''Acallam Bec'' or ''Agallamh Bheag'' ("The Little Colloquy") is the title of a medieval Irish compilation of ''
fianaigecht'' tales, preserved in the fifteenth-century
Book of Lismore
The Book of Lismore, also known as the Book of Mac Carthaigh Riabhach, is a late fifteenth-century Gaelic manuscript that was created at Kilbrittain in County Cork, Ireland, for FÃnghean Mac Carthaigh, Lord of Carbery (1478–1505). Defectiv ...
and the Reeves manuscript. It is closely related to the ''
Acallam na Senórach
''Acallam na Senórach'' (, whose title in English has been given variously as ''Colloquy of the Ancients'', ''Tales of the Elders of Ireland'', ''The Dialogue of the Ancients of Ireland'', etc.), is an important prosimetric Middle Irish narrat ...
'' ("The Colloquy of the Elders"), of which it is sometimes considered to be a later recension. It differs from it in making
OisÃn
OisÃn (), Osian, Ossian ( ), or anglicized as Osheen ( ) was regarded in legend as the greatest poet of Ireland, a warrior of the Fianna in the Ossianic or Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He is the demigod son of Fionn mac Cumhaill and ...
rather than
CaÃlte the principal character.
Douglas Hyde
Douglas Ross Hyde (; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician, and diplomat who served as the first president of Ireland from June 1938 to June 1945. He was a l ...
has suggested that the text may preserve the lost beginning of ''Acallam na Senórach''.
[Hyde, "The Reeves Manuscript of the ''Agallamh na Senorach''."]
References
Editions and translations
*Kuehns, Julia Sophie. ''An edition and translation of the Agallamh Bheag from the Book of Lismore.'' (2005). Unpublished MPhil(R) thesis, University of Glasgow
Full text available online
*An CraoibhÃn (pseudonym of
Douglas Hyde
Douglas Ross Hyde (; 17 January 1860 – 12 July 1949), known as (), was an Irish academic, linguist, scholar of the Irish language, politician, and diplomat who served as the first president of Ireland from June 1938 to June 1945. He was a l ...
) (ed. and trans.). "An Agallamh Bheag." ''
Lia Fáil
The () or (; "Stone of Fál") is a stone at the Inauguration Mound () on the Hill of Tara in County Meath, Ireland, which served as the coronation stone for the King of Tara and hence High King of Ireland. It is also known as the Stone of D ...
'' 1 (1927): 79-107. Partial edition with translation into Modern Irish
Available online from Celtic Digital Initiative
*Pennington, Walter (tr.). "The Little Colloquy." ''
Philological Quarterly
The ''Philological Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on medieval European and modern literature and culture. It was established in 1922 by Hardin Craig. The inaugural issue of the journal was made available at sixt ...
'' 9.2 (1930): 97-110. Translation of Hyde's edition, together with which it i
available online from Celtic Digital Initiative{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118200643/http://sulis.ucc.ie/cdi/wp-content/uploads/textarchive/Hyde_AgallamhBheag.pdf , date=18 November 2017
Secondary sources
*Hyde, Douglas. "The Reeves Manuscript of the ''Agallamh na Senorach''." ''
Revue Celtique
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during ...
'' 38 (1920): 289-95.
*Murphy, Gerard. ''The Ossianic Lore and Romantic Tales of Medieval Ireland''. Dublin, 1955
Text Extract from 1961 edition reproduced online
Fenian Cycle
Early Irish literature
Medieval texts in Irish
Irish books