The Coming of Cuculain Read online

  CHAPTER XIV

  THE KNIGHTING OF CUCULAIN

  "Then felt I like a watcher of the skies When a new planet swims into his ken."

  KEATS.

  The prophecies concerning the coming of some extraordinary warrioramongst the Red Branch had been many and ancient, and by certain signsConcobar believed that his time was now near. Often he contemplated hisnephew, observed his beauty, his strength, and his unusual proficiencyin all martial exercises, and mused deeply considering the omens. Butwhen he saw him slinging and charioteering amongst the rest, shootingspears and casting battle-stones at a mark before the palace upon thelawn, and saw him eating and drinking before him nightly in the halllike another, and heard his clear voice and laughter amongst the boys,his schoolfellows and comrades, then the thought or the faint surmise orwish that his nephew might be that promised one passed out of his mind,for the prophesyings and the rumours had been very great, and menlooked for one who should resemble Lu the Long-Handed, son of Ethlend,[Footnote: This great deity resembled the Greek Phoebus Apollo. He ledthe rebellion of the gods against the Fomorian giants who had previouslyreduced them to a condition of intolerable slavery. Some say that he wasCuculain's true father. His favourite weapon was the sling, likened hereto the rainbow. It was not a thong or cord sling, but a pliant rod suchas boys in Ireland still make. The milky way was his chain.] whose slingwas like the cloud bow, who thundered and lightened against the giantsof the Fomoroh, who was all power and all skill, whose chain wherewithhe used to confine Tuatha De Danan and Milesians, spanned the midnightsky. The rumours and prophecies were indeed exceeding great andCuculain, though he far surpassed the rest, was but a boy like others.He stood at the head of Concobar's horses when the King ascended hischariot. His shoulder was warm and firm to the touch when the Kinglightly laid his hand upon him.

  One night there were terrible portents. All Ireland quaked; there wasa druidic storm under bright stars; the buildings rocked; a brazenclangour sounded from the Tec Brac; there were mighty tramplings andcries and a four-footed thunder of giant hoofs, and they went roundIreland three times, only the third time swifter and like a hurricaneof sound. Cuculain was abroad that night. There was deep sleep upon thepeople of Emain, only the chiefs were awake and aware. Cuculain was sickafter that. The Druids stood around his bed.

  "The world labours with the new birth," said Concobar. "Maybe my nephewis the forerunner, the herald and announcer of the coming god!"

  One evening, after supper, when the lad came to bid his uncle good-nightas his custom was, he said, "If it be pleasing to thee, my UncleConcobar, I would be knighted on the morrow, for I am now of due age,and owing to the instructions of my tutor, Fergus Mac Roy, and thyself,and my other teachers and instructors, I am thought to be sufficientlyversed in martial exercises, and able to play a man's part amongst theRed Branch."

  He was now a man's full height, but his face was a boy's face, and hisstrength and agility amazed all who observed him in his exercises.

  "Has thou heard what Cathvah has predicted concerning the youth who isknighted on that day?" said the King.

  "Yes," answered the lad.

  "That he will be famous and short-lived and unhappy?"

  "Truly," he replied.

  "And doth thy purpose still hold?"

  "Yes," he answered, "but whether it be mine I cannot tell."

  Concobar, though unwilling, yielded to that request.

  Loegairey, the Victorious, son of Conud, son of Iliach, the second bestknight of the Red Branch and the most devoted to poetry of them allcame that night into the hall while the rest slumbered. The candleswere flickering in their sockets. Darkness invested the rest of the vasthollow-sounding chamber, but there was light around the throne and couchof the King, owing to the splendour of the pillars and of the canopyshining with bronze, white and red, and silver and gold, and glitteringwith carbuncles and diamonds, and owing to the light which alwayssurrounded the King and encircled his regal head like a luminous cloud,seen by many. He was looking straight out before him with bright eyes,considering and consulting for the Red Branch while they slept. Twogreat men having their swords drawn in their hands, stood behind him, onthe right and on the left, like statues, motionless and silent.

  Loegairey drew nigh to the King. Distraction and amazement were in hisface. His dense and lustrous hair was dishevelled and in agitation roundhis neck and huge shoulders. He held in his hand two long spears withrings of walrus tooth where the timber met the shank of the flashingblades; they trembled in his hand. His lips were dry, his voice verylow.

  "There are horses in the stable of Macha," he said.

  "I know it," answered the King.

  Concobar called for water, and when he had washed his hands and hisface, he took from its place the chess-board of the realm, arranged themen, and observed their movements and combinations. He closed the boardand put the men in their net of bronze wire, and restored all to theirplace.

  "Great things will happen on the morrow, O grandson of Iliach," he said."Take candles and go before me to the boys' dormitory."

  They went to the boys' dormitory and to the couch of Cuculain. Cuculainand Laeg were asleep together there. Their faces towards each other andtheir hair mingled together. Cuculain's face was very tranquil, and hisbreathing inaudible, like an infant's.

  "O sweet and serene face," murmured the King, "I see great clouds ofsorrow coming upon you."

  They returned to the hall.

  "Go now to thy rest and thy slumber, O Loegairey," said the King. "Whenthe curse of Macha descends upon us I know one who will withstand it."

  "Surely it is not that stripling?" said Loegairey. But the King made noanswer.

  On the morrow there was a great hosting of the Red Branch on the plainof the Assemblies. It was May-Day morning and the sun shone brightly,but at first through radiant showers. The trees were putting forth youngbuds; the wet grass sparkled. All the martial pomp and glory of theUltonians were exhibited that day. Their chariots and war-horses ringedthe plain. All the horses' heads were turned towards the centre wherewere Concobar Mac Nessa and the chiefs of the Red Branch. The plainflashed with gold, bronze, and steel, and glowed with the bright mantlesof the innumerable heroes, crimson and scarlet, blue, green, or purple.The huge brooches on their breasts of gold and silver or gold-likebronze, were like resplendent wheels. Their long hair, yellow for themost part, was bound with ornaments of gold. Great, truly, were thosemen, their like has not come since upon the earth. They were the heroesand demigods of the heroic age of Erin, champions who feared noughtbeneath the sun, mightiest among the mighty, huge, proud, andunconquerable, and loyal and affectionate beyond all others; all ofthe blood of Ir, [Footnote: On account of their descent from Ir, son ofMilesius, the Red Branch were also called the Irians.] son of Milesius,the Clanna Rury of great renown, rejoicing in their valour, theirsplendour, their fame and their peerless king. Concobar had no crown. Aplain circle of beaten gold girt his broad temples. In the naked gloryof his regal manhood he stood there before them all, but even so astranger would have swiftly discovered the captain of the RedBranch, such was his stature, his bearing, such his slowly-turning,steady-gazing eyes and the majesty of his bearded countenance. Hiscountenance was long, broad above and narrow below, his nose eminent,his beard bipartite, curling and auburn in hue, his form without anyblemish or imperfection.

  Cuculain came forth from the palace. He wore that day a short mantle ofpale-red silk bordered with white thread and fastened on the breastwith a small brooch like a wheel of silver. The hues upon that silk werenever the same. His tunic of fine linen was girt at the waist with aleathern zone, stained to the resemblance of the wild-briar rose. Itdescended to but did not pass his beautiful knees, falling into manyplaits. The tunic was cut low at the neck, exposing his throat and theknot in the throat and the cup-shaped indentation above the breast. Onhis feet were comely shoes sparkling with bronze plates. They took thecolour of everything which they appr
oached. His hair fell in many curlsover the pale-red mantle, without adornment or confinement. It was thecolour of the flower which is named after the dearest Disciple, butwhich was called sovarchey by the Gael. A tinge of red ran through thegold. As to his eyes, no two men or women could agree concerning theircolour, for some said they were blue, and some grey, and others hazel;and there were those who said that they were blacker than the blackestnight that was ever known. Yet again, there were those who said thatthey were of all colours named and nameless. They were soft and liquidsplendours, unfathomable lakes of light above his full and ruddycheeks, and beneath his curved and most tranquil brows. In form he wassymmetrical, straight and pliant as a young fir tree when the sweetspring sap fills its veins. So he came to that assembly, in the glory ofyouth, beauty, strength, valour, and beautiful shame-fastness, yet proudin his humility and glittering like the morning star. Choice youths, hiscomrades, attended him. The kings held their breaths when he drew nigh,moving white knee after white knee over the green and sparkling grass.When the other rites had been performed and the due sacrifices andlibations made, and after Cuculain had put his right hand into the righthand of the King and become his man, Concobar gave him a shield,two spears and a sword, weapons of great price and of thrice provedexcellence--a strong man's equipment. Cuculain struck the spearstogether at right angles and broke them. He clashed the sword flat-wiseon the shield. The sword leaped into small pieces and the shield wasbent inwards and torn.

  "These are not good weapons, my King," said the boy. Then the King gavehim others, larger and stronger and worthy of his best champions. These,too, the boy broke into pieces in like manner.

  "Son of Nessa, these are still worse," he said, "nor is it well done, OCaptain of the Red Branch, to make me a laughing-stock in the presenceof this great hosting of the Ultonians."

  Concobar Mac Nessa exulted exceedingly when he beheld the amazingstrength and the waywardness of the boy, and beneath delicate brows hiseyes glittered like glittering swords as he glanced proudly round onthe crowd of martial men that surrounded him. Amongst them all he seemedhimself a bright torch of valour and war, more pure and clear thanpolished steel. He then beckoned to one of his knights, who hastenedaway and returned bringing Concobar's own shield and spears and swordout of the Tec Brac, where they were kept, an equipment in reserve. AndCuculain shook them and bent them and clashed them together, but theyheld firm.

  "These are good arms, O son of Nessa," said Cuculain.

  "Choose now thy charioteer," said the King, "for I will give thee alsowar-horses and a chariot."

  He caused to pass before Cuculain all the boys who in many and severetests had proved their proficiency in charioteering, in the managementand tending of steeds, in the care of weapons and steed-harness, andall that related to charioteering science. Amongst them was Laeg, witha pale face and dejected, his eyes red and his cheeks stained from muchweeping. Cuculain laughed when he saw him, and called him forth fromthe rest, naming him by his name with a loud, clear voice, heard to theutmost limit of the great host.

  "There was fear upon thee," said Cuculain.

  "There is fear upon thyself," answered Laeg. "It was in thy mind that Iwould refuse."

  "Nay, there is no such fear upon me," said Cuculain.

  "Then there is fear upon me," said Laeg. "A charioteer needs a championwho is stout and a valiant and faithful. Yea, truly there is fear uponme," answered Laeg.

  "Verily, dear comrade and bed-fellow," answered Cuculain, "it is throughme that thou shalt get thy death-wound, and I say not this as a vaunt,but as a prophecy."

  And that prophecy was fulfilled, for the spear that slew Laeg wentthrough his master.

  After that Laeg stood by Cuculain's side and held his peace, but hisface shone with excess of joy and pride. He wore a light graceful frockof deerskin, joined in the front with a twine of bronze wire, and ashort, dark-red cape, secured by a pin of gold with a ring to it. A bandof gold thread confined his auburn hair, rising into a peak behind hishead. In his hands he held a goad of polished red-yew, furnished witha crooked hand-grip of gold, and pointed with shining bronze, and wherethe bronze met the timber there was a circlet of diamond of the diamondsof Banba. He had also a short-handled scourge with a haft of walrustooth, and the rope, cord, and lash of that scourge were made ofdelicate and delicately-twisted thread of copper. This equipment was theequipment of a proved charioteer; the apprentices wore only grey capeswith white fringes, fastened by loops of red cord.

  Laeg was one of three brothers, all famous charioteers. Id and Sheelingwere the others. They were all three sons of the King of Gabra, whosebright dun arose upon a green and sloping hill over against Taratowards the rising of the sun. Thence sprang the beautiful stream of theNemnich, rich in lilies and reeds and bulrushes, which to-day men callthe Nanny Water. Laeg was grey-eyed and freckled.

  Then there were led forward by two strong knights a pair of great andspirited horses and a splendid war-car. The King said, "They arethine, dear nephew. Well I know that neither thou, nor Laeg, will be adishonour to this war equipage."

  Cuculain sprang into the car, and standing with legs apart, he stampedfrom side to side and shook the car mightily, till the axle brake, andthe car itself was broken in pieces.

  "It is not a good chariot," said the lad.

  Another was led forward, and he broke it in like manner.

  "Give me a sound chariot, High Lord of the Clanna Rury, or give menone," he said. "No prudent warrior would fight from such brittlefoothold."

  He brake in succession nine war chariots, the greatest and strongest inEmain. When he broke the ninth the horses of Macha neighed from theirstable. Great fear fell upon the host when they heard that unusual noiseand the reverberation of it in the woods and hills.

  "Let those horses be harnessed to the Chariot of Macha," cried Concobar,"and let Laeg, son of the King of Gabra, drive them hither, for thoseare the horses and that the chariot which shall be given this day toCuculain."

  Then, son of Sualtam, how in thy guileless breast thy heart leaped, whenthou heardest the thundering of the great war-car and the wild neighingof the immortal steeds, as they broke from the dark stable into theclear-shining light of day, and heard behind them the ancient roaringof the brazen wheels as in the days when they bore forth Macha and hermartial groom against the giants of old, and mightily established inEiriu the Red Branch of the Ultonians! Soon they rushed to view fromthe rear of Emain, speeding forth impetuously out of the hollow-soundingways of the city and the echoing palaces into the open, and behind themin the great car green and gold, above the many-twinkling wheels, thecharioteer, with floating mantle, girt round the temples with the goldfillet of his office, leaning backwards and sideways as he labouredto restrain their fury unrestrainable; a grey long-maned steed,whale-bellied, broad-chested, with mane like flying foam, under onesilver yoke, and a black lustrous, tufty-maned steed under the other,such steeds as in power, size, and beauty the earth never producedbefore and never will produce again.

  Like a hawk swooping along the face of a cliff when the wind is high, orlike the rush of March wind over the smooth plain, or like the fleetnessof the stag roused from his lair by the hounds and covering his firstfield, was the rush of those steeds when they had broken through therestraint of the charioteer, as though they galloped over fiery flags,so that the earth shook and trembled with the velocity of their motion,and all the time the great car brayed and shrieked as the wheelsof solid and glittering bronze went round, and strange cries andexclamations were heard, for they were demons that had their abode inthat car.

  The charioteer restrained the steeds before the assembly, butnay-the-less a deep purr, like the purr of a tiger, proceeded from theaxle. Then the whole assembly lifted up their voices and shouted forCuculain, and he himself, Cuculain, the son of Sualtam, sprang intohis chariot, all armed, with a cry as of a warrior springing into hischariot in the battle, and he stood erect and brandished his spears, andthe war sprites of the Gael shouted along with h
im, for the Bocanahs andBananahs and the Geniti Glindi, the wild people of the glens, and thedemons of the air, roared around him, when first the great warrior ofthe Gael, his battle-arms in his hands, stood equipped for war in hischariot before all the warriors of his tribe, the kings of the ClannaRury and the people of Emain Macha. Then, too, there sounded from theTec Brac the boom of shields, and the clashing of swords and the criesand shouting of the Tuatha De Danan, who dwelt there perpetually; and Luthe Long-Handed, the slayer of Balor, the destroyer of the Fomoroh, theimmortal, the invisible, the maker and decorator of the Firmament, whosehound was the sun and whose son the viewless wind, thundered from heavenand bent his sling five-hued against the clouds; and the son of theillimitable Lir [Footnote: Mananan mac Lir, the sea-god.] in his mantleblue and green, foam-fringed passed through the assembly with a roar offar-off innumerable waters, and the Mor Reega stood in the midst with afoot on either side of the plain, and shouted with the shout of a host,so that the Ultonians fell down like reaped grass with their faces tothe earth, on account of the presence of the Mor Reega, and on accountof the omens and great signs.

  Cuculain bade Laeg let the steeds go. They went like a storm and threetimes encircled Emain Macha. It was the custom of the Ultonians to marchthrice round Emain ere they went forth to war.

  Then said Cuculain--"Whither leads the great road yonder?"

  "To Ath-na-Forairey and the borders of the Crave Rue."

  "And wherefore is it called the Ford of the Watchings?" said Cuculain.

  "Because," answered Laeg, "there is always one of the King's knightsthere, keeping watch and ward over the gate of the province."

  "Guide thither the horses," said Cuculain, "for I will not lay aside myarms till I have first reddened them in the blood of the enemies of mynation. Who is it that is over the ward there this day?"

  "It is Conall Carnach," said Laeg.

  As they drew nigh to the ford, the watchman from his high watch-tower onthe west side of the dun sent forth a loud and clear voice--

  "There is a chariot coming to us from Emain Macha," he said. "Thechariot is of great size; I have not seen its like in all Eiriu. Infront of it are two horses, one black and one white. Great is theirtrampling and their glory and the shaking of their heads and necks.I liken their progress to the fall of water from a high cliff or thesweeping of dust and beech-tree leaves over a plain, when the March windblows hard, or to the rapidity of thunder rattling over the firmament. Aman would say that there were eight legs under each horse, so rapid andindistinguishable is the motion of their limbs and hoofs. Identify thosehorses, O Conall, and that chariot, for to me they are unknown."

  "And to me likewise," said Conall. "Who are in the chariot? Moderate, Oman, the extravagance of thy language, for thou art not a prophet but awatchman."

  "There are two beardless youths in the chariot," answered the watchman,"but I am unable to identify them on account of the dust and the rapidmotion and the steam of the horses. I think the charioteer is Laeg, theson of the King of Gabra, for I know his manner of driving. The boy whosits in front of him and below him on the champion's seat I do not know,but he shines like a star in the cloud of dust and steam." Then a youngman who stood near to Conall Carna, wearing a short, red cloak with ablue hood to it, and a tassel at the point of the hood, said to Conall--

  "If it be my brother that charioteers sure am I that it is Cuculain whois in the fighter's seat, for many a time have I heard Laeg utter foulscorn of the Red Branch, none excepted, when compared with Sualtam'sson. For no other than him would he deign to charioteer. Truly though heis my own brother there is not such a boaster in the North."

  Then the watchman cried out again--

  "Yea, the charioteer is the son of the King of Gabra, and it isCuculain, the son of Sualtam, who sits in the fighter's seat. He hasConcobar's own shield on his breast, and his two spears in his hand.Over Bray Ros, over Brainia, they are coming along the highway, by thefoot of the Town of the Tree; it is gifted with victories."

  "Have done, O talkative man," cried Conall, "whose words are like thewords of a seer, or the full-voiced intonement of a chief bard."

  When the chariot came to the ford, Conall was amazed at the horses andthe chariot, but he dissembled his amazement before his people, and whenhe saw Cuculain armed, he laughed and said,--

  "Hath the boy indeed taken arms?"

  And Cuculain said, "It is as thou seest, O son of Amargin; and moreover,I have sworn not to let them back into the Chamber-of-Many-Colours[Footnote: Tec Brac or Speckled House, the armoury of the Ultonians.]until I shall have first reddened them in the blood of the enemies ofUlla."

  Then Conall ceased laughing and said, "Not so, Setanta, for verily thoushalt not be permitted;" and the great Champion sprang forward to layhis fearless, never-foiled, and all conquering hands on the bridlesof the horses, but at a nod from Cuculain, Laeg let the steeds go, andConall sprang aside out of the way, so terrible was the appearance ofthe horses as they reared against him. "Harness my horses and yoke mychariot," cried Conall, "for if this mad boy goes into the enemies'country and meets with harm there, verily I shall never be forgiven bythe Ultonians."

  His horses were harnessed and his chariot yoked,--illustrious too werethose horses, named and famed in many songs--and Conall and Ide in theirchariot dashed through the ford enveloped with rainbow-painted cloudsof foam and spray, and like hawks on the wing they skimmed the plain,pursuing the boys. Laeg heard the roar and trampling, and looking backover his shoulder, said,--

  "They are after us, dear master, namely the great son of Amargin and myhaughty brother Ide, who hath ever borne himself to me as though I werea wayward child. They would spoil upon us this our brave foray. But theywill overtake the wind sooner than they will overtake the Liath Machaand Black Shanglan, whose going truly is like the going of eagles. Ostorm-footed steeds, great is my love for you, and inexpressible mypride in your might and your beauty, your speed and your terror, andsweet docility and affection."

  "Nevertheless, O Laeg," said Cuculain, "slacken now their going, forthat Champion will be an impediment to us in our challengings and ourfightings; for when we stop for that purpose he will overtake us, and,be our feats what they may, his and not ours will be the glory. Slackenthe going of the horses, for we must rid ourselves of the annoyance andthe pursuit of these gadflies."

  Laeg slackened the pace, and as they went Cuculain leaped lightly fromhis seat and as lightly bounded back again, holding a great pebble inhis hand, such as a man using all his strength could with difficultyraise from the ground, and sat still, rejoicing in his purpose, andgrasping the pebble with his five fingers.

  Conall and Ide came up to them after that, and Conall, as the senior andthe best man amongst the Ultonians, clamorously called to them to turnback straightway, or he would hough their horses, or draw the linch-pinsof their wheels, or in some other manner bring their foray to naught.Cuculain thereupon stood upright in the car, and so standing, with feetapart to steady him in his throwing and in his aim, dashed the stoneupon the yoke of Conall's chariot between the heads of the horses andbroke the yoke, so that the pole fell to the ground and the chariottilted forward violently. Then the charioteer fell amongst the horses,and Conall Carna, the beauty of the Ultonians the battle-winning andever-victorious son of Amargin, was shot out in front upon the road, andfell there upon his left shoulder, and his beautiful raiment was defiledwith dust; and when he arose his left hand hung by his side, for theshoulder-bone was driven from the socket, owing to the violence of thefall.

  "I swear by all my gods," he cried, "that if a step would save thy headfrom the hands of the men of Meath, I would not take it."

  Cuculain laughed and replied, "Good, O Conall, and who asked thee totake it, or craved of thee any succour or countenance? Was it a straightshot? Are there the materials of a fighter in me at all, dost thouthink? Thou art in my debt now too, O Conall. I have saved thee abroken vow, for it is one of the oaths of our Order not to enter hostileterritory with brittl
e chariot-gear!"

  Then the boys laughed at him again, and Laeg let go the steeds, andvery soon they were out of sight. Conall returned slowly with his brokenchariot to Ath-na-Forairey and sent for Fingin of Slieve Fuad, who wasthe most cunning physician and most expert of bone-setters amongst theUltonians. Conall's messengers experienced no difficulty in finding thehouse of the leech, which was very recognisable on account of its shapeand appearance, and because it had wide open doors, four in number,affording a liberal ingress and free thoroughfare to all the winds. Alsoa stream of pure water ran through the house, derived from a well ofhealing properties, which sprang from the side of the uninhabited hill.Such were the signs that showed the house of a leech.

  When they drew nigh they heard the voice of one man talking and ofanother who laughed. It happened that that day there had been bornethither a champion, in whose body there was not one small bone unbrokenor uninjured. The man's bruises and fractures had been dressed and setby Fingin and his intelligent and deft-handed apprentices, and he laynow in his bed of healing listening joyfully to the conversation ofthe leech, who was beyond all others eloquent and of most agreeablediscourse.

  When Conall's messengers related the reason of their coming, Fingincried to his young men, "Harness me my horses and yoke my chariot. Thereare few," he said, "in Erin for whom I would leave my own house, butthat youth is one of them. His father Amargin was well known to me. Hewas a warrior grim and dour exceedingly, and he ever said concerningthe boy, 'This hound's whelp that I have gotten is too fine and sleekto hold bloody gaps or hunt down a noble prey. He will be a women'splaymate and not a peer amongst Heroes.' And that fear was ever upon himtill the day when Conall came red out of the Valley of the Thrush, andhis track thence to Rath-Amargin was one straight path of blood, andhe with his shield-arm hacked to the bone, his sword-arm swollen andbursting, and the flame of his valour burning bright in his splendideyes. Then, for the first time, the old man smiled upon him, and hesaid, 'That arm, my son, has done a man's work to-day.'"