In Search of Sun-Gods : Mythic Potential In the Waltharius and the Tain Bo Cuailnge

Abstract

The Latin Waltharius and the Irish Tain Bo Cuailnge share a mythic potential in their heroic main characters that suggests dimensions of solar deism, affecting the time and place definitions in the stories, as well as the working-out of the heroic themes. Though basically unrelated in terms of literary cultural context, the epics offer interesting archetypal perspectives on comparative heroic values.