The Cycles of the Kings

138 Pages·1946·8.085 MB·English

by  Myles Dillon

THE
CYCLES OF THE KINGS

THE
CYCLES OF THE KINGS
BY MYLES DILLON
GEOFFREY CUMBERLEGE
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON NEW YORK
1946
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
AMEN HOUSE, E.C. 4
London Edinburgh Glasgow New York
Toronto Melbourne Cape Town Bombay
Calcutta Madras
GEOFFREY CUMBERLEGE
PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN
PREFACE
Of the four cycles of Irish sagas, only the Ulster Cycle is
really well known, and that as a result of Thumeysen’s great
study, Die irische Helden- und Königsage. The Fenian and
Mythological Cycles have engaged the interest of modem writers
and are therefore also more or less familiar. But the Historical
Cycle— more properly the Cycles of the Kings, for there are a
number of separate cycles— is still comparatively unknown ex­
cept to a few specialists. There is no good account of it beyond
what O’Curry was able to supply in his Lectures on the Manu­
script Materials of Ancient Irish History (Dublin, 1878). The
historical sagas rise sometimes to a level of emotion and ex­
pression rarely excelled in stories of the other cycles, and they
contain much that is of interest for the study of political and
social history.
The scope and purpose of this book are limited. It is not
exhaustive. I have not attempted to do here for the Cycles of
the Kings what Thurneysen did for the Ulster Cycle. Before
that is possible a great deal of preliminary study must be made.
Unpublished recensions of some of the texts must be published
or examined, and the relation between the various recensions
of a text and between different texts must be established, and
a chronological order set up. There are indeed some important
texts that have never been published at all. But much that has
been published finds no mention here. I have chosen the stories
that seem to me to have the greatest value as literature, with
some regard also to their historical importance; for the book is
intended not primarily for Irish scholars, but rather for the
larger public whose interest may extend to this sort of know­
ledge, and who are not familiar with the Celtic journals. I have
sought to include any details that might be of importance for
students of history, anthropology or mythology, and the notes
call attention to points of special interest. My chief aim has
been to present the stories as well as the summary form permits,
while adhering strictly to the original. Where the literary
quality of a passage seemed to justify it, a literal translation is
given. Almost all of the texts summarized have been translated
PREFACE
VI
already by others, and these translations have been of great
assistance in the preparation of the summaries. But except in a
few instances, as indicated in the notes, I have preferred to make
fresh translations of the passages chosen. References to the
standard editions and translations are supplied. Questions of
manuscript tradition, sources, and date are merely presented.
Here the specialist will find at least the mention of matters
that await investigation. I have occasionally added a brief
account of kindred sources, but without any attempt at
completeness.
Proper names have been treated as seemed most convenient.
‘ The Battle of Moira ’ is familiar as the title of that story, and
I have admitted the form ‘ Moira ’ into the summary. ‘ Brendan ’
is well established as a rendering of the Irish Brénainn. On the
other hand, the names ‘Cormac Mac Airt’ and ‘Lugaid Mac
Con’ have not been translated, since the Irish forms are com­
monly used. Different spellings of the same name, ‘Derlus’ or
‘Durlas’, ‘Brandub’ or ‘Brandubh’, reflect the varying usage
of the scribes, but I have retained one form throughout each
story.
Bibliographical references, when abbreviated, are given in the
forms adopted by the Royal Irish Academy for the Academy’s
Dictionary of the Irish Language. Those who wish for further
information about the Cycles of the Kings, or any other branch
of Irish literature, should consult the excellent bibliographies
compiled by R. I. Best: Bibliography of Irish Philology and of
Printed Irish Literature (Dublin, 1913); Bibliography of Irish
Philology and Manuscript Literature: Publications iqi3-iç4i
(Dublin, 1942). Without them I could not have written this
book.
For advice and help I am indebted to my friends Eleanor
Knott, Daniel A. Binchy, George Thomson and Gerard Murphy,
and especially to Oliver Edwards who read the proof-sheets
and suggested many improvements.
M. D.