THE Mythology of Ancient Britain and Ireland

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

THE Mythology of Ancient Britain and Ireland R E L I G IO N S AN C I E N T A N D MO D E R N TH E M Y T H OL O GY O F A N C IEN T BRIT A IN AN D IR E L AND RELIGIONS : ANCIENT AND MO DER N. ANIMI S M . W LODD Auth TI n S tor o Crealz on . By E D ARD C , or of y f A T E S . P N H I M 0 ME ALL N ON IC ON uth Tbe R elz z on o tire By JA S A S P T , A or of g f Umve rse . TH E R E L G O S F AN E T . I I N O CI N CHINA 0 in h e n i e sit G I L E LL . D . ess h n e se t By Profes sor S . Prof or of C i U v r y e of Cambridg . R THE R E L IGION OF ANCI E NT G EE CE . NE I ON Le tu e at e n h a lle e a b id e , By J A HARR S , c r r N w m Co g , C m r g ek R eli z on A uth or of Pro/ego men a to S t u dy qfGre g . IS L AM . ‘ M s h u Y M A C . I. E . la te H . t ME E AL' S E D . By A R , of Hig Co r tu e in Be n al uth Th e S irit lsla m an d TIn of J u d ica r g , A or of p qf I a m E t/ ucs of sl . E MAGIC AN D F TIS HIS M . DDO N F R S L e tu e o n E th n l at am D r A. C By . C HA , . c r r o ogy bridge Un ive rsit F A E T EGY T TH E RE L IGION NCI N P . ms F . R S . FL I N r ess . DE e . By Prof or W M RS P , B B AN D S R A THE RE L I GION OF A YL ONIA A SY I . E O I U G I NC late h e B t sh use u . B T P L . E t y H H S P H S , of ri i M m EAR L Y B U DDH IS M. e ss R DAVl LL D late Se e ta Th e R al By Prof or HYS , . cr ry of oy t t Asi a ic S oci e y. HIN D UI S M . D r L . D . B NE th e De e n t O e n tal P n te d By . AR TT , of partm of ri ri M B t u B ks an d S S . sh se u oo . ri i M m. V SCAND INA IAN R E L I GION . I LL I M A I GIE n t E d t th e Ox ord E n lish By W A . CRA , J oi i or of f g D ict xo n a R IGI N C E LTIC E O . B ess ANWYL e ss elsh at Un e lle e y Prof or , Prof or of W iv rsi ty Co g , e t th Ab rys wy . TH E YT LOGY F A E T BR TA AND RE LA D M HO O NCI N I IN I N . B L E S UI E uth TimM th olo o th e B rz tislz y CHAR S ' R , A or of y gy f Islan ds . J U DAI S M E L AB M L e tu e in Tal ud L t e atu e i By ISRA RAHA S , c r r m ic i r r n a b d e n e s uth e wish L e in 112: 'Mid l s C m ri g U iv r i A or of J if d e Agt . THE R E L G O F tyNCIE NT R E I I N O OM . I L B I L E Y M A. By CYR A , . S T THE E T RE L G O OF A HIN O . ANCI N I I N J PAN . Asr rx G o . By W. C M O THE RE L G OF A E T E' O AND E RU I ION NCI N M IC P . L e w rs S pe n ce M A By . EARLY R S T A TY CH I I NI . ' S B. S L C K f . e ss at M Gill n ty By A , Pro or U ive rsi . THE PS YCHOL OG ICA L O R IG IN AN D NATU RE OF R E L IGION . fe s L E B . By Pro s or J . H . U A TH E RE L G ON OF E T L E I I ANCI N PA STINE. S NL E A OO K By TA Y . C . TH E MY THOL OGY OF AN CIE N T BR ITAIN AND IR E L AND By C H A R L E S S ' U I R E O OO O OO O O ‘ ’ TR E MY THOL OG Y o r TH E mu r' rsn TSLAN DS LO NDON ’ C O N S T A B L E 69 C O M PA N Y L T D 1 0 OR ANGE STR EET L EICESTER S ' UAR E F O R E W O R D THI S little book does not profess in any way to su pplement the volu me u pon Celtic R eligion u already contrib ted to this series . It merely aims at calling the attention of the general reader to o u r u the mythology of own co ntry , that as yet little - known store of Celtic tradition which reflects the religious conceptions of o ur earliest articu late u ancestors . Nat rally , its limits compel the writer u bu t to dogmatise , or, at most , to to ch very briefly u u pon disp ted points , to ignore many fascinating - u u side iss es, and to refrain from p tting forward u But any s ggestions of his own . he has based his work u pon the stu dies of the leading Celtic scholars , and he believes that the reader may safely accept it as in line with the latest re C. search . S C O N T E N T S ( H AP. I L AN T E I M OLO . THE CE Ts D G H R YTH Y, I I THE GODs OF TH E O N I NEN L CE LTs . C T TA II I TH E GODs OF THE INS L E LT . U AR C s, H M HI HIS O F E L N IV . T E YT CAI. O I D T RY R A , V TH E MY THIOAL HI S O OF B I IN . T RY R TA , V I. TH E HE ROIO CLE o r ANCI EN ULS E CY T T R, TH E F N I AGAs V II. E I N O ss ANIc S A , R O , , VI I I . THE A U I N LE GEN D RTH R A , H ONOLOG IC L S Y L LAE US C R A , S EL E C E D Bo o x s BE A I NG ON E L IC M H OLOG 79 T R C T YT Y, THE MY THOLOGY OF ANCIENT BRITAIN AND IRELAND C H A P T E R I THE CE LTS AND TH E I R MY THOLOGY ’ ‘ THE Mythology of Ancient Britain and Ireland . This title will possibly at first sight suggest to the reader who has been brought u p to consider himself essentially an Anglo - Saxon only a few Tiw WOden u dim memories of , of , of Th nor i ( Thor) , and of Fr g, those Saxon deities who have bequ eathed to u s the names of fou r of the days of l o ur o f E n lish week . Yet the traces the g gods are u comparatively few in Britain , and are not fo nd at all in Ireland , and , at any rate , they can be better stu died in the Teu tonic countries to which they were native than in this remote ou tpost of u their infl ence . Preceding the Saxons in Britain — ‘ by many centuries were the Celts the Ancient Britons —who themselves possessed a rich myth o 1 w e sdte Od n e sdee Th u n re sd ae late Th u rre sdae g, W g, g ( r , g) , an d Fri e dae S ee e r n e s dae is ad a t e d th e L atin g g. t ( ) g p from , a l m i d S a ies . A MYTHOLOGY OF ANCIENT BRITAIN a u u logy , the tr dition of which , tho gh obsc red , has u mi e never been qu ite lost. In s ch fa liar nam s as ’ ‘ ‘ u e n L dgat , called after a legendary good ki g ’ Lu d who was once the Celtic god Llfidd ; in popu lar folk an d fairy tales ; in the stories of u but Arth r and his knights , some of whom are British divinities in disgu ise ; and in certain of o u r the wilder legends of early saints, we have fragments of the Celtic mythology handed down tenacious ly by Englishmen who had qu ite as mu ch of the Celt as of the Saxon in their blood.
Recommended publications
  • The Theosophical Path
    THE THEOSOPHICAL PATH KATHERINE TINGLEY, EDITOR VOL. XXXV, NO. 2 AUGUST 1928 "BY combining science with religion, the existence of God and immortality of man's spirit may be demonstrated like a problem of Euclid."- H. P. BLAVATSKY THEOSOPHY AND MODERN SCIENCE G. v. PUR1JCKER, M. A., D. LITT. (Stenographic report of the twelfth of a series of Lectures on the above subject. These were delivered at the request of Katherine Tingley the Theosophical Leader and Teach­ er, in the Temple of Peace, International Theosophical Headquarters, Point Loma, California, at the regular Sunday afternoon services. Others will be printed in THE THEOSOPHICAL PATH in due course. The following was delivered on September 11, 1927, and broadcast, by remote control, through station KFSD San Diego-680-440.9) ��RIQ� ENDS: During the But now, this afternoon, we are ,,,,,,,� course of our series of going to take up the purely Theo­ W� � lectures, entitled 'Theo- sophical line of thought, turning to ' ��l sophy and Modern Sci­ higher and nobler themes than those ence,' we promised on a number of with which we have been dealing. occasions more specifically to bring We have chosen, of course, those out certain Theosophical teachings, Theosophical doctrines which are explanations of the scientific facts, explanatory of what we have been rather, which we have been dealing speaking about to you on the Sun­ with up to the present; and on each days preceding today. occasion, on each Sunday, when we We promised first to explain to attempted to bring out these Theo­ you what the Theosophist believes sophical explanations, we found so as regards the origin of the Primates, many side-issues of thought neces­ that is, the apes and the monkeys, sary to consider, and each one im­ from which creatures, as you know, portant in its way, that we were in the orthodox scientist derives the consequence impelled to deal with human stock in rectilinear descent, these side-issues before the others.
    [Show full text]
  • Celtic Religions DATED: 17/05/2017
    MODULE CODE: HPCS4006 TITLE: Celtic Religions DATED: 17/05/2017 LEVEL: 4 CREDITS: 20 JACS CODE: Q500 AIM(S) To enable students to understand, and analyse the evidence for religious concepts and habitual practices in ‘Celtic-speaking’ regions across Europe between the 5th century BC and the 4th century AD To enable students to understand and engage with scholarly approaches to the study of rituals and religions in the ancient Celtic world To chart and analyse unity and diversity of religious concepts and practices in the ancient Celtic world LEARNING OUTCOMES Upon the successful completion of this module, the student should: display an understanding of and be able to analyse the diverse types of surviving evidence for Celtic religious activity between the 5th century BC and the 4th century AD; demonstrate a coherent knowledge of specific Celtic ‘religions’ and their religious ideas and practices; demonstrate a good understanding of the historical, social, political and religious contexts of Celtic religions, and how these affect our interpretation of religious practices and ideas; engage with modern scholarly approaches to Celtic religions and rituals, and relate this engagement to independent evaluations of the habitual and ritual practices of ancient religions, their thought-systems and their role(s) in ancient societies from the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD. INDICATIVE CONTENT Greek and Roman authors have painted a vivid picture of ‘Celtic religion’ in antiquity ever since their first encounter with ethnic groups whom they collectively called Keltoi or Galli. Classical works like Caesar’s ‘De Bello Gallico’ (Gallic Wars) are the source of our knowledge of Celtic religious practices, of priesthoods like the druids, and of the alleged human sacrifice practiced in Celtic societies.
    [Show full text]
  • Celtic Egyptians: Isis Priests of the Lineage of Scota
    Celtic Egyptians: Isis Priests of the Lineage of Scota Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers – the primary creative genius behind the famous British occult group, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn – and his wife Moina Mathers established a mystery religion of Isis in fin-de-siècle Paris. Lawrence Durdin-Robertson, his wife Pamela, and his sister Olivia created the Fellowship of Isis in Ireland in the early 1970s. Although separated by over half a century, and not directly associated with each other, both groups have several characteristics in common. Each combined their worship of an ancient Egyptian goddess with an interest in the Celtic Revival; both claimed that their priestly lineages derived directly from the Egyptian queen Scota, mythical foundress of Ireland and Scotland; and both groups used dramatic ritual and theatrical events as avenues for the promulgation of their Isis cults. The Parisian Isis movement and the Fellowship of Isis were (and are) historically-inaccurate syncretic constructions that utilised the tradition of an Egyptian origin of the peoples of Scotland and Ireland to legitimise their founders’ claims of lineal descent from an ancient Egyptian priesthood. To explore this contention, this chapter begins with brief overviews of Isis in antiquity, her later appeal for Enlightenment Freemasons, and her subsequent adoption by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. It then explores the Parisian cult of Isis, its relationship to the Celtic Revival, the myth of the Egyptian queen Scota, and examines the establishment of the Fellowship of Isis. The Parisian mysteries of Isis and the Fellowship of Isis have largely been overlooked by critical scholarship to date; the use of the medieval myth of Scota by the founders of these groups has hitherto been left unexplored.
    [Show full text]
  • ON LEBOR GABALA. I. the Text
    ON LEBOR GABALA. I. The text. § 1. The manuscripts. The text commonly known as Lebor Gabala or the Book of Invasions, has come down to us in several MSS. which, apart from the Latin relation given by Nennius in his Historia Brittomim, all belong either to the Middle-Irish or the Early Modern-Irish period. The various MSS. may be reduced to four versions, the mutual relations of which I shall endeavour to establish. The versions will be distinguished as follows: A. Book of Leinster (LL) fol. la—26b; Book of Fermoy (F), p. 1 —16; B. Royal Irish Academy DVI (S)1); Royal Irish Academy DIV1 (S)1); Rawlinson B 512 (R), fol. 76 Av— 97v; Book of Lecan (Lee I), fol. 10r—22v; Royal Irish Academy DIV3 (s); C. Book of Ballymote (LB), p. 15a—51 a; Book of Lecan (Lee H), fol. 264r—302v; D. OOlery version. One copy is in the possession of Pro- fessor Kuno Meyer2), while the R.I. A. has two other MSS. in the handwriting of O'Clerys. *) See p. 99 for my reason for indicating these two MSS. by the same character. 2) I wish to express here my sincere thanks to Professor Meyer not only for the loan of this important MS., but also formany valuable hints and suggestions as well as for the general interest he has taken in my work. Zeitschrift f. celt. Philologie X. 7 Brought to you by | UCL - University College London Authenticated Download Date | 3/3/16 11:57 AM OS A. G. VAN HAMEL, § 2.
    [Show full text]
  • The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed Cenydd Morus (Kenneth Morris) Illustrations by Reginald Machell
    Theosophical University Press Online Edition The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed Cenydd Morus (Kenneth Morris) Illustrations by Reginald Machell Copyright © 1914 by Katherine Tingley; originally published at Point Loma, California. Electronic edition 2000 by Theosophical University Press ISBN 1- 55700-157-x. This edition may be downloaded for off-line viewing without charge. For ease of searching, no diacritical marks appear in the electronic version of the text. To Katherine Tingley: Leader and Official Head of the Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society, whose whole life has been devoted to the cause of Peace and Universal Brotherhood, this book is respectfully dedicated Contents Preface The Three Branches of the Bringing-in of it, namely: The Sovereignty of Annwn I. The Council of the Immortals II. The Hunt in Glyn Cuch III. The Slaying of Hafgan The Story of Pwyll and Rhianon, or The Book of the Three Trials The First Branch of it, called: The Coming of Rhianon Ren Ferch Hefeydd I. The Making-known of Gorsedd Arberth, and the Wonderful Riding of Rhianon II. The First of the Wedding-Feasts at the Court of Hefeydd, and the Coming of Gwawl ab Clud The Second Branch of it, namely: The Basket of Gwaeddfyd Newynog, and Gwaeddfyd Newynog Himself I. The Anger of Pendaran Dyfed, and the Putting of Firing in the Basket II. The Over-Eagerness of Ceredig Cwmteifi after Knowledge, and the Putting of Bulrush-Heads in the Basket III. The Circumspection of Pwyll Pen Annwn, and the Filling of the Basket at Last The First Branch of it again: III.
    [Show full text]
  • Druidic Syncretism and the Four Branches
    Appendix Druidic Syncretism and the Four Branches Archaeologists have sometimes described the black waters of the lower Thames as the ‘British Ganges’, alluding to the ritual depositions lavished upon it by its Iron Age and Late Bronze Age devotees. This is by no means the only comparison that might be made with the religious landscape of Hindu India. With its ‘ten thousand gods’; its elaborate calendrical systems; its sacred animals and food taboos and its adherence to the doctrine of reincarnation, the Brahmanic system offers a number of parallels with what we can ascertain about native British religious traditions from the combined testimony of the archaeological and literary evidence. Had the religious life of Iron Age Britain continued to develop in comparable isolation, we might expect something analogous to modern Hinduism to have evolved as the centuries progressed – a possibility that is enhanced by the shared Indo-European background (although the influence of local pre-Indo-European substrates in both cases should not be underestimated). One feature of the Hindu system that we can see beginning to emerge in the Gallo-Brittonic world was a marked tendency towards syncretism and public ritual, offsetting the tendency towards localism and diversity that otherwise characterised this essentially parochial religious culture. It was evidently under the auspices of an increasingly centralised druidic priesthood that certain pan-tribal cults were spread throughout the Celtic-speaking world in the Late Iron Age: notably those of Lugus (c.f. p. 498), Belenus (c.f. p. 273), Cernunnos (c.f. p. 36 n. 63), Epona (c.f. p.
    [Show full text]
  • The Dagda As Briugu in Cath Maige Tuired
    Deep Blue Deep Blue https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/documents Research Collections Library (University of Michigan Library) 2012-05 Following a Fork in the Text: the Dagda as briugu in Cath Maige Tuired Martin, Scott A. https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/138967 Downloaded from Deep Blue, University of Michigan's institutional repository Following a Fork in the Text: the Dagda as briugu in Cath Maige Tuired Scott A. Martin, May 2012 The description of the Dagda in §93 of Cath Maige Tuired has become iconic: the giant, slovenly man in a too-short tunic and crude horsehide shoes, dragging a huge club behind him. Several aspects of this depiction are unique to this text, including the language used to describe the Dagda’s odd weapon. The text presents it as a gabol gicca rothach, which Gray translates as a “wheeled fork.” In every other mention of the Dagda’s club – including the other references in CMT (§93 and §119) – the term used is lorg. DIL gives significantly different fields of reference for the two terms: 2 lorg denotes a staff, rod, club, handle of an implement, or “the membrum virile” (thus enabling the scatological pun Slicht Loirge an Dagdai, “Track of the Dagda’s Club/Penis”), while gabul bears a variety of definitions generally attached to the concept of “forking.” The attested compounds for gabul include gabulgicce, “a pronged pole,” with references to both the CMT usage and staves held by Conaire’s swineherds in Togail Bruidne Da Derga. DIL also mentions several occurrences of gabullorc, “a forked or pronged pole or staff,” including an occurrence in TBDD (where an iron gabullorg is carried by the supernatural Fer Caille) and another in Bretha im Fuillema Gell (“Judgements on Pledge-Interests”).
    [Show full text]
  • 47411832.Pdf
    . - 1 1II RELIGIONS ANCIENT AND MODERN RELIGIONS: ANCIENT AND MODERN. ANIMISM. By EDWARD CLODD, Author of The Story of Creation. PANTHEISM. By JAMES AU.ANSON PICTON, Author of The Kehgion of the Universe. THE RELIGIONS OF ANCIENT CHINA. By Professor GILES, LL.D., Professor of Chinese in the University of Cambridge. THE RELIGION OF ANCIENT GREECE. By JANE HARRISON, Lecturer at Newnham College, Cambridge, Author of Prolegomena to Study of Greek Religion. ISLAM. By AMEER ALI SYED, M.A., C.I.E., late of H.M.'s High Court of Judicature in Bengal, Author of The Spirit of Islam and The Ethics of Islam. MAGIC AND FETISHISM. By Dr. A. C. HADDON, F.R.S., Lecturer on Ethnology at Cam- bridge University. THE RELIGION OF ANCIENT EGYPT. By Professor W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE, F.R.S. THE RELIGION OF BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. By THEOPHILUS G. PINCHES, late of the British Museum. EARLY BUDDHISM, By Professor RHYS DAVIDS, LL.D., late Secretary of The Royal Asiatic Society. HINDUISM. By Dr. L. D. BARNETT, of the Department of Oriental Printed Books and MSS., British Museum. SCANDINAVIAN RELIGION. By WILLIAM A. CRAIGIE, Joint Editor of the Oxford English Dictionary. CELTIC RELIGION. By Professor ANWYL, Professor of Welsh at University College, Aberystwyth. THE MYTHOLOGY OF ANCIENT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. By CHARLES SQUIRE, Author of The Mythology of the British Islands. JUDAISM By ISRAEL ABRAHAMS, Lecturer in Talmudic Literature in Cambridge University, Author of Jewish Life in the Middle Agts. THE RELIGION OF ANCIENT ROME. By CYRIL BAILEY, M.A. SHINTO. THE ANCIENT RELIGION OF JAPAN.
    [Show full text]
  • Manx Place-Names: an Ulster View
    37 Manx Place-Names: an Ulster View Kay Muhr In this chapter I will discuss place-name connections between Ulster and Man, beginning with the early appearances of Man in Irish tradition and its association with the mythological realm of Emain Ablach, from the 6th to the I 3th century. 1 A good introduction to the link between Ulster and Manx place-names is to look at Speed's map of Man published in 1605.2 Although the map is much later than the beginning of place-names in the Isle of Man, it does reflect those place-names already well-established 400 years before our time. Moreover the gloriously exaggerated Manx-centric view, showing the island almost filling the Irish sea between Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, also allows the map to illustrate place-names from the coasts of these lands around. As an island visible from these coasts Man has been influenced by all of them. In Ireland there are Gaelic, Norse and English names - the latter now the dominant language in new place-names, though it was not so in the past. The Gaelic names include the port towns of Knok (now Carrick-) fergus, "Fergus' hill" or "rock", the rock clearly referring to the site of the medieval castle. In 13th-century Scotland Fergus was understood as the king whose migration introduced the Gaelic language. Further south, Dundalk "fort of the small sword" includes the element dun "hill-fort", one of three fortification names common in early Irish place-names, the others being rath "ring­ fort" and lios "enclosure".
    [Show full text]
  • Working Introduction
    University of Pardubice Faculty of Humanities Department of English and American Studies The Influence of the Irish Folk Tales on the Notion of Irishness Thesis Author: Bc. Soň a Šamalíková Supervisor: Mgr. Olga Zderadič ková, M. Litt 2002 Univerzita Pardubice Fakulta humanitních studií Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky Vliv irských lidových příběhů na irství Diplomová práce Autor: Bc. Soň a Šamalíková Vedoucí: Mgr. Olga Zderadič ková, M. Litt 2002 Contents Introduction 1 Irishness 3 History 6 Folk tales and the oral tradition in Ireland 15 Fairy tale, myth, legend 17 Irish myths 19 Some Irish myths in detail 23 Irish legends 37 Irish fairy tales 43 Irish folk tales and nationalism 46 Folk tales and Irishness outside Ireland 53 Conclusion 57 Résumé (in Czech) 59 Bibliography 64 Introduction The Irish of the twentieth century are a complex, scattered nation, living not only in Ireland, but also in a part of the United Kingdom--Northern Ireland, as well as in the rest of the country. In large numbers, they can be found in many 0 other countries of the world, mostly the United States of America. The Irish have a long history. Originally a specific Celtic people with a distinctive culture, for many centuries they were exposed to the cultures of numerous invaders, for many centuries they suffered oppression--most painfully under the English overrule. As Professor Falaky Nagy comments, the Irish are ”a people who, for centuries, have been told that their language, their culture, and their religion were worthless and that they should try to be more like the English” [Tay].
    [Show full text]
  • Order of Celtic Wolves Lesson 5
    ORDER OF CELTIC WOLVES LESSON 5 Introduction Welcome to the fifth lesson. You are now over a third of your way into the lessons. This lesson has took quite a bit longer than I anticipated to come together. I apologise for this, but whilst putting research together, we want the OCW to be as accurate as possible. One thing that I often struggle with is whether ancient Druids used elements in their rituals. I know modern Druids use elements and directions, and indeed I have used them as part of ritual with my own Grove and witnessed varieties in others. When researching, you do come across different viewpoints and interpretations. All of these are valid, but sometimes it is good to involve other viewpoints. Thus, I am grateful for our Irish expert and interpreter, Sean Twomey, for his input and much of this topic is written by him. We endeavour to cover all the basics in our lessons. However, there will be some topics that interest you more than others. This is natural and when you find something that sparks your interest, then I recommend further study into whatever draws you. No one knows everything, but having an overview is a great starting point in any spiritual journey. That said, I am quite proud of the in-depth topics we have put together, especially on Ogham. You also learn far more from doing exercises than any amount of reading. Head knowledge without application is like having a medical consultation and ignoring specialist advice. In this lesson, we are going to look at Celtic artefacts and symbols, continue with our overview of the Book of Invasions, the magick associated with the Cauldron and how to harness elemental magick.
    [Show full text]
  • Heaney -- Za Dziewiata Fala.Indd
    MARIE HEANEY ZA DZIEWIĄTĄ FALĄ KSIĘGA LEGEND IRLANDZKICH Przełożył Mieczysław Godyń WYDAWNICTWO ZNAK KRAKÓW 2014 TUATHA DE DANaAN Dawno, dawno temu do Irlandii przybyli na licznych okrętach Tu- atha De Danaan, aby objąć wposiadanie kraj zamieszkany przez plemię Fir Bolg. Przybysze wywodzili swój ród od bogini Danu, aich uczeni mężowie posiadali ogromną moc iczczono ich na rów- ni zbogami. Byli biegli we wszelkich sztukach znanych druidom, takich jak magia, wieszczenie iwiedza tajemna. Umiejętności swe zdobyli wFalias, Gorias, Findias iMurias, czterech wielkich mia- stach północnych wysp. Gdy dopłynęli do Irlandii iwylądowali na zachodnim wybrzeżu, podpalili swe łodzie, aby nikogo znich nie kusiła myśl oodwrocie. Dym zpłonących łodzi przesłonił słońce izasnuł gęstym tumanem ziemię na trzy dni, toteż Fir Bolgowie sądzili, że Tuatha De Dana- an przybyli spowici wczarodziejską mgłę. Najeźdźcy przywieźli zsobą cztery największe skarby plemienne. ZFalias wzięli Lia Fail, czyli Głaz Przeznaczenia. Przenieśli go po- tem do Tary, agłaz krzyczał ludzkim głosem, ilekroć zasiadł na nim prawowity król Irlandii. ZGorias zabrali włócznię Lugha. Ten, kto ją dzierżył wręku, był niepokonany wwalce. ZFindias pochodził nieodparty miecz Nuady. Nikt nie mógł ujść jego ciosu, gdy dobyto go zpochwy. ZMurias przywieźli kocioł Dagdy. Nikt nie odchodził odeń głodny. 15 MARIE HEANEY Nuada był królem Tuatha De Danaan ito on powiódł ich prze- ciwko Fir Bolgom. Starli się wokrutnym boju na równinie Moytura. Była to pierwsza zbitew, które Tuatha De Danaan stoczyli wmiej- scu otej nazwie. Tysiące Fir Bolgów poległo– razem sto tysięcy– awśród nich władca plemienia, Eochai Mac Erc. Oddało także życie wielu synów bogini Danu, ich król zaś, Nuada, postradał wwalce rękę, odrąbaną aż po ramię.
    [Show full text]