A wrong turn on the way to Troy: Samson and the classical tradition in medieval Ireland

Abstract

This article examines the sources and style of a short narrative found in RIA MS D iv 2 (1223) and edited by Carl Marstrander as How Samson Slew the Gesteda. I argue that this text adapts the myths of Hercules and Busiris, and Philomela, retelling them to star the biblical Samson as the protagonist. This process of creative adaptation draws on late antique synchronisms and medieval Irish pseudohistorical traditions, linking Classical and biblical characters and events; this article offers suggestions as to the textual sources that influenced the production of the narrative and analyses its medieval Irish cultural context. How Samson Slew the Gesteda has received very little critical attention to date, but a careful consideration of its contents and context helps to illuminate our understanding of the processes of reception and intellectual innovation at work in twelfth-century Ireland.