Using Kieran O Conors Medieval Rural Settlement in...

The Anglo-Norman period in Ireland from c. 1169 - c. 1350, like people from Europe are from different social ranks and origins. The evidence researched for this essay will help us understand and focus on can depictions of what the rural landscape in Munster looked like (OConor 2004, p. 228). In the past of archaeological research the rural landscape in Munster has been neglected for excavating urban areas in Cork, Limerick and Waterford, however, there have been a few publications on rural landscapes in research years yet evidence is still limited (OConor 2004, p. 230). In this essay the features of a manorial landscape in Anglo-Norman and Gaelic-Irish settlements in Munster. The settlements that existed in the countryside of Munster were Anglo-Irish dominated and were from the high medieval period (OConor 2004, p. 231). The land that was conquered by theses settlers was then divided into between them into estates which are called manors (OConor 2004, p. 232). In the centre of these manors resided a manorial lord most often in different types of castles. These castles divide into large masonry castles such as the Adare castle in county Limerick, or smaller masonry castles which break up into hall-houses, mottes and ringworks (OConor 2004, p. 232). These castles also had defensive features made from earth and timber (OConor 2004, p. 232) the majority of castles built by Anglo-Normans were made completely of timber and earth. There is no specific figures of castles