Ossian Collection > Heroic and Ossianic literature

hach's school that he fell in with Ferdia MacDamain, the Fir-bolg
champion, who was the only man that could match Cuchulinn.
Their friendship was great for one another, and they swore never
to oppose one another.
Aoife or Eva, daughter of Scathach, and also an amazon,
fell in love with Cuchulinn, and he temporarly married her, but
like those heroes, he forgot her as soon as he left hei'. His son
by her, Conloch, was not born before he left. When Cuchulinn
returned to Erin he married Emer, daughter of Forgill, taking her
by force from her friends.
We now come to the great "Tain Bo Chualgne," the "queen of
Celtic epics," as Kennedy says. The scene shifts to Meave's palace
at Cruachan. She and Ailill have a disjiute in bed one night as to
the amount of property each had. They reckoned cattle, jewels,
arms, cloaks, chess-boards, war-chariots, slaves, and nevertheless
found their possessions exactly equal. At last Ailill recollected the
famous bull Finn-beannach (white-horned), which, after having
ruled Meave's herds for a while, left them in disgust, as being the
property of a woman, and joined the cattle of Ailill. Much
chagrin was her portion, until she recollected that Dai'e of Facht-
na in Cualgne possessed a brown bull, Bonn Ghuailgne, the finest
beast in all Erin. She sent Fergus Mac Roich, with a company,
to ask the bull for a year, and he should then be returned with
lifty heifers and a chariot worth 63 cows. Dare consented, and
and lodged Meave's deputies for the niglit. But getting uproarious
in their cui^s, they boasted that if Dare would not give the bull
willingly, they would take it by force. This so annoyed Dare that
he sent Meave's embassy back without the bull. The queen was
enraged, and at once summoned her native forces, including Ferdia
and his Firbolg, and invited Fergus and Cormac to join her with
all their followers. This they did, but unwillingly. So the large
army moved against Ulster, Meave accompanying them in lier
chariot — a lady of large size, fair face, and yellow hair, a curiously
carved spear in her hand, and her crimson cloak fastened by a
golden brooch.
The people of Ulster, meanwhile, were suffering from a
])eriodical feebleness tliat came upon them for a heinous crime
committed by them. They were, therefore, in a condition of
childish helplessness, and they could neither hold shield or throw
lance.
But when Meave, at the head of her exulting troops, ap-
proached the fords which gave access to the territory of Dare,
there stood Cuchulinn. He demanded single combat from the