#celticwarriors

⚔️ Cú Chulainn & Ferdiad – Warriors, Brotherhood, Lovers 💖 Watch the full 4:41 HD Musicvideo: youtu.be/yqca-7si9M4

Some stories are so powerful that they survive across centuries – and sometimes they reveal more about intimacy, loyalty, and closeness than one would expect from old warrior epics. One such story is that of Cú Chulainn and Ferdiad, two legendary fighters of Irish mythology.

🌿 Between Love and War

The two met as teenagers and grew up together in Scotland, where they trained under the famous warrior woman Scáthach, learning martial arts, rituals, and even magic. From the start they were inseparable: training side by side, sharing meals, tents, and ceremonies. Their closeness was not questioned – it was part of a culture in which male bonds could be physical and intimate in ways we rarely acknowledge today.

🛡️ Brothers-in-Arms

Back in Ireland, they fought for the king of Ulster. Chroniclers and bards describe them almost like a couple: together in training, combat, and ritual, always turned toward one another. This “intimate brotherhood” was told so naturally in the texts that later generations often overlooked how truly close they were.

⚔️ The Fateful Command

Politics, however, tore apart what had grown between them. In the Ulster Cycle, war broke out between Ulster and the kingdom of Connacht. Political intrigue and obligations forced Ferdiad to fight against his closest companion, Cú Chulainn. Bound by loyalty, oaths, and pressure, Ferdiad stood with Connacht. Both knew they did not want to face each other – yet there was no escape.

🌊 Three Days of Battle and Intimacy

Their duel became one of the most famous episodes of the Ulster Cycle. For three days they fought at a river ford.

By day, they clashed with spears and swords.

By night, they laid down their weapons, camped together, shared food, and treated each other’s wounds with oils and healing balms.

This simultaneity of violence and care is one of the most striking moments in Celtic mythology – and unique in the entire European tradition.

💔 The Bitter Victory

On the third day, Cú Chulainn used his secret weapon, the magical Gáe Bolg. Ferdiad fell. Tradition says Cú Chulainn cradled his dying friend in his arms, wept over him, and cursed the politics and war that had forced his hand. No lament, it was said, ever sounded sadder than his mourning for Ferdiad.

💖 Modern Reimagining – Love Instead of Death

In my new interpretation, this tragedy takes a different turn: Cú Chulainn defeats Ferdiad but, instead of killing him, throws aside his sword and kisses him. Inspired by this victory of love, the warring sides make peace.

Historically, this is of course a reinterpretation – but one that remains remarkably close to the spirit of the original: two men whose bond was so strong that it transcended war, politics, and even death.

🌈 Conclusion

Whether seen as tragic defeat or as a modern reimagining with a happy ending – the story of Cú Chulainn and Ferdiad is a rare testimony that close, physical, even tender bonds between men not only existed but were written down in the literature of early Ireland. What was silenced or reinterpreted in later centuries can today be made visible again: a moving tale of closeness, betrayal, pain – and love.

📚 Sources & References

Táin Bó Cúailnge (various manuscripts, incl. Lebor na hUidre and Book of Leinster, 11th–12th c., based on older oral traditions)

Wikipedia: Ferdiad – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdiad

Wikipedia: Táin Bó Cúailnge – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%A1in_B%C3%B3_C%C3%BAailnge

Bard Mythologies – Ferdiad – https://bardmythologies.com/ferdia/

Celtic Students Blog: Pride Month & Medieval Ireland – https://celticstudents.blogspot.com/2021/06/pride-month-medieval-ireland.html

The Mórrigan

The Mórrigan (also Morrighan, Môr-Riogain or Morrigu), usually referred to with the definite article, was a great warrior-queen goddess in Irish-Celtic mythology. She was most associated with inciting war, then stirring up the fury and frenzy of battle, and finally, as the bringer of death. The goddess was able to take any form of living creature she wished and she helped bring about the demise of the hero-warrior Cú Chulainn after he spurned her many attempts to seduce him as different animals. Her coupling with the Dagda, another major warrior-god, was an important part of the Samhain festival which the Celts celebrated to mark the beginning of a new year.

Names & Associations

The name Mórrigan, which may have several variations of spelling, means 'great queen', 'phantom queen', 'queen of nightmares' or, more literally, 'mare-queen'. She may have evolved from the ancient territorial goddess Mór Muman who was associated with the sun and kingship in southern Ireland. She is a war-goddess, and she is particularly associated with the fury of war, hence her 'demonic' nature and another name by which she is sometimes known, the 'queen of demons'.

Mórrigan is closely associated with two other war-goddesses: Badb and Macha (or alternatively Nemain). This trio is collectively known as the Mórrigna. Some scholars suggest that the trio of goddesses are simply different aspects of the Mórrigan as the triple aspect of gods is a common theme in Celtic religion which emphasises the potency of deities. Appropriately, then, all three goddesses are the daughters of Ernmas, the great mother deity, and their father is, in some tales, the sorcerer god Cailitin. The Mórrigan has one son, the evil figure Mechi, who has three hearts, each of which contains a serpent. Mechi's father is not named.

The Mórrigan has a terrible appearance, and it is this and her aggression which have a strong psychological effect on whoever she chooses during a battle. At the same time, the goddess can be sexually attractive. Consequently, the Mórrigan is both a symbol of destruction and fertility. The goddess has certain powers such as being able to predict the future and to cast spells. Even more impressive, she can change her form at will and become a beautiful young girl, the wind, or any animal, fish or bird. The creature she is most connected with is the crow or raven, which the Celts associated with war, death, and inciting conflict. This aspect of the Mórrigan may well be the origin of the banshee, a female fairy that figures in later Irish and Scottish mythology. The banshee foretells death in a household by letting out a loud plaintive wail and, though she is rarely seen in physical form, when she is, she is an old woman with long white hair.

Another figure from Celtic folklore (in Ireland, Scotland, and Brittany) associated with the Mórrigan is the 'washer at the ford'. This figure, sometimes envisaged as a young and weeping female, at others, an old and ugly woman, was considered an omen of death as she would make certain clothes being washed in a river ford the colour of blood. Whoever's clothes were thus marked was thought to be in imminent danger.

When dwelling in this world, the Mórrigan's home was thought to be a cave in County Roscommon in northwest Ireland. This cave was known as the cave of Cruachan and the 'Hell's Gate of Ireland' since it was believed to be a passage to the Otherworld. In one myth, the Mórrigan lures the woman Odras to her cave by having one of her cows stray inside. The goddess then changes the hapless mortal into a pool of water. Cruachan was regarded as the seat of ancient kings of Connacht and has been identified as part of the group of archaeological sites at Rathcroghan in County Roscommon.