What were the Irish like before Oliver Cromwell? Why do the Irish insist on drinking and fighting at every turn? Why do the Irish believe in faeries? What is an "honor price"?
This book is a collection of stories that were told by bards and probably by parents to their Gaelic-speaking children for centuries. These are the stories that defined the Celtic culture of the Irish before the English succeeded in stamping out most of the Gaelic influence in Ireland. That cultural identity is now making a come-back and Gaelic is taking hold again on the Emerald Isle. These stories, translated in beautiful lyrical prose, share the honorable burning spirit that carried the Celts from continental Europe across the waters to Ireland, where they encountered the magical Sidhe (the faeries), the raiding Vikings, and the scarcity of land characteristic of island life.
These are the Irish tales of chivalry and Brithonic law rivaling the era of Camelot and King Arthur in England (themselves probably based on Celtic myths). I particularly enjoyed the mytho-historical stories of intrigue, betrothal, murder, and cattle-rustling. The boy hero, Cúchulainn, is a staple of heroic mythology, rendered with magical detail and epic proportion in these tales (slaying giants is standard fare). I found the Brythonic concepts of "honor price" and the boasting matches which resulted in the "hero's portion" at the king's table quite fascinating. And then there's the seamless (if dubious) integration of the Other world (the Sidhe) into the real world.
For me these stories represent an aspect of Irish Celtic culture worth being proud of, in contrast to the modern idea of Ireland as perhaps uneducated drinkers and fighters. These stories shows that the Irish have always been drinkers and fighters but these activities were fundamentally attached to a sense of dignity and social honor. After all, who is an honorable Celt who can't hold his or her mead at a banquet? Who is an honorable Celt who does not defend his family and property by the might of his arm and the strength of his wit and charm?
I like to think of this book as composed of stories that were told around the campfires and in the inns by bards before the reduction of the Gaelic tongues by the English. I hope they will continue to be told. They hold a mystery and value beyond simple mythology. They are the key to the ancestors of the Irish.
Randy has rendered the Gaelic beautifully into English and provided valuable footnotes discussing unfamiliar concepts. Still, you may find it helpful to research some concepts of Brithonic law as you read- especially honor price and the notion of a single-year contract marriage.
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