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Findabair
Findabair or Finnabair (modern Irish ''Fionnabhair'' ) was a daughter of Ailill and Queen Medb of Connacht in Irish mythology. The meaning of the name is "white phantom" (etymologically cognate with '' Gwenhwyfar'', the original Welsh form of Guinevere). The Dindsenchas also mention a Findabair who is the daughter of Lugaid Laigde. Though not considered a main character in the '' Táin'', Finnabair occupies a crucial role in the epic. During the war of the ''Táin'', her hand is offered to a succession of warriors in exchange for their sparring with Cú Chulainn. Ultimately her beauty and charms serve as the driving force behind the deaths of hundreds of men, even compelling Fer Diad to fight Cú Chulainn, his beloved foster-brother and best friend, in the single combat which leads to his death by Cú Chulainn's Gáe Bulg. In the ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'', Finnabair's husband Fráech (whose story is told in the ''Táin Bo Fraích'') is killed by Cú Chulainn in a river. Afterward ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fráech
Fráech (Fróech, Fraích, Fraoch) is a Connacht hero (and half-divine as the son of goddess Bébinn) in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He is the nephew of Boann, goddess of the river Boyne, and son of Idath of the men of Connaught and Bébinn (sister of Boann of the sidhe), and is renowned for his handsomeness and exploits.''Táin Bó Fraích.'English translationfrom ''Heroic Romances of Ireland vol. II.'' trans. and ed. by A.H. Leahy. London: David Nutt, 1906. Cf. alsOld Irish versionfrom the Corpus of Electronic Texts. He belongs to the Fir Domnann. Irish mythology The Cattle-Raid of Fráech In "The Cattle-Raid of Fráech" Fráech travels to the court of Ailill and Medb in pursuit of their daughter Findabair, after it becomes known that she is in love with him. Findabair falls in love with Fráech because of the great stories being told about him, Fráech's household convince him to visit his maternal aunt Boand to obtain wondrous gifts from her. Boand gives Fr� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medb
Medb (), later spelled Meadhbh (), Méibh () and Méabh (), and often anglicised as Maeve ( ), is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had several husbands before him who were also kings of Connacht. She rules from Cruachan (now Rathcroghan, County Roscommon). She is the enemy (and former wife) of Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, and is best known for starting the ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'' ("The Cattle Raid of Cooley") to steal Ulster's prize stud bull Donn Cúailnge. Medb is strong-willed, ambitious, cunning and promiscuous, and is an archetypal warrior queen. She is believed by some to be a manifestation of the sovereignty goddess.Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. pp. 294–295Monaghan, Patricia. ''The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore''. Infobase Publishing, 2004. p.319Koch, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gwenhwyfar
Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in popular literature in the early 12th century, nearly 700 years after the purported times of Arthur, Guinevere has since been portrayed as everything from a villainous and opportunistic traitor to a fatally flawed but noble and virtuous lady. Many records of the legend also feature the variably recounted story of her abduction and rescue as a major part of the tale. The earliest datable appearance of Guinevere is in Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-historical British chronicle '' Historia Regum Britanniae'', in which she is seduced by Mordred during his ill-fated rebellion against Arthur. In a later medieval Arthurian romance tradition from France, a prominent story arc is the queen's tragic love affair with her husband's chief kn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guinevere
Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in popular literature in the early 12th century, nearly 700 years after the purported times of Arthur, Guinevere has since been portrayed as everything from a villainous and opportunistic traitor to a fatally flawed but noble and virtuous lady. Many records of the legend also feature the variably recounted story of her abduction and rescue as a major part of the tale. The earliest datable appearance of Guinevere is in Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-historical British chronicle '' Historia Regum Britanniae'', in which she is seduced by Mordred during his ill-fated rebellion against Arthur. In a later medieval Arthurian romance tradition from France, a prominent story arc is the queen's tragic love affair with her husband's chief k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ailill Mac Máta
Ailill mac Máta is the king of the Connachta and the husband of queen MedbMatson, Gienna: ''Celtic Mythology A to Z'', page 2. Chelsea House, 2004. in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He rules from Cruachan (Rathcroghan in County Roscommon). Family background, marriage and offspring The sagas explain ''mac Máta'' as a matronymic: his mother is Máta Muirisc, daughter of Mága, of the Fir Ol nEchmacht, a tribal grouping of Connacht, through whom he claimed the throne of the Connachta. His father is Rus Ruad, king of the Laigin, whose other sons include Cairbre Nia Fer, king of Tara, Find Fili, who succeeded him as king of the Laigin, and in some texts Cathbad, chief druid of Conchobar mac Nessa of the Ulaid. The ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'' says Medb chose him as husband, ahead of Find, Cairbre and Conchobar, because he alone among them was without meanness, jealousy or fear. Cecile O'Rahilly (ed. & trans.), ''Táin Bó Cúalnge from the Book of Leinster'', Dublin Institut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulster Cycle
The Ulster Cycle ( ga, an Rúraíocht), formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly counties Armagh, Down and Louth. It focuses on the mythical Ulster king Conchobar mac Nessa and his court at Emain Macha, the hero Cú Chulainn, and their conflict with the Connachta and queen Medb. The longest and most important tale is the epic ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'' (Cattle Raid of Cooley). The Ulster Cycle is one of the four 'cycles' of Irish mythology and legend, along with the Mythological Cycle, the Fianna Cycle and the Kings' Cycle. Ulster Cycle stories The Ulster Cycle stories are set in and around the reign of King Conchobar mac Nessa, who rules the Ulaid from Emain Macha (now Navan Fort near Armagh). The most prominent hero of the cycle is Conchobar's nephew, Cú Chulainn. The Ulaid are most often in conflict with the Connachta, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferdiad
Ferdiad (; also ''Fer Diad'', ''Ferdia'', ''Fear Diadh''), son of Damán, son of Dáire, of the Fir Domnann, is a warrior of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. In the ''Táin Bó Cúailnge'', Ferdiad finds himself on the side of the war opposite to that taken by his best friend and foster-brother Cú Chulainn, with whom he had trained in arms under the renowned warrior woman Scáthach. He and Cú Chulainn are equal in all martial feats, with two exceptions: the ''Gáe Bulg'', a barbed spear which Scáthach has taught only Cú Chulainn to use; and Ferdiad's horn skin, which no weapon can pierce. When Ailill and Medb, king and queen of Connacht, invade Ulster to steal the bull Donn Cúailnge, their progress is held up by Cú Chulainn, who demands single combat. After Cú Chulainn has defeated a series of Connacht champions, Medb sends for Ferdiad, but he only agrees to fight Cú Chulainn after Findabair, Ailill and Medb's daughter, has seductively plied him with al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nad Crantail
Nad Crantail is one of the warriors that Cú Chulainn fights with in single combat to delay Medb's army in attaching Ulster in the Táin Bó Cuailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley). In looking for someone who might be a match for Cú Chulainn, Medb sends for Nad Crantail. He will only agree to fight if promised Medb's daughter Findabair, which Medb agrees to. Cú Chulainn is warned of his impending fight by Lugaid, but is unconcerned. Cú Chulainn is hunting birds when Nad Crantail comes to fight him wielding nine holly stakes. Nad Crantail throws all nine stakes at Cú Chulainn, but Cú Chulainn manages to jump up onto the point of each stake. While the last of the nine stakes is being fired at Cú Chulainn, the birds he is hunting fly away. He chases after the birds, but appeared to everyone else to be fleeing from the fight. When confronted with this, Cú Chulainn claims that Nad Crantail had not come to fight him with a real weapon, and he would not kill someone who was not armed. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulaid
Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh (Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and in Cóiced, Irish for "the Fifth". The king of Ulaid was called the '' rí Ulad'' or ''rí in Chóicid''. Ulaid also refers to a people of early Ireland, and it is from them that the province of Ulster derives its name. Some of the dynasties in the over-kingdom claimed descent from the Ulaid, but others are cited as being of Cruithin descent. In historical documents, the term Ulaid was used to refer to the population group of which the Dál Fiatach was the ruling dynasty. As such, the title ''Rí Ulad'' held two meanings: over-king of Ulaid and king of the Ulaid, as in the Dál Fiatach. The Ulaid feature prominently in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. According to legend, the ancient territory of Ulaid spanned the whole of the modern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into counties for administrative and judicial purposes. In later centuries, local government legislation has seen further sub-division of the historic counties. Munster has no official function for local government purposes. For the purposes of the ISO, the province is listed as one of the provincial sub-divisions of the State ( ISO 3166-2:IE) and coded as "IE-M". Geographically, Munster covers a total area of and has a population of 1,364,098, with the most populated city being Cork. Other significant urban centres in the province include Limerick and Waterford. History In the early centuries AD, Munster was the domain of the Iverni peoples and the Clanna Dedad fami ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
