Table of Contents
The speaker walks through Ardfert in County Kerry as a monastery site with more than one layer of building. The claims place an early foundation in the late fifth or early sixth century, with cathedral rank making the place the center of its diocese until the late fifteen hundreds, after which the Protestant bishop’s seat moved to Limerick and the local church became a parish. Listeners are shown a roofless early English Gothic cathedral that still holds pieces of older churches, Romanesque work of about the mid twelfth century, and thirteenth century additions. A Norman town and a Fitzmaurice castle are said to have flourished by about 1300, with a friary a short walk away whose members also farmed. Later centuries, the speaker says, replaced a steep thirteenth century roof in the fifteenth, added smaller churches such as one linked to the Blessed Virgin, and left bishop grave slabs. Yew planting in the burial ground is treated as an old custom, and recent work is described as an effort to slow sand damage to a doorway.
Key points
- He says Ardfert’s earliest monastic phase belongs to the late fifth or early sixth century.
- Cathedral status made it a diocesan center until the late sixteenth century, when the Protestant seat moved to Limerick.
- The roofless Gothic church is said to preserve Romanesque and earlier fabric, with further thirteenth century work.
- A Norman town, a Fitzmaurice castle, and a nearby farming friary are placed in the later medieval centuries.
- Fifteenth century changes are said to include a new cathedral roof and smaller churches, one tied to the Blessed Virgin.
- Yew trees and repairs against blowing sand are presented as care for an old burial ground and a threatened doorway.
Short quotes
And the date we've been given for this would be late 5th, early 6th, so relative to when the first monastery was founded here.
Guide, Traditions of the Ardfert Monastery
It places the earliest monastic activity in the late fifth or early sixth century. Watch at 1:02
But, this part of the building, built in the early English Gothic style, you will see within it parts of two older churches.
Guide, Traditions of the Ardfert Monastery
It argues the Gothic cathedral still contains fabric from two earlier churches. Watch at 3:26
Now, this idea of planting yew trees in graveyards is not new.
Guide, Traditions of the Ardfert Monastery
It treats graveyard yews as an older custom, not a recent invention. Watch at 8:42
So, this little church would be mid-15th century in date, built in the style of the parish church.
Guide, Traditions of the Ardfert Monastery
It dates a small church to the mid fifteenth century and compares it with ordinary parish building. Watch at 11:17
Video by The Wayfarers Book Club.. Watch on YouTube.