''Mesca Ulad'' ( English: ''The Intoxication of the

Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or (Irish language, Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic Provinces of Ireland, over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include , which ...

''; the

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

men) is a narrative from the

Ulster Cycle The Ulster Cycle (), formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly counties Armagh, Do ...

preserved in the 12th century

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

s the Book of Leinster and in the

Lebor na hUidre (, LU) or the Book of the Dun Cow (MS 23 E 25) is an Irish vellum manuscript dating to the 12th century. It is the oldest extant manuscript in Irish. It is held in the Royal Irish Academy and is badly damaged: only 67 leaves remain and many ...

. The title ''Mesca Ulad'' occurs only in the Book of Leinster version. The story is set during

Samhain Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓ ...

, and follows the Ulaid as they attempt to attend two feasts in the same night: the first at Dún Dá Bhenn (modern day

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

) to the north, and the second at Cúchulainn's fortress in Dún Delgan (modern Dundalk, Co. Louth) to the east. The men become intoxicated at the first feast and head south towards Kerry by accident. In Kerry, they are shown false hospitality by their traditional enemies the Munstermen, who offer them a place to stay. The Ulaid accept, and the Munstermen light a bonfire beneath the wood and iron structure. The Ulaids survive.

Manuscript sources

* Book of Leinster (LL): p 261b-268b (RIA). Second part missing. Middle Irish version. *

(LU): p 19a-20b (TCD). First part missing. Old Irish version. *G4 or

Yellow Book of Lecan The Yellow Book of Lecan (YBL; Irish language, Irish: ''Leabhar Buidhe Leacáin''), or TCD MS 1318 (''olim'' H 2.16), is a History of Ireland (1169–1536), late medieval Irish manuscript. It contains much of the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology ...

(YBL): col. 959-972 (National Library of Ireland). *Ed. XL or Adv. 72.1.40: p 49-68 (National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh)

Editions and translations

*Hennessy, William M. (ed. and tr.). ''Mesca Ulad: or, the Intoxication of the Ultonians''. Todd Lecture Series 1. Dublin, 1889. Based on LU and LL. The translation is reprinted in: Eleanor Hull (ed.), ''The Cuchullin Saga in Irish literature.'' London, 1898; and in ''Ancient Irish tales'', ed. T.P. Cross and C.H. Slover. New York, 1936. 215–38. *Watson, J. Carmichael (ed.). ''Mesca Ulad''. Mediaeval and Modern Irish Series 13. Dublin, 1941 (reprinted in 1983). Based on LU and LL, with variants from YBL and Ed. XL
Edition available from CELT
*Mac Gearailt, Uaitéar (ed.). "The Edinburgh Text of ''Mesca Ulad''." ''Ériu'' 37 (1986): 133–80. Based on Ed. XL. *Watson, J. Carmichael (tr.). "''Mesca Ulad''".
Scottish Gaelic Studies
' 5 (1938): 1-34 (LL, LU text). (English) *Koch, John T. (tr.). In ''The Celtic Heroic Age'', ed. John T. Koch and John Carey. 3d ed. Andover, 2000. 106–27. Provisional translation based on Watson's edition. *Gantz, Jeffrey (tr.). "The Intoxication of the Ulaid." In: ''Early Irish Myths and Sagas''. Harmondsworth, 1981. 188–217. (English) *Guyonvarc'h, C.-J.( tr.). "L'ivresse des Ulates." ''Ogam'' 12 (1960): 487-506; 13 (1961): 343-60 lso in ''Celticum'' 2 (1962) 1-38(French).

Secondary literature

*Carey, John. "Vernacular Irish Learning: Three Notes." ''Éigse'' 24 (1990): 37–44. *de Paor, Áine. "The common authorship of some Book of Leinster texts II. Mesca Ulad" ''Ériu'' 9 (1923): 118–46. *Ó Concheanainn, Tomás. "The manuscript tradition of ''Mesca Ulad''." ''Celtica'' 19 (1987): 13–30. *Sayers, William. "Three charioteering gifts in ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'' and ''Mesca Ulad'': ''immorchor deland, foscul díriuch, léim dar boilg''." ''Ériu'' 32 (1981): 163–7. *Sayers, William. "Portraits of the Ulster Hero Conall Cernach: A Case for Waardenburg's Syndrome?" ''Emania'' 20 (2006): 75–80. *Thurneysen, Rudolf. ''Zu irischen Handschriften und Litteraturdenkmälern. Zweite Serie.'' Abhandlungen der königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen 14.3. Berlin, 1913. See no. 17 for ''Mesca Ulad''. *Watson, J. Carmichael. "''Mesca Ulad'': the redactor's contribution to the later version." ''Ériu'' 13 (1940): 95-112.

References

Medieval literature Early Irish literature Texts in Irish Narratives of the Ulster Cycle {{celt-myth-stub