The Death of Conchobar

Pre-reading

1) What are the qualities of a warrior/hero (think of the Odyssey, the Iliad)?

Cunning, Tragedy, Battle Skills, Stands for the value of the culture, and Nimble.

2) What are the qualities of a good king?

Kindness, Caring for the people/country, No Ego, and No Mistreating Power. 

3) What does a society with a king and warriors look like or act like? 

I assume it's very prepared place and ready to take action anytime. Very packed together.

4) What do you expect from a story about heroes and kings?

Tragedy, Problems that they run into in their life, Dramatic, Fights, Death, and Marriage (peace pledges).

5) What does Oral Tradition mean to you and how do you expect it to affect the story?

Oral tradition means to me that a story or event has been told through generations to be used as life lessons or to pass down culture. I think that it might mix up truth with some misunderstandings considering that the story has been passed on.

As we read

1) Keep track of all the characters that appear. Who is the protagonist? The antagonist(s)-- (think type of conflict).

Men of Ulster - Conall, Cu Chulainn, Cet mac Matach of Connacbt, Cenn Berriade, Fingen and Loegaire. They are trash talking each other and trying to see who is the best warrior by how many brains they've collected.

2) What is the main theme of the story (what is the author trying to say about life).

Religion. The author is trying to say that life has many different paths and we can take whatever path we choose, so Conchobar was pagthen and the becomes christian due to a enlightenment he has while he hears of the crufixtion of Christ.

3) List at least two symbols in the story. Why are these important?

Brain trophies are one symbols in the story and resemble paganism.
Religion is another symbol in the story and it's important because we have paganism and christianity mixed together in this short story.

4) Try to outline the plot.

The brain of Mesgegra was being tossed around until Cet took the brain away from them and plans to kill Conchobar with it to avenge Mesgegra's death. Cet and Conchobar are in war together and as the battle is going Conchobar leaves his army to show off to a group of ladies and then Cet hits him on the head with the brain of Mesgegra. Ceen Berriade carries Conchobar to his home and have his physican Fingen look at him and they all decide that they would rather Conchobar look bad and be king then have him die. Conchobar is cannot take action and his head is healed with a thread of gold. Conchobar gets mad about the Jews curfixing Christ and gets angry and the brain pops out of his head and dies. Conchobar's soul is taken from Hell and carried to Heaven.

After we read


1) What is up with the ending? Why is it important? Is this a Christian story or a Pagan story?  What clues (evidence) help you determine this?

The ending ends with Conchobar's death as he gets upset with the curfixtion of Christ. This is important because most of the story was told in paganism. I think this is a Christian story, because we see Conchobar go on to this path of enlightenment and is baptism with his own blood to go to Heaven with Christ instead of Hell.

2) What does the story tell us about life in Ireland during this time period? 

Life in Ireland during this time period was a little messy, you have a king that loves fooling around and winning, and then you have warriors just killing people to win their brains. It's a disturbing community...

3) What do you think about Conchobhar? Is he a good king? What is his personality like?

I don't think Conchobhar is a good king because his personality is all about himself and winning. For example, he left a battle to go show off to a group of girls.

4) What do you think about Cet? Is he a good warrior? What inferences can you make about him?

I think Cet is just doing what he thinks is right and what should be done. I wouldn't say that he was a good warrior, but he for sure wasn't a bad warrior. I think Cet did the right thing and went about it the right way.

5) What other warriors appear in the story? 

Conall, Cu Chulainn, Cet mac Matach of Connacbt, Cenn Berriade, and Loegaire.

6) Summarize this story.

The brain of Mesgegra was being tossed around until Cet took the brain away from them and plans to kill Conchobar with it to avenge Mesgegra's death. Cet and Conchobar are in war together and as the battle is going Conchobar leaves his army to show off to a group of ladies and then Cet hits him on the head with the brain of Mesgegra. Ceen Berriade carries Conchobar to his home and have his physican Fingen look at him and they all decide that they would rather Conchobar look bad and be king then have him die. Conchobar is cannot take action and his head is healed with a thread of gold. Conchobar gets mad about the Jews curfixing Christ and gets angry and the brain pops out of his head and dies. Conchobar's soul is taken from Hell and carried to Heaven.