Tales of Death (The Tain)

The Tain seems mostly to be a litany of quick battles between many brave men and the fighter Cu Chulainn. Instead of mentioning that several fights happened and and several people died, The Tain mentions every specific fight that took place and what warriors were killed in that battle. Most of these are one-on-one because of the pact that Cu Chulainn made with the Irish. Why do you think the book tells the tale of so many individual deaths instead of briefing on some? What significance does this imply to the reader when this epic tale was created?


The Tain. Trans by Ciaran Carson. New York, New York. Viking, the Penguin Group. 2007.