New
New
Year 5

The growth of Irish monasteries

I can describe how the monasteries of Ireland grew in importance.

New
New
Year 5

The growth of Irish monasteries

I can describe how the monasteries of Ireland grew in importance.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. By the early 6th century, monasteries began to be set up across Ireland.
  2. At first, these were meant as places for Christians to retreat to and dedicate their lives to God.
  3. They were often in remote, hard to reach places like the island of Skellig Michael.
  4. Many monasteries, though, attracted the patronage of kings and the rich and grew in both size and importance.
  5. They were centres for the teaching of poetry, literature, and the arts and produced manuscripts like the Book of Kells.

Keywords

  • Monastery - a monastery is a building lived in by a community of monks who follow religious vows

  • Patronage - patronage is the support given by a person to another person, organisation or cause, usually involving money

  • Monk - a monk is a member of a community of men living under religious vows

Common misconception

Pupils may think monasteries were only a place for prayer.

Monasteries were places for learning and culture where people could pray, study the bible and create things.

Explore images of the different monasteries in Ireland and the isolated places they can be found.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
St Patrick was born in ...
Correct Answer: Britain
Q2.
Who was Patrick taken prisoner by?
Irish traders
Correct answer: Irish raiders
Irish jewellers
Q3.
After receiving a vision from an angel, Patrick became a ...
Correct Answer: missionary
Q4.
Patrick was in danger of becoming a when he tried to convert the Irish kings.
Correct Answer: martyr
Q5.
Put these events into chronological order.
1 - Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire and across Europe.
2 - Christianity reached Ireland through contact with Roman Britain.
3 - Some people in Ireland had become Christian by the early 5th century.
4 - When Christianity declined in Britain, it continued to grow stronger in Ireland.
Q6.
Put these events from St Patrick's life into chronological order.
1 - St Patrick was kidnapped and was forced to be a shepherd.
2 - St Patrick became a Christian missionary after he saw visions.
3 - St Patrick travelled back to Ireland to convert people to Christianity.
4 - He risked becoming a martyr when he preached to the kings of north-east Ireland.
5 - St Patrick wrote about his life in his 'Confession'.

6 Questions

Q1.
Monasteries were built in places.
Correct Answer: isolated, remote, quiet
Q2.
Monasteries were built across Ireland by the ...
4th century
Correct answer: 5th century
6th century
Q3.
Why did the monks choose isolated places to build the monasteries?
It was easier to build there.
They were beautiful.
Correct answer: They could pray without distraction.
Q4.
Which of these happened at the monasteries?
Correct answer: studying the Bible
Correct answer: copying manuscripts
baking cakes
Correct answer: praying
Q5.
The monks would make beautiful for the manuscripts.
Correct Answer: covers, front covers, book covers
Q6.
What is patronage?
Correct answer: the support given by a person to another person, organisation or cause
a member of a community of men living under religious vows
a building lived in by a community of monks

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