The Extended Prologue of Togail Troί: From Adam to the Wars of Troy

Abstract

This article is a study of the hitherto unpublished Prologue found in the later versions of Togail Troί (TTr), the Middle Irish history of the Trojan War. The Prologue sets the Trojan War in the context of the descent of nations from the sons of Noah and ultimately from those of Adam, and ends with a series of verses on Trojan genealogy. An edition is presented, based principally on the copy in RIA MS D.iv.2, with commentary and translation. Stemmatic relationships are plotted between this text of the Prologue and those in five other manuscript versions of TTr. The meaning and sources of the Prologue narrative are discussed, and it is argued that these include a variant or derivative of the Apocalypse of Pseudo- Methodius. It is also proposed that there are close affinities with the version of the Leabhar Gabhála represented by fragment H (TCD MS 1316a). Further connections are proposed with Auraicept na nÉces, Saltair na Rann, the Chronicle of Marianus Scottus and the Lecan Synchronisms.