Féth fíada is a mist or veil in

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 ...

, which members of the

Tuatha Dé Danann The Tuatha Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gaelic ...

use to enshroud themselves, rendering their presence invisible to human eyesight. ''Féth'' denotes this mist in particular, and ''fíada'' originally meant "knower", then came to mean "lord, master, possessor". An example of usage occurs in the ''Altram Tige Dá Medar'' ("Fosterage of the House of Two Milk-Vessels"), where

Manannán mac Lir or , also known as ('son of the Sea'), is a Water deity, sea god, warrior, and king of the Tír na nÓg, otherworld in Irish mythology, Gaelic (Irish, Manx, and Scottish) mythology who is one of the . He is seen as a ruler and guardian of t ...

makes an assignment to each member as to which Sidhe (fairy mound) they should dwell in, raising the feth fiada to conceal themselves from mortal men. In the

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of Ireland's Taking"; Modern Irish spelling: ''Leabhar Gabhála Éireann'', known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'') is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language inten ...

, one passage declares that the Tuatha Dé Danann came "without ships or barks, in clouds of fog

ver the air, by their might of druidry Ver or VER may refer to: * Voluntary Export Restraints, in international trade * VER, the IATA airport code for Veracruz International Airport * Volk's Electric Railway, Brighton, England * VerPublishing, of the German group VDM Publishing, reprod ...

, The miraculous powers of the feth Fiada have come to be ascribed to Christian saints. An allusion to this is found in

Saint Patrick's Breastplate "Saint Patrick's Breastplate" is an Old Irish prayer of protection of the " lorica" type (hence "Lorica Sancti Patricii", or "The Lorica of Saint Patrick") attributed to Saint Patrick. Its title is given as ''Faeth Fiada'' in the 11th-century ''Li ...

– a hymn whose composition was attributed to St. Patrick. The hymn is accompanied by a prose explanation of how it came to be created.

The high king
Lóegaire mac Néill Lóegaire also Lóeguire, is said to have been a son of Niall of the Nine Hostages. The Irish annals and king lists include him as a King of Tara or High King of Ireland. He appears as an adversary of Saint Patrick in several hagiographies. His ...
, with the will to prevent the saint and his band from coming to Tara to spread the faith, sent out troops to find and intercept them. But then Patrick chanted this hymn, which caused his pursuers to mistake Patrick for deer and fawns.

The hymn was given the title Fáeth Fiada, said to mean "Deer's Cry", though the phrase manifestly derives from the magic mist féth fíada. The magic mist is also called ceo druidechta (Modern Irish: ceo draíochta ) and an example of its usage can be found in 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 ...

tale ''Fled Bricrinn'' ("The Feast of Bricriu")., FB §39 (p.48)

Footnotes

References

* * (ed. & tr.
(CLC, English)
*
Introduction, p.xl
* {{DEFAULTSORT:fethfiad Irish mythology Druidry Mythological Cycle

See also

Footnotes

References