The Boyne in medieval myth and literature

The river Boyne has left an enduring mark on the mythological, literary and historical landscape of the whole country, as attested by our earliest records onwards. The Boyne was endowed with a rich store of cultural traditions on which medieval authors could draw, and this talk paper explores some of those traditions, including medieval mythological accounts of the creation of the Boyne, associations of the Boyne with poetic inspiration, and stories of extraordinary events that took place on its banks.