Táin Bó Fraích
Also known as: The Cattle Raid of Fráech, Tain Bo Fraich, Tain Bo Fraech, Cattle-Raid of Fraech
An Ulster Cycle tale in which the hero Fráech courts Findabair, daughter of Ailill and Medb, undertaking perilous feats—including a river-monster combat and a cattle-recovery—amid shifting politics before the Táin.
Description
Táin Bó Fraích (“The Cattle Raid of Fráech”) is a self-contained Ulster Cycle narrative often treated as a remscél (pre-tale) to Táin Bó Cúailnge. Fráech, a handsome champion with illustrious lineage, seeks the hand of Findabair, daughter of Ailill and Medb of Connacht. Courtly negotiations sour into tests and treachery; Fráech combats a monstrous creature in a river to recover a token, retrieves prized cattle, and navigates the precarious honor-economy of gifts, bride-price, and fame. Versions differ in emphasis—wooing-romance, heroic ordeal, and the politics of cattle wealth—but consistently foreground the inextricable ties between love, risk, and status in early Irish heroic society.
Historiography
The tale is preserved in multiple medieval Irish manuscripts, notably Lebor na hUidre and the Book of Leinster, in shorter and longer recensions with stylistic and episodic variance. Scholars classify it among the remscéla to the Táin Bó Cúailnge, though it circulates independently. Editorial work since the 19th century has produced normalized texts and translations; philological study addresses diction, formulae, and the integration of romance motifs into heroic prose. Modern editions typically collate readings to reconstruct a coherent narrative while acknowledging manuscript divergence.
Date Notes
Survives in Old/Middle Irish recensions; principal witnesses include Lebor na hUidre (c. 1100) and the Book of Leinster (c. 1160), reflecting earlier oral tradition.
Themes
Archetypes
Major Characters
- Fráech
- Queen Medb
- Ailill
- Findabair
- Conall Cernach
Myths
- The Cattle Raid of Fráech
- Rescue of Findabair
- Combat with the Water Monster
Facts
- Belongs to the Ulster Cycle and is often classed as a remscél to Táin Bó Cúailnge.
- Survives in at least two recensions, reflecting different editorial and oral layers.
- Centers on the court of Ailill and Medb at Cruachan (Connacht).
- Combines wooing-romance with heroic ordeal and cattle-wealth politics.
- Features a notable river combat episode to recover a token linked to Findabair.
- Exemplifies gift-exchange and honor-economy dynamics in early Irish society.
- Manuscript witnesses include Lebor na hUidre and the Book of Leinster.
- Narrative intersects with figures who dominate the larger Táin cycle.
- Shows interplay between hospitality tests and covert hostility.
- Medieval prose with formulaic and episodic structure typical of saga material.