The Book Depository Tales of the Elders of Ireland by Ann Dooley
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Price: £10.64
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Description: Tales of the Elders of Ireland : Paperback : Oxford University Press : 9780199549856 : 0199549850 : 15 Oct 2008 : Tales of the Elders of Ireland is the first complete translation of the late Middle Irish Acallam na Senórach. Dating from around the end of the twelfth century it is the largest literary text surviving from early Ireland, mingling the contemporary Christian world of Saint Patrick, the earlier pagan world of the ancient, giant Fenians and the parallel, timeless Otherworld, peopled by ever-young, shape-shifting fairies. It also provides the most extensive account available of the Otherworld's music and magic, internecine wars, malice toward, and infatuation with, humankind - themes still featured in the story-telling of present-day Ireland. This readable and flowing 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. The Book Depository Tales of the Elders of Ireland by Ann Dooley - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk
Category: Books
Merchant: The Book Depository
Product ID: 9780199549856
MPN: 0199549850
GTIN: 9780199549856
Author: Mr B
Rating: 5
Review: I was reminded about the existence of the Acallam na Senorach (Tales of the Elders) by a comment made by Eavan Boland in her ‘Object lessons.’ Reading it took me back to literary explorations into a much different world than the present one; the world of myth and saga; where the Bard was the memory of the tribe; and where honour was sacrosanct. This, one might say, is the Celtic equivalent of the world of Homer. Narrative was verse. Wisdom may be anything from the gnomic to the practical: ‘Do not beat your hound without cause, nor libel your wife without proof,’ ‘Do not mock the holy man, nor be involved in quarrels; keep well away from these two, the witch and the evil man.’ ‘Do not frequent ale houses, nor be unkind to an old man; Listen to words of good counsel, have no truck with the rabble.’… Three worlds interact in this collection; the world of the Fenian perhaps made famous in the Tain; the world of the Otherworld, of the Tuatha de Danaan; and the world of Patrician hagiography. The narrators are (St.) Patrick, but his guide is an amazing character called Cailte, and they tour Ireland. Thus, in being a gazetteer of place names in Ireland, place being interminably linked to its history. The original collection is probably 13th.c., about the time that the Welsh and English started getting interested in the 5th.c. Arthur, but it clearly, like the Mabinogian of Welsh fame, goes back possibly to the 5th.c., and may be further. There are new translations of the Tain by Faber (Matthew Francis), and Carson, but the potential Welsh equivalent, ‘The Tales of the Princes’ is only available as an expensive academic publication. Do not expect a conventional narrative, and do not try to work things out, there is so much Irish in this it is a delight of story telling. The idea of suspending disbelief does not even come into it, and the picture we get of Patrick is refreshingly uncatholic, and for a Welshman, very Irish. There is a pronunciation guide appended (Irish Gaelic is much closer to Scottish Gaelic, than it is to the equally Celtic Welsh language), and a chronology of the Fenian tales. And this stylistically is so much better than Lady Gregory, who should have taken a leaf out of Lady Charlotte Guest’s book!
Author: C.W.
Rating: 3
Review: If you really, really love medieval Irish mytho-historical onomastics, and/or you have some bucket list that includes reading every piece of Fenian literature, this is the book for you. If not, be prepared for a pretty boring read. This is no fault of the translators, I think they've done about as much as one possibly could with the text. In essence, the Tales here will explain (again, in mytho-historical terms) the origin of a great number of Irish place names. If you live in Ireland and your circle of friends/acquaintances are the educated type, then you'll be the highlight of any party with your vast knowledge of what Finn and crew did where and why each place is called what it is. If that's not you, then your new-found party trick will most likely go unused, more's the pity.
