Epic poem · c. 8th–12th century
The Táin
Táin Bó Cúailnge, the Cattle-Raid of Cooley, in English verse
Translated by Mary A. Hutton (1907)
The central epic of the Ulster cycle in Mary Hutton's English blank verse: Queen Maev of Connaught and King Ailill gather the Four Fifths of Ireland to seize the Brown Bull of Cooley, and the boy-hero Cúchulainn (her Cucullin) holds the Ulster border alone until Ulster rises. It opens with the tale of how the poets recovered the lost Táin from the ghost of Fergus.
Contents · 17 parts
- The Finding of the Táinabout 130 lines
- Book Iabout 720 lines
- Book IIabout 990 lines
- Book IIIabout 490 lines
- Book IVabout 630 lines
- Book Vabout 920 lines
- Book VIabout 580 lines
- Book VIIabout 600 lines
- Book VIIIabout 660 lines
- Book IXabout 480 lines
- Book Xabout 840 lines
- Book XIabout 750 lines
- Book XIIabout 830 lines
- Book XIIIabout 640 lines
- Book XIVabout 680 lines
- Book XVabout 870 lines
- The Writing of the Táin81 lines