Early Irish kingship ideology and history
Early medieval Irish literature thoroughly discusses the ideology of kingship; the tales about kingship both acted as exemplum literature for early Irish kings and, for modern scholars, elaborate on early Irish society's values. Although there is no specific evidence which indicates that the tales were used as exemplum, it seems fairly clear. Certainly there was literature designed to educate king's about their responsibilities. Audacht Morainn, a letter from an advisor to a prince, was clearly designed for just that purpose. The extent of the concern which early medieval literature has for kingship and, specifically, the values of kingship, indicates that this literature was intended for the education of kings as well as for entertainment. Having good kings was certainly very important to the medieval Irish; a good king secured peace and prosperity for his land. The reasons for the likely existence of exemplum literature for kings does not, however, indicate that the ki!ngship literature must include that exemplum literature. What does indicate that kingship literature is, or at least includes, exemplum literature, is that the major themes in kingship literature deal with either how to be a good king or how not to be a b
. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
Críth Gablach, Audacht Morainn, Elizabeth Gray, Maige Mucrama, Dumézil's Indo-European, Gaelic Irish, Thurneysen Strachan, Congal Cáech, Mac Con, Biblical Classical, medieval irish, irish kingship, cath maige, Ó cathasaigh, gaelic literature, medieval irish kingship, king client, maige tuired, irish literature, kingship literature, cath maige tuired, cath maige mucrama, Ó cathasaigh tomas, maige mucrama, medieval irish king,
Approximate Word count = 5402
Approximate Pages = 22 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
