СКАЛА КАШЕЛ: МЕСТО, ДОСТОЙНОЕ КОРОЛЯ

Medieval Ireland is generally divided into five provinces. Each of them had its own royal centre, where all public life of local kins was concentrated. It was the place for judicial and royal assembly, a place where óenach was undertaken and royal feis was held. In addition to that, it was a place where the king was proclaimed. Of course, there were more than five royal centres in medieval Ireland. However, there are five of them which stand out amongst the others, because of their scale and significance: Tara in Brega, Dún Ailinne in Leinster, Navan in Ulster, Rathcroghan in Connacht and Cashel in Munster. Cashel, the residence and inauguration complex of Munster kings is the youngest one, usually dated to the Early Middle Ages. It is known mostly for its role in the history of Irish church. It was one of the important ecclesiastical centres of Ireland, equal to Armagh and the place where the famous Synod of Munster was held in 1172. Its original sacral meaning and royal functions disappeared in the history of the Archdiocese of Cashel. However, the traces of archaic royal practices could still be distinguished in the texts dedicated to Cashel. Recent archaeological excavations also demonstrate to us that Cashel can be comparable with «the royal centres of Iron Age". In my article I am going to investigate the significance that Cashel had for the Munster kingship before it was dedicated to the Church in 1101 AD and the ceremonies that took place there.