Irish and Celtic Mythology

Borsje, J., A. Dooley, S. Mac Mathuna and G. Toner (eds. with editorial assistance by N. McGuire, N. Mac Cathmhaoil and T. Oudesluijs). 2014. Celtic Cosmology: Perspectives from Ireland and Scotland (Papers in Medieval Studies 26), Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies.

The following is an exploration into the structure of the Monist theology and cosmological philosophy of the ancient Celtic Druids, focusing especially on the four lines attributed to the Four Masters. Again, for this endeavor, is the need to gather the Celtic material and compare it to the related Indo-European data. Whilst the focus on the foundational mythological theme of the four primordial master poet teachers found in the many Indo-European traditions comparable to those of the Celts. Much of the material gathered here consists mainly of French documents and letters which I had collected over the decades and which needed a translation. The main sources for this study consist of Celtic scholars which I was in contact with. These were the distinguished linguist Joseph Monard, and Serj Pinault, artist and contributing author of Ialon-Clairière, the Celtic and druidical studies bulletin based in Britany, France.

V práci chci formulovat novou metodu výkladu mýtu, která vychází z terapeutických metod, které Jung popsal a využíval. Sepsáním následující práce se také pokusím o závan čerstvého vzduchu mezi tradiční interpretační východiska, vnesení nového dynamického postupu mezi proudy, které už pár let provází stagnace. Zvykli jsme si mýty vykládat jako něco mrtvého, často jsou pro nás jen součástí zaniklých náboženských tradic. Stále zapomínáme na to, že jsme to "my a příběh ", co při interpretaci mýtu předkládáme dalším čtenářům. V následujícím textu budu studovat mýtus jako samostatnou živou substanci, jejíž prvky se obměňují a neustále k nám ve svých proměnách pronikají nejen v příbězích. Představená metoda bude záhy aplikována na text mýtu Tochmarc Étaíne.

Предметом настоящей работы является прагматика поздних включений Туата Де Дананн в парафольклорный нарратив, в частности в работах Михола О’Клири (Mícheál Ó Cléirigh) и Джеффри Китинга (Seathrún Céitinn). Будучи созданы примерно в одно и то же время и в рамках общего тренда на ревизию и фиксацию традиционного исторического знания, рассматриваемые в рамках данного исследования их тексты – новая редакция псевдоисторического трактата «Книга захватов Ирландии», созданная О’Клири, и «Основы знаний об Ирландии» Китинга – придерживаются эвгемеристической позиции, представляя Туата Де Дананн не как божеств, а как людей из плоти и крови. Однако личный бэкграунд авторов и различные цели, которые они преследовали в своей работе, обусловили разную реализацию схожей эвгемеристической риторики.
В рамках нижеследующей работы мы предполагаем рассмотреть изложение сюжета о захвате Ирландии Туата Де Дананн у Китинга и О’Клири в контексте социокультурной конъюнктуры первой половины XVII в., а также в контексте предшествовавшей созданию рассматриваемых текстов древне- и среднеирландской традиции.

The definition of gessa as reflected in scholarly works has, as would be expected, clearly evolved over time.  With the refinement of academic methodologies, our understanding of both the literary and social role and meaning of gessa have naturally become more complex, deep, and rich.  Whereas initial definitions merely captured the basic notion, scope, and impact of this multifaceted meme, later scholars explored the societal context and attempted to infer some insights as to what gessa might be telling us about roles and expectations.  This paper will follow this evolution and will explore the most recent concept of gessa in depth, and will propose a slight further development of the social meaning of gessa.  However, it is also observed that the actual relative scarcity of references to gessa, tabus, injunctions, etc., in the archival texts stands in contrast to what might be supposed were one to only rely upon the broad references and characterizations of leading scholars on the topic.  Thus, I conducted a close reading of the scores of narratives of the Ulster Cycle in order to establish a catalog of any incident which might be interpreted to be a geis, essentially establishing, by way of description and characterization, an actual taxonomy which can be analyzed to realize some interesting conclusions.

University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee Center for Celtic Studies Samhain Celebration Invited Lecture, October 31, 2004

In this public talk, I describe the most common Breton legends, which are rarely written in English. French books on Breton myths are filled with stories of the Atlantis-like sunken city of Kêr-Is, the Breton fairies known as Korrigans, and the Grim Reaper-like Ankoù. Added to these is a less well-known and very interesting- but not spooky- syncretized Breton folk character, Sant-Korneli. Here I discuss each of these realms of Breton folklore, while contrasting them with similar tales from other Celtic Nations.

This paper has as its terminal focus two Irishmen of the late 19th and early 20th centuries; namely, Standish O’Grady and Patrick Pearse.  Standish O’Grady, an Anglo-Irish Unionist, reintroduced and popularized the pre-Christian myths of the island.  Patrick Pearse built upon the foundation laid by O’Grady via his use of the Cuchulainn myths as both pedagogy and revolutionary ideology.  In the process of examining how O’Grady popularized, and the how Pearse politicized, Irish mythology, we will compare specific examples from their writings to the original transcriptions in order to demonstrate the intent of their editorial efforts.

In Ireland the subject of sovereignty is a complex one, tied to both the power of an area's Goddess to confer the right to rule and more subtly with horses as symbols of strength and potency. The horse was intrinsically linked to kingship and horse Goddesses seem almost invariably to be Goddesses of sovereignty as well. Both of these connections are present in the Irish Goddess Macha, who is associated with horses, and who is also a deity who gives or takes sovereignty as can be seen in her various myths. Macha is not a simple deity and to understand her one must peel back the layers of her various stories and look not only at each story alone but how each relates to the others. The picture that forms then is one of a complex deity who controls the sovereignty of her eponymous territory by blessing with abundance or by destroying with war, and her symbol which itself represents these same things is the horse.

Different cultures have different conceptions of fate but share parallel metaphors for this phenomenon in the personified forms of goddesses (and mythic women) and the non-personified forms of cloth and thread. This study proposes that such common fate- metaphors are archetypal.

The archetypal expressions of fate examined in this dissertation include crafters, wielders, and agents of fate—the Weaver, the Foreteller, and the Summoner—as well as material channels of fate, the Thread and the Cloth.

The archetypal Weaver is the maker of opportunity. She spins, plies, or weaves fate and sometimes does other textile-related work that closely involves fate—like the Morrigan washing the garments of those doomed to die in battle. The Weaver archetype has two aspects: one weaves harmony, and the other weaves discord.

The archetypal Foreteller speaks fate before it comes to pass. She stitches an interwoven image (the foretold phenomenon) into the fabric of life by providing the “vocal woof” to the warp threads of fate.

The archetypal Summoner draws someone toward her allotted fate, at times pulling on the thread of fate itself. Summoners regularly take the shape of personal gods, guides (psychopomps), or spirit doubles, but they are not always on such intimate terms with those they summon. The perilous Sirens, for example, summon anyone who chances to hear them. Summoners often appear in myth as shape-shifters.

The archetypal Thread essentially connects and represents the most potently fundamental and transformative experiences known to the human condition: birth, death, life, and love. The goddesses of fate craft each fate-thread, usually near the time of birth or conception.

The archetypal Cloth symbolizes a complex, creative, and harmonious interweaving of many strands into a single, unified whole—an important metaphor for the fate of individuals, families, and society. Throughout history women have been the primary (often the only) makers of cloth—which is associated with fortune of every kind—thus the Cloth archetype and the fateful power of the Feminine are inextricably bound.

KEYWORDS: comparative mythology, archetypal psychology, feminist literary criticism, Irish mythology, Táin Bó Cúailnge, Fedelm, Freyja, seiðr, Darraðarljóð, wool-work

The paper is the first of a series of articles that examine various aspects of Brigid in her role as a pagan goddess and as a Christian saint. As a goddess, Brigid plays a role in the ancient mythological tales and was a Spring goddess in the pagan Irish pantheon. She continues to play a role in Irish folk traditions and folk practices. The version of Brigid that represents her as a Christian saint continues to have relevance for Irish Christians.

The paper assesses the importance of local geology as an inspiration to the mythology and folklore of County Sligo, Ireland. The contribution of artists Gabriel Beranger and Angelo Maria Bigari; and historians Rev. William Henry and Archdeacon Terence O’Rorke, in raising the monumental and historical profile of the county is discussed. The work during the early 19th century of the officers of the Ordnance Survey (George Petrie, John O’Donovan, Thomas O’Connor and Patrick O’Keefe) in documenting and interpreting Sligo’s ancient monuments is assessed as is the contribution of local collector Roger Chambers Walker. The contribution to the development of scientific archaeology by Sligo antiquarian William Gregory Wood-Martin and his collaborator the artist and scholar William Frederick Wakeman, is noted as is the iconic role of the mythic battle of Moytura in their research and fieldwork. The overall contribution of the mythology, folklore and archaeology of Sligo to the Irish Literary revival, especially under William Butler Yeats and Lady Gregory is discussed.

Celtic mythology has played vital roles in the re-establishment of identity for the people of the Republic of Ireland after the British monarch withdrew in 1921. The Republic of Ireland is looking to its epics and mythology to aid in development of a post-colonial identity.

Throughout history, the Druids have always been seen as sorcerers who had a strong bond with nature. Ancestral knowledge holders within Celtic society, directed all religious activity as the highest authority linked to the gods, practiced human sacrifices and festivals organized as Imbolc, Beltaine, Lugnasad or Samain, etc.. all aspects of which are discussed in this article.

The present study arose from a decision to erect a wind turbine on the hill of Knock Iveagh, Co. Down, a place that is believed to have ancient ritual associations. In order to assess the likely importance of the hill, the study looked into the archaeology, history, mythology and folklore of Knock Iveagh as well as the interrelatedness of the hill with the wider physical and cultural landscape; including other sites and monuments in the region and further afield.

published August 1, 2015 in Air n-Aithesc vol. II, issue II, August 2015 available at http://ciannai2.wix.com/air-n-aithesc
  An in-depth look at each appearance of the Morrigan in the Cath Maige Tuired, including new translations from the original text. The Morrigan's role as a key inciter of the battle is explored as well as her use of battle magic and prophecy.

The axe-wielding and / or beast-headed human figures in Pictish sculpture-such as the Rhynie Man or the axe-brandishing centaur and men locked in combat on the Glamis Manse stone-continue to fascinate audiences, but their original significance is only now being recognised. Axe-or club-brandishing figures on Class I monuments share notable connections with those on Pictish Christian sculpture, suggesting that they had a long-lasting significance in Pictish culture. The placement of these unusual weapon-wielding figures on cross-slabs share marked similarities with artistic representations of pre-Christian deities in neighbouring cultures, particularly with the mixed pagan and Christian iconography of Scandinavian sculpture in Britain and the Isle of Man. Such comparative material suggests that these figures in Pictish sculpture represent pagan Pictish gods.

Recent research into the representation of pre-Christian mythology in early medieval sculpture, the identification of a pagan Pictish motif, and new archaeological discoveries suggest novel ways of interpreting and understanding these figures and their chronology. On Pictish cross-slabs and sculptured panels, such figures are usually not found in isolation, but instead form part of a carefully planned artistic programme, incorporating multiple deities or otherworldly beings from what was clearly a well-known narrative in pre-Christian Pictish religion. The frequent association of this iconographic narrative with a cross, in comparison with the assimilated pagan and Christian iconography and literature of neighbouring cultures, may indicate that this visual narrative represents the pre-Christian Pictish tradition of the apocalypse.

Analysis of the similar iconography on cross-slabs and panels that portray these figures thus indicates that a narrative sequence from pre-Christian Pictish religion has been assimilated into a new Christian context, and that the Picts, like the Scandinavian settlers, had an artistic culture that looked for parallels between pagan and Christian iconography, and used these parallels in meaningful combinations.

15th January 2020

This article finds parallels in Welsh and Irish sources to Norse stories of Odin's search for wisdom; the interrelationship of the stories is such that a common origin appears to be more likely than later borrowing, but continuing cultural contact may also have been a factor.

The work introduces Sadhbh as a sovereignty and ancestral deity associated mainly with the provence of Munster, in Ireland. She continued to be an important icon for the Gaelic poets of Munster following the seventeenth century and was adopted as a patroness by agrarian organistions such as the Whiteboys and Rockites during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The paper introduces Goibniu, the ancient Irish God of Smithcraft and related versions of the smith god found in other Indo-European cultures. Later legendary avatars are also referred to  such as The Gobán Saor, a popular figure about whom numerous tales were told throughout Ireland and Scotland during medieval and later times. Another avatar of Goibniu - the enchanted smith, Lon mac Liomtha – also features widely in Scottish and Irish tradition.

In ancient belief the "Divine Twins" were protective deities, known by various names, whose primary role was to guard the sun on it perilous diurnal journey through the heavens and the underworld. An account of these is provided from various sources. It is proposed that the Irish version of the "Divine Twins" is to be found in the deities Manannán Mac Lir and Donn..

Enter the wondrous world of the Selkie!

According to Celtic legend, a selkie is a seal underwater and a woman on land. Sometimes she emerges from the ocean, shedding her white selkie-coat to dance on the sand in moonlight. In the liminal space of the shore, she is vulnerable to capture by a man, and she may become a man’s wife and the mother of children. In Song of the Selkie, the Selkie voices her experience of being caught between two worlds: the sea and the land. Other voices join in her song: a Lighthouse-Keeper, the spirit of Ruth, and even a baby.

Through these poems, readers can enjoy the extraordinary magic of selkie stories, and—through their retelling—gain insight into experiences of love and loss, fear and choice, hope and redemption.

An analysis of the dindshenchas tales was carried out, focusing on those tales that mentioned or seemed to take place at the time of one of the four seasonal/cross-quarter festivals.  Curiously, the first two of the festivals—Imbolc/Oimelg and Beltaine—were not mentioned, except in one instance.  And the tales of the other two almost all featured deaths.  At Lughnasa, the deaths were almost always of a female and usually as a result of sorrow or shame, while at Samhain they were the violent deaths of warriors.  Another observation was that the Lughnasa sites all fell within or near a triangle formed by the three royal sites of Emain Macha, Dún Ailinne, and Crúachan.

Notes to the second edition.

This work has remained popular since it was first published in 2011, and so a decision was made to update and improve it. This current edition has been re-edited, and re-formatted, correcting the typography and layout.
      Extra discussions, analysis and research have been included to reflect and reference works published in the intervening years since 2011. Some large expansion and discussion to the text occurs in the chapters dealing with the material in the Lebor Bretnach, Ballymote version, concerning the ‘Miracles of Cairnech’, including more background material on Cairnech himself, and in the chapter on Aided Muirchertaig Meic Erca where further discussions on the threefold death and dating of the work occur.
      A major improvement is in the addition of the Irish language texts of both the above stories which are laid alongside the translations. This has meant that those translations have been improved, corrected and missing parts restored. Minor additions, editing  and corrections occur in all the other chapters.
    Also included is a map of Ireland and extra images to supplement the work. This edition therefore contains nearly fifty extra pages compared to the first edition, with reference to several more academic works, and a brand-new cover design.
    Were the legends of King Arthur influenced by the Irish tales of the hero Mac Erca? After four years of research and the translation of ancient Irish manuscripts, the forgotten story of the Irish Arthur can now be introduced and revealed for the first time in hundreds of years. From long forgotten manuscripts this book has pieced together a tale that will astound those seeking further research on the origins of King Arthur. Most of this material has never been seen or read before, with much of it newly translated into English for the first time, both narrative prose and ancient poetry.

This article uncovers the origins of one of the major famous and important literary motif in Welsh literature - Blodeuwedd. It describes its journey from Mesopotamia to Wales through the ages accompanied by its Christian devaluation and modern revival. In the last decades, this Welsh motif has become a successful literary Welsh motif export.

A recent genetic study has revealed that the adult male buried in the most elaborate recess of the Neolithic passage-tomb at Newgrange was the child of a first-degree incestuous union, suggesting that the complex was built as a burial monument for an endogamous family elite who may have been regarded as “god-kings.” The present paper shows how closely the bioarchaeological reality is paralled by the mythology of the site. Mythological narratives reveal the acceptance, prevalence and prestige of close consanguineous unions among the divine royalty of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the mythologically-nominated builders and users of Newgrange.

This book – the result of about ten years research – deals mostly with the mythological substratum of narratives, composed and written down in early medieval Ireland, within the broader context of Indo-European and Eurasian mythologies.
Some chapters of this book were published previously as articles in different periodicals and proceedings of conferences.
Studies in Irish Mythology relaunches them, reworked and updated, together with hitherto unpublished chapters, as a single comprehensive book with the aim of providing a reader towards a tentative reconstruction of an early Irish mytholo­gical worldview.


Contents:

    Hiberno-Rossica: ‘Knowledge in the Clouds’ in Old Irish and Old Russian
    Cú Roí and Svyatogor: a Study in Chthonic
    Autochthons and Otherworlds in Celtic and Slavic
    Significance of Pentads in Early Irish and Indian Sources: Case of Five Directions
    The Five Primeval Trees in Early Irish, Gnostic and Manichaean Cosmologies
    An Alliterative Poem Eó Rossa from the Dindṡenchas
    The Dindṡenchas of Irarus: The King, the Druid and the Probable Tree
    The King in Exile in Airne Fíngein: Power and Pursuit in Early Irish Literature
    Conn Cétchathach: The Image of Ideal Kingship in Early Medieval Ireland
    Búaid Cuinn, rígróit rogaidi—An alliterative Poem from The Dindṡenchas
    Roads and Knowledge in Togail Bruidne Da Derga
    Oral Past and Wrien Present in ‘The Finding of the Táin’
    The Migration of the Soul in Early Irish Tales
    Goidelic Hydronyms in Ptolemy’s Geography: Myth Behind the Name
    Swineherds in Celtic lands
    Fintan mac Bóchra: Irish Synthetic History Revisited
    Bibliography
    Index

This is a Master's Thesis presented in September 2019 at the University of Toulon to complete my Master's Degree after an Erasmus year in Galway (NUIG), Ireland.
The topic of research I choose to study during my Master's degree is a mix of history and literature, two disciplines that have always been closely related. Indeed, one of the ways to find out about a people's story is to read the writings and books they left, but the case of Ireland is a bit different. The original writings about the beliefs and mythology of the ancient inhabitants of Ireland before the Middle Ages were written from the point of view of Christian monks who settled on the island around the 11th century (various editions came out). The curiosity and tolerance of the Christian church towards a pagan people led these monks to write about this people's customs, the history they believed to be theirs, including the story of the invasion of the Island. Because of the oral tradition aiming at preserving and transmitting the story of the Irish from one generation to another without writing, the first texts related to the ancient Celts of Ireland were written by foreigners about them, and not by the inhabitants themselves, which can raise the question of authenticity.

I chose to draw a comparison between the myths of the invasions of Ireland and a series of books called A Song Of Ice And Fire. It was written by George RR Martin and became very popular these last few years because of the tv show that made the story accessible to viewers. The story is set in an imaginary place and time that reminds us of different parts of the world during the Middle Ages but was actually inspired by various parts of history and mythologies of different cultures of the world. The inspiration in Irish Mythology has not been clearly mentioned by the author, which made my research a real challenge to find sources that would make this link, or to find a way to make the parallel myself. In A Song of Ice and Fire, the main continent has been invaded several times by different peoples coming from various places, and every time a new people came, a new way of life and customs were introduced. The process is similar to the invasions of Ireland as they are related in the ancient writings, and this is what led me to compare two peoples that succeeded one another in Irish mythology to two tribes of A Song of Ice And Fire.

Chapters :

Introduction
I- An overview of Irish mythology and Game of Thrones and their link
  1. The migratory invasions into Ireland
      A) The conquest of Ireland in mythology and its difference with history
      B) The tribe of the Tuatha Dé Danann
      C) The tribe of the Milesians
  2. History in Game of Thrones
      A) George RR. Martin’s influences
      B) Westeros before the first book: Magic and the Children of the Forest
      C) The arrival of the First Men and the Andals
  3. Epic fantasy: a mix between the imaginary and real history
      A) The presence of magic and marvellous in Game of Thrones
      B) The common points with history: Politics and invasions
II- The main similarities between Irish Mythology and Westeros
  1. The Children of the Forest and the Tuatha Dé Danann
      A) A relationship to nature
      B) The Sidh and the Wall
      C) The end of magic
  2. The perception of legends
      A) Maesters and Irish monks’ perception of pagan tradition
      B) Today's vision of Irish people of their folklore and superstitions
  3. Christianity against paganism
      A) The Old Gods of the Forest as Celtic paganism
      B) The Faith of the Seven as Christianity
III- The reasons behind this link
  1. A worldwide interest for Celtic folklore
      A) The Celtic revival
      B) Neo paganism
  2. A strong interest for fantasy literature
      A) The development of fantasy during the 20th century
      B) Looking for a sense of community and identity
  3. Why RR Martin introduced Irish Celtic elements in his work
      A) Mixing several mythologies
      B) A Song of Ice And Fire, the Game of Thrones series and their link to Ireland
Conclusion
Works Cited
Annex

In this final of four articles on Brigid, the ancient Irish goddess and (subsequently) saint, the antiquity of the celebration of her festival (Imbolg) on 1st February is looked into. The festival of BrigidIt is a joyful community festival about  fertility,  protection  and  blessings and the widespread rituals and practices surrounding its celebration are documented and illustrated..

The figure of the mythic hero has fascinated both storytellers and scholars for centuries, and it is this figure that is the central subject of Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, where his influential theory of The Hero’s Journey was first laid out. Though he investigates and discusses at length the theory of The Hero’s Journey as the ‘universal narrative’, many have pointed out that Campbell’s study of this supposedly universal figure presumes a certain perspective for them as default: namely, Campbell’s work assumes that The Hero is always a man.

This assumption is what I have aimed to challenge in my practice-led research, the end result being the novella Beast: A Hero Tale, a reimagining of the Ulster Cycle myths where a young woman is given the physical power, narrative prominence, and dominant personality traits of that saga’s famous hero Cúchullain. By retelling these myths with a woman in the role of the vicious, glorious warrior hero, I have set out to question Campbell’s assertions, both implicit and explicit in his work, that male is the default state for The Hero, and to instead argue that The Hero is presumed male only by cultural assumption and not due to anything intrinsic to the archetype.

The paper is introduced with a discussion of Dindsenchas; the medieval Gaelic lore of places, especially as it relates to the site of the mythic Battle of Moytura, in Co. Sligo. This was fought between the Tuatha de Danann and the Fomorians; opposing forces of good and evil in the pagan Gaelic pantheon, who contested the sovereignty of Ireland. Moytura is especially rich in ancient monuments, especially megalithic tombs but also cairns, standing stones, natural caves and souterrains, ringforts and cashels. A rich mythology and folklore is associated with the terrain and its monuments, especially lore relating to Fionn mac Cumhaill and the Fianna. A stone fort called Corrigeenacartha is identified as the site of the legendary forge of Loinn Mhic Liomhtha, the Enchanted Smith who forged weapons for the Fianna and who was the owner of an enchanted cow called Glas Gaibhneach, the ever-yielding Cow of Plenty that also features in the local folklore and Dindsenchas. Comparative sites elsewhere are discussed such as Mohernagartan, Co. Clare and the cave at Kesh Corran, Co. Sligo. The Enchanted Forge as a theme in the folklore of Gaelic Scotland is also referred to.

An annotated table which attempts to reconcile the mythological 'Takings of Ireland' from the Lebor Gabála Érenn with real-world migrations to the island and/or cultural developments within it, as established by archaeology and population genetics (the latter drawn from recent aDNA analyses).

This thesis will demonstrate that the mixed pagan and Christian content of LU, as examined through two selected exemplar tales, provides evidence of the unique merger of politics and religion in the localized setting of late eleventh century Clonmacnoise. Further, and more specifically, we will see that the mBocht family, influenced by its participation in the Céli Dé movement and seeking to protect the societal standing and holdings of themselves and their monastery, used portions of these tales to send subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, messages to the Irish Church, to chieftains and kings across Ireland, and specifically to the nobles of Munster.