The myth of Ireland's two greatest warriors - Iseult Gillespie
Dive into the Irish myth of Táin Bò Cuailnge, where Queen Meadhbh of Connaught seeks to capture the fabled brown bull of Ulster.
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Cú Chulainn, hero of Ulster, stood at the ford at Cooley, ready to face an entire army single handedly- all for the sake of a single bull. The army in question belonged to Queen Meadhbh of Connaught. Enraged at her husband’s possession of a white bull of awesome strength, she set out to capture the fabled brown bull of Ulster at any cost. Iseult Gillespie details the Irish myth Táin Bò Cuailnge.
Lesson by Iseult Gillespie, directed by Paper Panther.
Animator's website: www.paperpanther.ie/
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#myth
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"Go fight and die to get me a thing I don't own and don't really need." Politics hasn't changed much over the centuries I see.
A good bull can make or break a ranch, my dude.
"War is Mass Murder, Conscription is Slavery" - Murray N. Rothbard.
Damn your account is very old
True that.no matter what fancy system they named, democracy , monarchy , the man with power always find a way to do what they want and trample on the commoner.
“After I get that thing I will make it fight another thing and die”
Cú Chulainn: *throws stone* *misses tho it hits a squirrel* Méabh: You should've gone for the head.
Then later Bull: Did you do it? Meabh: Yes. Bull: What did it cost? Meabh: Everything.
Later *SAY CHEESE!!*
I think he meant to miss, to scare the queen off, because if he killed her ferdiad would probably be upset
Should have used some cheese really
@@godzillavkk honestly she really seemed satisfied with the result
Good video. One issue I have is that in almost all the mythology, Cú Chulainn is no older than 18. This is why he is unaffected by Machas curse - it was directed at all MEN. This only adds to the mysticism of the tale - a young Ulster boy, facing down the impending march of an entire army, alone.
Interesting detail, wow
It was because he was 17
His father was a god
Also isn't fion mcool (I don't know how to spell it) like super scary and he also killed a dragon
@@seamussweeney1 he was a giant yes, who also was responsible for creating the giants causeway in his fight with Benandonner
Fun fact: the most horrifying part of Ferdiad’s death is that the Gae Bolg didn’t just stab into him; when Cuchalain threw it at him, it pierced his body and began to extend barbs into his body, following his veins toward his heart. After he died, the Gae Bolg had to be removed with a knife.
Damn son.
I wouldn't call that a fun fact lol
...had to be removed with a knife BY TRACING THE VERY PATH GAE BOLG TRAVERSED ON HIS BODY. Ferdiad had to be cut open in order to retrieve the spear.
Sad* fact 😭😭😭😭
and guess where the Gae Bolg goes
I love this narrator but the way he pronounces Connacht makes my Irish heart weep.
Orkish isn't spoken very widely you know
@@hazardeur I'm sorry? It's Irish Gaelic not a Tolkien language.
@@eoincampbell1584 I'm Irish myself, and to be fair Irish does kind of sound like an Ent language sometimes
@@chaoswarhound It really do but Connacht is real easy. Just CON-ukt.
same with the way he says gae bulg
King of Ulster: I know let us make the heavily pregnant goddess run in a race, that would be fun.
Thats what happens when the southern gael, also known as ireland rewrite the history of ulster
It's been a while since I read the story, but as far as I remember he didn't realise she was a goddess; she had married a human fella and he had gotten drunk and into trouble and had bragged about how his wife could run faster than any of the kings horses after she had run to catch some of their horses at home. I don't remember it that well but it's an interesting story in itself! She died after giving birth to twins and casting a geasa on the kings men
It's spelled Ulster.
@@garretphegley8796 thanks did not see that.
@@andrewbore2046 Lol what. The cu chullain story is just a myth, not history. And what do you mean the "southern gael aka Ireland". Almost everyone who is Irish is a gael and ulster is historically the most Gaelic province so what is your point.
'they lived and trained side-by-side' oh my god they lived and trained side-by-side!
😂
Ohh...So they were roomates eh?
@@John.the.art.greco. 🤣
they're giving me achilles and patroclus vibes tbh
@@kent.n7761 they are radiatiating achilles and patroclus vibes
Poor ferdiad. He was forced in to death. Killed by his friend.
I like Chickens 🐓
LateralRazor I like to eat people who like to eat chickens
@LateralRazor *Dimension shifts*
@@nevira1009 Cannibalism intensifies
@LateralRazor I like to eat people that like to eat people that like to eat people that like to eat chickens
_"All of this for one bull?"_ - Thanos
Not even you Thanos, a guy so loved in death, couldn't go that far.
it's a very *THICC* bull though
Reality is often disappointing.
I ask to what end?
I mean the Trojan war started out of a golden apple...
The king and queen need some couples therapy
Apparently the only Therapy available back then is Bull fighting lol
She was pregnant .. sooo ... ....... It was not at all clever
Seriously though Dickmove
@@jadeuwu9860 by who?
They were not a couple, they were many kings and queens in ireland and occasionally a high king.
Cu: *trying to hit the queen with rocks* *missed* Some random dude: *throwing a piece of cheese* "It was super effective"
Somebody threw a bit of misltoe on a god and killed them successfully...
He probably wasn't intending to hit her. Cuchulainn was capable of such feats as downing an entire flock of swans without injuring a single one or slaying hundreds of warriors with on stone.
@@axelpatrickb.pingol3228 are you talking about loki?
@@evastypayhorlikson loki tricked baldurs brother into killing baldur, or did you mean loki was the one who did it?
@@TheMustacheGoat I didn't understand what you meant could you rephrase it
Gae Bulg was one of the powerful weapons in Irish Myths. It was said to split into 30 barbs in the wound and could only be taken out of the body by cutting it out of the flesh.
That sounds brutal
Yeah, barbed blades are not cool (Well, in WW1 those who used such were taken and punished by their own bayonets. And there _were_ taken, because only cowards use such.) Still based
Irish mythology is always overshadowed by the neighboring english. Glad to see TED is bringing light into more irish mythologies
The Irish and the Scottish myths are better than the English tbh
It's Celtic not just Irish so technically since Scotland and Wales are in Britain it's British aswell.
@@HopeRock425 wise up
@@HopeRock425 Celts came from all over Europe. They were not all the same. I don't think the Welsh came from the same celtic people as the Irish and Scottish. The Irish and Scottish are closely related certainly but that doesn't mean all the myths and traditions are the same. There is much cross over in language, culture and mythology, especially because there remained a lot of traffic between ulster and Scotland, but that doesn't mean they are one in the same and I believe that Satanta was Irish. Have you heard Welsh or Scottish versions of the story? I never have personally
@@HopeRock425 Just to illustrate the point, compare the following Irish and Scottish sentences to the Welsh one following and you'll see how different they are... - Irish Teanga na ndaoine Ceilteacha - Scottish Cànan nan daoine Ceilteach - Welsh Iaith y bobl Geltaidd
See now I feel bad for the squirrel that got knocked out by a rock. 😂
Underrated comment.
They had it coming.
animal right abuse
why did she even have a squirrel on her shoudler is the real question
@@helenli7302 Back in the old days, all the Irish people had squirrels on their shoulders. They've been eternal allies for the benefit of mankind and squirrelhood. But then, on one fateful day, Crúchnghaishnàíl, the king of the squirrels, got knocked off Queen Meadhbh shoulder by a flying stone meant to her head, and the queen dishonored the old alliance by saving herself and sacrificing Crúchnghaishnàíl. This slight could not be forgiven and thus the squirrels turn away from the humans, never to speak a single word to them again, for the regret of mankind and squirrelhood.
Cú Chulainn is one of the greatest mythological heroes, on par with Heracles and Siegfried.
fate moment
He is literally Irish Hercules
@@888SpinRI guess if you mean how famous and relevant they are to their respective mythologies then yes Cu is Irish Heracles but in strength it's not even close. I don't recall Cú Chulainn besting death itself, lifting the entire universe while a sky goddess was pressing down on him, or fighting four Olympian gods (and Hades) who each can shake the entire universe either by fighting someone else or on a whim, or fighting a hellhound feared by even the second and third most powerful Olympian, or fighting giants who posed a threat even to his pantheon. All this Heracles did while as a demigod.
@@herpderp5727 its a reference to fate ubw abridged
@@financialproblems9308 Oh. I have heard about fate I just thought the commenter meant the original mythology
The fact that Cú Chulainn was still evenly matched with Ferdiad, despite having fought for multiple days with little rest, is astounding
I mean, he had gae bolg
@@Jxnaa113 Not until the end of the fight apparently
Wb2006xx He was healed at night by the Good People and anyway he was son of Lug/Lugh Lámfada/Samildánach. Its all in the Táin Bó Cúailnge.
Hmm a myth that laments war, instead of glorifying it. Nice.
Soft
Yes
A lot do, thr illiad is an anti war story for example
You must have not watched the video. The dude literally took on an entire army for days by himself and still had the strength to fight his equal. Then got captured, taken back, and killed his enemies again. Sure he was sad that war cost him the people he loved but it still vastly glorifies it lol I don't have a strong opinion on either side but saying a single man can defeat a whole army against all odds is definitely glorifying it lol
@@Saiban0 no definitely meditates on the loss and futility of war, mirrored between the two bulls and the two best friends killing each other for nothing.
Best storytelling, Best Animation, Best Voice, Best Content - Ted ed never fails to deliver.
The pronunciations were pretty bad though
Why are you dalal
True
As a native Irish speaker it hurt to hear the really bad pronunciation
@@carlstanford7607 even as a Scottish gaelic speaker it hurt! His pronunciation was so bad even I noticed
Yeah I remember that one time he faced off King Gilgamesh to buy times so King Arthur can escape
I also remembered when everyone made a meme out of him kiling himself
I also remembered when he learned magic and trained galahad to unleash his power
i was wondering were this was
Does nobody remember the time he wore a dino costume and fought in the american revolution?
@@crusadr_4966 well, technically he learned magic during his time with Scathach already, which made him eligible for both Caster and Lancer. Just that that time he popped up as Caster
Brilliant video, great to see Irelands rich folklore finally being explored. Cú Chullainn appears alot in Irish folklore and is seen as a kind of Irish Hercules. Love to see more like this!
As soon as I saw the thumbnail I knew it was going to be epic
King of Ulster: Let's go to WAR!!! Soldiers: Yeah!!! Goddess Macha: *I'm gonna do what's called a Pro Gamer move*
They got what they deserve because the original story is she had to race the horse on her feet while being pregnant.
@@HopeRock425 Sweet Revenge I suppose
@@ZOCCOK exactly
@@HopeRock425 She was the one who tried to steal the bull so...
@@jasonhuang6023 the bull stealing came after the race.
A TED-Ed video a day, keeps the brain from rotting away.
Can’t Roy what’s not there
Forgot the finger guns with the depressed face and the paper with 33 percent on it
That's one gorgeous style of animation.
I know right?
Ah yes the irish legend --where Lancer doesn't kill itself from a command spell--
Yes but digs his own
...grave
I knew I'd find a Fate based comment somewhere around.
@@ronjosh1518 lol
How do you do the crossed words thing?
Man this irish hero sounds so cool I wonder if there is a japanse franchise of games and animes where he is part
All I know is that they use his name for an Esper in Final Fantasy XII, but he's very different from this.
Where he is super unlucky
Fate franchise
There’s a rollercoaster in Ireland named after him
Both Cu Chulainn and Scathach appear in the Shin Megami Tensei series (including Persona), though they do not play a significant role in the games nor anime.
3:05 So that is why the Legendary Spear of Lancer in Fate Stay Night is called the Gae Bolg.
It's called Gob Lok*
@@manyxtavinas anjir nyasar
Modern couples: Who's more tired from work? This couple: WhO gOt tHE GrEAtesT bULl?
"you can't tell a good story without conflict- The story can't be beautiful or meaningful. We are taught to run from conflict, and its robbing us some really good stories." - Donald Miller
Slice of life Anime fans: are you sure about that
@@sneakydoge476 tbh even slice of life also has some conflict in it, for comedy purpose mainly
What do you mean? Are you talking about in life or in writing?
@@treeman8773 he's talking about writing
Im offended
Medea, Cu chulainn, Heracles and Medusa are done. I wonder which servant is next
In which series is medusa mentioned? I only watched fate zero and fate unlimited blade works, the other series' IMdB points were quite low so I stopped wathing after UBW lol
@@hasanunal7195 I suggest you also do heaven's feel. It's a series of 3 movies done by the same studio as ubw and zero. Breath taking animation. Only 2 of them have been released so far. It's an alternate route to the story of ubw. You'll find your answer there. It was spoiled to me. I don't want to spoil it to you.
@@nyx626 thanks Xavier🙏I skipped the movies since I read in descriptions that they are the same story, but now I'll watch them
@@turbowarrior2318 They already made a video on King Arthur. Its either Sasaki Koujirou or Hassan.
Only two choice remaining, Arthur, and Sasaki Kojiro
No one gonna mention that the spear seemed to have a special attack where it'd turn you into a damn porcupine by growing through you like a thorn bush when it was used?
Oh man, this art style fits the story so well! And this myth is absolutely amazing
The animation is great! It reminds me of Samurai Jack!
Of you want more Celtic folklore animated in this style, check out the film The Secret of Kells. It has such a vibrant, memorable aesthetic. 👍
always the most beautiful art and storytelling. thanks ted-ed!
This is a weird fate episode
truly an interesting episode indeed
Glad to see Irish mythology anywhere, but the pronunciations are all over the shop 😂
mavisbavis I know, he gets Cúchulainn but how do you get Connacht wrong?
if he pronounced hello he would be like “die-a do-ut”
@@shadowfox3442 die a is ma Hu wire do it!
mavisbavis con iss a taw too?
@@shadowfox3442 key heart go leeyore. Egg us too sah?
Imagine doing this whole video frame by frame, good work
Remember the time he got summoned in blue tights to fight a hero of justice, king Arthur, and a golden boy?
And stabbed himself
And Heracles
@@Chrome-uc3fw and a priest
And a newly wedded couple, with a sword loving butler/security guard
Thank you so much for this. I was told a lot of these stories when i was a little boy by my grandmother who was an Irish immigrant from Ballybofey and my grandfather was from Donegal Proper. Its from him the ancient O'Cahan name lives on in myself and my two sons. I also heard stories from my mother's side where her mother and father were also Irish immigrants but from Dublin and the surrounding area. its be 30 years and ive forgotten many of them and when my sons ask to know more about the stories of Ireland i have to go dig up the tales on the internet. These are beautifully animated and the story telling is outstanding. I cant wait to share these videos with them!
The art in this is jaw-dropping, it’s amazing how much detail there is!
This man has the best voice.
The pronunciation is a bit off though
I feel like it could've been recorded a bit better though.
I do like him, Mr. Adrian Dannatt, when he narrates stories, myths or tales. Also, Mr. Jack Cutmore-Scott and Mr. Addison Anderson. 👍 •~~~~•
I think this is the so far best animation presented by Ted Ed. Loved it, felt like drowned in it. Thank you🤗
You know, for a non Irish person, you did okay at pronouncing our words, and I'd like to thank you for that! You didn't just guess, you actually tried to pronounce them, which is much more than most people can say.
Nah they were really bad
Is anyone going to talk about how beautiful the art is?!
The art-style of this video is very beautiful!
Narrator: The two greatest warriors. Fiona mac Cumhaill: am I joke to you?
Be original with your comments you sheep
As a long time fan of your channel and a professional Irish person this has to be to your best video 🥺
I can't even describe, how much I love this channel!
"Stories are a communal currency of humanity." --Tahir Shah
I want this guy to read my bedtime stories... His voice is amazing
The animation for these TED series is always amazing
Man, I love these videos. Informative, entertaining, great art and animation.
Clever how the fight between the two old friends sets us up to better understand and sympathize with the brown bull, and how his victory ends up being useless and painful
I've already heard of those 2 warriors' stories before in another KZhead video (it was an audio book though) This video explored more on a third person point of view and gave a continuation of what happened next after the great between those two warriors (sorry I'm having a hard time spelling their names) Which is why I'm thankful to this video, I got to know about this story Sooo interesting
Another great video by Ted! Keep up the good work!
Lancer is awesome af
I knew it already because I watched the Fate series and then found these legends
Who else learns history from fate
If you mean by history lessons: genderbended versions of loosely based mythical and entirely fictional characters, who posess magic and godlike weapons which defy the laws of physics. Then yes, i've watched a documentary.
i learned the fact the medb was killed by a block of cheese
@@jangzhang7323 yes
I think lancer from stay night was Irish something
@@mrnarason Irish Hercules
Dang I adore the animation! I love how stylized and expressive it is
The drawing and the animation in this is just beautiful
I'll point out that Cu Chulainn didn't "summon" the spear, Gae Bulg. It wasn't at the bottom of the ocean, it was already in Cu's possession. To use it, he had someone go upstream and float it to him down the river where (and this is the impressive part) he took it from the river and then threw the spear from the fork of his toes. Yes. From his toes.
I think you’re forgetting that when Gae Bolg pierces someone thorns grow out of it and also strangle the person
The art style is SO GOOD.
Ted Ed's animation, mood and story telling never fails to amaze me
Scathach: "a brave women warrior" Medb: "a ravaging queen" Fate: "MOE MOE BEAAAM!!!"
But still as fierce as they are in legend
@@Chrome-uc3fw Seriously doubt that. Their versions in the legend were basically indistinguishable from brutish males. So they wouldn't make good waifus 😂
Brilliant. More Irish mythology please!
This animation was absolutely gorgeous I could watch a whole movie with just this art
Idk why i got so emotional at the end!! The animation and music was immaculate
Oh that’s the name of Lancer from Stay Night
Yes it is
I really liked this animation style, and the legend is so interesting :))) I hope Ted Ed also one day do one with Malaysian/Indonesia legends too!
The animation and art style of this video is incredible
The art and animation in this video is very beautiful💖
1:15 So that is where *Scathach* came from in Fate Grand Order.
Where's the friendship of the thighs?
Best Shishou with Bunny outfit.
Amazing artstyle and animation 👌. We need one about Cú Chulainn's death, and how he rejected The Morrígan 3 times.
The art style for this is lovely!
Wowza, what an epic tale 😃 Thanks for sharing this with us all 🙏🏽📖
Ferdia-"Cu haaaalaaan Cu halan -"Ferdiaaaa" Giving feels of Narutoooo sasukeee...
Check out The Tain, the book this is from. Moving and mind-blowing. The conversation between Queen Maeve and her husband Ailill the king that starts this whole war starts quite innocently and, as we say, escalates quickly.
One of my favorite Irish myths. Thank you.
TED is the best thing happening for educational purposes.. they way they share knowledge is perfect
Cú Chulainn. The lancer who wielded Gae Bolg and defeated Archer....hold up...wrong video sorry
almost
Lol
The moment he mentioned Gae Bolg, that's when it hit me: This was actually the story Lancer from Fate/Stay Night
The art style on this was just gorgeous
More or these animated Irish myths!! This was great!
Deary me these pronunciations
I know right?
So much time spent on production, yet at no point did they consider confirming the pronunciation with a native speaker.
Different counties and provinces use very different pronunciations so they could never please everyone, some people say that he said cu chulainn right, personally I was thought to pronounce the 2nd C so its not like cu hulinn in the video but as koo ku-linn, Idk though
@@zydreb.5934 Connaught tho
@@zydreb.5934 Imagine having the audacity to explain to me there's different pronunciations in different areas of Ireland. Catch yourself on
I feel quite uncultured knowing that I only know few details about Cù Chulainn and the Gáe Bulg from the Fate/ series.
TED-ED . Thank yall for the videos. Best channel on KZhead
The art, especially the eye close-ups, really gives off Samurai Jack vibes, and that's a good thing.
"My name's Mario. First name Mario, last name Mario. Mario Mario" "Funny. I thought you for the great Italian spear man Cúchulame." "Bite me, Bite me."
Nice. Fate UBW abridged reference
"He's pretty much Irish Hercules!"
"First name: Mario. Last name: Mario. Mario Mario."
THIS ART STYLE IS SO BEAUTIFUL
What a wonderful legend. Thankk you.
Surprised you didn't mention how Cu Culainn died. He tied himself to a tree as he was dieing with his sword and shield in arm. The men from Connaught were scared to go near his body. One man stabbed Chu Culainn to see if he was dead, as he did Chu Culainn's arm with sword in hand fell and struck the Connaught man down.
2:49 They were fighting without food and water for three days! Make me feel bad for getting hungry within 6 hours while doing nothing.
This is a beautiful channel!
This art style is beautiful
All other channels out there: bore me so much that I am compelled to scroll the comments Ted Ed: so interesting that I finish the video first and then look at comments
Jaysus the pronunciations aren't brilliant but Cú Chulainn was nearly perfect! I love the beginning of the story and Medb like a lot of women in Irish foklore is a very strong female character which was unusual given that this wasn't written down until the 12th century, after Ireland was thoroughly christianised. For anyone who doesn't know how it started, her and her husband were arguing because her husband said she married up the ladder. She said that it was the other way around so they compared all the land and heads of cattle they owned (one of the most important measurements of wealth in the first century) and they realised they were almost completely equal, apart from his white bull. So Medb heard of the brown bull and set her sights on it. They really need a counsellor.
Honestly I like the duality of the battle between the 2 bulls and the battle between the 2 friends
Oh my God! That's became sadder by each second!