pillar-stone at Ard Cuillenn, [3]which is called Crossa Coil to-day,[3] and
they began looking out upon the province that was unknown to them, the
province of Ulster. And two of Medb's people went always before them in the
van of the host, at every camp and on every march, at every ford and every
river [LL.fo.58b.] and every gap. They were wont to do so [4]that they
might save the brooches and cushions and cloaks of the host, so that the
dust of the multitude might not soil them[4] and that no stain might come
on the princes' raiment in the crowd or the crush of the hosts or the
throng;--these were the two sons of Nera, who was the son of Nuathar,
[W.575.] son of Tacan, two sons of the house-stewards of Cruachan, Err and
Innell, to wit. Fraech and Fochnam were the names of their charioteers.
[3-3] Eg. 1782.
[4-4] LU. and YBL. 245-246.
The nobles of Erin arrived at the pillar-stone and they there beheld the
signs of the browsing of the horses, cropping around the pillar, and they
looked close at the rude hoop which the royal hero had left behind about
the pillar-stone. [1]Then sat they down to wait till the army should come,
the while their musicians played to them.[1] And Ailill took the withy in
his hand and placed it in Fergus' hand, and Fergus read the ogam script
graven on the plug of the withy, and made known to the men of Erin what was
the meaning of the ogam writing that was on it. [2]When Medb came, she
asked, "Why wait ye here?" "Because of yonder withy we wait," Fergus made
answer; "there is an ogam writing on its binding and this is what it saith:
'Let no one go past here till a man be found to throw a withy like unto
this, using only one hand and made of a single branch, and I except my
master Fergus.' Truly," Fergus added, "it was Cuchulain threw it, and it
was his steeds that grazed this plain." And he placed the hoop in the hands
of the druids,[2] and it is thus he began to recite and he pronounced a
lay:--
"What bespeaks this withe to us,
What purports its secret rede?
And what number cast it here,
Was it one man or a host?
"If ye go past here this night,
And bide not [3]one night[3] in camp.
On ye'll come the tear-flesh Hound;
Yours the blame, if ye it scorn!
"[4]Evil on the host he'll bring,[4]
If ye go your way past this.
[W.596.] Find, ye druids, find out here,
For what cause this withe was made!"
[1]A druid speaks[1]:
"Cut by hero, cast by chief,
As a perfect trap for foes.
Stayer of lords--with hosts of men--
One man cast it with one hand!
"With fierce rage the battle 'gins
Of the Smith's Hound of Red Branch.[a]
Bound to meet this madman's rage;
This the name that's on the withe!
[2]"Would the king's host have its will--
Else they break the law of war--
Let some one man of ye cast,
As one man this withe did cast![2]
"Woes to bring with hundred fights
On four realms of Erin's land;
Naught I know 'less it be this
For what cause the withe was made!"
[1-1] LU. and YBL. 250.
[2-2] LU. and YBL. 252-258.
[3-3] Reading with Stowe, Add. and H. 1. 13.
[4-4] Reading with LU. and YBL. 261.
[1-1] LU., marginal note.
[a] The name of the festal hall of the kings of Ulster.
[2-2] Eg. 1782.
After that lay: "I pledge you my word," said Fergus, "if so ye set at
naught yon withy and the royal hero that made it, [3]and if ye go beyond[3]
without passing a night's camp and quarterage here, or until a man of you
make a withy of like kind, using but one foot and one eye and one hand,
even as he made it, [4]certain it is, whether ye be[4] under the ground or
in a tight-shut house, [5]the man that wrote the ogam hereon[5] will bring
slaughter and bloodshed upon ye before the hour of rising on the morrow, if
ye make light of him!" "That, surely, would not be pleasing to us," quoth
Medb, "that any one should [6]straightway[6] spill our blood or besmirch us
red, now that we are come to this unknown province, even to the province of
Ulster. More pleasing would it be to us, to spill another's blood and
redden him." "Far be it from us to set this [W.618.] withy at naught," said
Ailill, "nor shall we make little of the royal hero that wrought it, rather
will we resort to the shelter of this great wood, [1]that is, Fidduin,
('the Wood of the Dûn')[1] southwards till morning. There will we pitch our
camp and quarters."
[3-3] LU. 270.
[4-4] Reading with Stowe.
[5-5] LU. 271.
[6-6] LU. and YBL. 273.
[1-1] A gloss in YBL. 274; found also in Eg. 1782.
Thereupon the hosts advanced, and as they went they felled the wood with
their swords before their chariots, so that Slechta ('the Hewn Road') is
still the by-name of that place where is Partraige Beca ('the Lesser
Partry') south-west of Cenannas na Rig ('Kells of the Kings') near Cul
Sibrille.
[2]According to other books, it is told as follows: After they had come to
[3]Fidduin[3] they saw a chariot and therein a beautiful maiden. It is
there that the conversation between Medb and Fedelm the seeress took place
that we spoke of before, and it is after the answer she made to Medb that
the wood was cut down: "Look for me," said Medb, "how my journey will be."
"It is hard for me," the maiden made answer, "for no glance of eye can I
cast upon them in the wood." "Then it is plough-land this shall be," quoth
Medb; "we will cut down the wood." Now, this was done, so that this is the
name of the place, Slechta, to wit.[2]
[2-2] YBL. 276-283.
[3-3] '_Fedaduin_,' MS.
[4]They slept in Cul Sibrille, which is Cenannas.[4] A heavy snow fell on
them that night, and so great it was that it reached to the shoulders[a]
of the men and to the flanks of the horses and to the poles[b] of the
chariots, so that all the provinces of Erin were one level plane from the
snow. But no huts nor bothies nor tents did they set up that night, nor did
they [LL.fo.59.] prepare food nor drink, nor made they a meal nor repast.
None of the men of Erin [W.630.] wot whether friend or foe was next him
until the bright hour of sunrise on the morrow.
[4-4] Eg. 1782.
[a] 'Girdles,' LU. and YBL. 284; 'shields,' Eg. 1782.
[b] 'Wheels,' LU. and YBL. 285 and Eg. 1782.
Certain it is that the men of Erin experienced not a night of encampment or
of station that held more discomfort or hardship for them than that night
[1]with the snow[1] at Cul Sibrille. The four grand provinces of Erin moved
out early on the morrow [2]with the rising of the bright-shining sun
glistening on the snow[2] and marched on from that part into another.
[1-1] LU. and YBL. 287.
[2-2] Reading with Stowe.
Now, as regards Cuchulain: It was far from being early when he arose
[3]from his tryst.[3] And then he ate a meal and took a repast, and [4]he
remained until he had[4] washed himself and bathed on that day.
[3-3] LU. and YBL. 288.
[4-4] LU. and YBL. 289.
He called to his charioteer to lead out the horses and yoke the chariot.
The charioteer led out the horses and yoked the chariot, and Cuchulain
mounted his chariot. And they came on the track of the army. They found
the trail of the men of Erin leading past them from that part into another.
"Alas, O master Laeg," cried Cuchulain, "by no good luck went we to our
tryst with the woman last night. [5]Would that we had not gone thither nor
betrayed the Ultonians.[5] This is the least that might be looked for from
him that keeps guard on the marches, a cry, or a shout, or an alarm, or to
call, 'Who goes the road?' This it fell not unto us to say. The men of Erin
have gone past us, [6]without warning, without complaint,[6] into the land
of Ulster." "I foretold thee that, O Cuchulain," said Laeg. "Even though
thou wentest to thy woman-tryst [7]last night,[7] such a disgrace would
come upon thee." "Good now, O Laeg, go thou for us on the trail of the host
and make an estimate of them, and discover [W.649.] for us in what number
the men of Erin went by us."
[5-5] LU. and YBL. 290.
[6-6] Stowe.
[7-7] Stowe.
Laeg came on the track of the host, and he went to the front of the trail
and he came on its sides and he went to the back of it. "Thou art confused
in thy counting, O Laeg, my master," quoth Cuchulain. "Confused I must be,"
Laeg replied. [1]"It is not confusedly that I should see, if I should go,"
said Cuchulain.[1] "Come into the chariot then, and I will make a reckoning
of them." The charioteer mounted the chariot and Cuchulain went on the
trail of the hosts and [2]after a long while[2] he made a reckoning of
them. [3]"Even thou, it is not easy for thee.[3] Thou art perplexed in thy
counting, my little Cuchulain," quoth Laeg. "Not perplexed," answered
Cuchulain; [4]"it is easier for me than for thee.[4] [5]For I have three
magical virtues: Gift of sight, gift of understanding, and gift of
reckoning.[5] For I know the number wherewith the hosts went past us,
namely, eighteen cantreds. Nay more: the eighteenth cantred has been
distributed among [6]the entire host of[6] the men of Erin, [7]so that
their number is not clear, namely, that of the cantred of Leinstermen."[7]
[8]This here is the third cunningest [9]and most difficult[9] reckoning
that ever was made in Erin. These were: The reckoning by Cuchulain of the
men of Erin on the Táin, the reckoning by Lug Lamfota ('Long-hand') of the
host of the Fomorians [10]in the Battle of Moytura,[10] and the reckoning
by Incel of the host in the Hostel of Da Derga.[8]
[1-1] LU. and YBL. 294-295.
[2-2] LU. and YBL. 297.
[3-3] LU. and YBL. 297.
[4-4] LU. and YBL. 297-298.
[5-5] LU. and YBL. 298-299.
[6-6] LU. and YBL. 302.
[7-7] LU. and YBL. 302.
[8-8] Stowe.
[9-9] LU. fo. 58a, in the margin.
[10-10] LU. fo. 58a, in the margin.
Now, many and divers were the magic virtues that were in Cuchulain [11]that
were in no one else in his day.[11] Excellence of form, excellence of
shape, excellence of build, excellence [W.661.] in swimming, excellence in
horsemanship, excellence in chess and in draughts, excellence in battle,
excellence in contest, excellence in single combat, excellence in
reckoning, excellence in speech, excellence in counsel, excellence in
bearing, excellence in laying waste and in plundering from the neighbouring
border.
[11-11] Stowe, and LU. fo. 58a, 24, marginal note.
"Good, my friend Laeg. Brace the horses for us to the chariot; lay on the
goad for us on the horses; drive on the chariot for us and give thy left[a]
board to the hosts, to see can we overtake the van or the rear or the midst
of the hosts, for I will cease to live unless there fall by my hand this
night a friend or foe of the men of Erin."
[a] A sign of enmity.
Then it was that the charioteer gave the prick to the steeds. He turned his
left board to the hosts till he arrived at Turloch[b] Caille More ('the
Creek of the Great Wood') northwards of Cnogba na Rig ('Knowth of the
Kings') which is called Ath Gabla ('the Ford of the Fork'). [1]Thereupon
Cuchulain went round the host till he came to Ath Grenca.[1] He went into
the wood at that place and sprang out of his chariot, and he lopped off a
four-pronged fork, root and top, with a single stroke [2]of his sword.[2]
He pointed and charred it and put a writing in ogam on its side, and he
gave it a long throw from the hinder part of his chariot with the tip of a
single hand, in such wise that two-thirds of it sank into the ground and
only one-third was above it [3]in the mid part of the stream, so that no
chariot could go thereby on this side or that.[3]
[b] _Belach_ ('the Pass'), Eg. 1782.
[1-1] Eg. 1782.
[2-2] LU. and YBL. 304.
[3-3] LU. and YBL. 305.
Then it was that the same two striplings surprised him, namely, the two
sons of Nera son of Nuathar son of Tacan, while engaged in that feat. And
they vied which of the twain [4]would be the first to fight and contend
with Cuchuain, which of them[4] would inflict the first wound upon [W.680.]
him and be the first to behead him. Cuchulain turned on them, and
straightway he struck off their four heads [1]from themselves [2]Eirr and
Indell[2] and [3]from Foich and Fochlam,[3] their drivers,[1] and he fixed
a head of each man of them on each of the prongs of the pole. And Cuchulain
let the horses of the party go back in the direction of the men of Erin, to
return by the same road, their reins loose [4]around their ears[4] and
their bellies red and the bodies of the warriors dripping their blood down
outside on the ribs of the chariots. [5]Thus he did,[5] for he deemed it no
honour nor deemed he it fair to take horses or garments or arms from
corpses or from the dead. And then the troops saw the horses of the party
that had gone out in advance before them, and the headless bodies of the
warriors oozing their blood down on the ribs of the chariots ([6]and their
crimsoned trappings upon them[6]). The van of the army waited for the rear
to come up, and all were thrown into confusion of striking, that is as much
as to say, into a tumult of arms.
[4-4] Stowe.
[1-1] Stowe.
[2-2] LU. and YBL. 306.
[3-3] LU. and YBL. 306.
[4-4] Stowe.
[5-5] Stowe.
[6-6] LU. and YBL. 310.
Medb and Fergus and the Manè and the sons of Maga drew near. For in this
wise was Medb wont to travel, and nine chariots with her alone; two of
these chariots before her, and two chariots behind, and two chariots at
either side, and her own chariot in the middle between them. This is why
Medb did so, that the turves from the horses' hoofs, or the flakes of foam
from the bridle-bits, or the dust of the mighty host or of the numerous
throng might not reach the queen's diadem of gold [7]which she wore round
her head.[7] "What have we here?" queried Medb. "Not hard to say," each and
all made answer; [LL.fo.60.] "the horses of the band that went out before
us are here and their bodies lacking their heads in their chariots." They
held [W.702.] a council and they felt certain it was the sign of a
multitude and of the approach of a mighty host, and that it was the
Ulstermen that had come [1]and that it was a battle that had taken place
before them on the ford.[1] And this was the counsel they took: to
despatch Cormac Conlongas, Conchobar's son, from them to learn what was at
the ford; because, even though the Ulstermen might be there, they would not
kill the son of their own king. Thereupon Cormac Conlongas, Conchobar's
son, set forth and this was the complement with which he went, ten hundred
in addition to twenty hundred armed men, to ascertain what was at the
ford. And when he was come, he saw naught save the fork in the middle of
the ford, with four heads upon it dripping their blood down along the stem
of the fork into the stream of the river, [2]and a writing in ogam on the
side,[2] and the signs of the two horses and the track of a single
chariot-driver and the marks of a single warrior leading out of the ford
going therefrom to the eastward. [3]By that time,[3] the nobles of Erin
had drawn nigh to the ford and they all began to look closely at the fork.
They marvelled and wondered who had set up the trophy. [4]"Are yonder
heads those of our people?" Medb asked. "They are our people's, and
our chosen ones'," answered Ailill. One of their men deciphered the
ogam-writing that was on the side of the fork, to wit: 'A single man cast
this fork with but a single hand; and go ye not past it till one man of you
throw it with one hand, excepting Fergus.'[4] "What name have ye men of
Ulster for this ford till now, Fergus?" asked Ailill. "Ath Grenca,"[a]
answered Fergus; "and Ath Gabla ('Ford of the Fork') shall now be its name
forever from this fork," said Fergus. And he recited the lay:--
[7-7] Stowe.
[1-1] Stowe.
[2-2] LU. and YBL. 313.
[3-3] LU. and YBL. 314.
[4-4] LU. and YBL. 314-318.
[a] So Stowe; LL. has '_Grena_.'
[W.719.] "Grenca's ford shall change its name,
From the strong and fierce Hound's deed.
Here we see a four-pronged fork,
Set to prove all Erin's men!
"On two points--as sign of war--
Are Fraech's head and Fochnam's head;
On its other points are thrust
Err's head and Innell's withal!
"And yon ogam on its side,
Find, ye druids, in due form,
Who has set it upright there?
What host drove it in the ground?"
(A druid answers:)
"Yon forked pole--with fearful strength--
Which thou seest, Fergus, there,
One man cut, to welcome us,
With one perfect stroke of sword!
"Pointed it and shouldered it--
Though this was no light exploit--
After that he flung it down,
To uproot for one of you!
"Grenca was its name till now--
All will keep its memory--
Fork-ford[a] be its name for aye,
From the fork that's in the ford!"
[a] That is, _Ath Gabla_.
After the lay, spake Ailill: "I marvel and wonder, O Fergus, who could have
sharpened the fork and slain with such speed the four that had gone out
before us." "Fitter it were to marvel and wonder at him who with a single
stroke lopped the fork which thou seest, root and top, pointed and charred
it and flung it the length of a throw from the hinder part of his chariot,
from the tip of a single hand, so that it sank over two-thirds into the
ground and that naught save one-third is above; nor was a hole first dug
with his sword, but through a grey stone's flag it was thrust, and thus it
is geis for the men of Erin to proceed to the bed of this ford till one of
ye pull out the fork with the tip of one hand, even as he erewhile drove it
down."
"Thou art of our hosts, O Fergus," said Medb; [W.753.] [1]avert this
necessity from us,[1] and do thou draw the fork for us from the bed of the
ford." "Let a chariot be brought me," cried Fergus, [2]"till I draw it out,
that it may be seen that its butt is of one hewing."[2] And a chariot was
brought to Fergus, and Fergus laid hold [3]with a truly mighty grip[3] on
the fork, and he made splinters and [LL.fo.61a.] scraps of the chariot.
"Let another chariot be brought me," cried Fergus. [4]Another[4] chariot
was brought to Fergus, and Fergus made a tug at the fork and again made
fragments and splinters of the chariot, [5]both its box and its yoke and
its wheels.[5] "Again let a chariot be brought me," cried Fergus. And
Fergus exerted his strength on the fork, and made pieces and bits of the
chariot. There where the seventeen[a] chariots of the Connachtmen's
chariots were, Fergus made pieces and bits of them all, and yet he failed
to draw the fork from the bed of the ford. "Come now, let it be, O Fergus,"
cried Medb; "break our people's chariots no more. For hadst thou not been
now engaged on this hosting, [6]by this time[6] should we have come to
Ulster, driving divers spoils and cattle-herds with us. We wot wherefore
thou workest all this, to delay and detain the host till the Ulstermen rise
from their 'Pains' and offer us battle, the battle of the Táin."
[1-1] LU. and YBL. 322.
[2-2] LU. and YBL. 324.
[3-3] Stowe.
[4-4] Stowe.
[5-5] Stowe.
[a] "Fourteen," LU. and YBL. 325 and Eg. 1782.
[6-6] Stowe.
"Bring me a swift chariot," cried Fergus. And his own chariot was brought
to Fergus, and Fergus gave a tug at the fork, and nor wheel nor floor nor
one of the chariot-poles creaked nor cracked. Even though it was with his
strength and prowess that the one had driven it down, with his might and
doughtiness the other drew it out,--the battle-champion, the gap-breaker of
hundreds, the crushing sledge, the stone-of-battle for enemies, the
[W.777.] head of retainers, the foe of hosts, the hacking of masses, the
flaming torch and the leader of mighty combat. He drew it up with the tip
of one hand till it reached the slope of his shoulder, and he placed the
fork in Ailill's hand. Ailill scanned it; he regarded it near. "The fork,
meseems, is all the more perfect," quoth Ailill; "for a single stroke I see
on it from butt to top." "Aye, all the more perfect," Fergus replied. And
Fergus began to sing praise [1]of Cuchulain,[1] and he made a lay
thereon:--
"Here behold the famous fork,
By which cruel Cuchulain stood.
Here he left, for hurt to all,
Four heads of his border-foes!
"Surely he'd not flee therefrom,
'Fore aught man, how brave or bold.
Though the scatheless[a] Hound this left,
On its hard rind there is gore!
"To its hurt the host goes east,
Seeking Cualnge's wild Brown bull.
[2]Warriors' cleaving there shall be,[2]
'Neath Cuchulain's baneful sword!
"No gain will their[b] stout bull be,
For which sharp-armed war will rage;
At the fall of each head's skull
Erin's every tribe shall weep!
"I have nothing to relate
As regards Dechtirè's son.[c]
Men and women hear the tale
Of this fork, how it came here!"
[1-1] Stowe.
[a] Literally, 'painless,' referring to Cuchulain's exemption from the
_cess_ or 'debility' of the Ulstermen.
[2-2] Reading with Stowe and H. 1. 13.
[b] Translating from Stowe; LL. has 'his' or 'its.'
[c] That is, Cuchulain.
After this lay: "Let us pitch our booths and tents," said Ailill, "and let
us make ready food and drink, and let us sing songs and strike up harps,
and let us eat and [W.807.] regale ourselves, for, of a truth, never before
nor since knew the men of Erin a night of encampment or of entrenchment
that held sorer discomfort or distress for them than yester-night. [1]Let
us give heed to the manner of folk to whom we go and let us hear somewhat
of their deeds and famous tales."[1]
[1-1] LU. and YBL. 329-330.
They raised their booths and pitched their tents. They got ready
[LL.fo.61b.] their food and drink, and songs were sung and harping intoned
by them, and feasting and eating indulged in, [2]and they were told of the
feats of Cuchulain.[2]
[2-2] LU. and YBL. 331.
And Ailill inquired of Fergus: "I marvel and wonder who could have come to
us to our lands and slain so quickly the four that had gone out before
us. Is it likely that Conchobar son of Fachtna Fatach ('the Mighty'), High
King of Ulster, has come to us?" "It is never likely that he has," Fergus
answered; "for a shame it would be to speak ill of him in his absence.
There is nothing he would not stake for the sake of his honour. For if he
had come hither [3]to the border of the land[3], there would have come
armies and troops and the pick of the men of Erin that are with him. And
even though against him in one and the same place, and in one mass and one
march and one camp, and on one and the same hill were the men of Erin and
Alba, Britons and Saxons, he would give them battle, before him they would
break and it is not he that would be routed."
[3-3] LU. and YBL. 333.
"A question, then: Who would be like to have come to us? Is it like that
Cuscraid Mend ('the Stammerer') of Macha would have come, Conchobar's son,
from Inis Cuscraid?" "Nay then, it is not; he, the son of the High King,"
Fergus answered. "There is nothing he would not hazard for the sake of his
honour. For were it he that had come hither, there would have come the
[W.827.] sons of kings and the royal leaders [1]of Ulster and Erin[1] that
are serving as hirelings with him. And though there might be against him in
one and the same place, in one mass and one march and one camp, and on one
and the same hill the men of Erin and Alba, Britons and Saxons, he would
give them battle, before him they would break and it is not he that would
be routed."
[1-1] Stowe.
"I ask, then, whether Eogan son of Durthacht, King of Fernmag, would have
come?" "In sooth, it is not likely. For, had he come hither, the pick of
the men of Fernmag would have come with him, battle he would give them,
before him they would break, and it is not he that would be routed."
"I ask, then: Who would be likely to have come to us? Is it likely that he
would have come, Celtchai son of Uthechar?" "No more is it likely that it
was he. A shame it would be to make light of him in his absence, him the
battle-stone for the foes of the province, the head of all the retainers
and the gate-of-battle of Ulster. And even should there be against him in
one place and one mass and one march and one camp, and on one and the same
hill all the men of Erin from the west to the east, from the south to the
north, battle he would give them, before him they would break and it is not
he that would be routed."
"I ask, then: Who would be like to have come to us?" [2]asked Ailill.[2]
[3]"I know not," Fergus replied,[3] "unless it be the little lad, my
nursling and Conchobar's. Cuchulain ('the Wolf-dog of Culann the Smith')
he is called. [4]He is the one who could have done the deed," answered
Fergus. "He it is who could have lopped the tree with one blow from its
root, could have killed the four with the quickness wherewith they were
killed and could have come to the border with his charioteer."[4]
[2-2] Stowe.
[3-3] Stowe.
[4-4] LU. and YBL. 337-340.