What is in a tale title? <i>Togail na Tebe</i> as an editorial construction

George Calder’s 1922 edition of the Middle Irish translation of Statius’ Latin epic the Thebaid was published under the title Togail na Tebe: The Thebaid of Statius. The Irish Text . This article examines manuscripts, manuscript catalogues, and the reviews of Calder’s edition to demonstrate that the title Togail na Tebe (‘The Destruction of Thebes’) was the editor’s own creation. The reasons behind Calder’s choice of a title are explored, and an argument is put forward as to how this title has informed approaches to the Middle Irish version of the Thebaid in modern literary criticism; in particular, in making connections to the medieval Irish literary genre togla (‘destructions’) evidenced in the medieval Irish Tale-Lists A and B. Other possibilities for a tale-title to this narrative are considered before it is recommended that modern scholars refer instead to this text as the Middle Irish Thebaid .