Il ciclo di Cuchulain

If I were to sing you a song of brave Cuchulain, hero and hound, loyal warrior, beardless boy better than three times fifty men of Ulster, I would surely run out of breath before you yet understood the heart of him, yet knew his many feats and the deeds that drew his name across the rocky ridge of t Leggi tutto

A more complete and wonderfully presented collection of the Ulster cycle of Irish mythology probably does not exist than this work Lady Augusta Gregory first published in 1902. She collects, transcribes, and pieces together the translations of many of the most significant sagas of Cuchulain and the

I grew up in Dundalk (Dún Dealgan, homeplace of Chú Chulainn), I still remember Chu Chulainn's castle a few hundred yards from my home. I also grew up with these legends, and had to study them in the old Irish text which is completely different to the modern Irish language. Lady Gregory's account, w Leggi tutto

Ero molto interessata a conoscerne la storia e il suo mito, giunto a noi in maniera frammentaria, conservato e ritrovato a pezzi su diversi documenti di diversi autori. Non mi è stato possibile dunque ricostruire la sua storia in maniera lineare ma il lavoro fatto da Yeats mi è piaciuto moltissimo. Leggi tutto

Gregory takes great care to use the syntax of common speech, which gives her versions of these stories a distinctly Irish voice, something that is sacrificed in polished English prose.

There are many things to say about this book. My edition was from the 80s and all decked up with sword&sandal illustrations, hoping to entice fantasy readers of the day; but it's a book that has a very strong claim to genealogical ancestry of the fantasy genre, both in its historical source material Leggi tutto

First Thoughts: A great heroic epic. The story of Cú Chulainn, hound of Ulster and what is.. basically an Irish demingod. A story of a young man grasping a prophesy trading a long happy life for a shot one filled with glory and one where his name would be passed down through generations. Familiar stor Leggi tutto

This is very personal, I know Cuchulainn is all but forgotten these days, but I just love this book. The power, the sheer strength it conveys washed me away when I first read it, years ago. I just can`t understand how come it is not more popular. The book is a re-write of a mythological cycle collect Leggi tutto

A book read for background in understanding old myths and symbolism in Yeat's poetry. To a modern mind, it might be hard to read in places. The myths seem to be similar in theme to tall tales, as the heroes are capable of taking on armies single-handed. Warriors are overstuffed with pride, often tri Leggi tutto