ABBEY
AGE
RANGE:
MEDIEVAL–LATE
MEDIEVAL
An abbey is a
religious house, inhabited by a community of monks and governed by an
abbot. The term ‘abbey’ has been used in Ireland for a monastic
settlement since the 6th century, but with the arrival of the
Continental monastic orders, especially the Cistercians in the 12th
century, the terms ‘abbey’ and ‘abbot’ acquired a new lease of life.
Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth, founded in 1142, was the first Cistercian
monastery to be established in Ireland. In all, the Cistercians
established a total of 36 houses in Ireland in medieval times, including
Jerpoint Abbey (Co. Kilkenny), Boyle Abbey (Co. Roscommon) and Holy
Cross Abbey (Co. Tipperary).
See also
Friary,
Monastic site,
Priory.
Boyle Abbey, Boyle, Co Roscommon. This Cistercian monastery, founded in
the
12th century, reflects the change in architectural style from Romanesque
to Gothic
in its sixty year building history (1160–1220).
