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Finvarra
Finvarra, also called Finvara, Finn Bheara, Finbeara or Fionnbharr, is the king of the Daoine Sidhe of western Ireland in Irish folklore. In some legends, he is also the ruler of the dead. Finvarra is a benevolent figure, associated with horses, who ensures good harvests and rewards mortals with riches. Location According to legend, Finvarra lives beneath Cnoc Meadha or Knockma, a hill near Tuam in County Galway; this hill was traditionally associated with the fairies. There is a cairn on the hill, marked as "Finvarra's castle" on at least one map. Dáithí Ó hÓgáin suggests that Finvarra's name comes from ''findbharr'', “fair top,” originally referring to the top of the hill or a cairn there, and was later repurposed as the name of a deity who lived there. Mythology Fionnbharr plays a role in the Fenian Cycle and in bardic poetry, where he is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Findbharr of Cnoc Meadha is mentioned in the ''Agallamh na Seanoach'' (12th century). In ''Altra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairy Queen
In folklore and literature, the Fairy Queen or Queen of the Fairies is a female ruler of the fairies, sometimes but not always paired with a king. Depending on the work, she may be named or unnamed; Titania and Mab are two frequently used names. Numerous characters, goddesses or folkloric spirits worldwide have been labeled as Fairy Queens. Folklore The Tuatha Dé Danann and Daoine Sidhe of Irish mythology had numerous local kings and queens. Oonagh, Una or Nuala was the wife of Finvarra or Fionnbharr, fairy king of western Ireland, although he frequently took other lovers. She was usually described living with Finvarra in his hill Cnoc Meadha, but was sometimes said to have a separate residence in Cnoc Sidh Una ( Knockshegouna). In one story following the model of the Fairies’ Midwife ( Aarne-Thompson type 476), “Fionnbharr’s wife” (unnamed) is thoughtlessly cursed by a human girl who must then serve as her midwife. Fionnbharr’s wife attempts revenge by giving the g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cnoc Meadha
Cnoc Meadha (also Cnoc Meádha Siuil referring to its location on the plain of Maigh Seóla, and variously spelled Knockmagha, Knockma, or Knock Ma) is a hill west of Tuam, County Galway, in Ireland. It is said in legend to be the residence of Finnbheara, the king of the Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ... fairies. Of two large cairns on the hill, one was thought to be the burial-place of Finnbheara and the other of Queen Medb, whose name may be transformed in the name Cnoc Meadha. Knockma Hill is topped with prehistoric cairns. G. H. Kinahan wrote of the place: In Evans-Wentz's classic ''The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries'', his informant Mr John Glynn, the town clerk of Tuam, mentions that: References {{reflist Geography of Galway (city) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manannán Mac Lir
Manannán or Manann, also known as Manannán mac Lir ("son of the sea"), is a warrior and king of the Otherworld in Irish mythology who is associated with the sea and often interpreted as a sea god, usually as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is seen as the ruler and guardian of the Otherworld, and his dominion is referred by such names as Emain Ablach, Mag Mell (Plain of Delights), or Tír Tairngire (Land of Promise). He is described as over-king of the surviving Tuatha Dé after the advent of humans ( Milesians), and uses the mist of invisibility (''féth fíada'') to cloak the whereabouts of his home as well as the sidh dwellings of the others. In modern tales, he is said to own a self-navigating boat named ''Sguaba Tuinne'' ("Wave-sweeper"), a horse Aonbharr which can course over water as well as land, and a deadly strength-sapping sword named Fragarach, though the list does not end there. Manannán appears also in Scottish and Manx legend, where he is known as ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Étaín
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'' () is alternately spelt as ''Edain'', ''Aideen'', ''Etaoin'', ''Éadaoin'', ''Aedín'', or ''Adaon''. It is derived from a diminutive form of Old Irish ''ét'', "passion, jealousy". She is sometimes known by the epithet Echraide ("horse rider"), suggesting links with horse deities and figures such as the Welsh Rhiannon and the Gaulish Epona.MacKillop, p. 195. 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 appended to the story later. Genea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midir
In the Mythological Cycle of early Irish literature, Midir (Old Irish) or Midhir (Modern Irish) was a son of the Dagda of the Tuatha Dé Danann. After the Tuatha Dé were defeated by the Milesians, he lived in the sidh of Brí Léith (believed to be Ardagh Hill, Co. Longford). The name Midir may come from the old Irish word for a judge, midithir. Description In Tochmarc Étaíne, Midir appears on a brown steed wearing a green mantle and red embroidered tunic with a golden brooch reaching from shoulder to shoulder, a silver shield with a rim of gold on his back with a silver strip and gold boss. He has bright yellow hair, a five pronged spear, and a fillet of gold on his head. When Midir appears suddenly in the midst of Eochaid Airem's court, the remark is made, “He was fair at all times, but on that night he was fairer.” Elsewhere in Tochmarc Étaíne, the following description of Midir is provided: A purple tunic about him, and golden yellow hair on him to the edge of his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Orfeo
''Sir Orfeo'' is an anonymous Middle English Breton lai dating from the late 13th or early 14th century. It retells the story of Orpheus as a king who rescues his wife from the fairy king. The folk song ''Orfeo'' (Roud 136, Child 19) is based on this poem. History and manuscripts ''Sir Orfeo'' was probably written in the late 13th or early 14th century in the Westminster-Middlesex area. It is preserved in three manuscripts: the oldest, Advocates 19.2.1, known as the Auchinleck MS. is dated about 1330; Harley 3810 is from about the beginning of the fifteenth century; and Ashmole 61 was compiled over the course of several years, the portion of the MS. containing ''Sir Orfeo'' dating around 1488. The beginning of the poem describes itself as a Breton lai and says it is derived from a no longer extant text, the ''Lai d'Orphey''. The story contains a mixture of the Greek myth of Orpheus with Celtic mythology and folklore concerning fairies, introduced into English via the Old ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhna). Between the reigns of Conchobar mac Taidg Mór (died 882) and his descendant, Aedh mac Ruaidri Ó Conchobair (reigned 1228–33), it became a kingdom under the rule of the Uí Briúin Aí dynasty, whose ruling sept adopted the surname Ua Conchobair. At its greatest extent, it incorporated the often independent Kingdom of Breifne, as well as vassalage from the lordships of western Mide and west Leinster. Two of its greatest kings, Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (1088–1156) and his son Ruaidri Ua Conchobair (c. 1115–1198) greatly expanded the kingdom's dominance, so much so that both became High King of Ireland. The Kingdom of Connacht collapsed in the 1230s because of civil war within the royal dynasty, which enabled widespread Hiber ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goll Mac Morna
Goll mac Morna (or Goal mac Morn) was a member of the fianna and an uneasy ally of Fionn mac Cumhail in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He had killed Fionn's father, Cumhal, and taken over the leadership of the fianna, but when Fionn grew up and proved his worth Goll willingly stepped aside in his favour. His given name was Áed or Aedh mac Morna. He is also known as Áed mac Fidga. He gained the name Goll ("one-eyed") when he lost an eye in his battle with Cumhal or, in other versions, Luchet, as described below: "Aed was the name of Dáire's son, Until Luchet of fame wounded him; Since the heavy lance wounded him, Therefore, he has been called Goll." In other recollections of the folktale, it was Lugaidh Lamhfhada who was the principal opponent of Goll, and who knocked out his eye and slayed him at Moytura. As well as that, another variant of the story tells how Goll was chased by Fionn MacCumhaill, leader of the Fianna, to the north coast of Donegal where he was slain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fionn Mac Cumhaill
Fionn mac Cumhaill ( ; Old and mga, Find or ''mac Cumail'' or ''mac Umaill''), often anglicized Finn McCool or MacCool, is a hero in Irish mythology, as well as in later Scottish and Manx folklore. He is leader of the ''Fianna'' bands of young roving hunter-warriors, as well as being a seer and poet. He is said to have a magic thumb that bestows him with great wisdom. He is often depicted hunting with his hounds Bran and Sceólang, and fighting with his spear and sword. The tales of Fionn and his ''fiann'' form the Fianna Cycle or Fenian Cycle (''an Fhiannaíocht''), much of it narrated by Fionn's son, the poet Oisín. Etymology In Old Irish, finn/find means "white, bright, lustrous; fair, light-hued (of complexion, hair, etc.); fair, handsome, bright, blessed; in moral sense, fair, just, true". It is cognate with Primitive Irish ''VENDO-'' (found in names from Ogam inscriptions), Welsh ''gwyn'', Cornish ''gwen'', Breton ''gwenn'', Continental Celtic and Common Brittoni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acallam Na Senórach
''Acallam na Senórach'' (Modern Irish: ''Agallamh na Seanórach'', whose title in English has been given variously as ''Colloquy of the Ancients'', ''Tales of the Elders of Ireland'', ''The Dialogue of the Ancients of Ireland'', etc.), is an important prosimetric Middle Irish narrative dating to c.1200. It is the most important text of the Finn Cycle (also known as the Fenian Cycle, ''fíanaigecht'', ''fiannaigheacht'', ''fiannaíocht'' etc) and at about 8,000 lines is the longest surviving work of medieval Irish literature. It contains many Finn Cycle narratives framed by a story in which the ''fianna'' warriors and Caílte mac Rónáin have survived long enough to relate the tales to Saint Patrick. The work has been seen as a defence of the Irish literary establishment when it came under the scrutiny of Church reformers during the 12th to 13th centuries. Contents Set several hundred years after the death of Finn mac Cumaill, the frame story follows two aged Irish heroes ... [...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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