Trees and Tradition in Early Ireland

Abstract

Old and Middle Irish nature poetry has long been appreciated for the vividness of its description of the natural world. In this paper, we will show that the inventory of trees and bushes upon which poets drew was based less upon direct observation of nature than upon a traditional taxonomy found in a completely different genre, the law tracts dating back to the seventh century, notably the tree list edited by Fergus Kelly in 1976 from Bretha Comaithchesa ‘Judgments Concerning Neighborhood Law’. Thus, the economic and aesthetic value of trees and bushes as discussed in law tracts and nature poetry were part of a single continuous tradition of taxonomy and silviculture stretching over at least 500 years. We will end by discussing the relationship between this tradition and the Ogam letter names (McManus 1997).