Book Review: The Tain
From the Irish Epic Tain Bo Cuailnge
Translated by Thomas Kinsella
I was so delighted to finally have the opportunity to read the The Tain and I was not disappointed. Though I had started to read a different translation of this, I have to really appreciate the translation by Thomas Kinsella much more. The fact that this translation included the prelude tales such as The Pangs of Ulster, Cuchulainn’s Courtship of Emer, and the Two Pigkeepers, was such a great addition. It helped to illustrate and give background to the main body of The Tain which I otherwise may have been confused about. It made the reading that much more rich which the other version I had started to read lacked because of the missing background information.
I truly felt that this book of tales helped to illustrate ancient Irish Celtic culture to me in a much more personal way than reading some book on historical and archeological findings. I have long believed that the stories that are left behind by a people are how they wish to be remembered and this book made me fall in love with the culture even more. The thing I have to say that I liked most was how colloquial the language was. As opposed to the Illiad or the Odessy from Greek tradition, this book was much more personal feeling. The other tales are written in a very stoic, stony language where as The Tain reads as though it were being told aloud around a campfire with the characters speaking organically and believably. While it does, in Irish tradition, show an appreciation for over exaggeration of events, its still very real. Some of my favorite parts where the tales of Cuchulainn’s childhood where he would beat up on the rest of the boy troop only to then have them chase him down inside, where he hid under Conchobar’s seat, just like a 6 year old in trouble would. Or how, as a child, he refers to Conchobar as ‘friend Conchobar’, in such a way that a child would in fact speak. I was also incredibly amused by the repeated accounts of Medb relieving herself when people came to speak with her. I understand that there can be a symbolic significance to this imagery as well, but it also makes the tales seem so much more human, even despite the accounts of human shape changing and such.
The other thing that I really loved about reading this is that much of the book revolves around Cuchulainn, who is my favorite figure out of Celtic Mythology short of Lugh. (And Lugh also makes a few appearances as well.) I’m fairly well versed in Cuchulainn’s lore, but had not yet got to read the actual text of this book first hand, and so I was so glad to finally be able to. I feel a very strong connection to him as a mythic figure and learned so much more about his character and disposition here.
I recommend this book to everybody who has any interest in Irish Celtic lore. The book kept me amused throughout, even despite the long passages of name listing. I laughed heartily several times and cooed at many scenes as well. The language is easy to read and took me a day to get through, so its perfect to pick up when the reader wants to add a quick bout of epic adventure into their life.
(Word Count: 561)
