Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0183/01839.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 36KB | 576 lines

$Unique_ID{COW01839}
$Pretitle{423}
$Title{Ireland
Literature}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Embassy of Ireland, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{Embassy of Ireland, Washington DC}
$Subject{irish
literature
period
century
ireland
tradition
early
literary
modern
english}
$Date{1990}
$Log{}
Country:     Ireland
Book:        Facts About Ireland. 1990
Author:      Embassy of Ireland, Washington DC
Affiliation: Embassy of Ireland, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Literature

Literature in Irish

The Early Period

     The earliest extant literature in Irish dates from the 6th century AD. It
consists of poems of praise, satires, and laments in Irish by professional
literary men who were heirs to the pre Christian druids. This material was
first recorded in manuscripts by the early Irish monks who themselves produced
lyric poetry of a high quality. Their verse displays an acute feeling for
language and an impressionistic treatment of their themes, reminiscent of
certain eastern literatures. In this they were, however, continuing rather
than creating a tradition as recent scholarship has demonstrated that some
examples of the genre belong to the 6th century and are pre-Christian in
reference.

     The monks' compilations of orally-transmitted literature contain much
from the pre-Christian culture of Ireland. They include the heroic and
mythological sagas such as Tain Bo Cuailgne (The Cattle-raid of Cuailgne),
a work which is of particular value for the light it throws on early Irish
society. The saga Cath Maige Tured (The Battle of Mag Tured), provides
valuable information on Irish mythology.

     Irish literature of the period was not without influence on later
European literature. The theme of tragic love, as illustrated in the legend of
Tristan and Isolde, is thought to derive ultimately from Irish sources, such
as the tales of Deirdre and Naoise, Liadan and Cuirithir, and Grainne and
Diarmaid. A genre of adventure stores was the ultimate source of the
Arthurian legends, while accounts of fantastic voyages, such as Immram Curaig
Maile Duin (The Voyage of Mail Duin's Boat) and the Latin Navigatio
Brendani (The Voyage of Brendan), captured the imagination of medieval Europe.

The Middle Irish Period

     The period of the Viking incursions and settlements, when political
strife was endemic, is frequently regarded as a time of literary stagnation;
this is the Middle Irish period. Certainly, it lacks the freshness and
vitality of the Old Irish period but it produced, nevertheless, a substantial
body of literature. This includes the long sequence of 150 cantos on biblical
themes called Saltair na Rann (The Psalter of Verses), a work believed to have
been completed in 988 by Aibertach Mac Coillte Dobrain, though this is
disputed by some scholars; the historical poems of Flann Mainistrech (c 1000 -
1056); the massive verse and prose compilations of legend and speculation
about famous places, called collectively Dinnsenchas (Place - lore);
adaptations to the form of Irish prose sagas of Latin epics such as Vergil's
Aeneid, and Lucan's Bellum Civile. To the end of the period belongs the
powerful satire on monks and literary men, Aislinge Meic Conglinne (The Dream
of Mac Conglinne).

The Early Modern Period

     Following the social and political changes brought about by the arrival
of the Anglo-Normans in 1169, there begins what is classified as the Early
Modern, or Classical Modern, period in Irish language and literature. It
lasted until the 17th century. It is characterized primarily by a new more
modern standard literary language associated principally with the secular
schools of language and literature which were maintained by professional
poets or scholars, called filidh in Irish and frequently bards in English.
Verse compositions by these professional poets form a substantial part of the
literature which is extant from the period. Encomiastic addresses to their
patrons among the aristocracy, as that was the poets' chief function,
predominate; but the extant material includes much religious and personal
poetry also. Among the more eminent of the class were: Donnchadh Mor O
Dalaigh (1175-1244); Muireadhach Albanach O Dalaigh (1180-1250); Gofraidh
Fionn O Dalaigh (1320-1387), who was regarded by members of the profession
who came after his as the finest exponent of their craft; Tadhg Og O Huiginn
(d 1448); Tadhg Dall O Huiginn (1550-1591); Eochaidh O hEoghusa (1567-1617);
and, one of the last in the tradition, Fearflatha O Gnimh (1602-1640). One
may deduce, even from this much abbreviated list, that the profession was
largely hereditary.

     The Early Modern period produced the earliest examples of Fionn or
Ossianic literature. Fionn was the legendary leader of a warrior band, the
Fianna; his son was Oisin. The earliest reference to Fionn is in a text
which belongs to the 8th or 9th centuries, but the first full treatment of the
Fionn theme in extent literature is the very comprehensive Agallamh na
Seanorach (The Conversation of the Old Men), which belongs to the end of the
12th century. It is a compilation of prose tales and narrative and lyrical
verse, unified by the device of supposing that Oisin, or a fellow-warrior
Caoilte, survived to meet St Patrick, travel the country with him and recount
to him the exploits and experiences which linked Fionn and his Fianna to the
places they visited. Thus, like many other compositions in the traditional
literature, it reflects the persistent influence of the Dinnsenchas. The
Fionn themes continued until the 18th century to inspire verse and prose
compositions; in 1750 Micheal Coimin composed his Laoi Oisiin ar Thir na
nOg (Oisin's Song about the Land of Youth), which is probably the last
literary composition in the cycle. The Fionn themes were also extremely
popular in the oral story-telling tradition and survived in that medium until
the 20th century. The Fionn literature first became known internationally
through the Ossianic poems of James McPherson (1736-96), whose work was
inspired by contact with the oral tradition in Gaelic Scotland.

     The Early Modern period also saw the adaptation of much narrative and
pious matter from external sources, mainly French and English, and love poetry
in the amour courtoil genre was very successfully practised by professional
poets and members of the aristocracy. Noblemen, some of whose compositions
survive, are: the third Earl of Desmond, Gearoid Mac Gearailt (1335-1398);
Lord of Tyrconnell, Maghnus O Domhnaill (1500-1563); and Sir Piaras
Feiriteir (1610-1653).

The Post-Classical Period

     The Early Modern period came rapidly to an end following the overthrow
of the Gaelic order in the 17th century. The transition is marked in prose by
compilations intended to conserve the record of Gaelic civilisation, such as
the great synthesis Annala Rioghachta Eireann (Annals of the Kingdom of
Ireland) written in 1632-1636 under the supervision of Micheal O Cleirigh
(1575-1645), or Seathrun Ceitinn's narrative history Foras Feasa ar Eirinn
(Basic Knowledge about Ireland). Seathrun Ceitinn (1570-1645) was
deprecated as an amateur by professional historians of the native tradition,
but he was a great master of prose and his work remained extremely popular
until recent times; it still exerts some influence on Irish prose style.

     As for verse, the transition was marked by an abrupt decline of
patronage for poets and by the replacement of the classical syllable-count
metres by stress-count metres called amhran. The amhran metres appear fully
fledged, in various patterns and frequently in conjunction with an arcane
style. They can hardly, therefore, represent the development of a more simple
medium for a less sophisticated audience, as has sometimes been suggested, and
their provenance is still a matter of controversy. The most prominent poets of
the period were Seathrun Ceitinn, Padraigin Haicead (1600-1654), a
quarrelsome Dominican who was much involved in the politics of his day, and
Daibhi O Bruadair (1625-1698), who strove in vai