Bricriu (also Briccriu, Bricne) is a hospitaller (''briugu''), troublemaker and poet in the

Ulster Cycle The Ulster Cycle (), 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 counties Armagh, Do ...

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

''Fled Bricrenn''

The story of ''

Fled Bricrenn ''Fled Bricrenn'' (Old Irish "Bricriu's Feast") is a story from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Bricriu, an inveterate troublemaker, invites the nobles of the Ulaid to a feast at his new ''bruiden'' (hostel, banquet hall) at Dún Rudraige ( ...

'' ("The Feast of Bricriu") tells how he once held a lavish feast for

Conchobar mac Nessa Conchobar mac Nessa (son of Ness) is the king of 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 Fachtna Fáthach, although in some stories ...

and the heroes of

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

in his house at Dún Rudraige (modern Dundrum,

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

), but knowing his reputation the Ulstermen had to be threatened to attend. First Bricriu threatened to set the Ulster warriors at odds with each other, then to set father against son and mother against daughter, but the Ulstermen finally agreed to come when he threatened to set the two breasts of each Ulster woman beating against each other. At the feast he promised the " champion's portion" to Cú Chulainn, then to Conall Cernach, then to

Lóegaire Búadach In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, Lóegaire Búadach (Lóegaire the Victorious) is a hapless Ulaid, Ulster warrior who mainly functions as comic relief. When he, Cúchulainn and Conall Cernach contend for the champion's portion at Briccriu' ...

, and the three heroes proceeded to compete for the honour. Challenges were set, some judged by Ailill and Medb of

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

, some by Cú Roí of

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

. At every test set Cú Chulainn came out top, but neither Conall nor Lóegaire would accept the decision. Finally Cú Roí, disguised as a giant churl, challenged each of the three to behead him, then allow him to return and behead them in return. Only Cú Chulainn passed this test, and was judged worthy of the champion's portion. (Two motifs in this story, the champion's portion and the beheading challenge, are mentioned by the Greek writer

Posidonius Posidonius (; , "of Poseidon") "of Apameia" (ὁ Ἀπαμεύς) or "of Rhodes" (ὁ Ῥόδιος) (), was a Greeks, Greek politician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, historian, mathematician, and teacher native to Apamea (Syria), Apame ...

as practices of the ancient

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

. The beheading challenge is also central to the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

Arthurian According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a leader of the post-Ro ...

poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.)

Other

Bricriu followed Fergus mac Róich into exile in Connacht following the Deirdre affair. While he was a guest at Cruachan he caused a lot of trouble for Fergus and another lover of his, Flidais, which culminated at the '' Táin Bó Flidhais''. In the '' Echtra Nerai'', Bricriu mocks the singing of Fergus, comparing it to a bull-calf's bellowing. Fergus strikes him with 5 '' fidchell'' pieces, injuring him severely. Later, Bricriu recovered but died at Cruachan at the end of the '' Táin Bó Cuailnge'' (Cattle Raid of Cooley), trampled to death by the two bulls as they fought. ''Fled Bricrenn'' is preserved in the near-contemporary Leabhar na h-Uidhri (The Book of the Dun Cow) and in four later manuscripts. The name of the village of Loughbrickland, near

Banbridge Banbridge ( ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. It is in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iveagh Upper ...

, is thought to derive from Irish ''Loch Briccrend'' or Bricriu's Lake, where he was a chieftain and lived in the 'Watery Fort' (

ringfort Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortification, fortified settlements built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000 AD. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are ...

) overlooking the loch.

References

{{Celtic mythology (Ulster) Ulster Cycle Characters in Táin Bó Cúailnge

''Fled Bricrenn''

Other

See also

References