C Chulainn's Death

Brislech Mór Maige Murthemni, the earlier version of Cú Chulainn's death tale, survives only as an acephalous copy in the Book of Leinster (119a-123b) (Best and Bergin 1956: 442-457) and in a series of glossed excerpts preserved in Trinity MS H.3.18. The latter conclude by identifying the tale as In Brislech, indicating that the earlier version was already known by this title (Thurneysen 1912-1913: 18). It has been partially translated by Stokes (1877), D'Arbois de Jubainville (1892), Dottin (1926), and Guyonvarc'h (1968), all of whom omit most of the poetic portion. A translation without edition of the surviving text was published by Tymoczko (1981). This revision of the current author's 2009 edition (Kimpton 2009) aims to clarify passages, expand the analysis, and provide a more engaging translation that may capture some of the metrical qualities of the text's verse portions.