Cú Chulainn in The Táin is depicted as a gifted warrior who accomplishes heroic deeds with his legendary strength. However, The Táin is full of violence, death, and bloodshed, and Cú Chulainn is the perpetrator of a great deal of it. The depictions and stories of Cú Chulainn as a young man in particular are telling of the The Táin’s message that violence is senseless and often meaningless. The almost farcical nature of the violent acts that Cú Chulainn commits is indicative of the text’s desire to convey that violence serves no purpose other than itself. In “Boyhood Deeds”, the scene where Cú Chulainn steals a man’s pig to fulfill a request from Conchobar and besides that also beheads him, is an example of this (Carson 40). Absolutely no context is given for this interaction; so it cannot be …show more content…
The instance where someone attempts to wake up a sleeping Cú Chulainn, who for a reason which is left ambiguous, hits the man “so hard on the forehead with his fist that he drove the bone into his brain” (Carson 39). It is not explicitly stated why exactly Cú Chulainn did this, which is an interesting commentary on the nature of this violent act. Since it is unclear whether Cú Chulainn was angered, merely startled, or perhaps just cruel, it cannot be known what hitting the man was meant to accomplish or whether it had any meaning. This reflects on The Táin’s message about the futility and senselessness of violence. The phrase ‘drove the bone into his brain’ is excessively violent; the use of such powerful imagery rather than merely saying the blow killed the man indicates that this violent act is intended to shock the reader. The contrast of such startling brutality and the absurdity of the act is a forceful commentary on how violence can come from nothing, and more importantly, neither accomplishes nor solves