Transforming Landscapes of Belief in the Early Medieval Insular World and Beyond: Converting the Isles II ed. by Nancy Edwards, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, and Roy Flechner (review)

From papers presented at a series of conferences held between 2012 and 2014, editors Nancy Edwards, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, and Roy Flechner have collated some nineteen articles into a second volume focusing on the cultural changes wrought by the introduction of Christianity in north-western Europe in the early medieval period. The articles, from a range of impressive contributors, are arranged around four themes: writing; the power of the word; ritual practice; and conversion.

The introduction by Edwards and Ní Mhaonaigh identifies how religion shapes both individual and social behaviour, and how the practice of religion affirms group identity. Conversion, in this instance, can take on two forms: identification with a new faith, or a profound reidentification with faith. Subsequently, Elva Johnston examines literacy in an Irish context. She argues that Christianity created a distinct identity tied to the valorization of texts that could provide a shared norm in a politically fragmented society. Anthony Harvey follows with a study of the heavy influence of Latin on Irish ogham and the implication that Roman Christianity informed the development of Irish literacy. Mark Stansbury argues that the development of an insular script grew out of the way writing was taught in the Roman and post-Roman world, with variations a sign not of isolation, but identity. In a Swedish context, Anne-Sofie Gräslund posits that the fashion for raising rune stones was connected to Christian conversion.

Moving to literary sources, Sébastien Bully and Jean-Michel Picard compare recent archaeological excavations at Columbanus's monastic foundations with Jonas's Vita Columbani, reinforcing scholarly doubts over the veracity of the early Life. Helen Foxhall Forbes looks for evidence of conversion in early English laws, arguing that there are some hints of issues with conversion, particularly in the need to legislate for the coexistence of Christians and non-Christians. Ingrid Rembold examines forced conversion, arguing that, in the context of Charlemagne's forced conversion of the Saxons, surviving texts support coercion as a viable strategy. Ní Mhaonaigh takes up conversion narratives in Ireland, arguing that surviving texts represent a sophisticated approach to religious change and the difficulties in maintaining a Christian life. Julianne Pigott follows with an examination of the twelfth-century lives of two sixth-century female saints, Iné and Monnena, pointing out an Irish awareness of the constant fragility of Christian authority.

The influence of Christianity on ritual is explored in the next section, with Elizabeth O'Brien's insight into burial practices in early medieval Ireland indicating that changes took time and were dependent on political and social acceptance. Patrick Gleeson examines assembly places in Ireland, arguing that the Church was co-opted into existing political structures rather than replacing them. Adrián Maldonado looks at the burial practices of the Picts, arguing that the archaeological evidence provides for a more fluid relationship between Christianity and the pagan past, one grounded in the importance of ancestral forces. Meggan Gondeck continues with an examination of Pictish conversion, via stone cross motifs. She argues that Christian symbols in the landscape do not necessarily record 'territorial gains', but merely affirm a local desire to express belief, attached, once again, to ancestral forces. Edwards then compares Pictish inscribed stones with those found in Wales. She argues that, while the Welsh stones confirm a Roman inheritance, the notable differences in the Pictish stones imply a transition to Christianity from Iron Age beliefs.

Conversion is the next theme, and Bernard Maier compares the conversion of the Alamanni in south-west Germany to that of Ireland, reinforcing conversion as a 'top-down' process. Roy Flechner follows with an investigation into 'peasant conversion' in an...