Cultural exchange and identity in late medieval Ireland: the English and Irish of the four obedient shires - 109

Irish inhabitants of the 'four obedient shires' - a term commonly used to describe the region at the heart of the English colony in the later Middle Ages - were significantly anglicised, taking on English names, dress, and even legal status.

However, the processes of cultural exchange went both ways.

This study examines the nature of interactions between English and Irish neighbours in the four shires, taking into account the complex tensions between assimilation and the preservation of distinct ethnic identities and exploring how the common colonial rhetoric of the Irish as an 'enemy' co-existed with the daily reality of alliance, intermarriage, and accommodation.