Irnerius 383Catholicism, in the Celtic countries. He obtained a papal
endorsement for his military expedition in 1170/1. Dur-
ing the ensuing long war, Ireland united under the kings
of Connaught. In the end Henry’s armies conquered the
island and established a colonial regime. DUBLINand its
surroundings, the Pale, became the heart of the English
domain, but most of the rest of the country was parceled
out to English barons. This remained the condition of the
country through the rest of the Middle Ages. There were
occasional revolts, but in general Ireland was divided
between highly privileged Anglo-Irish nobles living near
Dublin and the rest of the population, the oppressed
native Gaelic peasantry now reduced to serfdom. While
the Celtic church was suppressed, efforts to suppress the
Irish language, traditional laws, and customs were never
successful. There were revolts but none amounted to
much.
See alsoBRENDAN; SAINT; COLUMBA, SAINT; COLUM-
BAN, SAINT; EDWARDI, KING OFENGLAND; JOHNLOCK-
LAND, KING OFENGLAND.
Further reading:Lisa Bitel, Isle of the Saints: Monastic
Settlement and Christian Community in Early Ireland
(Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1990); Dáibhí Ó
Cróinín, Early Medieval Ireland, 400–1200 (New York:
Longman, 1995); John A. Watt, The Church in Medieval
Ireland,2d ed. (Dublin: University College Dublin Press,
1998); John A. Watt, The Church and the Two Nations in
Medieval Ireland (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1970).
Irene(the Athenian)(ca. 752–803)empress of Byzantium
Irene was born in Athens about 752 and later married
Emperor Leo IV (r. 775–780). She was regent for their
son, Constantine VI (r. 780–797), from 780 to 790 with
the aid of two eunuchs, Staurakios and Aetios. In 783
Staurakios launched a successful attack against the SLAVS
to retake control of GREECE. In 787 he helped Irene
restore the worship of ICONSat the Seventh Ecumenical
Council of NICAEAII. In 790 Constantine VI removed
Irene and her advisers, but they returned to the palace in
792 and succeeded in overthrowing, blinding, and killing
Constantine VI in 797. Her military and foreign policies
were disastrous. Her negotiations to marry CHARLEMAGNE
in 802 were resisted by Aetios and may have resulted in
her overthrow by Nikephoros I (r. 802–811) that same
year. Her rule had been a disaster, and she died in exile
on the island of Lesbos on August 9, 803.
Further reading: Lynda Garland, “Irene: The
Unknown Empress from Athens.” in Byzantine Empresses:
Women and Power in Byzantium, AD527–1204(New York:
Routledge, 1999) 51–129, 265–75; Romilly Jenkins,
Byzantium: The Imperial Centuries, A.D. 610–1071(New
York: Random House, 1966); Jaroslav Pelikan, Imago Dei:
The Byzantine Apologia for Icons(Princeton, N.J.: Prince-
ton University Press, 1990).
Irnerius(Guarnerius, Gernerius, Wernerius) (ca.
1055–ca. 1130)lawyer, legal commentator
Little has been discovered about Irnerius’s life and origin.
Born about 1055, he taught law at BOLOGNAat the end of
the 11th century and became famous as a great legal
scholar for his commentaries on Roman LAW. He workedA fifth-century ivory carving of the Byzantine empress Irene,
Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, Italy(Scala / Art
Resource)