The events leading up to this tale, the most famous of irish mythical stories, may be shortly summarised here from the book of leinster introduction to the tain, and. Choice of reading material varies according to instructors preference. It tells the story of a great cattleraid, the invasion of ulster by the armies of. There is no canonical tain, but several sources and recensions from several anonymous authors written in different styles. The illustrations on the bookcover are by louis le brocquy. This ninth dolmen edition is an irish equivalent of the livre dartiste. It tells the story of a great cattleraid, the invasion of ulster by the armies of medb and ailill, queen and king of connacht, and their allies, seeking to carry off the great. This edition includes a group of related stories which prepare for the action of the tain along with brush drawings by louis le brocquy. Cuailnge, centerpiece of the eighthcentury ulster cycle of heroic tales, is irelands greatest epic.
Thomas kinsella 1928 irish poet, translator, essayist, and editor. The tain edition 1 by thomas kinsella 9780192803733. A beautiful rigour kinsella s tain transmits something of the austerity of the irish, prickly and black as the contorted balckthorn bush, with its sudden. The cattle raid of cooley gaelic literature britannica. In particular, reading the tain shows us a great deal about the role of women in ancient. Widely acknowledged as the great irish livre dartiste of the twentieth century, seamus heaney writes in the listener. The tale was composed in prose with verse passages in the 7th and 8th centuries. Translated from the irish epic tain bo cuailnge reprint by louis le brocquy, thomas kinsella isbn. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The tain by thomas kinsella, 9780192803733, download free ebooks, download free pdf epub ebook. Oxford university press, 1969 2 fortunately for madb and her.
The cattleraid of cualnge tain bo cuailnge translated from leabhar na huidhri and the yellow book of lecan by l. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Poems of the dispossessed, an anthology of one hundred irish poems, with the gaelic version on one. Queen medb of connaught gathers an army in order to gain possession of. The hero of the tale is cuchulainn, the hound of ulster, who resists the. Internet archive contributor internet archive language english. Kinsella s tain is the gold standard of epic irish poetry. From the irish epic tain bo cuailnge, translated by thomas kinsella, oxford. Sometimes heroic seems the wrong word for much of the worlds ancient. It tells the story of a great cattleraid, the invasion of ulster by the armies of medb and ailill, queen and king of connacht, and their allies, seeking to. The tain bo cuailnge, centrepiece of the eighthcentury ulster cycle of heroic tales, is irelands nearest approach to a great epic. Bo cuailnge by thomas kinsella, with ink brush drawings by the irish painter. The tain translated from the irish epic tain bo cuailnge by thomas kinsella with brush drawings by louis le brocquy madison street madison, wi 537061494 published in association with the dolmen press, dublin oxford university press london new york 1970. Ive read this version many times and still get caught up in the language.
His translation is based on the partial texts in two medieval manuscripts, with elements from other versions, and adds a group of related stories which prepare for the action of the tain. The tain translated by thomas kinsella ask about ireland. The tain by thomas kinsella and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. By means of a restlessly experimental formal and aesthetic sense, broadly conceived themes, and. It tells the story of a great cattleraid, the invasion of ulster by the armies of medb and ailill, queen and king of connacht, and their allies, seeking to carry off the great brown bull of cuailnge. The story tells the tale of a grand cattleraid, the aim of which is to carry off the great brown bull of cuailnge.
Ciaran carson succeeds in translating the tain in a manner that it becomes an epic and understand why cu chulainn is a legendary hero to these people. It tells the story of a giant cattleraid, the invasion of ulster by the armies of medb and ailill, queen and king of connacht, and their allies, seeking to carry off the great brown bull of cuailnge. Thomas kinsella presents a complete and living version of the story. The tain from the irish epic tain bo cuailnge by thomas kinsella, louis le brocquy and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Now for the first time done entire into english out of the. The project gutenberg ebook of tain bo cualnge, by joseph.
Covering north louth as well as parts of south armagh, it is the first published attempt to. Ancient and medieval epic and heroic poetry of europe in english. Thomas kinsella s lively translation is based on the partial texts in two medieval manuscripts, with elements from other versions. Thomas kinsella is one of the most important irish poets to emerge since the end of world war ii. Earliest manuscripts of this epic story survive from the 12th century and versions of this ancient tale have been found in old irish, middle irish, and modern irish translations. The tain, also known as tain bo cuailnge or the cattle raid of cooley, is a heroic and legendary tale from early irish literature. After youve bought this ebook, you can choose to download either the pdf version or the epub, or both. The cattleraid of cooley tain bo cualnge is the central epic of the ulster cycle. In addition to the tain, kinsella s other critically acknowledged work of translation is an duanaire. Kinsella s aim, as he said vigorously in his introduction, was to produce a relatively coherent, readable modern version. The tain bo cuailnge, centerpiece of the eighthcentury ulster cycle of heroic tales, is irelands greatest epic. Map entitled in conaille and cuailnge from the 2 nd edition of thomas kinsella s tain 1970, map iii. Its written in an accessible style, but keeps the strange beauty of the myth. In the tain, the reader learns a good deal about the culture of the time and is introduced to many of the most famous figures from the ancient celtic pantheon.
The tain bo cuailnge, centrepiece of the eighthcentury ulster cycle of heroic tales, is irelands greatest epic. Kinsella makes note of where he has turned to an alternate version from another manuscript, and adds contextual notes to assist in trying to create a narrative in the modern sense from a collection of loosely connected tales. Bookcover of the thomas kinsella translated and louis le brocquy illustrated, the tain bookcover of the thomas kinsella translated edition, of the tain 1970. Kinsella also offers a brief introduction to the tain itself and places the various pre tales he includes in context.
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