Ireland's Role in Preserving Classic History

Abstract: A 5 page paper discussing the similarities and differences between Vogt's "Decline of Rome" and Cahill's "How the Irish Saved Civilization." In many ways, these works describe differing pictures of loyalty - one to a system in which people lived; the other to a system in which people no longer needed to live. They also are both about transition. The Roman empire had fallen into an irreversible, inexorable slide about which it appeared nothing could be done. Neither could the Europe resulting from Rome's eventual fall do anything about the state in which it found itself, but Cahill credits Irish monks with ultimately saving Western civilization by recording Rome's history while also interjecting their own values. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

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Catagory: England (Before 1700)

Subcatagory: Western Civilization

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