The Essential Táin Bó Cúailnge and Other Stories from the Ulster Cycle - Paperback

by Matthieu Boyd (Editor), Matthieu Boyd (Translator)

Back Jacket

T?in B? C?ailnge ("TOYN boh KOOL-nyuh"), "The Cattle-Raid of Cooley," frequently referred to as the T?in, is one of the most important works of medieval Irish literature and has been called the national epic of Ireland. Preserved in different versions in a series of manuscripts dating back to the twelfth century but with roots that stretch back centuries earlier, and set in a still earlier era before the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, the T?in tells how Queen Maeve of Connacht, the western province of Ireland, leads an invasion of Ulster, the northern province, in order to capture an extraordinary brown bull, and how her invasion is almost single-handedly opposed by Ulster's foremost hero, the demigod C? Chulainn. As it narrates the ensuing war, the T?in both exemplifies and probes the limits of some of the central values and institutions of early Irish society.

This new, judiciously abridged translation of the T?in includes most of Recension 1, the earliest version of the work, as well as some of the most significant and well-known passages of Recension 2. The translation renders the text of the T?in in an approachable and even colloquial style, particularly aimed at university students and non-academic readers in North America, that nevertheless maintains enough accuracy to support close reading. This edition also contextualizes the T?in itself with more selections from the rest of the so-called Ulster Cycle--the related body of legends about the characters of the T?in, including accounts of their origins and their deaths--than any competing edition of the epic. Also included are a full introduction; extensive footnotes, drawing on the most recent scholarship on the T?in, that provide clarifications, explanations, and background information; four maps showing the route of Maeve's invasion and the site of major events in the epic; a series of character trees to help readers keep track of the T?in's large cast of characters and their often complex interrelationships; a glossary of key terms and concepts; and a guide to Old Irish spelling and pronunciation.

Author Biography

Matthieu Boyd is Professor of Literature and Chair of the School of the Humanities at Fairleigh Dickinson University. His previous medieval literature translations include The Four Branches of the Mabinogi (Broadview Press).