“I demurred; much of our mythology and lore was indeed preserved in illuminated manuscripts written in Irish monasteries in the Middle Ages. “Maybe,” she said, “but is the female lore there? And what about the herbal lore? And the knowledge of magic?”

I admitted very little of this type of material had survived. But Lewis Cardinal interrupted with a challenge. ‘How would you know?’ he said. I said I was familiar with the contents of many of the major manuscripts, and that the type of knowledge Jo-Ann was referring to simply wasn’t there. He gave a knowing smile and nodded to Jerry, who explained that in old cultures such knowledge would generally not have been revealed to the uninitiated. The information would have been shared only with those who it was deemed deserved to know it, and they would have preserved it among themselves.”

#Ireland #IrishSpirituality #IndigenousKnowledges #Irish

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/2022/11/19/manchan-mangan-indigenous-people-ireland-and-guardians-of-old-lore/