Deep History, Deepening Collaborations

21 Strand 2 Cultures of Conquest Recovering Voices of the Colonized (1200–1550) Cultures of Conquest democratises intellectual and digital access to rare original documentary treasures held in Ireland and Britain. These medieval manuscripts show the profound transformation that Ireland experienced in the centuries following the Anglo-Norman conquest of the late twelfth century. In this strand of research, historians, conservators, and technologists collaborate closely to identify, translate, and integrate authentic archival evidence, shedding light on a crucial period in Ireland’s legal, institutional, and religious development. Our focus is on Ireland’s experience as a medieval colony from c. 1250 to 1500, examining its documentary and legal cultures, and using the lens of medieval bureaucracy to explore the political and cultural worldviews of Gaelic Ireland and its population. Our researchers are working to provide access to a range of historical records that showcase major diplomatic agreements, uncover ordinary lives, and highlight interconnections between Ireland and Europe. These documents will be made available in translation alongside images of the original records. The original Latin records survive in a range of archives in Ireland, the UK and further afield, including The National Archives (UK), the National Archives, Ireland, the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, and the British Library. They represent a valuable replacement for the many documents that have been lost over the centuries, including those destroyed in the Four Courts in 1922. Team Dr Elizabeth Biggs, Dr Lynn Kilgallon, Dr Peter Crooks Co-Investigators Dr Paul Dryburgh, The National Archives (UK) Sarah Graham, Public Record Office of Northern Ireland The Irish Axeman: Royal clerks used images (often cartoons) as instantly recognisable common reference markers. Other examples include pointing fingers, heads and faces, animals or, for the Welsh in the same volume, of an archer wearing just one shoe. Credit: Liber A , Hibernia, The National Archives (UK), E 36/274.