Castles and Colonists : An Archaeology of Elizabethan Ireland

This book examines life in the leading province of Elizabeth I's nascent empire. It shows how an Ireland of colonising English farmers and displaced Irish ‘savages’ were ruled by an imported Protestant elite from their fortified manors and medieval castles. The book displays how a generation of English ‘adventurers’ including such influential intellectual and political figures as Spenser and Ralegh, tried to create a new kind of England, one that gave full opportunity to their Renaissance tastes and ambitions. Based on decades of research, it details how archaeology had revealed the traces of a short-lived, but significant, culture that has, until now, been eclipsed in ideological conflicts between Tudor queens, Hapsburg hegemony and native Irish traditions. Castles and colonists is the first book to examine life in the leading province of Elizabeth I's nascent empire. Klinglehofer shows how an Ireland of colonising English farmers and displaced Irish 'savages' are ruled by an imported Protestant elite from their fortified manors and medieval castles.Richly illustrated, it displays how a generation of English 'adventurers' including such influential intellectual and political figures as Spenser and Ralegh, tried to create a new kind of England, one that gave full opportunity to their Renaissance tastes and ambitions.Based on decades of research, Castles and colonisers details how archaelogy had revealed the traces of a short-lived, but significant culture which has been, until now, eclipsed in ideological conflicts between Tudor queens, Hapsburg hegemony and native Irish traditions Castles and colonists is the first book to examine life in the leading province of Elizabeth I's nascent empire. Klinglehofer shows how an Ireland of colonising English farmers and displaced Irish'savages'are ruled by an imported Protestant elite from their fortified manors and medieval castles. Richly illustrated, it displays how a generation of English'adventurers'including such influential intellectual and political figures as Spenser and Ralegh, tried to create a new kind of England, one that gave full opportunity to their Renaissance tastes and ambitions. Based on decades of research, Castles and colonisers details how archaelogy had revealed the traces of a short-lived, but significant culture which has been, until now, eclipsed in ideological conflicts between Tudor queens, Hapsburg hegemony and native Irish traditions, Castles and colonists is the first book to examine life in the leading province of Elizabeth I's nascent empire. Klinglehofer shows how an Ireland of colonising English farmers and displaced Irish 'savages' are ruled by an imported Protestant elite from their fortified manors and medieval castles. Richly illustrated, it displays how a generation of English 'adventurers' including such influential intellectual and political figures as Spenser and Ralegh, tried to create a new kind of England, one that gave full opportunity to their Renaissance tastes and ambitions. Based on decades of research Front Matter Epigraph Contents List of figures Acknowledgements Introduction Archaeology and Elizabeth’s empire Elizabethan fortifications in Ireland Colonial settlement Vernacular architecture The archaeology of Kilcolman Castle Spenserian architecture in Ireland Conclusions Select bibliography Index Based on decades of research, this volume details how archaeology had revealed the traces of a short-lived, but significant culture which has been, until now, eclipsed ideological conflict between Tudor queens, Hapsburg hegemony and native Irish traditions This book is the first to examine life in the leading province of Elizabeth I's nascent empire, an Ireland of colonizing English farmers and an imported Protestant elite living in fortified manors and medieval castles