Who was Alexander to the Irish? The image of Alexander the Great in medieval Ireland

Alexander the Great loomed large indeed in the imagination of medieval literati. Accounts of his exploits are to be found throughout Europe – and further afield – in Greek, Latin and virtually every attested vernacular language of the European Middle Ages. Naturally, Ireland and Irish are no exceptions. To many, he was simultaneously an intrepid explorer who discovered many wonders in distant lands and an arrogant tyrant who embodied the sin of pride itself.

In this presentation, Cameron Wachowich will seek to elucidate the image of Alexander that existed in the minds of medieval Irish scholars, by providing an overview of the various accounts of his deeds available in Latin sources and the references to him preserved in texts written in Ireland during the period, both in Latin and in Irish. These accounts of Alexander stand at the crossroads of history and literature; Wachowich will be drawing from world chronicles, narrative histories, poems and geographical works among others, to build a picture of this man who is at once a historical figure and a literary figment.