The Carnyx Unveiled

Image source: The carnyx howl by svantewit

Forget fifes and drums--Iron Age Celts charged into battle to the clamor of the carnyx, an enormous bronze war horn with a boar-shaped mouth. We may never know for certain what it sounded like, or how it was played, but some researchers and artists have ventured to try and recreate it. Working off the Deskford Carnyx, one such team unveiled their reconstructed carnyx at the National Museum of Scotland in April of 1993. Below, trombonist John Kenny delivers an intriguing performance from Carnyx & Co's Deskford clone. Imagine a gaggle of these things trumpeting across a broad field in Ireland, Britain, or France. Who needs armor when you've got that on your side?

The Ulster Cycle: The Webcomic Series

I honestly haven't been into any comics since I was a kid. No offense to the art; it's just not something I've had an interest in or been exposed to over the years. The only exceptions I can think of are Jeffrey Lewis's comics and The Beats: A Graphic History. Also awesome, but a topic for a later post. What I'm getting at is I'm by no means all that knowledgable on the subject, but I recently stumbled across Patrick Brown's adaptations of the Ulster Cycle of ancient Irish mythology and I'm really digging them. It's a perfect storm of geekdom: history, mythology, literature, and comics all rolled into one. The Ulster Cycle is fascinating to me, the stories dark and mysterious, the characters complex and at times grotesquely violent. Brown's work really helps make sense of the often confusing, sometimes downright contradictory tales. I'm sure he's taken artistic license here and there, but it is mythology, after all. Every myth you've every heard, read, or seen involves artistic license on someone's part. This guy certainly does his research. Not only does Brown write and draw, he's also compiled an impressive series of his own original translations of Ulster Cycle stories. It's all well worth a look: http://paddybrown.co.uk/

If you're still not convinced, here are a couple pages from "The Cattle Raid of Cooley," in which the teenage Cú Chulainn faces off against an entire invading army. Take that, 300. Cue the carnyx: