The Youthful Exploits Of Cuchulain

"Now this lad was reared in the house of his father and mother at Dairgthech ('the Oak House' (?)), namely, in the plain of Murthemne, and the tales of the youths of Emain were told to him. Forasmuch as in this wise Conchobar passed his reign ever since he, the king, assumed his sovereignty, to wit: As soon as he arose, forthwith in settling the cares and affairs of the province; thereafter, the day he divided in three: first, the first third he spent a-watching the youths play games of skill and of hurling; the next third of the day, a-playing draughts and chess, and the last third a-feasting on meat and a-quaffing ale, till sleep possessed them all, the while minstrels and harpers lulled him to sleep. For all that I am a long time in banishment because of him, I give my word," said Fergus," there is not in Erin nor in Alba a warrior the like of Conchobar."

"And the lad was told the tales of the boys and the boy-troop in Emain; and the child said to his mother, he would go to have part in the games on the play-field of Emain. "It is too soon for thee, little son," said his mother; "wait till there go with thee a champion of the champions of Ulster, or some of the attendants of Conchobar to enjoin thy protection and thy safety on the boy-troop." "I think it too long for that, my mother," the little lad answered," I will not wait for it. But do thou show me what place lies Emain Macha.'' "Northwards, there; it is far away from thee," said his mother," the place wherein it lies, and the way is hard. Sliab Fuait lies between thee and Emain." "At all hazards, I will essay it," he answered.

"The boy fared forth and took his playthings with him. His little lath-shield he took, and his hurley of bronze and his ball of silver; and he took his little javelin for throwing; and his toy-staff he took with its fire-hardened butt-end, and he began to shorten the length of his journey with them. He would give the ball a stroke with the hurl-bat, so that he sent it a long distance from him. Then with a second throw he would cast his hurley so that it went a distance no shorter than the first throw. He would hurl his little darts, and let fly his toy-staff, and make a wild chase after them. Then he would catch up his hurl-bat and pick up the ball and snatch up the dart, and the stock of the toy-staff had not touched the ground when he caught its tip which was in the air.

"He went his way to the mound-seat of Emain, where was the boy-troop. Thrice fifty youths were with Folloman, Conchobar's son, at their games on the fair-green of Emain. "The little lad went on to the play-field into the midst of the boys, and he whipped the ball between his two legs away from them, nor did he suffer it to travel higher up than the top of his knee, nor did he let it lower down than his ankle, and he drove it and held it between his two legs and not one of the boys was able to get a prod nor a stroke nor a blow nor a shot at it, so that he carried it over the brink of the goal away from them.

Then he goes to the youths without binding them to protect him. For no one used to approach them on their play-field without first securing from them a pledge of protection. He was weetless thereof.

"Then they all gazed upon him. They wondered and marvelled. "Come, boys!" cried Folloman, Conchobar's son," the urchin insults us. Throw yourselves all on yon fellow, and his death shall come at my hands; for it is geis among you for any youth to come into your game, without first entrusting his safety to you. And do you all attack him together, for we know that yon wight is some one of the heroes of Ulster; and they shall not make it their wont to break into your sports without first entrusting their safety and protection to you."

"Thereupon they all set upon him together. They cast their thrice fifty hurl-bats at the poll of the boy's head. He raises his single toy-staff and wards off the thrice fifty hurries. Then they throw their thrice fifty balls at the lad. He raises his upper arm and his forearm and the palms of his hands against them and parries the thrice fifty balls. They throw at him the thrice fifty play-spears charred at the end. The boy raises his little lath-shield against them and fends off the thrice fifty play-staffs, and they all remain stuck in his lath-shield.

Thereupon contortions took hold of him. Thou wouldst have weened it was a hammering wherewith each hair was hammered into his head, with such an uprising it rose. Thou wouldst have weened it was a spark of fire that was on every single hair there. He closed one of his eyes so that it was no wider than the eye of a needle. He opened the other wide so that it was as big as the mouth of a mead-cup. He stretched his mouth from his jaw-bones to his ears; he opened his mouth wide to his jaw so that his gullet was seen. The champion's light rose up from his crown.

"It was then he ran in among them. He scattered fifty king's sons of them over the ground underneath him before they got to the gate of Emain. Five of them," Fergus continued, "dashed headlong between me and Conchobar, where we were playing chess, even on Cennchaem ('Fairhead') the chessboard of Conchobar, on the mound-seat of Emain. The little boy pursued them to cut them off.

Conchobar seized the little lad by the wrists. "Hold, little boy. I see 'tis not gently thou dealest with the boy-band." "Good reason I have," quoth the little lad. "I had not a guest's honour at the hands of the boy-troop on my arrival, for all that I came from far-away lands." "How is that? Who art thou, and what is thy name?" asked Conchobar. "Little Setanta am I, son of Sualtaim. Son am I to Dechtire, thine own sister; and not through thee did I expect to be thus aggrieved." "How so, little one?" said Conchobar. "Knewest thou not that it is forbidden among the boy-troop, that it is geis for them for any boy to approach them in their land without first claiming his protection from them?" "I knew it not," said the lad. "Had I known it, I would have been on my guard against them." "Good, now, ye boys," Conchobar cried; " take ye upon you the protection of the little lad." "We grant it, indeed," they made answer.

"The little lad went into the game again under the protection of the boy-troop. Thereupon they loosed hands from him, and once more he rushed amongst them throughout the house. He laid low fifty of their princes on the ground under him. Their fathers thought it was death he had given them. That was it not, but stunned they were with front-blows and mid-blows and long-blows." Hold! " cried Conchobar." Why art thou yet at them?" "I swear by my gods whom I worship" (said the boy) "they shall all come under my protection and shielding, as I have put myself under their protection and shielding. Otherwise I shall not lighten my hands off them until I have brought them all to earth." "Well, little lad, take thou upon thee the protection of the boy-troop." "I grant it, indeed," said the lad. Thereupon the boy-troop went under his protection and shielding.

"A youngster did that deed," Fergus continued, "at the dose of five years after his birth, when he overthrew the sons of champions and warriors at the very door of their liss and dûn. No need is there of wonder or surprise, if he should do great deeds, if he should come to the confines of the land, if he should cut off the four-pronged fork, if he should slay one man or two men or three men or four men, when there are seventeen full years of him now on the Cattle-lifting of Cualnge."

"In sooth, then, we know that youth," spoke out Conall Cernach ('the Victorious'), "and it is all the better we should know him, for he is a fosterling of our own."

Incipiunt Macgnimrada Conculaind

"Dáig alta in mac sin i tig a athar & a mathar icon airdig i m-Maig Muirthemne, ocus adfeta dó scéla na maccaemi i n-Emain. Dáig is amlaid domeill Conchobar in rigi, o ro gab rígi in rí, .i. mar atraig fóchetóir césta & cangni in choicid d'ordugud. In lá do raind i trí asa athlil: cetna trian de fóchetóir ic fegad na maccaem ic imbirt chless cluchi & immanae, in trian tanaise dond ló ic imbirt brandub & fidchell, & in trian dedenach ic tochathim bíd & lenna, con-dageib cotlud for cách, aes cíuil & airfitid dia thalgud fri sodain. Ciataim ane ar longais riam reme dabiur bréthir, ar Fergus, na fuil in hErind no i n-Albain óclach macsamla Conchobair.

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Ocus adfeta don mac sin scéla na maceáem & na maccraide i n-Emain, & radis in mac bec ria mathair ar co n-digsed dá chluchi do chluchemaig na Emna. Romoch duitsiu sain a meic bic, ar a mathair, co n-deoch anruth do anrothaib. Ulad lett no choimthecht ecin do chaimthechtaib Conchobair, do chor th' aesma & t'imdegla for in maccraid. Cían lim-sa di sodain a mathair, ar in mac bec, & ni biu-sa oca idnaide acht tecoisc-siu dam-sa cia airm itá Emain. Is cían uait, ar a mathair, airm in-das-fil. Sliab Fúait etrut & Emain. Dobér-sa ardmes furri amne, ar esium.

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Luid in mac remi & gebid a adbena ániusa. Gebid a chammán creduma & a liathroit n-argdide & gebid a chlettini diburgthi & gebid a bunsaig m-báisi m-bunloscthi & fogab ic athgardigud a sliged díb. Dobered béim din chammán da liathróit, co m-bered band fota úad. No teilg dana a chammán arís d'athbéim, cona berad ni ba lugu anda in cetband. No thelged a chlettini & no sneded a bunsaig & no bered rith báise na n-diaid. No gebed dana a chammán & no geibed a liathróit & no geibed a chlettine, & ní roiched bun a bunsaige lár, trath co n-gebed a barr etarla etarbuas.

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Luid reme co forodmag na hEmna, airm i m-bátar in maccrad. Tri coicait maccaem im Folloman mac Conchobair ic a clessaib for faidche na Emna. Luid in mac bec issin cluchimag etorru ar medón, & ecrais cid in liathróit in dib cossaib uadib & nis arlaic sech ard a glúne súas & nis arlaic sech a adbrond sis, & ris eturturthig & ros comdluthaig in dib cossaib, & ni rocht nech dib bir no bulle no béim no fargum furri, ocus ros fuc dar brúach m-baire uadib.

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Nad fegat uili in oenfecht amaide. Ba machtad & ba ingantus leo. Maith a maccu, ar Folloman mac Conchobair, no-bar-beraid uili fóe sút, & táet a bás lim, daig is geiss dúib maccaém do thichtain in far cluchi can chur a faisma foraib, & no-bar-beraid uile fóe inn oenfecht, ar ro fetammar is do maccaib anroth Ulad sút, & na dernat bés tuidecht in far cluchi can chur a fáisma foraib no a commairge.

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Is andsin ros bertsat uile fóe in oenfecht. Tarlaicset a tri cóictu camman ar ammus a chendmullaig in meicc. Turcbaid-sium a oenluirg n-ániusa & dícuris na trí coicait lorg. Tarlacait dana na trí cóicait liathróiti ar ammus in meic bic. Turcbaid-sium a dóti & a rigthi & a dernanna & dichuris na trí cóictu líathroiti. Tarlacit dó na trí coicait bunsach báisi bunloscthi. Turcbais in mac a scethini slissen & dichuris na trí coicait bunsach. Is andsain imsái-sium fothib-sium.

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Scarais coica rígmac im thalmain díb foe. Luid coiciur díb, ar Fergus, etrum-sa is Chonchobar sin magin i m-bammar ic imbirt fidchilli, .i. na cendchaeme, for forodmaig na hEmna. Luid in mac bec na n-díaid dia[n] n-imdibe.

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Gebid Conchobar a ríglama in meic bic. Ale atchíu ni fóil amberai-siu a meic bic in maccrad. Fail a mór dam-sa, ar in mac bec. Ni fuarusa fiad n-óiged, ga thanac a tírib imciana, ican maccraid iar torachtain. Ced són, cia tussu, for Conchobar. Setanta bec missi mac Sualdaim, mac-sa Dechtiri do derbsethar-su, & ni lat-su fo doíg lim-sa mo chrád d'fagbáil samlaid. Ced ón a meic bic, for Conchobar, nad fetar armirt fil do macraid, conid geiss dóib mac dar tír cuccu can chur a faisma furro. Ni fetar, bar in mac bec. Dia fessaind, con beind na fatchius. Maith a maccu, bar Conchobar, geibid foraib faisam in meic bic. Ataimem omm bar siat.

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Luid in mac bec for fáisam na maccraidi. Sand-sain scailset láma de-sium, & amsói fothu arís. Scarais coica rígmac i talmain díb foe. Fá dóig la n-athrechaib is bás dobretha dóib. Ní ba sed ón, acht uathbas bretha impaib do thulbemmennaib & muadbemmennaib & fotalbemmennaib móra. Aile, for Conchobar, cid atái dóib sin béus. Dothongu-sa mo dee dia n-adraim, co n-digset-som uili ar m'o(e)samsa & ar m'imdegail, feib dochuadusa ar a faesam sun & ar a n-imdegail, conna get-sa láma dib, conas-tarddur uile fo thalmain. Maith a meic bic, geib-siu fort faesam na maccraide. Ataimim omm, ar in mac bec. And-sain dochuatar in maccrad for a faesam & for a imdegail.

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Mac bec doringni in gním sain, ar Fergus, i cind chóic m-bliadan iar n-a brith, co ro scart maccu na curad & na cathmiled ar dorus allis & a n-dúnaid fadessin, nocorb éicen machta no ingantus de, cia no thísed co hor cocrichi, gana thescad gabail cethri m-bend, gana marbad fer no dís no triur no cethrur, in am i n-dat slána secht m-bliadna déc de for tain bó Cualnge.