Bricriu
Also spelled: Bricriu Nemthenga, Bricriu Poison-Tongue, Bricriu mac Carbaid
The venom-tongued
The sour, sharp-tongued Ulsterman who starts trouble at Emain, taunts Cúchulainn at the ford, and is trampled by the bulls.
Overview
Bricriu is in the bird chase with Conall, and when they find the house at the Brug he tells the others it is useless to go there unless they bring their own food and set the table themselves. At Emain he says the woman Cúchulainn has brought home must sleep with Conchobor first, and Cúchulainn trembles so hard the cushion bursts under him and the feathers fly. In the Táin he is with the army of Ireland, where he stands up at Fergus's call for someone to put heart in Cúchulainn and taunts him at the ford, and Fergus says in another place that Bricriu saw Cúchulainn crack the two stones. After the battle the men of Ireland choose him to judge between the bulls because he favours his friend no more than his enemy, and the two bulls trample across him and kill him.
Cúchulainn is going to find tonight’s doings very hard.
Connections
Related characters
- Conall Cernach (finds the Brug house with him)
- Cúchulainn (the man he taunts at Emain and at the ford)
- Donn Cuailnge (one of the bulls that trample him)
- Emer (says she must sleep with Conchobor first)
- Fergus mac Roich (asks for someone to put heart in Cúchulainn, and Bricriu does it)
- Finnbennach (the other bull)
- Finnchaem (needles her about her own son and her sister's son)
Connected to
- Conchobor (claims the first night of any bride in Ulster is the king's)
- Lóch mac Mofemis (Taunted Cúchulainn back onto his feet)
- Morrígan (taunts Cúchulainn while the eel has him down)
Places
- Brug (where he and Conall find the house in the snow)
- Emain Macha (where he speaks against Emer)
- Sliab Fuait
- Tarbga (where the bulls meet and kill him)
Appears in chapters
Appears in
- The men of Ulster chase a flock of birds across Sliab Fuait, Edmonn and Breg Plain, and reach Brug on the Boann as night overtakes them. At Brug. In How Cúchulainn was Begotten.
- It snows heavily and Conchobor has the chariots unyoked, while Conall and Bricriu search and find a solitary, newly built house where a couple make them welcome. At Brug. In How Cúchulainn was Begotten.
- A flock of birds ruins the plain around Emain and Conchobor, Deichtine and the Ulster warriors chase them away in nine chariots. At Emain Macha. In How Cúchulainn was Begotten.
- Cúchulainn brings Emer to Emain, where Bricriu says she must sleep with Conchobor, and Cúchulainn is sent off for the herds of Sliab Fuait and drives them onto the green. At Emain Macha. In Cúchulainn's Courtship of Emer, and his Training in Arms.
- Conchobor, Deichtine, Conall, Laegaire and Bricriu chase a flock of enchanted birds across Sliab Fuait, Edmonn and Breg Plain. At Sliab Fuait. In How Cúchulainn was Begotten.
- The men of Ireland choose Bricriu mac Carbad to judge between the bulls, and the two bulls trample him to death in the gap between them. At Tarbga. In Chapter XIV: The Last Battle.