Golden Ages and the Guardians of Knowledge
From Clonmacnoise to the USA
Infophilia, a Positive Psychology of Information | March 17, 2025 | Vol. 3, Issue 13
Bonus Edition! Happy St. Patrick's Day! 🌿🍀
✨Welcome to Infophilia, a weekly, Saturday, letter exploring how our love of information and connections can help us all thrive, individually and collectively. 🤗
Cite as: Coleman, Anita S. (2025, March 17). Golden ages and the guardians of knowledge: from Clonmacnoise to the USA. Infophilia, a positive psychology of information, 3 (13).
Golden Ages and the Guardians of Knowledge: From Clonmacnoise to the USA
St. Patrick's Day is a perfect moment to reflect on how the Irish, during the fall of the Roman Empire, preserved the knowledge and wisdom of ancient civilizations. One of the most remarkable sites representing this intellectual legacy is Clonmacnoise. Founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán, Clonmacnoise became one of Ireland's most important centers of learning and scholarship. It was renowned for preserving and copying ancient manuscripts, producing illuminated texts, and serving as a major center of education during Ireland’s "Golden Age of Learning."
While much of Europe plunged into the Dark Ages, Irish monasteries like Clonmacnoise meticulously copied and safeguarded classical texts that would have otherwise been lost. Their dedication created an intellectual bridge that helped fuel the Carolingian Renaissance. Investment in learning—even in seemingly remote places—has always been essential for civilization’s continuity.
This image of Clonmacnoise, with its ancient stone structures standing resilient against time, mirrors the role of these guardians of knowledge in history. Just as the monks of Clonmacnoise protected and advanced learning, today’s libraries, archives, and digital repositories continue that mission. They and the people who manage work in them are not merely fortresses or guardians of knowledge but incubators of healthy infophilia—places where curiosity thrives and people who nurture intellectual culture.
So, as you celebrate today, remember the golden ages shaped by learning and the role the Irish played in saving civilization itself. And don’t forget to look for and support all the different people, from archivists to zoologists who are safeguarding knowledge today.
Libraries are incubators of healthy infophilia. Librarians are not only the curators of information and knowledge cultures, but they also nurture curiosity culture. Beyond the Fortress.
The Universal Connection Between Learning and Golden Ages
Learning is a hallmark of infophilia, and a few weeks ago, I shared about the Amaravati Marbles—one of the most ancient Buddhist sites in India. Interestingly, it was initially mistaken for a Jain learning center, illustrating how historical knowledge can be obscured over time. The Jains, adherents of Jainism, are sometimes credited with initiating the Sangham Age, a golden period of learning in South India that contributed to a broader regional flourishing.
History consistently reveals that learning, literature, and the arts are foundational to any “Golden Age.” No kingdom, empire, country, or civilization has entered a golden age without actively fostering knowledge and cultural development. And yet, today in the U.S., we are witnessing significant reductions in funding for the arts, scientific research, education, and libraries—while simultaneously hearing claims that America is entering a "golden era unlike any other." You bet it’s going to be unlike any other!
Historical Patterns: The Rise and Fall of Golden Ages
The connection between learning and golden ages is universal across civilizations. Each golden age was actively championed by the ruling powers of its time:
Western Examples
The Athenian Golden Age (5th century BCE): Flourished under Pericles, who deliberately allocated public funds to support philosophers, artists, and architects. When Athens later prioritized military expansion and wealth concentration over cultural advancement, decline followed.
The Italian Renaissance (14th-17th centuries): Thrived through the patronage of rulers like Lorenzo de’ Medici and Pope Julius II. As ruling families later became more concerned with power struggles and personal wealth, Italy’s intellectual leadership waned.
The Scottish Enlightenment (18th century): Benefited from institutional support and political stability, producing scholars who transformed economics, philosophy, and engineering. Britain’s global intellectual influence diminished when industrial priorities shifted from innovation to exploitation.
Eastern Examples
The Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE): Promoted education, established imperial academies, and supported poets and artists. Decline set in as emperors became isolated in luxury and governance suffered, culminating in the devastating An Lushan Rebellion.
The Islamic Golden Age (8th-14th centuries): Flourished under caliphs like Al-Ma’mun, who founded the House of Wisdom and supported scholars regardless of faith. It faded when later rulers prioritized orthodoxy and military spending over intellectual exploration.
The Gupta Empire (320-550 CE): Directly patronized scholars, poets, and scientists. Later rulers shifted focus to military conquests, leading to fragmentation and vulnerability to Hun invasions.
Like the Sangham Age in ancient South India, these golden periods all featured rulers who deliberately prioritized learning and cultural development—not as luxuries, but as central to societal advancement.
The Irony of Ignoring History
The irony is striking: in the USA today, we proclaim a new "golden age" while simultaneously reducing funding for education, research, and cultural institutions. Perhaps to some policymakers, "golden" refers merely to mineral gold—like the lavish bathrooms and elevators they seem fond of—rather than the richness of knowledge, scientific advancement, and cultural achievement.
History teaches us a consistent lesson: societies that focus primarily on material wealth for the elite invariably collapse under the weight of their own imbalance. Those that invest in knowledge and cultural development not only empower great human potential and flourishing, they leave enduring legacies that outlast their political structures.
Happy St. Paddy’s Day!
Notes
Historical narratives seek clarity while reality is more complex. Thus, the Scottish Enlightenment flourished amid political undercurrents and persistent tensions that some scholars emphasize as significant context. Similarly, though perspectives vary on the British Industrial Revolution's social impacts, contemporary accounts—diaries of mill workers—vividly document the harsh realities faced by vulnerable populations—including children laboring in textile mills and mines—revealing the shadow side of progress. Golden ages often coexist with contradictions. The Emperor Ashoka in India, a caring and far-thinking ruler was also known for his extensive system of spies! The truth, however, remains that a society that abandons learning or neglects its vulnerable is doomed, regardless of its material wealth.
Charles Allen. (2017). Coromandel: A personal history of South India. Little, Brown.
Thomas Cahill. (1995). How the Irish saved civilization: the untold story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe. Doubleday.
David S. Landes. (1998). The wealth and poverty of nations: why some are so rich and some so poor. W.W. Norton.
David S. Landes. (2003). The Unbound Prometheus: Technological Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to the Present. Cambridge University Press. 2nd Edition.
This is not a comprehensive list of places and people saving knowledge, just a start!
Libraries: Statement on Trump’s attack on funding for libraries. Read more (Includes a petition supporting archives, museums, libraries, and librarians.) ALA’s request to advocates show up for libraries launched January 22, 2025 is here.
Education: $881 million in cuts for the U.S. Education Department. Read more Marshall Breeding reported on LinkedIn that he downloaded IPEDS data just before the Dept. website stopped responding, here.
Medicine: Dr. Jeremy Faust, Emergency Room physician with the “very latest medical and public health data.” Inside Medicine (Substack).
Science: Trump’s siege of science—how the first 30 days unfolded. Read more (Paywall) | Science, AAAS Trump Tracker, “a short daily roundup tracking the Trump Administration’s impact on science” is available here.
AI Research: Trump’s funding cuts threaten America’s AI competitiveness. Read more