Cuchulain: The Hound of Ulster

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Cuchulain: The Hound of Ulster

Cuchulain was the Hound of Ulster – ancient Ireland’s greatest warrior. He was the nephew of King
Conchobar of Ulster, one of the most powerful clan rulers in all Ireland. Cuchulain’s mother, Dechtire, was
the king’s sister, and it is recorded that Cuchulain’s father was not a mortal man but Lugh of the Long
Hand – a powerful Celtic god. Cuchulain was brought up by his uncle the king, with the help and support
of his wisest and most able counsellors; he soon became a child warrior to be feared, and his fame spread
throughout the land. Cuchulain’s name derived from an incident of his youth – as a small boy he
accidentally slew the ferocious watchdog of the smith Culan and took the dog’s place for a period of
penance.

As Cuchulain’s fame spread, and came of age, he became widely respected for his feats in battle and
peacetime diplomacy. He won the right to wed the beautiful Emer, by completing him a series of tasks and
trials that would have been impossible to a normal warrior. The pair married in Armagh, the capital of
Ulster, and lived under the protection of King Conchobar. Cuchulain also outsmarted the attempts of
Bricriu of the Bitter Tongue to conjure a civil war between the foremost warriors of Ulster, and proved
himself to be the most courageous warrior in all Ireland by facing a series of magical opponents.

Not surprisingly, Cuchulain was finally named as the Champion of Ulster. The warriors and nobles of
Ulster accepted this decision with delight. Even Cuchulain’s rivals for the title swore to abide by it, having
been shamed by cowardice in front of their fellow kinsmen. With his desire to be Champion of all Ireland
satiated, Cuchulain served his kinfolk well. He guarded the southern passes into Ulster, falling upon
invading or raiding enemies with vigour, routing all before him and allowing the people of Ulster to live in
peace; on one occasion, he defeated an army of eighteen tuatha (warbands) from Queen Maeve’s kingdom
numbering over fifty thousand raiders.

Many of Cuchulain’s deeds as the Champion of Ulster were against Maeve. In battle against her warriors,
Cuchulain was known to launch himself into a battle frenzy:

‘He became a fearsome and multiform creature such as never was known before. Every particle of him
quivered like a bulrush in a running stream … The beats of his heart sounded like the roars of a lion’
(Rolleston: pages 209-210)

And his blood boiled, forming a smoky mist shimmering around him. In such a frenzy, Cuchulain was
recorded as having killed a hundred men single handedly. Cuchulain also fought against the mighty Loch,
Son of Mofebis; in this duel, Cuchulain had to stain himself a beard with berry juice, so that his enemy
would not accuse him of being a mere boy and refusing to fight. As they fought, the female sorceress
Morrigan came against Cuchulain in several shape changing forms, yet he beat both her and Loch. Further
victories were had against Maeve’s allies, including the skilled Calatin and his twenty seven sons.

Cuchulain also travelled to Fairy Land, and adventured out on many mystical quests, facing many human
and monstrous foes. Amongst the strangest of these were a party of demons who resembled waves of the
sea. Cuchulain’s downfall came through his honesty and respect of the Laws of Ireland. In battle against
the children of Calatin, Cuchulain was confronted by a number of bards. A true hero could never refuse a
bard’s request, and the bards demanded of Cuchulain his spear, with which they slew his chariot horses.
Again the bards demanded his spear, and they:

‘threw the spear, and it went through and through Cuchulain’s body, and he knew he had got his deadly
wound; and his bowels came out on the cushions of the chariot,’
(Lady Gregory: page 255)

Knowing that death was near, Cuchulain dragged himself to a lake and quenched the thirst brought upon
him by near death. As he lay dying, his head was cut off by his enemies, as was his sword hand.

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Cuchulain’s body was taken to Tara, where he was buried under a great mound. Cuchulain, Hound of
Ulster, was no more.

But was Cuchulain real? The Gaelic bard and warrior Ossian referred to Cuchulain as Cuthullin in the third
century AD; Ossian’s work was translated between 1760 and 1763 by Scotsman James Macpherson, but
later authors have claimed that Macpherson’s work was mostly created by himself. Perhaps the single most
important author to bring Cuchulain to modern audiences was Lady Isabella Augusta Gregory, who
devoted much of her time after the death of her husband in 1891 to the study of Irish folklore and
mythology. Many intriguing episodes, probably separate myths in their own right, have been incorporated
into the Irish myth cycle and Cuchulain’s legend in particular.

Ireland did not commit its history into writing until the early medieval period. If Ossian really did make
note of Cuchulain in the third century AD, we know that his historical place must fall at or before this date.
However, I think it is more likely that Cuchulain’s supposed place in history falls far earlier in the Celtic
Iron Age; Conchobar, Cuchulain’s uncle and guardian, was said to have died on the day of Christ’s
crucifixion, although this reference seemingly follows the attempts of later storytellers to Christianise
pagan figures. The Celts from whom Cuchulain descended probably settled in or traded in Ireland in the
third century BC as part of the La Tene cultural movement.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of later Iron Age Celtic is the highly structured way in which society
operated. Different strata of society had their own well defined place, and laws were laid down to allow the
Celts to live peaceable lives, aside from small scale raiding and minor feuds. The role that a warrior like
Cuchulain would play in such a society was as the defender of the people and champion of the king. Such a
warrior would hold a high rank in society, and be expected to represent his people in battle – either in a
personal duel or as a leading figure on the battlefield. Battle in Ireland in the Iron Age was endemic. Much
of what we know of Celtic battles comes from classical writers such as Julius Caesar and Tacitus. Such
writers portrayed the Celts in barbaric splendour, in a less than subtle display of propaganda against the
enemies of Rome. A warrior elite existed comprising of minor nobles, relations of the chieftain, and others
whose skills had been well demonstrated in battle.

The legends surrounding Cuchulain makes it clear that one of the warrior elite’s main pastimes – aside
from fighting one another for prestige and reputation – was raiding rival clans. The Irish economy was
dependent upon gold and cattle, and raiders targeted these. The splendid, vivid image of the Celt at war left
by classical writers presents a violent and unforgiving image. Proudly parading, sometimes appearing to
fight naked, and making a huge noise with both war horns and battle cries, a Celtic warband would have
had quite an effect on the majority of opponents. A lower class clansmen would have arrayed himself on
the battlefield armed with a shield, a spear (possibly supplemented by javelins) and perhaps a sword. Bare
from the chest up (or clad in a tunic in the temperate climates of Ireland), and usually wearing trousers on
his lower half, such a warrior would have relied on his individual fighting skills for survival, as opposed to
any well-rehearsed cohesive tactics involving his fellow clan members.

Such warriors, en masse, formed up into roughly linear formations, and upon a given signal (or sometimes
before they were supposed to), charged headlong at their enemies. Such a charge could break a foe at first
contact. Thus, a battle involving Cuchulain’s Celts could be won or lost in the first five minutes.

Young, unproven warriors fought as skirmishers ahead of, or to the side of, the main battle line. Javelins,
slingshot, and arrows would all have been directed at the enemy, in an attempt to disorder them. Richer
warriors fought in a similar way to ordinary warriors (with spears, swords and shield) yet with more
protection, and more practised weapon handling skills. Helmets and mail may have been reserved for the
nobility and upper class warbands. The famous Battersea Shield and Waterloo Bridge helmet dredged from
the river Thames in London show Celtic military craftsmanship at its best. Another helmet from Romania
had a huge, flying bronze bird on its crest; many other less ostentatious headgear is also known of –
including ‘jockey’ helmets (as the name suggests, similar in style to a reversed jockey’s helmet), and
conical helmets with top knobs on them. Body armour may have comprised occasionally of bronze, iron or
leather breast plates, and in the later Celtic period at least, chainmail, which was almost certainly a Celtic

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invention in itself; as noted above, only the richer warriors would have been able to afford such armour –
Pausanias telling us that the vast majority of Celts had no protection apart from their large shields. The
shields that the Celts used were often described as being colourful, and long or oblong in design; most
measured about three and a half feet long by two feet wide at the middle.

The legends surrounding Cuchulain frequently mention chariots. The social standing of those using the
chariots – and their drivers – is clearly implied. The driver was very much the chauffeur to the aristocratic
warrior; although the social standing of the driver is not explicitly outlined in Irish myth, enough is implied
to suggest that the driver was of a lower class than his passenger, yet still highly considered in society. The
warrior transported by chariot is always a professional warrior in Irish myth, and the level of martial skill
displayed from the account of Julius Caesar supports this idea:

‘At first they ride along the whole line and hurl javelins; the terror inspired by the horses and the noise of
the wheels generally throw the enemy ranks into confusion. Then when they have worked their way
between the lines of their own cavalry, they jump down from the chariots and fight on foot. Meanwhile the
drivers withdraw a little from the field and place the chariots so that their masters, if hard pressed by the
enemy, have an easy retreat to their ranks.’
(quoted in Ritchie & Ritchie: page 32)

Perhaps one of the most surprising elements of Irish myth to the modern reader is the assertion that women
were sometimes accomplished warriors. Strabo, the Classical writer, recorded another sensational quirk of
the Celts: headtaking. Cuchulain himself drove back to Ulster from a raid into Connaught with the heads of
his enemies dangling from his chariot car.

Further reading:
Gregory, Lady IA. Cuchulain of Muirthemne
Mersey, DS. Legendary Warriors in Myth and Reality
Ritchie, WF & Ritchie, JNG. Celtic Warriors
Rolleston, TW. Celtic Myths and Legends
Ryan, M (ed). The Illustrated Archaeology of Ireland
Warry, J. Warfare in the Classical World

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