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Definition
Leprechaun
Leprechauns (also leprecauns or lepracauns) are figures in Irish folklore who guard hidden treasure. Regarded as small and incredibly agile male fairies or goblins, they most often guard a pot of gold. Leprechauns live solitary lives and...
Definition
Ardagh Chalice
The Ardagh Chalice, one of the finest examples of Irish metalwork from the Middle Ages, was found in 1868 CE as part of a hoard at an Irish ringfort in Reerasta, near Ardagh, Co. Limerick. While the chalice is the only ecclesiastical artefact...
Interview
Interview: Early Medieval Irish Book Art
Early medieval Irish book art is both beautiful and fascinating. It reflects a flourishing monastic culture which played a key role in the cultural development of Europe from the 6th to 9th centuries CE. Nowhere is this more clearly illustrated...
Article
The Vikings in Ireland
In early Medieval Europe, a prime subject of frightening tales-come-true were the famously marauding and pillaging Vikings, spilling out of their dragon-headed longships in a state of bloodlust, thirsting for gold. With their menacing presence...
Definition
Sumerian Language
The Sumerian language was spoken in southern Mesopotamia before the 2nd millennium BCE and was the first language to be written in the cuneiform script. It is an isolate language meaning we know of no other languages that relate to it ancestrally...
Definition
Romani Language
Romani is an Indo-European language, belonging to the Indic subbranch which includes Sanskrit and Hindi. Because of the Romani diaspora throughout Europe and West Asia, it developed in close contact with European and Iranian languages. It...
Definition
Etruscan Language
The language of the Etruscans, like the people themselves, has remained somewhat mysterious and has yet to be fully understood. The alphabet used a western Greek script, but the language has presented difficulties to scholars because it is...
Definition
Grace O'Malley
Grace O'Malley (l. c. 1530-1603) was an Irish chieftain and seafarer who became famous as a pirate and rebel during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England (1558-1603) who was trying to increase her control of Irish lands. O'Malley's exploits...
Definition
Ancient Ireland
Ireland is an island country located in the North Atlantic, bounded by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St. George's Channel. It is known as Eire in the Gaelic language, which comes from the old Irish Eriu, the name of a daughter of...
Article
The Phoenician Alphabet & Language
Phoenician is a Canaanite language closely related to Hebrew. Very little is known about the Canaanite language, except what can be gathered from the El-Amarna letters written by Canaanite kings to Pharaohs Amenhopis III (1402 - 1364 BCE...