CDR: Re: Treatment of subjugated people (and bagpipes)

[James A. Donald]

     --
 > > When Patrick didn't do what he was told, I'm sure that his masters
 > > made no effort to learn his language.  They just shouted at him
 > > louder in Gaelic.

At 07:17 PM 9/4/2000 +0100, ocorrain at esatclear.ie wrote:
 > Patrick would have spoken Gaelic or Latin as his first language.The
 > Irish would have been no more difficult to understand than a
 > Californian to a Noo Yawker. The upper echelons of Irish society may
 > even have spoken Latin.

  The upper echelons of Irish society did not speak Latin, and the 
inhabitants of England at that time did not speak Gaelic.  Ireland had 
never been conquered by the Romans.  Latin had long since ceased to be the 
language of civilization, and had become merely the language of 
conquerors.  Irish literature at the time was vigorous and thriving, while 
secular Roman literature at the time was non-existent.  The nearest thing 
to literate and readable works produced in Latin at that time were 
evangelical texts created Christian proselytizers.   The greatest 
literature of that era was Augustine's "confessions", which gives you an 
indication of how low the Roman civilization had sunk.   At that time 
people learnt latin only because their masters shouted at them in latin, 
not because there was anything interesting to read or hear.

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          James A. Donald
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