Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel
Subtitle: Kingship and Narrative Artistry in a Mediaeval Irish Saga
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2013
Language: eng
Number of pages: 392
ISBN-13: 9780199666133
Subjects: Epic literature, history and criticism; Irish literature, history and criticism; Tales, ireland, history and criticism; Sagas, history and criticism
Description: This book ... aims to show how one particularly celebrated saga 'works' as a story: the Middle Irish tale Togail Bruidne Da Derga (The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel), which James Carney called 'the finest saga of the early period'. This book invites the reader to enjoy and understand this literary masterpiece, explaining its narrative artistry within its native, classical and biblical literary contexts. Against a historical backdrop of shifting ideologies of Christian kingship, it interprets the saga's possible significance for contemporary audiences as a questioning exploration of the challenges and paradoxes of kingship.