Tain Bo Cuailnge

The Tain is actually the abbreviated title of the Irish legend of Tain Bo Cuailnge, or
The Cattle Raid Of Cooley. It is one of the earliest and most enduring examples of Irish
literature and it is considered an epic despite the fact that it is written in prose form and not as
a poetic verse. It tells the story of the great cattle raid, an invasion of Ulster by the armies of
Queen Medb and King Ailill of Connacht and their allies. The objective of the invasion was to
carry off the great Brown Bull of Cuailnge. The tale's hero is a legendary Ulster teenager by
the name of Cuchulainn, otherwise known as the Hound of Ulster. He single-handedly keeps
the invaders at bay and resists the attack whilst the rest of his countrymen are sick and unable
to join him in the battle. The themes are: honor, mystical figures and political instability. The
key theme of the Tain is honor, and the importance of possessing it. Within this theme we also
see the consequence of being without honor. The Queen brokers a deal to borrow the prize
bull, and the owner of the bull, who has honor, keeps the agreement and therefore peace is
maintained. However when the Queen's messengers let slip that she would have stolen the bill
if the owner had not agreed to lend him to her, her lack of honor is revealed and war ensues.
She also acts without honor when she opts to invade Ulster to take the bull from his rightful
owner. Cu Chulainn has a great deal of honor and courage. He respectfully agrees to yield to
his foster father if Fergus agrees to yield to him at their next meeting. As a man of honor
Fergus does this and this results in the invading army having to retreat, showing again that
honor creates positive results. The Queen, having no honor, steals back the bull but he then
kills her husband's prize bull, and dies himself, proving that her lack of honor had caused
them to lose both stud animals and end up with far less than they started the invasion with. As
with all early literature, legends are peppered with mystical characters who live among human
characters and are wholly accepted. The mystical characters often have mystical abilities and
in this particular text the mystical figures are able to metamorphose into other creatures. They
also affect the outcome of different situations. The mystical figures occur more in pre-
Christian writings and folklore before the advent of a more structured church. The political
situation is very volatile and this is one of the themes of this work. Invasions took place easily
and did not have to be precipitated by anything particularly serious. The answer to any form
of failed negotiation was invasion and in this case the precipitating factor seems to be the
Queen wanting her own way. The theme also demonstrates how families could be on
opposing sides in a battle because they live on different sides of a border and this is still a
theme that is current today.
For more than three hundred years, Irish composers have engaged with tales from
early Irish saga-literature which comprises four main series: Mythological, Ulster and Fenian
cycles as well as the Cycle of Kings. Sagas from the Ulster Cycle have been most celebrated
by Irish composers; the majority of which have been composed since Thomas Kinsella’s
successful translation of the Tain Bo Cuailnge in 1969.

Although the Tain is the centrepiece of the Cycle, the compositions that reference the
Ulster Cycle highlight the characters of Déirdre and Cú Chulainn as being most inspiring to

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musical interpretation. An oft-quoted phrase describes the Ulster Cycle of early Irish tales as
providing a ‘window on the Iron Age.’ Originally, scholars viewed Ireland, as depicted in the
Ulster Cycle, as a continuous late Iron Age society from circa third or second century BC to
the Christian era beginning in the fifth century, with an oral tradition that remained as static as
the culture. The Tain bo Cuailnge is one of the Ulster tales that was believed to directly
originate in the period between the first and the fourth century AD, or in other words, before
the coming of Christianity to Ireland, representing contemporary Iron age life. Linguistic
evidence directs scholars to the thought that the Tain was likely first set in writing in the eight
century.

In the nineteenth century, Irish nationalism and contemporary scholarship stimulated

more interest in the Tain Bo Cuailnge as the major source of Irish identity. Its national and
cultural worth was judged against the classical past and the dominant English language
culture, and it was clearly chosen as Ireland’s own vernacular epic. The Tain bo Cuailnge
provides an example of how Irish oral tradition underwent changes under the influence of
Latinate culture, with the arrival of Christianity, and changing political realities. The scribes
of the Tain shone a vague light on some aspects of early Irish culture, but opened a window
on their contemporary, early Irish history reality of using a wide range of Christian and
Classical sources. The final chapter of the story fittingly assesses whether the Tain succeeds
in bringing its remarkable project in myth-collecting and making to a conclusion that would
satisfy the medieval Irish literary mentality. In the first century, family was important for
individual identity. To strenghten familial ties, male children are often fostered out to their
uncles, returning home once they attain manhood. Bonds between foster brothers, such as
Ferdia and Cu Chulainn, are as strong as the bonds of blood relations. But today, the family
unit in Ireland is unclear, like other Western countries, consisting of parents and their
children. Children live with their parents until adulthood. Hurling plays an important role in
Ulster society, in the first century. This social event emphasizes the qualities and traits of
courage and physical aptitude that are admired. Hurling is the Irish national game and is
promoted, with several other native sports, by the national Gaelic Athletic Association. It is
played in nearly every school in Ireland today. Care and breeding of livestock is an important
aspect of Ulster society. The number and quality of livestock a person maintains reflects on
his or her character. This importance explains why Mebd and Ailill emphasize the quality of
their cattle during their pillow talk. Cattle rearing still dominates Irish agriculture.

My opinion is that the story shows the importance of retinue and its loyalty, as the
king and queen rely on the support of all of their followers in attacking Ulster. The Tain
highlights the highly-regimented society that existed in Ireland back then, with single-combat
and rules dictating conduct of individuals. I think this story is the gold standard of epic Irish
poetry. Also, we can see in the Tain that women were the users and even the rulers of men. As
the example of Queen Mabd indicates, having a woman as equal or even superior to a man
was not considered unusual. The Tain Bo Cuailnge shows in its vocabulary that it was given
the form found in manuscripts that postdate the introduction of Christianity. The version
translated by Thomas Kinsella is written in an accesible style. It’s easy to read, unlike other
texts that seemed difficult to me to read and understand. But also, it keeps the strange beauty
of the myth, the subtle humor in the story is maintained as well. The original author attempted
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to give Ireland the equivalent of the Aeneid. I chose this text because I wanted to find out
more about it, to deepen the subject. It seemed to me a basic and an important text when I
found out that is the centrepiece of the Cycle.

Bibliography
Gale, C. (2017). A study guide for Anonymous’s Tain Bo Cuailnge. SUA: Gale.

Kinsella T. (1969). The Tain: from the Irish epic Tain Bo Cuailnge. New York: Oxford
University Press.