Beehives on the border: Liminal humans and other animals at Skellig Michael

Skellig Michael, an offshore Irish monastery from the early medieval period, challenges traditional narratives of human-animal demarcation and civilization. This study argues that the site, a liminal space, disrupted the rigid separation between 'human' and 'animal' during a pivotal transition in Irish society from animist paganism to anthropocentric Christianity. By applying theories of liminality and Critical Animal Studies, the research reinterprets Skellig Michael as a boundary land where monks tested their endurance through ascetic practices, offering a critical perspective on the construction of species identity and the march towards 'civilization.' The study suggests that this outpost, surviving into the 1300s, served as a point of permeability, inviting a rethinking of early Irish customs and the establishment of anthroparchy.

Wrenn, C. L. (2021). Beehives on the border: Liminal humans and other animals at Skellig Michael. Irish Journal of Sociology, 29(2), 137–159. https://doi.org/10.1177/0791603521999957