Mongán mac Fíachnai (died ''c.'' 625) was an Irish prince of the
Cruthin
The Cruthin (; or ; ) were a people of early medieval Ireland. Their heartland was in Ulster and included parts of the present-day counties of Antrim, Down and Londonderry. They are also said to have lived in parts of Leinster and Connacht ...
, a son of
Fíachnae mac Báetáin. Little is certainly known of Mongán's life as only his death is recorded in the
Irish annals
A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over ti ...
. He appears as a character in the
Cycles of the Kings
The Cycles of the Kings or Kings' Cycles, sometimes called the Historical Cycle, are a body of Old and Middle Irish literature. They comprise legends about historical and semi-historical kings of Ireland (such as ''Buile Shuibhne'', "The Madne ...
where he is said to have been the son of
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 ...
and perhaps a reincarnation of the legendary hero
Finn mac Cumaill of the
Fenian Cycle
The Fenian Cycle (), Fianna Cycle or Finn Cycle () is a body of early Irish literature focusing on the exploits of the mythical hero Fionn mac Cumhaill, Finn or Fionn mac Cumhaill and his Kóryos, warrior band the Fianna. Sometimes called the ...
.
His origin story is told in the ''Compert Mongáin'' found in the
Yellow Book of Lecan
The Yellow Book of Lecan (YBL; Irish language, Irish: ''Leabhar Buidhe Leacáin''), or TCD MS 1318 (''olim'' H 2.16), is a History of Ireland (1169–1536), late medieval Irish manuscript.
It contains much of the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology ...
and the
Lebor na hUidre
(, LU) or the Book of the Dun Cow (MS 23 E 25) is an Irish vellum manuscript dating to the 12th century. It is the oldest extant manuscript in Irish. It is held in the Royal Irish Academy and is badly damaged: only 67 leaves remain and many ...
.
''Compert Mongáin''
The tale ''Compert Mongáin'' (the Conception of Mongán), which survives in three variants, has Mongán fathered on Fiachnae's wife Cáintigern by the sea-god
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 ...
while Fíachnae campaigned alongside
Áedán mac Gabráin
Áedán mac Gabráin (; ), also written as Aedan, was a king of Dál Riata from 574 until c. 609 AD. The kingdom of Dál Riata was situated in modern Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and parts of County Antrim, Ireland. Genealogies record that Áe ...
of
Dál Riata
Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaels, Gaelic Monarchy, kingdom that encompassed the Inner Hebrides, western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North ...
. The versions have different accounts of how this came about, all of which agree that some form of bargain was struck whereby Fiachnae's life was saved by Manannán in return for a night with Cáintigern. An early version of this tale is found in the ''
Immram Brain
The Voyage of Bran ( [], meaning "The Voyage of Bran [son of Febail]") is a medieval seventh- or eighth-century Irish language narrative.
Source
The date of composition has been assigned to the late 7th or early 8th century, and the text is kn ...
'' where Manannán prophecies Mongán's birth and near divine nature to Bran. Although the surviving versions of the tale are from the 10th or 11th century, earlier versions are believed to have been included in the lost ''
Cín Dromma Snechtai
or ("book of Druimm Snechta"; , ) is a now lost early Irish manuscript, thought to have been written in the 8th century AD.
Name
Old Irish ''cín'', derived from the Latin ''quinio'' "five", was a small book made of five folded vellum leaves; ' ...
'' manuscript. The verses in which the claims of Mongán's divine parentage and tutoring are made are described by Charles-Edwards are "literary conceit" and by Carney as "poetic hyperbole", the presumed original intent being to vaunt Mongán's seamanship.
Manannán takes Mongán away with him to
Tír Tairngire—the land of promise, an otherworld similar to
Tír na nÓg
In Irish mythology, Tír na nÓg ( , ; ) or Tír na hÓige ('Land of Youth') is one of the names for the Celtic Otherworld, or perhaps for a part of it. Tír na nÓg is best known from the tale of Oisín ("''uh''-''sheen''") and Niamh ("''neev ...
—where he learned
shapeshifting
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest existen ...
and other esoteric knowledge. While Mongán is in the otherworld, his father is killed by
Fiachnae mac Demmáin, an event which the
Irish annals
A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over ti ...
place after Mongán's death. Mongán's ability to change his shape is alluded to in the 9th century tale ''De Chophur in dá Muccado'' (The quarrel of the two swineherds), found in the ''
Book of Leinster'', which is one of the stories setting the scene for the ''
Táin Bó Cuailnge''.
The
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
men ask Manannán to send Mongán to rule over them, but he remains in the otherworld for a further ten years, returning to Ulster when he is sixteen. An agreement is made that Ulster will be divided between Fiachnae mac Demmáin and Mongán, and that Mongán will marry Fiachnae's daughter Dub Lacha. Mongán later kills his father-in-law in revenge for his father's death, again chronologically at odds with the surviving record which has Fiachnae mac Demmáin killed several years after Mongán.
Finn reborn
One tale recounts a dispute between Mongán and the poet Forgoll, Forgoll being perhaps based on traditions about the historical poet
Dallan Forgaill. Forgoll claims to know how
Fothad Airgthech, a legendary
High King of Ireland
High King of Ireland ( ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...
died, but Mongán says he is wrong. Forgoll threatens to curse and satirise Mongán for this insult to his knowledge and will settle for nothing less than Mongán's wife Breothigernd in reparation. A mysterious stranger appears who claims that Mongán was with him when he slew Fothad, and proves Forgall wrong. The story ends by revealing that the stranger was the legendary
fianna
''Fianna'' ( , ; singular ''Fian''; ) were small warrior-hunter bands in Gaelic Ireland during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. A ''fian'' was made up of freeborn young men, often from the Gaelic nobility of Ireland, "who had left fosterage ...
hero
Caílte mac Rónáin and that Mongán was the reincarnation of
Finn mac Cumaill.
Otherworld
Two short tales survive which associate Mongán with the otherworld, both dating from the late 10th or early 11th century.
One is ''Scél Mongáin'', a story concerning Mongán and the poet Forgoll. This has the two meet a poor student whom Mongán takes pity on and sends to the otherworld to bring back gold, silver and a precious stone, the silver which the student is to keep for himself. Little occurs in the tale which concentrates on the magnificence of the otherworld.
The second, ''Tucait Baili Mongáin'' ("What caused Mongán's Frenzy"), is said to take place in the year in which
Ciarán of Clonmacnoise
Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise (c. 516 – c. 549), supposedly born Ciarán mac an tSaeir ("son of the carpenter"), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland and the first abbot of Clonmacnoise. He is sometimes called Ciarán the Youn ...
died and
Diarmait mac Cerbaill
Diarmait mac Cerbaill (died ) was King of Tara or High King of Ireland. According to traditions, he was the last High King to follow the pagan rituals of inauguration, the ''ban-feis'' or marriage to goddess of the land. The last High King to ...
became
King of Tara
The term Kingship of Tara () was a title of authority in ancient Ireland - the title is closely associated with the archaeological complex at the Hill of Tara. The position was considered to be of eminent authority in medieval Irish literature ...
following the death of
Túathal Máelgarb, events dated to the year AD 549. Mongán's wife Findtigernd asks him to recount his journey to the otherworld. When they are at the hill of
Uisnech, a supernatural hailstorm comes on. When it ends Mongán, his wife, his poet, and seven companions, find a hall ringed by trees. They enter, are greeted by the inhabitants, and Mongán is given to drink, after which he recounts his journey. Although it seems as though they are in the house for only a short time, when they leave a year has passed, and they are now at Rath Mor, Mongán's home near modern
Larne
Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)[Larne/Latharna]
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...
, 150 miles away.
Wives and children and poets
In the tale of Forgoll and Fothad, Mongán is said to be married to Breothigernd. ''Tucait Baili Mongáin'' names his wife Findtigernd. The ''
Banshenchas
''An Banshenchas'' (literally "the woman lore") is a medieval text which collects brief descriptions of prominent women in Irish legend and history into a poetic narrative.
Unlike much of early Irish literature, ''An Banshenchas'' may be attrib ...
'' or ''Lore of Women'' contained in the ''
Book of Leinster'', attributed to a
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 ...
poet named Gilla Mo-Dutu (died 1147), also names Dub Lacha as Mongán's wife.
An alternative version of the ''Compert Mongáin'', ''Compert Mongáin ocus Serc Duibe Lacha do Mongán'' (The conception of Mongán and Mongán's love for Dub Lacha), contains a lengthy romance concerning Mongán and another wife, Dub Lacha, daughter of Fiachnae mac Demmáin, in which
Brandub mac Echach
Tafl games (), also known as hnefatafl games, are a family of ancient Northern European Abstract strategy game, strategy board games played on a checkered or latticed gameboard with two armies of uneven numbers. Names of different variants of t ...
is a major character. This story makes frequent use of Mongán's otherworldly shapeshifting and magical powers.
Austin Clarke's play '' The plot succeeds; a poetic pantomime'' (1950) is a comedy based on the tale of Mongán and Dub Lacha.
A third tale concerning Mongán and a poet, this time Eochaid Rígéiges, again perhaps based on the historical poet Dallan Forgaill, purports to explain why he had no children. The tale recounts a journey by Mongán and Eochaid where they are asked to explain the meaning of various place names—a branch of poetical learning called ''
dindshenchas''—and on each occasion Eochaid is shown up by Mongán. As a result, Eochaid curses Mongán so that he will have no noble-born children and that his descendants will be peasants.
Yeats took Mongán as a subject in his writings, including the poems "Mongan laments the Change that has come upon him and his Beloved" and "Mongan thinks of his past Greatness" (''The Wind Among the Reeds'', 1899).
Death
*Mionannála from
Egerton 1782: 615–643 (Suibne Menn, Fíachna mac Báetáin, Mongán) http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100027/text002.html
The record of Mongán's death in the ''
Annals of Tigernach
The ''Annals of Tigernach'' (Abbreviation, abbr. AT, ) are chronicles probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin language, Latin and Old Irish, Old and Middle Irish.
Many of the pre-historic entries come f ...
'' has him killed by a stone thrown by one Artúr son of Bicior, described as a
Briton
British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, w ...
or perhaps, following
Kuno Meyer
Kuno Meyer (20 December 1858 – 11 October 1919) was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of Celtic philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of World War I in the United States was a source of controversy. His brothe ...
's reading, a
Pict
PICT is a graphics file format introduced on the original Apple Macintosh computer as its standard metafile format. It allows the interchange of graphics (both bitmapped and vector), and some limited text support, between Mac applications, an ...
. It is accompanied by a poem attributed to
Bécc Bairrche mac Blathmaic, king of Ulaid.
Whitley Stokes translated it as follows:
The wind blows cold over Islay
Islay ( ; , ) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll and Bute just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's cap ...
;
there are youths approaching in Kintyre
Kintyre (, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East Loch Tarbert, Argyll, East and West Loch Tarbert, Argyll, West Loch Tarbert in t ...
:
they will do a cruel deed thereby,
they will slay Mongán, son of Fíachnae.[Anderson, pp. 147–148; ''Annals of Tigernach'', AT 626.6. Another different verse is included in the notice of Mongán's death in the ''Annals of Ulster'', AU 625.2.]
Notes
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mongan mac Fíachnai
620s deaths
Cycles of the Kings
7th-century Irish people
Year of birth unknown