Comrac Fir Diad ⁊ Con Culaind ‘The fight of Fer Diad and Cú Chulainn’
- Táin bó Cúailnge
Episode in the Táin bó Cúailnge (Recensions I and II).
Context(s)The (textual) context(s) to which the present text belongs or in which it is cited in part or in whole.
Manuscripts
In Táin bó Cúailnge, recension I and II
The text is not at all preserved in LU and Egerton 1782 as in both manuscripts, the Táin breaks off towards the end.
pp. [35a]–[40a]
rubric: ‘Comrac Fir Diaid ⁊ Conculaind so’
context: Táin bó Cúailnge I
Includes the first part and abridged version of the second part.
context: Táin bó Cúailnge I
Incomplete due to wear and loss of leaves.
context: Táin bó Cúailnge II
As a standalone text in later manuscripts(1)n. 1 See Stuart Rutten, Battles at the ford: an introduction to the tradition of Comrac Fir Diad, with editions of the later versions of the tale (2006).
Including:
ff. 1–6, 6[7]–8[9] (section 6)
London, British Library, MS Egerton 150 [1773-1774]
Sources
Notes
Primary sources Text editions and/or modern translations – in whole or in part – along with publications containing additions and corrections, if known. Diplomatic editions, facsimiles and digital image reproductions of the manuscripts are not always listed here but may be found in entries for the relevant manuscripts. For historical purposes, early editions, transcriptions and translations are not excluded, even if their reliability does not meet modern standards.
See Táin bó Cúailnge for other editions and translations of the Táin
[tr.] Greene, David, and Frank OʼConnor, “44: The lament for Fer Diad”, in: David Greene, and Frank OʼConnor [Michael O'Donovan], A golden treasury of Irish poetry, A.D. 600 to 1200, London: Macmillan, 1967. 174–175.
Poem.
[ed.] Rutten, Stuart, “Battles at the ford: an introduction to the tradition of Comrac Fir Diad, with editions of the later versions of the tale”, PhD thesis, University of Toronto, 2006.
abstract:
This thesis is an introduction to the Old Irish tale Comrac Fir Diad, commonly known as "The Fer Diad Episode" from Tain Bo Cuailnge. The thesis introduces the reader to critical issues concerning the tale as it exists in the context of the larger Irish work and as it exists as a self-standing tale in later manuscripts in the context of the Cuchulainn saga.
Appended to the thesis and referred to in the introduction are four editions of the tale as it exists in later manuscripts and one self-standing version of "Feidhm as mo," a poem from the tale. These editions include a new edition of the tale as it appears in MS University College Dublin A25, as it appears in MS British Library Egerton 106, as it appears in MS British Library Egerton 150, and as it appears in MS Royal Irish Academy 24L20.
First, the thesis presents a history of scholarly criticism surrounding the tale and its inclusion within Tain Bo Cuailnge. Second, the thesis describes the various recensions of the tale and the manuscripts containing those recensions and offers a comparative chart for all versions of the tale. Third, the thesis examines the historical, mythological, onomastic and literary roots of Comrac Fir Diad by comparing it with similar episodes and tales in early Irish manuscripts in terms of character functions and by examining the relationship between the earliest extant manuscripts. Fourth, the thesis relates the tradition of the tale as it appears in the early recensions of Tain Bo Cuailnge and points out areas where an outside version of the tale has influenced "The Fer Diad Episode" in Tain Bo Cuailnge. Fifth, the thesis examines three, heretofore unexamined, later versions of Comrac Fir Diad from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries and their inclusion in the new context of the Cuchulainn saga of tales. Finally, the thesis suggests a number of areas for further scholarship concerning the tale, particularly in relation to its later versions.
Appended to the thesis and referred to in the introduction are four editions of the tale as it exists in later manuscripts and one self-standing version of "Feidhm as mo," a poem from the tale. These editions include a new edition of the tale as it appears in MS University College Dublin A25, as it appears in MS British Library Egerton 106, as it appears in MS British Library Egerton 150, and as it appears in MS Royal Irish Academy 24L20.
First, the thesis presents a history of scholarly criticism surrounding the tale and its inclusion within Tain Bo Cuailnge. Second, the thesis describes the various recensions of the tale and the manuscripts containing those recensions and offers a comparative chart for all versions of the tale. Third, the thesis examines the historical, mythological, onomastic and literary roots of Comrac Fir Diad by comparing it with similar episodes and tales in early Irish manuscripts in terms of character functions and by examining the relationship between the earliest extant manuscripts. Fourth, the thesis relates the tradition of the tale as it appears in the early recensions of Tain Bo Cuailnge and points out areas where an outside version of the tale has influenced "The Fer Diad Episode" in Tain Bo Cuailnge. Fifth, the thesis examines three, heretofore unexamined, later versions of Comrac Fir Diad from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries and their inclusion in the new context of the Cuchulainn saga of tales. Finally, the thesis suggests a number of areas for further scholarship concerning the tale, particularly in relation to its later versions.
Edition based on four manuscripts of the standalone text.
web page identifiers
page name: Comrac Fir Diad ocus Con Culaind
page url: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/Comrac_Fir_Diad_ocus_Con_Culaind
redirect: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/Special:Redirect/page/12263
numerical alternative: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/index.php?curid=12263
page ID: 12263
page ID tracker: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/index.php?title=Show:ID&id=12263
Contributors
C. A., Dennis Groenewegen
Page created
July 2012, last updated: January 2024
