3 Review(s)

Literally 'the war of the Irish with the foreigners', the Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh is a poetic account of the Viking invasions of Ireland between 967 and 1016, and of the heroism of King Brian Boruma. Thought to have been lost until the mid-nineteenth century, the text survives in only three manuscripts. First published in 1867 as part of the Rolls Series, this work provides a facing-page translation of the collated manuscripts. Also included are thorough notes on variations in the texts and points of linguistic interest. In his extensive introduction, the Irish scholar James Henthorn Todd (1805-69) outlines the strengths and weaknesses of each of the three manuscript copies. He sketches the history of Norwegian and Danish raids in Ireland, contextualising the chronicle and providing a summary of its contents. The work still represents an important resource in Celtic studies, and among philologists studying Middle Irish.