Medb of Crúachain and the Empress Matilda: literature and politics in 12th-century Leinster

What is it about?

In my book on Táin Bó Cúailnge "Inside the Táin" I argued that the work contains certain allusions to (near-)contemporary events. Here I discuss the most obvious example: the allusion in the Pillow Talk, the introductory tale added to the Táin in the 12th century version in the Book of Leinster to the succession conflict between the daughter of Henry I of England and the son of his sister Adele. I propose that during the last years of Diarmait mac Murchada's life female succession and succession in the female line were discussed in Leinster.

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