By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Pew PatriotsPew PatriotsPew Patriots
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Reading: Museum unveils 1,300-year-old monk doodles revealing surprising complaints about hangovers and weather
Share
Font ResizerAa
Pew PatriotsPew Patriots
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Search
  • Home
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Guns and Gear
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
Museum unveils 1,300-year-old monk doodles revealing surprising complaints about hangovers and weather
News

Museum unveils 1,300-year-old monk doodles revealing surprising complaints about hangovers and weather

Jimmie Dempsey
Last updated: July 22, 2025 9:07 am
Jimmie Dempsey Published July 22, 2025
Share
SHARE

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Newly displayed 1,300-year-old doodles suggest that medieval monastic life wasn’t all about solemn chants and holy scripture.

Now on view at the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, the scribbles are part of the “Words on the Wave: Ireland and St. Gallen in Early Medieval Europe” exhibit until October 24.

In a release shared with Fox News Digital, the museum confirmed that the medieval-focused exhibition features over 100 objects and free admission for visitors.

1,000-YEAR-OLD MEDIEVAL SWORD EMERGES FROM DUTCH RIVER AFTER CHANCE DISCOVERY: ‘BARELY CORRODED’

Seventeen ancient manuscripts, on loan from Switzerland’s seventh-century Abbey Library of St. Gall, will be on view for visitors.

One of the exhibit’s most curious books is called Priscian’s Institutiones Grammaticae, which contains “thousands of scribbles in the margins by monks in the Old Irish language,” according to the museum.

Though the book was written in the sixth century, the doodles were penned most likely by northern Irish monks in the 850s.

“[They] offer us a rare and very real glimpse into the daily lives and personalities of early medieval Irish monks.”

“It was probably written in the monasteries of Nendrum or Bangor in the North of Ireland but was on the Continent within a decade of being written,” the press release noted.

RARE 1,600-YEAR-OLD MOSAIC FROM CHRISTIAN MONASTERY UNVEILED AFTER CENTURIES OF OBSCURITY

The museum also said the books feature “witty banter” – but you’d need to understand Old Irish to get the jokes.

Curator Matthew Seaver shared some of the highlights of the doodles with The Guardian. One monk wrote that he was “ale-killed” — or having a hangover. 

Matthew Seaver (seen left) and Maeve Sikora smiling at book

Other friars scribbled complaints about cold weather and poor-quality materials.

“New parchment, bad ink. O I say nothing more,” one humorous scribbling reveals.

In another entry, a monk worried about a Viking raid. The writing reads, “Bitter is the wind tonight, it tosses the ocean’s white hair: I fear not the coursing of a clear sea by the fierce heroes from Lothlend.”

Close-up of scribbles

Seaver noted that the scribbles are “full of human voices, humor, frustration and resilience.”

“[They] offer us a rare and very real glimpse into the daily lives and personalities of early medieval Irish monks,” the historian said.

For more Lifestyle articles, visit foxnews.com/lifestyle

Also on display is an 8th-century brooch, a Viking sword and Ireland’s oldest and largest container of sacred books, called the Lough Kinale Book Shrine.

In a statement, NMI chair Cathal O’Donoghue said he was “honored to be entrusted with such a significant loan.”

Split image of manuscript, curators at museum

“This is the most significant exhibition at the National Museum, Kildare Street in decades,” O’Donoghue said.

.

“The exhibition of the manuscripts provides a unique context for the display of artifacts from our own collection, many of which have recently been conserved and are on public display for the first time.”

Read the full article here

You Might Also Like

Comedian Andrew Santino says he went to ‘war’ with Disney execs over censored jokes

Trump says Harvard’s foreign students are from countries paying ‘nothing’ for their education

Rachel Campos-Duffy teaches Trump to say ‘Make America Great Again’ in Spanish

Julie Banderas’ latest children’s book aims to teach critical lesson because ‘respect is at an all-time low’

Democrats, struggling for oxygen, blame the media – is AOC the answer?

Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

We Recommend
‘Getting desperate’: Governor debate gets personal after Democrat is mocked for cheating scandal
News

‘Getting desperate’: Governor debate gets personal after Democrat is mocked for cheating scandal

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey October 9, 2025
Pro Shop: Handloading Helpers
Cruise missiles are the present and future of warfare
Hamas accepts Trump peace plan ending war in Gaza and more top headlines
Ardently pro-Israel Dem Sen. John Fetterman congratulates Trump for ‘historic peace plan’
GOP senator demands FBI reveal if surveillance went beyond Jack Smith’s phone tracking
Trump praised during phone call with hostage families after Hamas agrees to peace plan: video
News

Trump praised during phone call with hostage families after Hamas agrees to peace plan: video

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey October 9, 2025
Biggest deals of October Prime Day still going: Levi’s, Shark and more all with over 40% off
News

Biggest deals of October Prime Day still going: Levi’s, Shark and more all with over 40% off

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey October 9, 2025
Katie Porter caught on video screaming ‘Get out of my f—–g shot!’ at staffer during 2021 call
News

Katie Porter caught on video screaming ‘Get out of my f—–g shot!’ at staffer during 2021 call

Jimmie Dempsey Jimmie Dempsey October 9, 2025
Pew Patriots
  • News
  • Tactical
  • Prepping & Survival
  • Videos
  • Guns and Gear
2024 © Pew Patriots. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?