Origins
Ardbraccan originated as a place of Christian worship under St. Breacain (also spelt St. Braccan - d.650 AD ) in the 7th century. Its name in the Irish language comes directly from the saint's name: Ard Breacain, namely the height or Hill of Braccan. On this high point, a monastery and a succession of churches were built, each larger than the last to accommodate the growing number of religious worshippers. The most famous was a large circular church known as the Daimhliag ("stone house"), which was burned to the ground by Viking attackers in the 12th century. Contemporary records say that one thousand people were in the church, seeking protection from the invaders, at the time. According to the historical tract Cogad Gaedel re Gallaib, Ardbraccan was the site of a victory of the Uí Néill over the Vikings sometime in the mid-9th century.
Read more about this topic: Ardbraccan
Famous quotes containing the word origins:
“Lucretius
Sings his great theory of natural origins and of wise conduct; Plato
smiling carves dreams, bright cells
Of incorruptible wax to hive the Greek honey.”
—Robinson Jeffers (1887–1962)
“The settlement of America had its origins in the unsettlement of Europe. America came into existence when the European was already so distant from the ancient ideas and ways of his birthplace that the whole span of the Atlantic did not widen the gulf.”
—Lewis Mumford (1895–1990)
“The origins of clothing are not practical. They are mystical and erotic. The primitive man in the wolf-pelt was not keeping dry; he was saying: “Look what I killed. Aren’t I the best?””
—Katharine Hamnett (b. 1948)