The Last Hero of Ulster: an Alternative to the Heroic Biography Tradition of Conall Cernach

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The Last Hero of Ulster: An Alternative to the Heroic Biography Tradition of Conall Cernach

A thesis presented by

Emmet Taylor

The Department of Celtic Studies

In partial fulfillment of the requirements

For the degree of

Master of Arts

In the subject of Celtic Studies

St. Francis Xavier University

Antigonish, Nova Scotia

March 2019

Author’s Declaration

I, Emmet Taylor, hereby declare that I have not committed plagiarism in the writing of this thesis.

Thursday, March 7th, 2019.

Abstract

This thesis examines the characterisation of Conall Cernach, a hero from the Ulster Cycle of medieval Irish literature. While he is often relegated to the sidelines in scholarly discussions of the Ulster Cycle as a non-significant member of the cast of characters, this thesis establishes a remarkable consistency of his characterisation across eight centuries and over thirty saga texts. Six distinct narrative themes can be established: Conall serving as a guardian for others, Conall collecting severed heads, Conall being associated with riding on horseback, Conall visiting the rest of Europe, Conall feuding with the Connacht hero Cet mac Magach, and Conall becoming an elderly man as he searches for an honourable death.

As evidenced by the presence of these themes across such a large span of time and number of texts, the original authors, compilers, and audiences of the sagas considered Conall an important character, important enough, at least, to deserve a consistent characterization. Clearly these medieval people had established views and conceptions as to how he should act, and what role he had within the narrative of the Ulster Cycle.

Therefore, this thesis suggests that modern scholarship ought to reconsider its previous outlook on Conall Cernach and give him the same significance he was afforded by the original creators and consumers of the Ulster Cycle.

This thesis has only been completed due to the kindness and friendship of others.

My friends at the University of Cambridge, Utrecht University, the Florida Institute of Technology, the Ludwig-Maximilian-University of Munich, and one rogue retired religious studies professor helped me develop this thesis from a vague idea.

My friends at home in Ottawa, London, here at Saint Francis Xavier University, and in stranger places still, gave me support and kept me sane with friendly faces.

My family, Taylor, Mahoney, and Kavanagh helped in their own special ways including one notable instance of saving me from almost accidentally giving away the legal rights to all research I produce for my entire life, and help with libraries.

Professor Michael Linkletter has given me opportunities to learn and grow here so far from home, as well as his lecture on Scéla Muicce Meic Da Thó being the first time I seriously considered Conall Cernach as a character.

And lastly, Professor Ranke de Vries has taught me that I can learn new languages despite the oddities of my brain, how to continually improve my writing, and given me a new role model as I hopefully continue my education in the field.

Thank you all.

Table of Contents

1.0 – Introduction 7 1.1 – Previous Works 9 1.2 – Heroic Biographies 11 1.3 – Methodological Approach 15 2.0 – Corpus of Texts 17 3.0 – Guardian 51 3.1 – Historical Context 52 3.2 – The Shield of the North: Guardian of Ulster 53 3.3 – A Living Shield: Bodyguard 58 3.4 – Safeguarding the Dead: Retributitive Killings 63 3.5 – The Honour of Ulster: Protecting Honour 67 3.6 – Conclusions 71 4.0 – Headhunter 73 4.1 – Historical Context 74 4.2 – Cranium Captor: Headhunting 76 4.3 – Written In Fate: Reputation as a Headhunter 82 4.4 - Conclusions 85 5.0 – Horseman 88 5.1 – Historical Context 88 5.2 – The Red Rider: Riding 90 5.3 - Conclusions 94 6.0 – Wanderer 96 6.1 – Historical Context 97 6.2 – On Foreign Shores: Location 98 6.3 – Conclusions 103 7.0 – Conflict with Cet 104 7.1 – Historical Context 104 7.2 – All In The Family: Interfamily Violence 106 7.3 – Breach Of The Pattern: Cooperation 113 7.4 - Conclusions 115 8.0 – Last Man Standing 118 8.1 – Historical Context 119 8.2 – The Man Who Would Not Die: Supernatural Endurence 120 8.3 – Old Man Conall: Age 124 8.4 – Conclusions 128 9.0 – Conclusions 131

10.0 – Bibliography 135

Foreword - Who Is Conall Cernach?

Conall Cernach is one of the heroes of the kingdom of Ulster during the events of a collection of early Irish sagas dubbed the ‘Ulster Cycle.’ These heroes are, as far as one can tell without an in-depth analysis of the subject, a specially trained class of warrior. Their talents can be expressed in mundane ways, as well as with overtly supernatural feats. Geneologically, Conall is the son of the warrior-poet Amairgein and Finnchaím, and through Finnchaím, the grandson of

Cathbad the druid. Through Cathbad’s line, he is therefore the nephew of Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, and is related to other heroes such as the famed Cú Chulainn and the tragic

Noisiu.

Physically, Conall Cernach is described as having a crooked neck from a childhood injury, or in one story it is caused by an abscess on his neck, though is otherwise beautiful.

Conall is described as having curly golden hair that is so voluminous that the curls can catch falling nuts and reach past his waist. One of his eyes is black, and the other blue, with one cheek red and the other white. He carries a shield called Conall Cernach’s Lámthapad or the Bricriu of

Conall Cernach, which is blood red with rivets of white bronze attaching golden plates to the face. He rides a terrifying dog-headed horse named Derg Drúchtach that foams at the mouth with such severity it appears as though it is caught in a snowstorm. At one point it viciously mauls a rival of Conall’s during a duel.

Often presented in simple terms as second to Cú Chulainn’s greatness as a hero, a more apt comparison of the cousins is that where Cú Chulainn takes the role of the ‘Unstoppable

Force,’ Conall Cernach is his counterpart as the ‘Immovable Object.’ He survives grotesqueries inflicted on his body, serves as a stalwart guardian, and survives to old age where all his friends die young. He is, among many things, the last hero, guardian, headhunter, and wanderer.

1.0 - Introduction

The scholarship of the Ulster Cycle is dominated by the presence of Cú Chulainn. There are two reasons for this: firstly, he is cast as the dominant protagonist and therefore supplies a glut of material to study; secondly, this young hound is riddled with potential symbolic features, ripe to be uncovered by a keen scholarly mind. The literary corpse of Cú Chulainn is ripe for the scholars of Celtic Studies to pick apart, each scholar scouring for the perfect trophy to pluck from the gore to show the world.

This allure of Cú Chulainn has pushed other figures from the Ulster Cycle to the margins to be forgotten or called upon as mere accessories to Cú Chulainn’s story. One of these figures is

Conall Cernach, who, despite being one of the primary heroes of Ulster in the Ulster Cycle and appearing in more texts than the rest of his fellow warriors,1 has been hitherto largely overlooked by scholarship. While Conall Cernach is frequently presented as simply part of the literary backdrop of the Ulster Cycle, a close examination of the texts demonstrates his unique significance, and the depth of his character. Over thirty saga texts include Conall Cernach, sometimes at a fleeting glance mentioned only briefly or as second fiddle to Cú Chulainn, but at other times discussed in great detail as the protagonist. This thesis will attempt to highlight the important aspects of his character which will help to demonstrate that Conall Cernach is a significant figure in his own right, and that he is as worthy of study as Cú Chulainn, Fergus mac

Róich, Medb, Ailill, or the other colossi of the Ulster Cycle.

1 According to Barbara Hillers, Conall Cernach appears in more of the major sagas than any of the heroes from the Ulster Cycle including his young cousin Cú Chulainn. While Cú Chulainn has more of a lasting presence in oral tradition, during the Ulster Cycle itself, Conall Cernach leads the pack in appearances; Barbara Hillers, 1994: ‘The Heroes of the Ulster Cycle,’ Ulidia 1, 99-106: 103.

While the favoured methodological approach for a biographical thesis such as this in

Celtic Studies would be to employ a heroic biography template, such as The Unheroic Biography of Bricriu mac Carbada by Nina Y. Chekhonadskaya2 or The Heroic Biography of Cú Chulainn by Lisa Gibney,3 this thesis will not do so. Instead, this thesis aims to examine Conall’s character from a post-structuralist perspective as well as a culturally relativistic perspective rather than imposing modernly created structures onto the corpus for comparative analysis. This thesis will comprise a reading of his life as told across multiple sagas, drawing forth consistent themes presented across these tales in order to more clearly understand the authors’ original notion of

Conall’s character.

By doing this, this thesis aims to accomplish three goals to further the field of Celtic

Studies. Firstly, by compiling all, or at least a vast majority, of the known information about

Conall Cernach into a single location, this thesis aims to make Conall accessible to scholars both inside and outside the field working on heroes and to establish his character. Secondly, by improving the accessibility of Conall Cernach’s character, this thesis aims to provide a new figure for in-depth analysis of various topics of Irish saga literature such as the nature of heroism which has thus far been restrained to examining Cú Chulainn, Finn, Fergus mac Róich, and occasionally Lugh. Lastly, by using a post-structuralist approach and abandoning the heroic biography structure, this thesis aims to provide an example of the benefits of such an approach for the field.

Before examining the saga appearances of Conall Cernach, this paper will briefly address previous works on Conall in scholarship, explain the history and function of heroic biographies,

2 Nina Y. Chekhonadskaya, 2005: ‘The Unheroic Biography of Bricriu mac Carbada,’ Ulidia 2, 252-261. 3 Lisa Gibney, 2004: ‘The Heroic Biography of Cú Chulainn,’ unpublished MA thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.

provide a critique of heroic biographies, as well as explain the methodological approach that will be taken for this thesis in detail.

1.1 - Previous Works

Thus far, modern scholarship has only examined the character of Conall Cernach a small number of times. For the purpose of this thesis, four instances of the scholarly discussion of his character will be reviewed. While these projects examined the character and potential meaning of

Conall Cernach within the saga texts, this thesis will not significantly overlap with any of these sources.

Margaret E. Dobbs’ discussion of Conall Cernach was the subject of her article ‘The

Traditions of Conall Cernach’ in The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland volume 59.4 The paper collects a large number of Conall’s saga appearances and attempts to identify Conall’s historical function as an ancestor for various Irish dynasties as well as explain the geographic locations associated with Conall’s character. While this paper has proven helpful to establish the list of texts to examine, this thesis will work with a greater number of texts as well as examine each in greater detail than Dobbs’ article. Dobbs’ suggestions of an older pre-

Táin tradition of Conall Cernach are tantalizing, but impossible to be firmly established.

Hanneke van der Linden’s analysis of Conall Cernach was the subject of her bachelor's thesis at Utrecht University, entitled Conall Cernach, een ierse Held: De Heroïsche Biographie van Conall Cernach (‘Conall Cernach, an Irish hero: the heroic biography of Conall Cernach’). 5

As the title suggests, this thesis involved placing Conall Cernach into a Heroic Biography

4 Margaret E. Dobbs, 1929: ‘The Traditions of Conall Cernach,’ in The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Sixth Series, vol. 59 (1929), 116-27. 5 Hanneke van der Linden, 2014: ‘Conall Cernach Een Ierse Held: De Heroïsche Biografie van Conall Cernach,’ unpublished BA thesis, Utrecht University. Translation provided by Dr. Ranke de Vries.

template, specifically the one published by Jan de Vries in 1963. The paper drew upon twenty- three different texts, and concluded that the heroic biography template would benefit from a series of alterations as it ultimately struggled to represent Conall.6 I agree with van der Linden’s findings, though I differ in the conclusions to be drawn from them. I would suggest that instead of showing a need to alter the heroic biographical template, this shows that the basic notion of an international heroic biography system is flawed and should be critically examined.

As van der Linden’s thesis was unable to draw upon the entirety of Conall’s literary corpus and used a heroic biography template to structure her analysis of Conall’s character, I believe that my thesis will not have significant overlap with van der Linden’s work due to the wider scope, and different methodological approach. I agree with her conclusion, that the Heroic

Biography templates are unsuitable for the heroes of the Irish sagas without alterations. Our differences only arise in van der Linden desiring to fix that which is flawed, and I seek to find an alternative.

James P. Mallory’s article on Conall Cernach is ‘The Career of Conall Cernach,’7 published in Emania 6. Following a similar structure to Dobbs, Mallory collated a great number of descriptions of Conall Cernach in his article, including most of the stories discussed here in this thesis. While this paper has proved helpful to ensure no texts were missed, Mallory did not provide much analysis of the material presented. However, it serves as a useful introduction for his character.

6 For a discussion of issues and suggestions for adaptations, see p. 36 ff. As van der Linden points out, ‘Het is onmogelijk om een compact heldenpatroon te ontwerpen waarin all helden uit de Indo-Europese literatuur passen. Hiervoor zijn er teveel culturele verschillen; het begrip ‘held’ bevat verspreid over de Indo-Europese literatuur niet altijd dezelfde kenmerken.’ (‘It is impossible to design a compact heroic pattern that includes all heroes from Indo- European literature. There are too many cultural differences to achieve this; the concept ‘hero’ does not always display the same characteristics throughout Indo-European literatures.’) (van der Linden, 2014: 41-42) Translation provided by Dr. Ranke de Vries. 7 James P. Mallory, 1989: ‘The Career of Conall Cernach,’ in Emania 6, 22-28.

Paula Powers Coe’s work on the subject of Conall Cernach was the subject of her doctoral dissertation at the University of California, entitled Macha and Conall Cernach: A

Study of Two Iconographic Patterns in Medieval Irish Narratives and Celtic Art.8 This thesis did not entail a complete biography of Conall, and instead drew comparisons between Conall and the continental Celtic figure identified as Cernunnos on the Pillar of the Boatmen.9 Her thesis discussed various potential connections between the two figures, such as an alternative interpretation of Conall’s crooked neck as antlers, and potential linguistic connections between the name Cernunnos and Conall’s epithet Cernach.

While Coe’s work did touch on Conall’s life as seen in the sagas, it was not exhaustive as that was not the purpose of the work. I believe that this thesis will not overlap with Coe’s work as while both projects are on the topic of Conall, both are approaching his character for entirely different reasons, with different goals, and intentions in mind.

1.2 - Heroic Biographies

The basic premise of the heroic biographies approach is that there is a basic underlying narrative structure, or in the very least similar narrative beats, in the stories of heroic figures across human cultures. This theory was originally proposed by Edward Tylor in his 1871 work

Primitive Culture,10 in which Tylor made a foray into the notion of an empirical approach to myth, desiring a “scientific myth-interpretation”11 where one could “[arrange] [myths] in large compared groups, [in order to make] it possible to trace in mythology the operation of

8 Paula Powers Coe, 1995: ‘Macha and Conall Cernach: A Study of Two Iconographic Patterns in Medieval Irish Narratives and Celtic Art,’ unpublished PhD thesis, University of California. 9 Coe, 1995: 348 – 376; John T. Koch, 2006: Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia, vol. 2. (ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara: 2006: 396. 10 Edward B. Tylor, 1920: Primitive Culture: Researches Into The Development of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Language, Art, and Custom, vol. I. John Murray, London: 1920. 11 Tylor, 1920: 282.

imaginative processes.”12 As evidence of these narrative groups, Tylor drew on the notion of a young hero being suckled by animals,13 suggesting that in the study of these texts, they should be regarded as part of a collective whole.

Five years after Tylor published his proposed system of comparison, Johann Georg von

Hahn wrote Sagwissenschaftliche Studien,14 which narrowed the proposed pan-cultural system of

Tylor to focusing on ‘Aryan’15 heroes, and developed the first ‘template,’ a series of sixteen steps or narrative beats that heroic narratives tend to follow.16 Shortly after von Hahn’s publication of his theory, Alfred Nutt realized that von Hahn’s template struggled to represent

Celtic heroic narratives, and Nutt proposed a series of changes to von Hahn’s base template in

1881.17 Both of these approaches built on Tylor’s initial theory of common narrative threads in human stories, and from his initial proposal, he constructed formalized narrative templates to allow for a more scientific study of the narratives. However, while the pair advanced Tylor’s theory in this direction, they walked back Tylor’s initial claims of his observed pattern

12 Tylor, 1920: 282. 13 Tylor, 1920: 282; The heroes Tylor mentions are Cyrus from Herodotus, Romulus and Remus from Rome, Waligora and Wyrwidab from Slavonic folk-lore, Dieterich from Germany, Satavahana and Singbaba from India, Burta-Chino from the Turkish peoples, and Tiri from the Yuracaré people of Brazil. 14 Johann Georg von Hahn, 1876: Sagwissenschaftliche Studien. Friedrich Mauke’s Verlag, Jena: 1876. 15 This use of ‘aryan’ pre-dates the Nazi use of the term which obviously heavily changed its context. How Tylor used the term is closer to the modern use of ‘Indo-European’ in that it makes reference to a theoretical grouping of cultures that have some sort of shared system. 16 These proposed sixteen steps are translated by Alfred Nutt in: Alfred Nutt, 1881: ‘The Aryan Expulsion-and- Return-Formula in the Folk and Hero Tales of the Celts’ in The Folk-Lore Record 4, 1-44; According to Nutt, they are as follows: “1. Hero is born out of wedlock; 2. Mother, princess residing on her own country; 3. Father, god or hero from afar; 4. Tokens and warnings of hero’s future greatness; 5. He is in consequence driven forth from home; 6. Is suckled by wild beasts; 7. Is brought up by a childless (shepherd) couple; 8. Is of passionate and violent disposition; 9. Seeks service in foreign lands; 10. He returns to his own country, retreats; 11. Overcomes his enemies frees his mother, and seats himself on the throne; 12. He founds cities; 13. The manner of his death is extraordinary; 14. He is accused of incest; he dies young; 15. He injures an inferior, who takes revenge upon him or upon his children; 16. He slays his younger brother.” (Nutt, 1881: 1-2) 17 These proposed changes to the steps described in footnote 12 are adding “or posthumously, or supernaturally” to step 1., “or by a widow” to step 7., adding two subpoints, “He attacks and slays monsters” and “He acquires supernatural knowledge through eating a magic fish” to step 9.” (Nutt, 1881: 1-2)

functioning on a global scale, as they were both primarily concerned with Indo-European peoples.

While von Hahn’s system of a ‘template’ to use as an analytical tool would eventually prove popular, his narrower approach to Tylor’s system was abandoned in Otto Rank’s 1914 work ‘The Myth of the Birth of the Hero’,18 which returned to Tylor’s original global aims.

Tylor’s original goal, to create a more scientific method of analysis, was also continued by Rank, who suggested a psychological basis for the similarities in mythic narratives across the world.

Rank argued that “the psychological study of these myths might help to reveal the source from which has uniformly flowed at all times, and in all places, an identical content of the myths.”19

Just as Rank abandoned his predecessor's systems and brought ideas from an earlier period of the theory back to the forefront, Lord Raglan’s 1934 work ‘The Hero of Tradition’20 did the same. Lord Raglan abandoned Rank’s psychological approach to the system of analysis and resurrected von Hahn’s systematic ‘template’ for the analysis of heroic lives. Lord Raglan examined a collection of European and Near Eastern Heroes,21 noting that the common narrative moments he observed were centered around various stages of the hero’s life that would qualify as rites of passage.22 Lord Raglan began to tally the ‘points’ each hero earned by qualifying for each of his template’s twenty two life-events23 following Tylor’s initial aims for a scientific, empirical method of analysing mythological patterns.

18 Otto Rank, 1914: ‘The Myth of the Birth of the Hero: A Psychological Interpretation,’ in Nervous and Mental Disease Monograph Series, 18: 1-100. 19 Rank, 1914: 6. 20 Lord Raglan, 1934: ‘The Hero of Tradition,’ in Folklore 45, 212-231. 21 Lord Raglan, though making claims to a larger scale, drew from a very geographically limited pool of heroes. He looked at Oedipus, Theseus, Romulus, Heracles, Perseus, Jason, Bellerophon, Pelops, Asclepius, Dionysus, Apollo, Zeus, Joseph, Moses, Elijah, Siegfried, Arthur, and Nyikang. (Lord Raglan, 1934: 213-220) 22 Lord Raglan, 1934: 221. 23 These points are: “1. His mother is a royal virgin; 2. His father is a king, and; 3. Often a near relative of his mother, but; 4. The circumstances of his conception are unusual, and; 5. He is also reputed to be the son of a god; 6. At birth an attempt is made, often by his father, to kill him, but; 7. He is spirited away, and; 8. Reared by foster- parents in a far country; 9. We are told nothing of his childhood, but; 10. On reaching manhood he returns or goes to

These five works culminated with the publication of Heroic Song and Heroic Legend24 in

1963 by Jan de Vries, who identified what he called “the pattern of an heroic life,”25 which comprises ten distinct steps,26 and was intended to function pan-culturally. De Vries positioned himself as part of the pedigree of the scholars previously discussed, explaining his theory’s heritage coming from von Hahn, and Lord Raglan, though he does criticize Raglan.27 Jan de

Vries does draw upon a larger collection of heroic figures for his analysis,28 although by his own admission they “confine [themselves] to the area of Indo-European historic legend,”29 which does leave questionable areas in his claims for a potentially global function.

his future kingdom; 11. After a victory over the king and/or a giant, dragon, or wild beast; 12. He marries a princess, often the daughter of his predecessor, and; 13. Becomes king; 14. For a time he reigns uneventfully, and; 15. Prescribes laws, but; 16. Later he loses favour with the gods and/or his subjects, and; 17. Is driven from the throne and city; 18. He meets with a mysterious death; 19. Often on the top of a hill; 20. His children, if any, do not succeed him; 21. His body is not buried, but nonetheless; 22. He has one or more holy sepulchres.” (Lord Raglan, 1934: 212 - 213) 24 Jan de Vries, 1963: de Vries, Jan. Heroic Song and Heroic Legend, translated by B. J. Timmer. Oxford University Press, London: 1963. 25 de Vries, 1963: 210. 26 The ten steps identified by de Vries are: “I. The begetting of the hero... II. The birth of a hero... III. The youth of the hero is threatened... IV. The way in which the hero is brought up... V. The hero often acquires invulnerability... VI. One of the most common heroic deeds is the fight with a dragon or another monster... VII. The hero wins a maiden, usually after overcoming great dangers... VIII. The hero makes an expedition to the Underworld... IX. When the hero is banished in his youth he returns later and is victorious over his enemies. In some cases, he has to leave the realm again which he has won with such difficulty... X. The death of the hero.” (de Vries, 1963: 211 - 217). 27 According to de Vries, Raglan’s template as inconsistently reasoned, and that it includes superfluous motifs that only hold secondary significance; de Vries, 1963: 210 - 211. 28 The heroes that de Vries uses for his analysis are compiled here; Abrahamic: Moses, and Nimrod; Danish: Hamlet, Forgerus, and Offa; Egyptian: Re; Etruscan: Messapus; Finnish: Lemminkäinen, Väinämöinen; French: Ferragus, Ourson, Percival, and Rainoart; Fula: Samba Kullung; Germanic: Beowulf, Heimir, Sigfried, Wolfdietrich, and the Knight of the Swan; Gothic: Theoderic; Greece: Achilles, Aeneas, Aeolus, Aias, Ajax, Amphion, Anius, Antilochus, Apollo, Asclepius, Athena, Bellerophon, Bopotos, Castor, Chiron, Clytemnestra, Cycnus, Dionysus, Helen, Heracles, Hippothous, Jason, Leucastus, Meleager, Minos, Nelus, Odysseus, Oedipus, Orestes, Paris, Parrhasius, Pelias, Pelops, Pelus, Polyxenus, Pterelaus, Telephus, Theseus, Zethus, and Zeus; Hungary: Hunyadi; India: Karna, and Mamdhatr; Irish: Balor, Conganchnes, Cormac mac Airt, Cú Chulainn, Fer Diad, and Lugaid Riab n-Derg; Macedonian: Alexander; Mesopotamia: Gilgamesh, Marduk, Nebuchadnezzar, and Sargon; Norse: Balder, Glúmr, Grettir, Helgi, Mimir, Sinfjötli, Starkad, Thorsteinn, and Vali; Persia: Abu G’far, Achaimenes, Artachsir, Bahram Gor, Cyrus, Feridun, Gushtasp, Isfandiar, Kaj Chosrev, Kavad, Rumstum, Sam, Spandiyadh, and Zal; Roman: Romulus and Remus; Serbia: Milosh Obilitch; Slavic: Charko, Dobrynya Nikititch, Ilya, Ilya Murometch, Rogdai, Valigora, and Vyrvidab; Welsh: Llew Llaw Gyffes, Taliesin, and Tristan; As a comment, several of these appear to be misidentifications on the part of de Vries, such as listing Mirmir as a Germanic figure when he had made a special section for the Norse, and listing Re as a figure who fought with a ‘dragon’ embodying Chaos when the figure who clashes with Apep is Set. (de Vries, 1963: 211-226) 29 de Vries, 1963: 211.

These systems of analysis for the lives of heroes, especially the templates devised by von

Hahn, Nutt, Lord Raglan, and de Vries have proven to be popular methods of analysis for characters from heroic literature. In Celtic Studies, these templates have thus far been the primary method of analysis for such characters, as seen in Tomás Ó Cathasaigh’s 1977 work The

Heroic Biography of Cormac mac Airt,30 Lisa Gibney’s 2004 Master’s Thesis The Heroic

Biography of Cú Chulainn,31 Nina Y. Chekhonadskaya’s 2009 project The Unheroic Biography of Bricriu mac Carbada,32 Anna Pagé’s 2015 thesis The ‘Heroic Biography’ Pattern in the Birth and Death Tales of Conchobor mac Nessa,33 the aforementioned Hanneke van der Linden’s 2014

Bachelor’s Thesis Conall Cernach, een ierse Held: De Heroïsche Biographie van Conall

Cernach,34 and Patricia Ní Mhaoileoin’s 2015 PhD Thesis The Heroic Biography of Fergus mac

Róich.35

However, despite its popularity within Celtic Studies, as van der Linden pointed out, flaws exist when attempting to apply this system to Celtic figures. I would extend van der

Linden’s observation to challenge the basic premise of an international heroic biography system as serious flaws exist with the conception of these systems both in the evidence used for their construction, and the basic premise of comparison that allows the system to function.

1.3 - Methodological Approach

30 Tomás Ó Cathasaigh, 1977: The Heroic Biography of Cormac mac Airt. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin: 1977 31 Lisa Gibney, 2004: ‘The Heroic Biography of Cú Chulainn,’ unpublished MA thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth. 32 Chekhonadskaya, 2005: 252-261. 33 Anna Pagé, 2011: ‘The ‘Heroic Biography’ Pattern in the Birth and Death Tales of Conchobar mac Nessa,’ unpublished paper presented at the CSANA Annual Meeting, May 19-22, 2011 at Ohio State University. 34 van der Linden, 2014. 35 Patricia Ní Mhaoileoin, 2015: ‘The Heroic Biography of Fergus mac Róich: A Case Study in the Heroic- Biographical Pattern in Old and Middle Irish Literature,’ unpublished PhD thesis, National University of Ireland Galway.

As the primary goal of this thesis is to examine how Conall Cernach was perceived by his original authors in the medieval period, a heroic biography, which examines a figure from a modern comparative perspective, would compromise this base goal. In lieu of one of these heroic biographies, this thesis will take a post-structural historicist approach which will examine over thirty sagas from the 8th through 16th-centuries where Conall Cernach is present and examine six themes that appear across multiple texts. The thesis will begin with a discussion of Conall

Cernach’s function as a guardian, moving into a discussion of headhunting, horsemanship, his journeys to distant lands, his conflict with Cet mac Magach, and lastly his old age.

These aspects of his characterisation appear standardized across manuscripts and centuries, suggesting that they were the primary features associated with his character by his authors. Features of Conall’s character that change over time, such as which specific lands were owned by Conall, can be regarded as less fundamental to his character as opposed to themes that persist from his first appearance to his last.

This methodological approach to the thesis has been intentionally tailored to accomplish all three of the stated goals. Drawing upon all, or almost all, of his appearances within saga literature and presenting them in a consistent format will fulfill the goal of compiling all information on Conall Cernach for future use. As the approach will focus on an examination of the repeated themes of Conall Cernach to present the key aspects of his character from the perspective of the original authors of these texts, it will fulfill the goal of an in-depth analysis of his character. The success of this method of analysis will show that a post-structural analysis of heroic lives such as this is just as valid as the more popular structuralist methodology of the heroic biography and shows the benefits of this alternative system.

2.0 – Corpus of Texts

As this thesis intends to present as close to a complete collection of Conall Cernach’s depiction in medieval Irish texts as possible, the corpus of texts for the project is fairly exhaustive. To reduce repetitive explanations of texts each time one is introduced during the course of this project, as well as to make this project more approachable to individuals outside of the field with less exposure to these texts, in the following section, summaries and dating information for discussed texts can be found. These texts are arranged alphabetically by their

Irish name to make searching easier, and are preceded by an explanation for all abbreviations used in this thesis.

As the main focus of this thesis is on the role and themes associated with Conall Cernach within these texts, the summaries have been abbreviated. Instead of explaining an entire text, these summaries explain Conall Cernach’s role in the narrative. While for some tales this means a complete explanation is necessary, a shorter summary suffices.

AC = Aided Conchobar CCu = Cath Cumair

ACMM = Aided Cheit maic Magach CRR = Cath Ruis na Ríg

AOA 1 = Aided Óenfir Aífe D. Ac = Dindshenchas of Achall

BMM = Brislech mór Maige Muirthemne D. CC = Dindshenchas of Carn Conaill

CA 2 = Cóir Anmann 2 D. DE = Dindshenchas of Dumae n-Eirc

CA 3 = Cóir Anmann 3 D. FB = Dindshenchas of Fich mBúana

CAi = Cath Airtig D. ML = Dindshenchas of Mag Luirg

CCC = Compert Con Culainn D. UB = Dindshenchas of Úaig Búana

FB = Fled Bricrend TBC R1 = Táin Bó Cúailnge Recension 1

FBE = Fianna Bátar i nEmain TBC R2 = Táin Bó Cúailnge Recesnsion 2

FCC = Foglaim Con Culainn TBC R3 = Táin Bó Cúailnge Recension 3

GCC = Goire Conaill Chernaig (i TBDC = Togail Bruidne Dá Choca

Crúachain) 7 Aided Ailella 7 Conaill TBDD = Togail Bruidne Dá Derga

Chernaig TBF = Táin Bó Fraích

LEC = Leabhar Leacain TE = Tochmarc Emire

MU = Mesca Ulad TEt = Talland Étair

OCC = Oidheadh Con Culainn TLA = Tochmarc Lúaine ocus aided

OCU = Oidheadh Chloinne hUisneach Athaine

SCC = Serglige Con Culainn TT = Tochmarc Treblainne

SMMD = Scéla Mucce Meic Da Thó

Similarly to these abbreviations for the saga texts discussed in this thesis, here you can find a short collection of abbreviations used to refer to specific manuscripts discussed at points during this thesis.

BB = Book of Ballymote (Leabhar Bhaile an Mhóta)

LL = Book of Leinster (Lebor Laignech)

LU = Lebor na hUidre

YBL = Yellow Book of Lecan (Leabhar Buidhe Leacain)

Aided Chonchobair

Aided Chonchobair ‘The Violent Death of Conchobar,’36 is found in four different versions, namely A, B, C, and D. According to Kobel, version A is dated to the Classical Old

Irish or early Middle Irish period, with later modernizations in the text.37 Version B appears to be from the first half of the Classical Old Irish period, version C is an early Middle Irish composition with later revision, and version D was written in the Middle Irish period.38

Version A tells the most complete version of the story, including the presence of Conall

Cernach and Cet mac Magach, while B and C both include only the latter half of the text, and

D is a simple summary of events. The story that will be examined in detail here is version A, as it is the only version to include Conall Cernach.

When the Ulstermen are at play boasting of their great deeds, the brain of Mess

Gegrai is brought forth at the request of Conall Cernach, so that he can boast of his deeds.

Using the calcified brain as proof of his greatness, Conall points out that unless someone can match him for the feat of slaying Mess Gegrai, all of the other warriors including Cú

Chulainn and Lóegaire will be unable to contest his superiority. Conchobar agrees with this.

The next day, two jesters of Conchobar take the brain and begin to play with it, one mentioning that “a king will fall on account of it,”39 whereupon Cet mac Magach (who had been stalking Ulster and taking the heads of Ulstermen) appears to snatch it from them and began to plunder parts of Ulster. When the Ulstermen catch up with him, and the men of

Connacht arrive to rescue him, a battle is fought at Fir Rois where Cet embeds the brain of

Mess Gegrai in Conchobar’s head using his sling. The physician Fíngen is able to conceal the

36 Edition and translation based on the version of Aided Chonchobair found in LL found in Trinity College Dublin’s library, specifically TCD MS 1339, p. 123b40-124b32, by Chantal Kobel, 2015: ‘A Critical Edition of Aided Chonchobair ‘the Violent Death of Conchobar’; with Translation, Textual Notes, and Bibliography,’ unpublished PhD thesis Trinity College Dublin. 37 Kobel, 2015: 86. 38 Kobel, 2015: 92, 95, 97. 39 Kobel, 2015: 221.

blemish, but cannot remove Mess Gegrai’s brain without killing Conchobar, and explains that

Conchobar must keep calm, not have sexual intercourse, and not ride horses from now on or the wound will explode in his head. Conchobar manages to do this for seven years, until he hears of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.40 Version A only alludes to this killing Conchobar, where versions B, C, and D use the death of Christ as driving Conchobar to a fury which kills him.41

Aided Cheit maic Magach

The ‘Violent Death of Cet mac Magach.’42 This paper will examine the Middle Irish version of the text43 which is found in Edinburgh Adv. MS 721.40,44 but has not yet been dated beyond its use of Middle Irish.45

The story begins with Cet mac Magach stalking through Ulster and preying on its population. Eventually, he flees back to Connacht with the severed heads of his opponents.

At that stage, Conall Cernach is sent to hunt down his uncle beyond the borders of Ulster and into Bréifne in Connacht. There Conall finds where Cet is resting, and he ties a lock of Cet’s horse’s mane to the front of Cet’s chariot to mark his passage before he withdraws. Cet discovers this lock of hair, and knowing that Conall has passed by, Cet’s charioteer spurs Cet into hunting down Conall where the pair of them meet in a ford that will eventually be named for Cet. Here the two men fight, and though both are badly wounded, Conall emerges victorious with Cet dead. However, Conall has over-exerted himself in the duel and appears

40 Kobel, 2015: 223. 41 Kobel, 2015: 347, 380, 404. 42 Edition and translation based on National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh Adv. MS 72.1.40 by Kuno Meyer, 1906: The Death-Tales of the Ulster Heroes, Todd Lecture Series 14. Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. 43 The Early Modern Irish version of the text is not available in translation, and also is in Early Modern Irish, it is beyond the normal range of texts used for this thesis with few exceptions. 44 Meyer, 1906: vii. 45 Unfortunately, Aided Cheit maic Magach has attracted little scholarly interest despite it being the death tale of an important character. Anouk Nuijten, currently working on her PhD at Cambridge University, is working on death tales which may resolve the dearth of information on ACMM.

to be dying of exhaustion on the ground beside Cet’s body. He tells his charioteer to take the horses and flee back to Ulster before the men of Connacht arrive. Alone, Conall then bemoans his fate to die at the hands of a single warrior of Connacht, as he has sworn to never allow that. At that point, Bélchú of Brefne arrives and finds the corpse of Cet and Conall, pleased that the pair have died, as this will allow Ireland a respite from their slaughter. At that point, Conall reveals that he is not quite dead and begins to taunt Bélchú to goad him into finishing him off to fulfill his oath of not dying by the hand of a single man of Connacht.46

Instead, Bélchú brings the weakened Conall back to his home and fetches physicians to heal him, so that his sons can kill Conall in his sickbed. Instead, Conall manages to bring himself to his feet and forces Bélchú to take his place in the bed, which results in Bélchú being killed by his sons, who think they are killing Conall. Thereupon, Conall beheads the three sons and walks back to Ulster.47

Aided Óenfir Aífe

The ‘Violent Death of Aífe’s Only Son,’48 is found in two different recensions, AOA

1 and AOA 2. AOA 1, which is the only version containing Conall, is dated to between the late 9th or 10th century.49

The story of AOA 1 is a continuation of TE and FCC, telling the story of Connla, the child of Cú Chulainn and Aífe, and his arrival in Ulster. As the child cannot state his name to anyone until he meets Cú Chulainn, and is to accept any duels he is offered, the child’s arrival in Ulster is treated like an invasion as he refuses to identify himself and is willing to fight anyone who attempts to hinder his journey. Conall is the first of the Ulster heroes to

46 As he was previously wounded by Cet in their duel, and thus would qualify on a technicality. 47 Meyer, 1906: 36-41. 48 Edition and translation based on the YBL, 214a-215a, by A. G. van Hamel, 1933: Compert Con Culainn and Other Stories, Medieval and Modern Irish Series 3. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin. 49 Van Hamel, 1993: 9.

respond to the incursion into their borders. He immediately makes his way to the shore when news arrives of the strange invader. In a display of great supernatural strength, the child knocks Conall off his feet and onto his back with a stone from his sling that sounds like thunder as it crashes against Conall. The boy then immediately pins Conall with his shield, at which point Conall yields and allows another warrior to try. After this point, Conall plays no further role in the text.50

Brislech mór Maige Muirthemne

The ‘Great defeat on the Plain of Muirthemne,’51 was written in the early 8th century.52

It serves as something of a culmination of Conall’s character, including several of themes associated with him and repeating motifs seen in other stories of Conall’s life.

When news of Cú Chulainn’s death reaches Conall, the text gives a flashback to an earlier point in time when the two men swore to avenge the other, depending on which of them died first. Then the text returns to the ‘present,’ as Conall rides forth on his (visibly rabid) horse named Deirg nDruchtaig, ‘Dripping Red,’53 to hunt down those who slew his foster-brother. As Lugaid, Cú Chulainn’s killer, bathes in the river Liffey, his charioteer sees a frightful sight charging towards them: a man riding on a horse surrounded by a flurry of snow, and all the ravens of Ireland. Lugaid corrects his charioteer and explains that this is

Conall Cernach riding atop his horse who foams at the mouth in such a frenzy it looks like snow and tosses up clods of dirt in such a number it appears to be surrounded by ravens.

50 Van Hamel, 1993: 10-15. 51 Edition and translation based on Trinity MS 1337 and LL 119a-123b by Bettina Kimpton, 2009: The Death of Cú Chulainn: a Critical Edition of the Earliest Version of Brislech Mór Maige Muirthemni with Introduction, Translation, Notes, Bibliography and Vocabulary, Maynooth Medieval Irish Texts 6. National University of Ireland Maynooth School of Celtic Studies, Naas. 52 Kimpton, 2009: 8. 53 eDIL s.v. derg; eDIL s.v. drúchtach; the name for the horse is normally translated as ‘Dewy Red’ by Stokes, but as drúchtach implies dripping with blood and the horse is quite honestly astonishingly vicious, I feel ‘Dripping Red’ is a more accurate translation for the reality of the horse; Kimpton does not translate the horse’s name, but in her index suggests the translation of both words as ‘red’ and ‘dew,’ following Stokes’ translation. (Kimpton, 2009: 44, 88, 92)

Lugaid and his charioteer try to hide from Conall, but as Conall crosses into the ford of the river he notices the pair and tells Lugaid that he has come to collect a debt owed to him. The pair agree to fight on the plain of Argetros, but after Conall wounds him, they fight again at

Ferta Lugdach where Conall binds one of his arms behind his back to make the duel fair as

Lugaid had his arm cut off by Cú Chulainn’s corpse. The two men clash, and after the pair are found to be an even match, Conall’s horse bites a chunk out of Lugaid’s side. When

Lugaid attempts to reproach Conall for this violation of the fair fight, Conall points out he only gave his own word and he cannot make a promise for a wild animal. Knowing he is undone, Lugaid allows Conall to behead him to add his own valor to Conall’s own. Instead, seemingly in an insult to Lugaid’s last wishes, Conall abandons the head in the wilderness and returns to Emain Macha without it.54

Cath Airtig

The ‘Battle of Airtech,’55 is a Middle Irish text according to Edel Bhreathnach,56 narratively following the immediate aftermath of the events of TBDC. It is found in two manuscripts according to Best, fol. 169 v in the Book of Lecan from the Royal Irish Academy as well as Trinity College Dublin MS 1337.

After the death of Cormac (see TBDC), the Ulaid are in the process of choosing a new king, Conall Cernach. Conall refuses the offer of kingship as he believes he has grown too old and feeble to rule, and he states that instead Cuscraid Menn Macha should be made king, something to which the Ulaid agree. Cuscraid divides the land among his followers, giving

54 Kimpton, 2009: 11-49. 55 Edition and translation based on a compilation of the Royal Irish Academy’s LEC, fol. 169 v p. 342a and Trinity College Dublin’s MS 1337. by R. I. Best, 1916: ‘The Battle of Airtech’ in Éiru 8, 170-190. 56 Edel Bhreathnach, 2003: ‘Tales of Connacht: Cath Airtig, Táin Bó Fildhais, Cath Leitreach Ruibhe, and Cath Cumair,’ in Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 45, 21-42: 23; Bhreathnach points out that the text does incorporate an Old Irish retoiric which is suggestive of a composition in the Old Irish period, and that the tale includes both Middle Irish to Early Modern Irish, which suggests a Early Modern composition. However, Bhreathnach suggests Middle Irish for a tentative attempt at dating the story. (Bhreathnach, 2003: 23)

Conall the land between “the strand of Inber Colpa to Coba.”57 However, this division of land is quickly followed by a territorial dispute over the inheritance of the land won by Conchobar from Medb during the events of TBC, resulting in a war between Connacht and Ulster.

Conall Cernach appears as one of the few Ulster warriors during this conflict, as all his fellow warriors from the earlier stories have already died, and he slays Ailill Ardagach and Scannal, sons of Magu. During these events, Cet mac Magach kills Fiachu and Conaing, continuing the antagonism Cet has with Conall.58

Cath Ruis na Ríg

‘The Battle of Ruis na Ríg,’59 is found in two versions, with the version in LL dated to

“mid-way through the second half of the twelfth century”60 by Uáitéar mac Gearailt.61 The text uses Conall Cernach as one of the primary actors in the events of the narrative and spends considerable time praising Conall to the extent that he is elevated above Cú Chulainn as the greatest warrior of Ulster. The text also emphasizes the presence of Conall Cernach’s sons within the hierarchy of warriors of Ulster.

The first version of the story, found in the Book of Leinster, places Conall in a more prominent role. After the events of TBC, Conchobar fell into a potentially lethal wasting sickness due to the failure of the Ulaid to prevent the Donn Cúailnge from being captured. To absolve himself of this ailment, he decides that the rest of Ireland must be ravaged as Ulster was and Conchobar begins to send word to the distant allies of Ulster from across the sea to come to their aid. The first of these allies, who is lavished with epithets, is Conall Cernach

57 Best, 1916: 181. 58 Best, 1916: 179-184. 59 Edition and translation for the first version based on the LL, folio 171 by Edmund Hogan, 1892: Cath Ruis na Ríg for Bóinn. Todd Lecture Series 4. Dublin; Edition and translation for the second version is based Stowe MS. R.I.A, E. Iv. 3, pp. 111-128, with notes from R.I.A. MS. 23k, 37, Egerton 106, folio 53, and an unnamed Manuscript from Maynooth by Hogan, 1892. 60 Uáitéar Mac Gearailt, 1991: “Cath Ruis na Ríg and twelfth-century literary and oral tradition,” Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 44:129. 61 Mac Gearailt, 1991: 129.

who has been away in the lands of “Léodús, in the islands of Cadd, in the islands of Orc, in the territories of Scythia and Dacia and Gothia and Northmannia,”62 where he had been raising taxes, as well as traveling and raiding elsewhere, thus being absent for the events of

TBC. As the allies are contacted, Conall is informed of the events of TBC at which he laments that he was not there to fight against the incursion. As the allies assemble with

Conall Cernach across the sea and sail for Ireland, they are divided into three groups by a great storm. Growing impatient for battle, Conchobar decides to attack the gathered host of

Ireland with only a third of these forces having arrived, despite the protests of his warriors.

The battle goes poorly, and a rout has begun just as Conall arrives to bolster the morale of the

Ulstermen with his presence. Conall sets about slaughtering the enemy forces with a sword that produces strange music which lures the enemy towards him and thereby away from the rest of the Ulstermen. Through this feat, Conall brings the battle to a victorious close for the

Ulstermen.63

The second version of the story can be found in several manuscript collections each of which can “be considered identical,”64 and is roughly dated to the Middle Irish period.65 It tells a similar story, albeit one that reduces the role of Conall Cernach. Conall is not described as being absent from Ulster or being found collecting tithes in foreign lands. He does appear during the rout of the Ulster army to rally them, and performs admirably in the battle after his arrival, but the role as the primary protagonist of the story falls to Cú Chulainn who secures victory himself in this version of the text.66

Cath Cumair

62 Hogan, 1892: 11; the original text reads, “a chanad i crichaib Leódús, i n-insib Cadd, 7 i n-insib Or, 7 i críchaib Scithia 7 Dacia 7 Gothia 7 Northmannia,” (Hogan, 1892: 10) 63 Hogan, 1892: 2-59. 64 Hogan, 1892: vii. 65 Hogan, 1892: xxi. 66 Hogan, 1892: 60-107.

The ‘Battle of Cumar,’67 is found in an 18th-century manuscript, Royal Irish Academy

MS. 23. K. 37. It is thought, however, that the story was originally developed before the 13th century due to the other tales found in the same MS as well as several dindshenchas tales relating the events found in Cath Cumair.68

Conall Cernach’s role in the story of CCr is particularly interesting, as it is one of the three instances where Conall is not directly found in service to Ulster (the others being

TBDD where he serves the High King,69 and Táin Bó Fraích where he works with Fráech in foreign lands).70 Conall, along with his rival Cet mac Magach, is employed by Eochaid

Feidlech, High King of Ireland and father of Medb of Connacht as his personal bodyguards.

Cet is the “captain of the household, [Eochaid’s] chief counsellor and the battle-champion,”71 and Conall is the leader of a group of young mercenaries. Following an argument between

Eochaid and his wife, during which Conall and Cet find themselves as the awkward third wheel in a marital dispute, the three sons of Eochaid, Bres, Nar, and Lothar, are convinced by their mother to rise up and attempt to overthrow their father with the aid of the dastardly

Conchobar mac Nessa. When the three sons send word to their father that they demand he cede to them his kingship of Ireland and leave Tara, Conall has to be restrained immediately from attempting to decapitate the messenger, which is followed by Cet attempting the same thing and also being restrained. Eochaid raises his troops, and marches to Cumar Ford to encamp to meet his sons in battle. After exchanges of demands which are all refused, battle is joined. During the battle, Conall Cernach and his mercenaries face off against one-third of the

67 Edition and translation based on RIA MS 23.K.37 by Margaret E. Dobbs, 1926: ‘Cath Cumair,’ in Revue Celtique 43. 277-342. 68 Jacqueline Borsje, 2012: The Celtic Evil Eye and Related Mythological Motifs in Medieval Ireland, Studies in the History and Anthropology of Religion 2. Peeters Publishers, Louvain: 278. 69 Borsje, 2012: 309-310. 70 Wolfgang Meid, 2015: The Romance of Froech and Findabair, or, The Driving of Froech’s Cattle: Táin Bó Froích, Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Kulturwissenschaft, Neue Folge 10. Institut für Sprachen und Literaturen der Universität Innsbruck, Innsbruck: 73. 71 Dobbs, 1926: 307; the original text reads, “Ro eirigh ansin an tabisech in lochta tighe 7 a chenn-comhairle 7 a chuinge catha .i. Cet mór-gharg mac Magach.” (Dobbs, 1926: 306)

enemy army lead by Nar, one of the three sons of Eochaid. Eventually, the army of Eochaid is forced to form a defensive circle around Eochaid as they fight Lothar, with Conall and Cet standing as the final ring of defense, one at either side of the king. Lothar eventually hurls a stone from his sling at his father that penetrates the shields of both Conall and Cet, and which crushes Eochaid’s torso. As Eochaid lies mortally wounded, Conall and Cet go on the offensive, and fight their way towards Lothar who is wounded by both men before being carried from the field. Eventually, Lothar is hunted down and beheaded by Cet. Conall hunts down and beheads Nar, while a third hero named Raon hunts down and beheads Bres. With all three heads brought to Eochaid, he mourns his dead children and the tale ends. 72

Cóir Anmann 2

The ‘Fitness of Names’ is a name for three different texts called CA 1, CA 2, and CA

3, each attempting to explain the names and epithets of different figures from Irish saga literature. CA 273 is a late 12th-century text74 and discusses three potential translations for

Cernach in a short section. It suggests that it may mean warrior, be based on a Latin word for seeing as Conall could see equally well at night as by day due to a special eye, be related to a term for swelling as a worm entered his hand at birth causing it to swell, or referencing victory.75

Cóir Anmann 3

72 Dobbs, 1926: 278-337. 73 Edition and translation are based on six manuscripts, RIA MS 23 P 12 (536), commonly known as BB, RIA MS D ii 1 (1225), NLS Advocates MS 72.1.1, RIA MS 23 P 2 (535), NLS Advocates MS 72.1.7, and TCD MS 1336 by Sharon Arbuthnot, 2005: Cóir Anmann: a Late Middle Irish Treatise on Personal Names, part 1. Irish Texts Society, London. 74 Arbuthnot, 2005: 72. 75 Arbuthnot, 2005: 126.

CA 376 is a 13th-century text77 which describes Conall in two entries. The first suggests that Conall is based on conḟeall, ‘Dog-Treachery,’78 and Cernach being based on cearn, ‘Swelling,’79 providing an abridged conception story to explain the reasoning. When

Finnchaím and Amairgein are unable to conceive a child, Finnchaím is offered druidic advice in exchange for an unspecified price, which she accepts. The druid directs her to a well where he casts spells on the well, and he tells Finnchaím that if she bathes in it, she will conceive a son who would be a terror to her people, the Connachta. Drinking from the well, Finnchaím swallows a small worm which pierces Conall’s hand and causes it to swell up. When

Finnchaím’s brother Cet hears of the prophecy over his unborn nephew, he sets out to protect his sister, presumably against attacks from other Connachta as the prophecy says that Conall will be a terror to them. After Conall is born however, the prophecy is restated when a “pagan baptism”80 is chanted over the infant and an addendum to the original prophecy is given, stating that Conall will “not spend a night without the head of one of the Connachta on his belt and he will kill more than half of the Connachta.”81 Upon hearing this addendum, Cet attempts to murder his newborn nephew by crushing the infant’s neck underfoot, but the boy survives. This attempt on her son’s life has Finnchaím outraged, crying treachery against her brother where she describes his behavior as dog-like. The second section introduces nothing new, and simply reiterates the possible meanings of his name from CA 2, excluding the suggestion of swelling.82

76 Edition and translation are based on three manuscripts, TCD MS 1337, RIA MS 24 P 13 (1068), and TCD MS 1393 by by Sharon Arbuthnot, 2005. 77 Arbuthnot, 2005: 72. 78 Arbuthnot, 2005: 69, 142. 79 Arbuthnot, 2005: 70, 142. 80 Sharon Arbuthnot, 2007: Cóir Anmann: a Late Middle Irish Treatise on Personal Names, part 2. Irish Texts Society, London: 42; the original text reads, “Gur chansat an mbaithis ngeintlidhe forin mac mbeg” (Arbuthnot, Cóir Anmann part 2, 69) 81 Arbuthnot, 2007: 142; the original text reads, “ní bhíadh aidhchi gin chenn Connachtaigh fora criss 7 mairbhfidh fer for leth Connacht.” (Arbuthnot, 2007: 69) 82 Arbuthnot, 2007: 141-143.

Compert Con Culainn

‘The Conception of Cú Chulainn’83 discusses the supernatural and political events that surround the birth of Cú Chulainn. It is found in LU and dates ultimately to the 8th century, as it was present in the lost Book of Druim Snechta.84 A second version exists, but is ultimately based on the version found in LU with the addition of the interpolator H’s ending for the tale originally found in LU. It appears to have simply been stolen from TE as TE is found immediately before CCC in LU.85

The story does not focus on Conall per se; rather, it emphasizes Conall’s importance as he is twice invoked by name as part of the nobility of Ulster. This brief appearance does not detract from Conall’s significance within the narrative, however, as the text is particularly concerned with incorporating Cú Chulainn into Conall Cernach’s family as a foster-brother.

A sizable portion of the text is devoted to emphasizing this relationship between the newborn child and the young adult Conall.86

The first half of CCC is concerned with the conception of Cú Chulainn, who is called

Sétantae, as he has not yet been given his second name. Conall’s only direct function in this first half is to discover the mysterious house in which the Ulaid take refuge. After a long series of events including the trifold conception of Cú Chulainn, the second half of the story begins. As the nephew of the king of Ulster, an argument breaks out over who should foster the child, as various Ulster nobles disagree with the initial decision of Conchobar to have his

83 Edition based on LU until the end where the text was lost, and thus that section was replaced by Trinity College Dublin MS 1363, Royal Irish Academy 23. N. 10, and Egerton 88 by A. G. van Hammel: 1993, Compert Con Culainn and Other Stories. Medieval and Modern Irish Series 3. Dublin; Translation based on this Edition in Thomas Kinsella, 1969: The Tain: Translated From the Irish Epic Táin Bó Cuailnge. Oxford University Press, London. 84 Van Hamel, 1933: 1; a newer version of the text named Feis Tige Becfoltaig from the later 8th or early 9th century exists where Conall is referenced, though he plays a similarly limited role as he does in Compert Con Culainn. (Kuno Meyer, 1905: “Mitteilungen aus irischen Handschriften: Feis Tige Becḟoltaig”, in Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 5: 500–504. 502) 85 Tomás Ó Concheanainn, 1990: ‘The Textual Tradition of Compert Con Culainn,’ in Celtica 21, 441-455: 446, 450, 442. 86 Kinsella, 1969: 23-25.

sister Finnchaím and her husband Amairgein foster the child. After returning to Emain

Macha, Morann the judge is sent for, who rules that the child will be fostered by Conchobar,

Sencha, Blaí Briugu, Fergus, Amairgein, and will be suckled by Finnchaím. As the son of

Amairgein, Conall Cernach is the only foster-sibling invoked during this discussion, and this relationship with Conall appears to be one of the benefits of Sétantae being raised by

Amairgein. Thereafter, the child is brought away to Imrith Fort on Muirthemne Plain to be raised by Amairgein and Finnchaím.87

Dindshenchasa of Achall and of Dumae n-Eirc

The dindshenchasa of Achall88 and Dumae n-Eirc89 offer an alternative version to the story of Cú Chulainn’s death. These two tales, while having different names, are for all intents and purposes telling the same story. The dindsenchas of Achall is the version found in

Recension A of the dindsenchas, while the dindsenchas of Dumae n-Eirc is found in

Recension C version, both dating to the 12th century.90 Recension B does not have any version of the story and thus is not discussed in this section.

Both prose and metrical versions of the tale explain that Conall Cernach hunts down

Erc son of Cairpre Nia Fer for his role in the death of Cú Chulainnn as well as for decapitating Cú Chulainn’s dead body. Conall duels Erc, and decapitates him whereupon he

87 Kinsella, 1969: 20-25. 88 Edition and translation based on Royal Irish Academy MSS Stowe D. II 2, Stowe B. II 2, Stowe B. III 1, Stowe D. IV 2, Reeves 832, BB, LEC, the Book of Uí Maine, and the transcript of the Book of Lismore, Trinity College Dublin MSS 1322, 1289, 1295, and the LL, the Bodleian Library MSS Laud 610, and Rawlinson B. 487, the British Museum MSS Harleian 5280, Egerton 90, and Egerton 1781, Advocates’ Library Edinburgh MSS Kilbride V, and Kilbride XVI, as well as the Irish MS. at Rennes, and a copy of Acallam na Senórach in the Franciscan Library, Dublin by Edward Gwynn, 1903: The Metrical Dindsenchas, part 1, Todd Lecture Series 8. Hodges, Figgs, & Co., Dublin. 46-52. 89 Edition and translation based on the Rennes Dindsenchas found in the Library of Rennes in ff. 90 - 125 of the Irish MS by Whitley Stokes, 1894: ‘The Prose Tales in the Rennes Dindshenchas,’ in Revue Celtique 15, 272– 336. 90 Petra S. Hellmuth, 2004: ‘The Dindshenchas and Irish Literary Tradition,’ in John Carey, Máire Herbert, and Kevin Murry etd., Cín Chille Cúile: Texts, Saints and Places. Essays in Honour of Pádraig Ó Riain. Aberystwyth. 116-127: 116.

brings the head to Tara to display it. Erc’s sister Acall dies of sorrow after seeing the severed head of her brother.91

Dindshenchas of Carn Conaill

The dindsenchas of Carn Conaill92 surprisingly has nothing to do with a cairn for

Conall Cernach. Found in both Recension A and C dating to the 12th century,93 both versions ultimately are similar save for some structural differences.

Conall, along with Cú Chulainn, Cet mac Magach, and Ross mac Dedad are guarantors for a deal made between the sons of Umor and Cairpre Nia Fer, king of Meath.

When the sons of Umor violate their oath and flee to Connacht, Cairpre calls the guarantors forth to resolve the matter by force. The four champions travel to Crúachan and begin to fast on the plain together until Cet’s wife asks them to give a day’s reprieve to the sons of Umor so that they may contemplate their fate. Eventually, four warriors are selected to duel the guarantors in place of the leaders of the sons of Umor, with Conall Cernach dueling Cimbe

Cethar-Chend. When the four warriors of the sons of Umor have been killed, their heads are taken, and returned to Cairpre Nia Fer.94

Dindshenchas of Dumae n-Eirc

See Dindshenchas of Achall.

Dindshenchasa of Fich mBúana and of Úaig Búana

91 Gwynn, 1903: 47-53; Stokes, 1894: 289-290. 92 Edward Gwynn, 1913: The Metrical Dindsenchas, part 3, Todd Lecture Series 10. Hodges, Figgs, & Co., Dublin: 441-451; Whitley Stokes, 1894: ‘The Prose Tales in the Rennes Dindshenchas,’ Revue Celtique 15, 418-484. 93 Hellmuth, 2004: 116. 94 Gwynn, 1913: 441-451; Stokes, 1894: 479-480.

The dindshenchasa of Fich mBúana95 and of Úaig Búana96 are two of the subsidiary stories to the events of FB. D. FB is found in both Recension A and C, and D. UB in

Recension C, both dating to the 12th century.97

Inserting itself into the events of FB, D. FB and D. UB explain that when the three heroes are visiting Samér’s home, Samér’s daughter Buan falls in love with Cú Chulainn.

Both stories primarily involve Cú Chulainn, but the metrical version of D. FB provides an instance of an otherwise unique epithet for Conall Cernach during a short recounting of the events of FB where Conall is called “Conall Cross-Eye.”98 D. UB, while telling the same story as D. FB, makes an aside to mention that Conall Cernach’s charioteer, named Rathann, dies crossing Lia Rathainn.99

Dindshenchas of Mag Luirg

The dindsenchas of Mag Luirg100 offers an alternative version to the death of Conall

Cernach which attempts to harmonize the events of FBE and GCC into a single death tale. It is found in both prose and metrical versions and is dated to the 12th century.101

According to D. ML, Conall is staying in Crúachan, the royal center of Connacht, where he is asked by Medb, queen of Connacht to kill Ailill, king of Connacht. After completing this assassination, Conall flees Crúachan and was eventually caught by the three

Red Wolves of Martine102 who killed him and decapitated him.103

95 Edward Gwynn: 1924: The Metrical Dindsenchas (part 4) Dublin: 181; Whitley Stokes, 1895: ‘The Prose Tales in the Rennes Dindshenchas,’ Revue Celtique 16, 31-83. 96 Gwynn: 1924: 295. 97 Hellmuth, 2004: 116. 98 Gwynn, 1924: 181; the original text reads, “Conall cláen.” (Gwynn, 1924: 180) 99 Gwynn, 1924: 181, 295; Stokes, 1895: 57-58. 100 Gwynn, 1913: 397-399; Stokes, 1894: 473. 101 Hellmuth, 2004: 116. 102 They are not actually wolves, just three men with particularly good branding; for further discussion of these individuals see: Phillip A. Bernhardt-House, 2010: Werewolves, Magical Hounds, and Dog-Headed Men in Celtic Literature: a Typological Study of Shape-Shifting. Edwin Mellen Printing, Lewiston. 355-356. 103 Gwynn, 1913: 397-399; Stokes, 1894: 473.

Dindsenchas of Úaig Búana

See Dindsenchas of Fich mBúana.

Fianna Bátar i nEmain

‘The Heroes Who Were In Emain’104 is a poem dated to the 10th century according to a medieval Irish annalist who referenced the death of the poem’s original author, Cinaeth húa hArtacáin,105 recounting a short, alternative version of the death of Conall Cernach compared to what is seen in GCC.

FBE explains that after killing Ailill, an event described in GCC, Conall Cernach was hunted down and killed at Mag Slecht without providing any further detail.106

Fled Bricrend

The ‘Feast of Bricriu,’107 is dated to the 9th century by Henderson,108 and is part of a small collection of texts revolving around the same event. FBLD as well as D. FB and D. UB are included in this collection.

FB tells of a conflict between three of Ulster’s greatest heroes, Cú Chulainn, Conall

Cernach, and Lóegaire, over which of them is the greatest hero and deserves the champion’s portion of a feast hosted by Bricriu. Bricriu provokes the conflict by whispering in the ears of each of the men and incites their pride to claim the portion for themselves. Bricriu also sets

104 Edition and translation based on the LL, with damaged sections of the text therein restored with Laud 610 from the Bodleian Library, and Egerton 1782, f ° 52a by Whitley Stokes, 1902: ‘On the Deaths of Some Irish Heroes,’ in Revue Celtique 23, 303-348. 105 Stokes, 1902: 303; while using a medieval annalist’s dating for a text is highly out of the ordinary, this annalist appears to be the only person who has suggested a dating for the manuscript thus far. While it would be preferable to have a date for the text that is from a recent author, it is the only one available. 106 Stokes, 1902: 309; notably, no Crom Cruach hanging around either. 107 Edition and translation based on LU with occasional ‘corrections’ from Egerton MS 93, Trinity College Dublin MS 1336, The Leyden University Manuscript no. 8, and the Edinburgh Gaelic MS. XL by George Henderson, 1899: Fled Bricrend, Irish Texts Society 2. Irish Texts Society, London. 108 Henderson, 1899: lxii.

the wives of the three men against each other through similar means to stir conflict within

Ulster. The heroes eventually are sent away from Ulster to ask others to judge which of them is the greatest. During this part of the text, they are given tests which Cú Chulainn always passes, and Lóegaire and Conall both fail. Conall and Lóegaire refuse to accept Cú

Chulainn’s superiority when a mysterious figure arrives and challenges the Ulaid to a contest where a hero may cut off his head, and he will cut off their head the next night. Curiously, a third contestant appears at this stage, namely Munremar who offers to go first, though in cowardice he hides when the man returns to cut off Munremar’s head. Conall and Lóegaire also both hide when it is their turn to have their heads cut off, and only Cú Chulainn is willing to suffer the blow. However, the visitor turns the axe over, so that he strikes Cú

Chulainn with the blunt back of the axe and reveals that it is a test of bravery and Cú

Chulainn is awarded an unquestioned position as the greatest of the warriors of the Ulaid.109

Foglaim Con Culainn

‘The Training of Cú Chulainn’110 is a 15th-century story111 that discusses the same events found in TE, and while in areas it agrees with the events of TE, it also expands other sections of the story and truncates others.

Setting out to train as a hero, Cú Chulainn travels to Scotland, along with Conall

Cernach and Lóegaire, in Conall’s ship, going to train with Dórdmhair daughter of Domhnaill

Mháoil. There they have their skills tested and attempt to perform a heroic feat that involves balancing oneself on one’s breast on the tip of a spear without suffering any pain. Conall is

109 Henderson, 1899: 2-129. 110 Edition and translation based on Egerton 106, f° 45a by Whitly Stokes, 1908: ‘The Training of CúChulainn,’ in Revue Celtique 29, 109-152. 111 Ruairi Ó hUiginn, 2002: ‘Oileamhain Con Cualainn: ‘Cú Chulainn’s Training,’ in Emania 19, 43-52. 43; one may wonder why, if having access to a translation of the text one hundred years more recent, I decided to use Stokes’ version of FCC. The answer is simply that Ó hUiginn does not provide an edition for his text, and his introduction explains that the MS he used for his translation (National Library of Scotland MS. Gaelic 38) differed from Stokes’ version so his translation could not be used to supplement Stokes’ edition. (Ó hUiginn, 2002: 44.)

the first to attempt the feat and he fails, but the text specifically singles him out as the noblest and boldest of the three heroes present. Lóegaire also fails this test; Cú Chulainn succeeds.

Afterwards, Dórdmhair approaches Conall and Lóegaire and tells the pair that their “blood has dried up, and [their] sinews have hardened,”112 and that the pair should retire from being warriors. The pair disagree, and return to Ireland leaving Cú Chulainn in Scotland, where he completes his training, but Conall’s part in the story concludes.113

Goire Conaill Chernaig (i Crúachain) 7 Aided Ailella 7 Chonaill Chernaig

‘The Cherishing of Conall Cernach (in Crúachan) and the Violent Deaths of Ailill and

Conall Cernach’114 is of unknown dating. Although Meyer suggested that pre-13th-century versions of the text existed, all that remains are 13th-century versions.115

GCC starts with Conall Cernach traveling to Crúachan, the royal seat of Ailill and

Medb, despite the complex and long running feud between Conall and the men of Connacht.

The text mentions that this feud is based on the men of Connacht killing his brothers, presumably Mess Dead and Lóegaire from TEr. The feud has further escalated to Conall killing Bélchú and his sons from ACMM as well as a host of other warriors including Cet,

Mac Cecht, and the rest of Magu’s sons. Struck by sorrow over the deaths of Conchobar mac

Nessa and Cú Chulainn, Conall has fallen into a sickness described as leprosy, and he simply wishes to find somewhere to be cared for, which leads him to Crúachan. There Conall is hosted and fed until Medb discovers that Ailill is having sexual affairs. She then convinces

Conall to spy on Ailill for her. She goads Conall into killing Ailill for her by threatening his

112 Stokes, 1908: 113; the original rext reads, “óir do thiormuigh bur bfuil, 7 do chruadhaigh bur bfeithe,” (Stokes, 1908: 112) 113 Stokes, 1908: 110-147. 114 Edition and translation based on Edinburgh MS. XL and H. 2, 17, pp. 474b-476b by Kuno Meyer, 1897: ‘Goire Conaill Chernaig i Crúachain ocus Aided Ailella ocus Conaill Chernaig,’ in Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 1, 102-111. 115 Meyer, 1897: 102.

honour and reminding him that Ailill killed Fergus mac Róich, which results in Conall fleeing from Crúachan with the men of Connacht giving chase. Conall manages to fight them off until he comes to a ford in a river. Here, Conall breaks his geis, a supernatural taboo, which leaves him paralyzed in the ford as the three Red Wolves of Martine arrive and kill him, removing his head which is large enough to fit four calves inside of it.116

Mesca Ulad

‘The Intoxication of the Ulstermen’117 has not yet been specifically dated outside of scholars noting that a fragmentary version can be found in LU in Old Irish, while the version in LL which is dated to the 12th century by J. Carmichael Watron.118 While in normal circumstances having an entirely undated text would be a considerable challenge for this discussion, MU does not contain any reference to major themes associated with Conall

Cernach as he appears only briefly in the text. Due to this, MU will not be discussed in this thesis and is included here for completion’s sake and thus the issue presented by the lack of definitive dating for the text is alleviated.

MU tells the story of Cú Chulainn, Fintan, and Conchobar, who all host a party on the same night, resulting in the Ulstermen having far more to drink than normal as they attempt to attend each party to avoid insulting one of them by not attending. The drinking at these parties results in an accidental drunken invasion of Connacht and the resulting fallout. Only mentioned three times in the text, Conall Cernach is identified as one of the two Conalls of

Ulster, the other being Conall Anglonn. The two Conalls occur with Lóegaire twice and are

116 Meyer, 1897: 106-109. 117 Two Editions, one based on LU and the other based on LL by J. Carmichael Watson: 1967: Mesca Ulad. Medieval and Modern Irish Series 13. Dublin; translation based on these editions by John T. Koch and John Carey, 1995: The Celtic Heroic Age: Literary Sources for Ancient Celtic Europe and Early Ireland and Wales, Celtic Studies Publications 1. Celtic Studies Publications, Aberystwyth. 95-116. 118 J. Carmichael Watson, 1942: ‘Mesca Ulad: The Redactor’s Contribution to the Later Version,’ in Éiru 13. 95-96.

explained to be the “prime warriors of the Ulstermen”119 in the latter reference. The only other mention of Conall in the text is where an unspecified member of the pair agrees with

Sencha that they are no longer inside of Ulster after the mishap of travel.120

Oidheadh Chloinne hUisneach

‘The Violent Death of the Children of Uisneach’121 is a 14th or 15th-century122 story found in 90 different manuscripts123 detailing the same events described in Longes mac nUislenn, ‘The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu,’ from the late 8th or early 9th century.124 However, as LMU has no discussion of Conall Cernach, and OCU has decided to add his character to the narrative, it will be examined in this thesis. While Conall plays no role in LMU, which also lacks other major characters such as Cú Chulainn, it has been argued by James Carney in his book Studies in Irish Literature and History and later in an article entitled ‘Early Irish

Literature: The State of Research’ that LMU was a revisionist text, rewriting an earlier lost text named Fochunn Loingse Fergusa meic Róig.125 The fact that LMU is an intentional revision of a previous text which was altered seemingly for political reasons126 suggests that the inclusion, or exclusion, of characters such as Cú Chulainn and Conall may have had a political dimension.

The story of OCU opens with Conchobar suggesting he end the exile of Naoise and his two brothers, though he plans to have them ambushed and murdered on their return to

119 Koch and Carey, 1995: 108; the LL text reads, “trí prímlaích Ulad ind sin,” (Watson, 1967: 26) 120 Koch and Carey, 1995: 102, 95-117. 121 Edition and translation based on three manuscripts, NLS 53, BL Egerton 164, and Maynooth M103 in Caoimhín Mag Giolla Léith, 1993: Oidheadh Chloinne hUisneach: the Violent Death of the Children of Uisneach. Irish Texts Society 56. London. 122 Mac Giolla Léith, 1993: 13. 123 Mac Giolla Léith, 1993: 27. 124 Mac Giolla Léith, 1993: 10; as a note, the text has been dated to the late eighth or early ninth centuries, but the earliest remaining MS. containing the story is the 12th-century Lebor Laignech. (Mac Giolla Léith, 1993: 9 - 10) 125 James Carney, 1955: Studies in Irish Literature and History. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin. 234. 126 Carney, 1955: 234.

Ulster from Scotland. Conchobar quickly takes aside Conall Cernach, Cú Chulainn, and

Fergus mac Róich in order to determine how they will react if Naoise and his brothers are killed on their return. Both Conall and Cú Chulainn explain that they will slaughter everyone involved, where Fergus says the same, but with the addendum that he would not harm

Conchobar himself, which is the answer that Conchobar was looking for. Fergus sets out with his two sons Iollann the Fair and Buinne Borbruadh to escort Naoise, his brothers, and

Deirdre, Naoise’s lover and Conchobar’s fiancée, back to Ulster. However, on the way home

Fergus is delayed by a feast he cannot refuse, and by the time the group reaches Emain

Macha, Fergus has not caught up to them yet. This feast and delay has all been part of

Conchobar’s scheme to separate Naoise’s defender from him to make the assassination easier. When the plot of Conchobar is revealed, the travelers seal themselves inside a fortress, and the men of Ulster begin to lay siege to it. Eventually, Iollann begins to duel Fiachra son of Conchobar who wears his father’s battle gear. When Conall Cernach hears the sound of

Conchobar’s shield wailing in duress, he quickly sets off to save Conchobar, not realizing what is going on at Emain Macha, or that Conchobar’s shield is being carried by another person. Conall immediately slays Iollann, who explains the plot to Conall as he dies. Conall responds by immediately hacking the head off of Fiachra to take revenge for being tricked and exits the narrative.127

Oidheadh Con Culainn

The ‘Death of Cú Chulainn’128 is an Early Modern Irish text which is found in over a hundred manuscripts. The text has proven a considerable challenge to date, but the oldest version, including the final poem of Conall Cernach presenting captured heads, is found in a

127 Mac Giolla Léith, 1993: 86 -141 128 For the complete discussion of the sources for Kühns’ summary of the text, see: Julia Sophie Kühns, 2009: ‘The pre-19th-century manuscript tradition and textual transmission of the Early Modern Irish tale Oidheadh Con Culainn: a preliminary study,’ unpublished PhD thesis, University of Glasgow: 45-114.

16th century manuscript.129 The story is an alternative version of the story found in BMM which assigns a roughly similar end to the life of Cú Chulainn but has a more detailed second and third section in which the action is focused on Conall Cernach systematically hunting down and killing everyone involved in his foster-brother’s death. Though this text is outside of the normal range of texts discussed for the rest of this thesis due to its late dating, it seems important to include due to the impressive detail the text goes into in relation to Conall

Cernach and its use of several of the major themes associated with him.

Unlike other texts in this section however, this text has not been examined in detail.

As the complete text, including Conall’s rampage, has never been completely translated into

English. Instead, this section is working with a summary of the text by Julia Kühns who completed a study of the pre-19th-century manuscript tradition of the text for her PhD entitled

The Pre-19th-Century Manuscript Tradition and Textual Transmission of the Early Modern

Irish Tale Oidheadh Con Culainn: a Preliminary Study.

The two sections of the text which pertain to Conall are titled Deargruathar Chonall

Chearnaigh, the ‘Red Rampage of Conall Cernach’ and Laoidh na gCeann, the ‘Lay of the

Heads.’ The texts open after the death of Cú Chulainn at the hands of a host of individuals whose parents Cú Chulainn had killed. Conall arrives from distant shores to learn that his foster-brother has been killed and sets out on a rampage where he hunts down each and every notable figure who was involved in the death of his foster-brother to decapitate them along with their entire retinues. One of Conall’s two horses dies from exhaustion during this furious race for vengeance, leading Conall to ride on a single steed (a skill that few people possess according to the text). After Conall has killed and collected the heads of everyone involved in the death of Cú Chulainn, and retrieved Cú Chulainn’s head, Conall returns to Emer, where

129 Kühns, 2009: 34.

he presents the heads as the story concludes with the burial of Cú Chulainn’s now complete body.130

Scéla Muicce Meic Da Thó

‘The Tale of Mac Da Thó’s Pig’131 can be found in six manuscripts ranging from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries,132 with the original version of the tale being composed around 800 CE according to Thurneysen’s analysis of the language and references to the text in other works.133 Curiously for an Ulster Cycle story, SMMD contains no reference to Cú

Chulainn, with the role as the ultimate hero of Ulster assigned to Conall Cernach. The author of this text is clearly aware of the themes and motifs associated with Conall Cernach, as the text focuses on Conall’s conflict with his rival Cet, his function as the guardian of the

Ulstermen, as well as his propensity for taking heads.

The story begins with a conflict between Connacht and Ulster over a dog owned by

Mac Da Thó, the king of Leinster. Both parties wish to purchase the dog, and Mac Da Thó offers to sell it to each of them independently, inviting both sides to a feast in his hall on the same day. When the forces arrive, a conflict breaks out between them over the champion’s portion of the feast, with Cet mac Matach (clearly a spelling variation of Cet mac Magach), claiming the portion for himself and Connacht. Ulster warriors stand to challenge Cet in boasting contests over which of them is greater, each of whom Cet easily dismisses. When

Conall arrives he defeats Cet in a complex poetic exchange arguing over which is the greater warrior. When Cet admits defeat, he claims that if only his fellow champion Anlúan were

130 Kühns, 2009, 24-30. 131 Edition based on a compilation of LL, Trinity College Dublin MS. 1337, and Harley MS. 5280 by Rudolf Thurneysen, 1935: Scéla Mucce Meic Dathó, Medieval and Modern Irish Series 6. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin; translation in Koch and Carey: 1995: 56-64; this translation is based off of an earlier translation by Kuno Meyer that has been modernized and had the language clarified in parts. 132 Thurneysen, 1935: i. 133 Thurneysen, 1935: iv.

there, Conall would not win the portion. At this point, Conall takes the severed head of

Anlúan out from his bag and tosses it to Cet. The feast descends into violence, and the hound leaves the feast with Ailill and Medb. However, the hound dies in a chariot accident as they flee the feast, and the conflict turns out to have been for naught.134

Serglige Con Culainn

‘The Wasting Sickness of Cú Chulainn’135 has a complex pedigree, as the only copy of it is comprised of two different versions of the text, one late 11th or early 12th-century text, section A, and one 10th-century version, section B, which have been confusingly woven together.136

The story begins with a celebration of Samhain at Emain Macha where the warriors of

Ulster are boasting with the trophy tongues that they have taken in the past year. However,

Conall Cernach and Fergus mac Róich have yet to arrive when the Ulaid attempt to start the assembly. Cú Chulainn insists they wait for the arrival of his foster-brother and foster-father.

As they wait, Cú Chulainn begrudgingly hunts clearly supernatural birds at the request of the women of Ulster, and a particularly special pair of birds sing the host of Ulster to sleep as Cú

Chulainn wounds one of them. Thereafter, Cú Chulainn falls into a slumber and is assaulted by two supernatural women armed with horse whips in his dream who leave him on the brink of death. When he awakes, Cú Chulainn has been left mute and seemingly almost comatose for an entire year until next Samhain where Fergus mac Róich, Conall Cernach, Lugaid

134 Gantz, 1981: 179-207. 135 Edition based on LU and TCD 1363 by Dillon Myles, 1953: Serglige Con Culainn, Medieval and Modern Irish Series 14. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin; translation based on Jeffrey Gantz, 1981: Early Irish Myths and Sagas. Penguin Books, Harmondsworth. 153-178; while Gantz’s work is accessable to the public, it is not strictly speaking an academic translation. However, as it is the only translation of the text into English, it is the only option, and in areas where specificity is needed, I have used the original text. 136 Dillon, 1975: xiii

Réoderg, and Eithne Ingubai137 surround the young man in his sickbed. When a supernatural visitor appears in the doorway, Conall Cernach springs into action and demands the intruder explain themselves, and the intruder reveals that he has been sent to request Cú Chulainn come away to the Otherworld to fight a rival for control of Mag Mell, offering his sister Fand in exchange as she has fallen in love with Cú Chulainn. After suspicions are quelled by sending Lóeg the charioteer ahead of him, Cú Chulainn has news of his illness sent to Emer who scolds the warriors of Ulster for not working harder to find a cure for her husband.

Thereafter, Cú Chulainn sets out to the Otherworld and does not return until Emer and her fifty friends armed with knives storm the realm to kill Fand. Eventually hostilities are brought to an end, Fand leaves Cú Chulainn to return to her husband Manannán mac Lir, and Cú

Chulainn goes insane. Eventually with the use of magic, both Emer and Cú Chulainn are made to forget about the entire story.138

Táin Bó Cúailnge Recension 1, Recension 2, and Recension 3

‘The Cattle Raid of Cooley’139 is found in three distinct recensions. The first two were compiled in the 12th century 140 while the third and later recension does not discuss Conall and thus will not be discussed here. While each recension tells a roughly similar story, Conall

137 Eithne is Cú Chulainn’s wife in section A. Gregory Toner discusses the curiosity of this in his article ‘Desire and Divorce in Serglige Con Culainn.’ (Gregory Toner, 2015: ‘Desire and Divorce in Serglige Con Culainn’ in Éiru 66.135-166.); see also: John Carey, 1981: ‘Eithne in Gubai,’ in Éigse 28: 160-164. 138 Gantz, 1981: 153-178. 139 Edition and translation of Recension 1 based on LU, the YBL, Egerton 1782, and O’Curry MS. 1 by Cecile O’Rahilly, 1976: Táin Bó Cúailnge: Recension I. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin; Edition and translation of Recension 2 based on LL by Cecile O’Rahilly, 1967: The Táin Bó Cúalnge: From the Book of Leinster, Irish Texts Society 49. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin. 140 O’Rahilly, 1976: vii; O’Rahilly explains that R1 is first found in Lebor na hUidre which dates to the 12th century, but the text appears to be based on two lost 9th-century texts by Thurneysen’s approximation (O’Rahilly, 1976: xi). These two versions from the 9th century, Thurneysen postulates, had Conall playing different roles, thus explaining the oddity of Conall’s placement in the text (O’Rahilly, 1976: xi).; as R2 is found in LL which itself is both a compilation of other texts and was finished around the latter half of the 12th century, it is the best position of a date for this version of the story (R. I. Best, Osborn Bergin and M. A. O’Brien: 1954: The Book of Leinster: Formally Lebar na nÚachongbála, vol. I. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin: xv - xvii.).

plays a minimal role in the first two versions of the epic, and the tales are similar enough in terms of Conall’s role in the story to discuss as a singular group for this summary.

In simple terms, the kingdom of Ulster has been cursed:141 their adult men are struck down with birth pangs during moments of dire need. Furthermore, due to the events surrounding the death of the sons of Uisliu, a large portion of Ulster’s greatest heroes have left Ulster under the leadership of Fergus mac Róich and have fallen in with their old enemies: Connacht. This leaves Ulster particularly vulnerable, and Queen Medb of Connacht raises the armies of Ireland to steal the Donn Cúailnge, a supernatural bull. With Ulster laid low by the curse, and most of its greatest heroes having abandoned King Conchobar, the defence of Ulster is left to Cú Chulainn, who seems to escape the curse on the technicalities that he is still young enough to not be considered a man, might not technically be from

Ulster, and might not be human. In the three different recensions of the text, Conall is found in different places during the story, showing the challenge in finding an appropriate place for

Conall to be during the story. The first recension first places him with the exiles in

Connacht,142 and later back in Ulster as if he had never left.143 The second recension instead places Conall well within Ulster, but drastically reduces his role in the narrative.144

Táin Bó Fraích and Tochmarc Treblainne

‘The Cattle Raid of Fráech’145 is a particularly contentious text in terms of its dating.

Wolfgang Meid states in The Romance of Fróech and Findabair or The Driving of Froech’s

Cattle: Táin Bó Froích that the earliest version of the text appears to be from an Old Irish or

141 This event is detailed in another story titled Noínden Ulad or ‘The Debility of the Ulstermen.’ 142 O’Rahilly, 1976: 129, 140. 143 O’Rahilly, 1976: 216, 218. 144 O’Rahilly, 1964: 248. 145 Edition and translation based on Trinity College Dublin 1339, Trinity College Dublin 1318, Egerton 1782, and National Library of Scotland Edinburgh, Gael. MS. XL by Wolfgang Meid, 2015: The Romance of Froech and Findabair, or, The Driving of Froech’s Cattle: Táin Bó Froích, Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Kulturwissenschaft, Neue Folge 10. Institut für Sprachen und Literaturen der Universität Innsbruck, Innsbruck.

Early Middle Irish that has been lost and likely was considerably different.146 The version that is extant cannot be definitively dated, aside from using the earliest manuscript version,

LL,147 as a terminus ante quem. According to Meid’s theory regarding the changes the Fráech saga would have undergone, the second half of the tale, the half that concerns us for the role of Conall Cernach in the text, may have been based on an early version of Tochmarc

Treblainne148 which makes vague reference to Conall, merely stating that he is traveling with

Fráech.149 However, the dating of TBF and TT are both contentious, as Jennings and Carney believe TT to be the original version of the tale and date it to the 12th century, disagreeing with Meid’s theory.150

TBF contains two clear stories within the main body of the text, the first of which involves the attempt by the hero Fráech to marry Findabair, the daughter of Ailill and Medb, king and queen of Connacht. After Ailill and Medb have demanded all of Fráech’s

Otherworldly wealth, and subsequently attempting to have him killed, the two lovers are unable to marry, and Fráech returns home to find that his cattle and family have been carried off by invaders while he was away. Setting out to rescue them, Fráech tracks the invaders through Ulster where he meets Conall Cernach standing guard at the border. While one would expect an explosion of violence as a foreign hero has trespassed into Ulster, Conall and Fráech have a conversation in which Fráech explains what has happened and what he must do, and requests that Conall come along with him. Agreeing to Fráech’s offer, the pair set off across the sea to Saxony, across the English Channel, and travel into the Alps north of

146 Meid, 2015, 9; for Meid’s discussion of the different changes in the theoretical layers of the Fráech’s saga, see pages 21 - 25 of his book. 147 Meid, 2015, 27. 148 Edition based on The Book of Fermoy by Kuno Meyer and Julius Pokorny, 1921: ‘Mitteilungen aus irischen Handschriften: Tochmarc Treblainne,’ Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 13: 166-175; translation based Meyer and Pokorny’s edition by Rachel Jennings, 1997: ‘A Translation of the Tochmarc Treblainne,’ in Emania 16, 73-78; n.b., the edition does not explain where they sourced their material, but Jennings provinces an explanation in her translation. (Jennings, 1997: 73) 149 Jennings, 1997: 77. 150 Jennings, 1997: 73.

the Longobards. Here Conall finds a shepherd woman who has an Irish mother, and on account of their shared heritage, she explains that this is where Fráech’s cattle and family have been taken. She directs the two heroes to an Ulster woman who herds the cattle of the raiders. This Ulster woman is ecstatic with the arrival of Conall and throws her arms around his neck in an embrace, for he was prophesied to destroy the fortress of the raiders. She explains to the heroes that a monstrous serpent guards the fortress, and then leaves the gate open so the pair may slip inside. As Conall and Fráech storm the fort, the guardian serpent leaps around Conall’s waist like a belt, and the two heroes plunder the wealth from the raiders and save Fráech’s family. After their success, the serpent unwinds itself from around

Conall’s waist and returns to the fortress, the man and the snake refusing to harm each other, and Conall, Fráech, and Fráech’s family return to Ireland.151

Conall’s role in TT is much smaller, limited to a single sentence which references that

Conall Cernach and Fráech have gone on adventures together.152 While the reference to

Conall is minor, it is important to include this text in the current discussion due to the present controversy with regard to the dating and precise relationship of TBF and TT, and it provides an interesting reference to Conall in a text that otherwise does not discuss him.

Talland Étair

‘The Siege of Howth’153 is found in two manuscripts, namely LL and Harleian 5280.

While the Book of Leinster was completed in the 12th century and Harleian 5280 is dated to the 16th century, Caoimhín Ó Dónaill suggests that the story itself should be dated to, at the

151 Meid, 2015: 65-74. 152 Jennings, 1997: 77. 153 Edition and translation based on Trinity College Dublin 1339, commonly known as LL, and Harleian 5280 from the British Library in Caoimhín Ó Dónaill, 2005: Talland Étair: A Critical Edition with Introduction, Translation, Textual Notes, Bibliography and Vocabulary, Maynooth Medieval Irish Texts 4. National University of Ireland Maynooth Department of Old and Middle Irish, Maynooth.

very latest, the latter half of the Old Irish period based on his linguistic analysis of both texts.154

The events of TEtr begin when a poet from Conchobar’s court is sent on a circuit of

Ireland where he abuses his power to an outrageous degree. He demands the only remaining eye of king Echu son of Luchtae in Connacht; he sleeps with the wife of Tigernach

Tétbuillech while she is in labour in Munster, and eventually travels to Leinster to the home of Mess Gegrai where he demands to sleep with his wife. When it comes time for him to leave Leinster, the poet has taken one hundred and fifty queens for his own and plans to bring them back to Ulster. Knowing the Leinstermen will attack him the moment he is beyond their borders, the Ulaid are sent for and the attempted flight from Leinster results in the Ulaid being pinned in Howth. Under siege, the Ulaid are starving, as the poet refuses to feed any of them, even Conchobar, and Conall Cernach’s seven-year-old brother Mess Dead is killed unfairly while defending the fort. After the Ulaid escape and the enemy is routed by Cú

Chulainn, the text shifts its focus to Conall Cernach, who begins to hunt down Mess Gegrai in order to avenge the deaths of his brothers Mess Dead and Lóegaire. As Mess Gegrai has lost an arm by the time Conall finds him, Conall duels him with one arm tied behind his back, and defeats Mess Gegrai. Before Conall decapitates him, Mess Gegrai tells Conall that if he places Mess Gegrai’s head atop his own, this will heal Conall’s crooked neck. Conall is suspicious, however. As a result, Conall first holds the head over a stone. His suspicions prove well-founded: the blood which drips from Mess Gegrai’s head burns through the stone like acid. Conall then places the head on the stone, and watches as the head drives the stone into the earth like a hammer would a nail. Satisfied that the head has exhausted itself, Conall places the head atop his own, where it cured his crooked neck. Conall then takes Mess

154 Ó Dónaill, 2005: 30, 32, 39.

Gegrai’s wife captive, and when he finds himself unable to move Mess Gegrai’s head after that, he removes the brain and mixes it with lime as his personal trophy.155

Togail Bruidne Dá Choca

The earlier recension of ‘The Destruction of Dá Choca’s Hostel’156 is a 12th-century157 text found in five manuscripts,158 following the immediate aftermath of AC. The text is followed in turn by CAi.

After the death of Conchobar mac Nessa during the events of AC, the Ulaid begin to argue over who should be made king at the start of TBDC, with Conall Cernach arguing that his foster son Cuscraid Menn Macha (Conchobar’s son) should replace his father as king. The

Ulaid reject Conall’s suggestion as Cuscraid has refused to partake in a battle and instead selected Cormac Conloinges. This choice eventually leads to the destruction of Dá Choca’s hostel, a conflict between Cet mac Magach and Amairgein, and the death of Cormac

Conloinges, though Conall takes no part in these parts of the story.159

Togail Bruidne Dá Derga

‘The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel’160 is a 10th or 11th-century text161 in which

Conall Cernach assumes the role of protagonist in the final section of the text.

155 Ó Dónaill, 2005: 52 - 62. 156 Edition and translation based on H. 3. 18 and H. 1. 17 from the collection of Trinity College Dublin by Whitley Stokes, 1900: ‘Da Choca’s Hostel,’ in Revue Celtique 21, 149–165, 312–327, 388–402. Stokes’ edition is made of two different recensions of the text, primarily the older 12th-century version with occasional additions from the second recension (Gregory Toner, 2007: Bruiden Da Choca, Irish Texts Society 61. Irish Texts Society, London. 1-2) 157 Toner, 2007: 3. 158 Toner, 2007: 2; these manuscripts are British Library Additional 30512, Royal Irish Academy 1404, Abbotsford Library E 2, Trinity College Dublin MS 1291, and Royal Irish Academy 570. 159 Stokes, 1900: 149–165, 312–327, 388–402. 160 Edition based on LU, the YBL, Trinity College Dublin MS 1319, the Book of Fermoy, Royal Irish Academy D. 4. 2, Egerton 1782, and Egerton 92 in Whitley Stokes, 1901: ‘The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel,’ Revue Celtique 22. 9–61, 165–215, 282–329, 390–437; translation is based on a revised version of this edition found in Borsje, 2012: 269-339. 161 Ralph O’Connor, 2013: The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel: Kingship & Narrative Artistry in a Medieval Irish Saga. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 18, 20-21); there is some disagreement between O’Connor and an

The story begins as King Conaire Mór accidentally breaks each of his gessa, supernatural taboos, and flees to the hostel of the supernatural man Dá Derga, bringing his entire retinue with him in hopes that he may be able to survive an onslaught by a group of raiders by surrounding himself with his best warriors. The hostel is then surrounded by

Conaire’s foster brothers who were banished from Ireland by Conaire for raiding but were now working with foreign raiders. Bound by an unwise oath to the strange supernatural foreigner Ingcél, Conaire’s brothers are compelled by their word to lay siege to the hostel which by complete chance has their foster-brother inside of it. The foster-brothers, along with

Ingcél and his raiders, wait outside the hostel peering into each of the rooms to learn who they will face in the coming battle. The raiders observe that Mac Cecht and Conall Cernach are the most dangerous of the king’s guardians. During the ensuing battle, Conall serves as a supernaturally skilled guardian as he brazenly violates physical laws of the universe to exist in multiple locations at the same time, until he is finally forced to withdraw. After being pushed back by the raiders, Conall takes position alongside two other warriors in a last stand to defend the king. After king Conaire has died of thirst, due to Mac Cecht’s failure to return with a drink, Conall fights his way out of the invading army to return home, where the story closes on a conversation between him and his father.162

Tochmarc Emire

earlier work by Eleanor Knott who believed the 11th-century manuscript version found in YBL is based on 9th- century texts, one of which added the Ulster heroes to the story. (Eleanor Knott, 1936: Togail bruidne Da Derga. Mediaeval and Modern Irish Series 8. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin. xi) For the purposes of this thesis, O’Connor’s dating will be used as it is both the most recent work on the dating of the text, as well as the semminal work on the topic of TBDD. 162 Borsje, 2012: 269-339.

‘The Wooing of Emer’163 has two recensions, the first of which, dated to the 8th century, has no reference to Conall Cernach.164 The second recension is an expanded story from the early 14th century. This version does include Conall in the events of the story.165 As

Conall is only involved in the second recension of TE, that recension will be the one discussed in this thesis.

The story begins with Cú Chulainn seeking a suitable wife. He eventually chooses

Emer, who issues Cú Chulainn with a list of feats and deeds he has to perform before she will marry him. To improve his skills, Cú Chulainn is directed to train under Domnall the

Soldierly166 in Scotland, and he, Lóegaire, and Conchobar set out to train there. In the second recension, this group is joined by Conall Cernach. The group travels to Scotland and trains with Domnall, but when Domnall explains that Cú Chulainn will need to travel east to

Scáthach to finish his training, Cú Chulainn’s companions are separated from him with an illusory image of Emain Macha that they cannot pass through, conjured by either Domnall’s daughter, whose advances Cú Chulainn has previously spurned, or Forgall the Wiley, Emer’s father. At this point, Cú Chulainn travels onwards and completes his training, but Conall’s part in the story concludes until he is found later collecting taxes in Scotland.167

Tochmarc Lúaine ocus Aided Athairne

163 Edition and translation based on Rawlinson B. 512 by Kuno Meyer, 1890: ‘The Oldest Version of Tochmarc Emire,’ in Revue Celtique 11. 433-457. 164 Meyer, 1890: 439, 442 - 457. 165 Kuno Meyer, 1888: ‘The Wooing of Emer,’ in Archaeological Review 1. 68–75, 150–155, 231–235, 298– 307: 68; in Myer’s Edition and translation of this later version of the text he draws on a fragment of the text found in the 11th century, and a complete version from the early 14th century. Unfortunately, Meyer does not differentiate between the sections of the text he drew from where, but as it is the only translation of the older version of TE, it must be made do with. Due to this, I have classified the text with the older date of the complete MS he used. (Meyer, 1888: 68.) 166 Refered to as Domhnaill Mháoil in FCC. 167 Meyer, 1888: 443-453.

‘The Wooing of Lúan and the Death of Athairne’168 relegates Conall Cernach to the sidelines. However, his position at the sidelines is still interesting enough for a brief discussion. Traced to the latter half of the 12th century by Liam Breatnach,169 the story continues on from the events of LMU. Conchobar finds himself in a deep depression over the loss of Deirdre, and the Ulaid are left to find a way to cheer him up.

Conall does not appear until the story has reached a narrative climax, when Lúan, the woman that the Ulaid have found to replace Deirdre, has been satirized three times by

Athairne and his two sons for refusing to sleep with them, as she desires Conchobar. The shame from these satires kills her, and her body is discovered by Conchobar and the nobles of

Ulster, including Conall Cernach. This goes badly, as one might expect, and the friendly visit to Conchobar’s new lover descends into a hastily established war council. While the rest of the Ulster heroes, led by Cú Chulainn, set about organizing battle plans, Conall, described in the text as “combative”170 and “righteous,”171 simply “looked on”172 as the Ulaid prepare for war.173

Tochmarc Treblainne

See Táin Bó Fraích.

168 Edition and translation based on Trinity College Dublin, 1318 and Royal Irish Academy 23 P 12 by Whitley Stokes, 1903: ‘The Wooing of Luaine and the Death of Athirne’ in Revue Celtique 24, 270-287; while a more recent edition of the text has been completed by Liam Bretnach, as it introduces a third MS and does not provide a translation it was not a viable choice (Liam Breatnach, 1980: ‘Tochmarc Luaine ocus Aided Athairne,’ in Celtica 13, 1-31: 1). 169 Breatnach, 1980: 5. 170 Stokes, 1903: 281; the original text reads, “Comrumach.” (Stokes, 1903: 280) 171 Stokes, 1903: 281; the original text reads, “Firen.” (Stokes, 1903: 280) 172 Stokes, 1903: 281; the original text reads, “fegastair.” (Stokes, 1903: 280) 173 Stokes, 1903: 270-287.

3.0 Guardian

Of the six major themes this thesis proposes as evidence for Conall Cernach’s importance to the authors, compilers, and audience of the Ulster Cycle, the theme of protection dominates the conversation. It occurs in twenty different saga texts across the complete time period examined in this thesis, the 8th through 16th centuries, first found in

BMM and expanding into TBDD, SMMD, TEt, AOA 1, SCC, D. A, D. DE, D. ML, FB,

TBF, CRR, TBC R1, TLA, TBC R2, ACMM, CCu, GCC, OCU, and OCC. Across these twenty different sagas, Conall Cernach is consistently depicted as the perennial protective hero, functioning as a border-guard, a watchman, a bodyguard, and a revenge killer.

As there is an overabundance of material for establishing this theme, for ease of use the sagas will be broken into four distinct sections based on differences in the type of protection Conall Cernach employs: (1) Conall Cernach protects Ulster’s borders; (2) Conall

Cernach serving as a bodyguard for a specific individual; (3) Conall kills someone in an act of retribution; (4) Conall protects the honour of Ulster.

While the events of the three Recensions of the Táin Bó Cúaillnge are often read from the perspective of Cú Chulainn functioning as the supreme defender of Ulster, it is important to note that Cú Chulainn ultimately fails, as Medb succeeds in having the Donn Cúailnge captured.174 Other sagas, such as CRR, actively bemoan Conall Cernach’s absence during the events of the raid, as from their perspective, Conall could have turned the tide of the battle and prevented the ravaging of Ulster.175 In the context of this theme, both Cú Chulainn and

Conall Cernach can be understood as more complex figures, with Cú Chulainn serving as an

174 Even with the death of the Donn Cúailnge, Medb still has achieved her original goal of ensuring that she and Ailill have equal wealth as Finnbhennach dies at the same time. While she never owns the Donn Cúailnge, Ailill lost Finnbhennach, thus leaving Medb the victor. 175 Hogan, 1892: 13; In both TBC R1 and TBC R2 Conall Cernach is present for parts of TBC, but the author of CRR has decided to discuss a version of TBC where Conall was absent.

‘Unstoppable Force,’ a machine of slaughter and destruction, where Conall is an ‘Immovable

Object,’ a bulwark to safeguard his friends and family.

3.1 – Historical Context

The theme of protection requires little historical context in order to understand the vast majority of instances of its appearance within the sagas of Conall Cernach. A timeless concept, safeguarding one’s children, family, friends, and kingdom from threats or enemies lurking somewhere out of sight has been an ever-popular topic for human cultures. However, one aspect of Conall Cernach’s protective function in the Irish sagas requires further context, as it is hedged in specific cultural traditions with which a modern audience may be unfamiliar with.

The world of the Irish sagas is saturated in issues of honour, shame, and social status.

A complex system of social hierarchy fuels conflict over who reigns supreme within a specific profession, where shame, a tool to damage status, can be as lethal as any sword. The honour of an individual surpasses their own mortality, and warriors in particular strive to achieve immortality through great deeds, which will be discussed further in Chapter Eight.

What is important for the current discussion is what happens after a warrior dies: they are still vulnerable to attacks after death, as their honour has come to represent their life in a most literal sense.

After an individual has died by heroic means and has found immortality in stories, his life is no longer at risk. His reputation and the honour on which it is based, however, is still vulnerable. When a warrior has his deeds recounted in stories after his death, the person who slew the warrior can attempt to manipulate the honour system by using the deeds of a defeated hero as a way of increasing his own social standing. While a champion may have fought an army alone and emerged victorious, the one hero who managed to slay that

champion is able to elevate his social position by boasting that he has singlehandedly killed someone whom an entire army could not defeat. In doing so, the warrior is able to ‘prop up’ his own social position by standing on the deeds of other defeated warriors.

The family and friends of these slain individuals, however, have reasons to oppose these boastings. The use of a slain hero as a platform on which to elevate one’s own deeds may not sit well with the close relatives of the dead individual, forcing them into action to safeguard the honour of the deceased through the only potential method available to them: silencing the person boasting. The boasting hero must be hunted down and killed in order to

‘cauterize’ the wound dealt to the dead hero’s honour, as this prevents a further tainting of the legacy of the dead. In this way, these retributive killings are acts of protection, safeguarding the honour of the dead.

3.2 – The Shield of the North: Guardian of Ulster

Perhaps the simplest of the subvariations of Conall Cernach’s function as a guardian,

Conall is frequently depicted in the sagas, or praised by others, as a pre-eminent border guardian for Ulster. Serving as a physical barrier between the outside world and Ulster,

Conall is depicted as a person living on the physical margins of society and serving as the first line of defence against oncoming threats.

The first instance of this subtheme is found in AOA 1 in the late 9th or 10th century.176

As Connla arrives on the shore of Ulster, he refuses to identify himself, and he is willing to fight anyone who challenges his presence. Hearing of this incursion past Ulster’s borders,

Conall Cernach is the first to respond, decrying that “the honour of Ulster will not be carried

176 Van Hamel, 1933: 9.

off while [he is] still alive,”177 and sets out to face Connla.178 Connla makes short work of

Conall, knocking him off his feet with a thunderous blow from his sling and pinning Conall to the ground with his own shield. While Conall is defeated, as the child nearly overpowers

Cú Chulainn179 and would have conquered most of the known world for Ulster if he had not perished,180 Conall’s defeat is entirely understandable. Connla is functionally in a different

‘weight class’ of supernatural warrior than either his father Cú Chulainn or Conall.

Despite this understandable defeat, the author or compiler of AOA 1 presents Conall

Cernach as a border defender. The first warrior to respond to the incursion beyond the borders, Conall vocalizes his function as a defender as he boasts that he will not allow

Ulster’s honour to be besmirched while he is alive. It should be noted however that while

AOA 1 presents Conall as a border guardian, this theme will not reappear in the literary record for another three centuries. As this theme does not appear to be first established by this tale, it is only a minor reference in a larger text. The theme may have been developed in earlier, no longer extant texts that influenced AOA 1.

This function as a border guardian as seen in AOA 1 appears twice in the 12th century with the events of TBC R1 and R2, as well as a portion of TBF. During the Macgnímrada, the ‘Boyhood Deeds,’ of R1 and R2, Cú Chulainn plans to go on his first raid into Connacht while still a child. Cú Chulainn travels to the border, crossing at Slíab Fúait where he meets

Conall Cernach. Conall is keeping watch over the boundary to duel incoming warriors and offer safe passage to visiting poets, which the text says is a job all of the Ulster heroes do on rotation.181 Cú Chulainn suggests that Conall return home so he can take over the border

177 Kuno Meyer, 1904: ‘The Death of Conla,’ in Éiru 1. 113-121: 117; the original text reads, “’Ní ba fir,’ ol Conall Cernach, “enech Ulad do breith céin am beo-sa.” (Meyer, 1904: 116) 178 While protecting the honour of Ulster is a different section of this discussion, AOA 1 is more at home in a discussion of Conall’s function as a border guardian as Conall is protecting the honour of Ulster against a border intrusion by an unknown warrior. The function of protecting the province’s honour is only a part of Conall attempting to repell this border intrusion, rather than the entirety of his motivation. 179 Meyer, 1904: 119, 221. 180 Meyer, 1904: 221. 181 O’Rahilly, 1976: 143-144; O’Rahilly, 1967: 165-166.

watch.182 Conall disagrees with this, as Cú Chulainn is still a child. In response, Cú Chulainn shatters the central beam of Conall’s chariot, which forces him to return home as it is against tribal protocol to be on guard with a damaged chariot.183 This idea of Conall serving as a border guardian appears again in TBF. When Fráech trespasses into Ulster at Benna Bairchi, he is immediately met by Conall Cernach who has been keeping watch of the border of

Ulster.184

While both of these instances are minor in the larger scheme of Conall Cernach’s function as a defender, both provide an important insight into the image of Conall Cernach the authors and compilers of these texts had. Similarly to AOA 1 where Conall fights at the border between land and sea, Conall is found at the terrestrial border at the moment of an incursion, or in the case of TBC, when Cú Chulainn is attempting to cross the border. TBC explains that guarding the border is a common duty for all of the heroes, but Conall is the only one of the Ulster heroes ever actively depicted doing so.

The most notable absence of Conall Cernach’s function as a border guardian comes from the events of TBC where Conall is absent from his normal role in all three Recensions.

As a border guardian, Conall Cernach is uniquely suited to playing the role of protagonist, or at least a supporting role in the story. When an army raised from all of Ireland beyond Ulster attacks his province, he should be found at the border, ready to repel the invaders. But instead, the task falls to a young Cú Chulainn. TBC R1 and TBC R3 both offer explanations for Conall’s absence, but curiously they each disagree on the details, with TBC R1 even contradicting itself. Initially, Conall is placed in the Connacht camp as one of a band of exiled Ulster heroes,185 but later in the text, Conall is described as having been among the

182 O’Rahilly, 1976: 143-144; O’Rahilly, 1967: 165-166. 183 O’Rahilly, 1976: 144; O’Rahilly, 1967: 166. 184 Meid, 2015: 73; while Benna Bairchi is particularly far away from what would normally be identified as the border of Ulster, the text describes it as such strangely. 185 O’Rahilly, 1976: 129.

Ulstermen recovering from a curse placed on them the entire time.186 Similarly, TBC R2 relegates Conall to the back lines as one of the figures recovering from the curse,187 but never places him with the exiles. Potentially, Conall’s absence is the simple result of authorial choice, wanting a tale about Cú Chulainn and thus shuffling Conall Cernach to the sidelines.

Alternatively, perhaps Conall originally played a larger role. Thurneysen postulates that the differences in R1 are due to two different versions of the story being merged together, each with a different position on Conall’s whereabouts during the raid.188

TLA briefly references Conall Cernach’s function as a guardian, though Conall is not found at a border during the events of the story. When an emergency war council is called and the heroes of Ulster leap to plan a rapid response to the death of Conchobar’s newest beloved, Lúaine, Conall Cernach is not involved. In Stokes’ translation of the scene, Conall is

“looking on”189 as the others plan, which seems to isolate Conall from the events and push him to the margins of the activity. However, revisiting Stokes original translation can shed new light on exactly how Conall is contributing to the war council. The text uses the term

“fegastair,”190 which Stokes translates as “look[ing] on,”191 which is contextually confusing, as there is nothing clear for Conall to be looking at, unless his sole contribution was to watch the others plan. It might be preferable to use an alternative meaning here, as the verb fégaid can also be translated as “keeps a lookout.”192 This fits the context (and Conall’s overall character) much better: while the others plan, Conall stands guard over a specific location to ensure the safety of the council members.193

186 O’Rahilly, 1976: 216, 218. 187 O’Rahilly, 1967: 248. 188 O’Rahilly, 1976: xi. 189 Stokes, 1903: 281; the original text reads, “Ba Conall comrumach firen fegastair.” (Stokes, 1903: 280) 190 Stokes, 1903: 280. 191 Stokes, 1903: 281. 192 eDIL s.v. fégaid, féc(h)aid. 193 While at a glance this story may seem more fitting for the discussion of Conall playing the role of a bodyguard, TLA depicts Conall protecting a group of individuals by moving apart from them and not participating in a collective activity due to standing watch for intruders. This description is closer to the discussion of a border guardian in this sense, the border just happens to be smaller and hastily established.

In a slight variation of Conall functioning as a border guardian, he is found playing a similar role in FB. Bricriu whispers in the ear of Conall Cernach to stir his pride to challenge his friends for supremacy as the chief warrior of Ulster through use of this theme. The angle

Bricriu uses to play into Conall’s pride is focusing on Conall’s role as a guardian. He describes Conall as a guardian of the Ulstermen while they are raiding foreign lands, scouting ahead three days and three nights’ distance to hold fords and crossings to act as a vanguard for the invasion.194 Presumably this is to protect the Ulstermen from any attempts by their enemies to reach the bulk of their forces by holding the choke points several days ahead of their arrival. When the Ulstermen are returning from their invasions, this vanguard function changes to a rearguard, “giving them cover so that no enemy can get by [him] or through

[him] or over [him],”195 to reach the Ulstermen as they leave with their plunder. When

Lendabair, wife of Conall Cernach, praises her husband’s greatness and exalts his deeds further on in FB, she focuses on these same topics. She boasts that Conall is the “guardian of every ford-way,”196 as well as an avenger of wrongful attacks.197

In these six tales, Conall Cernach is repeatedly described as a guardian, protecting

Ulster and its people. In AOA 1, TBC R1, TBC R2, and TBF, Conall Cernach is the ‘first responder’ to a border incursion, and Conall is physically found at the border actively defending it from intruders. TLA provides a similar perspective, with Conall taking up a defensive position as his friends begin to plan for a coming conflict. Conall does not contribute to the plan, but instead keeps watch, protecting his fellows from those who would harm them, or spies attempting to learn their plan. This theme culminates with FB which not

194 George Henderson, 1899: The Feast of Bricriu. Irish Texts Society 2. Irish Texts Society, London. 11; the original text reads, “”Maith sin, a Chonaill Cernaig,” or Bricriu, “is tú laech na cernd ocus na comram. At móra na comrama dait sech ócu Ulad ol chena. In tan tíagat Ulaid for cricha echtrand, udi tri lá ocus tri n-aidche dait-siu remib for áthaib ocus ilathaib.” (Henderson, 1899: 10) 195 Henderson, 1899: 11; the original text reads, “Tú dano tar a n-éssi dorísi oc á n-imdegail oc tíchtain ass, conna torgethar sechut na treót na torot.” (Henderson, 1899: 10) 196 Henderson, 1899: 25; the original text reads, “arsaid cach n-áth conid día thuil toronglai” (Henderson, 1899: 24) 197 Henderson, 1899: 25; the original text reads, “arslaithi a n-áthu arfich a n-gressu” (Henderson, 1899: 24)

only provides evidence for Conall’s guardian function, but shows that this function is so well established that it is invoked in the world of the sagas as something the characters understand about Conall. Thereby, it is clear that this theme was regarded as a significant aspect of his character.

3.3 – A Living Shield: Bodyguard

Conall can be found protecting a specific individual in four different texts, starting with TBDD in the 10th through 11th century and ending in the 14th through 15th century with

OCU.198

TBDD presents the story of Conaire Mór, the high king of Ireland. After a series of bad decisions, Conaire is fortified inside the titular hostel of Dá Derga, surrounded by his warriors and servants. His two greatest warriors are Conall Cernach and Mac Cecht, though

Conall ultimately serves a more protective role over the course of the saga, which is emphasized multiple times. When raiders begin to approach the hostel, and Conaire questions what the sound is that he hears, it is Conall Cernach who immediately realizes they are under attack.199 When the raiders are spying on Conall, Fer Rogain explains that “seven doorways there are out of the house, and Conall Cernach will contrive to be at each of them, and from no doorway will he be absent.”200 This suggests that Conall is going to be physically present in each of the seven doorways at the same time - an overtly supernatural action that is never seen again in the sagas.201

198 O’Connor, 2013: 18; Mac Giolla Léith, 1993: 13. 199 Borsje, 2012: 332. 200 Borsje, 2012: 310; the original text reads, “Atá[a]t secht ndoruis asin tig 7 arricfa Conall Cernach b[e]ith for cach dorus díb, 7 ni bía a thesbaid ar nách dorus.” (Stokes, 1901: 200) 201 As an overtly supernatural act performed by a hero, this act seems similar in base notion to the Heroic Feats performed by other figures. Potentially, this ability to defend multiple locations at the same time was a Heroic Feat of Conall’s and the audience and author thought this to be so self-evident they did not explain it. Either way, it is one of the most overtly supernatural acts by a warrior in the Irish sagas.

When the men of Ireland sally out of the hostel, Conall Cernach takes command of the personal defence of the parched king while Mac Cecht leaves to fetch a drink of water for him.202 Even after being wounded in the process of killing three hundred of the enemy as well as an enemy king,203 and after the majority of the men of Ireland have made their escape from the hostel, Conall stays behind along with Sencha and Dubthach to defend Conaire until the king’s demise.204 Conall’s focus on defence is even expressed through his equipment, as

Conall is described as carrying a blood-red shield that has been given a unique name, called the Bricriu of Conall Cernach.205 This shield is alternatively named Conall Cernach’s

Lámthapad, or ‘Fast-hand’ “because of the quickness and readiness at which that shield... is seized and wielded.”206 While other warriors are described with terrifying magical weapons focused on attack (such as the Lúin of Celtchar),207 Conall’s specially named and potentially magical piece of equipment is a shield, connecting Conall thematically with defence and protection once again.

Evidently, the authors and compilers of TBDD were aware of Conall Cernach’s overarching theme as a guardian, and packed this text with references to it. In addition to serving as the bodyguard to the high king, Conall is able to immediately identify that they are under attack, performs an overtly supernatural feat where he defends multiple points in space

202 Borsje, 2012: 333-334. 203 Borsje, 2012: 334. 204 Borsje, 2012: 335. 205 Borsje, 2012: 309 206 Stokes, 1901: 201; the original text reads, “Ainm aili di and, Lámtapad Conaill Cernaig ara tricci ocus ara athlaime gabair 7 immirthir in scíath sin Conaill Cernaig.” (Stokes, 1901: 200); Stokes’ translation is used for this line as Borsje did not translate the note it is given in. 207 This weapon is also found in TBDD, and is perhaps one of the most wildly unfair weapons in Irish saga literature. TBDD describes its supernatural powers in great detail, “And the Lúin (lance) of Celtchar son of Uthechar which was found in the battle of Mag Tured, this is in the hand of Dubthach Chafer of Ulster. That feat is usual for it when it is ripe to pour forth the blood of an enemy. A cauldron full of poison is needed to quench it when the deed killing a man is expected of it. If this does not happen to it, it blazes up on its haft and pierces the man holding it or the lord of the royal house. If it be a blow that is to be given thereby it will kill a man at every blow, when it is at that feat, from one hour to another, though it may not reach him. And if it be a cast, it will kill nine men at every cast, and one of the nine will be a king or king’s son or chieftain of the brigands.” (Borsje, 2012: 326)

simultaneously, and unlike other warriors, carries a named shield rather than a named weapon to further emphasize his protective function.

Conall Cernach’s protection of an individual appears again in a far more intimate manner in SCC than it does in TBDD or in other appearances of the theme. After Cú

Chulainn has been reduced to a comatose state after an assault by supernatural women, he has been left in his sickbed along with four other people: Eithne, Cú Chulainn’s wife, Lugaid, Cú

Chulainn’s foster-son, Fergus mac Róich, Cú Chulainn’s foster-father, and Conall Cernach,

Cú Chulainn’s foster-brother. Each of the four people present are stationed at a specific location in the bedroom; Fergus stands by the wall, Lugaid is by the pillow, Eithne is at his feet, and Conall at his bedrail, standing at the base of the bed.208 While the position of the bed in relation to the rest of the room is never described, when the intruder Óengus son of Áed

Abrat enters the room, Conall is immediately before him, presumably at the doorway, demanding he explain why he is there.209

The authors and compilers of the text position each person in the room with precise care. Evidently, some meaning must be found in their choices regarding where each figure stands in relation to Cú Chulainn. The placement of Conall by the doorway is consistent with the way in which Conall is described in TBF210 and the Boyhood Deeds211: Conall Cernach is the first to immediately leap to the defence of the sick hero by demanding the unknown invader explain their presence just as he would at the borders of Ulster. In this way, Conall’s placement appears to place him near the border of the room with the outside world, ready to leap to defend his ailing foster-brother.

This protection of an individual is further invoked in TBC R2 by Cú Chulainn after he has been forced to kill his beloved Fer Diad due to conflicting loyalties. Although Conall

208 Gantz, 1981: 157; the original text reads, “Conall Cernach etir 7 chrand” (Myles, 1953: 3) 209 Gantz, 1981: 157; the original text reads, “’Cid dottucai and sin?” ol Conall Cernach.” (Myles, 1975: 3) 210 Meid, 2015: 73. 211 O’Rahilly, 1976: 143-144; O’Rahilly, 1967: 165-166.

never appears to fulfill his protective function, his presence is still felt as Cú Chulainn wails for his dead partner. Cú Chulainn cries out that he regrets that three men did not stop him, referring to a consistent characteristic of each of the men that could have stopped the conflict.

Láeg, Cú Chulainn’s charioteer, could have shamed Fer Diad, and could have reminded him of the bond between the two men as Láeg does time and again for Cú Chulainn throughout the events of TBC.212 Fergus could have tried to advise Fer Diad against the duel; his skill as an advisor and counselor is important to his function throughout the events of TBC, as Fergus advises Medb and Ailill on how to accomplish their goals and to be wary of Cú Chulainn.213

Lastly, Cú Chulainn invokes Conall, to whom he gives epithets which he did not ascribe to the other two men, calling him “fair, triumphant, [and] victorious Conall.”214 Cú Chulainn laments the fact that Conall was not there to help defend Fer Diad from Cú Chulainn in the duel.215 Just as Láeg and Fergus’ characteristics are invoked by Cú Chulainn in his grief,

Conall’s function as a warrior is invoked in how he wishes that Conall had been there to fight alongside Fer Diad and prevent Cú Chulainn from killing his beloved.

CCu revives Conall’s service as a bodyguard to a high king of Ireland, as seen previously in TBDD. Conall Cernach serves as the head of a mercenary band employed by

Eochaid,216 serves as one of Eochaid’s two personal bodyguards,217 and avenges his dead charge by hunting down and killing one of his murderers.218 Conall even finds himself opposed to the Ulaid and the machinations of Conchobar mac Nessa, who gives the three

212 O’Rahilly, 1967: 230; the original text reads, “Ba dirsan dait nach Láeg mac Riangabra rúamnastar comairle ar comaltais.” (O’Rahilly, 1967: 94) 213 O’Rahilly, 1967: 230; the original text reads, “Ba dirsan duit nách athesc fírglan Ferugsa forémais.” (O’Rahilly, 1967: 94) 214 O’Rahilly, 1967: 230; the original text reads, “Ba dirsan duit nach Conall cáem coscarach commaídmech cathbúadach cobrastar comairle ar comaltais.” (O’Rahilly, 1967: 94) 215 O’Rahilly, 1967: 230; the original text reads, “Ba dirsan duit nach Conall cáem coscarach commaídmech cathbúadach cobrastar comairle ar comaltais.” (O’Rahilly, 1967: 94) 216 Dobbs, 1926: 307. 217 Dobbs, 1926: 285, 287, 305, 325. 218 Dobbs, 1926: 327, 331.

sons of Eochaid the loyalty of three thousand warriors of Ulster.219 Due to Conall’s position as the guardian of Eochaid,220 this violates his normal tribal loyalties seen in almost every other saga appearance. In a dramatic scene, when one of Eochaid’s treacherous sons hurls a stone from a sling at Eochaid, Conall Cernach and his fellow bodyguard Cet mac Magach slam their shields together to form a barrier to halt the stone, but it manages to pierce through the heroic defence both men offer.221

This protection of an individual appears for a final time in two different instances in

OCU. When Conchobar mac Nessa is plotting to assassinate Naoise, Conchobar asks Cú

Chulainn, Conall Cernach, and Fergus each privately how they would react if Naoise died while under their protection. Conall’s answer is that it “would result not in the death of one man alone... for no Ulsterman I would apprehend would escape from me with his life but death and slaughter and destruction would be visited upon him”222 - which is not the answer

Conchobar was looking for. When Conchobar sets his son to fight Fergus’ son, he gives his son his own personal armaments, including his magical shield, which wails when beset by attackers.223 When Conall hears the shield of his uncle and king wailing he immediately travels to Emain Macha from Dún Sobairche and intervenes in the combat he encounters by stabbing the man attacking the shield of Conchobar in the back, mistakenly killing Fergus’ son.224 The text does not explain the specifics, but Conall clearly believes he is rushing to intervene in an attack against Conchobar, as Conall immediately assumes that it is Conchobar

219 Dobbs, 1926: 295. 220 Dobbs, 1926: 291, 295. 221 Dobbs, 1926: 325; the original text reads, “O do conairc Cet mac Maghach 7 Conall Cernach mac Aimergin an ní sin ro thogbhadar an da sgéith lán-tiúgach, lán-mhóra a n-aónuair na haghaidh. Ciodh tracht do chuaidh an liágh thortilleach fheadhma idir an dá sgeith siár go ttarladh tair leadhan-ochta 7 úrbhruinne don áirdrigh ionnus gur leg fáon fo tharsna fo lár-mheadhon an atha é gona sgiath riogha ro-leadhan 7 cona thréalamh goile 7 gaisgeach a bhfothar-linntibh Atha Comair gur chuirestar úan cubhair dubh-fhola tair a bheal isan linn,” (Dobbs, 1926: 324) 222 Mac Giolla Léith, 1993: 91; the original text reads, “Ní bás aonduine (d)o thiocf(adh) de sin,’ ar Conall, ‘acht gach aon ar mbéarainns(e) d(e) Ultaibh ní roichfeadh neach uaimse a bheatha díobh gan bás agus éag agus oidheadh d’imirt air.” (Mac Giolla Léith, 1993: 90) 223 Mac Giolla Léith, 1993: 125. 224 Mac Giolla Léith, 1993: 125-126.

who is in danger when the shield cries out.225 Whether this ploy was intentional on the part of

Conchobar is unclear, but as the entire story is based on Conchobar being deceitful and manipulating events in his favor, it is not unreasonable to propose that the audience was intended to see this as a scheme of Conchobar’s, where he deliberately exploits Conall’s protective nature.

These five texts are written in the context of Conall Cernach serving as a guardian or bodyguard for a specific person. In TBDD, Conaire Mór is under Conall’s protection, where in SCC, a weakened Cú Chulainn is his charge; in TBC, Cú Chulainn mourns Conall’s absence meaning he could not protect Fer Diad, in CCu we see Eochaid Feidlech, and in

OCU we see a hypothetical protection of Naoise as well as a case of mistaken identity, where

Conall believes he is protecting Conchobar. What is interesting is that by the time of OCU in the 14th through 15th century,226 Conall’s function as a guardian has become so well established inside the sagas themselves that Conchobar is able to use it to manipulate Conall into acting, where he otherwise did not want to be involved. Similarly to FB, OCU has characters within the tales themselves recognize the theme of Conall as a guardian and exploit it. This deliberate deception indicates an awareness on the part of not just the author or compiler, but of the audience as well.

3.4 – Safeguarding the Dead: Retributive Killings

The earliest instance of Conall protecting the honour of others is found in BMM, an

8th-century text.227 As discussed, threats to the honour of an individual (or by extension a group of individuals) were considerably important in early medieval Ireland - and thereby the

225 Mac Giolla Léith, 1993: 125; Conall assumes that “Conchobhar is in distress,” (Mac Giolla Léith, 1993: 125) when he hears the wailing of the shield; the original text reads “‘Is fíor sin,’ ar Conall, ‘atá Conchobhair in éigin agus ní nóir gan a ionnsaighe.” (Mac Giolla Léith, 1993: 124) 226 Mac Giolla Léith, 1993: 13. 227 Kimpton, 2009: 8.

literature their culture produced. The only method to protect a dead hero from having his honour degraded by his slayer’s boasting is to silence his boasting, permanently.

In BMM, Cú Chulainn has been killed, and his head has been taken as a trophy by

Lugaid. This invokes an oath Conall and Cú Chulainn have sworn to each other to avenge the death of whichever of the pair died first. Conall hunts down Lugaid where the two men duel until Conall strikes Lugaid down. After being defeated, Lugaid tells Conall to take his head so that Conall can add Lugaid’s status to Conall’s own228 so that Conall will be regarded as the greatest warrior in Ireland. As Lugaid has killed Cú Chulainn, this makes Lugaid the best warrior in Ireland. Conall’s killing of Lugaid puts an end to Lugaid’s boast. This shows why

Conall’s protective function is drawn out with these retributive killings: Conall must kill those who slew his friends and family to ensure they do not steal their valour as Lugaid tells

Conall to do.

The aftermath of the death of Cú Chulainn and Conall Cernach’s retributive slaying of the person who slew his foster-brother also appears in D. A. and D. DE, where Lugaid is replaced with Erc as the man who killed Cú Chulainn. Although the explanation of Conall’s conflict with Erc is quite short in both stories, the same protective function can be gleaned from Conall’s retributive killing.229 By avenging the death of Cú Chulainn, Conall is able to safeguard his foster-brother’s memory, and as memory is what provides the immortality of these heroes, Conall thus protects Cú Chulainn’s life beyond death.

The story of Cú Chulainn’s death and the subsequent retributive killings is told one final time, though not until the 16th century, in OCC. Following similar events to BMM, Cú

Chulainn has been killed by a large conglomerate of rivals and individuals with feuds against

228 Kimpton, 2009: 45; the original text reads, “... Co tardda trá,’ ar sé, “my chend-sa ardo chend 7 co n-erbara mo rígi-se fordo ríge et mo gaisced foro gaisced. Ar is ferr lim-sa combad tú láech bad dech no:beth i nhÉrind.” (Kimpton, 2009: 27); though the suggestion that this is a question of status is interpretation, it appears likely as Lugaid explains that he wants Conall to be the greatest warrior in Ireland after defeating him. 229 Gwynn, 1903: 47; Stokes, 1894: 289.

him for slights Cú Chulainn has committed against their families. In this version of the tale,

Conall Cernach does not stop at killing Erc or Lugaid, but instead hunts down every single person involved in the attack on his foster-brother.230 And he does not stop there: he also pursues their entire retinues, whom he considers ‘guilty by association.’ During the process,

Conall encounters Maol and Miodhna who are playing a game using Cú Chulainn’s severed head as a ball. Conall recovers his foster-brother’s head after killing Maol and Miodhna.231

After this rampage across Ireland, Conall returns Cú Chulainn’s head to Emer, Cú Chulainn’s wife, for burial, bringing the sad tale to a close.

With the added aspect of Cú Chulainn’s decapitated head being treated in a humiliating manner as a ball for a game, Conall Cernach once again reinforces the notion of these retributive killings as a method to protect the honour of Cú Chulainn. Conall

‘cauterizes’ the wound left in Cú Chulainn’s honour from his defeat, and leaves his reputation intact by permanently silencing anyone who could attempt to boast about being involved in the demise of Cú Chulainn.

Retributive killings with anxieties over trophies reappears in TEt where two of Conall

Cernach’s brothers, Mess Dead, only seven years old, as well as Lóegaire were killed. Mess

Gegrai, king of Leinster, was isolated from his men on the way home and after an unfortunate misunderstanding regarding a nut he and his charioteer were to share, found himself missing a hand after his charioteer cut it off before committing suicide. In this state, Conall Cernach arrives on the scene, saying that Conall’s “brothers are with [Mess Gegrai],”232 implying that trophies had been taken since both brothers were dead. Therefore Mess Gegrai having the brothers with him can only mean he possessed corporeal remains. While Mess Gegrai

230 Kühns, 2009: 29-30. 231 Kühns, 2009: 29, 30. 232 Ó Dónaill, 2005: 60; the original text reads, “A:taat mo bráthair lat-so” (Ó Dónaill, 2005: 49)

vehemently denies this, the two men duel after Conall ties one of his hands behind his back to make the duel fair, and defeats Mess Gegrai to avenge his two brothers.

Similarly to the events of Cú Chulainn’s death found in BMM, D. A, D. DE, and

OCC, TEt tells a story of a retributive killing brought on over anxieties regarding a trophy being taken from the bodies of slain family members. Conall Cernach intervenes in the story in order to avenge the deaths of his brothers and to recover their heads, presumably so Mess

Gegrai may not use them to bolster his own honour, and in the process degrade the honour of

Mess Dead and Lóegaire.

Shorter versions of these retributive killing tales are found in ACMM, D. ML, and

GCC. Conall Cernach avenges the deaths of Conchobar mac Nessa as well as several other

Ulaid by killing Cet mac Magach in ACMM233; he avenges the death of Fergus mac Róich by killing Ailill in D. ML and GCC. ACMM does not dwell on Conall’s retributive act as the story quickly moves on, but hedges the issue in Cet being caught beyond the borders of

Ulster where he takes the head of Ulstermen, forcing Conall into action. GCC, however, places a key emphasis on this notion of retributive killings as a form of protection. While

Conall Cernach, now an old man, is staying in Crúachan in the care of queen Medb and king

Ailill of Connacht, Medb goads Conall into killing her husband Ailill by invoking the death of Fergus (described in the text Aided Fergusa meic Roich).234 By using the death of Fergus to manipulate Conall and by stoking his anger over the death of his old friend, Medb is able to spur Conall into the suicidal act of killing Ailill within his own home surrounded by his warriors.

These retributive killings tie into Conall Cernach’s overarching theme of protection by allowing Conall to safeguard the honour of his friends and family even after they have

233 Meyer, 1906: 39. 234 Meyer, 1897: 108.

passed away. Without Conall’s intervention, those who killed Cú Chulainn, Mess Dead,

Lóegaire, Conchobar mac Nessa, as well as Fergus mac Róich could have used their defeat of these rival warriors as a point of honour and boasting. As seen in BMM, D. A, D. DE, OCC, and TEt, considerable anxiety regarding the use of heads as a tool for boasting, something which will be discussed in more detail in its own in Chapter 4, necessitates their recovery. By recovering these heads, silencing these individuals who may attempt to boast of their victories over his friends and family, Conall Cernach is able to continue to protect them even after they have passed away.

3.5 – The Honour of Ulster: Protecting Honour

Similar to the honour of individuals that Conall Cernach protects through retributive killings, two instances of Conall Cernach protecting the honour of Ulster itself can be found in the Irish sagas. The first of these is found in the 9th-century text SMMD235 where the

Ulstermen are at a feast alongside the men of Connacht. With a prize cooked pig up for grabs by the greatest warrior present, boasting quickly breaks out. Cet mag Magach of Connacht defeats any challengers who try to argue that they are greater warriors than he. Interestingly, in these insults Cet does not attack individual’s warrior prowess, but rather mainly stresses the wounds he has inflicted on them.

Cet dismisses Lóegaire’s challenge by pointing out that in his first youthful raid into

Connacht, Cet shattered Lóegaire’s chariot, and impaled Lóegaire as the young man fled back into Ulster on foot.236 When Óengus mac Láma Gábuid challenges Cet, Cet dismisses him as

Cet had maimed Óengus’ father during a raid into Ulster, also striking off Óengus’ hand and

235 Thurneysen, 1935: i. 236 Koch and Carey, 1995: 60; the original text reads, “’An biuc, a Lо̄ egairi, corot.aicciller! Is bés dúib-si far n- Ultaib’ ol Cet, ‘cech mac gaibes gaisced acaib, is cucainni cenn a báiri. Do.cūadais-siu dano isin cocrích. Imma.tarraid dún indi. Fo.fācbais in roth ocus in carpat ocus na heocho, ocus at.rulais fēin ocus gaí triut. Nis.toirchi in muicc fon indas-sin.’” (Thurneysen, 1935: 9)

leaving him maimed.237 Éogan mac Durthacht is dismissed as Cet had stolen his cattle and put out one of his eyes;238 Muinremur mac Gergind is dismissed as Cet had recently defeated three of his heroes and eldest son;239 and Mend mac Sálcholcán is dismissed, as Cet had hacked off his father’s heel.240 Celtchair mac Uthechair and Cúscraid Menn Macha are both dismissed as well, for Cet had gelded Celtchair with a spear during a cattle raid,241 and Cet had driven a spear through Cúscraid’s throat, leaving him with a permanent stutter.242 Cet systematically attacks each of the Ulster heroes based on permanent injuries he had given each of them, or their fathers. These wounds were so severe that they became part of the warrior’s name. Cet’s attacks are based on shaming the Ulstermen who challenge him, challenging their martial ability by bringing up his maiming of their bodies, wounds that challenge their ability to function as men due to attacking their martial function, or, in the case of Celtchair, destroying his ability to have children altogether.243

237 Koch and Carey, 1995: 60; the original text reads, “Ro.fetar-sa’ ol Cet. ‘Do.cūadus-sa sair fecht and. Ēgthir immum. Do.roich dách. Do.roich dano Lám. Tārlaic urchor do gaī mór form-sa. Dos.lēicim-se dо̄ in ngaī cétna co.mbert a lāim de, co.mboī for lár. Cid do.bérad a mac do chomram frim-sa?’” (Thurneysen, 1935: 10) 238 Koch and Carey, 1995: 60; the original text reads, “’I ndorus do thige oc tabairt tānae bó hūait. Ro.éged immum-sa isin tír. Tānacais-iu fon égim. Ro.lēcis gaī form-sa co.rrabae asmo scíath. Do.llēcim-se duit-siu in ngaī cétna co.lluid tret chenn ocus co.mbert do súil asdo chiunn. Atot.chiat fir Hērenn co n-oínsúil. Messe thall in súil n-aili asdo chinn.’” (Thurneysen, 1935: 11) 239 Koch and Carey, 1995: 60-61; the original text reads, “‘Is mé ro.glan mo goo fodéoid, a Muinremu r,’ ol Cet. ‘Ni.fuilet trí thráth and ō thucus-a trī laíchenn ūait im chenn do chétmeic ast ferunn.’” (Thurneysen, 1935: 11) 240 Koch and Carey, 1995: 61; the original text reads, “’Cid ane’ ol Cet, ‘meic na mbachlach cusna lesnmannaib do chomram cucum? Ar ba mese ba sacart oc baistiud ind amna-sin fora athair, mesc tall a sāil de co claidiub conna.ruc acht oīnchois ūaim. Cid do.bérad mac ind oīnchoisseda cucumsa?” (Thurneysen, 1935: 12) 241 Koch and Carey, 1995: 61; the original text reads, “’An bic, a Cheltchair,’ ol Cet, ‘manip dom thūarcain fo chētóir. Rotānac-sa, a Cheltchair, co dorus do thige. Ro.hēged immum. Tánic cách. Tānacais-iu dano. Dot.luid i mbernai armo chennsa. Do.reilgis gaī form-sa ro.lēcus-a gaī n-aill cucut-su co.ndechaid tret slīasait ocus tre hūachtar do macraille. Ataí co ngalur fúail ōnd ūair-sin, sicon.rucad mac na ingen duit. Cid dot.dérad cucum-sa?’” (Thurneysen, 1935: 12-13) 242 Koch and Carey, 1995: 61; the original text reads, “’Maith,’ ol Cet. ‘Cucainni ceta.tudchad-so do chétgaisciud, a gillai. Imma.tarrid dún issin chocrīch. For.rācbais trian do muintire, ocus is amlaid do.cūadaiss ocus gaī trīat brāgit conna. ētai focul fort chenn i córai; ar ro.loitt in gaī féthi do brāgat. Conid Cúscraid Mend atot.chomnaic ōnd ūair-sin.’” (Thurneysen, 1935: 13-14) 243 For an in-depth discussion of the way the body and wounds to the body are depicted in SMMD, see: William Sayers, 2015: ‘The Laconic Scar in Early Irish Literature,’ in Wounds and Wound Repair in Medieval Culture Larissa Tracy and Kelly De Vries (eds). Brill, Leiden: 473-495.

As a fellow victim of Cet’s maiming of the Ulaid, as well as someone who had an epithet based on this maiming,244 Conall can challenge these accusations leveled by Cet about the physical disability of the Ulstermen. Despite having wounded Conall as a child,245 Cet is unable to challenge Conall for supremacy and has no choice but to cede the champion’s portion to Conall. This preserves the honour of Ulster and nullifies all of Cet’s previous shaming of the Ulaid for the wounds he had inflicted. A further suggestion as to why Cet never attempts to challenge Conall as he did the rest of the Ulstermen is that while Cet’s defeats of the Ulaid are sources of his honour, his attack on his nephew Conall was attempted fingal,246 ‘kin-slaying,’ of an infant no less. Both Cet’s action in maiming Conall, as well as his failure to kill Conall while Conall was only an infant are tremendously shameful. This challenges Cet’s previous boasting of maiming Ulstermen, as Conall is still unquestionably fit to fight: he killed Cet’s brother, who, so Cet claimed, was a greater warrior than he himself.247 Thus, Conall protects his kingdom from Cet’s attempts to shame and dishonour them, both by taking the champion’s portion for himself, and proving that he is the greatest warrior present, despite Cet’s attempts to maim him.

The second story of Conall protecting the honour of Ulster is found in CRR. The text offers an alternative version of events in TBC which distance Conall Cernach from the events of the raid entirely, suggesting that Conall was absent from Ireland during the conflict.

~~Seeking to restore the honour of Ulster after being shamed by the events of TBC, Conchobar mac Nessa prepares to attack the rest of Ireland and return the hardship done to them.248 In~~

244 Conall Cláenbráigdech or Conall Crooked-Neck (Arbuthnot, 2007: 142.) 245 The events of which are described in CA 3. While CA 3 is a 13th-century text and SMMD is a 9th-century text, CA 3 appears to be an abbreviated retelling of an earlier text named Compert Conaill Chernaig which is referenced in Tale List B in all three variations, MS. 23 10, Rawlinson B 512, and Harleian 5280 (Proinsias Mac Cana, 1980: The Learned Tales of Medieval Ireland. Dublin. 54) which has since been lost. Presumably, this verbal duel between Cet and Conall is based on the contents of that lost text which is alluded to in the later retelling of it. 246 Fergus Kelly, 1988: A Guide to Early Irish Law. Early Irish Law Series 1. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin. 127. 247 Koch and Carey, 1995: 62. 248 Hogan, 1892: 3, 5.

order to do this, he calls on foreign allies as well as Conall Cernach who, at the time the tale takes place is living in Scotland, to join his army.249 However, after a storm delays the foreign forces, Conchobar grows impatient, and he attacks with only one third of his allies.250

The resulting disaster almost leads to a complete rout of the Ulstermen, until Conall Cernach arrives on the battlefield. In the Book of Leinster version, Conall Cernach turns a fearsome gaze against routing troops to rally them back to the fight,251 while in the alternative version of the text Conall kills all who attempt to flee. 252As he arrives on the battlefield, Conchobar asks Conall to take the battle under his protection. In the LL version of the tale, Conall suggests it would be better if he unleashed himself upon their enemies instead, while in the alternative version of the text, Conall refuses.253

~~In the LL version, Conall begins to slaughter the enemy in great numbers and spreads terror through their ranks as his sword begins to sing.254 He fights a duel against Cairpre Nia~~

Fer, the leader of the enemy troops, when the man is drawn to the sound of the sword.255 The two men are separated by fifteen hundred warriors, and Conall attempts to fight his way over to him by killing a thousand of the warriors. He then loses track of Cairpre, who is later killed by Cú Chulainn. While Cú Chulainn kills the enemy leader, in the aftermath of the battle,

249 Hogan, 1892: 11; Conall’s presence in Scotland is discussed in detail in Chapter 6. 250 Hogan, 1892: 39. 251 Hogan, 1828: Cath Ruis na Ríg for Bóinn. Todd Lecture Series 4. The Academy House, Dublin. 43. 252 Hogan, 1828: 91. 253 Hogan, 1828: 45, 91; the original text from LL version reads, “”Maith a Chonaill,” bar Conchobor, “in cath bar th’ oesam 7 bar do chommairge.” “Atiur-sa brethir ám,” ar Conall, “Conbad assu lim-sa in cath do thabairt m’oenur a chianaib andá in maidm do fossugud innossa.” (Hogan, 1828: 44); the original text of the second version (Stowe MS. R.I.A, E. Iv. 3, pp. 111-128, with notes from R.I.A. MS. 23k, 37, Egerton 106, folio 53, and an unnamed Maynooth MS) reads, “’An car do ċoimirce, a Ċonuill,” ar Concubar. “Ir rnáṁ a n-aġaid rroṫa rin,” ar Conoll, “7 ní ḟaoṁaim-ri é.” (Hogan, 1892: 90) 254 It is unclear if this is in reference to the ringing of Conall’s sword as it clashes against other metal objects, or if his sword is actually producing noise magically similar to Conchobar’s shield. Either way it is instilling terror in the enemy ranks. For further discussion on strange semi-sentient weapons in Irish literature, see: Jacqueline Borsje, 1999: ‘Omens, Ordeals, and Oracles: On Demons and Weapons in Early Irish Texts,’ in Peritia 13. 224- 248. 255 Hogan, 1892: 49; the original text reads, “Imthusa Conaill sund innossa. Tanic fo na sluagib 7 dobert cocetal a chlaidib forru, co torchrathar deich cét fer n-armach leis. Ra-chuala sain Carpe Nia Fer cocetal claidib Conaill Cernaig, 7 nirbrulngither [do] Chairpriu Niaid Fer eside itir. Na co tanic reme co hairm ir-raibe Conall. Et tucastar sciath fri sciath 7 dóit fri dóit 7 einech fri einech, 7 ro-gab ca(ch) díd oc slaide 7 oc slechtad araile. Co[clos] gló-béim scéith sceith Cairpre Niad Fer fá déis clai[dib] Conaill.” (Hogan, 1892: 48)

~~Conchobar credits Conall for their victory, for “had it not been [for] Conall [they] should have been defeated”256 that day.~~

In the alternative version from approximately the Middle Irish period,257 Conall vanishes from the text with Cú Chulainn being thrust into the narrative spotlight instead as he wreaks havoc upon the enemy forces. Conall appears for a short scene in which he cuts a route through the enemy forces. He leads the Ulstermen to exploit this gap he has carved through enemy lines to secure victory and avenge the events of TBC.258 Despite Conall still being the linchpin of success for the Ulster forces at this point, the text does not lavish as much overt praise and honour upon Conall as the LL version does.

~~While both versions of CRR disagree on the exact importance of Conall Cernach to the battle, both texts agree that Conall was instrumental for their success and saved the~~

~~Ulstermen from what would have been a complete rout. The effect of the music produced by~~

Conall’s attacks is the only mystery left with regard to Conall’s protective function in CRR, but it appears to function something like a siren’s song, drawing enemies towards Conall himself rather than his allies. If this is the case, the music ties in flawlessly with his protective function, but as this feature occurs nowhere else, it is difficult to state this with any degree of certainty.

~~3.6 – Conclusions~~

Evidently, the portrayal of Conall Cernach has a well-established theme centered on his ability to protect others, both physically and in terms of their reputation. Not only is the theme found in higher numbers than any other major themes associated with Conall, it persists through the entire period discussed in this thesis, and it is discussed by the sagas

~~256 Hogan, 1892: 57; the original text reads, “7 menbad Chonall is forainne bad róen.” (Hogan, 1892: 56) 257 Hogan, 1892: xxi. 258 Hogan, 1892: 105.~~

themselves. Bricriu is able to manipulate Conall Cernach into coming into conflict with his friends in FB by reminding Conall of the importance of his protective role, with this same protective function serving as a key part of Lendabair’s praise of Conall. Medb is able to exploit Conall’s protective drive and turn him against Ailill in GCC, and Cú Chulainn mourns that Conall had not been there to physically oppose him, to protect Fer Diad from Cú

~~Chulainn during TBC R2. Clearly, defending others is a key function of Conall Cernach.~~

~~However, unlike Cú Chulainn, Conall Cernach is not unstoppable. He fails to protect his charges in multiple instances, such as in TBDD, where Conaire Mór dies of thirst as~~

Conall holds off the enemy, or in CCu where Conall and Cet are unable to block the final blow that mortally wounds Eochaid despite working together. Most dramatically however is the death of the little hound, Conall’s younger cousin and foster-brother, Cú Chulainn. In both BMM and OCC, the speed and panic of Conall Cernach is evident when he is told that

~~Cú Chulainn is under attack. He races with supernatural speed, as will be discussed in~~

~~Chapter 5, and still arrives too late. Conall finds only the dismembered corpse of his foster- brother, ultimately failing to protect the little hound.~~

However, these failures should not be weighed against Conall. The power of these scenes is based on the fact that they subvert Conall’s function as a guardian. These tales subvert the audience’s expectations: the appearance of Conall provides the audience with the hope that someone will be rescued or protected, but ultimately falls short. This adds tension to these stories, the chance for an audience to hope for a better day when Conall is able to reach Cú Chulainn on time. He protects the Ulstermen, and at times the Irish as a whole: he safeguards their mortal lives, he protects their honour, guards their kings, and defends their reputations which serve as lives after death.

~~4.0 Headhunting~~

Ever an interesting subject in the discussion of Irish saga literature, headhunting finds a champion with Conall Cernach. While taking heads is normal behaviour in medieval Irish literature, Conall Cernach does so with such incredible frequency it is undoubtedly an intentional inclusion, and therefore makes a strong contender for one the primary themes associated with Conall. Headhunting spans Conall’s complete literary record from the 8th through the 16th century, Conall may be the most prolific headhunter in all of Irish saga literature. Found in twelve stories beginning with BMM in the 8th century, the theme is present in TBDD, SMMD, TEt, D. CC, D. A, D. DE, FB, CCu, CA 3, GCC, and OCC.

For the purpose of this collection, only instances where Conall’s headhunting plays a significant role in the narrative are included, as including every instance of the habit being simply mentioned in the context of Conall would make the discussion cumbersome.

Furthermore, this discussion will be divided into two distinct groups. The first part of the analysis of the theme of headhunting will discuss texts in which Conall Cernach is shown engaging in headhunting, while the second part will examine texts in which Conall’s headhunting is not shown but his reputation as a headhunter is referenced by the text.

As the second most established of literary themes associated with Conall, headhunting serves as a particularly important foundation for the argument that the authors and compilers of Conall’s textual record intentionally incorporated these themes. Not only is Conall

~~Cernach shown to take the heads of defeated enemies, but Conall also is described by the authors and compilers of these texts as having headhunting as a key aspect of his character.~~

~~Alone, this fact establishes that there was a cross-textual character of Conall Cernach made up of various themes that coalesced into a single character who appears across multiple sagas.~~

~~In conjunction with these other themes, this establishes a clear vision of the historical image of Conall Cernach as understood by these authors, compilers, and their audiences.~~

~~4.1 – Historical Context~~

The purpose of headhunting is one of the ever-present unanswered questions running through Irish saga literature. While clearly important, due to the sheer frequency with which it is described, and without any negative moral association, no clear explanation for the purpose of headhunting has thus far been offered by scholars; in fact, the topic of headhunting has largely been left alone since the field shifted away from nativist readings of the texts. While it has been referenced by some works, such as Kenneth Jackson’s The Oldest

Irish Tradition: A Window On The Iron Age, these works have not been focused purely on headhunting.259 The discussion, or lack thereof, is further confused by the presence of headhunting in Roman descriptions of Gaulish culture such as by Diodorus Siculus in

~~Bibliotheca Historica:~~

“When [the Gauls’] enemies fall they cut off their heads and fasten them about the necks of their horses; and turning over to their attendants the arms of their opponents, all covered with blood, they carry them off as booty, singing a paean over them and striking up a song of victory, and these first-fruits of battle they fasten by nails upon their houses, just as men do, in certain kinds of hunting, with the heads of wild beasts they have mastered. The heads of their most distinguished enemies they embalm in cedar-oil and carefully preserve in a chest, and these they exhibit to strangers, gravely maintaining that in exchange for this head some one of their ancestors, or their father, or the man himself, refused the offer of a great sum of money.”260

While the Romans were notoriously bad ethnographers, their descriptions of headhunting among Classical-era ‘Celtic’ peoples are accompanied by considerable archeological evidence261 that suggests that heads held some sort of cultural significance.

~~Exactly what this significance was, or if their form of headhunting had any connection to~~

259 Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson, 1964: The Oldest Irish Tradition: A Window On The Iron Age. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. 19-20, 36-37; furthermore, Jackson’s work writes from the Nativist perspective which has been seriously challenged in the last three decades, such as by Kim McCone’s Pagan Past and Christian Present from 1990. 260 C. H. Oldfather trans., 1933: Diodorus Siculus: Library of History (vol. 3). Cambridge. 173-177. 261 A recent archeological study into chemical residue left on recovered skulls from southern Gaul has even established that the claims of both Diodorus and Strabo regarding the use of ‘cedar oil’ (though actually a Greek misidentification of local pinacea oil) is accurate for instance. (Salma Ghezal, Elsa Ciesielski, Benjamin Girard et al., 2019: ‘Embalmed Heads of the Celtic Iron Age in the South of France,’ in Journal of Archeological Science 101, 181-188.)

~~what is seen in the Irish saga texts, is unknown. However, in a discussion of headhunting in the Irish saga texts, the Classical basis for the theme must be acknowledged.~~

~~The significance of headhunting to Conall’s character and what it means contextually is something of a challenge to establish. Headhunting and the Body in Iron Age Europe by~~

Ian Armit proves the best resource for attempting to understand the meaning of headhunting in Ireland. Armit offers an anthropological approach to headhunting, drawing on research into similar topics across the globe. With particular consideration of headhunting in the Irish sagas, Armit defines headhunting as “a form of group-sanctioned, ritualized violence, in which the removal of the human head plays a central role”262 which will often include elements of “curation, display, and representation of the head.”263 Unlike a previous definition in the field by Janet Hoskins in Headhunting and the Social Imagination in

Southeast Asia,264 Armit intentionally divorces his definition from having a definitive religious aspect due to Ireland being definitively Christianized during the period in which the tales are recorded.

This is not to say that Armit’s definition is flawless. He describes headhunting as being primarily found in the Irish Annals rather than Sagas265 and fails to provide an example of which Annal he is talking about for instance.266 Similarly, he does not take into account the theory that the Irish sagas were retroactive constructs of a ‘pagan’ past.267 Despite these

262 Ian Armit, 2012: Headhunting and the Body in Iron Age Europe. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 11. 263 Armit, 2012: 11. 264 Janet Hoskins etd., 1996: Headhunting and the Social Imagination in Southest Asia. Stanford University Press, Stanford. 265 Trophies taken from human bodies are not limited to heads in Irish sagas. See: Note 275. 266 Armit, 2012: 11; after reading Armit’s bibliography, it appears he is drawing this claim from the fragmentary annals as he lists Fragmentary Annals of Ireland by Joan N. Radner in his bibliography. While Armit sadly gives no page number, I owe Anne Connon for the insightful suggestion this is passed on an extract from Cath Almaine discussing the severed head of Donn Bó which can be found on pages 69 – 81 of Fragmentary Annals of Ireland by Joan N. Radner. (Joan N. Rander, 1978: Fragmentary Annals of Ireland. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin: 69-81.) 267 Mark Williams, 2016: Ireland’s Immortals: A History of the Gods of Irish Myth. Princeton University Press, Princeton: 68-71.

limitations, his work does serve as a useful starting point for the discussion of the theme in the context of Conall Cernach as it provides an a-religious approach to the concept of headhunting in Ireland.

This a-religious approach to headhunting in the Irish saga texts is important, as while it may be tempting to attempt to postulate the existence of lost pre-Christian beliefs regarding severed heads, such discussion is well beyond the scope of this project. Headhunting within the sagas discussed in the present thesis is never presented in a religious framework, or suggestive of a non-Christian cosmology. It is not defamed or debased, simply regarded as an activity in which the warrior class participates, and none so more than Conall Cernach.

~~Therefore, it is crucial to understand these texts in the context of their original audiences, approaching them as they are described, and without imposing desires for a ‘Cult of the~~

~~Head’ on them.~~

~~4.2 – Cranium Captor: Headhunting~~

The first instance of headhunting in the sagas of Conall Cernach is found in BMM where Conall hunts down Lugaid to avenge the death of his foster brother. Conall takes vengeance for his brother’s death and beheading and takes the head of Lugaid. When Conall has defeated Lugaid, Lugaid requests that Conall take his head so that Conall may add

Lugaid’s status as a warrior to Conall’s own268 as he wishes for Conall to be regarded as the greatest hero in all of Ireland.269 Aside from this being the earliest instance of the theme, dated to the 8th century,270 the decapitation of Lugaid comes with an important explanation of the function of these severed heads. According to Lugaid’s description, they serve a social

268 Kimpton, 2009: 45; the original text reads, “Co tardda trá,’ ar sé, “my chend-sa ardo chend 7 co n-erbara mo rígi-se fordo ríge et mo gaisced foro gaisced.” (Kimpton, 2009: 27) 269 Kimpton, 2009: 45; the original text reads, “Ar is ferr lim-sa combad tú láech bad dech no:beth i nhÉrind.” (Kimpton, 2009: 27) 270 Kimpton, 2009: 8.

function in relation to honour and social standing, suggesting that Lugaid took Cú Chulainn’s head in order to augment his own honour, and that Conall can improve his own honour by taking Lugaid’s head.

~~A similar idea is seen in SMMD. After Conall Cernach defeats Cet mac Magach in a poetic boasting match over which of them is the greater warrior, Cet claims that his brother~~

~~Anlúan is a greater warrior than Conall, bemoaning his brother’s absence.271 In response to this, Conall Cernach produces the severed head of Anlúan and tosses it to Cet, dismissing~~

~~Cet’s claim that Anlúan is a greater warrior than Conall, as Conall has already killed him.272~~

~~This is a particularly interesting use of the theme as, similarly to BMM, shows these heads being used as a way to manipulate and maneuver within the social hierarchy of warriors.~~

After Cet’s insinuation that Conall was a lesser warrior than Cet’s brother, Conall is pushed into a precarious social position until he produces the severed head of Anlúan which proves that Conall is the greater warrior by providing corporeal proof of Conall’s deed.

TEt continues the same notions of headhunting presented in BMM. After a battle during which two of his brothers have been killed, Conall Cernach hunts down the man he believes is responsible, Mess Gegrai. After having been defeated, Mess Gegrai tells Conall to place his own severed head atop Conall’s head before Conall decapitates him.273 Suspicious of Mess Gegrai, Conall first holds the head over a stone, which is dissolved by the acidic blood dripping out of the severed head.274 Next he places the head on a pillar stone and watches as the head hammers the stone flush into the ground.275 Satisfied he has bypassed whatever magical traps have been left on the head, Conall then places it atop his own and has

271 Koch and Carey, 1995: 62. 272 Koch and Carey, 1995: 62. 273 Ó Dónaill, 2005: 60; the original text reads, “’Maith trá Chonaill!’ ol Mess Gegrai. ‘Ro:fetar-sa ní:regae-so co:rucae mo chenn-sa lat 7 tabair mo chenn fort chenn 7 m’orddan fort horddan.’” (Ó Dónaill, 2005: 50) 274 Ó Dónaill, 2005: 60; the original text reads, “Do:luid bannae a méidiu in chinn co:ndechuid i cenn in choirthi co:lluid triit co talmain.” (Ó Dónaill, 2005: 50) 275 Ó Dónaill, 2005: 60; the original text reads, “Do:bert danó a cenn forin coirthe 7 a-t:n-aig a cenn in coirthe co talmain co-n-id:tarlae fora béolu dochum inna habann.” (Ó Dónaill, 2005: 50)

his crooked neck cured.276 However, after capturing Mess Gegrai’s wife, the severed head becomes completely immovable despite Conall’s attempts, and Conall resolves to take the brain instead and calcify it.277

Though TEt quickly abandons the discussion of Conall attempting to recover his brothers’ severed heads, it references a similar situation seen in BMM where Conall is hunting for the captured head of Cú Chulainn. Conall is roused to involve himself in the conflict only after his two brothers have been killed, believing that Mess Gegrai has taken their heads, suggesting that similar to Cú Chulainn there may be an issue of ‘taking’ honour by using a severed head as a trophy. After this plot-line is rapidly abandoned as an excuse to have Conall fight Mess Gegrai, Conall finds that he cannot take Mess Gegrai’s severed head home after he has captured it.278 As an alternative, Conall takes the brain out of the head and calcifies it to serve as a trophy instead of the severed head itself. This is a particularly interesting element, as it shows that the head itself is unnecessary, but a brain could be an adequate replacement. Why this is the case is unclear, but it shows that having a physical trophy is the important aspect of headhunting, with the head itself being a debatable inclusion.279

This calcified brain of Mess Gegrai reappears in AC, where Conall Cernach uses the brain to provide evidence for his boasting.280 Using the brain, Conall Cernach is able to position himself as the supreme warrior of Ulster, surpassing even Cú Chulainn. While the

276 Ó Dónaill, 2005: 61; the original text reads, “Do:bert immurgu Conall a chenn-som fora chenn co-n-id:tarlae dara ais combo díriuch.” (Ó Dónaill, 2005: 50) 277 Ó Dónaill, 2005: 61; the original text reads, “’Gat a inchinn ass’, ol Conall ‘7 imbir claideb fair 7 tuc a inchinn lat 7 cummaisc áel fair co:ndernae líathróit dé.’” (Ó Dónaill, 2005: 51) 278 Clearly there is something magical going on at this point, with the severed head having traps built into it and seeming to retain some degree of conciousness in order to retaliate when its wife is captured. However, a discussion of post-mortem magical traps lies beyond the scope of this thesis. 279 A similar situation is seen in SCC where the Ulstermen are using the tongues of rival warriors a proof of their boasting. In both instances, the alternative trophies are both ‘part’ of the head, tongues and a brain. (Gantz, 1981: 155); the original text reads, “Ba bés léu dano di ág inna comraime ferthain ind óenaig .i. rind aurlabra cech fhir no marbtais do thabairt inna m-bossán. Ocus dobertis aurlabrai na cethrae do ilugud na comram h-i sudiu, & dobered cách a chomram and sin ós aird, acht bá cách ar úair.” (Myles, 1975: 1) 280 Kobel, 2015: 221.

~~story itself does not contain any further references to Conall Cernach or this trophy function of the brain, it does provide an important insight into the importance of such trophies. Conall~~

~~Cernach is able to usurp Cú Chulainn’s position as supreme warrior of Ulster because of his possession of the calcified brain, which serves as proof of his boasts and claims.~~

~~This notion of bodily trophies being used primarily for display is found in D. A as well as D. DE. While D. A and D. DE are both different stories, the section discussing Conall~~

~~Cernach’s headhunting is the same story in both texts, based on a different version of the death of Cú Chulainn than is seen in BMM. In this version, Cú Chulainn was decapitated by~~

~~Erc son of Cairpre (instead of Lugaid, who fulfills this task in BMM). Similarly to BMM,~~

Conall hunts Erc down and kills him.281 After decapitating Erc, in both tales Conall then brings the severed head to display at Tara, which adds a further instance of these heads being used for display purposes.282

~~After the main events of ACMM, Conall Cernach has been captured by Bélchú of~~

Bréifne who plans to have his three sons kill Conall while Conall is in his sickbed recovering from his duel with Cet mac Magach. After Conall learns of this plan, he demands that Bélchú climb into the sickbed to replace him, which Bélchú refuses to do. At that point, Conall changes negotiation tactics and demands that Bélchú climb into the sickbed or be decapitated, which forces him to finally relent. After Bélchú’s sons mistakenly kill their father believing him to be Conall Cernach, Conall decapitates the three sons as well as Bélchú and returns home. This depiction of headhunting is particularly interesting as it provides a perspective not seen in the sagas until this point. Conall is able to threaten Bélchú with the threat of decapitation. Conall specifically invokes decapitation rather than killing Bélchú to force him to give in to Conall’s demands, saying “Do cenn dít-sa,’ ar Conall, ‘mina tísi isin lebaid.”283

281 Gwynn, 1903: 47; Stokes, 1894: 289. 282 Gwynn, 1903: 47; Stokes, 1894: 289. 283 Meyer, 1906: 40; Meyer’s translation is, “‘Off with thy head!’ said Conall, ‘unless thou come into the bed.’” (Meyer, 1906: 41)

As Conall uses such a specific threat to force Bélchú to comply with his demands, it is not unreasonable to assume there may be some significance to this. One potential answer is that this threat is intended for the audience of the story’s enjoyment, an intentional invocation of the theme of Conall’s characterisation being a headhunter, the invoking of a ‘signature’ for his character. In this case, the specificity of the threat has nothing to do with the story itself, but is a narrative wink to the audience, rewarding their established knowledge of Conall

Cernach. Another potential answer is that the threat of decapitation and the subsequent use of a severed head as a trophy to accrue social status was severe enough for Bélchú to relent to a demand that could result in his death. As seen in BMM, TEt, D, DE, and D. A, the capture of a brother, or foster brother’s head, spurs Conall Cernach into action as he attempts to recover the trophy. Bélchú may be afraid of having his head taken by Conall for the same reasons

~~Conall was so adamant about recovering the captured heads of his brothers.~~

The use of severed heads as proof of demise appears in CCu where during the titular battle, Conall Cernach hunts down Nar, one of the three traitorous sons of Eochaid Feidlech who is currently Conall’s employer. While he is doing this, Cet mac Magach hunts down another of the three sons, Lothar, and a third champion named Roan hunts down Eochaid’s third son named Bres. Each of the champions decapitates his quarry, and as proof of his deeds, returns them to Eochaid Feidlech to prove that his rebellious sons have been defeated and their challenge to his rule has ended. While in this instance Conall Cernach is not headhunting in isolation, as both Cet and Roan are participating, the text provides further insight into headhunting as a trophy, or token of proof. By collecting these heads, a claim or boast is given an empirical value that cannot be doubted by providing physical evidence.

~~Conall Cernach’s headhunting comes to a dramatic crescendo in OCC. Similarly to~~

~~BMM, TEt, D. DE, and D. A, Conall Cernach sets out to recover a severed head, specifically~~

~~Cú Chulainn’s, as the tale is an alternative version of his death tale. However, while the text~~

follows the same conceptual narrative as BMM, OCC places a far larger emphasis on decapitation and the collection of severed heads. During his rampage, Conall kills Máine son of Ailill and Medb, Maol, Miodhna, Earc, Muireadhach mac Ferghusa, Colla mac

~~Fáitheamhuil, Cuilleann Breagha, the six children of Cailitín, Connla, and finally Lughaidh~~

~~(earlier Lugaid).284 As he commits to this hunt of his, Conall also kills the retinues of Maine and Earc’s retinues of one hundred and fifty men, as well as retrieving the head of Cú~~

~~Chulainn, which was being used as a ball by Maol and Miodhna.285 Conall collects all of these severed heads on a gad, a length of wood used for bindings, which he then brings to~~

Emer, who is in the place where Cú Chulainn is to be buried. There, Conall sits down with his foster brother’s widow and explains the identity of each of the heads he had taken in a poem called Laoidh na gCeann, the ‘Lay of the Heads.’286

~~This crescendo of violence and headhunting in OCC is particularly interesting as it reinforces two of the common notions other texts discuss in relation to headhunting. Firstly,~~

~~Conall Cernach sets out to recover the head of Cú Chulainn to save it from being treated disrespectfully by Cú Chulainn’s enemies.287 This echoes the same notion found in BMM,~~

TEt, D, DE, and D. A, that a captured head needs to be recovered to safeguard the person after their demise. This is consistent with the overarching theme depicting Conall Cernach as a guardian, as discussed in Chapter 3. Additionally, the collection of heads and using them to

284 Kühns, 2009: 29-30; While it would be customary to standardize the era of spelling for names, such as Muiredach for later Muireadhach, I have deliberately not done so in the cases of characters who appear only once. I have come to this decision as the texts discussed in this thesis span a great period of time, and restoring an Old Irish spelling for a text written in Early Modern Irish may confuse a reader, and also violates the core tenet of this thesis to present the texts as their original audiences understood them. By changing these names that appear only once, it imposes a modern sense of structure onto the works which opposes the purpose of this work. Names that appear many times over the course of this thesis, such as Medb, were standardized as a compromise between ideals and functionality. 285 Kühns, 2009: 29, 30. 286 The text of Laoidh na gCeann, the ‘Lay of the Heads,’ is not provided here as, similarly to OCC as a whole, no academic translation of the entire text has been completed. While some works have provided a version of the poem in translation, they are not dated to a specific period or manuscript. As there are over one hundred different manuscript copies of OCC with different dates, the specific dating and manuscript source would be necessary for an in-depth examination. While such a project would be admirable, it is beyond the scope of this thesis. 287 Kühns, 2009: 29.

show Emer all those who Conall hunted down and killed for their involvement in the assassination of her late husband, reinforces the notion that these trophies were collected primarily either for display, or as evidence to support boasting.288

The appearance of such a pronounced and detailed depiction of Conall Cernach headhunting in OCC, an Early Modern Irish text, is particularly noteworthy. It might be expected that as the centuries passed, the inclusion of headhunting may have been downplayed or altered. However, such expectations are proven entirely false as this text presents the most detailed depiction of Conall collecting the heads of his enemies. The survival of this theme into a period where similar notions are used to derogatorily cast non-

~~European cultures emphasizes the importance of this theme to Conall’s character as it survives unimpeded.~~

~~4.3 – Written In Fate: Reputation as a Headhunter~~

In addition to these nine sagas that show the audience Conall Cernach’s function as a headhunter, a further four texts present headhunting as part of Conall’s reputation, or as a key facet of his character from the perspective of the story itself. The first of these is the 9th century tale of FB.289 While Conall does not collect any heads during the events of FB,

Conall’s wife Lendabair brings up headhunting during her boast about her husband’s greatness. She boasts that Conall returns to her after his victories with “heads in his hands as his trophies.”290 Presumably, these are trophies claimed from notable enemies that Conall has defeated in battle, and Lendabair considers Conall bringing them home a source of honour and pride for both herself and Conall. This adds much further context for understanding the

288 Kühns, 2009: 29-30; an interesting perspective for these heads is that in this context they serve as indirect evidence of a deed, similarly to the way indirect evidence works in early Irish law is a combination of the reputation of the individual as well as physical evidence. (Kelly, 1988: 205) 289 Henderson, 1899: lxii. 290 Henderson, 1899: 25; the original text reads “Cáin tintaí chucum co cernaib co cennaib.” (Henderson, 1899: 24)

~~theme of heads as trophies that serve as status or honour related object, providing physical proof of Conall’s martial capability.~~

~~This notion that Conall’s relationship with trophy taking, especially head-hunting, is based on the honour it provides for Conall also appears in Medb’s poetic praise of Conall in~~

FB as her daughter watches him driving towards them in his chariot. In this section of the text, Medb describes heads being piled upon heads in relationship to Conall’s deeds being piled one on top of the other.291 With this, Conall’s accomplishments are compared to the heads he has taken, which also suggests that the heads serve as some sort of physical reminder or sign of Conall’s past exploits and successes.

Conall’s reputation as a headhunter also appears in D. CC, where the text appears to make something of a joke predicated on understanding Conall Cernach’s role as a headhunter. Conall Cernach is given the epithet cét ngell,292 or “of the hundred trophies,”293 which invokes similar themes as FB. This may be in some part a joke, as the second epithet invoked by the text is the man Conall is dueling in this story is Cimbe Cethar-Chend, or

Cimbe “of the four heads.”294 Seen in conjunction with Conall’s prolific head-taking, this epithet makes the conclusion of the fight somewhat inevitable. Conall’s depiction as a man who takes numerous trophies, especially heads, foreshadows the direction their duel will take.

Alternatively, it may have been intended as a joke, as Conall has been set against a man who is fundamentally his lesser. Four heads compared to Conall’s hundred trophies shows the gulf between the two warriors’ skill.

291 Henderson, 1899: 61; the original text reads “Chend ar chend glond ar glond gleó ar gleó.” (Henderson, 1899: 60) 292 Gwynn, 1913: 442. 293 Gwynn, 1913: 447. 294 Gwynn, 1913: 447; eDIL s.v. cethair; eDIL s.v. 1 cenn.

CA 3 provides even more detail regarding Conall Cernach and his relationship with headhunting and hedges it in fate itself. After Conall has been born, a “pagan baptism”295 is chanted over him. A prophecy is given, stating that Conall will “not spend a night without the head of one of the Connachta on his belt and he will kill more than half of the Connachta.”296

~~While the text does not elaborate on this or provide any further detail, it does show that the authors and compilers of these texts recognized the existence of the theme of headhunting for~~

Conall Cernach. In other words, CA 3 attempts to explain why Conall Cernach is such a prolific headhunter, and in the face of that question simply places it in the realm of a prophetic statement near Conall’s birth. In response to this prophecy, Cet mac Magach attempts to kill the infant Conall by stomping on his neck, potentially a reference to decapitation.297 While it does not further our knowledge of headhunting itself, it establishes that the authors were aware of Conall functioning as a headhunter to a greater degree than other figures.

~~This notion of an authorial awareness of the theme appears in GCC as well. During an account of the great deeds of Conall Cernach, a summary of his heroic life at the start of~~

~~GCC, we are told “Ba mor a crodatu .i. fer na dechaid asa n-aindin riam erat ro bai gai ina laim gon cenn Connachtaig lais.”298~~

~~This description is clearly similar to that found in CA 3. However, it has removed CA~~

3’s fated aspect of the explanation. In this case, this propensity for headhunting is left as an aspect of his character, rather than something supernaturally imposed on him by fate. Despite this difference, this shows a similar authorial concern as CA 3, where the early authors or

295 Arbuthnot, 2007: 142; It is incredibly unclear what this means, but it does not appear strictly relevant to the text’s interpretation; the original text reads, “Gur chansat an mbaithis ngeintlidhe forin mac mbeg” (Arbuthnot, 2007: 69) 296 Arbuthnot, 2007: 142; the original text reads, “ní bhíadh aidhchi gin chenn Connachtaigh fora criss 7 mairbhfidh fer for leth Connacht.” (Arbuthnot, 2007: 69) 297 Arbuthnot, 2007: 142. 298 Meyer, 1897: 102-103; Meyer’s translation reads, “Great was his hardihood. He was a man who never from his childhood so long as there was a spear in his hand went without the head of a Connaughtman with him.” (Meyer, 1897: 106)

~~compilers of the text were aware of Conall’s role as a headhunter within the wider body of literature, and considered it important enough to include in a summary of his greatest deeds.~~

~~4.4 – Conclusions~~

~~Clearly headhunting can be considered one of the important aspects of Conall~~

Cernach’s characterisation and provides evidence of the proposed theory that the authors of these texts were aware of the wider cultural image of his character and used repeated themes to ensure consistency. However, while this theme is thoroughly established, a question remains as to the significance it would have held within the Irish sagas. Based on Armit’s definition of headhunting as “a form of group-sanctioned, ritualised violence, in which the removal of the human head plays a central role”299 including “curation, display, and representation of the head,”300 the emphasis for Ireland appears to fall on display as the primary function, rather than representation or curation.301

While there may have been a point in time at which headhunting held some cosmological, religious, or spiritual significance in Ireland, the only facet of the practice that remains in the use of the theme for Conall’s character is a function more akin to trophy hunting. The severed heads Conall collects in SMMD, CCu, D.CC, and OCC are used to prove that Conall has killed a specific person by presenting the head to another person, while in TEt a removed brain is used for the same function, as the decapitated head of Conall’s enemy has become totally immovable. These actions are clarified in FB where Lendabair,

Conall’s wife, praises her husband for returning to her with trophies of his victories including severed heads, which provides explicit textual evidence to support the descriptive instances of heads serving as trophies proving the death of a specific individual. BMM provides

~~299 Armit, 2012: 11. 300 Armit, 2012: 11. 301 Though in the case of the calcified brain of Mess Gegrai in TEt and CA, admittedly there is at least one instance of curation.~~

another explicit explanation of the function of heads where Lugaid tells Conall to take his head so that Lugaid’s honour will be added to Conall’s own. This suggests that the trophy’s function of providing proof of a victory over a notable enemy to add to one’s personal glory, is the meaning behind this decapitation.

The only instances in which headhunting is not framed in the context of trophy hunting is CA 3, D. A, and D. DE. None of these texts contradict the notion of trophy hunting, but do not point to it explicitly. In CA 3 it is stated that Conall will take many heads of the men of Connacht302 which, while a catalyst for the conflict between Conall and Cet, does not explicitly place headhunting in the context of serving as trophies. D. A and D. DE both mention headhunting in a general sense. Only in one instance is there a supernatural element to a decapitated head, in TEt where the head of Mess Gegrai almost kills Conall with two supernatural traps before being used to cure Conall’s crooked neck.303 However, the brain of this head is then used as a trophy, tying it back to the primary theme.304

~~This explanation for Conall’s headhunting, as well as its presence in Conall’s earlier texts, provides greater support for the notion that the authors of these texts were aware of~~

Conall in a larger literary context than remains to us. Conall clearly has an established and highly emphasized connection to headhunting, part of the prophecy of his birth in CA 3,305 serving as a primary aspect of the boasting of his wife in FB,306 as well as playing a major part in the latest text, OCC, where Conall’s headhunting is brought to a grand crescendo in sheer volume.307 As well as the consistency in the presence of the theme in the early texts, the consistency in the function of headhunting as a form of trophy hunting both provides

~~302 Ó Dónaill, 2005: 60-61. 303 Ó Dónaill, 2005: 61-62. 304 Kobel, 2015: 221. 305 Arbuthnot, 2007: 141-142. 306 Henderson, 1899: 61 307 Kühns, 2009: 29-30.~~

~~important insight into the function of headhunting in Irish texts in general, as well as showing that the authors of these texts were writing from the same perspective on this common theme.~~

~~The theme presenting Conall Cernach as the supreme headhunter within the Ulster~~

Cycle is well established. The sagas both provide evidence of Conall seizing the severed heads of his enemies, as well as other sagas simply referencing Conall’s reputation as a headhunter. In one instance a joke is made that is predicated on the audience being aware of

Conall’s reputation as a headhunter, suggesting that the theme was sufficiently well known that the author or compiler could expect an audience member to already be aware of this theme. Spanning the entire literary period examined by this thesis, from the 8th century to the

~~16th, Conall Cernach is clearly a headhunter, and recognized as such by his authors, compilers~~

~~, as well as his audience. One of the only major themes without a narrative center in a specific period, Conall Cernach’s characterisation as a headhunter is enduring, surviving even into the~~

~~16th century.~~

Evidenced by the fact that D. CC, FB, CA 3, and GCC all reference this theme as an established part of Conall Cernach’s character, it is obvious that it should be considered a major theme used to establish his character. Conall functioning as a headhunter is depicted as an important part of 37% of Conall Cernach’s stories, marking it as a significant factor in our discussion of his character. Furthermore, it is evident why Conall is depicted as a headhunter.

~~These trophies are used to establish the deeds and greatness of the individuals involved, with~~

~~Conall using them to maneuver through the social hierarchy of the warriors of Ulster, even surpassing Cú Chulainn with one of his trophies until it is stolen in CA.~~

~~5.0 The Horseman~~

Compared to the previously discussed themes of protection and headhunting, horsemanship is rarely invoked in the tales of Conall Cernach, but is a motif that is particularly worthy of discussion. Only appearing in three sagas, BMM, TBDD, and OCC, these tales each take an aside from their narrative to connect Conall with a specific form of horsemanship: riding on a single horse.

~~Despite a wide range of dates for the tales, with BMM dated to the 8th century,308~~

TBDD to the 10th,309 and OCC to the 16th,310 this theme is still deserving of an in-depth discussion. Evidence suggests that while the theme is scantily represented, it has a definitive epicenter in the early textual body and likely has a pedigree including no longer extant texts.

The earlier texts refer to Conall Cernach’s horsemanship in an offhanded manner, as though the audience is expected to already understand the significance of this feat. OCC, seven centuries later, introduces a triad of horsemen to exalt Conall’s talent as being similar to Lug and Cú Chulainn.311

The enduring nature of this theme, coupled with its frank oddity in the degree to which the texts emphasize this feature of Conall’s as important despite appearing to be an entirely mundane talent, simply being able to ride a horse, leaves it worthy of examination.

~~5.1 - Historical Context~~

To understand the significance of this theme, just like any other, the historical context that spawned it ought to be understood. Unfortunately, few scholarly projects have been undertaken regarding horsemanship in early medieval Ireland, although Fergus Kelly’s Early

~~308 Kimpton, 2009: 8. 309 O’Connor, 2013: 18. 310 Kühns, 2009: 34. 311 Kühns, 2009: 29.~~

Irish Farming has a section on the use of horses which will serve as the backbone for this discussion. Kelly’s section on the topic of horses presents two main functions: they are used by messengers and warriors. However, he points out, individuals of bóaire febsa rank and higher were expected to both own a riding horse and be able to ride it,312 and children of nobility in fosterage were expected to learn how to ride.313

~~Mounted warriors, as Conall is described in BMM, TDBB, and OCC, are rare in early~~

Irish literature, with the preferred method of transportation being chariots.314 Despite a dearth of literary references, Kelly points out, there is a 9th-century carving of mounted warriors on the Market Cross at Kells that suggest that the idea was not entirely alien to Ireland.315

~~Potentially Ireland’s reliance on outside forces to introduce saddles and stirrups, by the~~

~~Norse316 and Normans317 respectively, left chariots more suitable for the depiction of heroic combats318 in the imaginations of the original authors and compilers of the Irish sagas.319~~

The other horsemen in Ireland are messengers. These messengers are noteworthy as they make up the majority of references to riding on horseback in Ireland at the time during which these sagas were being recorded. Primarily functioning as “a means of relaying warnings or other messages,”320 waylaying “the horse of warning,”321 and “the horse of a man who strives for the honour of the territory”322 was illegal. Their importance to early Irish

312 Fergus Kelly, 1997: Early Irish Farming: a Study Based Mainly on the Law-Texts of the 7th and 8th Centuries AD, Early Irish Law Series 4. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin. 96. 313 Kelly, 1997: 96. 314 Kelly, 1997: 97. 315 Kelly, 1997: 97. 316 Kelly, 1997: 98. 317 Kelly, 1997: 98. 318 Though the reality could be, and likely was drastically different, of course. 319 For a detailed discussion of hypothetical chariots in Ireland based off their functions in the sagas and linguistic remains, see: Raimund Karl, 2003: ‘Iron Age Chariots and Medieval Texts: a Step Too Far in ‘Breaking Down Boundaries’?’ in e-Keltoi vol. 5; I do not agree with all of Karl’s suggestions and I think his study would have benefited from looking at physical remains and engineering of chariots in Greece and the Near-East, especially Hittite chariots, rather than relying on Homeric Epics and the Bible to reconstruct historical uses of chariots. However, his reconstruction of the parts of a chariot through language is particularly interesting. 320 Kelly, 1997: 96 321 Kelly, 1997: 96 322 Kelly, 1997: 96-97

society is stressed by the fact that a messenger is given half of the honour price of their employer,323 and are “not held liable for the injury or loss of a horse entrusted to him on an errand,”324 as a messenger would be expected to take on dangerous or urgent tasks.325 While military horsemanship may be unrelated to Conall, the description of a man on horseback racing to and fro for the honour of the territory is a perfect fit for his established character.

~~5.2 - The Red Rider: Riding~~

~~The earliest instance of the horsemanship theme from BMM never specifies that~~

~~Conall’s talent as a horseman is unique to himself. However, it does emphasize that he rides~~

“very swiftly and speedily”326 towards Lugaid and his charioteer, as Conall searches Ireland for Lugaid to avenge Cú Chulainn.327 The ferocity of Conall’s riding is overtly supernatural, as he appears to be riding with all of “the ravens of Ireland... above him,”328 which in actuality are clods of earth being torn up and tossed into the air by his steed’s berserk pace.329

~~This description of Conall’s supernatural speed has Lugaid and his charioteer both describe him as a marcach,330 translated as a rider or horseman, but also as messenger.331~~

A different word is used to describe Conall Cernach in TBDD where a group of cupbearers is described as lethgabra,332 or half-horses, which Stokes and Borsje took literally, suggesting that Conall Cernach and these other men were all centaurs as Conall is

323 Kelly, 1997: 97 324 Kelly, 1997: 97 325 Kelly, 1997: 97 326 Kimpton, 2009: 44; the original text reads, “7 is mór a gripe 7 a lúas do:thét.” (Kimpton, 2009: 26) 327 Kimpton, 2009: 44. 328 Kimpton, 2009: 44; the original text reads, “Indar lat is feochuine hÉrand fil úasa.” (Kimpton, 2009: 26) 329 Kimpton, 2009: 44; the original text reads, “Na éoin at:chonnarcais úasu na fóilt a cruib ind eich-sin.” (Kimpton, 2009: 26) 330 In the first instance this is “oenmarcach,” (Kimpton, 2009: 26) and the second is “marcach” (Kimpton, 2009: 26) 331 eDIL s.v. 1 marcach. 332 Stokes, 1901: 284.

described as sharing that quality with them.333 This interpretation seems an extremely literal reading of a text that alternates between confusing figurative descriptions which are then explained to be mundane, such as Mac Cecht being mistaken for topography when he is simply a large man.334

As being a centaur does not fit with the text’s own description of Conall Cernach, it seems more likely that this is a poetic turn of phrase, a metaphor suggesting that the cupbearers, like Conall Cernach, are riders of extreme talent. Similar to a description of someone who is ‘born in the saddle,’ it suggests an ability to move in unison, as if the horse is an extension of the rider. As the cupbearers are all áes síde335 this comparison is again attaching a supernatural quality to Conall Cernach’s skill in horsemanship.

~~The final instance of this unique skill in horsemanship occurs in OCC when Conall has been consumed by anger and has begun to hunt down those who killed Cú Chulainn.~~

~~Conall pushes his horses to such great speeds that one of his horses, the Coincheann~~

~~Crónfhada, dies of exhaustion. This leads Conall to continue his hunt on a single horse, which is a feat that has “only been performed by three men in Ireland, namely Lugaidh Lámhfhada,~~

~~Cú Chulainn, and Conall Cernach.”336~~

The members of this triad, similar to the description of Conall’s riding in BMM, as well as being associated with the talent of the áes síde in TBDD, highlight a supernatural dimension. While the significance of the feat itself (riding a horse) seems aggressively mundane, the presence of Lug and Cú Chulainn are suggestive of a supernatural degree of

333 Stokes, 1901: 284; Borsje, 2012: 318; the original text reads, “It é lethgabra amail Chonall Cernach.” (Stokes, 1901: 283) 334 Stokes, 1901: 187-190. 335 Borsje, 2012: 303-305; the original text reads, “úair is a sídib dóib.” (Stokes, 1901: 284) 336 Kühns, 2009: 29; Kühn’s summary does not clarify if Conall is continuing to drive his chariot with a single horse, or if he is riding on his remaining horse. For clarity, Dobbs’ translation of the same event can provide clarity where she offers, “Conall took the horses, the Derg-druchtach and the Coin-cheann Cronfada-one fell dead. Conall lept on the Derg-druchtach he was the third who rode on a single horse first in Erin.” (Dobbs, 1929: 123)

~~talent. Unfortunately, the exact significance of this triad is ultimately unclear. What can be gleaned, however, is that this feat is considered praiseworthy by the compilers of the tale.~~

The only unexplainable feature of Conall’s horsemanship are his two horses, or more aptly, one horse that becomes two horses. Originally in BMM, Conall rides a vicious red horse named Derg Drúchtach, or ‘Dripping Red’337 which is a horse with a hound’s head that is known for killing men during combats.338 By the time of OCC however, this single horse has been separated into two distinct horses, the Coincheann Crónfhada whose name suggests it has a dog’s head339 and Deirg nDruchtaig. While an Irish hero having two special steeds is not abnormal (compare for example Cú Chulainn’s elegant twin horses), Conall’s horse, or later his horses, are monstrous creatures. The original combined form of the creature, Deirg nDruchtaig, is a pure red, dog-headed horse that is visibly rabid and thoroughly mauls Lugaid in BMM during a duel.340 When Lugaid complains of cheating through interference, Conall points out that he only gave his own word for a fair fight and he cannot make a promise for a wild animal.341 If Derg Drúchtach ever had further stories surrounding it, or some sort of significance was placed in the red, rabid, dog-headed steed of Conall Cernach it has been lost.

~~But, it in the very least deserves a reference in this discussion for how strange it is.~~

However, so as not to be misleading, the complete context must be given for Conall’s horsemanship. Despite these references to Conall as a supernaturally talented horseman riding supernatural horses, he also rides in a chariot in different sagas. During the events of

~~FB, all three of the champions competing with each other are spotted driving their chariots towards Ailill and Medb for their judgement.342 In the TBC R1 and R2, Conall is driving his~~

337 See note 53. 338 Kimpton, 2009: 45; for more information on dog-headed creatures in Celtic material, see Phillip A. Bernhardt-House, 2010: Werewolves, Magical Hounds, and Dog-Headed Men in Celtic Literature: a Typological Study of Shape-Shifting. Edwin Mellen Printing, Lewiston. 339 Bernhardt-House, 2010: 280, 321. 340 Kimpton, 2009: 45. 341 Kimpton, 2009: 45; the original text reads, “Ni:tharddus-[s]a duit-siu,” or Conall Cernach, “acht darmo chend féin. Ni:tharddus immurgu duit dar cend na robb 7 na n-écodnach.” (Kimpton, 2009: 27) 342 Henderson, 1899: 59-61.

~~chariot as Cú Chulainn shatters the central beam,343 and D. UB references Conall’s charioteer~~

~~Rathann dying while crossing a stream,344 which infers the presence of a chariot.~~

While riding a single horse is not a true constant across all of the textual appearances, the fact that it appears in two of the earliest texts, and not again until the latest text, draws attention. The fact that such a seemingly mundane feat is exalted to the degree these three texts do so draws further suspicion. Potentially, the texts might be referencing a theme that was more thoroughly established in an earlier collection of texts that are no longer extant.

~~While this may never be known for sure, a notable feature of these descriptions can be gleaned: Conall rides horses to battle, but he never fights on horseback.~~

~~As Kelly pointed out, fighting on horseback is scantly attested in Ireland until the~~

~~Norman invasion, with only a single 9th-century cross depiction providing evidence for mounted warriors, though this does not necessarily depict warriors fighting on horseback.345~~

~~In the sagas, warriors are transported in chariots, dismounting to duel with other warriors after arriving.346 We see Conall do this exact thing in BMM where he dismounts to duel~~

Lugaid rather than fight him on horseback. Conall uses his horse to reach the target of his wrath but fights his opponent on foot.347 For all intents and purposes Conall is a chariot- fighter in these stories, except that he has foregone his chariot to ride a single horse instead, dismounting to duel as normal. In other words, Conall’s use of horses is different from that of what would be expected of a warrior riding on horseback. Instead of functioning as cavalry,

~~Conall dismounts to duel just as a chariot-fighter would.~~

~~Instead, to understand a potential reason for Conall’s depiction as a horseman in these three texts, the function of messengers ought to be considered. A messenger would ride a~~

~~343 O’Rahilly, 1976: 144; O’Rahilly, 1967: 166. 344 Gwynn, 924: 293. 345 Kelly, 1997: 98 346 Kelly, 1997: 98 347 Kimpton, 2009: 44-45.~~

horse rather than a chariot,348 as a horse is able to maneuver places that a chariot cannot. As seen in TBC, clear-cutting paths through forests and harvesting wood to replace damaged chariots proves a necessity for the Connacht army pushing into Ulster.349 A messenger whose profession relies on speed would benefit from taking as direct a route as possible, even if forests or other hazardous terrain must be traversed. A single horse is far more maneuverable in such environments than a large machine drawn by two animals, and thus for rapid movement through unsettled areas of Ireland, riding a single horse makes sense.

While Conall is not a messenger, his profession as a guardian and border watcher as discussed in Chapter 3 relies on Conall rapidly moving through unsettled areas. Moving to intercept people crossing into Ulster and operating in the liminal zone between provinces where terrain may be less forgiving, Conall has similar needs for mobility as a messenger.

This explains why Conall is uniquely associated with horses but does not fight from horseback. His horsemanship is a supporting theme to that of protection, Conall’s skill as a horseman is required by the specific environment he finds himself in: a horse can go where a chariot cannot, and thus a rider can move between two points via the most direct route.

~~5.3 - Conclusions~~

~~While the depiction of Conall in the context of horsemanship is only explicitly discussed in three sagas, BMM, TBDD, and OCC, all three of these sagas explicitly connect~~

Conall with a specific form of horsemanship. The descriptions of this special talent associated with Conall, as well as the fact that the two earlier descriptions of it are matter-of-fact asides, suggest that audiences were aware of the theme and thus lacked a need for explanation.

348 As we have yet to discover the remains of any chariots in Ireland, to understand the design of machines in Ireland, a general idea of chariots must be employed here. 349 O’Rahilly, 1976: 128, 149-150; O’Rahilly, 1967: 251, 171-172.

The earliest of the stories of Conall riding horseback are found in close chronological proximity, BMM and TBDD, traced to the 8th350 and 9th351 centuries. Similarity between their descriptions with Conall riding a single horse suggest that either TBDD is influenced by the description in BMM, or both texts are drawing upon earlier, no longer extant, literature that lauded this talent of Conall’s. OCC on the other hand is a 16th-century text352 which is clearly separated from the direct influence of the two elder sagas. However, as Kühns points out,

~~OCC is a sibling text to BMM, both perhaps descended from a lost older manuscript, and with OCC having a basis in texts before the 16th century.353 If this is true, the similarity with~~

~~Conall’s horsemanship could be due to OCC drawing on the same text that BMM was originally based on.~~

Within the historical context of the era that produced BMM and TBDD, Conall’s function as a horseman can be partly explained. While Conall rides a horse, he never fights on horseback. Thus, the horse appears to primarily be a mobility device intended to facilitate rapid transportation around the borderlands of Ulster. Conall’s skill at horsemanship is based on a need for quickly repositioning himself, chasing individuals down, and maneuvering through potentially rough terrain. As an audience would be expected to understand Conall

~~Cernach as a guardian, as established in Chapter 2, Conall riding on horseback would make implicit sense within their cultural context.~~

~~350 Kimpton, 2009: 8. 351 Knott, 1936: xi. 352 Kühns, 2009: 34. 353 Kühns, 2009: 6.~~

~~6.0 The Wanderer~~

~~First noted by Dobbs in her publication ‘The Traditions of Conall Cernach,’ Conall~~

Cernach wanders across Europe with curious frequency.354 While the previous three major themes for Conall’s literary character that have been discussed have a basis in the 8th century literary corpus of his character, this fourth theme is a later development. First seen in the 12th century in TT,355 TBF,356 and CRR,357 and appearing in a grand total of five sagas (the other two texts being TE and OCC), Conall is depicted as a traveler to foreign lands beyond the shores of Ireland. The use of this theme in TE and OCC suggests that these texts were influenced by the 12th-century texts that developed the theme originally.

Traveling to foreign lands is not an uncommon theme in early Irish literature; this is particularly true for the echtra and immram tales in which travel to supernatural locations takes place, though it is not always the intended destination.358 Conall Cernach’s travel-tales differs drastically from these Otherworld-centric travel narratives however, as Conall sails the mundane seas to mundane lands where he plies mundane trades. Conall does not fight monsters, steal supernatural cattle, or fall in love with supernatural women, but collects taxes and tithes from the locals, or raids their homes.

As a counterbalance to the theme depicting Conall as the defender of Ulster, this theme of wandering to foreign shores to collect wealth by one means or another is deserving of analysis and consideration. Heroic travels to non-supernatural lands in Irish literature are uncommon enough compared to internal travel in Ireland or voyages to supernatural realms

354 Dobbs, 1929: 119. 355 Jennings, 1997: 73. 356 Meid, 2015: 9; see Meid’s discussion of the different changes in the theoretical layers of the Fráech’s saga, pp. 21 - 25. 357 Mac Gearailt, 1991: 129. 358 Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin, 2009: An Introduction to Early Irish Literature. Chippenham. 80-81; for an introductory discussion of these Otherworld journey genres, see: Ní Bhrolcháin, 2009: 78-92.

~~to deserve scrutiny for curiosity’s sake alone. Coupled with the use of wealth as a motive for these travels, and consistency in the locations invoked mark this as a significant theme.~~

~~6.1 – Historical Context~~

As these voyages of Conall Cernach are not echtra or immram tales due to their aggressive mundanity, the historical precedent for this theme is more difficult to establish than others. Conall Cernach’s voyages function well within the historical context for Ireland as a raiding society where more powerful political groups could economically exploit less powerful ones by enforcing tithes, or by raiding outside of Ireland.359

The economy of raiding has yet to be fully explored in an academic context, but evidence for it clearly exists within the historical record. For instance the Annals of Ulster record twenty-seven instances of raids within Ireland for economic reasons.360 Similarly, the

Annals of Inisfallen reference twenty-nine.361 In addition to these historical sources, the notion of a raiding society is well established in the Irish sagas with the Táin-genre centered on the capture of cattle,362 and somewhat similarly a tribute is collected by the Fomorians in

~~Cath Maige Tuired363 as well as Lébor Gabála Érenn.364~~

359 For an in-depth discussion of díberg or ‘marauding’ or ‘brigandage,’ (eDIL s.v. díberg) in medieval Ireland, see: Máire West, 1997: ‘Aspects of díberg in Togail Bruidne Da Derga’ in Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 49-50. 950-964, and Kim R. McCone, 1986: ‘Werewolves, Cyclopes, Díberga and Fíanna: Juvenile Delinquency in Early Ireland,’ in Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 12. 1-22. 360 Seán mac Airt and Gearóid mac Niocaill, 1983: The Annals of Ulster, to AD 1131. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin, 313, 403, 429, 431, 441, 443, 447, 457, 465, 467, 479, 483, 491, 493, 495, 497, 499, 517, 519, 551, 553, 559, 567; these raids were carried out in 854.4, 962.1, 999.7, 1000.7, 1002.4, 1009.6, 1012.2, 1013.7, 1021.3, 1027.6, 1028.8, 1041.6, 1044.4, 1053.3, 1056.6, 1056.10, 1059.1, 1059.4, 1062.4, 1083.6, 1084.4, 1110.9, 1111.6, 1112.3, 1115.8, 1122.5. 361 Seán mac Airt, 1951: The Annals of Inisfallen: MS. Rawlinson B. 503, revised ed. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin. 135, 159, 163, 167, 171, 187, 215, 223, 227, 257, 261, 265, 273, 275, 287, 287, 291, 293, 293, 299, 311, 317, 319, 329, 333, 401, 405, 409, and 425; these raids were carried out in 873, 986, 997, 985, 993, 1015, 1054, 1064, 1071, 1101, 1103, 1105, 1114, 1116, 1126, 1126, 1128, 1129, 1129, 1164, 1177, 1192, 1194, 1201, 1203, 1309, 1311, 1311, and 1317. 362 James MacKillop, 1998: Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, s.v. “Táin.” Oxford University Press, Oxford. 350. 363 Elizabeth A. Gray, 1982: Cath Maige Tuired: The Second Battle of Mag Tuired, Irish Texts Society 52. Irish Texts Society, Kildare. 29. 364 Koch and Carey, 2003: 231.

The exploitation of less powerful tribal groups as a method to amass wealth and power by another tribal group is well within the realm of normal for the historical context these saga texts were written in. The original authors and audiences of Conall’s literary corpus can be expected to understand Conall’s voyages to distant shores in this economic context, as it was a topic discussed in other sagas they would be familiar with as well as part of their everyday economic system. However, the historical context cannot explain two major parts of Conall’s wandering: why is Conall only ever presented as acting in this capacity outside of Ireland, and why is Conall associated with this, rather than other heroes?

~~6.2 – On Foreign Shores: Location~~

The events in TBF and TT both involve Conall Cernach traveling to foreign shores along with Fráech. TBF tells the complete version of the story, detailing the adventures of the two men as they search for Fráech’s captured cattle and family, whereas TT simply references that the two men went on these adventures. The search for Fráech’s captured wealth and family leads Conall and Fráech to the Alps, though their journey is grounded in a tenuous understanding of the geography of Europe. The two men travel from Ulster, where they cross the sea into Saxon Britain, cross the Channel into modern-day France, and move north of Lombardy before reaching the Alps.365 These lands appear to be definitively mundane rather than Otherworldly as might be expected for travel narratives in medieval

Irish literature. The normal features of the Otherworld are entirely absent from the tale: there is no time dilation or contraction, an absence of beautiful supernatural women, and a lack of magical music or fruit;366 the only potentially strange sight is the serpent that guards the

365 Meid, 2015: 73; Meid’s original text is “Do-cumlát ass tar muir sair i mBretnu, tar Saxanu túascirt, tar muir nIcht co túascert Longbard, co-rráncatar Slíab nAlpae.” (Meid, 2015: 49) 366 Ní Bhrolcháin, 2011: 79.

~~fortress.367 Conall has traveled to a mundane land across the sea to retrieve a friend’s wealth and family without a single reference to the Otherworld aside from the inconvenient snake.~~

CRR continues the theme of wealth as a motivation for Conall’s travels to foreign shores, although it inverts the formula offered by TBF. Here, Conall’s absence from Ireland is used as an explanation for the Ulaid’s loss in TBC,368 developing this theme as a narrative conceit to temporarily remove Conall from Ireland in order to allow hardship to befall Ulster without invalidating Conall’s protective function. Cathbad, while listing allies the Ulaid ought to call upon for the upcoming battle, gives an in-depth explanation as to where Conall has been while away from Ireland:

“...co Conall crúaid coscorach commaidmech cathbuadach claideb-derg co airm i fail ac tobuch a chisa 7 a chanad i crichaib Leódús, i n-insib Cadd, 7 i n-insib Or, 7 i críchaib Scithia 7 Dacia 7 Gothia 7 Northmannia, ac tastel mara Ict 7 maera Torrían, 7 ic slataigecht sliged Saxan.”369

Helpfully all of these locations can easily be pinpointed to real-world locations rather than suggesting Conall has been sailing the Otherworldly sea. Hogan has identified the lands of Léodús as the Isle of Lewis,370 the islands of Cadd as the Shetland Isles,371 the islands of

~~Orc as the Orkneys.372 Scythia and Dacia are clearly the historical locations by those~~

367 Meid, 2015: 73-74; the original text of this section reads, “Fóipret in less. Fo-ceird ind nathir bedg i criss Conaill Chernaig, ocus orgait a ndún fo chétóir. Do-essargat íarum in mnaí ocus na tri maccu, ocus do-berat a n-as dech sét in dúine, ocus léicid Conall in nathir assa chriss, ocus ni-dergéni nechtar n-aí olc fria chéile.” (Meid, 2015: 49-50); admittedly, the snake is very strange and its inclusion with Conall wearing it as a belt only adds to the tantelizing curriosity that surrounds this scene. However, there is so little material about this snake, only appearing in TBF for a short time, that is unfortunately outside the realm of this paper to discuss. It is a really rather strange inclusion however. 368 According to CRR, at least, Conall was absent from Ireland during TBC. (Hogan, 1892: 13) 369 Hogan, 1892: 10; the translation provided by Hogan reads “to Conall the stern, the triumphant, the exultant, the victorious, the red-sworded, to the place where he is, raising his tax and his tribute in the territories of Léodús, in the islands of Catt, and in the islands of Orc, and in the territories of Scythia and Dacia and Gothia and Northmannia, voyaging the Ictian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, and plundering the roads of the Saxons.” (Hogan, 1892: 11) 370 Hogan, 1892: 10 371 Hogan, 1892: 10 372 Hogan, 1892: 10

~~names,373 Gothia is referencing the lands of the Goths,374 and Northmannia appears to simply be Scandinavia.375 The Ictian Sea is an archaic term for the English Channel,376 the~~

~~Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean,377 and the roads of the Saxons are in Britain.~~

~~While many of these are far-flung locations across Europe, Conall appears to be centered in~~

~~Scotland, specifically in the territory of Léodús, where he is found by messengers sent to collect him.378~~

TE reintroduces Conall into the tale at the very end of events, after Cú Chulainn has completed his training in Scotland. As Conall raids in Scotland in both TE and CRR, it suggests that a tradition may have existed connecting Conall to the notion of raiding the area for wealth. While a young Cú Chulainn is trying to find his way home from Scotland, he encounters Conall in the home of Ruad, king of the Isles where he has been exacting tribute.379 Though no great detail is used in this description, Conall as a collector of tithes in

~~Scotland is evidently drawing on the older 12th-century tradition from CRR.~~

Similarly to how TE draws on CRR for the Scottish tithe, OCC draws on CRR for its use of Conall visiting foreign lands as a narrative device to remove Conall from Ireland in order to allow a tragedy to befall Ulster. In the events of OCC, Cú Chulainn is killed while

~~Conall is absent from Ireland. Reintroduced into the plot after returning on his boat, Conall is~~

373 Scythia and Dacia are two neighboring regions that bordered the Black Sea that were absorbed into the Roman Empire and were made into the provinces of Dacia (later Dacia Superior and Dacia Inferior) and Scythia Minor. As they are adjacent to each other, it appears their reference together in the text’s description is suggestive of at least a basic understanding of Classical geography. (Alexander Falileyev, 2007: Celtic Dacia, Personal Names, Place-Names and Ethnic Names of Celtic Origin in Dacia and Scythia Minor. CMCS, Aberystwyth. vii-viii, xiii-xiv.) 374 Unhelpfully, the Goths, a Germanic people, were particularly mobile, if not infamously so. The best estimates for the location of this ‘Gothia’ could be the Visigoth kingdom in Spain and southern France or the Ostrogoth kingdom in Italy (Peter Heather, 1998: The Goths, The Peoples of Europe. Blackwell Publishers, Oxford. 2. 375 Northmannia is clearly based on taking ‘North Man’ and attaching the same location-based suffix used in the previous three locations listed by the compiler. 376 F. Haverfield, 1913: ‘Ancient Rome and Ireland,’ in The English Historical Review vol. 28 no. 109. 1-12: 7. 377 Marshall Cavendish, 2002: Encyclopedia of World Geography, volume 11. Marshall Cavendish: New York. 1449. 378 Hogan, 1892: 18. 379 Meyer, 1888: 303.

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~~told of his foster-brother’s death and begins to hunt down all those involved.380~~

~~Unfortunately, while OCC is not available in translation, and is found in a staggering number of manuscripts, it is unclear whether the tale explains where Conall was while absent from~~

Ireland. However, with this the theme of Conall wandering foreign lands is once again introduced into the events of Conall’s life as a literary device in order to allow the plot to happen with minimal plot holes.

Two clear uses of this theme can be seen across these five variants. Firstly, the securing or retrieval of wealth as found in TBF, CRR, and TE is clearly influenced by historical tradition of economic raiding or the imposition of tithes. CRR describes Conall as

“raising his tax and tribute”381 in several locations abroad, as well as “plundering the roads of the Saxons,”382 while TE has Conall exacting tribute from the king of the Isles for Ulster,383 and in TBF Conall retrieves wealth lost in such a raid.384 However, the question as to why

~~Conall only raids outside of Ireland remains.~~

~~A potential answer can be found in the simple explanation that several family groups outside of Ulster traced their ancestry to Conall Cernach, despite Conall being one of the~~

~~Ulaid in the sagas. For instance, the Corco Laígdi and Corco Oirctrium385 who lived in~~

Munster,386 and the Laígse of Leinster.387 As Conall was used as an ancestral progenitor by these population groups, Conall functioning as an inter-Irish raider could potentially result in odd or uncomfortable situations where Conall exploited his own descendants’ ancestral territory. The easy solution for this, of course, is to simply point him away from Ireland, as

380 Kühns, 2009: 29. 381 Hogan, 1892: 11; the original text reads, “co airm i fail ac tobuch a chisa 7 a chanad i crichaib” (Hogan, 1892: 10) 382 Hogan, 1892: 11; the original text reads, “7 ic slataigecht sliged Saxan.” (Hogan, 1892: 10) 383 Meyer, 1888: 303. 384 Meid, 2015: 73. 385 Likely the Oircthen. (O’Brien, 1976: 486) 386 Dobbs, 1929: 125. 387 Dobbs, 1929: 124.

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~~there is no need to worry about these potential narrative issues if his attention is focused elsewhere.~~

However, easy solutions have a tendancy to not be the correct ones, and while Conall has a number of non-Ulster political groups as his descendants, there are many peoples inside of Ireland who Conall is not related to. As an alternative, we can see that by raiding outside of Ireland, Conall serves as a method for Ulster to project its power over a wide area and emphasize their power to the audience. By having one of the leading heroes of Ulster overseeing the economic exploitation of these distant shores, Ulster’s dominance over them is emphasized, serving to heighten the glory and status of Ulster in the story.388

The second function of this theme answers the second question, why Conall is associated with travel rather than other heroes in the same historical context. Conall is associated with traveling to foreign lands to raid them as Conall is the one hero whose presence creates plot holes. As the ultimate defender of Ulster, narratives about hardship befalling Ulster would immediately be greeted with the query ‘Where is Conall?,’ which is helpfully resolved by the implementation of this theme. The two greatest tragedies of the

Ulster Cycle, the loss of TBC and the death of Cú Chulainn, both benefit from Conall’s absence. In CRR, Conall has simply been absent for the events of the Táin Bó Cúailnge as he was away raiding and traveling,389 while in OCC, Conall returns to Ireland from overseas to find his foster-brother dead.390

This second function of Conall wandering the world is not based in historical context, but is simply a clever narrative conceit to resolve a plot issue. By sending Conall away to amass wealth in foreign lands, Conall is preforming a socially acceptable method of gathering

388 For a brief discussion for historical reasons for Conall being glorified for holding sway over large territories, see: Patrick Wadden, 2014: ‘Cath Ruis na Ríg for Bóinn: History and Literature in Twelfth-Century Ireland,’ in Aiste 4. 16-17. 389 Hogan, 1892: 13. 390 Kühns, 2009: 29.

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wealth, while helpfully removing him from Ireland to allow tragedy to befall Ulster. If Conall remained in Ireland, his function as a guardian would be brought into doubt as he was present but failed to prevent these calamities. However, by removing him, Conall’s honour is saved, and the narrative can continue.

~~6.3 – Conclusions~~

~~While the theme of Conall traveling to foreign lands is only present in five sagas, with one of those, TT, only referring to it in passing,391 all five sagas depict the same concept.~~

~~Conall travels to distant lands, though unlike other Irish heroes, they are simply mundane locations rather than the supernatural Otherworld. The extreme similarity found between~~

CRR and TE’s use of tax collection in Scotland, as well as CRR and OCC’s use of this theme to tactically remove Conall from Ireland to allow a tragedy to strike, show the significance of these cross-saga narrative connections.

The theme develops after the 12th century, but quickly vanishes before reappearing once more in the 14th and 16th-centuries. Potentially older versions of surviving texts may have used this theme more often, specifically the hypothetical exemplar for OCC and

BMM392 due to the presence of the theme in OCC. Alternatively, the theme could have simply spontaneously generated in the 12th century, before quickly fading from popularity and experiencing short resurgences in texts that evidently draw on the use of the theme in

CRR. In terms of the dating of these texts in relation to this theme, the more interesting conclusion is that by the 12th century the Irish had access to Classical histories as CRR references Dacia and Scythia which are Roman provinces.393 To be familiar with these

391 Jennings, 1997: 77. 392 Kühns, 2009: 6. 393 See note 371; I do realize that Scythia was far larger than just the Roman province given the name, but as Scythia is referenced directly with Dacia here, I believe reading these as the Roman provinces is the most eligent solution rather than suggesting Conall Cernach got close to the borders of China; for further discussion on the influence of Classical texts on Ireland, see: Brent Miles, 2011: Heroic Saga and Classical Epic in

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~~locations, especially to place them next to each other within the narrative, suggests that the compiler might have been aware that both of these locations bordered each other.~~

Clearly this theme found in the literary corpus of Conall Cernach was significant, if only for a brief period of time. It is worthy of discussion, however, as a unique depiction of an Irish hero on voyages that are entirely mundane. Furthermore, it provides further evidence for the raiding and tithe economic system the audiences would have been familiar with. As

~~Conall’s progeny, or túatha that claimed to be Conall’s progeny, were spread across Ireland,~~

~~Conall has to look externally in order to achieve these feats of economic domination lest awkward situations arise.394~~

Medieval Ireland. Cambridge. For specific discussion on which texts appear to have reached Ireland during the medieval period, the first chaper of this book discusses the influence of specific texts in Ireland. 394 There is another story of Conall Cernach traveling to distant lands that was not discussed here as it falls outside of the era of texts being used even more than OCC. Ogygia: Or A Chronological Account Of Irish Events volume 2 discusses a story of Conall being in Jerusalem at the time of “the book of the death of the wrestlers” (Roderic O’Flaherty, 1793: Ogygia: Or A Chronological Account Of Irish Events, vol. 2. James Hely trans. W. M’Kenzine, Dublin. 165; he was the “most celebrated champion at Jeruʃalem,” (O’Flaherty, Ogygia, 165) and brought news of events back to Ireland. (O’Flaherty, Ogygia, 165) It is a very strange passage that someone should try to unravel one day, but unfortunately this is not the place for that discussion.

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~~7.0 – Conflict with Cet~~

Time and again the corpus of literature surrounding Conall Cernach brings him into direct conflict with his sometimes-uncle, the Connacht hero Cet mac Magach. The two men are entwined in a long-running feud that begins moments after Conall is born, and only ends with Cet’s last breath. Spanning from the 9th century in SMMD through 14th century and being found across eight different texts, the conflict between the two men serves as a major theme for Conall’s narratives, highlighting the consistency in his depiction across centuries and sagas. In addition to SMMD, the two men are included in the events of AC, D. CC,

~~TBDC, CA 3, ACMM, CCu, and CAi.~~

While at times Conall and Cet are included in the same story without coming to blows, such as during the events of D. CC and CCu, both of these stories offer an explanation as to why the two men have found themselves working together despite their prior enmity.

~~Despite these momentary instances of a ceasefire, the hostile relationship between the two men is deserving of an independent examination.~~

~~With nine instances of this theme, the use of a long running feud between Conall~~

Cernach and Cet mac Magach is thoroughly established in the saga record. As the theme includes two texts that discuss the origin of this conflict and another that brings it to a final conclusion, there is a fundamental cross-textual nature to the theme, as it carries a single narrative thread across a wide body of texts. Independently of the existence of the other five major themes identified in this thesis, the existence of this theme alone marks Conall Cernach as a character with enough importance for the original authors and compilers to construct a consistent narrative.

~~7.1 – Historical Context~~

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The conflict between Conall Cernach and Cet mac Magach does not appear to have any basis in historical conflicts between Ulster and Connacht that would allow one to rationalize the existence of the theme from a historical perspective. However, one aspect of their conflict presents a uniquely Irish problem: Cet mac Magach is Conall’s uncle according to CA 3,395 and thereby any violence between the men enters the realm of fingal, or kin slaying.396 As the early medieval Irish legal system was based on a system of punitive fines for hurting or killing other persons, where in the case of a killing the direct relatives of the dead person are paid the fine,397 fingal was a serious issue. If a family member killed another family member, the punitive payment system could result in a situation where the murderer

(or his family) was compelled to pay the fine to themselves, which would cause the legal system to fundamentally break as the only further recourse would be to avenge the killing which would itself be fingal.398

As a result, fingal was considered a particularly heinous crime, as it combined killing a close relative and throwing a metaphorical wrench into the gears of the Irish legal system, causing the system to grind to a standstill. Findchóem, Conall’s mother and Cet’s sister, is so disgusted by her brother’s attempt to kill her infant son that she compares her brother to a dog.399 While not an unordinary derogatory term, within this context in Ireland seems to be an invocation of the legal notion of a cú glas, a ‘grey dog,’ an outsider who has half the honour price of his wife and is isolated from the law of the community.400

If this conflict was constrained to Conall and Cet, this inter-family violence could be read as a conflict resulting from an attempted, but failed, attempt of kin-slaying. However, the conflict between Conall and Cet has considerable collateral damage on the part of Cet’s

~~395 Arbuthnot, 2007: 142 396 Kelly, 1988: 127. 397 Kelly, 1988: 125-127. 398 Kelly, 1988: 127. 399 Arbuthnot, 2007, 142. 400 Kelly, 1988: 6.~~

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~~brothers and one nephew which complicates the situation. As CA 3 establishes Conall as~~

Cet’s nephew, Conall should be considered guilty of fingal for the deaths of his uncles and receive similarly horrified responses as Finnchaím gives Cet in CA 3. Despite this clear legal issue in the conflict between Conall and Cet, no text outside of CA 3 alludes to the legal or social issues that should logically result from Conall’s conflict with Cet and his other uncles.

~~The exclusion of fingal as a narrative beat in the tales invoking the theme of Conall’s conflict with Cet is particularly strange and deserving of scrutiny. It is not abnormal for the~~

Irish sagas to have a legalistic basis in the events portrayed, as discussed by Fangzhe Qiu in his PhD thesis Narratives in Early Irish Law Tracts.401 Especially as CA 3 references the social revulsion that accompanies Cet’s attempt to kill Conall, it is evident that at least one author or compiler was concerned about the social ramifications of these actions. The question remains however, of the ten texts that include conflict with Cet and by extension

~~Cet’s brothers, why is Conall’s rampant kin-slaying never addressed?~~

~~7.2 – All In The Family: Interfamily Violence~~

The first instance of conflict between Conall Cernach and Cet mac Magach is found in the 9th-century text SMMD, which positions Conall and Cet on opposing sides of an argument over which of the two men is more deserving of the champion’s portion of a feast.402 After Cet has shamed other Ulster warriors who attempted to claim the portion for themselves, Conall arrives and immediately begins a complex verbal duel with Cet where the two men begin to praise each other for their heroic values.403 When Cet relents that Conall is the greater warrior, he boasts that if only his brother Anlúan were there, Conall would not win the portion.404 At which point, Conall takes the severed head of Anlúan out from his bag

401 Fangzhe Qiu, 2014: ‘Narratives in Early Irish Law Tracts,’ unpublished PhD thesis, University College Cork. 402 Koch and Carey, 1995: 61-62. 403 Koch and Carey, 1995: 60-62 404 Koch and Carey, 1995: 62.

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and tosses it to Cet as he appears to have killed Anlúan shortly beforehand.405 Conall and Cet are never explicitly described coming to blows during the subsequent brawl that breaks out, but the text presents Conall and Cet as two rivals intimately familiar with the deeds of the other due to their praise of each other. Furthermore, while the text never explicitly describes

~~Conall and Cet fighting, Conall did kill Cet’s brother and throw his decapitated head at Cet which can be reasonably understood to be a hostile action.~~

~~The conflict between Conall and Cet continues into the events of AC, where Cet sneaks into Ulster and steals a prize trophy collected by Conall, the calcified brain of Mess~~

Gegrai from TEt.406 Using this brain as ammunition for his sling, Cet embeds the stolen trophy in the head of Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, who is also Conall’s uncle through Conall’s grandfather Cathbad, Conchobar’s father.407 Though Conchobar does not initially die from this wound, it eventually results in his death several years later.408 While

~~Conall and Cet never come into direct conflict in this text, or even meet face to face, the text presents a situation where Cet steals Conall’s most significant trophy, one that allowed~~

~~Conall to claim supremacy as the greatest hero of Ulster surpassing Cú Chulainn.409 As well as denying Conall this key trophy, one that Conall used to establish his social dominance in~~

Ulster, Cet also uses it to kill Conchobar mac Nessa, Conall’s king and uncle. Thereby, while the text does not explicitly invoke a conflict between Conall and Cet, the text is clearly written with an established relationship of antagonism in mind.

~~This antagonism, as well as direct narrative flow continues into TBDC and CAi which tell of the direct fallout of the death of Conchobar told in AC. While these two texts are from~~

405 Koch and Carey, 1995: 62. 406 Ó Dónaill, 2005: 61. 407 Kobel, 2015: 221-222. 408 Kobel, 2015: 223. 409 Kobel, 2015: 221; the original text reads, “’Maith, a Chonchobair’, ol Conall, ‘na co ndernat óic inna comram écht foa n-indas-sa ar galaib oínfir, nídat túailngi comrama frium-sa’. ‘Is fir ón’, ol Conchobar.” (Kobel, 2015: 219)

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~~the 12th century,410 they are grouped together here, as the narrative of Conall and Cet found in both texts flows together. During the events of TBDC, the Ulstermen come into conflict with~~

~~Cet along with other enemies of Ulster.411 During this battle Cet clashes with Amairgein,~~

Conall’s father. Both men wound the other, though neither is able to finish the job.412 Conall himself is absent, seemingly withdrawn from the events of the story after the Ulaid ignore his suggestion to declare Cuscraid Menn Macha king of Ulster to replace his father

~~Conchobar.413 After the battle, the story turns to the events of CAi. In this text, Conall and~~

Cet both partake in the titular battle of the saga.414 Conall kills Ailill Ardagach and Scannal, two of Cet’s brothers, while Cet hounds the Ulaid, killing several warriors himself during the strife.415 Once again, Conall Cernach and Cet mac Magach do not come face to face during the events of either tale, but the presence of their conflict casts a shadow on the events of the story. Cet and Amairgein battle to a standstill in TBDC, while Conall kills two of Cet’s brothers in CAi.416 The two men are intertwined by a violent thread that leads them to continuously fuel their feud with further deaths and slights to compound the drama of their inevitable final clash where all these wrongs will be invoked.

~~This antagonism is explained in CA 3, recounting the events of Conall Cernach’s conception. Initially, Cet mac Magach defends his pregnant sister from attackers, but after~~

~~Conall is born and Cet hears that Conall will “not spend a night without the head of one of the Connachta on his belt and he will kill more than half of the Connachta,”417 Cet attempts to~~

410 Toner, 2007: 3; Bhreathnach, 2003: 23. 411 Stokes, ‘Da Choca’s Hostel,’ 159, 161. 412 Stokes, ‘Da Choca’s Hostel,’ 163. 413 Stokes, ‘Da Choca’s Hostel,’ 151. 414 Best, 1916: 183-184. 415 Best, 1916: 183-184. 416 Best, 1916: 183. 417 Arbuthnot, 2007: 142; the original text reads, “ní bhíadh aidhchi gin chenn Connachtaigh fora criss 7 mairbhfidh fer for leth Connacht.” (Arbuthnot, 2007: 69)

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~~kill Conall by stamping on his neck.418 Conall survives this attack on his life, but is left with a crooked neck, and a strong reason to dislike Cet.419~~

This scene is clearly significant as it provides an explanation for the long-standing feud between the two men, but is found in a 13th-century text, well after the theme has first been introduced. While it would not be unreasonable to assume that this is a retroactive creation to explain an existing narrative arc in Conall Cernach’s narratives, a potential alternative answer can be found with Compert Conaill Chernaig, the original version of this story which has since been lost but is referenced as existing in Tale List B.420 Potentially, the origin of the conflict between Conall and Cet was originally found earlier and informed the previous texts discussed so far.

However, despite this answer, a second question arises: why did Cet protect Conall until he heard the second half of the prophecy? Cet was content to protect his sister and her unborn child knowing that the child would be disastrous for her people, the Connachta.421

~~Only after hearing that Conall be a prolific headhunter and kill more than half of the~~

~~Connacht men does Cet betray his sister and attempt to kill Conall. As the threat he poses to~~

Connacht is clearly not at issue, as Cet was unconcerned with the first prophecy, it appears that Conall is competition. The second prophecy clarifies that Conall will be a great warrior, a prolific headhunter who will kill many men, and therefore is a potential rival to Cet’s own martial prowess. Threatened by Conall, Cet attempts to kill him and sets in motion a series of events that will lead to his own death at the hands of Conall, the ignition point of their conflict.

418 Arbuthnot, 2007: 142. 419 Arbuthnot, 2007: 142. 420 The story is found in tale List B in all three variations, MS. 23 10, Rawlinson B 512, and Harleian 5280 (Cana, 1980: 54) 421 As Finnchaím is married to Amairgein, one of Ulster’s heroes, and herself is the daughter of Magach according to CA 3, the population group the first half of the prophecy is refering to is clearly her population group, Connacht. (Arbuthnot, 2007: 142)

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This feud between the two men comes to a final narrative conclusion in ACMM.422 when Cet is caught preying on the Ulstermen within the borders of the province.423 Conall is dispatched in response, and after successfully tracking Cet down, the two men duel to the death with little formality.424 Surpassing his father Amairgein in TBDC, Conall manages to kill Cet, though in the process he himself is badly wounded – to such an extent that he is mistaken for a corpse by Bélchú of Brefne. Bélchú provides important insight into Conall and

Cet, even referencing their feud saying that “henceforth Ireland will be happy, since these two slaughter-hounds have fallen, who ruined Ireland between them.”425 Evidently, the conflict between Conall and Cet has drawn unfavorable perspectives towards both men. The statement that between them Ireland was brought to ruin likely references the longstanding feud between the men, which resulted in collateral damage and this final duel.

~~Even after Cet’s death, the conflict still defines Conall as seen in GCC in roughly the~~

13th century,426 a text which opens with a list of all of Cet’s brothers that Conall has killed, counting Anlúan,427 Docha, Mac Corb, Find, Scandlán,428 and Ailill,429 all sons of Magu. The text offers an alternative reason for the conflict than CA 3 provides however, and explains that the conflict between Conall and Connacht was due to the Connachta killing his brothers.430 In this first section of the text, where Conall’s deeds are recounted as a brief summary of his life, the conflict with Cet, as well as the killing of Cet’s brothers, is presented as a major aspect of his character.

422 See Note 45 for the issue surrounding the dating of ACMM. 423 Meyer, 1906: 37. 424 Meyer, 1906: 37. 425 Meyer, 1906: 39; the original text reads, “‘& bid maith an Ériu festa,’ or sé, ‘ó dotorchair in dá árchoin so doloitsitar an Éiriu eturra,’” (Meyer, 1906: 38) 426 Meyer, 1897: 102; for dating issues, see the ‘Goire Conaill Chernaig (i Crúachain) 7 Aided Ailella 7 Conaill Chernaig,’ section of Chapter 2. 427 Evidently a reference to Anlúan from SMMD. 428 Who may be Scannal from CAi. 429 Who may be Ailill Ardagach from CAi. 430 Meyer, 1897: 106.

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~~Evidently these six sagas were written by authors aware of a conflict between Conall~~

Cernach and Cet mac Magach. With less room for interpretation than the other cross-textual themes of Conall Cernach, the inclusion of this conflict between the two men carries multiple saga texts spanning five centuries. While two different reasons are given for this conflict, with GCC hedging it on Connacht killing Conall’s brothers, and CA 3 pointing towards a failed attempt at infanticide by Cet, the conflict is nonetheless a connected narrative of a complex and lifelong feud between the two men. It is clear that the authors and compilers of these texts considered this relationship between the two men important enough to emphasize frequently as well as weave it throughout multiple texts.

However, the conflict between Conall and Cet is still overshadowed by fingal, the fact that this conflict is fundamentally asocial, something not simply disapproved of by society at the time, but vehemently rejected. Conall frequently kills Magach’s other sons, Cet’s brothers, and Conall’s other uncles. If the conflict began from Cet’s attempted fingal of

Conall, which is alluded to in CA 3,431 one would expect the fact that Conall is repeatedly guilty of this dire crime to play a part in the narrative. However, it does not. On the contrary: it is never even mentioned. Two potential answers exist for the strange omission.

The first answer is that the problem is being taken too seriously. While Irish texts exist within the social framework of early Irish law, these sagas may simply frame themselves within this legal system rather than find themselves beholden to it. In this instance, what is lawful or not takes a backseat to what makes a good story, and the complex social issue of fingal may be ignored to tell a story. Similar to how a modern police series on television might not address internal investigations and other real-life consequences to a shootout unless it serves the narrative that the writers of the show want to present, Conall’s rampant kinslaying might be similarly considered as ignored by the audience and authors.

~~431 Arbuthnot, 2007: 142.~~

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While a police officer shooting someone is something the modern world is considerably anxious about, in media it is presented as part of the narrative flow of entertainment and not given a second thought. Conall’s inter-family violence could be framed in a similar way: part of the story rather than something that should be scrutinized under the real-world values of the society that produced the media in question.432

The second explanation for fingal being ignored by the texts is that Findchóem may only be envisioned as Cet’s sister in CA 3 where it is explicitly spelled out by the text.433 This familial relationship is not presented in other elements of the saga literature surrounding

~~Conall Cernach and his conflict with Cet, and the absence of fingal from the discussion of his frequent killing of the sons of Magach could thereby be read as an invention of CA 3 in the~~

13th century.434 However, the genealogies of Conall Cernach found in Rawlinson B 502 agree with the relationship between Conall and Magach, saying that “Conall Cernach Findchāem ingen Cathbad a māthair nō ingen Māgach siur secht mac Māgach.”435

~~While this genealogical tract has not been dated, the manuscript it is found in has been dated to the 12th century436 and therefore the genealogical connection between Conall and~~

Magach may pre-date the story of CA 3. What conclusions can be drawn from this information are uncertain however, as even if Conall is the grandson of Magach in this genealogical tract, it does not necessarily mean that it was a popular idea and should be imposed on other texts. As the literary corpus of Conall Cernach only references Cet as

~~Conall’s uncle in CA 3, any familial relationship the men shared was less important than the conflict between the two men as one was included as a repeated theme, and the other was not.~~

432 While fingal is a serious crime from a direct reading of the legal tracts, the reality may also be less strict and more in line with what is seen with the conflict between Cet and Conall. As Kelly points out, “some kings who acquired their kingship through fingal are known to have reigned successfully for many years.” (Kelly, 1988: 128) 433 Arbuthnot, 2007: 141-142. 434 Arbuthnot, Cóir Anmann part 1, 72. 435 Edition based on Rawlinson B 502 in M. A. O’Brien, Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae (Dublin, 1976), 280. 436 O’Brien, 1976: Preface.

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~~7.3 – Breach Of The Pattern: Cooperation~~

~~Despite how well established the conflict between Conall Cernach and Cet mac~~

Magach is in the literary corpus of Conall Cernach, one would be remiss to not discuss two instances of this theme being subverted. In D. CC and CCu, Conall and Cet work side by side to accomplish a common goal. D. CC, dated between the 11th and 12th centuries437 is the earlier of these two tales and the least in-depth of the pair. Conall and Cet both serve as guarantors for an agreement made between the sons of Umor and Cairbre Nia Fer, king of

Meath.438 When the oath is broken by the sons of Umor, the guarantors travel to Crúachan to enforce the terms of the deal with the guarantors each killing one of the sons of Umor in duels to resolve the violated contract.439

As the text lacks any dialogue between the guarantors, or any interaction between them at all, the rivalry between the two men is never brought up. Potentially the author did not intend to invoke the feud between the two men, and instead chose Cet for this role as he is an influential Connacht warrior, and the sons of Umor had taken refuge with Ailill and Medb in Connacht.440 Cet, along with his wife, are able to resolve the issue semi-peacefully due to their connections with Connacht and their familial relationship with Ailill. The guarantors fast on the plain of Crúachan to force the sons of Umor to face them rather than the bloodbath that surely would have taken place without the presence of a high-status Connacht noble.441

However, Cet is far from the only person who could have served this purpose. Fráech, other brothers of Ailill, Fer Diad, or any number of famous Connacht warriors could have served the purpose, perhaps even better than Cet, and would have evoked more of a reaction

~~437 Hellmuth, 2004: 116. 438 Stokes, 1894: 479-480. 439 Stokes, 1894: 480. 440 Stokes, 1894: 479. 441 Stokes, 1894: 480.~~

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~~of familiarity with the audience, unless his inclusion was intentionally based on his feud with~~

~~Conall. Conall and Cet being forced to work together for the benefit of a high king or king of~~

~~Tara such as Cairbre Nia Fer comes up in CCu as well, and during the events of TBDD we see a similar situation with Conall being forced to work alongside a different warrior, Mac~~

Cecht. Therefore, the relationship between the men is potentially the reason for Cet’s inclusion in D. CC as it explains the author’s choice of Cet as one of the guarantors rather than another Connacht hero, and the notion of Conall and Cet being forced to work together is not unique to this text.

~~This forced cooperation is also found in the pre-13th-century text CCu.442 Conall and~~

Cet both serve as the bodyguards for Eochaid Feidlech, high king of Ireland. During the events of the story, Conall and Cet work together as they attempt to safeguard Eochaid from the betrayal of his sons, while working amicably alongside each other. Where in other texts

Conall and Cet are quick to leap to conflict with the other, during CCu the two men are the personal bodyguards of Eochaid and are depicted with a unison of mind and function by the author of the text. Conall and Cet play fidchell against Eochaid while being coached by his druid,443 and both react to the demand that Eochaid abandon his throne with the desire to decapitate the messenger, requiring both being restrained by Eochaid.444 The pair both fall back to personally defend Eochaid and both attempt and fail to block Lothar’s blow,445 both fall into the harmony of combat “like two hammers on a rough iron anvil in the hands of champions and strong warriors was the striking together of the two fortunate and powerful warriors,”446 and both systematically hunt down and behead one of Eochaid’s sons.447

~~442 Dobbs, 1926: 278; for dating issues see the ‘Cath Cumar’ section of Chapter 2. 443 Dobbs, 1926: 287. 444 Dobbs, 1926: 305. 445 Dobbs, 1926: 325. 446 Dobbs, 1926: 327. 447 Dobbs, 1926: 331.~~

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~~Clearly, the author is presenting the two men as a harmonious pair, both frequently taking the same action as the other, and working in conjunction.~~

This is a clear violation of the normal depiction of the two men as embittered enemies, though no explanation is given in the text. The two men never exchange a single line of dialogue between each other, be it a positive comment or a stabbing remark. Both men simply do their job and do it well. A similar situation is seen in TBDD between Conall and

Mac Cecht, where the two men serve as the bodyguard for a High King which eventually evolves into a feud between the two men.448 As CCu appears to be written as an intentional mirroring of TBDD in areas, the standard narrative theme of Conall and Cet coming into conflict is pushed aside in favor of mirroring TBDD which requires the two men to work together.

While the ultimate reason as to why D. CC and CCu both subvert the standard conflict between Conall Cernach and Cet mac Magach remains unknown, a potential answer can be suggested. In both these stories, the narrative needs the two men to work together for the larger narrative. In D. CC, Conall and Cet both serve to guarantee an oath and their conflict would only confuse the actual plot of the story. In CCu, the theme is dismissed in favor of mirroring the events of another story, and the story the author wished to tell was more important than the theme.

With this we can see that these major themes of Conall Cernach’s characterisation are not completely domineering: they exist to serve the narratives rather than force the narratives to conform to their pre-established notions. While the themes exist, they do not necessarily dictate what can and cannot be used in these stories.

~~7.4 – Conclusions~~

~~448 Borsje, 2012: 334.~~

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~~The theme of Conall Cernach having a conflict with Cet mac Magach is well established within the literary corpus of Conall. Reaching from the 9th century to the Middle~~

~~Irish period, the theme is found across eight different texts, plus two additional texts that subvert the theme. While the theme is found in four instances before the second half of the~~

12th century, the majority of the texts are found afterwards, suggesting that while the theme may have been present before this point it experienced a surge in popularity in the latter portion of the period this thesis is examining.

~~Even with two texts which subvert the theme of conflict between Conall Cernach and~~

Cet mac Magach, it is evident that the authors and compilers of these texts considered this relationship between Conall and Cet as an important narrative arc. These authors and compilers developed two different explanations for the conflict, depicted it across multiple texts, subverted it twice, concluded it with a dramatic final showdown between the men, and by the time of Conall’s own death in GCC, describe it as a key part of his lifetime of heroism.449 It is doubtless that these were intentional connections, though they may not have been internally consistent as discussed in regards to the familial relationship between the two men found in CA 3.

Why the theme gained popularity after the latter half of the 12th century is unclear, but the texts which describe the reason for the conflict, GCC, AC2, and AC3 are all found after that point. Potentially this theme was retroactively created, with a few earlier conflicts between the two men in earlier texts being woven into a complete narrative by the latter half of the 12th century.

~~449 Meyer, 1897: 106.~~

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~~8.0 – Last Man Standing~~

The final major theme of Conall Cernach tells the story of his life, an unnatural life, one that refuses to end despite hardships most dire, and that threatens the survival of his honour. Appearing first in the 9th century with TBDD, this theme appears in six texts in total which are primarily found after the 11th century. In addition to TBDD, ACMM, CA 3, CAi,

~~FCC, and GCC all repeat the theme of Conall being able to survive grotesque wounds while being haunted by the possibility of dying a natural death.~~

This theme is comprised of two smaller, but deeply connected themes that form this sum: Conall cannot be killed, and as a result, Conall grows old and might not find his glorious death. While these two smaller themes could be discussed independently, the existence of one is narratively predicated on the existence of the other. Conall is capable of enduring wounds that should kill him, and therefore Conall has survived to old age, unlike his friends and family. When regarded independently, these two themes each occur four times in the sagas.450 As these two themes are so closely linked, it has been deemed better to present them in a singular section rather than as two separate sections referring to each other.

While eight instances of this theme, or four of each component part, alone is sufficient to justify an analysis of it as a major theme for Conall Cernach, the significance of this theme alone should not be overlooked. A heroic narrative in which the hero has reached old age is not a new concept, Beowulf for instance proves that,451 but it is uncommon for the Ulster

Cycle. More interesting, however, is how these texts discuss Conall’s aging, how he is functionally wracked by survivor’s guilt, believes himself to be a burden on his community as he is no longer as strong a warrior he once was, and is actively seeking to die in multiple texts. The authors and compilers of this theme present the depressing aftermath of a heroic

450 If considered separately, the notion of Conall being hard to kill appears in TBDD, CA 3, and ACMM while old age appears in ACMM, GCC, Cai, and FCC. 451 Lesslie Hall, 1892: Beowulf: an Anglo-Saxon Epic Poem. D.C. Heath & Co., Publishers, Boston. 78-95.

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~~society, where someone’s value in society is judged by their capacity to commit violence and die young. What happens when you become too old to fight, and all of your friends died long ago?~~

~~8.1 – Historical Context~~

The world depicted in the Irish saga texts is a heroic society, a society that values the immortality of a person through stories told about their deeds and achievements. The heroes of the Ulster cycle illustrate this through their lives filled with exaggerated feats of love, hate, and violence, immortalizing themselves through stories that will be told long after their deaths. The capstone of the process that leads to immortalization through storytelling is a glorious death, the final note in a symphony of violence.

Of course, the figures are all literary characters rather than historical figures, but from the perspective of the authors and audiences of these texts, the division between these classifications was less stark than it is in modern times. Forebears and ancestors, the shapers of society and topography, the figures of the Ulster cycle are depicted as living in a heroic society. Whether such a society existed or not, cannot be said with confidence, but the authors and audience almost certainly believed it did. As this thesis seeks to understand

~~Conall Cernach in the context in which his original audiences understood him, this potentially false history is more legitimate than actual history.~~

While Conall Cernach performs many deeds that should qualify him for immortalization in this heroic society, the final chapter refuses to be written. Conall is simply too hard to kill. He survives the impossible, even by the supernatural standards set in the Irish sagas. While feats of supernatural strength or dexterity are common in the sagas, supernatural endurance is unheard of apart from Conall Cernach. As discussed by Sayers in his article

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‘The Laconic Scar in Early Irish Literature,’452 wounds are considered important challenges for warriors in the sagas. Instead of simply ignoring wounds acquired as some literary traditions do, physicians are introduced into narratives to heal wounds before warriors set off once again. In TBC, Cú Chulainn and Fer Diad must be treated by physicians every night for their wounds,453 and Ceithern mac Fintain requires medical intervention after a combat.454

Unlike the rest of the Ulster heroes, Conall endures everything alone. He survives grotesque wounds even in the context of over-the-top violence of the Irish sagas, and recovers without any outside help. While this supernatural endurance can appear to be a blessing from our perspective in an era of Superman and other unbreakable heroes, in a heroic society it is a double-edged blade. While this supernatural endurance allows Conall to survive where he should have fallen, and in doing so live long enough to add more deeds to his name, it transforms the glorious death from an inevitable end to an unattainable goal.

Conall can survive any wound, but time gnaws slowly like a poison. An old man who dies a gentle death in his sickbed does not have stories written about them in a heroic society, compared to a hero such as Cú Chulainn who is foretold to die young, but be remembered forever.455

~~Conall’s greatest challenge, and the catalyst for this theme, is to find someone who can finally kill him, to save him from a gentle anonymous death.~~

~~8.2 – The Man Who Would Not Die: Supernatural Endurance~~

~~The theme of Conall Cernach surviving wounds that should have killed him even in the exaggerated violence of the Ulster Cycle occurs for the first time in the 9th-century text~~

452 William Sayers, 2015: ‘The Laconic Scar in Early Irish Literature,’ in Wounds and Wound Repair in Medieval Culture Larissa Tracy and Kelly De Vries (eds). Brill, Leiden. 473-95. 453 Cecile O’Rahilly, 1967: 224. 454 Cecile O’Rahilly, 1976: 209-213. 455 Cite Tain

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~~TBDD. When the hostel of Da Derga is under siege, Conall is wounded and withdraws from the battle.456 When Conall cuts his way out of the hostel after Conaire has died, he is~~

“wounded, broken and maimed”457 which is later explained: he had one hundred and fifty spears impaled through his shield-arm,458 and his right arm, which was not covered by his shield, has been “maimed and cut and wounded and pierced, except that the sinews kept [it] joined to the body without its falling off.”459

Despite being physically brutalized to the extent that one arm that has been pierced by one hundred and fifty spears is the lesser of his injuries, Conall departs from the battlefield to return home.460 At home, he encounters his father Amairgein who challenges Conall’s bravery as “it is cowardly of the man who has come away alive having left his lord dead among his enemies,”461 suggesting that Conall fled the battlefield and abandoned the king whom he was serving as a bodyguard. The only defense Conall offers against this accusation is to present his mutilated body to his father, proving that he had not fled from battle, but rather that he had suffered the hardships of battle without fear.462

After this first introduction of Conall being supernaturally difficult to kill, the theme does not return until the 13th century where it is found in CA 3.463 As discussed in detail in chapter 7.2, Cet attempts to kill Conall while Conall is an infant by crushing Conall’s neck underfoot.464 Despite one of the primary heroes of Connacht stamping on Conall’s neck while

456 Borsje, 2012: 334. 457 Borsje, 2012: 335; the original text reads, “co créchtach, aithbris[te] 7 athgoite.” (Stokes, 1901: 320) 458 Borsje, 2012: 338; the two passages of the original text read, “Aslúi dano Conall Cernach o Brudin, 7 dochúatar tri cóecait gai triasin láim i mbói in scíath dó...” (Stokes, 1901: 327) and “Doadbat a láim scéith do, forsa rabatár tri cóecait crecht, iss ed adcoimced furri.” (Stokes, 1901: 328) 459 Borsje, 2012: 328; the original text reads, “Ind lám dess immorro immarobrad for sudi dor-rici a dá cutrummæ, innád rubæ in scíath ocá imdegail. Ro cirred iarom ind lám sin, 7 ro hathchummad 7 ro crechtnaiged 7 ro críathrad, achd conácaibset na féthi frisin corp cen etarscarad.” (Stokes, 1901: 328) 460 Borsje, 2012: 338. 461 Borsje, 2012: 338; the original text reads, “is midlachda dond fir dodeochaid ass i mbethaid íar fácbáil a thigerna l[i]a naimtiu i mbás.” (Stokes, 1901: 328) 462 Borsje, 2012: 338. 463 Arbuthnot, 2005: 72. 464 Arbuthnot, 2007: 142; the original text reads “Is ann sin ro ghabh Ceat in mac beg chuigi 7 dombert fóa ṡail co mbrúid a brága 7 ní brúi a smir.” (Arbuthnot, 2007: 69)

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~~he is still an infant, Conall survives the blow.465 However, while he does survive this attack on his life, it does leave him with a crooked neck well into adulthood466 until the events of~~

~~TEt, where Conall uses the head of Mess Gegrai to cure the wound Cet inflicted.467~~

While this wound is less severe than others Conall will endure in his life, in the context of Conall being an infant at the time of the attack, and his assailant being a grown man who is an aristocratic warrior, it continues the theme of Conall being capable of surviving serious wounds.

The story of CA 3 is brought to a conclusion in the Middle Irish period in the events of ACMM where Conall Cernach and Cet mac Magach come to blows for a final time which has been discussed at length in chapters 4.2 and 7.2. As a brief summary, in the process,

Conall has exhausted himself and believes that he is dying. 468 Conall grieves that he will be killed by just a single warrior from Connacht rather than the minimum of two he swore he would be killed by for his glorious death.469 When Bélchú arrives, he mistakes Conall for a corpse, until Conall begins to goad Bélchú into finishing him off.470 Instead giving Conall the death he desires, Bélchú takes Conall back to his home where he schemes to have his sons kill Conall while in his sickbed recovering from his wounds, invoking the exact fear of an inglorious death a heroic society perpetuates.471 While being on the brink of death, Conall tricks Bélchú’s sons into killing their father, kills them, and returns home despite his wounds.472

465 Arbuthnot, 2007: 141-142; the text never explicitly says that Conall survives, but the fact that this is described as giving him an epithet suggests that he survives this attack. 466 Arbuthnot, 2007: 142; the original text reads “Ocus dobert a mac di. Unde Conall Clænbhraigdech Cernach nominatur.” (Arbuthnot, 2007: 69) 467 Ó Dónaill, 2005: 61; the original text reads, “Do:bert immurgu Conall a chenn-som fora chenn co-n-id:tarlae dara ais combo díriuch.” (Ó Dónaill, 2005: 50). 468 Meyer, 1906: 39. 469 Meyer, 1906: 39. 470 Meyer, 1906: 39. 471 Meyer, 1906: 39, 41. 472 Meyer, 1906: 41.

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These three examples of this theme of supernatural endurance display the prevalence of this theme. Conall Cernach is repeatedly shown to be an individual capable of enduring tremendous damage to his body, even by the supernatural standards set by the Irish sagas.

Conall Cernach is nothing short of being supernaturally durable, going above and beyond what is seen from other characters in Irish saga literature. However, this serves as both a blessing and a curse for Conall, as the ultimate goal of the heroic society, imagined or not, that Conall inhabits, is fame achieved through a glorious death. As Conall is able to endure whatever wounds are dealt to him, and can survive without outside help, Conall finds himself in the unique position among the Ulster heroes that his heroic death is not inevitable.

ACMM highlights the fears that a heroic society fosters with the attempt on Conall’s life while he is recovering in his sickbed. Despite wanting to die at the hands of more than one opponent, the three sons of Bélchú are not an option, as they intend to kill Conall in his bed. Dying an old man in his bed without being able to defend himself is not a glorious end but a shameful one - likely an intentionally shameful death, as Bélchú does not like Conall

Cernach. Thus in response, Conall refuses to accept this death, as it would not give him the narrative immortality offered by his heroic society. He tricks the sons of Bélchú into committing kinslaying by killing their own father, a retort for their attempt to kill him in a way that would shame him, before leaving, despite his wounds.

GCC provides one final instance of Conall’s supernatural endurance. Even after reaching what Conall believes to be a decrepit state and struck low with illness from sorrow over the deaths of his friends,473 the effort required to kill him is considerable. After killing

~~Ailill inside his own home, Conall as an elderly man is able to fight his way all the way to a ford where he unwittingly breaks his geis against crossing an unstrained river which~~

~~473 Meyer, 1897: 106.~~

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~~paralyzes him. 474 Despite being an elderly, ill, paralyzed man, who has just broken a supernatural taboo, it then still takes three men to kill Conall.475~~

~~The reason why supernatural endurance is such an uncommon theme for characters in~~

Irish saga literature can be seen with Conall Cernach. While strength, speed, and skill are all highly valued within the heroic society of the Ulster cycle, dying well is a prerequisite for fame and immortality. Conall is caught in an ironic trap: his inability to die keeps him from his desired immortality. What may at first have appeared as a blessing has revealed itself to be a curse. Where other heroes die young and gloriously, Conall survives the impossible and is left as the last man standing of the Ulaid as he grows grey and elderly.

~~8.3 – Old Man Conall: Age~~

Conall’s inability to die leads to the development of a second theme woven into the narrative body of Conall Cernach. Starting in the Middle Irish Period with ACMM, Conall is plagued by his own old age and the fear that he is becoming useless, a burden on society, and is haunted by the memories of lost friends. In ACMM, Conall has killed Cet and finds himself on the brink of death. Having avenged the first slight made against him, and ending his longest running feud by killing Cet, Conall has reached what should be the end of his story. As discussed previously, Conall wants to die, and tries to goad Bélchú into finishing him off, to end his story and save him from old age.

~~By the 13th century, the theoretical side of Conall’s desire to die in ACMM flourishes into outright old age and survivor’s guilt in GCC. After recounting the deeds of Conall~~

~~Cernach, summarizing his life and deeds up to that point, the text explains that despite these great deeds his body has begun to fail him as survivor’s guilt wracks him:~~

~~474 Meyer, 1897: 106-107; the original text of the geis reads, “Ba geis do-som dol a n-ath gan sithlod ina diaigh.” (Meyer, 1897: 105) 475 Meyer, 1897: 106-108.~~

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“Do rorchair immorro lupra & truaigi fo deoigh for Connall Cernach iar marbad a cumalta .i. Conchobair & Con Culaind co torchair cumha & troige & claime mor fair-sium, co n-na rabi nert 'na cosaib do imthecht. Ocus ro imraidh sim aici cia teglach a rachad dia gaire & dia bethugud.”476

~~By this point in Conall’s life, he has outlived all of his friends. Cú Chulainn and~~

~~Conchobar’s deaths are referenced in the prologue of GCC, and the death of Fergus mac~~

~~Róich is invoked later in the text by queen Medb of Connacht, when she attempts to goad~~

~~Conall into killing her husband, king Ailill, in revenge for his killing Fergus.477 The grief~~

Conall feels for the deaths of Cú Chulainn and Conchobar mac Nessa is so severe that he has fallen into a depression so severe he struggles to move, and he falls ill.478 In response to the situation he has found himself in, Conall has brought himself to the royal center of Connacht to be cared for. Though the text does not explicitly state why, it appears that with this Conall has entered the final stage of his life where he is no longer able to support himself and requires outside charity to care for him.

Old age is first referenced directly in FCC, when Conall travels with Cú Chulainn for heroic training along with Lóegaire. Here, Conall is directly referenced as growing too old to perform heroic feats, particularly compared to the youthful Cú Chulainn. After failing a form of an admittance test, Conall is told by the instructor that his “blood has dried up, and [his] sinews have hardened,”479 before pointing out that Conall has already won his honour and ought to retire.480 Despite emphasizing Conall’s old age as a reason that he cannot continue

476 Meyer, 1897: 103; Meyer translates the passage as: “At last however, debility and sadness fell upon Conall the Victorious, after his foster-brothers Conchobar and Cuchulinn had been slain, so that great sorrow and misery and leprosy fell upon him, so that there was no strength in his feet to go about. And he considered with himself to which household he should go to be cherished and to be fed.” (Meyer, 1897: 106-107) 477 Meyer, 1897: 108; the original text reads, “‘Maith, a Chonaill’, ar Medb, ‘Conall Cernach t' ainm-si cus aniu. Conall Cloentruag t' ainm festa. An t-an rob-som Cernach-som, ni lemtha techt tar do ráthaigecht. Aniu is focus duit in sarugud ut.’ Ro imraid iarum Conall, ‘bai digal Fergusa ann am!’” (Meyer, 1897: 104) 478 Meyer, 1897: 106; this is a common narrative trope in Irish texts. Extreme emotional states such as shame, love, or sadness resulting in potentially lethal physiological afflictions appears in multiple texts. For further discussion, see: Peter King, 2010: ‘Emotions in Medieval Thought,’ in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Emotion Peter Goldie etd. Oxford University Press, Oxford.167-188. 479 Stokes, 1908: 113; the original rext reads, “óir do thiormuigh bur bfuil, 7 do chruadhaigh bur bfeithe,” (Stokes, 1908: 112) 480 Stokes, 1908: 113; the original text reads, “Anni as a ttarabhairsi bladh & oirdercus go ttrasda, a dhiás oile úd, congmaidh uime an gein mhairfidhe” (Stokes, 1908: 112)

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training with Cú Chulainn, the text goes out of its way to emphasize Conall’s strong hand, hardy heart, straight aim with a spear, the swiftness of his blows, and his ability to mangle his enemies despite his failure to accomplish the deed set to him by their instructor.481 However,

~~Conall is forced to turn back by this failing, his age forming a roadblock for his continued function as a warrior.~~

While GCC establishes Conall Cernach’s survivor’s guilt and alludes to his growing weak and weary, CAi solidifies the theme by providing a depressing insight into how Conall sees himself as an elderly man. When offered the kingship of Ulster, Conall refuses, explaining that “it has surpassed [his] vigour and [his] skill of hand,”482 to be king.483 This admission of perceived weakness is continued in the first half of a poem where Conall laments the death of Conchobar mac Nessa, as well as continuing to degrade himself for the crime of growing old.484

‘Atomrolscai (.i. ata com loscad) athgubai nom credbad ceo trommchumad do dith mo ruirech ruanadæ in mind mail (.i. is ferr ict & alaig tainic) mochtaide Concobair coemainich clothrig clothEmnæ ni fil mo niachus (.i. mo nert) dar aindir liuin seolæ am dithracht am dimain d’eis sarglond sarEmnæ ni follscaid feithe mo chuirp ce itcloathar gnimh n-ard n-amhræ bad n-e mo erthoghæ cotom artad irt eter mo comchoicle cona rudind mo gnimæ eter sirriti glaislaithe i n-urd fiansæ macruidhe mo chorp is crechtach am dillid dimain dootair d’éis aindreind ard Ulad conid ed atomrollscai.’485

481 Stokes, 1908: 113; the original text reads, “Conall Cernach mac Aimergin duine dob uaisle & dub urrumhanta díobh, & adubradur ris dol d'fuabairt an chlesa ar thús.” (Stokes, 1908: 112) 482 Best, 1916: 179; the original text reads, “ar dochuaid ar mo luth & ar mo lamhchairi.” (Best, 1916: 172) 483 Best, 1916: 179. 484 Best, 1916: 179-180. 485 Best, 1916: 172-173; Best translates the poem as, “‘Great sorrow has consumed me, / a mist of heavy grief wastes me away / for the loss of my mighty sovereign / the diadem of a renowned prince, / Conchobar of the comely face, / famous king of famous Emain. / My prowess does not exceed that of a woman in travail. / I am powerless, I am useless after the great deeds of noble Emain. / The veins of my body do not kindle / though it

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~~Continuing the survivor’s guilt and fears of physical decline seen in GCC and FCC,~~

~~Conall mourns for the death of Conchobar before descending into harsh self-deprecation.~~

Conall believes that he has fallen into decrepitude as he is no longer passionate for valorous deeds as his body is slowly failing, leaving Conall to believe that he is “useless, unprofitable, and sickly.”486 This fear of his failing body is compounded with another statement in the lament, where Conall explains that he is choosing to die “in the midst of [his] comrades,”487 so that he will not “incarnadine488 [his] deeds among raw striplings / in the order of youthful championship.”489

While this final line is particularly unclear in its exact meaning, it seems that Conall’s only remaining desire is to die in battle rather than die an old man in his bed, as he does not want his deeds to fade away as new champions rise. All of his friends have found a glorious, or at least notable, death while they were still young. Conall, as the last of the champions of

~~Ulster from the Ulster Cycle, has found himself an elderly man, slowly being felled by age rather than any weapon, as well as being profoundly alone. He is the last man standing.~~

~~Fergus mac Róich, Conchobar mac Nessa, Cú Chulainn, and the rest of the famed warriors of the elder generation have passed on, leaving only Conall.~~

The description of Conall aging and outliving his compatriots ties directly into the previously discussed theme, Conall’s undying nature. Thus revealing the negative side to this boon. Conall’s old age slowly creeps up on him and leaves him weakened compared to the greatness of his youth. This presents him as a tragic character similar to Llywarch Hen from

hear of a high wondrous deed. / Let this be my choice / that death be dealt to me in the midst of my comrades that I should not incarnadine my deeds among raw striplings / in the order of youthful championship. / My body is wounded. / I am useless, unprofitable, sickly, / after the fierce one of Ard Ulid, / and that is what has consumed me.’” (Best, 1916: 179 – 180) 486 Best, 1916: 180; the original text reads, “am dillid dimain dootair.” (Best, 1916: 173) 487 Best, 1916: 180; the original text reads, “cotom artad irt eter mo comchoicle.” (Best, 1916: 173.) 488 Best chose a particularly arcane way to translate rudind as ‘incarnadine,’ here. A simpler translation offered by eDIL is ‘Blushes,’ (eDIL s.v. ruidid) which provides a clearer understanding of the sentence. Conall does not want to embarrass himself, thus blush, by having his deeds compared to the young warriors. 489 Best, 1916: 180; the original text reads, “cona rudind mo gnimæ eter sirriti glaislaithe.” (Best, 1916: 172.)

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Wales, as well as Oisín and Caílte from the Finn Cycle, all three surviving eras of heroism and finding themselves lost in a world that has moved beyond them.490 Conall is in fact the last of the great warriors of Ulster to perish, avenging the deaths of Cú Chulainn, Conchobar mac Nessa, and Fergus mac Róich before finding his own glorious death in battle. During his lament in CAi, Conall explicitly states that he is “useless after the great deeds of noble

~~Emain,”491 invoking a lost age of glory that he has outlasted.~~

While evidently this feature of Conall Cernach has appeared in multiple sagas and is connected with the notion of Conall’s supernatural endurance (which is also found in multiple sagas), what is interesting is that this theme is found comparatively late in the literary tradition of Conall Cernach, particularly compared to his other themes. The introduction of this theme may reflect changing cultural attitudes, as it casts the heroic lifestyle in a tragic light.492 It does not dismiss it out of hand or cast it as purely negative, but it shines a light on the very real situation that a society based on endemic low-level violence would find itself in. Elderly men whose friends all died decades ago in glorious violence find their bodies failing them. They feel alone and see their self-worth, something their society hedged on their ability to commit violence, undermined. Conall is put through this tragedy, and a potential answer as to why it shows up in this period rather than earlier is simply in regards to shifting cultural attitudes towards violent bloody youths.

~~8.4 – Conclusions~~

490 For the tragic poems of Llywarch Hen, see: Jenny Rowland, 1990: Early Welsh Saga Poetry: A Study and Edition of the ‘Englynion.’ Brewer, Cambridge; for the lives of the survivors of the Fianna, see: Ann Dooley and Harry Roe, 1999: The Tales of the Elders of Ireland: a New Translation of Acallam na Senórach. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 491 Best, 1916: 180; the original text reads, “am dithracht am dimain d’eis sarglond sarEmnæ. (Best, 1916: 172.) 492 This shift in the literary culture of Ireland’s depiction of the heroic life of Conall Cernach may be connected to wider literary shifts, as the events of Acallam na Senórach present a similar tragedy of age and being the last witness to the greatness of others. Where this theme develops in the mid-12th century for Conall Cernach and apepars more frequently as time goes on; Acallam na Senórach is dated to the early 13th century by Ann Dooley and Harry Roe, suggesting a potential similarity. (Dooley and Roe, 1999: xli)

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~~With these two minor themes compiled together under a single heading, Conall~~

~~Cernach’s function as the last man standing from the effective ‘Age Of Heroes’ of the Ulster~~

~~Cycle is emphasized across seven different texts. While the themes are primarily introduced after the 12th century, with a single 9th-century example, it appears that the connection with~~

~~TBDD is either a coincidence or that the theme was reintroduced influenced by TBDD.~~

Conall survives grotesque damage to his body, even by the over-the-top reality of the Irish sagas, and due to this, survives to a ripe old age to be consumed by survivor’s guilt and a steady decay of his self-confidence.

The theme of Conall becoming an old wizened man with a failing body establishes further consistency of his characterisation as it appears in multiple distinct saga texts. In this case, it seems to be a theme added and woven into the later literary corpus of Conall Cernach rather than a theme that pre-dates the remaining texts of his character as other themes might.

The fact that the appearances of this theme found themselves all in a sequence of later centuries suggests that this theme might be a later development and addition to the literary corpus of Conall Cernach, perhaps influenced by contemporary cultural shifts with regard to the idea of the heroic life; alternatively, it might serve as a critique of a society in which violence is rampant by presenting the reality of such situations: old men stripped of their self- worth and haunted by the ghosts of friends who passed long ago.

Unlike other depictions of Conall Cernach, this theme emphasizes the negative reality of a heroic life by emphasizing the difference between how Conall perceives himself and what he is actually capable of. While Conall believes that he has become a useless old man, he still achieves heroic feats. In GCC, where he has been consumed by depression, Conall kills Ailill within Ailill’s own home, retreats while fighting until he is finally stopped when he breaks his geis not to cross an unstrained river which paralyzes him, and yet still requires three warriors to kill him. In CAi, despite claiming that he has become a weak, useless man,

~~129~~

Conall fights in the titular battle where he duels and kills Ailill Ardagach and Scannal, brothers of Cet mac Magach. Ultimately, these texts point out that Conall’s belief that he is a worthless old man is untrue. He is just as capable as ever, but his society tells him that his worth has faded and he believes it.

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~~9.0 – Conclusions~~

~~More than simply an accessory to the literature of Cú Chulainn, Conall Cernach is a character just as complex and well-established in the Irish sagas as the little hound. While Cú~~

Chulainn has found a place in modern-day Irish national identities, Conall Cernach has faded from memory leading to his character often only being understood as a part of Cú Chulainn’s stories, rather than considering him as an established individual in his own right. This warped perception of Conall Cernach has resulted in his character being predominantly ignored in the study of Irish sagas, relegated to the background rather than being examined in any detail.

~~Even seminal works that focus on sagas in which Conall Cernach functions as a primary actor, such as The Destruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel: Kingship & Narrative Artistry in a~~

~~Medieval Irish Saga by Ralph O’Connor, gloss over Conall’s presence.~~

This perception of Conall Cernach is clearly only a modern one, as from the 8th through 16th century his character is found in at least 35 extant texts. In these texts, six themes found across multiple saga texts are used to establish a continuity of his character: (1)

~~Conall as a guardian; (2) Conall as a headhunter; (3) Conall’s skill at horsemanship; (4)~~

~~Conall’s journeys to distant lands; (5) Conall’s conflict with Cet; (6) Conall’s time as an old man.~~

In the discussion of Conall functioning as a guardian, we have seen Conall protecting the borders of Ulster, serving as a bodyguard for an individual, protecting the honour of his friends by avenging their deaths, as well as protecting the honour of Ulster itself. Appearing in 20 different sagas, including two sagas that describe Conall as a major defensive figure in

~~FB and TBC R2, the authors and compilers of these texts evidently considered this an important aspect of his character.~~

~~Conall’s function as a headhunter can be found in twelve different sagas, with one instance of a joke which requires the audience to know of Conall’s headhunting as well as a~~

~~131~~

saga describing it as a key feature of his character. While grisly in a modern context, Conall’s headhunting is evidently an important function from the perspective of his authors and compilers. Furthermore, a proposed explanation for headhunting in Conall’s sagas has been offered with evidence pointing towards a trophy system rather than a complex cosmological meaning.

Conall’s talent as a horseman as explained in three tales has been discussed, and the curious question of why Conall is associated with horsemanship rather than other heroes has been explained. Riding on horseback serves as a part of Conall’s protective function, as

~~Conall needs to traverse the rough borderlands of Ulster, terrain unsuited for the heroic standard of a chariot but suitable for horses.~~

Conall’s journeys to distant lands as they appear in five sagas have been discussed in detail, leading to the proposition that they serve as a useful narrative device to remove Conall from Ireland temporarily. In doing this, the theme allows an author or compiler to have a tragedy befall Ulster so that he can return to avenge it without infringing on his function as a guardian.

The conflict with Cet mac Magach that spans nine different sagas, demonstrates a narrative tradition of rivalry between the two heroes. While the genealogy proposed by CA 3 and Rawlinson B 502 claim that Conall is Cet’s nephew, it is never discussed outside of these texts. Therefore, if Conall was intended to be related to Cet in the remainder of these texts, the cultural opposition to interfamily violence was considered less important for the narrative tradition than including this conflict between Conall and Cet: Cet and Conall are archenemies that serve as fuel for stories.

Conall’s supernatural endurance and the resulting situation where Conall outlives his friends and family has also been discussed. While a sad topic, Conall is beset by doubts of his own value to society as an old man, wracked with guilt and sadness in his dying days in a

~~132~~

theme that does not develop until the later half of the literary record. This later development of the theme suggests that it may have been introduced to Conall’s literature in the face of changing literary themes and a critical eye being turned on societal violence.

~~These themes serve as the baseline for depictions of Conall in these sagas, though they do shift and evolve over time. The themes of protection, headhunting, and conflict with~~

~~Cet are dispersed evenly across the texts. Horsemanship appears in two of the earliest texts,~~

BMM and TBDD, and returns in the final text examined, OCC, which is intimately connected to BMM, suggesting that the theme was more important in an earlier period from which no extant texts remain. Conall’s theme as a wanderer and being plagued by age do not appear until the 12th century save for the appearance of Conall’s supernatural endurance in TBDD, suggesting that the themes may have been a later literary development.

Audiences, compilers, and authors were evidently invested in Conall Cernach to explain his inclusion in so many sagas, especially those where he appears for only a short time without contributing to the plot. Through the use of consistent themes, these sagas create a text-spanning character for Conall, a character who spans sagas with internal consistency rather than simply being a repeated name with inconsistent characterisation. Evidently, the modern perception of his character as part of the literary retinue of Cú Chulainn is wrong, and Conall should be considered by the perceptions of the individuals who created and consumed these texts rather than through a modern lens.

These observations on the original importance and uniqueness of Conall Cernach’s character have only been possible through approaching these texts from their own perspective, without imposing modern concepts and frameworks for analysis on them. While other approaches have their own value and reasons for being employed, this approach has allowed the discussion of the internal consistencies of his character found across texts, and revealed the full extent of his textual appearances.

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~~The approach taken with this thesis has provided an alternative to the Heroic~~

Biography tradition which has allowed Conall Cernach to be examined on his own merits rather than through modern or comparative perspective. By examining six themes that make up Conall Cernach’s life, this thesis has allowed for a more in-depth exploration of his character than the popular alternative, a Heroic Biography, would have. This thesis should only be considered a stepping stone for further research, both in the development of new approaches to examine characters from the Irish sagas based on their own merits, as well as ways to examine Conall Cernach in greater detail. A study of the various Irish families that traced their descent from Conall Cernach could be insightful in establishing more concrete details about specifically who cared about his depiction. An analysis of a voyage he took to

Jerusalem would be, aside from simply an interesting subject, an insightful addition to our understanding of how these heroic figures were positioned in a Christian context.493 A geographical survey of Conall Cernach, about different locations associated with him across his saga appearances, could be contrasted with historical details about families who claimed

Conall as a founding ancestor, which could provide explanations as to why certain locations are consistently associated with his character. The Irish Folklore Commission’s archives may also have some details about Conall Cernach that have thus-far been overlooked.

~~493 O’Flaherty, 1793: 165.~~

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