As regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog may recall, December and early January are when I sprinkle in more tales of the Paladins of Charlemagne. These are the legends about Charlemagne and his Paladins, not the actual history, so there will be dragons, monsters and magic.
FOR MY FIRST CHAPTER ON CHARLEMAGNE’S PALADINS CLICK HERE.
RUGGIERO AND THE ENCHANTRESS ALCINA – When we left off last time around, the Emperor Charlemagne and his armies were still engaged in their war against the recent Muslim invasion from North Africa and Spain, led by Agramant.
Among the many dramas scattered throughout Charlemagne’s Empire was the star-crossed Romeo and Juliet style romance of the Muslim warrior Ruggiero and the female Christian Paladin Bradamante of the White Armor. Prophecies had foretold that Bradamante would lead Ruggiero away from Islam, and so he had been held captive by the enchanter Atlantes to keep the two of them separated.
Our previous installment ended with Bradamante having defeated and driven off Atlantes and freed the many men and women imprisoned in his mystic castle atop the Pyrenees. She and Ruggiero had been reunited and renewed their feelings for each other amid the general exodus of freed prisoners from the annihilated castle of Atlantes. Continue reading
OF ANTICHRIST AND HIS RUIN (1692) – Last week Balladeer’s Blog reviewed John Bunyan’s often neglected work 
THE HOLY WAR (1682) – The work that John Bunyan is most well-known for is The Pilgrim’s Progress, but given the theme of Balladeer’s Blog, rather than write the 2 billionth review of that book I decided to take a general look at one of Bunyan’s often overlooked writings on mythology/ allegory. 
(Hey, it’s John Bunyan. If you’re looking for subtlety, let me introduce you to Mr. You-Won’t-Find-It-Here. Still, his works can be entertaining and thought provoking in a quaint, fairy-tale way.)
PART ONE – This opening segment examined the Six Ages of the World section, a mythological look at the history of the world from Creation to the coming of Jesus Christ. The Book of the Dun Cow contains a mix of pagan and Christian materials, and in Part One I also reviewed its presentation of myths regarding Great Britain, legends of Saint Columba and its version of the story of Tuan mac Cairill, the only non-Ark survivor of the Great Flood and who chronicled the ancient races of Ireland like the Tuatha de Danaan, Fir Bolg and Milesians. Click 
PART TWO – The four sections covered in Part Two: Two Sorrows of the Kingdom of Heaven, featuring Elijah and Enoch in Heaven and their observations regarding the Antichrist, the end of the world and the Final Judgment; The Intoxication of the Ulstermen, about the Samhain partying of the Ulstermen and the peril it led to; The Raid on Dartaid’s Cattle, about a raid to rustle the cattle of the she-warrior Dartaid; and The Raid on Fliodhaise’s Cattle, featuring Queen Maeve, King Ailill, Fergus mac Roich and Queen Fliodhaise, her lusty ways and her cattle. Click 
THE STORY IMPLYING THAT MONGAN WAS FIONN MAC CUMHAILL REBORN AND HOW HE AND HIS NEPHEW KILLED FOTHAD AIRGTHECH (Scel asa mberar combad hé Find mac Cumaill Mongáin ocus aní día fil aided Fothaid Airgdig) – Ireland’s Prince Mongan, whom 
Eventually Forgoll insists his knowledge has been insulted by Mongan’s contrary claim and threatens to curse and ridicule Mongan unless Mongan gives him his wife by way of reparations. An elderly, decrepit stranger arrives on the scene. 
THE CONCEPTION OF CUCHULAINN (Compert Con Culainn) – One of the versions of the birth of the demigod Cuchulainn. This version begins as Ulster’s King Conchobar mac Nessa (at left) goes on a hunt for magical birds with several nobles of Ulster and his daughter Deichtine, his charioteer. (In the later and more popular versions Deichtine is King Conchobar’s sister, not his daughter, and most of the Cuchulainn myths refer to him as Conchobar’s nephew, not grandson.) 
THE ADVENTURE OF CONNLA THE BEAUTIFUL, SON OF CONN OF THE HUNDRED BATTLES (Echtra Condla Chaim meic Cuind Chetchathaig) – Amid the monuments and landmarks on the Hill of Uisnech in central Ireland, Connla and his father Conn, a High King of Ireland, are relaxing with several of their troops around them. 
King Conn and others nearby ask Connla who he is speaking to, because only he is able to see her. As the smitten Connla continues “chatting her up” his father and others hear the woman speaking but still cannot see her. She makes it clear that she is inviting Connla to come with her to Mag Mell forever, prompting the panicked Conn to call for his Druid Corann. 
THE FEAST OF BRICRIU (Fled Bricrenn) – The Book of the Dun Cow version of this tale is dated to around the 700s A.D. and is considered the forerunner of the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in British legends. 
THE CATTLE RAID OF COOLEY (Tain Bo Cuailgne) – Because this is easily the most well-known tale from Irish Mythology I will be brief and I will also include another section of the Book of the Dun Cow in this same blog post. 
III. As Queen Maeve and her army approached Ulster, most of the Ulstermen were incapacitated by labor pains, a curse from the goddess Macha that they would be thus afflicted for nine generations whenever Ulster faced peril. The only man of Ulster not affected by the curse was the demigod Cuchulainn, 
THE EXPULSION OF THE DEISSI (Tucait innarba na nDessi i mMumain ocus aided Chormaic) – Once believed to be a genuine historical narrative, The Expulsion of the Deissi has long been recognized as yet another case of mere quasi-historical myth-making. 
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