Note 3-3 — Footnotes.

They passed there that night. It was then that Ferdiad arose early on the morrow and went alone to the ford of combat, 3and dauntless, vengeful and mighty was the man that went thither that day, even Ferdiad son of Daman.3 For he knew that that would be the decisive day of the battle and combat; and he knew that one or other of them would fall there that day, or that they both would fall. It was then he donned his battle-weed of battle and fight and combat, *LL. fo. 86a. or ever Cuchulain came to meet him. And thus was the manner of this harness of battle and fight and combat: He put his silken, glossy trews with its border of speckled gold, next to his white skin. Over this, outside, he put his brown-leathern, well-sewed kilt. Outside of this he put a huge, goodly flag, the size of a millstone, 4the shallow (?) stone of adamant which he had brought from Africa and which neither points nor edges could pierce.4 He put his solid, very deep, iron kilt of twice molten iron over the huge, goodly flag as large as a millstone, through W. 3730. fear and dread of the Gae Bulga on that day. About his head he put his crested war-cap of battle and fight and combat, whereon were forty carbuncle-gems beautifully adorning it and studded with red-enamel and crystal and rubies and with 1shining stones1 of the Eastern world. His angry, fierce-striking spear he seized in his right hand. On his left side he hung his curved battle-falchion, 2which would cut a hair against the stream with its keenness and sharpness,2 with its golden pommel and its rounded hilt of red gold. On the arch-slope of his back he slung his massive, fine-buffalo shield 3of a warrior,3 whereon were fifty bosses, wherein a boar could be shown in each of its bosses, apart from the great central boss of red gold. Ferdiad performed divers, brilliant, manifold, marvellous feats on high that day, unlearned from any one before, neither from foster-mother nor from foster-father, neither from Scathach nor from Uathach nor from Aifè, but he found them of himself that day in the face of Cuchulain.