Cessair or Cesair (spelled Ceasair in modern Irish, meaning sorrow, affliction) is a character from the ''
Lebor Gabála Érenn
''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'', is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish fro ...
'', a medieval Christian pseudohistory of Ireland. According to the ''Lebor Gabála'', Cessair was the leader of the first inhabitants of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, arriving before the
biblical flood
The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is the Hebrew version of the universal flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the microc ...
.
["Cesair 1," A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. James McKillop. ]Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1998. The tale may have been an attempt to
Christianize
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
an earlier
pagan
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...
myth,
[ but may also have been the product of post-conversion pseudohistory.
]
Overview
According to the Lebor Gabála, Cessair was the daughter of Noah
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
's non-Biblical son Bith and his wife Birren.[ Cessair's father's name, Bith, is derived from the ]Proto-Celtic
Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed through the compar ...
''Bitu''-, which can be interpreted to mean "world", "life", or "age" in Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...
(cf. Bituitus).
In some versions of the tale, Noah tells them to go to the western edge of the world to escape the coming flood. In other versions, after being denied a place on Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark ( he, תיבת נח; Biblical Hebrew: ''Tevat Noaḥ'')The word "ark" in modern English comes from Old English ''aerca'', meaning a chest or box. (See Cresswell 2010, p.22) The Hebrew word for the vessel, ''teva'', occurs twice in t ...
, Cessair tells her people to create an idol to advise them. This idol tells them to escape the flood by sailing to Ireland. They set out in three ships and reach Ireland after a long journey. However, when they attempt to land, two of the ships are lost. The only survivors are Cessair, forty-nine other women, and three men: Fintan mac Bóchra
In Irish mythology Fintan mac Bóchra (modern spelling: Fionntán), known as "the Wise", was a seer who accompanied Noah's granddaughter Cessair to Ireland before the deluge. Bóchra may be his mother, or may be a poetic reference to the sea.
He ...
, Bith, and Ladra.
According to the Annals of the Four Masters
The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...
, they landed in Ireland at (on Bantry Bay) forty days before the flood in Age of the World 2242. According to Seathrún Céitinn's chronology, they arrived in 2361 BC.
The tale continues with the women being shared evenly among the men. Each man had one woman as his primary wife: Fintán with Cessair, Bith with Bairrfhind, Ladra with Alba. Bith and Ladra soon die, and Fintán is left with all of the women. However, he is unable to cope and flees to a cave in the mountains. Fintán is the only survivor when the Flood eventually comes. He shapeshift
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, sorcery, spells or having inherited the ...
s into a one-eyed salmon, then an eagle, and then finally a hawk. He lives for 5500 years after the flood, becomes a man again, and recounts Ireland's history to the High King Diarmait mac Cerbaill
Diarmait mac Cerbaill (died ) was King of Tara or High King of Ireland. According to traditions, he was the last High King to follow the pagan rituals of inauguration, the ''ban-feis'' or marriage to goddess of the land.
While many later stor ...
. Fintán is thus similar to the character Tuan mac Cairill
In Irish mythology Tuan mac Cairill was a recluse who retains his memories from his previous incarnations, going back to Antediluvian age. Initially a follower of Partholon, he alone survived the plague, or the Flood, that killed the rest of his ...
.
According to legend, Cessair died at in 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 Delbhn ...
and a cairn
A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ).
Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...
, , was raised over her body. It has been speculated that this cairn is near Boyle
Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include:
Disambiguation
*Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...
in County Roscommon
"Steadfast Irish heart"
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Connacht
, subdi ...
, or that it is 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 ...
in County Galway
"Righteousness and Justice"
, anthem = ()
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg
, map_caption = Location in Ireland
, area_footnotes =
, area_total_km2 = ...
.
Other versions
Archaeologist J. P. Mallory
James Patrick Mallory (born October 25, 1945) is an American archaeologist and Indo-Europeanist. Mallory is an emeritus professor at Queen's University, Belfast; a member of the Royal Irish Academy, and the former editor of the ''Journal of Ind ...
has a different version of the tale, in which there are 150 women and three men. The first man dies and is buried in Wexford. The second man then has 100 women and soon dies of exhaustion. The 150 women chase the remaining man, who saves himself by jumping into the sea and turning into a salmon.
An earlier version of the tale, allegedly found in the '' Cín Dromma Snechtai'', says that the first woman in Ireland was Banba. She arrived with her two sisters, Fódla
In Irish mythology, Fódla or Fótla (modern spelling: Fódhla, Fodhla or Fóla), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was one of the tutelary giantesses of Ireland. Her husband was Mac Cecht.
With her sisters, Banba and ...
and Ériu, three men, and fifty women. Banba, Fódla, and Ériu were a trio of Irish land goddesses. Their husbands were Mac Cuill
In Irish mythology, Mac Cuill of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was a son of Cermait, son of the Dagda. Mac Cuill's given name was Éthur and he was named Mac Cuill after his god, Coll, the hazel. His wife was Banba.
Description
He and his brothers Mac ...
(son of hazel), Mac Cecht (son of the plow), and Mac Gréine
In Irish mythology, Mac Gréine of the Tuatha Dé Danann was a son of Cermait, son of the Dagda. Mac Gréine's given name was Céthur. Mac Gréine is Irish for "Son of the Sun". His wife was Ériu.
Description
He and his brothers Mac Cuill and Ma ...
(son of the Sun), respectively. It is likely that Cessair, Bairrfhind, and Alba are Christianized replacements for the three goddesses and that Fintán, Bith, and Ladra are replacements for the three gods.[ Carey, John]
''The Irish National Origin-Legend: Synthetic Pseudohistory''
. Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, University of Cambridge, 1994. p. 21[Monaghan, Patricia. ''The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore''. Infobase Publishing, 2004. p. 85] Fintán/Mac Cuill may also be linked to the Salmon of Knowledge
The Salmon of Knowledge ( ga, An Bradán Feasa) is a creature in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology, sometimes identified with Fintan mac Bóchra, who was known as "The Wise" and was once transformed into a salmon.
Fenian Cycle
The Salmon sto ...
, which gains all the world's knowledge after eating nine hazelnuts that fell into a well. The women who accompany Cessair appear by their names to represent the world's ancestral mothers. They included German (Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
), Espa ( Spanish), Alba ( British), Triage (Thracians
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. ...
), Gothiam (Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
), and so forth. Thus "their arrival can be read as creating a microcosm of the whole world's population in Ireland". Several other companions echo the names of ancient Irish goddesses.[
Seathrún Céitinn also refers to a legend in which three fishermen from ]Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
—Capa, Lavigne, and Luasad—were driven to Ireland by a storm a year before the flood. They liked Ireland and returned home to collect their wives. They returned shortly before the flood and were drowned.
According to another medieval Irish legend, Cessair is also the name of the King of Gallia
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during Re ...
's daughter. She married the High King of Ireland
High King of Ireland ( ga, Ardrí na hÉireann ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and later sometimes assigned ana ...
, Úgaine Mór, in either the 5th or 6th century BC.
References
Citations
Sources
*John O'Donovan (ed) (1848–1851), ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters'
Vol 1
*D. Comyn & P. S. Dineen (eds) (1902–1914)
*James MacKillop (1998), ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''
*''The Kirwans of Castlehacket, Co. Galway:History, folklore, and mythology in an Irish horseracing family'', Ronan Lynch, Four Courts Press, Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, 2006.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cessair
Mythological cycle
Irish women
Flood myths
Noah's Ark