I thought members might be interested in this article on Ireland's frontier with the Roman Empire. It's a handy summing up and very much echoes my own thoughts on the subject.
https://www.academia.edu/33277327/Ireland_in_Late_Antiquity_A_Forgotten_Frontier?auto=download
good find Stephen. I also ascribe to this point of view. I am still chewing my way through Charles Edward's book Wales and the Britons and there is a lot of common ground in there re the Irish interactions
Glad you found it interesting. I've been chewing it over for years now and I think we might be able to construct a narrative. I like what Charles-Edwards has done. Also I think we might benefit by applying some of Peter Heather's thinking about other frontiers.
I have found the linguistic stuff in C-E's book really interesting (if a little over my head at times!) and the interaction between British, British Latin, Irish and English (he does make the point that the English was a 'frontier' language different from Germanic mother tongues on the continent). The Irish interactions are especially interesting and one that I have neglected a little in the past
I'm starting to think about Cairenn with the curly black hair, mother of Níall of the Nine Hostages. Her name is Romano British and it's often assumed she was a captive minor wife. This is supported by the story of her treatment by the chief wife which consists of the sort of malice we might expect from a quick look at the marriage laws.
However all is not what it seems, the chief wife in this case is a divinity and and Cairenn is a British royal. Allowing for Niall's assumption of the kingship she was more likely than not the chief wife. Keating writing much later, but with material lost to us, calls her the daughter of the British King.
If we have links at various levels between Britannia and Ireland who handled the day to day processes involved? And did such beneficial contacts lead to inter-dynastic weddings as Cairenn's story suggests?
undoubtedly. The more I read about the Irish connections in Wales and Scotland the more I am convinced that the interactions were far reaching and commonplace