Texts

Aided Cheltchair maic Uthechair ‘The death of Celtchar mac Uthechair’

Middle Irish
prose
Ulster Cycle, Aideda

A tale of the Ulster Cycle.

Summary

Celtchar kills Blaí Briugu, who has slept with his wife, and as éraicc is required to rid Ulster of three menaces. The first is Conganchnes mac Dedad, who comes to Ulster seeking revenge for [[Aided Chon Roí |the death of his kinsman Cú Roí mac Dáire]]. The second is the loch donn, a fierce feral dog. The third is his own dog, Dóelchú, who has gone rogue among the Ulstermen's livestock, and in carrying out this task Celtchar is killed.

Manuscripts

Dublin, Trinity College, MS 1339 (H 2. 18) = Book of Leinster [s. xii²]

f. 118b

The last part of the story is wanting.

Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland, Adv. MS 72.1.40 [s. xv-xvi]

ff. 5r–6r

part 1

Language

Middle Irish

Form

prose (primary)

Textual relationships

The opening section corresponds with Aided Blaí Briugad, found in [[Medieval Irish tale lists |tale-lists]]. Bloth Blaí and Celtchar's deaths are referred to in the poem Fianna bátar i nEmain, attributed to Cináed ua hArtacáin, and the resting place of Blaí's head is mentioned in the poem Inna hinada hi filet cind erred Ulad, found incomplete in Lebor na hUidre. Celtchar's killing of Conganchnes is referred to in Fled Bricrenn. The luch donn and his dire deeds are mentioned in the dindsenchas of Alend. Dóelchú appears in the dindsenchas of Sliab Callann.

Classification

Ulster Cycle
Ulster Cycle

id. 1797

AidedaAideda
...

Subjects

Celtchar

Celtchar (mac Uithechair)

(time-frame ass. with Ulster Cycle)

Celtcha(i)r mac U(i)thechair, warrior in the Ulster Cycle of tales.

See more Blaí Briugu

Blaí Briugu

(time-frame ass. with Ulster Cycle)

hostel-keeper (briugu) in the Ulster Cycle of tales

See more Cú Chulainn

Cú Chulainn

Young Ulster hero and chief character of Táin bó Cuailnge and other tales of the Ulster Cycle; son of Súaltam or Lug and Deichtire (sister to Conchobor); husband of Emer (ingen Forgaill)

See more Conchobar mac Nessa

Conchobar mac Nessa

(time-frame ass. with Ulster Cycle)

king of the Ulaid in tales of the Ulster Cycle; son either of Cathbad or Fachtna Fáthach (father) and Ness (mother); husband of Mugain; father of Cormac Cond Longas, Cúscraid Mend Macha, Furbaide Fer Bend and Fedelm Noíchrothach; fosterfather of Cú Chulainn.

Sources

Primary sources Text editions and/or modern translations – in whole or in part – along with publications containing additions and corrections, if known. Diplomatic editions, facsimiles and digital image reproductions of the manuscripts are not always listed here but may be found in entries for the relevant manuscripts. For historical purposes, early editions, transcriptions and translations are not excluded, even if their reliability does not meet modern standards.

[ed.] [tr.] Meyer, Kuno [ed. and tr.], The death-tales of the Ulster heroes, Todd Lecture Series, 14, Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1906.

CELT – edition: <link> CELT – translation: <link> Internet Archive: <link> Internet Archive: <link>

23–31 Critical edition based on LL and Gaelic XL

[ed.] Best, Richard Irvine, and M. A. OʼBrien, The Book of Leinster, formerly Lebar na Núachongbála, vol. 2, Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1956. xi + pp. 261-470 + 2 pl.

CELT – pp. 400-470: <link>

Diplomatic edition of the text in LL direct link