The Greeks said the Celts called themselves KELTOI, thus our pronunciation. "Gaelic," "Gaul," "Gallic" are all of the same word "Celt"/"Celtic." They appear very early in Indo-European history. They settled around the source of the Danube River circa 1000 B.C. and spread throughout Europe.

The Celts

The Greeks said the Celts called themselves KELTOI, thus our pronunciation. “Gaelic,” “Gaul,” “Gallic” are all of the same word “Celt"/"Celtic." They appear very early in Indo-European history. They settled around the source of the Danube River circa 1000 B.C. and spread throughout Europe. They were not a homogeneous group. They were wild men. They didn’t get along with anyone or with each other. They were a loose confederation—almost. They just knew each other and fought outsiders more than they did each other. They were very heavily influenced by the Scythians, who in the old world of Europe were premier goldworkers. This rubbed off on the Celts. They wore big sweeping mustaches. The Celts learned horsemanship from the Scythians who were quite good. The Scythians wore pants/trousers. The Celts learned to weave wool in a tartan pattern from the Scythians. The Celts learned of the spoked wheel (which was good for chariot speed) from the Scythians. The Celts also learned to make iron tires for their wheels. The Celts began to spread through Europe. They haveving some interest myths. On of this is about a great warrior.

The Ulster Cycle [Ulster is the northeast quarter of Ireland]
The champions of Ulster are enormously famous. There are three cycles: Tuatha is the first. Ulster is the second.

Conchobar (Connor) - King of Ulster (Conchobar Mac Nessa)
Cathbad - the Chief Druid, ancestor to a number of great heroes
Bricriu of the Bitter Tongue - a troublemaker
Aillel/Medh - King/Queen of Connacht (the northwest quarter). Medh is tall and powerfully beautiful with long thick blonde hair.
Conall the Victorious - a hero
Laegaire the Battlewinner - a hero
Sencha - a great poet and a great judge
Fergus Mac Rogh - has the strength of 700 men, tall as a giant. He eats 7 hogs, 7 deer, 7 cows, and drinks 7 vats of mead at each meal. He has a magic sword called Caladholg. The sword is as long as the rainbow is high (symb.).

All these characters are Milesians. But Curoi Mac Daire, the King of Muenster, is descended from the TDD. He has a castle which spins around every night so no one can find the door. It is thought to be a tomb. The axe represents a thunderbolt (standard storm deity). After the age of seven, Curoi was never in Ireland long enough to eat a meal or fight a battle.

The Queen of the Kingdom was once Ness. Her first husband died. She marries his brother Fergus Mac Rogh. She will marry him ONLY if her young son Conchobar is allowed to reign as king for one year. Fergus agrees. Conchobar rules brilliantly. The people want him to carry on his reign. Fergus surrenders the throne to Conchobar. He would rather eat than fight. Conchobar recognizes that he must invite and retain the greatest warriors in order to make Ulster great. Knights flock to him (Arthurian).
Aillel and Medh in Connacht are a periodic source of trouble.

A wedding is planned between Dechtire (woman) and Sualtam (great warrior chieftain). They have the wedding feast (before the wedding). Dechtire reaches for her cup of wine, not seeing that a mayfly has fallen in to it. She drinks it. She becomes pregnant. She takes a nap and dreams of Lugh, who tells her he was the mayfly (Archetype: Divine/Immaculate Conception). Dechtire goes out with her 50 handmaidens and they are all turned into swans. They fly away. The wedding is postponed. Nine months later, while out hunting, Conchobar and a hunting party see a flock of birds and follow it. They get to a cottage where a very handsome tall young man dressed in green and with a slighjtly green tint to him comes out and welcomes them to camp. They are awakened by the cry of a newborn baby. The green man reveals himself as Lugh. He explains that Dechtire has a son called Setanta.

Sencha proclaims that the child will be a great hero. Everyone is amazed. The child is legally adopted by Sualtam but is actually adopted by everyone. They teach him to be the hero he will be. He is very big, very strong. He loves to play athletic games with other boys—the Boys’ Army: boys around the age of 12 were trained to be heroes. Setanta is only 7.

Conchobar is invited to a feast by Culann the Smith. As Conchobar and his retinue travel, they pass a field where boys are playing hurley (the Boys’ Army vs. Setanta). It’s illegal—they are playing in secret. Conchobar is impressed. He invites Setanta to come to the feast. Setanta is honored but he wants to win first. He offers to meet them at the feast. There is a gigantic dog outside of Culann’s house. It’s a famous dog. Culann chains the dog and invites his guests in asking, “Is this all of you?” They reply, “Yes.” He releases the dog and bars the door. The dog is as strong as 100 men. Setanta arrives with his stick and ball. The dog attacks him. He grabs the ball, throws it down the dog’s throat, grabs it by the hind legs, raises it over his head and thrashes its head to the ground, killing it instantly. Culann is heartbroken. Setanta says, “Give me the pup from this dog and I will train it for two years.” All that time, he acts as the guard dog for Culann and takes the name which means “Dog of Culann”—Cuchulinn, the hound of Culann, is the greatest hero Ulster ever knew.

He grows to be a very handsome young man who has the magic sevens. Seven fingers on each hand, seven toes on each foot, and seven pupils in each eye. His hair is dark at the roots, red in the middle, and blonde at the ends. But when he goes into battle, the battle frenzy changes him. He turns completely around inside his skin so his feet are facing the rear. He hair stands straight out on end and sparks fly out of every strand. From the top of his head shoots a pillar of black blood as tall as a mast. Fire spurts out of his open mouth. One eye protrudes and the other recedes. And the Heroes Moon appears on his forehead (a protruding vein).

Cuchulinn must find himself a wife. He wants Emer, the daughter of Forgall, for she is the most beautiful. But Forgall is wary. He swears loudly that his daughter will never marry but to one trained by the Amazon Skathack (a woman warrior and witch). So Cuchulinn vows to go be trained and to then marry Emer. Skathach lives on an island east of Alba—thought to be the Isle of Skye. The two other heroes Laegaire and Conall accompany him. But they lose heart quickly and return. Cuchulinn continues on. He must cross the Plain of Ill Luck, a muddy plain where, as your feet get stuck, razor sharp grass grows up to pierce them. Lugh appears (Cuchulinn’s father) and gives him a wheel of stone and instructs him to roll it in front of him so that he may cross. He then goes through the Perilous Glen, filled with devouring animals. No sweat. He then finds himself facing the Bridge of Leaps which throws you off as you try to cross it. He resorts to using his Hero’s Salmon’s Leap. He leaps as the bridge tries to throw him and lands safely on the other side. Skathach agrees to teach him the secrets of being a great warrior. He studies for a year and a day. At which time she gives him a weapon: Gae Bolg, a spear made from the bones of sea monsters. It has many forked points and is deadly. Skathach goes into battle with Aiofe, another woman warrior. Cuchulinn decides to face Aiofe on her island in Skathach’s place. Skathach has fallen in love with him and doesn’t want him to go. She drugs him—enough for a day and a night. The effect only lasts for an hour. He goes and defeats Aiofe. And from that union comes a son. He says to Skathach before he leaves that if she has a son he places a Geis(e) [GAYSH, plural GAYSH-uh] on the baby. A Geis is a taboo placed on a person that they may not EVER break. His son must never tell anyone his name and must never turn down a battle. The son is Connlach.

Cuchulinn returns to Ulster, kills Forgall, and takes Emer as a wife. [At one time, Emer discovers her husband with a mistress and she says, “The new is always sweet, and the familiar is always stale.” Cuchulinn realzes the wisdom in this, etc.]