Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

, Bodb Derg (

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...

, ) or Bodhbh Dearg (

Middle Irish Middle Irish, also called Middle Gaelic (, , ), is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, most of Scotland and the Isle of Man from AD; it is therefore a contemporary of Late Old English and Early Middle English. The modern Goideli ...

and

Modern Irish Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

, ) was a son of Eochaid Garb or the

Dagda The Dagda ( , ) is considered the great god of Irish mythology. He is the chief god of the Tuatha Dé Danann, with the Dagda portrayed as a father-figure, king, and druid.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO ...

,"The Children of Lir". P.W. Joyce (translator). 1879. ''Old Irish Romances.'' C. Kegan Paul & Co. and the Dagda's successor as King of the

Tuatha Dé Danann The Tuatha Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gaelic ...

Name

The name Bodb could be a cognate of "bádhbh" as it has a similar pronunciation; Bodb Derg would then mean "Red Crow". Given the fluidity of

scribal practice, the name of the female mythological character Badb was occasionally spelled Bodb as well.

Mythology

Aengus In Irish mythology, Aengus or Óengus is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann and probably originally a god associated with youth, love,Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice-Hall Press, ...

asks for his brother Bodb's help in finding the woman of his dreams in ''"Aislinge Óenguso"'' (the Dream of Aengus). At the time, Bodb is king of the '' síde'' of

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

. Bodb successfully identifies the woman as Caer Ibormeith. Following the Tuatha Dé Danann's defeat in the battle of

Tailtiu Tailtiu or Tailltiu (; modern spelling: Tailte) is the name of a presumed goddess from Irish mythology. The goddess's name is linked to Teltown (< OI ''Óenach Tailten'') in Co. Meath, site of the Óenach Tailten. A legendary dindsenchas "lore of ...

, Bodb is elected king of the Tuatha Dé Danann in the "Children of Lir", just as the Tuatha Dé are going underground to dwell in the '' sídhe''. The principle justification given for Bodb's election is that he is the Dagda's eldest son. He subsequently fathered many deities. Bodb's election is recognised by all of his rivals, save only

Lir Lir or Ler (meaning "Sea" in Old Irish; ''Ler'' and ''Lir'' are the nominative and genitive forms, respectively) is a sea god in Irish mythology. His name suggests that he is a personification of the sea, rather than a distinct deity. He is na ...

, who refuses him homage. Bodb, however, counsels his followers to forbear from punishing Lir; later, Bodb will successively offer two of his own daughters in marriage to Lir to placate him. Both marriages, however, end unhappily. In variants of the story, Manannan is named the high king over the Tuatha Dé along with Bodb Derg when the Tuatha Dé Danann descend into the sidhe; Manannan is called “chief of the kings” and owner of every sidhe and divides the sidhe mounds amongst the Tuatha Dé. As king of the Munster ''síde'' with

Lén In Irish mythology, Lén was the craftsman of Síd Buidb, the 'Aos Sí, sídhe of Bodb Derg, Bodb'.Section 18

as his smith, Bodb Sída ar Femen ('of the Mound on Femen') plays a role in an important prefatory tale to '' Táin Bó Cuailnge,'' for it is his swineherd who quarrels with that of the king of the Connacht ''síde''; the swineherds are later swallowed and reborn as the magical bulls Donn Cuailnge and Finnbennach, of which the former was the object of the great cattle-raid. In one

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood. They were secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries ...

tale, Bodb leads the Tuatha Dé Danann to the aid of the

Fianna ''Fianna'' ( , ; singular ''Fian''; ) were small warrior-hunter bands in Gaelic Ireland during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. A ''fian'' was made up of freeborn young men, often from the Gaelic nobility of Ireland, "who had left fosterage ...

at the Battle of Ventry.''Cath Finntrágha'', the "Battle of Ventry". Th
Irish text
is available at the Corpus of Electronic Texts.

References

External links

{{Celtic mythology (Mythological) Irish gods Tuatha Dé Danann