The Vision of Mac ConglinneThe Vision of Mac Conglinne
Title rated 0 out of 5 stars, based on 0 ratings(0 ratings)
eBook, 2010
Current format, eBook, 2010, 1st ed, All copies in use.eBook, 2010
Current format, eBook, 2010, 1st ed, All copies in use. Offered in 0 more formats"The Vision of Mac Conglinne is a fantastic poem and could be an allegory for our modern world, the demon of gluttony has taken over and wants to devour everything. Only words can expel it. Thank you Lahney Preston-Matto for the marvelous translation and comprehensive scholarly edition."---Greg Delanty, author of The Ship of Birth: Poems
In a pleasant position Was the house, strong, substantial. And then I went in Through the door of meat-jerky, The threshold of dried-bannock, The walls of soft cheese.
Pillars of cheese barnyardy And broad beams all bacony Alternately sprcad; Jolly joists of heavy-cream Bright rafters of cottage-cheese---They support the house
Just behind, a wine-wellspring, Beer, bragget in riversrun, Tasty each full pool. A malt sea for ale-brewing, at a whey-well's boundary Flows over the floor.---From Aislinge Meic Conglinne
Aisling Meic Conglinne, an anonymous Middle Irish romance, recounts the efforts of its eponymous hero to exchange the hardscrabble life of a clerical scholar for the prestigious life of a poet. Mac Conglinne wins the patronage of Cathal mac Finguine, the king of Munster, after rescuing him from a "demon of gluttony" by reciting a fantastic, food-laden vision of alternate worlds. An accomplished and original eleventh-century satiric narrative poem, Aislinge Meic Conglinne is now available for the first time as a stand-alone translation.
Preston-Matto offers scholars and students an ideal course text, matching every meter of every verse in her translation. The volume includes an introduction that places the romance in its rich historical and literary contexts, and extensive notes that illuminate the wealth of references found in the text. Illustrating Aislinge Meic Conglinne's significant influence and its participation in the intellectual movements and debates of its time, Preston-Matto's translation makes an invaluable contribution to medieval and Irish studies.
Preston-Matto (English, Adelphi College) has taken on the Herculean task of presenting a Middle Irish satirical text in a form that will engage undergraduate students. Anticipating that her readers will have little background in eleventh-century Irish history and culture, she provides an introduction that covers language, some history, religion and Irish traditions of hospitality along with the place of the poet in society. She also explains the uses of both Irish and continental satire in this story of a king possessed by a gluttonous demon. Her translation flows nicely although there are some expressions that could have been footnoted. Did the Irish have a term for coma, for instance, and was the phrase "cur's caca" employed to reflect alliteration in the original or was a children's word used by the author? Preston-Matto took great care to reproduce the form of the poetry, as well, and her explanations of the complex rules of composition makes this also useful in a class on comparative poetic styles. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Aislinge Meic Conglinne, an anonymous Middle Irish romance, recounts the efforts of the eponymous hero to exchange the hardscrabble life of a clerical scholar for the prestigious life of a poet. Mac Conglinne wins the patronage of Cathal mac Finguine, the king of Munster, after rescuing him from a "demon of gluttony" by reciting a fantastic, food-laden vision of alternate worlds. An accomplished and original eleventh-century satiric narrative poem, Aislinge Meic Conglinne is now available for the first time as a stand-alone translation.
In a pleasant position Was the house, strong, substantial. And then I went in Through the door of meat-jerky, The threshold of dried-bannock, The walls of soft cheese.
Pillars of cheese barnyardy And broad beams all bacony Alternately sprcad; Jolly joists of heavy-cream Bright rafters of cottage-cheese---They support the house
Just behind, a wine-wellspring, Beer, bragget in riversrun, Tasty each full pool. A malt sea for ale-brewing, at a whey-well's boundary Flows over the floor.---From Aislinge Meic Conglinne
Aisling Meic Conglinne, an anonymous Middle Irish romance, recounts the efforts of its eponymous hero to exchange the hardscrabble life of a clerical scholar for the prestigious life of a poet. Mac Conglinne wins the patronage of Cathal mac Finguine, the king of Munster, after rescuing him from a "demon of gluttony" by reciting a fantastic, food-laden vision of alternate worlds. An accomplished and original eleventh-century satiric narrative poem, Aislinge Meic Conglinne is now available for the first time as a stand-alone translation.
Preston-Matto offers scholars and students an ideal course text, matching every meter of every verse in her translation. The volume includes an introduction that places the romance in its rich historical and literary contexts, and extensive notes that illuminate the wealth of references found in the text. Illustrating Aislinge Meic Conglinne's significant influence and its participation in the intellectual movements and debates of its time, Preston-Matto's translation makes an invaluable contribution to medieval and Irish studies.
Preston-Matto (English, Adelphi College) has taken on the Herculean task of presenting a Middle Irish satirical text in a form that will engage undergraduate students. Anticipating that her readers will have little background in eleventh-century Irish history and culture, she provides an introduction that covers language, some history, religion and Irish traditions of hospitality along with the place of the poet in society. She also explains the uses of both Irish and continental satire in this story of a king possessed by a gluttonous demon. Her translation flows nicely although there are some expressions that could have been footnoted. Did the Irish have a term for coma, for instance, and was the phrase "cur's caca" employed to reflect alliteration in the original or was a children's word used by the author? Preston-Matto took great care to reproduce the form of the poetry, as well, and her explanations of the complex rules of composition makes this also useful in a class on comparative poetic styles. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Aislinge Meic Conglinne, an anonymous Middle Irish romance, recounts the efforts of the eponymous hero to exchange the hardscrabble life of a clerical scholar for the prestigious life of a poet. Mac Conglinne wins the patronage of Cathal mac Finguine, the king of Munster, after rescuing him from a "demon of gluttony" by reciting a fantastic, food-laden vision of alternate worlds. An accomplished and original eleventh-century satiric narrative poem, Aislinge Meic Conglinne is now available for the first time as a stand-alone translation.
Title availability
About
Contributors
Subject and genre
Details
Publication
- Syracuse, N.Y. : Syracuse University Press, 2010.
Opinion
More from the community
Community lists featuring this title
There are no community lists featuring this title
Community contributions
Community quotations are the opinions of contributing users. These quotations do not represent the opinions of Whistler Public Library.
There are no quotations from this title
Community quotations are the opinions of contributing users. These quotations do not represent the opinions of Whistler Public Library.
There are no quotations from this title
From the community