Appendix IV: Irish Story Types

In a few manuscripts, but particularly the Book of Leinster, there are lists of the various types of Irish stories, along with the titles of those tales; instead of grouping stories according to the cycle (i.e. the characters involved), they were grouped according to the type of story it was.

STORY TYPES
acallamh/agallamh: dialogues
aided (pl. oitte): violent deaths
(pl. airgne): slaughters
aisling: dreams
aithed (pl. aithid): elopments
baile (pl. buili): frenzies
cath (pl. catha): battles
compert (pl. coimperta): conceptions and births
echtrae (pl. echtrai): adventures
(pl. fessa): feasts
fís (pl. físi): visions
(pl. forbassa): sieges
immram (pl. immrama): voyages
macgnímrada: boyhood deeds
orgain: destructions
(pl. serca): loves
(pl. sluagid): expeditions
táin (pl. tána): cattle raids
tochmarch (pl. tochmarca): courtships
(pl. tochomlada): invasions
togail (pl. togla): destructions
(pl. tomadma): interruptions
uath (pl. uatha): caves

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