"The foundations of modern knowledge--philosophy, math, astronomy, geography--were laid by the Greeks, whose ideas were written on scrolls and stored in libraries across the Mediterranean and beyond. But as the vast Roman Empire disintegrated, so did appreciation of these precious texts. Christianity cast a shadow over so-called pagan thought, books were burned, and the library of Alexandria, the greatest repository of classical knowledge, was destroyed....

"From the fall of Rome to the rise of Charlemagne -- the "dark ages" -- learning, scholarship, and culture disappeared from the European continent. The great heritage of Western civilization -- from the Greek and Roman classics to Jewish and Christian works -- would have been utterly lost were it not for the holy men and women of the unconquered Ireland. In this delightful and illuminating look into a crucial but little-known "hinge" of history, Thomas...

Presents an accessible and revealing portrait of medieval times. As Europe reaches intellectual stagnation and decline, Ireland bursts forth as a vigourous haven of scholarship.--