The Táin Bó Cúailnge, or Cattle Raid of Cooley, is the central tale in the Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. Start the Ulster cycle article If you have created this page in the past few minutes and it has not yet appeared, it may not be visible due to a delay in updating the database. Please wait and check... Ulster Cycle, one of the four great cycles that make up the surviving corpus of 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... Irish mythology. It is recorded in the Old Irish language, and is written mainly in Prose is writing distinguished from poetry by its greater variety of rhythm and its closer resemblance to the patterns of everyday speech. The word prose comes from the Latin prosa, meaning straightforward. This describes the type of writing that prose embodies, unadorned with obvious stylistic devices. Prose writing is usually... prose, with some 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. Verse may also use rhyme and other technical devices that are often associated with poetry. However, while much poetry is written in verse, not... verse sections, especially at moments of heightened tension or emotion. The tale relates a For other uses of War, see War (disambiguation). War is conflict, between relatively large groups of people, which involves physical force inflicted by the use of weapons. Other terms for war include armed conflict, hostilities, and police action. (See Limitations on war below.) War is contrasted with peace, which is... war against 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. Their capital was at Emain Macha. Categories: Mythology stubs | Irish mythology | Ulster cycle | Ancient Ireland ... Ulster by the Connaught redirects here. For the racing team, visit Connaught (racing team). Connacht (Irish: Connachta), also known by the English spelling: Connaught1, is a western province of Ireland, comprising the counties of Galway (Gaillimh), Leitrim (Liatroim), Mayo(Maigh Eo), Roscommon (Ros Comáin), Sligo (Sligeach). Its capital and main city is... Connacht queen In Irish mythology Medb (Medhbh, Maeve) is queen of Connacht during the events of the Ulster Cycle. Her father was Eochaid Feidlech, the High King of Ireland. Her husband is Ailill, athough she had several husbands before him, all of whom were kings of Connacht while they were married to... 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.

The text

The Táin Bó Cúailnge has survived in two distinct recensions. The first consists of a partial text in the Lebor na hUidre, or the Book of the Dun Cow, is the oldest Irish manuscript to contain primarily native narrative materials. It includes stories from the Ulster Cycle (including the oldest version of Táin Bó Cúailnge), Fenian Cycle, Mythological Cycle and Historical Cycle of Irish mythology, as well... Lebor na hUidre (the Book of the Dun Cow), a late (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. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages. Events 1000 (cca), Vikings, led... 11th/early (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. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages. Events Song dynasty loses power... 12th century 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. Manuscripts in history Before the invention of the printing press, all written documents had to be both produced and reproduced... manuscript compiled in the Buddhist monastery near Tibet A monastery is the habitation of monks. Originally: a hermits cell. Christian monasteries are also called abbey, priory, charterhouse, friary, and preceptory The habitation of nuns is also called a convent. The communal life of a monastery is called cenobitic, as opposed to the anachoretic... monastery at Clonmacnoise and another partial text of the same version in the (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. Events The transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age Beginning of the Ottoman Empire, early expansion into... 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.

The second recension is found in the (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. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages. Events Song dynasty loses power... 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.

The Book of Leinster version ends with a In publishing, a colophon describes details of the production of a book. This information generally includes the typefaces used, and often the names of their designers; the paper, ink and details of the binding materials and methods may also receive mention. In the case of technical books, a colophon may... colophon in Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. All Romance languages are descended from Latin, and many words based on Latin are found in other modern languages such as English. It is said... Latin which says:

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 For other places and things named Ulster, see Ulster (disambiguation). Ulster (Irish: Uladh) is a province of Ireland. It has a population of just under 2 million people and an area of 24,481 square kilometres (8,952 square miles). Its capital and biggest city is Belfast (Béal Feirste... Ulster in the Connaught redirects here. For the racing team, visit Connaught (racing team). Connacht (Irish: Connachta), also known by the English spelling: Connaught1, is a western province of Ireland, comprising the counties of Galway (Gaillimh), Leitrim (Liatroim), Mayo(Maigh Eo), Roscommon (Ros Comáin), Sligo (Sligeach). Its capital and main city is... 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.

The story proper begins with In Irish mythology Ailill was king of Connacht and husband of Medb during the events of the Ulster Cycle. He was the owner of the phenomenally fertile White-horned bull of Connacht, called Finnbhennach. Although the bull was born into Medbs herd, the legend says that the animal thought... Ailill and In Irish mythology Medb (Medhbh, Maeve) is queen of Connacht during the events of the Ulster Cycle. Her father was Eochaid Feidlech, the High King of Ireland. Her husband is Ailill, athough she had several husbands before him, all of whom were kings of Connacht while they were married to... 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.

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, In Irish mythology, Ferdiad (also Fer Diad, Ferdia) was Cuchulainns best friend and foster-brother. He trained with him for years in Scotland under the famed She-Warrior Scathach. He was persuaded to fight against Cuchulainn by Queen Medb in the Tain Bo Cuailgne. After three days of battle... Ferdiad.

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- For other uses of the term Christian, see Christian (disambiguation). 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. Although Christians are monotheistic, the one God is thought, by most Christians, to exist in... 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.

The Táin in translation

The most accessible and readily available translation is the poet Thomas Kinsella (born May 4, 1928) is an Irish poet, translator, editor and publisher. His work, which is influenced by the modernist tradition, is considered to be amongst the most complex and intellectually demanding Irish poetry of the second half of the 20th century. Early life and work Kinsella was... Thomas Kinsella's version The Tain ( 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). For other uses, see Number 1969. For the movie, see 1969 (movie). Events January January 1 - Australian media baron Rupert Murdoch purchases the largest selling British Sunday newspaper The News Of The World January... 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 - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes.css; @import /skins/monobook/IE55Fixes.css; @import /skins/monobook/IE60Fixes.css; /**/ 1967 From Wikipedia 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). Events January January 3 - Edward Tyree III is born in Philadelphia, Pa. The Famous... 1967) and Táin Bó Cúailnge Recension 1 ( 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). Events January-February January 12 - UN Security Council votes 11-1 to admit the Palestinian Liberation Organization January 15 - Would-be Gerald Ford presidential assassin Sara Jane Moore is sentenced to life in prison January 16... 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 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). Events January-March January 7 - The distress signal CQD is established only to be replaced two years later by SOS. February 7 - The Great Baltimore Fire in Baltimore, Maryland destroys over 1,500 buildings in... 1904) translates the first recension, and Joseph Dunn's The Ancient Irish Epic Tale Táin Bó Cúailnge ( 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. (see link for calendar) Events January 4 - 77 seal hunters freeze to death on ice near Labrador. January 5 - Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage of $5 for a days labor. February 13 - Copyright: In... 1914) translates the second, with passages added from the first recension and the Stowe version.

The story also inspired a concept album called The Tain ( 1973 was a common year starting on Monday. Events January January 1 - United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, now known as the European Union. January 3 - Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) sells the New York Yankees for $10 million to a 12-person syndicate led by George... 1973) by Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic politically divided between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is internationally known for its folk music, which has remained a vibrant tradition throughout the 20th century, when many traditional forms worldwide lost popularity to pop music. In spite of emigration... Irish folk/glam rock band The Horslips are a band who play traditional Irish Jigs and reels with rock undertones. Johnny Fean was born in Dublin in 1951 and spent his childhood in the city of Limerick. He soon mastered guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. In his teens he played in sessions in Limerick and... Horslips. Additionally, the story inspired a single of the same name by the 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. In the 1980s, these bands were referred to as alternative, since they were an alternative to mainstream rock at that time... indie rock band This article is about the indie rock band The Decemberists. See Decembrist Revolt for the failed revolt against Tsar Nicholas I of Russia in December 1825. The Decemberists are an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon. Melodically, their songs range from catchy pop to slower, instrumentally lush arrangements. In their... The Decemberists ( 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. It was designated the: International Year of Rice (by the United Nations) International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO) Elections were held in 73 countries during 2004. See a list of elections... 2004). Terry Riley (born 1935) is an American minimalist composer. Life Born in Colfax, California, Riley studied at Shasta College, San Francisco State University, and the San Francisco Conservatory before earning an MA in composition at the University of California, Berkeley, studying with Seymour Shifrin. His most influential teacher, however, was... Terry Riley's 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... Chanting the Light of Foresight is a Program music is music intended to musically represent, or accompany, an extra-musical theme, constrasting with absolute music. The term is almost exclusively applied to works in the European classical music tradition, particularly those from the Romantic music period of the 19th century, during which the concept was popular, but... programmatic depiction of the epic commissioned by 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. Members: Bruce Ackley, Larry Ochs, Jon Raskin, Steve Adams. Former: Andrew Voigt. They have collaborated with many musicians and composers, including Terry Riley (Chanting the... Rova.

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)