Cuchulain of Muirthemne: The Story of the Men of the Red Branch of Ulster
Retelling of the Irish Ulster Cycle, published 1902 · Lady Gregory, Cuchulain of Muirthemne: The Story of the Men of the Red Branch of Ulster, with a Preface by W. B. Yeats (2nd ed., 1903) · Public domain (US; published 1902/1903) · uncorrected OCR — being verified against the scan
Ch. 1
BIRTH OF CUCHULAIN
TN the time long ago, Conchubar, son of Ness, was
King of Ulster, and he held his court in the palace
of Emain Macha. And this is the way he came to be
king. He was but a young lad, and his father was not
living, and Fergus, son of Rogh, who was at that time
King of Ulster, asked his mother Ness in marriage.
Now Ness, that was at one time the quietest and
kindest of the women of Ireland, had got to be un-
kind and treacherous because of an unkindness that had
been done to her, and she planned to get the kingdom
away from Fergus for her own son. So she said to
Fergus : " Let Conchubar hold the kingdom for a year,
so that his children after him may be called the children
of a king ; and that is the marriage portion I will ask
of you."
" You may do that," the men of Ulster said to him ;
" for even though Conchubar gets the name of being
king, it is yourself that will be our king all the time."
So Fergus agreed to it, and he took Ness as his
wife, and her son Conchubar was made king in his
place,
A
But all through the year, Ness was working to keep
the kingdom for him, and she gave great presents to the
chief men of Ulster to get them on her side. And
though Conchubar was but a young lad at that time,
he was wise in his judgments, and brave in battle, and
good in shape and in form, and they liked him well.
And at the end of the year, when Fergus asked to
have the kingship back again, they consulted together ;
and it is what they agreed, that Conchubar was to keep
it. And they said : " It is little Fergus thinks about us,
when he was so ready to give up his rule over us for a
year ; and let Conchubar keep the kingship," they said,
" and let Fergus keep the wife he has got."
Now it happened one day that Conchubar was
making a feast at Emain Macha for the marriage of
his sister Dechtire with Sualtim son of Roig. And
at the feast Dechtire was thirsty, and they gave her a
cup of wine, and as she was drinking it, a mayfly flew
into the cup, and she drank it down with the wine. And
presently she went into her sunny parlour, and her fifty
maidens along with her, and she fell into a deep sleep.
And in her sleep, Lugh of the Long Hand appeared to
her, and he said : " It is I myself was the mayfly that
came to you in the cup, and it is with me you must come
away now, and your fifty maidens along with you." And
he put on them the appearance of a flock of birds, and
they went with him southward till they came to Brugh
na Boinne, the dwelling-place of the Sidhe. And no
one at Emain Macha could get tale or tidings of them, or
know where they had gone, or what had happened them.
It was about a year after that time, there was another
feast in Emain, and Conchubar and his chief men were
sitting at the feast. And suddenly they saw from the
window a great flock of birds, that lit on the ground
and began to eat up everything before them, so that not
so much as a blade of grass was left.
The men of Ulster were vexed when they saw the
birds destroying all before them, and they yoked nine of
their chariots to follow after them. Conchubar was in
his own chariot, and there were following with him
Fergus son of Rogh, and Laegaire Buadach, the Battle-
Winner, and Celthair son of Uithecar, and many others,
and Bricriu of the bitter tongue was along with them.
They followed after the birds across the whole country
southward, across Slieve Fuad, by Ath Lethan, by Ath
Garach and Magh Gossa, between Fir Rois and Fir
Ardae ; and the birds before them always. They were
the most beautiful that had ever been seen ; nine flocks
of them there were, linked together two and two with a
chain of silver, and at the head of every flock there were
two birds of different colours, linked together with a
chain of gold ; and there were three birds that flew by
themselves, and they all went before the chariots, to the
far end of the country, until the fall of night, and then
there was no more seen of them.
And when the dark night was coming on, Conchubar
said to his people : " It is best for us to unyoke the
chariots now, and to look for some place where we can
spend the night."
Then Fergus went forward to look for some place,
and what he came to was a very small poor-looking
house. A man and a woman were in it, and when they
saw him they said : " Bring your companions here along
with you, and they will be welcome." Fergus went
back to his companions and told them what he had seen.
But Bricriu said : " Where is the use of going into a
house like that, with neither room nor provisions nor
coverings in it ; it is not worth our while to be going
there."
Then Bricriu went on himself to the place where
the house was. But when he came to it, what
he saw was a grand, new, well-lighted house ; and at
the door there was a young man wearing armour,
very tall and handsome and shining. And he said :
" Come into the house, Bricriu ; why are you looking
about you ? " And there was a young woman beside
him, fine and noble, and with curled hair, and she said :
" Surely there is a welcome before you from me." " Why
does she welcome me ? " said Bricriu. " It is on account
of her that I myself welcome you," said the young man.
" And is there no one missing from you at Emain ? " he
said. " There is surely," said Bricriu. " We are missing
fifty young girls for the length of a year." " Would you
know them again if you saw them ? " said the young
man. " If I would not know them," said Bricriu, " it is
because a year might make a change in them, so that I
would not be sure." " Try and know them again," said
the man, " for the fifty young girls are in this house, and
this woman beside me is their mistress, Dechtire. It was
they themselves, changed into birds, that went to Emain
Macha to bring you here." Then Dechtire gave Bricriu
a purple cloak with gold fringes ; and he went back to
find his companions. But while he was going he thought
to himself: " Conchubar would give great treasure to find
these fifty young girls again, and his sister along with
them. I will not tell him I have found them. I will
only say I have found a house with beautiful women in
it, and no more than that."
When Conchubar saw Bricriu, he asked news of him.
" What news do you bring back with you, Bricriu ? " he
said. " I came to a fine well-lighted house," said Bricriu ;
" I saw a queen, noble, kind, with royal looks, with curled
hair ; I saw a troop of women, beautiful, well-dressed ; I
saw the man of the house, tall and open-handed and
shining." " Let us go there for the night," said Con-
chubar. So they brought their chariots and their horses
and their arms ; and they were hardly in the house when
every sort of food and of drink, some they knew and
some they did not know, was put before them, so that
they never spent a better night. And when they had
eaten and drunk and began to be satisfied, Conchubar
said to the young man : " Where is the mistress of the
house that she does not come to bid us welcome ? "
" You cannot see her to-night," said he, " for she is in the
pains of childbirth."
So they rested there that night, and in the morning
Conchubar was the first to rise up ; but he saw no more
of the man of the house, and what he heard was the cry
of a child. And he went to the room it came from,
and there he saw Dechtire, and her maidens about her,
and a young child beside her. And she bade Conchubar
welcome, and she told him all that had happened her,
and that she had called him there to bring herself and
the child back to Emain Macha. And Conchubar said :
"It is well you have done by me, Dechtire ; you gave
shelter to me and to my chariots ; you kept the cold from
my horses ; you gave food to me and my people, and
now you have given us this good gift. And let our
sister, Finchoem, bring up the child," he said. " No, it
is not for her to bring him up, it is for me," said Sencha
son of Ailell, chief judge and chief poet of Ulster. " For
I am skilled ; I am good in disputes ; I am not forgetful ;
I speak before any one at all in the presence of the king ;
I watch over what he says ; I give judgment in the
quarrels of kings ; I am judge of the men of Ulster ; no one
has a right to dispute my claim, but only Conchubar."
"If the child is given to me to bring up," said Blai,
the distributer, "he will not suffer from want of care
or from forgetfulness. It is my messages that do the
will of Conchubar; I call up the fighting men from
all Ireland ; I am well able to provide for them for a
week, or even for ten days ; I settle their business and
their disputes ; I support their honour ; 1 get satisfac-
tion for their insults."
" You think too much of yourself," said Fergus. " It
is I that will bring up the child ; I am strong ; I have
knowledge ; I am the king's messenger ; no one can stand
up against me in honour or riches ; I am hardened to war
and battles ; I am a good craftsman ; I am worthy to
bring up a child. I am the protector of all the unhappy ;
the strong are afraid of me ; I am the helper of the
weak."
" If you will listen to me at last, now you are quiet,"
said Amergin, " I am able to bring up a child like
a king. The people praise my honour, my bravery,
my courage, my wisdom ; they praise my good luck,
my age, my speaking, my name, my courage, and
my race. Though I am a fighter, I am a poet ; I am
worthy of the king's favour ; I overcome all the men
who fight from their chariots ; I owe thanks to no one
except Conchubar ; I obey no one but the king."
Then Sencha said : " Let Finchoem keep the child
until we come to Emain, and Morann, the judge, will
settle the question when we are there "
So the men of Ulster set out for Emain, Finchoem
having the child with her. And when they came there
Morann gave his judgment. " It is for Conchubar," he
said, " to help the child to a good name, for he is next
of kin to him ; let Sencha teach him words and speak-
ing ; let Fergus hold him on his knees ; let Amergin be
his tutor." And he said : " This child will be praised by
all, by chariot drivers and fighters, by kings and by wise
men ; he shall be loved by many men ; he will avenge
all your wrongs ; he will defend your fords ; he will
fight all your battles."
And so it was settled. And the child was left until
he should come to sensible years, with his mother
Dechtire and with her husband Sualtim. And they
brought him up upon the plain of Muirthemne, and the
name he was known by was Setanta, son of Sualtim.
Ch. 2
BOY DEEDS OF CUCHULAIN
TT chanced one day, when Setanta was about seven
years old, that he heard some of the people of his
mother's house talking about King Conchubar's court
at Emain Macha, and of the sons of kings and nobles
that lived there, and that spent a great part of their time
at games and at hurling. " Let me go and play with them
there," he said to his mother. " It is too soon for you to
do that," she said, " but wait till such time as you are
able to travel so far, and till I can put you in charge
of some one going to the court, that will put you under
Conchubar's protection." " It would be too long for me
to wait for that," he said, " but I will go there by myself
if you will tell me the road." " It is too far for you," said
Dechtire, " for it is beyond Slieve Fuad, Emain Macha
is." " Is it east or west of Slieve Fuad ? " he asked.
And when she had answered him that, he set out
there and then, and nothing with him but his hurling
stick, and his silver ball, and his little dart and spear ;
and to shorten the road for himself he would give a blow
to the ball and drive it from him, and then he would
throw his hurling stick after it, and the dart after that
again, and then he would make a run and catch them
all in his hand before one of them would have reached
the ground.
So he went on until he came to the lawn at Emain
Macha, and there he saw three fifties of king's sons
hurling and learning feats of war. He went in among
them, and when the ball came near him he got it
between his feet, and drove it along in spite of them till
he had sent it beyond the goal. There was great
surprise and anger on them when they saw what he had
done, and Follaman, King Conchubar's son, that was
chief among them, cried out to them to come together
and drive out this stranger and make an end of him.
" For he has no right," he said, " to come into our game
without asking leave, and without putting his life under
our protection. And you may be sure," he said, " that
he is the son of some common fighting man, and it is
not for him to come into our game at all." With that
they all made an attack on him, and began to throw
their hurling sticks at him, and their balls and darts, but
he escaped them all, and then he rushed at them, and
began to throw some of them to the ground. Fergus
came out just then from the palace, and when he saw
what a good defence the little lad was making, he
brought him in to where Conchubar was playing chess,
and told him all that had happened. " This is no gentle
game you have been playing," he said. " It is on them-
selves the fault is," said the boy ; " I came as a stranger,
and I did not get a stranger's welcome." " You did not
know then," said Conchubar, " that no one can play
among the boy troop of Emain unless he gets their leave
and their protection." " I did not know that, or I would
have asked it of them," he said. " What is your name
and your family ? " said Conchubar. My name is
Setanta, son of Sualtim and of Dechtire," he said.
When Conchubar knew that he was his sister's son, he
gave him a great welcome, and he bade the boy troop to
let him go safe among them. " We will do that," they
said. But when they went out to play, Setanta began
to break through them, and to overthrow them, so that
they could not stand against him. "What are you
wanting of them now ? " said Conchubar. " I swear by
the gods my people swear by," said the boy, " I will not
lighten my hand off them till they have come under my
protection the same way I have come under theirs."
Then they all agreed to give in to this ; and Setanta
stayed in the king's house at Emain Macha, and all the
chief men of Ulster had a hand in bringing him up.
There was a great smith in Ulster of the name of
Culain, who made a feast at that time for Conchubar and
for his people. When Conchubar was setting out to the
feast, he passed by the lawn where the boy troop were
at their games, and he watched them awhile, and he saw
how the son of Dechtire was winning the goal from them
all. " That little lad will serve Ulster yet," said Con-
chubar ; " and call him to me now," he said, " and let
him come with me to the smith's feast." " I cannot go
with you now," said Setanta, when they had called to
him, " for these boys have not had enough of play yet."
"It would be too long for me to wait for you," said the
king. " There is no need for you to wait ; I will follow
the track of the chariots," said Setanta.
So Conchubar went on to the smith's house, and there
was a welcome before him, and fresh rushes were laid
down, and there were poems and songs and recitals
of laws, and the feast was brought in, and they began
to be merry. And then Culain said to the king : " Will
there be any one else of your people coming after you
to-night?" "There will not," said Conchubar, for he
forgot that he had told the little lad to follow him.
" But why do you ask me that ? " he said. " I have a
great fierce hound," said the smith, "and when I take
the chain off him, he lets no one come into the one
district with himself, and he will obey no one but myself,
and he has in him the strength of a hundred." " Loose
him out," said Conchubar, " until he keeps a watch on
the place." So Culain loosed him out, and the dog
made a course round the whole district, and then he
came back to the place where he was used to lie and
to watch the house, and every one was in dread of
him, he was so fierce and so cruel and so savage.
Now, as to the boys at Emain, when they were done
playing, every one went to his father's house, or to who-
ever was in charge of him. But Setanta set out on the
track of the chariots, shortening the way for himself as
he was used to do with his hurling stick and his ball.
When he came to the lawn before the smith's house,
the hound heard him coming, and began such a fierce
yelling that he might have been heard through all
Ulster, and he sprang at him as if he had a mind not
to stop and tear him up at all, but to swallow him at
the one mouthful. The little fellow had no weapon but
his stick and his ball, but when he saw the hound coming
at him, he struck the ball with such force that it went
down his throat, and through his body. Then he seized
him by the hind legs and dashed him against a rock
until there was no life left in him.
When the men feasting within heard the outcry of the
hound, Conchubar started up and said : " It is no good
luck brought us on this journey, for that is surely my
sister's son that was coming after me, and that has got
his death by the hound." On that all the men rushed
out, not waiting to go through the door, but over walls
and barriers as they could. But Fergus was the first
to get to where the boy was, and he took him up and lifted
him on his shoulder, and brought him in safe and sound
to Conchubar, and there was great joy on them all.
But Culain the smith went out with them, and when
he saw his great hound lying dead and broken there
was great grief in his heart, and he came in and said
to Setanta : " There is no good welcome for you here."
" What have you against the little lad ? " said Conchubar.
" It was no good luck that brought him here, or that
made me prepare this feast for yourself, King," he said ;
" for from this out, my hound being gone, my substance
will be wasted, and my way of living will be gone astray.
And, little boy," he said, " that was a good member of
my family you took from me, for he was the protector
of my goods and my flocks and my herds and of all
that I had." "Do not be vexed on account of that,"
said the boy, " and I myself will make up to you for
what I have done." " How will you do that ? " said
Conchubar. " This is how I will do it : if there is a
whelp of the same breed to be had in Ireland, I will rear
him and train him until he is as good a hound as the
one killed ; and until that time, Culain," he said, " I
myself will be your watch-dog, to guard your goods and
your cattle and your house." " You have made a fair
offer," said Conchubar. " I could have given no better
award myself," said Cathbad the Druid. " And from
this out," he said, "your name will be Cuchulain, the
Hound of Culain." " I am better pleased with my own
name of Setanta, son of Sualtim," said the boy. " Do
not say that," said Cathbad, " for all the men in the
whole world will some day have the name of Cuchulain
in their mouths." " If that is so, I am content to
keep it," said the boy. And this is how he came by the
name Cuchulain.
It was a good while after that, Cathbad the Druid was
one day teaching the pupils in his house to the north-
east of Emain. There were eight boys along with him
that day, and one of them asked him : " Do your signs
tell of any special thing this day is favourable to ? " "If
any young man should take arms to-day," said Cathbad,
"his name will be greater than any other name in
Ireland. But his span of life will be short," he said.
Cuchulain was outside at play, but he heard what
Cathbad said, and there and then he put off his playing
suit, and he went straight to Conchubar's sleeping-room
and said : " All good be with you, King ! " " What is it
you are wanting ? " said Conchubar. " What I want is
to take arms to-day." " Who put that into your head ? "
" Cathbad the Druid," said Cuchulain. " If that is so, I
will not deny you," said Conchubar. Then he gave him
his choice of arms, and the boy tried his strength on
them, and there were none that pleased him or that
were strong enough for him but Conchubar's own. So
he gave him his own two spears, and his sword and his
shield.
Just then Cathbad the Druid came in, and there was
wonder on him, and he said : '' Is it taking arms this
young boy is ? " " He is indeed," said the king. "It
is sorry I would be to see his mother's son take arms
on this day," said Cathbad. " Was it not yourself bade
him do it ? " said the king. " I did not surely," he said.
"Then you have lied to me, boy," said Conchubar. " I
told no lie. King," said Cuchulain, " for it was he indeed
put it in my mind when he was teaching the others, for
when one of them asked him if there was any special
virtue in this day, he said that whoever would for the
first time take arms to-day, his name would be greater
than any other in Ireland, and he did not say any harm
would come on him, but that his life would be short."
" And what I said is true," said Cathbad, " there will be
fame on you and a great name, but your lifetime will
not be long." " It is little I would care," said Cuchulain,
" if my life were to last one day and one night only, so
long as my name and the story of what I had done would
live after me." Then Cathbad said : " Well, get into a
chariot now, and let us see if it was the truth I spoke."
Then Cuchulain got into a chariot and tried its
strength, and broke it to pieces, and he broke in the
same way the seventeen chariots that Conchubar kept
for the boy troop at Emain, and he said : " These chariots
are no use, Conchubar, they are not worthy of me."
" Where is Jubair, son of Riangabra ? " said Conchubar.
" Here I am," he answered. " Make ready my own
chariot, and yoke my own horses to it for this boy to
try," said Conchubar. So he tried the king's chariot
and shook it and strained it, and it bore him. " This is
the chariot that suits me," he said. " Now, Httle one,"
said Jubair, " let us take out the horses and turn them
out to graze." " It is too early for that, Jubair ; let us
drive on to where the boy troop are, that they may
wish me good luck on the day of my taking arms." So
they drove on, and all the lads shouted when they saw
him — " Have you taken arms ? " "I have indeed," said
Cuchulain. " That you may do well in wounding and
in first killing and in spoil-winning," they said ; " but
it is a pity for us, you to have left playing."
" Let the horses go graze now," said Jubair. " It is too
soon yet," said Cuchulain, " and tell me where does that
great road that goes by Emain lead to ? " " It leads to
Ath-an-Foraire, the watchers' ford in Slieve Fuad," said
Jubair. " Why is it called the watchers' ford ? " " It is
easy to tell that ; it is because some choice champion of
the men of Ulster keeps watch there every day to do
battle for the province with any stranger that m.ight
come to the boundary with a challenge." " Do you
know who is in it to-day ? " said Cuchulain. " I know
well it is Conall Cearnach, the Victorious, the chief
champion of the young men of Ulster and of all
Ireland." " We will go on then to the ford," said
Cuchulain. So they went on across the plain, and at the
water's edge they found Conall, and he said : " And are
those arms you have taken to-day, little boy ? " " They
are indeed," Jubair said for him. " May they bring him
triumph and victory and shedding of first blood," said
Conall. " But I think, little Hound," he said, " that you
are too ready to take them ; for you are not fit as yet
to do a champion's work." " What is it you are doing
here, Conall ? " said the boy. " I am keeping watch and
guard for the province." " Rise out of it, Conall," he said,
" and for this one day let me keep the watch." " Do not
ask that, little one," said Conall ; " for you are not able
yet to stand against trained fighting men." " Then I
will go down to the shallows of Lough Echtra and see if
I can redden my arms on either friend or enemy."
" Then I will go with you myself," said Conall, " to take
care of you and to protect you, that no harm may
happen you." " Do not," said Cuchulain. " I will
indeed," said Conall, " for if I let you go into a strange
country alone, all Ulster would avenge it on me."
So Conall's horses were yoked to his chariot, and he
set out to follow Cuchulain, for he had waited for no
leave, but had set out by himself When Cuchulain
saw Conall coming up with him he thought to himself,
" If I get a chance of doing some great thing, Conall
will never let me do it." So he picked up a stone, the
size of his fist, from the ground, and made a good cast at
the yoke of Conall's chariot, so that he broke it, and the
chariot came down, and Conall himself was thrown to
the ground sideways. " What did you do that for ? " he
said. " It was to see could I throw straight, and if there
was the making of a good champion in me." " Bad luck
on your throwing and on yourself," said Conall. " And
any one that likes may strike your head off now, for I
will go with you no farther." " That is just what I
wanted," said Cuchulain. And with that, Conall went
back to his place at the ford.
As for the lad, he went on towards Lough Echtra in
the south. Then Jubair said : " If you will listen to me,
little one, I would like that we would go back now to
Emain ; for at this time the carving of the food is
beginning there, and it is all very well for you that have
your place kept for you between Conchubar's knees,
But as to myself," he said, "it is among the chariot-
drivers and the jesters and the messengers I am, and I
must find a place and fight for myself where I can."
"What is that mountain before us?" said Cuchulain.
"That is Slieve Mourne, and that is Finncairn, the
white cairn, on its top." " Let us go to it," said
Cuchulain. " We would be too long going there," said
Jubair. " You are a lazy fellow," said Cuchulain ; " and
this my first adventure, and the first journey you have
made with me." " And that it may be my last," said
Jubair, "if ever I get back to Emain again." They went
on then to the cairn. " Good Jubair," said the boy,
" show me now all that we can see of Ulster, for I do
not know my way about the country yet." So Jubair
showed him from the cairn all there was to see of Ulster,
the hills and the plains and the duns on every side.
"What is that sloping square plain before us to the
south?" "That is Magh Breagh, the fine meadow."
" Show me the duns and strong places of that plain."
So Jubair showed him Teamhair and Tailte, Cleathra
and Cnobhach and the Brugh of Angus on the Boyne,
and the dun of Nechtan Sceine's sons. " Are those the
sons of Nechtan that say in their boasting they have
killed as many Ulstermen as there are living in Ulster
to-day ? " " They are the same," said Jubair. " On with
us then to that dun," said Cuchulain. "No good will
come to you through saying that," said Jubair; "and
whoever may go there I will not go," he said. " Alive
or dead, you must go there for all that," said Cuchulain.
" Then if so, it is alive I will go there," said Jubair, " and
it is dead I will be before I leave it."
They went on then to the dun of Nechtan's sons,
and when they came to the green lawn, Cuchulain got out
of the chariot, and there was a pillar-stone on the lawn,
and an iron collar about it, and there was Ogham writing
on it that said no man that came there, and he carrying
r6 BOY DEEDS OF CUCHULAIN
arms, should leave the place without giving a challenge
to some one of the people of the dun. When Cuchulain
had read the Ogham, he put his arms around the stone
and threw it into the water that was there at hand.
" I don't see it is any better there than where it
was before," said Jubair ; " and it is likely this time
you will get what you are looking for, and that is a
quick death." " Good Jubair," said the boy, " spread
out the coverings of the chariot now for me, until I sleep
for a while." " It is no good thing you are going to do,"
said Jubair, "to be going to sleep in an enemy's
country." He put out the coverings then, and Cuchu-
lain lay down and fell asleep.
It was just at that time, Foill, son of Nechtan Sceine,
came out, and when he saw the chariot, he called out to
Jubair, " Let you not unyoke those horses." " I was not
going to unyoke them," said Jubair; "the reins are in
my hands yet." " What horses are they ? " " They are
Conchubar's two speckled horses." " So I thought
when I saw them," said Foill. " And who is it has
brought them across our boundaries ? " "A young little
lad," said Jubair, " that has taken arms to-day for luck,
and it is to show himself off he has come across Magh
Breagh." " May he never have good luck," said Foill,
" and if he were a fighting man, it is not alive but dead
he would go back to Emain to-day." " Indeed he is
not able to fight, or it could not be expected of him,"
said Jubair, "and he but a child that should be in his
father's house." At that the boy lifted his head from
the ground, and it is red his face was, and his whole
body, at hearing so great an insult put on him, and he
said : " I am indeed well able to fight." But Foill said :
" I am more inclined to think you are not." " You will
soon know what to think," said the boy, " and let us go
down now to the ford. But go first and get your
armour," he said, " for I would not like to kill an un-
armed man." There was anger on Foill then, and he
went running to get his arms. " You must have a care
now," said Jubair, " for that is Foill, son of Nechtan, and
neither point of spear or edge of sword can harm him."
" That suits me very well," said the boy. With that
out came Foill again, and Cuchulain stood up to him,
and took his iron ball in his hand, and hurled it at his
head, and it went through the forehead and out at the
back of his head, and his brains along with it, so that
the air could pass through the hole it made. And
then Cuchulain struck off his head.
Then Tuachel, the second son of Nechtan, came out
on the lawn. " It is likely you are making a great
boast of what you are after doing," he said. " I see
nothing to boast of in that," said Cuchulain, " a single
man to have fallen by me." " You will not have long to
boast of it," said Tuachel, " for I myself am going to
make an end of you on the moment." " Then go back
and bring your arms," said Cuchulain, " for it is only a
coward would come out without arms." He went back
into the house then, and Jubair said : " You must have a
care now, for that is Tuachel, son of Nechtan, and if he
is not killed by the first stroke, or the first cast, or the
first thrust, he cannot be killed at all, tor there is no way
of getting at him after that." " You need not be telling
me that, Jubair," said Cuchulain, " for it is Conchubar's
great spear, the Venomous, I will take in my hand, and
that is the last thrust that will be made at him, for after
that, there is no physician will heal his wounds for ever."
Then Tuachel came out on the lawn, and Cuchulain
took hold of the great spear, and made a cast at him,
that went through his shield and broke three of his ribs,
and made a hole through his heart. And then he struck
his head off, before the body reached the ground.
Then Fainnle, the youngest of the three sons of
Nechtan, came out. " Those were foolish fellows," he
B
said, " to come at you the way they did. But come out
now, after me," he said, "into the water where your
feet will not touch the bottom," and with that he made a
plunge into the water. " Mind yourself well now," said
Jubair, " for that is Fainnle, the Swallow, and it is why
that name was put on him, he travels across water with
the swiftness of a swallow, and there is not one of the
swimmers of the whole world can come near him." " It
is not to me you should be saying that," said Cuchulain,
" for you know the river Callan that runs through
Emain, and it is what I used to do," he said, " when the
boy troop would break off from their games and plunge
into the river to swim, I used to take a boy of them on
each shoulder and a boy on each hand, and I would
bring them through the river without so much as to wet
my back." With that he made a leap into the water,
where it was very deep, and himself and Fainnle
wrestled together, and then he got a grip of him, and
gave him a blow of Conchubar's sword, and struck his
head off, and he let his body go away down the stream.
Then he and Jubair went into the house and destroyed
what was in it, and they set fire to it, and left it burning,
and turned back towards Slieve Fuad, and they brought
the heads of the three sons of Nechtan along with them.
Presently they saw a herd of wild deer before them.
" What sort of cattle are those ? " said the boy. " They
are not cattle, but the wild deer of the dark places of
Slieve Fuad." " Make the horses go faster," said Cuchu-
lain, " until we can see them better." But with all their
galloping the horses could not come up with the wild
deer. Then Cuchulain got down from the chariot and
raced and ran after them until two stags lay moaning
and panting from the hardness of their run through the
wet bog, and he bound them to the back of the chariot
with the thongs of it. Then they went on till they came
to the plain of Emain, and there they saw a flock of white
swans that were whiter than the swans of Conchubar's
lake, and Cuchulain asked where they came from. " They
are wild swans," said Jubair, " that are come from the
rocks and the islands of the great sea to feed on the low
levels of the country." " Would it be best to take them
alive or to kill them ? " " It would be best to take them
alive," said Jubair, " for many a one kills them, and many
a one makes casts at them, but you would hardly find
any one at all would bring them in alive." With that,
Cuchulain put a little stone in his sling and made a cast,
and brought down eight birds of them, and then he put
a bigger stone in, and with it he brought down sixteen
more. " Get out now, Jubair," he said, " and bring me
the birds here." " I will not," said Jubair, " for it would
not be easy to stop the horses the way they are going
now, and if I leap out, the iron wheels of the chariot will
cut through me, or the horns of the stags will make a
hole in me." " You are no good of a warrior, Jubair ;
but give me the reins and I will quiet the horses and the
stags." So then Jubair went and brought in the swans,
and tied them, and they alive, to the chariot and to the
harness. And it is like that they went on till they came
to Emain.
It was Levarcham, daughter of Aedh, the conversation
woman and messenger to the king, that was there at that
time, and was sometimes away in the hills, was the first
to see them coming. " There is a chariot-fighter coming,
Conchubar," she said, " and he is coming in anger. He
has the bleeding heads of his enemies with him in the
chariot, and wild stags are bound to it, and white birds
are bearing him company. By the oath of my people ! "
she said, " if he comes on us with his anger still upon
him, the best of the men of Ulster will fall by his hand."
" I know that chariot-fighter," said Conchubar. " It is
the young lad, the son of Dechtire, that went over the
boundaries this very day. He has surely reddened his
hand, and if his anger cannot be cooled, the young men
of Emain will be in danger from him," he said.
Then they all consulted together, and it is what they
agreed, to send out three fifties of the women of Emain
to meet him, and they uncovered. When the boy saw
the women coming, there was shame on him, and he
leaned down his head into the cushions of the chariot,
and hid his face from them. And the wildness went out of
him, and his feasting clothes were brought, and water
for washing ; and there was a great welcome before him.
This is the story of the boy deeds of Cuchulain, as it
was told by Fergus to Ailell and to Maeve at the time
of the war for the Brown Bull of Cuailgne.
Ill
Ch. 3
THE COURTING OF EMER
TIT' HEN Cuchulain was growing out of his boyhood
^ ^ at Emain Macha, all the women of Ulster loved
him for his skill in feats, for the lightness of his leap, for
the weight of his wisdom, for the sweetness of his speech,
for the beauty of his face, for the loveliness of his looks,
for all his gifts. He had the gift of caution in fighting,
until such time as his anger would come on him, and the
hero light would shine about his head ; the gift of feats,
the gift of chess-playing, the gift of draught-playing, the
gift of counting, the gift of divining, the gift of right
judgment, the gift of beauty. And all the faults they
could find in him were three, that he was too young and
smooth-faced, so that young men who did not know
him would be laughing at him, that he was too daring,
and that he was too beautiful.
The men of Ulster took counsel together then about
Cuchulain, for their women and their maidens loved him
greatly, and it is what they settled among themselves,
that they would seek out a young girl that would be a
fitting wife for him, the way that their own wives and
their daughters would not be making so much of him.
And besides that they were afraid he might die young,,
and leave no heir after him.
So Conchubar sent out nine men into each of the
provinces of Ireland to look for a wife for Cuchulain, to
see if in any dun or in any chief place, they could find the
daughter of a king or of an owner of land or a house-
holder, who would be pleasing to him, that he might
ask her in marriage.
All the messengers came back at the end of a year,
but not one of them had found a young girl that would
please Cuchulain. And then he himself went out to
court a young girl he knew in Luglochta Loga, the
Garden of Lugh, Emer, the daughter of Forgall Manach,
the Wily.
He set out in his chariot, that all the chariots of
Ulster could not follow by reason of its swiftness, and of
the chariot chief who sat in it. And he found the
young girl on her playing field, with her companions
about her, daughters of the landowners that lived
near Forgall's dun, and they learning needlework and
fine embroidery from Emer. And of all the young
girls of Ireland, she was the one Cuchulain thought
worth courting ; for she had the six gifts — the gift of
beauty, the gift of voice, the gift of sweet speech, the
gift of needlework, the gift of wisdom, the gift of
chastity. And Cuchulain had said that no woman
should marry him but one that was his equal in age, in
appearance, and in race, in skill and handiness ; and one
who was the best worker with her needle of the young
girls of Ireland, for that would be the only one would
be a fitting wife for him. And that is why it was Emer
he went to ask above all others.
And it was in his rich clothes he went out that day, his
crimson five-folded tunic, and his brooch of inlaid gold,
and his white hooded shirt, that was embroidered with
red gold. And as the young girls were sitting together
on their bench on the lawn, they heard coming towards
them the clatter of hoofs, the creaking of a chariot, the
cracking of straps, the grating of wheels, the rushing
of horses, the clanking of arms. " Let one of you see,"
said Emer, " what is it that is coming towards us." And
Fiall, daughter of Forgall, went out and met him, and he
came with her to the place where Emer and her com-
panions were, and he wished a blessing to them. Then
Emer lifted up her lovely face and saw Cuchulain, and she
said, " May the gods make smooth the path before you."
" And you," he said, " may you be safe from every harm."
" Where are you come from ? " she asked him. And
he answered her in riddles, that her companions might
not understand him, and he said, " From Intide Emna."
" Where did you sleep ? " " We slept," he said, " in the
house of the man that tends the cattle of the plain of
Tethra." " What was your food there ? " " The ruin of
a chariot was cooked for us," he said. " Which way did
you come ? " " Between the two mountains of the wood."
" Which way did you take after that ? " " That is not
hard to tell," he said. " From the Cover of the Sea,
over the Great Secret of the Tuatha De Danaan, and
the Foam of the horses of Emain, over the Morrigu's
Garden, and the Great Sow's back ; over the Valley of
the Great Dam, between the God and his Druid ; over
the Marrow of the Woman, between the Boar and his
Dam ; over the Washing-place of the horses of Dea ;
between the King of Ana and his servant, to Mandchuile
of the Four Corners of the World ; over Great Crime and
the Remnants of the Great Feast ; between the Vat and
the Little Vat, to the Gardens of Lugh, to the daughters of
Tethra, the nephew of the King of the Fomor." " And
what account have you to give of yourself?" said Emer.
" I am the nephew of the man that disappears in another
in the wood of Badb," said Cuchulain.
" And now, maiden," he said, " what account have you
to give of yourself?" "That is not hard to tell," said
Emer, " for what should a maiden be but Teamhair upon
the hills, a watcher that sees no one, an eel hiding in the
water, a rush out of reach. The daughter of a king
should be a flame of hospitality, a road that cannot be
entered. And I have champions that follow me," she
said, "to keep me from whoever would bring me away
against their will, and against the will and the know-
ledge of Forgall, the dark king."
" Who are the champions that follow you, maiden ? "
said Cuchulain.
"It is not hard to tell you that," said Emer. " Two
of the name of Lui ; two Luaths ; Luath and Lath Goible,
sons of Tethra ; Triath and Trescath ; Brion and Bolor ;
Bas, son of Omnach ; the eight Condla, and Cond, son of
Forgall. Every man of them has the strength of a
hundred and the feats of nine. And it would be hard
for me," she said, " to tell of all the many powers Forgall
has himself He is stronger than any labouring man,
more learned than any Druid, more quick of mind than
any poet. You will have more than your games to do
when you fight against Forgall, for many have told of
his power and of the strength of his doings."
" Why do you not count me as a strong man as good
as those others ? " said Cuchulain. " Why would I not
indeed, if your doings had been spoken of like theirs ? "
she said. " I swear by the oath of my people," said
Cuchulain, " I will make my doings be spoken of
among the great doings of heroes in their strength."
" What is your strength, then ? " said Emer. " That is
easily told ; when my strength in fighting is weakest I
defend twenty ; a third part of my strength is enough
for thirty ; in my full strength I fight alone against forty ;
and a hundred are safe under my protection. For dread
of me, fighting men avoid fords and battles ; armies and
armed men go backward from the fear of my face."
" That is a good account for a young boy," said Emer,
" but you have not reached yet to the strength of chariot
chiefs." " But, indeed," said Cuchulain, " it is well I have
been reared by Conchubar, my dear foster-father. It is
not as a countryman strives to bring up his children.
between the flags and the kneading trough, between the
fire and the wall, on the floor of the one room, that
Conchubar has brought me up ; but it is among chariot
chiefs and heroes, among jesters and Druids, among poets
and learned men, among landowners and farmers of
Ulster I have been reared, so that I have all their
manners and their gifts."
'' Who are these men, then, that have brought you up
to do the things you are boasting of?" said Emer.
" That is easily told," he said. " Fair-speaking Sencha
taught me wisdom and right judgment ; Blai, lord of
lands, my kinsman, took me to his house, so that I
have entertained the men of Conchubar's province ;
Fergus brought me up to fights and to battles, so
that I am able to use my strength. I stood by the
knee of Amergin the poet, he was my tutor, so that
I can stand up to any man, I can make praises for
the doings of a king. Finchoem helped to rear me, so
that Conall Cearnach is my foster-brother. Cathbad of
the Gentle Face taught me, for the sake of Dechtire, so
that I understand the arts of the Druids, and I have
learned all the goodness of knowledge. All the men
of Ulster have had a hand in bringing me up, chariot-
drivers and chiefs of chariots, kings and chief poets, so
that I am the darling of the whole army, so that I
fight for the honour of all alike. And as to yourself,
Emer," he said, "what way have you been reared in
the Garden of Lugh?"
" It is easy to tell you that," said Emer. " I was
brought up," she said, " in ancient virtues, in lawful
behaviour, in the keeping of chastity, in stateliness of
form, in the rank of a queen, in all noble ways among
the women of Ireland." " These are good virtues
indeed," said Cuchulain. " And why, then, would it
not be right for us two to become one ? For up to
this time," he said, " I have never found a young girl
able to hold talk with me the way you have done."
" Have you no wife already ? " said Emer. " I have
not, indeed." " I may not marry before my sister
is married," she said then, " for she is older than
myself." " Truly, it is not with your sister, but with
yourself, I have fallen in love," said Cuchulain.
While they were talking like this, Cuchulain saw
the breasts of the maiden over the bosom of her dress,
and he said : " Fair is this plain, the plain of the noble
yoke." And Emer said, " No one comes to this plain
who does not overcome as many as a hundred on each
ford, from the ford at Ailbine to Banchuig Arcait."
" Fair is the plain, the plain of the noble yoke," said
Cuchulain. " No one comes to this plain," said she,
" who does not go out in safety from Samhain to Oilmell,
and from Oilmell to Beltaine, and again from Beltaine
to Bron Trogain."
" Everything you have commanded, so it will be done
by me," said Cuchulain.
" And the offer you have made me, it is accepted, it
is taken, it is granted," said Emer.
With that Cuchulain left the place, and they talked
no more with one another on that day.
When he was driving across the plain of Bregia, Laeg,
his chariot-driver, asked him, " What, now, was the
meaning of the words you and the maiden Emer were
speaking together ? " " Do you not know," said Cuchu-
lain, " that I came to court Emer ? And it is for this
reason we put a cloak on our words, that the young girls
with her might not understand what I had come for.
For if Forgall knew it, he would not consent to it, but to
you, Laeg," he said, " I will tell the meaning of our talk.
" ' Where did you come from,' said she. ' From Intide
Emna,' said I, and I meant by that, from Emain Macha.
For it took its name from Macha, daughter of Aed the
Red, one of the three kings of Ireland. When he died
Macha asked for the kingship, but the sons of Dithorba
said they would not give kingship to a woman. So
she fought against them and routed them, and they
went as exiles to the wild places of Connaught. And
after a while she went in search of them, and she took
them by treachery, and brought them all in one chain
to Ulster. The men of Ulster wanted to kill them, but
she said, ' No, for that would be a disgrace on my good
government. But let them be my servants,' she said,
' and let them dig a rath for me, that shall be the chief
seat of Ulster for ever.' Then she marked out the rath
for them with the gold pin on her neck, and its name
came from that ; a brooch in the neck of Macha.
" The man, in whose house we slept, is Ronca, the
fisherman of Conchubar. 'A man that tends cattle,'
I said. For he catches fish on his line under the sea, and
the fish are the cattle of the sea, and the sea is the plain
of Tethra, a king of the kings of the Fomor.
" ' Our food was the ruin of a chariot,' I said. For a
foal was cooked for us on the hearth, and it is the
horse that holds up the chariot.
" ' Between the two mountains of the wood,' I said.
These are the two mountains between which we came,
Slieve Fuad to the west, and Slieve Cuilinn to the
east of us, and we were in Oircil between them, the
wood that is between the two.
" * The road,' I said, ' from the Cover of the Sea.' That
is from the plain of Muirthemne. And it is from this it
got its name ; there was at one time a magic sea on it,
with a sea turtle in it that was used to suck men down,
until the Dagda came with his club of anger and sang
these words, so that it ebbed away on the moment : —
' Silence on your hollow head ;
Silence on your dark body ;
Silence on your dark brow.'
" ' Over the Great Secret of the men of Dea,' I said. That
is a wonderful secret and a wonderful whisper, because
it was there that the gathering to the battle of Magh
Tuireadh was first whispered of bytheTuatha De Danaan.
" ' Over the horses of Emain/ I said. When Ema
Nemed, son of Nama, reigned over the Gael, he had his
two horses reared for him in Sidhe Ercman of the Tuatha
De Danaan, and when those horses were let loose from
the Sidhe, a bright stream burst out after them, and the
foam spread over the land for a great length of time,
and was there to the end of a year, so that the water
was called Uanib, that is, foam on the water, and it is
Uanib to-day.
"'The Back of the Great Sow,' I said. That is
Drimne Breg, the Ridge of Bregin. For the shape of
a sow appeared to the sons of Milid on every hill and on
every height in Ireland, when they came over the sea,
and wanted to land by force, after a spell had been cast
on it by the Tuatha De Danaan.
" ' The Valley of the Great Dam,' I said, ' between the
God and his Druid.' That is, between Angus Og of the
Sidhe of the Brugh and his Druid, to the west of the
Brugh, and between them was the one woman, the wife
of the Smith. That is the way I went, between the hill
of the Sidhe of the Brugh where Angus is, and the Sidhe
of Bresal, the Druid.
" ' Over the Marrow of the Woman/ I said. That
is the Boinne, and it gets its name from Boann, the
wife of Nechtan, son of Labraid. She went down
to the hidden well at the bottom of the dun with the
three cup-bearers of Nechtan, Flex and Lex and Luam.
No one came back from that well without blemish un-
less the three cup-bearers went with him. But the
queen went out of pride and overbearing to the well,
and it is what she said, that nothing would spoil her
shape or put a blemish on her. She passed left-hand-
wise round the well, to mock at its powers. Then three
waves broke over her and bruised her two knees and her
right hand and one of her eyes, and she ran out of the
dun to escape until she came to the sea, and wherever
she ran, the water followed after her. Segain was its
name on the dun ; the River Segsa from the dun to the
Pool of Mochua ; the hand of the wife of Nechtan and
the knee of the wife of Nechtan after that ; the Boinne in
Meath ; Arcait it is called from the Finda to the Troma ;
the Marrow of the Woman from the Troma to the sea.
" ' The Boar,' I said, ' and his Dam.' That is, between
Cleitech and Fessi. For Cleitech is the name for a
boar, but it is also the name for a king, the leader of
great hosts, and Fessi is the name for the great sow of
a farmer's house.
" ' The King of Ana,' I said, ' and his servant' That is
Cerna, through which we passed, and that is its name
since Enna Aignech put Cerna, king of Ana, to death
on that hill, and he put his steward to death in the east
of that place.
" ' The Washing of the Horses of Dea,' I said. That
is Ange, for in it the men of Dea washed their horses
when they came from the battle of Magh Tuireadh.
And it was called Ange, because the Tuatha De Danaan
washed their horses in it.
"'The Four-cornered Mandchuile,' I said. That is
Muincille. It is there Mann, the farmer, was, and there
he made spells in his great four-cornered chambers
underground, to keep off the plague from the cattle
of Ireland in the time of Bresel Brec, king of Leinster.
" * Great Crime,' I said. That is Ailbine. There was
a king here in Ireland, Ruad, son of Rigdond of Munster.
He had an appointment of meeting with foreigners, and
he set out for the meeting round the south of Alban with
three ships, and thirty men were in each ship. But
the ships were stopped, and were held from below in
the middle of the sea, and throwing jewels and precious
things into the sea did not get them off. Then lots
were cast among them who should go into the sea
and find out what was holding them. The lot fell on
the king himself, Ruad, son of Rigdond, and he leaped
into the sea, and it closed over him. He lit upon a
large plain, where nine beautiful women met him, and
they confessed that it was they themselves had stopped
the ships, the way that he might come to them. And
he stopped with them nine days, and they gave him
nine vessels of gold ; and through the length of that
time his men were not able to go on, through the
power of the women. When he was going away, a
woman of them said she would bear him a son, and
that he must come back to them and bring away his
son, when he would be coming from the east.
" Then he joined his men, and they went on their
voyage, and they stopped away seven years, and then
they came back by a different way, and they did not
go near the same spot. They landed in the bay, and
the sea-women came up to them there, and the men
heard them playing music in their brazen ship. And
then the women came to the shore, and they put the
boy out of the ship on the land where the men were.
And the harbour was stony and rocky, and the boy
slipped and fell on one of the rocks, so that he died
there. And the women saw it, and they cried all to-
gether, ' Olbine, Olbine,' that is ' Great Crime.' And
it is from that it is called Ailbine.
" ' The Remnants of the Great Feast,' I said. That is
Tailne. It was there the great feast was given to Lugh,
son of Ethlenn, to comfort him after the battle of Magh
Tuireadh, for that was his wedding feast of kingship.
" ' In the Garden of Lugh, to the daughters of Tethra's
nephew,' I said ; for Forgall Manach is sister's son of
Tethra, king of the Fomor.
"As to the account of myself I gave her, there are
two rivers in the land of Ross ; Conchubar is the name
of one of them, and it mixes with the other ; and I am
the nephew of Conchubar ; and as to the plague that
comes on dogs, it is wild fierceness, and truly I am a
strong fighter of that plague, for I am wild and fierce in
battles and in fights. And the Wood of Badb, that is
the land of Ross, the Wood of the Morrigu, the Battle
Crow, the Goddess of Battle.
" And when she said that no man should come to the
plain of her breasts until he had killed three times nine
men with one blow, and yet had saved one man from
each nine, it is what she meant, that three brothers of
her own will be guarding her, Ibur and Seibur and Catt,
and a company of nine with each of them. And it is
what I must do, I must strike a blow on each nine, from
which eight will die, but no stroke will reach any of her
brothers among them ; and I must carry her and her
foster-sister, with their share of gold and silver, out of
the dun of Forgall.
"'Go out from Samhain to Oimell,' she said. That
is, that I shall fight without harm to myself from
Samhain, the end of summer, to Oimell, the beginning
of spring ; and from the beginning of spring to Beltaine,
and from that to Bron Trogain. For Oi, in the
language of poetry, is a name for sheep, and Oimell is
the time v/hen the sheep come out and are milked, and
Suain is a gentle sound, and it is at Samhain that gentle
voices sound ; and Beltaine is a favouring fire ; for it is
at that time the Druids used to make fires with spells
and to drive the cattle between them against the plagues
every year. And Bron Trogain, that is the beginning
of autumn, for it is then the earth is in labour, that is, the
earth under fruit, Bron Trogain, the trouble of the earth."
Then Cuchulain went on his way, and he slept that
night in Emain Macha.
When Forgall came back to his dun, and his lords
of land with him, their daughters were telling them of
the young man that had come in a splendid chariot,
and how himself and Emer had been talking together,
and they could not understand their talk with one
another. The lords of land told this to Forgall, and it
is what he said, " You may be sure it is the mad boy
from Emain Macha has been here, and he and the girl
have fallen in love with one another. But they will
gain nothing by that," he said ; " for it is I will hinder
them."
With that Forgall went out to Emain, with the
appearance of a foreigner on him, and he gave out that
he was sent by the king of the Gall, to speak with
Conchubar, and to bring him a present of golden
treasures, and wine of the Gall, and many other things.
And he brought some of his men with him, and there
was a great welcome before them.
And on the third day, Cuchulain and Conall and
other chariot chiefs of Ulster were praised before him,
and he said it was right for them to be praised, and
that they did wonderful feats, and Cuchulain above
them all. But he said that if Cuchulain would go to
Scathach, the woman-warrior that lived in the east of
Alban, his skill would be more wonderful still, for he
could not have perfect knowledge of the feats of a
warrior without that.
But his reason for saying this was that he thought if
Cuchulain set out, he would never come back again,
through the dangers he would put around him on the
journey, and through the wildness and the fierceness
of the people about Scathach.
So then Forgall v/ent home, and Cuchulain rose up
in the morning, and made ready to set out for Alban, and
Laegaire Buadach, the Battle Winner, and Conall Cear-
nach said they would go with him. But first Cuchulain
went across the plain of Bregia to visit Emer, and to talk
with her before going in the ship. And she told him
how it was Forgall had gone to Emain, and had advised
him to go and learn warriors' feats, the way they two
might not meet again. Then each of them promised to
be true to the other till they would meet again, unless
death should come between them, and they said farewell
to one another, and Cuchulain turned towards Alban.
When they came there, they stopped for a while at
the forge of Donall, the smith, and then they set out to
go to the east of Alban. But before they had gone far,
a vision came before their eyes of Emain Macha, and
Laegaire and Conall were not able to pass by it, and
they turned back. It was Forgall raised that vision, to
draw them away from Cuchulain, that he might be in
the more danger, being alone. Then Cuchulain went
on by himself on a strange road, and he was sad and
tired and down-hearted for the loss of his comrades, but
he held to his word that he would not go back to Emain
without finding Scathach, even if he should die in the
attempt.
But now he was astray and ignorant, and not know-
ing which way to take, and he saw a terrible grqat beast
like a lion coming towards him, and it watching him,
but it did not try to harm him. Whatever way he
went, the beast went before him, and then it stopped
and turned its side to him. So he made a leap and
was on its back, and he did not guide it, but went what-
ever way it chose. They travelled like that through
four days, till they came to the end of the bounds of
men, and to an island where lads were rowing in a
small loch ; and the lads began to laugh when they
saw a beast of that sort, and a man riding it. And
then Cuchulain leaped off, and the beast left him, and
he bade it farewell.
He passed on till he came to a large house in a deep
C
valley, and a comely young girl in it, and she spoke to
him, and bade him welcome. " A welcome before you,
Cuchulain," she said. He asked her how did she know
him, and she said, " I was a foster-child of Wulfkin, the
Saxon, the time you came there to learn sweet speech
from him." And she gave him meat and drink, and he
went away from her. Then he met with a young man,
and he gave him the same welcome, and he said his
name was Eochu, and they talked together, and
Cuchulain asked him what was the way to Scathach's
dun. The young man told him the way, across the
Plain of Ill-Luck, that lay before him, and he said that
on the near side of the plain the feet of men would stick
fast, and on the far side every blade of grass would rise
and hold them fast on its points. And he gave him a
wheel, and bade him to follow its track across the one
half of the plain. And he gave him an apple along
with that, and bade him to throw it, and to follow the
way it went, till he would reach the end of the plain.
And he told him many other things that would happen
him, and how he would win a great name at the last.
And then each of them wished a blessing to the other,
and Cuchulain did as he bade him, and so he got across
the plain and went on his journey. And then, as the
young man had told him, he came to a valley, and it
full of monsters, sent there by Forgall to destroy him,
and only one narrow path through it, but he went
through it safely. And after that his road led through
a terrible, wild mountain. Then he came to the place
where Scathach's scholars were, and among them he
saw Ferdiad, son of Daman, and Naoise, Ainnle, and
Ardan, the three sons of Usnach, and when they knew
that he was from Ireland they welcomed him with
kisses, and asked for news of their own country. He
asked them where was Scathach. " In that island
beyond," they said, " What way must I take to reach
her ? " he asked. " By the bridge of the cliff," they said,
" and no man can cross it till he has proved himself a
champion, and many a king's son has got his death
there."
And this is the way the bridge was : the two ends of
it were low, and the middle was high, and whenever
any one would leap on it, the first time it would narrow
till it was as narrow as the hair of a man's head, and the
second time it would shorten till it was as short as an
inch, and the third time it would get slippery till it was
as slippery as an eel of the river, and the fourth time
it would rise up on high against you till it was as tall as
the mast of a ship.
All the warriors and people on the lawn came down
to see Cuchulain making his attempt to cross the bridge,
and he tried three times to do it, and he could not, and
the others were laughing at him, that he should think
he could cross it, and he so young. Then his anger
came on him, and the hero light shone round his head,
and it was not the appearance of a man that was on
him, but the appearance of a god ; and he leaped upon
the end of the bridge and made the hero's salmon leap,
so that he landed on the middle of it, and he reached the
other end of the bridge before it could raise itself fully
up, and threw himself from it, and was on the ground of
the island where Scathach's sunny house was, and it
having seven great doors, and seven great windows
between every two doors, and three times fifty couches
between every two windows, and three times fifty young
girls, with scarlet cloaks and beautiful blue clothing on
them, waiting on Scathach.
And Scathach's daughter, Uacthach, was sitting by a
window, and when she saw the young man, and he a
stranger, and comeliest of the men of Ireland, making
his attempt to cross the bridge, she loved him, and her
face and her colour began to change continually, so
that now she would be as white as a Httle flower, and
then again she would grow crimson red. And in her
needlework that she was doing, she would put the gold
thread where the silver thread should be, and the silver
thread in the place where the gold thread should be.
And when Scathach saw that, she said : " I think this
young man has pleased you." And Uacthach said :
" There would be great grief on me indeed, were he not
to return alive to his own people, in whatever part of the
world they may be, for I know there is surely some one
to whom it would be great anguish to know the way he
is now."
Then, when Cuchulain had crossed the bridge, he
went up to the house, and struck the door with the
shaft of his spear, so that it went through it. And
when Scathach was told that, she said, " Truly this
must be some one who has finished his training in some
other place." Then Uacthach opened the door for
him, and he asked for Scathach, and Uacthach told
him where she was, and what he had best do when he
found her. So he went out to the place where she was
teaching her two sons. Guar and Cett, under the great
yew-tree ; and he took his sword and put its point
between her breasts, and he threatened her with a
dreadful death if she would not take him as her pupil,
and if she would not teach him all her own skill in
arms. So she promised him she would do that.
Now it was while Cuchulain was with Scathach that
a great king in Munster, Lugaid, son of Ros, went
northward with twelve chariot chiefs to look for a wife
among the daughters of the men of Mac Rossa, but
they had all been promised before.
And when Forgall Manach heard this, he went to
Emain, and he told Lugaid that the best of the maidens
of Ireland, both as to form and behaviour and handi-
work^ was in his house unwed. Lugaid said he was
well pleased to hear that, and Forgall promised him his
daughter Emer in marriage. And to the twelve chariot
chiefs that were with him, he promised twelve daughters
of twelve lords of land in Bregia, and Lugaid went back
with him to his dun for the wedding.
But whem Emer was brought to Lugaid to sit by his
side, she laid one of her hands on each side of his face,
and she said on the truth of her good name and of her
life, that it was Cuchulain she loved, although her father
was against him, and that no one that was an honour-
able man should force her to be his wife.
Then Lugaid did not dare take her, for he was in
dread of Cuchulain, and so he returned home again.
As to Cuchulain, after he had been a good time with
Scathach, a war began between herself and Aoife,
queen of the tribes that were round about. The
armies were going out to fight, but Cuchulain was not
with them, for Scathach had given him a sleeping-
drink that would keep him safe and quiet till the fight
would be over, for she was afraid some harm would
come to him if he met Aoife, for she was the greatest
woman-warrior in the world, and she understood en-
chantments and witchcraft. But after one hour, Cuchu-
lain started up out of his sleep, for the sleeping-drink
that would have held any other man for a day and a
night, held him for only that length of time. And he
followed after the army, and he met with the two sons
of Scathach, and they three went against the three sons
of Ilsuanach, three of the best warriors of Aoife, and it
was by Cuchulain they were killed, one after the other.
On the morning of the morrow the fight was begun
again, and the two sons of Scathach were going up the
path of feats to fight against three others of the best
champions of Aoife, Cire, Bire, and Blaicne, sons of
Ess Enchenn. When Scathach saw them going up
she gave a sigh, for she was afraid for her two sons,
but just then Cuchulain came up with them, and he
leaped before them on to the path of feats, and met
the three champions, and all three fell by him.
When Aoife saw that her best champions were after
being killed, she challenged Scathach to fight against
herself, but Cuchulain went out in her place. And
before he went, he asked Scathach, " What things does
Aoife think most of in all the world ? " " Her two horses
and her chariot and her chariot-driver," said Scathach.
So then Cuchulain and Aoife attacked one another
and began a fierce fight, and she broke Cuchulain's
spear in pieces, and his sword she broke off at the
hilt. Then Cuchulain called out, '* Look, the chariot
and the horses and the driver of Aoife are fallen
down into the valley and are lost ! " At that Aoife
looked about her, and Cuchulain took a sudden [hold
of her, and lifted her on his shoulders, and brought
her down to where the army was, and laid her on
the ground, and held his sword to her breast, and she
begged for her life, and he gave it to her. And after
that she made peace with Scathach, and bound her-
self by sureties not to go against her again. And she
gave her love to Cuchulain ; and out of that love great
sorrow came afterwards.
And as Cuchulain was going home by the narrow
path, he met an old hag, and she blind of the left eye.
She asked him to leave room for her to pass by, but
he said there was no room on that path, unless he
would throw himself down the great sea-cliff that was
on the one side of it. But she asked him again to
leave the road to her, and he would not refuse, and
he dropped down the cliff, with only his one hand
keeping a hold of the path. Then she came up, and as
she passed him, she gave a hit of her foot at his hand,
the way he would leave his hold and drop into the
sea. But at that, he gave a leap up again on the
path, and struck off the hag's head. For she was
Ess Enchenn, the mother of the last three warriors that
had fallen by him, and it was to destroy him she had
come out to meet him, for she knew that under his
rules of championship, he would make way for her
when she asked it.
After that, he stayed for another while with Scathach,
until he had learned all the arts of war and all the feats
of a champion ; and then a message came to him to
come back to his own country, and he bade her fare-
well. And Scathach told him what would happen him
in the time to come, for she had the Druid gift ; and she
told him there were great dangers before him, and that
he would have to fight against great armies, and he
alone; and that he would scatter his enemies, so that
his name would come again to Alban ; but that his life
would not be long, for he would die in his full strength.
Then Cuchulain went on board his ship to set out for
Ireland, and in the same ship with him were Lugaid
and Luan, the two sons of Loch, and Ferbaeth and
Larin and Ferdiad, and Durst, son of Derb.
On the night of Samhain they came to the island of
Rechrainn, and Cuchulain left his ship and came to
the strand. And there he heard a sound of crying,
and he saw a beautiful young girl, and she sitting
there alone. He asked her who was she, and what
ailed her, and she said she was Devorgill, daughter of
the king of Rechrainn, and that every year he was
forced to pay a heavy tax to the Fomor, and this
year, when he could not pay it, they made him leave
her there near the sea, till they would come and bring
her away in place of it.
" Where do these men come from ? " said Cuchulain.
" From that far country over there," she said, " and let
you not stop here or they will see you when they come."
But Cuchulain would not leave her, and presently three
fierce men of the Fomor landed in the bay, and made
straight for the spot where the girl was. But before they
had time to lay a hand on her, Cuchulain leaped on them
and he killed the three of them, one after the other.
The last man wounded him in the arm, and the girl tore
a strip from her dress, and gave it to him to bind round
the wound. And then she ran to her father's house and
told him all that had happened. After that Cuchulain
came to the king's house, like any other guest, and his
companions with him, and Conall Cearnach and Laegaire
Buadach were there before them, where they had been
sent from Emain Macha to collect tribute. For at that
time a tribute was paid to Ulster from the islands of
the Gall.
And they were all talking about the escape Devorgill
had, and some were boasting that it was they themselves
had saved her, for she could not be sure who it was had
come to her, because of the dusk of the evening. Then
there was water brought for them all to wash before they
would go to the feast ; and when it came to Cuchulain's
turn to bare his arms, she knew by the strip of her dress
that was bound about it, that it was he had saved her.
" I will give the girl to you as your wife," said the king,
" and I myself will pay her wedding portion." *' Not so,"
said Cuchulain, " for I must make no delay in going back
to Ireland."
So then he made his way back to Emain Macha, and
he told his whole story and all that had happened him.
And as soon as he had rested from the journey, he set
out to look for Emer at her father's house. But Forgall
and his sons had heard he was come home again, and
they had made the place so strong, and they kept so
good a watch round it, that for the whole length of a
year he could not get so much as a sight of her.
It was one day at that time he went down to the
shore of Lough Cuan with Laeg, his chariot-driver, and
with Lugaid. And when they were there, they saw two
birds coming over the sea. Cuchulain put a stone in his
sling, and made a cast at the birds, and hit one of them.
And when they came to where the birds were, they
found in their place two women, and one of them the
most beautiful in the world, and they were Devorgill,
daughter of the king of Rechrainn, that had come from
her own country to find Cuchulain, and her serving-maid
along with her ; and it was Devorgill that Cuchulain had
hit with the stone. " It is a bad thing you have done,
Cuchulain,'\she said, "for it was to find you I came,
and now you have wounded me." Then Cuchulain put
his mouth to the wound and sucked out the stone and
the blood along with it. And he said, " You cannot be
my wife, for I have drunk your blood. But I will give
you to my comrade," he said, " to Lugaid of the Red
Stripes." And so it was done, and Lugaid gave her
his love all through her life, and when she died he died
of the grief that was on him after her.
After that, Cuchulain got his scythe chariot made
ready, and he set out again for Forgall's dun. And
when he got there, he leaped with his hero leap over the
three walls, so that he was inside the court, and there he
made three attacks, so that eight men fell from each
attack, but one escaped in every troop of nine ; that is the
three brothers of Emer, Seiburand Ibur and Catt. And
Forgall made a leap from the wall of the court to escape
Cuchulain, and he fell in the leap and got his death from
the fall.
And then Cuchulain went out again, and brought
Emer with him and her foster-sister, and their two
loads of gold and silver.
And then they heard cries all around them, and
Scenmend, Forgall's sister, came following them with
her men, and came up with them at the ford ; and
Cuchulain killed her in the fight, and it is from that
it is called the Ford of Scenmend. And her men came
up with them again at the next ford, and he killed a
hundred of them there. " It is a great thing you have
done," said Emer. " You have killed a hundred
strong armed men ; and Glondath, the Ford of Deeds,
is the name that shall be on it for ever." Then they
came to Racban, the white field, and he gave three great
angry blows to his enemies there, so that streams of
blood went over it on every side. " This white hill is a
hill of red sods to-day, through your work, Cuchulain,"
said Emer. And from that time it has been called the
Ford of the Sods.
Then they were overtaken again at another ford on
the Boinne, and Emer quitted the chariot, and
Cuchulain followed his enemies along the banks, so that
the sods were flying from the feet of ^the horses across
the ford northward ; and then he turned and followed
them northward, so that the sods flew over the ford
southward. And from that it is called Ath na Imfuait,
the Ford of the Two Clods. And at each of these fords
Cuchulain killed a hundred, and so he kept his word to
Emer, and he came safely out of it all, and they came
to Emain Macha, toward the fall of night.
And then Cuchulain was given the headship of the
young men of Ulster, of the warriors, the poets, the
trumpeters, the musicians, the three pipers, the three
jesters to say sharp words ; the three distributers of
fame. It is of them the poet spoke, and set out their
names, and it is what he said : — '' The young men of
Ireland, when they were in the Red Branch, it is they
were the fairest of all hosts." And of Cuchulain he said,
" He is as hard as steel and as bright, Cuchulain, the
victorious son of Dcchtire."
And then Cuchulain took Emer for his wife, after that
long courting, and all the hardships he had gone through.
And he brought her into the House of the Red Branch,
and Conchubar and all the chief men of Ulster gave her
a great welcome.
It was at Emain Macha, that was sometimes called
Macha of the Spears, Conchubar, the High King, had the
Eachrais Uladh, the Assembly House of Ulster, and it
was there he had his chief palace.
A fine palace it was, having three houses in it,
the Royal House, and the Speckled House, and the
House of the Red Branch.
In the Royal House there were three times fifty
rooms, and the walls were made of red yew, with copper
rivets. And Conchubar's own room was on the ground,
and the walls of it faced with bronze, and silver up
above, with gold birds on it, and their heads set with
shining carbuncles ; and there were nine partitions from
the fire to the wall, and thirty feet the height of each
partition. And there was a silver rod before Conchubar
with three golden apples on it, and when he shook the
rod or struck it, all in the house would be silent.
It was in the House of the Red Branch were kept the
heads and the weapons of beaten enemies, and in the
Speckled House were kept the swords and the shields
and the spears of the heroes of Ulster. And it was
called the Speckled House because of the brightness and
the colours of the hilts of the swords, and the bright
spears, green or grey, with rings and bands of silver
and gold about them, and the gold and silver that were
on the rims and the bosses of the shields, and the
brightness of the drinking-cups and the horns.
It was the custom with the men of the Red Branch,
if one of them heard a word of insult, to get satisfaction
for it on the moment. He would get up in the feasting
hall itself, and make his attack ; and it was to prevent
that, the arms were kept together in one place. Con-
chubar's shield, the Ochain, that is the Moaning One,
was hanging there ; whenever Conchubar would be in
danger, it would moan, and all the shields of Ulster
would moan in answer to it. And Conall Cearnach's
Lam-tapaid, the Quick Hand, was in it. And Fergus's
Leochain, and Dubthach's Uathach, and Laegaire's
Nithach ; and Sencha's Sciath-arglan and Celthair's
Comla Catha, the Gate of Battle, and a great many-
others along with these.
And Cuchulain's shield was there, and the way he
got it was this.
There was a law made by the men of the Red Branch
that the carved device on every shield should be different
from every other. And the name of the man that used
to make the shields was Mac Enge. Cuchulain went
to him after coming back from Scathach, and bade him
make him a shield, and put some new device on it. " I
cannot do that," iaid Mac Enge, " for all I can do I have
done already on the shields of the men of Ulster."
There was anger on Cuchulain then, and he threatened
Mac Enge with death, was he, or was he not, under
Conchubar's protection.
Mac Enge was greatly put out at what had happened,
and he was thinking what was best for him to do, when
he saw a man coming towards him. "There is some
trouble on you," he said. " There is, indeed," said the
shield-maker, " for I am in danger of death unless I
make a shield for Cuchulain." " Clear out your work-
shop," said the strange man, " and spread ashes a foot
deep on the floor."
And when this was done, Mac Enge saw the man
coming over the outer wall to him again, and a fork
in his hand, and it having two prongs. And he put one
of the prongs in the ashes, and with the other he made
the pattern that was to be cut on Cuchulain's shield.
And so Cuchulain got it, and the name it had was
Dubhan, the Black One.
And as to Cuchulain's sword that was hanging along
with the shield, its name was the Cruaidin Cailid-
cheann ; that is, the Hard, Hard Headed. And it had
a hilt of gold with ornaments of silver, and if the point
of the sword would be bent back to its hilt, it would
come as straight as a rod back again. It would cut
a hair on the water, or it would cut a hair off the head
without touching the skin, or it would cut a man in
two, and the one half of him would not miss the other
for some time after.
And as to Cuchulain's spear, the Gae Bulg, whether
it was or was not kept in the Speckled House, this is
the way he came by it. There were two monsters
fighting in the sea one time, the Curruid and the
Coinchenn their names were, and at the last the
Coinchenn made for the strand to escape, but the
other followed him and killed him there.
Then Bolg, son of Buan, a champion of the eastern
part of the world, found the bones of the Coinchenn
on the strand, and he made a spear with them. And
he gave it to a great fighting man, the son of Jubar,
and it went from one to another till it came to the
woman - champion, Aoife. And Aoife gave it to
Cuchulain, and he brought it to Ireland. And it
was with it he killed his own son, and his friend
Ferdiad afterwards.
There were three hundred and sixty-five men belong-
ing to Conchubar's household ; and one among them
served the supper every night, and when the year came
round, he would take his turn again. And it is not a
small thing that supper was : beef and pork and beer
for every man. But the three days before and the three
days after Samhain, the chief men of Ulster used to
come together, and to eat together in Conchubar's
palace, and Conchubar himself took charge of the
supper at that feast ; for every man that did not
come on Samhain night, his wits would go from
him, and it was as well to make his grave and to put
his memorial stone over him the next day.
And there were a great many poets and learned men
used to come to Conchubar's court, for they were made
welcome there when they were driven out of other
places. Cathbad, the Druid, was among them, and his
son, bright-faced Geanann, and Sencha, and Ferceirtne,
that was very learned, and Morann, that could not give
a wrong judgment, for if he did, the collar round his
neck would tighten ; and many others.
Adhna was the chief poet there at one time, and
after he died Athairne was made chief poet of Ulster
in his place. But Neidhe, Adhna's son, came back from
Alban, expecting to be made chief poet. And it was
the waves of the sea, breaking on the strand where
he was, that told him of his father's death. And when
he got to Emain, he went into the palace and sat down
in the chief poet's chair, that he found empty, and put
the chief poet's cloak about him, that was lying there,
and that was ornamented with beautiful birds' feathers.
And then Athairne came in and found him there, and
they began an argument with one another in the
language of poetry, and Conchubar and all the chief
men of Ulster came in to listen to them, and some
of the other poets joined in the argument.
And Neidhe proved himself to be the best, but if he
did, as soon as it was given in his favour, he came
down from the chair, and took off the cloak and put
it about Athairne, and said that, his father being dead,
he would take him for his master.
So Athairne was chief poet, but no one had any
great liking for him, for he was too fond of riches,
and was no way hospitable or open-handed. It was
he went to Midhir, and brought away secretly his
three cranes of churlishness and denial, the way none
of the men of Ireland would get a good reception if
they would come to ask anything at his house. " Do
not come, do not come," the first crane would say.
" Get away, get away," the second would say. " Go
past the house, past the house," the third would say
to any one that came near it.
It was after that argument between Athairne and
Neidhe, king Conchubar made a change in the laws.
For it had been a law that no one that was not a poet
could be a judge. But the language of the poets was
hard to understand, and the king was vexed when he
could understand but a small part of their argument.
So he said that from that time out, any fitting man might
be made judge, was he or was he not a poet. And all
the people agreed to that, and the new law turned out
very well in the end.
And the twelve chief heroes of Conchubar's Red
Branch were these : Fergus, son of Rogh ; Conall
Cearnach, the Victorious ; Laegaire Buadach, the Battle-
Winner ; Cuchulain, son of Sualtim ; Eoghan, son of
Durthact, chief of Fernmaige ; Celthair, son of
Uthecar; Dubthach Doel Uladh, the Beetle of
Ulster ; Muinremar, son of Geirgind ; Cethern, son
of Findtain ; and Naoise, Ainnle, and Ardan, the three
sons of Usnach.
Ch. 4
BRICRIU'S FEAST, AND THE WAR OF WORDS
DRICRIU of the Bitter Tongue made a great feast one
time for Conchubar, son of Ness, and for all the
chief men of Ulster. He was the length of a year
getting the feast ready, and he built a great house to
hold it in at Dun-Rudraige. He built it in the likeness
of the House of the Red Branch in Emain, but it was
entirely beyond all the buildings of that time in shape
and in substance, in plan and in ornament, in pillars and
in facings, in doors and in carvings, so that it was spoken
of in all parts. It was on the plan of the drinking-hall
at Emain it was made inside, and it having nine divisions
from hearth to wall, and every division faced with bronze
that was overlaid with gold, thirty feet high. In the
front part of the hall there was a royal seat made for
Conchubar, high above all the other seats of the house.
It was set with carbuncles and other precious stones of
all colours, that shone like gold and silver, so that they
made the night the same as the day ; and round about
it were the twelve seats of the twelve heroes of Ulster.
Good as the material was, the work done on it was as
good. It took six horses to bring home every beam,
and the strength of six men to fix every pole, and
thirty of the best skilled men in Ireland were ordering
it and directing it,
Then Bricriu made a sunny parlour for himself, on a
level with Conchubar's seat and the seats of the heroes
of valour, and it had every sort of ornament, and windows
of glass were put on every side of it, the way he could
see the hall from his seat, for he knew the men of Ulster
would not let him stop inside.
When he had finished building the hall and the sunny
parlour, and had furnished them with quilts and coverings,
beds and pillows, and with a full supply of meat and
drink, so that nothing was wanting, he set out for Emain
Macha to see Conchubar and the chief men of Ulster.
It happened that day they were all gathered together
at Emain Macha, and they made him welcome, and they
put him to sit beside Conchubar, and he said to Conchu-
bar and to them all, " Come with me to a feast I have
made ready." " I am willing to go," said Conchubar,
" if the men of Ulster are willing."
But Fergus, son of Rogh, and the others, said : " We
will not go, for if we do, our dead will be more than
our living, after Bricriu has set us to quarrel with one
another." " It will be worse for you if you do not
come," said Bricriu. "What will you do if they do
not go with you ? " said Conchubar. " I will stir up
strife," said Bricriu, " between the kings and the leaders,
and the heroes of valour, and the swordsmen, till every
one makes an end of the other, if they will not come
with me to use my feast." " We will not go for the sake
of pleasing you," said Conchubar. " I will stir up anger
between father and son, so that they will be the death
of one another," said Bricriu ; " if I fail in doing that, I
will make a quarrel between mother and daughter ; if
that fails, I will put the two breasts of every woman of
Ulster striking one against the other, and destroying
one another." " It is better for us to go," said Fergus.
" Let us consult with the chief men of Ulster," said
Sencha, son of Ailell. "Some harm will come of it,"
D
said Conchubar, " if we do not consult together against
this man."
On that, all the chief men met together in council, and
it is what Sencha advised : " It is best for you to get
securities from Bricriu, as you have to go along with
him ; and put eight swordsmen around him, to make
him leave the house as soon as he has laid out the feast
for you." So Ferbenn Ferbeson, son of Conchubar,
brought the answer to Bricriu. " I am satisfied to do
that," said Bricriu. With that the men of Ulster set
out from Emain, host, troop, and company under king,
chief, and leader, and it was a good march they all made
together to Dun-Rudraige.
Then Bricriu set himself to think how with the securi-
ties that were given for him, he could best manage to set
the men of Ulster one against the other. After he had
been thinking a while, he went over to Laegaire Buadach,
son of Connad, son of Iliath. " All good be with you,
Laegaire, Winner of Battles, you mighty mallet of
Bregia, you hot hammer of Meath, you flame-red
thunderbolt, what hinders you from getting the
championship of Ireland for ever?" "If I want it
I can get it," said Laegaire. " You will be head of
all the champions of Ireland," said Bricriu, "if you
do as I advise." " I will do that, indeed," said
Laegaire.
" Well," said Bricriu, " if you can get the Champion's
Portion at the feast in my house, the championship of
Ireland will be yours for ever. And the Champion's
Portion of my house is worth fighting for," he said, '' for
it is not the portion of a fool's house. There goes with it
a vat of good wine, with room enough in it to hold three
of the brave men of Ulster ; with that a seven-year-old
boar, that has been fed since it was born on no other
thing but fresh milk, and fine meal in spring-time, curds
and sweet milk in summer, the kernel of nuts and wheat
in harvest, beef and broth in the winter ; with that a
seven-year-old bullock that never had in its mouth, since
it was a sucking calf, either heather or twig tops, but only
sweet milk and herbs, meadow hay and corn ; along
with that, five-score wheaten cakes made with honey.
That is the Champion's Portion of my house. And since
you are yourself the best hero among the men of Ulster,"
he said, " it is but right to give it to you ; and that is my
wish, you to get it. And at the end of the day, when
the feast is spread out, let your chariot-driver rise up,
and it is to him the Champion's Portion will be given."
" There will be dead men if that is not done," said Laegaire.
Then Bricriu laughed, for he liked to hear that.
When he had done stirring up Laegaire Buadach, he
went on till he met with Conall Cearnach. " May good
be with you, Conall," he said. " It is you are the hero
of fights and of battles ; it is many victories you have
won up to this over the heroes of Ulster. By the time
the men of Ulster cross the boundary of a strange
country, it is three days and three nights in advance of
them you are, over many a ford and river ; it is you who
protect their rear coming back again, so that no enemy
can get past you or through you, or over you. What
would hinder you from being given the Champion's
Portion of Emain to hold for ever ? " Great as was his
treachery with Laegaire, he showed twice as much in
what he said to Conall Cearnach.
When he had satisfied himself that Conall was stirred
up to a quarrel, he went on to Cuchulain. " May all
good be with you, Cuchulain, conqueror of Bregia, bright
banner of the Life, darling of Emain, beloved by wives
and by maidens, Cuchulain is no nickname for you
to-day, for you are the champion of the men of Ulster ;
it is you keep off their great quarrels and disputes ; it is
you get justice for every man of them ; it is you have
what all the men of Ulster are wanting in ; all the men
of Ulster acknowledge that your bravery, your valour,
and your deeds are beyond their own. Why, then,
would you leave the Champion's Portion for some other
one of the men of Ulster, when not one of them would
be able to keep it from you ? "
" By the god of my people," said Cuchulain, " whoever
comes to try and keep it from me will lose his head."
With that Bricriu left them and followed after the army,
as if he had done nothing to stir up a quarrel at all.
After that they came to the feasting-houses and went
in, and every one took his place, king, prince, landowner,
swordsman, and young fighting man. One half of the
house was set apart for Conchubar and his following, and
the other half was kept for the wives of the heroes of
Ulster.
And there were attending on Conchubar in the front
part of the house Fergus, son of Rogh ; Celthair, son of
Uthecar ; Eoghan, son of Durthact ; the two sons of the
king, Fiacha and Fiachaig ; Fergus, son of Leti ;
Cuscraid, the Stutterer of Macha ; Sencha, son of Ailell ;
the three sons of Fiachach, that is Rus and Dare and
Imchad ; Muinremar, son of Geirgind ; Errge Echbel ;
Amergin, son of Ecit ; Mend, son of Salchah ; Dubthach
Doel Uladh, the Beetle of Ulster ; Feradach Find
Fectnach ; Fedelmid, son of Hair Cheting ; Furbaide
Ferbend ; Rochad, son of Fathemon ; Laegaire Buadach ;
Conall Cearnach ; Cuchulain ; Conrad, son of Mornai ;
Ere, son of Fedelmid ; lollan, son of Fergus ; Fintan, son
of Nial ; Cethern, son of Fintan ; Factna, son of Sencad ;
Conla the False ; Ailell the Honey-Tongued ; the chief
men of Ulster, with the young men and the song-
makers.
While the feast was being spread out, the musicians
and players made music for them. As soon as Bricriu
had spread the feast with its well-tasting, savoury meats,
he was ordered by his sureties to leave the hall on the
moment ; and they rose up with their drawn swords in
their hands to put him out. So he and his followers
went out, and when he was on the threshold of the
house he turned and called out : " The Champion's
Portion of my house is not the portion of a fool's
house ; let it be given to whoever you think the best
hero of Ulster." And with that he left them.
Then the distributers rose up to divide the food, and
the chariot-driver of Laegaire Buadach, Sedlang, son of
Riangabra, rose up and said to them, " Let you give
the Champion's Portion to Laegaire, for he has the best
right to it of all the young heroes of Ulster."
Then Id, son of Riangabra, chariot-driver to Conall
Cearnach, rose up, and bade them to give it to his master.
But Laeg, son of Riangabra, said, " It is to Cuchulain
it must be brought ; and it is no disgrace for all the men
of Ulster to give it to him, for it is he is the bravest of
you all." " That is not true," said Conall, and Laegaire
said the same.
With that they got up upon the floor, and put on
their shields and took hold of their swords, and they
attacked and struck at one another till the one half of
the hall was as if on fire with the clashing of swords and
spears, and the other half was as white as chalk with the
whiteness of the shields. There was fear on the whole
gathering ; all the men were put from their places, and
there was great anger on Conchubar himself and on
Fergus, son of Rogh, to see the injustice and the hard-
ship of two men fighting against one, Conall and
Laegaire both together attacking Cuchulain ; but there
was no one among the men of Ulster dared part them
till Sencha spoke to Conchubar. " It is time for you to
part these men," he said.
With that, Conchubar and Fergus came between
them, and the fighters let their hands drop to their
sides. " Will you do as 1 advise ? " said Sencha.
" We will do it," they said. " Then my advice is,"
said Sencha, " for this night to divide the Champion's
Portion among the whole gathering, and after that to
let it be settled according to the judgment of Ailell,
king of Connaught, for it will be better for the men of
Ulster, this business to be settled in Cruachan."
So with that they sat down to the feast again,
and gathered round the fire and drank and made
merry.
All this time Bricriu and his wife were in their upper
room, and from there he had seen how things were
going on in the great hall. And he began to search
his mind how he could best stir up the women to
quarrel with one another as he had stirred up the men.
When he had done searching his mind, it just chanced
as he could have wished, that Fedelm of the Fresh Heart
came from the hall with fifty women after her, laughing
and merry. Bricriu went to meet her. " All good be
with you to-night, wife of Laegaire Buadach. Fedelm
of the Fresh Heart is no nickname for you, with respect
to your appearance and your wisdom and your family.
Conchubar, king of Ulster, is of your kindred ; Laegaire
Buadach is your husband. I would not think well of it
that any of the women of Ulster should go before you
into the hall, for it is at your heel that all the other
women of Ulster should walk. If you go first into
the hall to-night, you will be queen over them all
for ever and ever."
Fedelm went on after that, the length of three
ridges from the hall.
After that there came out Lendabair, the Favourite,
daughter of Eoghan, son of Durthact, wife of Conall
Cearnach.
Bricriu came over to her, and he said, " Good be with
you, Lendabair ; and that is no nickname, for you
are the favourite and the darling of the men of the
whole world, because of the brightness of your beauty.
As far as your husband is beyond the whole world
in bravery and in comeliness, so far are you before
the women of Ulster." Great as his deceit was in
what he said to Fedelm, it was twice as great in what
he said to Lendabair.
Then Emer came out and fifty women after her.
" Health be with you, Emer, daughter of Forgall
Manach, wife of the best man in Ireland ! Emer of the
Beautiful Hair is no nickname for you ; the kings and
princes of Ireland are quarrelling with one another
about you. So far as the sun outshines the stars
of heaven, so far do you outshine the women of the
whole world in form, and shape, and birth, in youth,
and beauty, and nicety, in good name, and wisdom,
and speech." However great his deceit was towards
the other women, it was twice as much towards Emer.
The three women went on then till they met at one
spot, three ridges from the house, but none of them knew
that Bricriu had been speaking to the other. They set
out then to go back to the house. Their walk was even
and quiet and easy on the first ridge ; hardly did one
of them put her foot before the other. But on the next
ridge their steps were closer and quicker ; and when
they came to the ridge next the house, it was hardly
one of them could keep up with the other, so that
they took up their skirts nearly to their knees, each
one trying to get first into the hall, because of what
Bricriu had said to them, that whoever would be
first to enter the house, would be queen of the whole
province. And such was the noise they made in
their race, that it was like the noise of forty chariots
coming. The whole palace shook, and all the men
started up for their arms, striking against one another.
" Stop," said Sencha, " it is not enemies that are
coming, it is Bricriu has set the women quarrelling
By the god of my people ! " he said, " unless the hall
is shut against them, those that are dead among us
will be more than those that are living." With that
the doorkeepers shut the doors. But Emer was quicker
than the other women, and outran them, and put her
back against the door, and called to the doorkeepers
before the other women came up, so that the men
rose up, each of them to open the door before his
own wife, so that she might be the first to come
within.
" It is a bad night this will be," said Conchubar ; and
he struck the silver rod he had in his hand against the
bronze post of the hall, and they all sat down. " Quiet
yourselves," said Sencha ; " it is not a war of arms we
are going to have here, it is a war of words." Each
woman then put herself under the protection of her
husband outside, and then there followed the war of
words of the women of Ulster.
Fedelm of the Fresh Heart was the first to speak, and
it is what she said :
" The mother who bore me was free, noble, equal to
my father in rank and in race ; the blood that is in me
is royal ; I was brought up like one of royal blood. I
am counted beautiful in form and in shape and in
appearance ; I was brought up to good behaviour, to
courage, to mannerly ways. Look at Lacgaire, my
husband, and what his red hand does for Ulster. It
was by himself alone its boundaries were kept from
the enemies that were as strong as all Ulster put
together ; he is a defence and a protection against
wounds ; he is beyond all the heroes ; his victories
are greater than their victories. Why should not I,
Fedelm, the beautiful, the lovely, the joyful, be the
first to step into the drinking-hall to-night?"
Then Lendabair spoke, and it is what she said :
" I myself have beauty too, and good sense and good
carnage ; it is I should walk into the hall with free, even
steps before all the women of Ulster.
" For my husband is pleasant Conall of the great
shield, the Victorious ; he is proud, going with brave
steps up to the spears of the fight ; he is proud coming
back to me after it, with the heads of his enemies in his
hands.
" He brings his hard sword into the battle for Ulster ;
he defends every ford or he destroys it to keep out the
enemy ; he is a hero will have a stone raised over
him.
" The son of noble Amergin, who can speak against
his courage or his deeds? It is Conall who leads the
heroes.
" All eyes look on the glory of Lendabair ; why
would she not go first into the hall of the king?"
Then Emer spoke, and it is what she said :
"There is no woman comes up to me in appearance,
in shape, in wisdom ; there is no one comes up to me
for goodness of form, or brightness of eye, or good sense,
or kindness, or good behaviour.
" No one has the joy of loving or the strength of
loving that I have ; all Ulster desires me ; surely I am
a nut of the heart. If I were a light woman, there would
not be a husband left to any of you to-morrow.
" And my husband is Cuchulain. It is he is not a
hound that is weak ; there is blood on his spear, there
is blood on his sword, his white body is black with
blood, his soft skin is furrowed with sword cuts, there
are many wounds on his thigh.
" But the flame of his eyes is turned westward ; he
is the strong protector ; his chariot is red, its cushions
are red ; he fights from over the ears of horses, from
over the breath of men ; he leaps in the air like a salmon
when he makes his hero leap ; he does strange feats,
the dark feat, the blind feat, the feat of nine ; he breaks
down armies in the hard fight ; he saves the life of
proud armies ; he finds joy in the terror of the
ignorant.
" Your fine heroes of Ulster are not worth a stalk of
grass compared with my husband, Cuchulain, letting
on to have a woman's sickness on them ; he is like
the clear red blood, they are like the scum and the
leavings, worth no more than a stalk of grass.
"Your fine women of Ulster, they are shaped like
cows and led like cows, when they are put beside the
wife of Cuchulain."
"When the men in the hall heard what the women
said, Laegaire and Conall made a rush at the wall,
and broke a plank out of it at their own height, to
let their own wives in. But Cuchulain raised up that
part of the house that was opposite to his place, so
that the stars and the sky could be seen through the
wall. By that opening Emer came in with the fifty
women that waited on her, and with them the women
that waited on the other two. None of the other
women could be compared at all with Emer, and no
one at all could be compared with her husband. And
then Cuchulain let the wall he had lifted fall suddenly
again, so that seven feet of it went into the ground,
and the whole house shook, and Bricriu's upper room
was laid flat in such a way that Bricriu himself and
his wife were thrown into the dirt among the dogs.
" My grief," cried Bricriu, " enemies are come in ! "
And he got up quickly and took a turn round, and
he saw that the hall was now crooked and leaning
entirely to one side. He clapped his hands together
and went inside, but he was so covered with dirt that
none of the Ulster people could know him, it was
only by his way of speaking they made out who he was.
Then he said, from the middle of the floor, " It is
a pity I ever made a feast for you, men of Ulster.
My house is more to me than everything else I have.
I put geasa^ that is, bonds, on you, not to drink or
to eat or to sleep till you leave my house the same
way as you found it." At that, all the men of
Ulster went out and tried to pull the house straight,
but they did not raise it by so much as a hand's
breadth.
" What are we to do ? " they said. " There is nothing
for you to do," said Sencha, "but to ask the man
that pulled it crooked to set it straight again."
Upon that they bid Cuchulain to put the wall up
straight again, and Bricriu said, "O king of the
heroes of Ireland, unless you can set it up straight,
there is no man in the world can do it." And all the
men of Ulster begged and prayed of Cuchulain to
settle the matter. And that they might not have to
go without food or drink, Cuchulain rose up and tried
to lift the house with a tug, and he failed. Anger came
on him then, and the hero light shone about him, and
he put out all his strength, and strained himself till a
man's foot could find place between each of his ribs,
and he lifted the house up till it was as straight as it
was before. After that they enjoyed the feast, with
the chief men on the one side round about Conchubar,
High King of Ulster, and their wives on the other
side — Fedelm of the Nine Shapes (nine shapes she could
take on, and each shape more beautiful than the
other), and Findchoem, daughter of Cathbad, wife of
Amergin of the Iron Jaw, and Devorgill, wife of Lugaid
of the Red Stripes, besides Emer, and Fedelm of the
Fresh Heart, and Lendabair ; and it would be too long
to count and to tell of all the other noble women
besides.
There was soon a buzzing of words in the hall again,
with the women praising their men, as if to stir up
another quarrel between them. Then Sencha, son of
Ailell, got up and shook his bell branch, and they all
stopped to listen to him, and then to quiet the women
he said :
" Have done with this word-fighting, lest you drive
the men of Ulster to grow white-faced in the anger
and the pride of battle with one another.
" It is through the fault of women the shields of
men are broken, heroes go out to fight and struggle
with one another in their anger.
" It is the folly of women brings men to do these
things, to bruise what they cannot bind up again, to
strike down what they cannot raise up again. Wives
of heroes, keep yourself from this."
But Emer answered him, and it is what she said :
"It is right for me to speak, Sencha, and I the wife
of the comely, pleasant hero, who is beyond all others
in beauty, in wisdom, in speaking, since the learning
that was easy to him is done with.
'■ No one can do his feats, the over-breath feat, the
apple feat, the ghost feat, the screw feat, the cat feat,
the red-whirling feat, the barbed-spear feat, the quick
stroke, the fire of the mouth, the hero's cry, the wheel
feat, the sword-edge feat ; no one can throw himself
against hard-spiked places the way he does.
" There is no one is his equal in youth, in form, in
brightness, in birth, in mind, in voice, in bravery, in
boldness, in fire, in skill ; no one is his equal in hunt-
ing, in running, in strength, in victories, in greatness.
There is no man to be found who can be put beside
Cuchulain."
" If it is truth you are speaking, Emer," said Conall
Cearnach, " let this lad of feats stand up, that we may
see them."
" I will not," said Cuchulain. " I am tired and broken
to-day, I will do no more till after I have had food
and sleep." It was true what he said, for it was on
that morning he had met with the Grey of Macha by
the side of the grey lake at Slieve Fuad. When it
came out of the lake, Cuchulain slipped his hands round
the neck of the horse, and the two of them struggled
and wrestled with one another, and in that way they
went all round Ireland, till late in the day he brought
the horse home to Emain. It was in the same way he
got the Black Sainglain from the black lake of Sainglen.
And Cuchulain said : " To-day myself and the Grey
of Macha have gone through the great plains of Ireland,
Bregia of Meath, the seashore marsh of Muirthemne
Macha, through Moy Medba, Currech Cleitech Cerna,
Lia of Linn Locharn, Per Femen Fergna, Curros Dom-
nand, Ros Roigne, and Eo. And now I would sooner
eat and sleep than do any other thing. But I swear
by the gods my people swear by," he said, " I would be
ready to fight with any man of you if I had but my
fill of food and of sleep." " Well," said Bricriu, " this
has gone on long enough. Let food and drink be
brought, and let the women's war be put a stop to
till the feast is done."
They did so, and it was a pleasant time they had till
the end of three days and three nights.
Ch. 5
THE CHAMPIONSHIP OF ULSTER
A FTER they were gone back to Emain after Bricriu's
feast, a quarrel began between Conall and
Lacgaire and Cuchulain about the Champion's Portion,
and Conchubar and the chief men of Ulster came
between them to settle it. And Conchubar bade them
to go to Cruachan in Connaught, to have the matter
judged by Ailell and by Maeve. " And if that fails
you," he said, " what you have to do is to go to Curoi,
son of Daire, at Slieve Mis, in Munster. And it is a
true judgment he will give, for he is just and fair-
minded, his house is open to guests, his hand is good
in battle, in leading he is a king. He will give you a
right judgment, but it is only a brave man will ask
it from him, for he is wise in all sorts of enchantments,
and can do things that no other man can do."
" We will go first to Cruachan," said Cuchulain. " I
agree to that," said Laegaire. " Let us go then," said
Conall Cearnach. " Let horses be brought, and your
chariot yoked, Conall," said Cuchulain ; " and go on the
first." " I would not like that," said Conall. " That is
no wonder," said Cuchulain, " for every one knows the
awkwardness of your horses, and the unsteadiness of
your chariot ; it is so heavy that each of the wheels
raises the sod on each side wherever it goes, the way
that for the length of a year it is easy for the men of
Ulster to know the track it has left after it."
" Do you hear that, Laegaire ? " said Conall. " It is
for you to go first." " Do not begin to mock at me,"
said Laegaire, " for I am good at crossing fords, and I
am ready to go up and face a storm of spears before
any man. But do not put me beside chariot kings till
I practise going through hard and narrow places, and
racing against single chariots, till the champion of a
single chariot will be afraid to pass me."
With that Laegaire had his chariot yoked, and leaped
into it. He drove over Magh da Gabal, the Plain of
the Two Forks, over Bernaid na Foraire, the Gap of the
Watch, over the Ford of Carpat Fergus, over the Ford
of the Morrigu, to Caerthund Cluana da Dam, the Rowan
Meadow of the Two Oxen, in the Fews of Firbuide ;
by the four ways, past Dundealgan, across Magh Slicech,
the Peeled Plain, westward by Bregia. And it was not
long till Conall Cearnach followed after him, and many
of the chief men of Ulster with them.
But Cuchulain stayed behind the others, amusing the
women of Ulster with his feats. He did nine feats with
apples, nine with spears, and nine with knives, without
ever letting one touch the other. And he took three
times fifty needles from the women, and threw them up,
one after the other, so that each needle went into the
eye of the other, and in that way they were all joined
together. Then he gave every woman her needle back
into her own hand.
But Laeg, son of Riangabra, went to look for him,
and reproached him, and said : " You pitiful squinter,
your couragehas gone from you ! The Champion's Portion
is lost to you, the men of Ulster have got to Cruachan
before this." " I never thought of it, my Laeg," said
Cuchulain ; " but yoke the chariot for me now." So
Laeg yoked it, and they set out on their journey. By
that time the men of Ulster were come to Magh Breagh,
the Fine Meadow ; but Cuchulain, after he was roused
up by Laeg, travelled so fast, and the Grey of Macha
and the Black Sainglain went racing in such a way
with his chariot across the whole province of Conchubar,
across Slieve Fuad and the plain of Bregia, that he came
up with the others before they came to Cruachan.
The noise the whole troop made was so great, going
at such speed as they did, that a great shaking came on
Cruachan, and the arms fell from the racks to the
ground, and the whole of the dun began to shake, so
that every man was trembling like a rush in a stream.
On that Maeve said : " Since the day I first came to
Cruachan I never before heard thunder, there being no
clouds in the sky." Then Findabair of the Fair Eye-
brows, daughter of Ailell and of Maeve, went up, for she
had a bird's sight, to her sunny parlour over the great
door of the fort, to tell them what was coming. " Dear
mother," she said, " I see a chariot coming over the
plain." " Tell me what is its appearance," said Maeve,
" and the colour of its horses, and the appearance of the
man that sits in it." " I see well," said Findabair, " the
two horses that are in the chariot. Two fiery dappled
greys, of the one colour, shape, and goodness, having
the one speed, keeping the one pace ; their ears pricked,
their heads high, their nostrils broad, foreheads broad,
manes and tails curled, thin-sided, wide-chested, gallop-
ing together. The chariot is made of fine wood with
wicker-work newly polished, the yoke curved, with silver
ornaments on it ; it has two black wheels, soft looped
yellow reins. I see in the chariot a big stout man, with
reddish yellow hair, with long forked beard. He has a
soft purple coat about him, and it striped with bright
gold. His bronze shield is edged with gold ; there is a
five-pronged javelin at his wrist, a cover of strange birds'
feathers over his head."
" I know well who that man is," said Maeve, and it
is what she said : " A companion of kings, an old be-
stower of victories, a storm of war, a flame of judgment,
a long knife of victory that will cut us to pieces, mighty
Laegaire of the Red Hand. His sword cuts through
men as a knife cuts through a leek ; his stroke is the
back stroke of the wave to the land. And I swear by
the gods my people swear by," she said, " if it is in
anger and for fighting Laegaire Buadach is coming at
us, that as leeks are cut close to the ground with a
sharp knife, the same way we will be cut down, as
many of us as are in Cruachan, unless v/e smooth down
his anger by giving in to everything he asks."
" Good mother," said Findabair, " I see another
chariot as good as the first coming over the plain."
" Tell me what is its appearance," said Maeve.
" I see," she said, " yoked to the chariot, on the one
side a red horse, taking strong, high strides across fords
and splashes, over banks and gaps, over plains and
hollows, with the quickness of birds that the quick
eye loses in following. On the other side a bay horse
of great strength ; it is at full speed he races over the
plain, between stones and hard places ; he finds no
hindrance in the land of oaks, hurrying on his way.
A chariot of fine wood with wicker-work, on two wheels
of bright bronze ; its pole bright with silver, its frame
very high and creaking, having a curved, firm yoke,
with looped yellow reins.
" In the chariot a fair man, with wavy, hanging hair ;
his face white and red, his vest clean and white, his
cloak blue and crimson, his shield brown with yellow
bosses, its edge worked with bronze. In his hand a
bright spear ; a cover of the feathers of strange birds
over the wicker frame of his chariot."
" I know who that man is," said Maeve, and she said
then : " The growling of a lion ; a flame that can cut
like a sharpened stone ; he heaps head on head, battle on
battle. As a trout is cut upon red sandstone, so would
the son of Finchoem cut us if he came on us in anger.
" For, by the oath of my people," she said, " as a
speckled fish is beaten upon a shining red stone with
iron rods, so would we be broken by Conall Cearnach,
if he came against us."
" I see another chariot coming over the plain," said
Findabair. " Tell me what its appearance is," said
Maeve. " I see two horses of the one size and beauty,
the one fierceness and speed, with ears pricked, heads
high, spirited and powerful, with fine nostrils, wide fore-
heads, mane and tail curled, leaping together. The one
grey, handsome, with broad thighs, eager, leaping,
thundering, and trampling. As he goes, his fierce
hoofs throw up sods of earth like a flock of swift birds
after him. As he gallops on his way, he breathes out
a blast of hot breath, a fire comes from his curbed jaws.
The other, dark, small-headed, well-shaped, broad-
hoofed, thin-sided, high-couraged, broad-backed, sure-
footed, spirited ; he takes long strides in the race ;
he leaps over streams, he throws off heaviness, he
crosses the plains of the middle valley. They come
together with fast, joyful steps, moving over the plain
like a swift mountain mist, or like the speed of a hill
hind, or like a hare on level ground, or like the rushing
of a loud wind in winter.
''The chariot is of fine wood with wicker-work,
having two iron wheels, a bright silver pole with
bronze ornaments, a frame very high and creaking
strengthened with iron, a curved yoke overlaid with
gold, two soft looped yellow reins.
" I see in the chariot a dark, sad man, comeliest of
the men of Ireland. A pleated crimson tunic about
him, fastened at the breast with a brooch of inlaid gold ;
a long-sleeved linen cloak on him with a white hood
embroidered with flame-red gold. His eyebrows as
black as the blackness of a spit, seven lights in his
eyes, seven colours about his head, love and fire in
his look. Across his knees there lies a gold-hilted
sword, there is a blood-red spear ready to his hand, a
sharp- tempered blade with a shaft of wood. Over his
shoulders a crimson shield with a rim of silver, overlaid
with shapes of beasts in gold.
" There is before him in the chariot a driver, a very
thin, tall, freckled man ; very bright red hair, kept
back from his face with a golden thread, a cup of gold
at each side of his head. A short cloak about him with
sleeves opening at the two elbows ; in his hand a goad
of red gold to guide his horses."
" That is truly a drop before a downpour," said Maeve.
" I know well who that man is." And it is what she
said : " Like the sound of an angry sea, like a great
moving wave, with the madness of a wild beast that is
vexed, he leaps through his enemies in the crash of
battle, they hear their death in his shout. He heaps
deed upon deed, head upon head ; his is a name to be
put in songs. As fresh malt is ground in the mill, so
shall we be ground by Cuchulain.
" For I swear by the oath of my people," she said,
" that as a mill of ten spokes grinds very hard malt, so
he, with only himself, would grind us to dust and to
gravel, if we had the whole province with us, unless his
anger and his heat go down.
"And what way are the rest of the men of Ulster
coming ? " she said. And Findabair answered her, and
it is what she said : " Hand to hand, arm to arm, side
to side, shoulder to shoulder, wheel to wheel, axle to
axle, that is the way they are coming. Their horses are
coming on us like thunder on the roof, like heavy waves
stirred by the storm ; the trampling of their feet makes
the earth sh^ke under them,"
And Maeve said, " Let our women be ready before
them with vats of cold water ; let the beds be made
ready, bring the best of food, the best of ale. Open the
courtyard, have a welcome before them, and surely they
will not harm us."
Then Maeve went out by the high door of the dun
into the courtyard, and three times fifty young girls
attending her, with three vats of cold water to cool the
heat of the three heroes in front of the rest. And she
gave them their choice, would each man have a house
for himself, or would they have one house for the three ?
" A house for each to himself," said Cuchulain. And
when the rest of the men of Ulster came, Ailell and
Maeve with their whole household went out and bade
them welcome. "We are well pleased with the wel-
come," said Sencha for them.
After that, they all came into the fort and into the
palace. They went round from one door to the other,
and there was room for them all, and the musicians were
playing music while everything was being made ready.
And Conchubar, and Fergus, son of Rogh, were in
Ailell's division, with nine others along with them, and
there was a great feast made ready then, and they
stopped there the length of three days and three nights.
At the end of that time Ailell asked Conchubar what
was the business that had brought them there. And
Sencha told him the whole story, about the quarrel of
the women as to who should walk first, and the quarrel
of their husbands for the Champion's Portion. " And
they were not satisfied to be judged by any one but
yourself," he said. Ailell did not seem to be well pleased
at that. " Indeed, it was no friend of mine that left this
judgment on me," he said. "There is no better judge
than yourself," said Sencha. "Well," said Ailell, "you
must give me time to think upon it." " Do not make
too much delay," said Sencha, " for we cannot spare
our heroes long from us." " Three days and three
nights will be enough for me," said Ailell. " That much
will not break friendship," said Sencha.
With that the men of Ulster went home to Emain,
leaving Laegaire and Conall and Cuchulain to be
judged by Ailell, and they left their blessing with
Ailell and with Maeve, and their curse with Bricriu,
because it was he had first started the quarrel.
That night the three heroes were given as good a
feast as before, but they were put to eat it in a room
by themselves. When night came on, three enchanted
monsters, with the shape of cats, were let out from the
cave that was in the hill of the Sidhe at Cruachan, to
attack them. When Conall and Laegaire saw them,
they got up into the rafters, leaving their food after
them, and there they stayed till morning. Cuchulain
did not leave his place, but when one of the monsters
came to attack him, he gave a blow of his sword at its
head ; but the sword slipped off as if from a stone.
Then the monster stayed quiet, and Cuchulain sat there
through the night watching it. With the break of day
the cats were gone, and Ailell came in and saw what
way the three heroes were. " Are you not satisfied to
give the Championship to Cuchulain, after this ? " he said.
" We are not," said Conall and Laegaire ; " it is not
against beasts we are used to fight, but against men."
Then Maeve said to them, " Go and spend the night
with my foster-father, Ercol, and his wife Garmna." So
they went, but first they were given their choice of food
for their horses. Conall and Laegaire chose oats two
years old for theirs, but Cuchulain chose barley grain
for his. Then they set out, racing all the way, and
Cuchulain winning the race.
Ercol and Garmna bade them welcome, and they
knew it was to try them they had been sent there, so
they sent them out that night, one after the other, to
fight with the witches of the valley.
Laegaire went first, but he could not stand against
them, and he came back, and left his arms and his
clothes with them.
Then Conall went, and he was driven back, and left
his spear with them, but he brought his sword that was
his best weapon away with him.
Then Cuchulain went down into the valley and the
witches screamed at him and attacked him, and he and
they fought together till his spear was in splinters, his
shield broken and his ^clothes torn off him. The witches
were beating him and getting the better of him, but
Laeg saw it, and he called out. " O Cuchulain," he said^
" you poor coward, you squinting clown ! Your courage
is gone from you, witches to be beating you ! " Then
great anger came on Cuchulain, and he turned on the
witches and cut and gashed them till the valley was
filled with their blood, and he brought away their cloaks
of battle with him, and went back to the house where
his comrades were. And Garmna and her daughter
Buan made much of him and bade him welcome.
They slept there that night, and the next day Ercol
challenged them to come one by one, each man with his
horse, to fight against himself and his horse. Laegaire
was the first to go against him, and his horse was killed
by Ercol's horse, and he himself was overcome by Ercol,
so that he took to flight, and did not stop till he got
back to Cruachan, and he brought the story there that
both his companions had been killed by Ercol. Conall
was the next to run away, after his horse being
killed by Ercol's horse ; and his servant Rathand was
drowned in the river as he ran, and it takes its name
after him, Snam Rathand, from that day.
But the Grey of Macha killed Ercol's horse, and
Cuchulain put down Ercol and tied him behind his
chariot and set out for Cruachan. And Buan, Garmna's
daughter, ran out after the chariot for love of Cuchulain
to follow him. And she knew the track of his chariot,
for it was no roundabout track it used to take, but to
be breaking through gaps or going over them ; and in
following it at last she gave a great leap and fell, and
her forehead struck against a rock, and she died ; and
it is from this the place was given the name of Buan's
Grave.
And when Conall and Cuchulain got back to
Cruachan, they found the people of the dun keening
them, for by the report Laegaire brought, they were sure
they had been killed.
Then Ailell went to his inner room, and leaned his
back against the wall, for he was not quiet in his mind,
and he knew there was danger in whatever judgment
he might give ; and he had not eaten or slept for three
days and three nights. Then Maeve said to him, " It is
a coward you are, and if you do not settle this matter I
will settle it myself" " It is hard for me to give judg-
ment," said Ailell, " it is a misfortune for any one to have
to do it." " It is easy enough," said Maeve, " for Laegaire
and Conall Cearnach are as different as bronze and
silver, and Conall Cearnach and Cuchulain are as
different as silver and red gold."
After a while, when Maeve had searched her mind,
Laegaire Buadach was called to her. " Welcome, Laegaire
Buadach," she said, " it is right for you to have the Cham-
pion's Portion. We give you the headship of the heroes
of Ireland from this out, and the Champion's Portion,
and along with that this cup of bronze, having a bird
in raised silver on the bottom. Take it with you as a
token of the judgment, but let no one see it till you
come to Conchubar and his Red Branch at the end of
the day. When the Champion's Portion is set out, then
bring out your cup in the presence of all the great men
of Ulster, and not one of them will dispute it with you
any more, for they will know by this token that the
Championship has been given to you." With that, the
cup was given to him with its full of rich wine, and he
drank it off at a draught. " Now you have the Champion-
ship," said Maeve ; " and I wish you may enjoy it a
hundred years at the head of all Ulster."
So Laegaire left her, and Conall Cearnach was called
up to the queen. " Welcome, Conall Cearnach," she said ;
" it is right for us to give you the Champion's Portion,
and a silver cup along with it, having a bird on the
bottom in raised gold." And she said the same to him
as she had said to Laegaire before.
Then Conall went away, and a messenger was sent to
bring Cuchulain. " Come up to speak with the king and
queen," said the messenger.
Cuchulain was playing chess at the time with Laeg,
his chariot-driver. " I am not a fool to be mocked at,"
he said, and he hurled one of the chessmen at the
messenger, and hit him between the eyes, so that it is
hardly he could get back to Ailell and Maeve.
" By my word," said Maeve, " this Cuchulain is hard
to deal with." And then she came down herself to
Cuchulain, and put her two arms round his neck. " Give
your flattery to some other one," said Cuchulain.
But Maeve said, "Great son of Ulster, flame of the
heroes of Ireland, there is no flattery in our mind when
it is you we have to do with. P'or if all the heroes of
Ireland should come here, it is to you we would give
the Champion's Portion, for as to bravery and a great
name, and as to youth and great deeds, it is well-known
that you are far beyond all the men of Ireland."
Cuchulain rose up then, and went with Maeve into
the palace, and Ailell gave him a great welcome. And
he was given a gold cup full of wine, and it having on
the bottom of it a bird in precious stones. " Now, you
have the Championship," said Maeve, " and it is my wish
you may enjoy it a hundred years at the head of all the
heroes of Ulster." "And besides that," Ailell and
Maeve said, " it is our judgment, that as much as you
are beyond the heroes of Ulster, so far is your wife
beyond their wives. And we think it right that she
should walk before all the women of Ulster when they
go together into the drinking-hall."
Then Cuchulain drank at one draught the full of the
cup, and bade farewell to the king and the queen and
the whole household. And he went till he came to
Emain Macha at the end of the day. And there was
no one among the men of Ulster would venture to ask
news of any of the three until the time came to eat and
to drink in the great hall.
When the feast was laid out, they all stopped thqir
arguing and their talking, and gave themselves up to
eating and to enjoyment. It was Sualtim, son of Roig,
father of Cuchulain, was attending the feast that night,
and Conchubar's great vat had been filled for it. The
distributers began serving out the meat, but at first they
kept back the Champion's Portion. Then Dubthach
of the Chafer Tongue said, " Why is not the Champion's
Portion given to one of these three heroes that are come
back from Cruachan ? They must surely have brought
some token with them, that we may know which one
is to have it."
Upon that, Laegaire Buadach rose up and held out the
bronze cup with the silver bird on it. " The Champion's
Portion is mine," he said, "and no one can dispute it
with me."
" That is not so," said Conall Cearnach ; " here is my
token. Yours is a bronze cup but mine is a silver cup.
You see by the difference in them it is to me the
Champion's Portion belongs."
" It belongs to neither of you," said Cuchulain, and
he rose up and he said, " It was only to deceive you
and to keep up the quarrel between us, the king and
queen we went to gave you those. It is to me the
Champion's Portion belongs, for you see my token, that
it is far above the others."
With that he lifted high up the cup of red gold, with
the bird on it of precious stones, and all the men in the
feasting-hall saw it. " It is I myself that will get the
Championship," he said, " if I get fair play." " It is yours
indeed," said Conchubar, and Fergus, and all the chief
men. " It is yours by the judgment of Ailell and
Maeve." " I swear by the oath of my people," said
Laegaire, " that the cup you have with you was not
given to you, but bought. You gave riches and
treasures for it to Ailell and Maeve, the way the
Championship would not go to any other person ; but
by my hand of valour," he said, "that judgment shall
not stand."
Then, with their swords drawn, they sprang at one
another, but Conchubar went between them, and then
they let down their hands and sheathed their swords.
"It is best," said Sencha, "for you to go to Curoi for
judgment." " We agree to that," said they.
So on the morning of the morrow, the three — Cuchu-
lain, Conall, and Laegaire — set out for Curoi's dun. At
the gate of the dun they unyoked their chariots, and
they went into the courtyard, and Blanad, daughter of
Mind, Curoi's wife, gave them a good welcome. Curoi
was not at home that night, but knowing, by his en-
chantments, they would come, he had left instructions
with his wife how to entertain them ; and she did ac-
cording to his wish, giving them water for washing, and
drinks for refreshing, and beds of the best, so that they
were well satisfied.
When bedtime came, Blanad told them they were
each to take a night to watch the fort, till Curoi would
come back. " And it is what he said, that you should
take your turn according to age."
Now in whatever part of the world Curoi was, he
made a spell every night over the dun, so that it went
round like a mill, and no entrance could be found in
it after the setting of the sun.
The first night Laegaire Buadach took the watch, for
he was the oldest of the three. As he was keeping
watch, towards the end of the night he saw a great
shadow coming towards him from the sea westward.
Very huge and ugly and terrible he thought it, and it
took the shape of a giant and reached up to the sky,
and the shining of the sea could be seen between its
legs. It is how it came, its hands full of what had the
appearance of stripped oaks, and each of them enough
for a load for six horses ; and he hurled one of them at
Laegaire, but it went past him. He did this two or
three times, but the beam did not reach either the skin
or the shield of Laegaire. Then Laegaire hurled a
spear at him, and it did not hit him.
He stretched out his hand then to Laegaire, and the
length of it reached across the three ridges that were
between them while they were throwing at one another,
and he gripped hold of him. Big and strong as Laegaire
was, he fitted like a child of a year old into his hand.
The giant turned him round between his two palms as
a chessman is turned in a groove, and then he threw
him half dead over the wall of the fort, into a heap of
mud. There was no opening there, and the people
inside the dun thought he had leaped over from outside,
as a challenge to the others to do the same.
There they stayed until the end of the day, and at the
fall of night Conall went out to take the watch, as he
was older than Cuchulain. Everything happened as it
did to Laegaire the first night. And when the third
night came, Cuchulain went into the seat of the watch.
When midnight was come he heard a noise, and by
the light of the cold moon he saw nine grey shapes coming
towards him over the marsh. " Stop," said Cuchulain,
"who is there? If they are friends, let them not stir;
if they are enemies, let them come on." Then they
raised a great shout at him, and Cuchulain rushed at
them and attacked them, so that the nine fell dead to
the ground, and he cut their heads off and made a heap
of them, and sat down again to keep the watch. An-
other nine and then another shouted at him, but
he made an end of the three nines, and made one heap
of their heads and their arms.
While he was watching on through the night, tired
and down-hearted, he heard a sound rising from the lake,
like the sound of a very heavy sea. However tired he
was, his mind would not let him keep quiet, without
going to see what was the cause of that great noise he
heard. Then he saw a great worm coming up from the
lake, and it raised itself into the air over him and made
for the dun, and opened its mouth, and it seemed to him
that one of the houses would fit into its gullet.
Then Cuchulain with one leap reached its head and
put his arm round its neck, and stretched his hand across
its gullet, and tore the monster's heart out and threw it
to the ground. Then the beast fell down, and Cuchulain
hacked it with his sword, and made little bits of it, and
brought the head along with him to the heap of skulls.
He was sitting there, towards the break of day, worn
out and discouraged, and he saw the great shadow
shaped like a giant coming to him westward from the
sea. " This is a bad night," he said. "It will be worse for
you yet," said Cuchulain. Then he threw one of the
beams at Cuchulain, but it passed by him, and he did
that two or three times, but it did not reach either his
shield or his skin. Then he stretched out his hand to
grip Cuchulain as he did the others, but Cuchulain
CUCHULAIN'S LEAP yj
leaped his salmon leap at the head of the monster, with
his drawn sword, and broug^ht him down. '' Life for
life, Cuchulain," he said, and with that he vanished and
was no more seen.
Then Cuchulain wondered to himself how his fellows
had made their leap over the fort, for the wall was big
and broad and high, and twice he tried it and failed.
Then anger came on him, and he went a good way back
and made a run, and with the dint of the anger that was
on him, and the courage of his heart and of his mind, he
hardly took the dew off the tips of the grass in the run,
and he made one leap over the wall, and lit in the
middle, at the door of the house. Then he went in
through the door and gave a sigh. And Blanad, wife of
Curoi, said, " That is not the sigh of a beaten man, but a
conqueror's sigh of triumph." For the daughter of the
King of the Isle of the Men of Falga knew well all
Cuchulain had gone through that night.
" The Champion's Portion must go now to Cuchulain,"
she said to the others ; " for you see by this that you
are not equal to him." " We do not agree to that," said
they ; " for we know it was one of his friends among
the Sidhe came to put us down and to put us out of the
Championship. We will not give up for that," they
said.
Then she gave them a message she had from Curoi,
that the three champions were to go back to Emain,
until he would bring his judgment there himself So
they bade her farewell, and went back to the Red
Branch.
It was a good while after this, as the men of Ulster
were in Emain* tired after the gathering and the games,
Conchubar and Fergus, son of Rogh, with the chief men,
went from the field of sports outside, and sat down in
the house of the Red Branch ; but Cuchulain was not
7S CHAMPIONSHIP OF ULSTER
there that night, or Conall Cearnach, but all the rest of
the chief heroes were in it.
As they were sitting there towards evening, and the
day wearing to its close, they saw a big awkward
fellow, very ugly, coming to them into the hall. It
seemed to them as if none of the men of Ulster could
reach to half his height. He was frightful to look at ;
next his skin he had an old cow's hide, and a grey cloak
around him, and over him he had a great spreading
branch the size of a winter shed under which thirty
cattle could find shelter. Ravenous yellow eyes he had,
and in his right hand an axe weighing fifty cauldrons of
melted metal, its sharpness such that it would cut
through hairs, if the wind would blow them against its
edge.
He went over and leaned against the branched beam
that was beside the fire.
" Who are you at all ? " said Dubthach of the Chafer
Tongue. " Is there no other place for you in the hall
that you come up here ? Is it to be candlestick to the
house you want, or is it to set the house on fire you
want ? "
" Uath, the Stranger, is my name," said he ; " and
neither of those things is the thing I want. The thing
I want is the thing I cannot find, and I after going
through the world of Ireland and the whole world look-
ing for it, and that is a man that will keep his word and
will hold to his agreement with me."
" What agreement is that ? " said Fergus. " Here is
this axe," he said, " and the man into whose hands it is
put is to cut off my head to-day, I to cut his head off
to-morrow. And as you men of Ulster have a name
beyond the men of all other countries for strength and
skill, for courage, for greatness, for highmindedness,
for behaviour, for truth and generosity, for worthiness,
let you find one among you that will hold to bis word
and keep to his bargain. Conchubar I put aside
because of his kingship, and Fergus, son of Rogh, for
the same reason. But outside these two, come, which-
ever of you will venture, he to cut off my head to-night,
I to cut off his head to-morrow night."
" It is not right for dishonour to be put on a whole
province," said Fergus, " for the want of one man that
will keep his word." " Sure there is no champion here
after these two are left out," said Dubthach. " By my
word, there will be one this moment," said Laegaire,
and he leaped out on the floor of the hall. " Stoop
down, clown, that I may cut off your head to-night,
you to cut off mine to-morrow night." " By the oath
of my people," said Dubthach, " it is no good prospect
you have if the man killed to-night comes to kill you
to-morrow."
Then Uath put spells on the edge of the axe and
laid his neck down on a block, and Laegaire struck a
blow across it with the axe, till it went into the block
underneath, and the head fell on the floor and the
house was filled with the blood. But presently Uath
rose up and gathered his head and his axe to his
breast and went out from the hall, his neck streaming
with blood, so that there was terror on all the people
in the house.
" I swear," said Dubthach, " if this stranger, being
killed, comes back to-morrow night, he will not leave a
man alive in Ulster."
Back he came the next night to have his agreement
kept. But Laegaire's heart failed him, and he was
nowhere to be found. But Conall Cearnach was in the
hall, and he said he would make a new agreement
with him. So all happened the same as the night
before, but when Uath came the next day, it was the
same with Conall as with Laegaire, his heart failed
hinrj when it came to the keeping of his bargain.
Cuchulain was there that night when Uath came in
and began to reproach and to mock at them all. " As
for you, men of Ulster," he said, " all your courage and
your daring is gone from you ; you covet a great name,
but you are not able to earn it. Where is that poor
squinting fellow that is called Cuchulain," he said, " till
I see if his word is any better than the word of the
others ? " "I will keep my word without any agree-
ment," said Cuchulain. " That is likely, you miserable
fly, it is in great fear of death you are."
On that, Cuchulain made a leap towards him and
gave him a blow with the axe, and hurled his head to
the top rafter of the hall, so that the whole house
shook.
On the morrow the men of Ulster were watching
Cuchulain to see if he would break his word to the
stranger, as the others had done. As Cuchulain sat
there waiting for him, they saw that he was very
down - hearted, and they made sure his life was at
its end, and that they might as well begin keening
him. And then Cuchulain said to Conchubar, and
there was hanging of the head on him, " Do not go
from this till my agreement is fulfilled, for death is
coming to me, but I would sooner meet with death
than break my word,"
They were there till the close of day, and then
they saw Uath coming. " Where is Cuchulain ? " he
said. " Here I am," he answered. "It is dull your
speech is to-night," saicl the stranger ; " it is in great
fear of death you are. But however great your fear,
you have not failed me."
Then Cuchulain went to him and laid his head on
the block. " Stretch out your head better," said he.
" You are keeping me in torment," said Cuchulain ;
" put an end to me quickly. For last night," he said,
" by my oath, I made no delay with you." Then he
CUROrS DECISION 8i
stretched out his neck, and Uath raised his axe till
it reached the rafters of the hall, and the creaking of
the old hide that was about him, and the crashing of
the axe through the rafters, was like the loud noise of
a wood in a stormy night. But when the axe came
down, it was with its blunt side, and it was the floor
it struck, so that Cuchulain was not touched at all.
And all the chief men of Ulster were standing around
looking on, and they saw on the moment that it
was no strange clown was in it, but Curoi, son of
Daire, that had come to try the heroes through his
enchantments.
" Rise up, Cuchulain," he said. " Of all the heroes
of Ulster, whatever may be their daring, there is not one
to compare with you in courage and in bravery and in
truth. The Championship of the heroes of Ireland is
yours from this out, and the Champion's Portion with
it, and to your wife the first place among all the
women of Ulster. And whoever tries to put himself
before you after this," he said, " I swear by the oath
my people swear by, his own life will be in danger."
With that he left them. And this was the end of
the Women's War of Words, and of the quarrel among
the heroes for the Championship of Ulster.
Ch. 6
THE HIGH KING OF IRELAND
'T^HERE was a king over Ireland before this time
^ whose name was Eochaid Feidlech, and it is he
was grandfather to Conaire the Great.
He was going one time over the fair green of Bri
Leith, and he saw at the side of a well a woman, with
a bright comb of silver and gold, and she washing in a
silver basin, having four golden birds on it, and little
bright purple stones set in the rim of the basin. A
beautiful purple cloak she had, and silver fringes to it,
and a gold brooch ; and she had on her a dress of green
silk with a long hood embroidered in red gold, and
wonderful clasps of gold and silver on her breasts and
on her shoulders. The sunlight was falling on her, so
that the gold and the green silk were shining out. Two
plaits of hair she had, four locks in each plait, and a
bead at the point of every lock, and the colour of her
hair was like yellow flags in summer, or like red gold
after it is rubbed.
There she was, letting down her hair to wash it, and
her arms out through the sleeve-holes of her shift. Her
soft hands were as white as the snow of a single night,
and her eyes as blue as any blue flower, and her lips as
red as the berries of the rowan-tree, and her body as
white as the foam of a wave. The bright light of the
moon was in her face, the highness of pride in her
eyebrows, a dimple of delight in each of her cheeks,
the light of wooing in her eyes, and when she walked
she had a step that was steady and even, like the walk
of a queen.
Of all the women of the world she was the best and
the nicest and the most beautiful that had ever been
seen, and it is what King Eochaid and his people
thought, that she was from the hills of the Sidhe. It is
of her it was said, " All are dear and all are shapely till
they are put beside Etain."
Then Eochaid sent his people to bring her to him,
and when she came, he said, " Who are you yourself,
and where do you come from ? " " It is easy to say
that," she said ; " I am Etain, daughter of Etar, king of
the Riders of the Sidhe. And I have been in this place
ever since I was born, twenty years ago, in a hill of the
Sidhe, and kings and great men among them have been
asking my love, but they got nothing from me, for since
the time I could first speak I have loved yourself, and
given you a child's love, because of the great talk I
heard of your grandeur. And when I saw you now
I knew you by all I had heard of you ; and so I have
reached to you at last."
" It is no bad friend you have been looking for," said
Eochaid, " but there will be a welcome before you, and
I will leave every other woman for you, and it is with
yourself I will live from this out, so long as you keep
good behaviour."
Then he gave her the bride price, and she lived with
him till he died. But one time she was brought away
from him by Midhir, and Eochaid brought her back
by force, and the Sidhe had no good will towards him
after that, but brought a revenge on his house, and on
his grandson, Conaire.
They had one daughter, that was called by the same
name as her mother, Etain, and that was married to
Cormac, king of Ulster. And, like her mother, she had
but the one daughter, and there was vexation on
Cormac when she had no son, and he bade two of his
serving-men to bring the child away out of his sight,
and to do away with her. So they brought her to a
pit, but when they were putting her in, she smiled a
laughing smile at them, and they had not the heart to
harm her. So they brought her to a calf-shed belong-
ing to the herds that minded the cattle of Eterscel,
great-grandson of lar, king of Teamhair ; and they
cared her well there, and there was not a king's
daughter in Ireland was nicer than herself. And they
made a little house of wicker-work for her, with no door,
but only a window high up in it.
King Eterscel's people thought it was provisions the
herds used to keep in that house. But one day a man
of them got up and looked in through the window, and
what he saw was the nicest and the most beautiful
young girl of the whole world.
When King Eterscel heard that, he sent his people
to break into the house and to bring her away, and ask
no leave of the cowherds. For he had no child, and
it is what his Druids had foretold, that it was a woman
of unknown race would bear him a son ; and he was
sure this was the woman that had been foretold for
him.
But before the king's messengers reached the house
in the morning, Etain saw a bird coming in at the
window. And when it came in, it left its birdskin on
the floor, and what she saw was a man before her. And
he said, " The king is sending messengers to bring you
to him, that he may have a son. But it is to me you
will bear a son, and no bird must ever be killed by him.
And his name will be Conaire, son of Mess Buachall,
that is, son of the cowherd's foster-child."
Then she was brought away to the king, and the herds
that had fostered her went with her, and they all got good
treatment. And it is what she asked, when her son
Conaire was born, that he might be brought up between
three households, the household of her own fosterers,
and of the two honey-worded Maines, and her own.
And she said that if any of the men of Ireland had a
mind to give help in his bringing up, they should give
it to those three households.
So it was like that the boy was reared, and there were
five other boys reared along with him, Ferger, Fergel,
Ferogain, Ferobain, and Lomna Druth the Fool, of the
house of Dond Dessa, the champion of the army from
Muclesi. And they all used the same food, and their
clothing and their armour and the colour of their horses
were the same.
And after a while King Eterscel died, and there was
a bull feast made ready at Teamhair, as the custom
was, to find out by it the best man for the kingship.
It is this way the bull feast was made. A white bull
was killed, and one man would eat his fill of the meat
and of the broth, and in his sleep after that meal, a
charm of truth would be said over him by four Druids.
And whoever he would see in his sleep would be king,
and he would tell them his appearance ; and if he told
what was not true, his lips would perish. And what
the dreamer saw in his sleep this time was a young man,
and he naked, and having a stone in his sling, passing
the road to Teamhair.
Now just at that time Conaire was out playing games
near the Life River with his foster-brothers, and the
cowherds that had reared him came and bid him go up
to Teamhair to attend the bull feast that was going on
there.
So he left his foster-brothers at their games, and
turned his chariot and went on till he came to Ath
Cliath. And there he saw great white speckled birds,
the best in size and appearance he had ever seen, and
he followed after them till his horses were tired, but he
could not come up with them, for they always kept just
out of his reach. Then he got down from his chariot and
took his sling and followed them to the strand, and they
went into the sea and were swimming on the waves,
and he went after them to take hold of them. Then
they left their birdskins, and it was men he saw
before him, and they turning to face him with spears
and swords.
But one of them took him under his protection and
said, " I am Nemglan, king of your father's birds, and
there was a command put on you never to make a cast
at birds, for there is not one here but should be dear
to you." " I never knew of that command till this day,"
said Conaire. Then Nemglan said, " What you have
to do is to go to Teamhair to-night, to the bull feast,
and it is through it you will be made king, for it is a
man that will go naked, and having a sling and a stone
in his hand, along one of the roads to Teamhair, towards
the end of the night, that will be king.
" And your bird reign will be great," he said. " But
there is geasa^ that is a bond, on you not to do these
things :
" Do not go righthandwise round Teamhair, and
lefthandwise round Bregia ; do not hunt the evil
beasts of Cerna ; do not go out beyond Teamhair
every ninth night ; do not settle the quarrel of two
of your own people ; let no robbery be done in your
reign ; do not sleep in a house you can see the firelight
shining from after sunset ; do not let one woman or
one man come into the house where you are after
sunset ; do not let three Reds go before you to the
House of Red."
Then Conaire set out for Teamhair, naked, and
having a stone in his sling. And on every one of
the four roads to Teamhair there were three kings
waiting, and having clothing with them, for the king
that was foretold. And when the three kings on
Conaire's road saw him coming, they met him, and
put royal clothes on him, and brought him in a
chariot to Teamhair. But the people of Teamhair
said when they saw him : " Our bull feast and our
charm of truth were not worth much, when it is only
a young, beardless lad they have brought us ! "
" That is no matter," said Conaire, " for it is no dis-
grace for you to have a young king, when my father
and my grandfather held the same place." "That is
true," they all said then, and they gave him the king-
ship, and he said, " I will learn of wise men, that I
myself may be wise."
Now there was great plenty in Ireland through his
reign ; seven ships coming at the one time to Inver
Colptha, and corn and nuts up to the knees in every
harvest, and the trees bending from the weight of fruit,
and the Buais and the Boinne full of fish every summer,
and that much law and peace and good-will among the
people, that each one thought the other's voice as sweet
as the strings of harps. And the wolves themselves were
held by hostages not to kill more than one calf in every pen.
There was no thunder or storm in his reign, and from
spring to harvest there was not as much wind as would
stir a cow's tail, and the cattle were without keepers
because of the greatness of peace. And in his reign
there were the three crowns in Ireland, the crown of
flowers, the crown of acorns, and the crown of
wheatears.
But after a while there began to be discontent on the
sons of Donn Dessa, because they were hindered from
the robbery and killing there used to be in the old
time. And to' vex the king, and to see what would he
do, they stole three things, a pig and a bullock and a
cow, from the same man every year for three years.
And every year the countryman would come to the
king to make his complaint, and every year the king
would say, " It is to the sons of Donn Dessa you
should go, for it is they took the beasts." But when-
ever he would go and speak to them, they would go
near to kill him, and he would not go back to the king
for fear he might be vexed.
So the sons of Donn Dessa went on with their
robbery, and three times fifty other young men joined
with them, sons of the great men of Ireland.
But one time they went doing their bad work in
Connaught, and they followed a swineherd that ran
from them, and he called out for help, and the people
gathered to him, and the robbers were taken and
brought back to Teamhair.
King Conaire was asked to give judgment then, and
it is what he said, " Let every father of a robber put his
own son to death, but let my foster-brothers be spared."
" Give us leave," said all the people, " and we will put
them to death for you." " I will not consent to that,
indeed," said Conaire. '' Their life must be spared.
But if they must do robbery," he said, " let them go
across the sea, and do it on the men of Alban."
So the sons of Donn Dessa and their men were
driven out of the country, and some of the Maines went
with them, the sons of Ailell and Maeve, and three
great fighting men of Leinster, that were called the
Three Red Hounds of Cualu, and they brought a troop
of wild restless men with them.
They set out then in their ships, and when they were
out on the rough sea, they met with the ship of Ingcel,
the One-Eyed, grandson of Cormac of Britain. They
were going to make an attack on him, but Ingcel said,
" It would be best for us to come to an agreement
together, for you have been driven out of Ireland, and I
myself have been driven out from Britain. Let us make
this agreement," he said. " Let you come and spoil the
people of my country, and then I will go back with
you and spoil the people of your country."
So they agreed to that, and they cast lots as to where
they would go first, and it is how the lot fell, that they
should go first to Britain with Ingcel. And when they
got there it chanced that the father and mother and the
seven brothers of Ingcel had been sent for to the house
of the king of the district, and Ingcel and his comrades
made an attack on them, and killed them all in the one
night.
Then they made for Alban, and there they did every
sort of destruction and robbery. And at last they
turned back again to Ireland, that Ingcel might spoil
their people the same way as they had spoiled his.
Now just at that time peace was after being broken
in Ireland by the two Carbres that were at war with
one another in Tuathmumain of Munster, and no one
was able to put an end to their quarrel till Conaire
himself went there to make peace. And he did that,
although by doing it he broke two of the bonds put on
him by the Man of the Waves. And on his way back
to Teamhair, when he was passing Usnach in Meath,
he and his people thought they saw fighting from east
to west, and from north to south, and armies of naked
men, and the country of the Ua Neills like a cloud of
fire around them.
" What is that ? " said Conaire. " It is easy to know
that," said his people. " The king's law has broken
down, and the country is on fire." " What way had we
best go ? " said Conaire. " To the north-west," said his
people.
So then they went righthandways round Teamhair,
and lefthandways round Bregia, and that was another
breaking of his bonds, and they met with beasts and
hunted them, and he did not know till afterwards that
they were the evil beasts of Cerna.
And it was the Sidhe had made that Druid mist of
smoke about him, because he had begun to break his
bonds.
Great fear came on Conaire then, and he did not
know what way would be best to go, and they went
on by the sea-coast, towards the south by the road of
Cualu. And then Conaire said, " Where shall we go to
spend the night ? "
" I can say this truly," said Mac Cecht, one of his
fighting men, he that kept three of the Fomor as hostages
at the king's court, the way their people would not spoil
corn or milk in Ireland through his reign ; " it is oftener
the men of Ireland have been quarrelling to have you
in the house, than you have been straying about, look-
ing for a lodging." " I have a friend not far from this,"
said Conaire, " if we but knew the way to his house."
" What is his name ? " said Mac Cecht. " Da Derga of
Leinster, that keeps the great Inn," said Conaire. " He
came to ask a gift of me, and it is not a refusal he met
with. I gave him a hundred head of cattle, I gave him
a hundred fat swine, I gave him a hundred cloaks of
fine cloth, I gave him a hundred swords and spears, I
gave him a hundred red-gilded brooches, I gave him
ten vats of good brown ale, I gave him three times
nine white hounds in silver chains, I gave him a
hundred swift horses. I would give him the same if
he would come again. He will make a return to me
to-night, for it would be a strange thing, he to begrudge
me anything when I come to his house."
" When I knew his house," said Mac Cecht, " the
road we are in now led straight to it. Seven doorways
there are in it, and seven sleeping-rooms between every
two doorways." " We will go to the house with all our
people," said Conaire. "If that is so," said Mac Cecht,
" I will go on first till I light a fire in the house before
you."
They went on then towards Ath Cliath, and pre-
sently a man with hair cut short, with a dreadful
appearance, with but one hand and one foot and one
eye, overtook them. A forked pole of black iron he had
in his hand, and on his back a black-bristled singed
pig, and it squealing ; and there was a woman coming
after him, ugly and big-mouthed. " Welcome to you,
my master, Conaire," he said. " It is long we have
known of your coming." " Who gives that welcome ? "
said Conaire. " Fer Coille, the Man of the Wood," he
said, " and his black pig with him, that you may not be
fasting to-night, for you are the best king that ever came
into the world." " Leave me for to-night," said Conaire,
"and I will go to you any other night that pleases
you." " We will not," said he ; " but we will go to the
place you will be in to-night, O fair little master,
Conaire."
So he went on towards the Inn, and his wife behind
him, and his black pig squealing on his back.
After that Conaire saw before him three horsemen
going towards the Inn. Red cloaks they had, and red
shields, and red spears in their hands, and they riding
on red horses.
"What men are these before me?" said Conaire. "It
is in my bonds not to let them go before me ; three
Reds to the House of Red, that is, of Derga. Who will
follow them and bid them to come back and to follow
after me ? " "I will follow them," said Lefriflaith,
Conaire's son.
So he struck his horse and went after them, but he
could not come up with them. So he called to them
to turn back, and not to go on before the king. And
he did this three times, and the third time one of the
three men turned his head and said, " There is great
news before us, my son ; wetting of swords, destroying
of life, shields with broken bosses, after the fall of night.
Our horses are tired ; we are riding the horses of the
Sidhe ; although we are alive we are dead." And with
that they went from him, and he went back to his
father.
" You did not keep back the men," said Conaire. " It
was not my fault, indeed," said Lefriflaith. Then he
told the answer they had given him, and Conaire and
his people were not well pleased to hear that, and
uneasiness came on them. " All my bonds are ended
to-night," said Conaire, " and those three Reds before
me are sent by the Sidhe."
Now while he and his people were in the road of
Cualu going towards the Inn, Ingcel and the outlaws
of Ireland were come in their ships to the coast of
Bregia against Etair. And the sons of Donn Dessa
said, " Strike the sails now, and let some light-footed
messenger go on shore and see can we keep our
bargain with Ingcel, and give him a spoil for the spoil
he gave us." " Let some man go," said Ingcel, " that
has the gift of hearing and of far sight and of
judgment."
" I have the gift of hearing," said Maine Milscothach.
" I have the gift of far sight and of judgment," said
Maine Andoe. " It is as well for you to go, so," said
the others.
So they landed and went on till they came to Beinn
Etair, and they stopped there to try what they might
see and hear. " Be quiet now," said Maine Milscothach,
" and listen." " What do you hear ? " said Maine
Andoe. " I hear the coming of a king," he said,
" and look now and tell me what you see." " I see,"
he said, " a great company of men, travelling over
hills and rivers. Clothes of every colour they have,
and grey spears over their chariots, and swords with
ivory hilts beside them, and silver shields ; and I swear
by the oath my people swear by," he said, "the horses
they have with them are the horses of some good lord.
And it is my opinion that it is Conaire, son of Eterscel,
and a good share of the men of Ireland with him, that
is travelling the road."
With that they went back and told their comrades
what they had heard and seen. And when they
heard it they brought the boats to shore and landed
on the strand of Furbuithe. And it was just at the
same moment Mac Cecht was striking a spark to kindle
a fire at the Inn before the High King.
Then Conaire came to the lawn of the Inn, and he
went in, and his people, and they took their seats,
and the three Red Men sat down along with them, and
the Man of the Wood that was a swineherd of the Sidhe
with his squealing pig.
And Da Derga came to them with three times fifty
fighting men, every one of them having a long head
of hair and a short cloak and a great blackthorn stick
with bands of iron in his hand. " Welcome, my master,
Conaire," said Da Derga, " and if you were to bring
the whole of the men of Ireland with you, there would
be a welcome before them all."
After the fall of evening they saw a lone woman
coming to the door of the Inn ; long hair she had, and
a grey woollen cloak, and her mouth was drawn to
one side of her head. She came and leaned up against
the doorpost, and she threw an evil eye on the king
and the young men about him. "Well, woman," said
Conaire, " if you have the Druid sight, what is it you
see for us ? " " It is what I see for you," she said,
" that nothing of your skin or of your flesh will escape
from the place you are in, except what the birds will
bring away in their claws. And let me come into the
house now," she said. " There are bonds on me," said
Conaire, " not to let one woman come by herself into
the house after the setting of the sun. And bring her
out," he said, " a good share of food from my own
table, but let her stop for the night in some other place."
"If the king's hospitality is gone from him," she
said, " and if it is the way with him not to have room in
his house for one lone woman to be fed and lodged,
I will go and get food and lodging from some better
man." " Let her in, in spite of my bonds," said Conaire,
when he heard that. So they let her in, but none of
them felt easy in their minds after what she had said.
Now all this time the outlaws were on their way
to the Inn, and they stopped at Leccaibcend Slebe.
And when they saw the great light that was shining
from the Inn through the wheels of the chariots that
were outside the doors, Ingcel said to Ferogain, " What
is that great light beyond?" "It is what I think,"
said Ferogain, " that it is the fire of Conaire, the High
King. And I would be glad he not to be there to-
night, for it would be a pity if harm would come on
him, or his life be shortened, for he is a branch in its
blossom."
" It is good luck for me," said Ingcel, "if he is there.
Spoil for spoil. It is no worse for you than it was for
me when I gave up my father and mother and my
seven brothers and the king of my country into your
hands." " That is true, that is true," said all the others.
Then every man of them brought up a stone from
the strand to make a cairn, as they were used to do
before they would make an attack on any place, to
know by it afterwards how many men they had lost.
For every man that would come from the fight would
take his stone from the cairn, and the stones of all
that would be killed would be left there.
After that they held a council, and it is what they
agreed, that one man should go and spy out what way
things were at the Inn. And it was Ingcel himself
went to do that, and he was a good while looking in
by the seven doors of the house, but at last some one
of the men inside caught sight of him, and he made
his way back to his comrades, where they were all
sitting down, and their leaders in the middle, waiting
to hear his news.
" Did you see the house, Ingcel ? " said Ferogain. " I
did see it," said Ingcel ; " and whether or not there is a
king in it, it is a royal house, and I will take it as my
share when the time comes." " You may do that," said
Conaire's foster-brothers. " But we will not go against
it before we know who is in it."
"The first I saw," said Ingcel, "was a large man, of
good race, with bright eyes, with hair like flax ; his face
open, wide above and narrow below ; with modest looks,
and having no beard. A five-barbed spear in his hand,
and a shield with five gold circles on it. Nine men he
had about him, all beautiful and all alike, so that you
would think they had the one father and mother. Who
were those men, Ferogain ? " he said.
" It is easy to say that," said Ferogain. " That was
Cormac Conloingeas, son of Conchubar, the best fighter
behind a shield in all Ireland, but he is modest with all
that. And those were his nine comrades about him ;
they have never put men to death because of their
poverty, or spared them because of their riches. He is
a good leader they have with them. I swear by the
gods my people swear by, it is no small slaughter they
will make before the Inn to-night."
" It is a pity for him that will make the attack," said
Lomna Druth, the Fool, "because of that man only,
Cormac Conloingeas. And if I had my way," he said,
" the attack would not be made, for the sake of that man
alone and his beauty and his goodness."
"You will not be able to hinder it, Lomna," said
Ingcel. '• You are no go-^a. of a fighter ; I know you
weii, there are clouds of weakness coming on yoiL Xo
one, whether old man or stoiy-teiler, vi-ill be able to say
I drew back from this fight before I had gone through
with it"
" It is well enough for you, Ingcel," said Lomna ;
" you will escape after the fight, and you will bring away
the head of a strange king v^-ith you, but as for myself,**
he said, " it is my head will be the first to be tossed to
and fro to-night"
" What did you see after that ? " said Ferogain.
" I saw a room with three soft young boys in it
and they wearing cloaks of silk with gold brooches.
Long jellow hair they had, as curly as a ram's head ; a
golden shield and a candle of a king's house over each
of them, and ever\- one in the house humours them-
Who were those, Ferogain ? " he said
But Ferogain was cr>'ing tears down, so that the front
of his cloak ^-as wet, and it was a long time before he
could bring out his voice, '* O little ones,*' he said then,
" I have good reason for crying. Those are the three
sons of the king, Oball and Obline and Corpre
Findmor."
" There is grief on us if that story is true," said the
other sons of Donn Dessa ; " for it is good those three
are. They are as mannerl}- as young girls, and they have
the hearts of brothers, and the courage of lions. Who-
ever has been \^-ith them and parts from them, it is little
he sleeps or eats till the end of nine days, fretting after
their company. It is a pit>' for him that will destroy
them."
" I saw after that," said Ingcel, " a very fair man,
ha\-ing a golden bush of hair, the size of a reaping
basket A long, hea\y three-edged sword in his hand,
a red shield speckled with rivets of white bronze between
plates of gold."
" That man is known to all the men of Ireland," said
Ferogain. " It is Conall Cearnach, son of Amergin, and
he is the man Conaire thinks most of in the world ; and
that shield in his hand is the Lam-tapaid. There are
seven doorways in that inn, and when the attack is
made, Conall Cearnach will be at every one of them.
What did you see after that, Ingcel ? " he said.
" I saw," he said, " a brown big man, with short brown
hair and a red speckled cloak, and a black shield with
clasps of gold ; and with him two chief men, in their
first greyness, and black swords at their sides. And one
of them had in his hand a great spear, with fifty rivets
through it, and he shook it over his head, and struck the
haft against the palm of his hand three times, and then he
plunged it into a great pot that stood before them, with
some black thing in it, and when he was putting it in
there were flames on the shaft. Who were those men,
Ferogain ? "
" That brown man is Muinremar, son of Geirgind,
one of the champions of the Red Branch. And another
is Sencha, the beautiful son of Ailell ; and the man with
the spear is Dubthach, the Beetle of Ulster, and the
spear in his hand is Celthair's Luin, that was in the
battle of Magh Tuireadh, and that was brought from
the east by the three children of Tuireann, and when a
battle is coming near, it flames up of itself, and it must
be kept quenched in a vessel, or it will go through who-
ever has it in his hand."
" I saw after that," said Ingcel, " a room with nine
men in it, fair-haired and beautiful, with speckled cloaks,
and above them were nine bagpipes, and light was
shining from the ornaments that were on them."
" Those are the nine pipers that came to Conaire out
of the hill of the Sidhe at Bregia," said Ferogain, " because
of the great stories about him. The best pipers they are
in the whole world. And they are good fighters, but to
G
fight with them is to fight with a shadow, for they kill
but cannot be killed, because they are from the Sidhe."
" I saw after that," said Ingcel, " three very big men,
with terrible looks. A dress of rough hair they had,
and a club of iron with chains on it in every man's
hand. There was sadness on them, and they standing
alone, and every one in the house avoiding them. Who
were those, Ferogain ? "
Ferogain was silent for a while, and he said then,
" I do not know of any such men in the world, unless
they might be the three giants Cuchulain spared, the
time he took them from the men of Falga, he would
not let them be killed because of their strangeness ;
Conaire bought them from Cuchulain after that, so it is
along with him they are."
" I saw nine men in the north side of the house," said
Ingcel, " having very yellow manes of hair, and short
linen dresses, and purple cloaks without brooches ;
broad spears, and red curved shields."
" I know those men," said Ferogain ; " three royal
princes of Britain that are with the king, Oswald and
his two foster-brothers, Osbrit of the Long Hand and
his two foster-brothers, Lindas and his two foster-
brothers."
"Three red men I saw after that," said Ingcel; "red
shields above them, red spears in their hands, their
three red horses in their bridles in front of the Inn."
" Those are the three champions that did deceit and
falsehood among the Sidhe," said Ferogain, " and it is* the
punishment was put on them by the king of the Sidhe,
to be three times destroyed by the King of Teamhair ;
and Conaire is the last king through whom they will
be destroyed ; yet they will not be killed, nor will they
kill any one. It is to work out their own destruction
they are come."
" I saw after that," said Ingcel, " a big man, and his
hair white, and the shame of baldness on him, and gold
earrings in his ears. Nine swords he had in his hand,
and nine silver shields, and nine golden apples. He
was throwing each of them upwards, and not one would
fall on the ground, but each of them rising and falling
past each other like bees on a sunny day. But as I
looked at him, he let all fall to the ground, and the
people about him cried out, and the king that was
sitting there said to him, 'We have been together
since I was a little boy, and your tricks never failed
till to-night'
"< My grief!' he said. 'Fair master, Conaire, I have
good cause for it ; an unfriendly eye looked at me ;
there is some bad thing in front of the Inn.'
" And when the king heard that, it is what he said :
* I had a dream in my sleep a while ago, of the howl-
ing of my dog Ossar, of wounded men, of a wind of
terror, of keening that overcame laughter.' "
" That was Taulchinne, Conaire's juggler," said
Ferogain. " And tell me now," he said, " what was
the appearance of the king?"
" Of all the men I ever saw in the world," said Ingcel,
" he is the best in shape, and the most beautiful ; young
he is, and wise and kinglike. The colour of his hair
was like the shining of purified gold ; the cloak about
him was like the mist of a May morning, changing from
colour to colour, every colour more beautiful than
another ; a wheel brooch of gold reaching from his
chin to his waist ; his golden-hilted sword within his
reach."
"That was Conaire, the High King, indeed," said
Ferogain ; " and it is he is the greatest and the best
and the comeliest of the kings of the whole world,
and there is no fault in him, either as to wisdom or
bravery or knowledge or words or worthiness. Tender
he is, a sleepy, simple man, till he chances on some
brave thing to do, but when his anger is awaked, the
champions of Ireland and of Scotland will not win
their battle so long as he is against them. And I
swear by the oath my people swear by, unless drink
should fail him, or the like, that man alone would hold
the Inn till help would gather to him from the Wave of
Cliodna in the south, to the Wave of Essruadh in the
north."
"It is time for us to rise up," said Ingcel then, "and
to get on to the house."
So with that the outlaws rose up and went on to
the Inn, and the noise of their voices was heard about it.
" Be quiet now and listen," said Conaire. " What is
that we hear ? "
" Fighting men about the house," said Conall Cearnach.
" There are fighting men to meet them here," said
Conaire. " They will be wanted to-night," said Conall.
Then Lomna Druth, the Fool, broke in first to the
house, and the doorkeepers struck off his head, and it
was tossed three times in and out of the Inn, just as
he himself had foretold.
Then they all attacked one another,and Conaire himself
went out with his people and killed a great many of the
outlaws outside. And three times the Inn was set on
fire, and three times it was put out again. And Conaire
got to his arms then, for he had not got them in the
first attack, and he went out again and made a great
slaughter, so that the outlaws were driven back. " I
told you," said Ferogain, "that all the men of Ireland
and of Alban could not take the house till Conaire's rage
would be quenched." " It is short his time will be," said
the Druids that were along with the outlaws. And what
they put on him by their enchantments was a great
thirst, so that he went back to the house and called
for a drink. '' A drink to me, Mac Cecht," he said.
" That is not the order you are used to give me," said
Mac Cecht. " What I have to do is to keep you from
the men that are attacking you all round the house ;
ask a drink of your steward and of your cup-bearers," he
said.
Then Conaire called to his cup-bearers for a drink.
" There is none," they said, " for every drop in the house
was thrown on the fire to put it out." " Get me a drink,
Mac Cecht," he said again then ; " for if I am to die,
it is all the same to me by what death I die."
Then Mac Cecht gave a choice to the champions of
Ireland that were in the house, would they go out and
look for a drink for Conaire, or would they stop in the
house and defend him. And Conall Cearnach called
out : " Leave the defence of the king to us, and go
you and look for the drink, for it was of you it was
asked." And he was vexed with Mac Cecht for putting
the choice to them, and there was never a very friendly
feeling between them afterwards.
Then Mac Cecht went to look for a drink, and he
brought Conaire's great golden cup with him, and an
iron spit, the cauldron spit, in his other hand.
He burst out on the outlaws, and attacked them with
blows of the spit, so that many got their death ; and
then he took his shield and made a round with his sword
above his head, and cut down all before him, and got
through the whole band.
And it would be too long to tell, and it would tire the
hearers, all that happened after that ; the people of the
Inn coming out and making attacks, and some of them
getting their death, and the most part making their
escape. And at last there were none left in the Inn
with Conaire but Conall, and Sencha, and Dubthach.
Now from the rage that was on Conaire, and the
greatness of the fight he had fought, a great drouth
came on him again, and such a fever of thirst, and no
drink to get, that he died of it in the end.
Then the other three, when they saw the High King
was dead, went out and cut their way through their
enemies, and got away with their lives, but if they did,
they were wounded, and hurt, and broken.
And Conall Cearnach, after he got away, went on to
his father's house, and but half his shield left in his
hand, and a few bits left of his two spears. And he
found Amergin, his father, out before his dun in
Tailltin.
"Those are fierce wolves that have hunted you, my
son," said he. "It was not wolves that wounded me,
but a sharp fight with fighting-men," said Conall.
" Have you news from Da Derga's Inn ? " said Amergin.
" Is your lord living ? " " He is not living," said Conall.
" I swear b}' the gods the great tribes of Ulster swear
by, the man is a coward that came out alive, leaving
his lord dead among his enemies," said Amergin. " My
own wounds are not white, old hero," said Conall. And
with that he showed him his right arm, that was full
of wounds. " That arm fought there, my son," said
Amergin. "That is true," said Conall. "There are
many in front of the Inn now it gave drinks of death
to last night"
Now, as to Mac Cecht, after he got away from the
Inn, he went on to the well of Casair, that was near
him in Crith Cualann, but he could not find so much
as the full of the cup of water in it. Then he went on
through the night, from lake to lake, and from river to
river, but he could not find the full of the cup of water in
any one of them. But at last he came to Uaran Garad
on Magh Ai, and it could not hide itself from him, and
he filled the cup, and went back again, and reached
Da Dergas Inn before morning. And when he got
there, he saw two men, and they striking oflf Conaire's
head ; and Mac Cecht struck oflf the head of one of
them, and then the other man was going away with
the king's head, and he took up a stone and threw it at
him, that it broke his back.
Then Mac Cecht stooped down and poured the water
into Conaire's mouth and his throat. And when the
water was poured in, the head spoke and it said : " A
good man Mac Cecht is, a good man, a good champion
without and within. He gives drink, he saves a king,
he does a deed ; it is well he fought at the door, it is
well he made an end of fighting men. It is good I
would be, and I alive, to Mac Cecht of the great name."
And it was after that, Mac Cecht brought the body of
the High King on his back to Teamhair, and buried
him there as some say. And he himself went to his
own country, into Connaught. And the place he
stopped in was called, from his sharp grief, Magh
Bron-gear.
And there was no High King chosen to rule over
Ireland for a good many years after that.
Ch. 7
FATE OF THE SONS OF USNACH
"\TO\V it was one Fcdlimid, son of Doll, was harper
'^ to King Conchubar, and he had but one child,
and this is the story of her birth.
Cathbad, the Druid, was at Fedlimid's house one day.
" Have you got knowledge of the future ? " said
Fedlimid. " I have a little," said Cathbad. " What is
it you are wanting to know?" "I was not asking to
know anything," said Fedlimid, " but if you know of
anything that may be going to happen me, it is as
well for you to tell me."
Cathbad went out of the house for a while, and
when he came back he said : " Had you ever any
children?" "I never had," said Fedlimid, "and the
wife I have had none, and we have no hope ever to
have any ; there is no one with us but only myself
and my wife." " That puts wonder on me," said
Cathbad, " for I see by Druid signs that it is on account
of a daughter belonging to you, that more blood will
be shed than ever was shed in Ireland since time and
race began. And great heroes and bright candles of
the Gael will lose their lives because of her." " Is that
the foretelling you have made for me ? " said Fedlimid,
and there was anger on him, for he thought the Druid
was mocking him ; " if that is all you can say, you can
keep it for yourself; it is little I think of your share
of knowledge." " For all that/' said Cathbad, " I am
certain of its truth, for I can see it all clearly in my
own mind."
The Druid went away, but he was not long gone
when Fedlimid's wife was found to be with child. And
as her time went on, his vexation went on growing, that
he had not asked more questions of Cathbad, at the time
he was talking to him, and he was under a smoulder-
ing care by day and by night, for it is what he was
thinking, that neither his own sense and understanding,
or the share of friends he had, would be able to save
him, or to make a back against the world, if this mis-
fortune should come upon him, that would bring such
great shedding of blood upon the earth ; and it is the
thought that came, that if this child should be born,
what he had to do was to put her far away, where no
eye would see her, and no ear hear word of her.
The time of the delivery of Fedlimid's wife came on,
and it was a girl-child she gave birth to. Fedlimid did
not allow any living person to come to the house or to
see his wife, but himself alone.
But just after the child was born, Cathbad, the Druid,
came in again, and there was shame on Fedlimid when
he saw him, and when he remembered how he would
not believe his words. But the Druid looked at the
child and he said : " Let Deirdre be her name ; harm will
come through her.
" She will be fair, comely, bright-haired ; heroes will
fight for her, and kings go seeking for her."
And then he took the child in his arms, and it is what
he said : " O Deirdre, on whose account many shall weep,
on whose account many women shall be envious, there
will be trouble on Ulster for your sake, O fair daughter
of Fedlimid.
"Many will be jealous of your face, O flame of
beauty ; for your sake heroes shall go to exile. For
your sake deeds of anger shall be done in Emain ;
there is harm in your face, for it will bring banishment
and death on the sons of kings.
" In your fate, O beautiful child, are wounds, and ill-
doings, and shedding of blood.
"You will have a little grave apart to yourself; you
will be a tale of wonder for ever, Deirdre."
Cathbad went away then, and he sent Levarcham,
daughter of Aedh, to the house ; and Fedlimid asked
her would she take the venture of bringing up the
child, far away where no eye would see her, and no
ear hear of her. Levarcham said she would do that,
and that she would do her best to keep her the way he
wished.
So Fedlimid got his men, and brought them away
with him to a mountain, wide and waste, and there he
bade them to make a little house, by the side of a round
green hillock, and to make a garden of apple-trees
behind it, with a wall about it. And he bade them put
a roof of green sods over the house, the way a little
company might live in it, without notice being taken of
them.
Then he sent Levarcham and the child there, that no
eye might see, and no ear hear of Deirdre. He put
all in good order before them, and he gave them pro-
visions, and he told Levarcham that food and all she
wanted would be sent from year to year as long as she
lived.
And so Deirdre and her foster-mother lived in the
lonely place among the hills without the knowledge
or the notice of any strange person, until Deirdre was
fourteen years of age. And Deirdre grew straight and
clean like a rush on the bog, and she was comely
beyond comparison of all the women of the world, and
her movements were like the swan on the wave, or the
deer on the hill. She was the young girl of the
greatest beauty and of the gentlest nature of all the
women of Ireland.
Levarcham, that had charge of her, used to be giving
Deirdre every knowledge and skill that she had herself
There was not a blade of grass growing from root, or a
bird singing in the wood, or a star shining from heaven,
but Deirdre had the name of it. But there was one
thing she would not have her know, she would not let
her have friendship with any living person of the rest of
the world outside their own house.
But one dark night of winter, with black clouds over-
head, a hunter came walking the hills, and it is what
happened, he missed the track of the hunt, and lost his
way and his comrades.
And a heaviness came upon him, and he lay down on
the side of the green hillock by Deirdre's house. He
was weak with hunger and going, and perished with cold,
and a deep sleep came upon him. While he was lying
there a dream came to the hunter, and he thought that
he was near the warmth of a house of the Sidhe, and
the Sidhe inside making music, and he called out in his
dream, " If there is any one inside, let them bring me in,
in the name of the Sun and the Moon." Deirdre heard
the voice, and she said to Levarcham, " Mother, mother,
what is that ? " But Levarcham said, " It is nothing
that matters ; it is the birds of the air gone astray, and
trying to find one another. But let them go back to the
branches of the wood." Another troubled dream came
on the hunter, and he cried out a second time. " What is
that ? " asked Deirdre again. " It is nothing that matters,"
said Levarcham. " The birds of the air are looking for
one another ; let them go past to the branches of the
wood." Then a third dream came to the hunter, and
he cried out a third time, if there was any one in the hill
to let him in for the sake of the Elements, for he was
perished with cold and overcome with hunger. " Oh !
what is that, Levarcham ? " said Deirdre. " There is
nothing there for you to see, my child, but only the birds
of the air, and they lost to one another, but let them go
past us to the branches of the wood. There is no place
or shelter for them here to-night." " Oh, mother," said
Deirdre, " the bird asked to come in for the sake of the
Sun and the Moon, and it is what you yourself told me,
that anything that is asked like that, it is right for us to
give it. If you will not let in the bird that is perished
with cold and overcome with hunger, I myself will let it
in." So Deirdre rose up and drew the bolt from the
leaf of the door, and let in the hunter. She put a seat
in the place for sitting, food in the place for eating, and
drink in the place for drinking, for the man who had
come into the house. " Come now and eat food, for you
are in want of it," said Deirdre. " Indeed it is I was in
want of food and drink and warmth when I came into
this house ; but by my word, I have forgotten that since
I saw yourself," said the hunter. " How little you are
able to curb your tongue," said Levarcham. " It is not
a great thing for you to keep your tongue quiet when
you get the shelter of a house and the warmth of a
hearth on a dark winter night." " That is so," said the
hunter, " I may do that much, to keep my mouth shut ;
but I swear by the oath my people swear by, if some
others of the people of the world saw this great beauty
that is hidden away here, they would not leave her long
with you." " What people are those ? " said Deirdre. " I
will tell you that," said the hunter ; " they are Naoise,
son of Usnach, and Ainnle and Ardan, his two brothers."
" What is the appearance of these men, if we should ever
see them ? " said Deirdre. " This is the appearance that
is on those three men," said the hunter : *' the colour of
the raven is on their hair, their skin is like the swan on
the wave, their cheeks like the blood of the speckled
red calf, and their swiftness and their leap are like the
salmon of the stream and like the deer of the grey
mountain ; and the head and shoulders of Naoise are
above all the other men of Ireland." " However they
may be," said Levarcham, " get you out from here, and
take another road ; and by my word, Httle is my thank-
fulness to yourself, or to her that let you in." " You need
not send him out for telling me that," said Deirdre,
" for as to those three men, I myself saw them last night
in a dream, and they hunting upon a hill."
The hunter went away, but in a little time after he
began to think to himself how Conchubar, High King of
Ulster, was used to lie down at night and to rise up in
the morning by himself, without a wife or any one to
speak to ; and that if he could see this great beauty it
was likely he would bring her home to Emain, and that
he himself would get the good-will of the king for
telling him there was such a queen to be found on the
face of the world.
So he went straight to King Conchubar at Emain
Macha, and he sent word in to the king that he had
news for him, if he would hear it. The king sent for
him to come in. " What is the reason of your journey ? "
he said. " It is what I have to tell you, King," said the
hunter, " that I have seen the greatest beauty that ever
was born in Ireland, and I am come to tell you of it."
" Who is this great beauty, and in what place is she to
be seen, when she was never seen before you saw her,
if you did see her ? " "I did see her, indeed," said the
hunter, " but no other man can see her, unless he knows
from me the place where she is living." "Will you
bring me to the place where she is, and you will have
a good reward ? " said the king. " I will bring you
there," said the hunter. " Let you stay with my house-
hold to-night," said Conchubar, "and I myself and my
people will go with you early on the morning of to-
morrow/' " I will stay," said the hunter, and he
no FATE OF THE SONS OF USNACH
stayed that night in the household of King Con-
chubar.
Then Conchubar sent to Fergus and to the other
chief men of Ulster, and he told them of what he was
about to do. Though it was early when the songs and
the music of the birds began in the woods, it was earlier
yet when Conchubar, king of Ulster, rose up with his
little company of near friends, in the fresh spring morn-
ing of the fresh and pleasant month of May, and the
dew was heavy on every bush and flower as they went
out towards the green hill where Deirdre was living
But many a young man of them that had a light
glad, leaping step when they set out, had but a tired,
slow, failing step before the end, because of the length
and the roughness of the way. " It is down there
below," said the hunter, " in the house in that valley,
the woman is living, but I myself will not go nearer it
than this.
Conchubar and his troop went down then to the
green hillock where Deirdre was, and they knocked
at the door of the house. Levarcham called out that
neither answer nor opening would be given to any one
at all, and that she did not want disturbance put on
herself or her house. " Open," said Conchubar, " in
the name of the High King of Ulster." When Levar-
cham heard Conchubar's voice, she knew there was no
use trying to keep Deirdre out of sight any longer, and
she rose up in haste and let in the king, and as many
of his people as could follow him.
When the king saw Deirdre before him, he thought
in himself that he never saw in the course of the day,
or in the dreams of the night, a creature so beautiful,
and he gave her his full heart's weight of love there and
then. It is what he did ; he put Deirdre up on the
shoulders of his men, and she herself and Levarcham
were brought away to Emain Macha.
DEIRDRE SEES NAOISE in
With the love that Conchubar had for Deirdre, he
wanted to marry her with no delay, but when her
leave was asked, she would not give it, for she was
young yet, and she had no knowledge of the duties of
a wife, or the ways of a king's house. And when
Conchubar was pressing her hard, she asked him to
give her a delay of a year and a day. He said he
would give her that, though it was hard for him, if she
would give him her certain promise to marry him at
the year's end. She did that, and Conchubar got a
woman teacher for her, and nice, fine, pleasant, modest
maidens to be with her at her lying down and at her
rising up, to be companions to her. And Deirdre grew
wise in the works of a young girl, and in the understand-
ing of a woman ; and if any one at all looked at her
face, whatever colour she was before that, she would
blush crimson red. And it is what Conchubar thought,
that he never saw with the eyes of his body a creature
that pleased him so well.
One day Deirdre and her companions were out on a
hill near Emain Macha, looking around them in the
pleasant sunshine, and they saw three men walking
together. Deirdre was looking at the men and wonder-
ing at them, and when they came near, she remembered
the talk of the hunter, and the three men she saw in
her dream, and she thought to herself that these were
the three sons of Usnach, and that this was Naoise,
that had his head and shoulders above all the men of
Ireland. The three brothers went by without turning
their eyes at all upon the young girls on the hillside, and
they were singing as they went, and whoever heard the
low singing of the sons of Usnach, it was enchantment
and music to them, and every cow that was being
milked and heard it, gave two-thirds more of milk.
And it is what happened, that love for Naoise came
into the heart of Deirdre, so that she could not but
follow him. She gathered up her skirt and went after
the three men that had gone past the foot of the hill,
leaving her companions there after her.
But Ainnle and Ardan had heard talk of the young
girl that was at Conchubar's Court, and it is what they
thought, that if Naoise their brother would see her, it
is for himself he would have her, for she was not yet
married to the king. So when they saw Deirdre coming
after them, they said to one another to hasten their steps,
for they had a long road to travel, and the dusk of night
coming on. They did so, and Deirdre saw it, and she
cried out after them, " Naoise, son of Usnach, are you
going to leave me ? " " What cry was that came to my
ears, that it is not well for me to answer, and not easy for
me to refuse?" said Naoise. " It was nothing but the
cry of Conchubar's wild ducks," said his brothers ; " but
let us quicken our steps and hasten our feet, for we
have a long road to travel, and the dusk of the evening
coming on." They did so, and they were widening the
distance between themselves and her. Then Deirdre
cried, " Naoise ! Naoise ! son of Usnach, are you going
to leave me?" "What cry was it that came to my
ears and struck my heart, that it is not well for me to
answer, or easy for me to refuse ? " said Naoise-
" Nothing but the cry of Conchubar's wild geese," said
his brothers ; " but let us quicken our steps and hasten
our feet, the darkness of night is coming on." They
did so, and were widening the distance between them-
selves and her. Then Deirdre cried the third time,
" Naoise ! Naoise ! Naoise ! son of Usnach, are you going
to leave me ? " " What sharp, clear cry was that, the
sweetest that ever came to my ears, and the sharpest
that ever struck my heart, of all the cries I ever heard,"
said Naoise. " What is it but the scream of Conchubar's
lake swans," said his brothers. " That was the third
cry of some person beyond there," said Naoise, " and I
swear by my hand of valour," he said, " I will go no
further until I see where the cry comes from." So
Naoise turned back and met Deirdre, and Deirdre and
Naoise kissed one another three times, and she gave
a kiss to each of his brothers. And with the confusion
that was on her, a blaze of red fire came upon her, and
her colour came and went as quickly as the aspen by
the stream. And it is what Naoise thought to himself,
that he never saw a woman so beautiful in his life ; and
he gave Deirdre, there and then, the love that he never
gave to living thing, to vision, or to creature, but to
herself alone.
Then he lifted her high on his shoulder, and he said
to his brothers to hasten their steps ; and they hastened
them.
" Harm will come of this," said the young men.
" Although there should harm come," said Naoise, " I
am willing to be in disgrace while I live. We will
go with her to another province, and there is not
in Ireland a king who will not give us a welcome."
So they called their people, and that night they set
out with three times fifty men, and three times fifty
women, and three times fifty greyhounds, and Deirdre
in their midst.
They were a long time after that shifting from one
place to another all around Ireland, from Essruadh in the
south, to Beinn Etair in the east again, and it is often
they were in danger of being destroyed by Conchubar's
devices. And one time the Druids raised a wood
before them, but Naoise and his brothers cut their way
through it. But at last they got out of Ulster and
sailed to the country of Alban, and settled in a lonely
place ; and when hunting on the mountains failed them,
they fell upon the cattle of the men of Alban, so that
these gathered together to make an end of them. But
the sons of Usnach called to the king of Scotland, and
H
he took them into his friendship, and they gave him
their help when he went out into battles or to war.
But all this time they had never spoken to the king
of Deirdre, and they kept her with themselves, not to
let any one see her, for they were afraid they might get
their death on account of her, she being so beautiful.
But it chanced very early one morning, the king's
steward came to visit them, and he found his way into
the house where Naoise and Deirdre were, and there
he saw them asleep beside one another. He went
back then to the king, and he said : " Up to this time
there has never been found a woman that would be a
fitting wife for you ; but there is a woman on the shore
of Loch Ness now, is well worthy of you, king of the
East. And what you have to do is to make an end
of Naoise, for it is of his wife I am speaking." " I will
not do that," said the king ; " but go to her," he said,
"and bid her to come and see me secretly." The
steward brought her that message, but Deirdre sent
him away, and all that he had said to her, she told it to
Naoise afterwards. Then when she would not come to
him, the king sent the sons of Usnach into every hard
fight, hoping they would get their death, but they won
every battle, and came back safe again. And after a
while they went to Loch Eitche, near the sea, and they
were left to themselves there for a while in peace and
quietness. And they settled and made a dwelling
house for themselves by the side of Loch Ness, and
they could kill the salmon of the stream from out their
own door, and the deer of the grey hills from out their
window. But when Naoise went to the court of the
king, his clothes were splendid among the great men
of the army of Scotland, a cloak of bright purple,
rightly shaped, with a fringe of bright gold ; a coat of
satin with fifty hooks of silver ; a brooch on which
were a hundred polished gems ; a gold-hilted sword in
his hand, two blue-green spears of bright points, a
dagger with the colour of yellow gold on it, and a hilt
of silver. But the two children they had, Gaiar and
Aebgreine, they gave into the care of Manannan, Son of
the Sea. And he cared them well in Emhain of the
Apple Trees, and he brought Bobaras the poet to give
learning to Gaiar. And Aebgreine of the Sunny Face
he gave in marriage afterwards to Rinn, son of Eochaidh
Juil of the Land of Promise.
Now it happened after a time that a very great
feast was made by Conchubar, in Emain Macha, for
all the great among his nobles, so that the whole
company were easy and pleasant together. The
musicians stood up to play their songs and to give
poems, and they gave out the branches of relationship
and of kindred. These are the names of the poets
that were in Emain at the time, Cathbad, the Druid,
son of Conall, son of Rudraige ; Geanann of the
Bright Face, son of Cathbad ; Ferceirtne, and Geanann
Black-Knee, and many others, and Sencha, son of
Ailell.
They were all drinking and making merry until
Conchubar, the king, raised his voice and spoke aloud,
and it is what he said : " I desire to know from you, did
you ever see a better house than this house of Emain,
or a hearth better than my hearth in any place you
were ever in ? " " We did not," they said. " If that is
so," said Conchubar, " do you know of anything at all
that is wanting to you ? " " We know of nothing," said
they. " That is not so with me," said Conchubar. " I
know of a great want that is on you, the want of the
three best candles of the Gael, the three noble sons
of Usnach, that ought not to be away from us for the
sake of any woman in the world, Naoise, Ainnle, and
Ardan ; for surely they are the sons of a king, and
they would defend the High Kingship against the best
men of Ireland." "If we had dared," said they, "it is
long ago we would have said it, and more than that,
the province of Ulster would be equal to any other
province in Ireland, if there was no Ulsterman in it
but those three alone, for it is lions they are in hardness
and in bravery." " If that is so," said Conchubar, " let
us send word by a messenger to Alban, and to the
dwelling-place of the sons of Usnach, to ask them
back again." " Who will go there with the message ? "
said they all. " I cannot know that," said Conchubar,
" for there is geasa, that is bonds, on Naoise not to
come back with any man only one of the three, Conall
Cearnach, or Fergus, or Cuchulain, and I will know
now," said he, " which one of those three loves me
best." Then he called Conall to one side, and he
asked him, " What would you do with me if I should
send you for the sons of Usnach, and if they were
destroyed through me — a thing I do not mean to do ? "
" As I am not going to undertake it," said Conall, " I
will say that it is not one alone I would kill, but any
Ulsterman I would lay hold of that had harmed them
would get shortening of life from me and the sorrow
of death." "I see well," said Conchubar, "you are no
friend of mine," and he put Conall away from him-
Then he called Cuchulain to him, and asked him the
same as he did the other. " I give my word, as I am
not going," said Cuchulain, " if you want that of me,
and that you think to kill them when they come, it is
not one person alone that would die for it, but every
Ulsterman I could lay hold of would get shortening of
life from me and the sorrow of death." " I see well,"
said Conchubar, " that you are no friend of mine." And
he put Cuchulain from him. And then he called
Fergus to him, and asked him the same question, and
Fergus said, " Whatever may happen, I promise your
blood will be safe from me, but besides yourself there
is no Ulsterman that would try to harm them, and that
I would lay hold of, but I would give him shortening of
life and the sorrow of death." " I see well," said
Conchubar, " it is yourself must go for them, and it is
to-morrow you must set out, for it is with you they will
come, and when you are coming back to us westward,
I put you under bonds to go first to the fort of Borach,
son of Cainte, and give me your word now that as
soon as you get there, you will send on the sons of
Usnach to Emain, whether it be day or night at the
time." After that the two of them went in together,
and Fergus told all the company how it was under his
charge they were to be put.
Then Conchubar went to Borach and asked had he
a feast ready prepared for him. " I have," said Borach,
" but although I was able to make it ready, I was not
able to bring it to Emain." " If that is so," said
Conchubar, " give it to Fergus when he comes back to
Ireland, for it is geasa on him not to refuse your feast."
Borach promised he would do that, and so they wore
away that night.
So Fergus set out in the morning, and he brought no
guard nor helpers with him, but himself and his two
sons, Fair-Haired lollan, and Rough-Red Buinne, and
Cuillean, the shield-bearer, and the shield itself They
went on till they got to the dwelling-place of the sons
of Usnach, and to Loch Eitche in Alba. It is how the
sons of Usnach lived; they had three houses, and the
house where they made ready the food, it is not there
they would eat it, and the house where they would eat
it, it is not there they would sleep.
When Fergus came to the harbour he let a great
shout out of him. And it is how Naoise and Deirdre
were, they had a chessboard between them, and they
playing on it. Naoise heard the shout, and he said,
" That is the shout of a man of Ireland." " It is not, but
the cry of a man of Alban," said Deirdre. She knew at
the first it was Fergus gave the shout, but she denied
it. Then Fergus let another shout out of him. " That
is an Irish shout," said Naoise again. " It is not,
indeed," said Deirdre, " let us go on playing." Then
Fergus gave the third shout, and the sons of Usnach
knew this time it was the shout of Fergus, and
Naoise said to Ardan to go out and meet him. Then
Deirdre told him that she herself knew at the first shout
that it was Fergus. " Why did you deny it, then.
Queen ? " said Naoise. " Because of a vision I saw
last night," said Deirdre. " Three birds I saw coming
to us from Emain Macha, and three drops of honey
in their mouths, and they left them with us, and three
drops of our blood they brought away with them."
"What meaning do you put on that. Queen?" said
Naoise. " It is," said Deirdre, " Fergus that is coming
to us with a message of peace from Conchubar, for
honey is not sweeter than a message of peace sent
by a lying man." " Let that pass," said Naoise. " Is
there anything in it but troubled sleep and the
melancholy of woman ? And it is a long time Fergus
is in the harbour. Rise up, Ardan, to be before him, and
bring him with you here." And Ardan went down to
meet him, and gave a fond kiss to himself and to his
two sons. And it is what he said : " My love to
you, dear comrades." After that he asked news of
Ireland, and they gave it to him, and then they came
to where Naoise and Ainnle and Deirdre were, and
they kissed Fergus and his two sons, and they asked
news of Ireland from them. "It is the best news I
have for you," said Fergus, " that Conchubar, king of
Ulster, has sworn by the earth beneath him, by the
high heaven above him, and by the sun that travels to
the west, that he will have no rest by day nor sleep by
night, if the sons of Usnach, his own foster-brothers,
will not come back to the land of their home and the
country of their birth ; and he has sent us to ask you
there." " It is better for them to stop here," said
Deirdre, " for they have a greater sway in Scotland
than Conchubar himself has in Ireland." " One's own
country is better than any other thing," said Fergus,
" for no man can have any pleasure, however great his
good luck and his way of living, if he does not see his
own country every day." " That is true," said Naoise,
" for Ireland is dearer to myself than Alban, though I
would get more in Alban than in Ireland." " It will be
safe for you to come with me," said Fergus. " It will
be safe indeed," said Naoise, " and we will go with you
to Ireland ; and though there were no trouble beneath
the sun, but a man to be far from his own land, there is
little delight in peace and a long sleep to a man that
is an exile. It is a pity for the man that is an exile ;
it is little his honour, it is great his grief, for it is he will
have his share of wandering."
It was not with Deirdre's will Naoise said that, and
she was greatly against going with Fergus. And she
said : " I had a dream last night of the three sons of
Usnach, and they bound and put in the grave by Con-
chubar of the Red Branch." But Naoise said : " Lay
down your dream, Deirdre, on the heights of the hills,
lay down your dream on the sailors of the sea, lay
down your dream on the rough grey stones, for we will
give peace and we will get it from the king of the
world and from Conchubar." But Deirdre spoke again,
and it is what she said : " There is the howling of dogs
in my ears ; a vision of the night is before my eyes, I
see Fergus away from us, I see Conchubar without
mercy in his dun ; I see Naoise without strength in
battle ; I see Ainnle without his loud-sounding shield ;
I see Ardan without shield or breastplate, and the Hill
of Atha without delight. I see Conchubar asking for
blood ; I see Fergus caught with hidden lies ; I see
Deirdre crying with tears, I see Deirdre crying with
tears."
" A thing that is unpleasing to me, and that I would
never give in to," said Fergus, " is to listen to the howling
of dogs, and to the dreams of women ; and since Con-
chubar, the High King, has sent a message of friendship,
it would not be right for you to refuse it." "It would
not be right, indeed," said Naoise, " and we will go with
you to-morrow." And Fergus gave his word, and he
said, " If all the men of Ireland were against you, it
would not profit them, for neither shield nor sword or a
helmet itself would be any help or protection to them
against you, and I myself to be with you." " That is
true," said Naoise, "and we will go with you to
Ireland."
They spent the night there until morning, and then
they went where the ships were, and they went on the
sea, and a good many of their people with them, and
Deirdre looked back on the land of Alban, and it is
what she said : " My love to you, O land to the east,
and it goes ill with me to leave you ; for it is pleasant
are your bays and your harbours and your wide flowery
plains and your green-sided hills ; and little need was
there for us to leave you." And she made this com-
plaint : " Dear to me is that land, that land to the east,
Alban, with its wonders ; I would not have come from it
hither but that I came with Naoise.
" Dear to me, Dun Fiodhaigh and Dun Fionn ; dear is
the dun above them ; dear to me Inis Droignach, dear to
me Dun Suibhne.
" O Coin Cuan ! Ochone ! Coil Cuan ! where Ainnle
used to come. My grief! it was short I thought his
stay there with Naoise in Western Alban. Glen Laoi,
O Glen Laoi, where I used to sleep under soft coverings ;
fish and venison and badger's flesh, that was my portion
in Glen Laoi.
"Glen Masan, my grief! Glen Masan ! high its hart's-
tongue, bright its stalks ; we were rocked to pleasant
sleep over the wooded harbour of Masan.
"Glen Archan, my grief! Glen Archan, the straight
valley of the pleasant ridge ; never was there a young
man more light-hearted than my Naoise used to be in
Glen Archan.
"Glen Eitche, my grief! Glen Eitche, it was there
I built my first house ; beautiful were the woods on
our rising ; the home of the sun is Glen Eitche.
" Glen-da-Rua, my grief! Glen-da- Rua, my love to
every man that belongs to it ; sweet is the voice of the
cuckoo on the bending branch on the hill above Glen-
da-Rua.
" Dear to me is Droighin over the fierce strand, dear
are its waters over the clean sand ; I would never have
come out from it at all but that I came with my
beloved ! "
After she had made that complaint they came to Dun
Borach, and Borach gave three fond kisses to Fergus
and to the sons of Usnach along with him. It was then
Borach said he had a feast laid out for Fergus, and that
it was geasa for him to leave it until he would have
eaten it. But Fergus reddened with anger from head to
foot, and it is what he said : " It is a bad thing you have
done, Borach, laying out a feast for me, and Conchubar
to have made me give my word that as soon as I would
come to Ireland, whether it would be by day or in the
night-time, I would send on the sens of Usnach to Emain
Macha." "I hold you under bonds," said Borach, "to
stop and use the feast."
Then Fergus asked Naoise what should he do about
the feast. " You must choose," said Deirdre, " whether
you will forsake the children of Usnach or the feast, and
it would be better for you to refuse the feast than to
forsake the sons of Usnach." " I will not forsake them,"
said he, "for I will send my two sons, Fair-Haired
lollan and Rough-Red Buinne, with them, to Emain
Macha." " On my word," said Naoise, " that is a great
deal to do for us ; for up to this no other person
ever protected us but ourselves." And he went out
of the place in great anger; and Ainnle, and Ardan,
and Deirdre, and the two sons of Fergus followed him,
and they left Fergus dark and sorrowful after them.
But for all that, Fergus was full sure that if all the
provinces of Ireland would go into one council, they
would not consent to break the pledge he had given.
As for the sons of Usnach, they went on their way
by every short road, and Deirdre said to them, " I
will give you a good advice, Sons of Usnach, though
you may not follow it." " What is that advice, Queen ? "
said Naoise. " It is," said she, " to go to Rechrainn,
between Ireland and Scotland, and to wait there until
Fergus has done with the feast ; and that will be the
keeping of his word to Fergus, and it will be the
lengthening of your lives to you." " We will not follow
that advice," said Naoise ; and the children of Fergus
said it was little trust she had in them, when she
thought they would not protect her, though their hands
might not be so strong as the hands of the sons of
Usnach ; and besides that, Fergus had given them his
word. " Alas ! it is sorrow came on us with the word
of Fergus," said Deirdre, " and he to forsake us for a
feast," and she made this complaint : " It is grief to
me that ever I came from the east on the word of the
unthinking son of Rogh. It is only lamentations I will
make. Och ! it is very sorrowful my heart is !
" My heart is heaped up with sorrow ; it is to-night
my great hurt is. My grief! my dear companions, the
end of your days is come."
And it is what Naoise answed her : " Do not say
that in your haste, Deirdre, more beautiful than the
sun. Fergus would never have come for us eastward
to bring us back to be destroyed."
And Deirdre said, *' My grief! I think it too far for
you, beautiful sons of Usnach, to have come from Alban
of the rough grass ; it is lasting will be its life-long
sorrow."
After that they went forward to Finncairn of the
watch-tower on sharp-peaked Slieve Fuad, and Deirdre
stayed after them in the valley, and sleep fell on her
there.
When Naoise saw that Deirdre was left after them,
he turned back as she was rising out of her sleep, and
he said, "What made you wait after us, Queen?"
" Sleep that was on me," said Deirdre ; " and I saw a
vision in it." "What vision was that?" said Naoise.
" It was," she said, " Fair-Haired lollan that I saw with-
out his head on him, and Rough-Red Buinne with his
head on him ; and it is without help of Rough-Red
Buinne you were, and it is with the help of Fair- Haired
lollan you were." And she made this complaint :
" It is a sad vision has been shown to me, of my four
tall, fair, bright companions ; the head of each has been
taken from him, and no help to be had one from
another."
But when Naoise heard this he reproached her, and
said, " O fair, beautiful woman, nothing does your mouth
speak but evil. Do not let the sharpness and the
great misfortune that come from it fall on your
friends." And Deirdre answered him with kind, gentle
words, and it is what she said : " It would be better to
me to see harm come on any other person than upon
any one of you three, with whom I have travelled over
the seas and over the wide plains ; but when I look on
you, it is only Buinne I can see safe and whole, and
I know by that his. Hfe will be longest among you ; and
indeed it is I that am sorrowful to-night."
After that they came forward to the high willows,
and it was then Deirdre said, " I see a cloud in the
air, and it is a cloud of blood ; and I would give you
a good advice, sons of Usnach," she said. " What is
that advice ? " said Naoise. " To go to Dundealgan
where Cuchulain is, until Fergus has done with the
feast, and to be under the protection of Cuchulain, for
fear of the treachery of Conchubar." " Since there is
no fear on us, we will not follow that advice," said
Naoise. And Deirdre complained, and it is what she
said : " O Naoise, look at the cloud I see above us
in the air ; I see a cloud over green Macha, cold and
deep red like blood. I am startled by the cloud that
I see here in the air ; a thin, dreadful cloud that is like
a clot of blood. I give a right advice to the beautiful
sons of Usnach not to go to Emain to-night, because
of the danger that is over them.
"We will go to Dundealgan, where the Hound of
the Smith is ; we will come to-morrow from the south
along with the Hound, Cuchulain."
But Naoise said in his anger to Deirdre, " Since there
is no fear on us, we will not follow your advice." And
Deirdre turned to the grandsons of Rogh, and it is what
she said : " It is seldom until now, Naoise, that yourself
and myself were not of the one mind. And I say to
you, Naoise, that you would not have gone against me
like this, the day Manannan gave me the cup in the
time of his great victory."
After that they went on to Emain Macha. " Sons of
Usnach," said Deirdre, " I have a sign by which you will
know if Conchubar is going to do treachery on you."
"What sign is that?" said Naoise. "If you are let
come into the house where Conchubar is, and the nobles
of Ulster, then Conchubar is not going to do treachery
on you. But if it is in the House of the Red Branch you
are put, then he is going to do treachery on you."
After that they came to Emain Macha, and they took
the handwood and struck the door, and the doorkeeper
asked who was there. They told him that it was the
sons of Usnach, and Deirdre, and the two sons of
Fergus were there.
When Conchubar heard that, he called his stewards
and serving men to him, and he asked them how was
the House of the Red Branch for food and for drink.
They said that if all the seven armies of Ulster would
come there, they would find what would satisfy them.
" If that is so," said Conchubar, " bring the sons of
Usnach into it."
It was then Deirdre said, "It would have been better
for you to follow my advice, and never to have come
to Emain, and it would be right for you to leave it, even
at this time." " We will not," said Fair-Haired loUan,
'' for it is not fear or cowardliness was ever seen on us,
but we will go to the house." So they went on to the
House of the Red Branch, and the stewards and the
serving-men with them, and well-tasting food was
served to them, and pleasant drinks, till they were
all glad and merry, except only Deirdre and the sons
of Usnach ; for they did not use much food or drink,
because of the length and the greatness of their journey
from Dun Borach to Emain Macha. Then Naoise said,
" Give the chessboard to us till we go playing." So
they gave them the chessboard and they began to play.
It was just at that time Conchubar was asking,
" Who will I send that will bring me word of Deirdre,
and that will tell me if she has the same appearance
and the same shape she had before, for if she has, there
is not a woman in the world has a more beautiful shape
or appearance than she has, and I will bring her out
with edge of blade and point of sword in spite of the
sons of Usnach. sfood thoucrh thev be. But if not, let
Naoise have her for himself." '' I myself will go there,"
said Levarcham, *' and I will bring you word of that."
x\nd it is how it was, Deirdre was dearer to her than
any other person in the world ; for it was often she
went through the world looking for Deirdre and bring-
ing news to her and from her. So Levarcham went
over to the House of the Red Branch, and near it she
saw a great troop of armed men, and she spoke to
them, but they made her no answer, and she knew by
that it was none of the men of Ulster were in it, but
men from some strange country that Conchubar's
messengers had brought to Emain.
And then she went in where Naoise and Deirdre
were, and it is how she found them, the polished
chessboard between them, and they playing on it ;
and she gave them fond kisses, and she said : " You
are not doing well to be playing ; and it is to bring
Conchubar word if Deirdre has the same shape and
appearance she used to have that he sent me here
now ; and there is grief on me for the deed that will
be done in Emain to-night, treacher)- that will be done,
and the killing of kindred, and the three bright candles
of the Gael to be quenched, and Emain will not be the
better of it to the end of life and time," and she made
this complaint sadly and wearily :
" My heart is hea\y for the treachery that is being
done in Emain this night ; on account of this treachery,
Emain will never be at peace from this out.
'' The three that are most king-like to-day under the
sun ; the three best of all that live on the earth, it is
grief to me to-night they to die for the sake of any
woman. Naoise and Ainnle whose deeds are known,
and Ardan, their brother ; treachery is to be done on
the young, bright-faced three ; it is not I that am not
sorrowful to-night."
When she had made this complaint, Levarcham said
to the sons of Usnach and to the children of Fergus to
shut close the doors and the windows of the house and
to do bravery. " And oh, sons of Fergus," she said,
" defend your charge and your care bravely till Fergus
comes, and you will have praise and a blessing for it."
And she cried with many tears, and she went back to
where Conchubar was, and he asked news of Deirdre
of her. And Levarcham said, " It is good news and
bad news I have for you." " What news is that ? "
said Conchubar. " It is the good news," she said, " the
three sons of Usnach to have come to you and to be
over there, and they are the three that are bravest and
mightiest in form and in looks and in countenance, of
all in the world ; and Ireland will be yours from this
out, since the sons of Usnach are with you ; and the
new^s that is worst with me is, the woman that was best
of the women of the world in form and in looks, going
out of Emain, is without the form and without the
appearance she used to have."
When Conchubar heard that, much of his jealousy
went backward, and he was drinking and making merry
for a while, until he thought on Deirdre again the
second time, and on that he asked, "Who will I get
to bring me word of Deirdre ? " But he did not find
any one would go there. And then he said to Gelban,
the merry, pleasant son of the king of Lochlann : " Go
over and bring me word if Deirdre has the same shape
and the same appearance she used to have, for if she has,
there is not on the ricige of the world or on the waves
of the earth, a woman more beautiful than herself"
So Gelban went to the House of the Red Branch,
and he found the doors and the windows of the fort
shut, and fear came on him. And it is what he said :
" It is not an easy road for any one that would get to
the sons of Usnach, for I think there is very great
anger on them." And after that he found a window
that was left open by forgetfulness in the house, and
he was looking in. Then Deirdre saw him through
the window, and when she saw him looking at her, she
went into a red blaze of blushes, and Naoise knew that
some one was looking at her from the window, and she
told him that she saw a young man looking in at them.
It is how Naoise was at that time, with a man of the
chessmen in his hand, and he made a fair throw over his
shoulder at the young man, that put the eye out of his
head. The young man went back to where Conchubar
was. " You were merry and pleasant going out," said
Conchubar, " but you are sad and cheerless coming
back." And then Gelban told him the story from
beginning to end. " I see well," said Conchubar, " the
man that made that throw will be king of the world,
unless he has his life shortened. And what appearance
is there on Deirdre ? " he said. " It is this," said Gelban,
" although Naoise put out my eye, I would have wished
to stay there looking at her with the other eye, but for
the haste you put on me ; for there is not in the world
a woman is better of shape or of form than herself."
When Conchubar heard that, he was filled with
jealousy and with envy, and he bade the men of his
army that were with him, and that had been drink-
ing at the feast, to go and attack the place were
the sons of Usnach were. So they went forward to
the House of the Red Branch, and they gave three
great shouts around it, and they put fires and red
flames to it. When the sons of Usnach heard the
shouts, they asked who those men were that were
about the house. " Conchubar and the men of Ulster,"
they all said together. " Is it the pledge of Fergus you
would break ? " said Fair-Haired loUan. " On my word,"
said Conchubar, "there will be sorrow on the sons of
Usnach, Deirdre to be with them." "That is true,"
FAIR-HAIRED lOLLAN 129
said Deirdre, " Fergus had deceived you." " By my
oath," said Rough-Red Buinne, " if he betrayed, we
will not betray." It was then Buinne went out and
killed three-fifths of the fighting men outside, and put
great disturbance on the rest ; and Conchubar asked
who was there, and who was doing destruction on his
men like that. " It is I, myself, Rough-Red Buinne,
son of Fergus," said he. " I will give you a good gift
if you will leave off," said Conchubar. "What gift is
that ? " said Rough-Red Buinne. " A hundred of land,"
said Conchubar. " What besides ? " said Rough-Red
Buinne. " My own friendship and my counsel," said
Conchubar. " I will take that," said Rough-Red Buinne.
It was a good mountain that was given him as a
reward, but it turned barren in the same night, and
no green grew on it again for ever, and it used to be
called the Mountain of the Share of Buinne.
Deirdre heard what they were saying. " By my
word," she said, " Rough-Red Buinne has forsaken
you, and in my opinion, it is like the father the son
is." "I give my word," says Fair-Haired lollan, "that
is not so with me ; as long as this narrow, straight
sword stays in my hand, I will not forsake the sons
of Usnach."
After that, Fair-Haired lollan went out, and made
three courses around the house, and killed three-fifths
of heroes outside, and he came in again where Naoise
was, and he playing chess, and Ainnle with him. So
lollan went out the second time, and made three other
courses round the fort, and he brought a lighted torch
with him on the lawn, and he went destroying the
hosts, so that they dared not come to attack the
house. And he was a good son, Fair-Haired lollan,
for he never refused any person on the ridge of the
world anything that he had, and he never took wages
from any person but only Fergus.
It was then Conchubar said : '•' What place is my own
son, Fiacra the Fair?" "I am here, High Prince,"
said Fiacra. " By my word," said Conchubar, " it is
on the one night yourself and lollan were born, and
as it is the arms of his father he has with him, let
you take my arms with you, that is, my shield, the
Ochain, my two spears, and my great sword, the Gorm
Glas, the Blue Green — and do bravery and great deeds
with them."
Then Fiacra took Conchubar's arms, and he and
Fair-Haired lollan attacked one another, and they
made a stout fight, one against the other. But
however it was. Fair- Haired lollan put down Fiacra,
so that he made him lie under the shelter of his shield,
till it roared for the greatness of the strait he was in ;
for it was the way with the Ochain, the shield of Con-
chubar, to roar when the person on whom it would be
was in danger ; and the three chief waves of Ireland,
the Wave of Tuagh, the Wave of Cliodna, and the Wave
of Rudraige, roared in answer to it.
It was at that time Conall Cearnach was at Dun
Sobairce, and he heard the Wave of Tuagh. " True it
is," said Conall, '* Conchubar is in some danger, and it
is not right for me to be here listening to him."
Conall rose up on that, and he put his arms and his
armour on him, and came forward to where Conchubar
was at Emain Macha, and he found the fight going on
on the lawn, and Fiacra, the son of Conchubar, greatly
pressed by Fair-Haired lollan, and neither the king of
Ulster nor any other person dared to go between
them. But Conall went aside, behind Fair-Haired lollan
and thrust his sword through him. " Who is it has
wounded me behind my back ? " said Fair-Haired lollan.
•' Whoever did it, by my hand of valour, he would have
got a fair fight, face to face, from myself" '' Who are
you yourself?" said Conall. "I am lollan, son of
Fergus, and are you yourself Conall ? " " It is I/' said
Conall. " It is evil and it is heavy the work you have
done," said lollan, " and the sons of Usnach under my
protection." "Is that true?" said Conall. " It is true,
indeed," said lollan. " By my hand of valour," said
Conall, " Conchubar will not get his own son alive
from me to avenge it," and he gave a stroke of the
sword to Fiacra, so that he struck his head off, and he
left them so. The clouds of death came upon Fair-
Haired lollan then, and he threw his arms towards
the fortress, and called out to Naoise to do bravery,
and after that he died.
It is then Conchubar himself came out and nineteen
hundred men with him, and Conall said to him : " Go
up now to the doorway of the fort, and see where your
sister's children are lying on a bed of trouble." And
when Conchubar saw them he said : " You are not
sister's children to me ; it is not the deed of sister's
children you have done me, but you have done harm
to me with treachery in the sight of all the men of
Ireland." i\nd it is what Ainnle said to him : " Although
we took well-shaped, soft-handed Deirdre from you, yet
we did a little kindness to you at another time, and
this is the time to remember it. That day your ship
was breaking up on the sea, and it full of gold and
silver, we gave you up our own ship, and ourselves
went swimming to the harbour." But Conchubar said :
" If you did fifty good deeds to me, surely this would
be my thanks ; I would not give you peace, and you in
distress, but every great want I could put on you."
And then Ardan said : '' We did another little kind-
ness to you, and this is the time to remember it ; the
day the speckled horse failed you on the green of
Dundealgan, it was we gave you the grey horse that
would bring you fast on your road."
But Conchubar said : " If you had done fifty good
deeds to me, surely this would be my thanks ; I would
not give you peace, and you in distress, but every great
want I could put on you."
And then Naoise said : " We did you another good
deed, and this is the time to remember it ; we have put
you under many benefits ; it is strong our right is to
your protection.
" The time when Murcael, son of Brian, fought the
seven battles at Beinn Etair, we brought you, without
fail, the heads of the sons of the king of the South-
East."
But Conchubar said : " If you had done me fifty good
deeds, surely this is my thanks ; I would not give you
peace in your distress, but every great want I could put
upon you.
" Your death is not a death to me now, young sons of
Usnach, since he that was innocent fell by you, the
third best of the horsemen of Ireland."
Then Deirdre said : " Rise up, Naoise, take your sword,
good son of a king, mind yourself well, for it is not long
that life will be left in your fair body."
It is then all Conchubar's men came about the house,
and they put fires and burning to it. Ardan went out
then, and his men, and put out the fires and killed three
hundred men. And Ainnle went out in the third part
of the night, and he killed three hundred, and did
slaughter and destruction on them.
And Naoise went out in the last quarter of the night,
and drove away all the army from the house.
He came into the house after that, and it is then
Deirdre rose up and said to him : " By my word, it is
well you won your way ; and do bravery and valour
from this out, and it was bad advice you took when you
ever trusted Conchubar."
As for the sons of Usnach, after that they made a good
protection with their shields, and they put Deirdre in the
middle and linked the shields around her, and they gave
three leaps out over the walls of Emain, and they killed
three hundred men in that sally.
When Conchubar saw that, he went to Cathbad, the
Druid, and said to him : " Go, Cathbad, to the sons of
Usnach, and work enchantment on them ; for unless
they are hindered they will destroy the men of Ulster
for ever if they go away in spite of them ; and I give the
word of a true hero, they will get no harm from me, but
let them only make agreement with me." When Cath-
bad heard that, he agreed, believing him, and he went
to the end of his arts and his knowledge to hinder the
sons of Usnach, and he worked enchantment on them, so
that he put the likeness of a dark sea about them, with
hindering waves. And when Naoise saw the waves
rising he put up Deirdre on his shoulder, and it is
how the sons of Usnach were, swimming on the ground
as they were going out of Emain ; yet the men of Ulster
did not dare to come near them until their swords had
fallen from their hands. But after their swords fell from
their hands, the sons of Usnach were taken. And when
they were taken, Conchubar asked of the children of
Durthacht to kill them. But the children of Durthacht
said they would not do that. There was a young man
with Conchubar whose name was Maine, and his surname
Rough-Hand, son of the king of the fair Norwegians, and
it is Naoise had killed his father and his two brothers ;
Athrac and Triathrach were their names. And he said
he himself would kill the sons of Usnach. " If that is
so," said Ardan, " kill me the first, for I am younger
than my brothers, so that I will not see my brothers
killed." " Let him not be killed but myself," said Ainnle.
" Let that not be done," said Naoise, " for I have a
sword that Manannan, son of Lir, gave me, and the
stroke of it leaves nothing after it, track nor trace ; and
strike the three of us together, and we will die at the
one time." '' That is well," said they all, " and let you
lay down your heads," they said. They did that, and
Maine gave a strong quick blow of the sword on the
three necks together on the block, and struck the three
heads off them with one stroke ; and the men of Ulster
gave three loud sorrowful shouts, and cried aloud about
them there.
As for Deirdre, she cried pitifully, wearily, and tore
her fair hair, and she was talking on the sons of Usnach
and on Alban, and it is what she said :
" A blessing eastward to Alban from me ; good is
the sight of her bays and valleys, pleasant was it to
sit on the slopes of her hills, where the sons of Usnach
used to be hunting.
" One day, when the nobles of Scotland were drinking
with the sons of Usnach, to whom they owed their
affection, Naoise gave a kiss secretly to the daughter
of the lord of Duntreon. He sent her a frightened
deer, wild, and a fawn at its foot ; and he went to
visit her coming home from the host of Inverness,
When myself heard that, my head filled full of jealousy ;
I put my boat on the waves, it was the same to me to
live or to die. They followed me swimming, Ainnle
and Ardan, that never said a lie ; they turned me back
again, two that would give battle to a hundred ; Naoise
gave me his true word, he swore three times with his
arms as witness, he would never put vexation on me
again, until he would go from me to the hosts of the
dead.
" Och ! if she knew to-night, Naoise to be under a
covering of clay, it is she would cry her fill, and it is I
would cry along with her."
After she had made this complaint, seeing they were
all taken up with one another, Deirdre came forward
on the lawn, and she was running round and round,
up and down, from one to another, and Cuchulain met
her, and she told him the story from first to last, how
it had happened to the sons of Usnach. It is sorrow-
ful Cuchulain was for that, for there was not in the
world a man was dearer to him than Naoise. And
he asked who killed him. " Maine Rough- Hand," said
Deirdre. Then Cuchulain went away, sad and sorrow-
ful, to Dundealgan.
After that Deirdre lay down by the grave, and
they were digging earth from it, and she made this
lament after the sons of Usnach :
" Long is the day without the sons of Usnach ; it
was never wearisome to be in their company ; sons of
a king that entertained exiles ; three lions of the Hill of
the Cave.
" Three darlings of the women of Britain ; three
hawks of Slieve Cuilenn ; sons of a king served by
valour, to whom warriors did obedience. The three
mighty bears ; three lions of the fort of Conrach ;
three sons of a king who thought well of their praise ;
three nurslings of the men of Ulster.
" Three heroes not good at homage ; their fall is a
cause of sorrow ; three sons of the sister of a king ;
three props of the army of Cuailgne.
" Three dragons of Dun Monad, the three valiant
men from the Red Branch ; I myself will not be living
after them, the three that broke hard battles.
" Three that were brought up by Aoife, to whom
lands were under tribute ; three pillars in the breach
of battle ; three pupils that were with Scathach.
" Three pupils that were with Uathach ; three
champions that were lasting in might ; three shin-
ing sons of Usnach ; it is weariness to be without
them.
" The High King of Ulster, my first betrothed, I
forsook for love of Naoise ; short my life will be after
him ; I will make keening at their burial.
"That I would live after Naoise let no one think
on the earth ; I will not go on living after Ainnle and
after Ardan.
" After them I myself will not live ; three that
would leap through the midst of battle ; since my be-
loved is gone from me I will cry my fill over his
grave.
" O young man, digging the new grave, do not
make the grave narrow ; I will be along with them in
the grave, making lamentation and ochones !
" Many the hardship I met with along with the three
heroes ; I suffered want of house, want of fire, it is
myself that used not to be troubled.
" Their three shields and their spears made a bed
for me often. O young man, put their three swords
close over their grave.
" Their three hounds, their three hawks, will be from
this time without huntsmen ; three helpers of every
battle ; three pupils of Conall Cearnach.
" The three leashes of those three hounds have
brought a sigh from my heart ; it is I had the care of
them, the sight of them is a cause of grief
" I was never one day alone to the day of the making
of this grave, though it is often that myself and your-
selves were in loneliness.
" My sight is gone from me with looking at the grave of
Naoise ; it is short till my life will leave me, and those
who would have keened me do not live.
" Since it is through me they were betrayed I will be
tired out with sorrow ; it is a pity I was not in the
earth before the sons of Usnach were killed.
" Sorrowful was my journey with Fergus, betraying
me to the Red Branch ; we were deceived all together
with his sweet, flowery words. I left the delights of
Ulster for the three heroes that were bravest ; my life
will not be long, I myself am alone after them.
" I am Deirdre without gladness, and I at the end of
my life ; since it is grief to be without them, I myself
will not be long after them."
After that complaint Deirdre loosed out her hair, and
threw herself on the body of Naoise before it was put
in the grave and gave three kisses to him, and when her
mouth touched his blood, the colour of burning sods
came into her cheeks, and she rose up like one that had
lost her wits, and she went on through the night till she
came to where the waves were breaking on the strand.
And a fisherman was there and his wife, and they
brought her into their cabin and sheltered her, and she
neither smiled nor laughed, nor took food, drink, or
sleep, nor raised her head from her knees, but crying
always after the sons of Usnach.
But when she could not be found at Emain,
Conchubar sent Levarcham to look for her, and to
bring her back to his palace, that he might make her
his wife. And Levarcham found her in the fisherman's
cabin, and she bade her come back to Emain, where she
would have protection and riches and all that she would
ask. And she gave her this message she brought from
Conchubar : " Come up to my house, O branch with
the dark eye-lashes, and there need be no fear on your
fair face, of hatred or of jealousy or of reproach." And
Deirdre said : " I will not go up to his house, for it is
not land or earth or food I am wanting, or gold or
silver or horses, but leave to go to the grave where the
sons of Usnach are lying, till I give the three honey
kisses to their three white, beautiful bodies." And she
made this complaint :
" Make keening for the heroes that were killed on
their coming to Ireland ; stately they used to be, coming
to the house, the three great sons of Usnach.
"The sons of Usnach fell in the fight like three
branches that were growing straight and nice, and they
destroyed in a heavy storm that left neither bud nor
twig of them.
'' Xaoise, my gentle, well-learned comrade, make no
delay in crying him with me ; cry for Ardan that
killed the wild boars, cry for Ainnle whose stength
was great
" It was Naoise that would kiss my lips, my first
man and my first sweetheart ; it was Ainnle would
pour out my drink, and it was Ardan would lay my
pillow.
" Though sweet to you is the mead that is drunk by
the soft-living son of Ness, the food of the sons of
Usnach was sweeter to me all through my lifetime.
" Whenever Naoise would go out to hunt through the
woods or the wide plains, all the meat he would bring
back was better to me than honey.
" Though sweet to you are the sounds of pipes and
of trumpets, it is truly I say to the king, I have heard
music that is sweeter.
" Delightful to Conchubar, the king, are pipes and
trumpets ; but the singing of the sons of Usnach was
more delightful to me.
"It was Naoise had the deep sound of the waves in
his voice ; it was the song of Ardan that was good, and
the voice of Ainnle towards their green dwelling-place.
" Their birth was beautiful and their blossoming, as
they grew to the strength of manhood ; sad is the
end to-day, the sons of Usnach to be cut down.
" Dear were their pleasant words, dear their young,
high strength ; in their going through the plains of
Ireland there was a welcome before the coming of
their strength.
" Dear their grey eyes that were loved by women,
many looked on them as they went ; when they went
freely searching through the woods, their steps were
pleasant on the dark mountain.
" I do not sleep at any time, and the colour is gone
from my face ; there is no sound can give me delight
since the sons of Usnach do not come.
" I do not sleep through the night ; my senses are
scattered away from me, I do not care for food or
drink. I have no welcome to-day for the pleasant
drink of nobles, or ease, or comfort, or delight, or a
great house, or the palace of a king.
•' Do not break the strings of my heart as you took
hold of my young youth, Conchubar ; though my
darling is dead, my love is strong to live. What is
country to me, or land, or lordship? What are swift
horses? What are jewels and gold? Och ! it is I
will be lying to-night on the strand like the beautiful
sons of Usnach."
So Levarcham went back to Conchubar to tell him
what way Deirdre was, and that she would not come
with her to Emain Macha.
And when she was gone, Deirdre went out on the
strand, and she found a carpenter making an oar
for a boat, and making a mast for it, clean and
straight, to put up a sail to the wind. And when
she saw him making it, she said : " It is a sharp knife
you have, to cut the oar so clean and so straight, and
if you will give it to me," she said, " I will give you
a ring of the best gold in Ireland for it, the ring that
belonged to Naoise, and that was with him through
the battle and through the fight ; he thought much
of it in his lifetime ; it is pure gold, through and
through." So the carpenter took the ring in his hand,
and the knife in the other hand, and he looked at them
together, and he gave her the knife for the ring, and
for her asking and her tears. Then Deirdre went close
to the waves, and she said : " Since the other is not with
me now, I will spend no more of my lifetime without
him." And with that she drove the black knife into
her side, but she drew it out again and threw it in the
sea to her right hand, the way no one would be blamed
for her death.
Then Conchubar came down to the strand and five
hundred men along with him, to bring Deirdre away to
Emain Macha, but all he found before him was her
white body on the ground, and it without life. And it
is what he said :
"A thousand deaths on the time I brought death on
my sister's children ; now I am myself without Deirdre,
and they themselves are without life.
" They were my sister's children, the three brothers
I vexed with blows, Naoise, and Ainnle, and Ardan ;
they have died along with Deirdre."
And they took her white, beautiful body, and laid
it in a grave, and a flagstone was raised over her grave,
and over the grave of the sons of Usnach, and their
names were written in Ogham, and keening was made
for their burial.
And as to Fergus, son of Rogh, he came on the day
after the children of Usnach were killed, to Emain
Macha. And when he found they had been killed
and his pledge to them broken, he himself, and Cormac
Conloingeas, Conchubar's own son, and Dubthach, the
Beetle of Ulster, with their men, made an attack on
Conchubar's house and men, and a great many were
killed by them, and Emain Macha was burned and
destroyed.
And after doing that, they went into Connaught, to
Ailell and to Maeve at Cruachan, and they were made
welcome there, and they took service with them and
fought with them against Ulster because of the treachery
that was done by Conchubar. And that is the way
Fergus and the others came to be on the side of the
men of Connaught in the war for the Brown Bull of
Cuailgne.
And Cathbad laid a curse on Emain Macha, on
account of that great wrong. And it is what he said,
that none of the race of Conchubar should have the
kingdom, to the end of life and time.
And that came true, for the most of Conchubar's sons
died in his own lifetime, and when he was near his
death, he bade the men of Ulster bring back Cormac
Conloingeas out of Cruachan, and give him the
kingdom.
So they sent messengers to Cormac, and he set out
and his three troops of men with him, and he left his
blessing with Ailell and with Maeve, and he promised
them a good return for all the kind treatment they had
given him. And they crossed the river at Athluain,
and there they saw a red woman at the edge of the
ford, and she washing her chariot and her harness. And
after that they met a young girl coming towards them,
and a light green cloak about her, and a brooch of
precious stones at her breast. And Cormac asked her
was she coming with them, and she said she was not,
and it would be better for himself to turn back, for the
ruin of his life was come.
And he stopped for the night at the House of the Two
Smiths on the hill ofBruighean Mor, the great dwelling-
place.
But a troop of the men of Connaught came about the
house in the night, for they were on the way home after
destroying and robbing a district of Ulster, and they
thought to make an end of Cormac before he would get
to Emain.
And it chanced there was a great harper, Craiftine,
living close by, and his wife, Sceanb, daughter of
Scethern, a Druid of Connaught, loved Cormac Con-
loingeas, and three times she had gone to meet him at
Athluain, and she planted three trees there — Grief,
and Dark, and Dumbness.
And there was great hatred and jealousy of Cormac
on Craiftine, so when he knew the men of Connaught
were going to make an attack on him, he went outside
the house with his harp, and played a soft sleepy tune to
him, the way he had not the strength to rouse himself
up, and himself and the most of his people were killed.
And Amergin, that had gone with the message to him,
made his grave and his mound, and the place is called
Cluain Duma, the Lawn of the Mound.
Ch. 8
THE DREAM OF ANGUS OG
A NGUS, son of the Dagda, was asleep in his bed one
'^^ night, and he saw what he thought was a young
girl standing near him at the top of the bed, and she the
most beautiful he had ever seen in Ireland. He put out
his hand to take her hand, but she vanished on the
moment, and in the morning when he awoke there were
no trace or tidings of her.
He got no rest that day thinking of her, and that she
had gone away before he could speak to her. And the
next night he saw her again, and this time she brought
a little harp in her hand, the sweetest he ever heard, and
she played a song to him, so that he fell asleep and slept
till morning. And the same thing happened every night
for a year. She would come to his bedside and be playing
on the harp to him, but she would be gone before he
could speak with her. And at the end of the year she came
no more, and Angus began to pine away with love of her
and with fretting after her ; and he would take no food,
but lay upon the bed, and no one knew what it was ailed
him. And all the physicians of Ireland came together,
but they could not put a name on his sickness or find
any cure for him.
But at last Fergne, the physician of Conn, was brought
to him, and as soon as he looked at him he knew it was
not on his body the sickness was, but on his mind. And
U3
he sent every one away out of the room, and he said : " I
think it is for the love of some woman that you are
wasting away like this." " That is true, indeed," said
Angus ; " and it is my sickness has betrayed me." And
then he told him how the woman with the most beautiful
appearance of any woman in Ireland, used to come and
to be playing the harp to him through the night, and
how she had vanished away.
Then Fergne went and spoke with Boann, Angus's
mother, and he told her all that happened, and he
bade her to send and search all through Ireland if she
could find a young girl of the same appearance as the
one Angus had seen in his sleep. And then he left
him in his mother's care, and she had all Ireland
searched for a year, but no young girl of that appear-
ance could be found.
At the end of the year, Boann sent for Fergne to
come again, and she said : " We have not got any help
from our search up to this." And Fergne said : " Send
for the Dagda, that he may come and speak to his son."
So they sent for the Dagda, and when he came, he said :
" What have I been called for ? " " To give an advice
to your son," said Fergne, " and to help him, for he is
lying sick on account of a young girl that appeared to
him in his sleep, and that cannot be found ; and it
would be a pity for him to die." " What use will it be,
I to speak to him ? " said the Dagda, " for my knowledge
is no higher than your own." " By my word," said
Fergne, "you are the king of all the Sidhe of Ireland,
and what you have to do is to go to Bodb, the king of the
Sidhe of Munster, for he has a name for knowledge all
through Ireland." So messengers were sent to Bodb,
at his house in Sidhe Femain, and he bade them
welcome. " A welcome before you, messenger of the
Dagda," he said, "and what is the message you have
brought ? " " This is the message," they said, " Angus
Og, son of the Dagda, is wasting away these two years
with love of a woman he saw in his dreams, and we
have not been able to find her in any place. And this
is an order to you," they said, " from the Dagda, to
search out through Ireland a young girl of the same
form and appearance as the one he saw." " The search
will be made," said Bodb, " if it lasts me a year."
And at the end of a year he sent messengers to the
Dagda. " Is it a good message you have brought ? "
said the Dagda. " It is, indeed," they said ; " and this
is the message Bodb bade us give you, ' I have searched
all Ireland until I found the young girl with the same
form and appearance that you said, at Loch Beul
Draguin, at the Harp of Cliach.' And now," they said,
" he bids Angus to come with us, till he sees if it is the
same woman that appeared to him in his dream."
So Angus set out in his chariot to Sidhe Femain,
and Bodb bade him welcome, and made a great feast
for him, that lasted three days and three nights. And
at the end of that time he said : " Come out now
with me, and see if this is the same woman that came
to you."
So they set out together till they came to the sea,
and there they saw three times fifty young girls, and
the one they were looking for among them ; and she
was far beyond them all. And there was a silver chain
between every two of them, but about her own neck
there was a necklace of shining gold. And Bodb said :
" Do you see that woman you were looking for ? " "I
see her, indeed," said Angus. " But tell me who is she,
and what her name is." '* Her name is Caer Ormaith,
daughter of Ethal Anbual, from Sidhe Uaman, in the
province of Connaught. But you cannot bring her
away with you this time," said Bodb.
Then Angus went to visit his father, the Dagda,
and his mother, Boann, at Brugh na Boinne ; and Bodb
K
went with him, and they told how they had seen the
girl, and they had heard her own name, and her father's
name. " What had we best do now ? " said the Dagda.
" The best thing for you to do," said Bodb, " is to go
to Ailell and Maeve, for it is in their district she lives,
and you had best ask their help."
So the Dagda set out until he came into the province
of Connaught, and sixty chariots with him ; and Ailell
and Maeve made a great feast for him. And after
they had been feasting and drinking for the length
of a week, Ailell asked the reason of their journey.
And the Dagda said : " It is by reason of a young girl
in your district, for my son has sickness upon him on
account of her, and I am come to ask if you will give
her to him." " Who is she ? " said Ailell. " She is Caer
Ormaith, daughter of Ethal Anbual." "We have no
power over her that we could give her to him," said
Ailell and Maeve. " The best thing for you to do,"
said the Dagda, " would be to call her father here to
you."
So Ailell sent his steward to Ethal Anbual, and he
said : " I am come to bid you to go and speak with
Ailell and with Maeve." " I will not go," he said ; " I
will not give my daughter to the son of the Dagda."
So the steward went back and told this to Ailell. " He
will not come," he said, " and he knows the reason you
want him for."
Then there was anger an Ailell and on the Dagda,
and they went out, and their armed men with them,
and they destroyed the whole place of Ethal Anbual,
and he was brought before them. And Ailell said to
him : " Give your daughter now to the son of the
Dagda." "That is what I cannot do," he said, "for
there is a power over her that is greater than mine."
" What power is that ? " said Ailell. " It is an enchant-
ment," he said, " that is on her, she to be in the shape
of a bird for one year, and in her own shape the next
year," "Which shape is on her at this time?" said
Ailell. " I would not like to say that," said her father.
" Your head from you if you will not tell it," said Ailell.
" Well," said he, " I will tell you this much ; she will
be in the shape of a swan next month at Loch Beul
Draguin, and three fifties of beautiful birds will be
along with her, and if you will go there, you will see
her."
So then Ethal was set free, and he made friends
again with Ailell and Maeve; and the Dagda went
home and told Angus all that had happened, and he
said : " Go next summer to Loch Beul Draguin, and
call her to you there."
So when the time came, Angus Og went to the loch,
and he saw the three times fifty white birds there, with
their silver chains about their necks. And Angus stood
in a man's shape at the edge of the loch, and he called
to the girl : " Come and speak with me, O Caer ! "
" Who is calling me ? " said Caer. " Angus calls you,"
he said, " and if you come, I swear by my word, I will
not hinder you from going into the loch again." " I
will come," she said. So she came to him, and he laid
his two hands on her, and then, to hold to his word, he
took the shape of a swan on himself, and they went into
the loch together, and they went around it three times.
And then they spread their wings and rose up from
the loch, and went in that shape till they were at
Brugh na Boinne. And as they were going, the music
they made was so sweet that all the people that heard
it fell asleep for three days and three nights.
And Caer stopped there with him ever afterwards,
and from that time there was friendship between Angus
Og and Ailell and Maeve. And it was on account of
that friendship, Angus gave them his help at the time of
the war for the Brown Bull of Cuailgne.
Ch. 9
CRUACHAN
"VTOW as to Cruachan, the home of Ailell and of
Maeve, it is on the plain of IMagh Ai it was, in
the province of Connaught.
And this is the way the plain came by its name. In
the time long ago, there was a king whose name was
Conn, that had the Druid power, so that when the Sidhe
themselves came against him, he was able to defend
himself with enchantments as good as their own. And
one time he went out against them, and broke up their
houses, and carried away their cattle, and then, to
hinder them from following after him, he covered the
whole province with a deep snow.
The Sidhe went then to consult with Dalach, the
king's brother, that had the Druid knowledge even
better than himself; and it is what he told them to
do, to kill three hundred white cows with red ears,
and to spread out their livers on a certain plain. And
when they had done this, he made spells on them, and
the heat the livers gave out melted the snow over the
whole plain and the whole province, and after that the
plain was given the name of Magh Ai, the Plain of the
Livers.
Ailell was son of Ross Ruadh, king of Leinster, and
Maeve was daughter of Eochaid, king of Ireland, and her
brothers were the Three Fair Twins that rose up against
14S
their father, and fought against him at Druim Criadh.
And they were beaten in the fight, and went back over
the Sionnan, and they were overtaken and their heads
were cut off, and brought back to their father, and he
fretted after them to the end of his Hfe.
Seven sons Ailell and Maeve had, and the name of
every one of them was Maine. There was Maine
Mathremail, Hke his mother, and Maine Athremail,
like his father, and Maine Mo Epert, the Talker, and
Maine Milscothach, the Honey-Worded, and Maine
Andoe the Quick, and Maine Mingor, the Gently
Dutiful, and Maine Morgor, the Very Dutiful. Their
own people they had, and their own place of living.
This now was the appearance of Cruachan, the Royal
house of Ailell and of Maeve, that some called Cruachan
of the poets ; there were seven divisions in the house,
with couches in them, from the hearth to the wall ; a
front of bronze to every division, and of red yew with
carvings on it ; and there were seven strips of bronze
from the foundation to the roof of the house. The
house was made of oak, and the roof was covered with
oak shingles ; sixteen windows with glass there were,
and shutters of bronze on them, and a bar of bronze across
every shutter. There was a raised place in the middle
of the house for Ailell and Maeve, with silver fronts
and strips of bronze around it, and four bronze pillars
on it, and a silver rod beside it, the way Ailell and
Maeve could strike the middle beam and check their
people.
And outside the royal house was the dun, with the
walls about it that were built by Brocc, son of Blar, and
the great gate ; and it is there the houses were for
strangers to be lodged.
And besides this, there was at Cruachan the Hill of
the Sidhe, or, as some called it, the Cave of Cruachan, It
was there Midhir brought Etain one time, and it is there
the people of the Sidhe lived ; but it is seldom any
living person had the power to see them.
It is out of that hill a flock of white birds came one
time, and everything they touched in all Ireland
withered up, until at last the men of Ulster killed them
with their slings. And another time enchanted pigs
came out of the hill, and in every place they trod, neither
corn nor grass nor leaf would sprout before the end of
seven years, and no sort of weapon would wound them.
But if they were counted in any place, or if the people
so much as tried to count them, they would not stop in
that place, but they would go on to another. But how-
ever often the people of the country tried to count
them, no two people could ever make out the one
number, and one man would call out, " There are three
pigs in it," and another, " No, but there are seven," and
another that it was eleven were in it, or thirteen, and so
the count would be lost. One time Maeve and Ailell
themselves tried to count them on the plain, but while
they were doing it, one of the pigs made a leap over
Maeve's chariot, and she in it. Every one called out,
"A pig has gone over you, Maeve I" " It has not," she
said, and with that she caught hold of the pig by the
shank, but if she did, its skin opened at the head, and it
made its escape. And it is from that the place was
called Magh-mucrimha, the Plain of Swine-counting.
Another time Fraech, son of Idath, of the men of
Connaught, that was son of Boann's sister, Befind, from
the Sidhe, came to Cruachan. He was the most beauti-
ful of the men of Ireland or of Alban, but his life was not
long. It was to ask Findabair for his wife he came, and
before he set out his people said : " Send a message to
your mother's people, the way they will send you cloth-
ing of the Sidhe." So he went to Boann, that was at
Magh Breagh, and he brought away fifty blue cloaks with
four black ears on each cloak, and a brooch of red gold
with each, and pale white shirts with looped beasts of
gold around them ; and fifty silver shields with edges,
and a candle of a king's house in the hand of each of
the men, knobs of carbuncle under them, and their
points of precious stones. They used to light up the
night as if they were sun's rays.
And he had with him seven trumpeters with gold and
silver trumpets, with many coloured clothing, with golden,
silken, heads of hair, with coloured cloaks ; and three
harpers with the appearance of a king on each of them,
every harper having the white skin of a deer about him
and a cloak of white linen, and a harp-bag of the skins
of water-dogs.
The watchman saw them from the dun when they had
come into the Plain of Cruachan. " I see a great crowd,"
he said, " coming towards us. Since Ailell was king and
Maeve was queen, there never came and there never
will come a grander or more beautiful crowd than this
one. It is like as if I had my head in a vat of wine, with
the breeze that goes over them."
Then Fraech's people let out their hounds, and the
hounds found seven deer and seven foxes and seven
hares and seven wild boars, and hunted them to Rath
Cruachan, and there they were killed on the lawn of the
dun.
Then Ailell and Maeve gave them a welcome, and
they were brought into the house, and while food was
being made ready, Maeve sat down to play a game of
chess with Fraech. It was a beautiful chess-board
they had, all of white bronze, and the chessmen of gold
and silver, and a candle of precious stones lighting them.
Then Ailell said : " Let your harpers play for us while
the feast is being made ready." " Let them play, in-
deed," said Fraech.
So the harpers began to play, and it was much that
the people of the house did not die with crying and
with sadness. And the music they played was the Three
Cries of Uaithne. It was Uaithne, the harp of the
Dagda, that first played those cries the time Boann's
sons were born. The first was a song of sorrow for
the hardness of her pains, and the second was a song
of smiling and joy for the birth of her sons, and the
third was a sleeping song after the birth.
And with the music of the harpers, and with the
light that shone from the precious stones in the house,
they did not know the night was on them, till at last
Maeve started up, and she said : " We have done a
great deed to keep these young men without food."
" It is more you think of chess-playing than of providing
for them," said Ailell ; " and now, let them stop from
the music," he said, "till the food is given out."
Then the food was divided. It was Lothar used to
be sitting on the floor of the house, dividing the food
with his cleaver, and he not eating himself, and from
the time he began dividing, food never failed under
his hand.
After that, Fraech was brought into the conversation-
house, and they asked him what was it he wanted.
" A visit to yourselves," he said, but he said nothing
of Findabair. So they told him he was welcome, and
he stopped with them for a while, and every day they
went out hunting, and all the people of Connaught
used to come and to be looking at them.
But all this time Fraech got no chance of speaking
with Findabair, until one morning at daybreak, he
went down to the river for washing, and Findabair and
her young girls had gone there before him. And he
took her hand, and he said : " Stay here and talk with
me, for it is for your sake I am come, and would you
go away with me secretly ? " "I will not go secretly,"
she said, " for I am the daughter of a king and of
a queen."
So she went from him then, but she left him a ring
to remember her by. It was a ring her mother had
given her.
Then Fraech went to the conversation-house to Ailell
and to Maeve. " Will you give your daughter to me ? "
he said. " We will give her if you will give the marriage
portion we ask," said Ailell, " and that is, sixty black-
grey horses with golden bits, and twelve milch cows,
and a white red-eared calf with each of them ; and you
to come with us with all your strength and all your
musicians at whatever time we go to war in Ulster."
" I swear by my shield and my sword, I would not give
that for Maeve herself," he said ; and he went away out
of the house.
But Ailell had taken notice of Findabair's ring with
Fraech, and he said to Maeve : " If he brings our
daughter away with him, we will lose the help of many
of the kings of Ireland. Let us go after him and
make an end of him before he has time to harm us."
" That would be a pity," said Maeve. " and it would be
a reproach on us." " It will be no reproach on us, the
way I will manage it," said he. And Maeve agreed to
it, for there was vexation on her that it was Findabair
that Fraech wanted, and not herself So they went
into the palace, and Ailell said : " Let us go and see
the hounds hunting until mid-day." So they did so,
and at mid-day they were tired, and they all went to
bathe in the river. And Fraech was swimming in the
river, and Ailell said to him : " Do not come back till
you bring me a branch of the rowan-tree there beyond,
with the beautiful berries." For he knew there was a
prophecy that it was in a river Fraech would get his
death.
So he went and broke a branch off the tree and
brought it back over the water, and it is beautiful he
looked over the black water, his body without fault,
and his face so nice, and his eyes very grey, and the
branch with the red berries between the throat and
the white face. And then he threw the branch to
them out of the water. " It is ripe and beautiful the
berries are," said Ailell ; " bring us more of them."
So he went off again to the tree, and the water- worm
that guarded the tree caught a hold of him. " Let me
have a sword," he called out, but there was not a man
on the land would dare to give it to him, through fear of
Ailell and of Maeve. But Findabair made a leap to go
into the water with a gold knife she had in her hand, but
Ailell threw a sharp-pointed spear from above, through
her plaited hair, that held her ; but she threw the knife
to Fraech, and he cut off the head of the monster, and
brought it with him to the land, but he himself had got
a deep wound. Then Ailell and Maeve went back to
the house. " It is a great deed we have done," said
Maeve. "It is a pity, indeed, what we have done to
the man," said Ailell. " And let a healing-bath be
made for him now," he said, " of the marrow of pigs
and of a heifer." Fraech was put in the bath then,
and pleasant music was played by the trumpeters, and
a bed was made for him.
Then a sorrowful crying was heard on Cruachan, and
they saw three times fifty women with purple gowns,
with green head-dresses, and pins of silver on their
wrists, and a messenger went and asked them who
was it they were crying for. " For Fraech, son of
Idath," they said, " boy darling of the king of the Sidhe
of Ireland."
Then Fraech heard their crying, and he said : " Lift me
out of this, for that is the cry of my mother, and of the
women of Boann." So they lifted him out, and the
women came round him and brought him away into the
Hill of Cruachan.
And the next day he came out, and he whole and
sound, and fifty women with him, and they with the
appearance of women of the Sidhe. And at the door
of the dun they left him, and they gave out their cry
again, so that all the people that heard it could not but
feel sorrowful. It is from this the musicians of Ireland
learned the sorrowful cry of the women of the Sidhe.
And when he went into the house, the whole house-
hold rose up before him and bade him welcome, as if it
was from another world he was come. And there was
shame and repentance on Ailell and on Maeve for
trying to harm him, and peace was made, and he went
away to his own place.
And it was after that he came to help Ailell and
Maeve, and that he got his death in a river as was
foretold, at the beginning of the war for the Brown Bull
of Cuailgne.
And one time the Hill was robbed by the men of
Cruachan, and this is the way it happened.
One night at Samhain, Ailell and Maeve were in
Cruachan with their whole household, and the food was
being made ready.
Two prisoners had been hanged by them the day
before, and Ailell said : " Whoever will put a gad round
the foot of either of the two men on the gallows, will
get a prize from me."
It was a very dark night, and bad things would always
appear on that night of Samhain, and every man that
went out to try came back very quickly into the house.
" I will go if I will get a prize," said Nera, then. " I
will give you this gold-hilted sword," said Ailell.
So Nera went out and he put a gad round the foot of
one of the men that had been hanged. Then the man
spoke to him. " It is good courage you have," he said,
"and bring me with you where I can get a drink, for
I was very thirsty when I was hanged." So Nera
brought him where he would get a drink, and then he
IS6 CRUACHAN
put him on the gallows again, and went back to
Cruachan.
But what he saw was the whole of the palace as if
on fire before him, and the heads of the people of it
lying on the ground, and then he thought he saw an
army going into the Hill of Cruachan, and he followed
after the army. " There is a man on our track," the
last man said. " The track is the heavier," said the
next to him, and each said that word to the other from
the last to the first. Then they went into the Hill of
Cruachan. And they said to their king : " What shall
be done to the man that is come in ? " '' Let him come
here till I speak with him," said the king. So Nera
came, and the king asked him who it was had brought
him in. " I came in with your army," said Nera. " Go
to that house beyond," said the king : " there is a woman
there will make you welcome. Tell her it is I myself
sent you to her. And come every day," he said, " to
this house with a load of firing."
So Nera went where he was told, and the woman said :
" A welcome before you, if it is the king sent you." So
he stopped there, and took the woman for his wife.
And every day for three days he brought a load of firing
to the king's house, and on each day he saw a blind
man, and a lame man on his back, coming out of the
house before him. They would go on till they were at the
brink of a well before the Hill. " Is it there ? " the blind
man would say. " It is, indeed," the lame man would
say. " Let us go away," the lame man would say then.
And at the end of three days, as he thought, Nera
asked the woman about this. " Why do the blind man
and the lame man go every day to the well ? " he said.
" They go to know is the crown safe that is in the well.
It is there the king's crown is kept." "Why do these
two go ? " said Nera. " It is easy to tell that," she said ;
" they are trusted by the king to visit the crown, and
one of them was blinded by him, and the other was
lamed. And another thing," she said, "go now and
give a warning to your people to mind themselves next
Samhain night, unless they will come to attack the hill,
for it is only at Samhain," she said, " the army of the
Sidhe can go out, for it is at that time all the hills of the
Sidhe of Ireland are opened. But if they will come, I
will promise them this, the crown of Briun to be carried
off by Ailell and by Maeve."
" How can I give them that message," said Nera,
"when I saw the whole dun of Cruachan burned and
destroyed, and all the people destroyed with it ? " " You
did not see that, indeed," she said. " It was the host of
the Sidhe came and put that appearance before your
eyes. And go back to them now," she said, " and you
will find them sitting round the same great pot, and the
meat has not yet been taken off the fire."
" How will it be believed that I have gone into the
Hill ? " said Nera, " Bring flowers of summer with
you," said the woman. So he brought wild garlic with
him, and primroses and golden fern.
So he went back to the palace, and he found his people
round the same great pot, and he told them all that
had happened him, and the sword was given to him, and
he stopped with his people to the end of a year.
At the end of the year Ailell said to Nera : " We are
going now against the Hill of the Sidhe, and let you go
back," he said, " if you have anything to bring out of it."
So he went back to see the woman, and she bade him
welcome. " Go now," she said, " and bring in a load of
firing to the king, for I went in myself every day for
the last year with the load on my back, and I said there
was sickness on you." So he did that.
Then the men of Connaught and the black host of the
exiles of Ulster went into the Hill and robbed it and
brought away the crown of Briun, son of Smetra, that
was made by the smith of Angus, son of Umor, and that
was kept in the well at Cruachan, to save it from the
Morrigu. And Nera was left with his people in the
hill, and he has not come out till now, and he will not
come out till the end of life and time.
Now one time the Morrigu brought away a cow from
the Hill of Cruachan to the Brown Bull of Cuailgne,
and after she brought it back again its calf v/as born.
And one day it went out of the Hill, and it bellowed three
times. At that time Ailell and Fergus were playing
draughts, for it was after Fergus had come as an exile
from Ulster, because of the death of the sons of Usnach,
and they heard the bellowing of the bull-calf in the plain.
Then Fergus said : " I do not like the sound of the calf
bellowing. There will be calves without cows," he said,
" when the king goes on his march."
But now Ailell's bull, Finbanach, the White- Horned,
met the calf in the plain of Cruachan, and they fought
together, and the calf was beaten and it bellowed.
*' What did the calf bellow ? " Maeve asked her cow-herd
Buaigle. " I know that, my master, Fergus," said Bricriu.
" It is the song that you were singing a while ago." On
that Fergus turned and struck with his fist at his head,
so that the five men of the chessmen that were in his
hand went into Bricriu's head, and it was a lasting hurt
to him. " Tell me now, Buaigle, what did the calf
bellow?" said Maeve. "It said indeed," said Buaigle,
" that if its father the Brown of Cuailgne would come to
fight with the White-Horned, he would not be seen any
more in Ai, he would be beaten through the whole plain
of Ai on every side." And it is what Maeve said : " I
swear by the gods my people swear by, I will not lie
down on feathers, or drink red or white ale, till I see
those two bulls fighting before my face."
Ch. 10
THE WEDDING OF MAINE MORGOR
■\ 1 rHEN Maine Morgor, the Very Dutiful, the son of
Ailell and of Maeve, set out for his wedding with
Ferb, daughter of Gerg of Rath Ini, in Ulster, he brought
three troops of young men with him, and fifty men in
each troop, and this is the appearance that was on
the first two troops. Shining white shirts they had,
striped with purple down the sides ; gold shields on
their backs with borders of white silver, with figures
engraved on them, and with edges of white bronze as
sharp as knives. Great two-edged swords with silver
hilts at their belts ; chains of white silver round their
necks. And there were neither helmets on their heads,
or shoes on their feet.
And as to the third troop, the one Maine himself
was in, there were fifty reddish-brown horses in it, and
fifty white horses with red ears, with long manes and
tails coloured purple, and bridles on them, with a ball
of red gold on the one side, and a ball of white silver
on the other side, and a gold or a silver bit to every
one of them. A collar of gold with bells from it on
the neck of every horse, and when the horses would
be moving, the sound of these bells would be as sweet
as the strings of a harp when the player strikes it with
his hand. There was a chariot of white bronze ribbed
with gold and silver to every two of the horses ;
purple cushions sewed with gold bound to every chariot ;
fifty fair slender young men in these fifty chariots, and
not one among them but was the son of a king and
a queen, and was a hero and a brave man of Connaught,
and they wearing purple cloaks about them, that had
borders ornamented with gold and silver, and a clasp
of pure red gold to every cloak ; fine silk coats fastened
with hooks of gold close to their white bodies ; fifty
silver shields on their backs with gold rims studded
with carbuncles and other precious stones of ever}-
colour ; two candles of valour were the two shining
spears on the hand of every man of them ; fifty rivets
of bronze and of gold in every spear, and if any man
of them had a debt of a bushel of silver or gold, one
rivet from his spear would pay it. And there were
precious stones on their spears that would flame in
the night like the rays of the sun. At their belts they
had long, gold-hilted swords with silver sheaths ; goads
in their hands of white bronze with silver crooks. And
as to the young men themselves, they were very hand-
some and stately, and large and shining ; curled yellow
hair on them, hanging down on their shoulders ; proud,
clear, blue eyes ; their cheeks like the flowers of the
woods in May, or like the foxglove of the mountains.
There were seven greyhounds following Maine's chariot
in chains of silver, and apples of gold on every chain.
There were seven trumpeters with gold and silver
trumpets, wearing clothes of many colours, and having
all of them light yellow hair. And three Druids went
in front of them, and they having bands of silver on
their heads, and speckled cloaks on them, and carrying
shields of bronze with ornaments of red copper. And
there were three harpers with them, that had the appear-
ance of kings.
It is like that they gathered at the royal house of
Cruachan, and they went three times round the lawn
before the house. And they said farewell to Maeve
and to Ailell, and then they set out for Rath Ini.
" It is a fine setting out you are having," said Bricriu ;
" but maybe the coming back will not be so fine." " It
is a journey that will be heard of in every place," said
Maine. " I suppose," said Bricriu, " it is but a day visit
you will make there, for you will hardly stop to feast
through the night in a district that is under Conchubar."
" I give my word," said Maine, " we will not turn back
to Cruachan till we have feasted three days and three
nights in Gerg's house." He did not waste any more
time talking, but set out on the journey.
When the messengers they sent before them came to
Gerg's house at Rath Ini, the people there began to
make all ready before them, and they laid down green-
leaved birch branches and fresh green rushes in the
house. Then Ferb sent her foster-sister, Findchoem,
daughter of Erg, and bade her go a part of the way
with the messengers, and bring her back word what
appearance was on Maine and on his companions. She
was not long away, and as soon as she came back she
went with her report to the sunny parlour where Ferb
was, and it is what she said : " I never saw since Con-
chubar was in Emain, and I never will see till the end
of life and time, a finer, or grander, or a more beautiful
troop, than the troop that is coming now over the
plain. It was the same as if I was in a sweet apple-
garden, from the sweetness that came to me when
the light wind passed over them and stirred their
clothes."
With that, the men of Connaught came to the dun,
and the people within pressed upon one another to look
at them. And the gates were set open, and their
chariots unyoked, and baths of pure water were made
ready for them. And then they were brought into the
hall of heroes in the middle of the house, and they were
given every sort of food and of drink that is to be
found on the whole ridge of the world.
But as they were using the feast and making merry,
there came a sudden blast of wind that shook the whole
place, so that the hall they were in trembled, and the
shields fell from their hooks, and the spears from their
places, and the tables fell like leaves in an oak wood.
All the young men were astonished, and Gerg asked
Maine's Druids what meaning they could put on that
blast. And Ollgaeth, Maine's chief Druid, said : " I think
it is no good sign for those who are come to-night to
this wedding. A blast of wind," he said ; " a sorrowful
sound ; it is the man that will conquer.
" A shield struck out of a white hand ; the bodies of
dead men laid under stones ; a high stone over stiff
bodies ; the story is sorrowful !
" And if you will take my advice," he said, " you will
quit this feast this very night."
But he got a sharp rebuke from Maine for saying
that, and Gerg said : " There is no cause for any un-
easiness, for the men of Ulster are not gathered at
Emain at this time. And if they were itself," he said,
" I and my two sons would be ready to go out and fight
against Conchubar along with you."
They hung up their arms then again, and gave no
more heed to what the Druid had said.
Now on the mornihg of this very day, when
Conchubar was lying in his sleep at Emain, he saw
in a dream a beautiful woman coming to his bedside,
and she having the appearance of a queen. Yellow
plaited hair she had, and folds of silk over her white
skin, and a cloak of green silk from her shoulders, and
two sandals of white bronze between her soft feet
and the ground. " All good be with you, Conchubar,"
she said. " What is the reason of your coming ? " said
Conchubar. " It is not long from this time," she said,
" that Ulster will be attacked and will be robbed, and
the Brown Bull of Cuailgne will be driven away. And
the son of the man that will do this thing," she said,
" Maine Morgor, son of Ailell and of Maeve, is coming
this very night to his wedding with Ferb, daughter of
Gerg of Rath Ini, and three times fifty young men with
him. Rise up now," she said, " there are but three times
fifty men against you, and the victory will be with
you."
Then Conchubar sprang up, and sent for Cathbad, the
Druid, and told him his vision. " It is likely enough,"
he said, " that it is meant to warn us against the men
of Connaught. And you may be sure," he said, " that
if we stop here quietly, they will be doing their robbery.
And let me have the truth from you now, and tell me
what is best to do, for there is not the like of you
among the Druids."
And Cathbad said : " It is what your vision means,
that many men will get their death, and Maine of
Connaught, he that is above all disgrace, along with
them ; and he and his companions will never go back
again to beautiful Cruachan. But you yourself will come
back safe," he said, '' with fame and victory."
Then Conchubar set out, and there went with him
Cathrach Catuchenn, a queen with a great name, that
had come to Emain from the country of Spain for love
of Cuchulain ; and she went out now with Conchubar's
army. And there went with him as well, the three
outlaws of the race of the Fomor, Siabarcha, son of
Suilremar, and Berngal Brec, and Buri of the Rough
Word. And Facen, son of Dublongsech of the old
stock of Ulster came, and Fabric Fiacail from Great
Asia, and Forais Fingalach from the Isle of Man.
So Conchubar set out, and three times fifty men with
him, but he brought none of the men of Ulster with
him, but himself and his chariot-driver Brod, and
Imrinn the Druid, Cathbad's son. And none of them
brought a servant with him, except only Conchubar,
but their shields on their backs, and their bright green
spears in their hands, and their heavy swords in their
belts. And if they were not many in number, the pride
of their minds was great.
When they were come within sight of Rath Ini, they
saw a great heavy cloud over it, the one end of it black
and the middle red, and the other end green. And
Conchubar asked Imrinn the Druid, " What is this cloud
over the house a token of? " " I know well," said Imrinn,
" it is a sign there will be fighting to-night, and the sorrow
of death will be on the house like a cloud, and it is for a
young man the death darkness is made ready."
Then Conchubar went on towards the dun, and just
at that time the great vat that belonged to the house,
and that got afterwards the name of the Ol Guala, was
brought into the feasting hall, and it full of wine. But
whoever went to draw it let the silver vessel fall into
the vat, so that the wine flowed over the edges in three
waves. " My grief! " said OUgaeth the Druid, " it is not
long before these vessels will be with strangers. He is
not a happy son born of a mother that is in this house
to-night."
Then Conchubar came to the door, and the strangers
that were with him gave their shout of attack around
the dun, as their custom was. At that Gerg rose up, and
his two sons with him. Conn Coscorach and Cobthach
Cnesgel, and they took hold of their arms. And Gerg
said to Maine : " Let this be fought out now between us
men of Ulster till you see which of us are the bravest.
And we are all answerable for you, and it is best for you
that we should fight together. But if we fall, then let
you hold the place if you can."
And then Gerg went out and his two sons along with
him and their people. And they held the place, and
fought Conchubar outside ; and for a long time they did
not let any one go past them. And Gerg stood outside
the door, and a hewing and cutting was aimed at him on
every side, and five men of the Fomor fell by him, and
Imrinn the Druid, along with them, and he cut his head
off and brought it to the door with him.
Then Cathrach Catuchenn came between him and the
door, and she made a sharp attack on him, and Gerg
struck her head off, and brought it back with him into
the house, for he had got a hard wound. And he threw
the heads down before Maine, and he sat down on a
bed, and gave a heavy sigh and asked for a drink. And
then Conchubar and his people came up to the wall, and
they were holding their shields over their heads with
their left hands, and tearing down the wall with their
right hands, till they were able to make their way
through it.
Then Brod, Conchubar's chariot-driver, threw one of
the spears he had in his hand into the house, and it went
through Gerg's body, and through the body of Airisdech
his servant that was behind him, so that the two of them
fell together. And Conchubar attacked Gerg's people
in the house, so that thirty of them fell, and he killed
Conn, Gerg's son, by his own hand, and many of his own
people got their death as well.
Then Nuagal, Gerg's wife, rose up, and she gave three
great angry cries of grief, and she took the head of her
husband into her bosom. " By my word," she said, " it
is a fine servant's deed, Brod to have killed Gerg in his
own house. But there are many," she said, " that will
keen you, and as you have fallen on account of your
daughter, many women shall have sorrow on account of
you." And she made this complaint :
" It is a good fight Gerg made, that is lying here now,
the fair-haired champion with the red sword ; he that
was proud, open-handed, brave, wise, beautiful.
'• Where is there a better hero than Gerg ? Where is
the man that has not anger on him. Where is the army
that does not keen for your death ?
" It is grief to me to see you on your bed of death,
O beautiful fair-haired Gerg ! It is a pit)' for me, you
to be dead.
" Before you here in Rath Ini, and at Loch Ane and
at Irard, and in the valleys of the south, there were
many women that gave you their love.
" You were the friend of even- armv ; even- one crave
you full obedience ; your friendl)' word was dear to
ever)' one ; surely it is you v^-ere the good adviser.
"It is great indeed your deeds were, it is stately your
assemblies were ; you were a king among great lords.
"Your house was great, it was well-known, the house
within which harm came to you ; it was there Brod
killed you in the hall of kings.
"It was a great harm and a great curse Brod put on
us, he to kill a king of Ireland before his time ; he has
killed him ; he has killed all of us along with him."
Then Gerg's two sons said they would hold the place,
and they were not without killing many in the fight
Then Maine could not hold in his strength any longer,
and he went out to avenge his father-in-law. And his
three times fifty companions rose up along with him, and
it was not easy to stand against them. There was great
pride in the mind, and great courage in the heart of
ever>- one of them, and there was great desire and longing
on them to do high deeds.
And as to Maine, the king's son, he was stately, kind,
mannerly, and although he was hardly out of his
bo}'hood, he was braver in the fight than any other.
He w^as gentle in the drinking-house, and he was hard
in battle, and he was mindful of his enemies, and he was
pitiful in wounding, and a sp)ender of treasure, and a
stone of anger, and a wave of justice ; and he was the
head in the gatherings of the three Connaughts, and
their hand in spending, and their fitting king.
He thought it would be dishonour on him, ever to
be overcome in equal fight by any men in the world,
or the place to be taken that he was defending. And
he went out and drove the Fomor away from the
house, and it is not a hand of healing Maine had that
time ; and nine of the Fomor fell by his first attack.
Then the outlaw of Great Asia, Fabric Fiacail, came
up to the threshold, and began destroying the men
before him, and no one stood against him till he came
to the place where Maine was. And then they two
set their shields one against the other, and they were
fighting together till after midnight ; and Fabric gave
Maine three deep wounds, and when they were tired
out with the fight, Maine struck off his head. Then
Conchubar came, and thirty of Gerg's men were killed
by him, and the two armies fell upon one another, and
it is much that even the toes of their feet did not
make an attack of their own. And the blood that
was in the dun was as high as a man's knees, and in
all the district round nothing could be heard but the
striking of blows on shields, and the clinking of spears,
and the clash of swords against one another, and the
roar of beaten men.
And Maine, when he had overcome the Fomor, came
where Facen, son of Dublongsech was, and they fought
together a good while, and then Facen was killed. Then
Maine and Cobthach were driven up into the house
after their people were put down, and they held it
bravely till morning, and no one was able to make a
way in.
In this same night, the same woman that had brought
news to Conchubar, went to where Maeve was lying in
her sleep at Cruachan, and said to her : " If you had
the Druid sight, Maeve," she said, " you would not be
in your sleep now." " What has happened ? " said
Maeve. " Conchubar is at this very moment," said the
strange woman, "getting the upper hand of Maine, and
he is on the point of putting him to death. Rise up
now, and gather your men together," she said, "and
go out and avenge him."
With that Maeve wakened out of her sleep, and she
called to Ailell and told him the vision, and told it
to her people as well. "There is no truth in it," said
Bricriu.
But when Fiannamail, the innkeeper's son at Cruachan,
heard it, he waited for no one and made no delay, but
set out for the place where Maine was, for Maine
was his foster-brother. And Maeve chose out seven
hundred armed men, the best that were to be found in
Cruachan at that time. And then Donall Dearg came,
that was the best fighter in the province, and that was
another of Maine's foster-brothers. And he set out in
the same way, before the others, and thirty fighting men
with him, and the name of every one of them was Donall.
And then Maeve set out after them on her journey.
But as to Maine, he held the house till the bright
rising of the sun on the morrow, and it was not pleasant
rest this night brought to either side. When they could
see each other by the light of day, each remembered the
other to his hurt, and Conchubar began to rouse up his
people. " If it was the men of Ulster I had with me
now," he said, " they would not be dragging on with
this battle, the way the Fomor are doing." When the
Fomor heard that sharp reproach, their courage rose
up in them, and they pressed on hard in the fight, and
never left off till they were through the door of the
house. The house they came into had a great name
for grandeur, but it was bad work that was done in it
now. There were a hundred tables of white silver in it,
and three hundred of brass, and three hundred of white
bronze. And there were thirty vessels with pure silver
from Spain on their rims, and two hundred cowhorns
ornamented with gold or silver, and thirty silver cups,
and thirty brass cups, and on the walls there were
hangings of white linen with wonderful figures worked
on them.
Then the two armies met one another in the middle
of the house, and a great many were killed there. And
Cobthach, Gerg's son, after he had killed many of the
Fomor, came to where Berngal Brec was hewing the
heads off the men of Connaught, and they fought to-
gether, and Berngal was worsted in the end.
And as to Maine, he killed Buri of the Rough Word,
and after that he went mad and raging through the house,
and thirty other men fell by him. But when Conchubar
saw the madness that was on Maine, he turned to him,
and Maine waited for him, and they fought a long
while, and Maine threw his casting spear so strong
and straight, that it went through Conchubar's body ;
and while Conchubar was striving to draW out that
spear, Maine wounded him with the long spear that
was in his hand. Then Brod came to help Conchubar,
and Maine gave him three heavy wounds, so that he
was able to fight no more. But then Conchubar attacked
him with blows on every side, until he laid him dead
before him.
And after he had killed Maine, he began to attack
the crowd about him, so that they fell, foot to foot, and
neck to neck, all through the house. And at the end,
there was not one of Maine's people left living ; and of
the three times fifty men that came with Conchubar,
there was not one left living but himself and Brod, and
if they were itself, they did not come whole out of it.
Then Conchubar drove Cobthach, Gerg's son, out of the
house ; and while he was following him over the plain,
Ferb came with her foster-sister to the place where Maine
was lying, and she cried and lamented over him, and
she said : " My grief! you are alone now, you that spent
so many nights in company." And she made this
complaint : —
" O young man, it is red your bed is ! It is bad the
signs were, and you coming into the house, a foretelling
of tears to all your people.
" O son of Maeve ! O branch of high honour ! O son
of Ailell who is not weak ! It is a pity it is for my heart
and my body, you to be lying there for ever !
" O young man, the best I ever saw ; a rod of gold
and you lying on the pillow ; whenever you and an
enemy met together, that was the last meeting there
was between you.
" There is grief on me, you to be lying there, young
man, son of Maeve ; your face was ruddy, your hand was
rough in battle ; it is grief has been put into my heart
that was waiting for you.
" It is seldom you were without arms up to this, until
you were struck down, lying dead. The shining spear
pierced you, the hard sword wounded you, till blood was
dropping down on your cheeks.
" Och ! What were you to me, and I not to have seen
your death ; my darling, my choice among men, he that
was worth good treasure.
" He is my husband for all my days, great Maine,
Ailell's son ; I will die for the want of him, and he not
able to come and care me.
" His purple cloak is grief to me, and himself lying
there on the floor of the house, and his hand that was
struck off after he fell, and his head in the hand of
Conchubar ;
" And his sword that was strong, heavy in striking,
Conchubar has carried it far away ; and his shield there
where he fell, and he defending his people
" He himself a hero, and no lie in it ; it is he divided
much riches ; it is not a Httle thing he did to die Hke
that, and he defending his people.
" The fair young man of Connaught to be lying there
cold, and the best of his troop along with him ; it is a pity
for his people that died defending him ; it is a pity for
me, his unmarried wife.
" There is nothing I can do for you, Maine ; it is on
myself the hurt is come ; my heart is broken with it, and
I looking at you, Maine."
Then Fiannamail, the innkeeper's son from Cruachan,
came to the house, and Ferb saw him, and she said :
" Here is Fiannamail come to visit us, but whatever
companions he has left at home, he will find none before
him here." " That is rough news you are giving me,
Ferb," said Fiannamail ; " and indeed I am parted from
my companions if it is they that are lying here," he said.
" They are your companions indeed," said Ferb ; " they
overcame others, and now they are overcome them-
selves."
And Fiannamail said : " And Maine, is he living ? my
comrade, my dear friend, my prince at home ! " And
Ferb said : " It is bitter to me, you to ask this, for I know
you did not think it was Maine's last bed you would find
here."
And then she told Fiannamail all that had happened.
And Fiannamail said ; " When this news of the thing the
people of Ulster have done goes out, they will be
attacked in the west and in the east as long as there is a
man living in Connaught." But Ferb said : " There are
not left of the army of Ulster but Conchubar himself
and Brod his chariot-driver, and the both of them were
wounded by Mainebefore Conchubar killed him at the last."
Then Fiannamail went out to follow after Conchubar,
to get satisfaction for Maine's death. And he met with
Niall of the Fair Head, Conchubar's son, and a hundred
men with him, and they looking for Conchubar ; and
for all they were so many, he fought a hot battle with
them, till he fell dead.
And after he left Ferb, she was looking at the young
men of Connaught, and she made this complaint :
" A pity it is, young men of Connaught, that there is
not soft down in your pillows under you ; you that took
the defence and would not give it up. What troop was
there better than yourselves, and now you are lying like
a loosened thread.
" It is a heavy hand was laid on your eyes ; you were
given the sour drink of beaten men ; your story is hard,
it will be a cause of battles ; it will be a foretelling of
many tears.
" It is a pity there is no help for me to bring you, but
only to be keening and crying over you ; it would be
better for me to go with you, and my ashes to be
scattered abroad.
" You were the best of the armies of Ireland, young
men of Connaught, and I keening you ; many women
will cry Och ! Och ! after your proud ways.
" It is proud you were coming into the house ; it is not
common men you had for your fathers. O beautiful
young men of Connaught, it is a pity it is the way
you are now ! "
Then Donall Dearg came to the lawn before the dun-
And Ferb's foster-sister saw him, and she said : " It is a
pity he was not here and Maine living, for he would have
given him good help." And when Ferb heard he was there,
she went out to him and she said : " Well, Donall, hawk
of valour, here is a thing for you to do, to avenge your
foster-brother that has got his death." And it is what
Donall said : " If Maine has fallen, the man has fallen
that was above all his companions, in courage, in wisdom,
and in gentleness." And Ferb said : " It is not the
work of a hero, you to be sighing and keening and
crying Ochone ! But since Maine will not come back for
that, it is better for you to go out against his enemies."
And Donall said : " I will go ; I will destroy Conchubar,
I will destroy his two sons in revenge for Maine." And
Ferb said : " If it had been yourself, Donall Dearg, that
had got your death from the men of Ulster on account of
me, the story of the great vengeance Maine did for it
would be told in every place." Then Donall said :
" And as it is Maine Morgor himself has got his death,
I will never go home westward so long as there is a man
left living in Ulster.
So Donall went out, and he had not long to wait till
he saw a great troop coming towards him, and Feradach
of the Long Hand, Conchubar's son, with them. And
Donall and his men attacked them, but they were out-
numbered, and all his men fell. And he himself
wounded Feradach twice, but then his men came at him,
and Feradach struck his head off, and let out his shout
of victory, and his people shouted along with him.
And Ferb was gone into the house again, and she was
looking at Maine. " There is no good appearance on
you now, the way you are, Maine," she said ; " and my
father got his death through you, and my father's son ;
but even so, I will die with the fret of losing you." And
it is what she said : " There are many women and many
young girls will be lonely after you, you to be the only
one to fail them.
" It is beautiful you were up to this, proud and tall,
going out with your young hounds to the hunting ; it
is spoiled your body is now, it is pale your hands are.
" It is bad the news is that will travel westward to
Findabair of the Fair Eyebrows ; the story of her
brother that failed Ferb ; it is not I that have not my
fill of sorrow."
Then Maeve and her men came up to where
Conchubar was, and his two sons that had joined him,
and they faced one another, and the fight began ; and
Maeve broke through the army of Ulster to get satisfac-
tion for her son and for her people, and she killed
Conchubar's two sons. But Conchubar stood out and
faced her in spite of his wounds, and in spite of being tired
out ; for his hurts were healed by the greatness of his
anger after his two sons being kiiled.
Then Maeve was driven back and lost the battle ;
and the Druids brought her away as was their custom ;
and Conchubar followed after them till they had passed
Magh Ini. And then he turned back to spoil Gerg's
dun, and he carried away with him all he could find of
treasures ; and he took away the great brass vat that
was in the house, and brought it to Emain. And when
it was filled with beer, all the province of Ulster used to
drink from it ; and it got the name of the Champion's
Drinking Vat.
And Ferb died with grief for Maine, and Nuagal died
with grief for her husband and for her two sons. And a
grave was made for them, and a stone put over it, and
their names were written in Ogham ; and Rath Ini got
the name of Duma Ferb, Ferb's Mound, after that.
And this was the first blood shed in Ulster on the
account of the Brown Bull of Cuailgne.
TT happened one time when Maeve and Ailell rose up
^ from their royal bed in Cruachan, they began to
talk with one another. "It is what I am thinking," said
"^Ailell, " it is a true saying, ' Good is the wife of a good
man.' " " A true saying, indeed," said Maeve, " but why
do you bring it to mind at this time ? " "I bring it to
mind now because you are better to-day than the day I
married you." " I was good before I ever had to do
with you," said Maeve. " How well we never heard of
that and never knew it until now," said Ailell, " but
only that you stopped at home like any other woman,
while the enemies at your boundaries were slaughtering
and destroying and driving all before them, and you not
able to hinder them." " That is not the way it was at
all," said Maeve, " but of the six daughters of my father
Eochaid, King of Ireland, I was the best and the one
that was thought most of. As to dividing gifts and
giving wages, I was the best of them, and as to battle
feats and arms and fighting, I was the best of them.
It was I had fifteen hundred paid soldiers, and fifteen
hundred more that were the sons of chief men. And
I had these," she said, " for my own household ; and
along with that my father gave me one of the provinces
of Ireland, the province of Cruachan ; so that Maeve of
Cruachan is the name that was given to me.
" And as to being asked in marriage," she said,
" messengers came to me from your own brother, Finn,
son of Ross Ruadh, king of Leinster, and I gave him
a refusal ; and after that there came messengers from
Cairbre Niafer, son of Rossa, king of Teamhair ; and
from Conchubar, son of Ness, king of Ulster ; and after
that again from Eochu Beag, son of Luchta, and I refused
them all. For it is not a common marriage portion would
have satisfied me, the same as is asked by the other
women of Ireland," she said ; " but it is what I asked as
a marriage portion, a man without stinginess, without
jealousy, without fear. For it would not be fitting for
me to be with a man that would be close-handed, for
my own hand is open in wage-paying and in free-giving ;
and it would be a reproach on my husband, I to be a
better wage-payer than himself And it would not be
fitting for me to be with a man that would be cowardly,
for I myself go into struggles and fights and battles and
gain the victory ; and it would be a reproach to my
husband, his wife to be braver than himself And it
would not be fitting for me to be with a husband that
would be jealous, for I would never hold myself to be
bound to one man only. Now I have got such a
husband as I looked for in yourself, Ailell, son of Ross
Ruadh, king of Leinster, for you are not close-handed or
jealous or cowardly. And I gave you good wedding
gifts," she said, " suits of clothing enough for twelve men ;
a chariot that was worth three times seven serving-maids ;
the width of your face in red gold, the round of your arm
in a bracelet of white bronze. And the fine or the
tribute you can ask of your enemies is no more than the
fine or the tribute I have a right to ask, for you are
nothing of yourself, but it is in the pay of a woman you
are," she said. " That is not so," said Ailell, " for I am a
king's son, and I have two brothers that are kings, Finn,
king of Leinster, and Cairbre, king of Teamhair, and I
would have been king in their places but that they are
older than myself. And as to giving of wages and
dividing of gifts," he said, " you are no better than my-
self; and if this province is under the rule of a woman,
it is the only province in Ireland that is so : and it is
not through your right I took the kingship of it, but
through the right of my mother, Mata of Murrisk,
daughter of Magach. And if I took the daughter of the
chief king of Ireland for my wife, it was because I
thought she was a fitting wife for me." " You know
well," said Maeve, " the riches that belong to me are
greater than the riches that belong to you." " There is
no truth in that," said Ailell, " for there is no one in
Ireland has a better store of jewels and riches and
treasure than myself, and you know well there is not."
" Let our goods and our riches be put beside one
another, and let a value be put on them," said Maeve,
" and you will know which of us owns most." " I am
content to do that," said Ailell.
With that, orders were given to their people to bring
out their goods and to count them, and to put a value on
them. They did so, and the first things they brought
out were their drinking vessels, their vats, their iron
vessels, and all the things belonging to their households,
and they were found to be equal. Then their rings were
brought out, and their bracelets and chains and brooches,
their clothing of crimson and blue and black and green
and yellow and saffron and speckled silks, and these
were found to be equal. Then their great flocks of
sheep were driven from the green plains of the open
country and were counted, and they were found to be
equal ; and if there was a ram among Maeve's flocks
that was the equal of a serving-maid in value, Ailell had
one that was as good. And their horses were brought
in from the meadows, and their herds of swine out of the
woods and the valleys, and they were equal one to
M
another. And the last thing that was done was to
bring in the herds of cattle from the forest and the wild
places of the province, and when they were put beside
one another they were found to be equal, but for one
thing only. It happened a bull had been calved in
Maeve's herd, and his name was Fionnbanach, the
White-horned. But he would not stop in jMaeve's herds,
for he did not think it fitting to be under the rule
of a woman, and he had gone into Ailell's herds and
stopped there ; and now he was the best bull in the whole
province of Connaught. And when Maeve saw him,
and knew he was better than any bull of her own, there
was great vexation on her, and it was as bad to her as if
she did not own one head of cattle at all. So she called
Mac Roth, the herald, to her, and bade him to find out
where there was a bull as good as the White-horned to
be got in any province of the provinces of Ireland.
" You know that well yourself," said Mac Roth, " for
there is a bull that is twice as good as himself at the
house of Daire, son of Fachtna, in the district of
Cuailgne, and that is Donn Cuailgne, the Brown Bull
of Cuailgne." " Rise up, then," said Maeve, " and make
no delay, but go to Daire from me, and ask the loan
of that bull for a year, and I will return him at the end
of the year, and fifty heifers along with him, as fee for
the loan. And there is another thing for you to say,
Mac Roth ; if the people of Daire's district and country
think bad of him for sending away that wonderful jewel
the Donn of Cuailgne, let Daire himself come along with
him, and I will give him the equal of his own lands on
the smooth plain of Ai, and a chariot that is worth three
times seven serving-maids, and my own close friendship
along with that."
So Mac Roth set out on his journey, and nine
men along with him, and when they came to Daire's
house there was a good welcome before them, as there
should be, for Mac Roth was the chief herald of all
Ireland.
Daire asked him then what was the reason of his
journey, and Mac Roth told him the whole story of the
quarrel between Maeve and Ailell and of the counting
of their herds, and of the great rewards Maeve offered
him if he would give her the loan for one year of the
Brown Bull of Cuailgne. Daire was so well pleased
when he heard this, that he started up and said : " By my
hand of valour, I will send him to Maeve into
Connaught, with no delay, whether the men of Ulster
like it or do not like it." Mac Roth was well content
with what he said, and then he and his men were
attended to, and fresh rushes were spread, and a feast
was put before them, with every sort of food and of
drink, so that after a while they were not so clear in their
wits as they were before.
Two of them began talking to one another then, and
one said : " This is a good man in whose house we are."
" He is good indeed," said the other. " Is there any man
in Ulster better than himself? " said the first. " There is,
surely," said the other, "for Conchubarthe High King is
a better man, and it is no shame for all the men of
Ulster to gather to him." " It is a wonder," said the
first, " Daire to have given up to us what it would have
taken the strength of the four provinces of Ireland to
bring away by force." " That I may see the mouth that
spoke those words filled with blood," said another of the
men ; " for if Daire had refused to give it willingly, the
strength of Ailell and of Maeve, and the knowledge of
Fergus, son of Rogh, would have brought it from him
against his will."
Just as they were talking, the chief steward of Daire's
house came in, and servants along with him bringing
meat and drink ; and he heard what the men of
Connaught said and great anger came on him, and he
bade the servants put down the food for them, but he
never told them to use it or not to use it, but he went to
where Daire was and said : " Was it you, Daire, promised
the Brown Bull of Cuailgne to these messengers ? " " It
was myself indeed," said Daire. " Then what they have
said is true?" "What is that?" said Daire. "They
say that you knew if you did not give him willingly
you would have had to give him against your will by
the strength of Ailell and Maeve and by the guidance
of Fergus, son of Rogh." "If they say that," said
Daire, " I swear by the gods my people swear by, that
they will not take him away till they take him by
force."
On the morning of the morrow the messengers rose
up and went into the house where Daire was. " Show
us now," they said, " the place where the bull is." " I
will not indeed," said Daire ; " but if it was a habit with
me," he said, " to do treachery to messengers or to
travellers or to men on their road, not one of you would
go back alive to Cruachan." " What reason have you
for this change ? " said Mac Roth. " I have a good reason
for it, for you were saying last night that if I did not
give the bull willingly, I would be forced to give it
against my will by Ailell and by Maeve and by Fergus."
" If that was said, it was the talk of common messengers,
and they after eating and drinking," said Mac Roth,
" and it is not fitting for you to take notice of a thing
like that."
" It may be so " said Daire ; " but for all that," he said
" I will not give the bull this time."
They went back then to Cruachan, and Maeve asked
news of them, and Mac Roth told her the whole story,
how Daire gave them the promise of the bull at first, and
refused it afterwards. " What was the reason of that ? "
she asked. And when it was told her she said : " This
riddle is not hard to guess ; they did not intend to let
us get the bull at all ; but now we will take him from
them by force," she said.
And this was the cause of the great war for the Brown
Bull of Cuailgne.
Then Maeve sent messengers to the six Maines, her
sons, to come to Cruachan, the brothers of Maine Morgor
that got his death at Dun Gerg. And she sent mes-
sengers to the sons of Magach ; and they came, with
thirty hundred armed men, and to Cormac Conloingeas,
son of King Conchubar, and to Fergus, son of Rogh ;
and they came, and thirty hundred armed men with
them.
This is the appearance that was on the first troop.
Black heads of hair they had, and green cloaks about
them, held with silver brooches, and on their bodies
shirts of gold thread, embroidered with red gold, and
they had swords with white sheaths and hilts of
silver.
As to the second troop, they had short-cut hair, and
grey cloaks about them, and on their bodies pure white
shirts ; and they had swords with knobbed hilts of gold,
and sheaths of silver. Every one asked : " Is that
Cormac among them ? " " It is not indeed," said
Maeve.
As to the last troop, they had gold-yellow hair, falling
loose like manes, and crimson cloaks, well ornamented,
about them, and gold brooches with jewels at their
breasts, and long silk shirts coming down to their ankles.
And as they walked they lifted up their feet and put
them down again all together. "Is that Cormac
among them ? " every one asked. " It is, surely," said
Maeve.
So they made their camp there, and between the four
fords of Ai, Athmaga, Athslisen, Athberena, and Ath-
coltna, there were red fires blazing through the night.
And they stopped a fortnight there at Cruachan, eating
drinking, and resting themselves, that they might be
the better able for the journey and the marching.
Then Maeve bade her chariot-driver to yoke her
horses, that she might go and consult with her Druid
and ask a prophecy from him, to foretell for her if the
army she was bringing out would get the victory, and
would come back safely. And she said to the Druid :
" There are many that will part here to-day from their
companions and their friends, from their country and
their lands, from their father and their mother. And if
it happens that the whole of them do not come back
again safe and sound, it is on me the complaints and
the curses will fall. And besides that," she said, " there
is no one that goes out or that stops behind, that is
dearer to us than we are to ourselves. So find out for
us now whether we shall return, or not return." And
the Druid said : " Whoever returns or does not return,
you yourself will return."
Her chariot was turned then, and she went back again
homeward. But presently she saw a thing she wondered
at, a woman sitting on the shaft of the chariot, facing
her, and this is how she was : a sword of white bronze
in her hand, with seven rings of red gold on it and she
seemed to be weaving a web with it ; a speckled green
cloak about her, fastened at the breast with a brooch
of red gold ; a ruddy, pleasant face she had, her eyes
grey, and her mouth like red berries, and when she
spoke her voice was sweeter than the strings of a curved
harp, and her skin showed through her clothes like the
snow of a single night. Long feet she had, very white,
and the nails on them pink and even ; her hair gold-
yellow, three locks of it wound about her head, and
another that fell down loose below her knee.
Maeve looked at her, and she said : " What are you
doing here, young girl ?" " It is looking into the future
for you I am," she said, " to see what will be your
chances and your fortunes, now you are gathering the
provinces of Ireland to the war for the Brown Bull of
Cuailgne." " And why would you be doing this for me ? "
said Maeve. " There is good reason for it," she said,
" for I am a serving-maid of your own people." " Which
of my people do you belong to ? " said Maeve. " I am
Fedelm of the Sidhe, of Rath Cruachan." " It is well,
Fedelm of the Sidhe ; tell me what way you see our
hosts." " I see crimson on them, I see red." " Yet
Conchubar is lying in his weakness at Emain ; my
messengers are come back from there, and we need not
be in dread of anything from Ulster," said Maeve. " But
look again, Fedelm of the Sidhe, and tell me the truth
of the matter." " I see crimson on them, I see red,"
said the girl. " Yet Eoghan, son of Durthacht, is in his
weakness at Rathairthir ; my messengers are come back
from him ; we need not be afraid of anything from Ulster.
Look again, Fedelm of the Sidhe ; how do you see our
hosts ? " "I see them all crimson, I see them all red."
" Celtchair, son of Uthecar, is lying in his weakness
within his fort ; my messengers are come back from him.
Tell me again, Fedelm of the Sidhe, how do you see our
hosts ? " "I see crimson on them, I see red." " There
may be no harm in what you see," said Maeve, " for
when all the men of Ireland are gathered together in one
place, there will surely be quarrels and fights among
them, about going first or last over fords and rivers, or
about the first wounding of some stag or boar, or such
like. Tell me truly now, Fedelm of the Sidhe, what
way do you see our hosts ? " "I see crimson on them,
I see red. And I see," she said, " a low-sized man doing
many deeds of arms ; there are many wounds on his
smooth skin ; there is a light about his head, there is
victory on his forehead ; he is young and beautiful, and
modest towards women ; but he is like a dragon in the
battle. His appearance and his courage are like the
appearance and the courage of Cuchulain of Muirthemne ;
and who that Hound from Muirthemne may be I do
not know ; but I know this much well, that all this host
will be reddened by him. He is setting out for the
battle ; he will make your dead lie thickly, the memory
of the blood shed by him will be lasting ; women
will be keening over the bodies brought low by the
Hound of the Forge that I see before me."
This is the foretelling that was made for Maeve by
Fedelm of the Sidhe, before the setting out of the hosts
at Cruachan for Ulster.
Now, when Maeve told Fedelm of the Sidhe that
there need be no fear of the men of Ulster coming out
to attack the army, for they were lying in their weak-
ness, she meant that they were under the curse and the
enchantment that was put on them one time by a
woman they had ill-treated. And the story of it is
this :—
There was a man of the name of Crunden, son of
Agnoman, that lived in a lonely part of Ulster, among
the mountains, and he had a good way of living ; but his
wife had died, and he had the care of all his children on
him. One day he was sitting in the house, and he saw
a woman come in at the door, tall and handsome, and
with good clothes on her, and she did not say a word,
but she sat down by the hearth and began to make up
the fire. And then she went to where the meal was,
and took it out and mixed it, and baked a cake. And
when the evening was drawing on, she took a vessel and
went out and milked the cows, but all the time she
never spoke a word. Then she came back into the
house, and took a turn to the right, and was the last to
stop up and to cover over the fire.
She stayed on there, and Crunden, the man of the
house, married her, and she tended him and his sons,
and everything he had prospered.
It happened, one day, there was to be a great gather-
ing of the men of Ulster, for games and races and all
sorts of amusements, and all that could go, both of men
and women, used to go to that gathering. " I will go
there to-day," said Crunden, " the same as every other
man is going." " Do not," said his wife, " for if you
so much as say my name there at the fair," she said, " I
will be lost to you for ever." " Then indeed I will not
speak of you at all," said Crunden. So he set out with
the others to the fair, and there was every sort of amuse-
ment there, and all the people of the country were
at it.
At the ninth hour, the royal chariot was brought on
the ground, and the king's horses won the day. Then the
bards and poets, and the Druids, and the servants of the
king, and the whole gathering, began to praise the king
and the queen and their horses, and they cried out :
" There were never seen such horses as these ; there are
no better runners in all Ireland." " My wife is a better
runner than those two horses," said Crunden. When
the king was told of that he said : " Take hold of the man,
and keep him until his wife can be brought to try her
chance and to run against the horses."
So they took hold of him, and kept him, and
messengers were sent from the king to the woman.
She bade the messengers welcome, and asked what
brought them. "We are come by the king's order,"
they said, "to bring you to the fair, to see if you will run
faster than the king's horses ; for your husband boasted
that you would, and he is kept prisoner now until you
will come and release him." " It is foolish my husband
was to speak like that," she said ; " and as for myself, I
am not fit to go, for I am soon going to give birth to a
child." " That is a pity," said the messengers, " for if you
do not come, your husband will be put to death." " If
that is so, I must go, whatever happens," she said.
So with that she set out for the gathering, and when
she got there all the people were crowding about her to
see her. " It is not fitting to be looking at me, and I the
way I am," she said ; " and what have I been brought
here for ? " " To run against the two horses of the king,"
the people called out. " Ochone ! " she said, " do not ask me,
for I am close upon my hour." " Take out your swords
and put the man to death," said the king. " Give me
your help," she said to the people, " for every one of you
has been born of a mother." And then she said to the
king : " Give me even a delay until my child is born."
" I will give no delay," said the king. " Then the shame
that is on you will be greater than the shame that is on
me," she said. " And because you have showed no pity
and no respect to me," she said, " it is a heavier punish-
ment will fall on you than has fallen upon me. And
bring out the horses beside me now." Then they started,
and the woman outran the horses and gained the race ;
and at the goal the pains of childbirth came on her, and
she bore two children, a boy and a girl, and she gave a
great cry in her pain.
And a weakness came suddenly on all that heard the
cry, so that they had no more strength than the woman
as she lay there. And it is what she said : " From this
out, and till the ninth generation, the shame that you have
put on me will fall on you ; and at whatever time you most
want your strength, at the time your enemies are closing
on you, that is the time the weakness of a woman in
childbirth will come upon all the men of the province of
Ulster."
And so it happened; and of all the men of Ulster
that were born after that day, there was no one
escaped that curse and that enchantment but only
Cuchulain.
When the men of Connaught set out from Cruachan
for the north they stopped towards evening at Cuilsilinne,
and there they made their encampment for the night
Ailell took his place in the middle of the camp, and on
his right was Fergus, son of Rogh, and Cormac Con-
loingeas next to him again, and their people on the
same side ; and on Ailell's left there was a place made for
Maeve and Findabair her daughter. But Maeve stopped
behind until the whole of the army had come up, and
then she went in her chariot to see if all was in order,
and after that she came and took her seat at Ailell's
right hand. " Which of the troops do you think the
best ? " said Ailell. " None of them are any good at all,"
said Maeve, " compared with the men of Leinster, the
Gailiana." " What have they done beyond all the others
that you praise them so much ? " said Ailell. " There is
reason for praising them," said Maeve ; " for while the
others were choosing a place for themselves, the Gailiana
had their huts and their shelters made, and while the
others were making their shelters, they had their share
of food and drink cooked and set out, and while the
others were making ready their food they had theirs
eaten, and while the others were eating, they were laid
down and sleeping. And as their servants have been
better than the servants of the men of Ireland," she said,
"so will their young men and their fighting men be
better than the young men of Ireland on this march."
" I am well pleased to hear that," said Ailell, " for
it was with me they came, and they are of my own
province." "Then you need not be so well pleased,"
said Maeve, " for they shall march no further with you,
for I will not have them boasted of, before me or to me."
" Let them stop in this camp, then," said Ailell. " They
shall not do that either," said Maeve. " What must they
do, then ? " said Findabair, " if they are neither to go on
nor to stop in the camp ? " " They will get death and
destruction from myself," said Maeve. " It is a pity you
to say that," said Ailell, "and they only just after joining
us." "If you think to harm them," said Fergus, "you
will have to fight with me as well as with them ; for by
the oath of my people," he said, " it is only over my
body and the bodies of the men of Ulster that are with
me, you can come at their death." " Do not speak that
way, Fergus," said Maeve ; " for if you were to join with
these strangers against me, I would have the six Maines
and their men on my side, and the sons of Magach and
their men, and my own troops along with them. And
I think we would be well able for you," she said. " It is
not right for you to say that," said Fergus, " for there
are no men in Ireland better than the young men of
Ulster that came to Connaught with me, and they have
been a good help to you up to this. But I will tell you
another thing to do," he said : " let the men of Leinster
be divided through all the other troops of the men of
Ireland, the way there will not be more than five of them
together in any one place." " I will agree to that," said
Maeve, " for I know there would be nothing but fighting
and jealousy if they were left together the way they are
now."
On the morning of the morrow, they made ready to
set out again, but the chief men among them consulted
together first, what way they could best keep the peace
between so many troops and tribes and families ; and it
is what they settled, to put every troop under its own
leader, and to let it, great or small, take a road of its
own. And besides that, they consulted who would be
the best man to put over the whole army, to lead them
and to show them the way. And they all said Fergus
would be the best, for he had been king of Ulster
seventeen years, until Conchubar put him out of the
kingship, and he had stopped on in Ulster after that until
the time Conchubar killed the sons of Usnach in spite
of the guarantee he had given them.
So Fergus was made leader of the whole army ; but
as they went on, a great love for his own province and
his home came on him, and instead of going on north-
wards he turned to the south. And while he was delay-
ing the army like that, he sent messsengers into Ulster
to give warning and news of their coming. But Maeve
was keeping a watch on him, and when she saw what
had happened, she went to him and said : " Why is it,
Fergus, that we have turned again to the south ? " Then
Fergus knew it was no use to try and deceive her, and
they turned again, but they did not go far, but only to
the place they had left in the morning, Cuilsilinne.
Then Fergus called to mind that they were coming
near the borders of Ulster, and that it was likely it
would not be long before they would meet with
Cuchulain ; and he gave a warning to the army and
bade them mind themselves well, lest the Hound of
Muirthemne should fall on them and destroy them.
And then the men of Connaught set out again east-
ward, and when they came to Monecolthan, they saw
before them eight-score deer, in the one herd, and the
whole army surrounded them, and all the deer were
killed ; but if they were, it was the Gailiana, scattered
as they were, that killed all the deer but five, and those
five were all that were killed by the rest of the men of
Ireland.
It was on that same day Cuchulain and his father,
Sualtim, came to the pillar-stone at Ardcullin, for they
had got the warning Fergus had sent, and there they
let their horses graze, and Sualtim's horses cropped
the grass to the north of the pillar-stone to the earth,
but Cuchulain's horses, at the south side, cropped it
to the bare flags.
" It is in my mind, Sualtim," said Cuchulain, " that
the army of Connaught is not far away from us now.
Go now, then," he said, "and bring a warning to the
men of Ulster, and tell them not to stop in the open
plains, but to go into the woods and the valleys of the
province, that the men of Ireland may not come upon
them." " And you yourself, little son, what will you
do?" said Sualtim. "I must go," said Cuchulain,
"southward to Teamhair, for I promised to go there
to-day, to see a young girl of the household of Fedelm
of the Fair Shape, Laegaire's wife." " It is a pity for you
to go for a thing like that," said Sualtim, " and you
leaving Ulster under the feet of enemies and strangers."
" I must go, indeed," said Cuchulain, " for if I break
my word to a woman, it will be said from this out that
a woman's word is better than a man's."
So Sualtim set out then, to give a warning to the
men of Ulster, and Cuchulain went into the oak woods
and cut down an oak sapling, and twisted it into a ring,
and cut a message on it in Ogham. And then he forced
the ring over the top of the pillar-stone, and down to the
thick part of it. And then he went on to keep his
appointment at Teamhair.
As to the men of Ireland, they went on till they came
to ArdcuUin, and the whole country of Ulster lay there
before them. And then they saw the pillar-stone and
the oak ring that was on it ; and Ailell took it off, and
gave it to Fergus, and bade him read the Ogham. And
what he read on it was Cuchulain's name, and the warn-
ing on it that the men of Ulster should not pass the
pillar-stone that night, for if they did, he would do a great
revenge on them at the sunrise of the morrow.
" It would be a pity," said Maeve, " that the first blood
to be shed after going into the province should be the
blood of our own people : it would be best for us to
draw blood first on the people of Ulster." " I agree to
that," said Ailell, " for I am loth to go against this ring
or the man that twisted it ; but let us go into the wood
and make our camp there for the night." So they went
into the wood, and cut a way for the chariots with their
swords as they went, and it is from that the place is
called Sleact na Gearbat, the Cut Way of the Chariots,
until this time. And a great snow fell that night, so
that it made one plain of the five provinces of Ireland,
and they could make no shelter or prepare food, and
none of the men in the camp knew through the whole
night was it friend or enemy was near him, until the
clear light of the sun fell on the snow in the morning.
And then they left that place, and went on into Ulster.
As to Cuchulain, he did not rise very early that morn-
ing, and when he did, there was food made ready for
him, and a bath of pure water. Then he bade Laeg to
make his chariot ready, and they set out ; and after a
while they came to the track of the army of Ireland
where it had gone over the border into Ulster. " Well,
Laeg," said Cuchulain, " I have not much luck out of my
appointment that I kept last night ; for it is expected
of one that is watching the borders that the least he
should do is to raise a cry or give a warning of the
enemy that is coming, and I have missed doing this, so
that the men of Ireland have slipped by without news or
notice into Ulster." " I told you, Cuchulain," said Laeg,
"that if you kept to your meeting last night, some
vexation like this would fall on you." "Well, Laeg,"
said Cuchulain, " let you follow their track now, and
count them, and see what number of the men of Ireland
are come over the border." Laeg did this, and he came
back and told their number, as he had counted them.
"There is a mistake in your counting," said Cuchulain.
" I will count them myself this time." Then he told
their number. " It is with yourself the mistake is,
Cuchulain," said Laeg. " It is not," he said, " but there
are eighteen divisions have passed the border, but the
eighteenth is broken up and distributed among the
others, so that no sure reckoning can be made of it."
This, now, was one of the three best estimates ever
made in Ireland, and the other two were made by
Lugh of the Long Hand, and by Angus at Brugh na
Boinne.
" But now, Laeg," he said, " turn the chariot towards
the army, and hurry on the horses ; for unless I can
make an end of some of them to-day," he said, " I will
not live through the night myself."
So they went on to the place that is called now
Athgowla, northward from Knowth.
There they met with the two young men, the sons of
Neara, that were sent out in front of Maeve's army, to
see was there any hindrance before it, and Cuchulain
struck off their heads and the heads of their chariot-
drivers.
And he cut down a tree with his sword, and it having
four branches, and he lopped them short, and cleared
the tree ; and he stood up in his chariot, and with one
cast he drove the tree into the ground that it stood deep
and firm, and he set the four heads he had struck off on
the four lopped branches of it. And then he turned
back their horses in their chariots towards the army.
Now it is the way Maeve used to be going, she in
a chariot by herself, and two chariots on each side of
her, and behind her and before her, the way no sod from
the feet of the horses of the army, or foam from their
mouths, would touch her clothing. And when she saw
the two chariots coming back, and the bodies in them
without heads, she stopped to see what had happened.
" What are these ? " she said. " They are the chariots
and the bodies of the two sons of Neara that went on
before us," said her chariot-driver.
Then she held a council with her chief men, and it is
what they agreed, that it must be some part of the army
of Ulster was there before them at the ford they
were drawing near, and that it was best to send out
Cormac Conloingeas and his men to see who was in it.
for the men of Ulster would not be willing to harm the
son of their High King.
So Cormac and his troop went on to the ford, but
when he got there all he saw was a lopped tree and four
heads on it, and the blood dripping down from them,
and the track of one chariot only, going eastward out of
the ford. Then the rest of the army came with the other
chief men. " There is wonder on me," said Ailell ; " our
four men to have been made an end of so easily as this."
" You may wonder as well," said Fergus, " at the way
this pole was driven into the ground by one man, and it
will be hard for you to find a man of your army will
drag it out again." " Do it yourself, Fergus," said Maeve,
" for you are of my army." So Fergus called for a
chariot, and stood up in it, and gave such a strong pull at
the pole, that the chariot broke under him. " Give me
another chariot," he said. And when he had broken
seventeen of the war-chariots of Connaught one after
another, and had not so much as loosened the pole,
Maeve said : " Leave off now, Fergus, from breaking my
people's chariots ; and if you yourself had not been with
us on this march," she said, " we would have been up
with the men of Ulster before now, and we would have
taken men and cattle. And I know well why you did
this ; it was to give the men of Ulster time to get over
their weakness and their pains, and to come out against
us to defend their bull and their cattle." " Give me my
own chariot, then," said Fergus. So they gave him his
own chariot, and he got up in it and gave a great pull at
the pole ; and neither the frame nor the wheels of his
chariot started or strained like the others, and he pulled
up the pole and gave it into Ailell's hand, and Ailell
looked at it and said : " There is dread on me, of the
man that set that pole there ; do you think, Fergus,"
he said, "was it Conchubar the High King that did
N
it ? " ^' It was not," said Fergus, " for if Conchubar
had come here, his army would have come along with
him, and all the men of Ulster, and he would not
have been so near to you without offering you battle,
and by this time whichever got the better would be
boasting of it." " Do you think was it Cuscraid,
Conchubar's son ? " said Ailell ; " or Eoghan, son of
Durthacht, king of Fernmaighe ; or Celthair, son of
Uthecar?" "I do not," said Fergus, "but it is what
I think, that it was my own foster-son and Conchubar's
that was here, Cuchulain, son of Sualtim." " We heard
you often talking at Cruachan about that young man,
and what is his age at this time?" " His age is of no
great matter," said Fergus, " for he did great deeds,
when he was but a soft child." " He is young enough
yet," said Maeve, " and I think it will not be hard to find
some one of our own men that will get the better of this
wild Hound, for he has but the one body to wound or to
put to flight." " You will get no one," said Fergus,
" among your fighting men and your young men and
your champions that will be able to put down
Cuchulain "
They stopped there then and made their camp, and
rested that night, with food and with music.
And it was in that night Fergus gave Maeve and
Ailell the whole story of the boy deeds of Cuchulain,
and how he used to have a stone for a pillow, and no
one dared wake him, lest he might chance to give them
a blow of the stone in his anger. And he told of one
night when he was asleep, and Conchubar was attacked
and was beaten by Eoghan, son of Durthacht.
And Cuchulain was awakened by the cries of the
beaten men that were running away, and he went out
in the darkness of the night to look for Conchubar;
and where the battle had been, he saw a man with the
half of a man's body on his back, and he called to
Cuchulain to help him, and threw the half-body to him,
and Cuchulain threw it back again, and they fought,
and he struck off the man's head. And then he found
Conchubar lying in a grave, and he dug him out of
that, and as they went home, they met Cuscraid that
was wounded, and Cuchulain brought him home to
Emain on his back. And another time he went into
a wood and saw a terrible-looking man having a wild
boar in one hand, and his weapon in the other hand, and
he killed him, and brought home the boar. And another
time when the men of Ulster were in their weakness,
three times nine sea-robbers came to Emain, and the
women ran shrieking to the palace when they saw them,
and when the boys that were at play on the lawn knew
what they were running from, they ran along with them.
But Cuchulain went out and killed nine of the sea-
robbers and wounded the rest of them, so that he drove
them all back. And he told them many other stories
of his doings beside these.
The next day, the army marched on eastward beyond
the mountain. But there was a narrow place they had
to pass through, and Cuchulain cut down a great oak
tree, and laid it across the gap, and wrote an Ogham on
it ; and when the men of Ireland came up to it, it
hindered them, and they could not move it, and they
made their camp there that night. And early in the
morning they sent the young man Fraech, son of
Idath, to get the hindrance cleared away. But Fraech
went on beyond it, till he came to a river, and there he
found Cuchulain bathing. And they attacked one
another in the water, and Fraech was beaten, and
Cuchulain went away and left his body on the bank.
And when the men of Ireland found his body they
began to keen him. And then they saw a great band
of women of the Sidhe, with green dresses on them,
coming for his body, and they gave out a great cry
over him and brought him away to a hill of the Sidhe.
And Findabair cried after him, and went to see the
green bank where he was lying.
And they knew that Cuchulain was not far from them,
for presently Maeve's little dog, Baiscne, got his death
by a stone from a sling. There was anger on Maeve
then, and she urged her men to follow after Cuchulain,
so that they broke the poles of their chariots in their
hurry.
The next day Cuchulain was going through the
wood, and he heard the sound of blows on the trees.
" It is too bold the men of Ulster are, Laeg," he said,
" to be cutting down trees like this, with the men of
Ireland coming on them ; and stop here," he said, " till
I find out who is it that is in the wood."
He went on till he met with a young man of
Connaught, that was chariot-driver to Orlam, son of
Maeve and Ailell. " What is it you are doing there,
young man ? " he asked. " I am cutting holly poles," said
the young man, " for we have broken our chariots hunting
that notable deer, Cuchulain. And now, good friend,"
he said, " lend me a hand with these poles, lest that
same notable Cuchulain should come upon me here."
" Your choice, boy ; shall I cut the holly poles, or shall
I trim them for you ? " " Let you do the trimming," said
he. So Cuchulain took them and trimmed them
straight and smooth, that a fly could not have kept his
footing on them. The chariot-driver looked at the poles,
and he said : " I am thinking this is not the work you
have a right to be put to. And who are you at all ? "
he said. " I am that notable Cuchulain you were speak-
ing of just now." "That is bad news for me," said the
driver, " for surely I am a dead man." " There need be
no fear on you," said Cuchulain, "for I do not fight
against drivers or messengers or unarmed men. But
where is your master ? " he said. " He is out before
you on the plain." " Go to him, then, and give him
this warning, that I am here, and that if we meet, he
will surely get his death from me." With that the
young man went to look for his master, but quick as he
went, Cuchulain was quicker, and as soon as he came
up with Orlam he struck off his head, and held it up
and shook it before the men of Ireland.
After that, the three sons of Garach came out and
made an attack on him, but he overcame them, and
struck off their heads, and he killed their chariot-
drivers as well, that they had armed against him.
And Lethan and his chariot-driver came against him,
and he killed them in the same way.
At that time the harpers of Cainbile came to Maeve's
camp, and played on their magic harps ; but the men of
Ireland thought it might be as spies they came, and they
drove them out of the camp, and followed after them
till they came to the great stone of Lecmore. But when
they thought to overtake them there, the harpers took
on themselves the shape of wild deer, and went away.
And it was on the same day that Cuchulain, with two
casts of a sling stone, killed the squirrel and the pet bird
that were sitting on Maeve's two shoulders.
Then the men of Ireland came into Magh Breagh and
Muirthemne, and carried off and destroyed all before
them. And Fergus warned them that Cuchulain was
not far off, and that he would do a great vengeance on
them, since they had spoiled Muirthemne. And it was
at that time Lugaid, son of Nois, that had gone into
Connaught with Fergus, went secretly to Cuchulain and
told him of all that was going on in the camp, and of the
dread of him that was on all the men of Ireland, so that
they did not dare to stir out alone, and that he himself
was true to him yet.
And now that the army was coming so near to
Cuailgne, the War-goddess, the Battle Crow, the Morrigu,
came and sat on a pillar-stone at Teamhair, and gave a
warning to the Brown Bull of Cuailgne, and it is what
she said : " Have a care, and keep a good watch, my poor
bull, or the men of Ireland will come on you and will
drive you away to their camp." And when the bull
heard the warning, he brought fifty of his heifers with
him, and went away to a valley of Slieve Cuilinn.
And the men of Ireland came on, bringing the herds
of cattle they took on the way, where there was no one
to defend them. And they stopped for the night at
Conaille Muirthemne, and there Maeve bade one of her
women go down to the stream for water. And the
woman was wearing Maeve's golden covering on her
head, and Cuchulain saw her, and he thought it was
Maeve herself that was in it, and he made a cast of a
stone that killed her, and the gold covering was broken
in pieces.
And they were delayed there for a while, for the river
was in flood, and when they tried to cross it, the chariots
that went in were swept away to the sea ; and one of
Maeve's best men, Uala, that she sent to try the depth of
it, was swept away along with them. And while they
were stopping there, Cuchulain killed Raen and Rae,
that were come to tell the story of the war, and a hundred
men along with them.
Then Maeve said : " Some man of you must go out and
stand against Cuchulain to save the army." " It is not I
that will go," said one of them. " It is not I," said all the
others, " for Cuchulain is no easy man to stand against."
Then when none of them would go out, Maeve made
them cut a way through the mountain before them, that
it might be left as a lasting disgrace to Ulster. So they
did this, and it is called Berna Ulaid, the Gap of Ulster,
to this day.
Now, when they were setting out to cross the moun-
tain, Maeve gave orders that the army was to be
divided in two parts, each with its own share of cattle,
and of all other things, and she said that she herself
and Fergus would go with the one part, by the Gap of
Ulster, and that Ailell should go with the other part,
by the road of Midluachair.
So Ailell set out, and his chariot-driver, Ferloga, with
him, and that was the same Ferloga that made a bargain
with Conchubar, the High King, one time ; and this is
the way it happened. It was at the time Mac Datho of
Leinster had stirred up a fight between the men of
Ulster and the men of Connaught, about the dividing
of a pig at a feast he made, the same way Bricriu had
stirred up a fight about the Championship, and
Conchubar was following after the men of Connaught
over the plain ofFearbile; and all of a sudden Ferloga,
that had been left behind by Ailell, and that was
hiding himself, made a leap to the back of Conchubar's
chariot, and took a hold of his neck between his two
hands. " What will you give me to let you loose, king ? "
he said. " What is it you are asking ? " said Conchubar.
" Indeed it is no great gift I am asking," said Ferloga,
"but only you to bring me along with you to Emain
Macha, and the young women and the young girls of
Ulster to sing a song around me every evening, and
every one of them to say, ' Ferloga is my favourite.' "
Conchubar agreed to that, and Ferloga went with him
to Emain ; but at the end of a year they sent him back,
and presents with him, to Ailell and to Maeve.
At that time, a suspicion came on Ailell, that there
was some understanding between Maeve and Fergus,
and he bade Ferloga to keep a watch on them. After a
while, Ferloga saw that Maeve and Fergus had stopped
in a wood behind the rest of the army, and he followed
after them quietly, the way they would not hear him,
and there he found Fergus's sword lying on the ground.
So he took the sword out of the sheath, and he cut a
wooden sword and shaped it, and put it into the sheath
in its place, and he brought Fergus's sword back to
Ailell, and told him how he had found it, and Ailell bade
him hide it in his chariot. When Fergus saw that his
sword was gone and a wooden sword was put in its
place, there was great confusion on him ; but Ailell said
nothing of it when they met, but asked him to come
and play a game of chess with him. And at the game
they quarrelled, and Ailell said sharp words of blame to
Fergus and to Maeve, and they answered him back, and
Fergus bade him give him up his sword. But Ailell said
he would never give it to him until the day of the great
battle would come, between the men of Ireland and the
men of Ulster.
Then Cuchulain came there and stood on a height
and shook his spears and his sword before them, so that
great dread came on them.
After that, Maeve sent Fiacha, son of Flraba, to talk
with Cuchulain, and to try could he win him over.
" What will you offer him ? " said Fiacha. " I will give
him full payment for all that has been spoiled of his
goods, and a good place for himself in Cruachan Ai,
and my own protection and Ailell's, if he will give up
Conchubar's service and come into ours. And indeed
that would be better for him," she said, " than to stop
under a little king like Conchubar."
So Fiacha went to speak with Cuchulain, and he gave
him a good welcome. And Fiacha told him the message
he had brought from Maeve, and the offer she had made
if he would quit Conchubar's service. " I will not do
that," said Cuchulain; "I will not betray my mother's
brother for the sake of any strange king. But I will
consent to go myself to-morrow," he said, " to speak with
Maeve and Ailell and with Fergus." So Fiacha bade
him farewell, and went back to the army.
On the morning of the morrow Cuchulain went to
Glen Ochain, and Maeve and Fergus came to meet him ;
and Maeve looked at him and she said : " Is this the same
Cuchulain you put such a great name on, Fergus ? I see
that he has not yet grown out of his boyhood." Then she
spoke with Cuchulain and made her offer again, and he
refused it, and they left the place with great anger on
them one against the other. And that night, and the
two nights after it, the men of Ireland were afraid either
to eat or to sleep or to make music ; for Cuchulain killed
so many of their men before the clear light of every
morning, that it was as if the whole army was melting
away. " Some one must go and make him another offer,"
said Maeve, and this time she sent Mac Roth, the herald.
" Where will I find him ? " said Mac Roth. " It is likely,"
said Fergus, "he will be between Ochain and the sea,
letting the sun shine and the wind blow upon him after
so many nights spent without sleep."
It was there he found him sure enough, and Laeg
keeping a watch a good way off " There is an armed
man coming towards us, Cuchulain," said Laeg. " What
sort of a man is he ? " said Cuchulain. " A brown-haired,
broad-faced, handsome young man ; a fine brown cloak on
him ; a bright bronze spear-like brooch fastening his
cloak ; a well-fitting shirt next his skin ; two strong shoes
between his feet and the ground. There is a white hazel
rod in one hand, and a sword with a sea-horse tooth for a
hilt in the other." " Well, Laeg," said Cuchulain, " let
him come, for these are the tokens of a herald."
Mac Roth came up to him then and asked : " Who
are you serving under, young man ? " " We are serving
under Conchubar, High King of Ulster." " Can you tell
me where can I find Cuchulain, that has killed so many
of the men of Ireland ? " " Whatever you would say to
him, you may say it to me," said Cuchulain. Then Mac
Roth told him all the new offers he had brought from
Maeve, and Cuchulain said : " I am Cuchulain that you
are looking for, and I refuse all your offers." So Mac
Roth went back to the camp. " Did you find Cuchulain ? "
said Maeve. " I found," he said, " an angry boy between
Ochain and the sea, and I do not know if it was Cuchulain."
" Did he take your offer ? " said Maeve. " He did not,"
said Mac Roth. " It is Cuchulain he was talking to," said
Fergus. " You must go to him again," said Maeve, " and
make new offers." So Mac Roth went out again to
make some terms with Cuchulain, but he refused all his
offers. " And another thing," he said, " I would never
consent to give in to a woman, or to be under a woman's
rule." "Is there any bargain you would make?" said
Mac Roth. "If there is," said Cuchulain, "you must
find it out for yourselves, and there is one in the camp
can tell you of it," he said ; " and if he himself comes
to me, I will speak with him, but if any other man comes
to me again with offers, that will be the last day of his
life."
So Mac Roth went back again and told all this to
Maeve. " And I will not go near him again, myself,"
he said, " for all that any king in Ireland could give
me." Then Maeve said to Fergus : " Have you any
knowledge of the terms Cuchulain would take?"
" I have not," said Fergus. But after she had
questioned him a while, he said : " It is what he wants,
that one man of the men of Ireland should meet him
and fight alone with him every day. And while that
fight is going on, he will put no hindrance on the rest of
the army, but it may march on. But so soon as he has
killed the man set against him, the army must stop,
and make its camp until the morning of the morrow."
" I will agree to that," said Maeve, " for it is better to
lose one man every day than a hundred every night.
And who will go and make this agreement with him ? "
" Fergus must go," they all said. " I will not go,"
said Fergus. " Why so ? " said Ailell. " I will not go,"
he said, " unless you bind yourselves on your oath to
keep to your agreement with him." " We will do that,"
they said ; and so Fergus bound them on their oath, and
his horses were yoked to his chariot.
Then a young lad, Etarcomal by name, foster-son of
Maeve and of Ailell, made ready his own chariot.
" What side are you going, Etarcomal ? " said Fergus.
"jl am going with you," he said, " the way I will get a
sight of Cuchulain." " If you take my advice, you will
not make that journey," said Fergus. " Why so ? "
" Because if your pride and his pride meet together, some
misfortune will surely happen." " I give my word not
to anger him in any way," said Etarcomal.
They went on then to where Cuchulain was, between
Ochain and the sea, and himself and Laeg were play-
ing a game with their casting spears. " There is an
armed man coming to us," said Laeg. " What sort of
man is he ? " said Cuchulain. " He is large and proud,
and he standing in a high chariot, and the waving
yellow hair about his head gives him the appearance
of the top of a tall tree that stands on a green lawn,"
said Laeg. " He has a crimson cloak about him with a
deep border of gold thread, and an inlaid gold brooch in
the cloak ; a broad green spear in his hand ; a shield
with a boss of red gold over him ; a long sword in a
toothed sheath across his knees." "It is Fergus that is
in it," said Cuchulain. Then Fergus came where he was
and got out of his chariot, and Cuchulain gave him a
great welcome. " Do you welcome me indeed ? " said
Fergus. " I do surely," said Cuchulain ; " but if it is to
look for a feast from me you are come, the white birds
are on the side of the cliffs, and the fish are in the
stream, and the wild deer on the hiils." " It is not to
look for a feast I am come," said Fergus, " for I know
well it is not easy for you to get your own share of food.
But I am come for the men of Ireland, to agree to your
conditions. And from this out they will send one of
their best men to fight with you alone every day." " I
agree to keep to my part of the bargain," said Cuchulain,
" and let us not stop talking here any more," he said,
" or the men of Ireland will be thinking you are doing
some treachery on them."
So Fergus went back to the camp, but Etarcomal
stopped for a while looking at Cuchulain. " What are you
looking at ? " said Cuchulain. " I am looking at your-
self," he said. " Then take your eyes off me, and go after
Fergus ; and maybe you think yourself a better fighting
man than the one you are looking at," said Cuchulain.
" You look to me as good a fighter as I ever saw for one
of your age," said Etarcomal, "but you would not be
thought much of among trained fighters and grown
men." " It is well for you," said Cuchulain, " it is under
Fergus's protection you came, or I swear, by the gods
my people swear by, you would not go back safe and
sound to the camp." " You have no right to say that,"
said Etarcomal ; " and what you want of the men of
Ireland, I will give it to you," he said, " for you ask for
one champion at a time to fight with, and I myself will
be the first to come to you to-morrow." " Come, then,"
said Cuchulain, " and however early you may come in
the morning, you will find me here before you."
So Etarcomal set out, and he began to tell his chariot-
driver all he had said, and how he had promised to go
out and fight with Cuchulain on the morrow. " Did you
make that promise?" said his driver. "I did," said
Etarcomal, " and I have given my word I will go ; and I
do not know," he said, " would it be better for me to wait
till to-morrow, or to go back and fight with him to-day."
" You will not get the better of him to-morrow," said his
driver, " and it would be just as well for you to be beaten
to-night." " Turn the chariot and let us go back," said
Etarcomal, " for I swear by the oath of my people, I will
not go back to the camp without bringing Cuchulain's
head in my hand." So they turned back again towards
the sea.
Then Laeg said : " That chariot that was here a while
ago has turned back again to us, Cuchulain." " It is
Etarcomal coming back to challenge me, and it is not I
that will fall in this fight," said Cuchulain. " But bring
me my arms," he said, " for it would not be right for me
not to be ready to meet him." So he went to meet him,
and took his sword out of the sheath, and said : " What are
you come back for?" " I am come to fight with you."
" I am loth to fight with you," said Cuchulain, " for it
was under the protection of Fergus you came here."
And with that he gave a blow of his sword that cut
the sod clean away from under the soles of Etarcomal's
feet, so that he fell on his back. " Go back now," he said,
" for you have had a warning." " I will not go back until I
have fought with you." Then Cuchulain gave another
stroke with the edge of his sword that cut the hair close
off his head, but drew no blood. " You may go back
now, at least," he said. " I will not go," said Etarcomal,
" until I have made an end of you, or you have made an
end of me." "Well," said Cuchulain, "if you are set
upon that, it is I must make an end of you." With that
he made a cross blow at him that cut him through and
through, so that he fell dead.
Fergus, now, had seen nothing of all this, for it was
his custom, when he was travelling, never to look back,
but always to be looking before him ; and presently,
Etarcomal's chariot-driver came up with him, and he
said : " Where have you left your master ? " " Cuchulain
is after attacking and making an end of him on the
plain," said the man. " It was not right of him to do
that," said Fergus, "to any one that came under my
protection. Turn my chariot about now" he said,
" until I go back and talk with him." And when he
came to where Cuchulain was, he said : " It was not right
of you, my own foster-son, to kill one that came under
my protection." " Ask his chariot-driver," said
Cuchulain, " on which of us the blame should be laid."
Then the chariot-driver told the whole story, and when
Fergus heard it, he said : " There is no blame on you,
Cuchulain." Then he bound the body of Etarcomal to
his chariot, so that it was dragged after it along the
road and through the camp to the door of Ailell and
Maeve. " There is the young man you sent out," he
said, " and this is the treatment Cuchulain will give to
every other man that goes out against him." And
Maeve came out of the door and spoke high, angry,
loud words : " I had put great hopes in that young man,"
she said, " and I did not think it was under bad
protection he was going, when he went under the pro-
tection of Fergus." And Fergus said : " What business
had he going out at all, to meddle with Cuchulain ?
And if I went there myself," he said, " it is well pleased
I was to get back again safely."
The next day, the men of Ireland consulted together
as to who should go against Cuchulain, and they agreed
that it was best to send Natchrantal, that was a great
fighting man.
So he set out, but he would bring no arms with him
but three times nine holly rods, and they having
hardened points.
Cuchulain was at that time following after a flock of wild
birds, to bring some of them down for the evening's
food, and he took no notice of Natchrantal, but went on
following after the birds. But Natchrantal thought it
was afraid of him he was, and he went back to the door
of Maeve's tent and gave a loud shout, and he said : " That
great Cuchulain there is so much talk about, is running
away now after the challenge I gave him." *' I would
cue HULA I N'S ANGER 207
hardly believe that," said Maeve, "for he has stood
against many good fighting men before now, and why
would he not stand against you ? " Fergus heard what
was said, and it vexed him, any man to say Cuchulain
had run before him ; and he sent Fiacha, son of
Firaba, to reproach him, for letting such a thing be said,
and Cuchulain bade him welcome. " I am come from
Fergus," said Fiacha, " and it is what he says, that it
would have been more fitting for you to spill the blood
of the man that was sent against you, than to run from
him." " Who did I run from ? " said Cuchulain. " Tell
me who makes that boast." " It is Natchrantal," said
Fiacha. " What would Fergus have me do ? " said
Cuchulain ; '' would he have me kill an unarmed man ?
For he brought nothing with him but wooden rods, and
it is not my custom to wound chariot-drivers or
messengers or unarmed men. But let him come out
armed to meet me," he said, " on the morning of to-
morrow."
So Fiacha went back to the camp, and the day seemed
long to Natchrantal till he could meet Cuchulain. But
when he went out in the morning and came to the
plain he said to Cormac Conloingeas : " Where is
Cuchulain ? " " He is there before you," said he. " That
is not the appearance that was on him yesterday," said
Natchrantal ; for Cuchulain's anger had come on him
so that the appearance he had was changed, and he was
leaning against a pillar-stone, and in the strength of his
anger, as he was throwing his cloak about him, he broke
off the pillar-stone, and he never noticed that it was
wrapped between the cloak and himself ; and Natchrantal
threw his sword at him, and it broke to pieces against
the pillar-stone, and then Cuchulain gave him a blow
over the top of his shield that struck off his head.
While this fight was going on, Maeve, having a
third part of the army with her, set out Northward
to Dun-Sobairce, to look for the Brown Bull. And
Cuchulain followed after her for a while ; but then he
turned back to defend his own countr}\ And he saw
before him Buac, son of Bainblai, that was the man
Maeve trusted better than any other, and twent)--four
men along with him, and they dri\-ing the Bro\\'n Bull
before them and fifteen of his heifers, that they had
brought out of Glen-na-masc in Slieve Cuilinn. " Where
are you bringing these cattle from ? " said Cuchulain.
" Out of that mountain beyond." " What is your name ? "
he said. * If I tell it, it is not either through love of
\-ou or through fear of you," he said. " I am Buac, son of
Bainblai, from Ailell's countr}- and Maeve's." "Take
this from me, then," said Cuchulain, and with that he
threw his spear at him so that it went through his body,
and he fell dead. But while he was doing this, the rest
of the men drove away the Bull with great haste to the
camp of the men of Ireland ; and this was the greatest
affront that was put on Cuchulain through the whole of
the war for the Brown Bull of Cuailgne.
Then the men of Ireland began saying to one another
that Cuchulain would not have the mastery over them
but for the bronze spear he had, and that there must be
enchantment on it, for none of them could stand against
it. And they said to Maeve that she should send Rae,
the satirist, to ask it of him, for he could not refuse a
satirist ; so Rae went and asked it of him. " Give me
your spear," he said. " I will not give you that indeed,"
said Cuchulain, '• but I will give you other things." " I
will not take any other thing," said Rae, " and I will
put a bad name on you, if you refuse me the spear."
" Take it, then," said Cuchulain, and with that he threw
it with all his force at his head. "That is a weighty
present," said the satirist, and he dropped dead.
Then Cur, son of Daltach, was sent out, for the men of
Ireland thought he would be able ro rid them of
Cuchulain. But it was hard to persuade Cur, because
he thought it was not worth his while to go and fight
with a young beardless boy. And when he went out in
the morning, Cuchulain was practising all his feats that
he had learned, and Cur was for a while trying to get
near enough to come at him with his weapons, but he
could not ; and Cuchulain was so taken up with doing
his feats that he never noticed him at all. Then Laeg
saw him and said : " Have a care, Cuchulain ; there is an
armed man making ready to attack you." Cuchulain
was doing his apple feat at that time, keeping nine
apples, and his shield, and his sword in the air, that none
of them fell to the ground. And when he saw Cur, he
threw the apple that was in his hand straight at his
forehead, and it went through, and brought out a share
of his brains the size of itself, at the other side.
And after that, other fighting men were sent out every
day through a week, and he killed them all. And one
day he said : " Go, Laeg, to the camp, to my friend
Lugaid, and say you are come from me, and ask him
which of the men of Ireland is to be sent against me
to-morrow." So Laeg went, and when he came back he
said : " It is your own comrade and fellow-pupil with
Scathach, Ferbaeth, your blood-friend, is coming against
you ; for he has only lately joined the army, and he has
brought four-fifths of his men with him, and Maeve has
promised him her daughter Findabair, and he has drunk
from her cup, and been fed by her hand." " I am sorry
to hear that," said Cuchulain, " for I think worse of a
comrade of my own coming against me, than of any
other man." And when Ferbaeth came out to fight
against him in the morning, Cuchulain did his best to
make him give up the fight, for the sake of the old
friendship between them, but Ferbaeth would not listen
to him. Cuchulain turned from him then in anger, and
to loosen the blood-bond between them, he struck the
O
2IO WAR FOR BULL OF CUAILGNE
sole of his own foot with a spear, that it drew blood, and
then he threw his spear at Ferbaeth, but he did not look
to see did it hit him or not. But the spear went through
his head and out of his mouth, and this is the way
Ferbaeth came to his death.
Then Ailell made up a plan by which he thought to
make Cuchulain give up the stand he was making
against the army, and his plan was to offer Findabair to
him if he would give his word to leave off attacking the
men of Ireland, and he sent Lugaid to make the offer to
him. Cuchulain was not very well pleased with the
message, and he thought there might be some treachery
in it, but he agreed that he would meet Ailell and
Findabair, and speak with them. But when the time
came, Ailell made his fool put on his clothes, and wear
his gold circle on his head, and go with Findabair ; and
he bade him stop as far back as he could, the way
Cuchulain would not know it was not the king that was
in it ; and then Findabair was to bind him over to their
side, not to fight any more against the men of Ireland,
and when that was done, she herself and the fool were
to hurry back to the camp together. But when Cuchulain
saw them, he knew the fool, and he sent a stone out of
his sling and killed him. And because Findabair had
taken a share in the treachery, he cut off her two plaits
of hair and took them away. And after a while Ailell
and Maeve came to see what had happened them, and
there they found Findabair beside the dead body of the
fool. And they brought her home and said nothing of
it, but all the same the story was talked of in the camp.
Then Cuchulain sent Laeg into the camp again to
ask news of Lugaid. And it is what Lugaid told him
that the next to be sent against him was his own brother
Larine, that Maeve had persuaded with wine, and with
the promise of Findabair, to go against him. " And it
is what they think," said Lugaid, "that if Cuchulain
should kill my brother, I myself would have to go and
get satisfaction for his death ; and tell Cuchulain," he
said, " not to make an end of Larine, but only to give
him some punishment he will not forget." So when
Larine came out, at the breaking of the day, Cuchulain
came to meet him without any weapons ; but he took him
in his two hands and shook him, and left him there with
the life still in him. But he was never the better of the
shaking he got to the end of his life.
As Cuchulain lay in his sleep one night a great cry
from the North came to him, so that he started up and
fell from his bed to the ground like a sack. He went
out of his tent, and there he saw Laeg yoking the horses
to the chariot. " Why are you doing that ? " he said.
" Because of a great cry I heard from the plain to the
north-west," said Laeg. "Let us go there then," said
Cuchulain. So they went on till they met with a
chariot, and a red horse yoked to it, and a woman
sitting in it, with red eyebrows, and a red dress on her,
and a long red cloak that fell on to the ground between
the two wheels of the chariot, and on her back she had a
grey spear. " What is your name, and what is it you are
wanting ? " said Cuchulain. " I am the daughter of King
Buan," she said, " and what I am come for is to find you
and to offer you my love, for I have heard of all the
great deeds you have done." " It is a bad time you have
chosen for coming," said Cuchulain, " for I am wasted
and worn out with the hardship of the war, and I have
no mind to be speaking with women." " You will have
my help in everything you do," she said, "and it is
protecting you I was up to this, and I will protect you
from this out." " It is not trusting to a woman's pro-
tection I am in this work I have in my hands," said
Cuchulain. " Then if you will not take my help." she said,
" I will turn it against you ; and at the time when you
will be fighting with some man as good as yourself, I will
come against you in all shapes, by water and by land,
till you are beaten." There was anger on Cuchulain
then, and he took his sword, and made a leap at the
chariot. But on the moment, the chariot and the horse
and the woman had disappeared, and all he saw was a
black crow, and it sitting on a branch ; and by that he
knew it was the Morrigu had been talking with him.
After that, Loch, son of Mofebis, was sent for to
Maeve, and she asked him would he go out to the next
day's fight. " I will not go," he said, " for it would not
be fitting for me to go out against a young boy, whose
beard is not grown ; but I have one to meet him," he
said, " and that is my brother Long, son of Emonis, and
you can make an agreement with him." So then Long
was sent for, and Maeve promised him a great reward,
suits of armour for twelve men, and a chariot, and
Findabair for a wife, and the right of coming to every
feast at Cruachan. Then Long went out to the fight,
but Cuchulain killed him.
Then Maeve said to her women : " Go now to
Cuchulain, and tell him to put some likeness of a beard
on himself, and say to him there is no good warrior in
the camp thinks it fitting to go out and fight him, he
being young and beardless."
When Cuchulain heard that, he took blackberries and
smeared the juice on his face, the way he would have the
appearance of a beard, and then he came out on the hill
and showed himself to the men of Ireland. When Loch,
son of Mofebis, saw him, he said : " Is that a beard on
Cuchulain ? " " That is certainly what I see," said
Maeve. " Then I will go out and meet him," said Loch.
So they met beside the ford, where Long had got his
death. " Come to the ford that is higher up," said
Loch, for he would not fight at the ford where his
brother died. So they fought at the upper ford, and
while they were fighting, the Morrigu came against
Cuchulain with the appearance of a white, red-eared
heifer, and fifty other heifers along with her, and a chain
of white bronze between every two of them, and they
made a rush into the ford. But Cuchulain made a cast
at her, and wounded one of her eyes. Then she came
down the stream in the shape of a black eel, and wound
herself about Cuchulain's legs in the water ; and while he
was getting himself free of her, and bruising her against
a green stone of the ford, Loch wounded his body.
Then she took the appearance of a grey wolf, and took
hold of his right arm, and while he was getting free of
her. Loch wounded him again. Then great anger came
on him, and he took the spear Aoife had given him,
the Gae Bulg, and gave him a deadly wound. " I ask
one thing for the sake of your great name, Cuchulain,"
he called out. " What thing is that ? " " It is not to
spare my life I am asking you," said Loch, " but let me
rise up, the way I may fall on my face, and not back-
wards towards the men of Ireland, so that none of them
can say it was in running away or in going backward I
fell." " I will surely give that leave," said Cuchulain,
" for the thing you ask is a right gift for a fighting man."
And after that he went back to his own camping-place.
Now, on that day above any other, a very downhearted
feeling came on Cuchulain, he to be fighting alone
against the four provinces of Ireland. And he bade
Laeg to go to Conchubar and to the men of Ulster, and
to say to them that he, the son of Dechtire, was tired
with fighting every day, and with the wounds he had
got, and not one of his people or his friends coming to
help him.
After that Maeve sent out six all together against
him, three men and three women that understood en-
chantments ; but he destroyed them all. And now that
Maeve had broken her agreement with him, not to send
more than one against him at a time, he did not spare
her men any longer, but from where he was he used his
sling so well that in the whole army there was neither
dog, horse, or man, that dared turn his face towards
Cuchulain.
It was one day at that time the Morrigu came to try
and get healing of her wounds from him, for it was only
by his own hand the wounds he gave could be healed.
She took the appearance of an old woman on her, and
she milking a cow with three teats. Cuchulain was
passing by, and there was thirst on him, and he asked a
drink, and she gave him the milk of one teat. " May
this be to the good of the giver," he said, and with that
her eye that was wounded was healed. Then she gave
him milk from another teat, and he said the same words ;
then she gave him the milk from the third teat. " The
full blessing of the gods, and of the people of the plough,
on you," he said. And with that, all the wounds of the
Great Queen were healed.
Then the men of the four great provinces of Ireland
made their camp, and put up walls at the place called
the Great Breach, on the plain of Muirthemne ; but they
sent the cattle they had with them southward. And
Cuchulain took his place on a hill ; and in the evening
Laeg made a fire for him there, and the flame flashed
on the bright shining weapons of the men of Ireland.
And when Cuchulain saw so many of them, and they so
near him, great anger came on him, and he took his
spears and his shield and his sword and shook them, and
he gave out his loud hero cry, and it was such a great
cry he gave that the Bocanachs and Bananachs and the
witches of the valley answered it from all parts.
And when the men in the camp heard these great
cries, they thought it was an attack that was being made
upon them, and they ran against one another, and fought
one another in their fright, so that a hundred of them
were killed in that night.
Then Laeg saw a man coming through the camp from
the north-east. " There is a man coming towards us, Httle
Hound," he said. " What is the appearance on him ? "
said Cuchulain. " He is very tall and handsome
and shining, and he has a green cloak about him,
fastened with a silver brooch ; a shirt of silk that is
embroidered with red gold, falling to his knees ; a black
shield in his hand, with a border of white bronze, and a
spear with five prongs. And it is a strange thing," he said,
" that no one in the whole camp seems to see him or to
take any heed of him." " That is so," said Cuchulain ;
" and the men of Ireland take no heed of him because
they cannot see him ; and I know well it is one of my
friends among the Sidhe that is coming to give me help
and relief; for they know it is hard for me to be standing
alone against the four provinces of Ireland."
Then the man of the Sidhe, that was Lugh of the Long
Hand, came and spoke with Cuchulain, and it is what he
said, that he knew he was tired out and in want of sleep.
" And sleep now, Cuchulain," he said, " by the grave in
the Lerga, and I myself will keep watch over you till the
end of three days and three nights. So Cuchulain fell
asleep there and then by the grave that is in the Lerga,
and no wonder in that, for he had been fighting since
before the feast of Samhain without sleep, but all the
while killing and attacking and destroying the men of
Ireland — unless he might sleep a little while beside his
spear in the middle of the day, his head on his hand,
and his hand on his spear, and his spear on his knee.
And while he was lying in his heavy sleep, the man of
the Sidhe put Druid herbs on his wounds, so that they
were all healed. So he slept for three days and three
nights, and at the end of that time he rose up and passed
his hand over his face, and he blushed red from head to
foot with the strengthening of his courage that he felt in
him, and he would have been ready to go there and then
into any great gathering or feasting hall in all Ireland.
" How long have I been in my sleep ? " he asked the
man. " Three days and three nights." " Then you have
done me a bad turn indeed," he said, "for the men of
Ireland have been left in quiet all that time." " They
were not indeed," said the man. " Who was it stood up to
them then ? " said Cuchulain. " It was the boy troop
came from the North, from Emain Macha," he said ;
" three times fifty sons of the chief men of Ulster, and
they attacked the army three times, and they killed three
times their own number, but they themselves were all
killed in the end. And Follaman, son of Conchubar, was
leading them, and he had made a boast that he would
never go home again unless he could bring Ailell's head
along with him, and the gold crown that was on it. But
two foster-sons of Ailell, the two sons of Betchach, son of
Baen, fell on him and wounded him, so that he got his
death." " My grief, and oh ! my grief that I was not
there," said Cuchulain ; " for if I had been in it, the boy
troop would never have been destroyed, and Conchubar's
son would not have come to his death." " Do not be
fretting, little Hound, " said the strange man ; " there is no
reproach on your name by it." " Stop here with me
to-night," said Cuchulain, " and the two of us together
will avenge the boy troop." " I will not indeed," said he ;
" but let you yourself play the game out now with the
men of Ireland, for it is not they that have power over
your life at this time."
With that he went away, and Cuchulain said to Laeg,
" Yoke the scythed chariot for me now, if you have the
things belonging to it." Then Laeg rose up and got
ready the chariot, and he put on his light dress of deer-
skins, that was spotted and striped and close-fitting, so
that his arms were left free. And over that he put his
raven-black cloak, and his shining helmet on his head ;
and on his forehead he put the narrow band of gold that
chariot-drivers were used to wear. And then he threw
over the horses the cloths that covered them all over,
and that were studded with little blades, and spikes,
and points, so that every time the chariot moved, it
brought some sharp point against those that were near
it, the way every point and every head of the chariot
would cut its sure path ; and he gathered the reins in
his hand, and the goad, and the long whip.
And then Cuchulain put on his armour, and took his
spears, and his sword, and his shield that had a rim so
sharp it would cut a hair against the stream, and his
cloak that was made of the precious fleeces of the land
of the Sidhe, that had been brought to him by Manannan
from the King of Sorcha. He went out then against
the men of Ireland, and attacked them, and his anger
came on him, so that it was not his own appearance he
had on him, but the appearance of a god. And after that
he turned back and left them, and there was no wound
on himself, or on the horses, or on Laeg that day. And
he made a round of the whole army, mowing men down
on every side, in revenge for the boy troop of Emain.
But the next day he was standing on the hill, young,
and comely, and shining, and the cloud of his anger had
gone from him. Then the women and the young girls
in the camp, and the poets and the singers, came out to
look at him ; but Maeve hid her face behind a shelter of
shields, thinking he might make a cast at her with his
sling. And there was wonder on these women to see
him so quiet and so gentle to-day, and he such a terror
to the whole army yesterday; and they bade the men
lift them up on their shields to the height of their
shoulders, the way they could have a good sight of him.
But Dubthach, the Beetle of Ulster, saw his own wife
climbing up with the other women to look at Cuchulain,
and great anger and jealousy came on him ; and he said
to the chief men of the army that it would be best for
them to surround Cuchulain secretly on all sides, and
then to let on to be fighting among themselves, so as to
lead him down where he could not escape them. But
when Fergus was told this, he gave a great kick of his
foot to Dubthach, that sent him from where he was.
And he spoke angr>^ words against Dubthach, and he
told him he would be well paid for the harm he had
planned, whenever the men of Ulster would get up from
their weakness, and come out to help Cuchulain.
And that night the army of Ireland made their camp
at the great stone in the country of Ross ; and then
Maeve asked which of them would go out and fight with
Cuchulain on the morrow. But every one of the men of
Ireland said : " It is not I that will go." " It is not one
of my family that should be sent to his death." Then
Maeve asked Fergus to go out and fight him. " It is
not right for you," said Fergus, " to ask me to go against
a young boy, and he my own pupil and my foster-son."
But Maeve pressed him so hard that he could not but
take the work in hand ; and early in the morning he went
out to the ford of fighting where Cuchulain was. When
Cuchulain saw him coming he said : " Truly, my master,
it is not safe for you to come and fight, and you without
a sword," for Ailell had not given him back his own
sword yet. " It is no matter," he said, "for if I had a
sword in my sheath, it is not on you I would use it.
And now, Cuchulain," he said, " for the sake of all I did
for you, and all Conchubar and the whole of Ulster did
for you in your bringing-up, let you give way before me
to-day, in the sight of the men of Ireland." "Indeed I
am loth to give way before any man in this war," said
Cuchulain. "You need not mind that," said Fergus,
" for I will do the same for you when the great last
battle of this war is fought ; it is then I will turn and run
before you, when you are covered with wounds and with
blood. And if I run then," he said, " all the men of
Ireland will run along with me." So Cuchulain agreed
to do that, because it would be for the profit of Ulster.
And he bade Laeg make ready his chariot ; and
presently, as if he had been beaten by Fergus, he gave
way to him in the sight of the men of Ireland. When
they saw it, they called out : " He is running before you,
Fergus." And Maeve called out : " Follow him, Fergus —
make haste, the way he will not escape you." " I will
not indeed," said Fergus, " I will follow him no farther ;
and if you think I did not make him run far enough,"
he said, " I did more than all the rest of the men that
went against him up to this ; and I will make no other
attack on him," he said, " until all the men of Ireland
have fought with him, one by one."
So that was the end of the fight between Fergus and
Cuchulain.
There was a man of Connaught at that time whose
name was Ferchu, and he had been at war with Ailell
and Maeve from the time they got the kingdom, and
he used to be robbing the country and destroying it, so
that he was made an outlaw. And some of his men
heard that the whole army of Connaught was being
vexed and hindered by one man ; and when they told it
to Ferchu, he said : " It would be a good chance for us
to go and attack that man, and to bring his head with
us to Ailell and Maeve, for if we do that," he said,
" they will forgive us all the harm we have done their
country."
So he himself and his twelve men went forward to
where Cuchulain was, and they attacked him all
together. But Cuchulain was not long in making an
end of them, and he struck off their heads, and put them
on twelve stones ; and he put Ferchu's head on a stone
by itself.
Then the men of Ireland consulted together again
who they would send out to fight on the next day ; and
it is what they all said, that it was Calatin and his
twenty-seven sons and his sister's son, Glas, son of
Delga, should go out. Now it is the way they were,
every man of them had poison in himself and in his
weapons ; and there was not one of them ever made a
cast of a spear or a stone that missed, and there was no
one that would be wounded by them but he would die,
either on the spot or within the week. So great rewards
were promised them, if they would go out against
Cuchulain. And Fergus was there at the time the
business was knotted. " And surely," every one said,
" they are only one man, for they are all members of
Calatin's body." After that, Fergus went into his tent,
to his people, and he gave a deep groan of trouble, and
he said : " My grief for the thing that is to be done to-
morrow." " What thing is that ? " said they all.
'' Cuchulain to be killed," he said. " Who would kill
him ? " said they. " Calatin and his sons," he said, " and
if there is any one of you would go and watch the fight
and bring me word what happens, I would give him a
good reward, and my blessing." " I will go," said
Fiacha, son of Firaba.
So in the morning Calatin, with his sons and his
sister's son, rose up and went to where Cuchulain was,
and Fiacha, son of Firaba, went along with them. And
as soon as they came near him, they threw their twenty-
nine spears at him all together, in one cast, and not one
of them drew blood, for he caught them all on his
shield. Then Cuchulain drew his sword from the sheath
to hack off the spears and to lighten his shield ; but
while he was doing that, they all ran at him as one man
and put their twenty-nine right hands on his head, and
forced his face down to the gravel and the sand of the
ford. And he gave out his great hero cry, and the cry
of a man in unequal fight, and there was not a man in
the camp, and he not dead or asleep, but heard it.
Then Fiacha, son of Firaba, came up, and when he
saw what had happened, the love of his own countryman
came over him, and he pulled out his sword and hit the
nine-and-twenty hands off Calatin and his sons, with
one blow. Cuchulain raised up his head then, and gave
a deep sigh of relief, and he saw who it was had come
to his help. " That was done quiet and easy, my good
comrade," he said. " You may think it is quiet and
easy I was," said Fiacha, " but if what I did is heard of
in the camp, the reward that will fall on me will not be
quiet and easy. For if the men of the children of
Rudraige should hear of the stroke I made for you, it is
with sword and spear my reward will be paid." " I give
you my word," said Cuchulain, " that now I have lifted
my head and got my breath again, unless you tell tales
on yourself, none of these men will tell tales on you."
With that he made an attack on Calatin and his sons,
and he began to hack and to cut at them till there was
nothing left of them but limbs and little pieces eastward
and westward over the whole face of the ford. Only
one man of them, Glas, son of Delga, got away and ran,
but Cuchulain rushed after him and gave him a great
blow. But he got as far as Ailell and Maeve's tent, and
all he could say was, " Fiacha ! Fiacha ! " before he fell
dead.
Fergus and Maeve said : " What debts are those he
called out about ? " — for Fiacha is the word for a debt in
Irish. " I do not know indeed," said Fergus, " unless
it might be that some one in the camp owed him a debt,
and that it was on his mind." " That must have been
so," said Ailell. " By my word," said Fergus, " however
it was, all his debts are paid now."
And at the ford where Calatin and his sons got their
death, there is a stone with the marks of their sword-
hilts, and the butt-ends of their spears on it to this day.
Then it was settled by the men of Ireland that it was
Ferdiad, son of Daire, the great champion of the men
of Domnand, should go out and meet Cuchulain the
next day. For they had the same way of fighting, and
it was with the same teachers they had learned the
knowledge of arms, with Scathach and with Uathach
and with Aoife ; and neither of them had an advantage
over the other, except that Cuchulain had the feat of
the Gae Bulg. But Ferdiad had good armour to pro-
tect him against any man he would fight with.
So they sent messengers to bring Ferdiad, but he
refused and would not come, for he knew it was what
they wanted of him, to fight against his friend, his
companion and his fellow pupil, Cuchulain.
Then Maeve sent the Druids and the satirists to him,
that they might make three hurtful satires and three hill-
top satires on him, if he would not come with them, that
would raise three blisters on his face. Shame and Blemish
and Reproach, so that if he did not die on the moment,
he would be dead before the end of nine days.
Then Ferdiad came with them for the sake of his
good name, for he thought it better to fall by spears
than by satires. And when he came he was received
with honour and attendance, and he was served with
pleasant drinks, so that he grew merry, and his mind
was confused. And great rewards were offered him if
he would go out against Cuchulain ; clothes of all
colours for his men, and speckled satins, and silver
and gold, and the equal of his own lands of the level
plains of Magh Ai, without rent or disturbance, secure
to his son and to his grandson and to their children to
the end of life and time.
And it is what Maeve said : " It is a great reward I am
giving you, Ferdiad, and why would you not accept it ? "
And Ferdiad was making excuses. " I will not take
your reward without good pledges," he said, " for it is a
heavy fight is before me ; he that has the name of
Cuchulain is surely a good Hound." " I will give you
a champion's pledge," said Maeve ; " you will not be
bound to come to our gatherings, you will get horses
and bridles ; I will call you my friend above all other
men." " I will not go to this fight," said Ferdiad,
" without some other securities, for this is a fight will
be heard of till the end of life and time." " Take all
you want," said Maeve. " There is no delay except with
yourself Bind us till you are satisfied by the right
hand of kings and of princes ; there is nothing I will
refuse you." " I must have six securities and no less,"
said Ferdiad, " before I will go out and be destroyed by
Cuchulain, and all the whole army looking on." " I will
give you whatever securities you want," said Maeve,
" however hard it may be to come at them ; Domnall
in his chariot ; Niaman of the Slaughter, both of them
protectors of bards ; bind Morann if you want sure
payment ; bind Carpre Min of Manand, he that has a
string of knowledge in his harp ; bind our own two
sons." " O Maeve, it is a bitter woman you are," said
Ferdiad. " And it is not a gentle wife to a husband you
are, but it is a fit queen you are for Cruachan of the
Swords, with your high talk and your fierce strength.
But in spite of all the words you are stirring me up
with," he said, "if you would offer me the land and
the sea, I would not take them, without the sun and the
moon along with them." "You need not wait longer
than to-day and to-morrow," said Maeve, " before you
will get your fill of all sorts of the jewels of the
earth. And here is my brooch with its hooked pin,"
she said ; " and more than all that, Ferdiad, so soon as
you have killed this Hound of feats, I will give you
Findabair of the champions, queen of the west of
Elga." ^
Ferdiad gave in to her then, and he bound her on the
sureties of the aforesaid six for the fulfilment of her
promises of the reward ; and she bound him to fight
with Cuchulain on the morrow.
Then Fergus got his horses harnessed and his chariot
yoked, and he went out to where Cuchulain was, to tell
him of all that had happened. " My welcome before
you, my master Fergus," said Cuchulain. " I am glad
of that welcome, my pupil," said Fergus. " But what I
am come for is to tell you who it is that is coming to
fight at the early hour of the morning of to-morrow."
" I will listen to that," said Cuchulain. " Your own
friend and companion, and fellow-pupil, the man that
learned the use of arms with you, Ferdiad, son of Daire,
the hero of the men of Domnand." " I give my word,"
said Cuchulain, " it is not my wish, my friend to come
out against me." " And now," said Fergus, " you must
be careful and ready more than any other time, for there
was not the like of Ferdiad among any of the men who
have fought you up to this." " I am here," said
Cuchulain, " hindering and delaying the four great
provinces of Ireland, from the beginning of the winter
to the beginning of spring, and I have not drawn back
one foot before any man in that time, and I think it
likely I will not draw back before him." " Neither has
Ferdiad any fear on him before you, now his anger is
stirred up," said Fergus, " and besides that, he has good
armour to protect him." " Be quiet now, Fergus, and
do not let me hear any more of that story," said
Cuchulain. " I was always well able to stand against
him in any place, or on any ground." "It is not easy to
get the better of him," said Fergus, " for he is fierce in
fighting, and he has the strength of a hundred." " There
will be a sharp fight when myself and Ferdiad come to
the ford," said Cuchulain ; " it will not be without being
told in stories." " O Cuchulain of the red sword," said
Fergus, " it would be better to me than a great reward,
you to carry proud Ferdiad's purple cloak eastward."
" I give my word and my oath," said Cuchulain, " it is I
myself will get the victory over Ferdiad." Then Fergus
went back to the encampment.
At the same time Ferdiad went to his tent and to his
people, and told them how he was bound by Maeve to
fight with Cuchulain on the morrow, and he told how he
had bound Maeve by six sureties for the fulfilment of
her promises, if Cuchulain should fall by him.
It is not happy in their minds the people of Ferdiad's
tent were that night, but gloomy and heavy-hearted ; for
they were sure that wherever Cuchulain and Ferdiad
would meet, it was there one of them would get his
death, and they were sure that one would be their own
master ; for no one at all had been able to stand against
Cuchulain since the beginning of the war.
Ferdiad slept through the early part of the night very
heavily, and when the latter end of the night came, his
sleep went from him, and his drunkenness had passed
away, and the thought of the fight was pressing on him.
And he bade his driver to harness the horses, and to
yoke his chariot. But the driver tried to turn him from it.
" It would be better for you to stop here than to go," he
said, " for my liking of it is not more than my disliking."
" Be silent, boy," said Ferdiad, " for I will not be
turned from this journey by any young lad ; but I will
go to the ford, a ford the ravens will be croaking over ;
I will fight with Cuchulain till I wound his strong body,
till I crush the courage out of him the way that he will
die."
" It would be better for you to stop here," said the
driver, " for it is not gentle your threats are ; your parting
will be sorrowful ; there is one to whom it will be a
sickness ; grief will come of that meeting with Cuchulain ;
it is long it will be remembered ; it is a pity for him who
goes that journey." " It is not right what you are
saying," said Ferdiad ; " it is not for a brave man to
P
refuse — it is not in our race. I will delay no longer,
courage is better than fear ; let us set out now to the
ford."
Then Ferdiad's horses were harnessed, and his chariot
was yoked, and he went forward to the ford, and the day
with its full light came upon him there. " Now, boy,"
he said, " spread out the skins and the cushions of my
chariot under me here, until I get some sleep and rest,
for I got no sleep at the end of the night, with the care
of the fight upon me."
So his servant unharnessed the horses, and settled the
skins and cushions of the chariot under him, and the
hea\y rest of sleep came upon him.
But as to Cuchulain, he did not rise up at all till the
day had come with its full light, the way the men of
Ireland would not say it was fear that was on him that
made him rise. And when the day came : " It would be
as well, Laeg," he said, " to yoke the chariot, for it is an
early-rising man that is coming to meet us to-day."
" The horses are harnessed, and the chariot is yoked,"
said Laeg ; " let you get into it, and there will be no
hindrance to your courage."
With that the ready-handed, battle-winning son of
Sualtim leaped into the chariot, and there shouted
around him the Bocanachs and Bananachs, and witches
of the valley. For the Sidhe were used to set up their
shouts around him, the way the fear and the wonder
would be great before him in every fight he would go
into.
And it was not long until Ferdiad's driver heard the
noise coming near, the straining of the harness, the
creaking of the chariot, the ringing of the armour and
of the shield, the trampling of the horses, the joyful
coming of Cuchulain to the ford.
The driver came and laid his hand on his master.
" Good Ferdiad," he said, " rise up ; here they are coming.
" For I hear," he said, " the creaking of a chariot ; it
has come over Breg Ross, over Braine ; it has come over
the highway by the foot of Baile-in-Bile ; he is a mighty
Hound that urges it ; he is a good driver that yokes it ;
he is a free hawk that hurries his horses towards the
south. It is not he that will be slow in the fight. It is
a pity for him that is on the height waiting for the
Hound of valour. It is a year ago I foretold there would
come a Hound, the Hound of Emain, a Hound with all
colours about him — the Hound of Ulster, the Hound of
Battle ; I hear him — I have heard him coming."
" Good servant," said Ferdiad, " why is it you have
been praising that man ever since you came out from
the house ? It is likely you are not without wages for
your great praise of him. Yet it has been foretold to me
by Ailell and by Maeve, it is he that will fall by me.
And it is a time to help me," he said ; " and let you be
silent, and give up praising him, that your foretelling
may not come true. It is not for you to give up on the
brink of the fight ; surely I will soon have the reward."
And the driver said : " He is coming, not slowly, but
quick as the wind, or as water from a high cliff, or like
swift thunder." " Surely you have taken wages for these
great praises you put upon him," said Ferdiad ; " it is not
against him you are, but praising him, and putting a
great name on him."
It was not long then until Ferdiad saw Cuchulain
coming towards him in his chariot, and it is how his two
horses were going, like a hawk sweeping from a cliff on
a day of hard wind, or like a sweeping gust of the spring
wind on a March day over a smooth plain, or like the swift-
ness of a wild stag when he is first started by the hounds
in his first field ; as if they were on fiery flagstones, so that
the earth was shaking and trembling with the quickness
of their going.
So Cuchulain reached the ford, and Ferdiad came to
the south side, and Cuchulain drew up on the north side,
and Ferdiad bade Cuchulain welcome. " I am happy at
your coming, Cuchulain," he said. " I would have been
glad of that welcome up to this time," said Cuchulain,
" but to-day I do not take it as the welcome of a friend.
And Ferdiad," he said, " it would be fitter for me to
welcome you than for you to welcome me, for it is you
have come to me in the country and province where I
am, and it is not right for you to come to fight with me,
but it is I should go to fight with you, for it is out before
you are the women and the children, the young men and
the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the cattle of the
province of Ulster."
"Good Cuchulain," said Ferdiad, " what has brought
you to fight with me at all ? For when we were with
Scathach and with Uathach and with Aoife, you were
my serving-boy, to tie up my spears and to make ready
my bed." " That is true indeed," said Cuchulain ; " but
it was as less in age than you I was used to do so ; but
that is not the story that will be told of us after this day,
for there is not a man in the whole world I would not
fight to-day."
And it is then each of them spoke sharp, unfriendly
words against the other ; and it is what Ferdiad said :
" What has brought you, O Hound, to fight with a strong
fighter? It is red your blood will be, flowing over the
harness of your horses ; it is a pity for your journey ; it
is long it will be spoken of; you will be in much want of
healing if you ever get back to your own house," he said.
" I have fought with heroes, with chiefs of armies, with
troops, with hundreds before now," said Cuchulain,
" and what I have to do to-day is to make an end of you,
to bring you down in our first path of battle."
" You have met now with a man that will put re-
proach on you," said Ferdiad, " for it is I myself will do
that. It is well the loss of the men of Ulster will be
remembered," he said, " their champion to be put down,
and they looking on."
" What way shall we meet one another ? " said
Cuchulain. " Is it in our chariots we had best fight, or
is it with my sword and spear I am to overthrow you, if
the time has come ? " And Ferdiad said : " Before the
setting of the sun to-night, you will be fighting as if with
a mountain, and it is not white that battle will be. The
men of Ulster will be shouting for you," he said, " till you
grow overbold ; but it is sorrowful they will be, when your
ghost passes over them and through them." " You are
fallen into the gap of danger, Ferdiad," said Cuchulain ;
" the end of your life has come, not by treachery, but by
sharp weapons. You may think much of yourself till
we meet one another, but you will never fight in a battle
again, from this day to the end of time." " Leave off
now from your boastings," said Ferdiad ; " it is you are
the greatest boaster in the world. I know well you are
no fighter at all, you heart of a bird in a cage ; you are
but a giggling fellow, without courage, without strength."
But Cuchulain said : " When we were together with
Scathach, we used to be practising together, we used to
go to every battle together, because of our bravery that
was equal. You were my heart companion, you were
my people, you were my family — I never found one was
dearer ; it is sorrowful your death would be to me."
" Where is the use of all this talk ? " said Ferdiad ; " your
great name will be lost, your head will be on a stake
before the crowing of the cock. Madness and grief are
taking hold of you, Cuchulain," he said, " and it is bad
treatment you will get from me, because it is on your-
self the fault is."
" Good Ferdiad," Cuchulain said then, " it was not right
for you to come out against me, through the stirring up
and the meddling of Ailell and of Maeve ; and none of
those who came before you got victory or success, but
they all fell by me, and you will fall along with them.
And, O Ferdiad, strong fighter," he said, "do not
come against me ; the meeting will bring sorrow to
many, and what is worse than sorrow to you. Have
you not been bought with many presents ? A purple
belt, a suit of armour ? But, Ferdiad," he said, " the
woman for whom you are come to this fight, Findabair,
daughter of Maeve, however comely she may be, will
never be given to you ; for she has been offered to many
before you," he said, " and many like you have been
wounded for her sake.
" Do not break your oath not to fight with me ; do not
break friendship. Do not break the word you gave me,
do not come against me.
" The woman has been promised to fifty others ; it
was a heavy gift for them ; it is by me they were sent
to their grave ; it is by me they got the end that was
fitting for them.
" Though Ferbaeth was boastful, he who had a house-
ful of brave men, it is short the time was till I quieted
his rage ; I killed him by the one cast.
" The striking down of Srub Daire's courage was
bitter to him ; it is he held the secrets of a hundred
women ; he had a great name at one time ; it is not
silver thread but gold thread was in his clothes.
" If it were to me the woman was promised on whom
the kings of the fair province smile, I would not bring
the red blood on your body for it, south or north, east
or west.
" And good Ferdiad," he said, " this is why it is not
right for you to come to this fight. When we were with
Scathach, it is together we used to go to every battle,
to every wild place, through every darkness and every
hardship. We were heart companions ; we were com-
rades in gatherings ; we shared the one bed where we
used to sleep sound sleep. We used to practise to-
gether, in many far countries ; we used to go to hard
fights ; we used to go through every forest together."
" O Cuchulain of the wonderful feats," said Ferdiad,
" although we learned knowledge together, and although
I know the bonds friendship put upon us, it is I that
will give you your first wounds ; do not be remembering
our companionship, for it will not protect you. And it
is too long we are delaying like this," he said ; " and
what arms shall we use to-day, Cuchulain ? "
" It is you have the choice of arms to-day," said
Cuchulain, " for it is you were the first to reach the
ford." "Do you remember at all," said Ferdiad, "the
casting spears we used to practise with Scathach and
with Uacthach and with Aoife ? " "I remember them
indeed," said Cuchulain. " If you remember, let us
begin with them," said Ferdiad.
So they began with their casting weapons, and they
took their protecting shields, and their round-handled
spears, and their little quill spears, and their ivory-
hilted knives, and their ivory-hafted spears, eight of
each of them they had. And these were flying from
them and to them like bees on the wing on a fine
summer day ; there was no cast that did not hit, and
each one went on shooting at the other with those
weapons from the twilight of the early morning to the
full midday, until all their weapons were blunted against
the faces and the bosses of the shields. And as good
as the throwing was, the defence was so good that neither
of them drew blood from the other through that time.
" Let us leave these weapons now, Cuchulain," said
Ferdiad, " for it is not by the like of them our fight will
be settled." " Let us leave them indeed if the time is
come," said Cuchulain.
They stopped then, and threw their darts into the
hands of their chariot-drivers. " What weapons shall
we use now, Cuchulain ? " said Ferdiad. " The choice of
weapons is yours till night," said Cuchulain. " Let us,
then," said Ferdiad, " take to our straight spears, with
the flaxen strings in them." " Let us now indeed," said
Cuchulain. And then they took two stout shields, and
they took to their spears.
Each of them went on throwing at the other with
the spears from the middle of mid-day until the fall of
evening. And good as the defence was, yet the
throwing was so good that each of them wounded the
other in that time.
" Let us leave this now," said Ferdiad. " Let us leave
it indeed if the time has come," said Cuchulain.
So they left off, and they threw their spears away
from them into the hands of their chariot-drivers. Each
of them came to the other then, and each put his hands
round the neck of the other, and gave him three kisses.
Their horses were in the one enclosure that night, and
their chariot-drivers at the one fire ; and their chariot-
drivers spread beds of green rushes for them, with
wounded men's pillows on them. The men that had
knowledge of healing came then, and put herbs of heal-
ing to their wounds. And of every herb and plant that
was put to Cuchulain's wounds, he would send an equal
share from him westward over the ford to Ferdiad, the
way the men of Ireland might not say if Ferdiad should
fall by him, that it was by better means of cure he was
able to overcome him.
And of every kind of food and of drink that was sent
by the men of Ireland to Ferdiad, he would send a fair
share over the ford northward to Cuchulain ; because the
providers of Ferdiad were more than the providers of
Cuchulain. All the men of Ireland were providers to
Ferdiad for beating off Cuchulain from them, but only
the Bregians were providers to Cuchulain. They used
to come and to be talking with him at the dusk of every
night.
They rested there that night, and they rose up early
on the morrow, and came forward to the ford of battle.
" What weapons shall we use to-day, Ferdiad ? "
said Cuchulain. " It is you have the choice of weapons
until night," said Ferdiad, "because I had my choice
of them the last day." " Let us then," said Cuchulain,
" take to our great broad spears to-day ; for we shall be
nearer to the end of our battle by the thrusting to-day
than we were by the throwing yesterday."
Each of them continued to cut, and to wound, and to
redden the other, from the twilight of the early morning
till the fall of the evening. If it were the custom for
birds in their flight to pass through the bodies of men,
they could have passed through their bodies on that
day, and they could have carried pieces of flesh and
blood through their stabs and cuts, into the clouds and
the sky all around. And when the fall of evening came,
their horses were tired, and their chariot-drivers were
down-hearted, and they were tired themselves as well.
" Let us stop from this now, Ferdiad," said Cuchulain,
"for our horses are tired, and our chariot-drivers are
down-hearted ; and when they are tired, why would not
we be tired as well ? And we are not bound to go on
for ever," he said, " as is the custom with the Fomor.
Let us put the quarrel away for a while, now the noise
of the fighting is over." " Let us leave off indeed if the
time is come," said Ferdiad.
They threw their spears from them then into the
hands of their chariot-drivers, and each of them came
towards the other. Each of them put his hand round
the neck of the other and gave him three kisses. Their
horses were in the one enclosure that night, and their
chariot-drivers at the one fire.
Their chariot-drivers made beds of green rushes for
them, with wounded men's pillows on them, and the men
that had knowledge of healing came to examine them
that night, but they could do nothing more for them,
because of the deepness of their many wounds, but to
use charms and spells on them, to staunch their
blood. Every charm and every spell that was used
on the wounds of Cuchulain, he sent a full share of
them over the ford westward to Ferdiad. And of every
sort of food and of drink that was sent to Ferdiad, he
sent a share of them over the ford northward to
Cuchulain.
They rested there that night, and they rose up early
on the morrow, and they came forward to the ford of
battle. Cuchulain saw a sort of a dark look on Ferdiad
that day. " It is bad you are looking to-day, Ferdiad,"
he said ; " there is a darkness on your face, and a heavi-
ness on your eyes, and your own appearance is gone
from you." " It is not from fear or dread of you I am
like this to-day," said Ferdiad ; " for there is not a
champion in Ireland to-day I could not put down."
And Cuchulain was fretted to see him that way, and
it is what he said : " O Ferdiad, if it is you yourself, I am
sure you are a miserable man, to have come at the
bidding of a woman to fight against your own com-
panion." But Ferdiad said : " O Cuchulain, giver of
wounds, true hero, every man must come in the end to
the sod where his last grave shall be."
" As to Findabair, daughter of Maeve," said Cuchulain,
" whatever her beauty may be, it is not for love of you
she was given to you, but only for the sake of your great
strength." " O Hound of the gentle sway," said Ferdiad,
" it is long ago my strength was tried ; but I never heard
of any man braver in fight than yourself; I never met so
brave a man until to-day." " It is your own fault what
has happened," said Cuchulain ; " you to have come at
the bidding of a woman to try your sword against your
fellow." "If I had gone back," said Ferdiad, "without
doing battle with you, it is little my name and my
word would be thought of by Ailell and by Maeve of
Cruachan." " No one has ever put food to his lips," said
Cuchulain, " and no one has ever been born in honour of
a king or queen, for whose sake I would have harmed
you." " O Cuchulain, winner of battles," said Ferdiad ;
" it was not you but Maeve that betrayed me ; let you
take the victory and the fame, for it is not on you the
blame is."
And Cuchulain said : " My faithful heart is like a clot
of blood ; my life is nearly gone from me ; I have no
strength for high deeds, fighting with you, Ferdiad."
" Much as you are complaining over me now," said
Ferdiad, " what arms shall we use to-day ? " " It is you
have the choice to-day," said Cuchulain, " because it was
I had it yesterday." " Let us then," said Ferdiad, " take
to our swords to-day, for we will be nearer the end of
our battle by the hewing to-day, than we were by the
thrusting yesterday." " Let us do so indeed," said
Cuchulain.
And then they put two long wide shields on them,
and they took to their swords, and each of them
continued to hack at the other, from the dawn of the
early morning till the time of the fall of evening. " Let
us leave off from this now," said Cuchulain. So they
left off.
They threw their swords from them into the hands of
their chariot-drivers, and it was the parting, mournful,
sorrowful, downhearted, of two men that night.
Their horses were not in the one enclosure that night,
their chariot-drivers were not at the one fire. They
rested that night there.
And Ferdiad rose up early next morning, and went
forward by himself to the ford. For he knew that day
would decide the fight, and he knew one of them would
fall on that day there, or they would both fall.
And then he put on his battle suit, before the coming
of Cuchulain to him. He put on his shirt of striped
silk, with its border of speckled gold, next his white
skin. He put on his coat of brown leather, well sewed,
over the outside. He put on his apron of purified iron,
through dread of the Gae Bulg that day. He put his
crested helmet of battle on his head, on which were
forty gems, carbuncles, in each division, and it was
studded with crystal and with shining rubies of the
eastern world. He took his strong spear into his right
hand, and his curved sword upon his left side, with its
golden hilt, and its knobs of red gold, and his great,
large, bossed shield on his back.
And then he began to show off many changing, wonder-
ful feats, that he had never learned with any other person,
neither with nurse or with tutor, or with Scathach or with
Uacthach, or with Aoife, but that were made up that day
by himself against Cuchulain.
Then Cuchulain came to the ford, and when he saw
all Ferdiad was doing : " I see, my friend Laeg," he said,
" all those feats will be tried on me one after another ;
and because of that," he said, " if it is I that begin to
give in to-day, it is for you to reproach me, and to speak
hard words to me, the way that the strength of my
anger may grow the more on me. But if I am getting
the better of him, then you are to praise me, and make
much of me, that my courage may be the greater." " I
will do that indeed, my master Cuchulain," said Laeg.
And then Cuchulain put on his battle suit, and he
said : " What arms shall we take to-day, Ferdiad ? "
" The choice is yours to-day," said F'erdiad. " Let us
try the ford feat then," said Cuchulain. " Let us in-
deed," said Ferdiad. But though Ferdiad agreed to it,
it is sorry he was to say those words, for he knew
Cuchulain was used to put an end to every fighter that
was against him in the feat of the ford.
It was great work, now, that was done on that day at
the ford ; the two champions of western Europe, the
two gift-giving and wage-giving hands of the north-
west of the world ; the two pillars and the two keys of
the courage of the Gael ; to be brought from far off, to
fight one against the other, through the stirring up and
the meddling of Aileli and Maeve. Each of them began
to throw his weapons at the other, from the dawn of
early morning to the middle of mid-day. And when
mid-day came, the anger of the men grew hotter, and
each of them drew nearer to the other. And then it
was that Cuchulain leaped on to the boss of Ferdiad's
shield, to strike at his head over the rim of the shield.
But Ferdiad gave the shield a blow of the left elbow, and
threw Cuchulain from him like a bird on the brink of
the ford. Cuchulain leaped up again to the boss of the
shield, but Ferdiad gave it a stroke of his left knee, and
threw Cuchulain from him like a little child.
Laeg saw that done. " My grief indeed," he said,
" the fighter that is against you, Cuchulain, casts you
away as a light woman would cast her child. He throws
you as foam is thrown by the river ; he grinds you as a
mill would grind fresh malt ; he cuts through you as the
axe cuts through the oak ; he binds you as the woodbine
binds the tree ; he darts on you as the hawk darts on
little birds ; and from this out, you have no call nor claim
to courage or a brave name to the end of life and time,
you little fairy fighter," said Laeg.
It is then Cuchulain leaped up with the quickness of
the wind, and with the readiness of the swallow, and
with the fierceness of the lion, towards the troubled
clouds of the air the third time, until he lit on the boss
of Ferdiad's shield, to strike at his head from above.
And Ferdiad gave his shield a shake and cast Cuchulain
from him, the same as if he had never been cast off
before at all.
And it is then Cuchulain's anger came on him, and
the flames of the hero light began to shine about his
head, hke a red-thorn bush in a gap, or like the sparks
of a fire, and he lost the appearance of a man, and what
was on him was the appearance of a god.
So close was the fight they made now, that their heads
met above and their feet below, and their hands in the
middle, over the rims and bosses of their shields. So
close was the fight, that they broke and loosened their
shields from the rim to the middle. So close was the
fight, that they turned and bent and shattered their
spears from the points to the hilts. So close was the
fight, that the Bocanachs and Bananachs and the witches
of the valley screamed from the rims of their shields and
from the hilts of their swords, and from the handles of
their spears. So close was the fight, that they drove the
river out of its bed and out of its course, so that it might
have been a place for a king or a queen to rest in, so
that there was not a drop of water in it, unless it dropped
into it by the trampling and the hewing the two
champions made in the middle of the ford.
So great was the fight, that the horses of the men of
Ireland broke away in fright and shyness, with fury and
madness, breaking their chains and their yokes, their
ropes and their traces ; and the women and the young
lads and the children and the followers of the men of
Ireland broke out of the camp to the south-west.
They were using the edge of their swords through
that time ; and it was then Ferdiad found a time when
Cuchulain was off his guard, and he gave him a stroke of
the sword, and hid it in his body, and the ford was red-
dened with Cuchulain's blood, and Ferdiad kept on
making great strokes at him. And Cuchulain could not
bear with this, and he called to Laeg for the Gae Bulg,
and it was sent down the stream to him, and he caught
it with his foot. And when Ferdiad heard the name of
the Gae Bulg, he made a stroke of his shield down to
protect his body. But Cuchulain made a straight cast of
the spear, the Gae Bulg, off the middle of his hand, over
the rim of the shield, and it passed through his armour
and went out through his body, so that its sharp end
could be seen.
Ferdiad gave a stroke of his shield up to protect the
upper part of his body, though it was " the relief after
danger," as the saying is. " That is enough," said
Ferdiad ; " I die by that. And I may say, indeed, you
have left me sick after you, and it was not right that
I should fall by your hand. O Hound of the beautiful
feats, it was not right, you to kill me ; the fault of my
death is yours, it is on you my blood is. A foolish man
does not escape when he goes into the gap of danger ;
my grief! I am going away, my end is come. My ribs
will not hold my heart, my heart is all turned to blood.
I have not done well in the battle ; you have killed me,
Cuchulain."
Cuchulain ran towards him after that, and put his
two arms about him, and lifted him across the ford
northwards, so that his body should be by the ford on
the north, and not on the west of the ford with the men
of Ireland.
He laid him down then, and a cloud and a weakness
came on him as he stood over Ferdiad. Laeg saw that,
and he saw that all the men of Ireland were rising up to
come towards him. " Good Cuchulain," said Laeg, " rise
up now, for the men of Ireland are coming towards us,
and it is not one man they will put to fight against us,
now that Ferdiad has fallen by you." " What use is it
to me to rise up now, and he after falling by me ? " said
Cuchulain. But Laeg said : " Rise up, O chained Hound
of Emain ; it is glad and shouting you have a right to
be now, since Ferdiad of the hosts has fallen by you."
" What are joy and shouting to me now ? " said Cuchulain ;
" it is to madness and to grief I am driven after
the thing I have done, and the body I wounded so
hard." " It is not right for }-ou to be lamenting him,"
said Laeg. '' It is making rejoicings over him you
should be. It was at you he aimed his spears." But
Cuchulain said : " Even if he had cut one arm and one
leg from me, it is my grief Ferdiad not to be riding
his horses through the long days of his lifetime." And
Laeg said : " It is better pleased the women of the Red
Branch will be, he to have died and you to be living.
They know it is not few but many you have sent away
for ever ; for from the day you came out of Cuailgne to
meet Maeve of the great name, it is a grief to her all you
have killed of her people and of her fighting men. You
have not taken quiet sleep since the spoiling of your
country began ; though there were few along with you,
many were the mornings you rose up early."
Then Cuchulain began to keen and to lament for
Ferdiad there, and it is what he said : " Well, Ferdiad,
it is a pity for you it was not one of the men that knew
my courage you asked an advice of before }'ou came to
meet me in the fight that was too hard for you. It is a
pity it was not Laeg, son of Riangabra, you asked how
we stood one to another. It is a pity you did not ask
a true advice of Fergus. It is a pity it was not pleasant
comely Conall you asked which of us would put down
the other.
" And these men know well," he said, " there will
never be born one among the men of Connaught who
will do deeds equal to yours, to the end of life and time.
And they know that if they looked among the places,
the gatherings, the swearings, the false promises of the
fair-haired women of Connaught, or in the playing with
targets and shields, the playing with shields and swords,
the playing backgammon and chess, the playing with
horses and chariots, there will not be found the hand of
a man that will wound like Ferdiad's hand, or a man to
bring the red-mouthed birds croaking over the speckled
battle, nor one that will fight for Cruachan, that will be
your equal to the end of life and time, O red-cheeked
son of Daman." And then he rose up and stood over
Ferdiad. " Well, Ferdiad," he said, " it is great wrong
and treachery was played on you by the men of Ireland,
to bring you out to fight with me. For it has not been
easy to stand against me in the war for the Bull of
Cuailgne." And he made this complaint : —
" O Ferdiad, you were betrayed to your death ; your
last end was sorrowful ; you to die, I to be living ; our
parting for ever is a grief for ever.
" When we were far away, with Scathach the
victorious, we gave our word that to the end of time
we would never go against one another.
" Dear to me was your beautiful ruddiness ; dear to
me your comely form ; dear to me your clear grey eye ;
dear to me your wisdom and your talk.
" There has not come to the battle, there has not been
made angry in the fight, there has not held up shield
on the field of spears, the like of you, O red son of
Daman.
" Findabair, the daughter of Maeve, with all her great
beauty, it was putting a gad on the sand, or on the sun,
for you to think to get her, Ferdiad."
Then Cuchulain was still looking down on Ferdiad,
" Well, my friend Laeg," he said, " strip Ferdiad now,
and take his armour and his clothes off him, until I
see the brooch for the sake of which he undertook the
fight."
Laeg stripped Ferdiad then, and when Cuchulain saw
the brooch, he began to lament and complain over him
again, and it is what he said :
" My grief, O gold brooch ! O Ferdiad of the poets,
O strong striker of many blows, it is brave your arm
was.
Q
" Your yellow hair, curled, well-loved ; your soft, leaf-
like belt about you until death.
" Dear was our fellowship, dear the brightness of
your eyes ; your shield with its rim of gold ; your
chessboard that was worth riches.
"It was not right, you to fall by my hand ; it was
not a friendly ending. My grief, O gold brooch, my
grief!
" Well, my friend Laeg," he said then, " come now and
take the Gae Bulg out of him, for I cannot afford to be
without my spear." So Laeg took the Gae Bulg out of
him, and when Cuchulain saw his reddened spear lying
beside Ferdiad, he said : " O Ferdiad, it is a sorrowful
story to me, that I should see you so red and so pale, I
with my spear reddened, and you in a bed of blood.
" When we were over in the east with Scathach, there
would not have been angry words between us, or destroy-
ing weapons.
" Scathach spoke fiery words to us, ' Go all of you to
the battle that will be fought by Germain the terrible.'
" I said to Ferdiad and to Lugaid, the always generous,
and to the son of Baetan the fair, ' Let us all go against
Germain.'
" We all of us came to the battle-ground on the shore
of the lake of Lind Formait ; we brought four hundred
out with us from the islands of the Athisech.
" As I and brave Ferdiad were together in the door of
Germain's dun, I killed Rind, the son of Niul, I killed
Ruad, son of Finnial.
" Ferdiad killed upon the shore Blath, son of Calba of
the red swords. Lugaid killed Mugarne of the Torrian
Sea, a surly, fierce man.
" We spoiled the dun of Germain the crafty ; we
brought him with us alive over the wide sea of speckled
waters ; we brought him to Scathach of the broad
shield.
" She, our teacher, whose name was well known, bound
us to friendship together, the way our anger would not
turn against one another among the fair tribes of
Elga.
" Sorrowful the morning when the strength was taken
from the son of Daman. My grief! I loved the friend
to whom I have given a drink of red blood.
" It is a sorrowful thing has happened to us the pupils
of Scathach — I myself red and wounded ; you yourself
not driving your chariot.
" It is a sorrowful thing has happened to us the pupils
of Scathach — I myself hard with blood ; you yourself
entirely dead.
" It is a sorrowful thing has happened to us the pupils
of Scathach — yourself to have died, myself to be alive
and strong ; it is angry we were in the battle."
" Good Cuchulain," said Laeg, " let us leave this ford
now ; it is too long we are here." " Let us leave it now
indeed, my friend Laeg," said Cuchulain. " But every
other fight I ever made was as a game and a sport
beside the fight with Ferdiad." And it is what he
said :
" Each fight was a game, each one was a sport, until
Ferdiad came to the ford ; we got the same teaching, we
got the same rewards ; our teacher was kind to us both
alike, setting us both above all the others.
" Each was as a game, each was as a sport, until
Ferdiad came to the ford ; we had the same ways,
we used to do the same deeds ; it was at the one
time Scathach gave a shield to me, and a shield to
Ferdiad.
" Each was a game, each was a sport, until Ferdiad
came to the ford ; dear to me was the pillar of gold that
I broke down on the ford ; he who, when he attacked
the tribes, was braver than any other.
" Each was a game, each was a sport, until Ferdiad
came to the ford, like a proud swelling wave, threaten-
ing to destroy all before him.
" Each was a game, each was a sport, until Ferdiad
came to the ford ; this thing will hang over me for ever.
Yesterday he was larger than a mountain ; to-day there
is nothing of him but a shadow."
Ch. 12
THE AWAKENING OF ULSTER
TTHEN some of the men of Ulster came to comfort
Cuchulain, and among them were Senoll Uathach
and the two sons of Gege, Muredach and Cotreb. They
brought him away to the five streams of Conaille
Muirthemne, to wash his hurts in them. And the
Sidhe threw all sorts of herbs and plants into the streams
for his healing, so that they were all strewed over with
green leaves.
Then when Ailell and Maeve heard there were men
beginning to come from Ulster, they sent Mac Roth, the
herald, to watch at Slieve Fuad, and to warn them if he
could see any one coming. And after a while he came
back, and Ailell asked news of him. " I saw," he said,
" one chariot only, to the north of Slieve Fuad, and it
coming straight on, and the man that was in it naked,
and without armour or weapons, but only an iron spit in
his hand, and he goading on the horses as if he would
never get to the army alive." " Who do you think
was that man, Fergus ? " said Ailell. " I think," said
Fergus, " it was Cethern, son of Fintan, from the North,
and he will soon be upon us." With that, Cethern
came bursting into the camp, and he attacked every-
one he met with his spit, and he himself got many
wounds back again, so that he had to hold up the board
of the chariot to his body to keep his bowels from falling
out ; and at last he made his escape, and came to the
place where Cuchulain was lying. Then Cuchulain
said to Laeg : " Rise up now, and go into the camp,
and bring some of Ailell's physicians to cure Cethern ;
for I give my word, if they do not come before this
time to-morrow, I will bring death and destruction on
them."' So Laeg went, and he brought back the
physicians with him, and it was only the dread of
Cuchulain that made them come. Then Cethern
showed the first one of them his wounds, and it is
what he said, that he could not be cured. Then
Cethern gave him a blow that sent him out of the
house. And the same thing happened with all the
rest, fifteen there were of them altogether. Then he
asked Cuchulain would he get him another physician,
for those of the men of Ireland had done him no good.
" Rise up, Laeg," said Cuchulain ; " go to Slieve Fuad,
to Fingan, the Druid physician of Conchubar, and bid
him to come here and to heal Cethern." Now, Fingan
was the greatest physician in all Ireland, and it was
said of him that he could tell what a person's sickness
was by looking at the smoke of the house he was in ;
and he knew by looking at a wound what sort the
person was that gave it Then he came, and Cethern
showed him his wounds. " Look at this wound for
me, good Fingan," he said. ".There came at me two
young men, with clear noble looks, with strange foreign
clothes on them, and each of them threw a spear into
me, and I threw my spear into each of them. " I
know those two very well," said Cuchulain; "they are
two choice men of Norway, and they were sent against
you by Ailell and ]\Iaeve." " Look at this wound for
me, Fingan," said Cethern. Fingan looked at it
" That is the work of two brothers," he said. '' That
is true indeed," said Cethern. " Two young men came at
me, and they were like one another ; but one had curling
brown hair, and the other had curHng yellow hair.
Two green cloaks about them, with brooches of bright
silver ; two soft shirts of yellow silk ; bright swords in
their belts they had, and shields with bright silver
fastenings, and spears with veins of silver on their
handles." " I know those two very well," said Cuchulain ;
" they are Maine Athremail and Maine Mathremail, two
sons of Ailell and Maeve."
" Look at this wound for me, good Fingan," said
Cethern. Fingan looked at the wound, and he said : " It
was a father and a son made that together." " That is
true," said Cethern ; " there came at me two large men
with flaming eyes, and they having gold bands on their
heads, and the dress of kings, and gold swords at their
sides." " I know those two very well," said Cuchulain ;
" it was Ailell and his son Maine Andoe that gave you
that wound." " Look at this wound, good Fingan," said
Cethern. Fingan looked at the wound. " That is the
work of a proud woman," he said. " That is true," said
Cethern ; " there came at me a beautiful, pale, long-faced
woman, with long, flowing yellow hair on her, a crimson
cloak with a brooch of gold over her breast, and a
straight spear shining red in her hand. It was she gave
me that wound, and she got a little wound from me."
*' I know that woman well," said Cuchulain. " She is
Maeve, daughter of the High King of Ireland, and Queen
of Connaught. She would have thought it a great
victory and a great triumph, you to have fallen by her
hand." " Good Fingan," said Cethern then, " tell me
now, what do you think of the way I am, and what can
you do for me ? " " It is what I think," said Fingan,
"you will hardly see the calves that are following
your cows at this time grow to be yearlings ; or if you
do itself," he said, " it will not be much use your life will
be to you." " That is what all the others said to me,"
said Cethern, " and it is not much profit or credit they got
by it, and it is not much you yourself will get " ; and
with that he made a kick at him, to drive him out of the
house. But in spite of that treatment, Fingan gave him
his choice of two things : the first to be a long time on
his bed, so that he would see the men of Ulster coming
in the end to avenge him ; or to be made well enough at
the end of three days to go out himself and spend what
he had of strength on his enemies.
" I will choose that," he said, " for I would not like to
leave my enemies after me ; and who is there better than
myself to get satisfaction from them ? " So then Fingan
bade Cuchulain to make a healing bath that would ease
Cethern. So Cuchulain went down to the camp, and he
brought away with him all that he met of the cattle of the
men of Ireland. Then their flesh was cut up with their
bones and their skins to make a Druid bath, and Cethern
was put in it for the length of three days and three
nights. And at the end of that time he rose up and
got into his chariot, to do vengeance on the men of
Ireland. And his wife londa, daughter of Eochaid,
came to him from the North, and brought him his sword
that he had forgotten in his hurry at his first setting
out.
But it happened that one of the physicians he had
driven out with a blow had fallen down outside the
tent, and lay there, not able to stir from that. But when
Cethern was making ready to set out, he rose up and
made his way back to the camp, and he said to the men
of Ireland : " Cethern is after being cured by Fingan, the
Druid, and he is coming at you now, and do you lay
some trap for him." So it is what they did : they took
Ailell's cloak and his shirt, and they put them about the
pillar-stone, at the boundary of Ross, and his crown on
top of it, and left them there. Cethern came rushing on
them, and when he saw the pillar-stone, he thought it
was Ailell was standing there, and he made at it, and
gave a great blow of his sword, that it broke in pieces
against the stone.
Then he saw what it was, and he said : " This is some
trick they have played on me. And by the oath of my
people," he said, " I will not stop my hand from killing,
until such time as I have killed some man having a
dress like this."
When Maine Andoe heard that, he put on his father's
armour, and came out to meet him. And Cethern saw
him, and made for him, and threw his shield at him, so
that he was cut through and through the body by the
rim of the shield.
And when the men of Ireland saw that, they pressed
on Cethern from all sides and made an end of him.
And his wife londa, daughter of Eochaid, came and cried
over him there.
And then Fintan, Cethern's father, came with three
times fifty men to get satisfaction for his son, and he
made three attacks on the army, and killed a great
many of Ailell's men ; but Fintan lost a good many of
his own men, and his son Crimthan was made prisoner.
And the men of Ireland were afraid their army would
be too much weakened by little fights of this sort before
the great last battle that was foretold would come, and
they made an agreement with Fintan to give him back
his son, and to fall back themselves a day's march ; and he
gave his word not to vex them again until the time of the
last battle. And they found, where the fight had been,
one of Fintan's men and one of Ailell's men lying dead
together, and they with their teeth fixed into one another.
And it is from this the fight was given the name of
Fintan's Tooth-fight.
Then Rochad, son of Fatheman, came to help
Cuchulain, and three times fifty men with him. Now
Findabair loved him, and when she heard he was coming,
she told her secret, and she said to her mother : " That is
my love and my choice out of all the men of Ireland."
And when Maeve heard that, sht made a plan to draw
him ofi^ and she said to Findabair : *^ Go now and meet
him secretly, and bid him to go back with his men unto
the day of the great battle, and I give you my leave to
be his wife." So Findabair went and gave him the
message, and g^ve herself to him, and -he went back to
the North- But this was heard of in the camp, and the
ti^elve kings of Munster that were in Maeve's army
began speaking with one another ; and it is what they
all said, that Maeve had secretly promised Findabair
as a ^^i{e to each one of them as a reward, if he would
join in the war. " And the best thing we can do now,"
they said, "^is to go and avenge ourselves on Maeve's
men, and on Rochad, for the treacherj^ that was done
on us.*'
So they went out and made an attack on them, and
Ailcll and Maeve's men and Rochad made ready to
defend themselves ; but Fergus went out and tried to
make them leave off, and to make peace betw^een them,
and before he could do that seven hundred men had got
their death.
And it was told to Findabair how these seven hundred
men had got their death on account of her, and how
Maeve had promised her in marriage to every one of
the twelve kings of Munster. And when she heard
that, her heart broke wnth the shame and the pity that
came on her, and she fell dead there and then, and they
buried her.
Now at that time Iliach, son of Cas, of the race of
Rudraige, was living in the North with his son's son,
Laegaire Buadach. And it was told him how the four
provinces of Ireland were plimdering and destroj-ing
the people of Ulster since the day before Samhain, and
driving off their cattle and their goods, and all that they
had. So he consulted \i-ith his people, and it is what he
said, that he would go out himself and make an attack
on the men of Ireland, and let loose his strength on
them, and destroy what he could of them, and do what
he could for Ulster. " For as to myself," he said, " if
I come out of it, or do not come out of it, is all one to
me." Then his two old spent horses, that had been let
loose for life, were brought from where they were on the
shore by the dun, and yoked to his old chariot, that had
neither cushions nor skins in it. And he took his rough,
dark, iron shield, with its hard rim of silver, over his
shoulder, and his rough, grey, heavy sword at his left
side. And he put in the chariot his two rusty, blunt
spears, and his people gave him a store of stones and
bits of rocks in a heap about him ; and that is the way he
went out against the army, and no armour on him at all.
When the men of Ireland saw him coming that way,
they began mocking and laughing at him, but it is what
Maeve said : " I would be glad indeed all the men of
Ulster to come and meet us like that." Then Doche,
son of Magach, chanced to meet him, and bade him
welcome. " Who is it bids me welcome ? " said Iliach.
" The comrade and friend of Laegaire Buadach," said he ;
" Doche, son of Magach." " I am glad of that welcome,"
said Iliach, " and for the sake of it, let you come to me
when I have spent my rage on the army, and when my
strength is going, and when my hand is tired, and let
you, and no other of the men of Ireland, make an end of
me. And keep my sword," he said, " for your friend,
Laegaire Buadach."
Then he made an attack on the men of Ireland, and
when his spears were all broken in pieces, he began
hitting and throwing with the stones he had. And when
they were out, he attacked the men that were near him
with the strength of his own hands, so that he made an
end of some of them. And when all he could do was
done, he saw Doche, son of Magach, near him, and he
said : '' Come to me now, Doche, and strike my head off,
and take charge of my sword for Laegaire Buadach."
And Doche did as he bade him, but he brought his
head to Ailell and to Maeve.
At this time Sualtim, son of Roig, was told that
Cuchulain had fought with Calatin and his sons, and
with Ferdiad, and of the hard fight he had made, and
the wounds he had got. And it is what Sualtim said :
" Is it the sky bursting I hear, or is it the sea going
backward, or the earth breaking up, or is it the groaning
of my son in his weakness ? " With that he set out to
visit him, and he found him covered with hurts and
wounds, and he began to cry over him. But that did
not please Cuchulain, and he knew Sualtim would do
no good by stopping there, for he was not the man to
avenge him, for he was no great hero ; not that he was a
coward, but just like any other good fighting man. And
Cuchulain said to him : " Well, Sualtim, stop your crying
over me, and rise up and go to Emain, and tell the men
of Ulster they must come themselves and follow on with
the war from this out, for I am not able to defend them
any more ; for after all I went through, not one of them
comes to help me or to comfort me. And tell them," he
said, " what way you found me, that I cannot bear to
have my clothing next my skin, but it is with crooks of
hazel I have to hold it off me, and it is grass that is laid
over my wounds ; for there is not the place of the point
of a needle on me from head to foot but has some hurt
on it, except my left hand that was holding my shield ;
and tell them to make no delay in coming," he said.
Then Sualtim set out on the Grey of IMacha to give
his message ; and when he got close to Emain he called
out : '' Men are being killed, women brought away, cattle
driven off in Ulster," but he got no word of answer.
Then he went up to the very wall, and he cried again :
" Men are being killed, women brought away, cattle
brought away in Ulster " ; but the second time he got
no answer. Then he went on to the Stone of the
Hostages at Emain, and he called out the same words
the third time. Then Cathbad, the Druid, asked : " Who
are taken, and who is it is taking them ? " " It is Ailell
and Maeve that are robbing you and destroying you,"
said Sualtim ; " they are bringing away your women,
your little boys, your cattle and your horses, and there
is only Cuchulain to delay and to hinder the four great
provinces of Ireland in the gaps and the passes of
Conaille Muirthemne." But Cathbad was vexed at
being waked out of his sleep, and he said : " Any man
that comes to scold at the king this way has a right to
be put to death." But Conchubar, the king, said : " It is
true what Sualtim is saying." *' It is true indeed," said
all the men of Ulster.
Then anger came on Sualtim that he got no better
answer than that, and he turned sharply, and the Grey
of Macha reared up, the way the sharp edge of Sualtim's
shield came against his own head, and cut it clean off.
Then the Grey turned again to Emain, and the shield
dragged after him by its thongs, and Sualtim's head in
the hollow of it, and the head said the same words as
before : " Men are being killed, women brought away,
cattle brought away in Ulster." Then Conchubar said :
" The sky is over our heads, the earth is under our feet,
the sea is round about us ; and unless the sky with all
its shower of stars comes down on earth, or the earth
breaks open under our feet, or the blue sea goes over the
whole face of the world, I swear that I will bring back
every cow to its own shed, and every woman to her own
dwelling-house."
Then he called to one of his messengers, Finnched
son of Troiglethan, that chanced to be there, and he
bade him to go and to call out the men of Ulster. But
with the sleep that was on him still, and the weakness,
he bade him go and call those of his people that were
dead, as well as those that were living.
It was easy work Finn died had to do now, for the
men of Ulster were rising from out of their weakness, and
they all made ready to come out with Conchubar, and
as for those that were to the south and to the west of
Emain, they did not wait for Conchubar at all, but set
out on the track of the army of Ireland.
Then Conchubar and his men set out from Emain,
and the first day they went as far as Irard Cuillenn, and
there they made a halt. " What are we stopping here
for ? " said Conchubar. " We are waiting for your own
two sons," his men said, " Fiachna and Fiacha, that are
gone to meet your grandson Ere, son of Fedelm, and
of Cairbre, king of Teamhair, to bring him with us."
" By my word," said Conchubar, " I will not make any
more delay here, for fear the men of Ireland might hear
I am risen from my weakness ; for they do not know it
up to this," he said, " or even if I am alive at all."
So he himself and Celthair, and thirty hundred fierce
chariot-fighters, went on, and it was not long before
they came on eight times twenty strong men belonging
to Ailell and to Maeve, and each of them bringing away
a woman of the women of Ulster with him. And
Conchubar and Celthair struck their heads off, and set
the women free ; and then they went back to Irard
Cuillenn.
Now, as to the men of Ireland, they spent that night at
Sleamhain of Meath. And in the night Cormac Conloin-
geas started up out of his sleep, and he called out that
there had a warning dream come to him, and that there
was a terrible battle before them. And after a while
Dubthach, the Beetle of Ulster, started up out of his sleep,
and called out the same thing, that there had a warning
dream come to him, and that it would not be long till
there would be a great clashing of shields. And with
these dreams and foretellings, great fear came on the
men of Ireland, and it was an uneasy night they spent
at Sleamhain that time.
And in the morning Ailell said : " We have been harry-
ing Ulster and Cuailgne this long time, and we have
taken the women and the cattle and the goods of the
men of Ulster, and we have cut down hills behind us ;
and now," he said, " it is time for us to turn back to
Magh Ai, and they can follow us and fight with us there
if they have a mind to. But before that," he said, " I will
send a messenger to look out across the great plain of
Meath, to see if any of them are coming against us ; and
if they are," he said, " I will not go from this without
giving battle to them, for he would not be a good king
that would be good at running away."
So he sent out Mac Roth, the herald. And he had not
long to wait before he heard a noise that was like the
falling of the sky, or the breaking in of the sea over the
land, or the falling of trees on one another in a great
storm. And he saw the plain covered with wild creatures
that had broken away out of the woods. Then he went
back to Ailell and to Maeve, and told them his story, and
they asked him what had he seen ; and he said : " I
thought I saw a grey mist far away across the plain, and
then I saw something like falling snow, and then through
the mist I saw something shining like sparks from a fire,
or like the stars on a very frosty night." " What was it
he saw, Fergus ? " said Ailell. And Fergus said : " The
mist he saw was the dust that went up from the march
of the men of Ulster, and the flakes of snow were the
foam flakes from the bits of their horses ; and what he
saw shining like sparks from the fire, or like stars on a
frosty night, was the angry light of their eyes shining
under their helmets."
" It is little I care for that," said Maeve ; " we have
good fighting men to meet them." " It is a pity for you
to think that," said Fergus ; " for there is neither in Alban
nor in Ireland an army that can put down the men of
Ulster when once their weakness is gone from them and
their anger is kindled."
That night the men of Ireland made their camp in
Clartha, and they put Mac Roth and another man to
keep a good watch, the way the men of Ulster would
not fall on them without warning. Now Conchubar and
Celtchair, with their thirty hundred men, had followed
them to Slieve Sleamhain, and when they found them
gone from there they followed on to Clartha, for they
thought to get the start of the rest of Ulster in red-
dening their hands upon the men of Ireland. So Mac
Roth was not long waiting when he saw men and horses
coming from the north-east, and he went back into
the camp. " Well, Mac Roth," said Ailell, " have }'ou seen
any of the men of Ulster on our track ? " "I saw men
and horses coming," he said. What is the number of
them ? " said Ailell. " Not less than thirty hundred
chariots." " Those are the men of Ulster coming with
Conchubar," said Ailell ; " and what did you mean a while
ago, Fergus, threatening us with the dust of a great army
in the plain, when a little troop like that is all that can
be brought against us ? " " You are too quick in
complaining of that," said Fergus, " and you will soon
know what their number is."
" Let us make some good plan now," said Maeve, " for
I am sure it is that hot, rude man, Conchubar, king of
Ulster, that is coming to attack us. Let us make a pen
before him," she said, " of all the army standing round
on three sides, and thirty hundred men ready to shut
the mouth of it on him when he comes in. For we must
take these fellows alive and not kill them, for it would
be unworthy of our name to do more than make
prisoners of them, and they so few." Now this was one
of the most laughable things that was said in the whole
course of the war, Conchubar and his thirty hundred of
the best men of Ulster to be taken ah've. And when
Conchubar's son, Cormac Conloingeas, heard this, there
was great anger on him, and it is what he thought : " If I
do not get satisfaction now at once from Maeve for this
boast of hers, 1 will never get it again." So he rose up
with his three thousand men to make an attack on her,
and on Ailell ; and they rose up as well, and their sons
the Maines along with them, and the sons of Magach.
But then the Gailiana, and the men of Munster, and of
Teamhair, came between them, and made peace, and
persuaded them to lay down their arms. But for all
that, Maeve did make a pen of the army of Ireland to
shut up Conchubar, and she had men ready to close it
up when once he would be in. But it is what Conchubar
did, he never so much as looked for an opening, but
when he saw the army before him, he went straight
through it, and he broke open a gap of two hundred on
the right hand, and a gap of two hundred on the left,
and went through them all, and cut them down in the
very middle, so that eight hundred men of them were
killed.
And then he went away from them, back to Slieve
Sleamhain, to join the army of Ulster.
Then the men of Ulster began to gather upon the
plain in their full strength, and when Ailell heard it, he
said : " Let some one go up and watch them coming, and
bring us a report of the appearance that is on them, and
of the chief men that are leading them." " Let Mac Roth
go," said Fergus.
So Mac Roth went out and took a post on the plain
from the early light of the morning till the fall of
evening, and through all that time the men of Ulster
were coming, so that the ground was not naked under
them, every division under its own chief man, and every
troop under its own lord, and each one of them apart
R
from the others, and they came on till they had covered
the Hill of Sleamhain.
And when evening came, Mac Roth came back to
Ailell and to Maeve, and they questioned him and said :
" What sort were the men of Ulster as they came across
the plain ? " And Mac Roth said : " The first troop I saw
coming had three thousand men in it, and as soon as
they got to the hill, they took their armour off, and they
began to dig and to make a seat of sods and of earth on
the highest part of the hill, for their leader to sit on until
the rest of the army would come.
" He had the appearance of a tall, proud man, used to
giving orders ; and he had yellow, curling hair on him,
aud a yellow forked beard, and a red, pleasant face, and
blue eyes you would be afraid of. A five-folded crimson
cloak he had on him, and a gold pin over his breast, and
a white shirt with threads of gold woven into it next his
body." " Who was that man, Fergus ? " said Ailell.
" He was Conchubar, son of Fachtna and of Ness, High-
King of Ulster." " There was a man stood beside him,"
said Mac Roth, " with scattered white hair, and a purple
cloak, and a shield with bosses of red brass, and a long
iron sword of foreign make. And he looked up to the
sky, and threw his hand upwards, and with that the
clouds seemed like as if they were rushing at one
another, and fire came from them towards the men of
Ireland." " That was Cathbad the Druid," said Fergus,
" and he trying by his enchantments to know how the
battle would go to-morrow.
" I saw another man with Conchubar," said Mac
Roth, " and he having a smooth, dark face, and white
eyes in his head ; a long bronze rod in his hand, and a
little bell beside him, and when he touched it with his
rod, all the people near him began to laugh." " Who is
that man ? " said Ailell. " It is easy to know that," said
Fergus ; " that is Rocmid, the king's fool. There was
never trouble or tiredness on any man of Ulster that he
would not forget if he saw Rocmid." "There came
another troop then," said Mac Roth, "and it is what I
thought, that the leader they had was the handsomest
and the most comely of all the men of Ireland, tall and
well formed. Deep red-yellow hair he had, his face
wide at the top and narrow below; thin, red lips, and
grey eyes that were laughing. A red and white cloak
on him, that the wind stirred as he walked, a white
shield with gold fastenings at his shoulder, a long, dark
green spear in his hand." " Who was that man, Fergus ? "
said Ailell. " That man is himself half an army,
Rochad, son of Fatheman, from Rachlainn, in the
North," said Fergus. Now this was the same Rochad
that Findabair had loved. "There was another troop
came then," said Mac Roth, "and a quiet, grey-haired
man at the head of it. A dark-green, long-woolled cloak
he had about him, and a white shirt, and a silver belt
around his waist, and a bell branch at his shoulder. He
sat before King Conchubar when he came to the hill,
and his whole company sat about him. And the sound
of his voice when he spoke before the king, and when
he was advising him, was sweeter than a three-cornered
harp in the player's hand." "Who was that man,
Fergus ? " said Ailell. " That was Sencha, the orator,
the best-spoken of all the men of the whole world, and
the peace-maker of the army of Ulster," said Fergus ;
" and the whole of the men of the world, from the rising
to the setting of the sun, he would pacify with his three
fair words. But by my word, it is no cowardly or no
peaceful counsel that man will give his king to-day, but
counsel of courage, and of strength, and of battle."
" There came another troop," said Mac Roth, " and
a man at the head of them, and it would not be easy
to find a man with a better appearance, or with hair
more like gold than what he has. There was a sword
with an ivory hilt in his hand, and he throwing it up
and catching it in his hand again, just when it was
coming on the heads of the people near him." " That
is Aithirne, the poet and satirist," said Fergus. " Covet-
ous he is, and it is said of him that he would ask the
one-eyed man for his one eye, and that the rivers and
the lakes go back before him when he makes a satire
on them, and rise when he praises them. And one
time when the men of Ulster were fighting to protect
him against the men of Leinster, that he had stirred up,
and were shut up in Beinn Etair, he had plenty of cows
himself in the fort, but he would not give a drop of
milk to man or boy, or to a wounded man itself, but
left them without food and without drink, unless they
would eat the clay or drink the salt water of the sea."
" I saw another troop coming," said Mac Roth, " wild-
looking, and in the middle of it a young little lad, red
and freckled. He had a silk shirt on him with a border of
red gold, and a shield faced with gold, with a golden rim,
and a little bright gold sword at his side." " Who is
that, Fergus?" said Ailell. " I do not remember leaving
any such boy as that when I left Ulster," said Fergus ;
" but it is likely it may be Ere, son of Cairbre, that has
come without leave of his father to help his grandfather,
Conchubar ; and the men of Teamhair with him. And
if what I think is true," he said, "you will find that
troop to be a drowning sea, and it is by that troop and
by that little boy the battle will be won against you."
Now that was the same Ere that fought afterwards
in the last battle against Cuchulain at Muirthemne, and
some said it was he that made an end of Cuchulain, but
others said it was only the Grey of Macha he made an
end of. And Conall Cearnach killed him afterwards
in his red vengeance ; and his sister Acaill came to
Teamhair where he was buried, and cried for him
through nine days, till her heart broke like a nut inside
her, and she desired that her grave and her mound
should be made in a place where the grave and the
mound of Ere could be seen from it. And it was made
in the place that used to be called the place of the poet
Maine, but that is called now the place of Acaill.
" I saw another company," said Mac Roth, " having
at its head a tall, large man, with high looks, with soft
brown hair in thin smooth locks on his forehead ; a
deep grey cloak wrapped around him, having a silver
brooch in it ; a soft white shirt next his skin." " I
know that man," said Fergus ; " he is Eoghan, son of
Durthact, king of Fernmaige, one of the twelve chief
heroes of the Red Branch."
" I saw another company coming," said Mac Roth,
" and a great many in it ; and they red with the fire of
their anger, strong and eager and destroying. At their
head an angry man, dreadful to look at, long-nosed,
large-eared, with coarse grey hair ; a striped cloak on
him, an iron skewer in place of a brooch, a coarse
striped shirt next his skin, a great spear in his hand."
" I know that man," said Fergus ; " Celthair, son of
Uthecar ; a head of battle in Ulster. And the spear
in his hand is the great spear, the Luin, that was
brought back from the East by the three sons of
Tuireann."
" I saw the troop that came last," said Mac Roth,
"and it without a leader. There were thirty hundred in
it, of proud, clean, ruddy men ; long fair hair they had,
and shining eyes, and long shining cloaks with good
brooches, blue shining spears, good coverings on their
heads, and shirts of striped silk. But they seemed to
have some great trouble on them, and to be very
down-hearted." " What men are those, Fergus ? " said
Ailell. " I know them well," said Fergus. " It is well
for those on whose side they are, and it is a pity for
those they are against ; for they are able by themselves,"
he said, "to fight the whole army of Ireland ; for they
are Cuchulain's men from Muirthemne."
Now all this time Cuchulain was lying on his bed,
with the dint of his wounds. But when he knew by the
noise on the plain that the men of Ulster were gathering
for the battle, he used all his strength and tried to rise
up ; and he gave a great shout, that all his own troop
heard it, and all the whole army. But his people that
were about him laid him down on the bed again by
force, and put ropes and fastenings over him, the way
he could not move from it to open his wounds again.
And as he was lying there, two mocking women came
from Ailell's camp, and stood beside his bed, and let on
to be crying and lamenting ; and it is what they told
him, that the men of Ulster were beaten, and that
Conchubar was killed, and that Fergus was killed
along with him. And in the night the Morrigu came
like a lean, grey-haired hag, shrieking from the one
army to the other, hopping over the points of their
weapons, to stir up anger between them, and she called
out that ravens would be picking men's necks on the
morrow. And with all this outcry, Cuchulain could not
sleep, and when the day began to break he said to
Laeg : " Look out now, and bring me word of every-
thing that happens on this day." So Laeg looked out,
and he said : " I see a little herd of cattle breaking out
from the west of Ailell's camp, and there are lads
following after them and trying to bring them back ; and
I see more lads coming out from the army of Ulster
to attack them." " That little herd on the plain is the
beginning of a great battle," said Cuchulain, " for it is
the Brown Bull of Cuailgne and his heifers are in it, and
now the young men of the east and of the west will
come out against one another. And go now, Laeg,"
he said, " for I cannot go out myself, and call to the
men of Ulster, and stir them up to the battle." So
Laeg went out and called to them in Cuchulain's name
to get themselves ready and to come out to the
battle.
When the men of Ulster heard that message from
Cuchulain, they rose up, and rushed out without
stopping to put on their clothing, but only taking
their weapons in their hands ; and such of them as
had the door of their tents facing eastwards did not
wait to go through it, but broke out to the west.
But Conchubar was not in such haste to bring his
own men out, but he said to Sencha : " Keep them back
till the right time will have come, when the sun will
have lighted all the valleys and the hills."
Then Laeg went to look out again, and he saw the
army of Ireland coming out to meet the men of Ulster,
and there began a great fight between them, and it went
on a good while without one side getting the better of
the other. And when Cuchulain heard it he said : " My
grief! I not to be able to go among them ! "
Now as to Maeve, she was sending out her men, the
three Conaires from Slieve Lis, the three red Luachras,
the three nimble Suibhnes, the three sky-like Eochaids,
the three bards from Lough Riach, the three Fachtnas
from the woods of Navan, the three sad-faced Murroughs,
the three boiling Laegaires, the three dove-like Conalls,
the three sons of Driscoll that fought together, the three
Fintans from beside the sea. And some say that besides
these there were three young men of the Sidhe in
shining armour, that mixed through the army to stir up
courage, and that none of the men of the army could
see among them, Delbhaeth, son of Eithlin, and Cermat
Honey-mouth, and Angus Og, son of the Dagda.
But when Maeve saw the battle going on, and neither
side getting the victory, she called to Fergus, and she
said : " It is time for you, Fergus, to go out and avenge
yourself on your enemy Conchubar ; and besides that,"
she said, " it is right for you to go and to fight for us
now, after all the good treatment you got from us in
Connaught." " I would go out willingly," said Fergus,
" if I had my own sword again, the Caladcholg, the
sword that Leite brought from the country of the
Sidhe." Then Ailell said to his chariot - driver,
Ferloga : " Go now and bring Fergus's sword that I
bade you to hide away." So Ferloga brought the
sword, and put it in Fergus's hand, and Fergus gave it
a great welcome. " Come out now into the battle,
Fergus," said Maeve, •' and spare no one to-day, unless
it might be some very dear friend."
Then Fergus and Maeve and Ailell went out into the
battle, and three times they made the army of Ulster go
back before them. And when Conchubar heard his
people were being driven back, he called out to the
household of the Red Branch : " Let you hold the place I
am in now, till I go see who has turned back our men
against us three times on the north side."
And the men of the Red Branch called back to him :
" We will do that, and unless the sky should fall on us,
or the earth give way under us, we will not give up one
inch of ground before the men of Ireland till you come
to us again, or till we get our death."
Then Conchubar went to see who it v/as that was
driving back his army, and it was Fergus he found before
him ; and Fergus struck three great blows on Conchubar's
shield, the Ochain, so that the shield screamed out loud,
and all the shields of the army of Ulster screamed with
it, and the three great waves of Ireland answered it.
Then Fergus said : " Who is it is holding his shield
against me ? " And Conchubar knew then who was
before him, and he cried out : " It is the man, Fergus, that
is greater and more comely and younger and better than
yourself, the man whose father and mother were better
than your own ; the man that put to death the three
great candles of the valour of the Gael, the three pros-
perous sons of Usnach, in spite of your guarantee and
your protection ; the man that banished you out of your
own country ; the man that made your house a dwelling-
place for deer and foxes ; the man that never left you so
much as the breadth of your foot of land in Ulster ; the
man that drove you to the entertainment of a woman ;
and the man that will drive you back to-day in the
presence of the men of Ireland, Conchubar, son of
Fachtna Fathach, High King of Ulster, the High King
of Ireland."
When Fergus heard that, he took his sword, the
Caladcholg, in his two hands, and he was swinging it over
his head, that it seemed to have the size and appearance
of a rainbow, and he was about to give his three great
strokes on the men of Ulster.
But Conchubar's son, Cormac Conloingeas, saw what he
was doing, and he made a rush at Fergus, and put his arms
about his knees, and he said : " Do not put out your great
strength, my master Fergus, to destroy the whole army
of Ulster." " Let me go," said Fergus, " for I will not
live through the day unless I strike my three blows on
the men of Ulster." But Cormac Conloingeas would not
leave off from asking him, and then he said : " Tell
Conchubar to go back to his own place in the battle,
and I will spare the army." So Conchubar went back,
and then Fergus struck his three blows on three little
hills that were near him, and cut their tops off, and they
are called "the three bare hills of Meath" to this day.
But when Cuchulain heard the scream of Conchubar's
shield the time Fergus struck it, he called out to Laeg :
"Who has dared to strike those three blows upon the
Ochain, and I still living?" " It is Fergus, son of Rogh,
struck them," said Laeg. " Where is the battle going on
now ? " said Cuchulain. " The armies are come as far
as Gairech," said Laeg. " By my hand of valour," said
Cuchulain, "they will not have reached to Ilgairech be-
fore I will be with them." With that he put out all his
strength, and he broke the ropes that were about him,
and threw them off, and he scattered the grass that was
on his wounds into the high air. And the two mocking
women were there yet, and he dashed them one against
the other, and left them there on the ground. And he
looked for his arms, but he could see none of them ; but
only his chariot, that was broken, was lying there. And
he took hold of a shaft of it, and rushed, with all his
wounds, straight into the battle, till he found Fergus,
and he called to him to go back before him now, as he
had promised he would do. But Fergus gave him no
answer. Then Cuchulain said : " Go back, now, Fergus,
or by the oath of my people," he said, " I will grind you
to pieces as a mill grinds the malt." Then Fergus said :
" Do not be giving out threats to me, for my army is
well able for the army of Ulster." " You gave me your
promise, Fergus," said Cuchulain, " to go back before me
when we would meet in the great battle, and when I
would be covered with wounds. You bound yourself to
that the time I went back before you, and you without
your sword."
Then Fergus, when he heard that, went back three
steps, and then he turned, and his men with him, and
gave way before Cuchulain. And all the men of Ireland
turned when they saw that, and broke out of their ranks,
and ran over the hill westward, and Cuchulain and the
men of Ulster followed after them, making a great
slaughter. And Cuchulain came up with Maeve, and
she called out : " A gift to me, Cuchulain." " What is it
you are asking of me ? " he said. " Take what is left of
my army under your protection, and let it pass over the
great ford westward." So he agreed to do that, and
what was left of the army of Ireland went over the great
ford of the Sionnan at Athluain, and Maeve and Ailell
and Fergus, and the Maines, and the sons of Magach
stopped to the last, and drew their shields of protection
behind the men of Ireland, till they had got back to
Cruachan in Connaught, the place they set out from.
It was mid-day when Cuchulain came into the battle,
and the sun was setting when the last of them went over
the ford. And then Cuchulain took his sword that Laeg
had brought him, for he had but a few splinters left of
the shaft of the chariot he had used in the fight, and he
made three blows at three rocks, and cut the tops off
them, for an insult to Connaught for ever, the way if
any one should speak of the three bare hills of Meath,
the three bare rocks of Athluain would be there to give
the answer.
And Fergus was watching the army of Ireland going
back over the ford, and it is what he said : " This army is
swept away to-day ; it is wandering and going astray
like a mare among her foals that goes astray in a strange
place, not knowing what path to take. And it is follow-
ing the lead of a woman," he said, " has brought it into
this distress."
This then was the end of the battle of Gairech and
Ilgairech, and the end of the war for the Brown Bull of
Cuailgne.
Ch. 13
THE TWO BULLS
'T'HIS, now, is the story of the two bulls, the Brown of
Cuailgne, and the White-horned of Cruachan Ai,
and this is the way it was with them — for they were not
right bulls, but there was enchantment on them. In
the time long- ag-o Bodb was king- of the Sidhe of
Munster, and it is in Femen, of Slieve-na-man he was, and
Ochall Ochne was king of the Sidhe of Connaught, and
it is in Cruachan he used to be. They used at one time
to be fighting one against the other, but afterwards they
made peace, and were good friends. Now Bodb had a
swineherd, whose name was Friuch, and Ochall had a
swineherd whose name was Rucht, and they were
friendly with one another the same as their masters.
And they had the knowledge of enchantments, and could
turn themselves to every shape. And when there was a
great plenty of mast in Munster, the swineherd from
Connaught would bring his lean swine to the south, and
in the same way, when mast was plentiful in Connaught,
the swineherd would bring his swine northward, and
would bring them home again fat.
But after a while some bad feeling rose up between
the two, for the men of Connaught and the men of
Munster began to set them one against the other. So
one year when there was great mast in Munster, and
Rucht brought his herd from Connaught, so soon as his
comrade Friuch had bade him welcome, he said : '* The
people are all saying your power is greater than mine."
" It is no less any way," said Ochall's herd. " We will
soon know that," said Friuch. " I will put an enchant-
ment on your swine, and even though they eat their
share of mast, they will not be fat, like mine will be."
And so it happened, he put an enchantment on the
Connaught swine, and when Rucht went home with
them they could hardly walk at all, they were so thin
and so weak, and all the people were laughing at the
state they were in. *' It was a bad day for you, you went
to the South," they said, " for your comrade has greater
power than what you have." " That is not so," said he.
" Wait till it is our turn to have mast, and I will play
the same trick on him."
So the next year he did as he had said, and the
Munster swine pined away, so that every one said their
power was the same. And when Bodb's swineherd
went back home to Munster with his lean swine, his
master put him out of the place. And Ochall put his
herd out of his place as well, because of the swine
coming back in so bad a state from Munster.
One day, two full years after that, the men of Munster
were gathered together near Femen, and they took
notice of two ravens that were making a great cawing.
" What a noise those birds have been making all through
the year ! " they said. " They never stop scolding at one
another." Just then Findell, Ochall's steward from
Cruachan, came towards them on the hill, and they bade
him welcome. " What a noise those birds are making ! "
he said ; " any one would think them to be the same
two birds we had in Cruachan last year." With that,
they saw the two ravens change into the shape of men,
and they knew them to be the two swineherds, and
they bade them welcome. " It is not right you to
welcome us," said Bodb's swineherd, " for there will be
many dead bodies of friends, and much crying on
account of us two." What has happened you all
through this time ? " they asked. " Nothing good," he said.
" Since we went from you we have been all the time in
the shape of birds, and you saw the way we were scold-
ing at one another all through this year. And we were
quarrelling in the same way the whole of last year at
Cruachan, and the men of the North and of the South
have seen what our power is. And now," he said, " we
will go into the shape of water beasts, and be under the
water for the length of two years." And with that one
of them went into the Sionnan, and the other into the
Suir, and they were seen for a year in the Suir, and for
a year in the Sionnan, and they devouring one another.
And one day the men of Connaught had a great
gathering at Ednecha, on the Sionnan, and they saw these
two beasts in the river ; each one of them looked to be
as big as the top of a hill, and they made such a furious
attack on one another that fiery swords seemed to be
coming from their jaws, and the people came round
them on every side. They came out of the Sionnan
then, and as soon as they touched the shore, they
changed again into the shape of the two swineherds.
Ochall bade them welcome. " Where have you been
wandering?" he asked them. "Indeed it is tired we
are with our wanderings," they said. " You saw what we
were doing before your eyes, and that is what we were
doing through these two years, under seas and waters.
And now we must take new shapes on us, till we try
one another's strength again." And with that they
went away.
It happened a good while after that there was a great
gathering of the men of Connaught at Loch Riach, for
Bodb was coming on a friendly visit to Ochall. And
Bodb brought a great troop with him, the most splendid
ever seen ; speckled horses they had, and green cloaks
with silver brooches, and shoes with clasps of red bronze.
and every one of them had a collar of gold, with a stone
worth a newly-calved cow set in it. When Ochall saw
what grand clothes and horses they had, he called to his
people secretly, and asked could they match Bodb's
people in dress and in horses and arms, and they said
they could not. Then Ochall said : " That is a pity, and
our great name is lost." But just then a troop of men
were seen coming from the North, and black horses with
them, that you would think had been cast up by the sea,
and bridle-bits of gold in their mouths. And the men
had black-grey cloaks, and a gold brooch at the breast of
each, and a white tunic with crimson stripes, and fifty
coils of bright gold round every man. And every man
of them had black hair, as smooth as if a cow had licked
it. And they stopped a little way off, and then the men
of Connaught stood up and gave up their place to them.
There was a Druid from Britain there, and when he saw
them make way he said : " From this out, to the end of
life and time, the Connaught men will be under the
yoke, attending on hounds and on sons of kings and
queens for ever."
Then after they had been feasting for a while, Bodb
asked could any Connaught man be found that would
fight against his champion Rinn, that was with him, and
that had a great name, but no one knew where he came
from. And at first there could no one be found, but
then a strange champion came out from among the men
of Connaught, and he said, " I will go against him."
" That is no welcome news," said Rinn. Then they
fought against one another for three days and three
nights, and before the end of that time the two armies
began to join into the fight, and a troop came from
Leinster and joined with Bodb, and another troop
came from Meath and joined with Ochall. And four
kings were killed there, and Ochall among them, and
then Bodb went back to Slieve-na-man. But as to the
two champions, they were seen no more, and it was
known they were the two swineherds. After that they
were for two years with the appearance of shadows,
threatening one another, the way that many people died
of fright after seeing them.
And after that, they were in the shape of eels, and
one went into the river Cruind, in Cuailgne ; and after a
while a cow belonging to Daire, son of Fachna, drank it
down. And the other went into the Spring of Uaran
Garad, in Connaught ; and one day Maeve went out to
the spring, and a small bronze vessel in her hand, and
she dipped it in the water, and the little eel went into it,
and every colour was to be seen on him. And she was
a long time looking at him, she thought the colours
so beautiful. Then the water went away, and the eel
was alone in the vessel. " It is a pity you cannot speak
to me," said Maeve. " What is it you want to know ? "
said the eel. " I would like to know what way it is with
you in that shape of a beast," she said ; " and I would like
to know what will happen me after I get the sway
over Connaught." " Indeed it is a tormented beast I
am," he said, " and it is in many shapes I have been.
And as to yourself," he said, " handsome as you are, you
should take a good man to be with you in your sway."
" I have no wish," said Maeve, " to let a man of
Connaught get the upper hand over me," and with
that she went home again.
But she married Ailell after that, and as for the eel,
he was swallowed down by one of Maeve's cows that
came to drink at the spring.
And it was from that cow, and from the cow that
belonged to Daire, son of Fachna, the two bulls were
born, the White-horned and the Brown. They were the
finest ever seen in Ireland, and gold and silver were put
on their horns by the men of Ulster and Connaught.
In Connaught no bull dared bellow before the White-
horned, and in Ulster no bull dared bellow before the
Brown.
As to the Brown, he that had been Friuch, the Munster
swineherd, his lowing when he would be coming home
every evening to his yard was good music to the people
of the whole of Cuailgne. And wherever he was,
neither Bocanachs nor Bananachs nor witches of the
valley, could come into the one place with him. And
it was on account of him the great war broke out.
Now, when Maeve saw at Ilgaireth that the battle
was going against her, she sent eight of her own
messengers to bring away the Brown Bull, and his
heifers. " For whoever goes back or does not go back,"
she said, " the Brown Bull must go to Cruachan."
Now when the Brown Bull came into Connaught, and
saw the beautiful trackless country before him, he let
three great loud bellowings out of him. As soon as the
White-horned heard that, he set out for the place those
bellowings came from, with his head high in the air.
Then Maeve said that the men of her army must not
go to their homes till they would see the fight between
the two bulls.
And they all said some one must be put to watch the
fight, and to give a fair report of it afterwards. And
it is what they agreed, that Bricriu should be sent to
watch it, because he had not taken any side in the
war ; for he had been through the whole length of it
under care of physicians at Cruachan, with the dint of
the wound he got the day he vexed Fergus, and that
Fergus drove the chess-men into his head. " I will go
willingly," said Bricriu. So he went out and took his
place in a gap, where he could have a good view of
the fight.
As soon as the bulls caught sight of one another
they pawed the earth so furiously that they sent the
sods flying, and their eyes were like balls of fire in
S
2/4 THETWOBULLS
their heads ; they locked their horns together, and they
ploughed up the ground under them and trampled it,
and they were trying to crush and to destroy one
another through the whole length of the day.
And once the White-horned went back a little way
and made a rush at the Brown, and got his horn into
his side, and he gave out a great bellow, and they
rushed both together through the gap where Bricriu
was, the way he was trodden into the earth under
their feet. And that is how Bricriu of the bitter
tongue, son of Cairbre, got his death.
Then when the night was coming on, Cormac
Conloingeas took hold of a spear-shaft, and he laid
three great strokes on the Brown Bull from head to
tail, and he said : " This is a great treasure to be boast-
ing of, that cannot get the better of a calf of his own
age." When the Brown Bull heard that insult, great
fury came on him, and he turned on the White-horned
again. And all through the night the men of Ireland
were listening to the sound of their bellowing, and they
going here and there, all through the country.
On the morrow, they saw the Brown Bull coming
over Cruachan from the west, and he carrying what
was left of the White-horned on his horns. Then
Maeve's sons, the Maines, rose up to make an attack
on him on account of the Connaught bull he had de-
stroyed. " Where are those men going : " said Fergus.
*' They are going to kill the Brown Bull of Cuailgne."
" By the oath of my people," said Fergus, " if you do
not let the Brown Bull go back to his own country in
safety, all he has done to the White-horned is little to
what I will do now to you."
Then the Brown Bull bellowed three times, and set
out on his way. And when he came to the great ford
of the Sionnan he stopped to drink, and the two loins of
the White-horned fell from his horns into the water.
And that place is called Ath-luain, the ford of the loin,
to this day. And its liver fell in the same way into a
river of Meath, and it is called Ath-Truim, the ford of
the liver, to this day.
Then he went on till he came to the top of Slieve
Breagh, and when he looked from it he saw his own
home, the hills of Cuailgne ; and at the sight of his
own country, a great spirit rose up in him, and madness
and fury came on him, and he rushed on, killing every-
one that came in his way.
And when he got to his own place, he turned his back
to a hill and he gave out a loud bellowing of victory.
And with that his heart broke in his body, and blood
came bursting from his mouth, and he died.
Ch. 14
THE ONLY JEALOUSY OF EMER
TT happened one time, near to the day of Samhain,
the men of Ulster came together for games and
for feasting upon the plain of Muirthemne.
And they were all of them there but Conall Cearnach
and Lugaid of the Red Stripes. " Let the feast be
begun," they said. " It shall not be begun," said
Cuchulain, " till Conall and Lugaid are here."
Sencha, the poet, said then : " Let us play chess while
we are waiting, and let poems be sung for us, and let
games be played." And they agreed to that.
While they were doing these things, a flock of birds
came down on the lake before them, and in all Ireland
there were not birds to be seen that were more beautiful.
A great longing came on the women that were there
to have the birds that were on the lake, and they began
to quarrel with one another as to who should have them.
King Conchubar's wife said : " I must have a bird of
these birds on each of my two shoulders." " We must
all have the same," said the other women. "If any one
is to get them, it is I that must first get them," said
Eithne Inguba, who loved Cuchulain. " What shall we
do ? " said the women. " It is I will tell you that," said
Levarcham, " for I will go to Cuchulain from you to ask
him to get them."
So she went to Cuchulain and said : " The women of
Ulster desire that you will get these birds for them."
Cuchulain put his hand upon his sword as if to strike
her, and he said : " Have the idle women of Ulster
nothing better to do than to send me catching birds to-
day ? " " It is not for you," said Levarcham, " to be
angry with the women of Ulster ; for there are many
of them are half blind to-day with looking at you, from
the greatness of their love for you."
Then Cuchulain told Laeg to yoke his chariot for him,
and he went in it to the lake, and he gave the birds a
side stroke of his sword, so that their feet and their
wings could not rise from the water.
They caught them all then, and divided them among
the women, so that there was not a woman among them
who did not get two birds, but Eithne Inguba only.
Cuchulain came last to her. " It is vexed you seem to
be," he said. " Is it because I have given the birds to
the other women ? " " You have good reason for that,"
she said, " for there is not a woman of them but would
share her love and her friendship with you ; while, as to
me, no person shares my love but you alone."
" Do not be vexed then," said Cuchulain ; " for what-
ever birds may come to the plain of Muirthemne, or to
the Boinne, from this out, you shall have the two most
beautiful among them."
It was not long after that, two other birds came on
the lake, and they linked together with a chain of red
gold, and they were singing soft music that went near
to put sleep on the whole gathering.
Cuchulain went over towards the birds, but Laeg said
to him not to go, and Eithne said : " If you would take
our advice, you would not go near them, for there is
enchantment behind these birds ; let some other birds be
got for me besides these."
" Do you think you can put me from what I have a
mind to do ? " said Cuchulain. And he said to Laeg :
'' Put a stone into that sling." Laeg took a stone and
put it in a sling, and Cuchulain made a cast, but it
missed. " My grief ! " he said. Then he took another
stone, and made another cast, and it passed by them.
" I am good for nothing," he said, " for since I first took
arms I never made a bad cast till this day." Then he
threw his heavy spear, and it went through the flying
wing of one of the birds, and the two of them dived
down under the water.
Cuchulain went away then with vexation on him, and
he lay down with his head against a rock, and sleep
came on him. And he saw two women coming towards
him, one of them having a green cloak about her, and
the other a five-folded crimson cloak.
The woman with the green cloak went up to him, and
smiled at him, and she gave him a stroke of a rod. The
other went up to him then, and smiled at him, and gave
him a stroke in the same way ; and they went on doing
this for a long time, each of them striking him in turn,
till he was more dead than alive. And then they went
away and left him there.
All the men of Ulster saw that something had
happened, and they asked if they would awaken him.
" Do not," said Conall ; " do not move him before night."
After that Cuchulain stood up in his sleep, and the
men of Ulster asked him who was it had used him like
that, but he could not speak with them. But after a
while he said : " Bring me and lay me on my bed, not to
Dundealgan, but to the Speckled House at Emain."
" Let him be brought to Dundealgan, where Emer his
wife is," said Laeg. " Not so," said Cuchulain, "■ but
bring me to the Speckled House." So he was brought
there, and he stopped to the end of a year in that place
without speaking to any person.
One day before the next feast of Samhain, at the end
of the year, Conchubar and the men of Ulster were
around him in the house ; that is, Laegaire between him
and the wall, and Conall Cearnach between him and the
door, Lugaid of the Red Stripes beside his pillow, and
Eithne Inguba at his feet.
As they were sitting like this, one who had the
appearance of a man came into the house to them, and
sat down on the side of the bed where Cuchulain was
lying.
" What has brought you here ? " said Conall. " I will
tell you that," said he. " It is to speak with the man
lying here on the bed I am come. And if the man
lying here were in his health, he would be a protection
to all the men of Ulster ; but as he is, under great sick-
ness and weakness, he is a better protection to them."
And he stood up then, and it is what he said :
" If Cuchulain, son of Sualtim, would take my friend-
ship to-day, all he has seen in his sleep would be hiS)
with no help from his army.
" Liban, she who sits at the right hand of Labraid of
the quick sword, has said that the coming of Cuchu-
lain would bring great joy to the heart of Fand her
sister.
" O Cuchulain, it is not long your sickness would be
on you if they would come, the two daughters of Aedh
Abrat. Here to the south, to the plain of Muirthemne,
I will send Liban to cure your sickness, Cuchulain."
"Who are you yourself?" they said to him then.
" I am Angus," he said, and with that he went out ;
and they did not know where he came from, or where he
went. And then Cuchulain sat up and spoke to them.
" It is time indeed," said the men of Ulster, " for you to
tell us all that has happened you." " I saw," he said, " a
vision about this time last year " : and then he told them
all he had seen, and of the women that had come and
had struck him with their rods. " And what is to be
done now, my master, Conchubar?" he said. "This
must be done," said Conchubar : " you must go back
till you come to the same rock."
So then Cuchulain set out, and came to the same
rock, and there he saw the same woman with the green
cloak coming towards him. " That is well, Cuchulain,"
said she. " It is not well indeed ; and tell me what did
you want with me when you came last year?" said
Cuchulain.
"It was not to harm you, indeed, we came," said the
woman, " but to ask your love ; and I am come now to
speak to you," she said, " from Fand, daughter of Aedh
Abrat ; for Manannan, Son of the Sea, has left her, and
her love has fallen on you ; and my own name is Liban,
wife of Labraid of the quick sword. And I have a
message for you from him," she said, ''that he will give
all you can wish for, if you will give him one day's help
against Senach of the crooked body, and against
Eochaid Juil, and against Eoghan of Inver, that is
Eoghan of the River's Mouth."
" My weakness is on me yet," said Cuchulain, " and I
could not go out fighting against men to-day." "You
will not be long so," said Liban ; " you will be healed,
and what is lost of your strength will be given back to
you again ; and you ought to do this much for Labraid,"
she said, "because he is the best of the heroes of the
world."
"In what place is he?" said Cuchulain. "He is in
Magh Mell, the Happy Plain," she said. " I will not go,"
said Cuchulain, " until I see Emer, my wife. And you
are to go for me, Laeg," he said, " to where she is, and
tell her it was the women of the Sidhe came to me from
the hills and struck me ; and tell her I am getting better
now, and bid her come and visit me."
So Laeg went to Emer, and he told her what way
Cuchulain was. And Emer said : " It is a bad servant
you are, Laeg, you that are coming and going by the
hills, and that cannot find a cure for your master ; and
it is a pity for the men of Ulster," she said, " that they
do not find a certain cure for him. If it had been
Conchubar that was in bonds, or Fergus that could not
sleep, or Conall Cearnach that had wounds on him, it is
Cuchulain that would give them relief." And it is what
she said :
"My grief! son of Riangabra, you who go early and
late among the hills, you are not early but late in
bringing a cure for the beautiful son of Dechtire.
" It is a pity for the brave men of Ulster, with all the
knowledgeable men and the learners among them, that
they have not searched the whole face of the world for
a cure for their friend Cuchulain.
"If it was Fergus had lost his sleep, and that any
enchantment could cure him, it is the son of Dechtire
would not sleep at home till he had found a Druid
to do it.
" If it were Conall in the same way was suffering
from wounds and from sores, it is the Hound would
search the wide world till he would find one that would
cure him.
"If it was Laegaire of many gifts was wounded in
battle, Cuchulain would have searched through all
Ireland to cure the grandson of Iliach.
" If it were on Celthair the revengeful sleep had
fallen and long sickness, night and day would see the
journeys of Setanta am.ong the hills.
" If it had been Furbaigh, chief of fighters, that lay
wasting in his bed, he would have searched the ridge
of the world until he had found what would save him.
" The host of the hill of Truin has killed him ; they
have taken from him his great courage ; the Hound of
Muirthemne is no better than any other hound since
the sleep of the hill of Bruagh came on him.
" My grief! sickness has laid hold of me for the Hound
of the smith of Conchubar ; it will be sickness to my
heart and my body, I to fail in bringing him a cure.
"My grief! It hurts my heart, sickness to be on
the rider of the plain, so that he could not come here,
to the gathering at the plain of Muirthemne.
" It is why he does not come from Emain, the
appearance he had is gone from him ; my voice is weak
and dead because of the way he is. A month and a
quarter and a year without sleep, that is the way I
am, and without hearing any one speak pleasant words,
son of Riangabra, O son of Riangabra."
After she had made this complaint, Emer went
forward to Emain Macha to attend on Cuchulain, and
she sat on the side of the bed where he was, and it is
what she was saying :
" Rise up, champion of Ulster, awake from your
sleep, in health and happiness. Look at the well-
shaped king of Macha ; he will not allow your long
sleep. Look at his shoulder, smooth like crystal ;
look at his drinking-horns and battle spoils ; look at
his chariots that sweep the valleys ; look at the
movements of his chess-men.
" Think on his heroes in their strength ; think on his
high, fine women ; think on his kings of brave doings ;
think on their high noble queens.
" Think on the beginning of clear winter ; think on
its wonders in their turn ; think in yourself of what it
brings forth — its cold, its length, its want of beauty.
This stupor, it is not good wholesome sleep ; it is
idleness and the fear of battle ; long sleep is the same
as drunkenness ; weakness is only second to death.
" Awake from the sleep of the Sidhe you have drunk ;
cast it off with all your great strength. You have had your
fill of sweet flowery words ; rise up, O hero of Ulster."
Cuchulain rose up then, and he drew his hand across
his face, and he put his stupor and his heaviness off
him. Then Laeg said : " It is great idleness for a hero
to give in to the sleep of a sick-bed because women
from Magh Mell have appeared to you, who overcame
you, who bound you, who put you within the power
of idle women. Rise up out of death, you who are
wounded by women of the Sidhe, for your strength
has come, the strength of a hero among heroes ; rise
up till you go to the place of fighting men, till you do
great deeds, where Labraid of the quick hand leads
his men. Rise up that you may be great, and leave
this idleness."
Then Cuchulain went again to the rock, and he saw
Liban coming towards him, and she asked him again
to go with her to her country. " What place is Labraid
in at this time ? " said Cuchulain. " I will tell you that,"
said Liban, and it is what she said :
" Labraid is at this time upon a clear lake, where
companies of women come to. It is not tired you
would be coming to his country, if you would but visit
Labraid of the quick sword.
" A happy house ordered by a kind woman ; a
hundred men in it that are masters of learning; the
beauty of redness is on the cheek of Labraid.
" He shakes a wolfs head before his thin red sword ;
he bruises the armour of rushing hosts ; he breaks the
shields of heroes.
" His appearance in the fight is the delight of the
eye ; he does his brave deeds at all points ; it is he is
worth more than any other man.
" The greatest of fighters, the one told of in stories,
has reached the country of Eochaid Juil ; his hair is
like rings of gold upon him ; his coming is like the
smell of wine.
" A man of many strange deeds, Labraid of the quick
hand at sword ; he does not strike till he is forced ; he
keeps his people in quietness.
"There are bridles and collars of red gold on his
horses, and this is not all his riches ; the house he lives
in is supported by pillars of silver and of crystal."
" I will not go on a woman's asking," said Cuchulain.
" Let Laeg come with me then," said Liban, " to see
and to know everything." '' Let him go then," said
Cuchulain.
Then Laeg went along with the women, and they
went past Magh Luada, the Racing Plain, and past the
Bile Buada, the Tree of Victory, and past Oenach
Emna, the gathering-place of Emain, and to Oenach
Fidhga, the gathering-place of the woods ; and it was
there Aedh Abrat used to be with his daughters. And
Liban caught Laeg by the shoulder : " You will not
escape to-day, Laeg," she said, " unless you are
protected by a woman." " That is not what we were
much used to up to this," said Laeg, "to be under
women protection." " My grief for ever, Cuchulain not
to be in your place now ! " said Liban. " I would be glad
indeed he to be here," said Laeg.
They went away then towards the Island of Labraid,
and when they came to the lake they saw a little
copper ship upon the water before them. Then they
went into the ship, and they came to the island, and
there they went to the door of a house. And they saw
a man coming towards them, and Liban said to
him : " Where is Labraid of the quick sword ? " And
the man said : " Labraid is putting courage into the
people, and he is gathering them for battle. There
will be great slaughter made there, that will fill the
plain of Fidgha,"
Then they went up to the house, and Laeg thought
he had seen it before, and yet it was strange. And in it
were beds, crimson, green, white and gold ; and the great
candle there was a bright precious stone. And at the
western door, where the sun goes down, there was a
stud of horses with grey speckled manes, and others of
red-brown. And at the eastern door were three tall
trees of pure crimson, with lasting flowers, and birds
singing from them for the young men of the king's
rath. And there was a tree at the door of the court
that there was not the like of for beauty, a silver tree,
and when the sun was shining on it, it was like gold.
And there were three times twenty other trees there,
and the top of every one meeting the other, and three
hundred could be fed from every tree with fruit that is
different, that is always ripe. And there was a fountain
in the great court, and three times fifty striped cloaks,
and a shining gold pin in the ear of every cloak. And
there was a vat of merry mead for dividing among the
household ; it is a lasting custom that it is always full,
ever and always. And in the house were three times
fifty women, and they all bade welcome to Laeg, and
it is what they all said to him : " There is a welcome
before you, Laeg, for the sake of the woman with whom
you come, and for the sake of him from whom you
come, and for your own sake."
" What will you do now, Laeg ? " said Liban. " Will
you go first and speak with Fand ? " "I will, if I know
the place she is in," said Laeg. " I will tell you that,
for she is apart in a room by herself," said Liban. So
they went to speak with her, and she bade Laeg
welcome in the same way as the others. And the
meaning of the name Fand is a tear that passes over
the fire of the eye. It was for her purity she was
called that, and for her beauty ; for there was nothing
in life with which she could be compared besides it.
And when she had bade Laeg welcome, she said :
" For what reason did Cuchulain not come ? " " He
had no mind to come on a woman's asking," said
Laeg. " And besides that," he said, " he did not know
if it was from yourself the message came." " It was
from myself indeed," she said, " and let him not be long in
coming, for it is on this day the battle is to be fought."
While they were there together, they heard the sound
of Labraid's chariot coming to the island. " It is
troubled Labraid's mind is to-day," said Liban. " Let
us go out before him." So they went out, and Liban
bade him welcome, and it is what she said :
" Welcome, Labraid of the quick hand at sword,
yourself an army, a destroyer of heroes ; welcome,
welcome, Labraid."
Labraid made no answer, and Liban spoke again :
" Welcome, Labraid of the quick hand at sword ; his
hand is open to all ; his word is faithful ; his justice is
right ; kind his sway ; strong his right arm ; gentle to
his horses ; welcome, welcome, Labraid ! "
Still Labraid did not answer, and she spoke again,
and it is what she said :
" Welcome, Labraid of the quick sword ; lifter up of
the weak ; subduer of the strong ; welcome, Labraid ;
welcome, Labraid ! "
Then Labraid said : " Leave your praises, woman, for
it is not pride or happiness or high thoughts of myself I
have in my mind to-day. A battle is near, and the
striking of swords in right and left hands ; the one
heart of Eochaid Juil is equal to many. It is not
a time for pride."
" There is good news before you," said Liban then.
" Laeg, the chariot-driver of Cuchulain, is here, and he
has brought a message from him that he will go into
the battle with you." Then Labraid bade him welcome
as the women had done, and he said : " Go back home
now, and tell Cuchulain to make no delay in coming,
for it is to-day the battle is to be fought."
So Laeg went away then to Emain Macha, and
told his story to Cuchulain, and to all the rest, and it is
what he said :
" Labraid is a king of great armies. I saw his
country, bright, free, where no lies are spoken, and no
bad thing. I saw the masters of music within, giving
deh'ght to the daughters of Aedh. If I had not
come away quickly, they would have taken my
strength from me.
" I saw all this at the hill of the Sidhe. The women
there are beautiful, their gifts are beyond counting; as
to Fand, the daughter of Aedh Abrat, no one could
reach her beauty but the queens of the kings.
" Eithne Inguba is a beautiful woman, but the
woman I am speaking of now takes away the wits
from whole armies.
" It is a pity, Cuchulain, you did not go a while ago,
and every one asking you to do it, that you might see
the way it is in the great house I have seen.
" If all Ireland were mine, and I king over the happy
hills, I would give it, and that would be no small thing,
to live for ever in the place I have been in."
" That is good," said Cuchulain. " It is good," said
Laeg, " and it is right to go to reach it, and everything
in that country is good."
Then Cuchulain rose up, and he passed his hand over
his face, and he spoke pleasantly with Laeg, and he felt
that the things the young man was telling him were a
strengthening to his mind. And Laeg said : " It is time
to come, for the battle is being fought to-day."
Cuchulain went along with him then to that country,
and took his chariot with him till they reached the
island. Labraid bade them welcome, and all the women ;
and Fand bade Cuchulain her own welcome.
"What is to be done here now?" said Cuchulain.
" This is what we have to do," said Labraid ; " to go
and take a turn round the army that is against us."
They went forward then till they reached the gather-
ing-place of the armies, and till they cast an eye over
them, and it seemed as if there was no end to them.
" Go you away for a while," said Cuchulain to Labraid.
So Labraid went away then, and Cuchulain stayed before
the armies. Then two black ravens croaked, and all the
armies laughed. ''It is likely," they said, " the rav'ens
are telling of the coming of the angry man from
IMuirthemne." And they hunted them away.
After that Eochaid Juil went to wash his hands at
the spring, and Cuchulain saw his bare shoulder through
the shirt, and he threw a spear at him, and it passed
through him ; and then he attacked the army alone, and
killed a great many. Then he was attacked by Senach
Siabartha the Unearthly, and they fought very hard,
and Cuchulain overcame him in the end. And Labraid
came then, and broke the armies before him. and he
called to Cuchulain to leave off from killing. But Laeg
said : " I am in dread he will spend his rage on us, since
he has not had enough of fighting. And let your people
go," he said, " and let them make ready three vats of
water to put out his heat. The first vat he will go into
will boil over ; the second vat, no person could bear its
heat ; but the heat of the third vat will be fit to bear."
When the women saw Cuchulain coming back, it was
then Fand sang before him : " Stately is the man that
comes in his chariot ; young he is, and without a beard ;
his course is splendid across the plain at evening, at
Senach Fidhga, the gathering-place of the woods.
" It is not the music of the Sidhe would keep him in
a bed ; it is the red colour of blood that is upon him ; I
stand looking at the horses of his chariot ; their like is
not known, they are as fast as the winds of spring.
" It is Cuchulain that is coming, the young hero from
Muirthemne ; it is a pity for the man against whom he
is angered."
Then Liban asked him what he had done in the fight
And Cuchulain said : " Fair, ruddy-faced men attacked
me on every side from the back of horses, the people of
Manannan, Son of the Sea, called there by Eochaid of
Inver ; I gave them wound for wound. I threw my spear
at Eochaid Juil ; it was not with the uncertain cast
of a man among mists I threw it. I heard his groan, and
its sound was friendly to me ; if those who have spoken
have told the truth, it was that throw won the battle."
It was to the son, now, of this Eochaid Juil of the
Land of Promise, that Aebgreine, the daughter of
Naoise and Deirdre was given afterwards in marriage
by Manannan.
After that, Cuchulain stopped a month in that country
with Fand, and at the end of the month he bade her
farewell, and she said to him : " In whatever place you
tell me to go and meet you, I will go there." And the
place they settled to meet at was at Ibar Cinn Tracta,
the yew at the head of Baile's strand.
But when all this was told to Emer, there was great
anger on her, and she had knives made ready to kill the
woman with ; and she came, and fifty young girls with
her, to the place where they had settled to meet.
Cuchulain and Laeg were playing chess there, and they
did not see the women coming. It was Fand saw them
first, and she said to Laeg : " Look, Laeg, at what I see."
" What is that ? " said Laeg. Then he looked, and it is
what Fand said : " Look behind you, Laeg ; there are
women listening to you, wise, with sharp, green knives in
their right hands, with gold at their well-shaped breasts ;
they move as brave men do, going through a battle of
chariots. Well does Emer, daughter of Forgall, change
colour in her anger."
" No harm shall be done to you by her," said Cuchulain ;
" and she shall not reach to you at all. Come into the
sunny seat of the chariot, opposite myself, for I will
defend you against all the many women of the four
points of Ulster ; for though Forgall's daughter may
T
threaten," he said, " on the strength of her companions,
to do some daring thing, it is surely not against me she
will dare it."
Then Cuchulain said to Emer : " It is little I mind you,
woman, in spite of my affection for you, more than any
other man minds a woman. The spear in your shaking
hand does not wound me, nor your weak, thin knife,
nor your vain, gathered anger ; for it would be a pity
my strength to be put down by a woman's strength."
" I ask then," said Emer, " what was it led you,
Cuchulain, to dishonour me before all the women of
the province, and before all the women of Ireland, and
before all honourable people in the same way? For
it was under your shelter I came, and on the strength
of your faithfulness ; for although you threaten a great
quarrel in your pride, it is certain, Cuchulain, you cannot
put me away, even if you would try to do it."
" I ask you, Emer," said Cuchulain, " why I may not
have my turn in the company of this woman ; for in the
first place she is well-behaved, comely, well-mannered,
worthy of a king, this woman from beyond the waves of
the great sea ; with form and countenance and high
descent ; with embroidery and handiness, with sense and
quickness ; for there is not anything under the skies her
husband could ask, but she would do it, even if she had
not given her promise. And O Emer," he said, "you
will never find any brave, comely man so good as
myself"
" It is certain," said Emer, " that I will not refuse this
woman if you follow her. But all the same, everything
red is beautiful, everything new is fair, everything high
is lovely, everything common is bitter, everything we
are without is thought much of; everything we know
is thought little of, till all knowledge is known. And
O Cuchulain," she said, " I was at one time in esteem with
you and I would be so again, if it were pleasing to you,"
And grief came upon her, and overcame her. " By
my word, now," said Cuchulain, " you are pleasing to me,
and will be pleasing as long as I live."
" Let me be given up," said Fand. " It is better for
me to be given up," said Emer. " Not so," said Fand,
" it is I that will be given up in the end, and it is I that
have been in danger of it all this time."
And great grief and trouble of mind came on
Fand, because she was ashamed to be given up,
and to have to go back to her home there and then ;
and the great love she had given Cuchulain troubled
her ; and so she was lamenting, and she made this com-
plaint :
" It is I will go on the journey ; I agree to it with great
sorrow ; though my father has so great a name, I would
sooner stay with Cuchulain. It would be better for
me to be here, to be under your rule without grief, than
to go, though you may wonder at it, to the sunny house
of Aedh Abrat.
" O Emer, the man is yours, and well may you wear
him, for you are worthy ; what my arm cannot reach,
that at least I may wish well to.
" Many were the men asking for me, in the court and
in country places; I never went to meet one of them, for
it is myself was of right behaviour.
" A pity it is to give love to a man, and he to take no
heed to it. It is better to be turned away, if you are
not loved as you love.
" It was not right of you, Emer of the yellow hair, to
take hold of Fand, to kill her in her misery."
Now all this was told to Manannan, that Fand,
daughter of Aedh Abrat was fighting alone against the
women of Ulster, and that Cuchulain was putting her
away. Manannan came then from the east in search of
her, and he was near them, and no one of them saw
him but only Fand, And then great fear and trouble of
mind came on her at seeing Manannan, and it is what
she said :
" Look on the great son of the sea, from the plains
of Eoghan of Inver ; Manannan, lord of the fair hills of
the world ; there was a time when he was dear to me.
" He may even to-day be constant ; my mind is no
friend to jealousy. There is a road love leads us in.
" The time I and the friend of Lugh were in the sunny
palace of Dun Inver, we thought, without a doubt, that
we should never be parted from one another.
" When Manannan the great married me, I was a wife
worthy of him ; he gave me a bracelet of heavy gold, as
the price of my beauty.
" I see, coming over the sea, no earthly person sees
him, the crested horseman of the high-maned waves ; he
has no need of long ships.
" As for me myself, because there is foolishness in the
minds of women, the man I loved exceedingly has left
me here astray.
" Farewell to you, beautiful Cuchulain ; I go away
from you with a kind heart. Though I do not come back
again, let me have your good will ; all things are good in
comparison with a parting.
" It is time for me to go away ; there is one to whom
it is not grief, but for all that, it is a great disgrace to
me, O Laeg, son of Riangabra.
" It is with my own husband I will go, because he will
do as I desire. Look now at my going, that it may not
be said I went away secretly."
Then Fand went over to Manannan, and Manannan
bade her welcome, and he said : " Well, woman, is it after
Cuchulain you will be going from this time, or is it with
me you will go ? " " By my word now," said she, " there
is one of you I would sooner follow than the other ; but
it is along with you I will go and I will not wait on
Cuchulain, because he has left me. And another thing,"
she said, " you have not a queen that is fitting for you,
and that is what Cuchulain has."
But when Cuchulain saw the woman going away from
him with Manannan, he said to Laeg : " What is that ? "
" It is Fand," said Laeg, " that is going to Manannan,
Son of the Sea, because she was not pleasing to you."
It is then there was great anger on Cuchulain, and he
went with great leaps southward to Luachair, the place
of rushes ; and he stopped for a long while without
drink, without food, among the mountains, and where he
slept every night, was on the road of Midluachan.
And when Emer heard that, she went to visit
Conchubar in Emain Macha, and she told him the way
Cuchulain was.
Then Conchubar sent the poets and the skilled men
and the Druids of Ulster to visit him, that they might
lay hold of him, and bring him to Emain Macha along
with them. But when they came to him, he would have
killed them, but the Druids did enchantment on him,
until they had laid hold of him, and until his wits began
to come back to him. Then he asked them for a drink,
and the Druids gave him a drink of forgetfulness. From
the moment he drank that drink, he did not remember
Fand, and all the things he had done. And they gave
a drink of forgetfulness to Emer as well, that she might
forget her jealousy, for the state she was in was no better
than his own.
And after that, Manannan shook his cloak between
Cuchulain and Fand, the way they should never meet
one another again.
Ch. 15
ADVICE TO A PRINCE
'T^HERE was a meeting of the three provinces of
Ireland held about this time in Teamhair, to try
could they find some person to give the High Kingship of
Ireland to ; for they thought it a pity the Hill of the
Lordship of Ireland, that is Teamhair, to be without the
rule of a king on it, and the tribes to be without a
king's government to judge their houses. For the men
of Ireland had been without the government of a High
King over them since the death of Conaire at Da
Derga's Inn.
And the kings that met now at the court of Cairbre
Niafer were Ailell and Maeve of Connaught, and Curoi,
and Tigernach, son of Luchta, king of Tuathmumain,
and Finn, son of Ross, king of Leinster. But they
would not ask the men of Ulster to help them in
choosing a king, for they were all of them against the
men of Ulster.
There was a bull-feast made ready then, the same
way as the time Conaire was chosen, to find out who was
the best man to get the kingship.
After a while the dreamer screamed out in his sleep,
and told what he saw to the kings. And what he saw
this time, was a young strong man, with high looks, and
with two red stripes on his body, and he sitting over the
pillow of a man that was wasting away in Emain
Macha.
A message was sent then with this account to Emain
Macha. The men of Ulster were gathered at that time
about Cuchulain, that was on his sick-bed. The
messenger told his story to Conchubar and to the chief
men of Ulster.
" There is a young man of good race and good birth
with us now that answers to that account," said
Conchubar ; " that is Lugaid of the Red Stripes, son
of Clothru, daughter of Eochaid Feidlech, the pupil
of Cuchulain ; and he is sitting by his pillow within,
caring him, for he is on his sick-bed."
And when it was told Cuchulain that messengers
were come for Lugaid, to make him King in Teamhair,
he rose up and began to advise him, and it is what
he said :
" Do not be a frightened man in a battle ; do not be
light-minded, hard to reach, or proud. Do not be
ungentle, or hasty, or passionate ; do not be overcome
with the drunkenness of great riches, like a flea that is
drowned in the ale of a king's house. Do not scatter
many feasts to strangers ; do not visit mean people that
cannot receive you as a king. Do not let wrongful
possession stand because it has lasted long ; but let
witnesses be searched to know who is the right owner
of land. Let the tellers of history tell truth before you ;
let the lands of brothers and their increase be set down
in their lifetime ; if a family has increased in its branches,
is it not from the one stem they are come ? Let them
be called up, let the old claims be established by oaths ;
let the heir be left in lawful possession of the place his
fathers lived in ; let strangers be driven off it by force.
" Do not use too many words. Do not speak noisily ;
do not mock, do not give insults, do not make little of
old people. Do not think ill of any one ; do not ask
what is hard to give. Let you have a law of lending, a
law of oppression, a law of pledging. Be obedient to
the advice of the wise ; keep in mind the advice of the
old. Be a follower of the rules of your fathers. Do not
be cold-hearted to friends ; be strong towards your
enemies ; do not give evil for evil in your battles. Do
not be given to too much talking. Do not speak any
harm of others. Do not waste, do not scatter, do not
do away with what is your own. When you do wrong,
take the blame of it ; do not give up the truth for any
man. Do not be trying to be first, the way you will not
be jealous ; do not be an idler, that you may not be weak ;
do not ask too much, that you may not be thought little
of. Are you willing to follow this advice, my son ? "
Then Lugaid answered Cuchulain, and it is what he
said : " As long as all goes well, I will keep to your words,
and every one will know that there is nothing wanting
in me ; all will be done that can be done."
Then Lugaid went away with the messengers to
Teamhair, and he was made king, and he slept in
Teamhair that night. And after that all the people
that had gathered there went to their own homes.
Ch. 16
THE SONS OF DOEL DERMAIT
/^NE time Cuchulain was gone west to Carraige, in
^""^ the province of Connaught, and Lugaid of the Red
Stripes with him, and Laeg. And one day they saw a
young girl standing on the burial-hill of Tetach. " What
is it you are wanting ? " said Lugaid. " I want Cuchulain,
son of Sualtim," she said, " for I have set my love on him
on account of his great deeds that I have heard of."
"There he is, beyond," said Lugaid. Then she went
over to him, and put her arms about his neck, and kissed
him ; and she told him she was Finnchoem, daughter of
Eocho Rond, king of Hy Maine.
Then Cuchulain took her into his keeping, and they
travelled northward through the night, towards Emain.
And one time in the darkness of the night, towards Fid
Manach, they saw three fires in a wood before them, and
nine men at every fire ; outlaws they were, that were
robbing the country. And Cuchulain killed three of
them at every fire.
And in the morning they saw a troop of men coming
towards them on the plain, and Finnchoem's father,
the king of Hy Maine, leading them, and he having on
him a four-folded crimson cloak, with four borders of
gold, and a shield with eight borders of white bronze,
and a gold-hilted sword at his side. And he had light
yellow hair falling down on each side to the flanks of his
grey-black horse ; and there was a gold chain of the
2»7
weight of seven ounces hanging from his hair, and it was
from that he took his name, Eocho Rond, that is,
Eocho of the gold chain. And as soon as he saw
Cuchulain, he threw his spear at him. But Cuchulain
caught the spear and threw it back again, and it struck
the horse in the neck, so that he reared up and threw his
master. And Cuchulain lifted Eocho in his arms, and
carried him as far as Cruachan, that they were near at
the time, to leave him with Ailell and with Maeve.
And there was great shame on the king of Hy Maine at
what had happened.
And when Cuchulain was leaving him he said : " May
you never have rest in sitting, or in lying down, until
you find out what it was brought away the three sons of
Doel Dermait, the Beetle of Forgetfulness, out of their
own country."
And Cuchulain went on to Emain. But when he sat
down in his place, it seemed to him the walls of the house
and the ground under him to be on fire. Then he said
to his people : " I think what Eocho Rond threatened me
with is coming on me, and I will get my death if I do
not do as he bade me."
Then he went back to his own place, Dundealgan, and
out westward to Baile's strand. And there he saw a boat
coming, and the king of Alban's son in it, and his people,
and they bringing presents for king Conchubar, of purple,
and of golden drinking-cups. And when they saw the
three men on the strand, Cuchulain and Lugaid and
Laeg, they said to them : " It is likely if the king knew
we were here, he would send us food and drink by
you." "Is it a steward you would make of me?" said
Cuchulain, and anger came on him, and he took the
sword in his hand to strike them. " Give us our life,
Cuchulain, for we did not know you," said the king's son.
" Do you know what was it drove the three sons of
Doel Dermait from their own country ? " said Cuchulain.
" I do not know that," said the king's son. " But I have
a sea charm, and I will set it for you, and I will give it to
you, and you will find the knowledge you are looking for."
Then Cuchulain gave him his little spear, and scratched
an Ogham on it, and said to him : " Set out now, and go
and take my seat at Emain Macha."
Then they took the things out of the boat, and
Cuchulain got in, and Lugaid of the Red Stripes, and
Laeg ; and they put up the sail, and went on for a day
and a night until they came to an island. It was a fine,
large, beautiful island, having a silver wall about it, and
a paling of bronze.
Then Cuchulain landed, and he saw a house with
pillars of white bronze, and three times fifty beds in the
house, and a chessboard, and a draughtboard, and a harp
hanging over every bed. And he saw a grey king and
queen in the house, with purple cloaks on them,
worked with dark-coloured gold, and three young girls
of the one age, having a dress worked with gold thread
on each of them.
And the king gave them a friendly welcome, and he
said : " Cuchulain is welcome to us for Lugaid's sake,
and Laeg is welcome for his father and his mother's
sake."
Then Cuchulain asked him did he know what was it
drove the three sons of Doel Dermait out of their own
country. " You will soon know that," he said, " for their
sister and their sister's husband are in that island there
to the south."
Then three pieces of iron were put in the fire, and
when they were red-hot, the three young girls took them
out, and put them in three vats, and Cuchulain and
Lugaid and Laeg bathed in the vats. And they were
brought cups of mead. And then they heard a noise of
arms and of trumpets, and they saw fifty armed men
coming to the house, and every two of them bringing a
pig and an ox, and every one a cup of mead of hazel
nuts. And then every man of them came again, and a
load of firing on his back ; and then the oxen and the
pigs were cooked, and a feast for hundreds was given to
Cuchulain and his comrades.
And the next day they went on to the island where
the daughter of Doel Dermait was, and the boat went
on, steering itself, to the island. And Condla, son-in-law
of Doel Dermait, was lying on the strand, and his head
against a pillar at the east of the island, and his feet at
the west of the island, and every time he breathed, he
made a wave in the sea that turned the boat back. But
then he called out to Cuchulain : '' Come to land, for
there is no fear of you on us ; for however great your
anger may be, it is not in the prophecy that it is by you
this island will be destroyed." Then Cuchulain came to
land, and Condla and his wife bade him welcome. And
Cuchulain asked if they knew what it was had driven
the three sons of Doel Dermait from their own country.
" I know it," said the woman, " and I will show you
where they are, for it is foretold that their healing is to
come by you ; and it is glad my true, warm heart would
be, they to be healed." And then she said : " Go to
where that wall is, and you will find Cairpre Cundail,
and he will bring you to the valley where they are kept
by Eocho Glas, the strong man."
So they went on to the wall, and they saw two
women that were cutting rushes, and Cuchulain said
to one of them : " What is the name of this country
I have come to ? " And the woman rose up, and it
is what she said : " There are seven princes in this
country, and every one of them has had seven victories ;
and there are seven women in this country, every one of
them having a king under her feet. And every one of
them has seven armies ; and when a thief comes to this
place, he does not go back again to tell the story of it."
Then Cuchulain struck her down with his hand, and
the other woman went away to tell Cairpre Cundail
what had happened.
Cairpre Cundail came out then, and he and Cuchulain
fought through the day, and neither got the better of
the other. But at night Cairpre said : " That is enough,
Cuchulain." And they left off for the night. And next
morning Cairpre brought Cuchulain to the valley where
Eocho Glas was, that he himself was always at war
with. And Eocho Glas called out : " Is any one there of
your miserable fighters ? " " There is some one here,"
said Cuchulain. At that Eocho said : " That is not a
voice that pleases me, for it is the voice of the angry
man from Muirthemne."
Then he came out, and they fought together in the
valley, and then they fought beside the sea. And in
the end Cuchulain took the Gae Bulg and put it
through him, and he fell, and Cuchulain struck his
head off.
Then the prisoners of Eocho Glas came running from
the hills on every side, east and west, and bathed them-
selves in his blood, for he had been doing them every
sort of hurt and harm, and they all got healing.
And the three sons of Doel Dermait came with them,
and were healed along with them, and they told their
whole story to Cuchulain. And then they set out for
their own country.
And Cuchulain went back the same way as he came ;
and he brought wonderful presents with him from
Cairpre Cundail.
And when he got back to Ulster, he went on to
Emain Macha, and his share of food and drink were
waiting there for him yet. And he told his whole story
to Conchubar and to the heroes of the Red Branch, and
to Eocho Rond, king of Hy Maine ; and that is the way
he made his peace with him,
Ch. 17
BATTLE OF ROSNAREE
npHERE was a time, now, after the war for the Bull
'*' of Cuailgne, when King Conchubar got someway
down-hearted, and there was a heaviness on his mind.
And the men of Ulster thought it might be lonesome
he was, and fretting after Deirdre yet, and they searched
about through the whole province for a wife for him.
And at last they found a beautiful young girl of good
race, whose name was Luain, and they brought her to
Emain Macha, and a great wedding was made, and great
feasting ; and the king grew to be quiet and happy in his
mind. But among the men that came to the wedding
were the two sons of the poet Aithirne, that had such
a bad name for covetousness and for cruelty.
The two sons were poets as well, Cuingedach and
Abhartach, and when they saw Luain, Conchubar's
queen, and she so beautiful, the two of them fell in
love with her there and then. And they stopped at
Emain, and after a while each of them tried to gain her
secret love. But there was great anger and displeasure
on Luain at that, and she drove them from her.
They went home then to their father, Aithirne, and the
three of them, to avenge themselves on Luain, made
satires on her, that brought blotches out on her face.
And when her face that was so beautiful was spoiled
like that, she went back and hid herself in her father's
house, and with the shame and the sorrow that were on
her, she died there.
Then great anger and rage came on Conchubar, and
he sent the men of Ulster to Aithirne's house, and they
killed himself and his two sons, and they pulled his house
down to the ground.
But the rest of the poets of Ulster were not well
pleased that Conchubar should put such disrespect on
one of themselves and do such a great vengeance on him,
and they gathered together and gave Aithirne a great
burial and keened him, and it was Amergin that made a
lament over his grave.
And then Conchubar stopped in Emain Macha, and
the cloud of trouble came on him again, and he used to
be thinking of the war for the Bull of Cuailgne, and of
all that Maeve's army did when he was in his weakness ;
and he did not sleep in the night, and there was no food
that pleased him.
And then the men of Ulster bid Cathbad, the Druid, go
to Conchubar, and rouse him out of his sickness.
So Cathbad went to him, and he cried tears down when
he saw him, and he said : " Tell me, Conchubar, what
wound it is or what sickness has weakened you and
has made your face so pale ? " " It is no wonder sick-
ness to be on me," said Conchubar, "when I think of
the way the four provinces of Ireland came and destroyed
my forts and my duns and my walled towns and the
houses of my people, and when I think how Maeve
brought away cattle and gold and silver, and how she
came as far as Dun Sescind and Dun Sobairce, and
brought away Daire's bull out of my own province.
And it is what vexes me, Maeve herself to have got away
safe from the battle ; and it is time for me to go and
avenge that time on the men of Ireland," he said.
" That is no right thing you are saying," said Cathbad,
"for the men of Ulster did a good vengeance on the
men of Ireland the time they gained the battle of
Ilgaireth." " I do not count any battle to be a battle,"
said Conchubar, " unless a king or a queen has fallen in
it ; and I swear by the oath of my people, Cathbad," he
said, " that kings and great men will be brought to their
death by me, or else I myself will go to my death."
" This is my advice to you," said Cathbad, " not to set
out till the winter is gone by ; for at this time the winds
are rough, and the roads are heavy, and the rivers are full
and flooded, and every windy gap is cold. It is best to
wait for the summer," he said, " till the fords are shallow
and the roads are smooth, till the thick leaves on the
bushes will be shelters, till every sod of grass will be a
pillow, till our colts will be strong, till the nights will be
short for keeping watch against an enemy. It is best to
wait," he said, " till you can gather together the men of
Ulster, and till you can send messengers to your friends
among the Gall." " I am willing to do that," said
Conchubar, " but I give my word," he said, " let them
come, or let them not come, I will go myself to Teamhair
to get satisfaction from Cairbre Niafer, my own son-in-
law, that did not come to help me at the gathering at
Ilgaireth, and to Lugaid, son of Curoi, and to Eocha, son
of Luchta, and to Maeve, and to Ailell, till I throw
down the stones over the graves of their chief men, till I
destroy and lay waste their country, the same way as
the men of Ireland destroyed my province."
So then Conchubar sent out messengers to Conall
Cearnach, that was raising his tribute in the islands of
Leodus, and of Cadd, and of Ore, and to the countries
of the Gall, to Olaib, grandson of the king of Norway,
and to Baire of the Scigger islands, and to Siugraid Soga,
king of Sudiam ; to the seven sons of Romra, and to the
son of the king of Alban, and to the king of the island of
Ore.
And the first to answer the messengers, and to set out
for Ulster was Conall Cearnach, for there was great
anger on him when he heard of all that had happened in
Ulster in the war for the Bull of Cuailgne, and he not in
it. " And if I had been in it," he said, " the men of
Connaught would not have taken spoil from Ulster,
without an equal vengeance being measured to them
again." And Olaib, grandson of the king of Norway,
came with him, and Baire, of the Scigger islands, and their
men with them in their ships ; and they came through
the green waves, and the seals and the sword-fishes rising
about them, towards Dundealgan, and the place where
they landed was at the Strand of Baile, son of Buan.
This, now, is the story of Baile that was buried at that
strand.
He was of the race of Rudraige, and although he had
but little land belonging to him, he was the heir of
Ulster, and every one that saw him loved him, both man
and woman, because he was so sweet-spoken ; and they
called him Baile of the Honey-Mouth. And the one
that loved him best was Aillinn, daughter of Lugaidh,
the King of Leinster's son. And one time she herself
and Baile settled to meet one another near Dundealgan,
beside the sea. Baile was the first to set out, and he
came from Emain Macha, over Slieve Fuad, over Muir-
themne, to the strand where they were to meet ; and he
stopped there, and his chariots were unyoked, and his
horses were let out to graze. And while he and his people
were waiting there they saw a strange, wild-looking
man, coming towards them from the South, as fast as
a hawk that darts from a cliff or as the wind that blows
from off the green sea. " Go and meet him," said Baile
to his people, " and ask him news of where he is going
and where he comes from, and what is the reason of his
haste." So they asked news of him, and he said : " I am
going back now to Tuagh Inbhir, from Slieve Suidhe
Laighen, and this is all the news I have, that Aillinn
U
daughter of Lugaidh, was on her way to meet Baile, son
of Buan, that she loved. And the young men of
Leinster overtook her, and kept her back from going to
him, and she died of the heartbreak there and then.
For it was foretold by Druids that were friendly to them
that they would not come together in their lifetime, but
that after their death they would meet, and be happy
for ever after." And with that he left them, and was
gone again like a blast of wind, and they were not able
to hinder him.
And when Baile heard that news, his life went out
from him, and he fell dead there on the strand.
And at that time the young girl Aillinn was in her
sunny parlour to the south, for she had not set out yet.
And the same strange man came in to her, and she
asked him where he came from. " I come from the
North," he said, " from Tuagh Inver, and I am going
past this place to Slieve Suidhe Laighen. And all the
news I have," he said, " is that I saw the men of Ulster
gathered together on the strand near Dundealgan, and
they raising a stone, and writing on it the name of Baile,
son of Buan, that died there when he was on his way
to meet the woman he had given his love to ; for it was
not meant for them ever to reach one another alive, or
that one of them should see the other alive." And when
he had said that he vanished away, and as to Aillinn,
her life went from her, and she died the same way that
Baile had died.
And an apple-tree grew out of her grave, and a yew-
tree out of Baile's grave. And it was near that yew-tree
Conall Cearnach landed, and Baire, and the grandson
of the king of Norway. And Cuchulain had made
ready a great feast for them, and for Conchubar that
had come to meet them, at bright-faced Dundealgan.
And the Hound bade them a kind, loving welcome,
and he said : " Welcome to those I know, and those I do
not know, to the good and the bad, the young and the
old among you." And they stopped there a week, and
Conchubar was well pleased to see the whole strand
full of his friends that were come in their ships. And
then he bade farewell to Emer, daughter of Forgall, and
he said to Cuchulain : " Go now to the three fifties of old
fighting men, that are resting in their age, under
Irgalach, son of Macclach, and say to them to come
with me to this gathering and to this war, the way I will
have their help and their advice." " Let them go to it if
they have a mind," said Cuchulain ; " but it is not I
that will go and ask it of them."
So then Conchubar himself went to the great house,
where the old fighting men used to be living that had
laid by their arms. And when he came in, they raised
their heads from their places to look at the great king.
And then they leaped up, and they said : " What has
brought you to us to day, our chief and our lord ? "
" Did you get no word," he said, " of the way the four
provinces of Ireland came against us, and how they
burned down our forts and our houses, and how they
brought their makers of poems and of stories along with
them, that their deeds might be told, and our disgrace
might be the greater. And I am going out against
them now," he said, " to get satisfaction from them ; and
let you come with me, and I will have your advice."
Then the hearts of the old men rose in them, and they
caught their old horses and yoked their old chariots.
And they went on with the king to the mouth of the
Water of Luachann that night.
And the next day Conchubar set out with his own
men and his friends from beyond the sea, to Slieve
Breagh, that is near Rosnaree on the Boinne. And they
made their camp at Cuanglas, the green harbour, and
lighted their fires, and music and merry songs were
made for them. But Cuchulain stopped behind in
Dundealgan to gather his own people, and to make
provision for them on the march.
Now news had been brought to Cairbre Niafer at
Teamhair, that Conchubar was gathering his men to get
satisfaction for all that had been done to Ulster in the
war for the Bull of Cuailgne, and that it was likely he
himself would be the first he would come against.
For there was some bad feeling between Cairbre and
the men of Ulster, since the time he drove the sons of
Umor into Connaught, with the heavy rent he put on
them, and that after Conall Cearnach and Cuchulain
giving their own security for their good behaviour.
They turned on their securities after that, and fought
with them, and Conall Cool, the son of their chief, fell ;
and Cuchulain, and his father, and his friends, raised the
heap of stones over him that is called Carn Chonaill, in
the province of Connaught.
And Cairbre sent a message to Cruachan, to say to
Ailell and to Maeve : " If it is towards us Conchubar
and the men of Ulster are coming, let you come to
our help ; but if it is past us they go, into the fair-
headed province of Connaught, we will go to your
help." So when Conchubar came to Cuanglas, at
Rosnaree, there was a good army gathered there to
make a stand against him ; the three troops of the
children of Deagha, and a great troop of the Collam-
nachs, and of the men of Bregia, and of the Gailiana.
And he rose up early in the morning, and he could see
the moving of men and the shining of spears, and he
heard the noise of a great army, and he said : " We will
send some one of our men to bring us word about them."
And he sent out Feic, son of Follaman. And Feic
went up to a hill beside the Boinne, and he began to look
at the army and to count it, and it vexed him to see
how many were in it. " If I go back now and tell this,"
he said, " the men of Ulster will come and will begin the
battle, and there will be no better chance for me to get
a great name and do great deeds than for any other
man. And why would I not go and begin a fight now
by myself?" And with that he crossed the river.
But the men that were in front caught sight of him,
and the whole army began shouting around him, and he
had not courage to go against them, but he turned to
cross the river again. But he gave a false leap, just
where the water was deepest, and a wave laughed over
him, and he died.
It seemed a long time to Conchubar that he was
away, and he said to the men of Ulster : " What is
your advice to us about this battle ? " " It is what we
advise," they said, " to wait till our strong fighters and
our chief men are come. And they had not long to
wait before they saw troops coming, Cathbad with
twelve hundred men, and Am.ergin with twelve hundred
men, and Eoghan, king of Fernmaighe, and Laegaire
Buadach, and the three sons of Conall Buide.
And then they saw another troop coming, and in the
front of it a fierce, brown man. Rough, dark hair he
had, and a big nose and hollow cheeks, and his talk
was quick and hurried. A blue cloak about him, and
a brooch of silver as white as a bird, a heavy sword,
and a shield with iron rims. And this is who he was,
Daire of Cuailgne, that was come to get satisfaction for
his bull and for his herds on the men of Ireland.
" What is delaying you here," he said to Conchubar.
" I have good reason for delaying," said Conchubar,
" for there is a great army under Cairbre Niafer before
us at Rosnaree, and there are not enough of us to go
against them. And it is not refusing a battle we are,
but waiting till we get our full number." " By my
word," said Daire, " if you do not go out against them,
it is I will go against them by myself"
Then Conchubar put on his armour, and took his
many-coloured shield, and his sword, the Ochain. And
all the men of Ulster gathered around him, and they
raised their spears and their shields, and it was like a
great river breaking from the side of a mountain, and
breaking what it meets of stones and trees before it, that
they went to meet the men of Leinster at Rosnaree on
the Boinne.
And when Cairbre Niafer and his friends and his
men saw them coming, they made ready for them, and
came towards the river.
And the men of Ulster crossed the river, and the two
armies met, and each of them took to hacking and
destroying the other. And the Gailiana pressed heavily
on the men of Ulster, and came in to the middle of
them, and cut them down like trees are cut in a wood.
And as for Conchubar he did not give back, where he
was, and Celthair on his right hand, and Amergin the
poet on his right hand again, and Eoghan, king of
Fernmaighe, on his left, and Daire of Cuailgne near him.
These few stood against the Gailiana, and fought
against them, stout and proud. But as to the young
men and those that were never in a fight before, they
turned round and burst through the battle northwards.
It was just then Conall Cearnach was coming in
his chariot, and when the young men of Ulster saw
the face of Conall, they came to a stop, and Conall
saw that they were beaten and running from the battle,
and he called out sharp words to them, for there was
anger on him, they to have left the fight, and with no
sign of blood or of wounds upon them.
But they were ashamed then, and content to go back
to the battle, when they had Conall's hand to help them ;
and each one of them tore a green branch off the oak
trees that were near them, and held it up, and they went
with him ; for they knew there would be no running
away in any place where Conall's face would be seen.
And it happened just at that time Conchubar, the High
King, was taking three backward steps out of the battle
northward, but when he saw the face of Conall coming
towards him, he called to him to stop the army from fall-
ing back. " I give my word," said Conall, " I think it easier
to fight the battle by myself than to stop the rout now."
And just then the three royal poets of the king of
Teamhair came to give him their help, Eochaid the
Learned, and Diarment of the Songs, and Forgel the
Just, and they went into the fight against Conall. And
Conall looked at them and he said : " I give my true
word," he said, " if you were not poets and men of learn-
ing, you would have got your death by me before this ;
and now that you are come fighting with your master," he
said, " where is there any reason for sparing you ? " And
with that he made a blow at them with a heavy stick
that was in his hand, that struck the three heads off them.
Then Conall drew his sword out of its sheath, and he
played the music of his sword on the armies of Leinster,
and the sound of it was heard on every side ; and when
the men near him heard it their faces whitened, and each
one of them went back to his place in the battle. And
at that time Cuchulain came into the battle, and the men
of the Gailiana gave wild shouts at him, and anger came
on him and he scattered them.
And strength came again into the hearts of the men of
Ulster, and their anger rose, and the earth shook under
their feet, and there was clashing of swords on both sides,
and the shouting of young men, and the screams of old
men, and the groaning of chariot-fighters, and the crying
of ravens. And there were many lying in cold pools, the
white soles of their feet close together, and the red lips turn-
ing grey, and the bright faces very pale, and darkness com-
ing on their grey eyes, and confusion on their clear wits.
It is then Cuchulain met with Cairbre Niafer, and he
went against him, and put his shield against his shield
and there they were face to face. And Cairbre said words
of insult to Cuchulain, and Cuchulain answered him back
and said : " It is all I ask of you, to fight with me now
alone." " I will do that," said Cairbre Niafer, " for I am
a king in my way of living, and a champion in battles."
Then each attacked the other, and it was hard for them
to hold their feet firm, or to strike with their hands, in
the closeness of the fight. And Cairbre broke all his
weapons, but nine of his men came and kept up the fight
against Cuchulain till more weapons could be brought to
him. And then Cuchulain's weapons were broken, and
Cairbre and nine of his men came and held up their
shields before him till Laeg could bring him his own right
weapons, the Dubach, the grim one, his spear, and the
Cruaidin, his sword. And then they took to hitting at
one another again, and at last Cuchulain took his spear
into his left hand, and struck at Cairbre with it, and he
lowered his shield to protect his body. And then Cuchu-
lain changed it to his right hand, and struck at him over
the rim of his shield, and it went through his heart ; and
before his body could reach the ground, Cuchulain made
a spring and struck his head off. And then he held up
the head, and shook it before the two armies.
Then Sencha, son of Ailell, rose up and shook the
branch of peace, and the men of Ulster stood still. As to
the men of Leinster, when they saw their king was
killed, they fell back ; but Iriel of the Great Knees, the
son of Conall Cearnach, followed after them, and did a
great slaughter on the Gailiana and on the rest of the
army till they reached to the Rye of Leinster.
And then the men of Ulster went back to their homes.
And as to Conchubar, he went back to Emain, and it was
not till a good while after that he got the wound in his
head that Fintan sewed up with gold thread, to match
the colour of his hair, and that brought him to his death
in the end.
Ch. 18
THE ONLY SON OF AOIFE
'T^HE time Cuchulain came back from Alban, after he
had learned the use of arms under Scathach,
he left Aoife, the queen he had overcome in battle, with
child.
And when he was leaving her, he told her what name
to give the child, and he gave her a gold ring, and bade
her keep it safe till the child grew to be a lad, and till his
thumb would fill it ; and he bade her to give it to him
then, and to send him to Ireland, and he would know he
was his son by that token. She promised to do so, and
with that Cuchulain went back to Ireland.
It was not long after the child was born, word came
to Aoife that Cuchulain had taken Emer to be his wife
in Ireland. When she heard that, great jealousy came
on her, and great anger, and her love for Cuchulain was
turned to hatred ; and she remembered her three cham-
pions that he had killed, and how he had overcome
herself, and she determined in her mind that when her
son would come to have the strength of a man, she
would get her revenge through him. She told Conlaoch
her son nothing of this, but brought him up like any
king's son ; and when he was come to sensible years, she
put him under the teaching of Scathach, to be taught
the use of arms and the art of war. He turned out as
apt a scholar as his father, and it was not long before he
had learnt all Scathach had to teach.
Then Aoife gave him the arms of a champion, and
bade him go to Ireland, but first she laid three
commands on him : the first never to give way to any-
living person, but to die sooner than be made turn back ;
the second, not to refuse a challenge from the greatest
champion alive, but to fight him at all risks, even if he
was sure to lose his life ; the third, not to tell his name
on any account, though he might be threatened with
death for hiding it. She put him under geasa, that is,
under bonds, not to do these things.
Then the young man, Conlaoch, set out, and it was
not long before his ship brought him to Ireland, and
the place he landed at was Baile's Strand, near
Dundealgan.
It chanced that at that time Conchubar, the High
King, was holding his court there, for it was a con-
venient gathering-place for his chief men, and they were
settling some business that belonged to the government
of that district.
When word was brought to Conchubar that there was
a ship come to the strand, and a young lad in it armed
as if for fighting, and armed men with him, he sent one
of the chief men of his household to ask his name, and
on what business he was come.
The messenger's name was Cuinaire, and he went
down to the strand, and when he saw the young man he
said : " A welcome to you, young hero from the east,
with the merry face. It is likely, seeing you come
armed as if for fighting, you are gone astray on your
journey ; but as you are come to Ireland, tell me your
name and what your deeds have been, and your victories
in the eastern bounds of the world."
" A: to my name," said Conlaoch, " it is of no great
account ; but whatever it is, I am under bonds not to
tell it to the stoutest man living."
"It is best for you to tell it at the king's desire," said
Cuinaire, " before you get your death through refusing
it, as many a champion from Alban and from Britain
has done before now." "If that is the order you put on
us when we land here, it is I will break it," said
Conlaoch, "and no one will obey it any longer from
this out."
So Cunaire went back and told the king what the
young lad had said. Then Conchubar said to his
people : " Who will go out into the field, and drag the
name and the story out of this young man ? " "I will
go," said Conall, for his hand was never slow in fighting.
And he went out, and found the lad angry and destroying,
handling his arms, and they attacked one another with
a great noise of swords and shouts, and they were
gripped together, and fought for a while, and then Conall
was overcome, and the great name and the praise that
was on Conall, it was on the head of Conlaoch it was
now.
Word was sent then to where Cuchulain was, in
pleasant, bright-faced Dundealgan. And the messenger
told him the whole story, and he said : " Conall is lying
humbled, and it is slow the help is in coming ; it is a
welcome there would be before the Hound."
Cuchulain rose up then and went to where Conlaoch
was, and he still handling his arms. And Cuchulain
asked him his name and said : " It would be well for you,
young hero of unknown name, to loosen yourself from
this knot, and not to bring down my hand upon you, for
it will be hard for you to escape death." But Conlaoch
said : "If I put you down in the fight, the way I put
down your comrade, there will be a great name on me ;
but if I draw back now, there will be mockery on me,
and it will be said I was afraid of the fight. I will never
give in to any man to tell the name, or to give an
account of myself. But if I was not held with a com-
mand," he said, "there is no man in the world I would
sooner give it to than to yourself, since I saw your face.
But do not think, brave champion of Ireland, that I will
let you take away the fame I have won, for nothing."
With that they fought together, and it is seldom such
a battle was seen, and all wondered that the young lad
could stand so well against Cuchulain.
So they fought a long while, neither getting the
better of the other, but at last Cuchulain was charged
so hotly by the lad that he was forced to give way,
and although he had fought so many good fights, and
killed so many great champions, and understood the
use of arms better than any man living, he was pressed
very hard.
And he called for the Gae Bulg, and his anger came
on him, and the flames of the hero-light began to shine
about his head, and by that sign Conlaoch knew him to
be Cuchulain, his father. And just at that time he was
aiming his spear at him, and when he knew it was
Cuchulain, he threw his spear crooked that it might
pass beside him. But Cuchulain threw his spear, the
Gae Bulg, at him with all his might, and it struck the
lad in the side and went into his body, so that he fell to
the ground.
And Cuchulain said : " Now, boy, tell your name and
what you are, for it is short your life will be, for you will
not live after that wound."
And Conlaoch showed the ring that was on his
hand, and he said : " Come here where I am lying
on the field, let my men from the east come round me.
I am suffering for revenge. I am Conlaoch, son of the
Hound, heir of dear Dundealgan ; I was bound to this
secret in Dun Scathach, the secret in which 1 have found
my grief"
And Cuchulain said : " It is a pity your mother not
to be here to see you brought down. She might have
stretched out her hand to stop the spear that wounded
you." And Conlaoch said : " My curse be on my
mother, for it was she put me under bonds ; it was she
sent me here to try my strength against yours." And
Cuchulain said : " My curse be on your mother, the
woman that is full of treachery ; it is through her harm-
ful thoughts these tears have been brought on us."
And Conlaoch said : " My name was never forced from
my mouth till now ; I never gave an account of myself
to any man under the sun. But, O Cuchulain of the
sharp sword, it was a pity you not to know me the time
I threw the slanting spear behind you in the fight."
And then the sorrow of death came upon Conlaoch,
and Cuchulain took his sword and put it through him,
sooner than leave him in the pain and the punishment
he was in.
And then great trouble and anguish came on
Cuchulain, and he made this complaint :
" It is a pity it is, O son of Aoife, that ever you came
into the province of Ulster, that you ever met with the
Hound of Cuailgne.
"If I and my fair Conlaoch were doing feats of
war on the one side, the men of Ireland from sea to sea
would not be equal to us together. It is no wonder I
to be under grief when I see the shield and the arms of
Conlaoch. A pity it is there is no one at all, a pity
there are not hundreds of men on whom I could get
satisfaction for his death.
" If it was the king himself had hurt your fair body, it
is I would have shortened his days.
" It is well for the House of the Red Branch, and for
the heads of its fair army of heroes, it was not they that
killed my only son.
" It is well for Laegaire of Victories it is not from him
you got your heavy pain.
" It is well for the heroes of Conall they did not join
in the killing of you ; it is well that travelling across
the plain of Macha they did not fall in with me after
such a fight.
" It is well for the tall, well-shaped Forbuide ; well for
Dubthach, your Black Beetle of Ulster.
"It is well for you, Cormac Conloingeas, your share
of arms gave no help, that it is not from your weapons
he got his wound, the hard-skinned shield or the blade.
" It is a pity it was not one on the plains of Munster,
or in Leinster of the sharp blades, or at Cruachan
of the rough fighters, that struck down my comely
Conlaoch.
" It is a pity it was not in the country of the Cruithne,
of the fierce Fians, you fell in a heavy quarrel, or in
the country of the Greeks, or in some other place of the
world, you died, and I could avenge you.
" Or in Spain, or in Sorcha, or in the country of the
Saxons of the free armies ; there would not then be this
death in my heart.
"It is very well for the men of Alban it was not
they that destroyed your fame ; and it is well for the
men of the Gall.
" Och ! It is bad that it happened ; my grief! it is on
me is the misfortune, O Conlaoch of the Red Spear, I
myself to have spilled your blood,
" I to be under defeat, without strength. It is a pity
Aoife never taught you to know the power of my
strength in the fight.
" It is no wonder I to be blinded after such a fight and
such a defeat.
" It is no wonder I to be tired out, and without the
sons of Usnach beside me.
" Without a son, without a brother, with none to come
after me ; without Conlaoch, without a name to keep
my strength.
" To be without Naoise, without Ainnle, without
Ardan ; is it not with me is my fill of trouble ?
" I am the father that killed his son, the fine green
branch ; there is no hand or shelter to help me.
" I am a raven that has no home ; I am a boat going
from wave to wave ; I am a ship that has lost its
rudder ; I am the apple left on the tree ; it is little
I thought of falling from it ; grief and sorrow will be
with me from this time."
Then Cuchulain stood up and faced all the men
of Ulster. " There is trouble on Cuchulain," said
Conchubar ; " he is after killing his own son, and if I
and all my men were to go against him, by the end
of the day he would destroy every man of us. Go
now," he said to Cathbad, the Druid, "and bind him
to go down to Baile's Strand, and to give three days
fighting against the waves of the sea, rather than to
kill us all."
So Cathbad put an enchantment on him, and bound
him to go down. And when he came to the strand,
there was a great white stone before him, and he took
his sword in his right hand, and he said : " If I had the
head of the woman that sent her son to his death, I
would split it as I split this stone." And he made four
quarters of the stone.
Then he fought with the waves three days and three
nights, till he fell from hunger and weakness, so that
some men said he got his death there. But it was not
there he got his death, but on the plain of Muirthemne.
Ch. 19
THE GREAT GATHERING AT MUIRTHEMNE
IVTOW after all the battles Cuchulain had fought, and
all the men he had killed, it is no wonder he had
a good share of enemies watching to get the upper hand
of him. And besides Maeve, those that had their minds
most set against him were Ere, son of Cairbre Niafer,
that he had killed at Rosnaree, and Lugaid, son of
Curoi, that he had killed at his own house in Munster,
and the three daughters of Calatin.
This, now, was the way it happened that Curoi got
his death by him. He met with Blanad one time, a
good while after Curoi had given him the championship
of Ulster, and it is what she told him that there was not
a man on the face of the earth she loved more than him-
self. And she bade him come, near Samhain time,
to Curoi's dun at Finglas, and his men with him, and to
bring her away by force.
So when the time came, Cuchulain set out, and his
men with him, and they came to a wood near the dun,
that had a stream running through it, and he sent word
to Blanad he was waiting there. And Blanad sent him
back word to come and bring her away at whatever time
he would see the stream in the wood turning white. And
when what she thought to be a good time came, when
all the men of the place were sent out looking for stones
to build a great new dun, she milked the three white
cows with red ears Curoi had brought away by force
from her father, Midhir, into the cauldron he had
brought away with them, and she poured a great vessel
of new milk into the stream, where it ran by the dun.
And when Cuchulain saw the stream turning white, he
went up to the dun. But he found Curoi there before
him, and they fought, and Curoi was killed, the son of
Daire, lord of the southern sea, that had a great name
and great praise on him before Blanad was his wife.
Then Cuchulain brought Blanad away with him to
Ulster. But Curoi's poet, Feirceirtne, followed after
them to avenge his master's death. And when they
were come as far as the headland of Cian Beara, he
saw Blanad standing on the edge of a high rock, and
she alone. And he went up to her, and took her in his
arms, and threw her, and himself along with her, over
the rock, and they both got their death by the fall on
the moment.
And as to the children of Calatin, this is the way it
was with them. At the time Cuchulain made an end of
Calatin at the ford, and of all his sons with him, Calatin's
wife was with child. And when her time came, there
were three daughters born at the one birth, and they de-
formed, and each of them having but one eye.
Then Maeve came from Cruachan to visit them, and
she brought away the children with her, and took the
charge of them. And when they were come to sensible
years, she came to see them, and she said : " Do you know
who it was killed your father ? " " We know well," they
said, " it was Cuchulain, son of Sualtim, killed him."
*' That is so," said Maeve, " and let you make a journey
now," she said, " through the whole world, to get know-
ledge of spells and enchantments from them that have it,
the way you will be able to avenge your father when the
time comes."
When the three one-eyed daughters of Calatin heard
that, they went out into Alban, and to every other country,
from the rising to the setting of the sun, and they were
learning every sort of enchantment and of witchcraft.
And at the end they came back to Cruachan.
And as to Maeve, she went up one morning to her
sunny parlour, and from there she saw the three daughters
of Calatin sitting outside on the lawn. So she took her
cloak, that had beautiful embroidery on it, and put it
about her, and she went out on the lawn and bade them
welcome, and she sat down before them, and asked news
of all they had done since they left Ireland. And they
told her all they had learned. " Do you remember it
all ? " said Maeve. " We remember it well," they said,
" and we can do many things, and we can make the
appearance of terrible battles by secret words."
Maeve brought them then into the royal house,
and they were attended on, and they were given every
sort of food and of drink, and of good treatment.
And then Maeve sent word to Lugaid, and he came to
Cruachan, and himself and Maeve began to talk together.
" Do you remember," she said, " who it was killed Curoi
your father ? " "I remember it well," he said ; " it was
Cuchulain killed him." Then Ere came to her, and she
asked him the same question about his father Cairbre
Niafer, and he made the same answer. " What you say
is true," Maeve said then, " and the children of Calatin
are come back to me now, after going through the whole
world, to fight against Cuchulain with their enchantments.
And there is no king or chief man, or fighting man in
the four provinces of Ireland, but lost his friend or his
comrade, his father or his brother, by him in the war for
the Bull of Cuailgne, or at some other time. And now,"
she said, " it is best for us to gather together a great army
of the men of Ireland to make an attack on him, for the
men of Ulster have their weakness coming on them, and
it is likely they will not be able to help him."
With that, Lugaid went away southward to the king
of Munster, to bid him come, and bring his men with
him ; and Ere went and called to the chief men of
Leinster in the same way.
Then all the provinces gathered together to Cruachan,
and they stopped there with feasting and merriment
for three days and three nights. And at the end of that
time they went out of Cruachan. But Maeve did not
bring Fergus with them this time, for she was sure the
men of Ireland would never be able to make an end of
Cuchulain if Fergus was along with them.
And this is the way they went, beyond Magh Finn to
Athluain, and they rested there that night.
And the next day they went on their road till they
came to Glean-na-loin, and from that to Glean-mor, and
from that to Tailtin, and they stopped the night there ;
and then they went on by the borders of Magh Breagh,
and Midhe, and Treathfa, and Cuailgne.
It is then Conchubar, King of Ulster, got word that
the borders of his province were being robbed and
destroyed by the men of Munster and Leinster, and of
Con naught.
" Where is Levarcham ? " said Conchubar. " I am
here," she said. "Go out for me now," said Con-
chubar, " and bring Cuchulain here to Emain ; for it is
against him this army we have news of is gathered. Bid
him to make no delay, but to leave Dundealgan and Muir-
themne and to come here to advise with myself, and with
Cathbad and Amergin, and all the knowledgeable men.
For if he can put off this battle till I myself, and Conall,
and all the men of Ulster, will be ready to go out with
him, we will give them a great defeat, the way they will
not come into my province again. For there are many
bear him ill-will," he said, " on account of all he killed.
Finn, son of Ross, Fraoch, son of Idath, and Dearg,
son of Conroi, and many of the best men of Ulster ; and
Cairbre Niafer at the battle of Rosnaree ; and Curoi, son
of Daire, High King of Munster, and many of the men of
Munster besides him ; Fircearna, and Fiamain, and Niall,
and Laoc Leathbuine, and many more along with them."
Levarcham went quickly then with that message, and
it is where she found Cuchulain, between sea and land,
on Baile's Strand, and he trying to bring down sea-birds
with his sling ; but with all the birds that were flying
over him and past him, he could not bring one down,
but they all escaped him.
And there was heaviness on him, not to be able to hit
them, for he knew it had some bad meaning. And in-
deed he had never been very happy in his mind since the
death of the blossomed branch, Aoife's son, there on that
strand. Then he saw Levarcham coming, and he bade
her welcome. " I am glad of that welcome," said
Levarcham, "and it with news from Conchubar I am
come to you." " What is your news ? " said Cuchulain.
" I have news indeed," she said. And then she told him
all that Conchubar had said, from beginning to end.
" And it is what all are asking of you," she said : ''chief
men and fighting men, poets and learned men, women
and young girls, to keep aside from the men of Ireland
that are coming here to Muirthemne, and not to go out
alone against that great army." " I would sooner stop
here and defend my own place," said Cuchulain. " It is
best for you to go to Emain," said Laeg. So after a while
he gave in to them, and they went back to Dundealgan,
and Emer came out on the lawn to meet them, and they
gave her the same advice, to go to Emain Macha where
Conchubar and his chief men were gathered together.
Then Emer got her chariot, and she sent her servants
and the herds, and the cattle to Slieve Cuilenn in the
North, and herself and Cuchulain set out for Emain.
And that was the first time Dundealgan was emptied
since Cuchulain had the sway over it.
And when Cuchulain came to Emain Macha, they
brought him to the bright, sunny house. And when the
women of the place heard he was there, they came and
spoke sweet words, and the poets and the harpers came,
and the skilled men, and they all made music, and
feasting, and pleasant talk round about Cuchulain, in
the wide, white, sunny house of the Red Branch ; for
what always quieted Cuchulain best was the singing of
songs and rhymes before him. It is that way Scumac,
the story-teller, quieted him one time he was vexed,
and had a mind to set fire to Emain, because Conchubar
had gone to a feast given by Conall, son of Gleo Glas, in
Cuailgne, and had left no word for him to follow.
And Conchubar bade Cathbad, and the learned men,
and the women, to keep a good watch on Cuchulain, and
to mind him well. " For I leave the charge of him on
you," he said, " to save him from the plans Maeve has
made against him, and from the power of the children of
Calatin. For if he should fall," he said, " it is certain
the safety and the prosperity of Ulster will fall with him
for ever." "That is true," said Cathbad, and all the
others said the same.
" Well," said Geanann, Cathbad's son, " I will go now
and see him." He went then to the place Cuchulain and
Emer were, and the poets, and the women, and the
learned men with them, and a feast laid out on the table,
and all of them at drinking and pleasantness and games.
Now as to the men of Ireland, they came to the plain of
Muirthemne, and they made their camp there, and they
began to destroy and to take all they could find there,
and in Macaire Conall ; and when they knew Cuchulain
had left Dundealgan, it is then the three daughters of
Calatin went with the lightness and the quickness of
the wind to Emain Macha. And they sat down on the
lawn outside the house where Cuchulain was, and they
began to tear up the earth and the grass, and by means
of their witchcraft they put the appearance of troops of
men and of armies on stalks and coloured oak-leaves,
and little fuzz-balls ; and the sounds of fighting and strik-
ing, and the shouting of a great army were heard on
every side, as if there was an attack being made on the
dun.
It was bright-faced Geanann, son of Cathbad, was
keeping a watch on Cuchulain that day, and he saw
him sit up and look out on the lawn, and redness and
shame came on his face, when he saw, as he thought,
two armies fighting one another, and he put out his
hand as if to take his sword, but Geanann threw his two
arms about him and hindered him, and told him there
was nothing before him but witchcraft and enchantment,
and the appearance of fighting made up by the children
of Calatin to bring him out to his death. And Cathbad
and all the learned men came then and told him the
same thing. But after all that, it was hardly they were
able to hold him back and to persuade him.
The next day Cathbad himself came to keep a watch
on him with the rest, and after a while the noise of
shouting began again, and for all they could do, Cuchu-
lain went and looked out at the window. And the first
thing he thought he saw was the army of Ireland stand-
ing there upon the plain. And then he thought he saw
Gradh, son of Lir, standing there ; and after that he
thought he heard the harp of the son of Meardha playing
the sweet music of the Sidhe, and he knew when he
heard those sounds that his time was come, and that his
courage and his strength would soon be made an end
of. And then one of the daughters of Calatin took the
appearance of a crow, and came flying over him and
saying mocking words, and she bade him go out and
save his own house and his lands from the enemies that
were destroying them. And though Cuchulain knew
well by this time it was witchcraft was being worked
against him, he was as ready as before to rush out when
he heard the sounds and the shouting of battle ; and
there came trouble and confusion on his mind with the
noise of striking and of fighting, and with the sweet
sounds of the harp of the Sidhe. But Cathbad did his
best with him, and it is what he told him, that if he
would but stop quiet for another three days in Emain,
the power of the enchantments would be broken, and
Conall Cearnach would have come to his help, and he
could go out again, and the whole world would be
full of his name and of his lasting victories.
And the women of Emain and the musicians closed
round him, and they sang sweet songs, and led away
his mind from what he had heard, until the day drew
to a close.
And on the morning of the morrow, Conchubar called
for Cathbad and Bright-Faced Geanann, and the rest
of the Druids. And Emer came along with them, and
Celthair's daughter, Niamh, that Cuchulain loved, and
the rest of the women of the House of the Red Branch.
And Conchubar asked them in what way they could
best keep a watch on Cuchulain through the day. " We
do not know that," they said. " I will tell you what is
best to do," said Conchubar then. " Bring him away
with you to Glean-na-Bodhar, the Deaf Valley. For
if all the men of Ireland were letting out shouts and
cries of war around it, no one that would be in that valley
would hear any sound at all. Bring Cuchulain there,
then," he said, " and keep him there with you till their
enchantments will be spent, and till Conall Cearnach
will come to his help out of the island of Leodus."
" King," said Niamh, " we were asking him and persuading
him all through yesterday to go to that valley, but he
would not go there, for all I myself or the rest of the
women of Ireland could say. And let you yourself go to
him now," she said, " with Cathbad, and Geanann, and the
poets, and with Emer, and let you bring him into that
valley, and let there be music and pleasantness made
about him there, the way he will not hear the shouts and
the mocking words of the children of Calatin." It is
not I will go with him," said Emer, " but let Niamh go,
and my blessing with her, for it will be hard for him to
refuse her." So they agreed to that, and they went to
where Cuchulain was, and Conchubar's harper, Cobhtach,
went along with them, making sweet music. Then
Cathbad went out to Cuchulain where he was lying on
the bed, and he began to ask him and to persuade him.
" Dear son," he said, " come with me to-day to use the
feast I am making, and all the women and the poets
will come with us. And there are bonds on you not to
refuse my feast." " My grief for that," said Cuchulain.
" This is no fit time for me to be feasting and making
merry, and the four provinces of Ireland burning and
destroying Ulster, and the men of Ulster in their weak-
ness, and Conall away, and the men of Ireland putting
insults on me and reproaches, and saying I have run
away before them. And but for yourself and Con-
chubar," he said, " and for Geanann and Amergin, I would
fall on them and scatter them, that their dead would
be more than their living." Then all the women per-
suaded him, and Emer spoke to him, and it is what
she said : " Little Hound, I never hindered you until
this hour from any deed or any adventure you had a
mind for. So now, for my sake, my choice sweetheart,
my first love and first darling of the men of the world,
go with Cathbad and with Geanann, with Niamh and
with the poets, to share Cathbad's feast."
Then Niamh went over to him and gave him three
fond, loving kisses ; and then they all rose up, and he
rose along with them, heavy and sorrowful, and in that
way he went in their company into Glean-na-Bodhar.
And when they came into it, he said : " My grief! I ever
to have come here, and I never came to any place I
liked less than this : for now the men of Ireland will be
saying it was to escape them I came here." " You gave
me your word," said Niamh, " you would not go out to
meet the men of Ireland without leave from me." If I
gave it," said Cuchulain, " it is right for me to hold to it."
Their chariots were unyoked then, and the Grey of
Macha and the Black Sainglain were let loose to graze
in the valley, and they all went to the house Cathbad
had made ready. And there was a great feast laid out,
and Cuchulain was put in the chief place, and to his
right hand were Cathbad and Geanann and the poets, and
on the left was Niamh, daughter of Celthair, with the
women. And opposite them were the musicians and the
reciters. And then they all took to feasting and drink-
ing and to games, and they made a great show of mirth
and pleasantness before Cuchulain.
But as to the three deformed, one-eyed children of
Calatin, they came quickly and lightly, the way they had
come on the other days, to the lawn at Emain, to the
place where they had got sight of Cuchulain in the house.
And when they did not see him there, they searched
through the whole of Emain, but when they did not find
him with Conchubar, or with the men of the Red Branch,
there was great wonder on them. And then they began
to think it was Cathbad was hiding him from them, and
they rose up high in the air, on a blast of moaning wind
they made by their enchantments, and on it they went
over the whole province, searching out every wood and
valley, every cave and secret path. But they fou nd nothing,
till at last they came over Glean-na-Bodhar, and there
in the middle of the valley they saw the Grey of Macha
and the Black Sainglain and Laeg, son of Riangabra,
beside them.
They knew then that Cuchulain must be in the valley,
and presently they heard the sounds of music and of
laughter and of women's voices, where all the people in
the feasting-house were trying their best to raise the
cloud and the heaviness off Cuchulain's mind.
Then the children of Calatin came down into the
valley, and the same way as before they took thistle-
stalks and little fuzz-balls and withered leaves, and put on
them the appearance of troops of armed men, so that
there seemed to be no hill or no place outside the whole
valley but was filled with battalions, coming hundred by
hundred. And the air w^as all filled with sounds of
battle and shouts, and of trumpets and dreadful laughter,
and the cries of wounded men. And there seemed to be
fires in the country about, and a noise of the crying of
women. And great dread came on all that heard that
outcry, both men and women, and dogs of every kind.
But when the women that were with Cuchulain heard
those shouts, they shouted back again and raised their
voices, but with all they could do, they did not keep the
outcry from reaching to Cuchulain, " My grief ! " he said,
" I hear the shouts of the men of Ireland that are spoiling
the whole of the province ; my fame is at an end, my
great name is gone from me, Ulster is put down for ever."
" Let the noise pass by," said Cathbad ; " it is only the
noise made by the children of Calatin, that want to
draw you out from where you are, to make an end of
you. Stop here with us now, and put the trouble off
your mind."
Cuchulain stayed quiet then, but the children of
Calatin went on a long time filling the air with battle
noises. But they tired of it at last, for they saw that
Cathbad and the women were too much for them.
Then anger came on Badb, one of Calatin's daughters,
and she said: "Go on now, makingsounds of fighting in the
air, and I myself will go into the valley ; for even if I get
my death by it, I will speak with Cuchulain."
With that, she went on in the madness of her anger
to the very house where the feast was going on, and
there she took the appearance of a woman of Niamh's
women, and she beckoned Niamh out to speak with her.
So Niamh came out, thinking she had news to give
her, and a good many of the other women of Emain with
her, and Badb bade them follow her. And she led them
a long way down the valley, and then by her enchant-
ments she raised a thick mist between them and the
house, so that they could not find their way, but were
astray in the valley, not knowing where they were.
Then she went back to the feasting-house, and she
put on herself the appearance of Niamh, and she came
in to where Cuchulain was and called out : " Rise up,
Cuchulain ; Dundealgan is burned, Muirthemne is
destroyed, and Conaille Muirthemne. The whole pro-
vince is trampled down by the men of Ireland. And it
is on myself the blame will be laid," she said, " and all
Ulster will say that I hindered you, and kept you back
from going out to check the army, and to get satisfaction
from the men of Ireland. And it is from Conchubar
himself I will get my death on account of that," she said.
For she knew Cuchulain had given Niamh his promise
that without leave from her, he would not go out to face
the men of Ireland.
" My grief!" said Cuchulain then, " it is hard to trust
in women. For I thought," he said, "that you would
not have given me that leave for the whole riches of
the world. But since you yourself give me leave to go
out and face the men of Ireland, I will do it." And with
that he rose up to go out. And as he rose up, he threw
his cloak about him, and his foot caught in the cloak,
and the gold brooch that was in the cloak fell on his
foot and pierced it. " Truly the brooch is a friend that
gives me a warning," said Cuchulain.
He went out then, and he bade Laeg to yoke the
horses and to make ready the chariot. And Cathbad,
and Geanann, and the women followed him out, and took
hold of him, but they were not able to stop him. For
the cries of battle were still in the air, and he thought he
saw a great army standing on the lawn at Emain, and
the whole plain filled up and crowded with troops and
bands of men, with horses and arms and armour, and he
thought he heard great shouts, and that he saw all
Conchubar's city burning, and all the hills round about
Emain full of things brought away, and he thought he
saw Emer's sunny house thrown down, and the House of
the Red Branch in one blaze, and all Emain under fire
and smoke. And Cathbad tried to quiet him. " Dear
son," he said, " for this day only, follow my advice, and
do not go out against the men of Ireland, and I will be
able to save you from all the enchantments of the
children of Calatin." But Cuchulain said : " Dear master,
there is no reason for me to care for my life from this
out, for my time is at an end, and Niamh has given me
leave to go and face the men of Ireland." And then
Niamh herself came up to him and said: "My grief!
my little Hound, I would never have given you that
leave for all the riches of the world ; and it was not I
that gave you leave, but Badb, the daughter of Calatin,
that took my shape on her. And stay with me now," she
said, " my friend, my darling." But Cuchulain would not
believe her, and he bade Laeg yoke the chariot, and put
his arms in order. Laeg went to do that, but indeed
that time above all others he had no mind for the work.
And when he shook the bridles towards the horses as he
was used to do, they went away from him ; and the Grey
of Macha would not let him come near him at all.
" Truly," said Laeg, " this is a warning of some bad
thing. And indeed, my life," he said to the Grey, " it
is seldom you would not come to meet the bridle and
to meet myself, up to this day." Then he went to
Cuchulain and said : " I swear by the gods my people
swear by, that if all the men in the province of Ulster
were round about the Grey of Macha, they would not
be able to bring him as far as the chariot, and I never
refused you up to this," he said, " and come out now and
speak to the Grey yourself."
So Cuchulain went out, and the horse turned his left
side three times to his master. Then he reproached the
horse. " You were not used," he said, " to behave like
that to me." Then the Grey of Macha came up to him
and he let big, round tears of blood fall on Cuchulain's
feet.
Then the chariot was yoked ; and it was the Morrigu
had unyoked it and had broken it the night before, for she
did not like Cuchulain to go out and to get his death in
the battle. And Cuchulain set out and came to Emain,
and to the house where Emer was, and she came out and
bade him come down from his chariot. " I will not," he
said, " until I go first to Muirthemne, to attack the four
great provinces of Ireland, and to avenge all the hurts
and the insults they have put on me, and on Ulster, for
I have seen their gatherings and their armies." " Those
were made up by enchantments," said Emer. " I tell
you, woman," he said, " and I swear by my word, I will
never come back here until I have made an attack upon
them in their camp."
Then he turned his chariot towards the south, by the
road of Meadhon Luachair, and Levarcham cried out
after him, and the three times fifty queens that were in
Emain Macha, and that loved him, cried out upon him
miserably, and struck their hands together, for they knew
he would not come back to them again.
/^UCHULAIN went on then to the house of his
^^ mother, Dechtire, to bid her farewell. And she
came out on the lawn to meet him, for she knew well he
was going out to face the men of Ireland, and she brought
out wine in a vessel to him, as her custom was when he
passed that way. But when he took the vessel in his
hand, it was red blood that was in it. " My grief!" he
said, " my mother Dechtire, it is no wonder others to
forsake me, when you yourself offer me a drink of
blood." Then she filled the vessel a second, and a
third time, and each time when she gave it to him,
there was nothing in it but blood.
Then anger came on Cuchulain, and he dashed the
vessel against a rock, and broke it, and he said : " The
fault is not in yourself, my mother Dechtire, but my
luck is turned against me, and my life is near its end,
and I will not come back alive this time from facing the
men of Ireland." Then Dechtire tried hard to persuade
him to go back and to wait till he would have the help
of Conall. " I will not wait," he said, " for anything you
can say ; for I would not give up my great name and
my courage for all the riches of the world. And from
the day I first took arms till this day, I have never
drawn back from a fight or a battle. And it is not now
I will begin to draw back," he said, " for a great name
outlasts life."
Then he went on his way, and Cathbad, that had
followed him, went with him. And presently they came
to a ford, and there they saw a young girl, thin and
white-skinned and having yellow hair, washing and
ever washing, and wringing out clothing that was
stained crimson red, and she crying and keening all
the time. "Little Hound," said Cathbad, "do you
see what it is that young girl is doing? It is your
red clothes she is washing, and crying as she washes,
because she knows you are going to your death against
Maeve's great army. And take the warning now and
turn back again." " Dear master," said Cuchulain, " you
have followed me far enough ; for I will not turn back
from my vengeance on the men of Ireland that are
come to burn and to destroy my house and my
country. And what is it to me, the woman of the
Sidhe to be washing red clothing for me ? It is not
long till there will be clothing enough, and armour
and arms, lying soaked in pools of blood, by my own
sword and my spear. And if you are sorry and loth
to let me go into the fight, I am glad and ready enough
myself to go into it, though I know as well as you
yourself I must fall in it. Do not be hindering me
any more, then," he said, " for, if I stay or if I go, death
will meet me all the same. But go now to Emain, to
Conchubar and to Emer, and bring them life and health
from me, for I will never go back to meet them again.
It is my grief and my wound, I to part from them ! And
O Laeg ! " he said, " we are going away under trouble and
under darkness from Emer now, as it is often we came
back to her with gladness out of strange places and far
countries."
Then Cathbad left him, and he went on his way.
And after a while he saw three hags, and they blind of
the left eye, before him in the road, and they having a
venomous hound they were cooking with charms on rods
of the rowan tree. And he was going by them, for he
knew it was not for his good they were there.
But one of the hags called to him : " Stop a while with
us, Cuchulain." " I will not stop with you," said Cuchu-
lain. " That is because we have nothing better than a
dog to give you," said the hag. " If we had a grand, big
cooking-hearth, you would stop and visit us ; but because
it is only a little we have to offer you, you will not stop.
But he that will not show respect for the small, though
he is great, he will get no respect himself."
Then he went over to her, and she gave him the
shoulder-blade of the hound out of her left hand, and
he ate it out of his left hand. And he put it down on
his left thigh, and the hand that took it was struck down,
and the thigh he put it on was struck through and
through, so that the strength that was in them before
left them.
Then he went down the road of Meadhon-Luachair, by
Slieve Fuad, and his enemy, Ere, son of Cairbre, saw
him in the chariot, and his sword shining red in his hand,
and the light of his courage plain upon him, and his hair
spread out like threads of gold that change their colour
on the edge of the anvil under the smith's hand, and the
Crow of Battle in the air over his head.
" Cuchulain is coming at us," said Ere to the men of
Ireland, " and let us be ready for him." So they made
a fence of shields linked together, and Ere put a couple
of the men that were strongest here and there, to let on
to be fighting one another, that they might call Cuchulain
to them ; and he put a Druid with every couple of them,
and he bid the Druid to ask Cuchulain's spears of him,
for it would be hard for him to refuse a Druid. For it
was in the prophecy of the children of Calatin that a king
would be killed by each one of those spears in that battle.
And he bid the men of Ireland to give out shouts, and
Cuchulain came against them in his chariot, doing his
three thunder feats, and he used his spear and his sword
in such a way, that their heads, and their hands, and their
feet, and their bones, were scattered through the plain of
Muirthemne, like the sands on the shore, like the stars
in the sky, like the dew in May, like snow-flakes and
hailstones, like leaves of the trees, like buttercups in a
meadow, like grass under the feet of cattle on a fine
summer day. It is red that plain was with the slaughter
Cuchulain made when he came crashing over it.
Then he saw one of the men that was put to quarrel
with the other, and the Druid called to him to come and
hinder them, and Cuchulain leaped towards them.
" Your spear to me," cried the Druid. " I swear by the
oath of my people," said Cuchulain, "you are not so
much in want of it as I am in want of it myself The
men of Ireland are upon me," he said, "and I am upon
them." " I will put a bad name on you if you refuse it
to me," said the Druid. " There was never a bad name
put on me yet, on account of any refusal of mine," said
Cuchulain, and with that he threw the spear at him, and
it went through his head, and it killed the men that
were on the other side of him.
Then Cuchulain drove through the host, and Lugaid,
son of Curoi, got the spear. " Who is it will fall by this
spear, children of Calatin ? " said Lugaid. " A king
will fall by it," said they. Then Lugaid threw the spear
at Cuchulain's chariot, and it went through and hit the
driver, Laeg, son of Riangabra, and he fell back, and his
bowels came out on the cushions of the chariot. " My
grief!" said Laeg, "it is hard I am wounded." Then
Cuchulain drew the spear out, and Laeg said his farewell
to him, and Cuchulain said : " To-day I will be a fighter
and a chariot-driver as well."
Then he saw the other two men that were put to
quarrel with one another, and one of them called out
it would be a great shame for him not to give him his
Y
help. Then Cuchulain leaped towards them. "Your
spear to me, Cuchulain," said the Druid. " I swear
by the oath my people swear by," said he, " you are
not in such want of the spear as I am myself, for
it is by my courage, and by my arms, that I have to
drive out the four provinces of Ireland that are sweeping
over Muirthemne to-day." " I will put a bad name upon
you," said the Druid. '* I am not bound to give more
than one gift in the day, and I have paid what is due to
my name already," said Cuchulain. Then the Druid
said : " I will put a bad name on the province of Ulster,
because of your refusal."
" Ulster was never dispraised yet for any refusal of
mine," said Cuchulain, " or for anything I did unworthily.
Though little of my life should be left to me, Ulster will
not be reproached for me to-day." With that he threw
his spear at him, and it went through his head, and
through the heads of the]nine men that were behind him,
and Cuchulain went through the host as he did before.
Then Ere, son of Cairbre Niafer, took up his spear.
" Who will fall by this ? " he asked the children of Calatin.
" A king will fall by it," they said. " I heard you say the
same thing of the spear that Lugaid threw a while ago,"
said Ere. " That is true," said they, " and the king of the
chariot-drivers of Ireland fell by it, Cuchulain's driver
Laeg, son of Riangabra."
With that. Ere threw the spear, and it went through
the Grey of Macha. Cuchulain drew the spear out, and
they said farewell to one another. And then the Grey
went away from him, with half his harness hanging from
his neck, and he went into Glas-linn, the grey pool in
Slieve Fuad.
Then Cuchulain drove through the host, and he saw
the third couple disputing together, and he went between
them as he did before. And the Druid asked his spear
of him, but he refused him, " I will put a bad name on
you," said the Druid. " I have paid what is due to my
name to-day," said he ; " my honour does not bind me to
give more than one request in a day." " I will put a
bad name upon Ulster because of your refusal." " I have
paid what is due for the honour of Ulster," said Cuchulain.
"Then I will put a bad name on your kindred," said
the Druid. " The news that I have been given a bad
name shall never go back to that place I am never to
go back to myself ; for it is little of my life that is left
to me," said Cuchulain. With that he threw the spear at
him, and it went through him, and through the heads
of the men that were along with him.
" You do your kindness unkindly, Cuchulain," said the
Druid, as he fell. Then Cuchulain drove for the last time
through the host, and Lugaid took the spear, and he said :
" Who will fall by this spear, children of Calatin ? " "A
king will fall by it," said they. " I heard you saying that
a king would fall by the spear Ere threw a while ago."
" That is true," they said, " and the Grey of Macha fell
by it, that was the king of the horses of Ireland."
Then Lugaid threw the spear, and it went through
and through Cuchulain's body, and he knew he had got
his deadly wound ; and his bowels came out on the
cushions of the chariot, and his only horse went away
from him, the Black Sainglain, with half the harness
hanging from his neck, and left his master, the king of the
heroes of Ireland, to die upon the plain of Muirthemne.
Then Cuchulain said : " There is great desire on me to
go to that lake beyond, and to get a drink from it."
"We will give you leave to do that," they said, "if
you will come back to us after."
" I will bid you come for me if I am not able to come
back myself," said Cuchulain.
Then he gathered up his bowels into his body, and
he went down to the lake. He drank a drink, and
he washed himself, and he turned back again to his
death, and he called to his enemies to come and meet
him.
There was a pillar-stone west of the lake, and his eye
lit on it, and he went to the pillar-stone, and he tied
himself to it with his breast-belt, the way he would not
meet his death lying down, but would meet it standing
up. Then his enemies came round about him, but they
were in dread of going close to him, for they were not
sure but he might be still alive.
" It is a great shame for you," said Ere, son of Cairbre,
" not to strike the head off that man, in revenge for
his striking the head off my father."
Then the Grey of Macha came back to defend
Cuchulain as long as there was life in him, and the hero-
light was shining above him. And the Grey of Macha
made three attacks against them, and he killed fifty
men with his teeth, and thirty with each of his hoofs.
So there is a saying : " It is not sharper work than this
was done by the Grey of Macha, the time of Cuchulain's
death."
Then a bird came and settled on his shoulder. " It is
not on that pillar birds were used to settle," said Ere.
Then Lugaid came and lifted up Cuchulain's hair
from his shoulders, and struck his head off, and the
men of Ireland gave three great heavy shouts, and the
sword fell from Cuchulain's hand, and as it fell, it struck
off Lugaid's right hand, so that it fell to the ground.
Then they cut off Cuchulain's hand, in satisfaction for it,
and then the light faded away from about Cuchulain's
head, and left it as pale as the snow of a single night.
Then all the men of Ireland said that as it was Maeve
had gathered the army, it would be right for her to bring
away the head to Cruachan. " I will not bring it with
me ; it is for Lugaid that struck it off to bring it with
him," said Maeve. And then Lugaid and his men went
away, and they brought away Cuchulain's head and his
right hand with them, and they went south, towards the
Life river.
At that time the army of Ulster was gathering to
attack its enemies, and Conall was out before them,
and he met the Grey of Macha, and his share of blood
dripping from him. And then he knew that Cuchulain
was dead, and himself and the Grey of Macha went
looking for Cuchulain's body. And when they saw his
body at the pillar-stone, the Grey of Macha went and
laid his head in Cuchulain's breast : " That body is a
heavy care to the Grey of Macha," said Conall.
Then Conall went after the army, thinking in his own
mind what way he could get satisfaction for Cuchulain's
death. For it was a promise between himself and
Cuchulain that whichever of them would be killed the
first, the other would get satisfaction for his death.
" And if I am the first that is killed," said Cuchulain
at that time, " how long will it be before you get satis-
faction for me ? "
" Before the evening of the same day," said Conall, " I
will have got satisfaction for you. And if it is I that
will die before you," he said, " how long will it be before
you get satisfaction for me ? "
" Your share of blood will not be cold on the ground,"
said Cuchulain, " when I will have got satisfaction for
you."
So Conall followed after Lugaid to the river Life.
Lugaid was going down to bathe in the water, but he
said to his chariot-driver : " Look out there over the
plain, for fear would any one come at us unknown."
The chariot-driver looked around him. " There is a
man coming on us," he said, "and it is in a great
hurry he is coming ; and you would think he has all the
ravens in Ireland flying over his head, and there are
flakes of snow speckling the ground before him."
" It is not in friendship the man comes that is coming
like that," said Lugaid. " It is Conall Cearnach it is,
with Dub-dearg, and the birds that you see after
him, they are the sods the horse has scattered in the air
from his hoofs, and the flakes of snow that are speckHng
the ground before him, they are the froth that he scatters
from his mouth and from the bit of his bridle. Look
again," said Lugaid, " and see what way is he coming."
"It is to the ford he is coming, the same way the army
passed over," said the chariot-driver. " Let him pass by
us," said Lugaid, " for I have no mind to fight with him."
But when Conall came to the middle of the ford, he
saw Lugaid and his chariot-driver, and he went over to
them. " Welcome is the sight of a debtor's face," said
Conall. " The man you owe a debt to is asking payment
of you now, and I myself am that man," he said, " for
the sake of my comrade, Cuchulain, that you killed.
And I am standing here now, to get that debt paid."
They agreed then to fight it out on the plain of Magh
Argetnas, and in the fight Conall wounded Lugaid with
his spear. From that they went to a place called Ferta
Lugdac. " I would like that you would give me fair
play," said Lugaid. " What fair play ? " said Conall
Cearnach.
" That you and I should fight with one hand," said he,
" for I have the use of but one hand."
" I will do that," said Conall. Then Conall's hand
was bound to his side with a cord, and then they fought
for a long time, and one did not get the better of the
other. And when Conall was not gaining on him, his
horse, Dub-dearg, that was near by, came up to Lugaid,
and took a bite out of his side.
" Misfortune on me," said Lugaid, " it is not right or
fair that is of you, Conall."
" It was for myself I promised to do what is right and
fair," said Conall. " I made no promise for a beast, that
is without training and without sense."
" It is well I know you will not leave me till you
take my head, as I took Cuchulain's head from him,"
said Lugaid. " Take it, then, along with your own head.
Put my kingdom with your kingdom, and my courage
with your courage ; for I would like that you would be
the best champion in Ireland."
Then Conall made an end of him, and he went back,
bringing Cuchulain's head along with him to the pillar-
stone where his body was.
And by that time Emer had got word of all that had
happened, and that her husband had got his death by
the men of Ireland, and by the powers of the children
of Calatin. And it was Levarcham brought her the story,
for Conall Cearnach had met her on his way, and had
bade her go and bring the news to Emain Macha ; and
there she found Emer, and she sitting in her upper
room, looking over the plain for some word from the
battle.
And all the women came out to meet Levarcham,
and when they heard her story, they made an outcry
of grief and sharp cries, with loud weeping and burning
tears ; and there were long dismal sounds going through
Emain, and the whole country round was filled with
crying. And Emer and her women went to the place
where Cuchulain's body was, and they gathered round
it there, and gave themselves to crying and keening.
And when Conall came back to the place, he laid the
head with the body of Cuchulain, and he began to
lament along with them, and it is what he said : " It
is Cuchulain had prosperity on him, a root of valour
from the time he was but a soft child ; there never fell a
better hero than the hero that fell by Lugaid of the
Lands. And there are many are in want of you," he
said, " and until all the chief men of Ireland have fallen
by me, it is not fitting there should ever be peace.
"It is grief to me, he to have gone into the battle
without Conall being at his side; it was a pity for him
to go there without my body beside his body. Och !
it is he was my foster-son, and now the ravens are
drinking his blood ; there will not be either laughter or
mirth, since the Hound has gone astray from us."
" Let us bury Cuchulain now," said Emer. " It is not
right to do that," said Conall, "until I have avenged
him on the men of Ireland. And it is a great shouting
I hear about the plain of Muirthemne, and it is full the
country is of crying after Cuchulain ; and it is good at
keeping the country and watching the boundaries the
man was that is here before me, a cross-hacked body in
a pool of blood. And it is well it pleased Lugaid, son of
Curoi, to be at the killing of Cuchulain, for it was Cuchu-
lain killed the chiefs and the children of Deaguid round
Famain, son of Foraoi, and round Curoi, son of Daire
himself. And this shouting has taken away my wits
and my memory from me," he said, " and it is hard for
me, Cuchulain not to answer these cries, and I to be
without him now ; for there is not a champion in Ireland
that was not in dread of the sword in his hand. And it is
broken in halves my heart is for my brother, and I will
bring my revenge through Ireland now, and I will not
leave a tribe without wounding, or true blood without
spilling, and the whole world will be told of my rout to
the end of life and time, until the men of Munster and
Connaught and Leinster will be crying for the rising
they made against him. And without the spells of
the children of Calatin, the whole of them would not
have been able to do him to death."
After that complaint, rage and madness came on
Conall, and he went forward in his chariot to follow after
the rest of the men of Ireland, the same way as he had
followed after Lugaid.
And Emer took the head of Cuchulain in her hands,
and she washed it clean, and put a silk cloth about it.
and she held it to her breast ; and she began to cry heavily
over it, and it is what she said :
" Ochone ! " said she, " it is good the beauty of this
head was, though it is low this day, and it is many of
the kings and princes of the world would be keening it
if they knew the way it is now, and the poets and the
Druids of Ireland and of Alban ; and many were the
goods and the jewels and the rents and the tributes
that you brought home to me from the countries of
the world, with the courage and the strength of your
hands ! "
And she made this complaint :
" Och, head ! Ochone, O head ! you gave death to
great heroes, to many hundreds ; my head will lie in
the same grave, the one stone will be made for both
of us
" Och, hand ! Ochone, hand that was once gentle.
It is often it was put under my head ; it is dear that
hand was to me !
" Dear mouth i Ochone, kind mouth that was sweet-
voiced telling stories ; since the time love first came
on your face, you never refused either weak or strong !
" Dear the man, dear the man, that would kill the
whole of a great host; dear his cold bright hair, and
dear his bright cheeks !
" Dear the king, dear the king, that never gave a
refusal to any ; thirty days it is to-night since my body
lay beside your body.
" Och, two spears ! Ochone, two spears ! Och, shield !
Och, deadly sword ! Let them be given to Conall
of the battles ; there was never any wage given like
that.
" I am glad, I am glad, Cuchulain of Muirthemne,
I never brought red shame on your face, for any un-
faithfulness against you.
" Happy arc they, happy are they, who will never
hear the cuckoo again for ever, now that the Hound
has died from us.
" I am carried away like a branch on the stream ; I
will not bind up my hair to-day. From this day I have
nothing to say that is better than Ochone ! "
And then she said : "It is long that it was showed
to me in a vision of the night, that Cuchulain would
fall by the men of Ireland, and it appeared to me
Dundealgan to be falling to the ground, and his shield
to be split from lip to border, and his sword and his
spears broken in the middle, and I saw Conall doing
deeds of death before me, and myself and yourself in
the one death. And oh ! my love," she said, " we were
often in one another's company, and it was happy for
us ; for if the world had been searched from the rising
of the sun to sunset, the like would never have been
found in one place, of the Black Sainglain and the Grey
of Macha, and Laeg the chariot-driver, and myself and
Cuchulain. And it is breaking my heart is in my body,
to be listening to the pity and the sorrowing of women
and men, and the harsh crying of the young men of
Ulster keening Cuchulain, and Ulster to be in its
weakness, and without strength to revenge itself upon
the men of Ireland."
And after she had made that complaint, she brought
Cuchulain's body to Dundealgan ; and they all cried and
keened about him until such time as Conall Cearnach
came back from making his red rout through the army
of the men of Ireland.
For he was not satisfied to make a slaughter of the
men of Munster and Connaught, without reddening
his hand in the blood of the men of Leinster as
well.
And when he had done that, he came to Dundealgan,
and his men along with him, but they made no rejoicing
when they went back that time. And he brought the
heads of the men of Ireland along with him in a gad,
and he laid them out on the green lawn, and the people of
the house gave three great shouts when they saw the heads.
And Emer came out, and when she saw Conall
Cearnach, she said : " My great esteem and my wel-
come before you, king of heroes, and may your many
wounds not be your death ; for you have avenged the
treachery done on Ulster, and now what you have to
do is to make our grave, and to lay us together in the
grave, for I will not live after Cuchulain.
" And tell me, Conall," she said, " whose are those
heads all around on the lawn, and which of the great
men of Ireland did they belong to ? "
And she was asking, and Conall was answering, and it
is what she said :
" Tell me, Conall, whose are those heads, for surely
you have reddened your arms with them. Tell me the
names of the men whose heads are there upon the
ground."
And Conall said : " Daughter of Forgall of the
Horses, young Emer of the sweet words, it is in
revenge for the Hound of Feats I brought these heads
here from the south."
" Whose is the great black head, with the smooth cheek
redder than a rose ; it is at the far end, on the left side,
the head that has not changed its colour ? "
" It is the head of the king of Meath, Ere, son of
Cairbre of Swift Horses ; I brought his head with me
from far off, in revenge for my own foster-son."
" Whose is that head there before me, with soft hair,
with smooth eyebrows, its eyes like ice, its teeth like
blossoms ; that head is more beautiful in shape than the
others ? "
" A son of Maeve ; a destroyer of harbours, yellow-
haired Maine, man of horses ; I left his body without
a head ; all his people fell by my hand."
"O great Conall, who did not fail us, whose head is
this you hold in your hand ? Since the Hound of Feats
is not living, what do you bring in satisfaction for his
head ? "
" The head of the son of Fergus of the Horses, a
destroyer in every battle-field, my sister's son of the
narrow tower ; I have struck his head from his body."
" Whose is that head to the west, with fair hair, the
head that is spoiled with grief? I used to know his
voice ; I was for a while his friend."
" That is he that struck down the Hound, Lugaid, son
of Curoi of the Rhymes. His body was laid out straight
and fair, I struck his head off afterwards."
" Whose are those two heads farther out, great Conall
of good judgment ? For the sake of your friendship,
do not hide the names of the men put down by your
arms."
" The heads of Laigaire and Clar Cuilt, two men that
fell by my wounds. It was they wounded faithful Cuchu-
lain ; I made my weapons red in their blood."
"Whose are those heads farther to the east, great
Conall of bright deeds? The hair of the two is of
the one colour ; their cheeks are redder than a calf's
blood."
" Brave Cullain and hardy Cunlaid, two that were
used to overcome in their anger. There to the east,
Emer, are their heads ; I left their bodies in a red
pool."
" Whose are those three heads with evil looks I see
before me to the north ? Their faces blue, their hair
black ; even hard Conall's eye turns from them."
" Three of the enemies of the Hound, daughters of
Calatin, wise in enchantments ; they are the three witches
killed by me, their weapons in their hands."
' O great Conall, father of kings, whose is that head
that would overcome in the battle ? His bushy hair is
gold-yellow ; his head-dress is smooth and white like
silver."
" It is the head of the son of Red-Haired Ross, son
of Necht Min, that died by my strength. This, Emer,
is his head ; the high king of Leinster of Speckled
Swords."
" O great Conall, change the story. How many of
the men that harmed him fell by your hand that does
not fail, in satisfaction for the head of Cuchulain?"
" It is what I say, ten and seven scores of hundreds is
the number that fell, back to back, by the anger of
my hard sword and of my people."
" O Conall, what way are they, the women of Ireland,
after the Hound ? Are they mourning the son of
Sualtim ? are they showing respect through their grief? "
"O Emer, what shall I do without my Cuchulain,
my fine nurseling, going in and out from me, to-
night ? "
" O Conall, lift me to the grave. Raise my stone
over the grave of the Hound ; since it is through grief
for him I go to death, lay my mouth to the mouth of
Cuchulain.
" I am Emer of the Fair Form ; there is no more
vengeance for me to find ; I have no love for any man.
It is sorrowful my stay is after the Hound."
And after that Emer bade Conall to make a wide,
very deep grave for Cuchulain ; and she laid herself
down beside her gentle comrade, and she put her
mouth to his mouth, and she said : " Love of my life,
my friend, my sweetheart, my one choice of the men of
the earth, many is the woman, wed or unwed, envied
me till to-day : and now I will not stay living after
you."
And her life went out from her, and she herself and
Cuchulain were laid in the one grave by Conall. And he
raised the one stone over them, and he wrote their
names in Ogham, and he himself and all the men of
Ulster keened them.
But the three times fifty queens that loved Cuchulain
saw him appear in his Druid chariot, going through
Emain Macha ; and they could hear him singing the
music of the Sidhe.