Product Description

The Táin Bó Cuailnge, centre-piece of the eighth-century Ulster cycle of heroic tales, is Ireland's greatest epic. It tells the story of a great cattle-raid, 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 hero of the tale is Cuchulainn, the Hound of Ulster, who resists the invaders single-handed while Ulster's warriors lie sick. Thomas Kinsella presents a complete and living version of the story. 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 Táin. Illustrated with brush drawings by Louis le Brocquy, this edition provides a combination of medieval epic and modern art.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #162592 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Customer Reviews

A beautiful piece of literature.
This was the second translation of this story I had read, so much of it was familiar to me. It is a brilliant read, sometimes too complex to fathom in your mind, but brilliant anyway.

The unfamiliar names and pronunciation is a small issue that just takes a little time, and when it comes to the crunch it's the essence of the book that matters to me, not my lack of linguistic skills.

The book is a piece of art, not fully understood by the reader, but full of colour and descriptions, ideas from lost times, and more than anything a glimpse of a world or a way of thinking that is long gone. I'll return to it many more times.

Pick this book up as time travel is possible, just jump in and lose the 21st century for a while.

This is my favorite book
And I have read a lot of books. Literature, too, not just crap!

Seriously, though. I read this book as an undergraduate literature student in my first mythology class, and this is where I got hooked. Since then I've read everything - Gilgamesh, the classics of Greek literature, the Aeneid, Orlando Furioso, the Arthurian legends, the Ramayana, North American Coyote tales, Welsh tales, even other Irish tales, the Fenian cycle...Heaney's Beowulf translation comes closest...but nothing beats Kinsella's Tain.

It's the humor and the imagination, mainly, that set it apart. It's funny, it's accessible, and it's action-packed, if that matters to you. Kinsella's translation brings across the sense that the original tellers of these tales told them for entertainment. Our hero, Cuchulainn, is about the toughest mythological hero around, and he knows all the tricks: the hero's salmon leap, the apple feat, the riding of the sickle chariot, the feat of the shield rim - and watch out for that warp spasm! The final battle with Ferdia is the most epic battle ever committed to print.

I read my copy once a year. Speaking as someone with a BA in English Literature, as a writer, and most of all as a reader, I must tell you, this is my favorite work. If you are at all interested in mythology, especially Irish mythology, do yourself a favor and pick up this translation. It doesn't get any better.

The Tain is a difficult read, yet an interesting story.
The Tain was recommended to me during a visit to Sligo in Ireland. I was very excited to read it, having heard from the locals that it was a beautiful story, action-packed with mythological heroes. I found it very difficult to follow, even though I am familiar with other Irish myths. It would have been a smoother read if more pronounciations where given for people and place names, as they are all in Gaelic (as they should be). I would only recommend this book to someone who is familiar with Irish mythology, or else the story can be confusing.