Quinn Weber
9-6-09
Period 3
Cu Chulainn
Cu Chulainn: Ireland’s penultimate warrior/hero/badass. Cu Chulainn is the son of the god Lug and Choncubhar’s sister Deichtine although abandoned to Conchobhar and his hunting party. He is trained by the finest of Ulstermen and shows his capabilities as a monstrous warrior even in childhood, as he defeats 150 boys in throwing and wrestling and kills Cullans prize bloodhound. In fact this is how Cu Chulainn obtained his name, his name by birth is Setanta, however after killing the hound he agrees to take its place guarding Cullan’s property until he can raise a bloodhound in equal ability. Cu Chulainn means “Hound of Cullan”

Cu Chulainn pays of his debt to Cullan, but never looses his new name. He then goes to fight for Conchobhar, becoming his finest warrior. He is so beautiful that all the men of Ireland fear he will steal their wives and thus seek him a suitable bride, however none will suffice for he is in love with Emer. Forgall instead insists that he train under the warrior goddess Scathach hoping that he dies before he can marry his daughter. Cu Chulainn and Ferdiad train under Scathach and learn the fine arts of war, however only Cu Chulainn is taught how to control the magical Gae Bolg. Ferdiad instead received invincible horny skin.
Cu Chulainn’s power comes from a set of rules he never breaks. Rules like to never eat dog meat, to never enter the Valley of the Deaf. Ultimately contradictions among these oaths lead to his downfall. He must be hospitable so when an old crone offers him dog meat he must not refuse, and ultimately he is tricked into entering the valley of the Deaf. Under these weakened circumstances is Cu Chulainn defeated.
Medb, Logaid, Erc, and others men of Connought conspire eto kill Cu Chulainn and have 3 spears made, each by which one king will fall. Lugaid kills Laeg, king of chariot drivers, Cu Chulainn’s horse Liath Macha: king of horses, and with the final spear fatally wounds Cu Chualainn himself. Cu Chulainn ties himself to a stone so that he may die on his feat and his enemies are so fearful of him that they do not approach till a raven lands on his shoulder. Lugaid approaches to cut of his head, but magic erupts from Cu Chulainns body blinding Logaid, who drops his sword and cuts of his arm. The light disappears only after his sword harm is cut from his body. Cu Chulainn is then avenged by Conall Cernach. Who kills both Lugaid and Erch.
To the Irish Cu Chulainn was a man to be feared and revered. so powerful and so dedicated to his honor. His power is undeniable and remarkable; any of the tales concerning him will certainly show this. In order to see his pride and honor one only has to look at the story of the princess he saved, and then killed 150 women in order to avenge her or his defense of the entire country of Ulster against the army of Cannought. It also would take a certain type of ingenuity to call upon the right to single combat at fords, which he does.
Yet Cu Chulainn Is not so proud and dedicated to honor that he blindly kills and destroys those who break his code of honor as seen in his fight with Edarcomhol, In which Cu Chulainn respects Ferghus’ protection of Edarcomhol and so does not fight Edarcomhol after repeated offenses by him. Only when does the idiot say that only one of them could leave alive does Cu Chulainn split him to his navel with his fist.
His flaw is that perhaps that he is too promiscuous, a flaw which seems to run throughout the Ulstermen. It is said that he had hundreds of women but Emer was jealous only of the fairy folk. In fact after defeating Scathach’s rival, Aife, in single combat he lets her go at the price that she must bear him a child.
These qualities both good and bad help to shape Cu Chulainn as the ultimate hero. He is beautiful, he is powerful, and he respects honor. His death is also a reminder that even the most powerful will perish if they break their bonds. Heroes like Cu Chulainn whether factual or no were used as instruments to inspire young boys and to help embolden warriors before battle just as Hercules of Rome was used to empower warriors.
Cu Chullain to me represents a warrior/ hero who was too large for life. He went through life wanting a challenge, wanting to meet something capable of defeating him and never finding it. He bested goddesses, champions, beasts, and armies. He is constantly hunting for his next challenge. Even as a child the only horses/ armor or weapons he was able to wield was Conchobhar’s own because all else broke in his immense strength. His lack of challenge on the battlefield was only topped by his lack of obstacle in the bed-chamber where is immense power and supernatural beauty allowed him to take virtually any woman, fairy, or goddess in the land. I think he was searching for a woman who would not fall in love with him, a woman he would have to overcome. Look at Emer, his wife, he must train with a goddess of war to marry her, but ultimately this challenge was no match for him.

Archetype- Cu Chulainn was the Archetype for all warriors afterwhich, although hercules and many demi-god warriors came before him, they were from faraway lands and thus probably did not affect they tale of Cu Chulainn. Cu Chulainn set the standard for the Irish hero which King Arthur, and many others would come to follow. His bravery and strenght are traits shared with future warriors as well as his magical weapon the Gae Bolg which was given to him by a mystical woman warrior just as excalibur was given to the men of ireland.