From Chaos to Enemy: Encounters with Monsters in Early Irish Texts. An Investigation Related to the Process of Christianization and the Concept of Evil

The subject of this study is early Irish texts about the theme 'monsters', or, to be precise, 'encounters with monsters'. The period under investigation is from c. 600 - c. 1200 AD, which is usually designated 'early Irish'. The aim of this study is to contribute to the knowledge of the process of christianization in Ireland, to see how aspects of this process are reflected in the early Irish literary tradition, and to focus in particular on the development of the ideas about evil found in texts about encounters with monsters.