A scene showing a feast hosted by an Irish chieftain, probably the most famous scene from The Image of Ireland.

The Image of Irelande, with a Discoverie of Woodkarne is a 1581 book by John Derricke.

The book is dedicated to Philip Sidney. It praises the deputyship of Philip's father Henry Sidney and English victories over the Irish.[1] The work opens with a poetic history of Ireland and its conflicts with the English, presenting reasons for English rule. This proceeds to a set of twelve woodcut illustrations interspersed with verse narration, describing Henry Sidney's victories against Irish rebels and denigrating Irish culture. The book ends with the surrender of Turlough Luineach Ó Neill, king of Tyrone, in 1578.[2] Critics, such as James A. Knapp, have deemed the illustrations to be of far greater interest than the unremarkable verse.[3]

There is only one complete version extant, at the Edinburgh University Library. A copy was produced and edited by the university librarian in 1883.[4]

Footnotes

  1. Highley, Christopher (1997). Shakespeare, Spenser, and the crisis in Ireland (1. publ. ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 44–45. ISBN 9780521581998.
  2. "Image of Irelande, pl 3". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  3. Knapp, James A. (2000). "That most barbarous Nacion': John Derricke's 'Image of Ireland' and the 'delight of the well disposed reader'". Criticism: A Quarterly for Literature and the Arts. 42: 416.
  4. "The Image of Irelande, by John Derrick". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 1 August 2013.

References

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