Compilation and Creativity in Medieval FĂanaigecht: a Case-Study of 'Three Men and the Dog of IrĂșath'
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This dissertation is the first in-depth study of the medieval Irish corpus of âThree Men and the Dog of IrĂșathâ. This story survives in different forms (poetry and prosimetrum) in manuscripts ranging in date from the twelfth to the nineteenth century. The present study focusses primarily on the poem âDĂĄmh trĂr thĂĄncatar illĂ©â âA company of three men came hereâ, the earliest surviving version of this story, and the prosimetric embedded tales found as part of Acallam na SenĂłrach âThe Colloquy of the Ancientsâ, which offer a similar version with a different ending.
Chapter I presents a detailed study of âDĂĄmh trĂr thĂĄncatar illĂ©â. I examine the earliest extant version of the poem found in Dublin, Trinity College 1339, The Book of Leinster (s. xii), and argue that the poem should be considered part of Scribe Aâs collection of dindshenchas texts. I then discuss the version of the poem found in Cork, University College 204, The Book of Lismore (s. xv), as part of Agallamh Bheag âThe Small Colloquyâ (AB), and present a scholarly edition of the poem and its prose introduction from AB in the Book of Lismore.
Chapter II focusses on the embedded tales about the three men and the dog of IrĂșath in Acallam na SenĂłrach (AS). I analyse the physical evidence of the manuscripts of AS and demonstrate that scribes engaged with the structure of the text using colours, paragraphs and enlarged letters. A scholarly edition of the prosimetric embedded tales is presented, based on Oxford, Bodleian Library, Laud Misc. 610 (s. xv) and Dublin, University College Franciscan A 4 (s. xvâxvi), and including significant variants from the other manuscript witnesses in the apparatus criticus.
Further insights into the textual tradition of âThree Menâ are offered in Chapter III. First, I offer a study of the figure of the dog of IrĂșath across medieval Irish literature, evidencing the creative mindset of medieval Irish scribes in making intertextual connections between texts. Then, I analyse the narratological structure of the embedded tales in AS and show how metanarration, mise en abyme and narratorial illusionism are used in the text. Finally, I return to the intertwining of fĂanaigecht and dindshenchas and I demonstrate that dindshenchas is used as a structural and compilatory tool in AS and AB, offering evidence that AB was compiled using AS.
This thesis thus makes significant progress in our understanding of the textual complexity of âThree Men and the Dog of IrĂșathâ, AS and AB, and offers a framework for further studies into the creative compilatory practices of the medieval Irish literati.