Cu Chulainn

Cú Chulaínn, Cuchulainn

A hero of Irish mythology who may be a prototype of Gawaine.

He was the son of the god Lug, who some scholars have seen as the orign of Lot, and of the lady Dechtire. Like Gawain, his strength reached its peak at noon. In origin, he may have been a solar deity.

He possessed a sword called Caladbolg, which - transferred through the Welsh Caledfwlch - might be the origin of Excalibur. In the Irish tale of Bricriu’s Feast, he undergoes a Beheading Game that Gawaine inherits in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.