The myth of Ireland's two greatest warriors - Iseult Gillespie

Prevoditelj: Viktor Čikara Recezent: Sanda Liker

Cú Chulainn, hero of Ulster, stood at the ford at Cooley,

Cú Chulainn, ulsterški junak, stajao je na gazu kod Cooleyja,

ready to face an entire army singlehandedly—

spreman suočiti se s cijelom vojskom sam samcat --

all for the sake of a single bull.

sve radi jednog bika.

The army in question belonged to Queen Meadhbh of Connaught.

Dotična vojska je pripadala kraljici Meadhbh od Connaughta.

Enraged at her husband’s possession of a white bull of awesome strength,

Razjarena time što joj je muž prisvojio bijelog bika strašne snage,

she had set out to capture the fabled brown bull of Ulster

zaputila se uhvatiti basnoslovnog smeđeg ulsterškog bika

at any cost.

pod svaku cijenu.

Unfortunately, the King of Ulster had chosen this moment

Nesrećom, ulsterški kralj je izabrao taj trenutak

to force the goddess Macha to race her chariot while pregnant.

da natjera božicu Macha da se s njime trudna utrkuje na bojnim kolima.

In retaliation, she struck down him and his entire army with stomach cramps

Za odmazdu, sručila je na njega i cijelu njegovu vojsku grčeve u trbuhu

that eerily resembled childbirth— all except Cú Chulainn.

koji su sablasno nalikovali porađanju -- svi osim Cú Chulainna.

Though he was the best warrior in Ulster,

Premda je bio najbolji ratnik u Ulsteru,

Cú Chulainn knew he could not take on Queen Meadhbh’s whole army at once.

Cú Chulainn je znao da se ne može sam uhvatiti u koštac s cijelom vojskom.

He invoked the sacred rite of single combat

Pozvao se na sveti obred dvoboja

in order to fight the intruders one by one.

kako bi se borio s uljezima jedan po jedan.

But as Queen Meadhbh’s army approached,

Ali kako se približavala vojska kraljice Meadhbh,

one thing worried him more than the grueling ordeal ahead.

jedna ga je stvar brinula više od strašne kušnje pred njim.

Years before, Cú Chulainn had travelled to Scotland

Prije mnogo godina, Cú Chulainn je otputovao u Škotsku

to train with the renowned warrior Scáthach.

kako bi vježbao s glasovitim ratnikom Scáthachom.

There, he met a young warrior from Connaught named Ferdiad.

Tamo je upoznao mladog ratnika iz Connaughta po imenu Ferdiad.

They lived and trained side-by-side, and soon became close friends.

Živjeli su i vježbali se rame uz rame, i uskoro su postali bliski prijatelji.

When they returned to their respective homes,

Kada su se vratili u svoje domove,

Cú Chulainn and Ferdiad found themselves on opposite sides of a war.

Cú Chulainn i Ferdiad su se našli na suprotnim stranama u ratu.

Cú Chulainn knew Ferdiad was marching in Meadhbh’s army,

Cú Chulainn je znao da Ferdiad maršira u Meadhbhovoj vojsci,

and that if he succeeded in fending off her troops,

i da će se, ako uspješno odbije njene trupe,

they would eventually meet.

njih dvoje na koncu sresti.

Day after day, Cú Chulainn defended Ulster alone.

Dan za danom, Cú Chulainn je sam branio Ulster.

He sent the heads of some of his adversaries back to Meadhbh’s camp,

Poslao je glave nekolicine svojih protivnika natrag u Meadhbhin kamp,

while the rushing waters of the ford carried others away.

dok je prodiruća voda gaza odnijela druge.

At times, he slipped into a trance and slayed hundreds of soldiers in a row.

Ponekad bi upao u trans i pobio stotine ratnika zaredom.

Whenever he saw the queen in the distance, he hurled stones at her—

Kada god bi vidio kraljicu u daljini, bacao bi na nju kamenje --

never quite hitting her,

bez da ju je uspješno pogodio,

but once coming close enough to knock a squirrel off her shoulder.

ali jednom se dovoljno približio da obori vjevericu s njenog ramena.

Back at the Connaught camp, Ferdiad was laying low,

U taboru Connaughta, Ferdiad se pritajio,

doing everything he could to avoid the moment

čineći sve što je mogao da izbjegne trenutak

when he’d have to face his best friend in combat.

kada će se morati suočiti sa svojim najboljim prijateljem u borbi.

But the Queen was impatient to get her hands on the prize bull,

Ali kraljica je nestrpljivo čekala da se domogne vrijednog bika,

and she knew Ferdiad was her best chance to defeat Cú Chulainn.

a znala je da je Ferdiad njena najbolja prilika da pobijedi Cú Chulainna.

So she goaded him and questioned his honor

Stoga ga je izazvala i ispitala njegovu čast

until he had no choice but to fight.

dok nije imao drugog izbora osim borbe.

The two faced off at the ford, matching each other exactly in strength and skill

Dvojac se suočio na gazu, jednako snažni i vješti

no matter what weapons they used.

u rukovanju bilo kojim oružjem koje su koristili.

Then, on the third day of their fight, Ferdiad began to gain the upper hand

Zatim, trećeg dana njihove borbe, Ferdiad je prešao u vodstvo

over the exhausted Cu Chulainn.

nad iscrpljenim Cú Chulainnom.

But Cú Chulainn had one last trick up his sleeve:

Ali Cú Chulainn je imao još jedan as u rukavu:

their teacher had shared a secret with him alone.

njihova učiteljica je podijelila jednu tajnu samo s njim.

She told him how to summon the Gáe Bulg,

Rekla mu je kako da prizove Gáe Bulg,

a magical spear fashioned from the bones of sea monsters

čarobno koplje izrađeno od kostiju morskih životinja

that lay at the bottom of the ocean.

koje su ležale na dnu oceana.

Cu Chulainn called the spear, stabbed Ferdiad to death, and collapsed.

Cú Chulainn je prizvao koplje, nasmrt probo Ferdiada i srušio se.

Meadhbh seized her chance and swooped in with the rest of her army

Meadhbh je iskoristila priliku i ujurišala s ostatkom svoje vojske

to capture the brown bull.

kako bi zarobila smeđeg bika.

At last, the men of Ulster were recovering from their magical illness,

Napokon, ljudi Ulstera su se počeli oporavljati od svoje čarobne bolesti

and they surged out in pursuit.

i bacili su se u potjeru.

But they were too late: Queen Meadhbh crossed the border unscathed,

Ali bilo je prekasno: kraljica Meadhbh je prešla granicu bez ogrebotine,

dragging the brown bull with her.

vukući smeđeg bika sa sobom.

Once home, Meadhbh demanded another battle,

Stigavši doma, Meadhbh je zatražila još jednu borbu,

this time between the brown bull and her husband’s white bull.

ovoga puta između smeđeg bika i bijelog bika njenog muža.

The bulls were well matched, and struggled into the night,

Bikovi su bili izjednačeni i nadmetali se dugo u noć,

dragging each other all over Ireland.

vukući jedan drugog po cijeloj Irskoj.

At long last, the brown bull killed the white bull,

Nakon dugog vremena, smeđi bik je ubio bijelog bika

and Queen Meadhbh was finally satisfied.

i kraljica Meadhbh je konačno bila zadovoljna.

But the brown bull’s victory meant nothing to him.

Ali smeđem biku pobjeda ništa nije značila.

He was tired, injured, and devastated.

Bio je umoran, ozlijeđen i shrvan.

Soon after, he died of a broken heart, leaving behind a land

Ubrzo nakon toga umro je od slomljena srca, ostavljajući iza sebe

that would remain ravaged by Meadhbh’s war for years to come.

zemlju koja će ostati opustošena Meadhbhinim ratom još godinama.