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Maps show distribution of wealth in 14th-century Ireland

They suggest a more complex Gaelic economy than often believed.

i9wfDv5w Christopher Chevallier TCD TCD

RESEARCHERS FROM TRINITY College Dublin have produced a series of maps that illustrate the distribution of wealth in medieval Ireland.

The maps are based on early 14th-century papal taxation sources and use parish incomes as proxies for local wealth around the year 1300.

The work, led by Christopher Chevallier, a PhD researcher in Geography at TCD, and supervised by Dr Mark Hennessy, also quantifies the damage inflicted by the Great European Famine (1315-1317) and the impact of the Bruce Invasion (1315-1318, when Edward Bruce of Scotland claimed the High Kingship of Ireland).

The 700th anniversary of the Battle of Faughart, the final clash of the invasion, will take place in October.

Chevallier said the documents he analysed, from archives in Northern Ireland, England, Paris and the Vatican, “offer a unique opportunity to map and quantify the economy of medieval Ireland; superseding the cultural, political and economic divides of the island”.

He said there is “potential to create an economic benchmark comparable to the Domesday Book” (a record of the ‘Great Survey’ of much of England and Wales ordered by King William the Conqueror in 1086).

“Additionally, the sources are extremely well situated as they capture the English colony at its peak and before its 14th-century decline.

“The thesis itself is ideal for combining historical and natural sciences with geostatistics, helping to refine and create new historical geography methods,” Chevallier stated.

sh_KUNdw Map A reflects the economic state of Connacht before the invasion TCD TCD

fFEbV57A Map B focuses on county Clare after the invasion TCD TCD

sNuJur4Q Map C reflects parish density before the invasion TCD TCD

The main results of the research include the following:

The colony can be viewed as a network of urban cores surrounded by hinterlands. It was largely situated upon soils with the greatest utility for intensive agriculture. This contributed to the high density and level of wealth found in colonial domains.

In contrast, Gaelic areas were generally defined by isolated parishes, low tiers of wealth, and environmental constraints such as mountainous terrain and soils suited for raising livestock.

Dublin’s economic hinterland was the most expansive and extended as far west as Mullingar, whereas Kilkenny’s hinterland was the densest.

The colony largely failed to make an economic impact in Connacht, with the notable exception of the area surrounding Galway, Athenry and Loughrea. There was also a pocket of wealth in northern Mayo controlled by the MacWilliam Burkes and the O’Dowda families.

Dioceses 

Preliminary analysis between pre- and post-invasion figures indicates that the Diocese of Ossory was depreciated by 47%, the Diocese of Emly by 24%, the Diocese of Cork by 30% and the Diocese of Ross by 10%.

The Diocese of Dublin was especially devastated, with an average depreciation of 68%, and nearly half of the parishes rendered too damaged to be revalued.

The post-invasion data shows that Gaelic Irish parishes weren’t uniformly impoverished. Rather, areas such as Thomond (which was ruled by the powerful Ó Briain dynasty) showed very high levels of wealth, suggesting a more complex Gaelic economy than often believed.

Nevertheless, even after the devastation of the Bruce Invasion and Great European Famine, the colonial areas were still generally outperforming independent Gaelic areas.

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    Mute cosmological
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    Apr 24th 2015, 12:37 PM

    What a nightmare for the kid, not to mention the family.

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    Mute Angry Squirrel
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    Apr 24th 2015, 12:45 PM

    Yep I would be suing the SXxT out of the lot of them if it was my daughter.

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    Mute dstaffx
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    Apr 24th 2015, 12:50 PM

    Sue sue sue! Lets get money!
    There are better things in life than money.

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    Mute Gonzo Doyle
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    Apr 24th 2015, 12:52 PM

    Strange the way Glen has stopped commenting on every single story since he is in line for comment of the week. He will have his Sunday best on at 11am tomorrow for the announcement.

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    Mute cosmological
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    Apr 24th 2015, 12:59 PM

    Wot’s this Gonzo obsession with Glen, are you a secret admirer?

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    Mute Conor Cullen
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    Apr 24th 2015, 1:08 PM

    Yeah and when you have loads of money you can buy those things!

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    Mute Lolo
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    Apr 24th 2015, 1:13 PM

    Well the compensation money would come in handy for all the therapy the poor kid will probably need!

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    Mute Amy gaffney
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    Apr 24th 2015, 1:51 PM

    Maybe suing them would make them think twice before making such a monumental cock up again. That Garcia one had her own daughter taken away and then done the same thing to someone else and refuses to take responsibility for it. There’s a special kind of selfish nastiness in that.

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    Mute ohaimhirghin
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    Apr 24th 2015, 2:32 PM

    Eggs?

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    Mute Alan Wiley
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    Apr 24th 2015, 12:39 PM

    It’s not often Mexicans have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the U.S.

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    Mute Living Abroad
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    Apr 24th 2015, 5:52 PM

    That supposed to be funny? idiot

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    Mute Barney r
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    Apr 25th 2015, 11:17 AM

    For the women smuggled into the sex trade and the hundreds that die crossing the border, thats hilarious

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    Mute John
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    Apr 24th 2015, 1:46 PM

    Remember when that happened here in Ireland because some curtain twitcher thought that a Romanian child didn’t look enough like her parents. Just last year

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    Mute Patrick Murphy
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    Apr 24th 2015, 2:04 PM

    And most of the commentators on the journal thought it was ok for the gardai to do it.

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    Mute Paul Roche
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    Apr 24th 2015, 2:19 PM

    Once might have been forgivable, but twice?

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    Mute Sinead
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    Apr 24th 2015, 12:56 PM

    I really just don’t understand how this could happen? How could the woman who took her not see that the girl is not her daughter? And the the girl has a huge family all testifying who she is! Fairly dodgy carry on.

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    Mute Ciarán Masterson
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    Apr 24th 2015, 12:43 PM

    Why didn’t Dorotea Garcia ask the Mexican authorities to test a sample of Alondra’s DNA before the court hearing took place? How could she not have thought of the possibility that the girl was not her daughter?

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    Mute Avina Laaf
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    Apr 24th 2015, 6:02 PM

    She was probably desperate, but any right-thinking neutral would see this as the most appropriate way to approach the situation, even if the kid had to be taken into temporary foster care whilst awaiting results.

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    Mute Jane Sacrey
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    Apr 24th 2015, 1:09 PM

    Holy cow .. They could have been sending her to her death or worse … I don’t understand in this day and age with so much at the courts disposal that they did not do the DNA test before shipping her off !!!!!!!

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    Mute John Ryan
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    Apr 24th 2015, 8:04 PM

    US law enforcement wave their big dick and the Mexicans bend over is how this works.

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    Mute ah_enda
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    Apr 24th 2015, 12:47 PM

    Absolutely disgraceful…

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    Mute Thomas Maher
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    Apr 24th 2015, 12:50 PM

    Mad ted

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    Mute Jamie McCormack
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    Apr 24th 2015, 1:04 PM

    Not the Momma!

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    Mute Jamie McCormack
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    Apr 24th 2015, 10:26 PM
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    Mute Dennis Collins
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    Apr 24th 2015, 4:25 PM

    The judge claims that she could not order a DNA test as it is not her job to investigate, rather just to judge. If she felt the evidence was insufficient, what would have been wrong with simply dismissing it until more satisfactory evidence was presented. A lot of questions need to be answered by this judge.

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    Mute Sheik Yahbouti
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    Apr 24th 2015, 3:22 PM

    Utterly disgraceful.

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    Mute Shane Russell
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    Apr 24th 2015, 4:06 PM

    That is so messed up.

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    Mute Vicko Aguilar
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    Apr 24th 2015, 4:40 PM

    It’s embarrassing to see this kind of stupidity! I claim all the children from Mexico are mind and the rotten judge say yes they r yours you can take them now. Poor parents! I can’t imagine the law in that country!!

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    Mute Vinny Wallace
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    Apr 24th 2015, 4:51 PM

    Did no one have a bit of sense even at border control there was no real eveidence this woman was the mother of the child. Did no one say hang on a sec go get DNA evidence then you can come into the country.

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    Mute Paul Roche
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    Apr 24th 2015, 2:17 PM

    The best interests of the child in action.

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    Mute Oisín Tarrant
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    Apr 24th 2015, 6:12 PM

    The father who really took Dorotea Garcias daughter has to have seen this happening.

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    Mute Ewan O'Doherty
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    Apr 26th 2015, 8:16 AM

    Even if Alondra Lunez’ family attempt to sue the authorities (which, in a still very corrupt Mexico, one wonders if ‘authorities’ is a misnomer) how far would they get? To do something like that to a terrified young girl, all I can say is that I am totally disgusted

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