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Crom Cruach

2025-09-11T16:41:28Z

2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: Fixed Old Irish transcription

{{Short description|Irish pagan sun and fertility god}}
{{for|the Robin of Sherwood episode|Cromm Cruac (Robin of Sherwood)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:St. Patrick and Crom Cruaich.jpg|400px|thumb|Crom Cruaich and St. Patrick. Illustrated by L.D. Symington.]]
'''Crom Cruach''' ({{langx|sga|Cromm Crúaich}} {{IPA|sga|kɾom ˈkɾuːa̯xʲ|}}) was a [[pagan]] god of [[Protohistory of Ireland|pre-Christian Ireland]]. According to Christian writers, he was propitiated with [[human sacrifice]] and his worship was ended by [[Saint Patrick]].<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/43357288/The_Irish_God_Crom_Cr%C3%BAaich_of_Magh_Sl%C3%A9cht_a_review_of_the_sources Smith, Tom. "The Irish God 'Crom Crúaich of Magh Slécht' : a review of the sources"]</ref>

He is also referred to as ''Crom Cróich'', ''Cenn Cruach''/''Cróich'' ({{IPA|sga|kʲen̪ː ˈkɾuːa̯x|}}) and ''Cenncroithi'' ({{IPA|sga|kʲen̪ː ˈkɾoθʲi|}}). He is related to the later mythological and folkloric figure [[Crom Dubh]].

The references in a ''[[dinsenchas]]'' ("place-lore") poem in the 12th century to sacrifice in exchange for milk and grain suggest that Crom had a function as a [[fertility god]]. The description of his image as a gold figure surrounded by twelve stone or bronze figures has been interpreted by some as representing the sun surrounded by the signs of the [[zodiac]], suggesting a function as a [[solar deity]].<ref name="Mythology">{{cite web| url = http://www.shee-eire.com/magic&mythology/gods&goddess/Celtic/Gods/Crom-Cruaich/Page1.htm| title = Celtic Gods, Crom Cruaich| work = Magic of Mythology| access-date = 9 December 2010| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100704062055/http://www.shee-eire.com/magic%26mythology/gods%26goddess/Celtic/Gods/Crom-Cruaich/Page1.htm| archive-date = 4 July 2010}}</ref>

== Name ==
Crom Cruach's name takes several forms. ''Crom'' (or ''cromm'') means "bent, crooked, stooped" or according to O'Reilly is perhaps related to ''cruim'' meaning "thunder".<ref name="sidhe">{{cite book |last1=Fitzgerald |first1=David |title=Popular Tales of Ireland |date=1880 |publisher=Revue Celtique |pages=176 |url=https://archive.org/details/revueceltiqu04pari/page/178/mode/2up?view=theater |access-date=12 December 2021}}</ref> ''Cenn'' means "head", and by extension "head, chief". ''Cruach'' (or ''crúach'') is a noun meaning "pile, heap, mound, stack", generally of grain, hay, peat or other gathered goods, booty, and so on, including slaughtered fighters. A common extension is its reference to hills or mountains that look like stacks or piles.

Crom Cruach is called the chief Celtic idol of Ireland by [[Michael J. O'Kelly]], and was located on [[Magh Slécht]] (The ''Plain of Prostrations'') in [[County Cavan]], surrounded by twelve other idols.<ref>{{cite book| last = O'Kelly| first = Michael J.| author-link = Michael J. O'Kelly| editor = Claire O'Kelly| editor-link = Claire O'Kelly| title = Early Ireland: An Introduction to Irish Prehistory| year = 1989| publisher = Cambridge University Press| isbn = 0-521-33687-2| page = 288}}</ref>

== Literary references ==

According to an Irish ''[[dinsenchas]]'' ("place-lore") poem in the 12th century [[Book of Leinster]], Crom Cruach's [[cult image]], consisting of a gold figure surrounded by twelve stone figures, stood on [[Magh Slécht]] ("the plain of prostration") (pronounced Moy Shlokht)<ref name=Isaac>[https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/st-patrick-paganism-ireland Isaac, Ali. "The intersection of Saint Patrick and paganism in Ireland", Irish Central, February 16, 2020]</ref> in [[County Cavan]], and was propitiated with first-born sacrifice in exchange for good yields of milk and grain. Crom Cruach is described as a wizened god, hidden by mists,<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/metricaldindsenc04royauoft/metricaldindsenc04royauoft_djvu.txt Gwynn, Edward. ''The metrical Dindsenchas'', vol. XI, Dublin, Hodges, Figgis and Co., Ltd., 1924]</ref> and is said to have been worshipped since the time of [[Érimón]]. An early [[High King of Ireland|High King]], [[Tigernmas]], along with three quarters of his army, is said to have died while worshipping Crom on [[Samhain]] eve, but worship continued until the cult image was destroyed by St. Patrick with a [[sledgehammer]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=E. |editor-last=Gwynn |others=E. Gwynn (ed & trans) |title=The Metrical Dindshenchas |url=http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T106500D/text007.html |volume=4 |at=poem 7 |postscript=;}} {{cite book |title=Annals of the Four Masters |url=http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005A/text006.html |id=M3656 |postscript=;}} {{cite book |first=Geoffrey |last=Keating |author-link=Geoffrey Keating |title=History of Ireland |at=2.25 |url=http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/text035.html}}</ref>

This incident figures prominently in medieval legends about St. Patrick, although it does not appear in his own writings, nor in the two 7th century biographies by [[Muirchu moccu Machtheni|Muirchu]] and [[Tírechán]].<ref name=Bieler-1979>{{cite book |editor-first=Ludwig |editor-last=Bieler |others=[[Ludwig Bieler]] (ed. & trans.) |year=1979 |title=The Patrician Texts in the Book of Armagh |publisher=Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies}}</ref> However [[J. B. Bury|J.B. Bury]],<ref>{{cite journal |first=J.B. |last=Bury |year=1902–1904 |title=The itinerary of Patrick in Connaught, according to Tírechán |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature |volume=24 |page=156}}</ref> infers that there is a missing passage in Tírechán about Crom Cruaich; [[Ludwig Bieler]], who edited the two biographies,<ref name=Bieler-1979/> is non-committal on the point.

In the 9th century ''[[Vita tripartita Sancti Patricii|Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick]]'' the deity is called Cenn Cruach, and his cult image consists of a central figure covered with gold and silver, surrounded by twelve bronze figures. When Patrick approaches it he raises his [[crozier]], the central figure falls face-down, with the imprint of the crozier left in it, and the surrounding figures sink into the earth. The "demon" who inhabits the image appears, but Patrick curses him and casts him to hell.<ref>{{cite book |first=James |last=O'Leary |others=James O'Leary (ed & trans) |year=1880 |chapter=Tripartite Life |at=Part II |title=The Most Ancient Lives of St. Patrick |chapter-url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18482/18482-h/18482-h.htm#chap0402}}</ref> [[Jocelin (Bishop of Glasgow)|Jocelin's]] 12th century ''Life and Acts of St. Patrick'' tells much the same story. Here the god is called Cenncroithi, interpreted as "the head of all gods", and when his image falls the silver and gold covering it crumble to dust, with the imprint of the crozier left on bare stone.<ref>{{cite book |first=James |last=O'Leary |others=James O'Leary (ed & trans) |year=1880 |chapter=The Life and Acts of St. Patrick by Jocelin |at=Chapter 56 |title=The Most Ancient Lives of St. Patrick |chapter-url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18482/18482-h/18482-h.htm#chap6056}}</ref>

== Archaeology ==
A decorated stone known as the [[Killycluggin Stone]] ({{Irish derived place name|Coill an Chlogáin}}, meaning 'the Wood of the Bell-Shaped Stone') has been interpreted by some as the cult image of Crom Cruach. It was found at [[Killycluggin]], [[County Cavan]]. It was discovered broken in several pieces and partly buried close to a [[Bronze Age]] stone circle (54.090773, -7.634122), inside which it probably once stood.<ref name=Isaac/>

The 14th century ''Book of McGovern'', written in [[Magh Slécht]], contains a poem which states that Crom was situated at Kilnavert beside the road and that the local women used to tremble in fear as they passed by. There is still a local tradition in the area that the Killycluggin Stone is the Crom stone.

There is another standing stone identified<ref>''Killinagh Church and Crom Cruaich'' by Oliver Davies and D. Lowry-Corry, in Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Third Series, Vol. 2 (1939), pp. 98-104</ref> with Crom Crúaich in Drumcoo townland, [[County Fermanagh]]. It has the figure of a man walking engraved on it, representing either Saint Patrick or a druid, depending on when it was engraved. A nearby street is named Crom Crúaich Way after it.

A large wooden idol from the 4th century AD has recently been discovered in Gortnacrannagh, County Roscommon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1600-year-old-wooden-idol-found-ireland-180978453/|title = Eight-Foot-Tall, 1,600-Year-Old Statue of Pagan Deity Found in Ireland}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KpPTEKbk40|title = Gortnacrannagh Idol|website = [[YouTube]]| date=17 December 2021 }}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Cermand Cestach]]
* [[Crom Dubh]]
*[[Macroom]]
*[[Metrical Dindshenchas]]
*[[Annals of the Four Masters]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [https://www.academia.edu/13644175/St._Patrick_vs._Cenn_Cruaich_in_the_Patrician_Lives_Elements_of_Narrative Collins, Claire. "St. Patrick vs. Cenn Cruaich in the Patrician Lives: Elements of Narrative", 2015. Irish Conference of Medievalists]
* [http://www.templeport.ie/magh-slecht-dara-fort/plain-of-blood.pdf White, Kevin. "The Plain of Blood: A Study of the Ritual Landscape of Magh Slecht, Co. Cavan"]

{{Celtic mythology (Mythological)}}

[[Category:Irish gods]]
[[Category:Solar gods]]
[[Category:Human sacrifice in folklore and mythology]]
[[Category:Irish legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Cyclopes]]
[[Category:Fertility gods]]

Lebor na hUidre

2025-09-10T21:53:23Z

2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: Align to wiktion

{{Short description|12th century Irish vellum manuscript}}
{{Redirect|Book of the Dun Cow|the novel by Walter Wangerin Jr.|The Book of the Dun Cow (novel)}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox manuscript

| name = Lebor na hUidre
| location = [[Royal Irish Academy]]

| image =
| width =
| caption =

| Also known as = Book of the Dun Cow
| Type = Compilation of [[early Irish literature]]
| Date = Before 1106 (with later additions)
| Place of origin = [[Clonmacnoise]]
| Language(s) = [[Middle Irish]], with some [[Latin]] words
| Scribe(s) = [[Máel Muire mac Céilechair]] and two others
| Author(s) =
| Compiled by =
| Illuminated by =
| Patron =
| Dedicated to =

| Material = [[Vellum]]
| Size = 32cm x 24cm
| Format = [[Folio]]
| Condition = Damaged, only 67 pages remaining
| Script = [[Irish minuscule]]
| Contents =
| Illumination(s) =
| Additions =
| Exemplar(s) =
| Previously kept =
| Discovered = 1844
| Other =
| below =
}}
{{Location map | Island of Ireland
| relief = yes
| width = 250
| caption = Location of Clonmacnoise in Ireland
| lat_deg = 53.323889
| lon_deg = -7.991111
| label1 = Clonmacnoise
}}

'''{{Lang|mga|Lebor na hUidre|italic=no}}''' ({{IPA|mga|ˈl̠ʲeβoɾ n̪a ˈhuðʲɾʲe|lang}}, '''LU''') or the '''Book of the Dun Cow''' (MS 23 E 25) is an Irish [[vellum]] [[manuscript]] dating to the 12th century. It is the oldest extant manuscript in [[Irish language|Irish]]. It is held in the [[Royal Irish Academy]] and is badly damaged: only 67 leaves remain and many of the texts are incomplete. It is named after an anachronistic legend that it was made from the hide of a [[dun cow]] by Saint [[Ciarán of Clonmacnoise]].

==History==
The manuscript is thought to be the work of three scribes, whose handwriting was distinguished by [[Richard Irvine Best]] in 1912 and identified with the letters ''A'', ''M'' and ''H''.<ref>R. I. Best, "Notes on the Script of ''Lebor na hUidre''", ''[[Ériu (journal)|Ériu]]'' 6, 1912, pp. 161–174</ref> A and M are believed to be contemporary. A began the manuscript and wrote the opening pages of several of the texts, which were continued by M, who Best identified as [[Máel Muire mac Céilechair]] meic Cuinn na mBocht, based on matching the handwriting with two marginal ''[[probatio pennae|probationes pennae]]'' or pen tests, in which the scribe wrote his name. A much later note elsewhere in the manuscript names Máel Muire as the person who "wrote and compiled this book from divers[e] books". His murder by Vikings at [[Clonmacnoise]] is recorded in the ''[[Annals of the Four Masters]]'' in 1106,<ref>''[[Annals of the Four Masters]]'' [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005B/text021.html M1106.7]</ref> giving us a latest possible date and location for the main body of the manuscript. Some time later, ''H'' (named for his addition of two homilies) added a number of new texts and passages, sometimes over [[palimpsest|erased portions]] of the original, sometimes on new leaves. Based on [[orthography]] and an English [[loanword]], [[Gearóid Mac Eoin]] concludes that H wrote in the late 12th or early 13th century.<ref>Gearóid Mac Eoin, "The Interpolator H in ''Lebor na hUidre''", ''Ulidia'', December Publications, 1994, pp. 39–46.</ref>

After the monastery of Clonmacnoise was broken up, the manuscript came into the possession of the [[O'Donnell dynasty]] of [[County Donegal|Donegal]] who held it until 1359, when it and the lost ''Leabhar Gearr'' were used to ransom members of the clan who had been taken prisoner by Cathal Óg [[Ó Conchobhair Sligigh]] (d. 3 November 1362). Áed Ruad O'Donnell recovered the manuscript in 1470, and it remained in Donegal at least until 1631, when the compilation of the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' was completed. Its location is unknown until 1837, when it was part of a collection owned by Messrs. Hodges & Smith of [[College Green, Dublin|College Green]], Dublin, and was cited by [[George Petrie (antiquarian)|George Petrie]] in an essay on the History and Antiquities of Tara Hill. The Hodges & Smith collection, 227 manuscripts in all, was purchased by the Royal Irish Academy in 1844.<ref>R. I Best and Osborn Bergin (eds.), ''Lebor na hUidre'', Royal Irish Academy, 1929, p. ix; ''[http://www.ria.ie/library+catalogue/leabharnahuidre.html Lebor na hUidre] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071119073742/http://www.ria.ie/library+catalogue/leabharnahuidre.html |date=19 November 2007 }}'', Royal Irish Academy Library and Catalogue</ref>

Joseph O'Longan's [[lithography|lithographic]] facsimile of the manuscript was published by the RIA in 1870.<ref name="eds">{{citation| url =https://celt.ucc.ie//published/G301900/index.html | title = Lebor na hUidre [G301900] | work = CELT | at = Background details and bibliographic information }}</ref> A [[diplomatic edition]] by R. I. Best and [[Osborn Bergin]] {{harv|Best|Bergin|1929}}, with the three hands distinguished by different typefaces, was published in 1929.<ref name="eds"/> Digital scans of the pages at the [[Royal Irish Academy]] have been published on the web by ISOS (Irish Script on Screen).{{harv|ISOS|MS 23 E 25}}

==Contents==
The remaining leaves of the manuscript contain the following texts, in various states of preservation:

Notes on known alternative versions and copies of the tales in the text are given in {{harvnb|Best|Bergin|1929|pp=xvii-xxxviii}}

===Texts from the original manuscript===
*''[[Irish Sex Aetates Mundi|Sex aetates mundi]]'' ["The Six Ages of the World"], incomplete
*''[[Lebor Bretnach]]'' ["The British Book"], an Irish translation of the ''[[Historia Brittonum]]'', incomplete
*''[[Amra Coluim Chille]]'' ["The Eulogy of Columba"], a heavily annotated version of the 7th-century poem by [[Dallán Forgaill]]
*''Scél Tuain meic Cairill do Finnen Maige Bile'' ["The Story Tuan mac Cairill told to Finnian of Moville"], in which the history of the invasions of Ireland is related by a survivor of the first invasion ([[Tuan mac Cairill]]) to [[Finnian of Moville]], incomplete
*''Dá brón flatha nime'' ["The Two Sorrows of the Kingdom of Heaven"], incomplete
*''[[Mesca Ulad]]'' ["The Intoxication of the Ulstermen"], incomplete
*''Táin bó Dartada'' ["The Driving of Dartaid's Cattle"], opening four lines only
*''[[Táin Bó Flidhais]]'' ["The Driving of Fliodhais' Cattle"], incomplete
*''[[Imram Curaig Maile Duin|Immram curaig Mail Dúin]]'' ["Voyage of Máel Dúin's currach"], incomplete
*''[[Fís Adomnáin]]'' ["The Vision of Adomnán"], a work of vision literature attributed to the 7th-century Irish saint [[Adomnán]]
*''[[Tucait innarba na nDessi i mMumain ocus aided Chormaic]]'' ["The Cause of the Expulsion of the Déisi into Munster and the Death of Cormac mac Airt"], known as ''"The Expulsion of the Déisi"''
*''[[Táin Bó Cúailnge]]'' ["The Cattle Raid of Cooley"], the oldest version of the central epic of the [[Ulster Cycle]], incomplete, contains passages interpolated by H
*''[[Togail Bruidne Dá Derga|Togail bruidne Dá Derga]]'' ["The Destruction of Dá Derga's Hostel"], a tale of the 1st-century king [[Conaire Mór]], incomplete, contains passages interpolated by H
*''[[Fled Bricrenn]]'' ["Bricriu's Feast"], incomplete, contains passages interpolated by H
*''Siaburchapat Con Culaind'' ["Cúchulainn's Phantom Chariot"], a tale of [[Saint Patrick]], who raises Cúchulainn from hell to convince king [[Lóegaire mac Néill]] to convert to Christianity, contains passages interpolated by H
*''Fástini Airt meic Cuind ocus a chretem'' ["The prophesy of Art mac Cuinn and his faith]", in which the 2nd-century king [[Art mac Cuinn]] is said to have foreseen the coming of Christianity
*''[[Echtra Condla Chaim meic Cuind Chetchathaig]]'' ["The adventure of Connla the Beautiful, son of Conn of the Hundred Battles"], in which the [[Connla the Ruddy]] is lured to the otherworld by a fairy woman
*''Cethri Arda in Domain'' ["The Four-Quarters of the World"], incomplete
*''[[Imram Brain mac Febail]]'' ["The Voyage of Bran son of Febal"], a fantastic voyage tale, incomplete
*''[[Tochmarc Emire]]'' ["The Wooing of Emer"], contains passages interpolated by H
*''[[Compert Con Culainn]]'' ["The conception of Cúchulainn"], copied from the lost [[Book of Druimm Snechta]], contains passages interpolated by H
*''[[Tochmarc Étaíne]]'' ["The wooing of Étaín"], a mythological tale featuring [[Aengus]] and [[Midir]] of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]], incomplete
*''[[Compert Mongáin]]'' ["The conception of Mongán"], a tale of a legendary prince, incomplete
*''Scel asa mberar combad hé Find mac Cumaill Mongáin ocus aní día fil aided Fothaid Airgdig'' ["The story by which it is inferred that Mongán was Fionn mac Cumhaill, and the reason for the death of Fothad Airgthech"]
*''Scél Mongáin'' ["The story of Mongán"]
*''Tucait baile Mongáin'' ["The Cause of the Vision of Mongán"]
*''Inna hinada hi filet cind erred Ulad'' ["The places where the heads of the heroes of Ulster are"], a poem

===Texts added by scribe H===
*''Scéla laí brátha'' ["Tidings of the Day of Judgement"]
*''Scéla na esergi'' ["Tidings of the Resurrection"]
*''Aided Nath Í ocus a adnacol'' ["The Death of Nath Í and his burial"], a tale of the 5th-century king, [[Nath Í mac Fiachrach]]
*''Aided Echach meic Maíreda'' ["The Death of Eochaid mac Maíreda"], a mythological tale of the origin of [[Lough Neagh]]
*''[[Fotha Catha Chnucha|Fotha catha Cnucha]]'' ["The Cause of the Battle of Knock"], a tale concerning the birth of [[Fionn mac Cumhaill]]
*''[[Serglige Con Culainn]]'' ["The Wasting Sickness of Cúchulainn"], copied from the lost Yellow Book of Slane
*''Senchas na relec'' ["The History of the Burial Places"], an account of the resting places of a number of Irish kings
*''Genemain Áeda Sláne'' ["The Birth of Áed Sláine"]: a tale of the 6th-century king, [[Áed Sláine]]
*''De genelogia Con Culaind'' ["The Genealogy of Cúchulainn"]
*''Cath Cairnd Chonaill ria Diarmait mac Aeda Sláni for Guari Adni'' ["The Battle of Carn Conaill between Diarmait son of Áed Sláine and Guaire Aidne]", a tale from the [[Cycle of the Kings]]
*''Comthoth Lóegairi co cretim ocus a aided'' ["The conversion of Lóegaire to the faith and his death"], a tale of Saint Patrick

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Editions===
{{refbegin}}

*{{citation| editor-first=R.I. | editor-last = Best | editor-first2= Osborn| editor-last2= Bergin | title = Lebor na huidre ; Book of the dun cow| year = 1929| url =https://archive.org/details/lebornahuidreboo00best | publisher = Hodges, Figgis, & Co.| language = Irish}}
**HTML e-text via CELT : [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/G301900/index.html Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition]
{{refend}}

===Manuscripts===
{{refbegin}}

*{{citation| title =LEBOR NA HUIDRE [MS 23 E 25] [1229]| work = Irish Script on Screen (ISOS)| url = https://www.isos.dias.ie/RIA/RIA_MS_23_E_25.html |ref={{harvid|ISOS|MS 23 E 25}} }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{citation| url = http://www.ria.ie/Library/Exhibitions/Lebor-na-hUidre-Conference.aspx | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131015183815/http://www.ria.ie/Library/Exhibitions/Lebor-na-hUidre-Conference.aspx | archive-date = 15 October 2013 | title =LEBOR NA HUIDRE CONFERENCE 22–23 NOVEMBER 2012 |work = www.ria.ie }}
* {{citation| url = http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lu.html | title = Lebar na nUidre ; The Book of the Dun Cow | work = www.maryjones.us | language = en }} , translations of the majority of the texts

{{Ancient Irish manuscripts}}

[[Category:1100s books]]
[[Category:12th-century manuscripts]]
[[Category:Irish-language manuscripts]]
[[Category:Irish-language literature]]
[[Category:Medieval literature]]
[[Category:Táin Bó Cúailnge]]
[[Category:Royal Irish Academy Library]]

Túathal Techtmar

2025-09-10T21:42:38Z

2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: Align to wiktionary

{{short description|Legendary high king of Ireland}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
'''Túathal Techtmar''' ({{IPA|sga|ˈt̪uːa̯θal ˈt̠ʲext̪β̃aɾ|lang}}; 'the legitimate'),<ref>{{cite web |title=techtmar |url=https://dil.ie/40289 |access-date= 9 January 2025
|editor-last1=Toner |editor-first1=Gregory |editor-last2=Arbuthnot |editor-first2=Sharon |editor-last3=Ní Mhaonaigh |editor-first3=Máire |editor-last4=Theuerkauf |editor-first4=Marie-Luise |editor-last5=Wodtko |editor-first5=Dagmar |year=2019 |website=[[Dictionary of the Irish Language|eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language]] |location=Dublin |publisher=[[Royal Irish Academy]]}} Rather than deriving from [https://dil.ie/40271 3 techt] ("property"), O'Rahilly (1946), p. 170, believed that ''Techtmar'' derived from [https://dil.ie/40269 1 techt] ("going"), and meant "of the great journeying", "voyaging from afar", or the like, possibly even an Irish derivative of [[Toutatis]].</ref> son of [[Fíachu Finnolach]], was a [[High King of Ireland]], according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition. He is said to be the ancestor of the [[Uí Néill]] and [[Connachta]] dynasties through his grandson [[Conn of the Hundred Battles]]. The name may also have originally referred to an eponymous deity,<ref>Anne Ross ''Pagan Celtic Britain'', Academy Chicago Publishers (1996), p. 225. Ross indicates the name may be derived from ''Teuto-valos'' meaning 'Ruler of the People'</ref> possibly even a local version of the [[Gauls|Gaulish]] [[Toutatis]].<ref>Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Teutates." Encyclopædia Britannica. 7 January 2018. Accessed 13 April 2019. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Teutates.
</ref>

==Legend==
Túathal was the son of a former High King deposed by an uprising of "subject peoples" who returned at the head of an army to reclaim his father's throne. The oldest source for Túathal's story, a 9th-century poem by [[Mael Mura of Othain]], says that his father, Fíacha Finnolach, was overthrown by the four provincial kings, [[Elim mac Conrach]] of [[Ulster]], Sanb (son of [[Cet mac Mágach]]) of [[Connacht]], Foirbre of [[Munster]] and Eochaid Ainchenn of [[Leinster]], and that it was Elim who took the High Kingship. During his rule, Ireland suffered famine as God punished this rejection of legitimate kingship. Túathal, aided by the brothers Fiacha Cassán and Findmall and their 600 men, marched on Tara and defeated Elim in battle at the hill of [[Achall]]. He then won battles against the [[Ligmuini]], the [[Gailióin]], the [[Fir Bolg]], the [[Fir Domnann]], the [[Ulaid]], the [[Muma (Irish clan)|Muma]], the [[Fir Ol nEchmacht|Fir Ól nÉcmacht]] and the [[Érainn]], and assembled the Irish nobility at Tara to make them swear allegiance to him and his descendants.<ref>[[T. F. O'Rahilly]], ''Early Irish History and Mythology'', Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1946, pp. 154–161</ref><ref name="warner">R. B. Warner, "Tuathal Techtmar: A Myth or Ancient Literary Evidence for a Roman Invasion?", ''Emania'' 13, 1995, pp. 23–32</ref>

Later versions of the story suppress the involvement of the provincial nobility in the revolt, making the "subject peoples" the peasants of Ireland. The ''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]''<ref>R. A. Stewart Macalister (ed. & trans.), ''Lebor Gabála Érenn: The Book of the Taking of Ireland Part V'', Irish Texts Society, 1956, pp. 307–321</ref> adds the detail of Túathal's exile. His mother, [[Eithne Imgel]], daughter of the king of [[Alba]] (originally meaning Britain, later Scotland), was pregnant when Fíachu was overthrown, and fled to her homeland where she gave birth to Túathal. Twenty years later, Túathal and his mother returned to Ireland, joined up with Fiacha Cassán and Findmall, and marched on Tara to take the kingship.

The ''[[Annals of the Four Masters]]''<ref>''[[Annals of the Four Masters]]'' [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005A/text025.html M9]-[http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005A/text026.html 106]</ref> features a similar revolt a few generations earlier, led by [[Cairbre Cinnchait]], against the High King [[Crimthann Nia Náir]]. On this occasion, Crimthann's son [[Feradach Finnfechtnach]] is the future king who escaped in his mother's womb, although the Annals claim he returned to reclaim his throne only five years later. The story repeats itself a few generations later with Elim's revolt against Fíachu, and the exile and return of Túathal. [[Geoffrey Keating]]<ref>[[Geoffrey Keating]], ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/text048.html 1.38], [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/text049.html 39], [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/text050.html 40]</ref> harmonises the two revolts into one. He has Crimthann hand the throne directly to his son, Feradach, and makes Cairbre Cinnchait, whose ancestry he traces to the [[Fir Bolg]], the leader of the revolt that overthrew Fíachu, killing him at a feast. The pregnant Eithne flees as in the other sources. Cairbre rules for five years, dies of plague and is succeeded by Elim. After Elim had ruled for twenty years, the 20- or 25-year-old Túathal was prevailed upon to return. He landed with his forces at Inber Domnainn ([[Malahide]] Bay). Joining up with Fiacha Cassán and Findmall and their marauders, he marched on [[Tara, Ireland|Tara]] where he was declared king. Elim gave battle at the hill of [[Achall]] near Tara, but was defeated and killed.

Túathal fought 25 battles against Ulster, 25 against Leinster, 25 against Connacht and 35 against Munster. The whole country subdued, he convened a conference at Tara, where he established laws and annexed territory from each of the four provinces to create the central province of ''Míde'' ([[Meath (province)|Meath]]) around Tara as the High King's territory. He built four fortresses in Meath: [[Tlachtga]], where the [[druids]] sacrificed on the eve of [[Samhain]], on land taken from Munster; [[Uisneach]], where the festival of [[Beltaine]] was celebrated, on land from Connacht; [[Tailtiu]], where [[Lughnasadh]] was celebrated, on land from Ulster; and Tara, on land from Leinster.

He went on to make war on Leinster, burning the stronghold of Aillen ([[Dún Ailinne]]) and imposing the ''[[bórama]]'', a heavy tribute of cattle, on the province. One story says this was because the king of Leinster, Eochaid Ainchenn, had married Túathal's daughter Dairine, but told Túathal she had died and so was given his other daughter, Fithir. When Fithir discovered Dairine was still alive, she died of shame, and when Dairine saw Fithir dead, she died of grief.

Túathal, or his wife Baine, is reputed to have built Ráth Mór, an [[Iron Age]] [[hillfort]] in the earthwork complex at [[Clogher]], [[County Tyrone]]. He died in battle against [[Mal mac Rochride]], king of [[Ulaid|Ulster]], at Mag Line ([[Moylinny]] near [[Larne]], [[County Antrim]]). His son, [[Fedlimid Rechtmar]], later avenged him.

==Historical context==

===Dates===
The ''[[Annals of the Four Masters]]'' gives the date of Túathal's exile as AD 56, his return as 76 and his death as 106. [[Geoffrey Keating]]'s ''Foras Feasa ar Érinn'' broadly agrees, dating his exile to 55, his return to 80 and his death to 100. The ''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'' places him a little later, synchronising his exile with the reign of the [[Roman emperor]] [[Domitian]] (81–96), his return early in the reign of [[Hadrian]] (122–138) and his death in the reign of [[Antoninus Pius]] (138–161).

===The first of the Goidels?===
The scholar [[T. F. O'Rahilly]] suggested that, as in many such "returned exile" stories, Túathal represented an entirely foreign invasion which established a dynasty in Ireland, whose dynastic propagandists fabricated an Irish origin for him to give him some spurious legitimacy. In fact, he proposed that Túathal's story, pushed back to the 1st or 2nd century BC, represented the invasion of the [[Goidelic|Goidels]], who established themselves over the earlier populations and introduced the [[Q-Celtic]] language that would become [[Irish language|Irish]], and that their genealogists incorporated all Irish dynasties, Goidelic or otherwise, and their ancestor deities into a pedigree stretching back over a thousand years to the fictitious [[Míl Espáine]].<ref>O'Rahilly 1946, pp. 161–170</ref>

Professor Dáithí Ó hÓgáin reckoned his Celtic name was '''Teutovalos''' ('tribe-ruler') and he was a great leader of the northern branch of the Venii tribe, or the 'people of Condos', who overthrew the kingship of the Lagini at Tara. When the genealogies were written a few centuries later, his name was noted as 'Tuathal', and the epithet ''teachtmhar'', a Celtic compound meaning 'appropriator of wealth' was added, referring to his followers' large-scale raids on the British coast.<ref name="Ó hÓgáin">[[Dáithí Ó hÓgáin]], "''The Celts: A History''", 2002, pp. 204-205.</ref> The Venii's special designation for themselves became Gaídhil, i.e. Goidels, and their principal groups were called Connachta and Eoghanacht.<ref>Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, "''The Celts: A History''", pp. 211.</ref>

===Romans in Ireland?===
Taking the native dating as broadly accurate, another theory has emerged. The Roman historian [[Tacitus]] mentions that [[Gnaeus Julius Agricola|Agricola]], while governor of [[Roman Britain]] (AD 78–84), entertained an exiled Irish prince, thinking to use him as a pretext for a possible conquest of Ireland.<ref>[[Tacitus]] ''[[Agricola (book)|Agricola]]'' [[s:Agricola#24|24]]</ref> Neither Agricola nor his successors ever conquered Ireland, but in recent years [[archaeology]] has challenged the belief that the Romans never set foot on the island. Roman and Romano-British artefacts have been found primarily in Leinster, notably a fortified site on the promontory of [[Drumanagh]], fifteen miles north of [[Dublin]], and burials on the nearby island of [[Lambay]], both close to where Túathal is supposed to have landed, and other sites associated with Túathal such as Tara and Clogher. However, whether this is evidence of trade, diplomacy, or military activity is a matter of controversy. It is possible that the Romans may have given support to Túathal, or someone like him, to regain his throne in the interests of having a friendly neighbour who could restrain Irish raiding.<ref name="warner" /><ref>Vittorio di Martino, ''Roman Ireland'', The Collins Press, 2006</ref> The 2nd-century Roman poet [[Satires of Juvenal|Juvenal]], who may have served in Britain under Agricola, wrote that "arms had been taken beyond the shores of Ireland",<ref>[[Juvenal]], ''[[Satires of Juvenal|Satires]]'' [[s:Satire 2#149–170|2.159–160]]</ref> and the coincidence of dates is striking.

==Family tree==
{{Tree chart/start}}
{{Tree chart | | | | FRD |FRD=[[Feradach Finnfechtnach]]}}
{{Tree chart | | | | |!}}
{{Tree chart | | | | FFN |y| EIM |FFN=[[Fíachu Finnolach]]|EIM=Eithne Imgel}}
{{Tree chart | | | | | | |!}}
{{Tree chart | | | | | | TTM |y| BAI |TTM='''Túathal Techtmar'''|BAI=Baine}}
{{Tree chart | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|.}}
{{Tree chart | | DRN |~| EOC |~| FIT | | FRM |DRN=Dairine|EOC=Eochaid Ainchenn|FIT=Fithir|FRM=[[Fedlimid Rechtmar]]}}
{{Tree chart | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|-|.}}
{{Tree chart | | | | | | | | CCC | | EOF | | | FCS |CCC=[[Conn Cétchathach]]|EOF=Eochaid Finn|FCS=Fiacha Suigde}}
{{Tree chart | |F|~|~|~|V|~|~|A|V|~|~|~|7| | | |:}}
{{Tree chart | UIN | | CON | | EOG | | DAL | | DFS |UIN=''[[Uí Néill]]''|CON=''[[Connachta]]''|EOG=''[[*]]''|DAL=''[[*]]''|DFS=''[[Dal Fiachrach Suighe]]''}}
{{Tree chart/end}}

==See also==
* [[Hibernia]]
* [[Drumanagh]]
* [[Hiberno-Roman relations]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.blather.net/articles/romans_debarra.html Hibernia Romana: What did the Romans ever do for us?] – an article about the Drumanagh "Roman fort" controversy
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071009094928/http://marsatqueens.co.uk/seminar-three.html Dr Warner reviews his theories on ‘the Roman invasion of Ireland’]

{{s-start}}
{{succession box |
before=[[Elim mac Conrach]]|
title=[[List of High Kings of Ireland|High King of Ireland]]|
after=[[Mal mac Rochride]]|
years=[[Lebor Gabála Érenn|LGE]] 2nd century AD [[Geoffrey Keating|FFE]] AD 80–100 [[Annals of the Four Masters|AFM]] AD 76–106|
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Connachta}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuathal Techtmar}}
[[Category:Cycles of the Kings]]
[[Category:Legendary High Kings of Ireland]]
[[Category:People from County Westmeath]]

Tailtiu

2025-09-10T21:35:15Z

2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: Align to wiktionary

{{Short description|Presumed Irish goddess}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Tailtiu''' or '''Tailltiu''' ({{IPA|sga|ˈt̪al̠ʲt̠ʲu|link=yes}}; modern spelling: '''Tailte'''<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Dinneen|editor-first=Patrick S.|editor-link=Patrick S. Dinneen|year=1927|entry=Luġ|title=Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla: an Irish–English dictionary, being a thesaurus of the words, phrases and idioms of the modern Irish language|edition=New edition, revised and greatly enlarged|location=Dublin|publisher=Irish Texts Society|page=684}}</ref>) is the name of a presumed [[goddess]] from [[Irish mythology]]. The goddess's name is linked to [[Teltown]] (< OI ''Óenach Tailten'') in Co. Meath, site of the [[Óenach]] Tailten. A legendary [[dindsenchas]] "lore of places" poem relates a myth connecting the presumed goddess Tailtiu with the site.<ref>Gwynn, E., trans., "Poem 33: Tailtiu," ''The Metrical Dindshenchas'', http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T106500D/index.html</ref> However, linguistic analysis of the name reveals that Tailtiu as a place-name derives from a loan word of Brythonic origin represented by the Welsh ''telediw'' "well formed, beautiful."<ref>Binchy, D.A., ‘The Fair of Tailtiu and the Feast of Tara,’ Ériu 18 (1958) 113-138.</ref> The mythological character of Tailtiu likely derives her name from the place-name.

==In Irish mythology==
According to the [[Book of Invasions]], Tailtiu was the wife of [[Eochaid mac Eirc]], last [[Fir Bolg]] [[High King of Ireland]], who named his capital after her ([[Teltown]], between [[Navan]] and [[Kells, County Meath|Kells]]). She survived the invasion of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] and became the foster mother of [[Lugh]].<ref name="MacKillop">MacKillop, James (1998) ''A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. Oxford, Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-280120-1}} pp.309-10, 395-6, 76, 20</ref>

Tailtiu is said to have died of exhaustion after clearing the plains of [[Ireland]] for agriculture. Lugh established a harvest festival and funeral games, ''Áenach Tailteann'', in her honour, which continued to be celebrated as late as the 18th century.<ref name="MacKillop" />

==In Irish history==
The first ''Áenach Tailteann'', later the [[Tailtin Fair]], was held at [[Teltown]]. Historically, the [[Áenach Tailteann]] was a time for contests of strength and skill, and a favoured time for contracting marriages and winter lodgings. A peace was declared at the festival, and religious celebrations were also held. Aspects of the festival survive in the celebrations of [[Lughnasadh]], and were revived as the Teltown Games for a period in the twentieth century.<ref name="MacKillop" />

A similar Lughnasadh festival was held at Carmun (whose exact location is under dispute). Similar to Tailtiu, the festival at [[Carman|Carmun]] is celebrated by a [[dindsenchas]] poem that provides a psedo-etymology for the site. The poem claims that the festival is named after the mythological Carmun, in a tale similar to that of Tailtiu. But as with Tailtiu, this mythological figure likely derives its name from the place-name.

In historical times the town of Tailtiu was where the principal assembly of the early [[Uí Néill]] dynasties was held.

From the Locus Project at CELT, Tailte had one or two raths [residence(s)] in Munster:

* ráith canann: a ráith of queen Tailte, LL 201; cf. Rathcannon tl., Co. Limerick
* ráith con: rath of queen Tailte, LL 201; in Tuath Tailten, UM 165b, Lec. 514, Stowe D ii 2, 656; cf. Rathcon, in dry. and d. Cashel, Tax

Rathcanann and Rath Con may or may not be identical.

==Annalistic references==

See [[Annals of Inisfallen]] (AI)

* ''M1095. Taillti, inghen Domhnaill Guitt''
* ''U1127. Tailltiu ingen Murchadha H. Mael Sechlainn ben [[Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair|Tairrdhelbaigh H. Concobuir]]''
* ''M1170. Taillte, inghen Muirchertaigh Uí Mhaoil Sechlainn, ben Domhnaill mic Murchadha Uí Fherghail, taoisech [[Annaly|Muintire Anghaile]], d'écc isin cethrachtmhadh bliadhain a h-aoisi./Taillte, daughter of Muircheartach Ua Maeleachlainn, and wife of Domhnall, son of Murchadh Ua Fearghail, chief of Muintir-Anghaile, died in the fortieth year of her age.''
* ''M1171. Tailltin, inghen Conchobhair Uí Maoil Sechlaind, ben Iomhair Uí Chathasaigh, tigherna Saithne.''

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Celtic mythology topics|state=uncollapsed}}
{{Celtic mythology (Mythological)}}

[[Category:Mythological Cycle]]
[[Category:Fir Bolg]]
[[Category:Irish goddesses]]
[[Category:Fertility goddesses]]
[[Category:Nature goddesses]]
[[Category:Irish royal consorts]]

Fidchell

2025-09-10T21:09:49Z

2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: Align to wiktionary

{{Short description|Ancient Celtic board game}}
{{About|the board game|the ''.hack'' character|Phases (.hack)}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{lang|sga|Fidchell|nocat=y}}}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox game
|name=|subject_name = {{lang|ga|Fidchell}} / {{lang|cy|Gwyddbwyll}}
|italic title = no
|image=|image_link =
|image_caption =
|players = 2
|ages = 4 years and up
|setup_time = 30–60 seconds
|playing_time =
|random_chance = ''none''
|skills =
|footnotes = Medium complexity, highly strategic
}}
'''{{lang|sga|Fidchell}}''' ({{IPA|sga|ˈfʲiðʲxʲel̪}}) or '''{{lang|cy|gwyddbwyll}}''' (in [[Welsh language|Welsh]], pronounced {{IPA|cy|ˈɡwɨ̞ðbʊɨ̯ɬ, ˈɡwɪðbʊi̯ɬ|}}) was a [[board game]] popular among the ancient [[Celts]]. Fidchell was played between two people who moved an equal number of pieces across a board; the board shared its name with the game played upon it.<ref name="Bromwich-2006" /> Based on the descriptions in Irish and Welsh literature as well as archaeological finds of game pieces, it is likely to have been a variant of [[ludus latrunculorum]] played in Ireland and Britain.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Murray |first=H. J. R. (Harold James Ruthven) |url=http://archive.org/details/historyofboardga0000murr_p4b9 |title=A history of board-games other than chess |date=1978 |publisher=New York : Hacker Art Books |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-87817-211-5}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The name of the game in multiple Celtic languages -- [[Old Irish]] {{lang|sga|fidchell}}, [[Middle Welsh]] {{lang|wlm|gỽydbỽyỻ}}, [[Breton language|Breton]] {{lang|br|guidpoill~gwezboell}}, [[Cornish language|Cornish]] {{lang|kw|gwydhbol}}—is a compound translating to "wood-wisdom", "wood-intelligence", or "wood-sense". The fact that the compound is identical in both languages suggests that it is of extreme antiquity, with the unattested earlier form being reconstructed ''*widu-kweillā'' "wood-understanding" in Common Celtic.<ref name="Bromwich-2006" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Hall |first1=Mark A. |last2=Forsyth |first2=Katherine |date=2011 |title=Roman rules? The introduction of board games to Britain and Ireland |url=https://www.academia.edu/26532806 |journal=Antiquity |volume=85 |issue=330 |pages=1325 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00062086 |s2cid=162575467 |issn=0003-598X|doi-access=free }}</ref> The game is often compared to or identified with [[chess]], though chess was unknown in Europe until the 12th century.<ref name="Bromwich-2006" /> The Old Irish form evolved into {{lang|ga|ficheall}}, the word used in modern Irish for modern chess, along with Scottish Gaelic ''fidhcheall'' and Manx ''feeal''; the similar {{lang|cy|gwyddbwyll}} is the name in Welsh for modern chess.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

==History==
{{lang|sga|Fidchell}} or {{lang|cy|gwyddbwyll}} is mentioned often in ancient Celtic legends and lore, but the exact form of the game is open to speculation due to lack of detail on the rules, playing pieces, and the board. It is clear that it was played on a board with opposing sets of pieces in equal numbers. It should not be confused with similar games of Norse origin like {{lang|cy|tawlbwrdd}} or {{lang|non|tafl}} (also called {{lang|non|hnefatafl}}), which involved a [[king (chess)|king]] in the centre and pieces in a 2:1 ratio. Evidence suggests that it may instead have been derived earlier from the Roman game ''[[ludus latrunculorum]]'' ("game of highwaymen"), which is known to have spread into Germanic and Celtic lands by the early first millennium and is also known from [[post-Roman Britain]]. Thus it is possible that {{lang|sga|fidchell}} was a descendant of {{lang|la|latrunculi}}.<ref name=":0" /> ''Fidchell'' shared with ''latrunculi'' the method of custodial capture, two around one enemy man on the same line. Archaeological finds such as the [[Druid of Colchester#The Stanway game|Stanway game]] discovered near Colchester with 13 pieces per side may also represent a British Celtic board game similar or identical to fidchell/gwyddbwyll.<ref name=":0" />

== Gameplay ==

Some details of the gameplay can be deduced from literary mentions in early Irish literature. One text reads: <blockquote>''Leth a fóirni d'ór buidi, in leth aili d'findruine''

{{small|"Half its pieces were of yellow [[gold]], the other half of white [[bronze]]".}}</blockquote>suggesting that {{lang|sga|fidchell}} was played by equal forces.<ref name="MacWhite-1948" /> The method of custodial capture with two men around one enemy on the same line is also explained in the Middle Irish tale of ''Mac da Cherda and Cummaine Foda'', where a cleric plays ''fidchell'' all day, refusing to take his opponent's pieces or allow his own to be taken:<blockquote>''"Maith", or Guaire, "imrem fithchill." "Cinda gontar ind fir?", or Cummaine. "Ni anse, dias dub dam-sa im óinfer find duid-seo forsin n-óintí oc imchosnam na saigti thall." "Mo cubais, immorro," or Cummaine, ni cumgaim-se anaill; acht ni gonab-sa ni gonfa-so mo moindter-sa." Laa chaidcht do Guaire oca thetarracht ⁊ ni ruba fer dia muinter. "Segonda sein, a clerich," or Guaire.''"

Good," says Guaire, "Let's play ''fidchell''." "How are the men slain?" says Cummaine. "Not hard, a black pair of mine about one white man of yours on the same line, disputing the approach on the far side(?)" "My conscience, indeed!" said Cummaine, "I cannot do the other thing(?), but I shall not slay (your men), you will not slay my men." For a whole day Guaire was pursuing him and he could not slay one of his men. "That is champion-like, o cleric," said Guaire.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Early Irish Board Games |url=http://www.unicorngarden.com/eigse/eigse02.htm |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=unicorngarden.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=O'Keeffe |first=J. G. |date=1911 |title=Mac Dá Cherda and Cummaine Foda |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30007552 |journal=Ériu |volume=5 |pages=18–44 |jstor=30007552 |issn=0332-0758}}</ref></blockquote>Unlike ''latrunculi'' with its usual pebble-shaped counters, however, conical pieces may also have been innovated among the Insular Celts, as stone cones for gaming have been found in sites at [[Shetland|Shetland, Scotland]] and [[Knowth|Knowth, Ireland]].<ref name=":0" /> This is also suggested by Irish legends such as the ''Echtra Nerai'' where fidchell pieces become lodged in a skull during a fight:<blockquote>''Doneco Fergus seco la soduin ocus bentoi sethnu a chinn do Briccriu cona durn co lotur na cuicfir fichilli batar hind-dum Ferguso hi cenn m-Briccriunn, co m-bo buan d'olcc do.''

"On that Fergus glanced aside and struck with his fist at Bricriu's head, so that the five men of fidchell that were in his hand went into Bricriu's head, and it was a lasting hurt to him."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Meyer |first=Kuno |title=''Echtra Nerai (The Adventures of Nera)'' |url=https://www.ucc.ie/en/media/academic/seanmeanghaeilge/cdi/texts/Meyer-Echtra-Nerai.pdf}}</ref></blockquote>The legends describe {{lang|ga|fidchell}} as a game played by royalty and by gods. In legend, it was invented by {{lang|ga|[[Lugh]]|italic=no}}, god of light and inspiration,<ref name="MacAlister-1941-ITS" /> and was played skilfully by his son, the hero {{lang|ga|[[Cú Chulainn]]|italic=no}}. A series of {{lang|sga|fidchell}} games form an important episode in the story {{lang|ga|[[Tochmarc Étaíne]]|italic=yes}}.

Lavish, sometimes mystical {{lang|cy|gwyddbwyll}} boards appear often in [[medieval Welsh literature]]. In ''[[The Dream of Rhonabwy]]'', a prose tale associated with the {{lang|ga|[[Mabinogion]]|italic=yes}}, [[King Arthur]] and {{lang|ga|[[Owain mab Urien]]|italic=no}} play the game with golden men on a silver board. In another prose tale, ''[[Welsh mythology#The Dream of Macsen Wledig|The Dream of {{lang|cy|Macsen Wledig|italic=unset|nocat=y}}]]'', the character {{lang|cy|[[Eudaf Hen]]|italic=no}} is carving men for his golden board when he is visited by the emperor {{lang|la|[[Magnus Maximus]]|italic=no}}. The board of {{lang|cy|[[Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio]]}} is named as one of the [[Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain]] in lists dating from the 15th and 16th centuries; according to the lists the board is gold and the men silver, and the pieces play against each other automatically. A magic {{lang|cy|gwyddbwyll}} comparable to {{lang|cy|Gwenddoleu|italic=no}}'s appears in the Arthurian romance ''[[Peredur son of Efrawg]]''; a number of French versions of the [[Holy Grail]] story feature similar chessboards with self-moving pieces, following the [[Perceval, the Story of the Grail#Second Continuation|Second Continuation]] of {{lang|fro|[[Chrétien de Troyes]]}}'s ''[[Perceval, the Story of the Grail]]'', though in these only one side moves, while the hero plays the other.<ref name=Bromwich-2006/>

According to [[H. J. R. Murray]]'s ''[[A History of Chess]]'', the ultimate fate of Fidchell is shown a margin note upon one [[15th-century]] manuscript about the ''[[Cath Maige Tuired|Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh]]'' between the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] and the [[Fomorians]] in [[Irish mythology]]. In the gloss, it is disputed whether Fidchell ("[[chess]]") could have been invented during the [[Trojan War]], as both wars were traditionally believed to have taken place at roughly the same time and the Irish mythology manuscript refers to the playing of fidchell. While it is no longer possible to know whether it was introduced into [[Gaelic Ireland]] by the [[Hiberno-Norse]] or the [[Hiberno-Normans|Normans]], by the 15th-century "Fidchell" had come to mean [[Chess]] in the [[Irish language]] and the original rules of the game had been completely forgotten.<ref>[[H.J.R. Murray]] (1913), ''[[A History of Chess]]'', page 420, 746.</ref>

==Confusion with ''tafl''==
In the board games literature, it has often been suggested that {{lang|sga|fidchell}} is a variant of the Welsh game {{lang|cy|tawlbwrdd}}, itself descended from the Norse [[tafl games|{{lang|non|tafl|nocat=y}} games]]. These games, along with the Irish {{lang|ga|brandub}}, are played on a grid, often seven squares by seven, with the king in the middle. The king has a number of defending pieces around it at the beginning of the game, and they are surrounded by twice as many attackers. The object is to make a clear path for the king to the edge of the board, while the attackers must attempt to surround, and thereby capture, the king. However, {{lang|non|tafl}} variants are usually played with unequal numbers of pieces, the attackers being twice as numerous as the defenders. {{lang|ga|Fidchell}} by contrast was played with equal numbers on both sides and there is no indication of a king piece.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}
[[File:FitchnealLayout.png|thumb|Layout for a {{lang|non|tafl}} game known as ''fitchneal'' or ''fidchell'', which is not equivalent to historical {{lang|sga|fidchell}} and {{lang|cy|gwyddbwyll}}]]
An artefact found in Ballinderry, [[County Westmeath]] in 1932, known as the Ballinderry Game Board, has been suggested to represent fidchell. This is a wooden board with Celtic symbols on it, with a seven-by-seven grid, marked off by 49 holes.<ref name="Fithneal-HG" />
This artefact may be a {{lang|non|tafl}} variant, and perhaps even a {{lang|ga|brandub}} board; many commentators assume that it is the type of board upon which one would have played {{lang|sga|fidchell}}. Based on the assumption that the Ballinderry board represented fidchell, some recent tafl board reconstructions and apps have given the name of "fitchneal" to a particular 7x7 tafl arrangement (see image), which has extended the confusion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fitchneal and Brandubh – The Historic Games Shop |url=https://www.thehistoricgamesshop.co.uk/onlineshop/prod_7479996-Fitchneal-and-Brandubh-two-Irish-tafl-games.html |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=TheHistoricGamesShop}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ballinderry Game Board |url=https://historicgames.com/Fitchneal.html |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=historicgames.com}}</ref>

Historically, {{lang|non|tafl}} games, especially {{lang|cy|tawlbwrdd}}, were often played with a die, made of a sheep's knucklebone, and this feature seems absent in {{lang|ga|fidchell}}. In Wales, a clear distinction is made between {{lang|cy|tawlbwrdd}} and {{lang|cy|gwyddbwyll}}, which, if also true of Ireland, would tend to indicate a similar distinction between {{lang|ga|brandub}} and {{lang|ga|fidchell}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Early Irish Board Games |url=http://www.unicorngarden.com/eigse/eigse01.htm |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=unicorngarden.com}}</ref>

==Historical impact==
{{lang|sga|Fidchell}}, as described in the legends, often has a mystical or divinatory aspect to it. Battles ebb and flow as a result of the ebb and flow of a game of {{lang|sga|fidchell}}, games play themselves, great events are decided on the outcome of a {{lang|sga|fidchell}} match. This supernatural aspect is not as clearly reflected in the {{lang|non|tafl}} games. {{citation needed|date=March 2010}}

There is clear archaeological and textual evidence that a {{lang|non|tafl}} variant was played in Ireland in ancient times; however, this is more likely to have been the game of ''brandub'', which had a king piece. Fidchell was played with equal forces, and so was not a form of tafl.

== See also ==
* [[Tafl games|{{lang|non|Tafl|nocat=yes}} games]]
* [[Druid of Colchester]]

==References==
{{reflist|25em|refs=

<ref name=Bromwich-2006>
{{cite book
|last=Bromwich |first=Rachel
|year=2006
|title=Trioedd Ynys Prydein |language=cy
|trans-title=The Triads of the Island of Britain
|pages=262–263
|publisher=University of Wales Press
|isbn=0708313868
}}
</ref>

<ref name=Fithneal-HG>
{{cite web
|title=Fitchneal
|website=Historic Games
|url=http://historicgames.com/Fitchneal.html
}}
</ref>

<ref name=MacAlister-1941-ITS>
{{cite book
|last=MacAlister |first=R.A. Stewart
|year=1941
|title=ga:{{lang|ga|[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]|italic=yes}}
|at=Part IV, §VII, first redaction, ¶316
|publisher=Irish Texts Society
|place=Dublin, EI
}}
</ref>

<ref name=MacWhite-1948>
{{cite journal
|first=Eóin |last=MacWhite
|title=Early Irish Board Games
|year=1948 |orig-year=(1948 used for 1945–1947)
|journal=Éigse |volume=5 |pages=25–35, esp. 30
}}
</ref>



}} 

==Bibliography==
{{div col |colwidth=25em |content=

* {{cite book
|last=Bayless |first=Martha
|year=2005
|chapter=Alea, Tæfl, and related games: Vocabulary and context
|title=Latin Learning and English Lore
|editor1-last=O'Keeffe |editor1-first=Katherine O'Brien
|editor2-last=Orchard |editor2-first=Andy
|publisher=University of Toronto Press
|department=Scholarly Publishing Division
|volume=II |pages=9–27
|isbn=0802089194
}}

* {{cite book
|last=Bromwich |first=Rachel
|year=2006
|title=Trioedd Ynys Prydein |language=cy
|trans-title=The Triads of the Island of Britain
|publisher=University of Wales Press
|isbn=0708313868
}}

* {{cite book
|last=Nugent |first=Brian
|year=2010
|title=The Irish Invented Chess
|publisher=Lulu.com
|isbn=978-0955681264
}}

* {{cite book
|translator-last=Gantz |translator-first=Jeffrey
|year=1986
|title=Early Irish Myths and Sagas
|edition=reprint
|publisher=Marboro Books
|isbn=0880290382
}}

* {{cite book
|last=Pennick |first=Nigel
|year=1989
|title=Secret Games of the Gods: Ancient ritual systems in board games
|publisher=S. Weiser
}}

* {{cite book
|last1=Rees |first1=Alwyn |author-link=Alwyn D. Rees
|last2=Rees |first2=Brinley | author2-link=B. R. Rees
|year=1961
|title=Celtic Heritage
|publisher=Thames and Hudson
|place=UK
}}

* {{cite book
|last=Tolstoy |first=Nikolai
|year=1985
|title=The Quest for Merlin
|publisher=Little, Brown
|isbn=0316850667
}}

}} 

==External links==

{{div col |colwidth=25em |content=

* {{cite web
|title=Irish Fidchell
|url=http://elisaid.antir.com/games/fidchell.htm
|url-status=dead 
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060115204223/http://elisaid.antir.com/games/fidchell.htm
|archive-date=2006-01-15
}}

* {{cite web
|title=Origins
|series=Fidchell
|website=UnicornGarden
|url=http://www.unicorngarden.com/fidchell/origins.htm
}}

* {{cite web
|title=Learn more about Fidchell
|website=HistoricGames
|url=http://www.historicgames.com/learnmore/fid.html
|access-date=19 August 2005
|archive-date=24 August 2005
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050824104300/http://www.historicgames.com/learnmore/fid.html
|url-status=dead
}}

* {{cite web
|title=Play Fidchell
|website=CastalidesInteractive
|date=10 October 2013
|url=http://castalidesinteractive.com/fidchell/
}}

* {{cite magazine
|title=Tongues
|magazine=Seeker (magazine)
|url=http://www.seekermagazine.com/v0499/tongues.html
|url-status=dead 
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051104072104/http://www.seekermagazine.com/v0499/tongues.html
|archive-date=2005-11-04
}}

}} 

===Rules and boards===
* {{bgg|2932}}
* {{cite web
|title=Fitchneal
|series=Games
|website=Shire of Hartshorn-dale
|url=http://www.knauer.org/mike/sca/classes/fitchneal.html
|url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404155902/http://www.knauer.org/mike/sca/classes/fitchneal.html
|archive-date=2016-04-04
}} – a very clear set of Fitchneal rules.

* {{cite web
|title=cloth Fidchell board based on the Ballinderry game board
|website=MacGregor Historic Games
|url=http://historicgames.com/RPgames.html#Fidchell
|url-status=dead 
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822041058/http://historicgames.com/RPgames.html#Fidchell
|archive-date=2009-08-22
}}

* {{cite web
|title=The Ballinderry game board
|url=http://historicgames.com/Fitchneal.html
}} – suggested by some scholars to be a Fidchell game.

* {{cite web
|title=Early Irish Board Games
|url=http://www.unicorngarden.com/eigse/eigse01.htm
}} – information about Fitchneal and other ancient Irish games.

* {{cite web
|title=Hnefatafl – a Norse game
|series=Java applets for various Tafl games
|url=http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~leif/games/Hnefetafl/index.html
|url-status=dead 
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015155912/http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~leif/games/Hnefetafl/index.html
|archive-date=2011-10-15
}} – includes a Fitchneal game, although it uses a different board layout

===Computer versions===
* {{cite web
|title=Fitchneal 2002
|website=PJ's Attic
|url=http://www.pjsattic.com/?page_id=6
}} – a Macromedia Shockwave version

* {{cite web
|title=Fitchneal widget
|website=Miles Cooley's widgets
|url=http://milescooley.com/mc/widgets/
}} – a Fitchneal widget for the Mac OS‑X dashboard

[[Category:Abstract strategy games]]
[[Category:Ancient Ireland]]
[[Category:Irish mythology]]
[[Category:Welsh mythology]]

[[br:Gwezboell]]
[[cy:Gwyddbwyll#Gwyddbwyll Geltaidd]]

Ferdiad

2025-09-10T21:08:59Z

2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: Align to wiktionary

{{Short description|Character in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology}}
{{Other uses|Ferdia (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[Image:Ferdiafalls.jpg|thumb|200px|"Ferdia Falls by the Hand of Cuchulain", illustration by [[Stephen Reid (artist)|Stephen Reid]] from [[Eleanor Hull]]'s ''The Boys' Cuchulain'', 1904]]
'''Ferdiad''' ({{IPA|sga|ˈfʲerd̠ʲiːa̯ð|pron}}; also ''Fer Diad'', ''Ferdia'', ''Fear Diadh''), son of Damán, son of Dáire, of the [[Fir Domnann]], is a warrior of [[Connacht]] in the [[Ulster Cycle]] of [[Irish mythology]]. In the ''[[Táin Bó Cúailnge]]'', Ferdiad finds himself on the side of the war opposite to that taken by his best friend and foster-brother [[Cú Chulainn]], with whom he had trained in arms under the renowned warrior woman [[Scáthach]]. He and Cú Chulainn are equal in all martial feats, with two exceptions: the ''[[Gáe Bulg]]'', a barbed spear which Scáthach has taught only Cú Chulainn to use; and Ferdiad's horn skin, which no weapon can pierce.

When [[Ailill mac Máta|Ailill]] and [[Medb]], king and queen of Connacht, invade [[Ulaid|Ulster]] to steal the bull [[Donn Cúailnge]], their progress is held up by Cú Chulainn, who demands single combat. After Cú Chulainn has defeated a series of Connacht champions, Medb sends for Ferdiad, but he only agrees to fight Cú Chulainn after [[Findabair]], Ailill and Medb's daughter, has seductively plied him with alcohol, and Medb has variously bribed, shamed and goaded him to do so. They fight in the ford for three days, first fighting with eight swords, darts, and spears, then fighting with "throwing-spears" and lances, and finally moving on to "heavy, hard-smiting swords." It is on the third day that Ferdiad starts to gain the upper hand. At this point, Cú Chulainn calls to his charioteer, Laeg, for the ''Gáe Bolga'', which he floats down the river to him. Cú Chulainn throws a light spear at Ferdiad's chest, causing him to raise his shield, and then picks up the ''Gáe Bolga'' between his toes and thrusts it through his [[human anus|anus]], upon which the barbs spread throughout his body, killing him. The ''Gáe Bolga'' is then removed from Ferdiad's body by Laeg, and Cú Chulainn mourns Ferdiad's death, praising his strength and bravery:

:"Ah, Ferdiad, betrayed to death."
:"Our last meeting, oh, how sad!"
:"Thou to die I to remain."
:"Ever sad our long farewell!"<ref>Joseph Dunn, "The Ancient Irish Epic Tale Táin Bó Cúalnge", London: David Nutt, 1914 [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/cool/cool20.htm]</ref><ref>Ciarán Carson, ''The Táin'', p. 151</ref>

Scholars believe that the fight between Cú Chulainn and Ferdiad is a late addition to the ''Táin'', originating not earlier than the eleventh century and drawing on earlier episodes in the story.<ref name=etym>Micheál Ó Flaithearta, "The Etymologies of (Fer) Diad", in Ruairi Ó hUiginn and Brian Ó Catháin (eds), ''Ulidia 2: Proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Ulster Cycle of Tales'', An Sagard, 2009, pp. 218–225</ref>

Ferdiad's name has been interpreted as meaning "man of smoke", "man of the pair" or "man of two feet", and may be a back-formation from the placename ''Áth Fhir Diad'' ([[Ardee]], [[County Louth]]) which is supposedly named after him.<ref name=etym />

Some modern scholars see his relationship with Cú Chulainn, and his death, as having homoerotic undertones.<ref>Sarah Sheehan, "Fer Diad De-flowered: Homoerotics and Masculimity in ''Comrac Fir Diad''", in Ruairi Ó hUiginn and Brian Ó Catháin (eds), ''Ulidia 2: Proceedings of the Second International Conference on the Ulster Cycle of Tales'', An Sagard, 2009, pp. 54-65</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= Cassell's Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol and Spirit|last= Conner |first= Randy P. |year=1998 |publisher=Cassell |location=UK |isbn=0304704237 |page=116 "Cú Chulainn and Fer diadh"}}</ref><ref>Cat Mount, "The Three Loves of Cúchulainn: The Impact of Warrior Relationships in The Táin", in T. E. Kinsella (ed.), ''Ulster Rising: Ten Essays on the Ulster Cycle'', 2012, pp. 36-47</ref><ref>Ciarán Carson, ''The Táin'', Penguin Classics, 2007, p. 212-213</ref>

== Legacy ==
[[File:Cuchulainn and Ferdia Statue.jpg|thumb|A Statue of Cuchulainn and Ferdia in [[Ardee|Ardee, Co. Louth]], Ireland.]]
The ford on which he died is named ''Áth Fhirdiad'' (Ferdiad's ford in Irish) [[Ardee]], [[County Louth]] is named after him (''Baile Átha Fhirdhia'').<ref>Cecile O'Rahilly, ''Táin Bó Cúailnge Recension 1'', Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976, pp. 195–208 [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T301012/index.html]</ref><ref>Cecile O'Rahilly, ''Táin Bó Cúalnge from the Book of Leinster'', Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1967, pp. 211–234 [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T301035/index.html]</ref>

A bronze statue stands in Bridge Street, [[Ardee]] depicting the battle and the death of Ferdiad.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|date=Summer 2016|title=Where Ferdia fell: Ardee, Co Louth|url=https://www.louthcoco.ie/en/Services/Heritage/Publications/Ardee%20Heritage%20GUide.pdf|journal=Archaeology Ireland Heritage Guide|volume=73|page=6}}</ref><ref>Ross. Noel (2011). "The Walled Town of Ardee: Selected Extracts." ''Journal of the County Louth Archaeological and Historical Society,'' '''27''' 339–365. </ref>

==See also==
* [[Impalement]]
* [[Dragon of Wantley]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Ferdiad}}

{{Celtic mythology (Ulster)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferdiad}}
[[Category:Ulster Cycle]]
[[Category:Characters in Táin Bó Cúailnge]]
[[Category:LGBTQ themes in mythology]]

Étaín

2025-09-10T21:00:58Z

2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: /* Name */Align to wiktionary

{{for-multi|the given name|Étaín (Irish name)|the printer's error|etaoin shrdlu|the Leaves' Eyes song|Meredead}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Étaín
| series = Mythological Cycle
| image = 9 They rose up in the air.jpg
| image_upright =
| alt =
| caption = Étaín and Midir, illustration by [[Stephen Reid (artist)|Stephen Reid]] in [[T. W. Rolleston]]'s ''The High Deeds of Finn'' (1910)
| first =
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| portrayer =
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| info-hdr =
| noinfo =
| full_name =
| nickname =
| alias = Édaín, Eddin, Jédin
| species = 
| gender = female
| occupation =
| affiliation =
| title =
| family = [[Ailill]]
| spouse = [[Eochaid Feidlech]], [[Aengus]]
| significant_other =
| children = [[Étaín Óg]]
| relatives =
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}}

{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}

'''Étaín''' or '''Édaín''' (Modern Irish spelling: '''Éadaoin''') is a figure of [[Irish mythology]], best known as the heroine of ''[[Tochmarc Étaíne]]'' (''The Wooing of Étaín''), one of the oldest and richest stories of the [[Mythological Cycle]]. She also figures in the [[Middle Irish]] ''[[Togail Bruidne Dá Derga]]'' (''The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel''). [[T. F. O'Rahilly]] identified her as a sun goddess.

==Name==
The name ''Étaín'' ({{IPA|sga|ˈeːd̪aːi̯nʲ}}) is alternately spelt as ''Edain'', ''Aideen'', ''Etaoin'', ''Éadaoin'', ''Aedín'', or ''Adaon''. It is derived from a [[diminutive]] form of [[Old Irish]] ''ét'', "passion, jealousy".<ref>Koch, John T. (ed.), Celtic Culture, ABC-CLIO, 2006, p. 1675.</ref> She is sometimes known by the [[epithet]] Echraide ("horse rider"), suggesting links with horse deities and figures such as the Welsh [[Rhiannon]] and the [[Gauls|Gaulish]] [[Epona]].<ref name=MacKillop>MacKillop, p. 195.</ref> In ''Tochmarc Étaíne'' [[Midir]] names her [[Bé Find]] (Fair Woman). However, the poem embedded in the text, "A Bé Find in ragha lium" may be an older, unrelated composition that was [[Interpolation (manuscripts)|appended]] to the story later.<ref>Mac Cana, p. 140.</ref>

==Genealogy==
In ''[[Tochmarc Étaine]]'', Étaín is the daughter of [[Ailill]], king of the [[Ulaid]]. A slightly different genealogy is told in ''[[Togail Bruidne Dá Derga]]'' (''The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel''). Here she is the daughter of Étar (described as king of the cavalcade of the elfmounds), and marries the High King [[Eochaid Feidlech]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Part 3 of The destruction of Da Derga's Hostel |url=https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T301017A/text003.html |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=celt.ucc.ie}}</ref> They have a daughter, called Étaín Óg (Étaín the Younger), who marries Cormac, king of Ulster. She bears him a daughter, [[Mess Buachalla]], but no sons. Cormac abandons Mess Buachalla, but she is found and brought up by a herdsman. When she grows up she marries the High King [[Eterscél]] and becomes the mother of Conaire Mor. In genealogical tracts she is said to have been the wife of the Ulster prince [[Cormac Cond Longas]]. Elsewhere Étaín, called Eadon the poetess, appears to be a daughter of Dian Cécht.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Irish version of the Historia Britonum of Nennius |url=https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T100028/index.html |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=celt.ucc.ie}}</ref> Similarly, the Etain mentioned in the Second Battle of Moytura is the mother of Carpre the poet who satirizes and shames the [[Fomorians]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Part 114 of The Second Battle of Moytura |url=https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T300011/text114.html |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=celt.ucc.ie}}</ref>

==''Tochmarc Étaine''==
When [[Midir]] of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] falls in love with and marries Étaín, Midir's rejected first wife [[Fúamnach]] becomes jealous and casts a series of spells on her. First Fúamnach turns Étaín into a pool of water, then into a worm, (in some versions a snake) and then into a beautiful scarlet fly.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gantz |first=Jeffrey |date=1981 |title=Early Irish Myths and Sagas |page=[https://archive.org/details/earlyirishmythss00jeff/page/45 45] |publisher=National Geographic Books |isbn=9780140443974 |url=https://archive.org/details/earlyirishmythss00jeff/page/45 }}</ref> Midir does not know that the fly is Étaín, but it becomes his constant companion, and he has no interest in women. Fúamnach then creates a wind that blows the fly away and does not allow it to alight anywhere but the rocks of the sea for seven years.

Eventually it lands on the clothes of [[Aengus|Óengus]], who recognises it as Étaín, but he is at war with Midir and cannot return her to him. He makes her a little chamber with windows so she can come and go, and carries the chamber with him wherever he goes. But Fúamnach hears of this and creates another wind which blows her away from him for another seven years. Eventually the fly falls into a glass of wine. The wine is swallowed (together with the fly) by the wife of Étar, an Ulster chieftain, in the time of [[Conchobar mac Nessa]]. She becomes pregnant, and Étain is reborn, one thousand and twelve years after her first birth.<ref>In ''[[The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel]]'' the eternal rebirth of Etain is suggested: "Then the king, even Eochaid Feidlech, dies, leaving one daughter named, like her mother, Etain, and wedded to Cormac, king of Ulaid."</ref> Many modern readers of "The Wooing of Etaine" assume that "fly" must mean butterfly or dragonfly, but the Irish word clearly translates as fly (or beetle). Since there are both butterflies and dragonflies in Ireland and specific Irish words for both, it is clear that the creature she becomes is actually a fly.

When she grows up, Étaín marries the [[High King of Ireland|High King]], [[Eochaid Airem]]. Their meeting is related in the opening episode of ''[[Togail Bruidne Dá Derga]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Internet History Sourcebooks: Medieval Sourcebook |url=https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/1100derga.asp |access-date=2024-03-16 |publisher=Fordham University}}</ref> Eochaid's brother Ailill Angubae falls in love with her, and begins to waste away. Eventually he admits to Étaín that he is dying of love for her, and she agrees to sleep with him to save his life. They arrange to meet, but Midir casts a spell which causes Ailill to fall asleep and miss the assignation. However, Étaín meets a man there who looks and speaks like Ailill but does not sleep with him because she senses that it is not actually him. This happens three times, and the man who looks like Ailill reveals himself to be Midir, and tells her of her previous life as his wife. She refuses to leave with him unless her husband gives her permission. She then returns to Ailill to find him cured.

Midir then goes to Eochaid in his true form and asks to play ''fidchell'', a board game, with him. He offers a stake of fifty horses, loses, and gives Eochaid the horses as promised. Midir challenges him to more games, for higher stakes, and keeps losing. Eochaid, warned by his foster-father that Midir is a being of great power, sets him a series of tasks, including laying a causeway over Móin Lámrige, which he performs reluctantly. He then challenges Eochaid to one final game of ''fidchell'', the stake to be named by the winner. This time, Midir wins, and demands an embrace and a kiss from Étaín. Eochaid agrees that he will have it if he returns in a month's time. A month later Midir returns. He puts his arms around Étaín, and they turn into swans and fly off.

Eochaid and his men begin digging at the mound of Brí Léith where Midir lives. Midir appears to them and tells Eochaid his wife will be restored to him the following day. The next day fifty women who all look like Étain appear, and an old hag tells Eochaid to choose which one is his wife. He chooses one, but Midir later reveals that Étaín had been pregnant when he had taken her, and the girl he has chosen is her daughter. Eochaid is horrified, because he has slept with his own daughter, who became pregnant with a girl. When the girl is born she is exposed, but she is found and brought up by a herdsman and his wife. She later becomes the mother of the High King [[Conaire Mor]].

==Dindsenchas==

Two episodes from the ''Tochmarc Étaíne'' are also recounted in the metrical [[Dindsenchas]]. The [[Dindsenchas]] poem on Rath Esa recounts how Eochaid Airenn won back Étaín. The poem on Ráth Crúachan refers to Midir's abduction of Étaín.

==''Togail Bruidne Dá Derga''==

The Middle Irish text ''[[Togail Bruidne Dá Derga]]'' (Recension II) includes a rather lengthy and colourful depiction of her in the episode of her encounter with King Echu in Brí Léith:

{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break}}
''[...] con-accai in mnaí for ur in tobair & cír chuirrél argit co n-ecor de ór acthe oc folcud a l-luing argit & ceithri h-eóin óir furri & gleorgemai beccai di charrmogul chorcrai h-i forfleascuib na luingi . Brat cas corcra fo loí chaín aicthe . Dúalldai airgdidi ecoirside de ór oibinniu isin bratt . Léne lebur-chulpatach isí chotutlemon dei sítiu úainide fo derginliud óir impi. Túagmíla ingantai di ór & airget fora bruindi & a formnaib & a gúallib isind léne di cach leith. Taitned fria in grían co b-ba forderg dona feraib tuídhleach ind óir frisin n- gréin asin títiu uainidi. Dá trilis n- órbuidi fora cind . Fige ceithri n-dúal ceachtar n-dé, & mell for rind cach dúail. Ba cosmail leó dath ind foiltsin fri barr n-ailestair h-i samrad nó fri dergór íar n- dénam a datha.''<ref>Knott (ed.), ''Togail''. p. 1.</ref>
{{Col-break}}
"[...] [Echu] saw a woman at the edge of the well. She had a bright silver comb with gold ornamentation on it, and she was washing from a silver vessel with four gold birds on it and bright, tiny gems of crimson carbuncle on its rims. There was a crimson cloak of beautiful, curly fleece round her, fastened with a silver brooch coiled with lovely gold; her long-hooded tunic was of stiff, smooth, green silk embroidered with red gold, and there were wondrous animal brooches of gold and silver at her breast and on her shoulders. When the sun shone upon her, the gold would glisten very red against the green silk. Two tresses of yellow gold she had, and each tress was a weaving of four twists with a globe at the end. Men would say that hair was like the blooming iris in summer or like red gold after it had been burnished."<ref>Gantz (tr.), pp. 61–2.</ref>
{{Col-end}}

In equally rapturous style, the narrator proceeds to home in on her physical beauty:

{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break}}
''Is and buí oc taithbiuch a fuilt dia folcud & a dá láim tria derc a sedlaig immach. Batar gilithir sneachta n-oenaichde na dí dóit & batar maethchóiri & batar dergithir sían slébe na dá grúad n-glanáilli. Badar duibithir druimne daeil na dá malaich . Batar inand & frais do némannaib a déta ina cind. Batar glasithir buga na dí súil. Batar dergithir partaing na beóil. Batar forarda míne maethgela na dá gúalaind. Batar gelglana sithfhota na méra. Batar fota na láma. Ba gilithir úan tuindi in taeb seng fota tláith mín maeth amal olaind. Batar teithbláithi sleamongeala na dí slíasait. Batar cruindbega caladgela na dí glún. Batar gerrgela indildírgi na dé lurgain. Batar coirdírgi íaráildi na dá sáil. Cid ríagail fo-certa forsna traigthib is ing má 'd-chotad égoir n-indib acht ci tórmaisead feóil ná fortche foraib. Solusruidiud inn éscae ina saeragaid. Urthócbáil úailli ina mínmailgib. Ruithen suirghe ceachtar a dá rígrosc. Tibri ániusa ceachtar a dá grúad, co n-amlud indtibsen do ballaib bithchorcra co n-deirgi fola laíg, & araill eile co solusgili sneachta. Bocmaerdachd banamail ina glór. Cém fosud n-inmálla acci. Tochim ríghnaidi lé. Ba sí trá as caemeam & as áildeam & as córam ad-connarcadar súili doíne de mnáib domain . Ba dóig leó bed a sídaib dí. Ba fria as-breth: cruth cách co h-Étaín. Caem cách co h-Étaín.''<ref>Knott (ed.), ''Togail''. pp. 1–2.</ref>
{{Col-break}}
"At the well, the woman loosened her hair in order to wash it, and her hands appeared through the opening of the neck of her dress. As white as the snow of a single night her wrists; as tender and even and red as foxglove her clear, lovely cheeks. As black as a beetle's back her brows; a shower of matched pearls her teeth. Hyacinth blue her eyes; Parthian red her lips. Straight, smooth, soft and white her shoulders; pure white and tapering her fingers; long her arms. As white as sea foam her side, slender, long, smooth, yielding, soft as wool. Warm and smooth, sleek and white her thighs; round and small, firm and white her knees. Short and white and straight her shins; fine and straight and lovely her heels. If a rule were put against her feet, scarcely a fault would be found save for her plenitude of flesh or skin. The blushing light of the moon in her noble face; an uplifting of pride in her smooth brows; a gleam of courting each in her two royal eyes. Dimples of pleasure each of her cheeks, where spots red as the blood of a calf alternated with spots the whiteness of shining snow. A gently, womanly dignity in her voice; a steady, stately step, the walk of a queen. She was the fairest and most perfect and most beautiful of all the women in the world; men thought she was of the Síde, and they said of her: 'Lovely anyone until Étain. Beautiful anyone until Étain.{{'"}}<ref>Gantz (tr.), pp. 62–3.</ref>
{{Col-end}}

===Silver basin===
The silver basin (Ir. ''long'') with the four golden birds around it may have symbolic or religious significance. Margaret Dobbs has noted the parallel of the three cups offered by Medb to the Ulster heroes in ''[[Fled Bricrenn]]''. Each of these three cups had a bird of greater material value placed on the inside: the bronze cup was fitted out with a bird of ''findruine'', the ''findruine'' one with a bird of gold and the gold cup with a bird of gems. Moreover, she points out a possible relationship to examples of [[Hallstatt culture|late Hallstatt]] pottery and [[bronzeware]] from Central Europe in which figures of aquatic birds were attached to bowls or vases, whether they were specifically designed for religious ceremonies or conveyed religious ideas in more general contexts. She suggests that the literary image may preserve "a memory of well-worship and of rites performed there with sacred vessels marked with magic symbols", possibly against evil magic. Such religious practices and ritual vessels may have reached Ireland between about 600 and 300 BC, when immigration took place in Britain and Ireland. In the light of the sacred significance of swans in early Irish literature, Dobbs also notes the episode's possible relevance to Fúamnach's malevolent spells and Étaín's and Midir's transformation into the shape of swans.<ref>Dobbs, "The silver basin." pp. 202–3.</ref>

==Additional references==
[[Aideen's Grave]] is a [[megalithic]] [[portal tomb]] located in [[Howth|Binn Éadair]], according to legend this was her final resting place.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jackman |first=Neil |date=2015-09-18 |title=The king in 'high spirits' who arrived to Ireland stuffed with goose pie and Irish whiskey |url=https://www.thejournal.ie/heritage-ireland-howth-dublin-2335796-Sep2015/ |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=TheJournal.ie |language=en}}</ref> This legend is the subject of the poem 'Aideen's Grave' by [[Samuel Ferguson]].<ref>{{cite book |title=A Book of Irish Verse |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |page=60}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[Étaín (Irish name)]]
* [[List of solar deities]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==

===Primary sources===
* {{Cite TBDD II}}; tr. J. Ganz, ''Early Irish Myths and Sagas''. Harmondsworth, 1981. 60–106.
*''[[Tochmarc Étaíne]]'', ed. E. Ernst, "Tochmarc Étáine: 'Das Freien um Etain'." In ''Irische Texte mit Übersetzungen und Wörterbuch'' 1 (1891). 113–33.
*"Ráth Esa", ed. and tr. Edward J. Gwyn, ''The Metrical Dindshenchas''. Vol 2. Dublin: DIAS, 1901. [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G106500B/text002.html Edition] and [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T106500B/text001.html translation] available from CELT.
*"Ráth Crúachain", ed. and tr. Edward J. Gwyn, ''The Metrical Dindshenchas''. Vol 3. Dublin: DIAS, 1901. 348-. [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G106500C/text063.html Edition] and [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T106500C/text063.html translation] available from CELT.

===Secondary sources===
*Charles-Edwards, T. M. "''Tochmarc Étaíne'': A Literal Interpretation." In ''Ogma: Essays in Celtic Studies in Honour of Próinséas Ní Chatháin'', ed. Michael Richter and Jean-Michel Picard. Dublin, 2002. 165–81.
*Dobbs, M.E. "The silver basin of Étaín." ''[[Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie]]'' 24 (1954): 201–3.
*Mac Cana, Proinsias (1989) "Notes on the Combination of Prose and Verse in Early Irish Narrative". In Tranter, Stephen Norman; and Tristram, Hildegard L. C., ''Early Irish Literature: Media and Communication'', pp. 125–148. Gunter Narr Verlag. {{ISBN|3-87808-391-2}}
*MacKillop, James (1998). ''A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. London: Oxford. {{ISBN|0-19-860967-1}}.
*Sayers, William. "Early Irish Attitudes toward Hair and Beards, Baldness and Tonsure." ''[[Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie]]'' 44 (1991): 154–89 :169.

==External links==
*[http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T300012/index.html The Wooing of Étaín]
*[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1100derga.html The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel]

{{Celtic mythology (Mythological)}}
{{Celtic mythology (Ulster)}}

{{given name|Étaín|nocat}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Etain}}
[[Category:Irish goddesses]]
[[Category:Mythological Cycle]]
[[Category:Ulster Cycle]]
[[Category:Solar goddesses]]
[[Category:Irish royal consorts]]

Ériu

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2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: Align to wiktionary

{{Short description|Goddess in Irish mythology}}
{{for|the journal|Ériu (journal)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:'The Harp of Erin', oil on canvas painting by Thomas Buchanan Read.JPG|thumb|''″The Harp of Erin″'' painting by [[Thomas Buchanan Read]]]]
In [[Irish mythology]], '''Ériu''' ({{IPA|sga|ˈeːɾʲu|lang}}; {{langx|ga|label=[[Modern Irish]]|'''Éire'''}} {{IPA|ga|ˈeːɾʲə||Eire pronunciation.ogg}}), daughter of [[Delbáeth]] and [[Ernmas]] of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]], was the eponymous matron [[goddess]] of [[Ireland]].

The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] ([[Old Norse]] or [[Old English]]) word ''land''.

Since Ériu is represented as goddess of Ireland, she is often interpreted as a modern-day personification of Ireland, although since the name ''Ériu'' is the [[Old Irish]] form of the word Ireland, her modern name is often modified to ''[[Éire]]'' or ''[[Erin]]'' to suit a modern form.

==Name and etymology==
The name ''Ériu'' has been derived from reconstructed [[Archaic Irish]] ''*Īweriū'',<ref>Mallory, J.P. and D.Q. Adams, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture.'' London: Fitzroy Dearborn Pub., 1997, p. 194</ref> which is related to the ethnic name [[Iverni]].<ref name="Koch">[[John T. Koch|Koch, John T.]] (2005), ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia'', ABC-CLIO, p.709</ref> The [[University of Wales]] derives this from [[Proto-Celtic]] *''Φīwerjon-'' (nominative singular ''Φīwerjō'').<ref>{{cite web|title=Proto-Celtic—English lexicon|url=http://www.wales.ac.uk/documents/external/cawcs/pcl-moe.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060114133008/http://www.wales.ac.uk/documents/external/cawcs/pcl-moe.pdf|archive-date=2006-01-14}}</ref> This is further derived from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] ''*piHwerjon-'' ("fertile land" or "land of abundance"), from the adjective ''*piHwer-'' "fat" (cognate with [[Ancient Greek]] ''[[Pieria_(regional_unit)#History|píeira]]'' and [[Sanskrit]] ''pīvara'', "fat, full, abounding").<ref name="Koch"/>

The Archaic Irish form was borrowed into Ancient Greek as {{lang|grc|Ἰέρνη}} ''Iernē'' and {{lang|grc|Ἰουερνία}} ''Iouernia'', and into [[Latin]] ''[[Hibernia]]''.<ref name="Koch"/>

== Epithets ==
In the ''[[Banshenchas]]'' (a mediaeval text describing legendary and historical Irish women),<ref name=":0" /> Ériu and her sisters are called:

* ''fair women of the Tuatha Dé Danand''
* ''a famous throng''
* ''clear voice of achievement''
* ''three fair daughters of Fiachra''
* ''bright women of spirited speech''

== Family ==
Different texts attribute differing personal relationships to Ériu. Ériu's sisters are consistently named as Banba and Fódla, who are members of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and the three sisters share a trio of brothers as husbands. In the ''[[Banshenchas]]'', Ériu is described as the wife of Cetar, while Banba and Fódla are named as the wives of Etar and Detar, respectively.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Banshenchus|url=http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/banshenchus.html|access-date=2022-01-03|website=www.maryjones.us}}</ref> More commonly, she is named as the wife or lover of [[Mac Gréine]] ("Son of the Sun"), a grandson of the [[The Dagda|Dagda]], although in the ''Banshenchas'', her husband is simply named ''Grian'' ("Sun").<ref>''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]''. Online translation at [http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/lebor4.html#62 www.ancienttexts.org]</ref><ref name="Rolleston">{{cite book|author=T. W. Rolleston|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Idy7AQAAQBAJ&q=eriu&pg=PA134|title=Celtic Myths and Legends|date=24 July 2012|publisher=Dover Publications|isbn=9780486265070|place=New York|page=132|author-link=T. W. Rolleston}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Ériu is also portrayed as the lover of [[Elatha]], a prince of the [[Fomorians]], with whom she produces a son named [[Bres]], and as the mistress of Bres's enemy - the hero [[Lugh]]. Both [[Elatha]] and Ériu are described in some sources as the children of [[Delbaeth]], indicating they may be half-siblings.<ref>{{cite web|author1=A. D. Rees |author1-link=Alwyn D. Rees |author2=B. R. Rees |author2-link=B. R. Rees|date=1961|title=Celtic heritage : ancient tradition in Ireland and Wales|url=https://archive.org/stream/celticheritagean00rees#page/32/mode/2up|publisher=Thames and Hudson}}</ref> Elsewhere Ériu is named as the daughter of Fiachra,<ref name=":0" /> and her mother is named as Ernmas. Her foster-father in the Rennes ''[[Dindsenchas]]'' is named as Codal the Roundbreasted, and when he fed Ériu on a peak called ''Benn Codail'', it caused the land in Ireland to heave toward the sky, and it would have kept rising until the entire land would have been the peak or otherwise until the sun would have scorched Ériu and the wind pierced her ears.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/revueceltique16pari|title=Revue celtique|date=1870|place=Paris |publisher=University of Toronto}}</ref>

==Role and mythical portrayal==
With her sisters, [[Banba]] and [[Fódla]], Ériu forms a triumvirate of goddesses. When the [[Milesians (Irish)|Milesians]] arrived from [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], each of the three sisters asked that her name be given to the country. This was granted to them, although Ériu (Éire) became the chief name in use.<ref name="Rolleston" /> (Banba and Fódla are still sometimes used as poetic names for Ireland, much as ''[[Albion]]'' is used as a poetic name for [[Great Britain]].)

According to the 17th-century Irish historian [[Geoffrey Keating]] (''{{langx|ga|Seathrún Céitinn}}''), the three sovereignty goddesses associated with Éire, Banbha and Fódla were [[Badb]], [[Macha]] and [[The Morrígan]]. Ériu, Banba and Fódla are also interpreted as [[sovereignty goddess|goddesses of sovereignty]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/index.html|title= The History of Ireland|work=[[Foras Feasa ar Éirinn]] |author = Geoffrey Keating |author-link = Geoffrey Keating |via = UCC.ie }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Boydell, Barra. "The female harp: The Irish harp in 18th- and early–19th-century Romantic nationalism", ''RIdIM/RCMI newsletter'' XX/1 (spring 1995), 10–17.

{{Celtic mythology (Mythological)}}
{{National personifications}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eriu}}
[[Category:Irish goddesses]]
[[Category:Tuatha Dé Danann]]
[[Category:Tutelary goddesses]]
[[Category:Personifications of Ireland]]
[[Category:National personifications]]
[[Category:Names for Ireland]]

Eochaid Mugmedon

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{{Short description|Legendary Irish king}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
'''Eochaid Mugmedón''' ({{IPA|sga|ˈoːxəðʲ ˈmuɣβʲəðoːn|lang}}) was a legendary Irish king. According to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, Eochaid was a [[High King of Ireland]], best known as the father of [[Niall of the Nine Hostages]] and ancestor of the [[Uí Néill]] and [[Connachta]] dynasties. He is not mentioned in the list of kings of [[Hill of Tara|Tara]] in the ''[[Baile Chuind]]'' (The Ecstasy of Conn), but is included in the synthetic lists of High Kings in the ''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'', the [[Irish annals]], [[Geoffrey Keating]]'s history, and the ''Laud Synchronisms''.

According to the ''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]''<ref>R. A. Stewart MacAlister (ed. & trans.), ''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'' Part V, Irish Texts Society, 1956, pp. 345–347.</ref> and its derivative works, Eochaid was the son of the former High King [[Muiredach Tírech]], a descendant of [[Conn Cétchathach]]. Muiredach was overthrown and killed by [[Cáelbad]] son of Cronn Bradruí, an Ulster king, but Cáelbad only ruled one year before Eochaid killed him and took the throne. The ''Lebor Gabála'' says he extracted the ''bórama'' or cow tribute from [[Leinster]] without a battle. However, Keating records that he was defeated in the Battle of Cruachan Claonta by the Leinster king [[Énnae Cennsalach]].<ref name="keating">[[Geoffrey Keating]], ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/text057.html 1.47].</ref>

According to the saga "The Adventures of the Sons of Eochaid Mugmedon",<ref name="sons">[[Tom Peete Cross]] & Clark Harris Slover (eds.), [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/eochaid.html "The Adventures of the Sons of Eochaid Mugmedon"], ''Ancient Irish Tales'', 1936, pp. 508–513.</ref> he is said to have had two wives: [[Mongfind]], daughter of Fidach, who bore him four sons, [[Brion (Irish)|Brion]], [[Ailill mac Echach Mugmedóin|Ailill]], [[Fiachrae]] and Fergus; and [[Cairenn|Cairenn Chasdub]], daughter of Sachell Balb, king of the [[Anglo-Saxons|Saxons]], who bore him his most famous son, Niall. Mongfind is said to have hated Cairenn, and forced her to expose her child, but the baby was rescued and raised by a poet called [[Torna Éices|Torna]]. When Niall grew up he returned to Tara and rescued his mother from the servitude Mongfind had placed her under. Mongfind appears to have originally been a supernatural personage: the saga "The Death of Crimthann mac Fidaig" says the festival of [[Samhain]] was commonly called the "Festival of Mongfind", and prayers were offered to her on Samhain eve.<ref name="crimthann">[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/crimthann.html "The Death of Crimthann son of Fidach"] (translator unknown).</ref> Although it is probably anachronistic for Eochaid to have had a Saxon wife, T. F. O'Rahilly argues that the name ''Cairenn'' is derived from the Latin name [[Carina (disambiguation)|Carina]], and that it is plausible that she might have been a Romano-Briton.<ref name="orahilly">[[T. F. O'Rahilly]], ''Early Irish History and Mythology'', 1946, Chapter 12</ref> Indeed, Keating describes her not as a Saxon but as the "daughter of the king of Britain".<ref>Geoffrey Keating, ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/text058.html 1.48].</ref>

After ruling for seven or eight years, Eochaid died of an illness at Tara, and was succeeded by Mongfind's brother [[Crimthann mac Fidaig]], king of [[Munster]]. Keating dates his reign to 344–351, the ''[[Annals of the Four Masters]]'' to 357–365.<ref>''[[Annals of the Four Masters]]'' [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005A/text030.html M357]-[http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005A/text031.html 365]</ref> Daniel P. McCarthy, based on the Irish annals, dates his death to 362.<ref>Daniel P. McCarthy, 'The Chronology of the Irish Annals', ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature'' 98C (6) (1998), pp. 203–255.</ref>

{{s-start}}
{{succession box |
before=[[Cáelbad]]|
title=[[List of High Kings of Ireland|High King of Ireland]]|
after=[[Crimthann mac Fidaig]]|
years=[[Annals of the Four Masters|AFM]] 357–365 [[Geoffrey Keating|FFE]] 344–351|
}}
{{s-end}}

==The Connachta==
{{Tree chart/start|align=center}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | |CnC | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |CnC=[[Conn of the Hundred Battles|Conn Cétchathach]]|boxstyle_CnC=line-height: 1.3;}}
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{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | |Fch | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Fch=[[Fiachu Sraibtine]]|boxstyle_Fch=line-height: 1.3;}}
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{{Tree chart| Mfd |~|~|y|~|~|~|EcM |~|~|y|~|~| Crn | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Mfd=[[Mongfind]]|EcM='''Eochaid Mugmedon'''|Crn=[[Cairenn]]|boxstyle_EcM=line-height: 1.3;}}
{{Tree chart| |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart| Brn | | Fcr | | Ail | | | N9H | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Brn=[[Brión mac Echach Muigmedóin|Brión]]|Fcr=[[Fiachrae]]|Ail=[[Ailill mac Echach Mugmedóin|Ailill]]|N9H=[[Niall of the Nine Hostages|Niall ''Noígíallach'']]}}
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{{Tree chart| |Q| CnG | | End | | EmN |Q| |Q| CmN | | LmN | | MoT | | ClC | | Fch |Q|CnG=[[Conall Gulban]] {{small|([[Cenél Conaill]])}}|End=[[Endae]]|EmN=[[Eógan mac Néill|Eógan]] {{small|([[Cenél nEógan]])}}|CmN =[[Coirpre mac Néill|Coirpre]]|LmN=[[Lóegaire mac Néill|Lóegaire]]|MoT=[[Maine of Tethba|Maine]]|ClC=[[Conall Cremthainne]]|Fch=[[Fiachu mac Néill|Fiachu]]}}
{{Tree chart| |Q| | | | | | | | | |!| |Q| |Q| |!| | | |!| | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | |Q}}
{{Tree chart| |Q| | | | | | | | | Mrd |Q| |Q| Crm | |LmL | | | | FrC | |Ard | | |Q|Mrd=[[Muiredach mac Eógain|Muirdeach]]|Crm=[[Cormac Cáech]]|LmL=[[Lugaid mac Lóegairi|Lugaid]] {{small|(d. 507)}}|boxstyle_LmL=line-height: 1.3;|FrC=[[Fergus Cerrbél]]|Ard=[[Ardgal mac Conaill|Ardgal]] {{small|(d. 520)}} {{small|([[Cenél nArdgail]])}}|boxstyle_FrC=line-height: 1.3;|boxstyle_Ard=line-height: 1.3;}}
{{Tree chart| |Q| | | | | | | | | |!| |Q| |Q| |!| | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | |Q}}
{{Tree chart| |Q| | | | | | | | |MmE |Q| |Q| TMg | | | | | | | | DmC | | | | | | |Q|MmE=[[Muirchertach mac Muiredaig (Mac Ercae)|Muirchertach mac Ercae]] {{small|(d. 536)}}|boxstyle_MmE=line-height: 1.3;|TMg=[[Túathal Máelgarb]]|DmC=[[Diarmait mac Cerbaill|Diarmait]]}}
{{Tree chart| |Q| | | | | | | | | | | |Q| |Q| | | | | | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | | | |Q}}
{{Tree chart| |Q| | | | | | | | | | | |Q| |Q| | | | | | | | | CmM | | Aed | | | | |Q|CmM=[[Colmán Már mac Diarmato|Colmán Már]] {{small|([[Clann Cholmáin]])}}|Aed=[[Áed Sláine]] {{small|([[Síl nÁedo Sláine]])}}}}
{{Tree chart| |Q| | | | | | | | | | | |Q| |Q| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Q}}
{{Tree chart| |Y|P|P|P|P|NUN |P|P|P|P|Z| |Y|P|P|P|P|P|P|P|P|SUN |P|P|P|P|P|P|P|P|Z||NUN=  [[Northern Uí Néill]]  |boxstyle_NUN=border: 0;|SUN=  [[Southern Uí Néill]]  |boxstyle_SUN=border: 0;}}
{{Tree chart/end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eochaid Mugmedon}}
[[Category:Legendary High Kings of Ireland]]
[[Category:4th-century Irish monarchs]]

Emer

2025-09-10T20:57:52Z

2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: Align to wiktionary

{{short description|Wife of Cú Chulainn in Irish mythology}}
{{About|the wife of the Irish hero Cú Chulainn|Emer, the early Jaredite king|List of Book of Mormon people#E}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2017}}

[[File:Cuchulainn rebuked by Emer Millar.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Emer rebuking [[Cú Chulainn]]. (1905 illustration by [[H. R. Millar]].)]]
'''Emer''' ({{IPA|sga|ˈẽβ̃ʲəɾ|lang}}), in modern [[Irish language|Irish]] '''{{lang|ga|Eimhear|italic=no}}''' or '''{{lang|ga|Éimhear|italic=no}}''' (with variations including '''{{lang|ga|Eimer|italic=no}}''', '''{{lang|ga|Eimear|italic=no}}''' and '''{{lang|ga|Éimear|italic=no}}''')<ref>Medially and finally {{lang|sga|m}} is a bilabial fricative in Old Irish (represented in Modern Irish by {{lang|ga|mh}}): E.G. Quinn, ''Old-Irish Workbook'', Royal Irish Academy, 1975, p. 5.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.iol.ie/~sob/ainm/ |title=Ainmneacha Gaelacha |access-date=2009-09-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091015062152/http://www.iol.ie/~sob/ainm/ |archive-date=2009-10-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and in [[Scottish Gaelic]] '''{{lang|gd|Eimhir|italic=no}}''', is the name of the daughter of Forgall Monach and the wife of the hero [[Cú Chulainn]] in the [[Ulster Cycle]] of [[Irish mythology]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Larsen |first=Erik |date=2003 |title=Cú Chulainn: God, Man, or Animal? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25660733 |journal=Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium |volume=23 |pages=172–183 |jstor=25660733 |issn=1545-0155}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Findon |first1=J |last2=Bourke |first2=A |date=1999 |title=A Woman's Words: Emer & Female Speech in the Ulster Cycle |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/fdf3d18220ea4d29eb0bcca3e4c15547/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=48796 |journal=University of Toronto Quarterly}}</ref>

==Legend==

===''Tochmarc Emire'' "The Wooing of Emer"===
{{main|Tochmarc Emire}}
The [[Ulaid|Ulstermen]] searched all over [[Ireland]] for a suitable wife for Cú Chulainn, but he would have none but Emer. He visited her at Forgall's house at [[Lusk, County Dublin]], and wooed her by trading cryptic riddles with her. Emer would accept Cú Chulainn as a husband, but only when his deeds justified it.

However, Forgall was opposed to the match. He came to Ulster in disguise and suggested that Cú Chulainn should train in arms with the renowned warrior-woman [[Scáthach]] in [[Scotland]], hoping the ordeal would be too much for him and he would be killed. Cú Chulainn took up the challenge. He learned all the arts of war from Scáthach, and while he was there slept with her rival Aoife, or [[Aífe]], leaving her pregnant.

In the meantime, Forgall offered Emer to Lugaid mac Noís, a king of [[Munster]]. However, when he heard that Emer loved Cú Chulainn, Lugaid refused her hand.

Cú Chulainn returned from Scotland fully trained, but Forgall still refused to let him marry Emer. Cú Chulainn stormed Forgall's fortress, killing twenty-four of Forgall's men, abducted Emer and stole Forgall's treasure. Forgall himself fell from the ramparts to his death. An ally of Forgall's, Scenn Menn, tried to stop the fleeing couple, but Cú Chulainn killed him in single combat at a ford. Having proved his prowess, Emer now agreed to marry him.

[[Conchobar mac Nessa]], the king of Ulster, had the "[[Droit du seigneur|right of the first night]]" over all marriages of his subjects. He was afraid of Cú Chulainn's reaction if he exercised it in this case, but would lose his authority if he didn't. A solution was found - Conchobar would sleep with Emer on the night of the wedding, but [[Cathbad]] the [[druid]] would sleep between them.

===Emer's only jealousy===
{{main|Serglige Con Culainn}}
Though Cú Chulainn had many lovers, Emer's only jealousy came when he was entranced into love with [[Fand]], wife of [[Manannán mac Lir]], the king of the great sea, as recounted in the narrative ''[[Serglige Con Culainn]]'' ("The Wasting Sickness of Cú Chulainn"). She decided to kill her rival, but when she saw the strength of Fand's love for Cú Chulainn she decided to give him up to her. Fand, touched by Emer's [[magnanimity]], decided to return to her own husband. Manannán shook his cloak between Cú Chulainn and Fand, ensuring the two would never meet again, and Cú Chulainn and Emer drank a potion to wipe the whole affair from their memories.

===Other stories===
{{unreferenced section|date=April 2020}}
When Aífe's son [[Connla]] came to Ireland in search of his father, Emer realised who he was and tried to persuade Cú Chulainn not to kill him, but to no avail.

Emer was said to possess the six gifts of [[womanhood]]: beauty, a gentle voice, sweet words, wisdom, skill at needlework and chastity.

==Cultural references==

===Literature===
Emer is the subject of [[William Butler Yeats]]' play ''The Only Jealousy of Emer''. This play is one of his five famous Cú Chulainn pieces, and is written with heavy stylistic influences from the Japanese [[Noh]] theatre. The story is taken, with some alterations, from [[Augusta, Lady Gregory|Lady Gregory]]'s saga-story of the same name in her collection ''Cuchulain of Muirthemne'' (1902). ''Jealousy'' premiered in Amsterdam in 1922, under the direction of [[Albert van Dalsum]] with masks created by the sculptor [[Hildo Krop]]. It did not play on the Irish stage until May 1926, when it was staged by the Dublin Drama League at the [[Abbey Theatre]].

Emer is mentioned in Yeats' poem "The Secret Rose":
"and him
Who met Fand walking among flaming dew
By a grey shore where the wind never blew,
And lost the world and Emer for a kiss;"

Emer is described in ''[[Angela's Ashes]]'' by [[Frank McCourt]] as "The Greatest Pisser" in reference to the manner in which she won Cuchulain's hand in marriage. She is also referenced as part of the Táin-based imagery in [[Máirtín Ó Cadhain]]'s ''The Withering Branch''.

In November 1943, Scottish Gaelic poet [[Sorley MacLean]] published his first individual collection of poems, ''[[Dàin do Eimhir]] agus Dàin Eile'' (Poems to Eimhir and Other Poems). The ''Dàin do Eimhir'' sequence was one of the most important works published in Gaelic in the 20th century.

Emer is the protagonist of [[David Duchovny]]'s 2018 novel ''Miss Subways'' which draws inspiration from the myth.

===Other references===
The [[LÉ Emer (P21)]], a former ship in the [[Irish Naval Service]], was named after her.

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==

===Primary sources===
*{{Cite Tochmarc Emire I}}
*{{Cite Tochmarc Emire II}}
*{{Cite Serglige Con Culainn}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Emer}}
*[http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G301021/index.html Tochmarc Emire la Coinculaind (Irish) at CELT]
*[http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T301021/index.html The Wooing of Emer (English)]
*[https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/cup_detail.taf?ti_id=4191 The Only Jealousy of Emer (Play) at Cornell University Press]

{{Irish mythology (Ulster)}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ulster Cycle]]

Dian Cecht

2025-09-10T20:57:19Z

2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: Align to wiktionary

{{short description|Irish mythological god of healing}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Irish
| name = Dian Cécht [[God of healing]]
| image =
| caption =
| member_of = the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]]
| abodes =
| weapons =
| animals =
| symbols =
| festivals =
| parents = Esarg or the [[Dagda]]
| siblings =
| consorts =
| children = Cu, Cethen, [[Cian]], [[Miach]], [[Airmed]], Étan, Ochtriullach
}}

In [[Irish mythology]], '''Dian Cécht''' ({{IPA|sga|d̠ʲiːa̯n ˈkʲeːxt̪}}; also known as ''Cainte'' or ''Canta'') was the [[god of healing]], the healer for the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]], and son of the [[Dagda]] according to the ''[[Dindsenchas]]''.

He was the father of Cu, Cethen and [[Cian]]. His other children were [[Miach]], [[Airmed]], [[Étaín|Étan]] the poet and Ochtriullach (Octriuil). Through Cian, he is also [[Lugh]]'s paternal grandfather.

== Etymology ==
The name Dian Cecht may be a combination of the [[Old Irish]] common words ''dían'' 'swift' and ''cécht'', glossed as 'power', hence the literal meaning may be literally "swift power".<ref name=mackillop-dict/><ref name=williams/>{{efn|See "[http://dil.ie/8433 2 cécht]", [[eDIL]], usage includes the instance from ''[[Cóir Anmann]]'', so [[Cormac's Glossary]] is not the sole attestation as {{harvp|Williams|2018|pp=113–114 note 126}} suggests.}} The {{illm|Cóir Anmann{{!}}''Cóir Anmann''|ga|Cóir Anmann}} refers to him as the "god of power", with ''cécht'' glossed as "power" ({{langx|sga|cumachtae}}).{{sfnp|Shaw|2006|p=167}}

In Old Irish, there is also the word ''cécht'' meaning 'plough-beam' (or less accurately 'ploughshare'),<ref>[http://dil.ie/8432 1 cécht]", [[eDIL]] "plough, plough-beam".</ref> but this makes "little sense in the light of his activities",{{sfnp|Shaw|2006|p=167}} and this lexical meaning is "presumably not relevant".<ref name=williams/>

[[Linguistics|Linguistic]] knowledge about regular [[sound change]]s in [[Celtic languages]] (McCone, 1996) and analysis of the [[University of Wales]]’ [[Proto-Celtic]] [[lexicon]] and of [[Julius Pokorny]]’s ''[[Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch]]'' permit ''*Deino-kwekwto-'' ‘swift concoction’ as a plausible [[Proto-Celtic]] reconstruction for this [[theonym]], hence the original name of the deity may have signified 'swift potion' or, by extrapolation even 'He-who-is-Swift-with-Healing-Remedies'.<ref name=williams/> However this suggestion is problematic since the root is not attested in Old Irish, but only in the [[Brittonic languages|Brythonic]] cousin languages.<ref name=williams/>

==Genealogy==
Dian Cécht is described as a son of the [[Dagda]] in the ''Dindsenchas''.<ref name=metrical-dinnshenchas-magcorainn/> His children varied according to source.

Dian Cécht had fours sons, Cu, Cethen, [[Cian]] (the father of Lugh), and [[Miach]] according to a [[Tract (literature)|tract]] in the ''Book of Invasions'' (''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]''), although the same tract states that the fourth son, Miach the physician, was often not reckoned.<ref name="macalister-sect314">''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'', {{harvp|Macalister|1941}} ed. tr. ¶314 pp. 122–123</ref> Cu, Cethen and Cian were called the "three sons of Cainté" in the late modern narrative ''[[Brian (mythology)|Aided Chlainne Tuirenn]]''.<ref name=fate-cainte/> Dian Cécht was grandfather to Lugh, since Cían son of Dían Cécht is the father of Lugh, by [[Ethniu|Ethne]] daughter of [[Balor]].<ref name="CMT055"/>

Dian Cécht had yet another son, Octriuil, who was also a physician: Dían Cécht's two sons Octriuil ({{langx|ga|Ochttríuil}}) and Míach, and his daughter [[Airmed]] chanted over the healing well named Sláine (cf. [[#Curative well|§ Curative well]] below).<ref name="CMT123"/>

Dian Cécht's daughters were Airmed the [[Medieval medicine of Western Europe|she-leech]] (female physician) and [[Étaín|Étan]] the poet according to the aforementioned ''Book of Invasions'' tract.<ref name="macalister-sect314"/>

==Curative well==
Dian Cécht ministered to the injured by soaking them in "Slainge's Well" ({{langx|sga|Tiprait Slainge}})<ref name=edinburgh-dinnshenchas-lusmag/>{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Also given as "the spring of Slange" in the metrical version.<ref name=metrical-dinnshenchas-lusmag/>}} or rather the "well of healing" ({{lang|ga|Tipra Sláíne}}){{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Translated as "a well named Slaíne" by Gray or "well named Slane" by Stokes in the ''Cath Maige Tuired'', but Gray appends "Tipra Sláíne" in glossary.}}<ref name=CMT123/><ref>Glossary {{harvp|Gray|1982|p=141}}</ref><ref>[http://dil.ie/37820 sláine]", eDIL. "soundness, completeness, wholesomeness; health; salvation".</ref> when the Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh (''[[Cath Maige Tuired]]'') was fought.<ref name=CMT123/><ref name=metrical-dinnshenchas-lusmag/><ref name=edinburgh-dinnshenchas-lusmag/>

The well was located at Achad Abla ('Field of the Apple Tree'), northwest of [[Magh Tuireadh]] (Moytura).<ref name=edinburgh-dinnshenchas-lusmag/><ref name=metrical-dinnshenchas-lusmag/> He also ground medicinal herbs nearby on Lusmag "Herb-plain",<ref name=metrical-dinnshenchas-lusmag/><ref name=edinburgh-dinnshenchas-lusmag/> or else, he chanted spells over the well together with his two sons Miach and Octriuil and daughter Airmed.<ref name=CMT123/>

Dian Cécht, when questioned on his ability, boasted to be able mend anyone but those who have been [[decapitation|decapitated]] (or whose brain or [[spinal cord]] have been severely damaged);<ref name=CMT099>''Cath Maige Tuired'' §98–99, {{harvp|Stokes|1891|pp=88, 89}}; {{harvp|Gray|1982|p=51}}</ref> this he presumably accomplished using the Tipra Sláíne.{{efn|{{harvp|Mackillop|2006}} glosses this as "spring of life". See also {{section link|#Genealogy}}.}}<ref>{{citation|last=Mackillop |first=James |author-link= |title=Myths and Legends of the Celts |publisher=Penguin UK |orig-year=2005 |year=2006 |page=211 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HI5yXNhbebYC&pg=PT602 |isbn=0-14-194139-1}}</ref>

==Boiling of the River Barrow==
It was Dian Cecht who once saved Ireland, and was indirectly the cause of the name of the [[River Barrow]].{{sfnp|Shaw|2006|pp=161–164}}<ref name="squire">{{cite book|last=Squire |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Squire |title=Celtic Myth and Legend: The Gaelic Gods |chapter=V. The Gods of the Gaels |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/cml/cml09.htm}}</ref> The [[Morrigan|Morrígú]], the Dagda's fierce wife, had borne a son of such terrible aspect that the physician of the gods, foreseeing danger, counselled that he should be destroyed in his infancy.<ref name="squire"/>

When this was done, Dian Cecht opened the infant's heart, and found within it three serpents, capable, when they grew to full size, of depopulating Ireland.<ref name="squire"/> He lost no time in destroying these serpents also, and burning them into ashes, to avoid the evil which even their dead bodies might do.<ref name="squire"/> More than this, he flung the ashes into the nearest river, for he feared that there might be danger even in them. So venomous were they that the river boiled up and slew every living creature in it, and therefore it has been called the River Barrow, the ‘Boiling’ ever since.<ref name="squire"/>

According to the Metrical [[Dindsenchas]]:
<blockquote><poem>
No motion it made
The ashes of Meichi the strongly smitten:
The stream made sodden and silent past recovery
The fell filth of the old serpent.

Three turns the serpent made;
It sought the soldier to consume him;
It would have wasted by its doing the kine;
The fell filth of the old serpent.

Therefore Diancecht slew it;
There rude reason for clean destroying it,
For preventing it from wasting
Worse than any wolf pack, from consuming utterly.

Known to me is the grave where he cast it,
A tomb without walls or roof-tree;
Its ashes, evil without loveliness or innocence
Found silent burial in noble Barrow.{{sfnp|Shaw|2006|pp=162–163}}
</poem></blockquote>

This tale in the [[Dindsenchas]] indicates that the being slain by Diancecht was a serpent named Meichi. Elsewhere the figure named as the slayer of Meichi is [[Mac Cecht]].{{sfnp|Shaw|2006|pp=162, 164}}

==Dian Cecht’s Envy==
Dian Cecht made King [[Nuada]] a silver arm which could move and function as a normal arm. Later his son, [[Miach]], replaced the silver arm with an arm of flesh and blood, and Dian Cecht killed him out of professional envy.

Miach's sister, [[Airmed]], mourned over her brother's grave. As her tears fell, all the healing herbs of the world grew from the grave. Airmed arranged and catalogued the herbs, but then Dian Cécht again reacted with anger and jealousy and scattered the herbs, destroying his daughter's work as well as his son's. For this reason, it is said that no human now knows the healing properties of all the herbs.<ref name=CMT033>''Cath Maige Tuired'' §33–35, {{harvp|Stokes|1891|pp=66–69}}; {{harvp|Gray|1982|pp=32, 33}}</ref>

== Additional appearances ==
In [[Tochmarc Étaíne]], Dian Cecht healed [[Mider]] after the latter lost an eye when struck with a twig of hazel.<ref>''[[Tochmarc Étaíne]].''</ref>

In the St. Gall incantations, there is a spell that mentions Dian Cécht:
<blockquote>
I save the dead-alive. Against eructation, against spear-thong (amentum), against sudden tumour, against bleeding caused by iron, against... which fire burns, against.... which a dog eats, ...that withers: three nuts that... three sinews that weave (?). I strike its disease, I vanquish blood...: let it not be a chronic tumour. Whole be that whereon it (Diancecht's salve) goes. I put my trust in the salve which Diancecht left with his family that whole may be that whereon it goes. 

This is laid always in thy palm full of water when washing, and thou puttest it into thy mouth, and thou insertest the two fingers that are next the little-finger into thy mouth, each of them apart.<ref>{{citation|editor-last1=Stokes |editor-first1=Whitley |editor-link1=Whitley Stokes (Celtic scholar) |editor-last2=Strachan |editor-first2=John |editor-link2=John Strachan |title=The St. Gall Incantations |work=Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus |publisher=University Press |year=1903 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h_k3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA248 |pages=248–249}} {{Via|pre= |text=Full text [https://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/incantations_gall.html here]|Celtic Literature Collective}}</ref>

</blockquote>
Dian Cécht's harper and poet was named [[Corann|Corand]].<ref name=metrical-dinnshenchas-ceis-choraind/> According to the Dindsenchas, Corand is implied to be the son of Dian Cecht and summoned a swine called Caelcheis from the Dagda's harp, which the champions of Connacht chased to Magh Coraind.<ref>{{cite web |last1=ed. Stokes |first1=Whitley |title=The Edinburgh Dinnshenchas |url=https://www.ucd.ie/tlh/trans/ws.fl.4.001.t.text.html |website=The Edinburgh Dinnshenchas: An electronic edition |publisher=Thesaurus Linguae Hibernicae, University College Dublin |access-date=15 June 2021}}</ref>

An [[early Irish legal]] text on the law of illegal injury, ''[[Bretha Déin Chécht]]'' ("Judgements of Dian Cécht"), is attributed to Dian Cécht.<ref>{{cite book |last=McLeod |first=Neil |date=2000 |chapter=The Not-So-Exotic Law Of Dian Cecht |editor1-first=G. |editor1-last=Evans |editor2-first=B. |editor2-last=Martin |editor3-first=J. |editor3-last=Wooding |title=Origins and Revivals: Proceedings of the First Australian Conference of Celtic Studies |location=Sydney |publisher=Centre for Celtic Studies University of Sydney |pages=381–399 }}</ref>{{rp|381}} A late-historical preface to the ''[[Senchas Már]]'' details the codification and Christianization of Irish law by [[Saint Patrick]] and his commissioners. Dian Cecht is explicitly listed as among the pre-Christian authors whose judgements were accepted because they did not contradict Christian teaching.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Binchy |first=D. A. |title=Bretha Déin Chécht |journal=Ériu |volume=20 |date=1966 |pages=1–66 |jstor=30008048 }}</ref>{{rp|2}}

== See also ==
* [[Borvo]]
* [[Healing]]
* [[List of health deities]]

==Explanatory notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name=CMT055>''Cath Maige Tuired'' §55, {{harvp|Stokes|1891|pp=74, 75}}; {{harvp|Gray|1982|pp=38, 39}}</ref>
<ref name=CMT123>''Cath Maige Tuired'' §123, {{harvp|Stokes|1891|pp=94, 95, 306}}; {{harvp|Gray|1982|pp=54, 55}}</ref>

<ref name=edinburgh-dinnshenchas-lusmag>"§71 Lusmag", {{citation|editor-last=Stokes |editor-first=Whitley |title=The Edinburgh Dinnshenchas |journal=Folk-lore |volume=4 |year=1893 |publisher=Folk-lore Society (Great Britain) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4oMZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA489 |pages=489–490}}</ref>

<ref name=fate-cainte>{{Citation |editor-last=O'Curry |editor-first=Eugene |editor-link=Eugene O'Curry |title=The Fate of the Children of Tuireann ([A]oidhe Chloinne Tuireann) |journal=Atlantis |volume=IV |year=1863 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5JEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA160 |pages=168-171, n161, n165}}</ref>

<ref name=mackillop-dict>{{citation|last=Mackillop |first=James |author-link= |title=Dian Cécht |work=Dictionary of Celtic Mythology |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1998 |page=138 |isbn=0-19-280120-1 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198609674.001.0001/acref-9780198609674-e-1465}}</ref>

<ref name=metrical-dinnshenchas-ceis-choraind>"Ceis Choraind (Poem 82)", {{citation|editor-last=Gwynn |editor-first=Edward |editor-link=Edward Gwynn |title=The metrical Dindshenchas I. |year=1903|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7rQiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA438 |pages=438–439 |series=Todd Lecture Series 8}}, {{Via|pre= |text=Full text [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T106500C/index.html here]|CELT}}</ref>

<ref name=metrical-dinnshenchas-lusmag>"Lusmag (Poem 43)", {{citation|editor-last=Gwynn |editor-first=Edward |editor-link=Edward Gwynn |title=The metrical Dindshenchas |volume=4 |publisher=School of Celtic Studies, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies |year=1991|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lCdXAAAAYAAJ |pages=183–185|isbn=9781855001473 }}, {{Via|pre= |text=Full text [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T106500D/index.html here]|CELT}}</ref>

<ref name=metrical-dinnshenchas-magcorainn>"Mag Corainn (Poem 96)" {{citation|editor-last=Gwynn |editor-first=Edward |editor-link=Edward Gwynn |title=The metrical Dindshenchas |volume=4 |publisher=School of Celtic Studies, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies |year=1991|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lCdXAAAAYAAJ |page=293|isbn=9781855001473 }}, {{Via|pre= |text=Full text [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T106500D/index.html here]|CELT}}</ref>

<ref name=williams>{{citation|last=Williams |first=Mark |author-link=|title=Ireland's Immortals: A History of the Gods of Irish Myth |publisher=Princeton University Press |orig-year=2016 |year=2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-1arBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA211 |pages=113–114 note 126 |isbn=978-0-69-118304-6}}</ref>

}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation|editor-last=Stokes |editor-first=Whitley |editor-link=Whitley Stokes (Celtic scholar) |title=The Second Battle of Moytura |journal=Revue celtique |volume=12 |year=1891 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WjVKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA52 |pages=52–130; 306–308}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Gray |editor-first=Elizabeth A. |editor-link= |title=Cath Maige Tuired: The Second battle of Mag Tuired |publisher=Drucker |year=1982 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BjzYAAAAMAAJ }} {{Via|pre= |text=Full text [https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T300010//index.html here]|CELT}} {{Via|pre= |text=Full text [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/cmt/cmteng.htm here]|sacred-texts}}
* {{citation|editor-last=Macalister |editor-first=R.A.S. |editor-link=R.A.S. Macalister |title=Section VII: Invasion of the Tuatha De Danann |work=Lebor gabála Érenn, Part IV |series= |year=1941 |url=https://archive.org/details/leborgablare04macauoft/page/134 }} ¶304–¶377 pp. 106–211; Verses LIII–LXVI pp. 212–291; Notes pp. 292–
* McCone, Kim (1996). ''Towards a Relative Chronology of Ancient and Medieval Celtic Sound Change.'' Maynooth: Department of Old and Middle Irish, St. Patrick's College. {{ISBN|0-901519-40-5}}.
* {{citation|last=Shaw |first=John |author-link= |title=Indo-European Dragon-Slayers and Healers, and the Irish Account of Dian Cécht and Méiche |journal=Journal of Indo-European Studies |volume=34 |number=1 & 2 |year=2006 |url=https://www.academia.edu/10246879 |pages=153–181}}

{{refend}}

{{Celtic mythology (Mythological)}}

[[Category:Tuatha Dé Danann]]
[[Category:Irish gods]]
[[Category:Health gods]]

Bodb Derg

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{{short description|Irish mythological figure}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

In [[Irish mythology]], '''Bodb Derg''' ([[Old Irish language|Old Irish]], {{IPA|sga|ˌboðβ ˈd̠ʲeɾɡ|pron}}) or '''Bodhbh Dearg''' ([[Middle Irish]] and [[Irish language|Modern Irish]], {{IPA|ga|ˌbˠoːw ˈdʲaɾˠəɡ|pron}}) was a son of [[Eochaid Garb]]<ref>''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'', edited by R. A. Stewart Macalister. 1941. Irish Texts Society, Dublin. Part IV, § VII, ¶316 (p.131).</ref> or the [[Dagda]],<ref name="Lir">"The Children of Lir". P.W. Joyce (translator). 1879. ''Old Irish Romances.'' C. Kegan Paul & Co.</ref><ref>[https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T300014/text003.html ''The Children of Lir'' Section 3]</ref> and the Dagda's successor as King of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]].

== Name ==

The name Bodb could be a cognate of "bádhbh" as it has a similar pronunciation; Bodb Derg would then mean 'Red Crow'. Given the fluidity of [[Old Irish language|Old Irish]] scribal practice, the name of the female mythological character [[Badb]] was occasionally spelled Bodb as well.<ref>An example of this occurs in the Third Redaction of ''Lebor Gabála Érenn, op. cit.'', Part IV, § VII, ¶368 (p.188).</ref>

== Mythology ==

[[Aengus]] asks for his brother Bodb's help in finding the woman of his dreams in ''"Aislinge Óenguso"'' (the Dream of Aengus). At the time, Bodb is king of the ''[[síde]]'' of [[Munster]]. Bodb successfully identifies the woman as [[Caer Ibormeith]].<ref>"The Dream of Óengus". Jeffrey Gantz (translator). 1982. ''Early Irish Myths and Sagas.'' Penguin. The [https://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G300001/index.html Irish text] is available at [[the Corpus of Electronic Texts]].</ref>

Following the Tuatha Dé Danann's defeat in the battle of [[Tailtiu]], Bodb is elected king of the Tuatha Dé Danann in the "Children of Lir", just as the Tuatha Dé are going underground to dwell in the ''[[sídhe]]''. The principle justification given for Bodb's election is that he is the Dagda's eldest son. He subsequently fathered many deities. Bodb's election is recognised by all of his rivals, save only [[Lir]], who refuses him homage. Bodb, however, counsels his followers to forbear from punishing Lir; later, Bodb will successively offer two of his own daughters in marriage to Lir to placate him. Both marriages, however, end unhappily.<ref name="Lir"/>

In variants of the story, Manannan is named the high king over the Tuatha Dé along with Bodb Derg when the Tuatha Dé Danann descend into the sidhe; Manannan is called “chief of the kings” and owner of every sidhe and divides the sidhe mounds amongst the Tuatha Dé.<ref>[http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/fosterage.html ''The Fosterage of the House of the Two Pails'']</ref>

As king of the Munster ''síde'' with [[Lén]] as his [[goldsmith|smith]], Bodb Sída ar Femen ('of the Mound on Femen') plays a role in an important prefatory tale to ''[[Táin Bó Cuailnge]],'' for it is his swineherd who quarrels with that of the king of the Connacht ''síde''; the swineherds are later swallowed and reborn as the magical bulls [[Donn Cuailnge]] and [[Finnbhennach|Finnbennach]], of which the former was the object of the great cattle-raid.<ref>''De Chopur in dá Muccida'', the "Quarrel of the Two Swineherds". The [https://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G800011E/text003.html Irish text] is available at the Corpus of Electronic Texts. An English translation was included in Thomas Kinsella's ''The Tain'' (Oxford Paperbacks, 1970), {{ISBN|0-19-281090-1}}.</ref>

In one [[Fenian Cycle|Fenian]] tale, Bodb leads the Tuatha Dé Danann to the aid of the [[Fianna]] at the [[Battle of Ventry]].<ref>''Cath Finntrágha'', the "Battle of Ventry". The [https://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G303002/index.html Irish text] is available at the Corpus of Electronic Texts.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/danann.html#BodbDerg Bodb Derg/Tuatha Dé Danann]

{{Celtic mythology (Mythological)}}

[[Category:Irish gods]]
[[Category:Tuatha Dé Danann]]

Cumdach

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2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: Align to wiktionary

{{Short description|Medieval Irish case for a reliquary or book}}
{{italic title}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
[[File:Contenitore del messale con iscrizione al 're' d'irlanda donnchad, 1030 ca., dal monastero di lorrha, co. di tipperary, 01.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Cumdach for the [[Stowe Missal]], 11th century]]
[[File:Soiscél Molaisse view.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|The [[Soiscél Molaisse]], 11th century]]
A '''{{lang|sga|cumdach}}''' ({{IPA|sga|ˈkuβ̃d̪ax}}, in Irish "cover"<ref name=~"j186">Joynt (1917), p. 186</ref>) or '''book shrine''' is an elaborate ornamented metal [[reliquary]] box or case used to hold [[History of Ireland (400–800)|Early Medieval Irish]] manuscripts or [[relic]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Greenfield |first=Jane |title=ABC of bookbinding: a unique glossary with over 700 illustrations for collectors and librarians |date=2002 |publisher=Oak Knoll press; The Plough press |isbn=978-1-884718-41-0 |location=New Castle (Del.) Nottingham (GB) |pages=20}}</ref> They are typically later than the book they contain, often by several centuries.<ref>Warner, xliv</ref> In most surviving examples, the book comes from the peak age of [[Christian monasticism#Ireland|Irish monasticism]] before 800, and the extant cumdachs date from after 1000, although it is clear the form dates from considerably earlier. The majority are of Irish origin, with most surviving examples held by the [[National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology|National Museum of Ireland]] (NMI).

The usual form is a design based on a cross on the main face, with the use of large gems of [[rock crystal]] or other [[semi-precious]] stones, leaving the spaces between the arms of the cross for more varied decoration. Several were carried on a metal chain or leather cord, often worn off the belt, or suspended around the neck, placing them next to the heart and thus offering spiritual and perhaps medical benefits (the same was done with the [[St Cuthbert Gospel]] in a leather bag in medieval [[Durham, England|Durham]]). They were also used to bring healing to the sick or dying, or more formally, as witness contracts. Many had hereditary laykeepers from among the chiefly families who had formed links with monasteries.<ref>Antiquities, 262</ref>

Only five early examples of {{lang|sga|cumdach}} survive, including those of the [[Book of Dimma]] and [[Book of Mulling]] at [[Trinity College Dublin]], and the [[Cathach of St. Columba]] and [[Stowe Missal]]. Of the [[Soiscél Molaisse|St. Molaise Shrine]], only the Gospels are extant; the casing is lost, but more often the reverse is the case. Other books such as the [[Book of Kells]], [[Book of Armagh]] and [[Book of Durrow]] are known to have once had either {{lang|sga|cumdachs}} or [[treasure binding]]s or both, but as they contained valuable precious metals they were a natural target for looters and thieves.

==Characteristics and formats==
[[File:Stowe Missal side view.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Side-view of the shrine of the [[Stowe Missal]], mid-11th century]]
The format and function of {{lang|sga|cumdachs}} may derive from book caskets used by [[Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire|early Christian Romans]]. Both types were intended to protect sacred text or relics. It is plausible that Irish monasteries would seek to emulate the prestige and, according to the Irish art historian Rachel Moss, "splendour of Roman [[liturgical]] ceremonies".<ref name="m298">Moss (2014), p. 298</ref> The Irish church emphasised relics that were thought to be objects frequently used by monastic saints, rather than the body parts preferred by most of the church. However, these were also kept in local versions of the house-shaped [[Chasse (casket)|chasse]] form, such as the Scottish [[Monymusk Reliquary]].<ref>Youngs, 129–130, 134–140</ref> Another Irish speciality was the [[bell-shrine]], encasing the handbells used to summon the community to services or meals, and one of the earliest reliquaries enshrined the bell of an unknown saint, and was probably worn as a test of truthfulness and to cure illness. It probably dates to the 8th century and was found in a [[peat bog]] near [[Moylough]], [[County Sligo]].<ref>Antiquities, 183; Youngs, 58–59, 129–130</ref>

As the sample size of 8 to 10 surviving examples is so small (presumably many such works were lost, mostly plundered for their precious metal or stones) they cannot be classified typologically. Their shared characteristics include that they are sealed, metal cases built to protect earlier objects of veneration originally placed in a timber core typically built from [[Taxus baccata|Yew wood]] or (less commonly) from [[oak]].<ref>Moss (2014), pp. 298, 300</ref> All of the later refurbishments seem to have been commissioned by ambitious clergy members, and the work carried out by single metal-workers and their workshops. In the majority of instances, the master metal worker left an inscribed signature and date of completion, some of which contain wording that hints at their artistic motivations.<ref name="m299">Moss (2014), p. 299</ref>

[[File:Shrine of the Cathach reverse (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Reverse of the Shrine of the Cathach]]
All extant {{lang|sga|cumdach}}s' contain a [[Book frontispiece|frontispiece]] containing a central cross, a reverse with repetitive [[openwork]] patterns consisting of two highly contrasted colours (such as red and black), and sides containing interlace patterns and inscriptions.<ref name="m298" /> Distinguishing factors include size (indicating the originally intended function as for example as private fixed shrines pocketbooks, or objects to be worn over the shoulder or from belts), and their later use.<ref name="m298" /> The [[Shrine of Miosach]] retains its original chain used to carry it around, while the Soiscél Molaisse and Lough Kinsalen Shrine have fittings that once held leather straps, assumed to have held the objects in place during processional ceremonies.<ref name="m300">Moss (2014), p. 300</ref>

They are to be distinguished from the metalwork [[treasure binding]]s that probably covered most grand liturgical books of the period—the theft and loss of that covering the [[Book of Kells]] (if it was not a {{lang|sga|cumdach}} alone) is recorded. However, the designs may well have been very similar; the best surviving Insular example, the lower cover of the [[Lindau Gospels]] ({{circa|880}}) in the [[Morgan Library]] in New York, is also centred on a large cross, surrounded by interlace panels.<ref>"[https://www.themorgan.org/collection/lindau-gospels Lindau Gospels]". New York: [[Morgan Library]]. Retrieved 2 July 2021</ref> Treasure bindings were metalwork assemblies tacked onto the wooden boards of a conventional [[bookbinding]], so essentially the same technically as the faces of many {{lang|sga|cumdachs}}, which are also attached with tacks to a core wooden box.

==Commission and production==
Historians are generally confident in identifying who commissioned the shrines and their provenance. Exceptions include the Book of Durrow and the Stow Missal.<ref name="m6">Mitchell (1996), p. 6</ref> Inscriptions on two examples (Durrow and Stowe) indicate they were for a [[Monarchy of Ireland|King of Ireland]].<ref>Mitchell (1996), pp. 22–23</ref>

Almost nothing is known of the metal workers who produced them. A number contain inscriptions that can be read as signatures, but that is the extent of their historical record, as even first-rank craftsmen of the time were not mentioned in annuals and were not given obituaries when they died. As craftsmen were not given a high social status, it seems many were illiterate. Some of the signatures are unclear, with instances where the scribe was tasked with writing in Latin, but did not understand how to formulate the language.<ref name="m7">Mitchell (1996), p. 7</ref>

==Function==
{{lang|sga|Cumdachs}} basic utilitarian functions were as practical protective covers for their manuscript or relic, and to provide, sometimes portable, private centres of devotion, or were of liturgical use.<ref name="on14" /> The majority were intended to hold by then centuries older manuscripts, in instanced assumed to be written by major saints, such as Patrick, or legendary local monastery founders who had died 100s of years before the actual date of the manuscript. For this reason, many of the very early manuscripts owe their survival to their later, active status as relics.<ref>O'Neill (2014), pp. 7, 10</ref> Most other early medieval Irish manuscripts were stored away in secure stone buildings, but were over the years sold, stolen or plundered, and thus lost.<ref name="on7">O'Neill (2014), p. 7</ref>

The shrines were used during both ecclesiastical and secular ceremonies, such as granting insignia of office, swearing of [[oath]]s or signing treaties.<ref name="m298" /> The books of Dimma and Mulling were found with inserts containing texts from [[Requiem|masses of the dead]], indicating they were used for healing purposes.<ref name="m298" /> The book of Durrow was periodically removed from its (now lost) {{lang|sga|cumdach}}<ref>Mitchell (1996), p. 28</ref> during the late medieval and early modern periods so that it could be used to bless and cure sick animals.<ref name="on7" />

=== Battle standards ===
Reliquaries were often used as [[Military colours, standards and guidons#Guidons and standards|battle standards]] in medieval Ireland, with expectation that they would boost morale, protect the troops, or grant victory.<ref name="o135">Overbey (2012), p. 135</ref><ref>Joynt (1917), p. 187</ref><ref name="l17">Lucas (1986), p. 17</ref> Typically the relics would be held in, or represented by, [[crosier]]s, bell-shrines or cumdachs, and carried onto the battlefield by a [[cleric]], who would often be employed by the family as its "hereditary custodian".<ref>Overbey (2012), pp. 171–172</ref><ref name="l20">Lucas (1986), p. 20</ref> The most well-known {{lang|sga|cumdach}} used for this purpose is the [[Cathach of St. Columba]] (known as The Cathach or Battler of St. Columba), used as a battle talisman by the [[O'Donnell dynasty|O'Donnell family]].<ref name="l1011">Lacey (1998), pp. 100–101</ref> According to art historian Colum Hourihane, "not only did the shrine and its iconography have to instil fear into the enemy, but, more importantly, it had to instill confidence into the army of the O’Donnells following it".<ref name="h118">Hourihane (2003), p. 118</ref> The objects were usually worn around the neck, and the tradition was that the holder would circle the area three times in a "sunwise" direction before the battle commenced.<ref name="on12" /> Other {{lang|sga|cumdachs}} known to have been used in this way include the Shrine of Miosach and the Shrine of Caillín.<ref>Lucas (1986), pp. 19, 27</ref>

Clerics were allowed non-combatant status, reducing the likelihood that the reliquary would be captured. Younger clerics were usually selected, according to the historian Anthony Lucas, as a result of "prudent consideration that they stood a better chance than men of mature years of escaping with their precious burden by speed of foot should they find themselves in a tight corner in the [[melee]]."<ref name="l20" /> However, the holder was sometimes killed in battle; in 1497 The Cathach was captured after its keeper was slain by enemy forces.<ref name="on12" /> Similarly, the Book of Armagh is recorded as having been brought to battlefields, and was once recovered from underneath the dead body of its custodian.<ref name="on7" />

==Surviving examples==
{{lang|sga|Cumdachs}} are particular to Ireland.<ref name ="hc">Crawford (1923), p. 75</ref> There are eight known surviving Irish examples (in chronological order: the Lough Kinale Book-Shrine, Soiscél Molaisse, [[Stowe Missal]], The Cathach, Shrine of Miosach, [[Book of Dimma]], Shrine of the Book of Moling, and Shrine of Caillín of Fenagh)<ref name="m297">Moss (2014), p. 297</ref> with a further two—of the nine extant—"house-shaped shrines", namely the 12th century St Manchan's shrine and the {{circa|1350}} additions to the [[Domnach Airgid]].<ref>Moss (2014), pp. 286, 294</ref> All are protective enclosures intended to permanently seal off a manuscript or relic, and date from between the early 9th to the mid-16 centuries.<ref name="m294">Moss (2014), p. 294</ref>

Several of the earliest documented examples are now lost. The [[Book of Durrow]] had a metal casing dated to {{circa|1002–1015}}<ref>Mitchell (1996), pp. 5, 29</ref> and the Book of Kells lost its {{lang|sga|cumdach}} when it was stolen in 1006. The [[Book of Armagh]] was given a cover in 937, which was perhaps lost when it was captured in battle and ransomed by the Norman [[John de Courcy]] in 1177.<ref>Crawford (1923), p. 76</ref> The earliest documented example was made to house and protect the Book of Durrow at the behest of the High King of Ireland [[Flann Sinna]] (877–916). By that point, it was at Durrow, and believed to be a relic of [[Columba]] (Colum Cille).<ref name="on14" >O'Neill (2014), p. 14</ref> The shrine was lost in the 17th century. Still, its appearance, including an inscription recording the king's patronage, is recorded in a note from 1677, now bound into the book as folio IIv, although other inscriptions are not transcribed. Once in their shrines, such manuscripts were rarely, if ever, removed for use as a book.<ref>Meehan (1996), p. 13</ref>

===Lough Kinale Book Shrine===
The earliest-known {{lang|sga|cumdach}} is also the largest surviving example. Dated to the late 8th or early 9th century,<ref>Overbey (2012), pp. 5–6</ref><ref name="tcd">"[https://www.tcd.ie/library/early-irish-mss/enshrining-the-book/#more-694 Enshrining The Book]". [[Trinity College Dublin]], 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2021</ref> it was not rediscovered until 1986 when found by divers at a depth of {{cvt|2|m}} of water in the [[County Longford]] side of [[Lough Kinale]].<ref>Kelly (1993), p. 168</ref> Moss speculates that it was thrown in the water to evade being taken during a local chieftain feud or before a Viking raid. The inner structure is of oak, lined with tin and bronze plates attached by nails. Its front cover contains a large central cross, five [[Boss (engineering)|bosse]]s in [[bronze]], and four rounded openwork medallions containing [[spiral]] and [[lentoid]] patterns. The figures on the sides include beast heads.<ref name="m300" /> A 2016 valuation by the NMI priced the object at £2 million (€2.54 million).<ref name="it">Gartland, Fiona. "[https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/early-christian-book-shrine-caused-much-soul-searching-1.2916994 Early Christian book shrine caused much soul searching]". ''[[The Irish Times]]'', 30 December 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2021</ref>

===Soiscél Molaisse===
[[File:Soiscél Molaisse (St. Matthew).jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Detail a panel on the front showing [[Matthew the Apostle]].<ref name="s19">Stokes (1871), p. 19</ref>]]
The [[Soiscél Molaisse]], also known as the Sheskill Molash, is the oldest surviving {{lang|sga|cumdach}} example largely in its original form, and was made in the early 11th century to hold the gospels of [[Laisrén mac Nad Froích|Molaise]].<ref>NMI (R4006)</ref><ref name="s37">Stevick (2008), p. 37</ref> It measures {{cvt|14.75|cm}} high, {{cvt|11.70|cm}} wide and {{cvt|8.45|cm}} thick<ref name="of51">Ó Floinn (1989), 51–52</ref> and was built in three phases. The wooden core with a bronze casing dates back to the 8th century, to which silver plaques were fastened with nails and rivets in the 11th century. It was reworked again in the 14th or 15th century.<ref name="m300" />

Some of the figures and other elements date to the 14th century, and can be identified as they were [[solder]]ed to the plates.<ref name="of54">Ó Floinn (1989), 54</ref> The top face is mainly silvered bronze and [[silver-gilt]] and contains panels the four [[symbols of the Evangelists]] in the spaces between a cross. Some of the panels are lost; those that remain have gold [[filigree]] interlaced [[knotwork]].<ref>Antiquities, 233</ref> The filigree on the arms of the cross are [[Gilding|gilted]] and decorated with ribbon interlace. The ends of the arms were set with gems, now also lost except for one blue stone.<ref name="of57">Ó Floinn (1989), 57</ref> Two of panels around the sides are lost. The two remaining contain [[interlace (art)|interlace]] and Latin inscription around their borders.<ref name="of57" /> Its small size indicates that the original object, like the Book of Dimma, was designed to be held in a pocket.<ref name="of51">Ó Floinn (1989), 51–52</ref>

===Stowe Missal===
[[File:Stowe Missal Side.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|Sidel panel, [[Stowe Missal]]]]
The [[Stowe Missal]] is a sacramentary dating to about 750. Its {{lang|sga|cumdach}} consists of metalwork plaques attached with nails to an older [[oak]] container. The metalwork is elaborately decorated, featuring some animal and human figures, and the faces and sides probably date to between 1027 and 1033, based on inscriptions that record its donation and manufacture. The other face is later and can be dated to approximately 1375, also from its inscriptions.<ref>Ó Floinn, "Description"; Warner, xliv – lvii, Plates I – VI; Stokes, 78; [http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3532/3247595327_34c830d099.jpg older face from Flickr]</ref>

The older "lower" face, which has become detached from the case, is in silver-gilt copper alloy, with a large cross inside a border that carries the inscription in Irish, which also runs along the arms of the cross. The centre of the cross was later replaced ("severely embellished" as the National Museum put it),<ref>Wallace (2002), p. 234</ref> probably at the same time as the later face, by a setting for a now missing large stone with four lobed sections, similar to the centre of the lower face. The inscription has missing sections because of this, but can mostly be reconstructed as asking for a prayer for the abbot of Lorrha, Mathgamain Ua Cathail ({{circa|1037}}) and for [[Find Ua Dúngalaigh]], king of [[Múscraige Tíre]] ({{circa|1033}}).

===Cathach of St. Columba===
[[File:Contenitore per manoscritto di san colombano, di cathach, in argento e cristallo di rocca su anima lignea, 1090 ca. poi xiv secolo, da ballymagroarty, co. donegal 01.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The Shrine of [[Cathach of St. Columba]]]]
The [[Cathach of St. Columba]], also known as The Cathach, is probably the best-known {{lang|sga|cumdach}}. Built for the Cathach of St. Columba, an important [[psalter]] usually dated to just after the death of Colum Cille in 597, it is probably the earliest Irish book to survive and a very prestigious relic.<ref name="on12">O'Neill (2014), p. 12</ref> The manuscript belonged to the O'Donnells while its shrine was famously used as a battle standard.<ref name="s80">Stokes (2011), p. 80</ref>

The initial metalwork dates from 1072 to 1098 at [[Kells, County Meath|Kells]], when a new protective casing of wood and silver was added. The front cover was added in the 14th century, and included a large seated [[Christ in Majesty]] flanked by scenes of the Crucifixion and saints in gilt [[repoussé]].<ref>Antiquities, pp. 233, 269; Stokes, p. 79</ref> It was taken to the continent in 1691 following the [[Treaty of Limerick]], and did not return to Ireland until 1813. That year, the {{lang|sga|cumdach}} was reopened, leading to the rediscovery of the manuscript. It was by then in very poor condition, but underwent a major restoration in 1982 when the extant pages were rebound and remounted on [[vellum]] leaves.<ref name="on12" />

===Shrine of Miosach===
[[File:Cassetta di libro sacro di san cairneach, lati dell'xi secolo e fronte del 1534, in argento dorato e filigranato con cristallo di rocca su anima di legno, da clonmany co. donegal.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Panel for the front of the Shrine of Miosach, late 11th century, added to c. 1534]]
The [[Shrine of Miosach]] (or The Misach) originates from [[Clonmany]], [[County Donegal]], and was also used in battle.<ref>Lucas (1986), p. 27</ref> Originally a late 11th-century relic, it was reworked in 1534 by the goldsmith Brian O'Morrison with repoussé silver decoration with many figures around a cross.<ref>NMI 2001:84, 23.2 cm wide</ref><ref name="tcd" /> O'Morrison added twelve front plates in three arrangements, including depictions of the crowned Virgin and Child in the smaller inner panels,<ref name="fp3">Fitzpatrick (2004), p. 3</ref> and, in four larger panels, [[Brigid of Kildare|Saint Bridget]], [[Saint Patrick|St. Patrick]] and Colm Cille.<ref name="tcd" />

There is no record of what the original container might have held. The object was at first associated with St Cairneach of Dulane, [[County Meath]], but by the Gothic period had been "absorbed into the cult of St Columba".<ref>Antiquities, 269</ref><ref>Moss (2014), pp. 302–303</ref> The 11th-century cast [[copper alloy]] plates on the sides are decorated with openwork [[zoomorphic]] illustrations. Its metal cord survives for carrying it, and it was probably worn around the neck.<ref name="mu302">Mullarkey (2014), 302</ref>

===Domnach Airgid===
[[File:Domhnach Airgid.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Front of the Domnach Airgid, late 8–9th and 14–15th centuries]]
The [[Domnach Airgid]], whose title translates in English as the ''Silver church'', dates to the 8th century, but little is visible from before major additions dated to {{circa|1350}} under commission by the abbot of [[Clones, County Monaghan|Clones]]. A three-dimensional figure of Christ crucified is at the centre of the main face, accompanied by [[relief]] plaques of saints, the Virgin and Child and other scenes on the sides.<ref name="m294" />

The reliefs are more sophisticated compared to the other known 14th-century {{lang|sga|cumdachs}}, with elegant running animals on small mounts at the corners. It is signed by its goldsmith John O Bardan, who is recorded living at [[Drogheda]]; by then goldsmiths in Ireland, as elsewhere in Europe, were usually laymen.<ref>Antiquities, 261–262, 270</ref>

===Book of Dimma===
The [[Book of Dimma]] cumdach dates to the 12th century and was built for the small 8th-century manuscript known as the Book of Dimma. The manuscript is traditionally associated with the abbey's founder [[Crónán of Roscrea|St Crónán]] ({{abbr|died|d.}} 619). Its small size indicated it was intended as a portable pocket book used for study or contemplation. It is made up of copies of four Gospels and contains stylised portraits of the [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostles]] [[Gospel of Matthew|St. Matthew]], [[Gospel of Mark|St. Mark]] and [[Gospel of Luke|St. Luke]].<ref name="on26" />

The shrine consists of a shell of decorated bronze plates, and like its [[illuminated manuscript]] originates from the abbey of [[Roscrea]]. The first phase of the {{lang|sga|cumdach}} was completed during a period of prosperity for the abbey and broadly coincides with the building of a [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] church on the site. It was refurbished {{circa|1400}} by one of the chieftains of the local Ua Cerbaill family.<ref name="on26">O'Neill (2014), p. 26</ref> One face of the {{lang|sga|cumdach}}'s panels of openwork decoration in Viking [[Viking art#Ringerike Style|Ringerike]] style. Like the manuscript, it is in [[Trinity College Dublin|Trinity College]] Library, Dublin, while an early 20th-century reproduction is in New York.<ref>[https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/463142 Book of Dimma Shrine: early 20th century (original dated 11th century)]". [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]. Retrieved 2 July 2021</ref>

===Shrine of Caillín of Fenagh===
[[File:Cailin shrine.png|thumb|upright=1.2|The Shrine of St. Caillín, NMI]]

{{main|Shrine of St Caillín}}
The Shrine of Caillín of Fenagh is a late example built to hold a {{circa|1516}} manuscript which updates a much earlier book detailing the life of St. [[Caillín]] of [[Fenagh, County Leitrim]] (fl. {{circa|570}}), which may have been written by the saint himself.<ref>"[https://www.ria.ie/shrine-st-caillin-fenagh-and-its-place-irish-late-medieval-art The shrine of St Caillín of Fenagh and its place in Irish late medieval art]". [[Royal Irish Academy]], 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2021</ref><ref name="s18">Scott (2017), p. 18</ref> Caillín is described by Lucas as "something of a specialist in the production of battle talismans"<ref name="l19">Lucas (1986), p. 19</ref> and according to legend, in his lifetime commissioned several battle standards, including {{lang|sga|cathachs}} in the form a bell and a containers for a Gospel.<ref name="l19" /> It was badly damaged in a devastating 2009 fire at [[St Mel's Cathedral]], Longford, where it had been kept since 1980.<ref name="s20">Scott (2017), p. 20</ref> The remains of the shrine was acquired by the NMI the following year; the manuscript is now in the collection of the [[Royal Irish Academy]].<ref>Scott (2017), pp. 18, 20</ref> There is some doubt as to if the shrine was actually intended as a {{lang|sga|cumdach}}, including the fact that it is smaller than the manuscript.<ref name="s20" />

==Study and conservation==
Although most of the extant book-shaped protective shrines are mentioned in [[Irish annals]], they were not properly described until the early 19th century when antiquarians and collectors such as [[George Petrie (artist)|George Petrie]] began to seek them out from hereditary collections. Most are badly damaged, including due to general wear and tear over the centuries, events such as fires at their holding location, or most usually having elements such as their gemstones removed for sale by their owners. A majority are now in the NMI.

The most significant lost {{lang|sga|cumdachs}} mentioned in Irish annals, which are also the three earliest, are the shrines for the Book of Armagh (added 938 AD), Book of Durrow ({{circa|877—91}})<ref name="s80" /> and the shrine for the Book of Kells (which may have only been an ornamental metal container, rather than a permanently sealed and illustrated cover), which is recorded as plundered in the 1007 [[annals of Ulster]].<ref name="m298" /><ref>Annals of Ulster, [https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T100001A/text577.html U1007.11]</ref>

==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin|30em}}
*"Antiquities": Wallace, Patrick F., O Floinn, Raghnall eds. ''Treasures of the National Museum of Ireland: Irish Antiquities'', 2002, Gill & Macmillan, Dublin, {{ISBN|0-7171-2829-6}}
* Crawford, Henry. "A Descriptive List of Irish Shrines and Reliquaries. Part I". ''The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland'', 6th series, volume 13, no. 1, June 1923. {{JSTOR|25513282}}
* Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth. ''Royal Inauguration in Gaelic Ireland C.1100-1600: A Cultural Landscape Study''. Suffolk: Boydell Press, 2004. {{isbn|978-1-8438-3090-0}}
* Hourihane, Colum. ''Gothic Art in Ireland 1169-1550: Enduring Vitality''. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003. {{isbn|978-0-3000-9435-0}}
* Joynt, M. "The Cathach of St. Columba". ''The Irish Church Quarterly'', Volume 10, no. 39, 1917. {{JSTOR|30067688}}
* [[Eamonn P. Kelly|Kelly, Eamonn]]. "The Lough Kinale book-shrine". In: "Age of migrating ideas: early medieval art in northern Britain and Ireland proceedings of the Second International Conference on Insular Art held in the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh, 3–6 January 1991". Edinburgh: National Museums of Scotland, 1993. {{ISBN|0-7509-0357-0}}"
* Kelly, Eamonn. ''The Lough Kinale Shrine: The Implication for the Manuscripts''. In: O'Mahony, Felicity. "The Book of Kells: Proceedings of a conference at Trinity College, Dublin, 6–9 September 1992". Dublin: Trinity College & Scolar Press, 1994. {{isbn|978-0-8596-7967-1}}
* Lacey, Brian. ''Manus O'Donnell's 'Life of Colum Cille'''. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1998. {{isbn|978-1-8518-2394-9}}
* [[Anthony T. Lucas|Lucas, Anthony]]. "The Social Role of Relics and Reliquaries in Ancient Ireland". ''The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland'', volume 116, 1986. {{JSTOR|25508904}}
* Meehan, Bernard. ''The Book of Durrow: A Medieval Masterpiece at Trinity College Dublin'', 1996, Town House, Dublin, {{ISBN|1-57098-053-5}}
* Mitchell, Perette. "The Inscriptions on Pre-Norman Irish Reliquaries". ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature'', volume 96C, no. 1, 1996. {{JSTOR|25516156}}
* [[Rachel Moss (art historian)|Moss, Rachel]]. ''[[Medieval c. 400—c. 1600: Art and Architecture of Ireland]]''. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014. {{ISBN|978-03-001-7919-4}}
* Mullarkey, Paul. "Shrine of The Misach". In: Moss, Rachel. ''Medieval c. 400—c. 1600''. (Art and Architecture of Ireland series). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014. {{ISBN|978-03-001-7919-4}}
* O'Buachalla, Brendan. "The F-Future in Modern Irish: A Reassessment". ''[[Royal Irish Academy]]'', 1985. {{JSTOR|25506124}}
* [[Raghnall Ó Floinn|Ó Floinn, Raghnall]]. "The Soiscél Molaisse". ''Clogher Record'', volume 13, no. 2, 1989. {{JSTOR|27699291}}
* Ó Floinn, Raghnall. "Description" of the "Book-shrine" on [http://www.isos.dias.ie/master.html?http://www.isos.dias.ie/libraries/RIA/RIA_MS_D_ii_3/english/catalogue.html The Stowe Missal], from the [http://www.ria.ie/ Royal Irish Academy], with good images and catalogue information – select "Royal Irish Academy" from drop-down "collections" menu at bottom left, then select "Stowe Missal" from the next menu.
* O'Neill, Timothy. ''The Irish Hand: Scribes and Their Manuscripts From the Earliest Times''. Cork: Cork University Press, 2014. {{isbn|978-1-7820-5092-6}}
* Overbey, Karen. ''Sacral Geographies: Saints, Shrines and Territory in Medieval Ireland''. Turnhout: Brepols, 2012. {{ISBN|978-2-503-52767-3}}
* Scott, Brendan. "The Making of the Book of Fenagh". ''History Ireland'', volume 25, no. 3, 2017. {{JSTOR|90014529}}
* [[Margaret Stokes|Stokes, Margaret]], ''Early Christian Art in Ireland'', 1887, 2004 photo-reprint, Kessinger Publishing, {{ISBN|0-7661-8676-8}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7661-8676-7}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=rC0u5LwXN4kC&pg=PA73 Google Books]
* [https://archive.org/details/publications32henruoft ''The Stowe Missal: MS. D. II. 3 in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin''], edited by George F. Warner (1906), from the [[Internet Archive]]
* [[Roger Stalley|Stalley, Roger]]. "Irish Art in the Romanesque and Gothic Periods". In: ''[https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/Treasures_of_Early_Irish_Art_1500_BC_to_1500_AD Treasures of early Irish art, 1500 B.C. to 1500 A.D: From the collections of the National Museum of Ireland, Royal Irish Academy, Trinity College Dublin]''. NY: [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], 1977. {{isbn|978-0-8709-9164-6}}
* Stevick, Robert. "St Patrick's Bell Shrine: Form and Layout of the Plates". ''The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland'', volume 138, 2008. {{JSTOR|27920487}}
* Stokes, Roy. ''A Bibliographical Companion''. Scarecrow Press, 2011. {{isbn|978-1-4617-3662-2}}
* Youngs, Susan (ed). ''"The Work of Angels", Masterpieces of Celtic Metalwork, 6th–9th centuries AD''. British Museum Press, London, 1989. {{ISBN|0-7141-0554-6}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|lcfirst=yes}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110927165828/http://www.rsai.ie/index.cfm?action=obj.display&obj_id=133 Report of lecture by Paul Mullarkey] to the [[Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland]], 10 October 2005

{{Cumdachs}}
{{Insular art}}

[[Category:Bookbinding]]
[[Category:Christian reliquaries]]
[[Category:Hiberno-Saxon manuscripts]]
[[Category:Irish art]]
[[Category:Medieval art]]
[[Category:Medieval European metalwork objects]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Ireland]]

Cruthin

2025-09-10T20:48:10Z

2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: Align to wiktionary

{{Short description|People of medieval Ireland}}
{{For|the asteroid named for this people|3753 Cruithne}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

The '''Cruthin''' ({{IPA|sga|ˈkɾuθʲinʲ|lang}}) or '''Cruithne''' ({{IPA|ga|ˈkɾˠɪ(h)nʲə|lang}}) were a people of early medieval [[Ireland]]. Their heartland was in [[Ulster]] and included parts of the present-day [[Counties of Ireland|counties]] of [[County Antrim|Antrim]], [[County Down|Down]] and [[County Londonderry|Londonderry]]. Although the evidence is that they were [[Gaels]], their name is believed to be the Irish equivalent of [[Linguistic reconstruction|*]]''Pritanī'', the reconstructed native name of the [[Celtic Britons]], and ''Cruthin'' was sometimes used to refer to the [[Picts]], but their relationship to these peoples is unclear.<ref name="EMI"/>

The Cruthin comprised several [[túath]]a (tribal territories), which included the [[Dál nAraidi]] of County Antrim and the [[Uí Echach Cobo]] of County Down. These were part of the kingdom of [[Ulaid]] (Ulster). Early sources distinguish between the Cruthin and the [[Dál Fiatach|Ulaid folk]], although the Dál nAraidi later claimed in their genealogies to be {{lang|ga|na fír Ulaid}}, "the true Ulaid".<ref name="400-800">Ó Cróinín 2005, pp. 182-234.</ref> The 17th century ''[[Leabhar na nGenealach]]'' claims that the [[Conaille Muirtheimne|Conaille]], the [[Loígis]] and the [[Sogain]] are also of Cruthin descent.<ref>Byrne 2001, pp. 39, 236.</ref>

By 773 AD, the annals had stopped using the term Cruthin in favour of the term Dál nAraidi,<ref name="EMI"/> who had secured their over-kingship of the Cruthin.

For political reasons, some modern [[Ulster Scots people|Ulster Scots]] [[Ulster unionism|unionists]] claim descent from the Cruthin and argue they were the original British inhabitants of Ulster. This has been rejected by historians and archaeologists (see [[#Modern politics and culture]]).

==Name==
In medieval Irish writings, the plural form of the name is variously spelt {{lang|mga|Cruthin}}, {{lang|mga|Cruithin}}, {{lang|mga|Cruthini}}, {{lang|mga|Cruthni}}, {{lang|mga|Cruithni}} or {{lang|mga|Cruithini}} ([[Irish language|modern Irish]]: {{lang|ga|Cruithne}}<ref name="Dinneen">{{Cite book|editor-last=Dinneen|editor-first=Patrick S.|editor-link=Patrick S. Dinneen|year=1927|entry=Cruiṫneaċ|title=Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla|edition=New|location=[[Dublin]]|publisher=[[Irish Texts Society]]|page=276}}</ref>). The singular form is {{lang|mga|Cruithen}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dil.ie/13242|title=Cruithen|date=2019|editor=eDIL|website=[[Dictionary of the Irish Language|An Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language]]|others=based on the Contributions to a Dictionary of the Irish Language (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1913-1976)|access-date=2023-08-11}}</ref> (modern Irish: {{lang|ga|Cruithean}}<ref name="Dinneen"/>). The adjectival form is {{lang|mga|Cruithnech}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dil.ie/13245|title=Cruithnech|date=2019|editor=eDIL|website=An Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language|others=based on the Contributions to a Dictionary of the Irish Language (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1913-1976)|access-date=2023-08-11}}</ref> (modern Irish: {{lang|ga|Cruithneach}}<ref name="Dinneen"/><ref name="Ó Dónaill">{{Cite book|last=Ó Dónaill|first=Niall|author-link=Niall Ó Dónaill|url=https://www.teanglann.ie/en/fgb/Cruithneach|entry=Cruithneach|title=Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla|publisher=Richview Browne & Nolan Ltd.|year=1977|isbn=1-85791-038-9|location=Dublin}}</ref>), which is also [[nominalization|used as a noun]].<ref name="Dinneen"/><ref name="Ó Dónaill"/> It is thought to relate to the Irish word {{lang|ga|cruth}}, meaning "form, figure, shape". The name is believed to derive from ''*Qritani'', a reconstructed [[Goidelic languages|Goidelic]]/[[Q-Celtic]] version of the [[Brittonic languages|Brittonic]]/[[P-Celtic]] ''*Pritani''.<ref name="Chadwick">{{cite book|last=Chadwick|first=Hector Munro|title=Early Scotland: the Picts, the Scots & the Welsh of southern Scotland|publisher=CUP Archive|year=1949|pages=66–80}}</ref> Ancient Greek geographer [[Pytheas]] called the [[Celtic Britons]] the ''Pretanoí'', which became ''Britanni'' in Latin.<ref name="Koch Britons">{{cite book |last1=Koch |first1=John |author1-link=John T. Koch |title=Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia |date=2006 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |pages=291–292}}</ref><ref name="Daibhi">{{cite book|last=Ó Cróinín|first=Dáibhí|title=A New History of Ireland: Prehistoric and Early Ireland|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2008|pages=213}}</ref><ref name="Chadwick"/>

It is suggested that {{lang|ga|Cruthin}} was not what the people called themselves, but was what their [[Exonym|neighbours called them]].<ref name=woolf>{{cite web|author-link=Alex Woolf|last=Woolf|first=Alex|url=https://www.academia.edu/1502702|title=Ancient Kindred? Dál Riata and the Cruthin|year=2012}}</ref>

The name {{lang|ga|Cruthin}} survives in the placenames Duncrun ({{lang|ga|Dún Cruithean}}, "fort of the Cruthin") and Drumcroon ({{lang|ga|Droim Cruithean}}, "ridge of the Cruthin") in County Londonderry,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=2114|title=Drumcroon|website=Place Names NI|access-date=12 September 2017|archive-date=20 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920122715/http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=2114|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Ballycrune ({{lang|ga|Bealach Cruithean}}, "pass of the Cruthin")<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=11283|title=Ballycrune|website=Place Names NI|access-date=12 September 2017|archive-date=20 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920122638/http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=11283|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Crown Mound ({{lang|ga|Áth Cruithean}}, "ford of the Cruthin") in County Down.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=14689|title=Crown Mound|website=Place Names NI|access-date=12 September 2017|archive-date=12 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912234345/http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=14689|url-status=dead}}</ref> These placenames are believed to mark the edges of Cruthin territory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=11254|title=Corcreeny|website=Place Names NI|access-date=12 September 2017|archive-date=20 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920160913/http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=11254|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==In the Irish annals==
At the start of the historical period in Ireland in the 6th century, the kingdom of [[Ulaid]] largely lay to the east of the [[River Bann]] in north-eastern Ireland.<ref name="ANHOI212"/> The Cruthin also held territory west of the Bann in County Londonderry, and their emergence may have concealed the dominance of earlier tribal groupings.<ref name="ANHOI212"/>

A Cruthin king of Ulster, [[Áed Dub mac Suibni]], is said to have killed the [[High King of Ireland|High King]], [[Diarmait mac Cerbaill]], in 565. Another Cruthin king, Dubsloit Ua Tréna, is said to have killed Diarmait's son Colmán Mór.<ref>Byrne 2001, pp. 94-95.</ref>

In 563, according to the [[Annals of Ulster]], an apparent internal struggle amongst the Cruthin resulted in a Cruthin chief Báetán mac Cinn making a deal with the rival [[Northern Uí Néill]], promising them the territories of Ard Eólairg ([[Magilligan peninsula]]) and Fir Lí ([[Coleraine (barony)|Coleraine barony]]).<ref name="ANHOI212"/> As a result, the [[Battle of Móin Daire Lothair]] ([[Moneymore]]) was fought between them and an alliance of Cruthin kings, in which the Cruthin suffered a devastating defeat.<ref name="ANHOI212"/> Afterwards the Northern Uí Néill settled their [[Airgíalla]] allies in the Cruthin territory of [[Eilne]], which lay between the River Bann and the [[River Bush]].<ref name="ANHOI212"/> The defeated Cruthin alliance meanwhile consolidated itself within the Dál nAraidi dynasty.<ref name="ANHOI212"/>

Their most powerful historical king was [[Fíachnae mac Báetáin]], King of Ulster and effective High King of Ireland in the early 7th century.

Under their king, [[Congal Cláen]], the Cruthin were routed by the Uí Néill at Dún Ceithirn (Sconce Hill, near [[Articlave]])<ref>Smyth 1989, p. 101</ref> in 629, although Congal survived. The same year, the Cruthin king Mael Caích defeated [[Connad Cerr]] of the [[Dál Riata]] at the [[Battle of Fid Eoin]].<ref name="400-800" />

The decisive [[Battle of Moira|Battle of Mag Rath]] was fought in 637. An alliance between Congal Cláen and [[Domnall Brecc]] of the Dál Riata was defeated, and Congal was killed, by [[Domnall mac Aedo]] of the Northern Uí Néill. This established the supremacy of the Uí Neill in the north.<ref name="400-800" />

The Annals record a battle between the Cruthin and the Ulaid at [[Belfast]] in 668.<ref name="400-800" />

In 681 another Dál nAraide king, [[Dúngal Eilni mac Scandail|Dúngal Eilni]], and his allies were killed by the Uí Néill in what the annals call "the burning of the kings at Dún Ceithirn".<ref name="400-800" />

By the 8th century, the ethnic term "Cruthin" was giving way to the dynastic name of the Dál nAraide. The last use of the term is in 773, when the death of Flathruae mac Fiachrach, "''rex Cruithne''", is noted.<ref name="400-800" /> By the twelfth century it had fallen into disuse as an [[ethnonym]], and was remembered only as an alternative name for the Dál nAraide.<ref>O'Rahilly 1946, p. 345</ref>

==Possible relationship to other groups==
Early Irish writers used the name {{lang|ga|Cruthin}} to refer to both the north-eastern Irish group and to the [[Picts]] of Scotland.<ref name="Daibhi"/> Likewise, the [[Scottish Gaelic]] word for a Pict is {{lang|gd|Cruithen}} or {{lang|gd|Cruithneach}}, and Pictland is {{lang|gd|Cruithentúath}}.<ref>[http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/sengoidelc/duil-belrai/lorg.php?facal=pict&seorsa=Beurla&eis_saor=on ''Pict'' and related words at ''In Dúin Bélrai'']</ref> The ''[[Pictish Chronicle]]'' names the first king of the Picts as the eponymous "''Cruidne filius Cinge''".<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/chroniclespicts01skengoog#page/n214/mode/2up Skene 1867, p. 5]</ref> It has thus been suggested that the Cruthin and Picts were the same people or were in some way linked.<ref name="400-800" />

Other scholars disagree. Historian [[Francis John Byrne]] notes that although in Irish both groups were called by the same name, in Latin they had different names, with {{lang|la|Picti}} being reserved for the Picts.<ref name="Byrne 2001, p. 8, 108">Byrne 2001, p. 8, 108.</ref> Professor [[Dáibhí Ó Cróinín]] says the "notion that the Cruthin were 'Irish Picts' and were closely connected with the Picts of Scotland is quite mistaken",<ref name="EMI">{{cite book |last1=Croinin |first1=Daibhi O. |title=Early Medieval Ireland, 400-1200 |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-90176-1 |page=48 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KmNcAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA48 }}</ref> while Professor [[Kenneth H. Jackson]] wrote that the Cruthin "were not Picts, had no connection with the Picts, linguistic or otherwise, and are never called {{lang|la|Picti}} by Irish writers".<ref>Jackson 1956, pp. 122-166</ref> There is no [[Archaeology|archaeological]] evidence of a Pictish link and in archaeology the Cruthin are indistinguishable from their neighbours in Ireland.<ref name="LHS">Warner 1991</ref> The records show that the Cruthin bore Irish Gaelic names, spoke Irish and followed the Irish {{lang|ga|[[derbfine]]}} system of inheritance.<ref name="Byrne 2001, p. 8, 108"/>

Historian [[Alex Woolf]] suggested that the [[Dál Riata]] were a part of the Cruthin and that they were descended from the [[Epidii]]. Dál Riata was a Gaelic kingdom that included parts of western Scotland and northeastern Ireland. The Irish part of the kingdom was surrounded by Cruthin territory.<ref name=woolf/>

The 17th century ''[[Leabhar na nGenealach]]'' claims that the historical [[Conaille Muirtheimne|Conaille]] of [[County Louth]], the [[Loígis]] of [[County Laois]], and the [[Sogain]] of [[Connacht]], are also of Cruthin descent.<ref>Byrne 2001, pp. 39, 236.</ref>

==Modern politics and culture==
In the 1970s, [[Unionism in Ireland|Unionist]] politician [[Ian Adamson]] proposed that the Cruthin were a British people who spoke a non-Celtic language and were the original inhabitants of Ulster and Scotland. He argues that they fought against the Irish [[Gaels]] for centuries, who invaded Ulster from the south, and sees the story of the ''[[Táin Bó Cúailnge]]'' as representing this. Adamson believes that most of the Cruthin were driven to Scotland after their defeat in the [[Battle of Moira]] (637), only for their descendants to return 1,000 years later in the [[Plantation of Ulster]]. Adamson thus suggests that the Gaelic Irish are not really native to Ulster and that the [[Ulster Scots people|Ulster Scots]] have merely returned to their ancient lands.<ref name="NicCraith">{{cite book |last1=Nic Craith |first1=Máiréad |title=Plural Identities, Singular Narratives: The Case of Northern Ireland |date=2002 |publisher=[[Berghahn Books]] |pages=93–95}}</ref><ref name="Gallaher">{{cite book |last1=Gallaher |first1=Carolyn |title=After the Peace: Loyalist Paramilitaries in Post-Accord Northern Ireland |date=2011 |publisher=Cornell University Press |pages=96–97}}</ref> His theory has been adopted by some [[Ulster loyalism|Ulster loyalists]] and Ulster Scots activists to counter [[Irish nationalism]] and Irish Gaelic culture.<ref name="NicCraith"/> It was promoted by elements in the [[Ulster Defence Association]] (UDA).<ref name="Smithey">{{cite book |last1=Smithey |first1=Lee |title=Unionists, Loyalists, and Conflict Transformation in Northern Ireland |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=163}}</ref> They saw this new 'origin myth' as a way to justify their territorial claim to Ulster and the [[partition of Ireland]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Perry |first1=Robert |title=Revisionist Scholarship and Modern Irish Politics |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |page=103}}</ref> Prof. Stephen Howe of the University of Bristol argues it was designed to provide ancient underpinnings for a militantly separate Ulster identity.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Peatling|first1=Gary K.|last2=Howe|first2=Stephen|date=2000|title=Ireland and Empire: Colonial Legacies in Irish History and Culture|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/25515321|journal=The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies|volume=26|issue=1|pages=141|doi=10.2307/25515321|jstor=25515321|issn=0703-1459|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Historian [[Peter Berresford Ellis]] likens it to [[Zionism]].<ref name="Gallaher"/>

Historians, archaeologists and anthropologists have widely rejected Adamson's theory.<ref name="Gallaher"/><ref name="Smithey"/> There is no evidence of a "Gaelic invasion", and from the historical evidence "it seems that the language and social structure of the Cruthin was identical with that of the rest of the Irish".<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Brady |editor1-first=Ciaran |editor2-last=O'Dowd |editor2-first=Mary |editor3-last=Mercer Walker |editor3-first=Brian |title=Ulster: An Illustrated History |date=1989 |publisher=[[Batsford Books]] |pages=35 |quote=The idea of a Gaelic invasion pushing the aboriginal 'Irish Picts' into the north-east corner has no support either historically or archaeologically. From the contemporary historical evidence it seems that the language and social structure of the Cruthin was identical with that of the rest of the Irish.}}</ref> Archaeologists such as [[J. P. Mallory]] and T. E. McNeil note that the Cruthin are "archaeologically invisible" and "there is not a single object or site that an archaeologist can declare to be distinctly Cruthin".<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hughes|first1=A. J.|last2=Mallory|first2=J. P.|last3=McNeill|first3=T.|date=1992|title=The Archaeology of Ulster|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/29742575|journal=Seanchas Ardmhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society|volume=15|issue=1|pages=331|doi=10.2307/29742575|jstor=29742575|issn=0488-0196|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Much of Adamson's theories are based on the historical model put forward by Irish linguist [[T. F. O'Rahilly]] in 1946. O'Rahilly argued that "the Cruthin or Priteni are the earliest inhabitants of these islands to whom a name can be assigned", and that the Gaels did not arrive until much later.<ref>O'Rahilly 1946, pp. 15-16 341-342</ref> Where Adamson differs is his claim that the Cruthin were not Celtic, but ''pre-''Celtic. However, this model has also since been rejected by archaeologists and other experts.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Brady |editor1-first=Ciaran |editor2-last=O'Dowd |editor2-first=Mary |editor3-last=Mercer Walker |editor3-first=Brian |title=Ulster: An Illustrated History |date=1989 |publisher=[[Batsford Books]] |pages=22–23 |quote=T. F. O'Rahilly, whose historical conclusions have been questioned by archaeologists and historians ... consequently, as explained in more detail below, his views on the ethnic makeup of early Ireland are no longer accepted.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=December 1954|title=Language and History in Early Britain |first=Kenneth H. |last=Jackson |author-link=Kenneth H. Jackson |location=Edinburgh |publisher=University Press |url= https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/abs/language-and-history-in-early-britain-by-kenneth-jackson-8-5-pp-xxvi752-with-2-maps-edinburgh-unveristy-press-1953-80s/9EA90944B3F41D567267B50D86397761 |journal=Antiquity |volume=28 |issue=112 |pages=248–250 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00021840 |issn=0003-598X|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=hÁdhmaill|first=Pádraig Ó|date=1991|title=Emania. Bulletin of the Navan Research Group. Number Eight. 1991|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/29742527|journal=Seanchas Ardmhacha: Journal of the Armagh Diocesan Historical Society|volume=14|issue=2|pages=270|doi=10.2307/29742527|jstor=29742527|issn=0488-0196|url-access=subscription}}</ref> There is no evidence of large migrations to Ireland after the [[Bronze Age Ireland|Bronze Age]], either archaeologically or genetically.<ref name="Mallory 2023">{{cite book |last1=Mallory |first1=J. P. |author1-link=J. P. Mallory |title=The Indo-European Puzzle Revisited: Integrating Archaeology, Genetics, and Linguistics |date=2023 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=129-142 |chapter=From the Steppe to Ireland: The impact of aDNA research}}</ref> The intrusive (non-native) artifacts in [[Iron Age Ireland|Iron Age]] Ireland are [[La Tène culture|La Tènian]] and [[Romano-British]], and came from regions which were not Gaelic.<ref name="Koch 1991">{{Cite journal|last=Koch|first=John T.|date=1991|title=Ériu, Alba, Letha: When Was a Language Ancestral to Gaelic First Spoken in Ireland?|url=https://www.academia.edu/6939405|journal=Emania|volume=9|pages=17-25|via=Academia}}</ref> Adamson's and O'Rahilly's theories are refuted by the 2017 publication of the "Irish DNA Atlas",<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gilbert |first1=Edmund |last2=O’Reilly |first2=Seamus |last3=Merrigan |first3=Michael |last4=McGettigan |first4=Darren |last5=Molloy |first5=Anne M. |last6=Brody |first6=Lawrence C. |last7=Bodmer |first7=Walter |last8=Hutnik |first8=Katarzyna |last9=Ennis |first9=Sean |last10=Lawson |first10=Daniel J. |last11=Wilson |first11=James F. |last12=Cavalleri |first12=Gianpiero L. |title=The Irish DNA Atlas: Revealing Fine-Scale Population Structure and History within Ireland |journal=Scientific Reports |date=8 December 2017 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=17199 |doi=10.1038/s41598-017-17124-4 |pmid=29222464 |pmc=5722868 |bibcode=2017NatSR...717199G }}</ref> which sets out in great detail the genealogical history and modern day makeup of the [[British Isles]].

The [[asteroid]] [[3753 Cruithne]] was named after the group.<ref>[http://www.wwu.edu/depts/skywise/a101_cruithne.html Cruithne: Asteroid 3753] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410230954/http://www.wwu.edu/depts/skywise/a101_cruithne.html |date=2011-04-10 }}. Western Washington University Planetarium. Retrieved January 27, 2011.</ref>

[[Robert E. Howard]]'s pulp hero [[Bran Mak Morn]] was characterised as "chief of the Cruithni Picts".<ref>Howard, Robert E. (2005-05-31). ''Bran Mak Morn: The Last King'' (Kindle Locations 3037-3039). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="ANHOI212">A New History of Ireland, p. 212.</ref>
}}

===Sources===
*[[Francis J. Byrne|Byrne, Francis J.]] ''Irish Kings and High Kings''. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2001 (2nd edition). First published in 1973.
*[[Hector Munro Chadwick|Chadwick, Hector Munro]]. ''Early Scotland: the Picts, the Scots & the Welsh of southern Scotland''. CUP Archive, 1949. Page 66–80.
* {{cite book |title=A New History of Ireland, II Medieval Ireland 1169-1534|year=2008|editor=Cosgrove, Art|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-019-953970-3}}
*Gallagher, Carolyn. ''After the Peace: Loyalist Paramilitaries in Post-Accord Northern Ireland.'' Cornell University, 2007
*[[Kenneth H. Jackson|Jackson, Kenneth H.]] "The Pictish language." In ''The problem of the Picts'', ed. F.T Wainwright. Edinburgh, 1956. pp. 122–166.
*[[Bernhard Maier (religious studies professor)|Maier, Bernhard]]. ''Dictionary of Celtic religion and culture''. Boydell & Brewer, 1997. Page 230.
*Nic Craith, Máiréad. ''Plural Identities, Singular Narratives: The Case of Northern Ireland'', Berghahn Books, 2002
*[[Dáibhí Ó Cróinín|Ó Cróinín, Dáibhí]]. ''Early Medieval Ireland 400-1200'', Longman, 1995
*Ó Cróinín, Dáibhí. "Ireland, 400-800". In ''A New History of Ireland'', ed. Dáibhí Ó Cróinín. Vol 1. 2005. pp. 182–234.
*[[T. F. O'Rahilly|O'Rahilly, T.F.]] ''Early Irish History and Mythology''. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1946.
*[[William Forbes Skene|Skene, William F.]] ''[https://archive.org/stream/chroniclespicts01skengoog#page/n8/mode/2up Chronicles of the Picts and Scots]'' Edinburgh, 1867.
*[[Alfred P. Smyth|Smyth, Alfred P.]] ''Warlords and Holy Men''. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1989.
*Warner, Richard. [https://web.archive.org/web/20081121135501/http://www.lisburn.com/books/historical_society/volume8/volume8_3.html "The Lisburn Area in the Early Christian Period Part 2: Some People and Places."] ''Lisburn Historical Society Journals'' Vol 8. 1991

==External links==
*[http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/ihm/ulster.htm Ulster] by Dennis Walsh
*[http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/cairney/51.htm The Cruithne at Electric Scotland]



{{Gaels}}
{{Dál nAraidi}}

[[Category:Cruthin| ]]
[[Category:Historical Celtic peoples]]
[[Category:Tribes of ancient Ireland]]
[[Category:Gaelic-Irish nations and dynasties]]

Conn of the Hundred Battles

2025-09-10T20:43:39Z

2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: Align to wiktionary

{{Short description|Legendary high king of Ireland}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
'''Conn Cétchathach''' ({{IPA|sga|kon̪ ˈkʲeːd̪xaθəx|pron}}), or '''Conn of the Hundred Battles''', son of [[Fedlimid Rechtmar]], was a legendary [[High King of Ireland]] who is claimed to be the ancestor of the [[Connachta]], and through his descendant [[Niall of the Nine Hostages|Niall Noígiallach]], the [[Uí Néill]] dynasties, which dominated Ireland in the early Middle Ages.

==Literary tradition==
===Early life and accession===
The ''[[Annals of the Four Masters]]'' says that five roads to [[Hill of Tara|Tara]], which had never been seen before, were discovered on the night of Conn's birth.<ref>''[[Annals of the Four Masters]]'' [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005A/text026.html M122]-[http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100005A/text027.html M157]</ref> According to the ''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'', he took power after killing his predecessor [[Cathair Mór]].<ref>R. A. Stewart Macalister (ed. & trans.), ''Lebor Gabála Érenn: The Book of the Taking of Ireland Part V'', Irish Texts Society, 1956, p. 331–333</ref> In other sources his predecessor is [[Dáire Doimthech]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hastings.edu/academic/english/Kings/Scela_Mosauluim.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007000123/http://www.hastings.edu/academic/english/Kings/Scela_Mosauluim.html|url-status=dead|title=Scéla Mosauluim|archive-date=7 October 2008|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> The ''[[Lia Fáil]]'', the coronation stone at [[Hill of Tara|Tara]] which was said to roar when the rightful king stood on it, roared under Conn for the first time since [[Cúchulainn]] split it with his sword when it failed to roar for [[Lugaid Riab nDerg]].<ref>''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor4.html#55 §57] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715225248/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor4.html#55 |date=15 July 2010 }}</ref>

In the saga ''Baile in Scáil'' ("The Phantom's Ecstatic Vision"), Conn treads on the stone by accident while walking the ramparts of Tara, implying that the stone had been lost and half-buried since Cúchulainn's time. A [[druid]] explains the meaning of the stone, and says the number of cries the stone made is the number of kings who will follow Conn, but he is not the man to name them. A magical mist arises, and a horseman approaches who throws three spears towards Conn, then asks him and the druid to follow him to his house, which stands on a plain by a golden tree. They enter and are welcomed by a woman in a gold crown. First they see a silver vat, bound with gold hoops, full of red ale, and a golden cup and serving spoon. Then they see a phantom, a tall beautiful man, on a throne, who introduces himself as [[Lugh]]. The woman is the [[Loathly lady|sovereignty]] of Ireland, and she serves Conn a meal consisting of an ox's rib {{convert|24|ft|m|-1|disp=x| long (| approximately)}}, and a boar's rib.{{efn|Here, the Irish foot is ''[[wikt:traig|traig]]''.}} When she serves drinks, she asks "To whom shall this cup be given?", and Lugh recites a poem which tells Conn how many years he will reign, and the names of the kings who will follow him. Then they enter Lugh's shadow, and the house disappears, but the cup and serving spoon remain.<ref>[http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/phantom.html "''Baile in Scáil'': the Phantom's Frenzy"], Miles Dillon (ed. & trans), ''The Cycle of the Kings'', Oxford University Press, 1946</ref><ref>[http://www.hastings.edu/academic/english/Kings/Home.html Cycles of the Kings Web Project] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227214217/http://www.hastings.edu/academic/english/Kings/Home.html |date=27 December 2008 }}: ''[http://www.hastings.edu/academic/english/Kings/Baile_in_Scail.html Baile in Scáil] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080507075301/http://www.hastings.edu/academic/english/kings/Baile_in_Scail.html |date=7 May 2008 }}''</ref><ref>[[Kuno Meyer|Meyer, Kuno]] (1901) ''[https://celt.ucc.ie//published/G105001/index.html Baile in Scáil]'' via CELT corpus</ref>

An earlier text, ''Baile Chuinn Cétchathaigh'' ("The Ecstatic Vision of Conn of the Hundred Battles") gives a poetic list of kings, many of which are recognisable from the traditional [[List of High Kings of Ireland#Kings in the Baile Chuind|List of High Kings of Ireland]], but without narrative context.<ref>Cycles of the Kings Web Project: ''[http://www.hastings.edu/academic/english/Kings/Baile_Chuinn.html Baile Chuinn Cétchathaigh] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120075004/http://www.hastings.edu/academic/english/Kings/Baile_Chuinn.html |date=20 November 2008 }}''</ref>

===Reign===
Conn had a long reign – twenty, twenty-five, thirty-five or even fifty years according to different versions of the ''Lebor Gabála'', spending much of it at war with [[Mug Nuadat]], king of [[Munster]].

According to the medieval text ''Cath Maige Leana'' ("the battle of Mag Leana"), Mug Nuadat's father, Mug Neit son of Deirgtine, had expelled the kings of Munster, [[Conaire Coem]] and [[Mac Niad mac Lugdach]]. The two kings fled to Conn, and married his daughters, Saraid and Sadb respectively. Mug Neit made war on Conn, but was defeated and killed after two battles in [[County Offaly]]. Mug Nuadat led his father's forces in retreat through Munster, fighting Conn to a standstill before escaping by sea to Beare Island (in Irish, ''Oiléan Béarra,'' now called [[Bere Island]]), and thence to Spain. Conn restored Conaire and Mac Niad to their kingdoms and withdrew.

Nine years later, Mug Nuadat, who had married the daughter of the king of Spain, landed with an army near [[Bantry Bay]] and forced Conaire and Mac Niad to submit to his overlordship. With the kings of Ulster and Leinster, he marched north to Mag nAi and forced Conn to make a treaty with him, dividing Ireland between them: Conn controlling the north, or ''[[Leath Cuinn|Leth Cuinn]]'' ("Conn's half"), and Mug Nuadat the south, or ''Leth Moga'' ("Mug's half"), with the border running from [[Galway]] in the west to [[Dublin]] in the east.

After fifteen years of peace, Mug Nuadat broke the treaty and declared war, along with the kings of Ulster and Leinster. He led his army to Mag Leana, near [[Tullamore]], County Offaly. Conn retreated to Connacht, gathered his forces, and retook [[Kingdom of Mide|Meath]] from the king of Ulster. He then marched south to Mag Leana and destroyed Mug Nuadat's army in a surprise night attack on his camp. Mug Nuadat was killed in the fighting, and Conn became king of all of Ireland.<ref>[[Eugene O'Curry]] (ed. & trans.) [https://books.google.com/books?id=tLtGIYDpHowC&dq=the+battle+of+Magh+Leana&pg=PA17 Cath Mhuighe Léana, or The Battle of Magh Leana], Dublin: The Celtic Society, 1855</ref>

Geoffrey Keating tells the story differently. In his account, Mug Nuadat obtains an army from the king of Leinster and expels the kings of Munster, here Lugaid Allathach, Dáire Dornmhor and Aonghus. Aonghus flees to Conn, who gives him an army with which to reclaim his kingdom, but Mug Nuadat defeats this and a further nine attempts by Conn to drive him out of Munster, forcing Conn to divide Ireland with him. When hostilities break out again, Conn and Mug Nuadat's armies gather for battle at [[Mag Lena]], but Conn kills Mug Nuadat in his bed in an early morning attack.<ref>[[Geoffrey Keating]], ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/text050.html 1.40]</ref>

According to a medieval source, the hero [[Fionn mac Cumhaill]] was born in Conn's time. His father, [[Cumhall]], a warrior in Conn's service, was a suitor of [[Muirne]], daughter of the druid [[Tadg mac Nuadat]], but Tadg refused his suit, so Cumhall abducted her. Conn went to war against him, and Cumhall was killed by [[Goll mac Morna]] in the Battle of Cnucha. But Muirne was already pregnant, and Tadg rejected her, ordering her to be burned. She fled to Conn, and Conn put her under the protection of Cumhall's brother-in-law Fiacal mac Conchinn. It was in Fiacal's house that she gave birth to a son, Deimne, who was later renamed Fionn.<ref>[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/f01.html "The Cause of the Battle of Cnucha"], [[Tom Peete Cross]] & Clark Harris Slover (eds.), ''Ancient Irish Tales'', Henry Holt & Co, 1936, pp. 357–359</ref> When he was ten, Fionn came to Tara put himself into Conn's service. He learned that every year at [[Samhain]], the monster [[Aillen]] would put everyone at Tara to sleep with his music, and burn down the palace with his fiery breath. Fionn killed Aillen, having kept himself awake by pressing the head of his spear to his forehead, and warded off Aillen's flame with his magical cloak, and Conn made him head of the ''[[fianna]]'' in place of Goll.<ref>Standish James O'Grady (trans.), ''[http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/colloquy_ogrady.pdf The Colloquy with the Ancients]'', In Parentheses Publications, pp. 46–48</ref>

===Family===
Conn had two sons, [[Connla the Ruddy|Connla]] and [[Art mac Cuinn|Art]]. Connla fell in love with a fairy woman from [[Mag Mell]], and went with her to her otherworld home in her crystal boat, leaving Art alone. After that Art was known as ''Óenfer'' – the "lone" or "solitary".<ref>[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/connla.html "The Adventures of Connla the Fair"], Cross & Slover 1936, pp. 488–490</ref> Connla's tale is told in the ''[[Echtra Condla]]''.

After Conn's wife [[Eithne Tháebfhota]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095745694|title="Eithne Tháebfhota on Oxford Index"|website=Oxfordindex.oup.com|access-date=3 December 2021|archive-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115083609/http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095745694|url-status=dead}}</ref> daughter of Cathair Mór, died, another fairy woman, [[Bé Chuille]], was banished by the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] to Ireland. She had fallen in love with Art from a distance and sought him out in her [[currach]], but when she met Conn and learned he was without a wife, agreed to marry him instead, on the condition that Art be banished from Tara for a year. The men of Ireland thought this unjust, and Ireland was barren during that year. The druids discovered that this was Bé Chuille's fault, and declared that the famine could be ended by the sacrifice of the son of a sinless couple in front of Tara. Conn went in search of this boy in Bé Chuille's currach. He landed on a strange island of apple trees. The queen of the island had a young son, the result of her only sexual union. Conn told her that Ireland would be saved if the boy bathed in the water of Ireland, and she agreed. He took him back to Ireland, but when the druids demanded his death, he, Art and Fionn mac Cumhaill swore to protect him. Just then, a woman driving a cow carrying two bags approached, and the cow was sacrificed instead of the boy. The bags were opened: one contained a bird with one leg, the other a bird with twelve legs. The two birds fought, and the one-legged bird won. The woman said the twelve-legged bird represented the druids, and the one-legged bird the boy, and revealed herself as his mother. She told Conn that the famine would end if he would put Bé Chuille away, but he refused. Bé Chuille was later banished from Tara as the result of a series of challenges she and Art made each other over a game of ''[[fidchell]]''.<ref>[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/art.html "The Adventures of Art son of Conn"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071022085531/http://maryjones.us/ctexts/art.html |date=22 October 2007 }}, Cross & Slover 1936, pp. 491–502</ref>

===Death===
Conn was eventually killed by [[Tipraite Tírech]], king of the [[Ulaid]], on Tuesday 20 October according to [[Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh]] in his 'Ogygia: seu Rerum Hibernicarum Chronologia' (1685).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/ogygiaorchronolo02oflaiala|title=Ogygia : or, a chronological account of Irish events : collected from very ancient documents, faithfully compared with each other, and supported by the genealogical and chronological aid of the sacred and prophane writings of the first nations of the globe|date=3 December 1793|publisher=Dublin : printed by W. M'Kenzie|access-date=3 December 2021|website=Archive.org}}</ref> The ''Lebor Gabála'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/leborgablare00macauoft/page/332/mode/2up|title=Section IX : The Roll of the Kings : Conn Cétchathach|website=Archive.org|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> Baile in Scáil,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/lecturesonmanusc00ocuruoft|title=Lectures on the manuscript materials of ancient Irish history|first=Eugene|last=O'Curry|date=3 December 1861|publisher=Dublin : J. Duffy|access-date=3 December 2021|website=Archive.org}}</ref> Gilla Cóemáin's poem "Annalad annall uile",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elverdissen.dyndns.org/~nodus/618-POEMS.pdf|title=Three Historical Poems Ascribed to Gilla Cóemáin|website=Elverdissen.dyndns.org|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> [[Fland Mainistrech]]'s poem "Rig Themra dia tesband tnú"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://celt.ucc.ie/published/G800011C/text004.html|title=Part 4 of Book of Leinster, formerly Lebar na Núachongbála|website=Celt.ucc.ie|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> in the [[Book of Leinster]] and the ''Annals''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gb0_AAAAcAAJ&q=%22T%C3%BAath+Amrois%22&pg=PA105|title = Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the four masters, from the earliest period to the year 1616: Ed. From the autograph. Manuscript with a transl. And copious notes by John O'Donovan|year = 1848}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/annalsoftigernac00stokuoft/page/8/mode/2up|title=The Annals of Tigernach|pages=8/9|website=Archive.org|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LY9nAAAAMAAJ&q=%22tuath+ambrois%22|title = The Annals of Ulster (To A.D. 1131): Text and translation|isbn = 9780901282774|last1 = Airt|first1 = Seán Mac|last2 = Niocaill|first2 = Gearóid Mac|year = 1983}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/revueceltique41pari|title=Revue celtique|date=3 December 1870|access-date=3 December 2021|website=Archive.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/1273930|title=A facsimile edition of the Annals of Roscrea|first=Bart|last=Jaski|access-date=3 December 2021|journal=SCSS.TCD.ie}}</ref> all say Tipraite defeated him in battle in Túath Amrois. [[Geoffrey Keating|Keating]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T100054/text050.html|title=Part 50 of The History of Ireland|website=Celt.ucc.ie|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> and the [[Great Book of Lecan]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/zeitschriftfrc08meyeuoft|title=Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie|first1=Kuno|last1=Meyer|first2=Ludwig Christian|last2=Stern|date=3 December 1897|publisher=Tü¿bingen : Max Niemeyer Verlag|access-date=3 December 2021|website=Archive.org}}</ref> says Tipraite sent fifty warriors dressed as women from [[Emain Macha]] to kill him at Tara. "The decision as to Cormac’s sword" says Conn was killed with a sword that once belonged to [[Cú Chulainn]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/irischetextemite00stok|title=Irische Texte : mit ersetzungen und Wterbuch|first1=Whitley|last1=Stokes|first2=Ernst|last2=Windisch|date=3 December 1900|publisher=Leipzig : S. Hirzel|access-date=3 December 2021|website=Archive.org}}</ref> "Cath Maighe Léna" states that the name of the hill where Conn was killed was Druim Tuirléime.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://celt.ucc.ie//published/G302025/index.html|title=Cath Maighe Léna|website=Celt.ucc.ie|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> His son-in-law [[Conaire Cóem]] succeeded him as High King, and Conn's son Art would later succeed him. The ''Lebor Gabála'' synchronises Conn's reign with that of the [[Roman emperor]] [[Marcus Aurelius]] (161–180). The chronology of Geoffrey Keating's ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' dates his reign to 116–136, that of the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' to 122–157.

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Cathair Mór]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of High Kings of Ireland|High King of Ireland]]|years=[[Lebor Gabála Érenn|LGE]] 2nd century AD [[Geoffrey Keating|FFE]] AD 116–136 [[Annals of the Four Masters|AFM]] AD 122–157}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Conaire Cóem]]}}
{{s-end}}

==Family tree==
{{Tree chart/start}}
{{Tree chart | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | TTM |TTM=[[Tuathal Techtmar]]}}
{{Tree chart | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!|}}
{{Tree chart | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | FRM | | CAM |FRM=[[Fedlimid Rechtmar]]|CAM=[[Cathair Mór]]|}}
{{Tree chart | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |!|}}
{{Tree chart | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | CON |y| ETH |CON='''Conn Cétchathach'''|ETH=[[Eithne Tháebfhota]]|}}
{{Tree chart | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|^|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|.}}
{{Tree chart | | MLD |~| AMC |y| ACH | | CNL | | MML |y| SDB |y| AAL | | SAR |V| CNC |MLD=[[Medb Lethderg]]|AMC=[[Art mac Cuinn]]|ACH=[[Achtan]]|CNL=Connla|MML=Macnia mac Lugdach|SAR=Saruit|AAL=[[Ailill Aulom]]|SDB=[[Sadb ingen Chuinn|Sadb]]|CNC=[[Conaire Cóem]]}}
{{Tree chart | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |)|-|-|.| | | | |:|}}
{{Tree chart | | | | | | | | CMA | | | | | | | | | | LMC | | EOM | | CCS | | |:| | |CMA=[[Cormac mac Airt]]|LMC=[[Lugaid mac Con]]|EOM=[[Éogan Mór]]|CCS=[[Cormac Cas]]}}
{{Tree chart | | | | | | | | |:| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |:| | |:| | | | |:|}}
{{Tree chart | | |F|~|~|~|V|~|A|~|V|~|~|~|V|~|~|~|7| | | | | |:| | |:| | | | |:|}}
{{Tree chart | | CNN | | UIN | | DLR | | UIM | | AIR | | | | EOG | | DGC | | |DLR | | |CNN=''[[Connachta]]''|UIN=''[[Uí Néill]]''|DLR=''[[*]]''|UIM=''[[Uí Maine]]''|AIR=''[[Airgíalla]]''|EOG=''[[Eoganachta]]''|DGC=''[[Dalcassians|Dal gCais]]''}}
{{Tree chart/end}}

==Explanatory notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Connachta}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conn Of The Hundred Battles}}
[[Category:Cycles of the Kings]]
[[Category:Legendary High Kings of Ireland]]
[[Category:Fenian Cycle]]

Conchobar

2025-09-10T20:38:42Z

2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: Again

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{lang|sga|'''Conchobar'''|italics=no}} ({{IPA|sga|ˈkonxoβaɾ|link=yes}}) is an old and famous [[Irish name|Irish male name]] meaning "lover of canines". It is the source of the Irish names [[Conor]], [[Connor (disambiguation)|Connor]], [[Connors (disambiguation)|Connors]], [[Conner (disambiguation)|Conner]], [[O'Connor (surname)|O'Connor]], etc. It is a name borne by several figures from Irish history and legend, including:

* [[Conchobar mac Nessa]], legendary king of Ulster
* [[Conchobar Abradruad]], legendary High King of Ireland of the 1st century BC
* [[Conchobar mac Donnchada]], High King of Ireland 819–833
* [[Conchobar Maenmaige Ua Conchobair]], 12th-century king of Connacht
* [[Conchobar MacDermot]], king of Moylurg 1187–1196
* Conchobur [[McCaul#The annals|Mac Cathmhail]] (died 1252) royal chief of Cenel Feradhaigh and of many territories besides
* [[Conchobar mac Tadg]], king of Connacht 967–973 and eponym of the [[Ó Conchubhair Donn|O'Conor family]]
* [[Conchobar 'Buidhe' Mág Tighearnán]] (anglicised Conor 'The Tawny' McKiernan) was chief of the McKiernan Clan of Tullyhunco, County Cavan from 1312 until 1314

==See also==
*[[List of Irish-language given names]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{given name}}

[[Category:Irish-language masculine given names]]
[[Category:Masculine given names]]

Cathbad

2025-09-10T20:35:55Z

2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: Align transcription to wiktionary

{{Short description|Mythical Irish druid}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Cathbad''' ({{IPA|sga|ˈkaθβað|link=yes}}) or '''Cathbhadh''' (modern spelling) is the chief [[druid]] in the court of King [[Conchobar mac Nessa]] in the [[Ulster Cycle]] of [[Irish Mythology]].

He features in both accounts of Conchobar's birth, in one of which he is the king's father. In the first, [[Ness (Irish mythology)|Nessa]], daughter of [[Eochaid Sálbuide]], the then king of Ulster, asks the druid what it is an auspicious time for (as he had the ability to foretell the future). Cathbad replies, "for begetting a king on a queen". There were no other men around, so Ness takes Cathbad to bed and conceives a son.<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Thomas Kinsella|last=Kinsella |first=Thomas|title=The Táin|publisher= Oxford University Press|date= 1969|page= 3}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Cathbad|encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Britannica|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.|date=2014|access-date= June 30, 2014|url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1543523/Cathbad}}</ref>

In the second version,<ref name="stokes">{{cite journal|editor-link=Whitley Stokes (scholar)|editor-first=Stokes|editor-last=Whitley|url=http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/conchobar2.html|title=Tidings of Conchobar son of Ness|journal=[[Ériu (journal)|Ériu]]|volume=2|date=1908|access-date=2014-06-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227171948/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/conchobar2.html#|archive-date=2014-12-27|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="meyer">{{cite journal|author= [[Kuno Meyer|Meyer, Kuno]] (1883-1885)|title=Anecdota from the Stowe MS |number= 992|journal=[[Revue Celtique]]|volume= 6 |pages=171–186}}</ref> Cathbad, who is a leader of a band of ''[[fianna]]'' (landless warriors) as well as a druid, attacks Ness's foster-fathers' house, killing all 12 of them. Because the culprit cannot be identified, Eochaid is powerless to do anything about it, so Ness forms her own band of 27 ''fianna'' to track him down. However, one day, when she goes off on her own to bathe, Cathbad comes upon her alone and unarmed, and demands her as his wife. She has no choice but to agree, and Cathbad rapes her.<ref>{{Citation |last=Wyatt |first=D.R. |title=Chapter Three. Slavery, Power And Gender |date=2009-01-01 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004175334.i-460.27 |work=Slaves and Warriors in Medieval Britain and Ireland, 800 -1200 |pages=173–242 |access-date=2024-01-03 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-17533-4}}</ref> However, in this version, Ness's child is the son of her lover, [[High King of Ireland|High King]] [[Fachtna Fáthach]], not Cathbad's. Ness goes into labour, and Cathbad tells her if she can manage not to give birth until the following day, her son will be a great king and have everlasting fame. Ness sits on a flagstone by the river Conchobar and the following morning gives birth. The baby falls into the river, but Cathbad lifts him out, names him Conchobar after the river, and brings him up as his own son.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Stokes |first=Whitley|author-link=Whitley Stokes (scholar)|title=Tidings of Conchobar mac Nessa|journal=[[Ériu (journal)|Ériu]] |volume= 4|date= 1910|pages= 18–38}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author= [[Kuno Meyer|Meyer, Kuno]]|title=Anecdota from the Stowe MS. No 992|journal=[[Revue Celtique]]|volume= 6|date= 1884|pages= 178–182}}</ref>

The druid was also present at the birth of [[Deirdre]] and prophesied her tragic fate, but Conchobar ignored him.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/hroi/hroiv1.htm |title=Heroic Romances of Ireland|volume= I |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=December 24, 2011}}</ref> On another occasion, the young [[Cú Chulainn]] overheard Cathbad prophesies that anyone who took arms on that day would have everlasting fame but a short life; he immediately ran to Conchobar and asked to be armed.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Celtic mythology (Ulster)}}

[[Category:Ulster Cycle]]
[[Category:Druids]]
[[Category:Characters in Táin Bó Cúailnge]]

{{Celt-myth-stub}}

Áedán mac Gabráin

2025-09-10T19:50:02Z

2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: Same as previous

{{short description|King of Dál Riata}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
[[File:Dalriada.png|right|thumb|upright|Satellite image of northern Britain and Ireland showing the approximate area of [[Dál Riata]] (shaded)]]

'''Áedán mac Gabráin''' ({{IPA|sga|ˈaːi̯ðaːn mak ˈɡaβɾaːnʲ}}; {{langx|ga|Aodhán mac Gabhráin}}), also written as '''Aedan''', was a [[king of Dál Riata]] from {{c.}} 574 until c. 609 AD. The kingdom of [[Dál Riata]] was situated in modern [[Argyll and Bute]], Scotland, and parts of [[County Antrim]], Ireland. Genealogies record that Áedán was a son of [[Gabrán mac Domangairt]].

He was a contemporary of [[Columba|Saint Columba]], and much that is recorded of his life and career comes from [[hagiography]] such as [[Adomnán of Iona]]'s ''Life of Saint Columba''. Áedán appears as a character in [[Old Irish]] and [[Middle Irish]] language works of prose and verse, some now lost.

The [[Irish annals]] record Áedán's campaigns against his neighbours, in Ireland, and in northern Britain, including expeditions to the [[Orkney]] Islands, the [[Isle of Man]], and the east coast of Scotland. As recorded by [[Bede]], Áedán was decisively defeated by [[Æthelfrith of Bernicia]] at the [[Battle of Degsastan]]. Áedán may have been deposed, or have abdicated, following this defeat. His date of death is recorded by one source as 17 April 609, in [[Kilkerran, Argyll|Kilkerran]].

==Sources==
The sources for Áedán's life include Bede's ''[[Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum]]''; [[Irish annals]], principally the ''[[Annals of Ulster]]'' and the ''[[Annals of Tigernach]]''; and Adomnán's ''Life of Saint Columba''. The ''[[Senchus fer n-Alban]]'', a census and [[genealogy]] of Dál Riata, purports to record his ancestry and that of his immediate descendants. None of these sources are contemporary. Adomnán's work was written in the very late 7th century, probably to mark the centenary of Columba's death. It incorporates elements from a lost earlier life of Columba, ''De virtutibus sancti Columbae'', by [[Cumméne Find]]. This may have been written as early as 640; neither the elements incorporated from Cumméne's work nor Adomnán's own writings can be treated as simple history. Bede's history was written 30 years after Adomnán's. The surviving Irish annals contain elements of a chronicle kept at Iona from the middle of the 7th century onwards so that these too are retrospective when dealing with Áedán's time.<ref>Hughes; Bannerman; Fraser.</ref>

The [[Rawlinson B 502]] manuscript, dated to c. 1130, contains the tale ''Gein Branduib maic Echach ocus Aedáin maic Gabráin'' (''The Birth of Brandub son of Eochu and of Aedán son of Gabrán''). In this story, Áedán is the twin brother of [[Brandub mac Echach]], a [[King of Leinster]] who belonged to the [[Uí Cheinnselaig]] kindred. Áedán is exchanged at birth for one of the twin daughters of Gabrán, born the same night so that each family might have a son. ''[[The Prophecy of Berchán]]'' also associates Áedán with [[Leinster]]. [[John Bannerman (historian)|John Bannerman]] concluded that "[t]here seems to be no basis of fact behind these traditions."<ref>Bannerman, pp. 89–90</ref> [[Francis John Byrne]] suggested that the ''Echtra'' was written by a poet at the court of [[Diarmait mac Maíl na mBó]], an 11th-century descendant of Brandub, and was written to cement an alliance between Diarmait and the Scots king [[Malcolm III of Scotland|Máel Coluim mac Donnchada]] ("Malcolm III"), who claimed to be a descendant of Áedán.<ref>Byrne, "Ireland and her neighbours", p. 897. Fraser, p. 296, notes that "the 'discovery' of a genealogical link" was a common result of an alliance.</ref> A lost Irish tale, ''Echtra Áedáin mac Gabráin'' (''The Adventures of Áedán son of Gabrán''), appears in a list of works, but its contents are unknown.<ref>MacQuarrie, p. 109. The ''Echtra Áedáin mac Gabráin'' is listed in {{cite web |url=http://volny.cz/enelen/sc.htm |title=Scéla: Catalogue of medieval Irish narratives & literary enumerations |access-date=26 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061231232352/http://www.volny.cz/enelen/sc.htm |archive-date=31 December 2006 }}</ref> Áedán is a character in the epic ''[[Scéla Cano meic Gartnáin]]'', but the events which inspired the tale appear to have taken place in the middle of the 7th century.<ref>M.O. Anderson, pp. 154–155. MacQuarrie, pp. 167–170, discusses the tale, describing it as a "pseudo-historical [[romance (heroic literature)|romance]]".</ref> He also appears in the tale ''[[Compert Mongáin]]''.<ref>Wiley, Dan M. (2004) [http://www.hastings.edu/academic/english/Kings/Compert_Mongain.html "The Cycles of the Kings: Compert Mongáin"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006233519/http://www.hastings.edu/academic/english/Kings/Compert_Mongain.html |date=6 October 2008 }} Hastings College. Retrieved 16 September 2009.</ref>

Áedán additionally appears in a variety of Welsh sources, making him one of the few non-[[Celtic Britons|Britons]] to figure in Welsh tradition.<ref name=Bromwich272>Bromwich, p. 272.</ref> Welsh sources call him ''Aedan Bradawc'', meaning "The Treacherous" or "The Wily". He may have earned this epithet after the collapse of an alliance with [[Rhydderch Hael]], king of the nearby Brittonic kingdom of [[Alt Clut]]; the enmity between them is remembered in the [[Welsh Triads]] and elsewhere.<ref name=BromwichRhydderch>Bromwich, p. 272, 494.</ref> Another Triad records Áedán's host as one of the "Three Faithful War-Bands of the Island of Britain", as they "went to the sea for their lord".<ref>Bromwich, pp. 62-65; Jones, p. 39. Though this triad, like the ''[[Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd]]'', flips father and son's names as ''Gauran map Aedan'', Bromwich p. 64 takes it as a reference to Áedán rather than his father.</ref> This may point to an otherwise lost tradition concerning one of Áedán's sea expeditions, such as to [[Orkney]] or the [[Isle of Man]].<ref>Bromwich, p. 64, 273.</ref> Additionally, several Welsh works claim a Brittonic pedigree for Áedán. The ''[[Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd]]'' records him as a descendant of [[Dyfnwal Hen]] of Alt Clut, though the genealogy is much confused (''Gauran'' is given as his son, rather than father).<ref>Bromwich, pp. 256–257</ref> The Cambro-Latin ''De Situ Brecheniauc'' and ''Cognacio Brychan'' claim his mother was Luan, daughter of [[Brychan]] of [[Brycheiniog]] in Wales.<ref name=Bromwich272/> Though these pedigrees are inconsistent and likely dubious, they are notable in highlighting Áedán's close association with the Britons.<ref>Bromwich, pp. 272–273.</ref>

==Neighbours==
Áedán was the chief king in Dál Riata, ruling over lesser tribal kings. The ''Senchus fer n-Alban'' records the sub-divisions of Dál Riata in the 7th and 8th centuries, but no record from Áedán's time survives. According to the ''Senchus'', Dál Riata was divided into three sub-kingdoms in the 7th century, each ruled by a kin group named for their [[eponym]]ous founder. These were the [[Cenél nGabráin]], named for Áedán's father, who ruled over [[Kintyre]], [[Cowal]] and [[Isle of Bute|Bute]]; the [[Cenél Loairn]] of northern Argyll; and the [[Cenél nÓengusa]] of [[Islay]]. Within these there were smaller divisions or tribes which are named by the ''Senchus''.<ref>Bannerman, pp 47–49 and 108–118; Charles-Edwards, pp. 296–297.</ref> Details of the Irish part of the kingdom are less clear.

Looking outward, Dál Riata's neighbours in north Britain were the [[Picts]] and the [[Celtic Britons|Britons]] of the ''[[Hen Ogledd]]'', the [[Brittonic languages|Brittonic]]-speaking parts of what is now [[Northern England]] and southern [[Scottish Lowlands|Lowland]] Scotland. The most powerful Brittonic kingdom in the area was [[Kingdom of Strathclyde|Alt Clut]], later known as Strathclyde and [[Cumbria]]. Late in Áedán's life, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of [[Bernicia]] became the greatest power in northern Britain.<ref>An overview of the politics of northern Britain can be found in, for example, Yorke, pp. 33–97.</ref>

In Ireland, Dál Riata formed part of [[Ulster]], ruled by [[Báetán mac Cairill]] of the [[Dál Fiatach]]. The other major grouping in Ulster consisted of the disunited tribes of the [[cruithne (people)|Cruithne]], later known as the [[Dál nAraidi]]. The most important Cruithne king in Áedán's time was [[Fiachnae mac Báetáin]]. Beyond the kingdom of Ulster, and generally hostile to it, were the various kingdoms and tribes of the [[Uí Néill]] and their subjects and allies. Of the Uí Néill kings, [[Áed mac Ainmuirech]] of the [[Cenél Conaill]], Columba's first cousin once removed, was the most important during Áedán's reign.<ref>See, for example, Byrne, ''Irish kings'', pp. 106ff.; Charles-Edwards, pp. 54–67, 293–299, & pp. 481ff.</ref>

==Reign==
[[File:Scotland Dunadd 1.jpg|right|thumb|Footprint (replica<ref>''[http://www.heraldscotland.com/revealed-carved-footprint-marking-scotland-s-birth-is-a-replica-1.827928 Revealed: carved footprint marking Scotland's birth is a replica]'', The Herald, 22 September 2007.</ref>) used in king-making ceremonies, [[Dunadd]]]]
Adomnán, the ''[[Senchus fer n-Alban]]'' and the Irish annals record Áedán as a son of [[Gabrán mac Domangairt]] (died c. 555–560). Áedán's brother Eoganán is known from Adomnán and his death is recorded c. 597.<ref>Adomnán, III, 5; Anderson, ''ESSH'', p. 118; Bannerman, p. 90.</ref> The ''Senchus'' names three other sons of Gabrán, namely Cuildach, Domnall, and Domangart.<ref>Anderson, ''ESSH'', p. cl; Bannerman, p. 48.</ref> Although nothing is known of Cuildach and Domangart or their descendants, Adomnán mentions a certain Ioan, son of Conall, son of Domnall, "who belonged to the royal lineage of the Cenél nGabráin",<ref>Adomnán, II, 22.</ref> but this is generally read as meaning that Ioan was a kinsman of the Cenél nGabráin, and his grandfather named Domnall is not thought to be the same person as Áedán's brother Domnall.<ref>Adomnán, II, 22, translator's note 258; Bannerman, p. 107.</ref>

Áedán was about forty years old when he became king, following the death of his uncle [[Conall mac Comgaill]] in 574.<ref>Bannerman, p. 81.</ref> His succession as king may have been contested; Adomnán states that Columba had favoured the candidacy of Áedán's brother Eoganán.<ref>Adomnán, III, 5.</ref> Adomnán claims that Áedán was ordained as king by Columba, the first example of an ordination known in Britain and Ireland.<ref>Adomnán, III, 5 and translator's note 358; Broun; Byrne, ''Irish kings'', p. 159; Yorke, p. 241.</ref>

In 574, following the account of Conall's death, the ''Annals of Ulster'' and the ''Annals of Tigernach'' record a battle in [[Kintyre]], called the Battle of Teloch, or Delgu. The precise location of the battle is unidentified. The annals agree that "Dúnchad, son of Conall, son of Comgall, and many others of the allies of the sons of Gabrán, fell."<ref>Bannerman, pp. 81–82; Anderson, ''ESSH'', pp. 78–79; M.O. Anderson, p. 149, suggests that Báetán mac Cairill may have been the enemy against whom the battle was fought.</ref> In 575, the ''Annals of Ulster'' report "the great convention of Druim Cett", at Mullagh or Daisy Hill near [[Limavady]], with Áed mac Ainmuirech and Columba in attendance.<ref>Anderson, ''ESSH'', p. 79. The date of Druim Cett has been disputed. Sharpe, in the editor's notes to Adomnán's ''Life'', note 204, proposes a much later date, c. 590. Sharpe is followed by Meckler ("The Annals of Ulster and the date of the meeting at Druim Cett", ''Peritia'', vol. 11, 1997) but this is challenged by Jaski ("Druim Cett revisited", ''Peritia'', vol. 12, 1998). Charles-Edwards, ''Early Christian Ireland'', p. 491, takes the meeting to have been "some years later" than 575.</ref> Adomnán reports that Áedán was present at the meeting.<ref>Adomnán, I, 48.</ref> The purpose of the meeting is not entirely certain, but one agreement made there concerned the status of Áedán's kingdom. Áedán and Áed agreed that while the fleet of Dál Riata would serve the Uí Néill, no tribute would be paid to them, and warriors would only be provided from the Dál Riata lands in Ireland.<ref>Anderson, ''ESSH'', p. 83, note 2; M.O. Anderson, pp. 148–149; Bannerman, pp. 1–2; Byrne, ''Irish kings'', p. 110.</ref>

The reason for this agreement is thought to have been the threat posed to Áedán, and also to Áed, by Báetán mac Cairill. Báetán is said to have forced the king of Dál Riata to pay homage to him at Rosnaree on [[Islandmagee]]. Áedán is thought to be the king in question, and Ulster sources say that Báetán collected tribute from Scotland.<ref>Anderson, ''ESSH'', pp.87–88; Bannerman, pp. 2–4; Byrne, ''Irish kings'', pp. 109–111; Ó Cróinín, ''Early Medieval Ireland'', pp. 50–51.</ref> Following Báetán's death in 581, the Ulstermen abandoned the Isle of Man, which they had captured in Báetán's time, perhaps driven out by Áedán who is recorded as fighting there c. 583.<ref>Anderson, ''ESSH'', p. 89; Bannerman, pp. 83–84; Ó Cróinín, pp. 50–51.</ref> Earlier, c. 580, Áedán is said to have raided Orkney, which had been subject to [[Bridei I of the Picts|Bridei son of Maelchon]], [[King of the Picts]], at an earlier date.<ref>Adomnán, II, 42, and translator's note 324; Anderson, ''ESSH'', p. 86; Bannerman, pp. 79 & 83.</ref>

Áedán's campaigns on the Isle of Man have sometimes been confused with the battle against the Miathi mentioned by Adomnán. The Miathi appear to have been the [[Maeatae]], a tribe in the area of the upper [[river Forth]]. This campaign was successful, but Áedán's sons Artúr and Eochaid Find were killed in battle according to Adomnán.<ref>Adomnán, I, 8–9 and translator's note 81; Bannerman, pp. 82–83. Bannerman, pp. 90–91, notes that Artúr is the son of Conaing, son of Áedán in the ''Senchus fer n-Alban''.</ref> This battle may have taken place c. 590 and been recorded as the Battle of Leithreid or Leithrig.<ref>Anderson, ''ESSH'', p. 94; Bannerman, pp. 84–85 and 91.</ref>

The ''[[Prophecy of Berchán]]'' says of Áedán: "Thirteen years (one after another) [he will fight against] the Pictish host (fair the diadem)." The only recorded battle between Áedán and the Picts appears to have been fought in Circinn, in 599 or after, where Áedán was defeated. The annals mention the deaths of his sons here.<ref>Bannerman, pp. 84–86.</ref> It has been suggested that this battle was confused with the "Battle of Asreth" in Circinn, fought c. 584, in which Bridei son of Maelchon was killed. This battle is described as being "fought between the Picts themselves".<ref>The Battle of Asreth is apparently misdated, appearing under 752 in the ''Annals of Tigernach''; see M.O. Anderson, pp. 30–31 & 36–37.</ref>

A number of Welsh traditions point to warfare between Áedán and King [[Rhydderch Hael]] of [[Alt Clut]], the northern Brittonic kingdom later known as Strathclyde. [[Hector Munro Chadwick]] and subsequent historians suggest Áedán was initially in a long-term alliance with Rhydderch and his predecessors, but that it eventually collapsed into conflict.<ref name=BromwichRhydderch/> Adomnán reports that Rhydderch sent a monk named Luigbe to [[Iona]] to speak with Columba "for he wanted to learn whether he would be slaughtered by his enemies or not". A [[Welsh Triad]] names Áedán's plundering of Alt Clut as one of the "three unrestrained plunderings of Britain", and the poem ''Peiryan Vaban'' tells of a battle between Áedán and Rhydderch.<ref>Adomnán, I, 15 and translator's note 89; Bannerman, pp. 88–89.</ref> The lost Irish epic ''Orgain Sratha Cluada'' is usually thought to refer to the attack on Alt Clut in 870 by [[Vikings]], but MacQuarrie suggests that it may refer to an attack by Áedán on Rhydderch.<ref>MacQuarrie, p. 109.</ref>

==Degsastan and after==
Degsastan appears not to have been the first battle between Áedán and the Bernicians. The death of his son Domangart in the land of the Saxons is mentioned by Adomnán, and it is presumed that Bran died in the same otherwise unrecorded battle.<ref>Adomnán, I, 9; Bannerman, pp. 85 and 91–92.</ref>

Of the roots of this conflict, Bede mentions only that Áedán was alarmed by Æthelfrith's advance. Wherever the Battle of Degsastan was fought, Bede saw it as lying within [[Northumbria]]. The battle was a decisive victory for Æthelfrith, and Bede says, carefully, that "[f]rom that day until the present, no king of the Irish in Britain has dared to do battle with the English." Although victorious, Æthelfrith suffered losses; Bede tells us his brother Theodbald was killed with all his following. Theodbald appears to be called Eanfrith in Irish sources, which name his killer as [[Máel Umai mac Báetáin]] of the [[Cenél nEógain]], son of High-King [[Báetán mac Ninnedo]]. The Irish poem ''[[Compert Mongáin]]'' says that the king of Ulster, Fiachnae mac Báetáin of the Dál nAraidi, aided Áedán against the Saxons, perhaps at Degsastan. The ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' mentions that [[Hering son of Hussa|Hering]], son of King [[Hussa of Bernicia]], was present, apparently fighting with Áedán.<ref>Bede, I, 34; Bannerman, pp.86–88; Byrne, ''Irish kings'', p. 111; Kirby, pp. 70–72. MacQuarrie, pp. 103–104, notes some textual inconsistencies in the Irish sources and suggests that the "Battle of the Saxons" recorded in the Irish annals may not be Bede's "Battle of Degsastan".</ref>

After the defeat of Degsastan, the annals report nothing of Áedán until his death around six years later, perhaps on 17 April 609, the date supplied by the ''[[Martyrology of Tallaght]]'', composed c. 800. The ''Annals of Tigernach'' give his age as 74.<ref>Bannerman, pp.80–81; Fraser, ''Caledonia to Pictland'', p. 141.</ref> The ''Prophecy of Berchán'' places his death in Kintyre and says "[h]e will not be king at the time of his death", while the 12th century ''Acta Sancti Lasriani'' claims that he was expelled from the kingship. [[John of Fordun]], writing in the 14th century, believed that Áedán had been buried at [[Kilkerran, Argyll|Kilkerran]] in Kintyre.<ref>Bannerman, pp. 80–81 and 86–87.</ref>

==Áedán's descendants==
Áedán was succeeded by his son, [[Eochaid Buide]]. Adomnán gives an account of Columba's prophecy that Eochaid's older brothers (listed as [[Artuir mac Áedán|Artúr]], Eochaid Find and Domangart) would predecease their father.<ref>Adomnán, I, 9.</ref> Áedán's other sons are named by the ''Senchus fer n-Alban'' as Eochaid Find, Tuathal, Bran, Baithéne, Conaing, and Gartnait.<ref>The name Conaing implies a familiarity with Anglo-Saxons and their language as it is derived from [[Old English]] ''cyning'', king; Byrne, ''Irish kings'', pp.111–112. The appearance of two sons named Eochaid is not an error, as noted by Charles-Edwards, p. 6.</ref> Adomnán also names [[Artuir mac Áedán|Artúr]], called a son of Conaing in the ''Senchus'', and Domangart, who is not included in the ''Senchus''. Domangart too may have been a grandson rather than a son of Áedán, most likely another son of Conaing. The main line of Cenél nGabráin kings were the descendants of Eochaid Buide through his son [[Domnall Brecc]], but the descendants of Conaing successfully contested for the throne throughout the 7th century and into the 8th.<ref>Adomnán, I, 9; Anderson, ''ESSH'', pp.95–96; Bannerman, pp. 47–49, 90–96 and 103.</ref>

It has been suggested that Gartnait son of Áedán could be the same person as [[Gartnait II|Gartnait son of Domelch]], king of the Picts, whose death is reported around 601, but this rests on the idea of Pictish [[matriliny]], which has been criticised. Even less certainly, it has been argued that Gartnait's successor in the Pictish king-lists, [[Nechtan nepos Uerb|Nechtan]], was his grandson, and thus Áedán's great-grandson.<ref>Anderson, ''ESSH'', pp. 121–123 and 145; Bannerman, pp. 93–94, Smyth, p.70. On Pictish matriliny in general, see Woolf. That the Pictish king Nechtan and Nechtan son of Cano are the same person is questionable: see M.O. Anderson, pp. 116 & 154; MacQuarrie, pp. 167–170.</ref>

Less is known of Áedán's daughters. Maithgemm, also recorded as Gemma, married a prince named Cairell of the Dál Fiatach. The names of Áedán's wives are not recorded, but one was said to be Brittonic, and another may have been a Pictish woman named Domelch, if indeed the Gartnait son of Domelch and Gartnait son of Áedán are one and the same.<ref>Bannerman, pp. 88–89. A daughter named Conchenn is mentioned in the medieval glosses on the Amra Columcille.</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last=Adomnán |author-link=Adomnán |title=Life of St Columba |editor-first=Richard |editor-last=Sharpe |publisher=Penguin |location=London |year=1995 |isbn=0-14-044462-9}}
* {{citation |author-link=Alan Orr Anderson |last=Anderson |first=Alan Orr |title=Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500–1286 |volume=I |year=1990 |edition=2nd |publisher=Paul Watkins |location=Stamford |isbn=1-871615-03-8}}
* {{citation |author-link=Marjorie Ogilvie Anderson |last=Anderson |first=M. O. |title=Kings and Kingship in Early Scotland |publisher=Scottish Academic Press |location=Edinburgh |edition=2nd |year=1980 |isbn=0-7011-1604-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/scottishhistoric0000dona }}
* {{citation |last=Bannerman |first=John |author-link=John Bannerman (historian) |title=Studies in the History of Dalriada |publisher=Scottish Academic Press |location=Edinburgh |year=1974 |isbn=0-7011-2040-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/studiesinhistory00john }}
* {{citation |author-link=Bede |last=Bede |title=Ecclesiastical History of the English People |translator=[[Leo Sherley-Price]] |editor-first=D. H. |editor-last=Farmer |publisher=Penguin |location=London |year=1990 |isbn=0-14-044565-X}}
*{{citation |author-link=Rachel Bromwich |last=Bromwich| first=Rachel |title=Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain |publisher=University of Wales Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-7083-1386-8}}
* {{citation |author-link=Dauvit Broun |last=Broun |first=Dauvit |contribution=Aedán mac Gabráin |editor-first=Michael |editor-last=Lynch |title=The Oxford Companion to Scottish History |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2001 |isbn=0-19-211696-7}}
* {{citation |editor-last=Ó Cróinín |editor-first=Dáibhí |title=Prehistoric and Early Ireland |volume=I |series=A New History of Ireland |author-link=Francis John Byrne |last=Byrne |first=Francis John |contribution=Ireland and her neighbours, ''c''.1014–''c''.1072 |pages=862–898 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2005 |isbn=0-19-922665-2 }}
* {{citation |last=Byrne |first=Francis John |title=Irish Kings and High-Kings |publisher=Batsford |location=London |year=1973 |isbn=0-7134-5882-8}}
* {{citation |last=Charles-Edwards |first=T. M. |title=Early Christian Ireland |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |year=2000 |isbn=0-521-36395-0}}
* {{citation |author-link=James E. Fraser (historian) |last=Fraser |first=James E. |title=From Caledonia to Pictland: Scotland to 795 |series=The New Edinburgh History of Scotland |volume=1 |year=2009 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-0-7486-1232-1}}
* {{citation |last= Jones |first= Bedwyr L. |title= Gwriad's Heritage: Links Between Wales and the Isle of Man in the Early Middle Ages |journal= Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion |pages=29–44 |year=1990 |issn= 0959-3632 }}
* {{citation |last=Ó Cróinín |first=Dáibhí |title=Early Medieval Ireland: 400–1200 |publisher=Longman |location=London |year=1995 |isbn=0-582-01565-0}}
* {{citation |last=Ó Cróinín |first=Dáibhí |author-link=Dáibhí Ó Cróinín |contribution=Ireland 400–800 |editor-last=Ó Cróinín |editor-first=Dáibhí |title=Prehistoric and Early Ireland |volume=I |series=A New History of Ireland |pages=182–234 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2005 |isbn=0-19-922665-2}}
* {{citation |last=Kirby |first=D. P. |title=The Earliest English Kings |publisher=Unwin |location=London |year=1991 |isbn=0-04-445692-1}}
* {{citation |last=MacQuarrie |first=Alan |title=The Saints of Scotland: Essays in Scottish Church History AD 450–1093 |publisher=John Donald |location=Edinburgh |year=1997 |isbn=0-85976-446-X}}
* {{citation |last=Smyth |first=Alfred P. |title=Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland AD 80–1000 |publisher=Edinburgh UP |location=Edinburgh |year=1984 |isbn=0-7486-0100-7}}
* {{citation |doi=10.3366/inr.1998.49.2.147 |author-link=Alex Woolf |last=Woolf |first=Alex |title=Pictish matriliny reconsidered |journal=The Innes Review |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=147–167 |year=1998 |issn=0020-157X}}
* {{citation |author-link=Barbara Yorke |last=Yorke |first=Barbara |title=The Conversion of Britain: Religion, Politics and Society in Britain, c.600–800 |publisher=Longman |location=London |year=2006 |isbn=0-582-77292-3}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://celt.ucc.ie/index.html CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts] at [[University College Cork]] includes: the ''Gein Branduib maic Echach ocus Aedáin maic Gabráin'', the ''Scéla Cano meic Gartnáin'', and Irish annals, some with translations
* [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/mongan.html Compert Mongán] translated by Mary Jones.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110605131122/http://www.mun.ca/mst/heroicage/issues/1/haaad.htm Artúr mac Aedan of Dalriada] by Michelle Ziegler, [http://members.aol.com/heroicage1/homepage.html The Heroic Age] Issue 1, Spring/Summer 1999
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070315063503/http://volny.cz/enelen/index.htm Scéla] – a catalogue of medieval Irish narratives

{{s-start}}
{{succession box |
before=[[Conall mac Comgaill]]|
title=[[King of Dál Riata]]|
after=[[Eochaid Buide]]|
years=574–c. 608|
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Kings of Dál Riata}}
{{featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aedan mac Gabrain}}
[[Category:6th-century births]]
[[Category:600s deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Year of death uncertain]]
[[Category:Kings of Dál Riata]]
[[Category:Cycles of the Kings]]
[[Category:7th-century Scottish monarchs]]
[[Category:7th-century Irish monarchs]]
[[Category:6th-century Irish monarchs]]
[[Category:6th-century Scottish monarchs]]

Aengus

2025-09-10T19:49:13Z

2001:BB6:B817:800:D84:E090:4383:C5A3: /* Name */Align Old Irish transcription to wiktionary

{{short description|Irish god of youth, love, and poetic inspiration}}
{{for|the given names Aonghas, Aengus|Angus (given name)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Irish
| name = Aengus
| image =Heroes of the dawn (1914) (14566173909).jpg
| caption = Aengus, illustration by [[Beatrice Elvery]] in Violet Russell's ''Heroes of the Dawn'' (1914)
| member_of = the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]]
| abodes = [[Brú na Bóinne]]
| weapons = {{hlist|Moralltach| Beagalltach| Gáe Buide| Gáe Derg }}
| animals = [[Swan]]
| parents = {{hlist| [[Dagda]]| [[Boann]]| [[Midir]] (foster-father) }}
| siblings = [[Cermait|Oghma an Cermait]] (brother)
| consorts = {{hlist| [[Étaín]]| [[Caer Ibormeith]] }}
| children = [[Diarmuid Ua Duibhne]] (foster-son)
}}

In [[Irish mythology]], '''Aengus''' or '''Óengus''' is one of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] and probably originally a god associated with youth, love,<ref name="mythlegendromance">Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice-Hall Press, 1991. pp.38–40</ref> summer and poetic inspiration. The son of [[The Dagda]] and [[Boann]], Aengus is also known as '''Macan Óc''' ("the young boy" or "young son"), and corresponds to the [[Welsh mythology|Welsh]] mythical figure [[Mabon ap Modron|Mabon]] and the Celtic god [[Maponos]].<ref name="mythlegendromance"/> He plays a central role in five Irish myths.

==Name==
In [[Old Irish]] his name is ''Óengus'' or ''Oíngus'' {{IPA|sga|ˈoːi̯ŋɡus|}}, a name attested in [[Adomnán]]'s ''Life of St Columba'' as ''Oinogus(s)ius''.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Adamnan|editor1-last=Reeves|editor1-first=William|title=Life of Saint Columba, Founder of Hy|date=1874|publisher=Edmonston and Douglas|location=Edinburgh|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_8VULAAAAYAAJ/page/n307 123]|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_8VULAAAAYAAJ|access-date=18 January 2018}}</ref> This is believed to come from a [[Proto-Celtic]] name meaning "true vigour".<ref name="mythlegendromance"/> The medieval ''[[Dindsenchas]]'' derives it from "one desire", explaining that Boann gave him the name because her union with the Dagda had been her only desire.<ref name="Boand_II">{{cite web |last1=Stokes |first1=Whitley |title=The Metrical Dindsenchas: Boand II |url=https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T106500C.html |website=Corpus of Electronic Texts |publisher=University College, Cork |access-date=3 August 2019}}</ref> In Middle Irish this became ''Áengus'', and in [[Irish language|Modern Irish]] ''Aonghus'' {{IPA|ga|ˈeːnˠəsˠ|}}, {{IPA|ga|ˈn̪ˠiːsˠ|}}.

He is also known as ''Óengus Óc''/''Aengus Óg'' ("Aengus the young"), ''Mac ind Óc'' ("son of the young"), ''Maccan''/''Macán'', or ''Mac Óc/Mac Óg'' ("young son").<ref name="mythlegendromance"/>

According to Celticists [[John T. Koch]] and [[Kenneth H. Jackson]], ''Aengus'' is also cognate to the [[Pictish language|Pictish]] ''Onuist''/''Unuist'' and [[Old Welsh]] ''Unust''.<ref>''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. Ed. John T. Koch. Santa Barbara and Oxford: ABC-CLIO. 2006. pp. 1389, 1444, 1657. {{ISBN|185-1094407}}.</ref><ref>Calise, J. M. P. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=iAa6JoLgFRwC&dq=%22onuist%22+oengus&pg=PA246 Pictish Sourcebook: Documents of Medieval Legend and Dark Age History]''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. p. 246. {{ISBN|9780313322952}}.</ref>

==Family==
Aengus' parents were [[The Dagda]] and [[Boann]], and his foster-father was variously [[Elcmar]] or [[Midir]].<ref>[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/etain.html The Wooing of Etain] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150307235133/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/etain.html |date=2015-03-07 }} The Celtic Literature Collective</ref><ref name="mythlegendromance"/><ref name=Fermoy /> He was said to have lived at [[Newgrange]] by the [[River Boyne]], where he raised Manannán's blonde-haired daughter Curcog as his foster.<ref name="mythlegendromance"/><ref name=Fermoy /> In the folklore of [[Scotland]], Aengus is the husband of [[Brigid]] and son of [[Cailleach|Beira, the Fairy Queen of Winter]].<ref name="Mackenzie">{{cite book |last1=Mackenzie |first1=Donald Alexander |title=Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend |date=1917 |publisher=Frederick A. Stokes Co. |location=New York, NY |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/tsm/tsm05.htm |access-date=30 August 2020}}</ref> His siblings include [[Aed (god)|Aed]], [[Cermait]], [[Bodb Derg]], and [[Brigid]]. Aengus is the foster-father and protector of [[Diarmuid Ua Duibhne]] of the [[Fianna]]. He rescues Diarmuid and [[Gráinne]] during their pursuit by the Fianna; after Diarmuid's death, Aengus takes his body back to the Brú na Bóinne where he breathes life into it when he wishes to speak with Diarmuid. According to ''Death Tales of the Tuatha de Danann'', Aengus kills his stepfather Elcmar in retaliation for killing Midir. Aengus has a son named Nemhannach who is mentioned in the [[Cath Finntrágha|Battle of Ventry]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Meyer|first=Kuno|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J-wNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1|title=Cath Finntraga|date=1885|publisher=AMS Press|isbn=978-0-404-63954-9|language=en}}</ref>

==Physical description==
In a late folktale recorded in Scotland, the following physical description is provided:
<blockquote>"Then Angus mounted his white steed and rode eastward...He was clad in raiment of shining gold, and from his shoulders hung his royal robe of crimson which the wind uplifted and spread out in gleaming splendour athwart the sky."</blockquote>

Then a bard composed the following song about Angus:
<blockquote><poem>
Angus hath come - the young the fair,
The blue-eyed god with golden hair,
The god who to the world doth bring,
This morn the promise of the spring.<ref name="Mackenzie" />
</poem></blockquote>

In Irish myths, Aengus is variously described in the following terms:
* expert in arms<ref name=Fermoy>[http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/fosterage.html ''The Book of Fermoy'' "The Fosterage of the House of the Two Pails"]</ref>
* horseman<ref name=Fermoy />
* sailor<ref name=Fermoy />
* son of the Dagda<ref name=Fermoy />
* of the many exploits<ref name="Tuag">{{cite web |last1=Gwynn |first1=Edward |title=The Metrical Dindsenchas: Tuag Inber |url=https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T106500D.html |website=Corpus of Electronic Texts |publisher=University College Cork |access-date=3 August 2019}}</ref>
* of the battle squadrons (along with Aed and Cermait)<ref>[https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T106500D.html “Ailech III”]</ref>
* red armed<ref>[https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T106500D.html “Brefne”]</ref>
* mighty and stern<ref name=Tuag />

==Mythology==
===Irish mythology===
[[File:Newgrange, Ireland 001.jpg|thumb|The entrance of [[Newgrange]]]]
[[The Dagda]] has an affair with [[Boann]], the goddess of the River Boyne. She lives at [[Newgrange|Brú na Bóinne]] with her husband [[Elcmar]]. The Dagda impregnates her after sending Elcmar away on a one-day errand. To hide the pregnancy from Elcmar, the Dagda casts a spell on him, making "the sun stand still" so he will not notice the passing of time. Meanwhile, Boann gives birth to Aengus. Eventually, Aengus learns that the Dagda is his true father and asks him for a portion of land. In some versions of the tale—probably the original, from ''[[The Wooing of Etain]]''—the Dagda helps Aengus take ownership of the Brú from Elcmar. Aengus asks and is given the Brú for ''láa ocus aidche''; because in Old Irish this could mean either "a day and a night" or "day and night", Aengus claims it forever. Other versions have Aengus taking over the Brú from the Dagda himself by using the same trick. The Brú is then named ''Brug maic ind Óig'' after him.<ref>Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p.39</ref><ref name="Hensey">Hensey, Robert. Re-discovering the winter solstice alignment at Newgrange, in ''The Oxford Handbook of Light in Archaeology''. Oxford University Press, 2017. pp.11-13</ref> In ''The Wooing of Etain'' version, [[Midir]] is Aengus's foster-father.<ref>[http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T300012/index.html The Wooing of Étaíne] CELT: The Corpus of Electronic Texts</ref>

It has been suggested that this tale represents the [[winter solstice]] illumination of Newgrange at Brú na Bóinne, during which the sunbeam (the Dagda) enters the inner chamber (the womb of Boann) when the [[Sun path|sun's path]] stands still. The word ''solstice'' (Irish ''grianstad'') means sun-standstill. The conception of Aengus may represent the 'rebirth' of the sun at the winter solstice, him taking over the Brú from an older god representing the growing sun taking over from the waning sun.<ref name="Hensey"/><ref>Anthony Murphy and Richard Moore. "Chapter 8, Newgrange: Womb of the Moon", ''Island of the Setting Sun: In Search of Ireland's Ancient Astronomers''. Liffey Press, 2008. pp.160-172</ref> [[Dáithí Ó hÓgáin]] suggested the tale probably dramatizes the idea "that the blooming of youth denies the process of aging - at the youthful stage of life time passes slowly and vitality seems to be permanent".<ref name="mythlegendromance"/>

In ''The Fosterage of the House of the Two Pails'', a similar story is related in which [[Manannán mac Lir]], called the High King over all the Tuath Dé, convinces Aengus to cast a spell by reciting a poem called "Luck and Prosperity" to his foster-father Elcmar. The spell forces Elcmar from the Brú until "ogham and pillar, heaven and earth, and the sun and the moon have been blended together". Elcmar then tells Aengus that he would have given him the Brú if he had but asked, but due to Manannán's incantation, he and his people will face woe and madness for the rest of their days. In this telling of the story, Aengus expresses remorse for banishing Elcmar and his people.<ref name=Fermoy />

Aengus kills [[Lugh|Lugh Lámhfhada]]'s poet for lying about his brother [[Cermait|Ogma an Cermait]]. The poet claims that Ogma an Cermait had an affair with one of Lugh's wives.

In ''[[The Wooing of Etain]]'', Aengus is able to partially lift a spell against [[Étaín]], the horse goddess he won for his brother Midir. In a jealous rage, Midir's wife [[Fuamnach]] turns Étaín into a beautiful fly. Returning Étaín into her human form at night, Aengus makes her his lover until Fuamnach discovers the secret and drives Étaín away. Aengus kills his foster mother for her treachery.

In another tale Aengus falls in love with a girl he sees in his dreams. His mother, Boann, goddess of the River Boyne, and a cow goddess whose milk formed the Milky Way (Bealach na Bó Finne, or the White Cow's Way in Irish), searches Ireland for a year, then his father, the Dagda, does the same. Finally, King [[Bodb Derg]] of [[Munster]] finds her after a further year.<ref name=MJ-Oengus>[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/oengus.html The Dream of Oengus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131124041701/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/oengus.html |date=2013-11-24 }} The Celtic Literature Collective</ref>

Aengus visits the lake of the Dragon's Mouth and finds 150 girls chained in pairs, including [[Caer Ibormeith]], the girl from his dreams, among them. Every second [[Samhain]], Caer and the other girls transform into [[swan]]s for a year. Aengus is told he can marry Caer if he can identify her in swan form. Aengus turns himself into a swan and they fly away, singing beautiful music that puts all who listen to sleep for three days and nights.<ref name=MJ-Oengus />

In other legends Aengus is able to repair broken bodies and return them to life.{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}

Similarities have been observed between Aengus and the Greek god [[Hermes]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sergent |first1=Bernard |title=Celto-Hemlenica VI: Hermès et Aengus |journal=Bibliothèque des cahiers de l'institut de linguistique de Louvain |date=1994 |volume=73 |page=185 |isbn=9789068315868 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YblCNVg8avgC&q=%C3%93engus&pg=PA185 |access-date=3 August 2019}}</ref>

===Scottish folklore===
In the folklore of Scotland, Angus is the fairest son of the Beira (the [[Cailleach]]), who rules over Winter. Aengus remains in [[Tír na nÓg]] all winter until he has a dream of [[Brigid]] that compels him to search the land for her. Brigid was held in captivity by the Fairy Queen who envied her beauty and forced Brigid to complete impossible chores. Angus finally leaves Tír na nÓg on his white steed by borrowing three days from August in order to search for Brigid. After searching everywhere, he eventually finds Brigid in Beira's underground palace just as Spring is beginning; when they meet on the [[imbolc|first day of spring]], flowers begin to blossom and grass grows, and Brigid's shabby clothing is transformed into white robes with silver spangles, and her hair is garlanded with spring and summer flowers. Angus marries Brigid in a wedding feast, which is disrupted by Beira, who chases them off with storm clouds on her black steed. Eventually Beira grows old and weak and has to return to the Well of Youth for rejuvenation, where she again falls asleep, and Angus and Bride become the King and Queen of summer.<ref name="Mackenzie" />

In another folktale, it is related that Beira's son Angus contradicts all of his mother's orders in an effort to become King of the Universe. Angus is "weak minded and light headed," and in punishment Beira traps her son in the rocks, where he is forced to repeat the words of others (i.e. echo).<ref name="Mackenzie2">{{cite book |last1=Mackenzie |first1=Donald Alexander |title=Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend |date=1917 |publisher=Frederick A. Stokes Co. |location=New York, NY |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/tsm/tsm08.htm |access-date=30 August 2020}}</ref>

===Possessions===
Aengus owns a sword named Moralltach, the Great Fury, given to him by [[Manannan mac Lir]]. This he gave to his foster-son [[Diarmuid Ua Duibhne]], along with a sword named Beagalltach, the Little Fury, and two spears of great power, Gáe Buide and Gáe Derg.

In Scottish folklore Aengus possesses a golden [[harp]] with silver strings, and when he plays it maidens and youths follow the music through the woods. He also kisses lovers, and when the lovers part, the kisses become invisible [[songbird|birds]] that follow the lovers home singing love songs and whispering memories in their ears.<ref name="Mackenzie" /> Similarly, in the [[Dindsenchas]], Aengus shapes his kisses into four birds that followed [[Ogma|Cairbre]] to mock him each day before sunrise. This mockery continues until Cairbre's druid enchants a tree from Fid Frosmuine with song, which causes the tree to grow high above all others and detain Aengus' birds.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stokes |first1=Whitley |title=Hirarus |journal=Revue Celtique |date=1895 |volume=16 |page=68 |url=https://archive.org/stream/revueceltique16pari#page/68/mode/1up |access-date=3 August 2019}}</ref>

In some legends, Aengus possesses a white horse, which he rides from the Land of Promise during the Spring.<ref name="Mackenzie" /> In the Dindsenchas, a tale called "Tuag Inber" is relayed in which Aengus provides Eochu and Ablend a swift horse while they are encamped with their cattle. He tells them to unbridle the horse in a meadow before it "sheds its water" and causes their deaths; Eochu and Ablend forget to unharness the horse, and it forms a well, around which Eochu builds confinement.<ref name=Tuag /> The poem of Loch Ri is nearly identical to "Tuag Inber," except the character names differ and Aengus is replaced by [[Midir]].<ref>[https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T106500C/text084.html ''The Metrical Dindsenchas'': "Loch Ri," Poem 84]</ref>

==Modern depictions==
{{main|Irish mythology in popular culture}}
* Aengus appears in the Irish poet [[William Butler Yeats]]'s poem "[[The Song of Wandering Aengus]]",<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/146/9.html The Song of Wandering Aengus], Bartleby.com; [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55687/the-song-of-wandering-aengus "Source: The Wind Among the Reeds (1899)"], poetry foundation.org.</ref> which describes Aengus's endless search for his lover.
* Aengus Og appears in [[James Stephens (author)|James Stephens']] novel ''[[The Crock of Gold (novel)|The Crock of Gold]]'',<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1605/1605-h/1605-h.htm ''The Crock of Gold'']</ref> where his aid is solicited by the Philosopher.
* In the ''[[Copper (TV series)|Copper]]'' episode "Husbands and Fathers", Corcoran tells O'Brien to take Annie upstairs and tell her a story. O'Brien says to Annie, "I shall tell you about the Dream of Aengus and the Wooing of Etain."
* Aengus and his father the Dagda appear in [[Kate Thompson (author)|Kate Thompson]]'s young adult novel ''[[The New Policeman]]''. Aengus acts as the protagonist's guide to [[Tír na nÓg]] and helps him restore it to its timeless state.
* Aengus is the primary antagonist of ''[[Hounded (novel)|Hounded]]'', Book 1 of ''[[The Iron Druid Chronicles]]''.
* Aengus makes a brief appearance leading his father's funeral in [[Hellboy: The Wild Hunt]]. Although Angus himself never speaks, his father Dagda is a frequent character in other [[Hellboy]] stories.
* The name of Aengus appears also in the song of [[Johnny Flynn (musician)|Johnny Flynn]] "Wandering Aengus" from album "Sillion" (2017).
* Aengus appears in season four of ScyFy's "[[The Magicians (American TV series)|The Magicians]] " television show, though he is portrayed as a puzzle-loving trickster god.
* Aengus as Maccan appears as a villain in three novels in the [[Outlanders (book series)]] written by [[Mark Ellis (American author)|Mark Ellis]] under the pen-name of James Axler.

==Texts==
*''[http://www.ucd.ie/tlh/text/pk.tlh.002.text.html Aislingi Oengusai]'' original text from [[Egerton 1782]] at [http://www.ucd.ie/tlh Thesaurus Linguae Hibernicae].
* ''Tochmarc Étaíne'': [https://web.archive.org/web/20150307235133/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/etain.html The Wooing of Étaín]
* ''De Gabáil in t-Sída'': The Taking of the Fairy Mound
* ''Aisling Óenguso'': [https://web.archive.org/web/20131124041701/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/oengus.html The Dream of Óengus]
* ''[[The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne|Tóraigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne]]'': [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/diarmuid.html The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne]
* ''Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and legend'': [https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/tsm/tsm05.htm The Coming of Angus and Bride]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.faerie-world.org/tales/aengus.html A mythological view of Aengus, the poet god of love, romance, and meaning]

{{Celtic mythology (Mythological)}}
{{Celtic mythology (Fenian)}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Arts gods]]
[[Category:Irish gods]]
[[Category:Love and lust gods]]
[[Category:Tuatha Dé Danann]]