''Mesca Ulad'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''The Intoxication of the

Ulaid Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh (Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and in ...

''; the

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

men) is a narrative from the

Ulster Cycle The Ulster Cycle ( ga, an Rúraíocht), formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly coun ...

preserved in the 12th century

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

s the

Book of Leinster The Book of Leinster ( mga, Lebor Laignech , LL) is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled c. 1160 and now kept in Trinity College, Dublin, under the shelfmark MS H 2.18 (cat. 1339). It was formerly known as the ''Lebor na Nuachongbála'' "Book ...

and in the

Lebor na hUidre The manuscript known as Lebor na hUidre (English translation: Book of the Dun Cow) is the oldest extant written in Gaelic (Irish), and the texts included therein recount Irish history through an eschatological lens. The Christian authors who c ...

. The title ''Mesca Ulad'' occurs only in the Book of Leinster version. The story is set during

Samhain Samhain ( , , , ; gv, Sauin ) is a Gaelic festival on 1 NovemberÓ hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year ...

, and follows the Ulaid as they attempt to attend two feasts in the same night: the first at Dún Dá Bhenn (modern day

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

) to the north, and the second at Cúchulainn's fortress in Dún Delgan (modern Dundalk, Co. Louth) to the east. The men become intoxicated at the first feast and head south towards

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

by accident. In Kerry, they are shown false hospitality by their traditional enemies the Munstermen, who offer them a place to stay. The Ulaid accept, and the Munstermen light a bonfire beneath the wood and iron structure. The Ulaids survive.

Manuscript sources

(LL): p 261b-268b (RIA). Second part missing. Middle Irish version. *

(LU): p 19a-20b (TCD). First part missing. Old Irish version. *G4 or

Yellow Book of Lecan The Yellow Book of Lecan (YBL; Irish: ''Leabhar Buidhe Leacáin''), or TCD MS 1318 (''olim'' H 2.16), is a late medieval Irish manuscript. It contains much of the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, besides other material. It is held in the Librar ...

(YBL): col. 959-972 (National Library of Ireland). *Ed. XL or Adv. 72.1.40: p 49-68 (National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh)

Editions and translations

*Hennessy, William M. (ed. and tr.). ''Mesca Ulad: or, the Intoxication of the Ultonians''. Todd Lecture Series 1. Dublin, 1889. Based on LU and LL. The translation is reprinted in: Eleanor Hull (ed.), ''The Cuchullin Saga in Irish literature.'' London, 1898; and in ''Ancient Irish tales'', ed. T.P. Cross and C.H. Slover. New York, 1936. 215–38. *Watson, J. Carmichael (ed.). ''Mesca Ulad''. Mediaeval and Modern Irish Series 13. Dublin, 1941 (reprinted in 1983). Based on LU and LL, with variants from YBL and Ed. XL
Edition available from CELT
*Mac Gearailt, Uaitéar (ed.). "The Edinburgh Text of ''Mesca Ulad''." ''Ériu'' 37 (1986): 133–80. Based on Ed. XL. *Watson, J. Carmichael (tr.). "''Mesca Ulad''".
Scottish Gaelic Studies
' 5 (1938): 1-34 (LL, LU text). (English) *Koch, John T. (tr.). In ''The Celtic Heroic Age'', ed. John T. Koch and John Carey. 3d ed. Andover, 2000. 106–27. Provisional translation based on Watson's edition. *Gantz, Jeffrey (tr.). "The Intoxication of the Ulaid." In: ''Early Irish Myths and Sagas''. Harmondsworth, 1981. 188–217. (English) *Guyonvarc'h, C.-J.( tr.). "L'ivresse des Ulates." ''Ogam'' 12 (1960): 487-506; 13 (1961): 343-60 lso in ''Celticum'' 2 (1962) 1-38(French).

Secondary literature

*Carey, John. "Vernacular Irish Learning: Three Notes." ''Éigse'' 24 (1990): 37–44. *de Paor, Áine. "The common authorship of some Book of Leinster texts II. Mesca Ulad" ''Ériu'' 9 (1923): 118–46. *Ó Concheanainn, Tomás. "The manuscript tradition of ''Mesca Ulad''." ''Celtica'' 19 (1987): 13–30. *Sayers, William. "Three charioteering gifts in ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'' and ''Mesca Ulad'': ''immorchor deland, foscul díriuch, léim dar boilg''." ''Ériu'' 32 (1981): 163–7. *Sayers, William. "Portraits of the Ulster Hero Conall Cernach: A Case for Waardenburg's Syndrome?" ''Emania'' 20 (2006): 75–80. *Thurneysen, Rudolf. ''Zu irischen Handschriften und Litteraturdenkmälern. Zweite Serie.'' Abhandlungen der königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen 14.3. Berlin, 1913. See no. 17 for ''Mesca Ulad''. *Watson, J. Carmichael. "''Mesca Ulad'': the redactor's contribution to the later version." ''Ériu'' 13 (1940): 95-112.

References

Medieval literature Early Irish literature Irish texts Narratives of the Ulster Cycle {{celt-myth-stub