Echtra

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An Echtra or Echtrae (pl. Echtrai), is a type of pre-Christian Old Irish literature about a hero's adventures in the Otherworld or with otherworldly beings.

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Definition and etymology

In Irish literature Echtrae and Immram are tales of voyages to an Otherworld. In general the "Echtrae" are set in a pagan context. [1] In contrast the Immram, though containing mythological story elements, are set in post-pagan Ireland, and the main protagonist is Christian, [2] and the journey is usually by sea. [3]

A point of contention in absolute definition exists in the case of "Immram Brain maic Febail". [1] Despite the naming this tale is considered to form part of the Echtrae milieu, and may have been named as an Immram due to a conflation of Bran (Brain) and St. Brendan. [2]

Generally, echtra was the Old Irish word for "adventure" (literally meaning an "outing". [1] ), as well as a cognate for the Latin extra, [4] The modern and middle Irish language word is eachtra.

The Dictionary of the Irish Language notes alternative usage meanings in addition to the primary "expedition, voyage, journey" - these include "a warlike expedition", and the more general "tale", or "history". [5]

Description

Though Echtrai often involve a journey to an otherworld, the exact destination or journey can vary - voyages take place by sea in Echtrae Conli ; in a journey underneath a lake in Echtrae Laegairi ; or into a fairy mound ( Sidhe ) in Echtrae Nerai ; [1] alternatively the story may not include such a journey but instead involve an interaction with otherworldly beings : in Echtrae Nerai , set on Samhain, the hero Nera sees prophetic visions whilst in the presence of a hanged man; [3] whilst in Echtra Mac nEchach Muid-medóin , the hero Níall gains the sovereignty of Ireland by kissing a hag guarding a well. [3]

Works

Lists compiled from ( Dumville 1976 ), ( Duignan 2010 ) :

Tales not titled Echtra, but considered part of milieu
Lost tales

There are also visits to the otherworld undertaken by the hero Cuchulainn, including : Forfess Fer Fálgae , Fled Bricrenn ocus Loinges mac nDuil Dermait , and Compert Con Culainn

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<i>Echtra Condla</i>

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Dumville 1976, p. 73.
  2. 1 2 "Echtrae", Jone's Celtic Encyclopedia
  3. 1 2 3 Koch, John T., "Echtai", Celtic Culture - A historical encyclopedia, p. 646
  4. ↑ Hart, Aoife Assumpta (2016), Ancestral Recall: The Celtic Revival and Japanese Modernism, McGill-Queens University Press
  5. ↑ "Echtra", www.dil.ie

Sources

  • MacKillop, James (1998), Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, Oxford, ISBN   978-0-19-860967-4
  • Dumville, David N. (1976), "Echtrae and Immram: Some Problems of Definition", Ériu, Royal Irish Academy, 27: 73–94, JSTOR   30007669
  • Duignan, Leonie (2010), The Echtrae as an Early Irish Literatary Genre (thesis), NUI Maynooth
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