Description
Book SynopsisIn early Ireland, there were many names for what scholars have dubbed the ‘Otherworld’: the Plain of Delights, the Land of Youth, the Land of Promise, and more. Many of the myths and legends from this period involve an encounter between a hero and a woman from this Otherworld, with sufficient frequency to form a distinct theme within the literature. This book examines the particularities and consequences of these otherworldly encounters, attending in particular to the question of gender and the social dynamics at work. Five stories purportedly from the lost book Cín Dromma Snechta receive detailed analysis, alongside material from other sources, in order to reconstruct the mindset of the early Irish who told these stories about the Otherworld and their views about women in general.
Table of ContentsTable of Abbreviations
Preface
Part I: Introduction
Chapter One: Women in Early Ireland
Chapter Two: The “Otherworld” of Early Ireland
Part II: The Texts
Chapter Three:
Echtrae Chonnlai and
Immram Brain Chapter Four:
Serglige Con Culainn Chapter Five: The Eponymous Goddesses of
Lebor Gabála Érenn Chapter Six:
Echtrae Nerai Chapter Seven: A Fair Shake: Otherworld Men as Intermediaries
Conclusion
Appendix: An Edition of
Lebor Gabála Érenn’s Summaries of the Eponymous Goddess Sections Purportedly from the
Cín Dromma Snechtai Bibliography
