HOW THE IRISH SAVED CIVILIZATION: The Untold...
HOW THE IRISH SAVED CIVILIZATION: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Heroic Role From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe by Thomas Cahill (Anchor: $12.95; 249 pp., illustrated). Cahill documents how Irish monks helped to establish the scriptoria that preserved classical learning during the early Middle Ages in this popular history. His unbounded enthusiasm for all things Irish and Catholic prevents him from appreciating the breadth of classical culture, and generations of Latin students would dispute his glowing praise for St. Augustine’s “Confessions.” But he presents a highly readable account of a little-known era in European history.
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