SOURCE: "The Táin as Literature" in Aspects of "The Táin," edited by J. P. Mallory, December Publications, 1992, pp. 69-102.

In the essay that follows, Kelly analyzes the Táin in the general context of early Irish storytelling in order to discern its intended meaning and audience; in doing so, Kelly provides the background necessary to assess the poem's literary value.

An approach to Táin Bó Cúailnge as literature is dependent on an understanding of early Irish saga in general. This wider perspective, however, provides neither readily applicable analytic methods nor instant solutions, for 'we are still at an early stage in the investigation of the nature of Irish saga' (Ó Cathasaigh 1986a, 123). While mediaeval Irish literature is, compared with other mediaeval European vernacular literatures, extensive, varied and remarkably early, any given text is more likely to have been treated as a source of information about...