'Cath Catharda'. Irlandzka wersja 'Bellum Civile' Marka Anneusza Lukana? Wprowadzenie do tematu

The Irish literary legacy, as well as the Greek and Roman ones, belongs to one of the oldest legacies in Europe. Among numerous, preserved till nowadays Irish texts, the work Cath Catharda seems to be particularly interesting. The work is about the civil war in Rome, which took place in 49–47 B.C. and seems to be an Irish version of Bellum Civile by Lukanus. The text is divided into twenty one chapters, which quite exactly copy information, which can be fund in Lucanus’ Songs I – VII. Only the first two chapters of the Irish work do not refer to the Roman poem, as they are peculiar introduction to political situation in Rome and a story about Caesar’s Invasion of Britain. The chapters 3–21 are closely connected with Songs included in Bellum Civile. Slight differences which can be noticed in the Irish text are result of the fact that the text is written in prose and specificity of language. In general Cath Catharda is a very precise copy of Bellum Civile.