Táin Bó Cúailnge: Difference between revisions

[[File:CuinbattleCuchulain in Battle.jpg|thumb|200px|Cú Chulainn in battle, from [[T. W. Rolleston]], ''Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race'', 1911; illustration by [[J. C. Leyendecker]]]]

{{lang|mga|'''Táin Bó Cúailnge'''}} (<small>Modern</small> {{IPA-ga|ˈt̪ˠaːnʲ boːbˠoː ˈkuəlʲɲə}}; "the driving-off of the cows of [[Cooley Peninsula|Cooley]]"), commonly known as '''''The Táin''''' or less commonly as '''''The Cattle Raid of Cooley''''', is an [[epic poetry|epic]] from [[Irish mythology]]. It is often called "Thethe Irish ''[[Iliad]]''", although like most other [[early Irish literature]], the ''Táin'' is written in [[prosimetrum]], i.e. prose with periodic additions of verse composed by the characters. The ''Táin'' tells of a war against [[Ulaid|Ulster]] by Queen [[Medb]] of [[Connacht]] and her husband King [[Ailill mac Máta|Ailill]],{{sfn|Matson|2004|p=2}} who intend to steal the [[Bull|stud bull]] [[Donn Cuailnge]]. Due to a curse upon the king and warriors of Ulster, the invaders are opposed only by the young [[demigod]], [[Cú Chulainn]].{{sfn|Matson|2004|p=106}}

Like the [[Icelandic sagas]], theThe ''Táin'' is believed to have its origin in oral storytelling and to have only been written down during the [[Middle Ages]].

Although [[Romanas Bulatovas]] believes that the ''Táin'' was originally composed at [[Bangor Abbey]] between 630–670630 and 670 AD,<ref>{{citation | last = Bulatovas | first = Romanas | title = The connachta of Táin Bó Cúailnge | journal = Studia Celtica Posnaniensia | volume = 2 | year = 2017 | issue = 1 | pages = 27–36 | doi = 10.1515/scp-2017-0003 | s2cid = 184864598 | url = https://www.academia.edu/41651228 | doi-access = free }}</ref> there is evidence that it had a far older oral history long before anything was written down. For example, the poem ''Conailla Medb michuru'' ("Medb enjoined illegal contracts") by [[Luccreth moccu Chiara]], dated to c. {{Circa|600}}, tells the story of [[Fergus mac Róich]]'s exile with Ailill and Medb, which the poet describes as having come from ''sen-eolas'' ("old knowledge"). Two further [[7th-century]] poems also allude to elements of the story: in ''Verba Scáthaige'' ("Words of Scáthach"), the warrior-woman [[Scáthach]] prophesies [[Cú Chulainn]]'s combats at the ford; and ''Ro-mbáe laithi rordu rind'' ("We had a great day of plying spear-points"), attributed to Cú Chulainn himself, refers to an incident in the Boyhood Deeds section of the ''Táin''.<ref>{{citation| first = James | last = Carney | author-link = James Carney (scholar) |title = Language and literature in 1169| editor-first =Dáibhí |editor-last = Ó Cróinín |editor-link = Dáibhí Ó Cróinín | work = A New History of Ireland 1: Prehistoric and Early Ireland| publisher = Oxford University Press| year = 2005 | pages = 451–510}}</ref>

Various versions of the epic have been collected from the oral tradition over the centuries since the earliest accounts were written down. Most recently, aA version of the ''Táin'' was taken down in [[Scottish Gaelic]] by folklore collector [[Calum Maclean (folklorist)|Calum Maclean]] from the dictation of [[Angus Beag MacLellan]], a tenant farmer and ''[[seanchaí|seanchaidh]]'' from [[South Uist]], in the [[Outer Hebrides]]. A transcription was published in 1959.<ref>[[John Lorne Campbell]] (2001), ''Stories from South Uist: Told by Angus MacLellan'', [[Birlinn Books]]. Page xvii.</ref>

19th century translations of the work include Bryan O'Looney's translation made in the 1870s, as ''Tain Bo Cualnge'', based on the [[Book of Leinster]] in Trinity College Library, Dublin.{{snfsfn|Dunn|1914|p=xxxiii}} John O'Daly's also translated the work in 1857, but it is considered a poor translation.{{snfsfn|Dunn|1914|p=xxxiv}} No published translation of the work was made until the early 20th century – the first English translation was provided [[L. Winifred Faraday]] in 1904, based on the [[Lebor na hUidre]] and the [[Yellow Book of Lecan]]; a German translation by [[Ernst Windisch]] was published at around the same time based on the [[Book of Leinster]].{{sfn|Faraday|1904|p=xii-xv, xviii-xix}}

Translated sections of the text had been published in the late 19th century, including one from on the Book of Leinster by [[Standish Hayes O'Grady]] in ''The Cuchullin Saga'' (ed. [[Eleanor Hull]], 1898), as well as extracts, and introductory text.{{sfn|Faraday|1904|p=xviii-xix}} [[Lady Gregory]]'s ''[[Cuchulain of Muirthemne]]'' (1903) also contains a paraphrased version of the tale. There were also several works based on the tale published in the very late 19th and early 20th century often with a focus on the hero [[Cú Chulainn]], such as ''Cuchulain, the Hound of Ulster'' (E.Hull, 1911); ''Dun Dealgan, Cuchulain's Home Fort'' (H.G. Tempest, 1910); ''Cuchulain of Muirtheimhne'' (A.M. Skelly, 1908); ''The Coming of Cuculain'' (S. O'Grady, 1894); and several others; additionally a number of prose works from the same period took the tale as basis or inspiration, including works by [[W. B. Yeats]], [[Aubrey Thomas de Vere]], [[Alice Milligan]], [[George Sigerson]], [[Samuel Ferguson]], [[Charles Leonard Moore]], [[Fiona Macleod]], as well as ballad versions from Scotland.{{snfsfn|Dunn|1914|pp=xxxv-xxxvi}} [[Peadar Ua Laoghaire]] adapted the work as a [[closet drama]], serialized in the ''Cork Weekly Examiner'' (1900–1).{{sfn|O'Leary|2005|pp=237-8}}

{{asofas of|2022}} two translations by Irish poets are available in mass-market editions: [[Thomas Kinsella]]'s ''The Táin'' (1969) and [[Ciarán Carson]]'s ''The Táin'' (2007). Both are based primarily on the first recension with passages added from the second, although they differ slightly in their selection and arrangement of material. Kinsella's translation is illustrated by [[Louis le Brocquy]] (see [[Louis le Brocquy Táin illustrations]]) and also contains translations of a selection of ''remscéla''.

Quoth Ailill : "True is the saying, lady, 'She is a well-off woman that is a rich man's wife' " "Aye, that she is," answered the wife ; "but wherefore opin'st thou so ?"

In their own rath and their own royal house ;<br />

*{{citation| title = Stories from the Táin| editor-first = J. P.John| editor-last = Strachan Mallory| editor-link = J.John P.Strachan Mallory(linguist) | editor-first2=url Gerard |editor-last2= Stockmanhttps://archive.org/details/storiesfromtin00strauoft | year = 19941908 | titlelanguage = Ulidia:Irish}}, Proceedingsin ofRoman thetype Firstwith InternationalEnglish Conferenceintroduction onand the Ulster Cycle of Tales | publisher = December Publications, Belfast }}glossary

| year = 1998 | title = Dictionary of Celtic Mythology | publisher = Oxford University Press |ref=none}}

*{{citation| first = Ann | last = Dooley | author-link = Ann Dooley| year = 2006 | title = Playing the Hero: Reading the Táin Bó Cuailnge| publisher = University of Toronto Press |ref=none}}

*{{citation| title = The Táin Bó Cúailnge from the Yellow Book of Lecan, with variant readings from the Lebor na Huidre | url = https://archive.org/details/tinbcailng00strauoft | editor-first = John| editor-last = Strachan | editor-link = John Strachan (linguist) | editor-last2= O'Keeffe |editor-first2 = J.G | year = 1912 | publisher = Dublin, Royal Irish Academy | language = gaIrish |ref=none}}

*{{citation| url = https://archive.org/details/ancientirishepic00dunnuoft| title = The Ancient Irish Epic Tale TáubTáin Bó Cúalnge "The Cualnge Cattle-Raid" | editor-first = Joseph| editor-last = Dunn| year = 1914 }}

*{{citation| title = The Stowe version of Táin Bó Cuailnge | editor-first = Cecile|editor-last= O'Rahilly| editor-link=Cecile O'Rahilly | year = 1961 | publisher = Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies |ref=none}}

*{{citation| url = http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G301035/index.html | title =Táin Bó Cúalnge from the Book of Leinster | publisher = CELT : The Corpus of Electronic Texts |language=gaIrish, en}}

**Translation {{citation| url = http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T301035/index.html | title =Táin Bó Cúalnge from the Book of Leinster | translator-first = Cecile|translator-last= O'Rahilly| translator-link=Cecile O'Rahilly | series= Irish Texts Society, 49 | work = CELT : The Corpus of Electronic Texts| year= 2014 | orig-year=1967 | publisher=Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies |place=Dublin |ref={{sfnref|O'Rahilly|2014}} }}

*{{citation| url = http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G301012/index.html | title =Táin Bó Cúailnge Recension I | publisher = CELT : The Corpus of Electronic Texts |language=gaIrish, en}}

**Translation : {{citation|url =https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T301012/index.html| title = Táin Bó Cúailnge Recension 1 | editor-first = Cecile|editor-last= O'Rahilly| work = CELT : The Corpus of Electronic Texts| orig-year=1976 |year= 2011 | editor-link=Cecile O'Rahilly |ref=none}}

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070202172808/http://adminstaff.vassar.edu/sttaylor/Cooley/ Táin Bó Cúailnge (Ernst Windisch's Irish transcription & Joseph Dunn's translation)]

[[Category:IrishTexts textsin Irish]]