Glossary

aes dána: The Irish words that Kinsella's note gives behind 'bards': literally 'men of art'. Medb sends bards, poets and satirists together against Cúchulainn. See The otherworld, druids and prophecy.
Aided: Irish for 'death'. It opens the titles of Ulster tales Kinsella names, such as Aided ConCulainn, 'The Death of Cúchulainn', and Aided Oenfir Aife, 'The Death of Aife's One Son'. See The tales around the Táin.
Ath also Áth: Irish for a ford, and the first part of many place-names in the Táin, such as Ath Gabla ('a ford on the Mattock') and Ath Lethan ('the broad ford'). Kinsella's guide gives it as 'awth'. See How the names work.
Bó: Irish for a cow, as in Táin Bó Cuailnge, which Kinsella renders 'The Cattle-Raid of Cuailnge'. See How the names work.
Book of Leinster: A major manuscript compiled in the twelfth century, holding a later and complete form of the Táin, four centuries younger than the earliest form. Kinsella takes chapter I from it and supplies many missing passages from it, but bases the translation on the earlier version. See How the story survives.
boy-troop: The company of boys kept at Emain Macha, three times fifty sons of Ulster kings. Cúchulainn joins it as a child, and later it comes south to help him and is destroyed.
briugu also hostel keeper, hostel keepers, hosteller: A hostel keeper. Kinsella's note says he had charge of one of Ireland's great houses of hospitality, owned large herds and many ploughs, and enjoyed almost the same dignity as a noble. See Customs a reader needs.
Cath: Irish for 'battle', as in Cath Ruis na Ríg, 'The Battle of Ros na Ríg', one of the later tales that continue the action after the Táin. See The tales around the Táin.
charioteer also charioteers: The driver of a warrior's chariot. He yokes the horses and puts on his own war-harness, and in the combat with Ferdia Cúchulainn calls out to his charioteer Laeg for the gae bolga. See The Ulster cycle and the world of the story.
Clanna Dedad also Clanna Degad: A people of West Munster with their capital at Temair Luachra. Under Cúroi mac Dáiri they were one of the three heroic tribes of Ireland, the others being the Gamanrad of Irrus Domnann and the Clann Rudraige of Emain Macha. See The Ulster cycle and the world of the story.
Compert: Irish for a begetting. It opens the titles of two pre-tales, Compert Conchoboir and Compert ConCulainn, which Kinsella calls 'How Conchobor was Begotten' and 'How Cúchulainn was Begotten'. See The tales around the Táin.
Cú also Cu: Irish for a hound, and the first part of the name Cúchulainn, which Cathbad explains in the text as 'the Hound of Culann'. Kinsella's note on the epithet 'Squinter' also calls Cú 'Hound'. See How the names work.
del chliss: A weapon of Cúchulainn's, which Kinsella's note renders literally as 'the dart of feats'. In the text it is his 'feat-playing dart'. See Weapons, feats and the warp-spasm.
Donn: Irish for 'brown'. Kinsella's note says the bull of Cuailnge is called either Dub, 'the Black', or Donn, 'the Brown'. See How the names work.
druid also druids: A man of learning and magic. In the text druids read signs, tell what an hour is lucky for, and are asked to explain a challenge, and Cathbad keeps a hundred pupils learning druid lore. In Ulster no man spoke before Conchobor, and Conchobor would not speak before the three druids. See The otherworld, druids and prophecy.
Druim: Irish for a ridge, as in Druim Licce, which the text glosses 'the flagstone ridge'. Many of the army's stopping places in the Táin are named this way. See How the names work.
Dub: Irish for 'black'. Kinsella's note says the bull of Cuailnge is called either Dub, 'the Black', or Donn, 'the Brown', and his route list glosses Dubchoire as 'a black cauldron'. See How the names work.
Dún: Irish for a fort, and the first part of place-names such as Dún Sobairche and Dún Cinn Coros. See How the names work.
Echtra: Irish for 'adventure'. Kinsella's note on Echtra Nerai, 'The Adventures of Nera', says it is sometimes counted among the Táin's preparatory tales. See The tales around the Táin.
feats of arms also apple-feat, thunder-feat, body-feat, breath-feat, feat of Cat: The named feats Cúchulainn practises, listed in the text: the apple-feat, the thunder-feat, the feats of the sword-edge and the sloped shield, the salmon-leap, the gae bolga and many more. Kinsella's note says the exact nature of these feats is not clear, and that a few of the commentators' more reasonable guesses are embodied in the translation. See Weapons, feats and the warp-spasm.
Fenian cycle: One of the four groups of early Irish stories Kinsella names: the stories of Finn mac Cumaill, his son Oisín and their warriors. It is a separate cycle from the Ulster cycle. See The Ulster cycle and the world of the story.
fidchell also buanbach: Some kind of board game, in Kinsella's note. Fergus recalls that he and Conchobor were playing it when Cúchulainn came leaping after nine boys across the board. Kinsella says buanbach is, like fidchell, some kind of board game.
Fir Bolg also Fir Domnann: An early people of Ireland, said in Kinsella's note to have come in the fourth of the five primeval invasions of Ireland (fir means 'men'). The Galeóin and the Fir Domnann, the people of Ferdia, are said to have come with them. See The Ulster cycle and the world of the story.
Fled: Irish for a feast, as in Fled Bricrenn, 'Bricriu's Feast', a tale of the struggles for precedence among the Ulster heroes. See The tales around the Táin.
fosterage also foster-parents, foster-parent, foster-son, foster-sons, foster-father, foster-mother, foster-brother, foster-brothers: The custom of putting the children of families of consequence out to foster-parents. Kinsella's note says foster-parents were not necessarily of inferior status, and that the noblest of the Ulster heroes sought the honour of rearing Cúchulainn. See Customs a reader needs.
gae bolga also gae bolgae: Cúchulainn's terrible javelin, taught to no one but him by Scáthach. Kinsella's note gives the Book of Leinster description: it must be made ready for use on a stream and cast from the fork of the toes, and it enters a man's body with a single wound, then opens into thirty barbs, so that only cutting away the flesh will take it out. See Weapons, feats and the warp-spasm.
Galeóin: A troop of three thousand in Medb's army. Kinsella's note says their separateness from the other 'men of Ireland' is not without significance: they belonged to a more ancient race, said to have come with the Fir Bolg, and a connection with the Gauls has been suggested. See The Ulster cycle and the world of the story.
geis also geasa: A bond or compulsion laid on a person. Kinsella's notes use the plural geasa, once for Leborcham's words putting Noisiu under bond to do what she asked, and once for the compulsions that govern the action of 'Exile of the Sons of Uisliu'. See Customs a reader needs.
Glenn: Irish for a valley. Kinsella's route list glosses Glenn Dáilimda as 'the valley above Omeath' and Glenn Gatlaig as 'the valley above Ballymakellett'. See Place-names and the route of the Táin.
hero-halo: The glow that rises out of Cúchulainn's brow when the warp-spasm seizes him, described in the text as long and broad as a warrior's whetstone. See Weapons, feats and the warp-spasm.
imbas forasnai: Some form of divination or supernatural enlightenment, in Kinsella's note. One reading of 'imbas' points to a method using the palms, and another takes it simply to mean 'great knowledge'. See The otherworld, druids and prophecy.
Lebor na hUidre also Book of the Dun Cow: Familiarly the Book of the Dun Cow, the oldest of the three manuscripts, compiled in the monastery of Clonmacnoise in the twelfth century. Its text is badly flawed and mutilated, and with the Yellow Book of Lecan it gives the main body of the Táin used in chapters II to XIV. See How the story survives.
light gold also findruine: Kinsella's rendering of the Irish findruine, which his note describes as an alloy, white bronze. It appears in the text as 'light gold', on shield edges and pins.
mac also Mac, meic, maic: 'Son of', the word that joins a man to his father, as in Fergus mac Roich, 'Fergus son of Roech'. Kinsella generally leaves it untranslated in speech or where the relationship has no particular importance to the story. See How the names work.
Mag also Maige: Irish for a plain. Kinsella translates Brislech mór Maige Muirtheimne as 'The great Carnage on Murtheimne Plain', and his note explains Mag Mannachta as 'the Plain of Mann's Death'. See How the names work.
Mór: Irish for 'great', as in Maine Mórgor and Liac Mór. Kinsella's gloss of Brislech mór Maige Muirtheimne is 'The great Carnage on Murtheimne Plain'. See How the names work.
ogam also ogham: An incised lettering used on stone or wood, in Kinsella's note. In the Táin messages in ogam are cut into pegs, forks of wood and stones to warn or challenge the army. See Customs a reader needs.
pangs of Ulster also pangs, noinden, ces noinden: The affliction that leaves the men of Ulster as weak as a woman in labour, laid on them by Macha when she was made to race the king's horses while heavy with child. Kinsella's note says the Irish word is noinden, a period of nine days or other units, and that in the Táin the affliction lasts from autumn until the beginning of spring. See The pangs of Ulster.
poet also poets, fili, filid, filidecht: The professional poets of the story, among them Fedelm, 'a woman poet of Connacht', whom the text also calls a prophetess. Kinsella's note on filidecht, 'verse and vision', says the word means simply poetry in modern Irish but that the functions of the ancient poet would have included prophecy, and his introduction says the professional poets composed long topographical works and were expected to recite them on demand. See The otherworld, druids and prophecy.
province also provinces, Ulad: Kinsella's note says the Irish word is literally 'a fifth', from an early division of Ireland into five fifths. He uses the modern anglicised names of the provinces and keeps the Irish form of other names, so the text's Ulad appears as Ulster. See The Ulster cycle and the world of the story.
Red Branch also Craebruad, Craeb Ruad: The name the introduction gives to the champions of Ulster around Conchobor. In the text the Craebruad, the Red Branch, is the house in Conchobor's household where the kings sat, red being for royalty, and the severed heads and spoils were kept in the Craebderg, the Ruddy Branch. See The Ulster cycle and the world of the story.
remscéla also pre-tale, pre-tales: Pre-tales: the stories that lead up to the Táin. Kinsella calls them important tributaries, not strictly part of the story, and the first section of this book gathers a group of them chosen for what they explain. See The tales around the Táin.
rosc also retoiric, rosc passages: The stepped verse passages of the Táin, which Kinsella calls rosc or retoiric. They are extremely obscure in the Irish, partly because they are thought to be more archaic and partly because the obscurity of a deep or prophetic utterance may be deliberate, and Kinsella calls his versions highly speculative. See The verse passages.
salmon-leap also salmon leap, hero's salmon-leap: One of Cúchulainn's named feats, a great leap he gives across a bridge or a rampart, up a cliff or onto a high branch, called in the text his hero's salmon-leap. Kinsella's note says the exact nature of these feats is not clear. See Weapons, feats and the warp-spasm.
Samain also Imbolc, Beltine, Lugnasa: The first of the four seasonal feasts, with Imbolc, Beltine and Lugnasa. Kinsella's note gives them as the first days of November, February, May and August, when feasts introduced the seasons. The army sets out on the Monday after Samain. See Customs a reader needs.
satire also satirist, satirists, satires: A poet's verse that wounds. Ailill's satirist Redg threatens to take away Cúchulainn's good name unless he gets his javelin, and Kinsella's note says Leborcham, as a satirist, would have more than usual freedom because her verses might bring harm. See Customs a reader needs.
Scél: Irish for a story, as in Scél mucce Maic Dathó, 'The Story of Mac Dathó's pig', a tale of the struggles for precedence among the Ulster heroes. See The tales around the Táin.
síd also Síd: A mound-dwelling of the síde (the plural), a divine race said to have inhabited Ireland in earlier times and associated later with the fairies. Kinsella's note says the word applies primarily to the mounds in which they were believed to live. See The otherworld, druids and prophecy.
single combat also single combats, ford combat: A fight between two warriors, usually at a ford. Kinsella's note says a ford is frequently the place of challenge and single combat, that warriors seem to choose a ford as an arena for certain kinds of combat, and names the fights of Cúchulainn with Fraech, Lóch and Ferdia. See Customs a reader needs.
Sliab: Irish for a mountain, and the first part of place-names such as Sliab Fuait and Sliab Cuilinn. Kinsella's guide gives it as 'shlee-av'. See How the names work.
spancel-hoop also hoop of challenge: A ring made from a twig, used for spancelling horses and cattle. Kinsella's note says such hoops were left at fords or boundaries as messages of challenge, and Cúchulainn leaves one for the army with an ogam message cut into its peg. See Customs a reader needs.
surety also sureties: A guarantee for a promise, in the form of a person held or named as a hostage. Before facing Cúchulainn, Ferdia asks Medb for a surety, and she tells him to pick his own from among kings or princes, any hostage he wishes. See Customs a reader needs.
Táin also Tain: Irish for a cattle raid. Kinsella gives it as 'Cattle Raid', and his pronunciation guide gives 'toyn'. See What the Táin is.
Táin Bó Cuailnge also Táin Bó Cúalnge, Cattle-Raid of Cuailnge: The full name of the story, which Kinsella's note renders 'The Cattle-Raid of Cuailnge'. Cuailnge, anglicised Cooley, is the district south of Carlingford Lough in County Louth. See What the Táin is.
Tochmarc: Irish for a courtship, as in Tochmarc Emire, 'Cúchulainn's Courtship of Emer', and Tochmarc Ferbe, 'The Courtship of Ferb'. See The tales around the Táin.
Togail: Irish for a ruin or destruction, as in Togail bruidne Da-Choca, 'The Ruin of Da-Choca's hostel', a tale of the struggles for the succession after Conchobor's death. See The tales around the Táin.
trícha cét also troop of three thousand: Literally 'a thirty-hundred', in Kinsella's note: a troop of three thousand, or the force of soldiers that a population of three thousand could raise. He adds that it is a territorial division. See The Ulster cycle and the world of the story.
Tuatha Dé Danann: 'The Tribes of the Goddess Danu', an ancient divine race said to have inhabited Ireland before the coming of the Celts. They are the subject of the first of the four groups of early Irish stories Kinsella names. See The Ulster cycle and the world of the story.
turning the chariot: To drive around a person turning to the right, in the direction of the sun's movement, attracts good fortune and gives the blessing 'May your road be blessed'. Kinsella's note says that to turn the left side of the chariot was an act of insult or challenge. See Customs a reader needs.
Ulster cycle also Ulster Cycle: The group of stories about the exploits of King Conchobor and the champions of the Red Branch, chief of whom is Cúchulainn, the Hound of Ulster. The Táin Bó Cuailnge is its centre-piece. See The Ulster cycle and the world of the story.
warp-spasm also Warp-Spasm, warp-spasms: The seizure of battle fury in which Cúchulainn's body is twisted into a monstrous shape: his feet and shins switch to the rear, one eye sinks into his head while the other falls out onto his cheek, and the hero-halo rises from his brow. Kinsella's note says it gives Cúchulainn the nickname 'the warped one from Emain Macha'. See Weapons, feats and the warp-spasm.
Yellow Book of Lecan: A late fourteenth century manuscript holding another partial and flawed version of the earliest form of the Táin. With Lebor na hUidre it gives the main body of the story used in chapters II to XIV. See How the story survives.