The Gáe Bulg (pronounced [ɡaːɛ bˠʊɫg]) (also Gáe Bulga, Gáe Bolg, Gáe Bolga), meaning "spear of mortal pain/death", "gapped/notched spear", or "belly spear", was the name of the spear of Cúchulainn in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. It was given to him by his martial arts teacher, the warrior woman Scáthach, and its technique was taught only to him.
It was made from the bone of a sea monster, the Curruid, that had died while fighting another sea monster, the Coinchenn.[1] Although some sources make it out to be simply a particularly deadly spear, others—notably the Book of Leinster—state that it could only be used under very specialized, ritual conditions:
The Gáe Bulg had to be made ready for use on a stream and cast from the fork of the toes. It entered a man's body with a single wound, like a javelin, then opened into thirty barbs. Only by cutting away the flesh could it be taken from that man's body.[2]
In other versions of the legend, the spear had seven heads, each with seven barbs. In the Táin Bó Cuailnge, Cúchulainn received the spear after training with the great warrior mistress Scáthach in Alba. She taught him and his foster-brother, Ferdiad, everything the same, except she taught the Gáe Bulg feat only to Cuchulainn. He later used it in single combat against Ferdiad. They were fighting in a ford, and Ferdiad had the upper hand; Cúchulainn's charioteer, Láeg, floated the Gáe Bulg down the stream to his master, who cast it into Ferdiad's body, piercing the warrior's armor and "coursing through the highways and byways of his body so that every single joint filled with barbs." Ferdiad died soon after. On a separate occasion, Cúchulainn also killed his own son, Connla, with the spear. In both instances, it was used as a last resort, as once thrown it proved invariably fatal.
Cúchulainn's use of the Gáe Bulg in the Táin Bó Cuailnge exemplifies its deadliness and the gruesome condition in which it leaves its victims. This can be seen in the fact that after it is used, one must literally cut into the victim to retrieve it. This was the case in Cúchulainn's slaying of Ferdiad. As it is stated in Ciaran Carson's translation of The Táin:
Láeg came forward and cut Fer Diad open and took out the Gáe Bolga. Cú Chulainn saw his weapon bloody and crimson from Fer Diad's body... [3]
Etymology
Traditionally, the name has been translated as "belly spear", with the second element of the name, bulga, being treated as a derivative of Old Irish bolg "belly, sack, bag".[4]
Several notable Celtic scholars, including Joseph Loth and Kuno Meyer, have preferred to derive it rather from Old Irish bolc "gap, breach, notch" (cognate with Welsh bwlch), suggesting a linguistic link with the second element in the name of Fergus mac Róich's sword, Caladbolg and King Arthur's sword Caledfwlch.[5][4][6]
Linguist Eric Hamp derives the second element, bulga, from a Proto-Celtic compound *balu-gaisos meaning "spear of mortal pain/death spear" (comparable to Old Irishfogha "spear, dart", from Proto-Celtic *uo-gaisu-). Once the second element *gaisos "spear" was no longer recognizable to Irish speaker, its Old Irish cognate, gáe, was reattached to the beginning for clarification, forming a new, tautological compound.[7][8]
^ abMeyer, Kuno . Contributions to Irish lexicography, Volume 1, M. Niemeyer, 1906. p. 236.
^Loth, Joseph. Les Mabinogion, Volume 1, Thorin, 1889, p. 200.
^Lewis, Timothy. "Bolg, Fir Bolg, Caladbolg" in Ryan, J. (ed.), Féil-sgríbhinn Eóin Mhic Néill, Dublin, 1940; repr. Four Courts Press 1995, pp. 46-62.
^Hamp, Eric P. "Varia I: 10. at·bail(l), (gaé) bulga", Ériu 24, 1973, pp. 179–182.
^Schrijver, Peter. Studies in British Celtic Historical Phonology., Rodopi, 1995, p. 384 (for etymology of Irish fogha).
April 01, 2023
gáe, bulg, pronounced, ɡaːɛ, bˠʊɫg, also, gáe, bolg, gáe, bolga, meaning, spear, mortal, pain, death, gapped, notched, spear, belly, spear, name, spear, cúchulainn, ulster, cycle, irish, mythology, given, martial, arts, teacher, warrior, woman, scáthach, techn. The Gae Bulg pronounced ɡaːɛ bˠʊɫg also Gae Bulga Gae Bolg Gae Bolga meaning spear of mortal pain death gapped notched spear or belly spear was the name of the spear of Cuchulainn in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology It was given to him by his martial arts teacher the warrior woman Scathach and its technique was taught only to him It was made from the bone of a sea monster the Curruid that had died while fighting another sea monster the Coinchenn 1 Although some sources make it out to be simply a particularly deadly spear others notably the Book of Leinster state that it could only be used under very specialized ritual conditions The Gae Bulg had to be made ready for use on a stream and cast from the fork of the toes It entered a man s body with a single wound like a javelin then opened into thirty barbs Only by cutting away the flesh could it be taken from that man s body 2 In other versions of the legend the spear had seven heads each with seven barbs In the Tain Bo Cuailnge Cuchulainn received the spear after training with the great warrior mistress Scathach in Alba She taught him and his foster brother Ferdiad everything the same except she taught the Gae Bulg feat only to Cuchulainn He later used it in single combat against Ferdiad They were fighting in a ford and Ferdiad had the upper hand Cuchulainn s charioteer Laeg floated the Gae Bulg down the stream to his master who cast it into Ferdiad s body piercing the warrior s armor and coursing through the highways and byways of his body so that every single joint filled with barbs Ferdiad died soon after On a separate occasion Cuchulainn also killed his own son Connla with the spear In both instances it was used as a last resort as once thrown it proved invariably fatal Cuchulainn s use of the Gae Bulg in the Tain Bo Cuailnge exemplifies its deadliness and the gruesome condition in which it leaves its victims This can be seen in the fact that after it is used one must literally cut into the victim to retrieve it This was the case in Cuchulainn s slaying of Ferdiad As it is stated in Ciaran Carson s translation of The Tain Laeg came forward and cut Fer Diad open and took out the Gae Bolga Cu Chulainn saw his weapon bloody and crimson from Fer Diad s body 3 Etymology EditTraditionally the name has been translated as belly spear with the second element of the name bulga being treated as a derivative of Old Irish bolg belly sack bag 4 Several notable Celtic scholars including Joseph Loth and Kuno Meyer have preferred to derive it rather from Old Irish bolc gap breach notch cognate with Welsh bwlch suggesting a linguistic link with the second element in the name of Fergus mac Roich s sword Caladbolg and King Arthur s sword Caledfwlch 5 4 6 Linguist Eric Hamp derives the second element bulga from a Proto Celtic compound balu gaisos meaning spear of mortal pain death spear comparable to Old Irish fogha spear dart from Proto Celtic uo gaisu Once the second element gaisos spear was no longer recognizable to Irish speaker its Old Irish cognate gae was reattached to the beginning for clarification forming a new tautological compound 7 8 See also EditGungnir Odin s spear in Nordic legend Spear of Lugh also in Irish myth Mythological weapons for a listReferences Edit O Curry Eugene 1873 Lectures and appendix Williams and Norgate The Tain trans Thomas Kinsella The Tain trans Ciaran Carson a b Meyer Kuno Contributions to Irish lexicography Volume 1 M Niemeyer 1906 p 236 Loth Joseph Les Mabinogion Volume 1 Thorin 1889 p 200 Lewis Timothy Bolg Fir Bolg Caladbolg in Ryan J ed Feil sgribhinn Eoin Mhic Neill Dublin 1940 repr Four Courts Press 1995 pp 46 62 Hamp Eric P Varia I 10 at bail l gae bulga Eriu 24 1973 pp 179 182 Schrijver Peter Studies in British Celtic Historical Phonology Rodopi 1995 p 384 for etymology of Irish fogha Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gae Bulg amp oldid 1139710371, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
