This story comes from oral tradition; it was written down by a succession of monks and appears in multiple forms, sizes, and publications. This particular version is an excellent translation by the Ulster poet Thomas Kinsella; it preserves much of the raw feeling and poetic rhythm of the original. Resist the urge to skip through it. You will see much in the Táin about borders, boundaries, and in-between places, which Sean will discuss in class. Just take note of them as they come, and remember that an in-between place can exist at twilight, in a river, at a well or spring, at birth or death, at a wound, during sex, and at many other places. Ancient Ireland is a “shame culture,” and this concept shows up in abundance in the Táin, as people are willing to die in order to protect their reputation or that of their leader. Bards were among the most powerful and marginalized people because of their ability to make or break someone’s reputation.

The Táin is packed with ritual transformations. Many battles are fought at the fords of rivers, where the precise center of the action is unstable and changeable at every second. People change names, change their minds, change their promises, and change their shapes. Body features add, subtract, multiply, and divide. People communicate with animals, absorb their powers, and are named after them (deer, cattle, salmon, horses, and birds). Each animal has a host of cultural associations that have shifted over time. CúChulainn (pronounced “ku-KHULL-in”) goes into a “warp-spasm” – gaining power and extra weapons – when he loses his temper. This dramatic shift is a major ritual transformation seen at the fringes of Indo-European culture, including as far away as India. Each of these ritual transformations is highly symbolic and not (necessarily) to be taken literally.

Women are a major “issue” in the Táin. As you read through the book you can see the intellectual, spiritual, and gender-based struggles that the monk/scribes underwent as they had to write down words about how overwhelmingly powerful women were, especially as priestesses, warriors, and prophets. For example, it is common in scribal texts for powerful women to be described as ugly or frightening, or to have a woman suddenly “decide” that she’s a Christian after she’s done something particularly strong (like beating men in battle). Monks actually wrote in the appropriate chastisement in the margins of their own texts. These additions to the oral tales are to be expected for their era, so don’t be surprised when you come across them.

You will also encounter lists of warriors and their armies. Remember that the bards originally responsible for reciting these acted as the primary information technology of their day, and so – as accountants and genealogists – they are doing their job of including everyone who might have been present. Take note of the way people are described, and remember that many descriptions and names are intended to be symbolic of power or lineage or connection to people, animals, places, and gods. You are entering a world where people are not what they seem, where “truths” shift dramatically, and where prophecy, appearance, and transformation are as important as action.