Medieval history professor wrote groundbreaking book on Ireland

PROF MICHAEL RICHTER: MICHAEL RICHTER, who has died aged 68, was a former professor of medieval history at the University of Konstanz, Germany, having previously spent 15 years teaching at University College Dublin.

He is best known for his groundbreaking book, Medieval Ireland: the enduring tradition (1988). Whereas Irish history had traditionally been depicted either in isolation or in the manner by which it was influenced by outside forces, especially England, Richter adopted a different approach.

First, his study encompassed a longer time span than previous works and paid more attention to the early medieval period. Secondly, he placed less emphasis on political and military history than on general social and cultural aspects. As a result, his interpretation of medieval Ireland is one in which social and cultural norms dating from pre-historic times in Ireland are seen to survive right through to the Middle Ages....