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Prehistoric Annals and Early Medieval Monasticism: Daniel Wilson, James Young Simpson and their Cave Sites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

Kristján Ahronson  and
T M Charles-Edwards
Kristján Ahronson*
Affiliation:
Kristján Ahronson, School of History, Welsh History and Archaeology, Prifysgol Bangor University, Gwynedd LL57 2DG, UK. E-mail: k.ahronson@bangor.ac.uk
T M Charles-Edwards*
Affiliation:
T M Charles-Edwards, Jesus College, Oxford OX1 3DW, UK. E-mail: thomas.charles-edwards@jesus.ox.ac.uk
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Abstract

To deepen our understanding of early medieval exile, the present study characterizes ways in which scholars have studied cave use in Britain and Ireland. As key figures in the history of archaeology, Sir Daniel Wilson and Sir James Young Simpson were crucial for establishing Scotland’s cave sites as subjects for study. Triggered by these two, a century and a half of research has related these places to the flowering of Gaelic monasticism. Nonetheless, fundamental similarities between early Christian communities in Britain and Ireland are at odds with this northern distribution, and bring the question of cave use beyond Scotland sharply into focus. Our paper therefore targets two questions: (1) to what extent were cave sites used by early Christian communities elsewhere in the Insular world; and (2) is our perception of cave use as a particularly north British phenomenon skewed by the long history of Scottish interest in the topic?

Résumé

Dans le but de mieux comprendre nos pensées à propos de l’exil au début du moyen-âge, cette étude caractérise des méthodes employées par les érudits pour étudier l’occupation des grottes en Grande-Bretagne et en Irlande. Etant donné qu’ils étaient des personnages clés de l’histoire de l’archéologie, le rôle de Sir Daniel Wilson et de Sir James Young Simpson fut d’une importance cruciale pour l’établissement des grottes en Écosse comme sujets d’étude. Lancées par ces deux hommes, des recherches d’un siècle et demi ont associé ces sites à l’épanouissement du monachisme gaélique. Néanmoins, les similarités fondamentales entre les premières communautés chrétiennes dans la Grande-Bretagne et l’Irlande ne concordent pas avec cette attribution septentrionale et nous amènent à nous concentrer sur la question de l’occupation des grottes au-delà de l’Écosse. Par conséquent, notre communication cible deux questions : 1) à quel point ces grottes avaient-elles été occupées par les premières communautés chrétiennes dans d’autres parties du monde insulaire; et 2) notre perception de l’occupation des grottes en termes de phénomène particulier au Nord de la Grande-Bretagne a-t-elle été déformée par le fait que ce sujet intéresse les Écossais depuis longtemps?

Zusammenfassung

In dieses Studie werden die Methoden von Wissenschaftlern unter die Lupe genommen, die die Siedlung von Höhlen im Großbritannien und Irland untersucht haben, um unser Verständnis vom frühmittelalterichem Exil zu erweitern. Die wichtigsten Schlüsselfiguren in der Geschichte der Archäologie waren Sir Daniel Wilson und Sir James Young Simpson, beide Forscher waren ausschlaggebend bei der Erkenntnis von schottischen Höhlen als Forschungsobjekte. Diese beiden haben den Anstoß gegeben, daß nach über anderthalb jahrhundert langen Forschungsarbeiten erkannt wurde, daß diese Plätze dem gälischem Mönchswesen zugehörig sind. Trotzdem stehen die fundamentalen Gemeinsamkeiten der frühchristlichen Gemeinschaften aus dem Großbritannien und Irland mit dieser für den Norden typischen Siedlungsverteilung im Konflikt, und stellen deshalb die Nutzung von Höhlen außerhalb Schottlands in den Brennpunkt. Diese Abhandlung hat deshalb zwei Ziele: (1) Inwieweit wurden Höhlen von frühchristlichen Gemeinschaften im übrigen Inselreich benutzt; und (2) ist unsere Vorstellung von der Siedlung von Höhlen als ein typisches nördliches Phänomen durch die lange schottische Forschungsgeschichte geprägt?

Type
Articles
Information
The Antiquaries Journal , Volume 90 , September 2010 , pp. 455 - 466
Copyright
Copyright © The Society of Antiquaries of London 2010

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