his horses and over
his companion, so that he was not visible to any one in the
camp, and so that every one in the camp was visible to them.
It was proper that he should cast this, because there were the
three gifts of charioteering on the charioteer that day, the
leap over ----, and the straight ----, and the ----.

Then the hero and the champion and he who made the fold of the Badb
[Note: The Badb (scald-crow) was a war-goddess. This is an
expressive term for the piled-up bodies of the slain.] of the men
of the earth, Cuchulainn Mac Sualtaim, took his battle-array of
battle and contest and strife. This was his battle-array of battle
and contest and strife: he put on twenty-seven skin tunics, waxed,
like board, equally thick, which used to be under strings and
chains and thongs, against his white skin, that he might not lose
his mind nor his understanding when his rage should come. He put on
his hero's battle-girdle over it outside, of hard-leather, hard,
tanned, of the choice of seven ox-hides of a heifer, so that it
covered him from the thin part of his sides to the thick part of
his arm-pit; it used to be on him to repel spears, and points, and
darts, and lances, and arrows. For they were cast from him just as
if it was stone or rock or horn that they struck (?). Then he put
on his apron, skin like, silken, with its edge of white gold
variegated, against the soft lower part of his body. He put on his
dark apron of dark leather, well tanned, of the choice of four
ox-hides of a heifer, with his battle-girdle of cows' skins (?)
about it over his silken skin-like apron. Then the royal hero took
his battle-arms of battle and contest and strife. These then were
his battle-arms of battle: he took his ivory-hilted, bright-faced
weapon, with his eight little swords; he took his five-pointed
spear, with his eight little spears [Note: In the margin: 'and his
quiver,' probably an interpolation.]; he took his spear of battle,
with his eight little darts; he took his javelin with his eight
little javelins; his eight shields of feats, with his round shield,
dark red, in which a boar that would be shown at a feast would go
into the boss (?), with its edge sharp, keen, very sharp, round
about it, so that it would cut hairs against the stream for
sharpness and keenness and great sharpness; when the warrior did
the edge-feat with it, he would cut equally with his shield, and
with his spear, and with his sword.

Then he put on his