Scottish Folklore - Ulster Cycle

Ulster Cycle

Because of the movement of people from Ulster to west Scotland, which resulted in close linguistic links between Ulster and the west of Scotland much of Gaelic mythology was imported to Scotland and possibly some of it written in Scotland. The Ulster Cycle, set around the beginning of the Christian era, consists of a group of heroic stories dealing with the lives of Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, the great hero Cúchulainn, and of their friends, lovers, and enemies. These are the Ulaid, or people of the North-Eastern corner of Ireland and the action of the stories centres round the royal court at Emain Macha, close to the modern city of Armagh. The Ulaid had close links with Gaelic Scotland, where Cúchulainn is said to have learned the arts of war. The cycle consists of stories of the births, early lives and training, wooings, battles, feastings and deaths of the heroes and reflects a warrior society in which warfare consists mainly of single combats and wealth is measured mainly in cattle. These stories are written for the most part in prose. The centrepiece of the Ulster Cycle is the Táin Bó Cúailnge. Other important Ulster Cycle tales include The Tragic Death of Aife's only Son, Fled Bricrenn "Bricriu's Feast", and Togail Bruidne Dá Derga "The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel". This cycle is, in some respects, close to the mythological cycle of the rest of the Gaelic speaking world. Some of the characters from the latter reappear, and the same sort of shape-shifting magic is much in evidence, side by side with a grim, almost callous realism. While it may be supposed that a few characters, such as Medb or Cú Roí, of once being deities, and Cúchulainn in particular displays superhuman prowess, the characters are firmly mortal and rooted in a specific time and place. Scottish Gaelic adaptations of Ulster Cycle tales appear in the Glenmasan manuscript.