Historical Residues in the Old Irish Legends of Queen Medb

An Expanded Interpretation of the Ulster Cycle

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Printing Details

First edition. Hardback bound in the original cloth illustrated boards. 23.5 × 16cm, iii + 303pp.

Medb of Connacht, a central female character of medieval Ireland's Ulster Cycle is read traditionally as an example of a misogynistic, patriarchal Christian campaign to suppress and silence women in early Ireland, or as symbolic of a primordial, mythic pre-Christian goddess, exempt from patriarchal censure because her behavior is ascribed to her duties as a divine sovereignty figure. In addition, this work provides the first comparative and comprehensive character analysis of the Connacht warrior queen across numerous tales in which she appears as a major player, presenting a more complete picture of her character across the tales than has previously been offered. Such an approach also allows for a reading of Medb as a literary reflection of the socio-political tensions present in the historical period during which the texts emerged, and perhaps as a reflection of historical women who helped to produce those tensions in their societies, including gender-related tensions every bit as complex and complicated as our own are today.

Condition

A good copy. There is some light bumping to the cloth binding and rubbing to the joints. The contents are in strong readable condition, with occasional highlighting in yellow to the first 35 pages and final chapter, the text remains perfectly readable.

ISBN

9780773436497