Táin Bó Regamna
Also known as: The Cattle Raid of Regamna, Tain Bo Regamna, Cattle Raid of Regamna
A brief Ulster Cycle pre-tale in which Cú Chulainn confronts an otherworldly cattle-raider—often identified with the Morrígan—whose theft and prophecy foreshadow the great raid on Cooley. It frames the enmity between hero and goddess before the Táin.
Description
Táin Bó Regamna is a short prose tale that functions as a remscéla to Táin Bó Cúailnge. On patrol, Cú Chulainn encounters a mysterious woman driving a fine cow from the Otherworld. Their exchange reveals hidden identities and stakes: the woman is associated with the Morrígan, and the removal of cattle portends wider conflict. The episode establishes the goddess’s opposition to the Ulster champion and signals the impending cattle war centered on Donn Cúailnge. Compact and allusive, the tale depends on the broader Ulster Cycle for context, linking prophetic motifs, sovereignty, and the hero’s fate. Its diction and motifs mark it as an early stratum of the tradition, transmitted with later scribal glosses.
Historiography
The tale survives as part of the Ulster Cycle’s remscéla corpus in medieval Irish manuscripts, with earliest witnesses commonly traced to the twelfth century and later copies preserving Middle Irish updates. Language features suggest earlier composition than the manuscripts that record it. Scribes sometimes harmonized names and episode order to align with Táin Bó Cúailnge recensions. Scholarly discussion centers on the Morrígan’s role, prophetic diction, and the tale’s function as narrative preface to the Cooley raid.
Date Notes
An Old Irish remscéla (pre-tale) of the Ulster Cycle; preserved in medieval manuscripts with later Middle Irish redactions.
Symbols
Major Characters
- Cú Chulainn
- Morrígan
- Ailill
- Medb
Myths
- The War of the Goblets
- The Morrígan’s Prophecy to Cú Chulainn
Facts
- A remscéla (pre-tale) that prepares for the events of Táin Bó Cúailnge.
- Centers on a confrontation between Cú Chulainn and a cattle-raider linked to the Morrígan.
- Uses cattle possession and movement as omens of territorial and sovereign conflict.
- Highlights the Morrígan’s adversarial stance toward Cú Chulainn before the main epic.
- Language points to early medieval composition, with later Middle Irish transmission.
- Positions Donn Cúailnge as a focal symbol of power and provocation.
- Exhibits prophetic speech acts that foreshadow the Ulster host’s trials.
- Compact narrative likely intended to be read alongside other Ulster pre-tales.