ABSTRACT
Lebor na hUidre (The Book of the Dun Cow) is the earliest extant vernacular Irish manuscript. The fragmentary nature of seventeen of its thirty-seven texts indicates that it has not come down to us in its complete form, its surviving sixty-seven folios representing approximately half the original codex, according to Tomás Ó Concheanainn. Notwithstanding this, it constitutes a veritable treasure trove of Old and Middle Irish literature, both secular and religious, although the original order in which the texts appeared can no longer be determined. A copy of the longest medieval Irish narrative, Táin Bó Cúailnge (“The Cattle Raid of Cúailnge”), is found among its leaves, together with two of its remscéla (fore-tales). That tale’s premier hero, Cú Chulainn, also features in other compositions therein, including those describing his birth and resurrection. The activities of the latter’s Ulaid colleagues are similarly recounted, most notably in Fled Bricrenn (“Bricriu’s Feast”) and Mesca Ulad (“The Intoxication of the Ulaid”), as are those of royal personages. Togail Bruidne Da Derga (“The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel”) provides a literary biography of the prehistoric king Conaire Mór; other narratives focus on pivotal events in a particular monarch’s reign. Among these is the otherworld journey of fair Connlae, son of King Conn Cétchathach, which forms one of a group of texts that emphasizes the supernatural in all its guises. Its Christian dimension is highlighted in a story relating the prophetic revelation of another of Conn’s sons, Art, which finds thematic resonance in Comthoth Láegaire co cretim (“The Conversion of Láegaire to the Faith”). These are complemented by religious texts including Dá Brón Flatha Nime (“The Two Sorrows of the Kingdom of Heaven”) and the homiletic tracts, Scéla Laí Brátha (“The Tidings of Doomsday”) and Scéla na hEsérgi (“The Tidings of the Resurrection”), for which the manuscript constitutes our sole witness.
