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Medieval scribes liked to add a personal touch to their work, sometimes writing notes in the margins or drawing funny pictures. Prayers and bits of poetry were common as were complaints about the working conditions or co-workers. The margins of an eighth century manuscript contain a little poem about the scribe's cat, named Pangur Ban. He writes: " I and Pangur Bán, my cat / 'Tis a like task we are at / Hunting mice is his delight / Hunting words I sit all night." Perhaps Mael Muire Mac Célechair (the principal scribe of the Book of Dun Cow) needed to test his ink supply when he wrote on page 55: "This is a trial of his pen here by Maelmuiri son of the son of Con."
The story of the Cattle Raid of Cooley tells of the bitter struggle of Queen Medb and her husband Ailill to capture the great Brown Bull of Ulster. The mighty warrior Cúchulainn fought against Medb for the glory of Ulster, at one point taking on whole armies and slaying hundreds single-handedly. Cúchulainn is said to have had a monstrous appearance--"hideous and shapeless"--when he experienced rage-fueled episodes called ríastrads or "warp spasms". The description in the Táin says that if an apple fell from the sky it would be "spiked on a bristle of his hair as it stood up on his scalp with rage."
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