Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
History
Date of Award
8-2011
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Brian J. Maxson
Committee Members
Judith B. Slagle, Melvin E. Page
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to discuss the roles played by Irish Catholic women in the Irish Rebellion of 1641. The primary goal is to examine the factors that determined the nature of those roles. To achieve this end, I used the information contained in the 1641 depositions, a collection of sworn statements given by the victims of the rebellion. The depositions are valuable in two ways. First, eyewitness testimony contained therein is generally reliable, and can be used to construct an accurate narrative of the rebellion. Second, less reliable hearsay evidence is crucial to understanding the fears of English and Scottish Protestants and their perceptions of female rebels. I was aided by the earlier efforts of historians such as Nicholas Canny and Mary O'Dowd. In the course of this thesis, I intended to argue that the actions of Irish Catholic women in the rebellion were largely determined by their social status, geographic location, and prior relationships between female rebels and their allies and victims.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Galloway, Edwin Marshall, "Thieves Apostates and Bloody Viragos: Female Irish Catholic Rebels in the Irish Rebellion of 1641." (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1322. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1322
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.