Graham David Sean O'Toole

In medieval Ireland, systems of tribute—everything from hostage-taking to taxes—provided a framework for the financial expression of power. In the 12th century, English colonists came to Ireland, bringing their systems of tribute—and power—with them. While the Irish preserved tributary modes in literature, the colonists recorded tributes in administrative documents, leaving the Irish at the margins of economic histories. This dissertation composes a cultural history of the medieval Irish economy by studying references to tribute in its literary texts. By treating literary tributes as comparable data points, reflecting the concerns of author and audience, this project explores how tribute and the relationships it expressed changed as Ireland came to be a multicultural society.