Product Description

Tales of the Elders of Ireland is the first complete translation of the late Middle-Irish Acallam na Senorach, the largest literary text surviving from twelfth-century Ireland. It contains the earliest and most comprehensive collection of Fenian stories and poetry, intermingling the contemporary Christian world of Saint Patrick with his scribes; clerics; occasional angels and souls rescued from Hell; the earlier pagan world of the ancient, giant Fenians and Irish kings; and the parallel, timeless Otherworld (peopled by ever-young, shape-shifting fairies). This readable, lucid new translation is based on existing manuscript sources and is richly annotated, complete with an Introduction discussing the place of the Acallam in Irish tradition and the impact of the Fenian or Ossianic tradition on English and European literature.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #477503 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780199549856
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Review
`" an eminently readable translation . . . . Dooley and Roe include an excellent introduction . . . . They also include a very helpful guide to the pronunciation of Irish names, . . . . This work will be of considerable value to those working in medieval Celtic studies, as well as in folklore and mythology or comparative literature"' James E. Doan, Irish Studies Review, Vol.8 No.3 2000

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)

About the Author
Ann Dooley is Director of the Celtic Studies Programme at the University of Toronto and teacher at the Centre for Medieval Studies. Harry Roe is Professor Emeritus at the Centre for Medieval Studies and the Centre for Religious Studies, University of Toronto.

Customer Reviews

A good reference
This is a translation of 12th century Irish manuscripts, Acallam na Senorach. I purchased it while looking for Acallam Bec, a variant of the same story (although I am beginning to doubt it exists in English).

I recommend Tales of the Elders for scholars or serious celtophiles. I found the footnotes and references very helpful. It is a translation, not a dramatization, so if you are looking for entertainment this is probably not what you want.

excellent for research and enjoyment
great little book filled with wonderful stories, a must read for any one studying Celtic folklore or history.