fication of the natural forces which the Celts worshipped. Its
historical background, social organization, chivalry, mood and thought and
its heroic ideal are to a large extent, and with perhaps some pre-Aryan
survivals, not only those of the insular Celts of two thousand years ago,
but also of the important and wide-spread Celtic race with whom Caesar
fought and who in an earlier period had sacked Rome and made themselves
feared even in Greece and Asia Minor.

The following is the Argument of the Tain Bo Cualnge, which, for the sake
of convenience, is here divided into sections:

I. The Prologue

One night at the palace of Cruachan in Connacht, a dispute arose between
Queen Medb, the sometime wife of Conchobar, king of Ulster, and her consort
Ailill, as to the amount of their respective possessions. It may be
remarked in passing that in those days in Ireland, married women retained
their private fortune independent of their husbands, as well as the dowry
secured to them in marriage. To procure the evidence of their wealth, the
royal pair sent messengers to assemble all their chattels which, on
comparison, were found to be equal, excepting only that among Ailill's kine
was a lordly bull called Finnbennach, "the Whitehorned," whose match was
not to be found in the herds of the queen.

II. The Embassage to Dare and the Occasion of the Tain

As we might expect, Medb was chagrined at the discovery. Now her herald
macRoth had told her that Dare macFiachna, a landowner of Cualnge, a
district in the territory of her former husband, possessed an even more
wonderful bull than Ailill's, called Donn Cualnge, "the Brown Bull of
Cualnge." So she despatched macRoth to Dare to pray for the loan of the
bull.

Dare received the queen's messengers hospitably and readily granted her
request, but in the course of the entertainment, one of the messengers,
deep in his cups, spoke against Dare, and he, hearing this, withdrew his
promise and swore that he would never hand over the Brown Bull of Cualnge.

III. The Gathering of Medb's Forces

The impetuous queen, enraged at the failure of her mission, immediately
mustered a formidable army, composed not only of her Connachtmen but also
of allies from all parts of Ireland, wherewith to undertake the invasion of
Ulster. On her side were the Ulster chieftains who had gone into exile into
Connacht after the treacherous slaughter of the sons of Usnech by King
Conchobar of Ulster. Chief