Classical Literature and Learning in Medieval Irish Narrative

Examinations of the use of classical Latin texts, themes and techniques in medieval Irish narrative.

Examinations of the use of classical Latin texts, themes and techniques in medieval Irish narrative.

This edited volume will make a major contribution to our appreciation of the importance of classical literature and learning in medieval Ireland, and particularly to our understanding of its role in shaping the content, structureand transmission of medieval Irish narrative. Dr Kevin Murray, Department of Early and Medieval Irish, University College Cork.

From the tenth century onwards, Irish scholars adapted Latin epics and legendary histories into the Irish language, including theImtheachta Aeniasa, the earliest known adaptation of Virgil'sAeneid into any European vernacular;Togail Troí, a grand epic reworking of the decidedly prosaic historyof the fall of Troy attributed to Dares Phrygius; and, at the other extreme, the remarkableMerugud Uilixis meic Leirtis, a fable-like retelling of Ulysses's homecoming boiled down to a few hundred lines of lapidary prose.Both the Latin originals and their Irish adaptations had a profound impact on the ways in which Irish authors wrote narratives about their own legendary past, notably the great sagaTáin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattle-Raid of Cooley). The essays in this book explore the ways in which these Latin texts and techniques were used. They are unified by a conviction that classical learning and literature were central to the culture of medieval Irish storytelling,but precisely how this relationship played out is a matter of ongoing debate. As a result, they engage in dialogue with each other, using methods drawn from a wide range of disciplines (philology, classical studies, comparative literature, translation studies, and folkloristics).

Ralph O'Connor is Professor in the Literature and Culture of Britain, Ireland and Iceland at the University of Aberdeen.

Contributors: Abigail Burnyeat, Michael Clarke, Robert Crampton, Helen Fulton, Barbara Hillers, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Ralph O'Connor, Erich Poppe.

Irish narrative literature and the Classical tradition, 900-1300 - Ralph O'Connor
Imtheachta Aeniasa and its place in medieval Irish textual history - Erich Poppe
History andhistoria: uses of the Troy story in medieval Ireland and Wales - Helen Fulton
The uses of exaggeration inMerugud Uilixis Meic Leirtis and inFingal Chlainne Tanntail - Robert Crampton
The medieval IrishWandering of Ulysses between literacy and orality - Barbara Hillers
Demonology, allegory and translation: the Furies and the Morrígan - Michael Clarke
Reconstructing the medieval Irish bookshelf: a case study ofFingal Rónáin and the horse-eared kings - Michael Clarke
'The metaphorical Hector': the literary portrayal of Murchad mac Bríain - Maire Ni Mhaonaigh
Was Classical imitation necessary for the writing of large-scale Irish sagas? Reflections onTáin Bó Cúailnge and the 'watchman device' - Ralph O'Connor
'Wrenching the club from the hand of Hercules': Classical models for medieval Irishcompilatio - Abigail Burnyeat
Bibliography