1. CU CHULAINN (Lectures 25-27)

2. Cú Chulainn Pattern BIRTH Mixed Status
(a) Conchobar follows birds to house at Bruig na Boinde, in which child and colts are born. Deichtine nurses infant, who later dies; house disappears.
(b) Deichtine swallows homunculus (=Lugh?) while drinking water before marrying Sualtam. She crushes fetus. Sualtam impregnates her, and she gives birth to Sétanta
(c) Deichtine + Lugh on magic mound of Oengus Óc. (Contemporaneous birth of two colts.) 
(d) Deichtine raped by brother/father Conchobar, or visited by Lugh.

3. Cú Chulainn Pattern CHILDHOOD Signs of Election appearance
defeat of 50 Ulaid boys at hurley
onset of riastrad
wrestling-match with corpse
rescue of Conchobar after battle
defeat of man (giant?) cooking boar
defeat of hound of Culann
druidic prophecies
defeat of sons of Nectan Scéne 
attack on Emain Macha averted by nudity
immersion in three vats of water

4. Cú Chulainn Pattern DEPARTURE ___________________ Exploits
________________________________________
beheading contest with giant Cú Roí
murder of son Connla
journey to Otherworld
single-handedly defends Ulaid against army from Connacht (Táin Bó Cuailnge = Cattleraid of Cooley)
defeat of one-eyed giant Goll mac Carbada
defeat of Cailitin and 27 children

5. gessa Cú Chulainn Connla stop all trespass refuse no hospitality
eat no dog meat
yield to no one
refuse no combat
conceal name

6. Wasting Sickness of Cú Chulainn
(1) Strange birds alight at Emain Macha on Samhain. (2) Cú Chulainn catches a pair for each Ulaid woman. (3) Birds charm Cú Chulainn asleep at a pillar-stone. (4) In a vision, he is whipped by two women, one dressed in red, the other in green. (5) Cú Chulainn remains asleep for one year. (6) Oengus offers Cú Chulainn a cure if he will descend into the sidh to fight. (7) Cú Chulainn descends, defeats underworld enemies. (8) Cú Chulainn marries Fand, wife of Manannan mac Lir. (10) Cú Chulainn returns/awakes, after promising to meet Fand next Samhain. (11) Emer and Fand challenge each other for love of Cú Chulainn. (12) Manannan mac Lir administers a potion of forgetfulness.

7. Synopsis of Táin
(1) Conchobar mac Nessa becomes king of Ulaid. (2) Crunniuc boasts that even though pregnant, his wife Macha can outrun Conchobor's horses. (3) She wins, but then dies as she delivers twins and the curse of the noínden. (4) Cú Chulainn born. (5) Cú Chulainn trained by Scáthach. (6) Cú Chulainn kills his own son Connla. (7) Queen Medb of Connaught invades Ulaid to steal the finest bull in Ireland. (8) The Ulaid men are stricken with the noínden. (9) Cú Chulainn single-handedly defends Ulaid against Connaught’s best men. (10) Cú Chulainn fights and kills his foster-brother Ferdiad. (11) Cú Chulainn successfully beats back army of Connaught.

8. Death of Ferdiad
(1) Ferdiad and Cú Chulainn evenly matched: Ferdiad covered with impenetrable bone armor/skin; Cú Chulainn armed with gae Bolga, which pierces everything. (2) Ferdiad shamed into fighting Cú Chulainn, and vice-versa. (3) Ferdiad and Cú Chulainn fight chivalrous duels on three days. (4) Cú Chulainn kills Ferdiad with gae Bolga. (5) Cú Chulainn mourns death of Ferdiad.

9. Cú Chulainn
older male/father
penetrating weapon
Connla
younger male/son
Ferdiad
age mate/brother
impenetrable armor/skin

10. Death of Cú Chulainn
(1) Cú Chulainn kills Fomoire Cailitin (body merged with that of 27 sons) (2) Wife of Cailitin bears 3 daughters and 3 sons. (3) Medb mutilates children (one arm, one leg, one eye) and trains them in druidic magic for 17 years. (4) 3 hags offer Cú Chulainn meal of dog meat; hand that touches it withers. (5) Lugaid mac con Roí tricks Cú Chulainn into giving up his weapons by calling him uncharitable. (6) Wounded Cú Chulainn ties himself to pillar-stone. (7) Lugaid mac con Roí beheads Cú Chulainn to avenge death of Cú Roi. (8) Conall Cernach beheads Lugaid mac con Roí to avenge death of Cú Chulainn.