But it is still a matter of question whether the whole Fer Diad
episode may not be late. Professor Zimmer thinks it is; but even
the greatest scholar, with a theory to prove, is not quite free. It
will of course be noticed, on this side, that the chief motives of
the Fer Diad episode all appear previously in other episodes (e.g.
the fights with Ferbaeth and with Loch). Further, the account even
in YBL is not marked by old linguistic forms as are other parts of
the tale, while much of it is in the bombastic descriptive style of
LL. In the condition in which we have the tale, however, this
adventure is treated as the climax of the story. Its motive is to
remove Cuchulainn from the field, in order to give the rest of
Ulster a chance. But in the account of the final great fight in
YBL, Cuchulainn's absence is said to be due to his having been
wounded in a combat against odds (_crechtnugud i n-ecomlund_).
Considering, therefore, that even in YBL the Fer Diad episode is
late in language, it seems possible that it may have replaced some
earlier account in which Cuchulainn was so severely wounded that he
was obliged to retire from the field.


PREVIOUS WORK ON THE '_TAIN_'

Up to the present time the _Tain_ has never been either printed or
translated, though the LU version has been for thirty years easily
accessible in facsimile. Dr. Windisch's promised edition will
shortly be out, containing the LL and LU texts, with a German
translation of the former. The most useful piece of work done
hitherto for the _Tain_ is the analysis by Professor Zimmer of the
LU text (conclusion from the Book of Leinster), in the fifth of his
_Keltische Studien (Zeitschrift für vergl. Sprachforschung_, xxviii.).