This is the story of the Death of Medb, of the red branch of the mythology Irish.
The Death of Medb
King Eocha Feidlech had three sons and three daughters. His sons tried to wrest the kingship from him, but they were greeted by their sister, Clothru, who tried to dissuade them. “Have you come to harm your father? It is a great wrong, if it must be done. » “This cannot be prevented,” declared the young men. “do you leave any children behind?” » asked the woman. “They are no longer alive,” declared the young people. “It is probable that you will perish as a result of your crime. »
“Venite ad me,” ilia inquired, “namque tempus mihi est concipiendi. Videamus num progeniem mecum relicturi sitis. Factum est. Alius super alium cum ea coierunt. Benefit evenit. Peperit “Lugaid of the Red Stripes,” filium trium Findemna. "Nolite contra patrem procedere!" »Inquired ilia,« satis sceleris admissistis qui cum sorore vestra dormiveritis, ita ut contra patrem pugnare non debeatis. »Hoc quominus pugnarent prohibited.
Clothru enforced the laws of Connaught on the Isle of Clothru ( Inis Clothrand ) on Loch Ree. They say that Medb murdered his sister Clothru, and that his child, In Furbaide mac Conchobuir, was taken out of his side by the sword. Then Medb seized the kingship of Connaught, and took Ailill to reign at his side. And it was in Inis Clothrand she administered the laws of Connaught.
She was under a magical obligation to bathe every morning in a spring at the end of the island. One day Furbaide went to Inis Clothrand and fixed a post on the stone slab on which Medb used to perform his ablutions. He tied a rope to the top of the post, and the stake was as tall as Medb, and he stretched the rope across Loch Ree, from east to west. Then he took the rope home with him, and when the Ulster youths were at play, this was Furbaide's game: he stretched his rope between two stakes, and practiced throwing with his sling between them, and he did not stop until he reached the apple that was on the top of the pole.
One day there was a great gathering of the men of Connaught and Ulster around Loch Ree, to the west and east. And Medb went to bathe early in the morning in the spring above the Loch.
“What a beautiful person there! Everyone said. " Who is here? Furbaide asked. "Your mother's sister," they all said.
He then ate a piece of cheese. He didn't wait to pick up a stone. He put the cheese in his sling, and when Medb's forehead was turned towards them, he threw the piece and lodged it in his head.
And so he killed her with one throw, and avenged her mother.
