Lebor Gabála Érenn - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Lebor Gabála Érenn is the Middle Irish

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

title of a loose collection of poems and prose

Prose

Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...

narratives recounting the mythical origins and history of the Irish from the creation of the world down to the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

. An important record of the folkloric history of Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, it was compiled and edited by an anonymous scholar in the 11th century, and might be described as a mélange of mythology

Mythology

The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...

, legend, history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

, folklore

Folklore

Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...

and Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

historiography

Historiography

Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...

. It is usually known in English as The Book of Invasions or The Book of Conquests, and in Modern Irish

Irish language

as Leabhar Gabhála Éireann or Leabhar Gabhála na hÉireann.

Origins

Purporting to be a literal and accurate account of the history of the Irish, Lebor Gabála Érenn (hereinafter abbreviated as LGE) may be seen as an attempt to provide the Irish with a written history comparable to that which the Israelites provided for themselves in the Old Testament

Old Testament

The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

. Drawing upon the pagan myths of Celtic Ireland — both Gaelic

Gaels

The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....

and pre-Gaelic — but reinterpreting them in the light of Judaeo-Christian theology and historiography, it describes how the island was subjected to a succession of invasions, each one adding a new chapter to the nation's history. Biblical paradigms provided the mythologers with ready-made stories which could be adapted to their purpose. Thus we find the ancestors of the Irish enslaved in a foreign land, or fleeing into exile, or wandering in the wilderness, or sighting the "Promised Land" from afar.

Four Christian works in particular seem to have had a significant bearing on the formation of LGE:

St Augustine's
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...

De Civitate Dei, The City of God, (413-426 AD)
Orosius's Historiae adversum paganos, "Histories," (417)
Eusebius's
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...

Chronicon
Chronicon (Eusebius)
The Chronicon or Chronicle was a work in two books by Eusebius of Caesarea. It seems to have been compiled in the early 4th century. It contained a world chronicle from Abraham until the vicennalia of Constantine I in 325 AD...

, translated into Latin by St Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...

as the Temporum liber
Chronicon (Jerome)
The Chronicle was a universal chronicle, one of Jerome's earliest attempts in the department of history...

(379)
Isidore of Seville's
Isidore of Seville
Saint Isidore of Seville served as Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and is considered, as the historian Montalembert put it in an oft-quoted phrase, "le dernier savant du monde ancien"...

Etymologiae
Etymologiae
Etymologiae is an encyclopedia compiled by Isidore of Seville towards the end of his life. It forms a bridge between a condensed epitome of classical learning at the close of Late Antiquity and the inheritance received, in large part through Isidore's work, by the early Middle Ages...

("Etymologies"), or Origines
Origines
Origines is the title of a historical work by Marcus Porcius Cato, commonly known as Cato the Elder. Origines no longer survives as a complete text, but substantial fragments are known because they were quoted by later Latin authors....

("Origins") (early 7th century)

The pre-Christian elements, however, were never entirely effaced. One of the poems in LGE, for instance, recounts how goddesses from among the Tuatha Dé Danann

Tuatha Dé Danann

The Tuatha Dé Danann are a race of people in Irish mythology. In the invasions tradition which begins with the Lebor Gabála Érenn, they are the fifth group to settle Ireland, conquering the island from the Fir Bolg....

took Gaelic husbands when the Gael invaded and colonised Ireland. Furthermore, the pattern of successive invasions which LGE preserves is curiously reminiscent of Timagenes

Timagenes

Timagenes was a Greek writer, historian and teacher of rhetoric. He came from Alexandria, was captured by Romans in 55 BC and taken to Rome, where he was purchased by Faustus Cornelius Sulla, son of Sulla. It is said that Timagenes had a falling-out with emperor Augustus, whereupon he destroyed...

of Alexandria's account of the origins of another Celtic people, the Gauls

Gauls

The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....

of continental Europe. Cited by the 4th century historian Ammianus Marcellinus

Ammianus Marcellinus

Ammianus Marcellinus was a fourth-century Roman historian. He wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Antiquity...

, Timagenes (1st century BC) describes how the ancestors of the Gauls were driven from their native lands in eastern Europe by a succession of wars and floods.

Numerous fragments of Irish pseudohistory are scattered throughout the 7th and 8th centuries, but the earliest extant account is to be found in the Historia Brittonum or "History of the Britons," written by the Welsh priest Nennius

Nennius

Nennius was a Welsh monk of the 9th century.He has traditionally been attributed with the authorship of the Historia Brittonum, based on the prologue affixed to that work, This attribution is widely considered a secondary tradition....

in 829-830. Nennius gives two separate accounts of early Irish history. The first consists of a series of successive colonisations from Iberia

Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...

by the pre-Gaelic races of Ireland, all of which found their way into LGE. The second recounts the origins of the Gael themselves, and tells how they in turn came to be the masters of the country and the ancestors of all the Irish.

These two stories continued to be enriched and elaborated upon by Irish bards throughout the 9th century. In the 10th and 11th centuries, several long historical poems were written that were later incorporated into the scheme of LGE. However, most of the poems on which the original version of LGE was based were written by the following four poets:

Eochaidh Ua Floinn
Eochaidh Ua Floinn
Eochaidh Ua Floinn was an Irish poet who held the post of Chief Ollam of Ireland. He died in 984 AD.His poems are preserved in the Book of Lecan, Lebor Gabála Érenn and other manuscripts and include poems on the different invasions of Ireland. Edward O'Reilly gives a full account of these in his...

(936-1004) from Armagh
Armagh
Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...

– Poems 30, 41, 53, 65, 98, 109, 111
Flann Mainistrech
Flann Mainistrech
Flann Mainistrech was an Irish poet and historian.Flann was the son Echthigern mac Óengusso, who had been lector at the monastery of Monasterboice , in Irish Mainistir Buite, whence Flann's byname, meaning "of Monasterboice"...

mac Echthigrin (died 1056), lector and historian of Monasterboice
Monasterboice
The historic ruins of Monasterboice are of an early Christian settlement in County Louth in Ireland, north of Drogheda. It was founded in the late 5th century by Saint Buithe who died around 521, and was an important centre of religion and learning until the founding of nearby Mellifont Abbey in...

Abbey – Poems ?42, 56, 67, ?82
Tanaide (died c. 1075) – Poems 47, 54, 86
Gilla Cómáin mac Gilla Samthainde
Gilla Cómáin mac Gilla Samthainde
Gilla Cóemáin mac Gilla Samthainde, Irish poet, fl. 1072.Author of Annálad anall uile, a poem of fifty-eight quatrains, and a number of other works.-References:...

(fl. 1072) – Poems 13, 96, 115

It was late in the 11th century that a single anonymous scholar appears to have brought together these and numerous other poems and fitted them into an elaborate prose framework - partly of his own composition and partly drawn from older, no longer extant sources - which paraphrased and enlarged upon the verse. The result was the earliest version of LGE. It was written in Middle Irish, a form of Irish Gaelic used between 900 and 1200.

Textual variants and sources

From the beginning, LGE proved to be an enormously popular and influential document, quickly acquiring canonical status. Older texts were altered to bring their narratives into closer accord with its version of history, and numerous new poems were written and inserted into it. Within a century of its compilation there existed a plethora of copies and revisions, with as many as 136 poems between them. Five recensions of LGE are now extant, surviving in more than a dozen medieval manuscripts:

First Redaction (R¹): preserved in The Book of Leinster (c. 1150) and The Book of Fermoy (1373).

Míniugud (Min): this recension is closely related to the Second Redaction. It is probably older than the surviving MSS of that redaction, though not older than the now lost exemplar on which those MSS were based. The surviving sources are suffixed to copies of the Second Redaction.

Second Redaction (R²): survives in no less than seven separate texts, the best known of which is The Great Book of Lecan
Great Book of Lecan
The Book of Lecan is a medieval Irish manuscript written between 1397 and 1418. It is in the possession of the Royal Irish Academy....

(1418).

Third Redaction (R³): preserved in both The Book of Ballymote
Book of Ballymote
The Book of Ballymote , named for the parish of Ballymote, County Sligo, was written in 1390 or 1391....

(1391) and The Great Book of Lecan.

O'Clery's Redaction (K): written in 1631 by Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
Mícheál Ó Cléirigh
Mícheál Ó Cléirigh , sometimes known as Michael O'Clery, was an Irish chronicler, scribe and antiquary and chief author of the Annals of the Four Masters, assisted by Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire, and Peregrinus Ó Duibhgeannain.-Background and early life:Grandson of Tuathal...

, a Franciscan scribe and one of the Four Masters. Unlike the earlier versions of LGE, this redaction is in Early Modern Irish
History of the Irish language
The history of the Irish language covers the period from the arrival of speakers of Celtic languages in Ireland to the present day.The earliest known form of Irish, Primitive Irish, is found in Ogham inscriptions dating from the 3rd or 4th century...

but was admitted as an independent redaction by Macalister because there are indications that the author had access to sources which are no longer extant and which were not used by the compilers of the other four redactions. The work was compiled in the convent of Lisgool, near Enniskillen
Enniskillen
Enniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...

. O'Clery was assisted by Gillapatrick O'Luinin and Peregrine O'Clery (Michael O Clery's third cousin once removed, and one of the Four Masters).

The following table summarizes the extant manuscripts that contain versions of LGE. Most of the abbreviations used are taken from R. A. S. Macalister's critical edition of the work (see references for details):

Sigla	Manuscript	Location	Redactions	Notes
A	Stowe A.2.4	Royal Irish Academy Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...	R²	A direct and poor copy of D
B	The Book of Ballymote Book of Ballymote The Book of Ballymote , named for the parish of Ballymote, County Sligo, was written in 1390 or 1391....	Royal Irish Academy Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...	R³	B lost one folio after β, β¹ and β² were derived from it
β	H.2.4	Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...	R³	A transcript of B made in 1728 by Richard Tipper
β¹	H.1.15	Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...	R³	A copy, made around 1745 by Tadgh Ó Neachtáin, of a lost transcript of B
β²	Stowe D.3.2	Royal Irish Academy Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...	R³	An anonymous copy of the same lost transcript of B
D	Stowe D.4.3	Royal Irish Academy Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...	R²
E	E.3.5. no. 2	Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...	R²
F¹	The Book of Fermoy	Royal Irish Academy Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...	R¹	F¹ and F² are parts of one dismembered MS, F
F²	Stowe D.3.1	Royal Irish Academy Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...	R¹	F¹ and F² are parts of one dismembered MS, F
H	H.2.15. no. 1	Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...	R³
L	The Book of Leinster	Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...	R¹
Λ	The Book of Lecan Great Book of Lecan The Book of Lecan is a medieval Irish manuscript written between 1397 and 1418. It is in the possession of the Royal Irish Academy....	Royal Irish Academy Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...	R², Min	First text of LGE in The Book of Lecan Great Book of Lecan The Book of Lecan is a medieval Irish manuscript written between 1397 and 1418. It is in the possession of the Royal Irish Academy....
M	The Book of Lecan Great Book of Lecan The Book of Lecan is a medieval Irish manuscript written between 1397 and 1418. It is in the possession of the Royal Irish Academy....	Royal Irish Academy Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...	R³	Second text of LGE in The Book of Lecan Great Book of Lecan The Book of Lecan is a medieval Irish manuscript written between 1397 and 1418. It is in the possession of the Royal Irish Academy....
P	P.10266	National Library of Ireland National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism is the member of the Irish Government responsible for the library....	R²
R	Rawl.B.512	Bodleian Library Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...	R², Min	Only the prose text is written out in full: the poems are truncated
V¹	Stowe D.5.1	Royal Irish Academy Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...	R², Min	V¹, V² and V³ are parts of one dismembered MS, V
V²	Stowe D.4.1	Royal Irish Academy Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...	R², Min
V³	Stowe D.1.3	Royal Irish Academy Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...	R², Min
K¹	23 K 32	Royal Irish Academy Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...	K	Fair copy of the author Michael O Clery's Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Mícheál Ó Cléirigh , sometimes known as Michael O'Clery, was an Irish chronicler, scribe and antiquary and chief author of the Annals of the Four Masters, assisted by Cú Choigcríche Ó Cléirigh, Fearfeasa Ó Maol Chonaire, and Peregrinus Ó Duibhgeannain.-Background and early life:Grandson of Tuathal... autograph

K is contained in several paper manuscripts, but K¹, the "authoritative autograph", takes precedence.

Modern criticism

For many centuries LGE was accepted without question as an accurate and reliable account of the history of Ireland. As late as the 17th century, Geoffrey Keating

Geoffrey Keating

Seathrún Céitinn, known in English as Geoffrey Keating, was a 17th century Irish Roman Catholic priest, poet and historian. He was born in County Tipperary c. 1569, and died c. 1644...

drew on it while writing his history of Ireland, Foras Feasa ar Éirinn, and it was also used extensively by the authors of the Annals of the Four Masters

Annals of the Four Masters

The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...

. Recently, however, the work has been subjected to greater critical scrutiny. One contemporary scholar has placed it in "the tradition of historical fabrication or pseudohistory"; another has written of its "generally spurious character" and has drawn attention to its many "fictions", while acknowledging that it "embodies some popular traditions. The Irish archaeologist R. A. Stewart Macalister, who translated the work into English, was particularly dismissive of it: "There is not a single element of genuine historical detail, in the strict sense of the word, anywhere in the whole compilation".

Today, Macalister's opinion is considered excessive. While scholars are still highly critical of the work, there is a general consensus that LGE does contain an account of the early history of Ireland, albeit a distorted one. The most contested claim in the work is the assertion that the Gaelic conquest took place in the remote past—around 1500 BCE—and that all the inhabitants of Christian Ireland were descendants of these early Gaelic invaders. O'Rahilly, however, believed that the Gaelic conquest - depicted in LGE as the Milesian settlement - was the latest of the Celtic occupations of Ireland, taking place probably after 150 BCE, and that many of Ireland's pre-Gaelic peoples continued to flourish for centuries after it.

The British poet and mythologist Robert Graves

Robert Graves

Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...

may be cited as one of the relatively few modern scholars who did not share the scepticism of Macalister and O'Rahilly. In his seminal work The White Goddess

The White Goddess

The White Goddess: a Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth is a book-length essay on the nature of poetic myth-making by author and poet Robert Graves. First published in 1948, based on earlier articles published in Wales magazine, corrected, revised and enlarged editions appeared in 1948, 1952 and 1961...

(1948), Graves argued that ancient knowledge was transmitted orally from generation to generation by the druid

Druid

A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....

s of pre-literate Ireland. Taking issue with Macalister, with whom he corresponded on this and other matters, he declared some of LGE's traditions "archaeologically plausible". The White Goddess itself has been the subject of critical and skeptical comment; nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that Graves did find some striking links between Celtic and Near Eastern mythology that are difficult to explain unless one is willing to accept that myths brought to Ireland centuries before the introduction of writing were preserved and transmitted accurately by word of mouth before being written down in the Christian Era.

LGE was translated into French in 1884. The first complete English translation was made by R. A. Stewart Macalister between 1937 and 1942. It was accompanied by an apparatus criticus, Macalister's own notes and an introduction, in which he made clear his own view that LGE was a conflation of two originally independent works: a History of the Gaedil, modelled after the history of the Israelites as set forth in the Old Testament, and an account of several pre-Gaelic settlements of Ireland (to the historicity of which Macalister gave very little credence). The latter was then inserted into the middle of the other work, interrupting it at a crucial point of the narrative. Macalister theorized that the quasi-Biblical text had been a scholarly Latin work entitled Liber Occupationis Hiberniae ("The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), thus explaining why the Middle Irish title of LGE refers to only one "taking", while the text recounts more than half a dozen.

There now follows a brief outline of the text of LGE. The work can be divided into ten "books":

Genesis

A retelling of the familiar Judaeo-Christian story of the creation, the fall of Man and the early history of the world. In addition to Genesis, the author draws upon several recondite works for many of his details (e.g. the Syriac Cave of Treasures

Cave of Treasures

The Cave of Treasures, sometimes referred to simply as The Treasure, is a book of the New Testament apocrypha.-Origin:This text is attributed to Ephrem Syrus, who was born at Nisibis soon after AD 306 and died in 373, but it is now generally believed that its current form is 6th century or...

), as well as the four Christian works mentioned earlier (i.e. The City of God, etc.).

Early history of the Gaels

A pseudo-Biblical account of the origin of the Gaels as the descendants of the Scythian prince Fénius Farsaid, one of seventy-two chieftains who built the Tower of Babel

Tower of Babel

The Tower of Babel , according to the Book of Genesis, was an enormous tower built in the plain of Shinar .According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where...

. His grandson Goídel Glas

Goídel Glas

In Irish and Scottish Medieval myth, Goídel Glas is the creator of the Goidelic languages and the eponymous ancestor of the Gaels.-Scotland:...

, whose mother is Scota

Scota

Scota, in Irish mythology, Scottish mythology, and pseudohistory, is the name given to two different mythological daughters of two different Egyptian Pharaohs to whom the Gaels traced their ancestry, allegedly explaining the name Scoti, applied by the Romans to Irish raiders, and later to the Irish...

, daughter of a Pharaoh of Egypt, creates the Irish language

Irish language

from the original seventy-two languages that arose at the time of the dispersal of the nations. His descendants, the Gaels, undergo a series of trials and tribulations that are clearly modelled on those with which the Israelites are tried in the Old Testament. They flourish in Egypt at the time of Moses

Moses

Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...

and leave during the Exodus; they wander the world for four hundred and forty years before eventually settling in the Iberian Peninsula

Iberian Peninsula

. There, Goídel's descendant Breogán

Breogán

Breogán son of Brath was a mythical Celtic king from Galicia. Various accounts exist of this mythological father of the Galician nation. His sons were Ith and Bile . Bile was the father of Mil Espaine....

founds a city called Brigantia, and builds a tower from the top of which his son Íth glimpses Ireland. Brigantia can probably be identified with A Coruña

A Coruña

A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...

, north-west Galicia, known as Brigantium in Roman times; A Roman lighthouse there known as the Tower of Hercules

Tower of Hercules

The Tower of Hercules is an ancient Roman lighthouse on a peninsula about from the centre of A Coruña, Galicia, in north-western Spain. Until the 20th century, the tower itself was known as the "Farum Brigantium". The Latin word farum is derived from the Greek pharos for the Lighthouse of...

has been claimed to have been built on the site of Breogán's tower.

Cessair

This book, according to Macalister's scheme, constitutes the first interpolation in the Liber Occupationis. Cessair

Cessair

In Irish mythology, Cessair was, according to the Book of Invasions, leader of the first inhabitants of Ireland before the Biblical Flood....

is the granddaughter of the Biblical Noah, who advises her and her father, Bith, to flee to the western edge of the world on account of the impending Flood. They set out in three ships, but when they arrive in Ireland two of the ships are lost. The only survivors are Cessair, forty-nine other women, and three men (Cessair's husband Fintán mac Bóchra

Fintan

In Irish mythology Fintan mac Bóchra , known as "the Wise", was a seer who accompanied Noah's granddaughter Cessair to Ireland before the deluge...

, her father Bith, and the pilot Ladra). The women are divided among the men, Fintán taking Cessair and sixteen women, Bith taking Cessair's companion Bairrfhind and sixteen women, and Ladra taking the remaining sixteen women. Ladra, however, soon dies (the first man to be buried on Irish soil). Forty days later the Flood ensues. Fintán alone survives by spending a year under the waters in a cave called "Fintán's Grave". Afterwards known as "The White Ancient", he lives for 5500 years after the Deluge and witnesses the later settlements of the island in the guises of a salmon, an eagle and a hawk.

Partholón

Three hundred years after the Flood, Partholón

Partholón

Partholón, in medieval Irish historical tradition, was the leader of the second group of people to settle in Ireland, supposedly first to arrive after the biblical Flood. They arrived in 2680 BC according to the chronology of the Annals of the Four Masters, 2061 BC according to Geoffrey Keating's...

, who, like the Gaels, is a descendant of Noah's son Japheth

Japheth

Japheth is one of the sons of Noah in the Abrahamic tradition...

, settles in Ireland with his three sons and their people. After ten years of peace war breaks out with the Fomorians

Fomorians

In Irish mythology, the Fomoire are a semi-divine race said to have inhabited Ireland in ancient times. They may have once been believed to be the beings who preceded the gods, similar to the Greek Titans. It has been suggested that they represent the gods of chaos and wild nature, as opposed to...

, a race of evil seafarers led by Cichol Gricenchos

Cichol Gricenchos

In Irish mythology, is Cichol or Cíocal Gricenchos the earliest-mentioned leader of the Fomorians. His epithet, Gricenchos or Grenchos, is obscure but may mean "withered foot" or "footless"....

. The Partholonians are victorious, but their victory is short-lived. In a single week they are wiped out by a plague — five thousand men and four thousand women — and are buried on the Plain of Elta to the southwest of Dublin, in an area that is still called Tallaght

Tallaght

Tallaght is the largest town, and county town, of South Dublin County, Ireland. The village area, dating from at least the 17th century, held one of the earliest settlements known in the southern part of the island, and one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres.Up to the 1960s...

, which means "plague grave". A single man survives the plague, Tuan mac Cairill

Tuan mac Cairill

In Irish mythology Tuan mac Cairill was a follower of Partholon who alone survived the plague that killed the rest of his people. Through a series of animal transformations he survived into Christian times, and told the story of his people to St. Finnian....

, who (like Fintán mac Bóchra) survives for centuries and undergoes a succession of metamorphoses, so that he can act as a witness of later Irish history. This book also includes the story of Delgnat, Partholón's wife, who commits adultery with a henchman.

Nemed

Thirty years after the extinction of the Partholonians, Ireland is settled by the people of Nemed, whose great-grandfather was a brother of Partholón's. During their occupation, the land is once again ravaged by the Fomorians and a lengthy war ensues. Nemed wins three great battles against the Fomorians, but after his death his people are subjugated by two Fomorian leaders, Morc and Conand

Conand (mythology)

In Irish mythology Conand was a leader of the Fomorians who lived in a tower on Tory Island. He oppressed the followers of Nemed, demanding a huge tribute of their produce and children. Eventually Nemed's people rose up and killed him, destroying his tower....

. Eventually, however, they rise up and assault Conand's Tower on Tory Island

Tory Island

Toraigh is an inhabited island 14.5 km off the northwest coast of County Donegal, Ireland. It is also known in Irish as Oileán Thoraigh, Oileán Thoraí or Oileán Thúr Rí.-Language:The main spoken language on the island is Irish, but English is also understood...

. They are victorious, but an ensuing sea battle against Morc results in the destruction of both armies. A flood covers Ireland, wiping out most of the Nemedians. A handful of survivors are scattered to the four corners of the world.

Fir Bolg

One group of the seed of Nemed settled in Greece, where they were enslaved. Two hundred and thirty years after Nemed they flee and return to Ireland. There they separate into three nations: the Fir Bolg

Fir Bolg

In Irish mythology the Fir Bolg were one of the races that inhabited the island of Ireland prior to the arrival of the Tuatha Dé Danann.-Mythology:...

, Fir Domnann

Fir Domnann

The Fir Domnann were an ancient Irish people located in the west and north of Connacht, in Irrus Domnann, from which Erris in County Mayo now takes it's name. In Irish mythology they make up one third of the Fir Bolg. They are probably related to the British Dumnonii, and to the Irish Laigin...

and the Fir Gálioin. They hold Ireland for just thirty-seven years before the invasion of the Tuatha Dé Danann.

Tuatha Dé Danann

The Tuatha Dé Danann

Tuatha Dé Danann

are descendants of another group of the scattered seed of Nemed. They return to Ireland from the far north, where they have learned the arts of pagan magic and druidry, on or about May 1. They contest the ownership of Ireland with the Fir Bolg and their allies in the First Battle of Moytura

Magh Tuiredh

Cath Maige Tuired , meaning "The Battle of Magh Tuireadh", is the name of two saga texts of the Mythological Cycle of Irish mythology. The name Mag Tuired means "plain of pillars" or "plain of towers", and is anglicised as Moytura or Moytirra...

(or Mag Tuired). The Tuatha Dé are victorious and drive the Fir Bolg into exile among the neighbouring islands. But Nuada

Nuada

In Irish mythology, Nuada or Nuadu , known by the epithet Airgetlám , was the first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is cognate with the Gaulish and British god Nodens...

, the king of the Tuatha Dé, loses his right arm in the battle and is forced to renounce his crown. For seven unhappy years the kingship is held by the half-Fomorian Bres

Bres

In Irish mythology, Bres was a king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. His parents were Prince Elatha of the Fomorians and Eri, daughter of Delbaith. He was an unpopular king, and favoured his Fomorian kin...

before Nuada's physician Dian Cécht

Dian Cecht

In Irish mythology, Dian Cécht , also known as Cainte, Canta, was the God of healing to the Irish people. He was the healer for the Tuatha Dé Danann and the father of Cian, Cú, and Cethen...

fashions for him a silver arm, and he is restored. War with the Fomorians breaks out and a decisive battle is fought: the Second Battle of Moytura. Nuada falls to Balor

Balor

In Irish mythology, Balor of the Evil Eye was a king of the Fomorians, a race of giants. His father was Buarainech and his wife was Cethlenn...

of the Evil Eye, but Balor's grandson, Lugh

Lugh

Lug or Lugh is an Irish deity represented in mythological texts as a hero and High King of the distant past. He is known by the epithets Lámhfhada , for his skill with a spear or sling, Ildánach , Samhildánach , Lonnbeimnech and Macnia , and by the...

of the Long Arm, kills him and becomes king. The Tuatha Dé Danann enjoy one hundred and fifty years of unbroken rule.

Milesians

The story of the Gaels, which was interrupted at the end of Book 2, is now resumed. Íth, who has spied Ireland from the top of Breogán's Tower, journeys to Ireland to investigate his discovery. There he is welcomed by the rulers, but jealous nobles kill him and his men return to Iberia with his body. The Milesians

Milesians (Irish)

Milesians are a people figuring in Irish mythology. The descendants of Míl Espáine, they were the final inhabitants of Ireland, and were believed to represent the Goidelic Celts.-Myth:...

, or sons of his uncle Míl Espáine

Míl Espáine

In Irish origin legends, Míl Espáine or Míl Espáne is the ancestor of the final inhabitants of Ireland, the "sons of Míl" or Milesians, who represent the vast majority of the Irish Gaels....

, set out to avenge his death and conquer the island. When they arrive in Ireland, they advance to Tara, the royal seat, to demand the kingship. On the way they are greeted in turn by three women, Banba

Banba

In Irish mythology, Banba daughter of Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, is the patron goddess of Ireland....

, Fodla

Fódla

In Irish mythology, Fódla or Fótla , daughter of Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was one of the tutelary goddesses of Ireland. Her husband was Mac Cecht....

and Ériu

Ériu

In Irish mythology, Ériu , daughter of Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland. Her husband was Mac Gréine ....

, who are the queens of the three co-regents of the land. Each woman welcomes the Milesians and tells them that her name is the name by which the land is known, and asks that it remain so if the Milesians are victorious in battle. One of the Milesians, the poet Amergin

Amergin Glúingel

Amergin Glúingel or Glúnmar is a druid, bard and judge for the Milesians in the Irish Mythological Cycle. He was appointed Chief Ollam of Ireland by his two brothers the kings of Ireland...

, promises that it shall be so. At Tara they are greeted by the three kings of the Tuatha Dé Danann, who defend their claim to the joint kingship of the land. It is decided that the Milesians must return to their ships and sail out to sea to a distance of nine waves from the shore, so that the Tuatha Dé Danann may have a chance to mobilise their forces. But when the Milesians are "beyond nine waves", the druids of the Tuatha Dé Danann conjure up a ferocious storm. The Milesian fleet is driven out to sea but Amergin dispels the wind with his poetry. Of the surviving ships those of Éber

Eber Finn

Éber Finn , son of Míl Espáine, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland and one of the founders of the Milesian lineage, to which medieval genealogists traced all the important Gaelic royal lines.According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn, the ancestors of...

land at Inber Scéine (the Shannon

River Shannon

The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...

estuary) in the west of the country, while those of Érimón land at Inber Colptha (the mouth of the Boyne

Boyne

Several terms incorporating the word "Boyne" include:* Boann, the Irish goddess after whom the river is named* Boyne River * Boyne Falls, Michigan,* Boyne Resorts, a ski resort company in Michigan...

). In two ensuing battles at Sliabh Mis and Tailtiu, the Tuatha Dé Danann are defeated. They are eventually driven out and the lordship of Ireland is divided between Éber and Éremón.

Roll of the pagan kings of Ireland

Modelled on the Biblical Books of Kings

Books of Kings

The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...

, this book recounts the deeds of various kings of Ireland, most of them legendary or semi-legendary, from the time of Éber and Érimón to the early 5th century of the Christian era.

Roll of the Christian kings of Ireland

A continuation of the previous book. This book is the most accurate part of LGE, being concerned with historical kings of Ireland whose deeds and dates are preserved in contemporary written records.

O'Rahilly's interpretation

The manner in which Celtic-speaking peoples came to be in possession of the island of Ireland is still a matter of conjecture. However, four separate invasions or migrations were distinguished by the Celt

Celt

The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....

ic scholar T. F. O'Rahilly

T. F. O'Rahilly

Thomas Francis O'Rahilly was an Irish scholar of the Celtic languages, particularly in the fields of Historical linguistics and Irish dialects. He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy.-Biography:He was born in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland...

(see O'Rahilly's historical model

O'Rahilly's historical model

O'Rahilly's historical model is a theory of Irish prehistory put forward by Celtic scholar T. F. O'Rahilly in 1946. It was based on his study of the influences on the Irish language and a critical analysis of Irish mythology....

; the dates given below are highly doubtful):

Pretanic - Between about 700 and 500 BC P-Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...

-speaking people colonised Britain and Ireland from the continent. There is no real evidence of an organised military invasion, but by the 6th century ancient Greek geographers knew these islands as "the Pretanic Isles". In Britain they were absorbed by later invaders, except in the extreme north, where they were known to the Romans as Picti
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...

, or "painted peoples." In Ireland their descendants — wherever they managed to preserve some measure of cultural, if not political, independence — were known as the Cruthin
Cruthin
The Cruthin were a people of early Ireland, who occupied parts of Counties Down, Antrim and Londonderry in the early medieval period....

, a Gaelic or Q-Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...

form of Priteni, which is believed to be their original name for themselves. The name "Britain" is thought to be derived from Priteni.

Bolgic or Ernean - The Builg or Érainn were various names of another P-Celtic-speaking people who invaded Ireland around 500 BC. They might be linked with the continental Belgae
Belgae
The Belgae were a group of tribes living in northern Gaul, on the west bank of the Rhine, in the 3rd century BC, and later also in Britain, and possibly even Ireland...

, and of the same stock as the Britons. According to their own traditions, they came to Ireland via Britain. In Irish pseudohistory they appear as the Fir Bolg, a name which was variously interpreted as meaning "men of bags" (Latin viri bulgarum) or "belly men", though "men of the thunderbolt" would probably be more accurate.

Laginian - Around 300 BC three closely related tribes arrived in Ireland, known as the Laigin
Laigin
The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin , were a population group of early Ireland who gave their name to the province of Leinster...

, the Domnainn and the Gálioin. They are speculated to have been P-Celtic-speaking tribes from Armorica
Armorica
Armorica or Aremorica is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul that includes the Brittany peninsula and the territory between the Seine and Loire rivers, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic coast...

(Brittany). In Ireland they conquered the southeastern quarter of the country — which became known as Laighean, or Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...

, after them — and the west (Connacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...

). The Érainn, however, would have remained in control of the north and south. This is perhaps how Ireland first came to be divided into four provinces. Some of these tribes also settled in Britain (possibly from Ireland). In the southwest the Domnainn (Latin: Dumnonii) gave their name to Devon, while in the northwest they founded Dumbarton and the Kingdom of Strathclyde
Kingdom of Strathclyde
Strathclyde , originally Brythonic Ystrad Clud, was one of the early medieval kingdoms of the celtic people called the Britons in the Hen Ogledd, the Brythonic-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland and northern England. The kingdom developed during the post-Roman period...

.

Goidelic or Gaelic - Around 100 BC a Q-Celtic-speaking people invaded Ireland, traditionally said to be people from north-western Iberia where Gallaecian
Gallaecian language
The Northwestern Hispano-Celtic, Gallaecian or Gallaic, is classified as a Q-Celtic language under the P-Q system and was closely related to Celtiberian...

was spoken although O'Rahilly favoured Aquitania
Aquitania
Aquitania may refer to:* the territory of the Aquitani, a people living in Roman times in what is now Aquitaine, France* Aquitaine, a region of France roughly between the Pyrenees, the Atlantic ocean and the Garonne, also a former kingdom and duchy...

, in southwest Gaul. They arrived in two separate contingents: the Connachta, who landed at the mouth of the Boyne and carved out a fifth province for themselves (later known as Meath
County Meath
County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...

) around Tara between Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...

and Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...

; and the Eoganachta, who insinuated themselves into Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...

and gradually became the dominant force in the south of the country. Goidel — or Gael — may have originated as a P-Celtic name that the native population gave to these invaders, but in any event they themselves adopted the name.

So how is this reconstruction of the history reflected in LGE? To begin with, if the Cruthin had an invasion myth, no trace of it remains in LGE, which supports the belief that their colonisation of the country was a lengthy process of gradual migration. And the first two "takings" of Ireland — those of Cessair and Partholón — seem to be wholly fanciful, with no direct historical value at all.

The next taking, however, that of the Nemedians, may well have been a mythologised version of the historical Bolgic invasion of the 5th or 6th century BC. This belief is supported by many details in the text of LGE, a discussion of which is beyond the scope of this article.

The next two takings would also seem to have a historical basis. We can identify the Fir Bolg and their allies with the Érainn again, invading the country for a second time because their ancestors the Nemedians were portrayed as having abandoned the country (which the historical Érainn probably never did). The Tuatha Dé Danann might be a wholly mythical people who have been substituted for the historical Lagin, Domnainn and Gálioin. It has been suggested that this confused state of affairs arose because the Laginian invasion was not a true taking, since the Laginians only conquered about half the country. Nevertheless, the First Battle of Moytura probably does reflect an historical victory of the Lagin over the Érainn in County Sligo (the location of two townlands known as West and East Moytirra), by virtue of which the Lagin conquered the western province. The Second Battle of Moytura, however, would then have been entirely fictional, as most likely were the Fomorians.

The Milesian invasion is clearly a semi-legendary version of the historical Goidelic invasion. Éber and Éremón (whose names mean simply "Irishman" and "Ireland", respectively) have replaced the historical leaders of the Eoganachta and Connachta respectively. In the case of Éber, the allusion may be to Iberia, an ancient name for the Iberian Peninsula, whence doubtless warriors of Celtiberian

Celtiberians

The Celtiberians were Celtic-speaking people of the Iberian Peninsula in the final centuries BC. The group used the Celtic Celtiberian language.Archaeologically, the Celtiberians participated in the Hallstatt culture in what is now north-central Spain...

stock originated and emigrated to Ireland. The name of their father Míl Espáne is similarly derived from the Latin Miles Hispaniae, "a soldier of Hispania

Hispania

Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....

." O'Rahilly, however, believed that the Goidelic invaders of Ireland came from south-western Gaul

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

and not Iberia

Iberian Peninsula

. See O'Rahilly (1946) for further discussion.

The Roll of the Kings before the Introduction of Christianity contains much that is of interest to historians, but a lot of it is confused and bowdlerised. For example, the story of Tuathal Techtmar, who is depicted as a High King

High king

A high king is a king who holds a position of seniority over a group of other kings, without the title of Emperor; compare King of Kings.Rulers who have been termed "high king" include:...

of Ireland in the early 2nd century of the Christian era, is thought to be another version of the Goidelic invasion, Tuathal Techtmar being in reality the historical antecedent of Éremón. Éber's real antecedent, Mug Nuadat, would then be similarly displaced. There are also doublets of the Bolgic and Laginian invasions in the stories of two other kings, Lugaid mac Dáire and Labraid Loingsech

Labraid Loingsech

Labraid Loingsech , also known as Labraid Lorc, son of Ailill Áine, son of Lóegaire Lorc, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He was considered the ancestor of the Laigin, who gave their name to the province of Leinster...

. These bowdlerisations may have been politically motivated: by providing the pre-Gaelic peoples of the island with pedigrees going back to Míl, the Gaels hoped to deny them any prior claim to the country, and so justify the Gaelic conquest.

As mentioned earlier, The Roll of the Kings after the Introduction of Christianity is the most accurate part of LGE. For the most part, these kings are familiar to us from other sources. It should also be pointed out that whereas the first eight books of LGE are usually regarded as part of the Early Mythological Cycle

Irish mythology

The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...

, the last two books are properly assigned to the Historical Cycle.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Origins

Textual variants and sources

Modern criticism

Contents

Genesis

Early history of the Gaels

Cessair

Partholón

Nemed

Fir Bolg

Tuatha Dé Danann

Milesians

Roll of the pagan kings of Ireland

Roll of the Christian kings of Ireland

O'Rahilly's interpretation

See also

Edition

Further reading

External links