Irish Literary Tradition

with Maxim Fomin

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Week 7:

The penetration of saga material into the folklore tradition:

Manus O’Donnell’s Life of Columcille (Beatha Coluim Cille) as a repository of Irish folklore

In the year 1432, Maghnus Ó Domhnaill, the lord of the western part of what is known today as county Donegal, the land of Tír Chonaill, ordered to compile the account of life of his ancestor, Colum Cille, to support his claim over the lordship of Tír Chonaill and the whole of Ulster. This literary production was a masterpiece of its time and incorporated not only the literary sources on Colum Cille available at the time, but also a host of folklore beliefs associated with the saint. In the course of our lectures, we will familiarise ourselves with the complex phenomenon known as Irish folklore, with its constituents and expressions in everyday life and human conscience.

Select a Week:

Week 1 Introduction go
Week 2Encounters of saints with heroes go
Week 3The Ulster cycle of tales go
Week 4Early Irish native literary tradition go
Week 5Middle Irish satirical wiritngs go
Week 6Middle Irish romances & Fenian lays go
Week 7The penetration of saga material into the folklore tradition go
Week 8Irish historical and pseudo-historical writings go
Week 9The Irish lords on the continent go
Week 10The decline of the bardic tradition go
Week 11Late nineteenth century Irish literary revival go
Week 12Twentieth century Irish literature go