Táin Bó Cuailnge

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The Táin Bó Cúailnge ( Irish [ t̪ˠaːnʲ boː ˈkuəlʲɲə ], cattle robbery by Cooley , often called Táin for short ) is the central legend of the Ulster Cycle , one of the four great cycles of medieval Irish literature , the most important story of which is the Táin . The heroic epic was written down in Old and Middle Irish . It is largely in prose , but also contains some verse scenes.

The Táin depicts the war between the Irish countries of Connacht and Ulster . The Connachters want to steal the eponymous brown bull from Cooley ( Donn Cuailnge ), and the youthful hero Cú Chulainn confronts them.

The text

Today four different versions of the Táin Bó Cúailnge are still preserved, the two older ones being the most important. The first is preserved in two parts: one is an incomplete text in the Lebor na hUidre ("Book of the Dark-Colored Cow"), a manuscript from the late 11th or early 12th century compiled in the monastery of Clonmacnoise . The other part is an also incomplete text in a manuscript from the 14th century, the Leabhar Buidhe Lecain ("Yellow Book of Lecan"). These two sources overlap; a complete text can be reconstructed by combining the two parts. The text itself is a collection of two or more previous versions, as evidenced by the number of duplicated versions and references to other versions. Many of the episodes are good, written in the short prose characteristic of Old Irish literature, but the whole thing remains rather incoherent. Parts of this version of the text, especially the verses, can be dated to the 8th century with the help of linguistic evidence, and it is assumed that the Táin had a considerable oral tradition even before it was written.

The second version of the text was found in Lebor Laignech ("Book of Leinster"), which dates from the 12th century. It seems to have been a syncretistic exercise by an author who combined the Lebor na hUidre and unknown sources, which were also used for the Yellow Book of Lecan , to create a coherent version of the legend. While the result is a satisfactory narrative whole in terms of content, the language has been modernized to a much more colorful style, losing the lean expression of the earlier text. This version ends with a final word in Latin:

“But I, who wrote this story, or rather this legend, give certain things in this story or legend to consider. For some things in her are the dazzling work of demons; some are poetic inventions; some seem true, some not; and some are made up to please the stupid. "

Another, incomplete version ( Stowe version ) is only preserved in fragments from later manuscripts.

content

The Táin tells the story of a war between the Irish countries of Connacht and Ulster . The main characters of the saga on Connacht are the royal couple Ailill mac Máta and Medb as well as the hero Fergus mac Róich , who comes from Ulster but lives in exile in Connacht, and on the Ulster side the 17-year-old hero Cú Chulainn . Cú Chulainn is the foster son of Fergus and therefore deeply connected to him. At the beginning of the actual legend stands the mobilization of the troops of Connacht in the capital Cruachan on the orders of Queen Medb. It begins - supported by the allied countries Mide , Leinster and Munster - a war of aggression against Ulster, although Fedelm advises against it. The aim is to get Donn Cuailnge , a legendary bull, into their possession. The curse of Ulster is that disease incapacitates its warriors in times of extreme danger to the land (see Noínden Ulad , "The Weakness of the Ulter"). Only Cú Chulainn is not affected by this curse, and so he initially defends Ulster alone.

In the first version of the Táin , the meaning of Connacht's attack is taken for granted and not explained further. The second version, however, contains an additional prologue in which Ailill and Medb compare the value of their respective possessions and find out that the only thing in which they differ is Ailill's possession of the supernaturally fertile bull Findbennach. Born as part of Medb's herd, he did not want to be owned by a woman and decided that from now on he would belong to Ailill. In order to catch up with her husband, Medb wants the bull Donn Cuailgne of equal strength - but this one is owned by Ulster. After an unsuccessful attempt by their messenger Mac Roth to borrow the bull, the war begins.

During the campaign, Fergus and Medb have a relationship that Ailill tolerates for strategic reasons. The Queen also offers her daughter Findabair as a prize to every helper in a fight . At the start of the attack, Cú Chulainn, the great Ulster hero, is on a date when he was supposed to be guarding the border. So Medb can conquer the bull, but Cú Chulainn manages to prevent them from taking him back to Connacht by invoking the right to individual fights at fords . So he defeated the Connacht heroes individually, the battles lasted for months (see also Celtic head cult ). When he is finally confronted with Fergus, his foster father, Cú Chulainn surrenders on the condition that Fergus surrender at their next meeting. Finally, a grueling three-day battle takes place between Cú Chulainn and his foster brother and best friend Fer Diad , in which Cú Chulainn finally wins thanks to his spear Gae Bolga .

In the end, the Ulster warriors recover from the curse, first individually, then all, and the final battle ensues. It ends when Fergus keeps his promise and leaves the battlefield with his army. Connacht's allies also flee, and Medb is forced to surrender. Nevertheless, she manages to bring Donn Cuailgne back to Connacht, where he fights against Findbennach and eventually kills him. After the fight, the mighty bull roams Ireland, naming a number of places, and eventually dies of exhaustion.

The Táin has a few previous sagas , such as the Táin Bó Flidhais ("The driving away of Flidais' cattle"), which contain further background information on the main characters. These explain the presence of leading Ulster people in the Connachter camp, the curse that lies on the defenders of Ulster, and the magical origin of the bulls Donn Cuailgne and Findbennach.

background

The world of the Táin is a kind of pre-Christian hero age in which ancient Celtic traditions play a major role. In Ireland, livestock ownership was often far more important than land ownership until the early modern period , and cattle stealing ( táin [ taːnʴ ]) remained the normal form of war until the 16th century. The political hostility between Ulster and the other Irish provinces is also historic.

The Táin contains many motifs that often appear in Old Irish literature and especially in the Ulster cycle. The ideal of a balance between impetuous heroism on the one hand and cautious wisdom on the other, which is typical of old Irish literature, is embodied in the Táin by the royal couple Ailill (caution) and Medb (heroism). The triangular relationship - here between Medb, Fergus and Ailill - can also be found in some other Irish texts such as the Longas mac nUislenn ("The Exile of the Sons of Uislius").

Even in the use of so-called dindsenchas , the Táin is not alone in ancient Irish literature. Under dinnshenchas is to be understood here the habit of naming places after events of the legend, so that the name can later give an insight into the local history. This also acts as an aid to the reader, who can use the name to call up the previous events. The end of the legend, in which the brown bull roams Ireland and place names are created through his actions, should be seen in this context.

Modern reception

Translations and editions

The most easily accessible version of the translation is that of the poet Thomas Kinsella ( The Tain ; German: Der Rinderraub , transl. By Susanne Scharp) from 1969, which is mainly based on the first text version. Cecile O'Rahilly has also published several academic editions and translations of both text versions ( Táin Bó Cúailgne from the Book of Leinster , 1967; Táin Bó Cúailnge Recension 1 , 1976). Winifred Faraday's The Cattle-Raid of Cualnge (1904) translates the first text version, Joseph Dunn's The Ancient Irish Epic Tale Táin Bó Cúailnge (1914) the second, with some additional passages from the first text version and the Stowe variant.

Popular culture

Irish folk band Horslips named one of their concept albums The Táin (1973). Also a single from the indie band The Decemberists from 2004 is called The Táin . Terry Riley's Chanting the Light of Foresight is a programmatic representation of the saga. There is also an Irish dance music group ( Céilíband ) called "Táin Céilí Band"

See also

literature

Web links

Text versions on the Internet

Online translations

Remarks

  1. ↑ Original Latin text: “Sed ego qui scripsi hanc historiam aut uerius fabulam, quibusdam fidem in hac historia aut fabula non accommodo. Quaedam enim ibi sunt praestrigia demonum, quaedam autem figmenta poetica, quaedam similia uéro, quaedam non, quaedam ad delectationem stultorum. ”(Quoted from Joseph Dunn's online edition ( [1] )). Dunn translates the passage into English: "I, however, who have copied this history, or more truly legend, give no credence to various incidents narrated in this history or legend. For, some things in are the feats of jugglery of demons, sundry others poetic figments, a few are probable, others improbable, and even more invented for the delectation of fools. "
  2. ↑ Barry Cunliffe : The Celts and Their History. 7th edition, Gustav Lübbe Verlag, Bergisch Gladbach 2000, p. 178.