Cooley’s Razzia des Vaches is a text based on Irish mythology. Although its origins date back to protohistoric times, the manuscript version was not written until the 11th century. It is now considered the founding text of Irish mythology…
Cooley’s Cow Razzia – Ireland Guide.com
It all starts in Tara, in the royal residence of Crúachan. The royal couple argue. Queen Medb and King Ailill are at odds over their respective prestige. Medb claims to possess far more good than Ailill, to display greater courage and virtues than he does.
In response, Aillil retorts to possessing far more property than his wife, and begins to list his most prized possessions, in an attempt to prove his superiority over Medb.
To prove the superiority of one over the other, the royal couple of Connaught agreed to list all their respective assets… The list is huge, from jewelry to crockery, sheep, cows, horses and pigs… In vain, for their assets are in every way equivalent, whether it’s Queen Medb or King Ailill. With the exception of one calf, “Le Blanc Cornu”, a beautiful animal belonging to King Ailill.
In order to keep up with the comparison, Medb decided to find an animal of the same build. She learns that there is one in Ulster possessed by Däre, and decides to go and find it. This bull, named “le Brun de Cooley”, is quite enormous, and Medb asks Däre to rent him in exchange for 50 heifers and a tank. At first, Däre accepted the deal. But late in the evening, he learned that if he refused, they would have taken the bull by force. Faced with this attitude, Däre reverses his decision and refuses to give up his pet.
Faced with this refusal, Medb organizes a veritable armed expedition to invade the kingdom of Ulster, and obtain Cooley’s bull. But a prophecy warned the army that they would have to face a man called Cúchulainn, who would destroy their plans in a bloodbath.
Cúchulainn is the first to discover Medb’s desire to wrest the Bull from Däre. No sooner had he spotted the armies heading for the Uslter, than he and Sualtam set off to raise the alarm. A fierce battle ensues. Cúchulainn beheads Nera’s 2 sons, and sends their corpses to Medb. The next day, Cúchulainn faced Medb’s gigantic armies and brutally murdered Orlàm and Arach’s 3 sons. A third day followed, when 100 warriors perished under the blade of the mighty Cúchulainn. Late at night, the army tried to surprise him, but 100 warriors perished at his hands.
Faced with these repeated defeats, Medb tried to bribe Cúchulainn into submission. Money, jewels, enlistment proposal… Nothing helped, and Cúchulainn remained insensitive to the riches offered by the queen.
Exasperated, Medb again sends 100 warriors against the Ulster hero. Nothing helped: Cúchulainn murdered 100 of the soldiers who had come to confront him. We then decide to change strategy, and have the undefeated warrior face one soldier a day to save time.
Numerous battles followed, always won by Cúchulainn. Meanwhile, Cooley’s bull and 50 heifers are captured by Buide, son of Bain Blai. Furious, Cúchulainn resumed his fighting. The warriors of the opposing camp are increasingly afraid of him. And Medb has to be clever to win them over and recruit new ones. With Findabair’s promises, alcohol and caresses, she manages to keep the number of her soldiers from growing dangerously low.
Then Lug, a Supreme God, comes to visit Cúchulainn. (Lug is in fact Cúchulainn’s “divine” father). The God went to his son’s camp, tended his wounds with the herbal help of the Sidh, and watched over him as he recovered (Cúchulainn slept for 3 days and 3 nights). After recovering his strength, the hero hitches up his chariot and embarks on one of the worst battles in the story: the slaughter is so great, it’s said, that you can’t even see the grass anymore, it’s so covered with corpses. The outcome was truly deadly: over 150 kings were murdered, and more than a third of the soldiers were wounded.
Medb decides to implement a new strategy: she tries to convince Ferdiad, a friend of Cúchulainn’s, to face him in a duel. He accepts after being seduced by Findabair’s alcohol, promises and caresses. The battle was so violent that the river changed its course during the battle. The battle lasted 3 days, until Cúchulainn decapitated Ferdiad, despite a blow to the chest.
Rochad Mac Fathemain then came to Cúchulainn’s aid, and tried to fight battles alongside him. Findabair then tries to spend the night with this man to negotiate a truce before the battle of Gárech and Ilgárech. The princes of Munster, who had been promised the princess’s hand in marriage, learn of her actions, cause a scandal and Findabair dies of shame.
By this time, Cúchulainn is exhausted and worn out. His wounds leave him without strength. He then asks his earthly father, Sualtam, to seek help from the Ulates. King Conchobar eventually responded to this call, forming a gigantic army of 3,000 chariots and an equal number of horsemen. The first confrontation cost Medb over 800 soldiers.
After many battles, the Ulates finally had the last word, driving Medb and his army out and ordering them to return home. Only Cúchulainn was unable to attend the final battle, as his injuries were too severe.
In the meantime, Cooley’s bull had been brought face to face with Ailill’s bull. These 2 animals built each other up, until Cooley’s bull put his opponent to death. He then returned home to Däre.
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