Overview: The second hour focuses on the rise of Christianity in Ireland between the 5th and 9th centuries A.D. During this era, missionaries spread the faith, creating compelling and powerful scholarship, theology, and art. Their efforts illuminated the Dark Ages that plagued Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. This episode also depicts the transition from paganism to Christianity and its ramifications. Above all, the program examines how the power of writing allowed the church to control history in its zeal to transform the pagan Irish.