An Analysis of Obscurity in an Early Medieval Irish Text
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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
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. -
Literature and Learning in Early Medieval Meath
Provided by the author(s) and NUI Galway in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite the published version when available. Title Literature and learning in early medieval Meath Author(s) Downey, Clodagh Publication Date 2015 Downey, Clodagh (2015) 'Literature and Learning in Early Publication Medieval Meath' In: Crampsie, A., and Ludlow, F(Eds.). Information Meath History and Society: Interdisciplinary Essays on the History of an Irish County. Dublin : Geography Publications. Publisher Geography Publications Link to publisher's http://www.geographypublications.com/product/meath-history- version society/ Item record http://hdl.handle.net/10379/7121 Downloaded 2021-09-26T15:35:58Z Some rights reserved. For more information, please see the item record link above. CHAPTER 04 - Clodagh Downey 7/20/15 1:11 PM Page 1 CHAPTER 4 Literature and learning in early medieval Meath CLODAGH DOWNEY The medieval literature of Ireland stands out among the vernacular literatures of western Europe for its volume, its diversity and its antiquity, and within this treasury of cultural riches, Meath holds a prominence greatly disproportionate to its geographical extent, however that extent is reckoned. Indeed, the first decision confronting anyone who wishes to consider this subject is to define its geographical limits: the modern county of Meath is quite a different entity to the medieval kingdom of Mide from which it gets its name and which itself designated different areas at different times. It would be quite defensible to include in a survey of medieval literature those areas which are now under the administration of other modern counties, but which may have been part of the medieval kingdom at the time that that literature was produced. -
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. -
UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Birth Narratives in Indo-European Mythology Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/71m1f09s Author Pagé, Anna June Publication Date 2014 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Birth Narratives in Indo-European Mythology A dissertation submied in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Indo-European Studies by Anna June Pagé 2014 © Copyright by Anna June Pagé 2014 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Birth Narratives in Indo-European Mythology by Anna June Pagé Doctor of Philosopy in Indo-European Studies University of California, Los Angeles, 2014 Professor Joseph F. Nagy, Chair is dissertation presents a study of the shared themes and parallel narrative structures of a set of stories about extraordinary birth. Stories about extraordinary birth form a universal story-type that displays widespread and striking similarities in narrative traditions throughout the world. Stories of this nature are typically told about various types of important persons, such as heroes, kings, gods, and saints, and have most frequently been treated within the context of the “heroic biography’’ paern. Because of how well-aested this type of story is in all narrative traditions, a comparison of birth narratives from different Indo-European mythologies offers an ideal case study in the comparison and reconstruction of aspects of the Proto-Indo-European mythological system. While my primary focus is on stories from Indo-European sources, and particularly from Celtic, Greek, and Indic myth, several non-Indo-European examples of this type of narrative are also included in my discussion. -
Tochmarc Moméra As Echtra to the Otherworld
Tochmarc Moméra as Echtra to the Otherworld Ksenia Kudenko Tochmarc Moméra (TM), ‘The Wooing of Moméra’, is a tale found solely in the Yellow Book of Lecan (TCD MS1318, alias H.2.16; cols. 341–343).1 The tale belongs to the Cycles of the Kings and explores the Spanish journey of Eógan Taídlech, the eponymous ancestor of the Eóganacht, whose floruit is allegedly placed in the second century AD. The tale forms part and parcel of the lore of the Eóganacht, along with the early Irish account Do Bunad Imthechta Eóganachta, ‘Concerning the origin of the wandering of the Eóganacht’ (late ninth or early tenth century, Ó Corráin 1985, 53) and the late saga Cath Maighe Léna (CML), ‘The Battle of Magh Léna’ (late thirteenth or early fourteenth century, Jackson 1938, xxiv). According to Do Bunad, Eógan is an outsider who comes to Ireland with his fleet and saves the Irish from starvation, after which he or his son Eógan is granted kingship in the south of Ireland (Meyer 1912, 312–314). It has been suggested that TM represents another attempt to reconcile the Eóghanacht legend with the Milesian. According to the Milesian story, Eóghan was the descendant of Éibher son of Míl of Spain, and a native Irishman, while in Do Bunad Imthechta Eóganachta he was a foreigner from Spain. Tochmarc Moméra unites the two by making the Irishman Eóghan sail to Spain, marry the daughter of the king (significantly called Éibher) and return to conquer Ireland (Jackson 1938, xxvi–xxvii). While preserving the crucial link with Spain, TM relies on the traditional pedigree of the Eóganacht (O’Brien 1976, 192, 250). -
Munster and Irish Kingship in 10Th-12Th Centuries. Power Representation
Munster and Irish kingship in 10th-12th centuries. Power representation 1. Introduction Medieval Ireland is known for a great number of kings - in fact there were probably no less than 150 kings in the country at any given date between the fifth and twelfth century1 . Since the total population was probably well under half a million, this multiplicity of royalty is all the more remarkable. Of course, all of them were of different types. There were in general: rí tuaithe – the king of single tuath or tribe, rí tuath or rui ri (great king) was the king of several tribes, but commonly he was called according to the name of territory or the name of ruling dynasty branch (for example, rí Iarluachra, which means the king of the territories to the west of Luachra mountains); rí coicid (king of fifth, i.e. of one of the provinces into which Ireland was traditionally divided) or ard-ri of province (ard-ri Ulad, ard-ri Connacht, ard-ri Laigen), and, at once, ard-ri or ríg Érenn – high-king of Ireland2. In spite of the concept of the high-kingship in Ireland, there is no evidence about centralized monarchy before the king Brian Boru from the Munster’s dynasty Dál Cais. Irish provinces and their kings were independent from each other and were mostly connected with the dynastic relations. From the beginning of early Middle Age till the Norman invasion there were two powerful ruling dynasties in Ireland: Uí Néill in the central and north part and Eóganachta dynasty (after them Dál Cais), in the south, in Munster. -
The Second Heroic Cycle Conference
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Supernatural threats to kings: exploration of a motif in the Ulster Cycle and in other medieval Irish tales Borsje, J. Publication date 2009 Document Version Final published version Published in Ulidia 2: proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Ulster Cycle of Tales, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, 24-27 June 2005 Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Borsje, J. (2009). Supernatural threats to kings: exploration of a motif in the Ulster Cycle and in other medieval Irish tales. In R. Ó hUiginn, & B. Ó Catháin (Eds.), Ulidia 2: proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Ulster Cycle of Tales, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, 24-27 June 2005 (pp. 173-194). An Sagart. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:23 Sep 2021 Supernatural Threats to Kings: Exploration of a Motif in the Ulster Cycle and in Other Medieval Irish Tales Jacqueline Borsje Introduction he subject of this contribution is the belief in a sacral bond between the land and the ruler. -
University of Cambridge Faculty of English Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic Pre-Christian Characters in Medieval I
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Apollo University of Cambridge Faculty of English Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic Pre-Christian Characters in Medieval Irish Literature: An Examination of Fástini Airt meic Cuind , De Suidigud Tellaig Temra , Aided Chonchobair and Aided Echach maic Maireda Helen Martha Burns Imhoff Newnham College This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy July 2009 DECLARATION 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 dissertation does not exceed the regulation length, including footnotes, references and appendices but excluding the bibliography. I have used the stylesheet of Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England and the ASNC stylesheet. SUMMARY Pre-Christian Characters in Medieval Irish Literature: An Examination of Fástini Airt meic Cuind, De Suidigud Tellaig Temra, Aided Chonchobair and Aided Echach maic Maireda Helen Imhoff This dissertation consists of an analysis of the representation of the pre-Christian protagonists of the four medieval Irish tales Fástini Airt meic Cuind , De Suidigud Tellaig Temra , Aided Chonchobair and Aided Echach maic Maireda . In examining the portrayal of pre-Christian characters, I have addressed a particularly characteristic feature of medieval Irish literature. The four tales discussed here have, for the most part, not previously been studied in detail. For this reason, the dissertation is divided into two parts. Part I (chs. 1–3) focuses on questions of date, literary context and manuscript transmission of three of the tales ( Fástini Airt , De Suidigud and Aided Chonchobair ) and it serves as background to the thematic analysis of all four tales in Part II (chs. -
Kingship, Lordship, and Resistance: a Study of Power in Eleventh- and Twelfth-Century Ireland
Trinity College, Dublin School of Histories and Humanities Department of History Kingship, lordship, and resistance: a study of power in eleventh- and twelfth-century Ireland Ronan Joseph Mulhaire Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (2020) Declaration I declare that this thesis has not been submitted as an exercise for a degree at this or any other university and it is entirely my own work. I agree to deposit this thesis in the University’s open access institutional repository or allow the Library to do so on my behalf, subject to Irish Copyright Legislation and Trinity College Library conditions of use and acknowledgement. _______________________ RONAN MULHAIRE 2 Summary This thesis starts from the premise that historians of medieval Ireland have interpreted ‘power’ in a very narrow way. As chapter one illustrates, through a review of the historiography of Irish kingship, the discussion of ‘power’ has, hitherto, amounted to a conversation about the ways in which the power of the greater Irish kings grew over the course of the eleventh and twelfth centuries (at the expense of the lesser kings). Engaging with the rich corpus of international literature on power, as is done in chapter one, reveals the sheer complexity and vicissitudes of ‘power’ as a concept. Many writers and thinkers on the subject have identified resistance as a means through which to view power relations, and it is along these lines that the rest of the thesis runs. Chapters three and four are concerned with the subject of resistance; with regicide and revolt, respectively. Both mine the Irish annals. -
Lebor Gabála Érenn
LEBOR GABÁLA ÉRENN The Book of the Taking of Ireland PART VI Index B-C EDITED AND TRANSLATED WITH NOTES, ETC. BY R. A. Stewart Macalister, D.Litt. Index Compiled by Michael Murphy 2008 B Baad ( See : Baath 2) Baath 1 –The ō Clérigh version “is unique in supplying the Scythian king with a brother, Baath, who aids him in the fight against the followers of Sru.” ( source : Macalister, LGE, Vol. 2 , p. 5) Baath 2 [Baad] – Baath 2 was the son of Ibath son of Bethach son of Iardan [Iarbonel] son of Nemed; his son was Enda [Enna]. He was one of the thirty warriors who survived the battle at Conaing’s Tower. After- wards “Ibath and his son Baath went into the north of the world.” ( source : Macalister, LGE, Vol. 1 , p. 173; Vol. 3 , p. 125, 143, 145, 153, 196; Vol. 4 , p. 98, 127, 153, 155, 187) Baath 3 – Baath 3 was the son of Ibath son of Feinius Farsaid. His son was Nenual. ( source : Macalister, LGE, Vol. 2 , p. 23, 130) Baath 4 – Baath 4 was the son of Ibath son of Gomer son of Iafeth. His son was Feinius Farsaid. “Of him [Baath 4] are the Gaedil and the people of Scythia.” ( source : Macalister, LGE, Vol. 2 , p. 9, 23, 126, 153, 157, 161, 253) Baath 5 [Bathath] – Baath 5 was the son of Magog son of Iafeth son of Noe. His sons were Alainus and Feinius Farsaid. “Of him [Baath 5] are the Gaedil and the people of Scythia.” ( source : Macalister, LGE, Vol. -
Another Martyr for Old Ireland
University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1996 Another martyr for old Ireland. Sharon Leigh Williams University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Williams, Sharon Leigh, "Another martyr for old Ireland." (1996). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 1233. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/1233 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. UMASS/AMHERST ANOTHER MARTYR FOR OLD IRELAND A Dissertation Presented by SHARON LEIGH WILLIAMS Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 1996 History @ Copyright by Sharon Leigh Williams 1996 All Rights Reserved — ANOTHER MARTYR FOR OLD IRELAND A Dissertation Presented by SHARON LEIGH WILLIAMS Approved as to style and content by: CI Maria Tymoczko, Chair Carlin Barton Member I Charles Rearick, Member — llA(K^ Joh^ Bracey, Membe^r Bruce Laurie, Department Department of History For my Mother ABSTRACT ANOTHER MARTYR FOR OLD IRELAND MAY 1996 SHARON L. WILLIAMS, B.A. , MIDWESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY M.A., MIDWESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Maria Tymoczko This dissertation proposes a paradigm in which the political martyrs of Ireland serve as a continuous reproduction of a heroic pattern of martyrdom. Within this model are contained particular mythic patterns of thought. -
Henry O'neill, Prince of the Irish of Ulster (1455-89): a Missed
Dr Katharine Simms is a Fellow Emeritus of Trinity College Henry O’Neill, Prince of the Dublin, where she was a Senior Lecturer in Medieval History to 2010. She is author of From Kings to Warlords: the Irish of Ulster (1455-89): a Changing Political Structure of Gaelic Ireland in the Later Middle Ages, and Medieval Gaelic Sources together with missed opportunity? numerous articles on the kings, clerics and learned classes in Gaelic Ireland from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. Dr Mary Katherine Simms delivered this lecture Henry O’Neill, Prince of the Irish of Ulster (1455-89): a missed opportunity? At the first Mid Ulster Study visit in September 2018. This following is the text of her lecture with a short list of suggested further reading. Dr Simms retains copyright and no content within can be copied, abbreviated, altered or used in any way without her prior approval which can be sought through the project coordinator. MARY KATHARINE SIMMS Lecturer in Medieval History 1) Origins of the Northern Uí Néill The term ‘Uí Néill’ was used in the early middle ages to describe a group of related royal dynasties ruling a series of kingdoms in West Ulster and the midlands of Ireland from about the fifth century into the high middle ages. They styled whichever of their number emerged as the most powerful king among them in each generation as ‘king’ or ‘highking of Tara’, and sometimes ‘king of Ireland’, though in reality this meant no more than the most powerful king in Ireland. In recent years geneticists have discovered that something like a fifth of the population in the north-west of Ireland, including Sligo, Donegal and Tyrone, O’Donnells, O’Dohertys, O’Devlins, O’Donnellys, MacLaughlins and so on, are actually descended in the male line from a single ancestor who lived about 400 A.D.