Servi o pastoral e dependentes eclesiásticos na Irlanda na Alta Idade Média

The aim of this article is the identification of the beneficiaries of pastoral care in Ireland between the seventh and the ninth centuries. Some scholars specialized in the history of the Irish Church believe that only the manaig, in other words, the monastic dependents were reached by the pastoral services of the former which were paid by their services and dues. On the other hand, other scholars found this interpretation too pessimist and believe that the Irish Church offered one of the most comprehensive pastoral organizations in northern Europe in the Middle Ages. Therefore, the arguments of these two mainstreams will be considered in this article besides the observation of the “Rule of Patrick”, which is one of the main documents that provide information on the subject and also the Irish penitential texts, which is another bulk of sources related to the theme.