The Mythology Book

166

ONE WILL BE

LONG FORGETTING

CÚCHULAINN

THE CATTLE RAID OF COOLEY

T

he Táin Bó Cúailnge—in

English, The Cattle Raid

of Cooley—was the longest

and most important tale from a

group of texts known collectively as

the Ulster Cycle. The story focused

on the exploits of Cúchulainn, a

young Ulster warrior and one of the

greatest heroes of Celtic mythology.

The tale opened with a contest

between a wife and her husband:

the goddess Medb, queen of the

province of Connaught, and Ailill,

Ireland’s king. Arguing about

which of them was wealthier, Medb

discovered that it was Ailill, for he

owned a white-horned bull with

supernatural powers. Refusing to

be beaten, Queen Medb decided

to find the only other magical bull

in the land—Dun, the Brown Bull

of Cooley. Dun’s owner would not

surrender the bull, so Medb and

Ailill invaded Ulster in order to

steal the animal.

On the eve of battle, Medb

learned that all the warriors of

Ulster were mysteriously ill and

unable to fight, except for a

17-year-old called Cúchulainn.

Medb rejoiced that her victory

would be easily accomplished, but

a prophetess foretold, “I see very

red, I see red.” The next day, a

bloody battle ensued.

Victory against the odds

Medb watched as Cúchulainn,

transformed by a “warp-spasm”

into a terrifying giant, slaughtered

her troops one by one. The goddess

continued to send the best soldiers

in the land to fight him, but they

were no match for the boy—his

deadly spear could shoot 24 darts

able to pierce every body part. At

the height of the battle, Cúchulainn

found himself locked in a three-day

combat with a former friend,

Ferdiad, an Ulster man in exile in

Connaught. Cúchulainn emerged

IN BRIEF

THEME

National hero

SOURCE

Táin Bó Cúailnge (“The Cattle

Raid of Cooley”), Anonymous,

7th–8th century ce.

SETTING

1st century ce, the Kingdom

of Ulster, Ireland.

KEY FIGURES

Cúchulainn A warrior.

Medb A goddess and

queen of Connaught, an

Irish province.

Ailill King of all Ireland, also

known as King of Connaught.

Ferdiad An exiled friend

of Cúchulainn.

Lugaid King of Munster

and slayer of Cúchulainn.

Morrigan The war goddess.

The first warp-spasm seized

Cúchulainn, and made him

into a monstrous thing,

hideous and shapeless,

unheard of.

Táin Bó Cúailnge

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167

Morrigan signals Cúchulainn’s

death. The vibrant mosaic of the Tain

Wall in Dublin by Desmond Kinney

(1974) depicts scenes from the tale.

See also: The quest of Odysseus 66–71 ■ Aeneas, founder of Rome 96–101 ■

A complex god 164 ■ King Arthur 172–77

EUROPE

victorious but exhausted. He was

unable to go on. The Ulster warriors

then woke from the spell that had

laid them low and forced Medb and

her troops to retreat.

The death of Cúchulainn

Despite losing in battle, Medb

managed to capture Dun, the

Brown Bull of Cooley. The two bulls

were then set against each other

and Ailill’s white-horned bull was

killed. Mortally wounded, Dun

found his way back to Cooley but

died when he got there. Medb’s

pursuit had caused carnage and

death throughout the kingdom, yet

she could not accept defeat. She

convinced the sons of those slain

by Cúchulainn to seek revenge.

Among them was Lugaid, the king

of Munster, whose father had

perished in the battle. The men

conspired to kill Cúchulainn and

Lugaid threw the fatal spear.

Cúchulainn washed his wound

and drank water in a nearby lake.

Barely able to stand, but refusing to

die lying down like an animal, he

tied himself to a standing stone

and then died. His enemies feared

him too much to get close enough

to see if he was still alive. Three

days later, the goddess Morrigan

appeared as a raven—a Celtic

symbol of death—on Cúchulainn’s

shoulder, confirming he was dead.

A hero’s legacy

The fact that Cúchulainn’s story

is still widely told to this day is

testimony to the Irish people’s

empathy with their hero. During

the 20th century, he came to

represent defiance in the face of

British rule. Ulster unionists,

however, prefer to focus on his

defense of the province of Ulster

from enemies to the south. ■

The Hound of Chulainn

Originally named Sétanta,

Cúchulainn was the nephew

of King Conor of Ulster and

possibly the son of the sky god

Lugh. He earned his new

name when, as a boy, he

attended a banquet with his

uncle at the house of the

blacksmith Chulainn.

Having lagged behind on

the way to the banquet, when

he finally arrived at the house,

Sétanta found himself facing

Chulainn’s ferocious guard

dog. When it attacked him,

Sétanta killed the hound in

self-defense. To make amends

to Chulainn, Sétanta promised

to take the dog’s place as

protector of the Kingdom of

Ulster. He then became known

as the “Cú Chulainn” (“Hound

of Chulainn”).

Cúchulainn was a truly

formidable foe, but his skills

as a warrior eventually led

to his undoing. Before he

married, a Scottish woman,

Aife, bore him a son in secret.

Years later, a young man

appeared and challenged

Cúchulainn. Only after

defeating the stranger did

Cúchulainn realize he had

killed his own son. Distraught,

he was a broken man when he

met his death at the hands of

Lugaid, the king of Munster.

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