Early Irish Literature

by Myles Dillon

'An incandescent vision, a wildness of imagination, sensiblity to sound and colour and form...human passion, love, sorrow and anger.' Thus Myles Dillon describes the enduring qualities of the literature of early Ireland. In Early Irish Literature, he summarizes the historical, mythological and poetic legacy of ancient and medieval Ireland, spanning more than a millennium, selecting the most important tales and poems of early Ireland and rendering them in a vibrant English translation. This book is a valuable introduction to this area for student an general reader alike.

About the Author:

Myles Dillon (1900-1972) taught in Paris, Dublin, Chicago, Wisconsin, Edinburgh and Oxford. A pioneer in the fields of comparative philology and Celtic studies, he was President of the Royal Irish Academy and director of the School of Celtic Studies at the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies.

Genres: Ireland, Irish Literature, Criticism

211 pages, Hardcover

First published March 28, 1948

About the author

Myles Dillon (11 May 1900 — 18 June 1972) was an Irish historian, philologist and celticist.

Myles Dillon was born in Dublin; he was one of six children of John Dillon and his wife Elizabeth Mathew; James Matthew Dillon, the leader of Fine Gael, was his younger brother.

Myles Dillon graduated from University College Dublin, than travelled to Germany and France, where he studied in deep Old Irish and Celtic philology under Joseph Vendryes and Rudolf Thurneysen. Dillon taught Sanskrit and comparative philology in Trinity College, Dublin (1928–1930) and University College, Dublin (1930–1937). In 1937 moved to USA, where he taught Irish in the University of Madison (his son John M. Dillon was born in Madison), in 1946-1947 taught in Chicago. On his return to Ireland worked in the School of Celtic Studies in Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies; was the director of the School from 1960 till 1968, edited Celtica. Volume 11 of Celtica is dedicated to his memory.

Myles Dillon is the author of a number of important scholarly books, handbooks and translations from Old Irish. Among his most notable works are The Cycles of the Kings (1946), Early Irish literature (1948), The Celtic realms (1967, with Nora Kershaw Chadwick). M. Dillon published a modern translation and commentary of The Book of Rights (Old Irish: Lebor na cert, 1962). He also translated Dieux et héros des Celtes by Marie-Louise Sjoestedt into English, thus making the book available for a wider scholarly audience. The monograph Celts and Aryans, published posthumously by the Indian Institute of Advanced Study reflects Dillon's interest in the traces of the shared heritage in the Indian and Irish cultures deriving from Proto-Indo-European society based on a period of research Dillon spent in Simla, India.

[edit] BibliographyThe Cycles of the Kings. OUP, 1946; rep. Four Courts Press 1994)
Early Irish Literature. Chicago, 1948; rep. 1969; rep. Four Courts Press 1994
Early Irish Society, Dublin 1954 (editor)
Irish Sagas. 1959, reps. 1968, 1985, 1996
The Book of Rights. Dublin, 1962
The Celtic Realms (with Nora Chadwick),1967
Celts and Aryans. Simla 1975
[edit] ReferencesBreathnach D., Ní Murchú M. 1882—1982. Beathaisnéis a ceathair. (Dublin): An Clóchmar, 1995. P. 28-30.
J. Fischer and J. Dillon (eds.), The Correspondence of Myles Dillon, 1922—1925: Irish German Relations and Celtic Studies, Dublin: Four Courts Press 1998
Robert Welch, Bruce Stewart, The Oxford companion to Irish literature, Oxford University Press, 1996, p. 149.

Reviews

[Aisha Manus · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is dated as heck. The authors biased viewpoints are kinda gross at times. As a source it’s ok but it’s still mainly the authors summary of the stories. Slightly surprised my college still assigns work like this as I bet there are better works now days.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1972 I worked in an office on 23rd Street with a woman who had her degree from Columbia or NYU in Celtic history, and, like a sponge, I devoured as much information as I could from her. My notebooks, bibliography and reading materials were in a small overnight suitcase that mysteriously disappeared at a Rolling Stones concert at Madison Square Garden. I never fully recovered from the loss. I could not believe someone could be so heartless. However I had begun this book and was able to replace it. This is an amazing book because it's a wonderful telling of ancient tales where characters move from the real world into an imaginary and supernatural world. The tales would be impossible to understand in Gaelic and the explanation of the cycles and different characters make the stories much easier to follow.

I found this memo from an Irish Scholar in Dublin:
"The most easily accessible and buyable are probably James MacKillop's
Dictionary of Celtic Mythology (Oxford, 1998; pbk ISBN 0192801201) for
commentary and summary, and Myles Dillon's Early Irish Literature (Four
Courts reprint 1994; pbk ISBN 1851821775) for commentary, summary and
extracts. Dáithí Ó hÓgáin's Myth, Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of
the Irish Folk Tradition (Prentice Hall, 1991 ISBN 0132759594) for
commentary and summary may still be available. All give sources, and
MacKillop and Ó hÓgáin have extensive bibliographies. MacKillop is heaviest
on Irish material, but he also deals extensively with other Celtic
traditions.

The sort of story you're looking for will be called Adventure (Echtrae),
Voyage (Immram), or Vision (Fís). Probably the best-known examples are the
Adventure of Bran son of Febal, the Voyage of Mael Dúin (or Mael Dúin's
Boat), and the Vision of Mac Con Glinne."

Richard Marsh
Dublin

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please see my review at Celtic Scholar's Reviews and Opinions

[Sasha Burik · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd have much preferred it not to have been so abridged and summarized, but very informative nonetheless.