And west of Athens in the late 80s and 1990s…
One of my favorite songs is about the wren boys.
I looked the singer up…
Wow!
Just how heavily Irish music was influenced by North African music (from where the original monks that brought Christianity to Ireland most likely came - Patrick being by way of an imperialist appropriation) is debated in Irish musicology. I’ve read a few article over the decades. It really was a “more research is needed” topic though. Must look into it to see are there any developments in the field.
And thanks @anon87143080 I wasn’t aware of him. Ireland has long been stealing Londoners to enrich our culture! I only vaguely remember the ran boys (how it’s pronounced) from visiting at Christmas in darkest rural Cavan.
I saw socially distanced mummery on the telly the other day though.
Honestly, I can see that as being an area of scholarly interest for me in a different life! I’m firmly rooted in modern historiography, but one thing that does interest me in ancient history is just how interconnected people actually were back then. I was recently wondering about monasticism and if the ultimate roots for that were in India and spread to the Mediterranean region, where Christian monks eventually picked it up.
Oh Dogger how your name has fallen…
Not sure about how this will go in Philly in a few days, but there’s a lot of controversy on the subject:
