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

8 BOY DEEDS OF CUCHULAIN

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 themselves 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

THE SMITH'S FEAST 9

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 Conchubar ; " 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

10 BOY DEEDS OF CUCHULAIN

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 whoever 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.

THE HOUND OF CULAIN ii

" 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 northeast 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

12 BOY DEEDS OF CUCHULAIN

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

THE TAKING OF ARMS 13

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

i4 BOY DEEDS OF CUCHULAIN

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,

THE DUN OF NECHTAN'S SONS 15

But as to myself," he said, "it is among the chariotdrivers 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 Cuchulain 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-

NECHTAN'S SONS 17

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

i8 BOY DEEDS OF CUCHULAIN

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 Cuchulain, " 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

THE RETURN TO EMAIN 19

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

20 BOY DEEDS OF CUCHULAIN

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

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

22 THE COURTING OF EMER

daughter of a king or of an owner of land or a householder, 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

CUCHULAIN'S RIDDLES 23

Fiall, daughter of Forgall, went out and met him, and he came with her to the place where Emer and her companions 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

24 THE COURTING OF EMER

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 knowledge 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.

HIS TEACHERS 25

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, chariotdrivers 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

26 THE COURTING OF EMER

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 Cuchulain, " 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

THE MEANING OF THE RIDDLES 27

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

28 THE COURTING OF EMER

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 unless 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-handwise round the well, to mock at its powers. Then three

THE MEANING OF THE RIDDLES 29

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

30 THE COURTING OF EMER

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 together, ' 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

THE MEANING OF THE RIDDLES 31

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.

32 THE COURTING OF EMER

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 Cearnach said they would go with him. But first Cuchulain

CUCHULAIN'S JOURNEY 33

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 knowing 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 whatever 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