Cruinniuc
Encyclopedia
Cruinniuc is a wealthy cattle-owner of Ulster
in the Ulster Cycle
of Irish mythology
. A widower, he is surprised when a beautiful woman turns up at his house, sleeps with him and takes care of his children, without revealing her name. She becomes pregnant by him.
Later, at a festival, he boasts that his wife could run faster than the king's chariot
. The king hears his boast, and his heavily pregnant wife is forced to race against his chariot. She wins, and gives birth to twins on the finish line. She reveals her name is Macha
, daughter of Sainrith mac Imbaith, and the capital of Ulster is thereafter called Emain Macha
("Macha's Twins"). She curses the men of Ulster to suffer her labour pains in the hour of their greatest need, which is why none of the Ulstermen but Cúchulainn
is able to fight in the Táin Bó Cuailnge
(Cattle Raid of Cooley).
Ulaid
The Ulaid or Ulaidh were a people of early Ireland who gave their name to the modern province of Ulster...
in the Ulster Cycle
Ulster Cycle
The Ulster Cycle , formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, one of the four great cycles of Irish mythology, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the traditional heroes of the Ulaid in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly counties Armagh, Down and...
of Irish mythology
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
. A widower, he is surprised when a beautiful woman turns up at his house, sleeps with him and takes care of his children, without revealing her name. She becomes pregnant by him.
Later, at a festival, he boasts that his wife could run faster than the king's chariot
Chariot
The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
. The king hears his boast, and his heavily pregnant wife is forced to race against his chariot. She wins, and gives birth to twins on the finish line. She reveals her name is Macha
Macha
Macha is the name of a goddess and several other characters in Irish mythology.Macha can also mean:*The LÉ Macha , a ship in the Irish Naval Service, named for the goddess*The Macha crater in Russia, less than 7000 years old...
, daughter of Sainrith mac Imbaith, and the capital of Ulster is thereafter called Emain Macha
Emain Macha
]Navan Fort – known in Old Irish as Eṁaın Ṁacha and in Modern Irish as Eamhain Mhacha – is an ancient monument in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. According to Irish legend, it was one of the major power centers of pre-Christian Ireland...
("Macha's Twins"). She curses the men of Ulster to suffer her labour pains in the hour of their greatest need, which is why none of the Ulstermen but Cúchulainn
Cúchulainn
Cú Chulainn or Cúchulainn , and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin , is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore...
is able to fight in the Táin Bó Cuailnge
Táin Bó Cúailnge
is a legendary tale from early Irish literature, often considered an epic, although it is written primarily in prose rather than verse. It tells of a war against Ulster by the Connacht queen Medb and her husband Ailill, who intend to steal the stud bull Donn Cuailnge, opposed only by the teenage...
(Cattle Raid of Cooley).