The origin legends of early medieval Britain and Ireland / Lindy Brady, University College Dublin

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brady, Lindy, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nationalism and literature--Great Britain.

Nationalism and literature.

Nationalism and literature--Ireland.

Great Britain--History--Medieval period, 1066-1485--Sources.

Great Britain.

Great Britain--History--Medieval period, 1066-1485--Historiography.

Ireland--History--To 1603--Sources.

Ireland.

Ireland--History--To 1603--Historiography.

Great Britain--In literature.

Ireland--In literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 272 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2022.

Summary:

The inhabitants of early medieval Britain and Ireland shared the knowledge that the region held four peoples and the awareness that they must have originally come from 'elsewhere'. The Origin Legends of Early Medieval Britain and Ireland studies these peoples' origin stories, an important genre that has shaped national identity and collective history from the early medieval period to the present day. These multilingual texts share many common features that repay their study as a genre, but have previously been isolated as four disparate traditions and used to argue for the long roots of current nationalisms. Yet they were not written or read in isolation during the medieval period. Individual narratives were in constant development, written and rewritten to respond to other texts. This book argues that insular origin legends developed together to flesh out the history of the insular region as a whole.

Contents:

Acknowledgements

Introduction: Framing history

Chapter One: Textual connections

Chapter Two: Exile

Chapter Three: Kin-slaying

Chapter Four: Intermarriage and incest

Chapter Five: Early medieval origin legends in early modern histories

Conclusion: Origin legends and local history

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 25 Jul 2022).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Print version: Brady, Lindy The Origin Legends of Early Medieval Britain and Ireland

ISBN:

1-009-22565-0

1-009-22567-7

1-009-22560-X