Early Irish Myths and Sagas
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- Create Date：2021-08-16 09:53:29
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jeffrey Gantz
- ISBN：0140443975
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
First written down in the eighth century AD， these early Irish stories depict a far older world - part myth， part legend and part history。 Rich with magic and achingly beautiful， they speak of a land of heroic battles， intense love and warrior ideals， in which the otherworld is explored and men mingle freely with the gods。 From the vivid adventures of the great Celtic hero Cu Chulaind， to the stunning 'Exile of the Sons of Uisliu' - a tale of treachery， honour and romance - these are masterpieces of passion and vitality， and form the foundation for the Irish literary tradition: a mythic legacy that was a powerful influence on the work of Yeats， Synge and Joyce。
Reviews
Bradford
，
A decent selection and with some introductory material per story relevant to the Irish literary revival， but quite frankly little else of use other than comments on manuscript origins and some critique。 The translations themselves have alot to be asked for， being chiefly academic literal translations as opposed to any kind of retelling， even retaining huge inconsistencies across pages of scribed manuscript， which is useful to retain the original text from a translation stand point， but at odds w A decent selection and with some introductory material per story relevant to the Irish literary revival， but quite frankly little else of use other than comments on manuscript origins and some critique。 The translations themselves have alot to be asked for， being chiefly academic literal translations as opposed to any kind of retelling， even retaining huge inconsistencies across pages of scribed manuscript， which is useful to retain the original text from a translation stand point， but at odds with the premise of the book editorially。 The mythical contents of this book are vibrant and wonderful and I do not discredit them， but this volume itself exists in a strange middle ground of trying to be an accessible adult introduction to Irish myth， while having scholarly content and comments that are quite sparse and underwhelming。 A volume of Lady Gregory's complete myths， or Marie Heaney's selected retellings for children （or any retellings for that matter） and a mythological dictionary or authorial text on Irish myths would be a much better spendature of your time。This is probably the first time I've had a book be stifled by its poor editorial work — very surprisingly given the usual quality of Penguin Classics， on par with Oxford Classics' often monumental efforts。 。。。more
Geralyn
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Current story line and strong characters make Early Irish Myths and Sagas interesting and thought provoking。
Odontograph
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This book is a must read or listen。
Teresa
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I could not put this tremendous book down。
Morris
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Fast paced。
Daniels
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Funny or ironic quips to lighten the reading。
John
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The book is missing many notes that would help readers know the characters。 It is not for a novice to Irish mythology。 It does not fully connect or relate the stories into a relatable framework。 While the stories are incomplete due to historical artifacts lacking， the author makes no effort to explain why variations or transitions to the story occur。 It was not a terrible work， but I felt there is much that could have been done to enhance the reading experience。
Ryan McCarthy
，
All the stories with Cú Chulainn are fantastic， as is Derdriu's story。 However， it's very clear that these stories were meant for the oral tradition， as they're quite repetitive and sometimes reference events， places ，and characters that audience members would have known offhand but modern readers won't necessarily grasp。 All things considered， if you're looking for great sagas， stick with Iceland。 All the stories with Cú Chulainn are fantastic， as is Derdriu's story。 However， it's very clear that these stories were meant for the oral tradition， as they're quite repetitive and sometimes reference events， places ，and characters that audience members would have known offhand but modern readers won't necessarily grasp。 All things considered， if you're looking for great sagas， stick with Iceland。 。。。more
tom
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Not what I was looking for。 I was looking for a retelling of Irish folklore but this book is a translation of the book of Leinster。 It shows how these stories were told hundreds of years ago。Some of these chapters were a slog of repetition， explained as how storytellers would stretch out stories and there welcome at their hosts expense， which translated to my expense！Fine if you're interested in the original telling but not if you want an entertaining read。 Not what I was looking for。 I was looking for a retelling of Irish folklore but this book is a translation of the book of Leinster。 It shows how these stories were told hundreds of years ago。Some of these chapters were a slog of repetition， explained as how storytellers would stretch out stories and there welcome at their hosts expense， which translated to my expense！Fine if you're interested in the original telling but not if you want an entertaining read。 。。。more
Jennifer Vekert
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This shit is WILD。
bella （bellainbookland）
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read for school and found this one interesting。 ↠ 4 stars
Richard Swan
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Essential reading， but challenging in that they are late redactions of narratives that are manifestly centuries or millennia old。 They reach back to the earliest myths and tales of the Celts; they in turn inspire and inform all the culture and literature that follows them。 Along with the Mabinogion they should be as well-known to us as Greek myths， but there are such complex overlays of myth， legend and magic that they need working at。
Melissa
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these are really difficult to follow but apparently that’s deliberate so the three stars are for the bold creative choices that went into this
Mark Regan
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I bought this book， along with reading some of the Irish renaissance writers， to get a background in Irish mythological knowledge。 Having started writing a contemporary novel about climate change I wanted to check how it tallied with the past。The stories in it left me with some very interesting questions， or maybe answers， about Ireland’s ancient past。Mark
Susan Land
，
Overall， this was an interesting read， though not a particularly easy one。 Each chapter began with a generally long-winded description of the saga to follow and I often found myself wondering what was left to learn after reading the prelude to the story。 The answer was generally very little。 I would have preferred reading the sagas first and then reading the scholarly musings。 Additionally， there was considerable repetition。 I found myself reading the same story repeated in other stories。 While Overall， this was an interesting read， though not a particularly easy one。 Each chapter began with a generally long-winded description of the saga to follow and I often found myself wondering what was left to learn after reading the prelude to the story。 The answer was generally very little。 I would have preferred reading the sagas first and then reading the scholarly musings。 Additionally， there was considerable repetition。 I found myself reading the same story repeated in other stories。 While this might be consistent with Irish storytelling， it bored me a bit。 It is filled with stories of heroes and heroic deeds， fair maidens， jealousy， deceit， and humor。 I was very pleased that the book ended with a saga that I was familiar with。 The rendering of the story of Derdriu， Noisiu and Conchubar was really nice and I enjoyed reading it as presented。 My previous reading of it was and Anglicized version and this one was much more poetic in its presentation。 。。。more
Leon O'Flynn
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I found these tales hard to read。 I think a bit more of an introduction to the text would have been really helpful。 The book assumes you know a great deal about early Irish myths already。
Marko Vasić
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3。5 → 4; This meticulously evaluated collection of early Irish myths and legends would be a genuine gem of its kind， if the translator minutely took heed about the translation lest become such arid， tedious and in lack of literary poetics， resembling mere amanuensis’ work composed of keen reciting。 Majority of the content is taken from “The Book of Leinster” and comprises mostly the legends from the Ulster cycle – the most extensive and the most beautiful sequence in Celtic mythology。 However， i 3。5 → 4; This meticulously evaluated collection of early Irish myths and legends would be a genuine gem of its kind， if the translator minutely took heed about the translation lest become such arid， tedious and in lack of literary poetics， resembling mere amanuensis’ work composed of keen reciting。 Majority of the content is taken from “The Book of Leinster” and comprises mostly the legends from the Ulster cycle – the most extensive and the most beautiful sequence in Celtic mythology。 However， if the reader isn’t even basically acquainted with postulates of the Irish branch of Celtic mythology， particularly from the earliest Mythological cycle （i。e。 of Irish so-called pseudo-history about the five invasions on Ireland， and especially Tuatha Dé Danann）， and isn’t familiar with the tribal hero Cú Chulainn， king Ailill and queen Maeb of Connacht and famous king Conchobar mac Nessa of Ulster， then these tales would be quite a nuisance and laborious to tape。 But “The Wooing of Etain”， “The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel” and especially “The birth and Boyhood Deeds of Cú Chulainn” are the cornerstone of the Irish mythology and the style-mould of the majority of the early Irish texts。 。。。more
Phil Knight
，
While the translations themselves are perfectly fine， the book overall suffers from a lack of sufficient contextual material and explanatory notes （especially where the original sources are fragmentary）。 Some explanation for the selection of tales included would also have been welcome; for example， "The Cattle-Raid of Cooley" is frequently referenced in the introductions to a number of the stories， and obviously constitutes an important narrative in the Ulster cycle， yet surprisingly the tale it While the translations themselves are perfectly fine， the book overall suffers from a lack of sufficient contextual material and explanatory notes （especially where the original sources are fragmentary）。 Some explanation for the selection of tales included would also have been welcome; for example， "The Cattle-Raid of Cooley" is frequently referenced in the introductions to a number of the stories， and obviously constitutes an important narrative in the Ulster cycle， yet surprisingly the tale itself is not included here and no explanation is given as to why。 The decision to render people and place names in the original Old Irish， though a perfectly acceptable choice in and of itself， may also detract from the reading experience for those unfamiliar with Old Irish pronunciation （albeit a brief but largely inadequate pronunciation summary is included in the introductory material）。 Finally， the Kindle version I read contained numerous typos。 。。。more
Shannon
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This book contains 13 early Irish myths， as advertised。 It also includes introductory material for Irish myth as a whole and short introductions for each myth。 All of the stories seem to be fairly literal translations of the source material， which means they can be a bit 。 。 。 interesting to read; there are long and flowery descriptions of heros and horses， as well as several pages where characters describe all the deeds of their enemies to one another。 The place and person names were also unfam This book contains 13 early Irish myths， as advertised。 It also includes introductory material for Irish myth as a whole and short introductions for each myth。 All of the stories seem to be fairly literal translations of the source material， which means they can be a bit 。 。 。 interesting to read; there are long and flowery descriptions of heros and horses， as well as several pages where characters describe all the deeds of their enemies to one another。 The place and person names were also unfamiliar and would change from story to story， though the notes were helpful with sorting that out。 However， I really enjoyed reading some mythology that I had been unfamiliar with。 These heroes reminded me of Paul Bunyon or Hercules much more than Achilles or Theseus， in that there was a lot of buffoonery in their challenges to one another and how the stories were told。 。。。more
Tiphany
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Disregard， for my notes only - own kindle edition。
Luan
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This book is wack my guy。 Not enough pictures 23/5
Michael Cayley
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Renderings of ancient Irish texts of legendary， sometimes comic， tales。 They often contain details which do not fully make sense to us today but presumably would have done to their original audiences。 Anyone interested in Irish early culture should read the book。
Tea
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I’m sorry I just couldn’t get in to this book。 It just couldn’t keep my attention。
Jared Tobin
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I've come across a couple of interesting books in unlikely places while travelling as of late。 I found a copy of Bentwich's excellent Philo-Judaeus of Alexandria in a hotel in San Francisco -- Early Irish Myths and Sagas was found lying around in an AirBnB in Dubai。The mythology is somewhat interesting， and I'm glad to have gone through it all， but the text as a whole is difficult and fairly unrewarding。 Some brilliance at times， but one gets the impression that the myths were far better-present I've come across a couple of interesting books in unlikely places while travelling as of late。 I found a copy of Bentwich's excellent Philo-Judaeus of Alexandria in a hotel in San Francisco -- Early Irish Myths and Sagas was found lying around in an AirBnB in Dubai。The mythology is somewhat interesting， and I'm glad to have gone through it all， but the text as a whole is difficult and fairly unrewarding。 Some brilliance at times， but one gets the impression that the myths were far better-presented in their oral tradition。 What one is left with here feels rather academic。It's worth noting that the editor's notes are excellent， and provide desperately-needed context throughout。 。。。more
Tori
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This is not light or easy reading - it is an excellent translation of certain old texts with explanatory notes that help decipher some of the more obscure sections。
Patron
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Only pick this up if you want to read the phrase 'not difficult， that' a gazillion times。No， just kidding。 This is a book of Irish mythology that I picked up from my university about a week ago， and while I enjoyed it， I。。。feel like I could have borrowed it instead of buying it。 I really like Celtic cultures and myth， but it just hasn't been preserved that well compared to what the Greeks and the Romans and even the Egyptians have， and though the translation work here is decent， believe me when Only pick this up if you want to read the phrase 'not difficult， that' a gazillion times。No， just kidding。 This is a book of Irish mythology that I picked up from my university about a week ago， and while I enjoyed it， I。。。feel like I could have borrowed it instead of buying it。 I really like Celtic cultures and myth， but it just hasn't been preserved that well compared to what the Greeks and the Romans and even the Egyptians have， and though the translation work here is decent， believe me when I say that all the character names and mythological themes here are going to be difficult to follow。 Maybe Irish mythology is something that desperately needs re-imaginings to keep it alive， because the stories here are disappointingly full of potential。 That's not to say I didn't like this collection， though。 It's by no means a comprehensive over-review of even the most basic things about Irish mythology， but the stories it tells are entertaining， and some of the lyrical descriptions here are absolutely lovely。 This wouldn't hurt to be in your possession for awhile， although， to be honest， your dollars could probably be better spent elsewhere。 Am I going to tell that to the person I'll be selling this to in the future， though？ No。 #capitalism 。。。more
Diana
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Great collection with very relevant and helpful contextual notes by Gantz。
Thomas
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OverviewI couldn't finish this book。 I was really interested in the myths and legends， but just found this too dry， and laborious a read to really get into。 Therefore， I will not be writing a full review of it。 ThoughtsI clearly need to find a good interpreted version of these Irish Myths and Legends。 As they are laid out in this book， and the stuff around them written， this book has all the feel， and lack of joy， I would have thought to find in a text book。 If that is what it is for， then grea OverviewI couldn't finish this book。 I was really interested in the myths and legends， but just found this too dry， and laborious a read to really get into。 Therefore， I will not be writing a full review of it。 ThoughtsI clearly need to find a good interpreted version of these Irish Myths and Legends。 As they are laid out in this book， and the stuff around them written， this book has all the feel， and lack of joy， I would have thought to find in a text book。 If that is what it is for， then great。 However， it is certainly not for me。 FinallyI will journey on， and hopefully find a more readable version of these myths。 。。。more
Jac
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The translation for this was rather clunky and wordy which made my attention span rather short， to the extent that I preferred reading the introduction to each story and had to google the synopsis of some of the tales online。
Helen
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