This is the story of the Death of Conchobar, of the red branch of the mythology Irish.
The Death of Conchobar
Once, the Ulates assembled at Emain-Macha were drunk and for good; the consequence which resulted from it was that great quarrels and great disputes arose between the three principal of them: Conall the Triumphant, Cúchulainn and Loégairé the Victor. “Bring me,” said Conall, “the brains of Mesgegra, and I will challenge the warriors who quarrel with me. »
Back then, whenever the Ulates killed a hero in single combat, they would shoot his brains out of his head, mix that brains in with dirt, and make a very hard ball out of it. When there were disputes between them, these balls were brought to them, and each took one in their hand.
“Well, O Conchobar! said Conall, “the other warriors will do wisely not to undertake single combat with me; since I have this weapon, they are not strong enough to stand up to me. "You are right," answered Conchobar. Then the brains of Mesgegra were put back on the shelf where it usually lay.
The next morning, everyone went their separate ways to play the game they liked. At this time Cet, son of Maga [warrior of Connaught, therefore enemy of Conchobar], was traveling through Ulster seeking adventure; he was the most dangerous monster there was Ireland. He entered the enclosure of Emain; he carried with him the severed heads of three Ulster warriors.
At the same moment, the two court jesters were playing boules in this enclosure, and the boule was the brains of Mesgegra. One tells the other. This heard him. He took the ball from the hand of one of the two fools and carried it away.
Mesgegra had predicted that his death would be avenged, and Cet knew that prediction. From now on, whenever King Conchobar was in battle with the warriors of Ulster, Cet went there carrying in his belt the ball made from the brains of Mesgegra. He was looking for an opportunity to commit with this ball, among the warriors of Ulster, an illustrious murder.
One day Cet went on an expedition to Ulster to kidnap the cows of Ross's men. The Ulates pursued him and reached the rear of his troops. Connaught's warriors came to his rescue. A battle began; Conchobar went there. The women of Connaught begged him to step out of the fray to show himself to them. Then there was not in the world a man comparable to this king, as much by the regularity of the forms as by the bearing, as much by the size as by the harmony and the proportion, as much by the eyes as by the hair and the whiteness of features, as much by wisdom as by prudence and eloquence, as much by costume as by nobility of bearing and dress, as much by arms as by corpulence and dignity, as much by good taste as by value and birth. Conchobar was flawless. But if the women of Connaught had asked to see him, it was on Cet's advice. Conchobar therefore departed from his army and went to show himself to the women. This had placed himself in the midst of the women. He puts in his sling the ball made with the brains of Mesgegra; he throws this ball; it reaches Conchobar at the top of the head; she enters two-thirds in, and Conchobar falls headlong.
The Ulates come to his aid and snatch him from the hands of Cet. The place where the king fell was called Bed of Conchobar. His head touched a high stone at one end; his feet touched a high stone at the other end. The inhabitants of Connaught, vanquished at first, were driven back to Sciaid-Haut-des-Chiens; then the Ulates, less strong in their turn, retreated as far as the ford of Dairé des Deux-Imbéciles.
"You must take me from here," said Conchobar; “I will give the kingdom of Ulster to whoever brings me home. "I will take you away," said Shaved Head, his slave. Shavedhead bound his master with a rope and carried him on his back to Ard-Dachad, on the mountain of Fuat, where this slave died of a broken heart. Hence the expression: Reign of Shaved Head over the Ulates [to designate a thing of short duration], for Shaved Head carried his king on his back for half a day.
After the departure of Conchobar, the battle lasted until the next day at this time, and the Ulates were defeated.
Their physician, whose name was Fingen, was brought to Conchobar. From the smoke which issued from the houses, Fingen guessed the number and the nature of the diseases from which the inhabitants were afflicted. “Well,” he said to the king, “if this stone is removed from your head, you will die immediately. If we don't remove it, I will heal you, but you will remain deformed. — "Better for us," replied the Ulates, "to see our king deformed than dead." His head healed. The two parts had been tied together with a gold thread. This thread was the same color as Conchobar's hair. "Be careful," said the doctor to Conchobar; “you must neither get angry, nor ride a horse, nor give yourself up to a woman with passionate ardour; you don't have to run. Thus, Conchobar was in mortal danger as long as he remained alive, that is, for seven years. He couldn't do anything but sit and watch himself.
This lasted until the day he heard that Christ had been crucified by the Jews. This crime made all nature tremble. Heaven and earth trembled when Jesus Christ, son of the living God, was, though innocent, crucified by the Jews. " What is that? Conchobar asked his druid. “So what is the great crime that is being committed today? "You say true," replied the druid. [And he told him of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.] — "It is a dreadful crime," resumed Conchobar — "The man who has just been crucified," continued the Druid, "was born the same night as you. , but not the same year. So Conchobar believed in Jesus Christ. He is one of two men in Ireland who believed in the true God before the coming of faith; the other is Morann. Conchobar sang a poem.
In this poem, he expresses regret at not having been called upon to defend J.-C. against his executioners. He lost his life as a result of the emotion he felt while singing. This unexpected emotion was contrary to the doctor's prescriptions; she brought out the sling bullet which the king had in his head, that bullet of which Mesgegra's brain had furnished the material, and Conchobar expired. Mesgegra was avenged as the illustrious hero of Connaught Cet, son of Maga, had wanted.
