When I learned that China Mieville had appropriated the title "The Tain" for one of his little apocalypto-dystopic excursions back in 2002, my reaction was something like this: BACK OFF, MIEVILLE, YOU PLUNDERING, PLAGIARIZING SASSENACH GIT! THAT TITLE'S ALREADY TAKEN.Because, as every cultured person knows, "The Tain" (pronunciation "Thoyne") is the name given to the most important story in ancient Irish literature, the collection of tales also referred to as "The Ulster Cycle", or "The Cattle R...

The Tain is epic. In fact it is Epic - at least as Epic as more famous Epics, such as the Iliad. In fact, the number of correspondences between the Cattle Raid of Cooley and the story of Achilles' rage is remarkable. (It must be - I just remarked it.) Wanna know what they are (at least some of them, anyway)? Oi - you at the back! stop saying, "No."here we go:Illiad: Achilles only vulnerable on one heel.Tain: CuChulain's foster brother only vulnerable to a gae bolga shoved where the sun doesn't s...

The Táin or 'An Táin' (Irish), or complete as 'The Cattle Raid of Cooley' (Táin Bó Cúailnge). Let me just say I have some questions about this translation, and about the original transcribers who more than likely put their own spin on this story. What's more there are multiple modern translations that differ in transliteration and literary style and I'd like to understand the differences. All aside this is a tale that begins with a trivial quarrel of a queen and her lover which escalates to the

The Tain, sortof a bizarro Irish epic - like all the other Irish epics - was one of my favorite works in college. The definitive translation is by Kinsella (1969), but there's this newish one by Ciaran Carson (2007), which I've finally gotten around to judging.Here's the spoiler-free gist of the Tain: the Irish king Ailill and his wife Medb argue in bed over who's richer, and on the spot they insist on having every item they each own brought to them so they can tally it up - herds and all. They

When I came across an actual copy of this book during my visit to Chicago, I was almost afraid to buy it. I had to buy it, of course--it's not often I find real evidence of Celtic Studies works showing up in bookstores, and when I do find titles that fit the bill, I always buy them. Bookstores need to be supported and congratulated for stocking things that are outside of the mainstream.I was afraid to read the book because I was convinced that Thomas Kinsella's translation, graced by Louis le Br...

Imagine someone took you for a walk from the North to the South of the USA, from New England across the Mason-Dixon line and onward to Georgia, all the while using cues from the landscape to narrate the Civil War. The Táin does this, guiding the reader through an interactive map where the story and the landscape are inseparable. While undeniably a "classic" epic, the unity of place, narrative, and heritage gives The Táin the feel of classic Indian epics, like the Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana, couc...

I just read this book for the third time, and finished teaching it this morning. I always kind of forget how very, very weird the Irish were. We just spent 30 minutes in each section talking about sex, and then 20 on whether this is a credible source or not for the 1st century. Cuchulainn kills people in the most interesting ways. Anyway, I love this book - it just is such a reminder that people think about the world differently. Kinsella's translation is also interesting - no notes marked in th...

I haven't read much Irish mythology at all, so it was high time I got round to reading The Táin. It's an epic based around the feats of Cù Chulainn, as he defends the land of Ulster from the armies of Ailell and Medb. It's (here's one of my favourite words again) hyperbolic and, well, it's an epic, what do you expect? There's verse and one-on-one combats and ridiculous feats of arms involving throwing spears through boulders and so on. I was actually surprised by how little I knew about The Tain...

Giving this stars seems kind of ridiculous. But I will, anyway.It is a minor embarrassment that I had not read The Táin until last week. When my sister found out she made me, which is fair enough. We are quite immersed in many of the stories surrounding the Ulster cycle during our education: the young Cúchulainn, Medb and Ailill. We are even told a vastly simplified version of the Táin Bó Cúailnge, mostly focusing on the two bulls and not the war going on around them.My first shock was how blood...

It's fascinating to read texts like this, because it's ALMOST like reading about what militant secularists wish were the case: a world with NO religion. In this pre-Christian epic, we see how people make meaning of their lives without their perspective being "muddled" by ideas about God, heaven, hell, right and wrong. What would it be like? Much to the chagrin of an atheist/secularist/anti-Christian activist, life is hell-ish without religion.Take sex. Secularists say Christianity spoils sex for...

Maybe the best book I read this year. It is completely bad-ass and utterly intriguing.

A really fantastic translation, keeping the pieces that exist of this story in their original formats, which doesn't always go together as smoothly as the modern reader might prefer. The subtle humor in the story is maintained as well, which seems like a small thing, but honestly, it's those small touches that stand to remind us that people have always been people, whether they're raiding for bulls or dining and dashing at a steakhouse. The tragedies are huge, and the losses vast, and the poetry...

3.5/5 This was...interesting.

This is a really accessible translation of the main story from the Ulster Cycle of early Irish myths. Except for the purposefully obscure roscata (a feature of Celtic myth consisting of fragmented prose-poetry), it is fairly easy to follow the action and sequence of events in this myth, which is important because sometimes the story depends on seemingly supernatural events or actions.The story itself does a good job of retaining traces of an oral storytelling tradition, like highly stylized desc...

I didn't really care for this even though I wanted to. I had heard it was the Irish legend to read. The part I didn't like was pages and pages of names and places over and over again, it got to where I just skipped over the names and places. I found it monotonous and boring. The core of the story, (the war on Ulster by Queen Maeb, the magic bulls and my favorite champion, Cuchulainn) was good but could have been written better. I'm sure, at the time when this was an oral tradition, it was fantas...

The best epic story ever ! Sometimes it makes me sad to think that 'The Táin' is not as known as Homer's Iliad and The Odyssey ! Even if this is a medieval text, it doesn't look so : there are no priests, no church , no knights in shining armour, no chrisitan strict rules in the hole narrative . So it doesn't matter if you don't like medieval history : you're going to like this story the same way!

To keep it short and sweet this is a must read for anyone interested in Irish history and culture, Celtic Heathenry, Odinism, mythology or general Celtic studies. One of the most essential texts for learning about any of these things but besides that the saga of Cuchulainn is a great entertaining story too.

Another read for my British literature class. I really enjoyed reading this part of early Irish literature/folklore. The translation was easy to understand and made it a quick read. If you enjoy early literature, I suggest putting this one on your TBR pile.

Note: I compared this translation to Ciaran Carson's here. Tl;dr Kinsella wins.

It seems banal to give something like this a review. It's a wonderful story, but it often makes for strange reading. Improbable tails of Cúchulainn's battles give way to detailed discussions of the placenames of Ireland. More time is spent describing the soldiers in the Ulster army then is spent on the penultimate battle itself.A sea of names fight and die but only a few characters and relationships stand out. Alill ad Medb's relationship is the most intriguing, with Medb's insatiable promiscuit...

This story is as readable as it is ancient. I had been told when in primary school about Medb’s ambition to take the great Brown Bull of Cuailnge, in order to gain equality with and even ascendancy over her husband, but never knew how it ended. Kinsella’s unexpurgated translation of the Táin filled that gap magnificently.It also made clear why so many earlier translations were expurgated: the gory violence of Cúchulainn’s duels, and even his physical characteristics, are deliberately disturbing....

Two people have the stupidest marital squabble in the history of marital squabbles, they start a war, tens of thousands of people die stupidly, and they decide to call it a draw. It’s like The Iliad without any character development.

briliant translation!

7/10 While acknowledging this is an epic from many disparate sources. The Tain is a very enjoyable read at times but the middle 100 pages are very weak and read like a Steven Seagal movie where Cuchulainn kills a plethora of big bad warriors of huge reknown in incredibly easy fashion. All with the purpose of providing a reason to name every nook and cranny in Ulster and bordering lands. Initial short stories are a highlight along with the battle with Ferdia and Medb's craftiness.

Aesthetically it bears more resemblance to the Greek/Latin epic than the traditional Northern European heroic saga, displaying mythological elements far more muted in the sagas of the Icelanders, etc. In terms of form, the most immediate comparison might be to Egil's Saga-like Egla, The Tain is populated by poets, and lengthier dialogue is generally in the form of verse. The verse is stark, at least when judged against the more ornamented forms of the period. Kinsella’s translation is generally

I may be stirring a hornet's nest here, but I prefered this to the Kinsella. Been a while since I read his translation though.Thought this flowed very well.My only gripe was that there weren't enough notes. There were a fair few times that I got a ref to some other tale and was surprised that it didn't have an explanation in the notes. This doesn't spoil the tale, but if you've not read, or heard, other old tales you may miss out on some of the depth that wee hints imply. (For instance the battl...

This curious tale is one of the oldest and longest ancient Irish tales. It recounts the exploits of Irish hero Cu Chulainn as he repels an army come to steal the Ulstermen's prize bull, the Dun Cuailnge. I'm pretty sure it is the most violent piece of literature I've read, and I've read Blood Meridian. Heads are lost, men are cut in twain, and a few are speared through their "rear portal." And those are the most normal ways people die. The story freely takes in the hyperbolically heroic, to the

I am glad I read this book. I believe this translation (Kinsella) to be excellent; the notes were helpful; and unlike the other modern translation (which puts the backstory in footnotes), this version begins with each of the tales that comprise the backstory of the epic.Now as to the merits of the work. It is the major Irish epic -- about a cattle raid. If I could sum it up in one word, it is weird and gory, with some low humor (I think it was meant as such) and a number of inconsistencies due t...

I joined for the old Irish mythology and stayed to understand what Joyce would have been like as a teenager. For some reason, I can envision an angry young Joyce reading this, perhaps he tucked a copy of The Tain into his Latin textbook during class. Perhaps this is why 'his trembling hand crumpled together like a leaf in the fire.' He had to learn his craft of description from somewhere and The Tain has it.The Tain as a book on its own, not considering its historical or potential geographical i...

Lookit, I think it is fairly ridiculous to give this book stars since it has long surpassed ratings or the need of reviews, the tale speaks and exists by itself and on its own terms. If you are not already familiar with the events of the greatest Irish epic that we know of, then I would advise you to get your hands on it. The only elements of the story that readers would fine discouraging would be the excessive lists of place-names and ancestors of people. This is a common trope of Irish myth as...