Editing Ulster Cycle (section)

==Ulster Cycle stories==
The Ulster Cycle stories are set in and around the reign of King [[Conchobar mac Nessa]], who rules the Ulaid from [[Emain Macha]] (now Navan Fort near [[Armagh]]). The most prominent hero of the cycle is Conchobar's nephew, [[Cú Chulainn]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bardmythologies.com/ulster-cycle/|title=Ulster Cycle|website=bardmythologies.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-13}}</ref> The Ulaid are most often in conflict with the [[Connachta]], led by their queen, [[Medb]], her husband, [[Ailill mac Máta|Ailill]], and their ally [[Fergus mac Róich]], a former king of the Ulaid in exile. The longest and most important story of the cycle is the ''[[Táin Bó Cúailnge]]'' or "Cattle Raid of Cooley", in which Medb raises an enormous army to invade the [[Cooley peninsula]] and steal the Ulaid's prize bull, [[Donn Cúailnge]], opposed only by the seventeen-year-old Cú Chulainn. In the Mayo Táin, the [[Táin Bó Flidhais]] it is a white cow known as the 'Maol' that is the object of desire. One of the better known stories is the tragedy of [[Deirdre]], source of plays by [[W. B. Yeats]] and [[J. M. Synge]]. Other stories tell of the births, courtships and deaths of the characters and of the conflicts between them.

The stories are written in [[Old Irish|Old]] and [[Middle Irish]], mostly in prose, interspersed with occasional verse passages, with the earliest extant versions dated to the 12th century. The tone is terse, violent, sometimes comic, and mostly realistic, although supernatural elements intrude from time to time. Cú Chulainn in particular has superhuman fighting skills, the result of his semi-divine ancestry, and when particularly aroused his battle frenzy or ''ríastrad'' transforms him into an unrecognisable monster who knows neither friend nor foe. Evident [[deity|deities]] like [[Lugh]], the [[Morrígan]], [[Aengus]] and [[Midir]] also make occasional appearances.

Unlike the majority of early Irish historical tradition, which presents ancient Ireland as largely united under a succession of [[High King of Ireland|High Kings]], the stories of the Ulster Cycle depict a country with no effective central authority, divided into local and provincial kingdoms often at war with each other. The civilisation depicted is a pagan, pastoral one ruled by a warrior aristocracy. Bonds between aristocratic families are cemented by fosterage of each other's children. Wealth is reckoned in cattle. Warfare mainly takes the form of [[Cattle raiding|cattle raids]], or single combats between champions at fords. The characters' actions are sometimes restricted by religious taboos known as ''[[geis|geasa]]''.

===Manuscripts===
The stories are preserved in manuscripts of the 12th to 15th centuries but, in many cases, are believed to be much older. The language of the earliest stories is dateable to the 8th century, and events and characters are referred to in poems dating to the 7th.<ref>Garret Olmsted, "The Earliest Narrative Version of the ''Táin'': Seventh-century poetic references to ''Táin bó Cúailnge''", Emania 10, 1992, pp. 5–17</ref>

The earliest extant manuscripts of the Ulster Cycle are ''[[Lebor na hUidre]]'', "The Book of the Dun Cow", dating to no later than 1106, and ''[[The Book of Leinster]]'',<ref>The ''Book of Leinster'',  [http://www.ucd.ie/archives/html/franciscan/book_of_leinster.htm Ms A3], collection of [[University College Dublin]].</ref> compiled around 1160.