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The precisely defined cycles into which the sagas are divided provide us with most clues as to
how these epics evolved. The cycles reflect the heroic view of life of the aristocratic warrior
ruling caste; from the formal, ceremonial way in which words and deeds are recorded in them we gain
a privileged insight into the way those people chose to perceive and then to shape their history.
Convention and tradition have classified the early Irish tales into four groups or cycles:
- THE MYTHOLOGICAL CYCLE.
In the Mythological Cycle the chief characters belong to the Tuatha De Danann or Áes Side, a supposedly divine
race which inhabited and ruled Ireland before the arrival of the Celtic Gaels. The sagas of this cycle recount
the exploits of hero-divinities such as Lugh the Long Arm (or Lugh Samildánach - The Multi-Talented), Nuada of
the Silver Arm and the Dagda.
- THE ULSTER CYCLE.
The Ulster Cycle is composed of stories, which tell mainly of the exploits of the Ulaid, king Conchabar of
Ulster, and the warriors of the Red Branch. The Ulster Cycle also contains the greatest of all Irish sagas,
the marvellous Táin Bó Cuailnge and recounts the exploits of the greatest champion in all early Irish Literature;
Cu Chulainn, the Hound of Ulster.
- THE FENIAN CYCLE.
The stories of the Fenian Cycle are about the deeds of Finn MacCumaill; his roving warbands known as the
Fianna; his son Oisín (Ossian); Conán, Goll, Oscar and other heroes. This cycle is also known as the Ossianic
Cycle because most of the poems which belong to it are attributed to Finn's son Oisín.
- THE HISTORICAL CYCLE.
Also known as the King's Cycle, the Historical Cycle is a more miscellaneous group of stories celebrating
the activities of various High Kings of Ireland. It is set between the third century B.C. and the
eighth-century A.D.
The tales in this cycle are more historical and, generally, less magical than the mythological tales,
less heroic than the Ulster tales and less romantic than the Fenian tales.
The material of all these cycles encompasses both degenerated myth and corrupted history but each contains
an infrastructure of carefully transmitted oral tradition, which includes basic historical fact mixed with
chronological data and putative genealogies. Many an expert, past and present, has, to his peril,
dismissed the historical aspects of the sagas as pseudo-historical fantasy only to find later on
archaeological evidence confirm what appeared to be the more outlandish statements and assertions
contained within them.
Early Irish Literature - Page 1 - Earliest Invasions of Ireland
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