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Celtchar Mac Uthechar
Celtchar, son of Uthechar or Uthidir, is a character from the Ulster Cycle of Irish Mythology. In '' Scéla Mucce Maic Dathó'' ("The Tale of Mac Dathó's Pig") he is described as "a grey, tall, very terrible hero of Ulster". When he challenges Cet mac Mágach for the champion's portion, Cet counters that he once emasculated Celtchar with a spear at Celtchar's own house. He lives in Dún Lethglaise, also known as the Mound of Down ( Irish ''Dún''), or Rathkeltair (Irish ''Ráth Celtchair'' or Celtchar's Fort) in Downpatrick, County Down. His wife is Findmór of Dún Sobairche ( Dunseverick, County Antrim). He wields a spear or lance, the '' Lúin Cheltchair'', whose lust for blood is so great it has to be dipped in a cauldron of poison to control it. In the '' Táin Bó Cúailnge'', after the Ulstermen have roused from their debility, he and Conchobar mac Nessa rescue eight captive Ulster women from eight men of Ailill and Medb's household at Áth Féinne. In compensation for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulster Cycle
The Ulster Cycle ( ga, an Rúraíocht), formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly counties Armagh, Down and Louth. It focuses on the mythical Ulster king Conchobar mac Nessa and his court at Emain Macha, the hero Cú Chulainn, and their conflict with the Connachta and queen Medb. The longest and most important tale is the epic ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'' (Cattle Raid of Cooley). The Ulster Cycle is one of the four 'cycles' of Irish mythology and legend, along with the Mythological Cycle, the Fianna Cycle and the Kings' Cycle. Ulster Cycle stories The Ulster Cycle stories are set in and around the reign of King Conchobar mac Nessa, who rules the Ulaid from Emain Macha (now Navan Fort near Armagh). The most prominent hero of the cycle is Conchobar's nephew, Cú Chulainn. The Ulaid are most often in conflict with the Connacht ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kuno Meyer
Kuno Meyer (20 December 1858 – 11 October 1919) was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of Celtic philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of World War I in the United States was a source of controversy. His brother was the distinguished classical scholar, Eduard Meyer. Meyer was considered first and foremost a lexicographer among Celtic scholars but is known by the general public in Ireland rather as the man who introduced them to ''Selections from Ancient Irish Poetry'' (1911). He founded and edited four journals devoted to Celtic Studies, published numerous texts and translations of Old and Middle Irish romances and sagas, and wrote prolifically, his topics ranging to name origins and ancient law. Early life Born in Hamburg, he studied there at the Gelehrtenschule of the Johanneum. He spent two years in Edinburgh, Scotland, as a teenager (1874–1876) learning English. From 1879, he attended the University of Leipzig, where he was taught Celti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cú Roí
Cú Roí mac Dáire (Cú Ruí, Cú Raoi) is a king of Munster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He is usually portrayed as a warrior with superhuman abilities and a master of disguise possessed of magical powers. His name probably means "hound of the plain/field", or more specifically, "hound of the battlefield". He is the son of Dáire mac Dedad (or Dáire Doimthech), and thus belongs to the Clanna Dedad. However, T. F. O'Rahilly believed this to be artificial, stating that "Cú Roí and Dáire are ultimately one and the same". Though often an outsider figure, for instance in the role of intervener or arbitrator, Cú Roí appears in a great number of medieval Irish texts, including '' Forfess Fer Fálgae'', ''Amra Con Roi'', ''Brinna Ferchertne'', ''Aided Chon Roi'' (in several recensions), ''Fled Bricrenn'', '' Mesca Ulad'' and ''Táin Bó Cúailnge''. The early Irish tale-lists refer to such titles as '' Aided Chon Roí'', ''Echtra Chon Roí'' (List A), ''Orgain Chathrach ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conganchnes Mac Dedad
Conganchnes (''"the horny-skin"'' in Irish) is a hero mentioned in the legend of the death of Celtchar mac Uthechair; he does not, however, kill him, but is killed himself. Conganchnes is a son of Dedu mac Sin or sometimes Cú Roí. He went to Ulster to avenge the death of his nephew Cú Roí mac Dáire mac Dedad and wrought much destruction upon the land on his way, being invincible due to his tough skin "as of horn" deflecting spears and swords. Conchobar asked Celtchar to get rid of the mighty Conganchnes, and Celtchar agreed. He sent his own daughter to him, Níab, to gain his trust, and offered him "feasts for a hundred men every afternoon." Níab asked her new husband how he could be killed; Conganchnes replied that red-hot spits must be stuck into his soles and thrust up into his shins. Níab relayed this information to her father, and told him to prepare a sleeping spell and a large army as well. The instructions were followed to the letter, the men sneaking up on Cong ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blaí Briugu
Blaí Briugu (Blaí the Landholder or Hospitaller) is an Ulster warrior in the Ulster Cycle of Irish Mythology. He was wealthy and kept a hostel, and had a ''geis'' which required him to sleep with any woman who stayed there unaccompanied. When Brig Bretach, wife of Celtchar Celtchar, son of Uthechar or Uthidir, is a character from the Ulster Cycle of Irish Mythology. In '' Scéla Mucce Maic Dathó'' ("The Tale of Mac Dathó's Pig") he is described as "a grey, tall, very terrible hero of Ulster". When he challenges Ce ..., stayed there on her own, he slept with her (as required by his ''geis'') and for that Celtchar killed him. References {{DEFAULTSORT:Blai Briugu Ulster Cycle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medb
Medb (), later spelled Meadhbh (), Méibh () and Méabh (), and often anglicised as Maeve ( ), is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had several husbands before him who were also kings of Connacht. She rules from Cruachan (now Rathcroghan, County Roscommon). She is the enemy (and former wife) of Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, and is best known for starting the ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'' ("The Cattle Raid of Cooley") to steal Ulster's prize stud bull Donn Cúailnge. Medb is strong-willed, ambitious, cunning and promiscuous, and is an archetypal warrior queen. She is believed by some to be a manifestation of the sovereignty goddess.Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. pp. 294–295Monaghan, Patricia. ''The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore''. Infobase Publishing, 2004. p.319Koch, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ailill Mac Máta
Ailill mac Máta is the king of the Connachta and the husband of queen MedbMatson, Gienna: ''Celtic Mythology A to Z'', page 2. Chelsea House, 2004. in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He rules from Cruachan (Rathcroghan in County Roscommon). Family background, marriage and offspring The sagas explain ''mac Máta'' as a matronymic: his mother is Máta Muirisc, daughter of Mága, of the Fir Ol nEchmacht, a tribal grouping of Connacht, through whom he claimed the throne of the Connachta. His father is Rus Ruad, king of the Laigin, whose other sons include Cairbre Nia Fer, king of Tara, Find Fili, who succeeded him as king of the Laigin, and in some texts Cathbad, chief druid of Conchobar mac Nessa of the Ulaid. The ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'' says Medb chose him as husband, ahead of Find, Cairbre and Conchobar, because he alone among them was without meanness, jealousy or fear.Cecile O'Rahilly (ed. & trans.), ''Táin Bó Cúalnge from the Book of Leinster'', Dublin Institute fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conchobar Mac Nessa
Conchobar mac Nessa (son of Ness) is the king of Ulaid, Ulster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He rules from Emain Macha (Navan Fort, near Armagh). He is usually said to be the son of the High King of Ireland, High King Fachtna Fáthach, although in some stories his father is the druid Cathbad, and he is usually known by his matronymic, ''mac Nessa'': his mother is Ness, daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide, King of Ulster. Legendary biography Birth There are several versions of how Conchobar was conceived. In the earliest, Ness, daughter of Eochaid Sálbuide, the then king of Ulster, asks the druid Cathbad what it is an auspicious time for. Cathbad replies, "for begetting a king on a queen". There are no other men around, so Ness takes Cathbad to bed and she conceives a son. In a later version, Ness is brought up by twelve foster-fathers, and while all twelve are at a feast, Cathbad, leading a ''fianna, fian'' or landless war-band, attacks the house and kills them all. Eochaid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Táin Bó Cúailnge
(Modern ; "the driving-off of the cows of Cooley"), commonly known as ''The Táin'' or less commonly as ''The Cattle Raid of Cooley'', is an epic from Irish mythology. It is often called "The Irish Iliad", although like most other early Irish literature, the ''Táin'' is written in prosimetrum, i.e. prose with periodic additions of verse composed by the characters. The ''Táin'' tells of a war against Ulster by Queen Medb of Connacht and her husband King Ailill, who intend to steal the stud bull Donn Cuailnge. Due to a curse upon the king and warriors of Ulster, the invaders are opposed only by the young demigod, Cú Chulainn. The ''Táin'' is traditionally set in the 1st century in a pagan heroic age, and is the central text of a group of tales known as the Ulster Cycle. It survives in three written versions or "recensions" in manuscripts of the 12th century and later, the first a compilation largely written in Old Irish, the second a more consistent work in Middle Irish, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
County Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population of about 618,000. County Antrim has a population density of 203 people per square kilometre or 526 people per square mile. It is also one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland, as well as part of the historic province of Ulster. The Glens of Antrim offer isolated rugged landscapes, the Giant's Causeway is a unique landscape and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Bushmills produces whiskey, and Portrush is a popular seaside resort and night-life area. The majority of Belfast, the capital city of Northern Ireland, is in County Antrim, with the remainder being in County Down. According to the 2001 census, it is currently one of only two counties of the Island of Ireland in which a majority of the population are from a Protestant back ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Mythology
Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by Christian scribes, who modified and Christianized them to some extent. This body of myths is the largest and best preserved of all the branches of Celtic mythology. The tales and themes continued to be developed over time, and the oral tradition continued in Irish folklore alongside the written tradition, but the main themes and characters remained largely consistent. The myths are conventionally grouped into ' cycles'. The Mythological Cycle consists of tales and poems about the god-like Túatha Dé Danann, who are based on Ireland's pagan deities, and other mythical races like the Fomorians. Important works in the cycle are the ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' ("Book of Invasions"), a legendary history of Ireland, the ''Cath Maige Tuired'' ("Ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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