BOOK VI

Now, there was in the tent with them that night, Amidst the warriors and the noble chiefs, A warrior of the men of Domnann, namely, Faerdeeah son of Daman son of Dawra, A young, choice warrior of the men of Domnann, From Irrus Domnann in the far-off west; And while all quaffed still in that kingly tent Beside Ath Gowla, and discoursed and wondered, Wondering at those boy-deeds, Faerdeeah said: “O King and Queen,” he said, “I, if ye will, Will tell you all the tale and history How that Cucullin was trained up to arms And wondrous deeds and feats of warlike skill By Scawtha in the East; for I can tell it, Having been there with him myself; and that Which I saw not myself my dear companion, Cucullin, hath narrated to me. Truly, If ye shall hear this tale, when ye have heard it, Ye will no longer wonder at yon deed, Namely, his coming to this boundary, And setting yon pronged pole into the mere, And slaying those who ever went before you In every war and hosting.” Al-yill said: “Good, O Faerdeeah, tell us, then, that tale.” Whereon Faerdeeah told his tale in order, And in progression, and with oratory And choice and learned words. O men (said he) Ye have heard tell of the restraint and rule And excellent lordship found in Avvin Maha Under the admirable, able king, Conor the son of Fahtna, in whose time Concord and quietness and peaceful pleasure, With plenteous yield from forest, field, and ocean, Have stayed with the Ultonians. Ye have heard Of the great dignity and rank and plenty In the king’s house in Avvin. That king’s house, The long Creev Roe of Conor, was designed After the likeness of the Meadhall House In Tara. Nine score feet and fifteen feet Its length from door to door; and it is built Of fitted planks of rich, red yew, and roofed With planks of yew thatched o’er with lapping shingles. Inside the house from fire-hearth unto wall There are nine imdas; and of these each pillar Of bronze has thrice ten feet in height, and each Partition is of rich, red boards of yew. Within the chief place in that house is placed The imda of Conor; and round about it stand Pillars of bronze with silvern capitals; And on each capital a bird of gold Perches; and flashing gems of carbuncle They are which serve for the birds’ eyes; and so These flash that in that house the day and night Seem of like brightness. A tall, narrow band Of silver reaches from above the king Up toward the roof-tree of the kingly house And what time Conor with his royal wand Strikes the resounding silver, all the men Of Ulster become silent, so that even A needle falling on the vast house-floor Is heard, because of the great hush and silence Wherein men are through reverence for him. Ranged About this imda are the twelve tall imdas Of the twelve chariot-chiefs of Ulster. Yea, And all the valiant warriors of the land Of Ulster find a place in the Creev Roe At feasting. Many noble gatherings And many wonderful and varied pastimes Are there; and nightly, when the twilight falls, The I-arn Gool, that wondrous cask, is filled With heart-enlivening wine. One hundred brewings: That is the measure that is poured at eve Into the Gool: that is the goodly measure Which satisfies the Ulster men assembled At the one time. And when the night descends, And the tall, kingly candle of the house Is lighted, then from door to door are stretched Long ropes on which the chariot-chiefs of Ulster Perform with skill. Three other feats of skill Those chiefs perform as well:—the apple-feat, The sword-edge feat, the dart-feat. Well ye know The names of those renownéd chariot-chiefs, As Conall Carna son of Avver-guin, And Laery the Victorious son of Connud, And mighty Keltar son of Oo-hider; But, in the happiest time, the Sons of Usna, Since slain, were there; and Fergus son of Roy Was there, the noblest chief of all; and there Were Duffa Dael and Cormac son of Conor. They three are absent now; but Avvin yet Is wonderful and splendid. So at night The chariot-chiefs perform their feats of skill In the great house; and, as the night goes on, The folk of music and of art and verse Arise and sound their stringed melodious harps And their bright timpans; and they chant aloud The boughs of genealogy and boughs Of Ulster kinship; and they sing their songs Of skilful harmony, until sweet sleep Falls on the hosts, and all the house is still. Now, when Cucullin had fulfilled from birth His fifteen years, in feats and in swift skill He went beyond all others of his time; And greatly did the Ulster women love him For his swift skill and for his nimble leap, For his sweet utterance, and for the beauty Of his fresh face, and for his ardent looks, And for his wisdom. Many were his gifts; For—saving when his battle-rage flamed high— He had the gift of wisdom and of reason: He had a wondrous gift for feats of skill: He had a gift for booanbac and feehill: He had the gift of estimating numbers: He had the druid’s gift of prophecy: He had the gift of shape in face and form. Three faults alone he had. He was too young; And older warriors hailing from strange lands Would taunt him for his ungrown beard. Besides, He was too daring and too beautiful. The men of Ulster then deliberated About Cucullin; for they held in mind Great Cathbad’s prophecy; and they were troubled, Being in great fear that their beloved Cucullin Would perish from them early; and they wished To give a wife to him, that he might leave A son. They knew that only from himself Could such another as himself gain life. Thereafter Conor sent nine messengers Into each Fifth of the Five Fifths of Erin, To see whether in any royal doon Or chieftain’s doon in Erin they could find The daughter of a king or of a chieftain Or of a wealthy brewy, whom Cucullin Might choose to woo. The messengers returned, But had not found a maiden whom Cucullin Could choose to woo. Beyond the white-bright Boyne, Beyond the bounds of Ulster, in the plain Of rich Loolohta Loha, nigh the sea, Cucullin knew a maiden whom he loved And chose to woo. And this, indeed, was Emer, A daughter of the wily Forgall Mona, The lordly, wealthy brewy, who is nephew To Tethra, king of the Fomorians. Her Alone, of all the maidens of wide Erin, Cucullin chose to visit and to woo. For she had the six gifts:—the gift of beauty, The gift of a sweet voice, the gift of utterance, The gift of needlework, the gift of wisdom, The gift of chastity. Cucullin said He would woo none but one who should be equal Unto himself in lineage and in age, In beauty and in skill, and who should be The best hand-worker of the maids of Erin. And only Emer, daughter of Forgall Mona, Had this description. Therefore her alone Cucullin chose to woo. In bright array Cucullin travelled south to visit Emer And show to her his beauty. For at first He called unto his own good charioteer, Laeg son of Reeangowra, who was brother To the good charioteer of Conor, namely, To Ivor son of Reeangowra. “Now, My good friend Laeg,” Cucullin said, “bring up My own two steeds. Bring up the Leea Maha, Who rose from out the lake in wild Slieve Foo-id, So that I cast my arms about his neck And wrestled with him, making him my own. Bring up the black Doo Sanglenn, whom I found In that dark lake I named him after. Bring My chariot which no steeds of all the steeds Of Ulster may o’ertake, it being drawn By those two steeds I speak of.” Laeg brought up The steeds, and he prepared the chariot. Then In festive raiment and in bright array Cucullin travelled south to visit Emer And show to her his beauty. On a day In rich Loolohta Loha, Emer came Out on her playing-field, outside the doon; And round her were her foster-sisters, daughters Of lords of land who lived around the doon Of Forgall. On the bench of gatherings Beside the doon these sat; and they were learning Rich needlework and fair, choice handiwork From Emer. As they sat upon the bench, The maidens heard somewhat approaching them. They heard the rapid thuds of hooves of steeds, The creaking of a chariot, the quick cracks Of leathern straps, the grinding of swift wheels, The clang of weapons. Emer spake to them. “Let one of you rise up,” said she, “and see Who is’t that through the land rides towards us so.” Then Feeal daughter of Forgall rose and said: “I see two steeds equal in size and beauty And bounding speed; and they are broad of brow And slender-mouthed, with crispéd manes and tails, And heads uplifted haughtily. The steed Against the chariot’s right pole is dark grey, And he looks fierce and wild. The rock-strewn turf Flames underneath his four hard hooves. A flock Of swift birds follows. While he takes his course Along the track there darts from him a flash Of fiery breath, and bright-red sparkling fire Streams from his curbéd jaws. The second steed Is black as is the dael; and beautiful He looks, as easily he bounds along, Following the levels of the green mid-glen And the cleared river-mead. Behind I see A chariot of fine wood and woven osiers, Whereto are white bronze wheels, and a long pole Of white bright silver set with white findrinny. Its yoke is high, arched, and o’erlaid with gold. The plaited reins are yellow. The hind poles Are straight as are two daggers. On the seat Sits a fresh, ardent youth, most beautiful Of all the youths of Erin. Round him falls A crimson and five-folded fooan, held By a gold, graven brooch, against the which His white breast heaves, beating full strokes. The layna He wears is white, and has a pure, white hood All interwoven red with flaming gold. Two blue-white, blood-red cheeks breathe fire and flame. Darker than is a winter night is each Of his two eyebrows. Underneath them flash Seven red dragon-gems within the midst Of each of his two eyes. I think, indeed, A ray of love burns in his look. A sword, Long and gold-hilted, rests on his two thighs. His spear is bound fast to the chariot-frame. Upon his shoulders hangs his crimson shield, All silver-rimmed and decked with beasts of gold. And now he leaps the hero’s salmon-leap; And many other wondrous feats he shows, That chariot-chief of the distinguished chariot. In front of him there is a charioteer, A man tall, stooping, slender, freckled greatly, With very curly, gold-red hair confined About his brow by a findrinny circlet, And at his neck by cups of shining gold. He wears a small, short cloak with openings At his two elbows. In his hand he bears A red-gold rod for ruling of the steeds.” Thus Feeal daughter of Forgall spake. Ere long Cucullin came upon the playing-field Wherein the maidens were. He greeted them; And Emer lifted up her sweet, fair face, And recognized Cucullin. Then she said: “May Dess make smooth thy travelling-way before thee.” He answered: “May all here be safe from harm!” “Whence hast thou come?” she asked. And he replied, Speaking in learnéd language: “I have come From the resounding, smooth-bright City of Twins.” “Where did you sleep?” she asked. “We slept,” he said, “Within the house of him who tends the kine Of the green plain of Tethra.” “In that house What was your food?” she asked. He answered her: “The Ruining of a Chariot there was cooked To be our food.” “And what way did ye come?” She asked. “Betwixt two Hard ones of the Forest,” He said. “By which way did ye travel then?” She further asked. He said. “Not hard to tell; Athwart the thick-green Covering-Veil of Sea, O’er the Great Secret of the men of Deea, Across the Foam of the Two Steeds of Avvin, Across the Garden of the Red More-reega, Over the back of the Great Sow, and down The Glen of Dam, and down the trodden road Between the God and his great Druid-Seer; Then o’er the Marrow of the Woman Fedelm, Between the Boar and his own Dam; and then Over the Washing of the Steeds of Deea, Between the King of Ahna and his Servant, O’er the four-cornered Manncool, o’er Great Crime; And, lastly, o’er the Remnants of the Banquet, Unto these fields of Loo the son of Ethlenn, Namely, Loolotha Loha. Here I greet The daughters of the nephew of great Tethra, The king of the Fomorians.—And for thee, O maiden, what is the account of thee?” Cucullin asked. “It is not hard to tell,” The maiden said, “for I am called indeed The high and well-walled Tara among women; The unattainable, fair, glittering star Of chastity; the secret jewelled worm, Deep in a well; the flame of fire; the road Which none may enter.—For around me here Are champions and strong men that follow me, Guarding me always that I be not taken Without their knowledge, or great Forgall’s will.” “Who are the champions who thus follow thee, O maiden?” said Cucullin. Emer said: “Two Looees, and three Looaths, and Lath Gobla The son of Tethra; Tuath and Trescath too; Brian and Balor; Bas the son of Omna; Eight Connlas; and my brother Conn the son Of Forgall. Every separate man of them Has in himself the vigour of one hundred, Besides the feats of nine. Forgall alone Is such that it were hard indeed to tell His many powers. He is stronger far Than any bondman; and more learned far Than any druid; of more sharp perception Than any poet. More than all the feats Of skill that thou mayst own would not suffice For fighting against Forgall. Great the deeds Of valour that have been narrated of him.” “Why dost thou not account me as the match Of these strong men, O maiden?” said Cucullin. “Why should I not account thee so,” said Emer, “If deeds like theirs have been recounted of thee?” “Maiden, I swear,” Cucullin said, “my deeds Shall be recounted amidst glorious deeds Of battle-heroes.” “What then, is thy strength?” The maiden asked. “It is not hard to tell,” He said; “when I am weak in fight, I fend For twenty; and the third part of my strength Suffices thirty. I alone give combat To forty; and the mention of my name Protects one hundred. Fords and battle-fields Are shunned for dread of me; and multitudes And hosts of arméd men flee far away Through terror of my look and face alone.” “Those are good fights for a young, tender lad,” The maiden said; “but thou hast not as yet Attained the strength of chariot-chiefs.” “O maiden,” Cucullin said, “if I have so attained, It is not strange; for not as a churl rears His child between the flagstone and the hearth Have I been reared by my kind guardian, Conor. I have been reared among the learnéd men, Among the druids and among the poets, Among the chieftains and the battle-champions, Among the jesters, harpers, and musicians, Among the brewies and rich lords of land, Of our dear realm of Ulster; and by them I have been given their manners and their gifts.” “Who, then, have brought thee up to all these deeds Whereof thou vauntest?” Emer said. He answered: “It is not hard to tell. Sweet-worded Shenca Has taught me, so that I am wise in judgment And not forgetful. Blai, the lord of lands Of Tara in the Ards of Ulster, took me Because of the close kinship of his race: So that I got my due of wealth with him, And learnt the way to entertain the men Of Ulster, for the week of entertainment, Together with their king, red-sworded Conor; And for that week to settle all their gifts And spoils, and aid them in each fine and eric, And in their honour. While I yet was small, And ere through woful cause he left our land, The noble Fergus fostered me. From him I learnt to slay great warriors through the strength Of valour: yea, by valour and by prowess I guard our border against foreign foes— Being a bush of shelter to the poor, And a protecting rampart to the wealthy. I comfort each poor wight, and slay the strong, All through the kindly fosterage of Fergus. Then to the knee of Avver-guin I came, The skilful poet and father of Conall Carna, So that I learnt the way to praise a king For any excellency that he has; And the sweet Finncaem, mother of Conall Carna, Cared for me kindly, that victorious Conall Might thus become my foster-brother. Cathbad, The good, renownéd druid, taught me then, For the dear sake of Dectora, my mother— Making me skilful in druidic arts, And learnéd in the excellence of knowledge. Yea, all the men of Ulster equally Have brought me up, both kings and kingly poets, Both chariot-chiefs and their good charioteers; So that I am the loved one of the host And multitude; and for them all I fight, And for the honour of them all. Moreover, O maiden, one amongst the bright Immortals, Namely, great Loo, long-handed son of Ethlenn, Hath noticed me; and there will come a day When he will help me. So, for thee, O maiden,” Cucullin asked, “say how hast thou been reared Here in Loolohta Loha?” Emer said: “It is not hard to tell. I have been reared In antique virtues and in fine behaviour, In noble manners, in a queenly carriage, In truth, in courtesy, in chastity; So that to me there is attributed Each noble quality which men may find Amongst the hosts of women.” He replied: “Good are these virtues verily. Why, then, O maiden, should it not be right and fit For us two to be one? I never yet Have found a maiden able to converse In this wise at a meeting.” Emer said: “A question first. Hast thou a wife?” “Not so,” Cucullin answered. Emer spake again, And said: “This thing would not become me well, I thus to go unto a man, ere goes My elder sister Feeal daughter of Forgall, Whom thou seest near me here. She is distinguished For wondrous handiwork.” “Nay,” said Cucullin, “It is not she whom I have loved.” Just then Cucullin saw the two breasts of the maiden Athwart her layna’s opening. Then he said: “Fair is this plain, the Plain of the Noble Yoke.” And Emer, understanding, answered him: “None comes unto this plain but him who slays As many as one hundred at each ford Between the Ford of Skenn-menn at Ollbinny And Banquin Airked where the swift Brae breaks The brow of Fedelm, fleeing wife of Nahtan.” “Fair is this plain, the Plain of the Noble Yoke,” Cucullin said; and Emer answered him: “None comes unto this plain but him who slays Thrice nine men at one blow, and with such skill As to save one man ’midst each nine of them.” “Fair is this plain, the Plain of the Noble Yoke,” Cucullin said; and Emer answered him: “None comes unto this plain but him who slays Benn Sooan son of Rossmelc, from the end Of summer till the opening of the spring, And from the opening spring until May-day, And from May-day until full winter falls.” Cucullin said: “’Tis said. It shall be done.” “It is accepted,” Emer said. And so Those two were plighted. When those noble words Had thus been said, Cucullin moved from her, Holding no longer converse. O’er Moy Bray He rode to northward. Silently he rode Awhile, but in a while his charioteer, Namely, good Laeg, aweary of the silence, Said to him: “Good, now, Cucuc, those strange words And unknown names the which I heard thee use—Thee and the maiden as ye talked together— What did ye mean to say by them?” Cucullin Replied: “Dost thou not know, good Master Laeg, How that I woo that maiden? We concealed The sense of our discourse, enfolding it In learnéd terms of scholars and of poets, That her companions who were round her there Might not have understanding of it. Forgall, Were he aware I wooed her, would prevent Our meeting thus for converse.” Then Cucullin Began at the beginning of that talk Which he had held with Emer. He explained Its terms to Laeg, who listened. So with tales And antique lore he shortened and made joyful The tedious way; and ever north they travelled. “Well, first of all,” said he, “I said I came From the resounding, smooth-bright City of Twins. That is great Avvin Maha. Well thou knowest The story of Maha, wave-swift wife of Crunniuc, Who raced the steeds of the High-king of Ulster, And at the goal bore twins, from whom men named The city raised there. Next, I said we slept Within the house of him who tends the kine Of the Green Plain of Tethra. That is Roncu, King Conor’s fisherman. He with his line Catches his fish; and poets call the fishes The kine of the green sea. “The Plain of Tethra,” That is the sea; for Tethra is a king Above the fierce Fomorians who range The seas in search of plunder. Guileful Forgall Is sister’s son to him. We ate, I said, The Ruining of a Chariot. Now, thereby, I meant that little foal which in that house Was killed and cooked for us. Thou dost remember How for three nomads there we were detained, Having partaken of it. For ’tis gass On every chariot that a man should mount it For three whole nomads, when he hath partaken Of flesh of steeds; because the steed it is Which doth bear up the chariot. After that, I said, betwixt two Hard Ones of the Forest We came: I meant Slieve Gullion and Slieve Foo-id. We came through Orkill, the dark wood which fills The space between them. Then, I said, we rode Athwart the thick-green Covering-Veil of Sea; That is green Moy Mweerhevna, where we passed My own dear doon, Doon Dalgan. In old days A dark enchanted sea covered that plain— A sea so dense that warriors dressed in arms Might rest upon its billows—till the Dagda, Distinguished God o’er the fruit-bearing earth, Arriving with his Club of Storm and Tempest, Conjured it; and it dried and left the plain For the sweet grass to grow on. Then, I said, We passed the Secret of the Men of Deea; And that is Grellah Dollud. On that moor In old, old days—ere came the Sons of Mil— The Thoo-aha Dae Danann, Men of Deea, Assembled secretly; and there they planned That battle of Moy Twirra, where at last They freed themselves from the hard rent and tribute, That the Fomorians, the strong Ocean-rangers, Exacted from them year by year. Good, then, Over the Foam of the two Steeds of Avvin, I said: I meant the river Oo-anub, The Foaming One. Within the hollow Mound Of Ercmon, by the Thoo-aha Dae Danann, Two steeds were reared—reared for a famous king Then ruling in great Avvin. When the steeds Were freed from out the mound, a glorious stream Broke after them; and it was white with foam; And foam o’erspread the country. Thence is named White Oo-anub, that water which we forded. Across the Garden of the Red More-reega, We came, I said; and that is Oughter Netmon. The Dagda gave that height to the More-reega, To the great horror-breathing Queen, the quaffer Of men’s red blood, inciter by her cries To furious, blood-red battle. In that place She made her herb-field, and there dwelt. Well, then, Over the Back of the Great Sow we climbed, I said: I meant Drum Bray; for when from Spain Our ancestors, the noble sons of Mil, Arrived against these shores, on every hill And every ridge the Thoo-aha Dae Danann, By powerful spells, impressed the loathly shape Of a long-sided sow. So by their spells, Breeding dislike and dread, they hoped to drive The sons of Mil from off their shores. And then, Down through the Glen of Dam—that is Glen Bray— I said we came; and down the trodden road Between the God and his great Druid-seer. The God I meant is Angus Ōg, bright son Of the great Dagda; and his habitation Is, as thou knowest, in his lordly Broo, Beside the white-bright Boyne. West of the Broo One sees the Shee of Brassil, who is Druid And Seer to Angus; and the great South Road Passes between the two. And now we crossed, I said, the Marrow of the Woman Fedelm: That is the reach of the bright river Boyne Betwixt the river Thromma and the Inver, Where the Boyne mingles with the sea. And then— But now (Faerdeeah said), to tell the tale Of all those names upon the river Boyne, Which then Cucullin told; and all the tales He told besides of famous forts and doons South of the Boyne; and the long tale he told Of beautiful, sweet women who abide On a large plain beneath the sea and give Gold urns to those who visit them,—to tell These at this time would surely weary you. Laeg asked Cucullin: “Those strange, darksome words The maiden spake at parting, what were they?” Cucullin answered: “When I said to her, ‘Fair is this plain, the Plain of the Noble Yoke,’ ’Twas not Moy Bray, good Laeg, that thus I praised. It was the maiden’s shape. I saw the yoke Of her two breasts athwart the opening Of her fair layna; and of them I spoke Those words; and when she answered me, she meant She is so strictly guarded that no man May come unto that plain, but him who slays As many as one hundred at each ford Between Ollbinni and the Boyne. No man May come unto that Plain but him who leaps The hero’s salmon-leap o’er the three ramparts That fortify the doon; and who—that done— Meets her three brothers, Ibbur, Skibbur, and Catt, And slays the eight each brother has with him; But in such wise that not a blow may reach Or hurt those brothers. Finally, she said, In way of prophecy, that I shall fight Incessantly and all alone against Great odds, from Sowin unto Balt-thana, Ere I shall find my time to pass the Boyne And journey south to win her. So good Laeg, Thou seest now all that I must needs perform Ere I can wed the maid.” Cucullin so Went driving on his way. In Avvin Maha, His cheerful travelling done, he slept that night.