Mór Muman or Mór Mumain () is a figure from early Irish literature who is said to have been a

queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

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 ...

and daughter of king Áed Bennán. Her name means "the Great Mother" and the province of

(''An Mhumhain'') is named after her.Olmsted, Garrett. ''The gods of the Celts and the Indo-Europeans''.

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (; ) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. It is the largest education facility in the Austrian States of Austria, ...

, 1994. pp.162, 206, 270 She is believed to be a euhemerised mother goddess and

sovereignty goddess Sovereignty goddess is a scholarly term, almost exclusively used in Celtic studies (although parallels for the idea have been claimed in other traditions, usually under the label ''hieros gamos''). The term denotes a goddess who, personifying a te ...

of the province, particularly of the

Eóganachta The Eóganachta (Modern , ) were an Irish dynasty centred on Rock of Cashel, Cashel which dominated southern Ireland (namely the Kingdom of Munster) from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of De ...

.MacKillop, "Mór Muman". Mór Muman "personifies the land of Munster" and "the sovereignty of the region".Lysaght, Patricia, "Traditions of the Banshee", in Miranda Green & Sandra Billington (ed.), ''The Concept of the Goddess''. Psychology Press, 1996. p.158 She is also known as Mugain and may be the same figure as Anu and the Morrígan.

Traditions

The Irish-language tale ''Mór Muman 7 Aided Cuanach meic Ailchine'' ("Mór Muman and the death of Cuanu mac Ailchine") is found in the '' Book of Leinster''. It is suggested that it dates from the 10th century or earlier.Wiley. According to this tale, Mór was placed under an enchantment and went mad. She wandered

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

for two years before she came to Cashel and the court of King Fíngen mac Áedo Duib. Fingen eventually slept with her, and her memory returned. In the morning, Fingen gave her the queen's robe and brooch, and put aside his current queen, daughter of the king of the Deisi, and put Mór in her place as she was of better blood. The '' Metrical Dindshenchas'' say of Fingen and Mór:

Best of the women of Inis Fail
is Mór daughter of Áed Bennan.
Better is Fingen than any hero
that drives about Femen.

When Fingen died, the story says, Mór Muman married Cathal mac Finguine. Unfortunately, the collector of this tale mistook this Cathal for his great-grandfather, Cathal mac Áedo. A similar tale is told of Mis, who gave her name to the Slieve Mish Mountains and who may be the same figure as Mór.Monaghan, Patricia. ''The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore''. Infobase Publishing, 2004. p.336 Mis is said to have gone mad and to have lived as a wild woman in the mountains. She recovers after befriending and sleeping with a harper named Dubh Rois. These tales may be based on the common motif of the loathly lady, whereby the goddess of sovereignty appears as a hag until kissed by the rightful king, whereupon she becomes a beautiful young woman. In another tale, Mór and her husband Lear land in Ireland at the Dingle Peninsula and make their home at Dunmore Head (''Dún Mór'', meaning "Dún" the Irish for fort and "Mór" the Irish for Big, possibly meaning "Mór's hillfort"). One day, Mór climbs to the top of Mount Eagle to see the land in which she dwells. However, she is 'taken short' and squats to relieve herself. The

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. Ravines may also be called a cleuch, dell, ...

s that cut through the mountains of Munster are said to have resulted from Mór's great streams of urine. This motif of a goddess creating the landscape is found in many ancient tales. At the foot of the mountain is a place called Tivoria or ''Tigh Mhóire'' ("Mór's house").Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p.305 As a divinity, Mór Muman is believed to be identical with Mugain, and to include features of Medb and the Morrígan. She is sometimes referred to simply as Mumain, making her association with the land of Munster (Irish, ''Mumu'') explicit. The death of Mór Muman ingen Áedo Bennáin is recorded by the ''

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' () are annals of History of Ireland, medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luin� ...

'' under the year 632 and by the '' Annals of Tigernach'' for 636. Mór's sister, Ruithchern, is also thought to represent the sovereignty goddess. She was the protagonist of the lost story ''Aithed Ruithcherne la Cuanu mac Cailchin'' (The killing of Ruithchern by Cuanu mac Ailchine).

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Traditions

See also

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Further reading