This is the story about the Childhood Exploits of Cuchulainn (Conchobar), from the red branch of the mythology Irish.
The Childhood Exploits of Cuchulainn
“Conchobar had lost the allegiance of several Ulster leaders after he murdered the sons of Usna. These men had left for Connaught, in the west of Ireland. One of them, Fergus, recounted Cuchulain's childhood to his hosts Ailill and Medb, king and queen of Connaught:
“Cùchulain was brought up at Mag Muirthemni in south Ulster. One day Sualtam and Dechtire told their son about the famous Emuin Machae boys, whom Conchobar watched play when he was not playing board games or drinking before bed. Cuchulain asked Dechtire if he could go see these boys.
“You must wait until an Ulster warrior can accompany you,” she replied.
“I want to go now,” insisted Cuchulain. Which path should I take?
– Go north, replied his mother, but be careful because the road is full of dangers.
“I'm going,” said Cuchulain, and set off with his miniature weapons, a small spear and a small shield; he also took his stick and hurley ball, hoping to play a game with the Emuin Machae boys.”
Arriving in Emuin, he entered the playing field without first asking for protection from the other players. The boys were unhappy at this lack of courtesy, for we all know the rules of conduct on a playing field. They told him to get off the field and threw their three times fifty spears at him (for there were one hundred and fifty of them) : each spear stuck into Cùchulain's little shield. They violently threw three times fifty bullets at him and he blocked them all against his chest. They threw their three times fifty hurley sticks at him, but he caught them all.
Cuchulain was furious: his hair stood on end and bristled with rage. He narrowed one eye the size of the eye of a needle and opened the other the size of a bowl. He grimaced so much that you could see the back of his throat and his teeth gleaming from ear to ear. The young warrior's moon rose above his head.
I was playing chess with Conchobar when nine boys came running in, chased by Cuchulain. He had already hit and grounded fifty. “This is no longer sport,” cried Conchobar.
– They are the bad players, replied Cùchulain, because I wanted to join their game and they tried to chase me from their playing field.
- What is your name? asked Conchobar
– I am Setanta, the son of Sualtam and your sister Dechtire.
– Why didn’t you ask for protection from the other players? asked Conchobar.
– I was not taught the rules, replied Cùchulain.
– So do you accept your uncle’s protection? Conchobar suggested.
– I accept it, replied Cùchulain, but I ask you one thing, that I be charged with the protection of three times fifty boys. Conchobar agreed. They all went to the playing field and the boys whom Cuchulain had sent to the ground stood up at the sight of their new hero.
Conall, another Ulsterian leader, continued the story:
“We knew the boy when we lived in Ulster, and it was a joy to watch him grow up. Shortly after the playground episode told by Fergus, Cùchulain was drawn into more heroic adventures.
Culann the blacksmith invited Conchobar to a party. Few people accompanied the king of Ulster, because the blacksmith's only wealth was that acquired by his hands and his tools. Also, only fifty old favorite champions accompanied Conchobar. Before leaving Emuin, the king went to the playground to bid farewell to the boys; Cuchulain was playing alone against three times fifty boys and he was winning. When they tried to send their balls into the goal, Cùchulafn defended it alone and stopped every ball. Then, in battle, he sent them all to the ground, while none of the three times fifty boys could bring him down. In the game of stripping, he took off everyone's clothes without even losing his brooch.
Conchobar was amazed by his nephew's exploits and asked his men if Cuchulain would become a man who would perform similar heroic deeds: they all said it would be so. “Come with us to Culann’s feast,” said Conchobar.
– I will finish my game, replied Cùchulain, and I will join you.
At the party, Culann the blacksmith asked his royal host if everyone had arrived. "Yes," Conchobar replied, forgetting his nephew, and we are ready to eat and drink. "
“Well then,” said the blacksmith, “let's close the doors and celebrate; my dog will keep the animals in the fields, no one will escape him, because it takes three chains to hold him, and three men for each chain ”.
Meanwhile the boy was on his way to the party, and for fun he threw his ball in the air and his hurley after it, and he threw his spear and ran to catch it before it hit the ground. When he entered the yard of Culann the blacksmith, the dog rushed at him. Conchobar and his men heard the sound of the fight, looked through the windows and saw Cùchulain fighting the dog with his bare hands. He grabbed him by the throat and smashed him against a pillar. Cuchulain was brought into the house. “I am glad for your mother that you are alive,” Culann said. But this dog protected all my possessions, and now I'm lost.
– Do not fear, declared Cùchulain, I will train a young dog of the same breed and until it is big enough to guard your property. Until then, I myself will be your watchdog.
“Well, from today we will call you Cuchulain, the Hound of Culann,” said Conall.
Such were the exploits of a six-year-old boy, Fergus concluded. What glorious deeds can we expect from him now that he is seventeen? » »
This is how Setanta received the name that would be his, Cùchulain. Symbolically, this legend meant that Cùchulain was fit to guard the kingdom of Ireland and protect its people. Subsequently, the Druid Cathbad prophesied that the gods would give him a choice between long life and great fame. Cùchulain chose fame, but found himself bound by a permanent obligation (geis): he must never pass by a household without tasting its food and never eat dog meat. It was predicted to him that his last important act would be, like his first, to kill a dog.
