Celtic tradition in liturgical practice: The Irish synthesis.
Item
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Title
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Celtic tradition in liturgical practice: The Irish synthesis.
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Identifier
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AAI9830727
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identifier
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9830727
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Creator
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Justin, Gale.
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Contributor
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Advisers: Howard L. Adelson | Thomas Kessner
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Date
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1998
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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History, Medieval | Literature, Medieval | History, Church
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Abstract
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This dissertation is an investigation of the foundation of the Irish synthesis, as understood through the challenges to it in the seventh-century tonsure controversy. It demonstrates that: (1) the nature and context of Irish Christianity differed from the orthodoxy of Roman Christianity and built upon Celtic tradition through a process of accretion, and (2) Irish tonsure served to signal Irish Christian identity, deriving symbolism through that process of accretion, and (3) this instigated the tonsure controversy with those who did not practice the Irish form of Christianity.;This dissertation will examine the tonsure controversy specifically from the point of view of the Irish Christians. Of immediate attention in this First Chapter, Irish Tonsure, is how the Irish saw themselves as a group and why it was so important for them to hold onto their singular practice.;From the perspective of the Church of Rome, Irish/British practice was tolerated, even encouraged by the policies of Gregory I, but fell into disfavor and was regarded more like heterodoxy over time. This shift was played out in the seventh-century and is discussed in my Second Chapter, Tonsure Controversy.;In my Third Chapter, Tonsure within Irish Christianity, I discuss the nature and context of Irish Christianity which engendered the Irish synthesis.;Essential to this study are the concepts of tradition ethnicity, and symbolism, because the meeting of Roman Christianity and Irish Christianity was also a meeting of a written tradition with an oral tradition, two distinct systems of symbolism and two distinct ethnic groups.;There was a unique relationship between the pre-Christian past and Insular Christianity. It was expressed in Hiberno-Saxon culture and was facilitated by the Irish synthesis. One element of the Irish synthesis was native tradition. That tradition carried with it a group identity. Upon becoming Christian, the Irish had to reinforce their identity, which they did by creating boundaries. The Irish practice of tonsure was used to maintain their ethnic boundary.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
