Kingship represents at once the core institution and central problem of early medieval Ireland and its study. Yet, for the most part the institution of kingship tends to be portrayed as backward and somewhat isolated from normative European developments in the first millennium AD. This talk explores the long term development of strategies of rulership and governance in early medieval Ireland within a wider context, whilst detailing the evolution of concepts of kingdoms and territory related to same. It will examine a number of case study royal landscapes and kingdoms to detail wider societal and political developments.

Dr Patrick Gleeson is Deputy Head of the School of Natural and Built Environment at QUB, where he lectures in Archaeology and researches the later prehistoric, medieval and historical archaeology of Europe. He was awarded a Philip Leverhulme Prize in 2022 for this work, recognising the international impact of his research. He is a member of the Young Academy of Ireland (RIA), the Historic Monuments Council of Northern Ireland, and the Standing Committee for Archaeology of the Royal Irish Academy. His current research focus is the archaeology of cult, rulership, kingdoms and governance in the first millennium AD of northern Europe; and novel approaches to landscape and social-ecological change, including developing chronologies for change for the recent past (1700–). His many publications include Landscapes of kingship in early medieval Ireland, AD 400–1150 (Four Courts, 2025).

This seminar will be available in hybrid format - in-person in 27 University Square 01/003 and online via Teams.