The Irish National Museum

A few of us went to the Irish National Museum (the Archeology branch, at least) on Sunday. I tried to take pictures, but they wouldn't let me, so I have no pictures of the bog bodies. These bodies were found in various bogs in Ireland. They generally date to the Bronze Age, but are extremely well preserved, as in they still have hair and fingernails attached. Many of them seem to have been thrown into the bogs as sacrifices.

Additionally, the museum has a huge Neolithic collection, a lot of Christian artifacts, and a great set of displays on Viking and medieval life in Ireland. One of the interactive displays allows the user to see the roots of various Irish names. I looked up 'Burke', the maiden name of my great-grandmother. The surname 'Burke' comes from a family of Normans, the 'de Burgos', who settled in Ireland with the rest of the Anglo-Normans starting in 1169.

Homework

In the course of my reading for my art history class, I discovered the existence of the Book of Saint Chad. It is an illuminated manuscript, like the Book of Kells.

From Bruce Arnold's Irish Art: A Concise History, pg. 24:

The Book of Saint Chad, preserved now in Lichfield Cathedral, is an example of the 'wandering' manuscript. Its place of origin is unknown, and the earliest mention of its movements is contained in some notes in Welsh on the manuscript itself, recording that it was exchanged for a horse, and subsequently given to Saint Teliau and placed in the monastery of Llandaff, near the Bristol Channel.

The book goes on from there for another page. But I just keep giggling about the thought of a saint named Chad. So, I did a little investigation about the origins of the name, 'Chad', as well. It's a modern spelling of the Old English name, 'Ceadda', a 7th-century saint.

So, now you know.

I've also been reading The Butcher Boy, by Patrick McCabe. Honestly, I'm not enjoying it too much. It's stream-of-consciousness, which I have never really liked.

In Conclusion

I have class for the rest of the week, and I really ought to go grocery shopping as well. I think our RA, Patricia, is also planning to meet with us for a little while tonight. That's about it for tonight.