Hutton, Mary A.

The Táin – An Irish Epic Told in English Verse by Mary A. Hutton.

Dublin, Maunsel & Co., 1907. Small Quarto (18 cm x 22 cm). XII, 495 pages. Hardcover / Original publisher’s cloth with gilt lettering on spine and board. Top edge gilt. The Volume now in collector’s Mylar. Binding with some fraying and rubbing to spine. As usual, the text deckled edges with some foxing. Last page of the Appendix unopened with a small tear. A very rare and important book with all the History and insight into “The Táin”.

Includes: The Finding of the Táin / The Táin – Books I – XV / The Writing of the Táin / Appendix A: Irish Terms used in the Verse / Appendix B: The Place-Names occuring in the Verse / Appendix C: Names of Persons, Tribes and Animals occuring in the Verse / Appendix D: The Principal Sources from which the Narrative has been drawn / Appendix E: Notes on Books VI and VII / Abbreviations used in the Appendix //

Táin Bó Cúailnge (Irish / Gaelic / Gaeilge for: “the driving-off of cows of Cooley”, commonly known as The Cattle Raid of Cooley or The Táin) is an epic from early Irish literature which is often called “The Irish Iliad”, even though, like the Icelandic sagas and most other Early Irish literature, the Táin is written in prosimetrum, i.e. prose with periodic additions of verse composed by the characters. The Táin tells of a war against Ulster by Queen Medb of Connacht and her husband King Ailill, who intend to steal the stud bull Donn Cuailnge. Due to a curse upon the King and warriors of Ulster, the invaders are opposed only by teenaged demigod Cú Chulainn.

The Táin is traditionally set in the 1st century in a pre-Christian heroic age, and is the central text of a group of tales known as the Ulster Cycle. It survives in three written versions or “recensions” in manuscripts of the 12th century and later, the first a compilation largely written in Old Irish, the second a more consistent work in Middle Irish, and the third an Early Modern Irish version.
The Táin has had an enormous influence on Irish literature and culture. It is often considered Ireland’s national epic. (Wikipedia)

• Keywords: Catalogue Irish History Six – General Irish History · Catalogue Irish History Two – Origins of Irish Identity · Catalogue Three – Literature by Women · Irish History – Rare · Irish Literature – Rare
• Language: English
• Inventory Number: 29394AB

EUR 680,--