Between the eighth and 12th centuries, the oral tra-
dition merged with a writing system that allowed Irish
verse to be recorded. The introduction of Christianity
provided the impetus to write down preexisting poems
and to record Christian-related poetry and verse. The
earliest Irish poetry was alliterative; this was often used
for recitation of genealogies, prophecies, and eulogies
well into the Middle Irish period. Some of the oldest
Irish poetry preserved uses seven syllables with a tri-
syllabic fi nal word; in fact, this type of ALLITERATION
was used as a mnemonic device for the legal system.
The meters of early Irish verse had a complicated sys-
tem of ASSONANCE, consonance, alliteration, and inter-
nal and end rhymes, and they were based primarily on
syllable count. Seven-syllable lines were the most com-
mon, and end rhymes might be formed by alternating
lines or by COUPLETs. QUATRAINs were the most com-
mon form used.
There has also been a good deal of research on the
relationships between Early Irish, English, and Welsh
poetry. In particular, connections can be made within
the traditions of penitential literature, elegiac poetry,
and eremitic (hermits’) prayer. As well, Early Irish verse,
with both its pre-Christian and Christian-related topics,
not only thrived in Ireland but spread throughout the
Continent, as shown by its survival in the manuscripts
of numerous Continental monasteries associated with
Irish missionaries.
See also ELEGY.
FURTHER READING
Fowler, Barbara Hughes, ed. and trans. Medieval Irish Lyrics.
Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 2000.
Lehmann, Ruth P. M., ed. and trans. Early Irish Verse. Aus-
tin: University of Texas Press, 1982.
Murphy, Gerard, ed. Early Irish Lyrics: Eighth to Twelfth Cen-
tury. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1956.
Bradford Lee Eden
EARLY MODERN V. RENAISSANCE The
term Renaissance (or Renascence) literally means
“rebirth.” In the context of cultural studies (history, lit-
erature, fi ne arts, religion, sociology, etc.), the term
applies to the time immediately after the Middle Ages.
More specifi cally, it refers to the rebirth of the CLASSI-
CAL TRADITION that triggered a new enthusiasm for
scholarly and artistic pursuits during this era. How-
ever, the term Renaissance is grounded in a particular,
long-term historical theory that has often been chal-
lenged by scholars.
In the original theory, the medieval period in Europe
was considered a low point in all facets of civilization.
Feudalism, the prevailing system of government, rele-
gated ownership of virtually all the land to an elite
few—the aristocrats, many of whom also controlled
large numbers of serfs. The hierarchy of the Christian
church exercised its power over all of Western Europe,
making canon law as powerful as civil law. Literacy
rates were low, and few “literary” works were written
in the VERNACULAR. The fi ne arts almost exclusively
refl ected religious patronage, and the rules of painting
followed the two-dimensional format of iconography.
This view is, of course, a gross simplifi cation of the
realities of medieval Europe as we now understand
them, but the basic course of development from the
Middle Ages to the Renaissance depends on such sim-
plifi cation. The Renaissance (which is seen as begin-
ning in the 14th century in Italy and the early 16th
century in England) was perceived as an enlightened
period that eliminated the primitivism of the medieval
period; reintroduced “lost” concepts of art, govern-
ment, and philosophy prevalent in classical Greece and
Rome; and paved the way for the Enlightenment of the
18th century, and, eventually, its further development
into modernism.
The importance of the Renaissance to this scheme of
continuing human development and improvement was
fi rst articulated by the 19th-century German historian
Jacob Burckhardt in 1860. His work, The Civilization of
the Renaissance in Italy, begins with an examination of
the state (government) as “a Work of Art” (Part 1) and
points out how the “republics” that developed in vari-
ous Italian city-states were culturally superior to the
rule of despotic feudal lords during the medieval
period. This “republican” form of government presum-
ably developed from the actual and theoretical systems
of rule in classical Greece and pre-Augustan Rome.
Burckhardt sees the “Revival of Antiquity” (Part 3) as
necessary for the development of Renaissance human-
ism, history, education, ethics, and literature overall.156 EARLY MODERN V. RENAISSANCE