Anglo-Saxon prose and poetry is, without question, the major literary achievement of the early Middle Ages (c. 700-1100). In no other vernacular language does such a vast store of verbal treasures exist for so extended a period of time. For twenty years the definitive guide to that literature has been Stanley B. Greenfield's 1965 Critical History of Old English Literature. Now this classic has been extensively revised and updated to make it more valuable than ever to both the student and scholar.

Most anthologies of Irish literature deal only with Irish literature in English, that which is gerally referred to as Anglo-Irish literature. Most of them also deal only with Irish writers of the twentieth century. An Anthology of Irish Literature is an exception to both these tendencies. The selections represent Irish literature from the seventh century through the twentieth century. Volume I contains translations of medieval Irish poetry and narratives, many of which, though transcribed in Middle Irish, are from an older oral tradition. The volume also offers examples of Irish lyric poetry of the 17th and 18th centuries and translations from 19th century Irish poets