Mythology
The Heroic and Magic Myths
The supreme heroe figure of Ulster, the most important of the provinces, was Cu Chulainn, often known as Cuchulinn, who was either the son of Lug, the reincarnation of Lug, or was born three times. In an event prominent throughout Irish sources, the Cattle-Raid of Cualgne, the intese heat generated by his body melted the snow around him for thirty-feet. There is a mass of phisycal detail about him. He had three crowns of hair, brown, crimson, and, on top, gold, which fell down between his shoulders. The Celts had a habit of smearing their hair with a thick wash of lime, which perhaps explains the origins of the the colour veriation in the hero's hair. In everyday life, he had seven pupils in each eye, seven fingers on each hand and seven toes on each foot. He wore rich jewellery, a hundred ornaments on his brest. Most spectacular where his contortions when a battle was looming, were everything quivered and his body became deformed; his knees, shins, and feet shifted themsevles until they were behind him. His face became transformed; one eye became engulfed in the head, the other rested on his cheek, an inexplicable sign, the "hero's moon" , appered on his cheek, he breathed out fire, and his heart beat was like a lion charging bears. This must have been a late gloss, as no one in Ireland could have expected to have encountered lions or known what they were, even in the earliest of times. When he was in this state, Cuchulinn had to be plunged three times in a vat of water to passafie him this must have been an operation fraught with peril. His hair became entangled and resembled a thorny bush, but the most spectacular event was the jet of dusky blood which shot out of his scalp "longer than the mast of a great ship". This turned into a mist, and finally Cuchulinn leapt into a charriot with scythes on the wheels and drove off, delivering hundreds of "thunder feets" . This was the personification of natural phenomena carried to its ultimate. The benevolent sun turning into an inconprehensible thunder cloud flashing lightning. Unlike many other mythological figures, he had an established human identity, child of a high born Celt, sent away --as was the custom -- to foster parents, and rigorously educated for a special role in society, with an emphasis on magic and sorcery. As was customary, he made his debut as a hero in battle. Although invincible, was able to defend Ulster single handed against the other four provinces,
he was severely wounded on several occasions, as gods had to experiance mortal pain or their prestige would be lowered. His exploits are many, and one of the most interesting and strangest takes place when he lay asleep against a piller -stone after hunting, and had a vision of two women who came to him armed with rods and one after the other beat him until he was almost dead. Hes was ill for a year, and then a stranger came to him and told him to go to the stone where he had had the vision. There he found one of the women who had beaten him dressed in a green mantle who told him that Fand, the Pearl of Beauty, wife of Mananan the sea god, had " set her love on him" . She was at war with her husband, her realm was besieged by three demon kings, and Cuchulinn's help was sought. The reward would be the love of Fand. Cuchulinn sent the chariottier Laeg to report on Fand, and Laeg entered Faerie land, which lay beyond a lake which he crossed in a magic boat of bronze. H e returned to Cuchulinn with tales of Fand's beauty and the glory of Faerie land, and so the hero went off, was envolved in a feirce battle in a dense mist with demons who resembled sea waves(presumably the minions of the sea god) , triumphed , and stayed with Fand for a month, making a tryst at the Strand of the Yew Tree on earth. However , his wife Emer heard of the tryst, and altough he was noted for his infedelities she decided that she had had enough, and at the trysting place Cuchulinn and Fand were approched by Emer and fifty of her maidens, with gold clasps on their breasts, armed with knives to slay Fand. Cuchulinn adresses Emer in a curious poem , describing the beauty and magical powers of Fand, and Emer laments that she herself seems to have lost the power to attract him -- "once we dwelled in honour together and still might dwell if I could find favour in thy sight."
Cuchulinn has qualms , Fand realises that Emer has natural justice on her side, and asks him to go back to Emer and to give her up. But Emer enterviens , and offers to give her husband up to Fand. Fand departs, despite the shame of being rejected, but she is then invited by Mananan, the sea god, to go with him. She retorted "Neither of ye is better or nobler than the other, but I will go with thee, Mananan, for thou hast no other mate worthy of thee, but that Cuchulinn has in Emer.". Cuchulinn had not observed any of this, but was told of the arrangement by Laeg, the charriotier, upon which he bounded into the air and fled the place, lay for a long time refusing food or drink and was then given a draught of forgetfulness by the Druids. Mananan, who seems to have been one of the more powerful gods, shook his cloak between Cuchulinn and Fand so that they might meet no more throughout eternity. The cloak symbolises the dividing and estranging powers of the sea.