The Táin Bó Cúailnge, or Cattle Raid of Cooley, is the central tale in the Ulster Cycle, one of the four great cycles that make up the surviving corpus of Irish mythology. It is recorded in the Old Irish language, and is written mainly in prose, with some verse sections, especially at moments of heightened tension or emotion. The tale relates a war against Ulster by the Connacht queen Medb and her husband Ailill, who intend to steal the stud bull Donn Cuailnge, and the efforts of the teenage Ulster hero Cú Chulainn to oppose them. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Although many of the manuscripts containing texts relating to Irish mythology have failed to survive, and much more material was probably never committed to writing, there is enough remaining to enable the identification of four distinct, if overlapping, cycles: the Mythological Cycle, The Ulster Cycle, the Fenian Cycle and the... Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Irish language which can be more or less fully reconstructed from extant sources. ... Prose is writing distinguished from poetry by its greater variety of rhythm and its closer resemblance to the patterns of everyday speech. ... Verse is a writing that uses meter as its primary organisational mode, as opposed to prose, which uses grammatical and discoursal units like sentences and paragraphs. ... Wars are often illustrated by arrows representing the movement of armies. ... The Ulaid, also known as the Ulaidh and the Ulad, are a people of Early Ireland who gave their name to the Irish Province of Ulster. ... Connaught redirects here. ... In Irish mythology Medb (Medhbh, Maeve) is queen of Connacht during the events of the Ulster Cycle. ... Young Cúchulainn, 1912 illustration by Stephen Reid. ...

The text

The Táin Bó Cúailnge has survived in two distinct recensions. The first consists of a partial text in the Lebor na hUidre (the Book of the Dun Cow), a late 11th/early 12th century manuscript compiled in the monastery at Clonmacnoise and another partial text of the same version in the 14th century manuscript called the Yellow Book of Lecan. These two sources overlap, and a complete text can be reconstructed by combining them. The text itself is a compilation of two or more earlier versions, indicated by the number of duplicated episodes and references to other versions. Many of the episodes are superb, written in the characteristic terse prose of the best Old Irish literature, but the whole remains rather disjointed. Parts of this recension, especially the verse, can be dated from linguistic evidence to the eight century, and there is reason to suspect that the Táin had a considerable oral history before any of it was committed to writing. Lebor na hUidre, or the Book of the Dun Cow, is the oldest Irish manuscript to contain primarily native narrative materials. ... (10th century - 11th century - 12th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus, written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ... Buddhist monastery near Tibet A monastery is the habitation of monks. ... (13th century - 14th century - 15th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400. ... Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Irish language which can be more or less fully reconstructed from extant sources. ...

The second recension is found in the 12th century manuscript known as the Book of Leinster. This appears to have been a syncretic exercise by a scribe who brought together the Lebor na hUidre materials and unknown sources for the Yellow Book of Lecan materials to create a coherent version of the epic. While the result is a satisfactory narrative whole, the language has been modernised into a much more florid style, with all of the spareness of expression of the earlier recension lost in the process. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ...

The Book of Leinster version ends with a colophon in Latin which says: In publishing, a colophon describes details of the production of a book. ... Latin - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ...

But I who have written this history, or rather this fable, give no creedence to certain things in this history or fable. Some things in it are the trickery of demons; some are poetic figments; some seem true, some not; and some are for the amusement of idiots.

Summary of the story

The Táin is preceded by a number of pre-tales which provide background on the main characters and explain the presence of some of the leading men of Ulster in the Connacht camp, the curse that causes the temporary inability of the remaining Ulstermen to fight and the magic origins of the bulls Donn Cuailnge and Finnbhennach. For other places and things named Ulster, see Ulster (disambiguation). ... Connaught redirects here. ...

The story proper begins with Ailill and Medb, king and queen of Connacht, assembling their army in Cruachan, their capital. In the first recension the purpose of this military build-up is taken for granted. The second recension adds a prologue in which Ailill and Medb compare their respective wealths and find that the only thing that distinguishes them is Ailill's possession of the phenomenally fertile bull Finnbhennach, who had been born into Medb's herd but scorned being owned by a woman so decided to transfer himself to Ailill's. Medb determines to get the equally potent Donn Cuailnge to balance the books with her husband. After unsuccessfully attempting to borrow the bull, she raises an army, including Ulster exiles led by Fergus mac Róich and other allies, and sets out to capture him. In Irish mythology Ailill was king of Connacht and husband of Medb during the events of the Ulster Cycle. ... In Irish mythology Medb (Medhbh, Maeve) is queen of Connacht during the events of the Ulster Cycle. ... In Irish mythology, Fergus (or Fearghus) mac Róich (or mac Róeg) is the former king of Ulster during the events of the Ulster Cycle. ...

The men of Ulster are disabled by a curse. The only person fit to defend Ulster is seventeen-year-old Cú Chulainn, and he lets the army take Ulster by surprise because he's off on a tryst when he should be watching the border. Medb takes the bull, but Cú Chulainn prevents her from taking him back to Connacht by invoking the right of single combat at fords. He defeats champion after champion in a stand-off lasting months. When Fergus, his foster-father, is set to face him, Cú Chulainn agrees to yield to him on the condition that Fergus yields the next time they meet. Finally there is a physically and emotionally gruelling three-day duel between the hero and his foster-brother and best friend, Ferdiad. Young Cúchulainn, 1912 illustration by Stephen Reid. ... In Irish mythology, Ferdiad (also Fer Diad, Ferdia) was Cuchulainns best friend and foster-brother. ...

Eventually the Ulstermen start to rouse, one by one at first, then en masse, and the final battle begins. It ends after Fergus makes good on his promise and yields to Cú Chulainn, pulling his forces off the field. Connacht's other allies panic and Medb is forced to retreat. She does, however, manage bring Donn Cuailnge back to Connacht, where he fights Finnbhennach, kills him, but, mortally wounded himself, wanders around Ireland creating placenames before finally returning home to die of exhaustion.

The world of the Táin

The world portrayed in the Táin is an essentially pre-Christian heroic age. War is a matter of single combat between warriors armed with swords and spears and mounted in chariots with drivers. The main source of wealth is cattle. Interestingly, it is also a world in which a queen may possess wealth independently of her husband and, indeed, compete with him and raise an army. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life, teachings, death by crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament. ...

The Táin in translation

The most accessible and readily available translation is the poet Thomas Kinsella's version The Tain (1969), based primarily on the first recension with passages added from the second, along with a selection of fore-tales. Cecile O'Rahilly has published academic editions/translations of both recensions, Táin Bó Cúailnge from the Book of Leinster (1967) and Táin Bó Cúailnge Recension 1 (1976), as well as an edition of the later Stowe Version (1984), a variant version of recension 2 in more modern language, with a few extra passages. Winifred Faraday's The Cattle-Raid of Cualnge (1904) translates the first recension, and Joseph Dunn's The Ancient Irish Epic Tale Táin Bó Cúailnge (1914) translates the second, with passages added from the first recension and the Stowe version. Thomas Kinsella (born May 4, 1928) is an Irish poet, translator, editor and publisher. ... 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

The story also inspired a concept album called The Tain (1973) by Irish folk/glam rock band Horslips. Additionally, the story inspired a single of the same name by the indie rock band The Decemberists (2004). Terry Riley's Chanting the Light of Foresight is a programmatic depiction of the epic commissioned by Rova. 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. ... The Horslips are a band who play traditional Irish Jigs and reels with rock undertones. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... Rachel Blumberg, Colin Meloy, Jenny Conlee, Chris Funk, and Nate Query The Decemberists are an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Terry Riley (born 1935) is an American minimalist composer. ... Chanting the Light of Foresight (imbas forasnai) is a 1987 composition by Terry Riley written for and commissioned by the Rova Saxophone Quartet, though during the course of the composition it was decided that Rova would compose The Chord of War and The Pipes of Medb/Medbs Blues contains... Program music is music intended to musically represent, or accompany, an extra-musical theme, constrasting with absolute music. ... The Rova Saxophone Quartet formed in October 1977 at the same time as their less-adventerous but more well known colleagues the World Saxophone Quartet. ...

Online translations

• Winifred Faraday's version (http://vassun.vassar.edu/~sttaylor/Cooley/Faraday/Contents.html)
• Joseph Dunn's version (http://vassun.vassar.edu/~sttaylor/Cooley/)
• Another source for Joseph Dunn's version (http://www.orplex.com/gkcp/readbook.aspx?style=basic.xslt&book=Táin%20Bó%20Cúalnge.xml)
• Another source for Joseph Dunn's version (http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/cool/)
• Cecile O'Rahilly's version (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T301035/index.html)
• A modern version by Patrick Brown (http://www.paddybrown.co.uk/ulstercycle/tain.html)

External links

• The Book of Leinster recension (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G301035/index.html)
• Timeless Myths - Ulster Cycle (http://www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/ulster.html)