As the author herself points out, the social and cultural history of medieval Ireland is a much neglected topic. Recent scholarship has begun to redress this imbalance and this monograph is another step towards balance. This work provides both an excellent introduction to the medieval Irish customs of hospitality and a thorough discussion of a number of facets of this custom. This work also offers important insights and considerable context for topics which have long been discussed by political historians.
Hospitality in medieval Ireland was more than just the courteous treatment of guests (as the modern usage suggests). It covered a variety of situations from the unknown traveller seeking shelter for the night to a lord's right to billet troops on his vassals or to, himself, stay with them while making a circuit of his lands. Nor was hospitality only a matter of custom: strict guidelines concerning the duties of a host towards guests (depending on their rank and profession) were laid out in Irish law along with harsh penalties for failure to abide by them.
This volume sets out to address hospitality from a number of angles. The author addresses the classes of travellers who were entitled to hospitality and discusses what each grade could expect in terms of food, lodging and treatment as well as discussing who was required to supply hospitality and the particular demands placed on certain groups such as religious institutions, professional guesthouse keepers and the learned classes. She also addresses the demands hospitality placed on households and institutions of varying means. Additionally, she explores the reasons this rigid system of hospitality was in place as well as the advantages which the hospitable host could accrue through his actions.
These issues are considered over a wide chronological span which actually extends beyond the time frame indicated in the title. The author draws on seventh- and eighth-century law texts as well as a variety of sixteenth century evidence, particularly firsthand accounts of Irish hospitality. Overall, the author handles her expansive time frame well. She keeps the reader informed regarding what portion of this chronological range is under discussion and usually makes clear the dating of the evidence she is utilising but there are points, particularly in Chapter 2, when the time frame under discussion is less defined.
In the introduction, the author explains the layout of the work and makes reference to the scant secondary literature on this topic. She also includes a brief discussion of the scholarly work and methodologies which informed her own research methods. The first chapter examines the categories of source material used by the author. She provides information on the origins and content of these categories, with particular reference to what each type of source offers to the discussion of hospitality. However, there is no discussion of the limitations and problems associated with each class of document. While these issues are addressed later, their inclusion in this chapter could have made it an even more useful resource for students of hospitality. The second chapter serves as a brief introduction to hospitality as it was practised in Ireland and discusses the "recipients of medieval Ireland's hospitality". (31) This chapter introduces the reader to the breadth of customs that come under the mantle of 'hospitality'. It is worth noting that one aspect of Irish hospitality which has received considerable attention from political historians (often without an understanding for the context) comes under discussion here: a form of obligatory hospitality adopted by the Anglo-Irish under the name 'coigne and livery'. In the third chapter, the author makes good use of the limited source material to briefly discuss hospitality as it affected the 'ordinary householders'.
Chapter four deals with hospitality and the nobility. This chapter offers considerable insight into the role of hospitality in Irish politics with particular attention given to what nobles could hope to achieve or gain through hospitality, though discussion of the latter point does prove repetitive in places. The role of noble women in hospitality is also discussed. The fifth chapter deals with guesthouse-keepers. The author divides these individuals into three groups: "Hospitallers, Churchmen and Professional Learned Men". (120) The chapter is sharply divided into three sections and each of these groups is discussed individually. The author notes in this chapter that there seems to be a decline in hospitallers following the Anglo-Norman invasion but gives no conjecture on the reason. Unfortunately this is the only comment on the changes (or lack thereof?) wrought by the Anglo-Norman invasion on the custom of hospitality in Ireland. The sixth and final chapter primarily addresses the church's philosophy and teaching on hospitality but there is some overlap with the previous chapter as it also moves into the application of this philosophy.
Unfortunately, the volume does not end strongly. There are no concluding remarks and the volume ends with an appendix which contains eleven entries on specific aspects of hospitality including topics such as reception, food and drink, sleeping arrangements and accommodation of guests which might have been integrated into the main text. Nevertheless, this volume constitutes a considerable contribution to the historiography of medieval Ireland and provides a launching point for continued research into hospitality in medieval Ireland. It also contributes to our understanding of the behaviour of Irish magnates (and Anglo-Irish magnates in the later period) and their relationship with their clients/tenants as well as to a wider understanding of the culture and society of medieval Ireland.