The Death of Cuthullin by James Macpherson
The Death of Cuthullin, by James Macpherson, opens with Bragela, daughter of car-borne Sorglan, calling in vain for her husband Cuthullin, who has been away from her four autumns while she waits in the isle of mist. Ossian answers her sorrow and bids her rest in the hall of shells. Cuthullin, who guards the young king Cormac, sits by Lego's lake with his thousands spread on the heath and a hundred oaks burning in the midst of the camp. Carril strikes his harp beneath a tree and sings of Connal, Cuthullin's friend, whose ships are held back by the winds on the waters of Togorma. A son of the foe comes with a pointless spear and brings the words of Torlath, chief of Lego, son of Cantela. Torlath has risen against Cormac and will fight on the plain at the first gray of morning. Cuthullin treats the bard with honor and declares that his soul delights in war. The bard declines to sing a song of joy before a battle and instead chants of dark Slimora, where the ghosts of the dead gather. Cuthullin asks his hundred bards for the song of Fingal and the grief of Lara. He sets the shield of Caithbat on a branch and keeps his spear close. Carril sings of Alcletha, the aged mother of Calmar, who looks toward the desert for her son's return. Her daughter Alona sees a stranger carrying Calmar's spear, which is covered with blood, and Alcletha understands that her son is dead. While the bards sleep, Cuthullin lies awake, and the ghost of Calmar appears to him with a dark wound in his side, as though inviting him to the grave. Cuthullin refuses to be frightened out of Cormac's battles. He says he has never fled and has never feared the ghosts of night, whose knowledge is small and whose hands are weak. At dawn the warriors of Erin gather and the horn of war sounds over Lego. Torlath proposes that the two hosts watch the chiefs fight on the plain. Cuthullin sends the men of Ullin to Slimora's side. He charges Carril to tell Connal, should Cuthullin fall, that the winds are to blame for his absence, and that Connal's sword and counsel should defend Cormac at Temora. Cuthullin rushes forward as terrible as the spirit of Loda, and Torlath falls by his hand. The warriors of Lego gather around him, a thousand swords and arrows against him, but he stands like a rock in a roaring sea, and the field is his. He returns pale and silent, with his spear bending at every step. He tells Carril that his strength is failing and asks him to draw the arrow from his side, to lay him beneath an oak, and to place the shield of Caithbat beside him. Carril laments for Bragela, for the son who will ask whose sword hangs on the wall, and for Connal, who was absent when the mighty fell. The bards raise Cuthullin's tomb by the waves of Lego, with Luath lying at a distance. Their song blesses his soul, says that he fell not to a mighty sword but to an arrow loosed by an unseen hand, and mourns that Cormac's hall stands empty and that Bragela will never see his sails.
By James Macpherson · First published 1765 · Genre: Epic poetry, Elegiac poetry, Heroic poetry · 3,138 words
First lines
Argument. Cuthullin, after the arms of Fingal had expelled Swaran from Ireland, continued to manage the affairs of that kingdom as the guardian of Cormac the young king. In the third year of Cuthullin's administration, Torlath, the son of Cantela, rebelled in Connaught: and advanced to Temora to dethrone Cormac. Cuthullin marched against him, came up with him at the lake of Lego, and totally defeated his forces. Torlath fell in battle by Cutnullin's hand; but as he too eagerly pressed on the enemy, he was mortally wounded. The affairs of Cormac, though for some time supported by Nathos, as mentioned in the preceding' poem, fell into confusion at the death of Cuthullin. Cormac himself was slain by the rebel Cairbar; and the re-establishment of the royal family of Ireland, by Fingal, furnishes the subject of the epic poem of Temora.
Similar titles
Genres
- Epic poetry — The passage is an episode from a legendary heroic cycle that narrates a warrior's battles, a rebellion against a regent-guarded kingdom and the wider restoration of a royal line, which are the core concerns of the epic mode even though this section is a short, self-contained episode.
- Elegiac poetry — Much of the text is a lament for the dead, including the bards' song over Cuthullin's tomb, Bragela's mourning and Carril's grief for a fallen hero, and the poem's emotional center rests on loss and remembrance.
- Heroic poetry — It celebrates the martial prowess, honour and renown of its central hero, describing his dominance in battle, his refusal to flee and his wish for a fame that outlives him.
- Ossianic literature — The work belongs to the Ossianic cycle that Macpherson presented as translations of third-century Gaelic bardic poetry, and its characters, places and voice are drawn from that corpus.
Tags
Cuthullin · Ossianic poetry · Gaelic heroic verse · Celtic epic · ancient Ireland · legendary antiquity · Cormac · Torlath · Bragela · Carril · Connal · battle at Lego
What this Textopian page supports
The Death of Cuthullin is listed on Textopian as a poem by James Macpherson, dated 1765 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: James Macpherson
- Date: 1765 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Epic poetry, Elegiac poetry, Heroic poetry, Ossianic literature, Gothic literature
- Length: 3,138 words
- Structure: 1 section, 27 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Death of Cuthullin by James Macpherson
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph