Lugaid mac Nois
Also spelled: Lugaid mac Nóis
A Munster prince and Cúchulainn's foster-brother who carries messages between Cúchulainn and the army.
Overview
Lugaid mac Nois is the son of the great king Alamiach and a foster-brother of Cúchulainn. He comes east from Munster with twelve princes to woo a girl, and Forgall Monach promises him Emer, but she swears that she loves Cúchulainn and Lugaid turns for home. In the Táin he goes between the two camps, asking Cúchulainn to spare his own men, asking him for a truce, and asking him to spare his brother Láréne. The text does not state that this Lugaid is the same man as Lugaid mac Nois Allchomaig, who goes between the camps in the same way, or as Lugaid king of Munster; the patronymic and the role match in each case.
For the sake of our friendship don’t kill him and leave me brotherless.
Connections
Related characters
- Ailill (sends him to Cúchulainn with offers)
- Cúchulainn (foster-brother, who speaks with him at the ford)
- Emer (the girl he is promised, who refuses him)
- Ferbaeth (comrade, sent to fight Cúchulainn)
- Fergus mac Roich (asks him to speak to Cúchulainn for Ailill's troop)
- Forgall Monach (promises him Emer)
- Láréne mac Nois (brother, flung into his arms by Cúchulainn)
- Alamiach (father, the great king)
Connected to
- Laeg mac Riangabra (sent to him for news of who comes tomorrow)
- Tamun (Carried the offer of Finnabair to Cúchulainn)
Places
- Breg Plain
- Glenn Firbaith (where he meets Cúchulainn about Láréne)
- Luglochta Logo
- Munster (the province he comes east from)
- Temair
Appears in chapters
Appears in
- Forgall promises Emer to Lugaid mac Nois and comes to Temair, and the king comes to Forgall's fort for the wedding, where Emer swears on his life that she loves Cúchulainn and Lugaid turns for home. At Luglochta Logo. In Cúchulainn's Courtship of Emer, and his Training in Arms.
- Forgall Monach promised the Breg landowners' twelve daughters to Lugaid's twelve princes. At Breg Plain. In Cúchulainn's Courtship of Emer, and his Training in Arms.
- Lugaid mac Nois came east from Munster with twelve princes to woo the daughters of Coirpre Niafer. At Munster. In Cúchulainn's Courtship of Emer, and his Training in Arms.
- Ailill offered Láréne mac Nois, brother of Lugaid king of Munster, their daughter if he brought them the head of the Warped One. At Munster. In Chapter VIII: The Bull is Found. Further Single Combats. Cúchulainn and the Morrígan.
- Forgall Monach came to Temair and told Lugaid mac Nois that he had an unmarried girl at home, the finest in Ireland. At Temair. In Cúchulainn's Courtship of Emer, and his Training in Arms.