Bansenchas

Bansenchas , also Banshenchas [ 'banhenxas ], is the name of a directory of important historical female figures in the Central Irish language .

The author, who claims to have written the work in 1147, calls himself Gilla Mo-Dutu Ó Caiside in the opening poem . In brief explanations, he describes famous women in history since Adam and Eve , through the biblical female figures, those of Greco-Roman mythology , to the Irish mythical figures. The work is recorded in Lebor Laignech ("The Book of Leinster"), in Leabhar Buidhe Lecain ("The Yellow Book of Lecan") and partly also in Leabhar Mór Leacain ("The Big Book of Lecan").

As sources, the author used the Lebor Gabála Érenn ("The Book of the Lands of Ireland"), stories from the Ulster cycle , and other Irish annals.

literature

• Bernhard Maier : Lexicon of Celtic Religion and Culture (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 466). Kröner, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-520-46601-5 .
• Rudolf Thurneysen : The Irish hero and king legend up to the seventeenth century. Publishing house M. Niemeyer, Halle 1921.
• Lisa Bitel: Land of Women: Tales of Sex and Gender from Early Ireland . Cornell University Press, Ithaca NY 1998, ISBN 0-8014-8544-4 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).

Web links

• Entry in Jones' Celtic Encyclopedia