The Irish Tower House. Society, Economy and Environment, c. 1300–1650

Abstract

ant period in the history of the medieval lordship, while not losing sight of the contemporary major historical developments. This is reinforced by the many first-rate illustrations contained in this study, many of which are colour plates taken specifically by the authors. Indeed, many readers might be surprised to learn that so many sites and artefacts in Ireland still survive to this day to indicate the importance of the Crusades to medieval Ireland. Sometimes, though, the remains no longer survive so that the only knowledge we have of them is from the written sources; the best example of this is arguably the principal Hospitaller preceptory at Kilmainham, Co. Dublin, which has disappeared in the westward expansion of post-medieval Dublin City. In the end, readers should be convinced that, although the overall numbers of crusaders who originated from Ireland was quite small, they often punched well above their weight in this period, as is richly illustrated by the career of Hugh De Lacey II in a parallel campaign against the heretical Cathars in the Languedoc region of southern France. This new volume successfully builds upon earlier scholarly research, mainly historically based, and now presents us with a much fuller picture, as expertly summarised by O’Keeffe in his Epilogue. Without doubt this book reflects the currently vibrant state of medieval studies here in Ireland, and should therefore be on the reading list of any medieval researcher.