Irish Mythological Cycle

From Citizendium
Revision as of 04:01, 20 May 2007 by imported>Patrick Brown
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

The Mythological Cycle is is a body of medieval Irish legends, sagas, poems and historical traditions which makes up one of the four great cycles of Irish mythology. It contains the origin myths of the Irish, including the Dindshenchas ("place-lore"), poems and stories which explain the origins of places and their names by reference to events in the imagined distant past; the Lebor Gabála Érenn ("book of the taking of Ireland"), a complilation of traditions about a sequence of invasions and settlements by various groups, some semi-historical, some entirely mythical; and a variety of tales featuring the Tuatha Dé Danann and other characters who appear to have once been gods.