Irish Sagas

In Ireland, as in Wales, poetry and legend are the substance of the literature, and these essays will serve as an introduction to the prose tales of ancient Ireland. From these heroic sagas emerges a picture of an old Celtic society, recorded in manuscripts dating from the 8th century, indicating patterns of custom, social observances, and fantasy, which may also be traced in the stories of other cultures. Professor Dillon has chosen his team of collaborators with great care. Through their vivid translations they reconstruct the worlds of the mythological cycle, with stories of the pre-Christian gods; the Ulster cycle of heroic tales of great warriors; the Fenian cycle of inspiring noble youth; and the kingly cycle in which some historical figures have been vested with the immortality of legend. Eleven top-flight Irish scholars give depth, background, and new relevance to what is now accepted as the most important of Irish prose literature recorded before historians, orators, dramatists, and novelists took over the literary scene.