One of medieval Ireland's greatest collections of stories and poems, THE COLLOQUY OF OLD MEN (12 th century by anonymous bards and compilers)is an extraordinary fictive accountant of journeys made by saint Patrick and the pagan Cailte, a survivor from an earlier epoch. The contrast between Druidic paganism and Christianity permeates the collection It is seen in accounts of Patrick's miracles, his success as a missioner, his claims to authority both moral and secular. In Cailte, ancient Ireland gives as good as it gets. His accounts are detail elopements, single heroic combats, and adventures in the Otherworld amongst the ancient gods and goddesses. This wealth of literary, cultural and folkloric material is retold in a fresh modern idiom and is complete with the full armature of scholarly research material.
