The consequences of Injustice in Early Medieval Ireland

This paper examines the meanings of iustitia manifested in De duodecim abusiuis saeculi, a text from seventh-century Ireland that presents ethical teaching through reflecting on twelve abuses in behaviour, beginning with the sapiens who fails to live out his teaching, and climaxing with reflection on a people without law. It argues the debt of this treatise to patristic tradition, with particular attention to ascetic traditions manifested in different ways by Jerome, Cassian, and Pelagius. Whereas iustitia was often understood by early Christian writers in terms of personal righteousness, this Irish author considered its implications within many sectors of society and for its well-being as a whole.