Morrigan: Bae, come over. Cuchulain: Sorry i'm busy soloing an entire army to protect my home. Morrigan: So, you have chosen death.

There's a lot to unpack here. Top down: The men of Ulster weren't cursed with sickness, they were cursed 'to suffer labor pains in their hour of need' by the goddess of the city, since the king had forced his wife to run a race while heavily pregnant. Cu Chulainn got a pass because of a loophole (Being a teenager, not yet a man), not because he was the son of a god. I'm sad you skipped over the days-long fight he had with his closest friend that he had trained with. It's heartbreaking and intense. The meat that he ate wasn't cursed, it was entirely non-magical dog meat. Cu Chulainn had taken a series of vows in exchange for more power and skill; one of those vows was to never eat dog meat. Over the course of several days he was tricked into breaking each of the other vows in turn as well, so that all he had in the final day was his natural capability. When he died, none of the men around him could believe he was dead, so one of them finally approached him to check, at which point Cu Chulainn's sword swung down from the ready position he'd held it in, chopping off the man's hand.

"You don't just swipe left on a beautiful terrifying goddess of war and death." Gilgamesh: *you do* .

"He's pretty much irish hercules, Rin!"

Morrigan: *Falls in love with a demi god because they are currently single handedly protecting her land by dueling an entire army* Also Morrigan: *Kills said demi god because they where too busy single handedly protecting her land by dueling an entire army to date her*

"Realizing his folly, he died with a bitter laugh on his lips." That's the most Ulster thing I've ever heard, and my dad's from Fermanagh.

When Morrigan was human, she fell in love with and fell pregnant by a farmer. Because she was a goddess, and many-skilled, he couldn’t keep quiet about how awesome she was at everything. The king of Ulster tested out the farmers claims by making her run a race against his fastest horse. She won, but upon winning, began labour. Lying on the ground, she cursed the men of Ulster that they should be as weak as a woman in labour. Cuchullain escaped because he was a boy and not yet a man. His birth name was Setanta, but when he was small he defended himself against the fearsome hound of Colm the blacksmith, killing it with a ball. He vowed to protect Colm’s home until a pup grew to maturity, hence the title of Colm’s Dog (Cu Cullan). For more information, listen to The Táin by the Horslips

I know there was probably no time but did you have to leave out the fact that while tied to that stone he still killed anyone who attacked his body and the fact he tied himself to that stone with his own entrails

In some versions of this story cú chulainn was offered breakfast that he knew was dog meat but it’s he would have been cursed for eating dog meat or cursed for turning down hospitality both of which were sacred in Irish tradition, so he was caught in a catch 22

Wait this isn't Overly Sarcastic productions

7:01 "I see you dodged my undodgeable strike"

Imagine trying to kill somebody just because you got rejected

Usually I love how accurate these video are and the effort that goes into them but this episode got so much wrong, mispronounced the name of Cuchulain and even left out how in death he tied himself upright and proceeded to continue to slay the men of Connaught until finally he bled to death. Though he did die laughing at his cruel twist of fate at the hands of the Morrigan. I understand there are different versions of this story but this is something that almost every Irish person learns in primary school. Also the king's bull was white, which is important as it slays/ is slain by the brown bull of Cooley.

Morrigan looks like if my goth phase was a person

Good rule of thumb: never anger a war goddess. Or goddesses in general.

Not gonna lie, this feels like an oddly incomplete telling of this story. No mention of the payoff of the Morrigan's injuries, omission of the significance of dog meat, no mention of the duel with Ferdiad and several other aspects. Maybe I'm just too familiar with this story, but still, bit dissapointed nonetheless.

Scrolling down for them Fate/Stay Night references.

You really talked about Cú Chulainn without even a single mention of his Ríastrad? Not even a mention about why he's the dog of Chulainn?

He did not die like that he died killing more men but when he died the Morgan did land on his shoulder but before the queen could take his head he took her hand off

Isn’t it in some versions the army of ulster was forced by a goddess to suffer laybor pains in the hour need as revenge against the king who made her run a foot race against horses while pregnant with twins

I think the "cursed meat" was dog meat, which Cuchulainn was under geass (magical contract) on to consume.

Just to let you know, Cuchulainn is pronounced Coo-Cull-In. * flies away in irish *

Male god falls in love with you: Consent is not really an option. (Look at you, Zeus.) Female god falls in love with you: You are allowed to say no, but you will have horrible vengeance inflincted upon you. Pick your poison.

Cuchulainn: "You... Shall... Not... Pass!"

*Insert Fate references here*:

The Virgin Hercules THE CHAD CUCHULAINN

The same Queen Medb? Acourse have to deal with her army and some of us who played FGO know her.

Another version of the story is that she sent messengers and the owner of the bull agreed but the messengers got drunk at a feast with the owner and said that if he had not agreed they would have used military force and the bull owner insulted refused to sell the bull

So the cunning of the Morrigan is a little overlooked in here. The meat that was given to Cú Chulainn was not poisoned, it was dog meat. You see Irish deities often have a Geas, a Gaes is a kind of double edged sword, living by it gives you strength but breaking it can kill you. Cú Chulainn had two that the Morrigan abused here. He could not eat dog meat and he could not reject food offered by a woman. No matter what he did he was done for. As a side note pronunciation is normally closer to "coo" (the bird noise) and "cullin" like culling without the g. Though it does sound like you had trouble with this from the couple of audio snippets that I believe were the same. Fun episode all round, been wondering when you would get into Celtic mythos.

You took two parts of the Ulster Cycle and smashed them together.

Why does the mispronunciation of Cú Chullainn still annoy me so badly?

He’s basically Irish Hercules.

Huh, this is the first time I’ve see the Cattle Raid of Cooley crossed with his death. Usually that is told as one of his first triumphs not his downfall.

The emphasis in CuChulainn is on the “Chu” part, because it means “The Hound of Chulainn”, another of the men of Ulster whose guard dog CuChulainn had killed.

Interesting interpretation guys, well done! The tale of Cu Chulainn battling his foster-brother an close lifelong friend Ferdia during this saga never fails to break my ole heart. Could of done a video dedicated just to that sad clash.☘

If only that guy hadn't been so attached to his cow, this could all have been avoided.

I clicked on this video entirely to see how they'd butcher the names source: i passed that standing stone on the way to school for like 15 years

Don't forget the version of the story where he used a spear that he threw with his foot.

Oh no what have you done! You have brought them here!

The issue with the meat was Cu Chulainn was that it was dog meat. He had a two fold geas that he could not refuse hospitality, and that he could not eat dog meat.

Were these the same Ulstermen that were said to be cursed with labor pains? Edit: that is, their "illness" was that the men periodically experienced labor pains as their curse.

The "illness" the Ulster were suffering from is actually a lot more interesting and funny than is described here. They were suffering from labor pains. Not only that, it was something that happened yearly to all Ulter men after they repeatedly disrespected a completely different godess called Macha years prior. It also only lasted 5 days each year, not 9 like what was said. So... basically nothing like what was described here.

It has been a year or since I've last looked at this channel. The art and presentation has developed considerably!

The Ulstermen sickness didnt come from disrespectingthe Morrigan, it came from the King od Ulster forcing his wife, the goddess Macha in human guise, to outrun all the horses in a race because he was being goaded by his noblemen since he often boasted she could outrun any horse (which she normally could, goddess of horses and whatnot) but she was heavily pregnant this time, she was understandably miffed, ran anyway, won, gave birth on the track to twins or something, died, and placed a curse on Ulstermen. Which required Cuchalain's later intervention in the war with Connaught to save the province because he wasnt born in Ulster and thus spared the curse. Also he was the son of Lugh thrice conceived or something and a totally chad for disregarding thots that try to control him.

You forgot the best part where Cu chulainn held his sword up as he died so when the opposing forces went to collect his head his sword swung down and killed the first man to try and they all backed off after that

'A Witch of the Wilds, such idle fancies'

There's a lot wrong in this retelling, unfortunately. It's worth mentioning that the Mórrígan 'seducing' Cú Chullain was likely a revision thrown in when the person recording the story wasn't familiar with the Táin Bó Regamna, one of the pre-tales to the Táin Bó Cúailnge, and so inserted this to explain why she came after him in the forms she did. Also, It was Macha as a fairy-woman who cursed the Ulstermen with labor pains. She is generally considered one of the Mórrígna, but is also a separate goddess. He got out of it cause he was only 17 and not considered a man yet. The meat wasn't cursed, it was dog meat, he had oaths to not eat his namesake (dog) or refuse hospitality. The Mórrígan isn't associated with Morgan le Fay except in modern accounts. There are a lot better retellings out there, or you can read it yourself and get all the pieces that are missing.

The reason Cu Chulainn wasn't affected was that he was 17, and the men of Ulster were affected because the queen had cursed them that any person in the army above the age of 18 was affected.

Heck yeah, Gaelic mythos are awesome!

Far as I know Cu chulainn didnt die at the tain bo cuailnge, the whole thing is half right, bases from the stories I've heard his dad one of the tuatha de danan comes from the other world and puts him into a healing slumber. The other boys from the crann Rua took over from where cu chulainn left off, cu chulainn woke to find they all died. The curse only applied to men old enough to have hair on their chins because macha was furious that grown men couldn't stand up for a pregnant woman. The point was so they would loose their strength when they needed it most. Still bleak but that's Irish folklore for ya

Specifically, the meat he was offered was that of a dog, it was a violation of his geass, which stated he could not eat the flesh of dogs, or refuse food offered to him by a woman. Either way, he was screwed. From what I know of Irish mythology, one does not simply break their geass and live.

I've been waiting for a Cuchulainn episode. Thanks guys.

"Leonidas was such a wimp for needing 299 backups!"

I really love how supposed gods always come up with incredibly convoluted plans that often don't work

I"m so glad you finally did a video on this!

Another reason Cuchulin was unaffected because he couldn't grow a beard and so counted as a beardless boy (he was still pretty young) rather than a man or a warrior. The meat he was given was dog meat, which broke a geas that had been set upon him because was Cu Chulin the hound of Chulin and Ulster.

It's pronounced Coo-CHULL-inn, stress on the second syllable.

“Coo-ca-lin”. Yikes on bikes.

You missed out alot of details in this video, like how he got his name, how he became so strong, his weapon, his weird ability to turn into a monster, the king forcing his wife to run a race against a horse while pregnant and all the men getting cursed with labour pains in there hour of need forcing the children to fight. His battle with his best friend who he trained with, Him cutting a mans hand off even in death.

The way I heard it is that he tied himself up standing against that rock with his entrails to make Medb's army think he was still alive only for the Morrigan to render it moot by landing on his shoulder as a crow and pecking at his corpse signalling his death. Then, when the first of Medb's soldiers went to claim his head, his sword arm that had held up in his death, fell and chopped the soldier's head off. Now do Queen Medb next. Tell about how she used she used bed as a tool for power yet was viscous toward any man who disrespected her and how she was ultimately killed by a piece of cheese.

I can predict that the FGO players will come here.

When I was young, this was told as two separate stories, the bull of cooley, in which Cuchulainn would fight days and days in single combat against an old friend (and perhaps lover) and the death of cuchulainn at the hands of the morrigan.

Omg omg omg ty ty ty i have been wanting this one for sooooooo long now!

Fun fact : another story tells that the man of ulster could not fight because they had labor pains, but cu chulainn was 17 and so not a man yet. Fun fact 2 : the man ulster had labor because their queen was made to out ran horses while pregnant

I'm pretty sure it's pronounced Coo Culan, with a space between the words, since Cu Chullain means Chullain's Guard

2:21 Toxicity debuff : 9-Day Illness.

It's been a while but wasn't Cuchulainn usually armed with a magic barbed spear, not a sword? I dimly remember something about him throwing it by basically kicking it at his target.

I have been waiting for a new one :)

Oh god the pronunciation of the names, and I thought his Glasgow was bad...

Good telling... I heard it a bit different having lived in Ireland my whole life... Would love to tell you it the way I have heard it.... But that is a story for another time

I come from a very Irish family and lived in Ireland for a year I live these story's keep up the great work

"If you see a dark black raven fly overhead..." Son. I live in Fairbanks, ALASKA. That's like. 10 times a day...

My God he has a kill streak OVER 9000

Morrigan was not in the Witcher to my knowledge, she was in Dragon Age though.

Yo y'all neglected to mention how the army was so spooked by cuchulainn after all the fighting he did that, even after he died standing up, they still waited to make sure. And when someone finally got the balls enough to try and attack his corpse, cuchulainn's arm gave way with sword still in hand, and killed the guy. That's right this fucking dog is such a champ he kills people even when he's dead.

Don't think we forgot about your promise to do a video on the Morrigan's prophecy about the end of the world (at the end of the Celtic mythology saga about the children of the Danu) Please, please do that one

Dear god the pronunciations. You're butchering my language. But in all seriousness it'd be pretty cool if you did the wooing of Grainne. It's one of the best story's in our culture

While i'm watching fate/stay night 😂

So you've kind of left out the most badass parts of Cuchulainn's death. He didn't just tie himself to a rock with some rope but rather with his own fucking entrails. Also none of the enemy soldiers dared to approach him because they didn't think he was dead until they saw the Raven land on his shoulders. (Also I think he fell over his spear killing the dude who was checking up on him so not even dying could stop this guy^^)

The Morrigan: Bro, help me with the enemy team. Cu: Sorry, farming minions rn. The Morrigan: Reported

Wasn't the meat just dog which violated the geas he had that gave him his strength?

I read Morrigan and thought on my waifu from Dragon Age: Origins haha turns out she was probably inspired by this myth, being a shapeshifter and all.

2:25 "Illness"?!?! She made them experience childbirth pains! XD

The story was changed a bit, Maeb didn't ask to buy the bull, she sent a messanger asking to borrow it, the Ulster men accepted, but the messenger she sent got drunk and stated that if they had refused Connaught would have taken the bull by force, the Ulster men perceived this as an insult and refused to send the bull. Hence the war.

what version of the story did you source this episode from if I may ask?

While I may not know Cú Chullain's tale very well I know enough that A. You're pronouncing his name wrong and don't give the name's origin which is fairly important and B. That you missed out on fairly important details and you probably could've started with Setanta's (I'm using the og name on purpose) other accomplishments to give non Irish people more context for him.

There's also the point during this battle where he threw a spear through a combatant, but the combatant survived and was still able to walk around with the spear sticking clean through him. They agreed Cuchulainn had won the fight but he asked to go back to camp to show the other soldiers what had happened, because come on, that's just awesome. Cuchulainn agreed, yes, that was awesome, go show your friends, just come back tomorrow to die. The dude came back the next day trying to pull off a turn-around but of course Cuchulainn killed him properly this time.

Loved your videos! You guys are making really engaging videos and spreading knowledge. Kudos. When will you be doing a series on Indian history? It is really vast and interesting as well. Please do a series on ancient India !

I read different versions of this, including the ending, but nevertheless you out done yourselves.

*Insert Fate Lancer Memes*

As an irish man myself from what what I can remeber of the story the old women offered Cu Chulian dog meat and as part of some promises he made for his powers he couldnt refuse hospitality and he couldnt eat dog meat. So in the last part of his battle he had lost a lot of his powers. But he still continued to fight even when he strapped himself to the rock dying where he mannaged to killed a few more soilders and the rest stayed back until the crow landed on him and the knew Morrigan had killed him.

I love just how many different telling and versions of Irish mythology.

"He's basically Irish Hercules."

OK cool, but where's the warspasm?

so... did the Queen get her cow?

The dude who impaled him must have gotten his own legend afterwards

In googling was not able to fight due to him being a God he was able to fight due to him being younger than 18 therefore not a man

AAAAAAAAHHH I LOVE THIS LEGEND!

If your gonna contribute the story of the Goddess, you gotta talk about the history of the hero she brought down cause he's way more interesting. Additionally, this whole war over a bull transcend lifetimes: The bulls were, in a previous life, bickering neighbors from the other land. They became bulls when, during their shapeshifting duels, one gets swallowed by a cow and thus reborn as a Bull. Both men became bulls with the prophecy that they will duel one more time, with the bull of Cu's land beating the bull of the Queen's land across the land as he avenges his calf (which the King's Cow slaying the child). When they got the cow, all that have been prophecized happened, and an epic Bull duel took place before the loser died, and the winner died of exhaustion. Celtic Mythology: When you have a wacky story of why there was a pointless war over a cow just to make your OC's death look epic

Now I know my Mabinogi facts better! Thank you Extra Credits. :)