Scéla Conchobair

In the codex (Book of Leinster, TCD 1339 olim H.2.18), the piece is bound in leaves immediately following the recension of the Táin Bó Cúailnge, and in the Catalogue is listed among the "Prose tales of Conchobar Mac Nessa, Cuchulaind, Athirne, Celtchair.".{{Harvnb|Abbott|1900|p=361}}, {{Harvnb|Abbott|Gwynn|1921|p=159}}

The beginning portion recapitulates the conception of Conchobair, and for this reason, the tale has also been referred to as a variant text of the Compert Conchobaire.g., {{Harvnb|Kuno Meyer|1884}}, RC 6, 173. "the LL Copy.."

Others class the tale as a variant of the tract on "How Conchobar obtained the Kingship of Ulster."{{cite web|title=MS-OMIT|url=http://www.ucc.ie/celt/MS-OMIT/texts.htm|access-date=11 February 2012}}

In this tale is a description of the three halls, or branches of Conchobar. Croebrúad (Stokes: the Cróeb-ruad, O'Curry: the Royal Branch, Kinsella: Craebruad, the Red Branch), Téite Brecc (Stokes: the Téite Brecc, O'Curry: Speckled Branch, Kinsella: Téte Brec, the Twinkling Hoard ), Croibderg (Stokes: the Red Branch, O'Curry: the Red Branch, Kinsella: Craebderg, the Ruddy Branch). The first being the palace hall of the Ulstermen. The second was the armoury where the shields, weapons, and goblets were kept. The third stored all the heads and spoils.

There follows a listing of the shields of the Ulstermen, eighteen in all, beginning with the Ochain of Conchobar. Some of the personages are difficult to identify since neither patronymics nor nicknames are given alongside the names. This portion was also treated by O'Curry in his lectures.{{Harvnb|O'Curry|1873|pp=332–333}} Some of the shields are construed to be swords by contemporary translators and dictionarists{{Harvnb|Kinsella|1969}} tr., pp.3–8; Harry Mountain's Celtic Encyclopedia

The lore regarding the great ale/wine vat, Ol n-guala,A Ol Guala is also mentioned in the Tochmarc Ferbe as a caldron full of wine in the house of Conchobar. and the rod with apples/balls for calling the crowd to attention, can be compared with the accounts found in the LU recension of Tochmarc Emer.

This work has also been incorporated as one of the foretales in Kinsella's translation of The Táin.{{Harvnb|Kinsella|1969|pp=3–8}}, also endnotes. This editorial decision is potentially confusing, since for the Tain Bo Cuailnge proper, he uses the first recension and not the Book of Leinster version.

The work also contains interesting passage of hyperboles regarding the heptad of Fergus ({{langx|ga|sechtae}}),{{Harvnb|Stokes|1910b|loc=¶13, p.26/27}} omitted by Kinsella, which states how Fergus had the appetite of seven men, a libido that could only be satisfied by seven women in the absence of his wife Flidas, and that the size of his phallus measured seven fists. On the last reference, it may be borne in mind that the upright stone on Tara Hill, by some considered the Lia Fail, was "still popularly called Bod Fhearghais, that is, Penis Fergusii" in the days of antiquarian George Petrie,{{Harvnb|Petrie|1839|loc=PRIA 18, p.159}}

{{Reflist}}

(Tidings/Story of Conchobar)

• Book of Leinster (LL): p 106a 1 -107b 21 (RIA).

(How Conchobar obtained the kingship)

• Book of Ballymote (BB): f 167Va-b (fragment)
• Book of Lismore: p 247a-248a (f 125b 1) (fragment)

(Tidings/Story of Conchobar)[LL]

• {{citation|last=Stokes|first=Whitley|year=1910b|title=Scéla Conchobair maic Nessa: The Tidings of Conchobar son of Ness|journal=Ériu|volume=4|pages=18–38|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=72DwAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA18|format=google|author-link=Whitley Stokes (Celtic scholar)}}
• {{citation|last=O'Curry|first=Eugene|year=1873|title=Lect. XV, List of celebrated Shields, in the Book of Leinster|work=On the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish|volume=2|pages=332–3|isbn=9780876960103|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZqkMAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA332|format=google|author-link=Eugene O'Curry}}
• {{citation|last=Kinsella|first=Thomas|year=1969|title=Chapter: How Conchobar was Begotten, and How he took the Kingship of Ulster|work=The Táin|place=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=3–8|isbn=978-0-19-280373-3}}

(How Conchobar obtained the kingship)

• {{citation|last=Stokes|first=Whitley|year=1910a|title=How Conchobar mac Nessa got the Kingship of the Ulaid when he was seven years old|work=Lives of saints, from the Book of Lismore|place=Oxford|publisher=Clarendon Press|pages=xxxiv–xxxv|url=https://archive.org/details/livessaints00stokuoft|format=Internet Archive|author-link=Whitley Stokes (Celtic scholar)}}
• {{citation|author=Vernam Hull|year=1956|title=How Conchobar Gained the Kingship of Ulster|journal=Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie|volume=25|pages=243–5|author-link=Vernam Hull}} [short text from BB].

• {{citation|author=Kuno Meyer|year=1884|title=Anecdota from the Stowe Ms. N 992|journal=Revue Celtique|volume=6|pages=173–86|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AoANAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA173|format=google|author-link=Whitley Stokes (Celtic scholar)}} (Coimpert Concobuir in so / The Conception of Conchobur, pp. 173–82)
• {{Citation|last=Abbott|first=Thomas Kingsmill|year=1900|title=Catalogue of the manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin|place=Dublin|publisher=Hodges, Figgis & Co.|page=361|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0N0gCX-jPsQC&pg=PA361|format=google|author-link=Thomas Kingsmill Abbott}}
• {{Citation|last1=Abbott|first1=Thomas Kingsmill|last2=Gwynn|first2=E. J.|year=1921|title=Catalogue of the manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin|place=Dublin|publisher=Hodges, Figgis & Co.|page=159|url=https://archive.org/details/catalogueofirish00trinrich|format=Internet Archive|author-link=Thomas Kingsmill Abbott}}
• {{Citation|last=Petrie|first=George|year=1839|title=[Memoir] on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill|journal=Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy|pages=25–232|url=https://archive.org/details/transactionsofro018oya|format=Internet Archive|author-link=George Petrie (author)}} The paper was "read 24th April, etc..., 1837". The particular mention regarding Fergus's stone occurs on p. 159.

• [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/MS-OMIT/texts.htm MS-OMIT]
• [http://volny.cz/enelen/sc.htm Scéla: Catalogue of medieval Irish narratives & literary enumerations]
• [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/index_irish.html Celtic Literature Collective (Irish)]

{{Celtic mythology (Ulster)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scela Conchobair}}

Category:Early Irish literature

Category:Texts in Irish

Category:Narratives of the Ulster Cycle