We will ask where does it come from The Kidnapping of the Cooley Cows. It is not difficult to answer. The first cause of this abduction is the Generation of the two swineherds, or the Dispute of the two swineherds, subject and title of the following piece.
I. THE TWO PORCHERS
Friuch was swineherd to Bodb, Rucht swineherd to Ochall Ochne. Between Bodb and Ochall Ochne there had been a quarrel. Between them peace was made, between Ochall Ochne, king of the geniuses [We risk translating the word thus Irish side qu’on pourrait aussi rendre par dieu, ou aussi par fée si le mot français n’était pas féminin.] of Connaught, and Bodb, king of the spirits of Munster. Thereupon Bodb went to his palace of geniuses, the sid of Femen, and Ochall Ochné in his, the sid of Crûachan. Bodb and Ochall being friends, their pigmen Friuch and Rucht were also friends.
Here is the mark of friendship which the two swineherds gave each other. When there were plenty of acorns in the south, that is to say in Munster, Rucht, the swineherd of the north, that is to say, of Connaught, led his pigs to eat acorns in Munster; when there were acorns in the north, i.e., in Connaught, Friuch, the swineherd of the south, i.e., in Munster, led his thin pigs to eat acorns north in Connaught, and in the back they were fat. But then a quarrel arose between the two swineherds. When the pigs of Connaught had gone to fatten themselves in Munster, the geniuses of Munster, subjects of Bodb, said that Friuch, their swineherd, was stronger than Rucht, swineherd of Connaught and Ochall. When the pigs of Munster had gone to fatten in Connaught, the geniuses of Connaught claimed that Rucht, their swineherd, was stronger than that of Munster.
One year there were plenty of acorns in Munster, Rucht, the swineherd of Connaught and Ochall led his pigs to eat acorns in Munster with those of his colleague Friuch, swineherd of Munster and Bodb.
After welcoming Rucht, Friuch continued: “Since you have come here, there will be a quarrel between us. The people of Munster say that you are stronger than me, that your skill is superior to mine.
"I am no less clever than you," replied Rucht, the swineherd from Connaught.
"We'll check it out," Friuch replied. »
The magical prohibition pronounced by Friuch was carried out, Rucht returned to Connaught with his thin pigs, they were in such a pitiful state that they could barely walk; the geniuses of Connaught laughed at him. “You chose the wrong time for your trip to Munster, they all told him, your colleague is stronger than you.
"That's not true," replied Rucht, "a year will come when there will be acorns in Connaught, and I'll play Friuch the trick he played me." »
He did as he said.
For after a year Friuch, the swineherd of Munster, went north with his thin pigs to feed them acorns, and Rucht, the swineherd of Connaught, cast upon the pigs of Munster the curse which the previous year Friuch had launched on those of Connaught, and the pigs of Munster languished this year as the year before had languished those of Connaught. Everyone says that the two swineherds were as strong as each other.
II. THE TWO RAVENS
Friuch came back to Munster with his skinny pigs, they were barely alive. Bodb, king of the geniuses of Munster, took away his pigs; Ochall, king of the geniuses of Connaught, withdrew the custody of his own from Rucht, Friuch and Rucht lived as crows for two whole years. They spent the first year in the north, in Connaught, above the fortress of Cruachan, the second year in the south, in Munster, near the palace of the geniuses called Sid de Femen. This year was over when the inhabitants of Munster met one day in assembly; they said to each other: “It is not small the noise that the birds make in front of you; they have been fighting for a whole year, this year ends today. »
They had just spoken thus, when in front of them, on the hill where the assembly was held, they saw appear the steward of Ochall, king of the geniuses of Connaught, his name was Fuidel, he was the son of Fiadmir. The inhabitants of Munster welcomed him: “It is great, he said, the noise that the birds make in front of you. They are, it seems, those who last year were with us in Connaught, they made the same noise until the end of that year. »
Then the inhabitants of Munster saw a marvelous thing: the two crows had resumed human form, they recognized the two swineherds. The assembly welcomed them. 'You are wrong to welcome us,' said Friuch, swineherd of Bodb, 'from our struggle will result the death of many dear men, and many groans will result.
- What happened to you? Bodb asked.
'It's not good that happened to us,' replied Friuch, 'since the two of us left, we lived in the form of crows for two whole years which ended today. You have seen what we did for a whole year in the form of crows near the palace of the geniuses of Crûachan in Connaught, then for another year in the same form near the palace of the geniuses of Femen in Munster, so that the inhabitants of Connaught to the north, those of Munster to the south, saw us fighting each other. We will now be transformed into aquatic animals. We will live under the seas and under the waters until the end of two years. »
III. THE TWO SEALS OR WHALES
Then the two swineherds set off from the hill where the assembly was held, and went each in a different direction: one went into the Shannon, the other into the Suir. They were two whole years at the bottom of the sea and under water. For a whole year they were seen biting each other in the Suir; for another whole year they were seen fighting each other in the Shannon.
One day the people of Connaught were holding a meeting on the banks of the Eany, a tributary of the Shannon. They saw on the Shannon two animals as big as a mountain; as high as the summit of a mountain rose their fields; they were fighting each other; from their mouths issued swords of fire which reached the clouds of the sky. From all sides, the crowd came around them. The two animals coming out of the river, arrived on the bank: they took human form there under the eyes of the crowd. The assistants recognized the two swineherds. Ochall, king of the geniuses of Connaught, welcomed them. “What were your adventures? he asked.
"Our adventures have been very tiring," they replied. You have seen what we have done before your eyes. Two whole years we have been in the form of aquatic animals at the bottom of the seas and waters; we need a new metamorphosis so that each of us still feels the strength of his colleague. »
IV. THE TWO CHAMPIONS
Then they left, each going a different way. Each of them became a champion. One entered the number of the people of Bodb, king of the geniuses of Munster, the other in the service of Fergna, also called Carpre Cromm, king of the geniuses of Nento-sous-eau in Connaught. Any feat done by the people of Bodb was actually the work of the champion. It was the same in the palace of the geniuses of Nento. The glory of the two champions spread throughout Ireland. We did not know who their family was.
Bodb leaving Munster went to Connaught. The people of Connaught then had a large assembly near Loch Riach. The procession which accompanied Bodb was as beautiful as this brilliant assembly. Bodb brought with him seven times twenty chariots and seven times twenty horsemen. All the horses had the same color; these horses were spotted, and on their bridles silver bits were visible. Among the warriors mounted on chariots there was not one who was not the son of kings and queens. All wore green cloaks, adorned with four purple fringes and fastened with silver brooches. They had tunics adorned with red trimmings with gold threads all around. Their gaiters were lined with gold threads and their shoes lined with bronze. Headdresses with crystal and brass ornaments covered their heads. Brilliant bands of gold circled each man's neck; each of their jewels was worth a dairy cow which has just given birth to its first calf. The bracelets that each man wore on his arm were each worth thirty ounces. On the bosses of all their shields were seen ornaments of gold. They all held in their hands five-pointed spears with ribs of gold, silver, and bronze around them, and with gold collars at the joint of the spear and the iron. The hilts of their swords were of gold, and on them were figures of snakes of gold and carbuncle. The brilliance of this equipment illuminated the entire camp.
Never had a finer troop come before that day nor will it come until the last judgment. Seven times twenty people, both women and children, died of fear at the sight of these warriors. They jumped from their chariots on the lawn, they left their horses and their chariots there without anyone to guard them.
When they had all stopped, Ochall came to meet them. “Here is a proud troop,” said the people of Connaught, “it is prouder than all the others. The newcomers advanced on the hill where the meeting was taking place, they sat down, taking the men who were there as seats, so that all these men died. For three days and three nights the people of Connaught surrounded them without being able to do anything against them. Seven times twenty queens were to flee with them when they returned to Munster.
In the meantime, Ochall spoke to them: "Welcome, O Bodb," he said.
"You might as well give me a bad welcome," Bodb replied, "you are forced to have my visit.
- Why did you come? asked Ochall
"To speak to the king, the queen and the good warriors," replied Bodb.
'They are all here,' said Ochall.
'We don't see any among you,' Bodb went on.
"They obey the order they receive," replied Ochall. Young warriors are advancing towards you.
"Let us be given protection on condition of reciprocity." »
Ochall promised this protection. "Come hither, Rinn," cried Bodb, and Rinn (Friuch) the champion of Munster, advanced into the assembly. "One of you come forward to fight me," he said.
The warriors of the three provinces of Connaught gathered together in a group and deliberated. But among them there was no one who dared to offer himself to fight Rinn. “It's a shame, said Ochall, honor is lost. »
Thereupon something was seen: a troop had come from the northern region of Connaught. There were three times twenty bridled horses and three times twenty chariots; the horses harnessed to these chariots were black, they seemed to have crossed the sea; the bits of their bridles were of gold. The warriors wore dark blue cloaks surrounded by purple cords, each had a golden wheel on his chest, white tunics striped with purple wrapped their bodies; on the tops of their heads you could see hair so black you would have thought a cow had licked their heads. They carried on their backs shields on which emblems were engraved, and surrounded by pretty borders of bronze; under their cloaks they had swords whose hilts were of ivory and ornamented with copper figures; each man held a spear with a rounded end and silver rivets; a thread of gold, purified in the fire, went around each of them fifty times; they had neither sandals nor headgear. Except for one, none of them stood out from the others. They entered the camp. Three times twenty of them arrived, some in chariots, others on horseback, as many came on foot.
Then the Conmacne rose before them on the hill; this is why the Conmacne are subject to servitude until the last judgment. They are in perpetuity responsible for feeding the sons of kings and queens and the hunting dogs.
[protest from a copyist]
This is not true at all, for then the Conmacne were not in the world. They descend from Fergus mac Roig, who was then unborn. These are the people who preceded the Conmacne on the land that the Conmacne have since occupied. It was these predecessors of the Conmacne who stood up to the newcomers.
Then the assembly sat down and welcomed the warriors of northern Connaught. 'Welcome,' said Ochall.
“We have confidence,” Fergna added.
"Unfortunate," cried Mainchenn, a druid from Great Britain. “From now on forever,” he continued, “as soon as you and your descendants see a king, you will be his subjects. Until now Fergna stood straight, now Fergna will be bent and his might will bear the weight of tribute. Where did you leave your horses?
"In the plain," Fergna replied.
— The land in front of you belonged to you, continued Mainchenn, it was chosen as a domain by another who arrived in front of you.
- Who is this? asked Fergna. It's Bodb, replied Mainchenn, he's the king of the geniuses of Munster. »
As soon as Bodb was seen in the assembly, shock and mortal fright caused twenty men to lose their lives. There was not found in the three Connaughts a warrior to fight Rinn, the champion of Munster. “At your command,” cried Fâebar (Rucht), the champion of Connaught, “I will attack him. Thereupon the two champions rushed against each other, the fight lasted three days and three nights, they gave each other such blows that one could see their lungs. Then we separated them.
V. THE TWO GHOSTS (or DEMONS)
By an obvious error Friuch and Rucht turned from champions to ghosts. A third of the people died of fear. The next day, the survivors were held in bed by the disease ***
VI. THE TWO WORMS
They then left and took the form of water beasts, that is, they became two worms. One (Rucht) went to the spring of Uaran Garad, province of Connaught, the other (Friuch) to that of Glass Cruind, in Cooley, province of Ulster.
Now, once Queen Medb of Cruachan went to the source of Uaran Garad to wash her face, she held in her hand a whitish bronze vase where she wanted to wash her hands. She dipped the vase in the water and the worm rushed into it. It was spotted and of all colors. She looked at him for a long time; the colors of this worm seemed pretty to him. Then the water disappeared, the worm remained alone in the vase. 'It is unfortunate, O beast,' said Medb, 'that you do not speak, and tell me something of what must befall me since I took possession of the kingdom of Connaught.
- What is, answered the worm, the thing you want to ask me the most?
"I would first like to know," replied Medb, "how do you feel about your state of beast?"
— I am an unhappy beast, answered the worm, I have been unhappy in all the forms that I have had. »
And he told Medb what his existence had been like in each of its successive forms, then here is the good advice he gave him: "It is a pity, he said, that being so beautiful a woman, you are not married to a young and illustrious warrior to whom you would share your authority.
'I didn't want,' replied Medb, 'to marry any of the inhabitants of Connaughl, I feared that he would claim to be my master.
"We know," resumed the worm, "someone who would suit you well, he is the most brilliant, the most handsome, the most illustrious man who exists, he is Ailill, son of Ross-Rûad, king of Leinster. ; his mother is Mata Muresc, daughter of Maga, king of Connaught. He is a gentle young man, spotless, flawless, without jealousy, without pride. Take him as your husband, he will not dominate you. He is handsome, fiery and strong. And you, every day without fail, you will give me to eat in this source. Cruinniuc (meaning rounded) is my name. This is what he said to Medb. Then Medb returned home and the worm into the spring.
On the same day, singularly enough, Fiachna son of Daire went to the source of Glass Cruinn (i.e. green blue and round) in Cooley, and while washing his hands, he saw an object which attracted his beware: there was a worm on the stone in front of him, and this worm was so mottled that it had no color that could not be seen on it. "Good for you, Fiachna," said the worm. Fiachna was afraid of the animal he saw in front of him, and he stepped back a little. "Don't run away," said the worm, "don't be afraid, you'll do better, you'll talk to me."
- What will we tell each other? asked Fiachna.
"In the first place," replied the worm, "it will come to you full of happiness."
- And after? asked Fiachna.
- You will find at the end of your land, replied the worm, a boat that brings you treasures.
- And after ? repeated Fiachna.
"You will give me hospitality," resumed the worm, "and you will do me good."
- What good will I do to you? asked Fiachna.
- You will give me to eat, answered you worm.
- Why am I going to feed you? asked Fiachna.
— Because I'm at the end of your land, said the worm, and I have nothing to eat.
"And that even though you are only an animal," replied Fiachna ironically.
- But I am a man, said the worm; I am Bodb's swineherd.
- What is your name ? asked Fiachna.
“Tummuc (meaning diver), replied the worm.
"We've heard from you," Fiachna said.
"It is not necessary," said the worm Tummuc, "for me to tell you our story: my colleague is at Uaran Garad in Connaught, and Medb of Cruachan does him good, but I am weak because I have no nothing to eat.
"At your orders," replied Fiachna; since you asked me to eat, you will have to eat.
— Get up and go, said the worm, the boat I told you about has arrived, you will send me food tomorrow morning. »
Fiachna took the boat with him and the worm entered the source of Glass Cruinn in Gooley. Fiachna gave him food every day for a year and a day, and every day it was Fiachna himself who brought him the food. Likewise, it was Medb who every day, until the end of the year, would bring food to the worm from the west (that is, from Connaught).
VII. THE TWO BULLS
So one day (the year had just ended), Fiachna went to the source of Glass Cruinn: "Come and talk with me," he said to the worm. Immediately the worm arrived: "Very well," said Fiachna to the worm.
— It will be all profit for you, resumed the worm, you will come from land and sea an abundance of wheat, a real blessing. You have been very good to me, from your first coming until today. Soon there will come to Connaught a famous encounter between me and the animal I told you about a year ago.
- What meeting? asked Fiachna.
— It is easy to answer, replied the worm: one of your cows will drink me tomorrow morning, and one of Medb's cows will drink my colleague; from there will result a great battle in Ireland entre nous. Nous combattrons l’un contre l’autre, toi tu seras sain et sauf. »
Then this whole prediction came true. The next morning Tummuc was drunk by Fiachna's cow; the same day his colleague Grunniuc was drunk by Medb's cow.
Here are the names of the animals in each of their forms: 1 ° Rucht (pig), Ruccne when they were swineherds; 2 ° Ingen (claw), Ette (wing), when they were crows; 3 ° Bled (whale) and Blod, when, in the form of cetaceans, they lived at the bottom of the sea; 4 ° Rinn (point) and Fâebar (cutting edge) when they were champions; 5 ° Scîath (shield) and Scâth (shadow) when they were phantoms; 6 ° Cruinniuc (rounded) and Tummuc (diver) when they were around; 7 ° Find (white) and Dub (black) when they were bulls.
Findbennach (white horned) and Donn (brown) of Cooley are the two finest horned beasts that ever were in Ireland: their horns were adorned with gold and silver by the two provinces of Connaught and 'Ulster. There was no horned beast in Connaught that dared to bellow at the Findbennach, the bull of that western province. Likewise, there was no horned beast in Ulster bold enough to bellow against the bull of that eastern province, the Donn of Cooley.
