From the allusions to this type of composition in old Irish literature it would seem to have existed at a very early period; so early, that its very origin is obscure. There is, for example, mention of a king’s “company of story tellers” in the eight lines of satirical verse, said to have been composed by the poet Cairbre on Bress, the niggardly king of the Formorians.[237] Story-telling was one of the many attractions of the great _aonachs_ or fairs which played the same part in the national life of Ireland as the _things_ or popular assemblies in Iceland. From the poem on the ancient fair of Carman preserved in the _Book of Ballymote_, we can form an idea of the entertainment provided by the professional story-teller:-- “The tales of Fianna of Erin, a never-wearying entertainment: stories of destructions, cattle-preys, courtships, rhapsodies, battle-odes, royal precepts and the truthful instructions of Fithil the sage: the wide precepts of Coirfic and Cormac.”[238] The _Book of Leinster_ states that the poet who had attained the rank of _ollamh_ was bound to know for recital to kings and chieftains two hundred and fifty tales of prime importance (prím-scéla), and one hundred secondary ones.[239] The same source gives the names of one hundred and eighty-seven of these tales, the majority of which have not come down to us. These include stories from the three great cycles of legend, viz., that relating to the gods; to Cuchulain and the warriors of the Red Branch, and to Finn and Fianna. A number of stories relating to the kings of Ireland mentioned in this list have an historical basis; while there are others purporting to deal with kings as far back as 1000 B.C., which are no doubt partly imaginary, and were invented to arouse popular interest in the past history of the country. We know of several stories and poems about kings and chieftains who played a prominent part in the wars against the Vikings. The list in _The Book of Leinster_ mentions only one, _The Love of Gormflaith for Niall_ _i.e._, Niall Glundubh (d. 919), a summary of which is contained in the mediæval English translation of _The Annals of Clonmacnois_. In the case of _The Victorious Career of Cellachan of Cashel_, it is difficult to say whether this was originally an oral narrative committed to writing for the first time in the fifteenth century, or whether it was copied from an older manuscript, now lost. Brian Borumha and his sons are the principal characters in _The Leeching of Cian’s Leg_, a tale preserved in a sixteenth century manuscript.[240] It is interesting to note here the presence of a strong folk element which would seem to point towards a popular, not a literary origin.