0:00:06.965,0:00:12.013
Cú Chulainn, hero of Ulster, stood at the [br]ford at Cooley,

0:00:12.013,0:00:15.513
ready to face an entire army [br]singlehandedly—

0:00:15.513,0:00:19.513
all for the sake of a single bull.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The army in question belonged to Queen [br]Meadhbh of Connaught.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Enraged at her husband’s possession[br]of a white bull of awesome strength,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
she had set out to capture the fabled[br]brown bull of Ulster at any cost.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Unfortunately, the King of Ulster had [br]chosen this moment

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to force the goddess Macha to race her[br]chariot while pregnant.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In retaliation, she struck down him and [br]his entire army with stomach cramps

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that eerily resembled childbirth—[br]all except Cú Chulainn.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Though he was the best warrior in Ulster,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Cú Chulainn knew he could not take on[br]Queen Meadhbh’s whole army at once.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
He invoked the sacred rite of single [br]combat

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in order to fight the [br]intruders one by one.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But as Queen Meadhbh’s army [br]approached,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
one thing worried him more than [br]the grueling ordeal ahead.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Years before, Cú Chulainn had travelled to[br]Scotland

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to train with the renowned [br]warrior Scáthach.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
There, he met a young warrior from [br]Connaught named Ferdiad.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They lived and trained side-by-side,[br]and soon became close friends.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
When they returned to their[br]respective homes,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Cú Chulainn and Ferdiad found themselves [br]on opposite sides of a war.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Cú Chulainn knew Ferdiad was marching[br]in Meadhbh’s army,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and that if he succeeded in fending off[br]her troops, they would eventually meet.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Day after day, Cú Chulainn [br]defended Ulster alone.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
He sent the heads of some of his [br]adversaries back to Meadhbh’s camp,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
while the rushing waters of the ford [br]carried others away.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
At times, he slipped into a trance and [br]slayed hundreds of soldiers in a row.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Whenever he saw the queen in the distance,[br]he hurled stones at her –

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
never quite hitting her,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but once coming close enough [br]to knock a squirrel off her shoulder.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Back at the Connaught camp, Ferdiad was [br]laying low,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
doing everything he could to avoid the [br]moment

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
when he’d have to face his best [br]friend in combat.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But the Queen was impatient to get her[br]hands on the prize bull,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and she knew Ferdiad was her best[br]chance to defeat Cú Chulainn.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So she goaded him and questioned [br]his honor

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
until he had no choice but to fight.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The two faced off at the ford, matching [br]each other exactly in strength and skill

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
no matter what weapons they used.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Then, on the third day of their fight,[br]Ferdiad began to gain the upper hand

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
over the exhausted Cu Chulainn.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But Cú Chulainn had one last trick up [br]his sleeve:

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
their teacher had shared [br]a secret with him alone.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
She told him how to [br]summon the Gáe Bulg,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
a magical spear fashioned from the[br]bones of sea monsters

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that lay at the bottom of the ocean.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Cu Chulainn called the spear, stabbed[br]Ferdiad to death, and collapsed.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Meadhbh seized her chance and swooped[br]in with the rest of her army

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to capture the brown bull.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
At last, the men of Ulster were recovering[br]from their magical illness,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and they surged out in pursuit.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But they were too late: Queen Meadhbh[br]crossed the border unscathed,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
dragging the brown bull with her.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Once home, Meadhbh [br]demanded another battle,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
this time between the brown bull [br]and her husband’s white bull.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The bulls were well matched, and struggled[br]into the night,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
dragging each other all over Ireland.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
At long last, the brown bull killed the[br]white bull,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and Queen Meadhbh was finally satisfied.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But the brown bull’s victory [br]meant nothing to him.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
He was tired, injured, and devastated.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Soon after, he died of a broken heart, [br]leaving behind a land

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that would remain ravaged by [br]Meadhbh’s war for years to come.