Ferdiad (pronounced[ˈfʲerðʲiað]; also Fer Diad, Ferdia, Fear Diadh), son of Damán, son of Dáire, of the Fir Domnann, is a warrior of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. In the Táin Bó Cúailnge, Ferdiad finds himself on the side of the war opposite to that taken by his best friend and foster-brother Cú Chulainn, with whom he had trained in arms under the renowned warrior woman Scáthach. He and Cú Chulainn are equal in all martial feats, with two exceptions: the Gáe Bulg, a barbed spear which Scáthach has taught only Cú Chulainn to use; and Ferdiad's horn skin, which no weapon can pierce.
"Ferdia Falls by the Hand of Cuchulain", illustration by Stephen Reid from Eleanor Hull's The Boys' Cuchulain, 1904
When Ailill and Medb, king and queen of Connacht, invade Ulster to steal the bull Donn Cúailnge, their progress is held up by Cú Chulainn, who demands single combat. After Cú Chulainn has defeated a series of Connacht champions, Medb sends for Ferdiad, but he only agrees to fight Cú Chulainn after Findabair, Ailill and Medb's daughter, has seductively plied him with alcohol, and Medb has variously bribed, shamed and goaded him to do so. They fight in the ford for three days, first fighting with 8 swords, darts, and spears, then fighting with "throwing-spears" and lances, and finally moving on to "heavy, hard-smiting swords." It is on the third day that Ferdiad starts to gain the upper hand. At this point, Cú Chulainn calls to his charioteer, Laeg, for the Gáe Bolga, which he floats down the river to him. Cú Chulainn throws a light spear at Ferdiad's chest, causing him to raise his shield, and then picks up the Gáe Bolga between his toes and thrusts it through his anus, upon which the barbs spread throughout his body, killing him. The Gáe Bolga is then removed from Ferdiad's body by Laeg, and Cú Chulainn mourns Ferdiad's death, praising his strength and bravery:
Scholars believe that the fight between Cú Chulainn and Ferdiad is a late addition to the Táin, originating not earlier than the eleventh century and drawing on earlier episodes in the story.[3]
Ferdiad's name has been interpreted as meaning "man of smoke", "man of the pair" or "man of two feet", and may be a back-formation from the placename Áth Fhir Diad (Ardee, County Louth) which is supposedly named after him.[3]
^ abMicheál Ó Flaithearta, "The Etymologies of (Fer) Diad", in Ruairi Ó hUiginn and Brian Ó Catháin (eds), Ulidia 2: Proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Ulster Cycle of Tales, An Sagard, 2009, pp. 218-225
^Cecile O'Rahilly, Táin Bó Cúailnge Recension 1, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976, pp. 195-208 [2]
^Cecile O'Rahilly, Táin Bó Cúalnge from the Book of Leinster, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1967, pp. 211-234 [3]
^Ross. Noel (2011). "The Walled Town of Ardee: Selected Extracts." Journal of the County Louth Archaeological and Historical Society,27 339-365. - via JSTOR
External linksedit
Media related to Ferdiad at Wikimedia Commons
January 01, 1970
ferdiad, other, uses, ferdia, disambiguation, pronounced, ˈfʲerðʲiað, also, diad, ferdia, fear, diadh, damán, dáire, domnann, warrior, connacht, ulster, cycle, irish, mythology, táin, cúailnge, finds, himself, side, opposite, that, taken, best, friend, foster,. For other uses see Ferdia disambiguation Ferdiad pronounced ˈfʲerdʲiad also Fer Diad Ferdia Fear Diadh son of Daman son of Daire of the Fir Domnann is a warrior of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology In the Tain Bo Cuailnge Ferdiad finds himself on the side of the war opposite to that taken by his best friend and foster brother Cu Chulainn with whom he had trained in arms under the renowned warrior woman Scathach He and Cu Chulainn are equal in all martial feats with two exceptions the Gae Bulg a barbed spear which Scathach has taught only Cu Chulainn to use and Ferdiad s horn skin which no weapon can pierce Ferdia Falls by the Hand of Cuchulain illustration by Stephen Reid from Eleanor Hull s The Boys Cuchulain 1904 When Ailill and Medb king and queen of Connacht invade Ulster to steal the bull Donn Cuailnge their progress is held up by Cu Chulainn who demands single combat After Cu Chulainn has defeated a series of Connacht champions Medb sends for Ferdiad but he only agrees to fight Cu Chulainn after Findabair Ailill and Medb s daughter has seductively plied him with alcohol and Medb has variously bribed shamed and goaded him to do so They fight in the ford for three days first fighting with 8 swords darts and spears then fighting with throwing spears and lances and finally moving on to heavy hard smiting swords It is on the third day that Ferdiad starts to gain the upper hand At this point Cu Chulainn calls to his charioteer Laeg for the Gae Bolga which he floats down the river to him Cu Chulainn throws a light spear at Ferdiad s chest causing him to raise his shield and then picks up the Gae Bolga between his toes and thrusts it through his anus upon which the barbs spread throughout his body killing him The Gae Bolga is then removed from Ferdiad s body by Laeg and Cu Chulainn mourns Ferdiad s death praising his strength and bravery Ah Ferdiad betrayed to death Our last meeting oh how sad Thou to die I to remain Ever sad our long farewell 1 2 Scholars believe that the fight between Cu Chulainn and Ferdiad is a late addition to the Tain originating not earlier than the eleventh century and drawing on earlier episodes in the story 3 Ferdiad s name has been interpreted as meaning man of smoke man of the pair or man of two feet and may be a back formation from the placename Ath Fhir Diad Ardee County Louth which is supposedly named after him 3 Contents 1 Legacy 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksLegacy edit nbsp A Statue of Cuchulainn and Ferdia in Ardee Co Louth Ireland The ford on which he died is named Ath Fhirdiad Ferdiad s ford in Irish Ardee County Louth is named after him Baile Atha Fhirdhia 4 5 A bronze statue stands in Bridge Street Ardee depicting the battle and the death of Ferdiad 6 7 See also editImpalement Dragon of WantleyReferences edit Joseph Dunn The Ancient Irish Epic Tale Tain Bo Cualnge London David Nutt 1914 1 Ciaran Carson The Tain Pg 151 a b Micheal o Flaithearta The Etymologies of Fer Diad in Ruairi o hUiginn and Brian o Cathain eds Ulidia 2 Proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Ulster Cycle of Tales An Sagard 2009 pp 218 225 Cecile O Rahilly Tain Bo Cuailnge Recension 1 Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies 1976 pp 195 208 2 Cecile O Rahilly Tain Bo Cualnge from the Book of Leinster Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies 1967 pp 211 234 3 Where Ferdia fell Ardee Co Louth PDF Archaeology Ireland Heritage Guide 73 6 Summer 2016 Ross Noel 2011 The Walled Town of Ardee Selected Extracts Journal of the County Louth Archaeological and Historical Society 27 339 365 via JSTORExternal links edit nbsp Media related to Ferdiad at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ferdiad amp oldid 1215193369, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
