Preface
Connaught court, while in others he holds a place second only to Conor in the councils of Ulster. A list of ninety-six romances which belong to this period is given by Miss Hull as an appendix to the Cuchullin Saga; but twenty of these are only known by name, the actual tales being lost. Of the remaining seventy-six. Miss Hull mentions translations of twenty-nine; but translations of others have appeared since the publication of the list; extracts from and outlines of many of these romances have appeared in O'Curry's published lectures and elsewhere. The central story of the cycle is the Tain bo Cuailgne, or The Cattle Raid of Kellny, which may be regarded as holding in Irish romance a place similar to that occupied by the Trojan War in early Greek legend; for many of the other tales either lead up to the Tain, or trace the later fortunes of those who took part in it. Other romances, which may be regarded as essential to the full working out of the saga, are The Birth of Cuchulainn, The Debility of the Ultonians, The Fate of the Sons of Usnech, The Death of Cuchulainn, and The Death of Conachar; while important tales which have less reference to the course of the central story are The Destruction of the House of Da Derga, which tells the story of the death of Conary, the high king of Ireland; and The Courtship of Etain, of which tale The Destruction of the House of Da Derga may be regarded as a sequel.
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