ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Hiberno-Latin

Hiberno-Latin is like talking in a secret code that only some special people understand. It's a way of writing and speaking that was used by people in Ireland in the Middle Ages.

Now, you may already know that Latin is a very old language that was used by the ancient Romans. But Hiberno-Latin is a bit different.

You see, when the Roman Empire fell, Latin didn't completely go away. It continued to be used by the Catholic Church, which spread throughout Europe. But because Latin wasn't the native language of many of the people who were using it, they started to change it over time.

One of the groups of people who did this was the Irish. They were very smart and creative, and they took Latin words and phrases and made them their own. They also added some of their own words and ways of speaking into the mix.

So Hiberno-Latin is kind of like a mix between Latin and Irish. It was mostly used in religious texts, like books of prayers and hymns.

Today, not many people use Hiberno-Latin anymore. But it's still an interesting part of history and a reminder of how people can take something old and make it new again by adding their own unique twist.