Entangled Conquest: A Study of Cultural Hybridization and Change in Norman Ireland

Abstract

This thesis employs entanglement theory and new geophysical macro-analytical methods to examine the spread of Norman culture in late medieval Ireland. The traditional theories of Anglo-Norman conquest by mass migration, by military conquest, and by political conquest are reviewed and compared to a more nuanced theory of Normanization, which suggests that genetically Irish people, who spoke Irish, practiced Irish law, and pursued Irish interests were primarily responsible for what is considered "Norman" material culture on the Island. This dissertation presents the idea that adherence to the English king was a necessary and expedient action on the part of Irish lords that has been badly misunderstood by later generations. This thesis tests the idea that medieval Irish people were engaged in a changing social dynamic seen throughout the Catholic world, and that participation in the Crusades required cereal agriculture and military adherence to a recognized Catholic authority, ultimately resulting in the adoption of behaviors and allegiances that mirrored their English and Welsh counterparts. Perhaps most provocatively, the suggestion that no English invasion of Ireland occurred during the medieval period is posited based on a case study at Ballintober, County Roscommon.