(

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 ...

), spelled () in

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 ...

and Scots Gaelic, is a character from the

Ulster Cycle The Ulster Cycle (), 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, Do ...

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 ...

. She appears in the sagas '' Tochmarc Emire'' ("the wooing of Emer") and '' Aided Óenfhir Aífe'' ("the death of Aífe's only son"). In ''Tochmarc Emire'' she lives east of a land called ''Alpi'', usually understood to mean

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...

(

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

), where she is at war with a rival woman warrior, Scáthach.Kuno Meyer (ed.)
"Tochmarc Emire la Coinculaind (Harleian 5280, fo. 27a)"
'' Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie'', Halle an der Saale, Max Niemeyer volume 3, 1901, pp. 229–263. In ''Aided Óenfhir Aífe'' she lives in Letha (the

Armorica In ancient times, Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; ; ) was a region of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, and much of historical Normandy. Name The name ''Armorica'' is a Latinized form of the Gauli ...

n peninsula), and is Scáthach's sister as well as rival – they are both daughters of Árd-Greimne of Lethra.Kuno Meyer (ed. & trans.), "The Death of Conla", ''

Ériu In Irish mythology, Ériu (; ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland. The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the Germanic languages, Germanic (Old Norse or ...

'' 1, 1904, pp. 113–121.

Appearances

In ''Tochmarc Emire'' the

Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or (Irish language, Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic Provinces of Ireland, over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include , which ...

hero Cú Chulainn has come to train in arms under Scáthach on the

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of ...

, when a battle breaks against Aífe. Scáthach, fearful of Cú Chulainn's safety, gives him a sleeping

potion A potion is a liquid "that contains medicine, poison, or something that is supposed to have magic powers." It derives from the Latin word ''potio'' which refers to a drink or the act of drinking. The term philtre is also used, often specifica ...

to keep him from the battle, but a potion that would put most people to sleep for twenty-four hours only knocks him out for an hour, and he joins the fray. Aífe challenges Scáthach to single combat, and Cú Chulainn fights as Scáthach's champion, but before the fight he asks Scáthach what it is that Aífe loves most, which Scáthach reveals is her chariot and horses. They begin to fight, and Aífe shatters Cú Chulainn's sword, at which he cries out that Aífe's chariot and horses have fallen over a cliff. When Aífe turns to look, he overpowers her, throws her over his shoulder, and carries her back to his side. He held his sword at her throat as she begged for her life. He chooses not to kill her, on two conditions: that she cease hostilities with Scáthach and she bear him a son.Kuno Meyer (trans)
"The Wooing of Emer"
''Archaeological Review'', London, volume 1, 1888, pp. 68–75; 150–155; 231–235; 298–307 When Cú Chulainn returns to Ireland he leaves Aífe pregnant. He gives her a gold ring to give to the child, and instructs her that when he is seven he is to come to Ireland in search of him, but he must not identify himself to anyone. The story is taken up again in '' Aided Óenfhir Aífe'', when the boy, Connla by name, comes to Ireland as Cú Chulainn had instructed, and his precocious prowess alarms the

. Because he will not identify himself, Cú Chulainn fights and kills him. When it was too late Cú Chulainn recognised the ring; he had killed his only son.

Biblical rendering

The name is unrelated to the Biblical name '' Eva'', which was rendered as ''Éabha'' in Irish, but due to the similarity in sound, ''Aife'' has often been incorrectly

anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

as ''Eva'' or ''Eve''. Aoife MacMurrough (also known as Eva of

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

) was a 12th-century Irish noblewoman.

References

External links

*
Dun Sgathaich
' on Skye, said to stand on the site of ''Dún Scáith'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Aife Ulster Cycle Women warriors Women in Irish mythology Armorica