Gáe Bulg

The "Gáe Bulg" (also "Gáe Bulga", "Gáe Bolg", "Gáe Bolga", meaning "notched spear", "belly spear", "swelling spear", "bellows-dart", or possibly "lightning spear") was the spear of Cúchulainn in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. It was given to him by his martial arts teacher, the warrior woman Scáthach, and its technique was taught only to him.

It was made from the bone of a sea monster, the Coinchenn, that had died while fighting another sea monster, the Curruid. Although some sources make it out to be simply a particularly deadly spear, others—notably the Book of Leinster—state that it could only be used under very specialized, ritual conditions:

In other versions of the legend, the spear had seven heads, each with seven barbs. In the "Táin Bó Cuailnge", Cúchulainn received the spear after training with the great warrior master Scáthach in Alba. She taught him and his foster-brother, Ferdiad, everything the same, except she only taught the Gáe Bulg feat to Cuchulainn. He later used it in single combat against Ferdiad. They were fighting in a ford, and Ferdiad had the upper hand; Cúchulainn's charioteer, Láeg, floated the "Gáe Bulg" down the stream to his master, who cast it into Ferdiad's body, piercing the warrior's armor and "coursing through the highways and byways of his body so that every single joint filled with barbs." Needless to say, Ferdiad died soon after. On a separate occasion, Cúchulainn also killed his own son, Connla, with the spear. In both instances, it was used a last resort, as once thrown it proved invariably fatal.

The name "Gáe Bulg" may be related linguistically to Fergus mac Róich's sword, "Caladbolg".

Gáe Bulg in popular culture

The Gáe Bulg, and weapons based upon it, continues to appear in modern fiction, most notably fantasy fiction, comic books and Role-playing games that deal with mythological themes.

In the comic book Sláine, which is loosely based on Celtic mythology, the Gáe Bulg appears as one of the weapons of the protagonist, who is loosely based on the Celtic hero, Cú Chulainn.

A variation of the Gáe Bulg and Cúchulainn appear in an episode of the Disney animated series Gargoyles. Titled "The Hound of Ulster", it tells of a young Irish man named Rory Dugan, who learns he is the hero Cu Chullain reincarnated after he recovers the Gae Bolga -- the Spear of Light -- with help from a gargoyle beast named Bronx. Rory had been led astray by the Banshee (disguised as a human woman named Molly), but after being drawn to the burial cairn of the legendary hero he is reunited with the Gae Bolga, and uses it to battle the Banshee once more. In the series, the Gae Bolga is depicted as a blazing shaft of light, which causes great damage when thrown and can return to Cu Chullain's hand afterwards.

In another instance, Gáe Bulg is featured as the signature weapon of Lancer in Fate/Stay Night. Lancer is revealed to be Cu Chulain early in the story after using Gae Bulg against Saber, who barely survives the attack. In the Fate/Stay Night universe Gáe Bulg is supposed to be unavoidable as the heart is pierced before the lance is thrust, therefore making the attack a predetermined kill. This is because Gáe Bulg is able to reverse the principle of 'cause and effect' (the heart being pierced is the cause of the lance being thrust). Saber was only able to avoid death due to her near-precognitive instincts.

In many cases the appearance of the Gáe Bulg seems to be largely out of cultural context, such as in video role-playing games like Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II, Ragnarok Online, , , , and the Final Fantasy series. In these games the Gáe Bulg (or "Gae Bolg") turns up as a powerful spear or javelin - a desirable weapon which players seek to wield in fantasy battles. However, some role-playing games do reference the actual legend. For example, in the Playstation 2 game, Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES, the main character can procure Cú Cúchulainn as a Persona and can then proceed to fuse Cú Cúchulainn with a compatible weapon to create the Gáe Bulg for the main character's use.

Similar examples outside of video RPGs include the , in which one of Negi's more powerful spells is invoked by chanting (in Latin) "Scathach, reigning in darkness, yield to my hand the thirty-barbed demon spear." This creates a missile which he hurls, doing great damage to his opponent. Gáe Bulg is also featured in The Last Remnant as an Athlum weapon resembling a large cannon, able to shoot a huge amount of energy that scorches the earth in its wake over long distances. Finally, Macgregor from the webcomic werewolf western High Moon has the words Gáe Bolga inscribed into the hilts of his pistols.

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