had gone against him thrice from the north. Then he addressed his
bodyguard, even the inner circle of the Red Branch: "Hold ye here a while,
ye men!" cried he; "even in the line [4]of battle[4] where I am, that I may
go and learn by whom the battle has been thus forced against us thrice from
the north." Then said his household: "We will hold out," said they, [5]"in
the place wherein we are:[5] [W.5974.] for the sky is above us and the
earth underneath and the sea round about us, [1]and[1] unless the heavens
shall fall with their showers of stars on the man-face of the world, or
unless the furrowed, blue-bordered ocean break o'er the tufted brow of the
earth, or unless the ground yawns open, will we not move a thumb's breadth
backward from here till the very day of doom and of everlasting life, till
thou come back to us!"
[4-4] Stowe.
[5-5] YBL. 52a, 14.
[1-1] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
Conchobar went his way to the place where he heard the battle had gone
three times [LL.fo.102b.] against him from the north. [2]Then Conchobar
made a rush at Fergus,[2] and he lifted shield against shield there, namely
against Fergus mac Roig, even Ochain ('the Fair-ear')[a] of Conchobar with
its four ears of gold and its four bracings of red gold. Therewith Fergus
gave three stout blows of Badb on the Ochain of Conchobar, so that
Conchobar's shield cried aloud on him [3]and the three chief waves of Erin
gave answer, the Wave of Clidna, the Wave of Rudraige and the Wave of Tuag,
to wit.[3] Whenever Conchobar's shield cried out, the shields of all the
Ulstermen cried out. However great the strength and power with which Fergus
smote Conchobar on the shield, so great also was the might and valour
wherewith Conchobar held the shield, so that the ear of the shield did not
even touch the ear of Conchobar.
[2-2] YBL. 52a, 16-17.
[a] The name of Conchobar's shield.
[3-3] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
"Hearken, ye men [4]of Erin!"[4] cried Fergus; "who opposes a shield to me
to-day on this day of battle when four of the five grand provinces of Erin
come together on Garech and Ilgarech in the battle of the Cattle-raid
of Cualnge?" "Why, then, a gilla that is younger and mightier [5]and
comelier[5] than thyself is here," [6]Conchobar answered,[6] "and whose
mother and father were [W.5995.] better! The man that hath driven thee out
of thy borders, thy land and thine inheritance; the man that hath driven
thee into the lairs of the deer and the wild hare and the foxes; the man
that hath not granted thee to take the breadth [1]of thy foot[1] of thine
own domain or land; the man that hath made thee dependent upon the bounty
of a woman; the man that of a time disgraced thee by slaying the [2]three
bright lights of the valour of the Gael,[2] the three sons of Usnech that
were under thy safeguard [3]and protection;[3] the man that will repel thee
this day in the presence of the men of Erin; Conchobar son of Fachtna
Fathach son of Ross Ruad son of Rudraige, High King of Ulster and son of
the High King of Erin; [4]and though any one should insult thee, there is
no satisfaction nor reparation for thee, for thou art in the service of a
woman!"[4]
[4-4] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[5-5] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[6-6] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[1-1] Stowe and H. 1. 13.
[2-2] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[3-3] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[4-4] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
"Truly hath this happened to me." Fergus responded. And Fergus placed his
two hands on Calad Colg ('Hardblade'), and he heaved a blow with it
backwards behind him, so that its point touched the ground, and he thought
to strike his three fateful blows of Badb on the men of Ulster, so that
their dead would be more in number than their living. Cormac Conlongas son
of Conchobar saw that and he rushed to [5]his foster-father, namely to[5]
Fergus, and he closed his two [6]royal hands[6] over him [7]outside his
armour.[7] [8]"Ungentle, not heedful is this, Fergus my master! Full of
hate, not of friendship is this,[8] O Fergus my master! Let not the
Ulstermen be slain and destroyed by thee through thy destructive blows, but
take thou thought for their honour to-day on this day of battle!"
[W.6013.] "Get thee away from me, boy! [1]Whom then should I strike?"[1]
exclaimed Fergus; "for I will not remain alive unless I deliver my three
fateful strokes of Badb on the men of Ulster this day, till their dead be
more in number than their living." "Then turn thy hand slantwise," said
Cormac Conlongas, "and slice off the hill-tops over the heads of the hosts
[2]on every side[2] and this will be an appeasing of thine anger." "Tell
Conchobar also to fall [3]back again[3] to his place in the battle,"
[4]said Fergus; "and I will no longer belabour the hosts."[4] [5]Cormac
told this to Conchobar:[5] [6]"Go to the other side, O Conchobar," said
Cormac to his father, "and this man will not visit his anger any longer
here on the men of Ulster."[6] So Conchobar went to his place in the
battle. [7]In this manner Fergus and Conchobar parted.[7]
[5-5] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[6-6] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[7-7] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[8-8] Following Windisch's emendation of the text. The MSS. are corrupt
here.
[1-1] YBL. 52a, 35.
[2-2] YBL. 52a, 36.
[3-3] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[4-4] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[5-5] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[6-6] YBL. 52a, 39-41.
[7-7] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[8]Fergus turned away. He slew a hundred warriors of Ulster in the first
onslaught with the sword. He met Conall Cernach. "Too great is this rage,"
said Conall, "upon people and kindred because of the whim of a wanton."
"What would ye have me do, ye warriors?" asked Fergus. "Smite the hills
crosswise and the bushes around," Conall Cernach made answer.[8]
[8-8] YBL. 52a, 41-47.
Thus it was with that sword, which was the sword of Fergus: The sword of
Fergus, the sword of Letè from Faery: Whenever he desired to strike with
it, it became the size of a rainbow in the air. Thereupon Fergus turned his
hand slantwise over the heads of the hosts, so that he smote the three tops
of the three hills, so that they are still on the moor in sight of [9]the
men of Erin.[9] And these are the three Maels ('the Balds') of Meath in
that place, [1]which Fergus smote as a reproach and a rebuke to the men of
Ulster.[1]
[9-9] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[1-1] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[W.6027.] Now as regards Cuchulain. He heard the Ochain of Conchobar
smitten by Fergus macRoig. "Come, O Laeg my master," cried Cuchulain: "who
dares thus smite [2]with those strong blows, mighty and far-away,[2] the
Ochain of Conchobar my master, and I alive?" [3]Then Laeg made answer,
saying: "The choice of men, Fergus macRoig, the very bold, smites it:--[3]
"Blood he sheds--increase of slaughter--
Splendid the hero, Fergus macRoig!
Hidden had lain Fairyland's chariot-sword!
Battle now hath reached the shield,
Shield of my master Conchobar!"
[2-2] YBL. 52a, 52.
[3-3] YBL. 52b, 1-2.
[4]"How far have the hosts advanced, O Laeg?" Cuchulain asked. "They have
come to Garech," Laeg answered. "I give my word for that," Cuchulain cried;
"they will not come as far as Ilgarech, if I catch up with them! [4]Quickly
unloose the bands, gilla!" cried Cuchulain. [5]"Blood covers men. Feats of
swords shall be done. Men shall be spent therefrom!"[5]
[4-4] Stowe.
[5-5] YBL. 52b, 7-8.
[6]Since Cuchulain's going into battle had been prevented, his twisting fit
came upon him, and seven and twenty skin tunics were given to him that used
to be about him under strings and cords when going into battle.[6]
[LL.fo.103a.] Then Cuchulain gave a mighty spring, so that the bindings of
his wounds flew from him to Mag Tuag ('the Plain of the Bows') in Connacht.
His bracings went from him to Bacca ('the Props') in Corcomruad [7]in the
district of Boirenn,[7] [8]His supports sprang from him to [9]Rath[9] Cinn
Bara ('the Rath of Spithead') in Ulster, and likewise his pins flew from
him to Rath Clo ('the Rath of the Nails') in the land of the tribe of
Conall.[8] The dry wisps that were stuffed in his wounds rose to the roof
[W.6040.] of the air and the sky as highest larks fly on a day of sunshine
when there is no wind. Thereupon, his bloody wounds got the better of him,
so that the ditches and furrows of the earth were full of streams of blood
and torrents of gore.
[6-6] YBL. 52b, 17-20.
[7-7] Stowe and Add.
[8-8] Stowe.
[9-9] Add. and H. 1. 13.
[1]Some of the narrators aver that it was the strength of the warrior and
champion that hurled these things [2]to the aforementioned places;[2] but
it was not that, but his powerful friends, the fairy-folk, that brought
them thither, to the end to make famous his history, so that from them
these places are named.[1]
[1-1] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[2-2] Add.
This was the first exploit of valour that Cuchulain performed on rising
[3]out of his weakness:[3] The two women lampoonists that made a feint of
weeping and wailing [4]over his head,[4] Fethan and Collach to wit, he
smote each of them against the head of the other, so that he[a] was red
with their blood and grey with their brains. [5]These women had come from
Medb to raise a pretended lamentation over him, to the end that his bloody
wounds might burst forth on him, and to tell him that the men of Ulster had
met with defeat and that Fergus had fallen in meeting the battle.[5] His
arms had not been left near him, except his chariot only. And he took his
chariot on his back [6]with its frame and its two axle-trees,[6] and he set
out to attack the men of Erin, and he smote them with the chariot, until he
reached the place where Fergus macRoig was. "Turn hither, O Fergus my
master!" he cried. Fergus did not answer, for he heard not. He spoke again,
"Turn hither, [7]turn hither,[7] O Fergus my master!" he cried; "and if
thou turn not, [8]I swear to god what the Ulstermen swear,[8] I [W.6052.]
will grind thee as a mill grinds fresh grain; I will wash thee as a cup is
washed in a tub; I will bind thee as the woodbine binds the trees; I will
pounce on thee as hawk pounces on fledglings; [1]I will go over thee as its
tail goes over a cat;[1] [2]I will pierce thee as a tool bores through a
tree-trunk; I will pound thee as a fish is pounded on the sand!"[2] "Truly
this is my lot!" spake Fergus. "Who [3]of the men of Erin[3] dares to
address these stiff, vengeful words to me, where now the four grand
provinces of Erin are met on Garech and Ilgarech in the battle of the Raid
for the Kine of Cualnge?" "Thy fosterling is before thee," he replied, "and
fosterling of the men of Ulster and of Conchobar as well, Cuchulain son of
Sualtaim [4]and sister's son to Conchobar," replied Cuchalain.[4] "And thou
didst promise to flee before me what time I should be wounded, in pools of
gore and riddled in the battle of the Táin.[a] For, [5]when thou hadst not
thy sword with thee,[5] I did flee before thee in thine own combat on the
Táin; [6]and do thou avoid me," said he. "Even that did I promise," Fergus
answered. "Away with thee, then!" cried Cuchulain. "'Tis well," replied
Fergus; "thou didst avoid me; now thou art pierced with wounds."[6]
[3-3] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[4-4] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[a] 'The ground,' Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.; 'so that each of them was
grey with the brains of the other,' YBL. 52b, 13-14.
[5-5] YBL. 52b, 14-17.
[6-6] YBL. 52b, 21.
[7-7] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[8-8] YBL. 52b, 24.
[1-1] YBL. 52b, 24-25.
[2-2] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[3-3] YBL. 52b, 27.
[4-4] YBL. 52b, 28.
[a] See page 207.
[5-5] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[6-6] YBL. 52b, 29-33.
Fergus gave ear to that word of Cuchulain, and he turned and made his three
great strides of a hero [7]back from Cuchulain and turned in flight from
him.[7] And as he turned [8]with his company of three thousand warriors and
the Leinstermen following after Fergus--for it is under Fergus' warrant
they had come[8]--[9]and the men of Munster,[9] there turned all the men of
Erin.
[7-7] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[8-8] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[9-9] YBL. 52b, 33.
[W.6065.] [1]Then[1] the men of Erin broke their ranks westwards over the
hill. The battle raged around the men of Connacht, [2]around Ailill and his
division and around Medb with hers and around the Manè with theirs and the
mac Magach with theirs.[2] At midday Cuchulain came to the battle. At the
time of sunset at the ninth hour [3]as the sun entered the tresses of the
wood,[3] [4]when man and tree were no more to be known apart, Medb and[4]
the last company of the men of Connacht fled in rout westwards over the
hill.
[1-1] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[2-2] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[3-3] YBL. 52b, 36.
[4-4] H. 1. 13 and Add.
At that time there did not remain in Cuchulain's hand of the chariot but a
handful of its spokes around the wheel, and a handbreadth of its poles
around the shell, with the slaying and slaughtering of the four grand
provinces of Erin during all that time.
Then Medb betook her to a shield-shelter in the rear of the men of Erin.
Thereafter Medb sent off the Brown Bull of Cualnge along with fifty of his
heifers and eight of her runners with him around to Cruachan, to the end
that whoso might and whoso might not escape, the Brown Bull of Cualnge
should get away safely, even as she had promised.
Then it was that the issue of blood came upon Medb, [5]and she said: "Do
thou, Fergus, undertake[5] a shield-shelter in the rear of the men of Erin
till I let my water flow from me." "By my troth," replied Fergus, "'tis an
ill hour for thee to be taken so." "Howbeit there is no help for me," Medb
answered; "for I shall not live if I do not void water!" Fergus accordingly
came and raised a shield-shelter in the rear of the men of Erin. Medb
voided her water, so that it made three large dikes, so that a mill[a]
could find room in each dike. Hence the place is known as Fual Medbha
('Medb's Water').
[5-5] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[a] It is not uncommon in folk-tales that lakes, rivers, etc. arose
from the micturition of a giant or fairy. Reading with Add.
[W.6085.] Cuchulain came upon her as she was thus engaged, [1]on his way to
the battle,[1] and he did not attack her. He would not strike her a blow
from behind. [2]He spared her then because it was not his wont to slay
women.[2] [3]"Spare me!" cried Medb. "If I should slay thee, it were just
for me," Cuchulain answered.[3] [4]"Arise from hence," said he; "for I deem
it no honour to wound thee from behind with my weapons."[4] "I crave a boon
of thee this day, O Cuchulain," spake Medb. "What boon cravest thou [5]of
me?"[5] asked Cuchulain. "That this host be under thine honour and thy
protection till they pass westwards over Ath Mor ('the Great Ford')."
[LL.fo.103b.] "Yea, I promise that," said Cuchulain. [6]Then[6] went
Cuchulain around the men of Erin, and he undertook a shield-defence on one
side of them, in order to protect the men of Erin. On the other side went
the governors of the men of Erin. Medb went to her own place and assumed a
shield-defence in the rear of the men of Erin, and in this manner they
convoyed the men of Erin over Ath Mor westwards.
[1-1] YBL. 52b, 41.
[2-2] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[3-3] YBL. 52b, 41-42.
[4-4] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[5-5] H. 1. 13.
[6-6] H. 1. 13. and Add.
[7]Then Laeg [8]son of Riangabair[8] brought Cuchulain's sword unto him,
[9]the 'Hard-headed Steeling' to wit,[9] and Cuchulain took the sword in
his hand.[7] Then he [10]stood still and[10] gave a blow to the three
bald-topped hills of Ath Luain over against the three Maela ('the Bald
Tops') of Meath, so that he struck their three heads off them. [11]And they
are in the bog as a witness ever since. Hence these are the Maolain ('the
Flat Tops') of Ath Luain. Cuchulain cut them off as a reproach and affront
to the men of Connacht, in order that every time men should speak of
Meath's three Bald Tops, these in the west should be the answer the 'Three
Flat Tops of Ath Luain.'[11]
[7-7] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[8-8] Add.
[9-9] YBL. 52b, 43.
[10-10] YBL. 52b. 45.
[11-11] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[W.6099.] Then [1]when the battle had been lost,[1] Fergus [2]began to
view[2] the host as it went westwards of Ath Mor. "It was thus indeed it
behoved this day to prove, for following in the lead of a woman," [3]said
Fergus.[3] "Faults and feuds have met here to-day," [4]said Medb[4] to
Fergus. "Betrayed and sold is this host to-day," [5]Fergus answered.[5]
"And even as a brood-mare leads her foals into a land unknown, without a
head to advise or give counsel before them, such is the plight of this host
to-day [6]in the train of a woman that hath ill counselled them."[6]
[1-1] YBL. 52b, 47-48.
[2-2] Reading with H. 1. 13.
[3-3] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[4-4] YBL. 52b, 48.
[5-5] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[6-6] YBL. 52b, 52.
[7]Then Cuchulain turned to where Conchobar was with the nobles of Ulster
before him. Conchobar bewailed and lamented Cuchulain, and then he uttered
this lay:--
"How is this, O Cualnge's Hound,
Hero of the Red Branch, thou:
Great woe, champion, hast thou borne,
Battling in thy land's defence!
"Every morn a hundred slain,
Every eve a hundred more,
While the host purveyed thy fare,
Feeding thee with cooling food!
"Five-score heroes of the hosts,
These I reckon are in graves.
While their women--fair their hue--
Spend the night bewailing them!"[7]
[7-7] H. 1. 13.
* * * * *
[Page 363]
XXVIII
[1]THE BATTLE OF THE BULLS[1]
[W.6121.] As regards Medb, it is related here: [2]She suffered not the
hosts to disperse forthwith,[2] but she gathered the men of Erin and led
them forth to Cruachan to behold the battle of the bulls [3]and in what
manner they would part from one another. For during the while the battle
was being fought, the Brown Bull of Cualnge with fifty heifers in his
company had been brought to Cruachan.[3]
[1-1] YBL. 41a, 8.
[2-2] H. 1. 13.
[3-3] H. 1. 13 and Add.
As regards the Brown Bull of Cualnge, it is now recounted in this place:
When he saw the beautiful, strange land, he sent forth his three bellowing
calls aloud. And Finnbennach Ai ('the Whitehorned of Ai') heard him. Now no
male beast durst [4]send forth[4] a low that was louder than a moo in
compare with him within the four fords of all Ai, Ath Moga and Ath Coltna,
Ath Slissen and Ath Bercha. And [5]the Whitehorned[5] lifted his head with
fierce anger [6]at the bellowing of the Brown of Cualnge,[6] and he
hastened to Cruachan to look for the Brown Bull of Cualnge.
[4-4] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[5-5] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[6-6] H. 1. 13 and Add.
It was then the men of Erin debated who would be [7]fitted[7] to witness
[8]the fight[8] of the bulls. They all agreed that it should be Bricriu son
of Carbad [9]that were fitted for that office.[9] For, a year before this
tale of the Cualnge Cattle-raid, Bricriu had gone from the one province
into the other to make a request of Fergus. And Fergus had retained
[W.6134.] him with him waiting for his treasures and goods. And a quarrel
arose between him and Fergus at a game of chess.[a] And he spake evil words
to Fergus. Fergus smote him with his fist and with the chess-man that was
in his hand, so that he drave the chess-man into his head and broke a bone
in his head. Whilst the men of Erin were on the foray of the Táin, all that
time Bricriu was being cured at Cruachan. And the day they returned from
the expedition was the day Bricriu rose. [1]He came with the rest to
witness the battle of the bulls.[1] [2]And this is why they selected
Bricriu,[2] for that Bricriu was no fairer to his friend than to his
foe. [3]"Come, ye men of Erin!" cried Bricriu; "permit me to judge the
fight of the bulls,[3] [4]for it is I shall most truly recount their tale
and their deeds afterwards."[4] And he was brought [5]before the men of
Erin[5] to a gap whence to view the bulls.
[7-7] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[8-8] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[9-9] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[a] The story is told in 'The Adventures of Nera,' published in
the _Revue Celtique_, t. x, p. 227.
[1-1] YBL. 53a, 4-5.
[2-2] Stowe.
[3-3] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[4-4] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[5-5] H. 1. 13.
[6]So they drove the Brown Bull the morning of the fight till he met the
Whitehorned at Tarbga in the plain of Ai: or Tarbguba ('Bull-groan'), or
Tarbgleo ('Bull-fight'); Roi Dedond was the first name of that hill. Every
one that had lived through the battle cared for naught else than to see the
combat of the two bulls.[6]
[6-6] YBL. 52b, 52-53a, 3.
Each of the bulls sighted the other and there was a pawing and digging up
of the ground in their frenzy there, and they tossed the earth over
them. They threw up the earth over their withers and shoulders, and their
eyes blazed red [LL.fo.104a.] in their heads like firm balls of fire,
[7]and their sides bent like mighty boars on a hill.[7] Their cheeks and
their nostrils swelled like smith's bellows in a forge. And each of them
gave a resounding, deadly blow to the other. Each of them began to hole and
to gore, to endeavour to slaughter [W.6151.] and demolish the other. Then
the Whitehorned of Ai visited his wrath upon the Brown Bull of Cualnge for
the evil of his ways and his doings, and he drave a horn into his side and
visited his angry rage upon him. Then they directed their headlong course
to where Bricriu was, so that the hoofs of the bulls drove him a man's
cubit deep into the ground after his destruction. Hence, this is the
Tragical Death of Bricriu [1]son of Carbad.[1]
[7-7] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[1-1] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
Cormac Conlongas son of Conchobar saw that, [2]and the force of affection
arose in him,[2] and he laid hold of a spearshaft that filled his grasp,
and gave three blows to the Brown Bull of Cualnge from ear to tail, [3]so
that it broke on his thick hide from ear to rump.[3] "No wonderful, lasting
treasure was this precious prize for us," said Cormac, "that cannot defend
himself against a stirk of his own age!" The Brown Bull of Cualnge
heard this--for he had human understanding[a]--and he turned upon the
Whitehorned. [4]Thereupon the Brown of Cualnge became infuriated, and he
described a very circle of rage around the Whitehorned, and he rushed at
him, so that he broke his lower leg with the shock.[4] And thereafter they
continued to strike at each other for a long while and great space of time,
[5]and so long as the day lasted they watched the contest of the bulls[5]
till night fell on the men of Erin. And when night had fallen, all that the
men of Erin could hear was the bellowing and roaring. That night the bulls
coursed over [6]the greater part of[6] all Erin. [7]For every spot in Erin
wherein is a 'Bulls' Ditch,' or a 'Bulls' Gap,' or a 'Bulls' Fen,' or a
'Bulls' Loch,' or a 'Bulls' Rath,' [8]or a 'Bulls' Back,'[8] it is from
them[7] [9]those places are named.[9]
[2-2] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[3-3] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[a] See note [d], page 28, _supra_.
[4-4] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[5-5] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[6-6] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[7-7] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[8-8] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[9-9] Add.
* * * * *
[Page 366]
XXIX
[1]ACCOUNT OF THE BROWN BULL OF CUALNGE[1]
[2]A journey of a day and a night the Brown Bull carried the remains of the
Whitehorned till he came to the loch that is by Cruachan. And he came
thereout with the loin and the shoulder-blade and the liver of the other on
his horns.[2] [W.6168.] It was not long before the men of Erin, as they
were there [3]in the company of Ailill and Medb[3] early on the morrow, saw
coming over Cruachan from the west the Brown Bull of Cualnge with the
Whitehorned of Ai in torn fragments hanging about his ears and horns. The
men of Erin arose, and they knew not which of the bulls it was. "Come, ye
men!" cried Fergus; "leave him alone if it be the Whitehorned that is
there; and if it be the Brown of Cualnge, leave him his trophy with him!"
[1-1] YBL. 41a, 8.
[2-2] YBL. 53a, 13-16.
[3-3] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[4]Then it was that the [5]seven[5] Manè arose to take vengeance on the
Brown Bull of Cualnge for his violence and his valour. "Whither go yonder
men?" asked Fergus. "They go to kill the Brown of Cualnge," [6]said all,[6]
"because of his evil deeds."[4] "I pledge my word," [7]shouted Fergus:[7]
"what has already been done in regard to the bulls is a small thing in
compare with that which will [W.6179.] now take place, [1]unless with his
spoils and victory ye let the Brown of Cualnge go from you into his own
land."[1]
[4-4] Stowe and Add.
[5-5] Add.
[6-6] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[7-7] H. 1. 13, Stowe and Add.
[1-1] Stowe, H. 1. 13 and Add.
[2]Then the Brown Bull of Cualnge gave forth the three chiefest bellowings
of his throat in boast of his triumph, and fear of Fergus held back the men
of Erin from attacking the Brown Bull of Cualnge.[2]
[2-2] H. 1. 13.
[3]Then[3] went the Brown Bull of Cualnge [4]to the west of Cruachan.[4] He
turned his right[a] side towards Cruachan, and he left there a heap of the
liver [5]of the Whitehorned,[5] so that thence is [6]named[6] Cruachan Ai
('Liver-reeks').
[3-3] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[4-4] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[a] As a sign of friendliness.
[5-5] H. 1. 13 and Add.
[6-6] H. 1. 13 and Add.