Banshenchas

An Banshenchas (literally "the woman lore") is a medieval text which collects brief descriptions of prominent woman in Irish legend into a poetic narrative. [The "-shenchas" element in this word is the same one appearing in "dinsenchas" (place lore) and is cognate with "seanachie", a word that has entered English language as a word for a traditional Irish storyteller.]

Unlike much of early Irish literature, "An Banshenchas" may be attributed to a specific author and date. The introduction of the poem states that Gilla Mo-Dutu Ó Caiside, of Ard Brecáin in Meath, composed it in 1147.

Content

"An Banshenchas" is framed in a historical context and starts with Eve and other biblical women, moves to the legendary women of Irish mythology such as Etain and Emer, then completes with later-day characters who are almost certainly historical, including a few woman of the Hiberno-Norse aristocracy.

The references to each of the characters within are short; a few lines at most. For example, in regard to some early biblical figures:

Adam, Seth, pious Sili and Cain were the four first men who propagated multitudes. Eve, Olla, Pib and Pithib (women of power in the eternal world) bore the beautiful race: prosperous before the Flood and miserable afterwards. Eve was the only wife of mighty Adam. Olla was spouse of blameless Seth. Pib was the name of the wife of guilty Cain. She did not avoid evil. Pithib was wife of Sili of the profits. Whiter than foam was her body. [ [http://www.cassidyclan.org/partI_Banshenchus.htm prob. Margaret E. Dobbs translation from "Revue Celtique" vol. xlvii-xlix, 1930 and 1931] ]

Or regarding some of the legendary women of Ireland:

Etain was wife of Eochu Aireman, Esa was her daughter, evil were her rites. Her name is given to a lofty spot, allied by her crimes to pollution. Mes Buachalla was Esa's daughter. By her methods mariners were coarsened. [ [http://www.maryjones.us/jce/banshenchas.html Banshenchas: The Lore of Women] ]

The stories of some of these women are known from other sources, ranging from the Book of Genesis, to the Wooing of Etain to other, less-well known sources. Some of the names within "An Banshenchas" are today just names that hint at stories that are long-lost but were known to Ó Caiside and his contemporaries.

Manuscripts

Copies of "An Banshenchas" are found in the Book of Leinster, Book of Hy Many, and the Great Book of Lecan. Like the dinsenchas ("place lore") poems, the banshenchas poems are accompanied by prose commentary probably of a slightly later date.

Notes

References

*Muireann ní Bhrolcháin, "The Manuscript Tradition of the Banshenchas." "Ériu". Vol. XXXIII (1982).
* [http://www.maryjones.us/jce/banshenchas.html Jones' Celtic Encyclopedia]