How the Irish Saved Civilization - book review

How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomax Cahill is one of those books whose title just jumps out at you because it doesn't seem reasonable or logical. After all, hasn't Ireland been beset by so many problems for so long, they can't have played a significant role in history, surely not as important as SAVING civilization. So one has the impulse to grab the book, skim to the chapter with the same name as the book and read what the author means and what evidence he has for such a bold claim.

Of course that doesn't work because you need at least some of the background of the previous chapters to understand the claim and understand how it could be possible, even logical for such a claim to be put forward.

Actually, as I read the book (translation: listened to the cassettes) I started thinking about the Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" series. In that heroic epic, the great civilization is falling apart so pieces necessary to revive and restart civilization are sent to far flung regions of the universe where they will survive the chaos of the dying center and from where they can proceed to rebuild civilization having all the information and skill sets to do that.

Cahill, in "How the Irish" builds a rather convincing case that St. Patrick, in establishing the Irish monasteries, brought all the great literature of the Greeks and Romans that he could and imbued the monks with a desire not only to copy such literature but actually to understand what they were copying. Thus, his monks were men of letters in more ways than one. Patrick also developed a system of spreading monastaries with as few as 13 key men so that dozens of monasteries sprung up in Ireland, England, and then on the continent. When the political power of Rome had fallen to nothing and only the Pope and his small forces remained of the old Roman Empire, then communication between the Irish-established monasteries and the Pope was established and Roman and Greek literature was re-introduced into the Roman church, if only on a limited, clerical basis.

Cahill spends too much time on early Roman Christian history, especially Augustine's role. He also spends too much time describing who and what the Irish were at various times. But in general, the book is as gripping as the title. It certainly made me appreciate that small island much more. His book also made me want to know more about the Vandals, the Normans, the Anglos, etc that seems to flow like waves across the face of Europe. He gives us hints but nothing substantial. He describes the downfall of poor Ireland too well making you wonder that the Irish/England animosity hasn't been much worse. And one wonders why England treats her colonies so poorly.