The last kings of Ireland: material expressions of Gaelic lordship c.1300-1400 A.D.

Abstract

During the later medieval period in Ireland, Gaelic lords continued to publicly identify themselves as immediate descendants of kings through carefully chosen elements of material culture. Evocations of Gaelic kingship in the material record of the fourteenth and early fifteenth century have traditionally been seen as evidence of revival , a period of renewal imbued with a new spirit of confidence . The uncritical use of terms like revival and resurgence has somewhat impeded a more complex perspective on the behaviour of Gaelic elites in this period. The phenomenon of revival , viewed over a century or more, may have an alternative appreciation as an attempt by Gaelic dynasties to display their royal lineage with varying degrees of impact during a profound period of change when their status declined irretrievably to that of lords. What emerged was a greatly refashioned concept of what it was to be Gaelic and elite.