. 200
The Buildings	p. 202
Soul-friends	p. 205
The Monastic Horarium	p. 208
Cu Chulainn	p. 212
Two Tonsures	p. 214
The Synod of Whitby	p. 216
Columcille and Iona	p. 219
Mingled Traditions	p. 222
Monastic Feuds	p. 223
Penance	p. 225
Sin	p. 230
Poverty and Sickness	p. 232
The Vikings	p. 236
Celtic Metalwork	p. 240
Skellig Birdlife	p. 243
The Dancing Sun	p. 245
The Irish Annals	p. 247
Brian Boru	p. 249
Olaf Tryggvason	p. 251
The Culdees	p. 254
Giraldus Cambrensis	p. 257
The Hermitage	p. 259
Origen	p. 261
The Bestiaries	p. 263
Hubris	p. 266
The Withdrawal	p. 268
St. Benedict's Rule	p. 273
Ballinskelligs and the Arroasians	p. 275
Unanswered Questions	p. 278
A Bibliography	p. 281
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.