Rhetoric Review Jun 2007

Rhetoric of Myth, Magic, and Conversion: A Prolegomena to Ancient Irish Rhetoric

Richard Johnson-Sheehan Purdue University West Lafayette ; Paul Lynch Purdue University West Lafayette

Abstract

Ancient Ireland presents an interesting case for rhetorical study. While the island is usually considered a part of geographic Europe, it long resisted the influence of cultural Europe. Unlike Britain, for example, Ireland was never conquered by Rome, and its pre-literate culture flourished beyond the fall of the Empire. Consequently, the Irish maintained a mythopoetic rhetoric based in narrative. Their stories recounted not only the deeds of their heroes, but also their words. And, like ancient Greece, ancient Ireland also had a class of sophistic rhetors, the Druids. When Patrick arrived around the end of the fourth century, he eschewed the Ciceronian rhetoric of Augustine and instead adapted Christian theology to fit Irish rhetoric.

Journal
Rhetoric Review
Published
2007-06-15
DOI
10.1080/07350190701419798
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism literacy studies
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Ramsey (2021)
    Mythic Progenitors in Chinese and Sumerian Rhetorical Culture: A Short Primer
    Rhetoric Review

References (29)

  1. Bitel Lisa (1996)
    Land of Women: Tales of Sex and Gender from Early Ireland
  2. Burke Kenneth (1950)
    A Rhetoric of Motives
  3. Cahill Thomas (1995)
    How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall…
  4. Covino William (1994)
    Magic, Rhetoric, and Literacy: An Eccentric History of the Composing Imagination
  5. de Romilly Jacqueline (1975)
    Magic and Rhetoric in Ancient Greece
Show all 29 →
  1. Duffy Sean (2002)
    The Illustrated History of Ireland
  2. Enos Richard (1993)
    Greek Rhetoric Before Aristotle
  3. Foster Roy (1989)
    The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland
  4. Freeman Philip (2004)
    St. Patrick of Ireland
  5. 10.1525/rh.2001.19.3.275
     ↗
  6. Hanson R. P. C. (1968)
    St. Patrick: His Origins and Career
  7. Hanson R. P. C. (1983)
    The Life and Writings of the Historical Saint St. Patrick
  8. Heaney Marie (1994)
    Over Nine Waves: A Book of Irish Legends
  9. Hood A. B. E. (1978)
    St. Patrick: His Writings and Muichu's Life
  10. Kerferd G. B. (1981)
    The Sophistic Movement
  11. Marsh William (2000)
    Celtic Christianity: Ecology and Holiness
  12. Matthews John (2001)
    The Druid Source Book
  13. Mohrmann Christine (1961)
    The Latin of St. Patrick: Four Lectures
  14. O'Clery Michael (1846)
    The Annals of Ireland by the Four Masters
  15. O Corrain Donnchadh (1989)
    The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland
  16. 10.4324/9780203328064
     ↗
  17. Rolleston T. W. (1990)
    Celtic Myths and Legends
  18. Rutherford Ward (1987)
    Celtic Mythology
  19. Scherman Katherine (1981)
    The Flowering of Ireland
  20. Swartz Dorothy (1984)
    Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium
  21. O'Rahilly Cecile (1967)
    Táin Bó Cúalnge from The Book of Leinster
  22. Thompson E. A. (1985)
    Who Was St. Patrick?
  23. Yeats W. B. (1983)
    Irish Fairy and Folk Tales
  24. Young Ella (1995)
    Celtic Wonder-Tales
CrossRef global citation count: 2 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Rhetoric Society Quarterly Mar 2025
    Epideictic Listening: From a Reflective Case Study to a Theory of Community Ethos ↗
    Sarah Hart Micke; Angela Sowa; Lisl Davies; Emily Graboski; Maya Piñón
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism feminist rhetorics argument qualitative research literacy studies
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Oct 2022
    The Specialist in Athenian Written Rhetoric During the Classical Period: A Reconsideration of Technical Rhetoric and Rhetorical Iconography ↗
    Richard Leo Enos
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism technical communication literacy studies book reviews
  3. Rhetorica Mar 2022
    Lives, Letters, and Quilts: Women and Everyday Rhetorics of Resistance by Vanessa Kraemer Sohan ↗
    Sarah Walden
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism genre theory feminist rhetorics argument translingualism literacy studies gender and writing community literacy book reviews
  4. Rhetorica Jan 2022
    Orality and Performance in Classical Attic Prose: A Linguistic Approach by AlessandroVatri ↗
    Vasiliki Zali-Schiel
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism genre theory voice and style literacy studies book reviews
  5. Rhetorica Jun 2021
    Indecorous Thinking: Figures of Speech in Early Modern Poetics by Colleen Ruth Rosenfeld ↗
    William P. Weaver
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism discourse analysis writing pedagogy literacy studies book reviews