Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Irish mythology'

Cartoon Saloon, an Irish animation studio based in Co. Kilkenny, Ireland, explores themes of liminality, urbanization, and coming of age in its trio of Irish folklore-themed films. Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, and Wolfwalkers each explore Irish identity, folklore, and community through different time periods and spaces to create truly Irish animated films. Each film explores the tension between folklore and Christianity, urban and rural community, and the challenges of coming of age in various ways through the lens of Irish folklore. By communicating these themes in animated films, Cartoon Saloon centers indigenous animation work in a country that has lacked an indigenous industry and uses the flexibility of animation as an art form to address Ireland's history and mythology through the writing, music score, and animation style of the three films. Cartoon Saloon stands at the forefront of a new revitalization of Irish culture reminiscent of the Gaelic and Celtic revivals of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries through their dedication to preserving and exploring Irish mythology, art, history, and language via an emergence of an indigenous Irish animation industry.
Master of Arts
Cartoon Saloon, an Irish animation studio based in Co. Kilkenny, Ireland, has released a trio of films centered on Irish folklore. These films explore Irish history, mythology, and tradition through several time periods and explore themes of liminality and coming of age. Secret of Kells, the first film, explores the Abbey of Kells and the creation of the Book of Kells through the eyes of Brandon, a young monk learning to find his place in the Abbey. He encounters a fairy girl and learns that there is more to his world than the Abbot had taught him. The second film, Song of the Sea, is set in modern times and tells the story of Ben's adventure to save his sister, who is half-selkie. The final film, Wolfwalkers, explores Kilkenny during English occupation through the adventures of Robyn, a young English girl who is turned into a wolfwalker and learns about the magic present in the Irish countryside. Each film explores the tension between folklore and Christianity, urban and rural community, and the challenges of coming of age in various ways through the lens of Irish folklore. Cartoon Saloon stands at the forefront of a new revitalization of Irish culture reminiscent of the Gaelic and Celtic revivals of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries through their dedication to preserving and exploring Irish mythology, art, history, and language via an emergence of an indigenous Irish animation industry.

Cette thèse a pour objectif d'analyser les origines de la pseudo-histoire mythique des invasions d'Irlande : les sources classiques antiques ou judéo-chrétiennes de ce cycle légendaire, les survivances indigènes, le processus d'élaboration et sa signification socio-politique. La méthodologie utilisée a été de comparer les éléments dont la source pouvait être indigène à d'autres traditions celtiques ou indo-européennes
The object of this thesis is an analysis of the origins of the mythic pseudo-history of the invasions of Ireland: the classical or judeo-christian sources of this legendary cycle, its native remnants, the elaboration process and its socio-political significance. The methodology we used was to compare the native elements with other Celtic or Indo-European traditions

This project aims at analysing the reuses of the motif of fairy abduction and of the changeling in contemporary literature, either Irish or from the Irish diaspora. Studying these tale types as they appear in the folk accounts allows a better understanding of their traditional characteristics, to then be able to compare them with the way the contemporary writers reinterpret them. It seems that the changeling motif has been taken up as an Irish metaphor for emigration and exile, whether it be geographical, psychological or linguistic. This thesis thus explores issues of identity and memory through the theme of the changeling which, although it is not of Irish origin since it is absent from the early mythological sources, has paradoxically become an Irish literary symbol.

Cóir Anmann is a late medieval Irish tract made up of numerous 'entries', each of which purports to explain the meaning of a particular epithet associated with a character in early history or mythology. Two separate recensions of this tract have long been known to exist, but in the course of the present study a third recension was identified. One of the main purposes of this thesis is to provide diplomatic editions of these three recensions based on all extant manuscript copies. On the way to producing these editions the manuscript tradition of the tract is reviewed, and a stemma is drawn up for each of the recensions preserved in more than one MS text. English translations have also been made available. In the introductory discussion linguistic and stylistic evidence is used to establish a chronology in which the recensions can be placed relative to one another. To this end verbal systems for the recensions have been prepared. Since the entries in Cóir Anmann are founded on borrowings from pre-existing sources, extracts from independent tracts corresponding to material contained in it have been identified, and suggestions on how these were handled and adapted for use in Cóir Anmann have been advanced. Together with the conclusions reached as to the chronology of the recensions, this study enables the way in which the tract was compiled from disparate sources and 'grew' through the extant recensions to be discerned. The dates of works quoted in Cóir Anmann, internal references and certain aspects of the language are then reviewed to determine the approximate compilation period for each recension. In a final consideration of the development of the tract, this thesis examines histories and genealogies written in the Early Modern period and after for which Cóir Anmann itself served as a source of material.

This essay aims to find a correlation between the poetry of William Butler Yeats and the social-cultural context of its time-period. With the aid of conceptual history, representations of fundamental concepts can be revealed in the written text. The methodological approach is based on Reinhart Koselleck's Begriffsgeschichte where concepts are used for timing history. The two concepts in focus in the essay are 'crisis' and 'the Golden Age'. The results found in the analysis of Yeats' poems displayed to a high amount the representation of the concept of 'crisis', revealing that crisis in the society at that time is reflected in Yeats' poems, but representations of the counter-concept 'the Golden Age' was only partly found in poems from his later collections. A suggestion for further research is to perform a study where several contemporary poets are investigated simultaneously with the aid of conceptual history.

The thesis compares the depictions of paganism found in the Middle Irish Togail Troí ('The Destruction of Troy'; first half of the twelfth century) and the Old Norse Trójumanna saga ('The Story of the Trojans'; first half of the thirteenth century), which are both based on Dares Phrygius's Late Antique De excidio Troiae historia. The two vernacular adaptations are presented in the wider context of the medieval popularity of Dares's text. The in-depth analysis of the pagan references (most of which relate to mythology and ritual), reveals Togail Troí's and Trójumanna saga's general source-based approach and their shared reliance on Latin mythographic scholarship, but also a different approach concerning the literary presentation of paganism. The Irish text's 'Christian' approach to the issue (as seen through authorial comments and historical contextualisation) is shown to be in contrast to the Norse text's 'classicising' approach (i.e. paganism presented as in the classical sources themselves). The findings of this analysis are then compared with the literary attitudes towards paganism encountered in medieval Irish and Norse texts more widely (especially in those set in Ireland or Nordic countries). This comparison reveals a general sympathy for many pagan characters that finds some parallels in the Trojan texts as well, but also a different representation of pagan deities in the two traditions. Indeed, the Irish tendency to avoid depicting the gods as such and the opposite Norse tendency, to portray them in an explicit way (often from a pagan point of view), mirror the evidence furnished by Togail Troí and Trójumanna saga. The literary attitudes to paganism and particularly towards mythology, which are encountered in the two texts, are further explored from the point of view of authorship. It is shown that the Irish author is writing in a historiographical mould, while the Norse author is writing in what could be described as a mythographical mould. Two complementary lines of interpretation are sketched for this phenomenon. The first one emphasises the existence of two different cultures of dealing with paganism in Irish and Norse literature respectively. The second line of interpretation draws to the fore two different approaches to the author-text relationship, examined through the framework of medieval literary theory. The final chapters highlight the importance of the research both for our understanding of the unique and complex literary cultures of medieval Ireland and Iceland and for the light that can be shed on the multifaceted relationship between authors and texts in medieval literature through the prism of paganism.

Orientador: Peter James Harris
Banca: Maria Celeste Tommasello Ramos
Banca: Beatriz Kopschitz Xavier Bastos
Resumo: O resgate da antiga tradição literária irlandesa é um contínuo processo de ressignificação e manutenção de todo arcabouço que representa a própria identidade do país. As personagens mitológicas estão presentes na memória da população e servem como inspiração para novas leituras e adaptações. O trabalho de releituras mitológicas intensificou- se principalmente durante o movimento do revivalismo celta (Celtic Revival, início do século XX), tendo como principal figura o dramaturgo William Butler Yeats. Inspirado pelo espírito nacionalista de dado movimento, John Millington Synge produziu diversas peças voltadas para a temática da vida e história celta, entre elas está Deirdre of the Sorrows (1910). Quase um século mais tarde, Vincent Woods escreveu A Cry from Heaven (2005), peça que também tem por base o mito The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu, vulgarmente conhecido como o mito de Deirdre. Esta dissertação analisa uma particularidade acerca da mitologia irlandesa, ou seja, o fato de esta tradição nos presentear com uma vasta quantidade de importantes personagens femininas. O mito de Deirdre, que originalmente leva o nome dos guerreiros, e filhos de Uisliu (The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu), possui como principal personagem uma mulher, Deirdre. Esta característica foi mantida e revisada por Synge e Woods. Neste sentido, averiguamos aspectos acerca da caracterização das personagens femininas presentes em cada uma das peças, de modo comparativo com as presentes no mito. Para tanto, utilizamos a tradução de Thomas Kinsella, presente na obra The Táin (1969), The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu. As ações e os discursos das personagens foram examinados. Deste modo, utilizamos a hipótese de que as personagens femininas nas peças de Synge e Woods poderiam (ou não) ser caracterizadas como mulheres mais independentes... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)
Abstract: The work of deliverance from the ancient Irish literary tradition is a continuous process of re-signification and maintenance of all the collection of stories that represent the country's own identity. The mythical characters are present in the people's memories and are a source of inspiration for new readings and new adaptations. The work of mythological rereading became intense mainly during the Celtic Revival Movement, having as leading role the playwright William Butler Yeats. Inspired by the nationalist spirit from this period, John Millington Synge produced several plays regarding the celtic life and history, among them is Deirdre of the Sorrows (1910). Almost a century after Vincent Woods wrote A Cry from Heaven (2005), a play that is also shaped having the myth The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu, widely known as the myth of Deirdre, as source. This dissertation aimed to analyze one specificity regarding the Irish mythology, in other words, the fact that this traditions presents us with a wide amount of important female characters. The myth of Deirdre, that originally has the name of its warriors, and sons of Uisliu, has as the main character a woman, Deirdre. This feature was maintained and revised in a special manner by Synge and Woods. Thus, our goal was to research aspects of the female characterization present in each play, in a comparative manner with the same ones present in the myth. For such, Thomas Kinsella's translation, present in The Táin (1969), The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu was used. The female actions and speeches were examined, especially in dialogues with the male figure. Therefore, we worked with the hypothesis that the female characters in Vincent Woods's and Synge's plays could (or couldn't) have been characterized as independent and powerful women, if compared with their traditional... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)
Mestre

“The Wanderings of Oisin” was published in 1889 and is one of W.B Yeats’ earliest poems and is the main focus for this essay. The poem depicts the duality of Irish identity and the transition from one system of belief to another. This essay will demonstrate that W.B Yeats uses Celtic and Catholic mythology in “The Wanderings of Oisin” in order to reflect his contemporary Ireland. The essay begins with a deifintion and a discussion about the words 'myth' and 'mythical method'. The second part of the essay describes the depiction of Celtic and Catholic mythology in “The Wanderings of Oisin” and the connection to late nineteenth century Ireland. The first section presents information on Irish nineteenth-century history and the second section focuses on five parallels to Yeats' contemporary society: The vitality of Celtic mythological beings, the depiction of Oisin as mediator, the sense of loss regarding Irish culture, the juxtaposition of Celtic and Catholic and the ambivalence that follows in a society where two conflicting mythologies coexist and compete. The main body of arguments discusses these parallels between Yeats’ portrayal of Celtic mythology and nineteenth century Ireland and shows that "The Wanderings of Oisin" reflects Yeats' contemporary Irish society.

This study investigates in what respects Celtic mythology influenced J. R. R. Tolkien when writing the sagas incorporated in the mythopoeic compilation of The Silmarillion. Through narrative and comparative analysis, stories from the Irish prose collection Lebor Gabála Érenn, as well as the Welsh medieval manuscript Mabinogion, are collated to the tales of The Silmarillion in order to illuminate possible influences. The survey showed that even though Tolkien expressed a certain distaste for everything Celtic, several elements of Irish and Welsh mythology are indeed visible in his works.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
O resgate da antiga tradição literária irlandesa é um contínuo processo de ressignificação e manutenção de todo arcabouço que representa a própria identidade do país. As personagens mitológicas estão presentes na memória da população e servem como inspiração para novas leituras e adaptações. O trabalho de releituras mitológicas intensificou- se principalmente durante o movimento do revivalismo celta (Celtic Revival, início do século XX), tendo como principal figura o dramaturgo William Butler Yeats. Inspirado pelo espírito nacionalista de dado movimento, John Millington Synge produziu diversas peças voltadas para a temática da vida e história celta, entre elas está Deirdre of the Sorrows (1910). Quase um século mais tarde, Vincent Woods escreveu A Cry from Heaven (2005), peça que também tem por base o mito The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu, vulgarmente conhecido como o mito de Deirdre. Esta dissertação analisa uma particularidade acerca da mitologia irlandesa, ou seja, o fato de esta tradição nos presentear com uma vasta quantidade de importantes personagens femininas. O mito de Deirdre, que originalmente leva o nome dos guerreiros, e filhos de Uisliu (The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu), possui como principal personagem uma mulher, Deirdre. Esta característica foi mantida e revisada por Synge e Woods. Neste sentido, averiguamos aspectos acerca da caracterização das personagens femininas presentes em cada uma das peças, de modo comparativo com as presentes no mito. Para tanto, utilizamos a tradução de Thomas Kinsella, presente na obra The Táin (1969), The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu. As ações e os discursos das personagens foram examinados. Deste modo, utilizamos a hipótese de que as personagens femininas nas peças de Synge e Woods poderiam (ou não) ser caracterizadas como mulheres mais independentes...
The work of deliverance from the ancient Irish literary tradition is a continuous process of re-signification and maintenance of all the collection of stories that represent the country´s own identity. The mythical characters are present in the people´s memories and are a source of inspiration for new readings and new adaptations. The work of mythological rereading became intense mainly during the Celtic Revival Movement, having as leading role the playwright William Butler Yeats. Inspired by the nationalist spirit from this period, John Millington Synge produced several plays regarding the celtic life and history, among them is Deirdre of the Sorrows (1910). Almost a century after Vincent Woods wrote A Cry from Heaven (2005), a play that is also shaped having the myth The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu, widely known as the myth of Deirdre, as source. This dissertation aimed to analyze one specificity regarding the Irish mythology, in other words, the fact that this traditions presents us with a wide amount of important female characters. The myth of Deirdre, that originally has the name of its warriors, and sons of Uisliu, has as the main character a woman, Deirdre. This feature was maintained and revised in a special manner by Synge and Woods. Thus, our goal was to research aspects of the female characterization present in each play, in a comparative manner with the same ones present in the myth. For such, Thomas Kinsella´s translation, present in The Táin (1969), The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu was used. The female actions and speeches were examined, especially in dialogues with the male figure. Therefore, we worked with the hypothesis that the female characters in Vincent Woods´s and Synge´s plays could (or couldn´t) have been characterized as independent and powerful women, if compared with their traditional... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

La fascination exercée par le mythe d’Orphée sur des artistes, des écrivains, des musiciens et des poètes semble pérenne. Comme toujours, au vingtième siècle des auteurs reviennent aux personnages mythiques d’Orphée et d’Eurydice. En 1914, un jeune poète italien nommé Dino Campana compose Canti Orfici (Chants Orphiques), un recueil de poèmes uniques. En 1926, une pièce de théâtre, Orphée, est composée et montée par un artiste français remarquable : Jean Cocteau, qui voyait l’interprétation contemporaine du poète inspiré et de lui-même dans ce sujet. Il reprend le mythe une fois de plus dans un de ses grands films, Orphée, en 1950. Une femme écrivain belge, Marguerite Yourcenar compose un roman, La Nouvelle Eurydice qui est publié en 1931 et en 1991. Auteur portoricaine de nombreuses œuvres critiques, Iris M. Zavala a écrit un roman théorique, El sueño del amor (Le rêve de l’amour) en 1998. L’histoire et le mythologique s’entrecroisent dans ce roman polyphonique. Elle ressuscite ce mythe pour parler des préoccupations aux Caraïbes et de son écriture afin de détacher Eurydice du récit mythique. La comparaison de ces textes soigneusement choisis et placés ensemble, bien que l’on n’en a pas l’habitude, serait intéressante et complémenterait des recherches antérieures dont elle profiterait. Cette étude comparatiste se propose alors de mettre en valeur le genre par l’explication et la révelation de différences et similarités importantes entre ces visions variées du mythe d’Orphée pour dévoiler la richesse de ces textes inspirés par la mythologie grecque qui par conséquent prouve celle d’Orphée et Eurydice, qui retentissent toujours dans une variété de genres artistiques de nos jours car ils nous communiquent encore. L’écho du mythe d’Orphée suggère finalement qu’il y a une conversation entre le mythe et l’auteur qui s’inspire et expire la création d’un texte racontant une histoire à la fois ancienne et moderne. Nous allons traiter en premier temps les anciennes versions du mythe pour voir les images d’Orphée qui se trouvent dans les légendes et la mythologie grecques. Il faut donc exposer graduellement des éléments importants des narrations où figurent Orphée et/ou Eurydice de façons différentes dépendant de la version de l’histoire du chantre de Thrace. Cela nous permettra ensuite de regarder la ressuscitation de l’intérêt pour le mythe d’Orphée pendant le XXe siècle. Les éléments mythiques permanents et modifiés seront regardés attentivement par ces réinterprètes avec le but de montrer leur rôle sur le sens du mythe. Ceci faisant que nous cherchons à voir comment le sens du mythe est modifié en accord avec le genre du texte et le genre sexuel des auteurs de ces variations. Cette étude cherche à démontrer la valeur du genre qui par conséquence dévoile les raisons pour lesquelles certains réinterprètes s’identifient au chantre Orphée tandis que d’autres réinterprètes s’approprient Eurydice tout en ayant le même but de faire renaître ces personnages mythiques pour nous enchanter et inspirer avec leur voix éternelle. Nous proposons donc de compléter l’étude du mythe en suivant de près ces variations à travers l’objectif de notre hypothèse cherchant à enrichir aussi bien que inspirer les multiples recherches qui continuent même au delà du XXe siècle de regarder en arrière le mythe du chantre Orphée et de la nymphe Eurydice
The fascination exerted by the myth of Orpheus on artists, writers, musicians and poets seems perennial. As always, in the twentieth century authors come back to the characters of Orpheus and Eurydice. In 1914, a young Italian poet named Dino Campana composed Canti Orfici (Orphic Songs), a collection of unique poems. In 1926, a theater play, Orphée, is composed and produced by a remarkable French artist : Jean Cocteau, who associated himself with the contemporary interpretation of the inspired poet in this subject. He comes back to the myth again in one of his great films, Orphée, in 1950. A Belgian woman writer, Marguerite Yourcenar composed a novel, La Nouvelle Eurydice which is published in 1931 and in 1991. A Puerto Rican author of numerous critical works, Iris M. Zavala wrote a theoretical novel, El sueño del amor (The dream of love) in 1998. History and the mythological intertwine in this polyphonic novel. She resuscitates this myth in order to speak about her preoccupations in the Caribbean and about her own writing so as to unatach Eurydice from the narrative of the myth.The comparison of these carefully chosen and unusually paired together texts would be interesting and would complement past researches from which it will profit. This comparative study proposes then to valorize genre and gender by explaining and revealing the important differences and similarities between these various visions of the myth of Orpheus in order to unveil the richness of these texts that are inspired by Greek mythology which consequently proves the value of Orpheus and Eurydice who still resound in a variety of artistic genres to this day since they continue to communicate with us. The echo of the myth of Orpheus finally suggests that there is a conversation between the myth and the author who is inspired and exhales the creation of a text that tells the story, which is ancient and modern at the same time.Firstly, we shall treat the ancient versions of the myth so as to see the images of Orpheus that can be found in Greek legends and myths. The important elements of the narrations including Orpheus and/or Eurydice will be shown gradually in accordance with the different versions of the story of the bard from Thrace. This will allow us to look at the resuscitation of interest in the myth of Orpheus during the 20th century. The permanent and modified mythical elements will be studied attentively by these reinterprets with the goal of showing their role in the meaning of the myth. This leads to our looking for ways to explore how the sense or the meaning of the myth is modified in accordance with the textual genre and the gender of the authors of these variations. This study seeks to underline the value of genre/gender which consequently unveils the reasons for which certain reinterprets identify with Orpheus while other reinterprets appropriate Eurydice with the same goal of allowing the rebirth of these mythical characters so that they may enchant and inspire us with their eternal voice. We propose then to complete the study of the myth by closely following these variations through the objective of our hypothesis while striving to enrich as well as inspire the multitude of researches that continue to look behind even past the 20th century to see the myth of Orpheus the bard and Eurydice the nymph

Cette étude a pour objectif de démontrer le changement paradigmatique qui s’est opéré dans l’approche du phénomène tragique et du genre de la tragédie à l’époque contemporaine. La tragédie, telle qu’elle est pratiquée par les Grecs durant le Ve siècle avant J.-C., se construit autour du concept de dikè, c’est-à-dire de justice. Toutefois, au XXe siècle, la pensée tragique se porte sur la question de la liberté humaine. Cette transformation quant à l’appréhension philosophique et dramatique du phéno-mène résulte des événements socio-politiques qui secouent le monde occidental, et plus particulière-ment européen, durant cette période. Notre étude repose ainsi sur la comparaison de plusieurs tragédie grecques — Les Perses, L’Orestie, et Prométhée enchaîné d’Eschyle ; Antigone et Philoctète de So-phocle ; Médée et Les Troyennes d’Euripide — avec des transpositions contemporaines, qui ont été créées en France et en Irlande en réponse à des événements socio-politiques menaçant la liberté des individus, ou du moins d’une partie d’entre eux. De ce fait, notre corpus se compose de trois pièces mises en scène durant ou après l’Occupation : Les Mouches de Sartre (1943), Antigone d’Anouilh (1944), et Caligula (1945) de Camus ; d’une pièce écrite lors de la période de la décolonisation dans les années 1960 : Les Troyennes de Sartre (1965) ; de trois pièces créées pendant la période des Troubles (1968-1998) : The Riot Act (1984) et Seize the Fire (1989) de Paulin, et The Cure at Troy de Heaney (1990) ; et de trois pièces composées durant le débat portant sur les droits des femmes dans les années 1980 en République d’Irlande : Antigone (1986), Medea (1989), et The Trojan Women (1993) de Kennelly
This research intends to underline the paradigmatic change that has occurred reguarding the approach to the tragic phenomenon and the genre of tragedy in the contemporary period. Tragedy, such as dramatized by the Greeks in the 5th century B.-C., was built on the concept of dikè, meaning justice. However, in the twentieth century, the idea of tragic is apprehended through the perspective of human freedom. This transformation of the philosophical and dramatic approaches to the tragic phenomemon arises from the social and political events occuring in the Western world, and more specifically in Eu-rope, during that period. Thus, our research relies on the comparison of several Greek tragedies — Aeschylus’s The Persians, The Oresteia, and Prometheus Bound; Sophocles’s Antigone and Philocte-tes; Euripides’s Medea and The Trojan Women — with some contemporary transpositions that have been produced in France and in Ireland to adress events threatening individual freedom of, at least, a part of the population living in France or in Ireland. Therefore, our research considers three plays creat-ed during or shortly after the Nazi Occupation of France: Sartre’s The Flies (1943), Anouilh’s Antigone (1944), Camus’s Caligula (1945); one play performed during the decolonial period of 1960: Sartre’s The Trojan Women (1965); three plays produced during the period of the Troubles (1968-1998): Paulin’s The Riot Act (1984) and Seize the Fire (1989), and Heaney’s The Cure at Troy (1990) ; and three plays performed to deal with the issue of women’s rights in the Republic of Ireland: Kennelly’s Antigone (1986), Medea (1989), and The Trojan Women (1993)

In “The Wooing of Choice: prosimetric reconstruction of the female journey in Irish mythology”, I examine the representation of female characters in Irish mythological tales where the woman chooses her lover in contravention of social expectations. In the traditional versions, the woman recedes into the background as the narrative develops around the male hero. I ask what happens to the discourse of the narrative when it is subverted so that the focus is placed upon the female experience. This is explored through a creative component, called ‘Meet Me in My World’, a prosimetric reconstruction of three Irish tales in which the woman chooses her lover and compels him to follow her. The three tales are: Aislinge Óengusso (The Dream of Óengus); Tóruigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne (The Pursuit of Diarmaid and Gráinne); and Longes mac nUislenn (The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu). The exegetical component, comprising 50% of the thesis, is composed of two sections. In the first, I examine theories of feminist writing and remythologizing, and develop a new model for feminist reconstruction, which I apply to the creative product. In the second section, I explore the relationship between narrative and poetry, from medieval prosimetric translations to contemporary hybrid texts, and consider which form provides the best framework for my female-centred narrative and the verse. This exploration includes consideration of the traditions of Irish poetics and Irish women’s poetry, the principles of which are then incorporated into the poetic mythography that is ‘Meet Me in My World’.

Esta tese de doutoramento pretende estudar a forma como o tema literário do jogo de decapitação foi transmitido da literatura medieval irlandesa para o romance arturiano. O jogo de decapitação é um episódio central da narrativa irlandesa Fled Bricrenn e o mesmo tema está presente nos romances arturianos franceses Le Livre de Caradoc, Perlesvaus, La Mule Sans Frein e Hunbaut, assim como no romance arturiano inglês Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, onde também é central para a narrativa. Visto que a narrativa irlandesa é a mais antiga, tudo aponta para que seja a fonte das versões arturianas. O objectivo deste trabalho é então entender quais foram os canais de transmissão que permitiram ao tema ser transmitido desde a literatura medieval irlandesa até ao romance arturiano, e se o significado do tema literário sofreu mudanças na passagem da tradição irlandesa para a arturiana. O estudo deste assunto não é actualizado há bastantes anos, e ocorreram várias mudanças de paradigma e avanços no estudo tanto da literatura irlandesa como arturiana. É portanto também um propósito desta tese dar uso a esses desenvolvimentos de forma a compreender a transmissão com maior claridade e melhores resultados.
This PhD dissertation intends to study how the story motif of the beheading game was transmitted from early Irish literature to Arthurian romance. The beheading game is a central episode of the Irish narrative Fled Bricrenn and the same motif is found in the Arthurian French romances Le Livre de Caradoc, Perlesvaus, La Mule Sans Frein and Hunbaut, as well as in the Middle English Arthurian romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where it is also central to the narrative. Since the Irish narrative is the earliest one, it seems to have been the source of the Arthurian versions. The aim of this work is then to understand the channels of transmission which allowed the motif to travel from early Irish literature to Arthurian romance, and whether the significance or meaning of the motif was changed in the passage from Irish to Arthurian tradition. The study of this subject has not been updated in some years, and there were several paradigm shifts and advancements in the study of both Irish as well as of Arthurian literature. It is therefore also the purpose of this dissertation to make use of those developments in order to understand the transmission with greater clarity and results.

This thesis identifies the early Irish Ulster Cycle of tales as a rich source of information relating to the nature and significance of sport-like activity in the ancient world. Taking the tales of the Ulster Cycle as its data, this thesis adopts a method of analysis which combines aspects of historical and postmodern philosophical processes. The relationships between and among sport, history, truth and fiction are investigated in determining the contribution that the early Irish Ulster Cycle of tales might offer the historian of sport. Central to this notion is the idea that an examination of the role and significance that sport-like activity plays in the Ulster tales might help produce useful and interesting descriptions and understandings of sport in general and sport history in particular. This thesis addresses several aspects of the role of sport-like activity in the tales, namely: the role of sport-like activity in the development of the Celtic „hero‟; the connection between sport-like activity and combat; the use of sport-like activity in gaining and maintaining social status; and, the role of women in the physical development of the hero. This thesis asserts some important conclusions regarding sport and games in the Ulster tales and their contribution to sport history. The Ulster tales do indeed contain salient references to sport-like activity. Sport-like activity plays a critical role in the definition and status of a warrior. The tales provide evidence of specialised warrior training and an identifiable pattern of martial education of which sport-like activity is a central component. Several women are trained in martial arts and play a primary role in the latter stages of the physical and martial education of warriors. Finally, the sport-like activity in the tales can be seen to contain evidence of an early sport ethic. In essence, this thesis offers a fresh contribution to the understanding of sport in the ancient world by way of an examination of the sport-like activity in the early Irish Ulster tales.

Tese de Doutoramento na área de Ciências da Literatura, ramo da Literatura Medieval
Roger Sherman Loomis (1887- 1966) é um estudioso incontornável quando se estuda literatura medieval. Ele proclama a presença da mitologia céltica na literatura medieval e oferece-nos o seu trabalho detalhado no campo do romance arturiano: personagens, episódios, locais, motivos. Loomis defende que o material usado pelos conteurs, primeiro, e pelos escritores, depois, é de origem irlandesa e desenvolvimento galês. Para o provar, ele segue um método que tem cinco passos essenciais: isolar os vários elementos, investigar paralelos, encontrar o original, procurar paralelos na mitologia céltica ou possíveis sobrevivências na tradição bretã, e, finalmente, estudar o caminho que o elemento seguiu e todas as suas possíveis relações com todas as outras versões. O seu método regressivo, arqueológico, é substituído mais tarde por um método progressivo, onde ele procura semelhanças e desenvolvimentos de um motivo, por exemplo, num e noutros romances. O estudioso americano saído das correntes filosóficas e filológicas do século XIX, considera que os mitos e as narrativas orais são a pré-história do romance, logo, as narrativas tradicionais são mais que meras transcrições. Ele apresenta-nos um novo conceito que vai atrair para o seu núcleo o mito e o folclore; esse conceito é tradição. Em suma, percebemos que o que Roger Loomis diz é que o manuscrito tem vários níveis de significados que correspondem a diferentes níveis de mouvance de uma narrativa oral; é por isso que podemos falar de uma pré- história da narrativa, anterior à sua forma manuscrita.
Roger Sherman Loomis (1887- 1966) est un studieux qu’on ne peut pas manquer quand on étudie la littérature médiévale. Il proclame la présence de la mythologie celtique dans la littérature médiévale et il nous offert son travail détaillé sur le champ du roman arthurien: personnages, episodes, places, motifs. Loomis défend que le materiel utlisé par les conteurs, premièrement, et par les écrivains, après, c’est d’origine irlandaise et de développement gallois. Pour le prouver, il suit une méthode de cinq pas essentials: isoler les plusieurs éléments, investiguer les parallèles, trouver l’original, chercher des parallèles dans la mythologie celtique ou des possibles survivances dans la tradition bretonne, et, finalement, étudier le chemin que l’élément a suivi et tous ses possibles rapports avec toutes les outres versions. Sa méthode regressive, archéologique, est remplacée plus tard par une méthode progressive, où il cherche des ressemblances et des développements d’un motif, par exemple, dans un et plusieurs romans. Le studieux américain, qui sort des théories philosophiques et philologiques du XIXe siècle, croit que les mythes et les narratives orales sont la pré-histoire du roman, alors, les narratives traditionnelles sont beaucoup plus que de simples transcriptions. Il nous prèsente un nouveau concept, lequel attire pour son centre le mythe et le folklore; ce concept est tradition. En conclusion, on voit que Roger Loomis dit que le manuscrit a de plusieurs niveaux de significations, lesquels correspondent à de différents niveaux de mouvance d’une narrative orale; voilà pourquoi on peut parler sur une pré-histoire de la narrative, antérieure à sa forme manuscrite.
Roger Sherman Loomis (1887- 1966) is a scholar we can’t miss when studying medieval literature. He proclaims the presence of Celtic mythology on medieval literature, and he offers us his detailed work, studying the Arthurian romance on all its parts: characters, episodes, places, motives. Loomis defends that the material used by the conteurs, first, and by the writers, then, is of Irish origin and Welsh development. To prove it, he follows a method that has five essential steps: isolating the various elements, investigating the parallels, finding the original, looking for parallels in the Celtic mythology or possible survivals in the Breton tradition, and, finally, studying the path the element followed and all the possible relations of it with all the other versions. This regressive, archeological method, is latter replaced by a progressive one, in which he looks for resemblances and developments of a motive in and between romances. The American scholar, coming out from the philosophical and philological theories of the XIXth century, considers that myths and oral narratives are the prehistory of romance, so that traditional narratives are more than just transcriptions. He presents us a new concept that is going to attract to its core myth and folklore; that concept is tradition. So, we understand that what Loomis means is that the manuscript has different leaves of meaning that correspond to different states of mouvance of an oral narrative, that’s why we can talk about a pre-history of the narrative, previous to its manuscript form.