“Even thou, it is not easy for thee. Thou art perplexed in thy counting, my little Cuchulain,” quoth Laeg. “Not perplexed,” answered Cuchulain; “it is easier for me than for thee. For I have three magical virtues: Gift of sight, gift of understanding, and gift of reckoning. For I know the number wherewith the hosts went past us, namely, eighteen cantreds. Nay more: the eighteenth cantred has been distributed among the entire host of the men of Erin, so that their number is not clear, namely, that of the cantred of Leinstermen.” This here is the third cunningest and most difficult reckoning that ever was made in Erin.

This excerpt from the Táin is just one of the many scenes throughout the story where we see the use of Cuchulain’s exceptional wits. Even though Cuchulain displays many admirable traits consecutively through this tale, he is most often recognized for his strength, yet he is much more than a fighter. In this scene, Cuchulain not only flaunts his ability to reason, but he describes his ability in a particular way. In the beginning of his dialogue here, he explains he has “magical virtues.” Although this quote could either be taken literally or figuratively, when I read it, I interpreted it figuratively, however, supernatural abilities are not uncommon in epic tales so perhaps it was meant to be interpreted as the former. Continuing, he says because of these gifts, he knows eighteen cantreds have passed them from simply looking at the tracks left by the carts and people of the passing parties. The tracks in the dirt probably sat on top of each other, so the task of answering this question seems impossible, but Cuchulain appears to have solved it. I would like to know whether he solved it through an advanced set of reasoning skills and equations or whether he used magic.