This is 54mm Celtic Legend Chess Set - Cuchulainn vs Queen Medb - Hand Painted. The Tain Bo Cuailnge is the most famous epic of Irish legend, and is the story of how queen Medb made war upon Ulster to gain possession of the brown bull of Cuailnge.There were in ancient times two great bulls in Ireland, each imbued with magical powers: the brown bull of Cuailnge and the White-horned bull of Connaught, the latter of which lived in the herd of King Ailill of Connaught. Jealous that she possessed no beast that could compare, his wife Queen Medb, resolved to lay her hands upon the brown bull of Cuailnge, whose owner Daire, was vassal of King Conchobor of Ulster. She therefore rallied the kings of Ireland to make war upon the Ulstermen with the aim of capturing the great bull.Long ago the men of Ulster had come under a curse which filled them with a weakness for certain days of the year, and it was at this time that Medb and her warriors resolved to strike. She thus expected an easy victory over her enemies, but had not reckoned with the prowess of Cuchulainn who was invulnerable to the curse and who single-handedly held the armies of Erin at bay for many days. He took on all her champaions in single combat and defeated them, he harassed her army with his sling and slaughtered a hundred of the enemy each day. Medb in desperation sent the magical Gaile Dana against him and then the mighty champion Ferdia but all were slaughtered by the hand of the hero. Eventually, with Cuchulainn covered in more wounds than one could count, the men of Ulster awoke from their stupor and rallied against their enemies. The greatest battle the the island of Ireland had ever seen then raged between the two armies, first one side then the other gaining the advantage. Finally the army of Connaught broke and fled, but the brown bull went with it into the south, where he fought the white bull in single combat and slew him. But upon returning to the north, his own heart burst and he fell dead. Such was the end of the great cattle-raid of Cuailnge.Hand Painted Finish means that the chess theme is carefully researched to be as historically accurate as possible and painted with Vallejo acrylic paints by our experienced Irish artists. Each layer has to be dryed before the next layer can be applied. Many specialist techniques are deployed including 'drybrushing' and 'washes' to create glowing colours that catch the eye and make our painted sets stand out head and shoulders over our competition. All pieces are designed by our internationally famous designer Chris Tubb. The wooden chess case has a built-in board and two drawers with foam protection for all the chess pieces to be safely stored away when being carried.Scale is 54mm.
