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Fer Diad, Ferdia, Fear Diadh, Fer-diád, Ferdéadh
[cf. fer diad, man of smoke]

Sometimes bears the epithet Conganchness [of skin like horn]. Friend and sworn brother of Cúchulainn, beguiled by Medb to fight against Cúchulainn in the war for the bull Donn Cuailnge in Táin Bó Cuailnge [Cattle Raid of Cooley]. According to several texts, the two men had been closely bound to one another since they were given military training together by the amazonian Scáthach on the Isle of Skye. Even after his beguiling by Medb, who promises him her daughter among other things, Ferdiad is hesitant to fight Cúchulainn until he is driven to anger by the gibes and insults of Láeg, Cúchulainn's charioteer. The reluctant three-day battle between Ferdiad and Cúchulainn is, for many readers, the emotional climax of the Táin. Clad in impenetrable hornskins, Ferdiad is almost invulnerable, but Cúchulainn dispatches him with his spear, Gáe Bolga, the weapon against which no man can stand. The ford in the River Dee where this was thought to have taken place was called Aacute;th Fhirdia(d) [ford of Ferdia], now Ardee, Co. Louth.

Modern commentators have asserted that the origin of Ferdiad's character pre-dates the composition of the Táin, even though he is assigned a father, Damán, and a heritage. According to T. F. O'Rahilly (1946), Ferdiad's martial skills in defence of Connacht suggest a link with the Domnainn of what is now north-west Co. Mayo. In Dáithí Ó hÓgáin's view (1991), the Clann (or Fir) Dedad may have fancifully been associated with the Dee River and Áth Fhirdia(d) before the Táin was composed. Not to be confused with Fer Ferdiad, another name for Fer Fidail.

 
 
Wikipedia: Ferdiad

In Irish mythology, Ferdiad (also Fer Diad, Ferdia) was the son of Daire (or son of Damáin son of Daire) and the champion of the men of Domnand (Fir Domnann) from Irrus Domnann in Connacht. Along with the Fir Bolg, the Fir Domnann were among the early inhabitants of Ireland before the coming of the Tuatha de Danaan or the Milesians. "Firdiad" means "man/warrior of the pair." ("Diad" related to dïas, or "two persons.") [1]

More famously, Ferdiad was Cúchulainn's best friend and foster-brother. He trained with him for years in Scotland under the famed She-Warrior Scáthach, and they were considered equally extraordinary warriors—though Cúchulainn had the Gae Bulg, Ferdiad possessed a coat of horn-like armor that no ordinary weapon could pierce. He was persuaded to fight against Cúchulainn by Queen Medb in the Táin Bó Cúailnge as a last resort, Cúchulainn having already slain many other champions in combat. Though Ferdiad initially refused to fight his foster-brother, Medb threatened him with vicious satires and offered him her daughter Findabair if he was successful. Finally and reluctantly, he agreed to go to battle.

After three days of battle at a river ford, Ferdiad was killed when Cúchulainn used his magical spear the Gae Bulg, which once thrown could not be stopped. The town of Ardee or Baile Átha Fhirdhia (the Ford of the Ferdia) takes it's name from the event.

Scholars believe that the fight between Cuchulainn and Ferdiad is a late addition to the Táin, originating not earlier than the eleventh century and drawing on earlier episodes in the story.


 
 

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Copyrights:

Celtic Mythology. A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Copyright © James MacKillop 1998, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ferdiad" Read more

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