A Place of Community: “Celtic” Iona and Institutional Religion

This paper identifies the concept of a “Celtic” form of spirituality that has developed recently within Christianity in Britain and Ireland, in particular in relation to ancient pilgrimage sites. One of these, the Scottish island of Iona, has always been subject to reinterpretation; but while the resident population and the Iona Community may have contributed to current expectations, they do not necessary identify with them.     

Excavations at the Saxon Monastic Sites of Wearmouth and Jarrow,co. Durham: an Interim Report

THE IMPORTANCE of the archaeological evidence for the horizontal-wheeled mill in Ireland has tended to obscure and inhibit research into the introduction of its counterpart, the vertical- wheeled mill. The latter is normally associated with the coming of the Cistercians and the Anglo-Normans to Ireland, although no-one has ever attempted to explain why this was so. The validity of these claims is re-examined below in the light of recent archaeological evidence from Ireland, where it can now be demonstrated that both horizontal- and vertical-wheeled mills were in use as early as the 7th century A.D.¹     

Beowulf and Archaeology

THIS SHORT CONTRIBUTION discusses an early medieval copper-alloy disc with polychrome enamel from Lincoln (England), held by ‘The Collection: Art and Archaeology in Lincolnshire’, and identified as a brooch dated to the 10th century and of probable continental manufacture. Only four brooches of this type are currently known, three of which were found in England, with a fourth from France. Following discussion of its stylistic characteristics and metallurgical composition, we discuss the implications of the Lincoln find for the understanding of the relationship between the area of the Danelaw and the Continent, highlighting a growing body of evidence for the popularity of continental ‘fashions’ in areas of Scandinavian settlement.     

THE ORIGINS OF PREGNANCY SUPERSTITIONS RELATING TO CONGENITAL MALFORMATIONS

PREGNANCY superstitions relating to abnormal foetal development are common in modern societies. The universality and intensity of such beliefs suggest that their origins might be found in less-modified cultural groups. This study, from Mornington Island, indicates that such beliefs are already highly evolved in Aboriginal peoples. Three types of beliefs are identified — maternal impression, spirit influence and totemic identification. Examples of each type are presented, as they relate to congenital malformation, and reasons advanced for their origin and cultural stability. A knowledge of the origins of such beliefs is of help to the counsellor of parents who have children with congenital malformations.     

The Israeli–Palestinian Road Block: Can Europeans Make a Difference?

Europe needs a resolution of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict for the sake of its own social harmony, and could reconfigure the calculations of the parties by inviting Israel to integrate into Europe's social, economic and security space in return for withdrawal from the West Bank, Gaza and Arab East Jerusalem. The idea would be to capitalize on the drive for separation that prevails in Israel and abandon an unrealistic policy that requires the Arabs to integrate Israel in the region. It is also time for Europe to face up to its own role in the problem and the solution, and demonstrate that anti-Semitism does not influence its policy.     

Getting out of the Iraq trap

The Iraq crisis has been variously defined as a problem of local leadership, regional security, culture clash, arms control, neo–imperialism, transatlantic relations and international legitimacy. The competing definitions reflect the worldviews of different actors with a stake in the outcome of the crisis. Each perspective has validity for its proponent and none of them can be expected to triumph to the exclusion of the others. Consequently, it is argued here, whatever the goals of UN and/or military intervention in Iraq, at the receiving end, the experience will be at odds with what is meant or sought by such intervention. A way to understand the problem and thence to address it is ventured which combines local, regional and international perspectives and calls for a multitiered, multilateral approach to rethinking Iraq and the region. The intention is to take on 'the hawks' who claim that the United States can deliver democracy to client states, challenge their logic and propose an alternative vision that would require all parties, international and local, to take shared responsibility not only for Iraq but for Palestine too.