4.

Celtic Literature and Folklore

4.1. General Aspects

The term Celtic literature is often applied to the mythology and folklore of
ancient and medieval Gaullist and Celtic cultures. It also came to be applied the post-
medieval literature of Cornish, Manx, Irish, Scots and Welsh cultures, expressed in
the English language (the latter Celts tried to rediscover their culture). Irish myths
were probably recorded in the 8th century AD or earlier, perhaps written in Ogham by
Druids. Although Ogham writings are scarce because they were mostly carved in
bark, the Celtic legends were also passed down through the tradition of storytelling,
and this is probably how the monks gathered their material. They retold the oral
stories in a stile meant to impress the noble or royal households when read aloud at
celebrations. That is why these stories were enriched, modified and many times given
a Christian coloratura. Fortunately, some manuscripts have survived almost intact,
such as the Lebor Gabalá Erenn and there are many not yet translated into English.
Traditional Celtic society was composed of three primary occupational
classes, to ensure the proper exercise of what Indo-Europeanist scholars have come to
call the three functions necessary to the survival of a community. The first function
deals with the basic values of a society, with what is right and wrong, true and false,
permitted and forbidden: it thus includes clergy (who administered the community’s
dealings with the gods and the Otherworld), poets (in so far as their art is seen as
sacred), law representatives and lore masters (who are their community’s memory,
knowing all the precedents that have established current laws and customs). The
second function has to do with defending the community, and is thus the duty of the
warrior class, who need to cultivate a particular kind of ethos to be successful in
their calling. The third function assures the material survival and well-being of the
community, and so is the province of farmers, merchants, healers, etc., and deals
with everything that promotes wealth, physical health and fertility: because all these
activities are so dependent on the environment, the third function is very much
preoccupied with relating to the unpredictable, mysterious nature of the Land. Each of
these classes in early Celtic society had a body of mythological lore that was aimed
directly at its specific concerns.
First-function mythology is about the origins of things: how the world came to
be, where the ancestors came from, and how genealogy relates them to people today;
how social customs began, and why it is important to maintain them. When the Celtic
peoples were Christianized in the 5th and 6th centuries many of these stories -- which
were intimately related to pre-Christian gods and their worship -- came into conflict
with the new religion; yet it was difficult to discard them completely, since so much
of the native legal and political system was based on them. In Ireland the learned class
embarked on the project of updating the lore to make it conform to the Christian

37
world-view, and the result (produced between the 9th and 12th centuries) was the
immense compendium known as Lebor Gabála Érenn (the Book of the Conquests of
Ireland). It substitutes the Creation story from Genesis for whatever variant of the
Indo-European creation myth had been current before that, and takes pains to
correlate its chronology with that of the Bible and of the classical world. However, it
also preserves a great deal of earlier material, since many of the characters are
recognizable as gods whose names were recorded on the Continent in Roman times.
The stories comprised in the Lebor Gabála Érenn have become a part of the
Mythological Cycle of Celtic literature.
The mythology of the second function is intended to serve as a model for the
warrior class by focusing on the exploits of ideal warriors. In Ireland the figure who
emerged as the undisputed paragon in such stories was the hero Cúchulainn, who was
said to have lived in Ulster around the time of Christ. The stories concerning
Cúchulainn and his contemporaries at the court of king Conchobhar Mac Nessa of
Ulster are often referred to collectively as the Ulster Cycle.
The stories that comprised third-function lore -- the mythology of the farmers,
the people who lived close to the land -- also dealt with warriors, but warriors of a
very different sort. The warrior-bands called Fianna were composed of people who
had cut themselves off from mainstream society (often because they had no hope of
gaining wealth or status within it) and created a counterculture of their own. They had
renounced allegiance to their birth-kin, retaining allegiance only to each other. They
served as mercenaries for tribal rulers, but for much of the year they lived by hunting
and gathering in the wilderness. It was this intimacy with the land, this ability to
survive away from human settlements, which made them relevant to the concerns of
third-function people. The stories built around the Fianna warriors and their leader,
Fionn mac Cumhaill, are known as the Fianna Cycle.
Besides the three main cycles of Celtic literature, a fourth main cycle has been
considered, the Kings Cycle. Also, there is a number of stories which belong to no
cycle in particular and they may be called echtrai (adventures), imrama (voyages),
serca (love stories) etc. Another corpus of Celtic lore worth mentioning is the
Mabinogion, a cycle of Welsh tales.

4.2. The Mythological Cycle

The three main manuscript sources for Irish mythology are the late 11th-early
12th century Lebor na hUidre (The Book of the Dun Cow) which is in the library of
the Royal Irish Academy, the early 12th century The Book of Leinster in the library
of Trinity College, Dublin, and the Rawlinson manuscript, housed in the Bodleian
Library at Oxford University. Despite the dates of these sources, most of the material
they contain predates their composition and some can, on linguistic grounds, be dated
back as far as the 5th or 6thcenturies. Other important sources include a group of four
manuscripts originating in the west to Ireland in the late 14thor early 15th centuries:
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The Yellow Book of Lecan, The Great Book of Lecan, The Book of Hy Many
(Lebor Ui Maine), and The Book of Ballymote. The first of these contains the earliest
known version of the Táin Bó Cúailnge and is housed in Trinity College. The other
three are in the Royal Academy. Other 15th century manuscripts, such as The Book of
Fermoy also contain interesting materials, as do such later syncretic works such as
Geoffrey Keating's Foras Feasa ar Éirinn (The History of Ireland, c.1640),
particularly as these later compilers and writers may have had access to manuscript
sources that have since disappeared. When using these sources, it is, as always,
important to question the impact of the circumstances in which they were produced.
Most of the manuscripts were created by Christian monks, who may well have been
torn between the desire to record their native culture and their religious hostility to
pagan beliefs. Many of the later sources may also have formed part of a propaganda
effort designed to create a history for the people of Ireland that could bear comparison
with the mythological descent of their British invaders from the founders of Rome
that was promulgated by Geoffrey of Monmouth and others.
While talking about the mythological inhabitants of Ireland, we also traced the
legends of the Mythological Cycle of Celtic literature. The Lebor Gabala Erenn (The
Book of the Taking of Ireland) is the main source of information concerning the
mythological history of Ireland. The Lebor Gabala Erenn was preserved in the
manuscripts called the Book of Leinster (AD 1150), the Book of Lecan, and the
Book of Ballymote. The original manuscript work is divided into ten books,
beginning with the Bible and ending with the Roll of Kings. The manuscripts were
copied by the Christian scribes and were said to contain the ancient history of Ireland
as related by its inhabitants.
The book proceeds from the Creation story to the story of Noah and the flood,
the dispersal of the nations, and the beginnings of the Celtic or Gaelic peoples from
Japheth, the son of Noah. There is a mixture of pagan and Christian elements,
showing that some parts of the book were modified by the Christian monks while they
translated it. The Lebor Gabala Erenn deals with five invasions (the people of
Cessair1, the Partholonians, the Nemedians, the Fir Bolog and the Tuatha Dé Danann).
Besides the so called history, the Lebor Gabala Erenn also contains fascinating tales
from the Irish folklore. These are digressions, colorful tales which are imbedded here
and there and which could also be considered legends, since they talk about some
facts considered to be true but in fact they are only myths. These legends explain why
things are like they are today and how they were started in a remote past (the story of
the first adultery, committed by Partholon’s wife; the first manifestation of jealousy;
the first judgement, called the right of his wife against Partholon; the invention of
spear points during the reign of the Fir Bolg).

1
Cessair is considered to be the granddaughter of Noah, and the daughter of Bith.

39
 Also part of the Mythological Cycle, Cath Maige Tuireadh (The (second)
Battle of Magh Tuireadh) is a separate story which gives longer details into events
described in The Book of Invasions.
Other manuscripts preserve such mythological tales as The Dream of Aengus,
The Wooing of Étain, The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel, each building on the
other and talking of lost love, betrayal, and the breaking of geasa.
One of the best known of all Irish stories, Oidheadh Clainne Lir, or The
Tragedy of the Children of Lir, is also part of this cycle. This tragic story tells of how
the choosing of a new king for the de Dannan leads to Lir's children being turned into
swans for 900 years.
The final story in the cycle deals with Manannán mac Lír, the mysterious sea
god and keeper of the de Dannan magical tools. The crane bag of Manannán mac
Lír is less a story than a couple of paragraphs describing his magic crane bag.
Also part of the Mythological Cycle, the Metrical Dindshenchas, or Lore of
Places, is probably the major surviving monument of Irish bardic verse. It is a great
onomastic anthology of naming legends of significant places in the Irish landscape
and comprises about 176 poems in total. It includes a lot of important information on
Mythological Cycle figures and stories, including the Battle of Tailtiu, in which the
Tuatha Dé Danann were defeated by the Milesians. As a national compilation, the
Metrical Dindshenchas has come down to us in two different recensions. The first
recension is found in the twelfth century manuscript the Book of Leinster with partial
survivals in a number of other manuscript sources. The text shows signs of having
been compiled from a number of provincial sources and the earliest poems date from
at least the eleventh century. The second recension survives more or less intact in
thirteen different manuscripts, mostly dating from the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries. This recension contains a number of poems composed after the Book of
Leinster text. These may have been added by the compiler for completeness. Since
many of the naming legends related in the poems concern the acts of mythological
beings, the Metrical Dindshenchas is an important source for the study of Irish
mythology.

4.3. The Ultonian Cycle

The Ulster Cycle is set around the beginning of the Christian era and most of
the action takes place in the provinces of Ulster and Connaught. It consists of a group
of heroic stories dealing with the lives of Conchobar Mac Nessa, king of Ulster, his
nephew, the great hero Cúchulainn, and of their friends, lovers, and enemies. These
are the Ulaid, or people of the North-Western corner of Ireland and the action of the
stories centers round the royal court at Emain Macha, close to the modern city of
Armagh. The Ulaid had close links with the Irish colony in Scotland, and part of
Cúchulainn’s training takes place in that colony.
40
 There are stories of the births, early lives and training, wooing, battles,
feastings and deaths of the heroes, reflecting a warrior society in which warfare
consists mainly of single combats and wealth is measured mainly in cattle. The
centerpiece of the Ulster Cycle is the Táin Bó Cúailnge. Other important Ulster
Cycle tales include The Exile of the Sons of Usnech, The Tragic Death of Aife's
only Son, The Story of Bricriu's Feast, and The Destruction of Ua Derga's Hostel.
The great tale of Deirdre of the Sorrows is also associated with this cycle. The
Ultonian Cycle is, in some respects, close to the Mythological Cycle. Some of the
characters from the latter reappear, and the same sort of shape-shifting magic is much
in evidence. Again it is evident that the characters of Irish mythology are not so much
gods as heroes possessed of superhuman powers. Elements of the Ulster Cycle, such
as Cu Chulainn's magic spear and the motif of the Champion's Ordeal in The Story of
Bricriu's Feast, have been shown to be the sources of parts of the Matter of Britain.

The Curse of Macha

The first story is about the curse that fell upon the men of Ulster. Crundchu, a
farmer from Ulster and a recent widower, one day found a mysterious woman in his
house. She started behaving just as a wife and took care of his house. The woman was
Macha, a goddess. She put a geis on Crundchu, forbidding him to tell anyone about
her extraordinary abilities. Crundchu forgot about the geis and spoke of his wife’s
powers at a feast, after the king’s horses had won a race. The farmer said his wife
could run faster than the king’s horses. The king became very angry and ordered
Macha to prove her powers, although she was pregnant. Macha was unable to make
him relent and had to race. She won the race, but at the end she fell in pain and gave
birth to twins. Her last words were a curse: for nine generations, the men of Ulster
would experience the pains of childbirth for five days and four nights, in the hour of
their greatest need. (Pons: 2004, p. 31)

The Birth of Conchobar

King Conchobar/Conor mac Ness was the son of Nessa, a warrior princess,
and Fachtna the Giant, king of Ulster. When king Fatchna died, his half-brother,
Fergus, followed him to the throne instead of his son, Conchobar, who was just a
child. But Nessa tricked Fergus into letting Conchobar rule for a year, in exchange for
her to become his wife. At the end of the year, the people were so pleased with their
king that they wanted him to keep the throne. Fergus agreed to this and remained at
Conchobar’s court for a time.
The Red Branch warriors were the descendents of Ross the Red, king of
Ulster. Ross the Red was said to have married a woman of the Tuatha dé Danaan,
Maga, daughter of the god Angus Mac Og, thus his descendents were considered to
have supernatural ancestry.
One of the stories concerning Conchobar is the legend of Deidre. The king
encountered the beautiful maiden Deidre who was exiled by her father to live with her
41
nurse away in a house in the mountains. Conchobar decided to marry her within a
year and a day, but the maiden fell in love with Naois, one of the three sons of Usna
(an ally of Conchobar). After the year passed, Conchobar decided to make Deidre his
wife, even if she had ran away with Naois. The three brothers killed many of the
king’s men and were eventually defeated and killed. Deidre wished to be buried with
her lover and died by his side, but the king ordered that their bodies should be
separately buried. Even after this was done, two firs grew from the two graves and
became united. The king ordered them cut two times, until his new wife asked him to
stop persecuting the souls of the dead. (Jacobs, Joseph, Celtic Fairy Tales, Senate,
London, 1995, pp. 65-82)
Cúchulainn (Setanta), the mightiest Celtic hero, was born, according to
legend, during the reign of Conchobar mac Nessa, as the son of Dechtire, the king’s
half-sister, and Lugh, the sun god. Dechtire became pregnant at her wedding feast.
Although she was marrying Sualtam, Lugh made her fall asleep and transformed her
and her maidens into a flock of birds which disappeared. Dechtire and Lugh were
later encountered by the Red Branch warriors. Dechtire had given birth to a son, so
both mother and child were taken back to Emaim Macha (the prehistorical capital of
Ulster and base of the Red Branch). Sualtam cared for the boy as if he was his own
flesh and blood. As a child, Setanta was the strongest of his peers. One day, after
defeating the other children in a Hurley game, he was summoned at the court of
Conchobar for a feast held at the house of Culann the blacksmith. The boy arrived
late and was attacked by Culann’s fierce hound. He managed to kill the hound with
his Hurley ball, but suffered the consequences. Culann was enraged, so the boy
promised to train another dog for him; during the period the hound was trained,
Setanta acted as Culann’s hound and his name remained the Hound of Culann
(Cúchulainn). (Pons: 2004, pp. 26-33)
At the age of seven, Cúchulainn joined the Red Branch order, in his attempt to
achieve eternal glory. He became so attractive that the men were jealous of him and
demanded he would find a wife. He wanted only Emer, daughter of Forgal the Wily
(the nephew of the underworld fairy-king Tethra). In order to marry her, the hero
went through many ordeals and became stronger and more skilled. After he finally
makes Emer his wife, Cúchulainn does not remain faithful to her. One of his affairs
involves Aoife or Aífe, a woman who he defeats in battle. She gives birth to his son
and sends him to search for his father, after putting three geasa on him (he was
obliged not to turn back, not to refuse any challenge, and not to reveal his name to
anyone). Cúchulainn thought that Connla was a stranger that defied him, and so he
threw a spear at him and killed him, just as the boy was telling him his name and
origins. Cúchulainn became so angry and full of grief that he attacked everyone he
saw, and a druid had to cast a spell which made him see the waves as enemies.
Cúchulainn fought the waves until he collapsed from exhaustion. After Cúchulainn
finally wins Emer and marries her, he becomes famous as a champion of Ireland when
he wins the championship initiated at Biccriu’s feast. (Pons: 2004, p. 27)
42
 The Cattle-Raid of Cooley (Táin Bó Cúalnge) is the central epic of the Ulster
cycle. The saga begun as Queen Medb/Maev of Connaught gathered an army in
order to gain possession of a famous bull in Ireland, which was the property of Daire,
a chieftain of Ulster. Queen Medb herself possessed a famous red bull, with white
horns, called Finnbenach. One day, while she and her husband Ailell were counting
their possessions and comparing them, Ailell said that her bull preferred to stay in his
heard, so it was his bull, not hers. Medb was furious and found out that there was in
Ireland another bull just as prized, the Brown Bull of Quelgny, property of Daire the
chieftain of Ulster. Medb attacked Ulster together with Fergus and Ailill. Because the
men of Ulster were afflicted by Macha’s curse, the seventeen-year-old Cúchulainn
had to defend Ulster single-handedly. Queen Medb was defeated, but her men
managed to steal the bull. When the bull was taken to graze alongside Finnenbach, a
fight started between the two animals and in the end they killed each other. (Pons:
2004, pp. 29-37)
This contest for the bull, which is the ostensible theme of the greatest of Celtic
legendary tales, has a deeper meaning than appears on the surface. An ancient piece
of Aryan mythology is embedded in it. The Brown Bull is the Celtic counterpart of
the Hindu sky-deity, Indra, represented in Hindu myth as a mighty bull, whose
roaring is the thunder and who lets loose the rains. The advance of the Western
(Connacht) host for the capture of this bull is emblematic of the onset of Night. The
bull is defended by the solar hero Cúchulainn who, however, is ultimately overthrown
and the bull is captured for a season. The two animals in the Celtic legend probably
typify the sky in different aspects.
The battle between Cúchulainn and his friend Ferdiad is one of the most
famous passages in early Irish literature. Ferdiad, Cúchulainn’s former comrade,
fights in Medb’s army and is sent against his old friend. The two take an oath that one
should flee when forced to fight the other, and both keep the promise. (Pons: 2004, p.
35-36)

4.4. The Fianna Cycle

The single most important source for the Fenian Cycle is the Acallamh na
Senórach (Colloquy of the Old Men), which is found in two 15th century manuscripts,
the Book of Lismore and Laud 610 as well as a 17th century manuscript from
Killiney, Dublin. The text is dated from linguistic evidence to the 12th century. The
text records conversations between the last surviving members of the Fianna and St
Patrick and runs to some 8,000 lines. The late dates of the manuscripts may reflect a
longer oral tradition for the Fenian stories.
Like the Ulster Cycle, the Fenian Cycle is concerned with the deeds of Irish
heroes. The stories of the Fenian Cycle appear to be set around the 3rd century and
mainly in the provinces of Leinster and Munster. They differ from the Ulster Cycle in
that the stories are told mainly in verse and that in tone they are nearer to the tradition
43
of romance than the tradition of epic. The Fianna Cycle legends cluster round the
heroic figure of Fionn (Finn) mac Cumhail. The events of the Fianna Cycle are
supposed to have taken place during the reign of king Cormac mac Airt, who lived
in the 3rd century AD. The Fianna of Erin was some kind of military order who was
supposed to be devoted to the High King and defend the country from foreign
invaders.
Fionn was a personification of Cerunnos, the stag-god. He was predestined to
become great because he had accidentally tasted the salmon of knowledge. In order to
gain leadership of the Fianna, Fionn defeated the Aillen, an otherworldly creature
which appeared every year at Samhain and burned Tara down (Pons: 2004, pp. 42-
46).
The Fenian Cycle is often called the Ossianic Cycle because Fionn's son,
Oisin, was supposed to have written most of the poems in the cycle. The Fianna of the
story are divided into the Clann Baiscne, led by Fionn, and the Clann Morna, led by
his enemy, Goll mac Morna. Goll killed Fionn's father, Cumall in battle and the boy
Fionn is brought up in secrecy. As a youth, he is being trained in the art of poetry,
when he accidentally eats part of the Salmon of Knowledge, which makes him wise in
all things. He takes his place as the leader of his band and numerous tales are told of
their adventures.
The world of the Fenian Cycle is one in which professional warriors spend
their time hunting, fighting, and engaging in adventures in the spirit world. New
entrants into the band are expected to be knowledgeable in poetry as well as undergo
a number of physical tests or ordeals. There is no religious element in these tales
unless it is one of hero-worship.
The Diarmaid and Grainne story, which is one of the few Fenian prose tales,
is the Celtic source of Tristan and Isolde (Iseult)1. When Fionn got older and his first
wife died, he planned to marry Grainne, a very young girl. When the wedding day
came, Grainne saw Diarmaid, the son of Oengus2 and was seduced by his forehead
mole. She forced Diarmaid to run away with her, although at first he didn’t want to
betray his leader. Diarmaid eventually fell in love with Grainne and they hid in caves
and forests for seven years, until Fionn finally found them. Fionn pretended that he
had forgiven them and invited Diarmaid to a boar hunt, hoping that his rival would be
killed by a boar with poisonous fangs. Diarmaid killed the boar, but was tricked by
Fionn into measuring the beast and accidentally scratched himself in the fangs. Fionn
was able to heal him by letting him drink out of his hands, but he deliberately took his
time and spilled most of the water by the time he returned to his dying companion;
eventually, Diarmaid died by the time Fionn went back to the river to get more water,
and Grainne also died of grief (Pons: 2004, pp. 47-53).

1
The legend of Tristan and Iseult is an influential romance and tragedy, retold in numerous sources with as many
variations. It first appeared in the 12th century and it was probably influenced by the early legend of Diarmaid and
Grainne, and also by the Arthurian legends.
2
Oengus was the god of all those in love.

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 4.5. The Historical / Kings Cycle

The Historical Cycle of Celtic literature is a book of tales in the form of a

chronicle, describing the reigns of historical or semi-historical kings of Ireland, such
as Eochaid Muighmedóin, Crimthann Cas, Muicertach mac Erca, Fergus mac Leide,
Niall of the Nine Hostages etc. Historically, the stories cover a time period from the
3rdcentury BC (the reign of Labraid Loingsech, King of Leinster), up to the reign of
Brian Boramha, High King of all Ireland (AD 1001-1014). This is a time of transition
in Irish history, moving away from the native Celtic religion towards the introduction
of Christianity. We see this in the ways that the gods have fewer and fewer dealings
with men.
King Conn of the Hundred Battles and his grandson, Cormac mac Airt (an
Arthur-like king who restored Temhair (Tara) to glory and who was the employer of
Fionn mac Cumhaill and his Fianna), are the main characters in many of the stories;
another bulk of tales is dedicated to king Mongan. The Historical Cycle tales were
built mainly on the nature of kingship, dynasties, and the concept of the king being
wed to the land. Otherwise, what we see are tales of revenge and murder, but mostly
without the supernatural elements of the earlier cycles.

4.6. The Mabinogion

This collection of Welsh Myths has a similar history to the Irish myths, but is
less ancient. The earliest stories were probably composed and passed on by druids in a
complete and sensible fashion in the pagan iron age until the Roman conquest of
Britain, after which the stories were passed on, lost and embellished by wandering
story-tellers and old grannies until Christian monks wrote down what was left of them
in the 13th-14th century, in documents such as the Peniarth manuscripts (written down
about 1200), the White Book of Rhydderch (written down about 1300-1325) and the
slightly later Red Book of Hergest (written down about 1375-1425). They were then
re-written and transcribed several times, gathering dust in monastery attics (whilst
simultaneously continuing to grow and mutate in the oral tradition amongst the
illiterate medieval Welsh peasants) until being collected together at the end of the
nineteenth century and published in English for the first time by Lady Charlotte
Guest.
There are eleven stories, out of which the first four form a continuous
narrative relating stories of Welsh kings, warriors and wizards and visitors from the
Otherworld. These are the oldest of the tales, probably originating in the late Iron
Age, and are often referred to as the proper mabinogion (plural of mabinogi, a dodgy
translation of fairy story). Completely pagan, these stories are called Pwyll Prince of
Dyfed, Branwen Daughter of Llyr, Manawydan son of Llyr, Math ap Mathonwy. The
second four are unrelated folk-tales, two featuring Arthur, and probably the last
45
shreds of a much larger body of early Celtic Arthurian myth that was the inspiration
for Thomas Mallory’s Morte d’Arthur. These legends are also pagan, and chivalry is
not mentioned (The Dream of Macsen Wledig, Lludd and Llefelys, Culhwch and
Olwen, The Dream of Rhonabwy). The last three are later Arthurian romances,
probably mostly Norman-French and reminiscent of Mallory, at best faint echoes of
early pagan Celtic myth. They are the only ones to actually mention knights and a
chivalric code, and each tale follows the adventures of one knight. They are: The
Lady of the Fountain (concerning Owein ap Urien), Peredur ap Efrawg, Gereint ap
Erbin.
(http://www.lugodoc.demon.co.uk/MYTH/MYTH01.HTM)

4.7. Minor Tales

The adventures, or echtrae, are a group of stories of visits to the Irish

Otherworld. The most famous, Oisin in Tir na nOg belongs to the Fenian Cycle, but
several free-standing adventures survive, including The Adventure of Connla, The
Adventure of Bran mac Ferbail and The Adventure of Laegaire.
The voyages, or immrama, are tales of sea journeys and the wonders seen
during them. These probably grew from the experiences of fishermen combined with
the Otherworld elements that inform the adventures. Of the seven immrama
mentioned in the Celtic manuscripts, only three survive (The Voyage of Mael Duin,
The Voyage of the Ui Chorra, and The Voyage of Snedgus and Mac Riagla). The
Voyage of Mael Duin is the forerunner of the later Voyage of St Brendan. The Voyage
of St. Brendan is a product of Christianity, the story of an Irish monk who was in his
seventies when he and seventeen other monks set out on a westward voyage in a
curragh (boat). The monks sailed about the North Atlantic for seven years and,
eventually, reached the Land of Promise of the Saints, which they explored before
returning home with fruit and precious stones found there.
Other minor tales are imbedded in larger cycles. They are called togail
(destruction storiy), táin (cattle raid), tochmarc (wooing), coimpert (conception
story), baile (frenzy), cath (battle), longas (exile) etc.

46