Ulster cycle

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A group of ancient and Middle Irish sagas and stories is summarized as the Ulster cycle .

The cycle represents one of the four great cycles of ancient Irish mythology and includes works about the traditional and mythical heroes of the Irish province of Ulster . The plot takes place around the time of Christ's birth. The stories were recorded in prose in the 12th to 15th centuries, but some verses indicate a linguistic fixation in the 8th or even 7th century. The narrative tone is mostly realistic, partly violent, partly funny; supernatural forces are also at work.

At the center of the cycle is the legend Táin Bó Cúailnge (“The Driving Away of the Cattle from Cooley ”), which tells the story of the defense of Ulster against the warriors of the neighboring province of Connacht under Queen Medb and King Ailill mac Máta .

The focus of the stories is Conchobar mac Nessa , King of Ulster, and above all the youthful hero Cú Chulainn . An important storyline is the tragic love story Longas mac nUislenn (“The Exile of the Sons of Uislius”) about Deirdre and Naoise .

The Táin Bó Cúailgne are assigned some prehistory also belonging to the Ulster cycle, the remscéla . These include the legends Aislinge Oenguso ("Oengus' dream face"), Compert Con Chulainn ("The procreation of Cú Chulainn"), Compert Conchobuir ("The procreation of Conchobars"), De chophur in da muccida ("From (?) The two swineherd "), Echtrae Nerai (" Nera's Adventure "), Macgnímrada Con Culainn (" Cú Chulainn's Youthful Deeds "), Noínden Ulad (" The Weakness of Ulter "), Serglige Con Chulainn ocus oenét Emire (" Cú Chulainn's sick bed and the only jealousy of Emers "), Táin Bó Froích (" Driving away the Froech cattle ") and Tochmarc Emire (" The wooing of Emer ").

Other stories include Aided Cheltchair maic Uthechair (“The Death of Cheltchars, Uthechar's Son”), Aided Chonchobuir (“Conchobar's Death”), Aided Chon Culainn (“The Death of Cú Chulainns”), Aided Loegairi Buadaig (“The Death of Loegaires Victorious ”), Aided Oenfir Aífe (“ The death of Aífe's only son ”), Cath Étair (“ The Battle of Étar ”), Echtra Fergusa maic Léte (“ The adventure of Fergus mac Léite ”), Fled Bricrenn (“ Bricrius Fest ”), Immacallam in dá Thuarad (“ The Conversation of the Two Wise Men ”), Scéla mucce Meic Dathó (“ The Story of Mac Dathó's Pig ”) and Togail Bruidne Da Derga (“ The Destruction of the Hall Da Dergas ”).

For a long time, the stories of the Ulster Cycle were seen as authentic testimony to pre-Christian Irish culture. More recently, however, a more critical interpretation has become established that emphasizes both the mythical and historical character of many passages and recognizes the contemporary monastic and secular culture in many descriptions of everyday and social life in which the recorders of the sagas lived.

In contrast to the stories in the Finn cycle , the Ulster cycle describes a society in which a sacred kingdom rules, supported by aristocratic warriors with chariots . Fighting and raising livestock are at the center of life, the bull, the horse, the (fattened) pig and the Irish fighting dog the most important animals. Here an unmistakable parallel to the ancient Greek Iliad can be seen. There are also echoes of the Mahabharata and the Völund saga .

Later, the legends of the Ulster cycle fell into oblivion in favor of the Finn cycle and were only rediscovered through recent literature research.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ingeborg Clarus: Celtic myths. Man and his otherworld. P. 99 ff.
  2. ↑ See above all Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson, The Oldest Irish Tradition: A Window on the Iron Age , Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1964.
  3. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. P. 489.
  4. ↑ Nick Allen: Cúchulainn in the light of the Mahâbhârata and the Odyssey. In: E. Lyle (ed): Cosmos 14 (1), 2001, p. 51 ff.
  5. ↑ Alwyn Rees, Brinley Rees: Celtic Heritage , London 1961, Reprint 1978.
  6. ↑ Guillemette Bolens: La logique du corps articulaire , Rennes 2000, pp. 103-143.
  7. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. P. 489.