THE WAR FOR THE 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.

176 WARFORBULLOFCUAILGNE

" 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

QUARREL OF MAEVE AND AILELL 177

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 myself; 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