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''Acallam na Senórach'' (
Modern Irish
Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was t ...
: ''Agallamh na Seanórach'', whose title in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
has been given variously as ''Colloquy of the Ancients'', ''Tales of the Elders of Ireland'', ''The Dialogue of the Ancients of Ireland'', etc.), is an important
prosimetric Middle Irish
Middle Irish, sometimes called Middle Gaelic ( ga, An Mheán-Ghaeilge, gd, Meadhan-Ghàidhlig), is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, most of Scotland and the Isle of Man from AD; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old Engl ...
narrative dating to c.1200. It is the most important text of the Finn Cycle (also known as the
Fenian Cycle
The Fenian Cycle (), Fianna Cycle or Finn Cycle ( ga, an Fhiannaíocht) is a body of early Irish literature focusing on the exploits of the mythical hero Finn or Fionn mac Cumhaill and his warrior band the Fianna. Sometimes called the Ossi ...
, ''fíanaigecht'', ''fiannaigheacht'', ''fiannaíocht'' etc) and at about 8,000 lines is the longest surviving work of medieval
Irish literature
Irish literature comprises writings in the Irish, Latin, English and Scots ( Ulster Scots) languages on the island of Ireland. The earliest recorded Irish writing dates from the 7th century and was produced by monks writing in both Latin a ...
. It contains many Finn Cycle narratives framed by a story in which the ''
fianna
''Fianna'' ( , ; singular ''Fian''; gd, Fèinne ) were small warrior-hunter bands in Gaelic Ireland during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. A ''fian'' was made up of freeborn young males, often aristocrats, "who had left fosterage but had ...
'' warriors and
Caílte mac Rónáin
Caílte (or Modern Irish Caoilte) mac Rónáin was a nephew of Fionn mac Cumhaill, a warrior and a member of the fianna in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He is described as being able to run at remarkable speed and communicate with animals, ...
have survived long enough to relate the tales to
Saint Patrick. The work has been seen as a defence of the Irish literary establishment when it came under the scrutiny of Church reformers during the 12th to 13th centuries.
Contents
Set several hundred years after the death of
Finn mac Cumaill, the
frame story follows two aged Irish heroes as they travel
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
with a newly arrived
Saint Patrick.
[ The pagans are ]Caílte mac Rónáin
Caílte (or Modern Irish Caoilte) mac Rónáin was a nephew of Fionn mac Cumhaill, a warrior and a member of the fianna in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He is described as being able to run at remarkable speed and communicate with animals, ...
, Finn's nephew, and Oisín
Oisín ( ), Osian, Ossian ( ), or anglicized as Osheen ( ) was regarded in legend as the greatest poet of Ireland, a warrior of the Fianna in the Ossianic or Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He is the demigod son of Fionn mac Cumhaill and of ...
, Finn's son, both members of the famous warrior band, the Fianna
''Fianna'' ( , ; singular ''Fian''; gd, Fèinne ) were small warrior-hunter bands in Gaelic Ireland during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. A ''fian'' was made up of freeborn young males, often aristocrats, "who had left fosterage but had ...
. For most of the narrative Caílte is the more important informant of the two, regaling Patrick with tales of Finn and his men and explaining place names
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
they encounter in the manner of another Irish work, the '' Dinnsenchas''. Many of the allusions made within the text are in relation to Finn mac Cumaill.
The stories reiterate the greatness of Finn and his departed age of heroes, often focusing on the rivalry between Finn's family and that of his enemy Goll mac Morna
Goll mac Morna (or Goal mac Morn) was a member of the fianna and an uneasy ally of Fionn mac Cumhail in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He had killed Fionn's father, Cumhal, and taken over the leadership of the fianna, but when Fionn grew up a ...
, which threatened the stability of the island. Other stories record the Fianna's relationship with the Otherworld
The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherwor ...
and the Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gae ...
, while those involving Patrick often stress the importance of integrating the values and culture of pre-Christian Ireland with the new ways of the Church. Some of the individual tales may predate their inclusion in ''Acallam na Senórach'', though the authors adapted them with an eye towards narrative unity. Many of the tales within ''Acallam Na Senórach'' are told through lore and the passing down of traditional stories.
''Acallam na Senórach'' survives in five late manuscripts. Three are from the 15th century: Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Laud Misc. 610; Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson B 487; and the Book of Lismore
The Book of Lismore, also known as the Book of Mac Carthaigh Riabhach, is a late fifteenth-century Gaelic manuscript that was created at Kilbrittain in County Cork, Ireland, for Fínghean Mac Carthaigh, Lord of Carbery (1478–1505). Defective ...
. The fourth is Dublin, University College, OFM-A4 (what Stokes called the Franciscan manuscript, formerly kept at Killiney
Killiney () is an affluent seaside resort and suburb in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It lies south of neighbouring Dalkey, east of Ballybrack and Sallynoggin and north of Shankill. The place grew around the 11th century Killiney Churc ...
), which dates to the 16th century. The fifth witness is a copy of OFM-A4, namely Dublin, University College, OFM-A20(a).
Editions and translations
The work was edited, with an accompanying English translation entitled ''Colloquy with the Ancients'' by Standish O'Grady (1892), using the Book of Lismore
The Book of Lismore, also known as the Book of Mac Carthaigh Riabhach, is a late fifteenth-century Gaelic manuscript that was created at Kilbrittain in County Cork, Ireland, for Fínghean Mac Carthaigh, Lord of Carbery (1478–1505). Defective ...
version as the base text.
Whitley Stokes
Whitley Stokes, CSI, CIE, FBA (28 February 1830 – 13 April 1909) was an Irish lawyer and Celtic scholar.
Background
He was a son of William Stokes (1804–1878), and a grandson of Whitley Stokes the physician and anti-Malthusian (1763 ...
later printed an edition of ''Acallamh na Seanórach'' in ''Irische Texte'' IV, using the Laud Misc. 610 as base and drawing on Rawlinson B. 487, Book of Lismore, and the fourth copy. Stokes also provided a partial translation of the work to complement O'Grady's translation, filling the lacunae in the Book of Lismore.
The first complete English translation was that of Ann Dooley
Ann Dooley is a professor emerita with the Centre for Medieval Studies and the Celtic Studies Program at St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto where she specializes in Irish literature. She has published a translation of ''Acallam ...
and Harry Roe, ''Tales of the Elders of Ireland'', published by Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
in 1999. The translation provides information of how the tale offers many subtle references to the political scene of the era of the tale. This translation also informs the readers that St. Patrick is an allegory for the impact of Christian faith on Irish culture. Maurice Harmon (2009) published another translation, entitled ''The Dialogue of the Ancients of Ireland''.
Other related Acallam texts are:
''1) Agallamh na Senórach'', or the 'Reeves Agallamh' (RIA MS 24 P 5 (93) only extant copy formerly owned by Bishop Reeves. This is " different Agallamh from any that were hitherto known" according to Douglas Hyde (1920). It was edited by Nessa Ní Shéaghdha
Nessa Ní Shéaghdha or Nessa O (14 March 1916 – 11 April 1993) was an Irish Celtic Studies scholar.
Biography
Nessa Ní Shéaghdha was born to Seán Pádraig Ó Séaghdha and Kitty Nic Caochlaoich on 14 March 1916 at 20 Aran Road, Drumcondra, ...
, 1942-45 in 3 vols. There is currently no published English translation.
2) '' Acallam Bec'', or the 'Small ''Acallam'''. This is preserved in the fifteenth-century Book of Lismore only. A partial edition was done by Douglas Hyde
Douglas Ross Hyde ( ga, Dubhghlas de hÍde; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician and diplomat who served as the first President of Ireland from June 1938 t ...
.
Adaptations
Composer Tarik O'Regan
Tarik Hamilton O'Regan (; born 1 January 1978) is a British and American composer. His compositions number over 100 and are partially represented on 43 recordings which have been recognised with two Grammy nominations. He is also the recipien ...
has adapted the narrative into a one-hour musical setting for solo guitar and chorus, performed under the title ''Acallam na Senórach''.Chester Novello publisher site for ''Acallam na Senórach''
/ref> The work was premiered on 23 November 2010 in Dublin by the National Chamber Choir of Ireland
Chamber Choir Ireland, formerly known as the National Chamber Choir of Ireland, is the Republic of Ireland's national choral ensemble and national chamber choir, and the only regularly funded professional choir in the country. Primarily funded ...
and Stewart French (guitar) under the direction of Paul Hillier
Paul Douglas Hillier OBE (born 9 February 1949) is an English conductor, music director and baritone. He specializes in both early and contemporary classical music, especially that by composers Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt. He was a co-foun ...
. The musical is made up of two parts which include a Prologue, Epilogue, and guitar interludes.
Explanatory notes
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Acallam Na Senorach
12th-century books
Fenian Cycle
Irish books
Cultural depictions of Saint Patrick