Ireland Trip: Part 36: King John's Castle Museum & Brehon Law

This is part 36 of our Ireland Trip, where we drove to the city of Limerick and visited King John's Castle Museum. This was truly one of the best-ever castle visits. It was in the ruins of a castle that also housed a new museum. The outlying castle wall remained in place as did part of the original castle. A new museum was built inside that had historic displays, short videos, lots of amazing history, and you even got to walk under the castle and see an archeological dig that uncovered different walls, and outlines of rooms.
   King John's Castle museum was by far one of the best museum-type attraction we've ever visited. So, come along with us as we take you through some of the castle!

Tom as a Viking in King John's Castle

WHAT IS KING JOHN'S CASTLE?  It's a 13th-century castle located on King's Island in Limerick, Ireland, next to the River Shannon. 

Rob as a Knight in King John's Castle!

  The site of the castle actually dates back to 922 when the Vikings lived there. The castle was built on that old Viking site by order of King John in 1200. It's called one of the best preserved Norman castles in Europe, the walls, towers and fortifications remain today.  The remains of a Viking settlement were uncovered during archaeological excavations at the site in 1900 - which you can see on a walk under the castle museum! 
 

  WHAT IS BREHON LAW? - Early Irish law, also called Brehon law, comprised the statutes which governed everyday life in Early Medieval Ireland. What's interesting is that when it comes to women's rights it was much more modern and progressive than any other law at the time. In fact, the U.S. didn't "catch up to it until the 1900s.

Brehon law provided women equality!

  They were partially eclipsed by the Norman invasion of 1169, but underwent a resurgence in the 13th century and until the 17th century, over the majority of the island, survived into Early Modern Ireland in parallel with English law. Some of these laws conflicted with canon law of the Catholic church. The laws were a civil rather than a criminal code, concerned with the payment of compensation for harm done and the regulation of property, inheritance and contracts; the concept of state-administered punishment for crime was foreign to Ireland's early jurists.

model of what the castle and town looked like

  WOMEN'S RIGHTS: Women could divorce and they also had property rights under this ancient Irish law. It appears that once canon law from the church took over, it removed a lot of women's rights and brought society went backward. It took 500 years to reclaim those rights for women.  

NEXT: KING JOHN'S CASTLE TIES TO HENRY VIII

VIDEO FROM INSIDE THE CASTLE WALLS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJliv_7psCc
 

NEXT: EXPLORING MORE OF KING JOHN'S CASTLE!