Christchurch Cathedral is located in the heart of what was once medieval Dublin, originally the center of Danish controlled Ireland.
The cathedral precincts as they exist today were established by the Danes, but they were built over the top of a native Irish monastery that the Danes raided one too many times before taking over the area completely. The cathedral was begun around 1028 at the behest of Sitric Silkbeard, the King of Dublin, and has been rebuilt over the centuries. After the Norman conquest of Ireland, King Henry II celebrated Christmas here in 1171.
The leader of that first Norman expedition to Ireland in 1169, Richard de Clare, known otherwise as Strongbow, is buried in the church’s nave. The crypt below the cathedral dates to the 12th century and contains many relics from the medieval period.
In my books, the cathedral plays an important role in The Viking Prince and The Irish Bride, two books in The Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mysteries.
Sarah, do any of your books feature Caerphilly Castle and/or any of the de Clare family in depth? I see that your book, Chevalier, deals with the Earl of Gloucester in the 1200s, the time that the Earls of Gloucester were de Clares, but do we get to know them well as characters in the book? I am descended from them. Thanks for your answer! You have an enviable life! ???
Gilbert de Clare, as Earl of Glouceste,r plays a significant role throughout the After Cilmeri series, starting with Daughter of Time. He is a central character in several of the subsequent books. The building of Caerphilly is an important event also towards the end of Daughter of Time.
I realize this is pendantic, so please forgive me, if you will, but the family is the ‘Clare’ family since ‘de’ just means ‘of’ in French. So in the Middle Ages they were known as ‘Clares’ not ‘de Clares’ if they were referred to only by their last name. Gilbert would have been called “Earl Clare”. That’s also why in Ireland, it’s County Clare, not County de Clare. Just saying 🙂