Mugain, daughter of
Eochaid Feidlech
Eochu or Eochaid Feidlech ("the enduring"), was a High King of Ireland, according to medieval Irish legends and historical traditions. He is best known as the father of the legendary queen Medb of Connacht.
Family
Eochu was son of Finn, son o ...
, ( ga, Mugain Etanchaitrech ingen Echach Feidlig) (
sugg. pron. /Moógen Ait-en-hai-rech/ (Leahy)[Leahy, Courtship of Ferb, pronunciation guide, p.xxvi]; mod. pron. /MOO-in/{{Citation needed, date=January 2012), is a legendary queen in the
Ulster Cycle of
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 ...
; characterized as the "Strumpet wife of
Conchobar mac Nessa", the king of
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
. Also styled Mumain, she had a son with him named Glaisne. She was also a sister of
Medb by paternity.
Her epithet, ''Aitinchairchech'', literally means "having
gorse-like
body hair", or perhaps more specifically
pubic hair.
When
Cúchulainn returned to
Emain Macha
Navan Fort ( sga, Emain Macha ; ga, Eamhain Mhacha, label=Modern Irish ) is an ancient ceremonial monument near Armagh, Northern Ireland. According to tradition it was one of the great royal sites of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland and the capi ...
after his first foray, his fury was so great the Ulstermen feared he would destroy them. Mugain led her maidens out, and they bared their
breasts
The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues.
In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and s ...
in front of him. Cúchulainn averted his eyes, and the Ulstermen were able to wrestle him into a barrel of cold water, which exploded from the heat of his body. They put him in a second barrel, and the water boiled; and finally a third barrel, which merely warmed up to a pleasant temperature.
Her affair with Áed, Conchobar's poet, led to the death of
Lóegaire Búadach. The Ulstermen took her life, out of the love of her, though they seldom engaged in femicide.
["The host of Emania, the host of Ulster, Have never committed woman-slaughter, Excepting in the case of Mughain, through love of her, And the hateful, but illustrious Medhbh." (''The Banquet of Dun na n-Gedh'', inserted verse, O'Donovan ed., p.213)]
References
Footnotes
Primary Sources
* Joseph O'Neill, "Cath Boinde"
Ériu 2 (1905), pp. 173-185* Tochmarc Ferbe (remscél to the TBC)
** Windisch ed., tr.(German), "Tochmarc Ferbe", Irische Texte III/2, 1897, pp. 445–556
books.google** Leahy, A. H. tr., The courtship of Ferbe, (ills. by Caroline Watts), David Nutt, London 1902 pp. XXXII + 102, (p.xxvi pron. guide; appears in p. 12). From Windisch's tr
books.googleIArchive
* Macgnimrada Conculainn "The boyhood deeds of Cú Chulainn" (this remscél is incorporated into TBC
TBC may refer to:
Education
* Trinity Bible College in North Dakota, US
* Tauranga Boys' College, a state secondary school in Tauranga, New Zealand
Companies
* Triangle Brewing Company of Durham, North Carolina, US
* Tram et Bus de la CUB (TBC ...
proper)
** Kinsella, tr., chapter headed "Cúchulainn's Boyhood Deeds", ''The Táin'' (1969), pp. 76–92; (Mugain appears on p. 92)
* Aided Loegairi
** Meyer, Kuno, ed., tr. "The Death of Lóegaire Búadach" in: ''The Death-Tales of the Ulster Heroes'',''Todd Lecture Series'' 14 (1906)
Secondary Sources
* Thurneysen, R., Irische Helden- und Konigsage (Halle, 1921), p. 93
* Quiggin, A Dialect of Donegal (1906) wikisource
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br>p.23
Ulster Cycle