Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 June 2026
Exploring the structure and implications of salvation history in Classical adaptations such as In Cath Catharda highlights the broader significance of universal chronology and typology across the medieval Irish literary corpus. This chapter will turn to non-Classical Otherworldly beings in texts beyond the Classical adaptations. It questions how interpretatio of the Classical gods may have influenced supernatural characters in medieval Irish literature more generally, and how these literary works fit into a framework of universal history, as outlined in the preceding chapters. I will present two primary case studies that highlight the ways in which Classical syncretism allowed medieval Irish authors writing about the pre-Christian past to connect Irish prehistory to world history. The first case study will consist of an analysis of the motif of magically-induced thirst in Togail Bruidne Da Derga (‘The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel’), Cath Maige Tuired (‘The [Second] Battle of Moytura’), Cath Maige Tuired Cunga (‘The First Battle of Mag Tuired’), and Statius's Thebaid. The second case study will address potential Ovidian influence in Tochmarc Étaíne (‘The Wooing of Étaín’) as well as wider Classical affinities present in the text. From these specific examples, a new approach towards Classical influence develops: one that focuses on narrative affinity and thematic influence rather than literal quotation and direct borrowing of characters or plots. The background to these textual relationships is an idea of salvation-oriented world history, as discussed especially in Chapters 2 and 4, in which events and characters in different cultures could be linked due to chronological position and typological significance. As a result, a picture emerges of the broader learned context in which early medieval Irish texts interacted with and received Classical mythology.
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