Welcome back friends, to another episode of Scholar Minor.
My first semester of graduate school has come to a close, and I'm grateful to have a week of rest before the next one begins. I am also grateful that Spring appears to be well on its way here - despite the temperatures being unseasonably warm. Hopefully we'll get a little more winter weather - and some rain! - in the coming weeks, but in the meantime it has been a pleasant change to enjoy some sunshine.
It seems very fitting with all our newly emerging greenery that we just celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. Last year, we talked a bit about the holiday and some creatures from Irish folklore - in Pucai, Banshees, and Leprechauns, way back in episode 11.
I love revisiting Irish traditions, and in belated celebration of the holiday we'll be delving once again into this rich vein of folklore. Before we get started, I’d like to formally apologize to any native Irish speakers for the absolutely terrible job I anticipate I’ll be doing with many of the upcoming Irish words - I promise I’m trying my best, but I would fully expect that I will be getting some quite wrong. If you are familiar with the language, feel free to drop me a line with some tips - I would greatly appreciate it!
On we go, thanks for joining me to learn about the legendary Finn MacCool and Cuchulainn, this week - I hope it gets you into a festive spirit. Enjoy.
We've discussed in previous episodes the difficulty faced by scholars studying Western mythology based in oral traditions. The Greeks made things pretty easy for us - they wrote a lot of it down themselves, as did their successors, the Romans.
In Northwestern Europe, however, much of early mythology was orally preserved - passed down through the generations by community storytellers and entertainers. Our existing written texts that address the mythologies of, say, the Vikings or the Celts, were largely compiled by early Christian chroniclers and writers.
Though this is still useful, it means that we don't have undiluted - as it were - versions of the myths. To put together the most accurate picture we can, scholars use existing Christian texts alongside archeological evidence, historical accounts, and existing oral traditions. Irish mythology has been divided into four "cycles" through the use of this methodology.
The first of these cycles is the Mythological Cycle. Much of the content of this cycle was orally preserved, and it is the oldest, so we have to rely heavily upon the interpretations of the Christian Monks. In episode 24, The Irish Devil, we addressed the Lebor Gabala Erenn, or the Book of Invasions, an 11th century manuscript that serves as one of the primary sourceworks for this period of Irish myth.
The Tuatha De Danann, one of the mythical godlike races chronicled in this work, were said to have ruled over Ireland prior to the arrival of humanity. They gradually retreated into a mystical other-realm, their legends evolving into those of the fairy folk.
While other manuscripts are included in the literature of this cycle, the Book of Invasions remains historians’ primary reference. The Ulster Cycle followed the Mythological, and its primary focus is on, well, Ulster - a province in the northernmost part of Ireland - and the legendary King Conchobar mac Nessa. Manuscripts describing the events of this cycle date as early as the 12th century, and the stories themselves are much older.
It’s in this cycle that we are introduced to our first subject this week - the legendary warrior Cu Chulainn.
"Then it was that the cutting, feat-performing, battle-winning, red-sworded hero, Cuchulain son of Sualtaim, mounted his chariot, so that there shrieked around him the goblins and fiends and the sprites of the glens and the demons of the air; for the Tuatha De Danann were wont to set up their cries around him, to the end that the dread and the fear and the fright and the terror of him might be so much the greater in every battle and on every field, in every fight and in every combat wherein he went."
One of the longest epics attributed to the Ulster mythological cycle describes the exploits of the hero Cu Chulainn. It is titled "The Cattle Raid of Cooley", or Tain bo Cuanilnge in Irish, and the opening quote of this section comes from Joseph Dunn's 1914 English translation.
The myths tell us that Cu Chulainn was a warrior loyal to his uncle, Conchobar mac Nessa, and was the son of the Celtic god Lugh. Lugh was similar to Hermes in Greek mythology (Roman: Mercury). Cu Chulainn was said to have been incredibly beautiful and widely respected, able to perform incredible feats of strength and dexterity.
The fact that he had seven fingers on each hand, seven toes on each foot, and seven pupils in each eye may have contributed to his martial prowess. He carried a spear, called the Gae Bolga, which was said to inflict 30 wounds with every strike and was made from the bones of a sea monster.
Some sources mention even stranger physical attributes - including four dimples, colored blue, red, yellow, and green and hair that is blonde, brown, an d red. We are told that when he enters into his "berzerker"-like state during battle, portions of his body change in shape and a beam of light, the lon laith - translated to the champion's light - projects from his forehead. I don't know about you, but I think I'd find this fella pretty intimidating on the battlefield.
While his appearance may have been . . . unusual, it certainly didn't hinder his success with the ladies. He was apparently considered very attractive, and was married to a princess named Emer. He was prone to affairs, most notably with the fairy wife of a sea god, the wife of a Scottish chieftain, and possibly the female warrior Scathach who trained him in weaponry.
As author Mark Cartwright amusingly summarizes in the World History Encyclopedia, "Scathach and Cu Chulainn may have been lovers as he is described as gaining 'the friendship of her thighs', although this may refer to some martial ritual whose significance has now been lost."
There are a few texts that scholars turn to for information about Cu Chulainn. The Macgnimrada Con Culainn, or Cu Chulainn's Boyhood Deeds, describes - as you likely guessed - the young hero's feats during his youth. Despite his notable predisposition for warfare, his success came with a price. As we are told in Boyhood Deeds, Cathbad the druid told the young Cu Chulainn that "any stripling who on that day should for the first time assume arms and armor, the name of such an one forever would surpass those of all Ireland's youths besides. His life, however, must be fleeting, short."
In spite of Cathbad's warning, the young Cu Chulainn took up arms to defend his uncle Conchobar.
The Cattle Raid of Cooley, mentioned earlier, follows Cu Chulainn and the Ulster's warriors in their efforts to protect a famous bull - the titular bull of Cooley - from kidnapping attempts by the Queen Maeve. A curse is cast upon the other warriors, disabling them, and Cu Chulainn is able to fend off Maeve's forces by himself until their recovery. The warriors of Ulster are victorious, but ultimately the bull is captured and a diplomatic peace is reached.
Ultimately, the druid's warning would come to fruition with Cu Chulainn's eventual decapitation at the hands of Lugaid mac Con Roi - the son of one of Cu Chulainn's adulterous lovers. There are, of course, other variations of the tale of Cu Chulainn's death - including that it was divine retribution because he ate a dog.
Some versions tell us that the mortally wounded Cu Chulainn tied himself to a standing stone, tricking Lugaid into approaching him and burning him with his forehead beam as a last hurrah. This standing stone, Clochafarmore, is a national monument in Ireland, and stands a field with the sinister name The Field of Slaughter. Whatever the exact sequence of events leading to his death, Cu Chulainn's luck had run out and the druid's prophecy had caught up with him.
The Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology follows the Ulster. Many of the works describing the Fenian Cycle date from around the third century, and it's here we find more emphasis on natural folklore and romantic heroes - things are a little less war-focused than the Cu Chulainn era, though that's not to say it isn't present.
One of the most important texts from this period is a collection of heroic stories called "The Interrogation of the Od Men" or "Agallamh na Seanorach". Though much of the content is believed to have been preserved in oral traditions, this written work was compiled sometime around 1200. Featured in this work are many recognizable elements of Irish legend - fairy rings, St. Patrick, and Finn MacCumhail - who appeared frequently in my own childhood storybooks.
In addition to The Interrogation of the Old Men, we have The Boyish Exploits of Finn - Macgnimartha Finn, which tells us of the early days of Finn Mac Cumhaill. His father, a chieftain, is killed and the boy is raised in the forest - later defeating the man who killed his father, Goll MacMorna. Unfortunately, our existing 12th century manuscript of this work is partially destroyed and missing some details of his youthful feats.
We do, however, learn quite a bit about Finn Mac Cumhaill's origins. His mother, fearing that Goll MacMora and family would come after her son next, gave him up into the care of some female warriors living in an isolated wood. "Thereupon the woman [his mother] bade farewell to the women-warriors, and told them to take charge of the boy till he should be fit to be a fighter," the Boyish Exploits tells us, "And so the boy grew up until he was able to hunt." We also learn that Finn Mac Cumhaill became known as Finn - meaning fair - as he was "a shapely fair youth."
One of the most popular legends of Finn Mac Cumhail, the Salmon of Knowledge, is also included in this text. Finn sought out and old man named Finneces on the Boyne, hoping to learn poetry - "for the poets thought that the place where poetry was revealed always was upon the brink of water." Old Finneces had been fishing the waters of Fec's Pool for seven years, having received a prophecy that consuming a salmon from the pool would grant him limitless wisdom.
Shortly after Finn Mac Cumahil’s arrival, Finneces managed to catch a salmon from the pool, and quickly ordered his young visitor to cook it - but warned him not to eat any of it. But unbeknownst to Finn Mac Cuhaill, he had already tasted it - accidentally. "The youth brought him the salmon after cooking it," the Boyhood Exploits describes, "'Hast thou eaten anything of the salmon, my lad?' says the poet. 'No,' says the youth, 'but I burned my thumb, and put it into my mouth afterwards.'
Finneces handles the whole thing rather well, considering, and allows Finn Mac Cumhaill to eat the salmon as the prophecy was meant for him after all. From that day forward, whenever Finn Mac Cumhaill put his thumb in his mouth, "whatever he had been ignorant of would be revealed to him."
Fionn Mac Cumhaill certainly has a close association with hunting and nature. He met his wife, Sadbh - mother of Oisin, the poet and one of the characters in The Interrogation of the Old Men - after discovering her in the form of a deer - enchanted by a druid. She turned briefly into a human with Fionn Mac Cumhaill before eventually returning to the forest once again as a doe. The story of the Giant's Causeway, however, is one of the most well-known of Mac Cumhaill's legends.
Located at the foots of the seaside cliffs of the Antrim Plateau in Northern Island, the Giant's Causeway resembles a giant path of paving stones. It is made up of roughly 40,000 columns of basalt stone - evidence of underwater volcanic activity as long as 60 million years ago. These strange formations were caused by a thick layer of lava drying and cracking.
Irish mythology, though, has a different explanation for this strange geological phenomenon. Interestingly, many versions of the Giant’s Causeway myth describe Finn Mac Cumhaill as a giant - though this is really one of the only circumstances in which he is described as such. Usually, he is just a handsome hunter/warrior. But for the logistics of the Giant’s Causeway to work, he would have to be a pretty big guy.
Finn Mac Cumhaill had a rivalry with a giant named Benandonner. In a fury, Mac Cumhaill built the causeway so that they could meet and fight it out. Some versions tell us that upon seeing Benadonner, Mac Cumhaill realized that his rival was much larger than he thought and has his wife - Sadbh - disguise him as a baby. Seeing the adult-sized or perhaps even giant-sized baby, Benandonner fears that the child's father must be inconceivably immense. In his haste to escape before the father's return, Benandonner leaves via the Causeway, destroying it behind him to avoid pursuit.
The Cycle of the Kings, or the Historical Cycle, is the fourth and final cycle of Irish mythology. Most of its sources were written around the 4th to 7th centuries, and unlike its predecessors, it distinctly shows the influence of Christianity. It follows the achievements of kings and other leaders, some real, some invented - and contains far fewer references to magic or supernatural influence. Its content is much more typical of early medieval histories, and bears more similarities with these works than with mythological compendiums.
I hope you enjoyed our discussion of Irish myths this evening, and as always, I’m grateful that you’re listening. I also hope that you had a pleasant and safe St. Patrick’s Day, particularly if you were partying hard here in the United States like many of my neighbors.
References and other relevant info is listed in the show notes. Thank you for your patience with the spotty episode releases lately - the good news is, I have officially completed the first term of my Public History Master’s Degree program, and I did really well. So I’m pretty proud but definitely trying to find my rhythm when it comes to balancing all the things.
That’s all for this week, but happy belated St. Patty’s, and I hope you are all staying safe and well. Until next time.