Gods and Fighting Men: The Story of the Tuatha De Danaan and of the Fianna of Ireland (Forgotten Books) [Paperback]

Lady Augusta Gregory (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 7, 2007

Book Description:

"GODS AND FIGHTING MEN : The Story of the Tuatha de Danaan and of the Fianna of Ireland, arranged and put into English by Lady Gregory

Gods and Fighting Men was first published in 1904, two years after Cuchulain of Muirthemne, and complements that work. It contains the other mythological histories of early Ireland, the stories of Lugh, of Mananaan, the Children of Lir, the coming of the Tuatha de Danaan, as well as those that deal with Oisin, Finn MacCumhal, the Fianna and their exploits, Oisin, and Diarmuid and Grania." (Quote from colinsmythe.co.uk)

Table of Contents:

Publisher’s Preface; Dedication; Preface By W B Yeats; Part I; Book I: Fight With The Firbolgs; Book I: Reign Of Bres; Book ii: The Coming Of Lugh; Book ii: The Sons Of Tuireann; Book iii: The Great Battle Of Magh Tuireadh; Book ii: Hidden House Of Lugh; Book iii: The Landing; Book iii: The Battle Of Tailltin; Book iv: Bodb Deag; Book iv: The Dagda; Book iv: Angus Og; Book iv: The Morrigu; Book iv: Aine; Book iv: Aoibhell; Book iv: Midhir And Etain; Book iv: Manannan; Book iv: Manannan At Play; Book iv: His Call To Bran; Book iv: His Three Calls To Cormac; Book iv: Cliodna's Wave; Book iv: Call To Connla; Book iv: Tadg In Manannan's Islands; Book iv: Laegaire In The Happy Plain; Book V: Fate Of The Children Of Lir; Part ii; Book I: The Coming Of Finn; Book I: Finns Household; Book I: Birth Of Bran; Book I: Oisin's Mother; Book I: The Best Men Of The Fianna; Book ii: The Lad Of The Skins; Book ii: Black, Brown, And Grey; Book ii: The Hound; Book ii: Red Ridge; Book iii: The Enemies Of Ireland; Book iii: Cael And Credhe; Book iii: Conn Crither; Book iii: Glas Son Of Dremen; Book iii: Help Of The Men Of Dea; Book iii: The March Of The Fianna; Book iii: The First Fighters; Book iii: The King Of Ulsters Son; Book iii: The High King's Son; Book iii: The King Of Lochlann And His Sons; Book iii: Labran's Journey; Book iii: The Great Fight; Book iii: Credhe's Lament; Book iv: King Of Britains Son; Book iv: Cave Of Ceiscoran; Book iv: Donn, Son Of Midhir; Book iv: Hospitality Of Cuanna's House; Book iv: Cats Heads And Dog Heads; Book iv: Lomna's Head; Book iv: Illbrec Of Ess Ruadh; Book iv: The Cave Of Cruachan; Book iv: The Wedding At Ceann Slieve; Book iv: The Shadowy One; Book iv: Finn's Madness; Book iv: The Red Woman; Book iv: Finn And The Phantoms; Book iv: The Pigs Of Angus; Book iv: The Hunt Of Slieve Cuilinn; Book V: Oisin's Children; Book vi: Birth Of Diarmuid; Book vi: How Diarmuid Got His Love-spot; Book vi: The Daughter Of King Under-wave; Book vi: The Hard Servant; Book vi: The House Of The Quicken Trees; Book vii: The Flight From Teamhair; Book vii: The Pursuit; Book vii: The Green Champions; Book vii: The Wood Of Dubhros; Book vii: The Quarrel; Book vii: The Wanderers; Book vii: Fighting And Peace; Book vii: The Boar Of Beinn Gulbain; Book viii: Tailc, Son Of Treon; Book viii: Meargach's Wife; Book viii: Ailne's Revenge; Book ix: The Quarrel With The Sons Of Morna; Book ix: Death Of Goll; Book ix: The Battle Of Gabhra; Book X: The Death Of Bran; Book X: The Call Of Oisin; Book X: The Last Of The Great Men; Book xi: Oisin's Story; Book xi: Oisin In Patrick's House; Book xi: The Arguments; Book xi: Oisin's Lament; Notes; Pronunciation And Place Names

About the Publisher:

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, Esoteric and Mythology. www.forgottenbooks.org

Forgotten Books is about sharing information, not about making money. All books are priced at wholesale prices. We are also the only publisher we know of to print in large sans-serif font, which is proven to make the text easier to read and put less strain on your eyes.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

About the Author:

"Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (15 March 1852¿22 May 1932), née Isabella Augusta Persse, was an Irish dramatist and folklorist. With William Butler Yeats and others, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, and wrote numerous short works for both companies. Lady Gregory produced a number of books of retellings of stories taken from Irish mythology. Born into a class that identified closely with British rule, her conversion to cultural nationalism, as evidenced by her writings, was emblematic of many of the changes to occur in Ireland during her lifetime.

Lady Gregory is mainly remembered for her work behind Irish Literary Revival. Her home at Coole Park, County Galway served as an important meeting place for leading Revival figures, and her early work as a member of the board of the Abbey was at least as important for the theatre's development as her creative writings. Her motto was taken from Aristotle: "To think like a wise man, but to express oneself like the common people."" (Quote from wikipedia.org)

Product Details

• Paperback: 446 pages
• Publisher: Forgotten Books (November 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605061425
• ISBN-13: 978-1605061429
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #977,108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is THE actual Book of Irish Mythology, August 21, 2005

By 

Ogma (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gods and Fighting Men: The Story of the Tuatha De Danaan & of the Fianna of Ireland (Coole Edition of Lady Gregory's Works; V. 3) (Paperback)

Gods and Fighting Men is an excellent resource because it preserves the lore from the Book of Invasions as well as other sources -- the legends of the earliest inhabitants of Ireland, the coming of the Tuatha De Danaan (The People of Dana) and the stories of Finn MacCumhail.

What is portrayed as "Early Irish Mythology" 99% of the time actually isn't -- the dozens of translations of The Tain, albeit worthy reading, are actually the lore of Ulster, a single Irish province. This makes it Ulster Mythology (regional) more than Irish Mythology (national).

The legends of the Tuatha De Danaan are essential for a comprehensive understanding of Irish mythology, actually comprising the majority of the Mythological Cycle, and deal with the initial settling of all of Ireland.

Unfortunately, it seems to be modern New Age reconstructions of the Mythological Cycle rather than the native stories that seem to be infusing themselves into the mainstream, and that is sad.

In my mind, the Mythological Cycle is the most important cycle in Irish mythology, because it sets up the scenario for all that is to follow. The Fenian Cycle (legends of Finn MacCumhail and his warband) are fascinating not only for their strong associations with Nature, but also for the fact that the stories are well-known both in Ireland and in the Scottish Highlands. The Gods still walked and resided on (or in) the Earth and interacted often with mortals. Magic was all around.

The Tain, on the other hand, is more a time of towns and forts and war-chariots; a time when magic was less present and people were less intertwined with Nature than in the Golden Age. The Gods had already departed our realm and only made brief cameos in the stories.

In summary, Gods and Fighting Men is the actual collection of Irish Mythology from the earliest legends. It affects all of Ireland and the stories are fairly widespread throughout the Gaelic world. Lady Gregory wrote these translations with a view to retain the native Irish sense of story-telling; this she achieved remarkably well.

My one concern is that it would have been nice for Lady Gregory to have cited her sources for each story. I know that in many cases she blended versions from several sources to produce what she saw as the purest form of the story, but a simple listing of these would have been fantastic from an academic standpoint.

Overall this is probably the greatest collection of Irish Mythology I have found so far, albeit Lady Gregory's focus was primarily as storyteller rather than academic (this is not a bad thing -- dry, stale translations of Irish lore would have been extremely anti-Irish in themselves).

This should probably be the FIRST book one reads of Irish Mythology. I highly recommend this book and the fact that it is value-priced definitely doesn't hurt, either. This book is definitely worth several times its cost.

Happy Reading!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Irish Myths brought to Life, February 8, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (- - Toronto - Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gods and Fighting Men: The Story of the Tuatha De Danaan & of the Fianna of Ireland (Coole Edition of Lady Gregory's Works; V. 3) (Paperback)

The works of Lady Gregory are the best way to get a pure taste of the original Irish Myths - unless you are fluent in Gaelic and can get a hold of older copies. Lady Gregory's elequent speech and style breathes life into Ireland's forgotten Heroes and Gods!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read, but remember the stylistic differences....., June 9, 2000

By 

David Stabler "dwivian" (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gods and Fighting Men: The Story of the Tuatha De Danaan & of the Fianna of Ireland (Coole Edition of Lady Gregory's Works; V. 3) (Paperback)

Lady Gregory faithfully renders old Irish stories into a form that we clods that only speak English can understand. She does not, however, make them more prosaic, or fix them into what we normally find as our story format! They are true to the original structures of the genre, and are much more lively and fun for that. My wife places them firmly in the nature of Irish legend, which she calls "We went over there and stole their cow!" (Tain Bo Cuailnge is basically a story of a cow theft, and is one of the most famous stories of Irish legend). I love the split style, and it does give the reader a good understanding of the way stories were related in the old days. A must for those who want to know where some of the ancient Irish names derive!