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Banshees
A banshee ( ; Modern Irish , from , "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Her name is connected to the mythologically important tumuli or "mounds" that dot the Irish countryside, which are known as (singular ) in Old Irish.Dictionary of the Irish Language: síd, síth': "a fairy hill or mound" and ben' Description Sometimes she has long streaming hair, which she may be seen combing, with some legends specifying she can only keen while combing her hair. She wears a grey cloak over a green dress, and her eyes are red from continual weeping.Briggs, Katharine (1976). ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies''. Pantheon Books. pp. 14–16. . She may be dressed in white with red hair and a ghastly complexion, according to a firsthand account by Ann, Lady Fanshawe in her ''Memoirs''. Lady Wilde in her books provides others: In John O'Brien's Iris ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keening
Keening (, ) is a traditional form of vocal lament for the dead in the Gaelic Celtic tradition, known to have taken place in Ireland and Scotland. Keening, which can be seen as a form of sean-nós singing, is performed in the Irish and Scottish Gaelic languages (the Scottish equivalent of keening is known as a coronach). Keening was once an integral part of the formal Irish funeral ritual, but declined from the 18th century and became almost completely extinct by the middle of the 20th century. Only a handful of authentic keening songs were recorded from traditional singers. Etymology "Keen" as a noun or verb comes from the Irish and Scottish Gaelic term ("to cry, to weep"), and references to it from the 7th, 8th, and 12th centuries are extensive. Probably at the origin of "couiner" in French. Melody and text The tune and lyrics rely on the repetition of a couple of basic motifs which can be variably extended or shortened. It seems that there was never an established ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banshee
A banshee ( ; Irish language, Modern Irish , from , "woman of the Tumulus#Ireland, fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Her name is connected to the mythologically important tumulus, tumuli or "mounds" that dot the Ireland, Irish countryside, which are known as (singular ) in Old Irish.Dictionary of the Irish Language: síd, síth': "a fairy hill or mound" and ben' Description Sometimes she has long streaming hair, which she may be seen combing, with some legends specifying she can only keen while combing her hair. She wears a grey cloak over a green dress, and her eyes are red from continual weeping.Briggs, Katharine (1976). ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies''. Pantheon Books. pp. 14–16. . She may be dressed in white with red hair and a ghastly complexion, according to a firsthand account by Ann, Lady Fanshawe in her ''Memoirs''. Lady Wilde in her book ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Death Coach
The death coach is part of the folklore of Northwestern Europe. It is particularly strong in Ireland where it is known as the (), also meaning "silent coach", but can also be found in stories from British and American culture. It is usually depicted as a black coach being driven or led by a ''dullahan''. Description According to legend, the sight or sound of the coach is the harbinger of death. It warns of imminent death to either oneself or to a close relative. In Ireland in particular the death coach is seen as a signifier of the inevitability of death, as the belief goes once it has come to Earth it can never return empty. Thus, once the death of an individual has been decided by a greater power, mortals may do nothing to prevent it. The driver of the ''cóiste bodhar'' is said to be a headless horseman, called the Dullahan. The banshee is also associated with the coach, and is often depicted accompanying it. In Scottish folklore, a death coach is said to be seen at times on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Folklore
Irish folklore () refers to the folktales, balladry, music, dance and mythology of Ireland. It is the study and appreciation of how people lived. The folklore of Ireland includes banshees, fairies, leprechauns and other mythological creatures, and was typically shared orally by people gathering around, sharing stories. Many tales and legends were passed from generation to generation, so were the dances and song in the observing of important occasions such as weddings, wakes, birthdays and holidays or, handcraft traditions. Definition What constitutes Irish folklore may be rather fuzzy to those unfamiliar with Irish literature. Diarmuid Ó Giolláin, for one, declared that folklore was elusive to define clearly. Bo Almqvist (c. 1977) gave an all-encompassing definition that folklore covered "the totality of folk culture, spiritual and material", and included anything mentioned in Seán Ó Súilleabháin's ''A Handbook of Irish Folklore'' (1942). It was not until 1846 that th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cathreim Thoirdhealbhaigh
''Cathreim Thoirdhealbhaigh'', or ''Triumphs of Torlough'' in English, is a historical account written in the 14th century in Irish by Seán mac Ruaidhrí Mac Craith, the chief historian to the Uí Bhriain dynasty.Moore, Norman. It depicts the wars between the Irish Uí Bhriain and the English de Clares for control of the Thomond region of Ireland, drawing from contemporary sources for details. Though it has been praised for its accuracy and historical value, it is not a strictly scholarly work: it incorporates verse as well as prose, and includes fantastical elements such as the banshee in the historical events it describes.Westropp, Thomas. "Normans" Content Historical material ''Cathreim'' is written mostly in prose, describing the wars between the Irish and the English in Thomond, now mainly County Clare. The time period spanned by this work stretches from 1194 to 1318. Specific, highly significant events in the work are portrayed in verse. It is split into two volum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyhyraeth
The cyhyraeth () is a ghostly spirit in Welsh mythology, a disembodied moaning voice that sounds before a person's death. Legends associate the cyhyraeth with the area around the River Tywi in eastern Dyfed, as well as the coast of Glamorganshire. The noise is said to be "doleful and disagreeable", like the groans and sighs of someone deathly ill, and to sound three times (growing weaker and fainter each time) as a threefold warning before the person expires. Along the Glamorganshire coast, the cyhyraeth is said to be heard before a shipwreck, accompanied by a corpse-light. Like the Irish banshee and the Scottish Cailleach, to which the cyhyraeth and the Gwrach y Rhibyn are closely related, the cyhyraeth also sounds for Welsh natives dying far from home. Etymology The etymology of the term is unclear. The first element could be from Welsh ''cyhyr'' "muscle", "tendon", "flesh", but this is uncertain. An alternative possibility is that ''cyhyr'' is from ''cyoer'', from ''oer'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bean Nighe
The (Scottish Gaelic for 'washerwoman' or 'laundress'; ) is a female spirit in Scottish folklore, regarded as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. She is a type of (, anglicized as "banshee") that haunts desolate streams and washes the clothing of those who are about to die. is the French word under which these "night washerwomen" are perhaps best known. She is also called , 'the little washer', , 'little washer of the ford', or , 'little washer of the sorrow'. Legends The , also known as the Washing Woman or Washer at the Ford, is seen in lonely places beside a stream or pool, washing the blood from the linen and grave-clothes of those who are about to die. Her characteristics vary depending on the locality, and differing traditions ascribe to her the powers of imparting knowledge or the granting of wishes if she is approached with caution. It is said that (the plural of ) are the spirits of women who died giving birth and are doomed to perform their tasks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insular Celts
The Insular Celts were speakers of the Insular Celtic languages in the British Isles and Brittany. The term is mostly used for the Celtic peoples of the isles up until the early Middle Ages, covering the British– Irish Iron Age, Roman Britain and Sub-Roman Britain. They included the Celtic Britons, the Picts, and the Gaels. The Insular Celtic languages spread throughout the islands during the Bronze Age or early Iron Age. They are made up of two major groups: Brittonic in the east and Goidelic in the west. While there are records of Continental Celtic languages from the sixth century BC, allowing a confident reconstruction of Proto-Celtic, Insular Celtic languages became attested only during the early first millennium AD. The Insular Celts followed an Ancient Celtic religion overseen by druids. Some of the southern British tribes had strong links with mainland Europe, especially Gaul and Belgica, and minted their own coins. The Roman Empire conquered most of Britain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goidelic Languages
The Goidelic ( ) or Gaelic languages (; ; ) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from Ireland through the Isle of Man to Scotland. There are three modern Goidelic languages: Irish ('), Scottish Gaelic ('), and Manx ('). Manx died out as a first language in the 20th century but has since been revived to some degree. Nomenclature ''Gaelic'', by itself, is sometimes used to refer to Scottish Gaelic, especially in Scotland, and therefore is ambiguous. Irish and Manx are sometimes referred to as Irish Gaelic and Manx Gaelic (as they are Goidelic or Gaelic languages), but the use of the word ''Gaelic'' is unnecessary because the terms Irish and Manx, when used to denote languages, always refer to those languages. This is in contrast to Scottish Gaelic, for which "Gaelic" distinguishes the language from the Germanic language known as Scots. In Englis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milesians (Irish)
The Milesians or sons of Míl are the final race to settle in Ireland, according to the ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'', a medieval Irish Christian history. The Milesians represent the Irish people. They are Gaels who sail to Ireland from Iberia (Hispania) after spending hundreds of years travelling the Earth. When they land in Ireland, they contend with the Tuatha Dé Danann, who represent the Irish pantheon of gods. The two groups agree to divide Ireland between them: the Milesians take the world above, while the Tuath Dé take the world below (i.e. the Celtic Otherworld, Otherworld). Scholars believe that the tale is mostly an invention of medieval Christian writers.John Carey (Celticist), Carey, John''The Irish National Origin-Legend: Synthetic Pseudohistory'' University of Cambridge, 1994. pp.1–4 Myth ''Historia Brittonum'' The 9th century Latin work ''Historia Brittonum'' (History of the Britons) says that Ireland was settled by three groups of people from the Iberian Peninsu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Francia followed a series of raids on the French northern coast mainly from what is now Denmark, although some also sailed from Norway and Sweden. These settlements were finally legitimized when Rollo, a Scandinavian Vikings, Viking leader, agreed to swear fealty to Charles the Simple, King Charles III of West Francia following the Siege of Chartres (911), siege of Chartres in 911, leading to the formation of the ''County of Rouen''. This new fief, through kinship in the decades to come, would expand into what came to be known as the ''Duchy of Normandy''. The Norse settlers, whom the region as well as its inhabitants were named after, adopted the language, Christianity, religion, culture, social customs and military, martial doctrine of the Wes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seán Mac Ruaidhri Mac Craith
Seán mac Ruaidhri Mac Craith (fl. 14th-century) was an Irish historian known as the author of ''Caithréim Thoirdhealbhaigh''. Biography The Meic Craith of Thomond were a learned family who had close ties to Clare Abbey, an Augustinian foundation. They were historians and poets attached to the Uí Bhriain kings and earls of Thomond. Another family of the name, not known to be related, were natives of Termon McGrath, Lough Erne. Magrath's '' Caithréim Thoirdhealbhaigh'' is an account of the wars fought between two branches of the Uí Bhriain kings in the 13th and 14th century, ending with their successful defeat of the Anglo-Normans at the Battle of Dysert O'Dea in 1318, which kept Thomond free of English influence for over two hundred years. It is also notable for one of the earliest references to the Banshee in Irish literature. Modern editions of the ''Caithréim'' are based on two surviving sources - Royal Irish Academy Ms 23 Q 16, a large fragment on vellum written in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
