LA FOTOSÍNTESIS

It is clear from the preceding discussions that sport and games play a pivotal role in the hero‟s early education and martial learning. Cú Chulainn, as the archetypal warrior hero, displays unequalled skill and dexterity with his „toys‟ at such a tender age that his future as an exceptional warrior-hero appears pre-destined. This section examines the transitions that „toys‟ make from the play setting of games and pastimes to the more serious arenas of organised martial learning, self-protection and, finally, war. Implements such as the hurley stick and ball, the javelin and the spear can be seen to occupy a situational relevance and „transition‟ to take on new meanings and possibilities as circumstances change from the benign (a way to amuse oneself on a long journey) to the more malignant (as a tool of combat). Additionally, items which are traditionally called weapons such as the sword, javelin and sling shot, can be seen to be used in situations of play and games. This section, then, is primarily concerned with the fluidity of these „toys‟ and weapons as implements of games, skill learning, martial training and combat.

690 _{Binchy suggests that the categories of „fair play‟ and „foul play‟ in Mellbretha turn on the character}

of the game and the circumstances in which it was played rather than the actual conduct of the players. See Binchy, Mellbretha, p. 151. This, however, could be a direct function of the tract‟s legal nature rather than recognition of the spirit in which the games are actually played. O‟Leary‟s suggestion, however, that there is a fledgling internalised ethical system evident in the actions of the Ulster heroes would suggest that there may have been some concern about the conduct of participants in single combat in the early Irish tales but that by the time of the Mellbretha, there had been some influence by Christianity on ethical development in Ireland. See O‟Leary, „Fír fer: An Internalised Ethical Concept in Early Irish Literature?‟, pp. 13-14.

Ultimately the implements used in sport, recreations and in war in the Irish Ulster tales have multiple meanings. They have meanings which are related variously to the display of skill, warrior education, and the determination of status and prestige, and, indeed, the implements form part of the defining features of the warrior in the tales. A warrior who is unarmed (and this seems to be a loose definition since the weapons and playthings can be interchangeable) is no warrior at all. In the tales, a woman carrying arms can be considered to be „like a man‟ and therefore able to be treated like any other armed male.691 An unarmed male can likewise be considered in a sense as „like a woman‟ and can therefore be treated like one.692

There are very few examples of weapons or implements used in war or combat in the Ulster tales which are not also the principal tool in a game or related training activity. The implements, while they may be utilised for a game or training purposes, are also intimately bound up in the meanings of warrior and hero. Susan Schultz Kleine, discussing the connections of individuals to their possessions, suggests that „[we] often use material goods for not only utilitarian purposes, but also to stand for personal meaning‟.693

According to Dickson, „a warrior is, by definition, one who is armed‟. Dickson uses the example of Laeg‟s warning to Cú Chulainn as he is about to meet unarmed with Medb to discuss a truce. The charioteer warns Cú Chulainn not to go unarmed because a „warrior without his weapons is not under warrior‟s law; he is treated under the rule for cowards‟.694

As Dickson suggests „Not only is a weaponless man visibly not a warrior, his social role becomes that of a coward, placing him on the bottom rungs of social hierarchy‟.695

Cú Chulainn and other warriors, it seems, are defined by the tools of their trade. What, then, is one to make of the warrior who possesses such weapons but also utilises sporting implements as weapons? Cú Chulainn is perhaps an anomaly in this respect as his actions with sporting implements wielded as weapons is not seen in the repertoire of the adult martial heroes. Cú Chulainn seems to wield these „weapons‟ as a clear indication of

691 _{For a discussion on gender shifting in the Ulster Cycle tales see Chapter Eight.} 692

Dickson notes that both men and women are „feminised‟ when they are separated from their weapons as they are then transformed from a „powerful‟ to a „powerless‟ position. Dickson, „Armed and Dangerous: The Virago in Early Irish Literature‟, p. 33.

693 _{Susan Schultz Kleine „Possessions‟, in Peter Earl and Simon Kemp (eds), The Elgar Companion to} Consumer Research and Economic Psychology (Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 1999), p. 458.

694

Kinsella, The Táin, p. 138.

his exceptional (and youthful) abilities. In this sense, Cú Chulainn does not outgrow his „toys‟ despite being engaged in very „adult‟ encounters. Cú Chulainn simply employs them in a different manner, one which satisfies both his image as a child/youth (by virtue of these being „playthings‟) and as a warrior (by being effectively lethal).

The appropriate „tools of the trade‟ were essential to both the warrior‟s ability to portray the idea of a hero and indeed to perform the necessary deeds aligned to his (or occasionally her) profession. The warrior‟s combat equipment cache was extensive as there is evidence that Cú Chulainn and others utilised a number of different weapons in combat and in training. According to Ettlinger, regulations were observed in relation to the forging of important weapons and the „taking up of arms‟ of the hero. „Lucky days and hours‟ were pronounced and weapons forged or heroes who took arms on those days would be doing so under auspicious conditions.696

The combat equipment also acquired „personification‟ and had individual meaning according to their decorations.697 Weapons acquired individual significance by receiving a name. The name was usually adjectival and expressed the function of the weapon. At this point, some weapons began to take on aspects of a personality. In this context, weapons seem to be spoken of as if they have human emotions and desires. Ettlinger suggests that some weapons are perceived in the tales as „sharing the excitement and impatience of their owner before the battle or as taking direct part in the struggle‟.698

Such weapons are also endowed with the ability to prophesise. Ettlinger cites the tale „The Destruction at Da Derga‟s Hostel‟ (Mythological Cycle) by way of example, suggesting that it was taken to „forebode evil when spears and shields cried out and fell from their racks‟.699

Shields, in particular, had an alternate function. Instead of predicting evil, they were able to call together all available help for a hero in dire need by way of what Ettlinger describes as a „shield-moan‟. In the tale „The Tragic Death

696 _{Ellen Ettlinger, „Magic Weapons in Celtic Legends‟, Folklore, Vol. 56, No. 3 (September 1945), p.}

300.

697 _{Ettlinger, „Magic Weapons in Celtic Legends‟, pp. 300-1.} 698

Ettlinger, „Magic Weapons in Celtic Legends‟, p. 301.

of the Sons of Uisnech‟, King Conchobar‟s son Fiacha, using Conchobar‟s weapons, takes cover underneath the shield „and the shield roared at the greatness of the need wherein he lay‟.700

The tale „The Boyhood Deeds of Cú Chulainn‟ also shows evidence of the practice of „naming‟ important weapons (or at least the weapons of important people). Cú Chulainn, predicting how the combat with Tuarchall will transpire, explains how he will use King Conchobar‟s weapons. Cú Chulainn states what he plans to do to his foe thus: „I will take in my hand Conchobar‟s great spear, the Venomous; it shall pierce the shield over his breast and, after holing the heart within him, shall break three ribs in his side that is the farthest from me‟.701

The naming of implements is seen in sport as well, both in ancient and modern times. For instance, the staves of top class experts in the ancient art of Silambam fencing in India were given distinctive names. According to Raj, the name of the staff is „usually proclaimed in the body of a couplet or some doggerel rhyme‟.702

Raj also suggests that it is considered necessary to know the name of the opponent‟s staff as the name often indicated the composition, pliability, strength and other properties of the staff that might prove critical to defending oneself against strikes. Raj notes that at the beginning of contests the combatants „would eulogise the exploits of their staves in previous contests one after another, each thus trying to boost up his morale‟.703

Anne Ross notes a similarity between the naming of weapons and the naming of some

fidchell boards. In particular, Ross suggests that the naming of weapons and chessboards alike indicated that these objects are accredited with supernatural powers and qualities.704 These qualities are clearly reflected in the names given to the objects. In the tale „The Kingship of Ulster‟, Conchobar is said to have three houses,

Craebruad, the Red Branch, Tete Brec, the Twinkling Hoard and Craebderg, the

700 _{Ettlinger, „Magic Weapons in Celtic Legends‟, p. 302.}

701 _{Cross and Slover, „The Boyhood Deeds of Cú Chulainn‟, p. 149.}

702 _{Raj cited in Raj, „The Origin and the Historical Development of Silambam Fencing‟, p. 94.} 703

Raj cited in Raj, „The Origin and the Historical Development of Silambam Fencing‟, p. 94.

Ruddy Branch. It was at Tete Brec that all the weapons were kept. According to the tale:

[a]ll the javelins and shields and swords were kept [there]… the place twinkled with the gold of sword- hilts and the gold and silver glimmering on the necks and coils of grey javelins, on shield-plates and shield- rims, and in the sets of goblets, cups and drinking-horns.705

Significantly, the tale goes on to describe the individual weapons that were held at

Tete Brec. The following is a list of some of these weapons and the personalised names that each have been given: there was Ochain, „the ear of beauty‟ which was

Conchobar‟s shield; other shields there are called, Duban, „black shield‟, Comla Catha, „the door of battle‟ and Lamthapad, „swift to hand‟. The various swords were

called Coscrach, „triumphant‟, Echtach, „death-dealing‟, Ir, „angry‟, Nithach, „the

wounder‟, and Cainnel „a bright torch‟.706

The importance of such weapons to a warrior society is clear in the way these weapons are treated. They are kept safe in the king‟s house, decorated lavishly in precious metals with fine handiwork, and given individual names. The names themselves are interesting too, in that they show their use as offensive, as in the case of the sword „the wounder‟, or as defensive weapons, such as the shield, „the door of battle‟.707

According to Sayers, shields had edges that could be sharpened and they may also have been used as offensive weapons. For example, Sayers notes in „The Cattle Raid of Cooley‟, that „[w]hen the warrior did the „edge-feat‟ with it (his sharp- edged sword), he would cut alike with his shield or his spear or his sword‟.708

Kleine indicates that „[we] use material possessions of attachment for defining ourselves, who we are, who we are not, who we are becoming; also who we are

705 _{Kinsella, The Táin, p. 5.} 706

Kinsella, The Táin, p. 5. Iron weapons in a bronze age may go part way to explaining the depiction of weapons as shining with extraordinary brightness. Such weapons have been claimed to be the „lightning attributes of divine beings‟ although Ettlinger proposes that such an exaggerated description may be the result of the sight of arms that were brighter than any other. See Ettlinger, „Magic Weapons in Celtic Legends‟, p. 298.

707 _{This practice of naming lethal weapons may have an unusual parallel in modern sport where violent}

names are adopted by or imposed upon certain athletes. Examples include gridiron and ice hockey players with violent names such as „the enforcer‟ and „the hurricane‟. This practice may be likened to the naming of weapons in these sports and/or field positions as the players‟ bodies themselves can be metaphorically (or literally) weapons.

connected with and who we are as unique individuals‟.709 Cú Chulainn is defined by his relationship to and with the weapon the gae bolga. All of Cú Chulainn‟s other

skills and implements are possessed also by others (warriors, teachers, kings and so on). These other warriors, teachers and kings certainly may not possess all these things at once but they are at least connected with certain feats, skills, and even taboos. Cú Chulainn alone, however, wields the special weapon the gae bolga. His request to Aife to leave Connla‟s instruction of the gae bolga to him connects the father and the son in a special way. Cú Chulainn as the sole possessor of the weapon, a possession which is intimately connected with his identity, is likely to be altered once Connla is taught to use it. Connla, by all accounts, is destined to surpass his father. The fact that Connla is killed early in his life puts an end to that possibility. Moreover, the fact that Cú Chulainn is the one who ends up slaying his own child with that weapon is both tragically poetic and telling in terms of the symbolic significance of the gae bolga and its relationship to the position of supreme warrior.

Kleine also suggests that „special possessions facilitate self-continuity (by connecting to past, present and future self) and self-change (disconnect from past by dispossessing a possession that represents something one wishes to leave behind)‟.710

In death, the link between Cú Chulainn and the gae bolga is not severed (possibly if it had been the cause of his death, either accidentally or purposely, the link may have been severed). Cú Chulainn‟s fate is sealed as he transgresses his taboos but in death, as in life, the warrior maintains that symbolic (if not literal) link between identity and possession of that special weapon.