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amelia_petkovaI finally got around to reading "Táin Bo Cuailnge" (listening to "The Tain" by the Decemberists is gong to make so much more sense now). After asking for recommendations, I read the edition by Thomas Kinsella and it's great. The story is very accessible, the introduction has a lot of useful information, and there are several maps that turned out to be helpful when I was reading. Years ago on a whim I bought the "Oxford Dictionary of Celtic Mythology" which, besides being interesting on its own, let me refer to it to make sure I didn't miss anything while I was reading the epic.
The raid really gets going over the fact that a couple of men couldn't keep their damn mouths shut for five measley minutes. For context, Medb and Ailill have gotten into an argument over who has the most riches and it turns out that Medb might lose by one item. So she sends messengers to Dáire mac Fiachna, to ask if she can borrow his famous Donn Cuailnge/Brown Bull of Cooley for one year. If he agrees to loan the bull for this time, she'll give him fifty yearling heifers along with the bull's return. If Dáire mac Fiachna comes himself with the bull, she'll also give him a portion of good land, a chariot, and her own "friendly thighs."
Unsurprisingly, Dáire agrees immediately. Then it all goes to Hell: after he's agrees and Medb's messengers are being put up for the night, a servant overhears them saying that if Dáire hadn't agreed they would have easily taken the bull by force. Dáire's response is, "Screw you and get out of my house!" And then the invasion begins.
ALL YOU MESSENGERS HAD TO DO WAS BE POLITE IN SOMEBODY ELSE'S HOUSE AND SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTHS, WHY IS THAT SO HARD?
One of the things I found interesting while reading was seeing how many geographical locations are featured during the progression of Medb and Ailill's army, and the frequent the text tied events in the story to how places got their names.
Medb is hardcore, you guys. She's the one who wants the bull, and decides to invade Ulster after Dáire turns down her offer, and is behind much of the other action in the story. Soon after the army has set out, she decides that she doesn't want the troop of three thousand Galéoin to come along because they're too impressive, and she thinks they would get all the glory. Ailill and Fergus's response: but they're fighting on our side. Medb doesn't care. She wants to kill them. Ailill and Fergus's response: WTF? Finally they convince her to scatter the Galéoin through the whole army.
You guys, Cúchulainn kills so many people during this story that I'm surprised there were enough left to repopulate Ireland when the story ends. I started keeping count of how many people he kills from Medb's army but lost track because there were so many. I know it's at least a couple hundred (and that's not including the people he kills in the backstory of his childhood deeds). If you were to turn this into a drinking game and take a shot every time Cúchulainn kills someone, you'd be dead from alcohol poisoning within three chapters.
Medb has sex with many men who aren't her husband and it's described as her right, something that surprised me. One of the more humorous moments in "Táin Bo Cuailnge" is when her husband, Ailill, sends a servant out to spy on Medb and learns that she's having an affair with Fergus, one of their allies. Ailill doesn't get mad--he gets even. The servant steals Fergus's sword and Ailill reveals it when Fergus slinks into their tent that evening. He doesn't give it back for a long time, too, so Fergus is forced to carry a stick/wooden sword around in his scabbard instead. Good times.
I also lost track of how many times Medb offers her daughter Finnabair in marriage during the story. She uses it as a tactic on just about every man who ends up fighting Cúchulainn in single combat. It happens so often that even Cúchulainn picks up on it. Late in the story he tries to convince Ferdia, his foster brother, not to fight him by pointing this out! Then they begin to fight and things get depressing.
Soon after a warrior named Cethern turns up on the side of Ulster. He kills many of the men in Medb's army but is badly injured himself. It turns out that Cethern is the worst patient in the history of ever, killing up to fifty healers because they won't give Cethern good news about his chances of survival. Actual exchange from the book:
Cúchulainn: You had no right to kill those healers. We'll get no one to come to you now.
Cethern: They had no right to give me bad news.
Cethern is something of an asshole.
The chapter titled "The Companies Advance" is interesting to me for its descriptions of the warriors and their clothing. It could also be summed up as, "The chapter that gives detailed descriptions of the people coming to kick the asses of everyone in Medb's army."
Great story, would read it again.
The raid really gets going over the fact that a couple of men couldn't keep their damn mouths shut for five measley minutes. For context, Medb and Ailill have gotten into an argument over who has the most riches and it turns out that Medb might lose by one item. So she sends messengers to Dáire mac Fiachna, to ask if she can borrow his famous Donn Cuailnge/Brown Bull of Cooley for one year. If he agrees to loan the bull for this time, she'll give him fifty yearling heifers along with the bull's return. If Dáire mac Fiachna comes himself with the bull, she'll also give him a portion of good land, a chariot, and her own "friendly thighs."
Unsurprisingly, Dáire agrees immediately. Then it all goes to Hell: after he's agrees and Medb's messengers are being put up for the night, a servant overhears them saying that if Dáire hadn't agreed they would have easily taken the bull by force. Dáire's response is, "Screw you and get out of my house!" And then the invasion begins.
ALL YOU MESSENGERS HAD TO DO WAS BE POLITE IN SOMEBODY ELSE'S HOUSE AND SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTHS, WHY IS THAT SO HARD?
One of the things I found interesting while reading was seeing how many geographical locations are featured during the progression of Medb and Ailill's army, and the frequent the text tied events in the story to how places got their names.
Medb is hardcore, you guys. She's the one who wants the bull, and decides to invade Ulster after Dáire turns down her offer, and is behind much of the other action in the story. Soon after the army has set out, she decides that she doesn't want the troop of three thousand Galéoin to come along because they're too impressive, and she thinks they would get all the glory. Ailill and Fergus's response: but they're fighting on our side. Medb doesn't care. She wants to kill them. Ailill and Fergus's response: WTF? Finally they convince her to scatter the Galéoin through the whole army.
You guys, Cúchulainn kills so many people during this story that I'm surprised there were enough left to repopulate Ireland when the story ends. I started keeping count of how many people he kills from Medb's army but lost track because there were so many. I know it's at least a couple hundred (and that's not including the people he kills in the backstory of his childhood deeds). If you were to turn this into a drinking game and take a shot every time Cúchulainn kills someone, you'd be dead from alcohol poisoning within three chapters.
Medb has sex with many men who aren't her husband and it's described as her right, something that surprised me. One of the more humorous moments in "Táin Bo Cuailnge" is when her husband, Ailill, sends a servant out to spy on Medb and learns that she's having an affair with Fergus, one of their allies. Ailill doesn't get mad--he gets even. The servant steals Fergus's sword and Ailill reveals it when Fergus slinks into their tent that evening. He doesn't give it back for a long time, too, so Fergus is forced to carry a stick/wooden sword around in his scabbard instead. Good times.
I also lost track of how many times Medb offers her daughter Finnabair in marriage during the story. She uses it as a tactic on just about every man who ends up fighting Cúchulainn in single combat. It happens so often that even Cúchulainn picks up on it. Late in the story he tries to convince Ferdia, his foster brother, not to fight him by pointing this out! Then they begin to fight and things get depressing.
Soon after a warrior named Cethern turns up on the side of Ulster. He kills many of the men in Medb's army but is badly injured himself. It turns out that Cethern is the worst patient in the history of ever, killing up to fifty healers because they won't give Cethern good news about his chances of survival. Actual exchange from the book:
Cúchulainn: You had no right to kill those healers. We'll get no one to come to you now.
Cethern: They had no right to give me bad news.
Cethern is something of an asshole.
The chapter titled "The Companies Advance" is interesting to me for its descriptions of the warriors and their clothing. It could also be summed up as, "The chapter that gives detailed descriptions of the people coming to kick the asses of everyone in Medb's army."
Great story, would read it again.
