The Reception of the Early Medieval Insular Church (c. 300-1100)
An essay cluster with the journal postmedieval edited by Robyn Stewart & Ellen Gallimore

Proposals are invited for articles in any discipline of up to 8000 words on topics relating to religious medievalism in the reception and study of the early medieval Insular Church of Britain and Ireland. From the English Reformation onwards, the study of the early medieval Insular Church featured in heated debates about papal influence on the earliest Christians in Britain and Ireland. It cannot be overstated how integral the belief in an independent early medieval British Church was to Protestant scholars in Britain until the mid-nineteenth century. Protestantism, with its perceived legacy stretching back to historic figures like Alfred the Great and the foundation of institutions like Parliament, formed a vital aspect of British national identity which was then exported around the world through colonialism. New Protestant outposts in North America, Australasia, Africa, and the Indian subcontinent were intrinsically tied to an early medieval legacy hiding in plain sight. The Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England essentially enshrined anti-Catholicism in popular British identity, which was visible as much in the editing of early medieval texts as in anti-Irish hiring practices at home and abroad. Ireland’s own early medieval Church and scholastic missionaries present another challenge to national history, such as the development of national legends for its patron saints Patrick, Columba, and Brigid of Kildare.

The influence of the Insular Church expanded beyond its geographical and temporal bounds. From the medieval perspective there is a diverse range of peoples, languages, and cultures that co-exist across these islands alongside significant contact with other parts of the Christian world, including North Africa, Gaul (later Francia), Rome, and Constantinople. The early medieval Insular world was in many ways anything but insular. Similarly, with the rise of English, then British, Imperialism and colonialism in the early modern to modern era, the effects of medieval British history were felt around the globe. We welcome essays which examine the post-medieval impact and legacy of the Insular Church, particularly those which seek to challenge the notion that Insular medieval history speaks only to history of the British Isles and Ireland. We encourage essays which deal with the reception of the Insular Church and religion beyond the British Isles, and in particular its use in regions impacted by British colonialism such as North America, Africa, Australasia, and the Indian subcontinent.

We invite essays which will consider how the early medieval Insular Church was received, used, and studied, as well as question how post-medieval religion influenced engagement with early medieval religious materials, places, and persons. This essay cluster will reflect on how religion in medievalism impacts on the conceptualisation of national identity, empire, and politics.

Possible topics may include but are not limited to:
▪ The production of modern editions/translations of early medieval Insular ecclesiastical materials
▪ The post-medieval use of early medieval Insular canon law
▪ The preservation of early medieval Insular church buildings and monuments
▪ The reception of early medieval Insular saints
▪ The reception or influence of the early medieval Insular Church beyond the British Isles and Ireland
▪ Historic or contemporary religious responses to the early medieval Insular Church
▪ Analyses specific to the legacy of early medieval Church in kingdoms or geographic areas such as Ireland
(Éire), Wales (Cymru), the Scottish Kingdoms (Dál Riata; Cruithentuath), Cornwall (Kernow),
Northumbria, and Mercia.
▪ The recreation of early medieval Insular hymns, chants, homiletics,
▪ Apocalypticism, providentialism, and messianic time as alternatives to the linear progression of logical
positivism and narratives of progress

Please submit abstracts of maximum 500 words and a short biography of maximum 150 words to Robyn Stewart (robyn.stewart@york.ac.uk) and Ellen Gallimore (ellen.gallimore@york.ac.uk) by no later than 15 December 2026. Accepted proposals would be notified in January 2027 with first drafts of full articles due by 01 November 2027.