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The Role of Cú Chulainn in Old and Middle Irish Narrative Literature with Particular Reference to Tales Belonging to the Ulster Cycle

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The role of Cú Chulainn in Old and Middle Irish narrative literature with particular reference to tales belonging to the Ulster Cycle.

Mary Leenane, B.A.

2 Volumes
Vol. 1

Ph.D. Degree NUI Maynooth

School of Celtic Studies
Faculty of Arts, Celtic Studies and Philosophy Head of School: An tOllamh Ruairí Ó hUiginn

Supervisor: An tOllamh Ruairí Ó hUiginn
June 2014

Table of Contents

Volume 1 Abstract……………………………………………………………………………1 Chapter I: General Introduction…………………………………………………2

I.1. Ulster Cycle material………………………………………………………...…2 I.2. Modern scholarship…………………………………………………………...11 I.3. Methodologies………………………………………………………………...14 I.4. International heroic biography………………………………………………..17

Chapter II: Sources……………………………………………………………...23

II.1. Category A: Texts in which Cú Chulainn plays a significant role…………...23 II.2. Category B: Texts in which Cú Chulainn plays a more limited role………...41 II.3. Category C: Texts in which Cú Chulainn makes a very minor appearance or where reference is made to him…………………………………………………...45

II.4. Category D: The tales in which Cú Chulainn does not feature………………50

Chapter III: Cú Chulainn’s heroic biography…………………………………53

III.1. Cú Chulainn’s conception and birth………………………………………...54

III.1.1. De Vries’ schema………………...……………………………………………………54 III.1.2. Relevant research to date…………………………………………………………...…55 III.1.3. Discussion and analysis…………………………………………………………...…..58

III.2. Cú Chulainn’s youth………………………………………………………...68

III.2.1 De Vries’ schema………………………………………………………………………68 III.2.2 Relevant research to date………………………………………………………………69 III.2.3 Discussion and analysis………………………………………………………………..78

III.3. Cú Chulainn’s wins a maiden……………………………………………….90

III.3.1 De Vries’ schema………………………………………………………………………90 III.3.2 Relevant research to date………………………………………………………………91 III.3.3 Discussion and analysis………………………………………………………………..95 III.3.4 Further comment……………………………………………………………………...108

III.4. Cú Chulainn’s otherworldly trips………………………………………….112

III.4.1. De Vries’ schema.........................................................................................................112 III.4.2. Relevant research to date…………………………………………………………….112

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III.4.3.1. Cú Chulainn’s otherworldly trip I…………………………………………………118 III.4.3.2. Cú Chulainn’s otherworldly trip II………………………………………………..127 III.4.3.3. Cú Chulainn’s otherworldly trip III………………………………………………..133 III.4.3.4. Cú Chulainn’s otherworldly trip IV………………………………………………..143

III.5. The culmination of Cú Chulainn’s martial career…………………………148

III.5.1 De Vries’ schema……………………………………………………………………..148 III.5.2 Relevant research to date……………………………………………………………..148 III.5.3 Discussion and analysis………………………………………………………………151

III.6. Cú Chulainn’s death………………………………………………………..155

III.6.1 De Vries’ schema……………………………………………………………………..155 III.6.2 Relevant research to date……………………………………………………………..155 III.6.3 Discussion and analysis………………………………………………………………158

III.7. The remainder of the points in de Vries’ schema………………………….169 ii

Acknowledgements

I would like to extend my gratitude to Professor Kim McCone for suggesting this topic and for encouraging me to carry out this research. I would also like to thank my supervisor, An tOllamh Ruairí Ó hUiginn, for his guidance and support in bringing this thesis to fruition.

I am grateful to the examiners of this thesis, Professor Gregory Toner and Dr Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, for their helpful comments and suggestions.

The initial three years of this research was funded by a scholarship from the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences to whom I am very grateful.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to my colleagues for their unwavering support and encouragement throughout. I would especially like to thank Dr Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin, An Dr Tracey Ní Mhaonaigh, An Dr Tadhg Ó Dúshláine and Dr Eoin Grogan. Your support has been and continues to be invaluable and I am forever indebted to you for this. I also wish to thank An Dr Aisling Ní Dhonnchadha, An Dr Brian Ó Catháin, Aisling Ní Bheacháin and Dr Peter Carr for their gentle words of encouragement and guidance. Thanks must also go to Gearóidín Ní Ruadháin and Mairéad Uí Fhlatharta.

Additionally, I would like to acknowledge the endless support of my parents, Paddy and Anna, my brothers and sisters, Ger, Bernie, Helen, Donal and the wider Leenane family. A special word of thanks is also due to Angela, Maurice and the Lane family for all their practical help.

Finally, I owe a very special and enormous thanks to Peter for supporting me in every way throughout. Thanks also to our two wonderful daughters, Lily-Mae and Evie, who provided much needed distraction and entertainment.

This thesis would have been impossible without this support and assistance.

iii

Abstract

This thesis considers the role and presentation of Cú Chulainn in a broad range of texts belonging to the Ulster Cycle.

Chapter I offers a general introduction to the thesis. Relevant scholarly theories to date are presented along with an outline of the methodological approaches underpinning this study. The scope of the research in the form of a database of tales is detailed in Chapter II. The textual history of this material is also found therein. This is intended as a quick reference chapter. Chapter III considers the key area of Cú Chulainn’s heroic biography. This encompasses a study of his depiction in a number of tales including Táin Bó Cúailnge.

In a bid to provide a well-rounded evaluation of the hero, a number of key thematic elements are addressed in the remaining chapters. Understandably, considerable emphasis is placed upon his function as a warrior. Chapter IV looks at his martial prowess, his ríastrad, his weaponry and his special skills or cleasa. Warrior codes and honour are discussed in Chapter V. Chapter VI moves away from the domain of warfare to examine his physical presentation and his appeal to the opposite sex. His offspring are also considered therein. Cú Chulainn’s parentage and his connection to his homeland, Mag Muirthemne, are appraised in Chapter VII along with an evaluation of his presentation as a saviour-type figure. Finally, Chapter VIII draws together the general research findings with concluding remarks about Cú Chulainn’s role within these sagas.

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Chapter I: General Introduction I.1. Ulster Cycle material

The Ulster-Cycle material is the platform upon which Cú Chulainn is presented. This body of literature consists of about eighty sagas, poems and shorter texts and its central concern is the warfare-related activities of the pre-historic inhabitants of Ulster (Ó hUiginn, 1992, 29).1 Most of the tales are set in Ulster and Connacht with Emain Machae being presented as the royal centre of the Ulstermen. It is the most significant literary collection of this period with the epic Táin Bó Cúailnge (TBC) being its centrepiece owing to its length and the number of tales, referred to as remscéla, that are either dependant on or derivative from it.

Material from the Ulster Cycle, like Verba Scáthaige and Conailla Medb Míchura,

are amongst our earliest surviving written pieces with a tentative date of the seventh century being proposed for both of these texts. Mac Cana’s (1975, 103-4) assertion that the following two centuries were particularly productive is largely true. The writing down of many primary texts, including key Ulster-Cycle tales

such as Scéla Muicce Meic Da Thó, Compert Con Culainn, Tochmarc Emire, Loinges mac nUislenn, Fled Bricrenn, Táin Bó Cúailnge is testimony to this. For example, Scéla Muicce Meic Da Thó, Compert Con Culainn, Tochmarc Emire, Loinges mac nUislenn, Fled Bricrenn, Táin Bó Cúailnge and a number of others, is

testimony to this. He claims that this creative phase draws to a close in the ninth century and is followed, until the twelfth century, by a period whereby tales are mostly reworked and embellished with some expansion to the corpus. Certainly, this seems to be the case with respect to tales such as Tochmarc Emire, Mesca

1 See Ó hUiginn (1992) for a comprehensive evaluation of the background and development of TBC.

2

Ulad, Serglige Con Culainn and perhaps Cath Ruis na Ríg for Bóinn. However,

beyond this there is further evidence for expansion and the reworking of tales down to the Early Modern Irish period as indicated through the existence of narratives

like Foghlaim Con Culainn, Táin Bó Flidais, Cath Letreach Ruide and Aided Con

Culainn. So, the timeframe for interest in Ulster Cycle material extends beyond the twelfth century.

Some of the key studies on this literature have been provided by Thurneysen (1921), Carney (1955), Jackson (1964), Greene (1968), Aitchison (1987), McCone (1990), Ó hUiginn (1992) and Tristram (1995). For the most part, these approaches tend to focus on determining the origins and possible influential factors in the creation of these works as opposed to subjecting figures associated with the tales to close examination and study. These, therefore, are not central to the current research and will be revisited here only where relevant. In this respect, McCone’s (1990, 197-200) re-evaluation of the literary tradition, in which he suggests that there are parallels between the lives of Christ and Cú Chulainn will be considered in detail.

Among the greatest difficulties surrounding this study of Cú Chulainn is the diverse range of sources spread over a wide time span in which he features. While some of the material can be dated to an early period, some of it can be shown to have undergone considerable reworking at a later point. Other material originated at a later stage. The textual history and datings for the relevant sagas are detailed in Chapter II. Tales pertaining to the central events in Cú Chulainn’s heroic biography, namely those recounting his conception, Compert Con Culainn,

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marriage, Tochmarc Emire, and death, Brislech Mór Maige Muirthemne, are in

existence from an early stage. All of these have been assigned dates in the eighth century. The first two are found in LU, the latter occurs in LL. While this may indicate the events in the hero’s life which were of interest in the eighth century, these also seem to reflect the manner in which tales are grouped thus together in the tale lists which are later, for example comperta, tochmarca etc. Nevertheless, there appears to be no concrete evidence to suggest that there was an integrated attempt to create a unified heroic biography for Cú Chulainn in a way that we have one for Christ in the Bible.

The disparate tales that form Cú Chulainn’s biography can be compared with those pertaining to the biography of Cormac mac Airt. Ó Cathasaigh (1977, 24) refers to these as a cycle and notes that the oldest text of them is Scéla Éogain   Cormaic,

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which details his conception, birth and ascension to the kingship of Tara. The later account of his birth tale, Geneamuin Chormaic, ‘extends to his death and burial’. The former account or version I is found in Laud 610, H.3.17 and in a Modern Irish account of Cath Maige Mucrama, while the latter, version II, occurs in YBL, BB and the LL text of Cath Maige Mucrama (Ó Cathasaigh, 1977, 111-7). The language of version I is dated to the eighth century and version II is thought to ‘represent a source which dates to the tenth century’, ‘but survives only in full form in two fourteenth-century MSS’ (Ó Cathasaigh, 1977, 112-3). Interestingly, he asserts that ‘[w]hat is striking about these two tales is that they each comprise of a sequence of episodes which are found also in the biographical pattern outlined by

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2

  • de Vries’ (Ó Cathasaigh, 1977, 24).
  • According to Ó Cathasaigh, the

correspondence between Cormac’s life and the international heroic biographical pattern is indicated by the presence of seven of the episodes from de Vries’ schema in these two tales thus allowing him to be treated as a hero. Other items from de Vries’ model are found in Esnada Tige Buchet, which tells of Cormac’s winning of a maiden and Echtrae Cormaic relating his expedition to the Otherworld. Some attempt seems to be made towards writing Cormac’s biography in Scéla Éogain

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Cormaic and Geneamuin Chormaic with Esnada Tige Buchet and Echtrae

Cormaic appearing to be quite independent of these leading Ó Cathasaigh (1977, 72-3) to assert that ‘there is no reason to suppose that their authors were thinking of the remainder of Cormac’s biography when they put them together’.3 Although acknowledging that by grouping all these tales together ‘we are thus departing from the practice of the native literati’, nonetheless, his justification for doing so rests in the ‘existence of the international biographical pattern’ and his structuralist approach to the heroic biography which views it as a sequence of slots:

…in Cormac’s case the versions of his Birth-tale fill seven slots, while ETB

[Esnada Tige Buchet] and EC [Echtrae Cormaic] fill another two. In short,

ETB can be seen as a wooing-episode forming an integral part of the heroic biography of Cormac mac Airt, the same being true, mutatis mutandis, of EC. At this level of analysis the author’s conscious attitude to his material is irrelevant (Ó Cathasaigh, 1977, 73).

Obviously, even more difficulties arise with the Cú Chulainn texts, given that there is not a concentration of such ‘slots’ in any one tale, unlike the biography of

2 International heroic biographical patterning and de Vries’ (1963) model are discussed in detail in I.4.

3 Like Geneamuin Chormaic, it is noteworthy that Echtrae Cormaic and Esnada Tige Buchet also

occur in YBL (Ó Cathasaigh, 1977, 80n).

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Cormac. At this point, it is best to leave the quandary about whether there was a deliberate attempt to fashion a heroic biography for Cú Chulainn in the Old Irish period or not. Instead, the present study will appraise key events in his life in the relevant tales in light of the international biographical pattern as Ó Cathasaigh has done with Cormac mac Airt.

Though the earliest account of Cú Chulainn’s macgnímrada found in Recension I of TBC are generally dated to the ninth century, they may extend back to the previous century. These seem to be central to his heroic persona and may more tentatively also be considered among the texts relating to the key milestones in his life. Evidence for his most significant adult martial conquests in TBC is found in the possibly seventh-century prophetic piece, Verba Scáthaige. This also suggests that his training with Scáthach is part of a very early tradition. TBC poses a number of difficulties, given that there seems to have been additions and changes to it as time evolved. For example, if we look at his macgnímrada, these are scaled back considerably in Recension II. Perhaps those pertaining to his youthful deeds and TBC might also be added to the list of central biographical texts.

If we bear in mind modern scholarship on international heroic biographical models, a trip to a distant or otherworldly realm is also of importance. His journey to the lands of Scáthach, as first detailed in Tochmarc Emire is one text that seems to cover this aspect of the hero’s career, but others might also be considered, including the eighth-century tale, Forfess Fer Fálgae. However, we must be mindful of the presence of a tale entitled Echtrae Con Culainn, for which no saga bearing this name has been transmitted to us. It is, nevertheless, important not to

6rigidly impose modern views on what a heroic biography entails when the perception, if indeed one existed, may have differed considerably in the Old and Middle Irish period. For example, de Vries’ (1963) schema does not cater for Cú Chulainn’s martial endeavours in TBC but yet these seem to be central to his presentation in the pre-Norman period.

It is noteworthy that some of his central biographical texts remain popular as time passes, for instance Tochmarc Emire undergoes considerable expansion in the Middle Irish period. Presumably, popular views and concerns at the time of writing influence the later text, yet the core narrative plot remains much the same as the earlier account. Indeed we must rely on this later tale for the courtship scene which is lost from the earlier version. A modernised account of Tochmarc Emire without the courtship appears in the later period, namely, Foghlaim Con Culainn. The production of Aided Con Culainn in the Early Modern Irish era indicates that his death continues to be of interest. As noted above, TBC and his macgnímrada are also subject to emendations as time evolves.

Tales outside of these are quite varied in their content and date. While Aided Óenfir Aífe dates to the ninth or tenth century, the tradition of Cú Chulainn slaying his son may extend back to the eighth century. Surviving only in YBL, this tale is somewhat at odds with the chronology of the Ulster-Cycle material. Cú Chulainn is seven when he completes his macgnímrada and seventeen in TBC, while Connlae is seven when he comes to Ireland (TBC I, ll.379-80; Meyer, 1904, 114-5, §2). Cú Chulainn mourns the death of Aífe’s son in TBC II, placing Aided Óenfir Aífe before this epic (l.3457). This would suggest that he was perhaps ten or

7younger when he courted Emer and went to the lands of Scáthach.4 It is also important to consider possible influences for the central motif of this tale.

Alternative depictions of the hero are found as early as the eighth century in the oldest account of Aided Con Roí in Eg. 88. While Cú Roí, the Munster hero, is killed therein, it is noteworthy that he bests Cú Chulainn earlier on in the text. As well as eventually prevailing over this southern hero, Cú Chulainn likewise defeats and kills the Connacht heroes, Fróech and Fer Diad in TBC. Serglige Con Culainn is particularly pronounced in its negative portrayal of Cú Chulainn. This text was worked on in the ninth and eleventh centuries by different redactors, yet it is largely consistent in its depiction of the hero. For Síaburcharpat Con Culainn, which McCone (1990, 200) dates to the ninth century and also accepts (2000, 8) that it may have been contained in Cín Dromma Snechtai, the hero’s esteemed status is deemed to belong to the distant pagan past. The broader agenda of the tale determines Cú Chulainn’s representation therein. Mesca Ulad, the earliest section of which is found in LU and dates to the Old Irish period with the newer part from LL being assigned a date to the first part of the twelfth century, is a little less favourable in its exposé of him and the Ulstermen in general. Conversely, Fled Bricrenn also found in LU, and usually placed in the ninth century, presents him positively and relates a key event in his martial career, namely his acquisition of the hero’s portion, according him a status superior to two other prominent Ulster warriors, Conall Cernach and Lóegaire Búadach. A tale with a similar title, Fled

Bricrenn ocus Loinges mac nDuíl Dermait, is dated to the ninth century by its

recent editor, Hollo (2005, 8). This is essentially a wooing tale involving an

4 The text of TBC I, which gives a chronology of Cú Chulainn’s career, states that he is six or seven when he goes to Scáthach’s home (see III.3.4).

8overseas adventure, but significantly this offers an alternative tradition to that found in Tochmarc Emire. His wife is Findchóem in this account and she notably does not appear elsewhere in the tales of the Ulster Cycle.

Cú Chulainn’s meeting with the Morrígan is found in the tale, Tain Bó Regamna, a text which is assigned a date in the tenth century and which bears a number of similarities with his encounter with her in TBC. Conceivably, a skeletal version of this tale is also found in Echtrae Nerai, a tale in which Cú Chulainn makes a very brief appearance but which nonetheless, contains a valuable inventory of some of his geisi. Initially dating this text to the tenth century, Thurneysen later reviews this by not ruling out an eighth-century origin (Ó Duilearga, 1940, 522). Significantly, the section containing the majority of Cú Chulainn’s geisi seems to be a later addition. Indeed the other significant collection of these is found in the

Middle Irish text, Aided Guill Meic Carbada ocus Aided Gairb Glinne Rige which

is found in LL. In general, this tale is thought to have borrowed significantly from earlier sources and largely presents the hero in a positive light. He also makes an appearance in Cath Ruis na Ríg for Bóinn, a tale dating to the late twelfth century, occurring also in LL. This manuscript also contains the tale, Aided Derbforgaill, dating to the tenth century, which features Cú Chulainn’s slaying of a number of women in retaliation for their killing of Derbforgaill. Some lesser known tales,

namely, Ces Ulad and Comracc Con Chulainn re Senbecc feature the hero’s

unusual adventures to the Boyne. While a much later tale, Aithed Emere le Tuir nGlesta mac ríg Lochlann is found only in D.4.2 and details Emer’s elopement with another man and Cú Chulainn’s subsequent retrieval of her (Thurneysen, 1921, 428-9).

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A substantial cluster of ‘Cú Chulainn’ tales appear in LU, namely, Compert Con

Culainn, Mesca Ulad, Serglige Con Culainn, TBC, Fled Bricrenn, Síaburcharpat

Con Culainn and Tochmarc Emire. LL contains a smaller number but from a

wider timeframe, Brislech Mór Maige Muirthemne from an earlier stage, Aided

Derbforgaill and Talland Étair from the tenth century, a number of later tales

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    THE HEROIC BIOGRAPHY OF CU CHULAINN. By Lisa Gibney B.A. NUl MAYNOOTH Ollicoil ni ft£ir«ann Mi ftuid FOR M.A IN MEDIEVAL IRISH HISTORY AND SOURCES, NUI MAYNOOTH, THE DEPARTMENT OF MEDIEVAL IRISH STUDIES, JULY 2004. DEPARTMENT HEAD: MCCONE, K SUPERVISOR: NI BHROLCHAIN,M 60094838 THE HEROIC BIOGRAPHY OF CU CHULAINN. By Lisa Gibney B.A. SPECIAL THANKS TO: Ann Gibney, Claire King, Mary Lenanne, Roisin Morley, Muireann Ni Bhrolchain, Mary Coolen and her team at the Drumcondra Physiotherapy Clinic. CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2 2. Heroic Biography 8 3. Conception and Birth: Compert Con Culainn 18 4. Youth and Life Endangered: Macgnimrada 23 Con Culainn 5. Acquires a wife: Tochmarc Emere 32 6. Visit to Otherworld, Exile and Return: 35 Tochmarc Emere and Serglige Con Culainn 7. Death and Invulnerability: Brislech Mor Maige 42 Muirthemne 8. Conclusion 46 9. Bibliogrpahy 47 i INTRODUCTION Early Irish literature is romantic, idealised, stylised and gruesome. It shows a tension between reality and fantasy ’which seem to me to be usually an irresolvable dichotomy. The stories set themselves in pre-history. It presents these texts as a “window on the iron age”2. The writers may have been Christians distancing themselves from past heathen ways. This backward glance maybe taken from the literature tradition in Latin transferred from the continent and read by Irish scholars. Where the authors “undertake to inform the audience concerning the pagan past, characterizing it as remote, alien and deluded”3 or were they diligent scholars trying to preserve the past. This question is still debateable. The stories manage to be set in both the past and the present, both historical Ireland with astonishingly accuracy and the mythical otherworld.
  • Manx Place-Names: an Ulster View

    Manx Place-Names: an Ulster View

    37 Manx Place-Names: an Ulster View Kay Muhr In this chapter I will discuss place-name connections between Ulster and Man, beginning with the early appearances of Man in Irish tradition and its association with the mythological realm of Emain Ablach, from the 6th to the I 3th century. 1 A good introduction to the link between Ulster and Manx place-names is to look at Speed's map of Man published in 1605.2 Although the map is much later than the beginning of place-names in the Isle of Man, it does reflect those place-names already well-established 400 years before our time. Moreover the gloriously exaggerated Manx-centric view, showing the island almost filling the Irish sea between Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, also allows the map to illustrate place-names from the coasts of these lands around. As an island visible from these coasts Man has been influenced by all of them. In Ireland there are Gaelic, Norse and English names - the latter now the dominant language in new place-names, though it was not so in the past. The Gaelic names include the port towns of Knok (now Carrick-) fergus, "Fergus' hill" or "rock", the rock clearly referring to the site of the medieval castle. In 13th-century Scotland Fergus was understood as the king whose migration introduced the Gaelic language. Further south, Dundalk "fort of the small sword" includes the element dun "hill-fort", one of three fortification names common in early Irish place-names, the others being rath "ring­ fort" and lios "enclosure".
  • Nationalist Adaptations of the Cuchulain Myth Martha J

    Nationalist Adaptations of the Cuchulain Myth Martha J

    University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations Spring 2019 The aW rped One: Nationalist Adaptations of the Cuchulain Myth Martha J. Lee Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Lee, M. J.(2019). The Warped One: Nationalist Adaptations of the Cuchulain Myth. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/5278 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Warped One: Nationalist Adaptations of the Cuchulain Myth By Martha J. Lee Bachelor of Business Administration University of Georgia, 1995 Master of Arts Georgia Southern University, 2003 ________________________________________________________ Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English College of Arts and Sciences University of South Carolina 2019 Accepted by: Ed Madden, Major Professor Scott Gwara, Committee Member Thomas Rice, Committee Member Yvonne Ivory, Committee Member Cheryl L. Addy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School © Copyright by Martha J. Lee, 2019 All Rights Reserved ii DEDICATION This dissertation and degree belong as much or more to my family as to me. They sacrificed so much while I traveled and studied; they supported me, loved and believed in me, fed me, and made sure I had the time and energy to complete the work. My cousins Monk and Carolyn Phifer gave me a home as well as love and support, so that I could complete my course work in Columbia.
  • Economy and Authority: a Study of the Coinage of Hiberno-Scandinavian Dublin and Ireland

    Economy and Authority: a Study of the Coinage of Hiberno-Scandinavian Dublin and Ireland

    Economy and Authority: A study of the coinage of Hiberno-Scandinavian Dublin and Ireland Volume 1: Text Andrew R. Woods Peterhouse This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Division of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge 2013 1 This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except where specifically indicated in the text. The following does not exceed the word limit (80,000 words) set out by the Division of Archaeology and Anthropology degree committee. 2 Abstract Economy and Authority: A study of the coinage of Hiberno-Scandinavian Dublin and Ireland Andrew R. Woods The aim of this thesis is to investigate the relationship between political authority and economic change in the tenth to twelfth centuries AD. This is often interpreted as a period of dramatic economic and political upheaval; enormous growth in commerce, the emergence of an urban network and increasingly centralised polities are all indicative of this process. Ireland has rarely been considered in discussion of this sort but analysis of Ireland’s political economy has much to contribute to the debate. This will be tackled through a consideration of the coinage struck in Ireland between c.995 and 1170 with focus upon the two themes of production and usage. In analysing this material the scale and scope of a monetary economy, the importance of commerce and the controlling aspects of royal authority will each be addressed. The approach deployed is also overtly comparative with material from other contemporary areas, particularly England and Norway, used to provide context.
  • Irish Lives Remembered Easter 2016.Pdf

    Irish Lives Remembered Easter 2016.Pdf

    www.irishlivesremembered.com Issue 33 March 2016 Publisher Eneclann Genealogy Magazine Joint Editors Eileen Munnelly & Shane Fitzsimons Email: [email protected] Welcome to the Easter 2016 edition of Irish Lives Remembered , in Design/Production Manager this issue we commemorate the 1916 centenary. And here in Michael Munnelly Ireland on the 100th anniversary of the birth of our nation, it is a joy to see that interest in our past has never been so keen. It’s heart- Editorial Contributors warming to see such fascination across the generations as to how In Ireland our yesterdays continue to affect the present. Joe Duffy, Fiona Fitzsimons, Paul MacCotter, Brian Donovan, Helen Moss, But you probably all know this already, or else you wouldn’t be Shane Fitzsimons and Michael Merrigan reading Ireland’s top genealogy magazine. In the U.K. Before we tell you just what’s in this issue, we’d also like to tell you Jayne Shrimpton that Irish Lives Remembered has changed publisher. Eileen Munnelly and her team at Millennium Media are handing their In America creation over to a new team at Eneclann – a name that some of you Maureen Wlodarczyk & Damien Shields may know. We’d like to salute Eileen for creating such a winning In New Zealand title, for trusting us to continue to publish it, and we wish her all Geraldene O’Reilly the best in the future. Advertising Right, so what’s in this issue? There’s quite a bit on 1916. In a must- Tommy Martin read Fiona Fitzsimons talks to broadcaster and historian Joe Duffy, [email protected] whose recent book explores the short lives and violent deaths of the children of 1916.
  • CELTIC MYTHOLOGY Ii

    CELTIC MYTHOLOGY Ii

    i CELTIC MYTHOLOGY ii OTHER TITLES BY PHILIP FREEMAN The World of Saint Patrick iii ✦ CELTIC MYTHOLOGY Tales of Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes PHILIP FREEMAN 1 iv 1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Philip Freeman 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. CIP data is on file at the Library of Congress ISBN 978–0–19–046047–1 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America v CONTENTS Introduction: Who Were the Celts? ix Pronunciation Guide xvii 1. The Earliest Celtic Gods 1 2. The Book of Invasions 14 3. The Wooing of Étaín 29 4. Cú Chulainn and the Táin Bó Cuailnge 46 The Discovery of the Táin 47 The Conception of Conchobar 48 The Curse of Macha 50 The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu 52 The Birth of Cú Chulainn 57 The Boyhood Deeds of Cú Chulainn 61 The Wooing of Emer 71 The Death of Aife’s Only Son 75 The Táin Begins 77 Single Combat 82 Cú Chulainn and Ferdia 86 The Final Battle 89 vi vi | Contents 5.
  • Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race by Thomas William Rolleston

    Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race by Thomas William Rolleston

    The Project Gutenberg EBook of Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race by Thomas William Rolleston This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license Title: Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race Author: Thomas William Rolleston Release Date: October 16, 2010 [Ebook 34081] Language: English ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE CELTIC RACE*** MYTHS & LEGENDS OF THE CELTIC RACE Queen Maev T. W. ROLLESTON MYTHS & LEGENDS OF THE CELTIC RACE CONSTABLE - LONDON [8] British edition published by Constable and Company Limited, London First published 1911 by George G. Harrap & Co., London [9] PREFACE The Past may be forgotten, but it never dies. The elements which in the most remote times have entered into a nation's composition endure through all its history, and help to mould that history, and to stamp the character and genius of the people. The examination, therefore, of these elements, and the recognition, as far as possible, of the part they have actually contributed to the warp and weft of a nation's life, must be a matter of no small interest and importance to those who realise that the present is the child of the past, and the future of the present; who will not regard themselves, their kinsfolk, and their fellow-citizens as mere transitory phantoms, hurrying from darkness into darkness, but who know that, in them, a vast historic stream of national life is passing from its distant and mysterious origin towards a future which is largely conditioned by all the past wanderings of that human stream, but which is also, in no small degree, what they, by their courage, their patriotism, their knowledge, and their understanding, choose to make it.