Stylistic contrast and narrative function in Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib

Bibliographic Data

ID9983284
AuthorsClare Downham (0000-0002-7000-7633, University of Liverpool, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume39
Issue156
Pages553-572
Publication date2015-11-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueIrish Historical Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-1214 • E-ISSN: 2056-4139
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/ihs.2015.24
OpenAlexW2571267604
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited17

The Battle of Clontarf was fought in A.D. 1014 by the forces of Brian Boru, over-king of Munster, and his allies against the forces of Viking Dublin, Leinster and their foreign allies. The saga ‘The War of the Irish and the Foreigners’ (Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib) was written about events leading up the conflict and gives a dramatic account of events on the battlefield. It became the archetype for many later legends about Clontarf. This paper explores stylistic contrast in the saga between the terse description of events in the early Viking Age and the florid account of the reign of Brian Boru. This contrast has led some readers to conclude that two separate narratives were conflated in Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib – the first being a summary of annals and the second being a saga. However this paper argues that there is a unity of purpose throughout the work and that its stylistic divisions were deliberately contrived to help glorify Brian’s victory at the Battle of Clontarf

Ancient history · Annals · Archetype · Art · Battle · Genealogy · Irish · Linguistics · Literature · Narrative · Politics · Reign · Victory · Viking Age · Classics · Historical Studies of British Isles · History · Law · Medieval Literature and History · Narrative Theory and Analysis · Philosophy

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