An episode from 8/27/21: In this fourth episode on Celtic mythology, I read the story of how the great Irish hero, Cúchulainn, got his name by replacing a guard dog at the home of the smith, Culann. In one brief episode, there are so many strands: the early deeds of a hero, the precocious child who outdoes the adults, the Irish system of fosterage, and the mythical link between characters and animals.

The text of the story is taken from Thomas Kinsella's translation of The Táin. I also read a passage about Cúchulainn from James MacKillop's Oxford Dictionary of Celtic Mythology.

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