The Middle Irish saga Merugud Uilixis meic Leirtis, 'The Wandering of Ulysses Son of Laertes,' composed around 1200, is a showcase for the complex interaction between oral and written tradition, between folk and elite. The short prose saga, which is here translated in full for the first time in over a century, is one of the earliest vernacular adaptations of the Odyssey in medieval Europe and evidence of the Irish elite’s indebtedness to classical literature and learning. Into the framework of the Homeric story, however, the medieval author inserted a narrative drawn from a radically different milieu. The odyssean outline is augmented by a tale drawn from oral storytelling, the international folktale of The Master's Good Counsels (ATU 910B), and the adventures of the folktale hero, whose life and happiness are saved by three wise counsels, are here attributed to Ulysses.
The book explores the saga's two-fold heritage, which challenges our assumptions about elite/written and popular/oral interactions, by investigating, in turn, its literary and oral roots.
Introduction
The Irish Odyssey: Text and Translation
Merugud Uilixis meic Leirtis / The Wandering of Ulysses son of Laertes
Chapter One: The Classics in Medieval Ireland
Chapter Two: Ulysses in Medieval Irish Literature
Chapter Three: Merugud Uilixis and Homer’s Odyssey
Interlude: The Folktale of The Master's Good Counsels as told by Bab Feirtéar
Chapter Four: The Folktale of The Master's Good Counsels
Chapter Five: The Folktale and the Irish Odyssey
Conclusion: The Author of Merugud Uilixis between Orality and Literacy
Appendix: Source List of Irish, Scottish and Cornish Versions of The Master's Good Counsels
Bibliography
