The Wisdom of the Celts by Dr. Patrica King

Author:Dr. Patrica King [Series, The Wisdom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2010-08-06T04:00:00+00:00

Friendship

In the Celtic world, even when friends are locked in mortal combat, they show an undying love for one another. This is especially apparent in the Irish epic The Táin. Cuchulainn declares unconditional love to his friend Ferdiad, who will later become one of his fiercest enemies. Even in combat, Cuchulainn mourns his death and declares their battle shameful. Same–sex friendships are especially prevalent in The Táin as well as in Arthurian legends. The love one man has for another can often be as strong as the love he feels for a lover.

In the Welsh epic The Mabinogion, Pwyll is rewarded for his friendship towards Arawn with treasure beyond his wildest dreams, and Manawydan and Pryderi enjoy a friendship that is so strong that neither can be without the other. In the Celtic epic, a friend is a friend for life—even in the fiercest struggle.

From The Táin:

The friendship between Ferdiad and Cuchulainn is one of the most passionate—and the most fraught—in Celtic literature. Soul mates since their youth, they were both trained in arms by Scathach and were fierce warriors. Queen Medb beguiles Ferdiad into fighting Cuchulainn in an attempt to destroy her mortal enemy. In these selections from The Táin, we see how a fierce friendship becomes a fierce battle.

From The Táin:

Cuchulain: we were heart companions once;

We were comrades in the woods;

We were men that shared a bed,

When we slept a heavy sleep

After hard and weary fights,

Into many lands so strange

Side by side we sallied forth

And we ranged the woodlands through,

When with Scathach we learned arms!

—IRELAND, 8TH CENTURY

From The Táin:

“Verily it is truly meant for thee.” said Cuchulainn, “for comes there a brace of birds into the plain, thou shall have a wild goose with half the other. If fish rise to the river–mouths to the stones or water falls thou shalt have a salmon with as much again. Thou shalt have a handful of watercress and a handful of seagrass…I will watch and guard thee as long as thou sleepest.”

—IRELAND, 8TH CENTURY, CUCHULAINN TO FERGUS, FROM THE DEATH OF ETARCOMOL

From The Táin:

Food has not passed his lips,

Nay, nor has yet been born,

Son of king or blameless queen,

For whom I would work thee harm.

—IRELAND, 8TH CENTURY , CUCHULAINN TO FERDIAD, THE COMBAT OF FERDIAD AND CUCHULAINN

From The Táin:

Alas, golden brooch

Ferdiad of the hosts

O good smiter, strong victories thy hand.

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