⁵⁹Kinsella, Thomas, and le Brocquy, Louis. The Tain. Oxford [Eng.: University, 1969. ix.
Kinsella explains, "The Tain and certain descriptions of Gaulish society by Classical authors have many details in common: in warfare alone, the individual weapons, the boastfulness and courage of the warriors, the practices of cattle-raiding, chariot-fighting and beheading. Ireland, however, by its isolated position, could retain traits and customs that had disappeared elsewhere centuries before, and it is possible that the kind of culture the Tain describes may have lasted in Ireland up to the introduction of Christianity in the fifth century.
Waddell cites the literary antecedants of The Tain, from Virgln to the themes of the Bible: "...aspects of Cu Chulainn's story should also appear to echo features of the life of Christ is not surprising either, since this literature was very much the product of a literate and consciously Christian environment." (Waddell, John. Archaeology and Celtic Myth: An Exploration. Dublin, Ireland: Four Courts, 2014. 10.)