    lebor gabÃ¡la Ãrenn (the book of the taking of ireland) is a collection of poems and prose narratives that purports to be a history of ireland and the irish from the creation of the world to the middle ages. there are a number of versions, the earliest of which was compiled by an anonymous writer in the 11th century. it synthesized narratives that had been developing over the foregoing centuries. today, most scholars regard the lebor gabÃ¡la as primarily myth rather than history.carey, john. the irish national origin-legend: synthetic pseudohistory. university of cambridge, 1994. pp.1â4 it appears to be mostly based on medieval christian pseudo-histories,koch, john t.. celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia. abc-clio, 2006. p.1132 but it also incorporates some of irelandâs native pagan mythology. scholars believe that the goal of its writers was to provide a history for ireland that could compare to that of rome or israel, and which was compatible with christian teaching.carey, pp.1â4, 24koch, p.1130 the lebor gabÃ¡la became one of the most popular and influential works of early irish literature. it is usually known in english as the book of invasions or the book of conquests, and in modern irish as leabhar gabhÃ¡la Ãireann or leabhar gabhÃ¡la na hÃireann. ==origins== purporting to be a literal and accurate account of the history of the irish, lebor gabÃ¡la Ãrenn (hereinafter abbreviated as lge) may be seen as an attempt to provide the irish with a written history comparable to that which the israelites provided for themselves in the old testament. drawing upon the pagan myths of celtic ireland â both gaelic and pre-gaelic â but reinterpreting them in the light of judaeo-christian theology and historiography, it describes how the island was subjected to a succession of invasions, each one adding a new chapter to the nation's history. biblical paradigms provided the mythologers with ready-made stories which could be adapted to their purpose. thus we find the ancestors of the irish enslaved in a foreign land, or fleeing into exile, or wandering in the wilderness, or sighting the "promised land" from afar. four christian works in particular seem to have had a significant bearing on the formation
Cycles_of_the_Kings Early_Irish_literature Flood_myths Irish-language_literature Irish_books Irish_chronicles Irish_manuscripts King_lists Medieval_Scotland Medieval_literature Mythological_cycle Poetry_anthologies Texts_of_medieval_Ireland Works_of_unknown_authorship