On Possible Dating of the Events in the Táin Bó Cúailnge.

Early attempts to recruit archaeological evidence to bolster the historicity of the Táin, notably by

Eugene O'Curry, were rather crude and naïve: mixing Neolithic flints with Iron Age swords, as 'the

role of archaeology [...] was primarily illustrative', thus no scientifically justifiable dating of the

saga was possible.1 A later, more rigorous analysis, notably by Kenneth Jackson, centred in on Iron

Age dating for the events depicted in the Táin.2

It must be stressed that the kernel of earlier discourse concentrated not on material artefacts,

but rather on circumstantial assumptions: the descriptions of Continental Celts found in the classical

literature; the use of war chariots in the Táin (which was abandoned rather early on the continent);

beheading trophies, supposedly non-existent in the Christian Ireland and, in the case of Jackson, the

preconceptions about the time when the over-kingdom of the Ulaid supposedly collapsed (in his

view in the 4th -5th centuries AD). Most of these arguments are demonstrably wrong: for example,

Vita Columbae by Adomnán depicting the battle of Móin Dairi Lothair (563 AD) mentions that one

of the Cruithni kings fled in a war chariot (victus currui insedens evaserit), proving that even in the

6th century the use of the war chariots in Ireland was nothing exceptional.3

J. P. Mallory after carefully evaluating all material objects in the Táin and comparing them

with the archaeological finds known from the Iron Age and the early medieval period, concludes

that 'the Táin is [...] later than the 4th century AD'4. This dating is corroborated by several cultural

considerations. T. M. Charles-Edwards makes an important point about how the invention of the

ogam is tied to the 'concept of commemorating the dead by inscriptions'5 borrowed from the Roman

Empire. He connects this development with the appearance of the first Irish settlements in Britain,

which cannot predate the latter half of the 4th century. This point is supported by the fact the Irish

practice of an inhumation as opposed to a cremation took hold only by the 4th - 5th centuries too,

1 Mallory, 'The World of Cú Chulainn', p. 105

2 Mallory, 'The World of Cú Chulainn', pp. 105-108
3 Ó Cróinín, 'Ireland, 400-800', p. 215
4 Mallory, 'The World of Cú Chulainn', p. 152
5 Charles-Edwards, Early Christian Ireland, p. 169
again showing a strong influence of the Romanized Britain.6

Thus, we have a lower bound for the dating of the Táin, i.e. the events should have unfolded

after the coming of Christianity to Ireland. Textual analysis and the use of the annals enables us to

establish an even tighter dating.

Several researchers have pointed out quite unusual geography of the Táin: although the

conflict involves Connacht and Ulster, a lot of the events are unfolding in Mide. Ruairí Ó hUiginn

maintains that the Connachta of the Táin 'bear no relation to the Connachta of history'. 7 James

Carney suggested the Táin should depict a conflict of the ruling dynasties of Midlands (“Bregians”

and “Gailióin” in his terminology) united through the marriage of Medb and Ailill with Ulster, so

the attack came from the south, roughly the area of Kells.8

The apparent contradiction of the geography is easily resolved if one remembers that up to

the end of the 7th century Uí Néill were firmly identified with Connacht although by that time their

lands reached the estuary of the Boyne. The conquest of the plain of Mide is equated with the defeat

of the once powerful Uí Falge in the beginning of the 6th century at Druim Derge, after which 'the

plain of Mide was lost forever by the Leinstermen'9 T. M. Charles-Edwards locates the place of the

main battle of the saga – Slemain Mide – in the townships of Slanemore and Slanebag, a few miles

north-west of Mullingar.10 It is hardly a coincidence that on the same plain a big battle was fought in

497 precisely involving the Uí Néill and a joint army of the Leinstermen. It is quite likely that the

ultimate author of the Grundtext was aware of the significance of that battle and chose the site for

the depiction of the battle in the saga on purpose. This allows us to raise the lower bound of the

composition of the Grundtext up to roughly 500.

6 Charles-Edwards, Early Christian Ireland, p. 160, 175

7 Ó hUiginn, 'Crúachu', p. 21
8 Edel, 'Myth versus Reality', pp. 164-165
9 Ó Cróinín, 'Ireland, 400-800', p. 192
10 Charles-Edwards, Early Christian Ireland, p. 450