Táin in the 21st century

Epic: Frank O'Connor called it "a simply appalling text". It compares unfavourably with more elegant "national" epics, such as Beowulf , or Njal's Saga . Part of the problem is the complicated history of The Táin , which some scholars have suggested reflects conflicts and cultural conditions c. the second century BC, but the earliest extant document of which is an allegedly 11th-century manuscript. Login or subscribe for more.

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