Furbaide Ferbend is a character from the
Ulster Cycle
The Ulster Cycle ( ga, an Rúraíocht), formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly coun ...
of
Irish mythology
Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by C ...
. Legend has it that Furbaide Ferbend was buried in a
passage grave
A passage grave or passage tomb consists of one or more burial chambers covered in earth or with stone, and having a narrow access passage made of large stones. These structures usually date from the Neolithic Age, and are found largely in Wester ...
atop
Carn Clonhugh
Corn Hill, also called Cairn Hill or Carn Clonhugh ( ga, Carn Clainne Aodha or '), is a hill in County Longford, Republic of Ireland. It lies north of Longford, between Drumlish and Ballinalee, in the parish of Killoe. At 278 metres above ...
, more commonly known as Corn Hill or Cairn Hill, north
Longford
Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...
, after the two passage graves that crown the summit.
Life
His father is
Conchobar mac Nessa
Conchobar mac Nessa (son of Ness) is the king of Ulaid, Ulster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He rules from Emain Macha (Navan Fort, near Armagh). He is usually said to be the son of the High King of Ireland, High King Fachtna Fáthach, ...
, king of the
Ulaid
Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh (Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and in ...
. His mother is one of the daughters of
Eochu Feidlech
Eochu or Eochaid Feidlech ("the enduring"), was a High King of Ireland, according to medieval Irish legends and historical traditions. He is best known as the father of the legendary queen Medb of Connacht.
Family
Eochu was son of Finn, son of ...
, the
High King of Ireland
High King of Ireland ( ga, Ardrí na hÉireann ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and later sometimes assigned ana ...
: in the saga ''Cath Boinde'' ("the battle of the
Boyne)
[ Joseph O'Neill, (ed. & trans.]
"Cath Boinde"
''Ériu
In Irish mythology, Ériu (; modern ga, Éire ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland.
The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the Germanic languages, Germani ...
v.2, 1905, pp.173-185 and the ''
Dindsenchas
''Dindsenchas'' or ''Dindshenchas'' (modern spellings: ''Dinnseanchas'' or ''Dinnsheanchas'' or ''Dınnṡeanċas''), meaning "lore of places" (the modern Irish word ''dinnseanchas'' means "topography"), is a class of onomastic text in early Ir ...
'' poem "Carn Furbaide"
[Edward Gwynn (ed. & trans.)]
"Carn Furbaide"
''The Metrical Dindshenchas'' Vol. 4, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1906 she is Eithne, in the saga ''Aided Meidbe'' ("the death of Medb") she is
Clothru.
[Vernam Hull (ed. & trans.)]
"Aided Meidbe: The Violent Death of Medb"
''Speculum'' v.13 issue 1, Jan. 1938, pp. 52-61 Eochu gave several of his daughters to Conchobar in marriage in compensation for Conchobar's supposed father, the former High King
Fachtna Fáthach
Fachtna Fáthach ("the wise"), son of Cas (or Ross), son of Rudraige, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. He came to power when he defeated the previous High King, Dui Dallta Dedad, in the ba ...
, whom Eochu had killed in the Battle of Leitir Ruad.
In the sagas Furbaide's mother is murdered by her sister
Medb
Medb (), later spelled Meadhbh (), Méibh () and Méabh (), and often anglicised as Maeve ( ), is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had seve ...
, Conchobar's former wife and the future queen of
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...
, in the poem by her nephew
Lugaid Riab nDerg
Lugaid Riab nDerg ("the red-striped") or Réoderg ("Red Sky"), son of the three '' findemna'', triplet sons of Eochu Feidlech, and their sister Clothru was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland.
C ...
, and her child is born by posthumous
Caesarian section
Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or mo ...
.
''Cath Boinde'' explains the name ''Furbaide'' as deriving from
Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...
''urbad'', "cutting", and says his original name was Diarmaid.
According to the ''Dindsenchas'' Furbaide is described as smooth-skinned and bright of hue with two horns growing on his head, hence his epithet ''ferbend'', "horned man".
The glossary ''Cóir Anmann'' ("fitness of names") says the horns – two of silver and one of gold – were on his helmet.
[Whitley Stokes]
"Cóir Anmann (Fitness of Names)"
''Irische Text mit Wörterbuch'', Dritte Serie, 2 Heft, Leipzig: Verlag Von S. Hirzel, 1897, p. 288-411
At the age of seventeen he fights in Conchobar's army in the Battle of Gáirech and Ilgáirech at the end of the ''
Táin Bó Cúailnge
(Modern ; "the driving-off of the cows of Cooley"), commonly known as ''The Táin'' or less commonly as ''The Cattle Raid of Cooley'', is an epic from Irish mythology. It is often called "The Irish Iliad", although like most other early Iri ...
'' ("cattle raid of
Cooley").
[Cecile O'Rahilly, ''Táin Bó Cúailnge Recension 1'', Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976, pp. 218, 227-228][Cecile O'Rahilly (ed. & trans.), ''Táin Bó Cúalnge from the Book of Leinster'', Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1967, p. 248, 261] In the saga ''Mesca Ulad'' ("the intoxication of the Ulaid"), where he is said to be
Cúchulainn's
foster-son, he fights against the
Erna, but he is so beautiful none of them can bring themselves to wound him.
[W. M. Hennessy (ed & trans), '' Mesca Ulad; or, the intoxication of the Ultonians'', Todd Lecture Series, 1889] After Conchobar's death his son
Cúscraid Mend Macha
Cúscraid ( ga, Cúscraid Mend Macha; var. Cumscraid) (pronunciation guides: /'ku:skrid m'eN 'maxa / () /cŏŏs'crĭ/ () /KOOS-kri''dh''/ (Paddy Brown)) known by the epithet ''Mend Macha'' (the "stammerer" or "inarticulate one" of Macha), is a son ...
succeeds him as king of the Ulaid, and gives his brother Furbaide the regions of northern and southern
Tethbae
Tethbae (; also spelled ''Tethba'', often anglicised ''Teffia'') was a confederation of túatha in central Ireland in the Middle Ages. It was divided into two distinct kingdoms, north Tethba, ruled by the Cenél Coirpri, and south Tethba, ruled ...
.
[R. I. Best (ed. & trans.), ]
"The Battle of Airtech"
''Ériu 8'', 1916, pp. 170-190
In later life, according to ''Aided Meidbe'', he avenges his mother's death. Medb had taken to bathing in a pool on the Shannon island of
Inchcleraun. Furbaide measures the distance from the pool to the shore with a rope, and practices with his sling until he can hit an apple on top of a stake from that distance. The next time he sees Medb bathing, he shoots the nearest missile to hand – a piece of cheese – at her, and kills her.
In the ''Dindsenchas'' poem he kills the mother of Lugaid Riab nDerg, and Lugaid pursues and kills him in revenge.
See also
*
Medb
Medb (), later spelled Meadhbh (), Méibh () and Méabh (), and often anglicised as Maeve ( ), is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had seve ...
*
Cairpre Gabra
*
Carn Clonhugh
Corn Hill, also called Cairn Hill or Carn Clonhugh ( ga, Carn Clainne Aodha or '), is a hill in County Longford, Republic of Ireland. It lies north of Longford, between Drumlish and Ballinalee, in the parish of Killoe. At 278 metres above ...
References
Primary references
Secondary references
*
{{refend
Ulster Cycle