Bibliography
Narrative literature
Irish literature
Ulster CycleCycles of the KingsFinn CycleMythological CycleDinnshenchas ÉrennWelsh literature
MabinogionFinn Cycle
Results (466)
Flahive, Joseph J., “The shield of Fionn: the poem Uchán a sciath mo rígh réigh in Leabhar Ua Maine”, in: John Carey, Kevin Murray, and Caitríona Ó Dochartaigh (eds), Sacred histories: a Festschrift for Máire Herbert, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2015. 139–160.
Edel, Doris, Inside the Táin: exploring Cú Chulainn, Fergus, Ailill, and Medb, Berlin: curach bhán, 2015. xii + 372 pp.
abstract:
This is the first literary-critical study of the Táin Bó Cúailnge in its entirety, and as an autonomous literary work. The key to a more deeply probing understanding of the semiliterate epic is the study of its characters: what they do and why they do it – why more important than what. Why reveals the differences between the various versions. Most promising is the multilayered Recension I, mainly preserved in Lebor na hUidre, which testifies of the keen interest of its compilers in the portrayal of the characters, while the version in the Book of Leinster, with its tendency to omit what might lessen the heroes’ prestige, pays for its greater unity with loss of depth.
The multifacetedness of the characters in the early version, combined with the deceptive simplicity of the plot, lends the work a remarkable pragmatism. Despite occasional baroque descriptions of battle frenzy, the main heroes Cú Chulainn and Fergus embody a heroism reined in by prudence. All through the war they do everything in their power to limit the use of force. Ailill and Medb represent a new type of ruler-entrepreneur, who seeks to realize his aim at the lowest possible cost and accepts failure matter-of-factly. So the epic has no fatal end-point. The greater part of the two armies are able return to their countries. The theme of mutual destruction is relegated to the Battle of the Bulls. The lasting antagonism between the North and the remainder of the island must have endowed the Táin with contemporary significance at various points in time, as the allusions to (near-)contemporary events suggest.
(source: publisher)
Hoyne, Mícheál, “Imtheacht an dá nónmhar agus tóraigheacht Taise Taoibhghile: an Early Modern Irish exemplary tale”, Ériu 65 (2015): 1–47.
abstract:
The Early Modern Irish (EModIr) fianaigheacht text known as Tóraigheacht Taise Taoibhghile (henceforth TTT) has not hitherto been the subject of any lengthy critical comment. The present paper will argue that TTT is an exemplary tale concerned with the relationships of vassals to their overlords and to one another. In addition, attention will be drawn to the text’s treatment of poets and poetry, in particular with regard to the privileged position of men of art in aristocratic military society and the proper use of praise and satire.
Lash, Elliott, POMIC: The parsed Old and Middle Irish corpus. Version 0.1, Online: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, School of Celtic Studies, 2014–present. URL: <https://www.dias.ie/celt/celt-publications-2/celt-the-parsed-old-and-middle-irish-corpus-pomic/>
Connon, Anne, “The Roscommon locus of Acallam na senórach and some thoughts as to tempus and persona”, in: Kevin Murray, and Aidan Doyle (eds), In dialogue with the Agallamh: essays in honour of Seán Ó Coileáin, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2014. 21–59.
Flahive, Joseph J., “Revisiting the Reeves Agallamh”, in: Kevin Murray, and Aidan Doyle (eds), In dialogue with the Agallamh: essays in honour of Seán Ó Coileáin, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2014. 164–184.
Nagy, Joseph Falaky, “Death by pillow”, in: Georgia Henley, Paul Russell, and Joseph F. Eska (eds), Rhetoric and reality in medieval Celtic literature: studies in honor of Daniel F. Melia, 11-12, Hamilton, NY: Colgate University Press, 2014. 128–136.
Carey, John, “Acallam na senórach: a conversation between worlds”, in: Kevin Murray, and Aidan Doyle (eds), In dialogue with the Agallamh: essays in honour of Seán Ó Coileáin, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2014. 76–89.
Dooley, Ann, “The European context of Acallam na senórach”, in: Kevin Murray, and Aidan Doyle (eds), In dialogue with the Agallamh: essays in honour of Seán Ó Coileáin, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2014. 60–75.
Dooley, Ann, “Pagan beliefs and Christian redress in Acallam na senórach”, in: Jacqueline Borsje, Ann Dooley, Séamus Mac Mathúna, and Gregory Toner (eds), Celtic cosmology: perspectives from Ireland and Scotland, 26, Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2014. 249–267.
Nagy, Joseph Falaky, “Some strands and strains in Acallam na senórach”, in: Kevin Murray, and Aidan Doyle (eds), In dialogue with the Agallamh: essays in honour of Seán Ó Coileáin, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2014. 90–108.
Ó Coileáin, Seán, “The setting of Géisid cúan”, in: Kevin Murray, and Aidan Doyle (eds), In dialogue with the Agallamh: essays in honour of Seán Ó Coileáin, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2014. 218–230.
Eson, Lawrence, “Riddling and wooing in the medieval Irish text Tochmarc Ailbe”, Études Celtiques 40 (2014): 101–115.
Journal volume: Persée – Études Celtiques, vol. 40, 2014: <link>
abstract:
[FR] Parler par énigmes et faire la cour dans le texte irlandais médiéval Tochmarc Ailbe
Le parler par énigmes apparaît comme une forme de discours spécialisé dans le texte irlandais Tochmarc Ailbe («La cour faite à Ailbe»), du XIe siècle, dans lequel le héros guerrier Finn mac Cumaill met à l’épreuve l’aptitude de la fille du roi Cormac Mac Airt, Ailbe Grúadbrecc, à devenir sa femme. Ailbe donne des réponses admirables aux énigmes que lui pose un Finn vieillissant, et montre ses capacités personnelles et sa perspicacité intellectuelle en lui envoyant des répliques spirituelles de sa composition. La résolution du conflit dans ce couple se réalise par une bataille verbale, et indique finalement comme thème majeur du texte la complémentarité des sexes, une harmonie dynamique qui s’accomplit grâce au pouvoir de la parole. Plus encore, le texte met l’accent sur le pouvoir de la voix des femmes dans les narrations irlandaises médiévales.
[EN] The article examines riddling as a form of specialized discourse in the circa eleventh-century Irish text Tochmarc Ailbe (“The Wooing of Ailbe”), in which the warrior-hero Finn mac Cumaill tests the suitability of King Cormac Mac Airt’s daughter Ailbe Grúadbrecc as a bride. Ailbe responds admirably to the riddles posed by the aging Finn, displaying her own personal mettle and intellectual acumen by answering him with witty ripostes of her own. The resolution of conflict between the couple is accomplished through this verbal sparring, and ultimately reveals as a major theme of the work the complementarity of the sexes, a dynamic harmony which is achieved through the power of oral discourse. Additionally, the power of the female voice in early Irish storytelling is further emphasized.
Le parler par énigmes apparaît comme une forme de discours spécialisé dans le texte irlandais Tochmarc Ailbe («La cour faite à Ailbe»), du XIe siècle, dans lequel le héros guerrier Finn mac Cumaill met à l’épreuve l’aptitude de la fille du roi Cormac Mac Airt, Ailbe Grúadbrecc, à devenir sa femme. Ailbe donne des réponses admirables aux énigmes que lui pose un Finn vieillissant, et montre ses capacités personnelles et sa perspicacité intellectuelle en lui envoyant des répliques spirituelles de sa composition. La résolution du conflit dans ce couple se réalise par une bataille verbale, et indique finalement comme thème majeur du texte la complémentarité des sexes, une harmonie dynamique qui s’accomplit grâce au pouvoir de la parole. Plus encore, le texte met l’accent sur le pouvoir de la voix des femmes dans les narrations irlandaises médiévales.
[EN] The article examines riddling as a form of specialized discourse in the circa eleventh-century Irish text Tochmarc Ailbe (“The Wooing of Ailbe”), in which the warrior-hero Finn mac Cumaill tests the suitability of King Cormac Mac Airt’s daughter Ailbe Grúadbrecc as a bride. Ailbe responds admirably to the riddles posed by the aging Finn, displaying her own personal mettle and intellectual acumen by answering him with witty ripostes of her own. The resolution of conflict between the couple is accomplished through this verbal sparring, and ultimately reveals as a major theme of the work the complementarity of the sexes, a dynamic harmony which is achieved through the power of oral discourse. Additionally, the power of the female voice in early Irish storytelling is further emphasized.
Faletra, Michael A., Wales and the medieval colonial imagination: the matters of Britain in the twelfth century, The New Middle Ages, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
abstract:
Focusing on works by some of the major literary figures of the period, Michael A. Faletra argues that the legendary history of Britain that flourished in medieval chronicles and Arthurian romances traces its origins to twelfth-century Anglo-Norman colonial interest in Wales and the Welsh. Viewing the Welsh as England’s original repressed Other, this book identifies and critiques the ways in which medieval narratives construe Wales as a barbaric peripheral zone requiring colonial control. By focusing on texts across a variety of genres by some of the major literary figures of the period - including Geoffrey of Monmouth, Chrétien de Troyes, Marie de France, Gerald of Wales, Walter Map, and John of Salisbury - Faletra offers innovative new readings that illuminate both the subtle power and the imaginative limitations of these matters of Britain.
(source: Palgrave Macmillan)
Parsons, Geraldine, “The narrative voice in Acallam na senórach”, in: Kevin Murray, and Aidan Doyle (eds), In dialogue with the Agallamh: essays in honour of Seán Ó Coileáin, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2014. 109–124.
Lewis, Barry J., “St. Mechyll of Anglesey, St. Maughold of Man and St. Malo of Brittany”, Studia Celtica Fennica 11 (2014): 24–38.
Journal volume: Studia Celtica Fennica: <link>
abstract:
A late-medieval Welsh poem in honour of the Anglesey saint Mechyll contains features drawn from two other cults, those of the Breton St Malo and the Manx St Maughold. This article surveys the evidence for the interpenetration of these three cults in medieval Man and Anglesey. It describes first the contents of the Welsh poem and the other evidence for the cult of Mechyll. It demonstrates that Mechyll was identified with Malo under his Latin name, Machutus, though the identification itself is unhistorical. The question of the name of Malo-Machutus, the spread of his cult and the hagiography associated with him are then surveyed. It is shown that St Maughold of Man was likewise associated with Machutus, and that much the same thing happened at the Scottish church of Lesmahagow, originally dedicated to St Féchín. The place of Maughold in the Lives of St Patrick is then discussed, confirming that Maughold of Man was the saint associated by Muirchú (c.700) with Patrick’s adversary Mac Cuill. The final question raised is the name of Maughold himself. Though it is unlikely that Maughold and Mechyll were really the same historical individual, the possibility is acknowledged.
Szerwiniack, Olivier, “Les interprétations des noms hébreux dans le Liber glossarum”, Histoire Épistémologie Langage 36:1 (2014): 83–96.
abstract:
Among the 520 AB entries of the Liber glossarum, 17 give interpretations of Hebrew, Syriac and Chaldaic names. They represent a little more than 3% of the total. Their main sources are Eucherius of Lyon, Instructiones II, Isidorus of Sevilla, Etymologies VII and some biblical commentaries of Hieronymus, whose Liber interpretationis nominum Hebraicorum is the most important source of Eucherius and Isidorus. The immediate and ultimate sources of each interpretation are indicated and then the compiler’s method of working is explained. Paradoxically, most of the time, the compiler introduces interpretations of Hebrew names by a simple ‘‘interpretatur’’, without mentioning the Hebrew language.
Thanisch, Eystein, “What the Butlers saw: Acallam na senórach and its marginalia in the Book of the White Earl”, Aiste 4 (2014): 35–57.
Ó Cadhla, Stiofán, “Gods and heroes: approaching the Acallam as ethnography”, in: Kevin Murray, and Aidan Doyle (eds), In dialogue with the Agallamh: essays in honour of Seán Ó Coileáin, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2014. 125–143.
Caball, Marc, and Benjamin Hazard, “Dynamism and decline: translating Keating’s Foras Feasa ar Éirinn in the seventeenth century”, Studia Hibernica 39 (2013): 49–70.
Ní Bhrolcháin, Muireann, “The Banshenchas: genealogy and women of the Ulster Cycle”, in: Gregory Toner, and Séamus Mac Mathúna (eds), Ulidia 3: proceedings of the Third International Conference on the Ulster Cycle of Tales, University of Ulster, Coleraine 22–25 June, 2009. In memoriam Patrick Leo Henry, Berlin: curach bhán, 2013. 75–85.
Qiu, Fangzhe, “Wandering cows and obscure words: a rimeless poem from legal manuscripts and beyond”, Studia Celtica Fennica 10 (2013): 91–111.
Journal volume: – PDFs: <link>
abstract:
An Old Irish rimeless poem recording a verdict by the legendary judge Fachtna is found in manuscripts that represent various textual traditions. It is cited in a gloss to early Irish laws and commentary to Amra Coluim Chille, and in two lemmata in Sanas Cormaic. This paper provides a critical edition of the poem, and considers it together with the accompanying narrative prose and verses in the textual environments, in order to illustrate the complex relationship between these textual traditions. The discussion may further our understanding of the intellectual background of the medieval literati and the growth of medieval Irish law tracts.
Freitag, Barbara, Hy Brasil: the metamorphosis of an island, from cartographic error to Celtic elysium, Textxet Studies in Comparative Literature, 5.69, Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi, 2013. xii + 343 pp + ill..
abstract:
Brasil Island, better known as Hy Brasil, is a phantom island. In the fourteenth century Mediterranean mapmakers marked it on nautical charts to the west of Ireland, and its continued presence on maps over the next six hundred years inspired enterprising seafarers to sail across the Atlantic in search of it. Writers, too, fell for its lure. While English writers envisioned the island as a place of commercial and colonial interest, artists and poets in Ireland fashioned it into a fairyland of Celtic lore. This pioneering study first traces the cartographic history of Brasil Island and examines its impact on English maritime exploration and literature. It investigates the Gaelicization process that the island underwent in nineteenth century and how it became associated with St Brendan. Finally, it pursues the Brasil Island trope in modern literature, the arts and popular culture.
Sayers, William, “‘Finn and the man in the tree’ revisited”, e-Keltoi 8:2 (April, 2013): 37–55. URL: <http://www4.uwm.edu/celtic/ekeltoi>
Connon, Anne, “Plotting Acallam na senórach: the physical context of the ‘Mayo’ sequence”, in: Sarah Sheehan, Joanne Findon, and Westley Follett (eds), Gablánach in scélaigecht: Celtic studies in honour of Ann Dooley, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2013. 69–102.
Herren, Michael W., “Patrick, Gaul, and Gildas: a new lens on the apostle of Ireland’s career”, in: Sarah Sheehan, Joanne Findon, and Westley Follett (eds), Gablánach in scélaigecht: Celtic studies in honour of Ann Dooley, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2013. 9–25.
Edel, Doris, “Cú Chulainn on the couch: character portrayal in Táin bó Cúailnge”, in: Gregory Toner, and Séamus Mac Mathúna (eds), Ulidia 3: proceedings of the Third International Conference on the Ulster Cycle of Tales, University of Ulster, Coleraine 22–25 June, 2009. In memoriam Patrick Leo Henry, Berlin: curach bhán, 2013. 127–136.
Melia, Daniel F., “‘What are you talking about?’: Tochmarc Ailbe and courtship flytings”, in: Anders Ahlqvist, and Pamela OʼNeill (eds), Celts and their cultures at home and abroad: a Festschrift for Malcolm Broun, 15, Sydney: Celtic Studies Foundation, University of Sydney, 2013. 197–211.
Bosch, Kor, “De schaduwzijde van het pauselijk hof. Twee Welshe impressies van middeleeuws Rome”, Ex Tempore 32 (2013): 97–112.
abstract:
The medieval Welshmen Gerald of Wales and Adam Usk wrote extensively about their visits to Rome. How do these accounts compare and what do they tell us about life in medieval Rome for visiting Welshmen?
Dooley, Ann, “Speaking with forked tongues: gender and narrative in the Acallam”, in: Sarah Sheehan, and Ann Dooley (eds), Constructing gender in medieval Ireland, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. 171–190.
Dooley, Ann, “The deployment of some hagiographical sources in Acallam na senórach”, in: Sharon J. Arbuthnot, and Geraldine Parsons (eds), The Gaelic Finn tradition, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2012. 97–110.
Ní Mhurchú, Síle, “Agallamh Oisín agus Phádraig: composition and transmission”, in: Sharon J. Arbuthnot, and Geraldine Parsons (eds), The Gaelic Finn tradition, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2012. 195–208.
Ireland, Colin, “From protected to protector: some legal language in Cú Chulainn’s boyhood deeds”, in: Martin E. Huld, Karlene Jones-Bley, and Dean Miller (eds), Archaeology and language: Indo-European studies presented to James P. Mallory, 60, Washington, D.C.: Institute for the Study of Man, 2012. 15–22.
abstract:
Sport was the foundation of Cú Chulainn’s early training, and through sport one can see the makings of the great warrior he was to become. In his sporting and gaming activities one sees the application of early Irish law in terms of protection for the young Cú Chulainn and, subsequently, for his legal protection of others. This paper examines legal terminology that demonstrates how the young Cú Chulainn not only physically overcomes his opponents but also manages to place them legally under his protection.
Parsons, Geraldine, “Breaking the cycle? Accounts of the death of Finn”, in: Sharon J. Arbuthnot, and Geraldine Parsons (eds), The Gaelic Finn tradition, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2012. 81–96.
Nagy, Joseph Falaky, “Keeping the Acallam together”, in: Sharon J. Arbuthnot, and Geraldine Parsons (eds), The Gaelic Finn tradition, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2012. 111–121.
Breatnach, Caoimhín, “The transmission and text of Tóruigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne: a re-appraisal”, in: Sharon J. Arbuthnot, and Geraldine Parsons (eds), The Gaelic Finn tradition, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2012. 139–150.
Ó hUiginn, Ruairí, “Fiannagheacht, family, faith and fatherland”, in: Sharon J. Arbuthnot, and Geraldine Parsons (eds), The Gaelic Finn tradition, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2012. 151–162.
Morley, Vincent, “The popular influence of Foras feasa ar Éirinn from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century”, in: James Kelly, and Ciarán Mac Murchaidh (eds), Irish and English: essays on the Irish linguistic and cultural frontier, 1600–1900, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2012. 96–115.
Arbuthnot, Sharon J., “Finn, Ferchess and the rincne: versions compared”, in: Sharon J. Arbuthnot, and Geraldine Parsons (eds), The Gaelic Finn tradition, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2012. 62–80.
Hollo, Kaarina, “‘Finn and the man in the tree’ as verbal icon”, in: Sharon J. Arbuthnot, and Geraldine Parsons (eds), The Gaelic Finn tradition, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2012. 50–61.
Yocum, Christopher Guy, “Wisdom literature in early Ireland”, Studia Celtica 46 (2012): 39–58.
abstract:
This article explores connections between early Irish law and wisdom literature and the international context of such literature in Europe and the Near East. Insights from Old Testament studies – particularly the wisdom literature of the Old Testament – are combined with analysis from wisdom literature of medieval Europe and medieval Ireland. This is to forge a view of wisdom literature and the wisdom figures representing it.
Boyle, Elizabeth, “The authorship and transmission of De tribus habitaculis animae”, The Journal of Medieval Latin 22 (2012): 49–65.
abstract:
This paper argues that Aubrey Gwynn’s attribution of the Latin treatise De tribus habitaculis animae to Patrick, bishop of Dublin (d. 1084), is based on flawed argumentation. The manuscript evidence and the early transmission of the text suggest that it should be regarded as the work of an unknown pseudo-Patrick. Stylistic features are highlighted which argue against the author of De tribus habitaculis animae being identified with the author of the corpus of poetry also attributed to Patrick of Dublin. The English transmission of the text, and its ascription to a sanctus Patricius episcopus, is discussed in relation to English interest in the cult of St. Patrick in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.
(source: Brepols)
Ní Mhurchú, Síle [Ní Mhurchú, Máire Síle], “Agallamh Oisín agus Phádraig: téacs agus tráchtaireacht”, Unpublished PhD thesis, NUI Galway, 2012.
Färber, Beatrix, “Bedeutung und Rezeptionsgeschichte des Foras feasa ar Éirinn (c. 1634) von Geoffrey Keating (Seathrún Céitinn)”, Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 59 (2012): 97–117.
Kühns, Julia S., “Some observations on the Acallam bec”, in: Sharon J. Arbuthnot, and Geraldine Parsons (eds), The Gaelic Finn tradition, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2012. 122–138.
Parsons, Geraldine, “Whitley Stokes, Standish Hayes O’Grady and Acallam na Senórach”, in: Elizabeth Boyle, and Paul Russell (eds), The tripartite life of Whitley Stokes (1830-1909), Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2011. 185–195.
Ní Mhaonaigh, Máire, “Cormac mac Cuilennáin: king, bishop, and ‘wondrous sage’”, Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 58 (2011): 108–128.
Connell, Sarah, “Writing on the land of Ireland: nationality, textuality, and geography in the Acallam na senórach”, Hortulus: The Online Graduate Journal of Medieval Studies 7 — Space/place in the medieval imagination (2011). URL: <http://hortulus-journal.com/journal/volume-7-number-1-2011/connell/>
Iannello, Fausto, “Uso, carácter y función de San Brendano de Clonfert en algunos textos irlandeses y continentales de la Edad Media”, Nova et vetera: temas de vida cristiana 71 (2011): 169–199.
