The ''Táin Bó'', or cattle raid (literally "driving-off of cows"), is one of the

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

s of

early Irish literature Early Irish literature, is commonly dated from the 8th or 9th to the 15th century, a period during which modern literature in Irish began to emerge. It stands as one of the oldest vernacular literature in Western Europe, with its roots extendin ...

. The medieval Irish literati organised their work into genres such as the Cattle Raid (''Táin Bó''), adventure (''

Echtra An Echtra or Echtrae (pl. Echtrai), is a type of pre-Christian Old Irish literature about a hero's adventures in the Otherworld or with otherworldly beings. Definition and etymology In Irish literature ''Echtrae'' and ''Immram'' are tales of voy ...

''), the Voyage ('' Imram''), the Feast (''

Fled ''Fled'' is a 1996 American Buddy film, buddy action comedy film directed by Kevin Hooks. It stars Laurence Fishburne and Stephen Baldwin as two prisoners chained together who flee during an escape attempt gone bad. Plot An interrogator prepa ...

'' or ''Feis''), the Wooing ('' Tochmarc''), the Conception ('' Compert'') and the Death (''Aided''), rather than the familiar but relatively modern division into cycles.

Táins

Táin Bó Cúailnge (Modern ; "the driving-off of the cows of Cooley"), commonly known as ''The Táin'' or less commonly as ''The Cattle Raid of Cooley'', is an epic from Irish mythology. It is often called "the Irish ''Iliad''", although like most other earl ...

'', "the Cattle Raid of Cooley" or simply ''The Táin'', is by far the best known to modern audiences. Likewise, this was the ''táin'' (plural: ''tána'') best known to this literature's audience from the 11th to the 14th century and is the central story of the

Ulster Cycle The Ulster Cycle (), 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 counties Armagh, Do ...

. Its likely this story had a similar prominence in the endemic

oral literature Oral literature, orature, or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung in contrast to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used v ...

before medieval Christian redactors put them in written form. There are also many lesser ''tána''. Some of these are known only by name, but most of them are extant and have been translated into the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

. Among these are the following: *'' Táin Bó Flidaise'' - "The Cattle Raid of Flidais" *''Táin Bó Aingen'' - "The Cattle Raid of Aingen", also known as ''Echtra Nerae'' (see also Nera) *''Táin Bó Dartada'' - "The Cattle Raid of Dartaid" *''Táin Bó Ere'' *''Táin Bó Fraích'' - "The Cattle Raid of Fráech" (see also

Fráech Fráech (Fróech, Fraích, Fraoch) is a Connacht hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He is the nephew of Boann, goddess of the river River Boyne, Boyne, and son of Idath of the men of Connaught and Bébinn (sister of Boann of ...

) *''Táin Bó Munad'' *''Táin Bó Regamna'' - "The Cattle Raid of Regamain" *'' Táin Bó Regamon'' - "The Cattle Raid of Regamon" *''Táin Bó Ros'' *''Táin Bó Ruanadh'' *''Táin Bó Sailin'' It seems to have been customary in ancient Ireland to precede the recital of "''The Great Táin''" and other very long tales with a number of shorter stories. These preludes, or '' remscéla'', are sometimes incorrectly regarded as a part of the ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'' due to the static nature of printed and bound materials. This misconception is enforced by the fact that the Thomas Kinsella translation, which contains eight ''remscéla'' chosen by the translator, has been popular for three decades. Many of the lesser ''tána'' were well-suited to serve as ''remscéla'' as these could be framed as preludes to the epic events at Cúailnge. For example, a surviving

recension Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author. The term is derived from the Latin ("review, analysis"). In textual criticism (as is the ...

of ''Táin Bó Fraích'' ends with the segue:

They brought their cows over it thither. It is there they flung their horns from them... Fraech goes away then to his territory after, and his wife, and his sons, and his cows with him, until he goes with Ailill and
Medb Medb (), later spelled Meadhbh (), Méabh(a) () and Méibh (), and often anglicised as Maeve ( ), is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had ...
for the Spoil of the Cows from Cualnge.

Similarly, the ''Táin Bó Regamain'' ends with:

A treaty was then made between them on account of the fair young men who had carried off the cattle, and on account of the fair maidens who had gone with them, by whose means the herd escaped. Restitution of the herd was awarded to Regamon, and the maidens abode with the sons of Ailill and Medb; and seven times twenty milch-cows were given up, as a dowry for the maidens, and for the maintenance of the men of Ireland on the occasion of the assembly for the ''Tain bo Cualnge''; so that this tale is called the ''Tain bo Regamon'', and it is a prelude to the tale of the ''Tain bo Cualnge''. ''Finit, amen''.

Besides these many stories from among the other genres are well connected with the ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'' through shared characters and would be suited for preludes as well. The birth tales of characters such as

Conchobar mac Nessa Conchobar mac Nessa (son of Ness) is the king of Ulster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He rules from Emain Macha (Navan Fort, near Armagh). He is usually said to be the son of the High King Fachtna Fáthach, although in some stories ...

and Conall Cernach suit this purpose, as does any tale featuring Cúchulainn, ranging from his birth tale to the '' Wooing of Emer.''

References

Bibliography

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External links

Timeless Myths: Ulster Cycle
from The Yellow Book of Lecan {{DEFAULTSORT:Tain Bo Early Irish literature Irish mythology Ulster Cycle Literary genres