Raven’s Battle-cry: The Limits of Judgment in the Medieval Irish Legal Tract Anfuigell

Charlene M. Eska, Ph.D. (2006), in Celtic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University, is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Her publications focus on medieval Irish legal texts and manuscripts, and include Cáin Lánamna: An Old Irish Tract on Marriage and Divorce Law (Brill, 2010).

• AcknowledgementsAbbreviationsPlatesIntroductionSummary of the TextManuscript SourcesConcordancesEditorial MethodNotes on Dating and OrthographyAnfuigell: Text, Variants, Commentary, and TranslationAppendix 1: Text and commentary from source CAppendix 2: Commentary from § 32 source TAppendix 3: Commentary from § 51 source TAppendix 4: List of variant MS readings against CIHAppendix 5: Regarding Aidbred ‘Claiming’Appendix 6: O’Davoren’s Glossay no. 862(3) and CIH 1452.11–24GlossaryBibliographyIndex

"Ireland possesses the largest body of early medieval vernacular legal texts from anywhere in Europe. The study of this material, including both the legal system itself and the culture and society it illuminates, is still hampered by the absence of critical editions of so many of the extant texts. Charlene Eska is one of the small number of scholars currently working in this highly complex field, and this, her latest edition and translation, is another highly valuable contribution". [...] ''A raven’s battle-cryis a carefully researched and well-written book, a welcome addition to the list of modern editions and translations of Old Irish laws. Eska has made available, for the first time, a text that will be of interest to linguists and historians for years to come. She has also illuminated many of the opaque passages and the legal culture that they document''. Patrcik Wadden, in North American Journal of Celtic Studies 4 (1), Spring 2020.