Irish Celtic mythology

Whereas the Celtic civilization essaimé in most of the Europe, it is in Ireland and Gaulle that one finds most important documentation. The Irish sources are primarily arts persons, written at one late time and lacunar

Historical background

The expansion of the Roman Empire, as well as a Gaulle as in the island of Brittany, caused the acculturation of the Celtic companies, as from first century BC, which gradually adopted the romanisation. The Ireland was not invaded by the Romains and its insularity preserved its specificity.

The company is divided into 3 classes, obeying in that with the trifonctionnelle ideology of the Indo-Europeans:

  • the sacerdotal class, made up of the Druid S, bards and vates
  • warlike aristocracy, directed by the king
  • producer-craftsmen and incidentally of the prisoners of war and the slaves

If the king has sovereignty, it cannot act without the opinion of the druids, who have indeed the absolute capacity on all the aspects of the life of the Gaëls. The druids (“the very erudite ones”, according to the etymology), are theologists, lawyers, historians, philosophers, etc They have the responsibility of manage crowned, therefore the religion. The role of the king is to guarantee prosperity and to carry out the redistribution of the richnesses. The producers (craftsmen, farmers and stockbreeders) have the responsibility of provide for the needs for the unit for the company.

At the 5th century, Christianity will supplant the antique religion. If the relations of the work of Holy Patrick and his disciples are hagiographic and not histories, it does not remain about it less than the conversion of Ireland could not be done by that of the leading class. What explains the originality of the Celtic Christianity with the Moyen-âge.

Sources

It is with the Irish monachism that one owes the conservation of mythology préchrétienne. When the oral tradition, transmitted from generation to generation, was desacralized, the clerks undertook an important work of retranscription. Thus we have an abundant but lacunar documentation, that the contemporary researchers divide commonly into four literary groups:

  • the mythological Cycle includes/understands the Cath Maighe Tuireadh , which reports the wars between the Fomoires and the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Lebor Gabála Érenn , a compilation of the mythical history of the occupations of Ireland. The Tochmarc Etaine ( Courts It Tin ) introduces the paramount goddess Étain, personification of the island and its incursions into the Other World

  • the Cycle Fenian is centered on a hero Finn Mac Cumaill, his/her son Oisin and them adventures of the warriors called Fianna. This corpus, sometimes named “cycle of Ossian”, is most recent and is at the origin of trickeries of James Macpherson
  • the historical Cycle or Cycles kings includes/understands accounts devoted to legendary kings of the Christian era.
  • the Cycle of Ulster (where Cycle of the Red Branch) is centered on the kingdom of Ulster, adventures of the hero Cúchulainn and the reign of the king Conchobar Mac Nessa. The Táin Bó Cúailnge ( Raid of the Cows of Cooley ) belongs to this cycle.

The whole as of these sources must be studied in a comparative way with the Welsh Celtic Littérature and all documentation relating to the Gaulle.

The Matter of Brittany and the Cycle arthurien take again many elements of the traditions Irish and Welsh, without to raise of mythology.

Mythical history

Before the installation of the Gaëls, the island knew several successive occupations which are told in the Lebor Gabála Érenn , a text of which there exist 5 versions of the “history” (R 1, R 2, R 3, Min and K) distributed in 18 manuscripts, written between the 12th century and the 18th century. The clerks who retranscribed this myth founder added the biblical reference of the Déluge, which is originally unknown Celtes. These various “races” are in the chronological order:

Tuatha Dé Danann (tribe of the goddess Dana) are the people of the gods of Ireland, they are évincés by wire of Mile and must take refuge in the “Sidh”. Mile is the ancestor of Gaëls.

Characters

Gods

The gods of Celtic Ireland are the Tuatha Dé Danann, last occupants of the island before the invasion of Milésiens who will force them to take refuge in the Sidh. Sidh (each god having to it his) thus become their residence and represent the Other World .
The divine company takes again the trifonctionnelle structure of the human society (sacerdotal class, warlike aristocracy, producers), in a more complex way:
- except class:
  • Lug Samildanach (paramount god)

- sacerdotal function:

- warlike function:

  • Ogme (god of the warlike magic)
  • Nuada (royalty)

- artisanal function:

  • Goibniu (god blacksmith)
  • Credne (god bronzier)
  • Luchta (god carpenter)

- takes part in the three functions:

- single goddess:

  • Brigit (goddess of the poets, the blacksmiths and the doctors), known under various misadventures:
    • Tin or Eithne (queen of Ireland, mother of all the gods)
    • Boand (another name of Brigit, eponymic goddess of the Boyne)
    • Mórrígan (warlike goddess, or of sovereignty)

The Bansidh (“women of the sidh”) are the messengers of the gods, their magic is more powerful than that of the druids, as regards love. They often appear in the form of swans and attract highly skilled warriors for voluptuous stays, the such adventures of Conle, Bran Mac Febail or Nechtan.

Druids

See principal article: Druid S .

The druids (etymology: “thickly-wid-be”, which means “very erudite”) are omnipresent in the literary sources, they intervene constantly in the life of the Celts and more particularly for all that concerns the monk. If the king is agent of sovereignty, the druid incarnates the word of the gods, which, in fact, gives him right of life and of died on whoever. The king reigns under the spiritual direction of sound (its) druid (S). All the life of the Celtic Société is submitted to the members of the sacerdotal class.

The transmission of the knowledge and oral teaching are missions which are spread out over years, it is largely called upon the magic whose ritual most known is the Geis and the Glam dicinn . Nothing prohibits with a druid to marry or take the weapons, the example characteristic being to it that of Cathbad.

There exist some despotic druids, like Aithirne Ailgesach, who make use of their science to extort from their victims of the impossible favors.

The Celtic calendar is punctuated by four great religious holidays: Beltaine, Imbolc, Lugnasad and Samain.

Kings and hero

Mythical toponyms

Certain toponyms are imaginary or unspecified, others precisely localized. Here are some among most famous:
  • Ath Daru (the ford of the oak): site of the battle of the same name, in the County of Kildare
  • Ath Ferdiad (the ford of Ferdiad): compared to the town of Ardee, in the County of Louth. It is at this place that took place the singular combat between Ferdiad and Cúchulainn
  • Brug Na Boinne, the “hotel of Boyne”: the residence of the Dagda. The site corresponds to the cairn of Newgrange, in the Comté of Meath
  • Cleitech: one of the residences of the gods, located near Brug Na Boinne
  • Cruachan (Rath Chrûachain): sit of the court of the sovereigns of the Connaught Medb and Ailill. The site is localized close to the village of Tulsk, in the Comté of Roscommon
  • Cúailnge: place of the famous raid. It is about Cooley, Comté of Louth
  • Dun: the word enters the composition of many Celtic toponyms as well insular as continental. See Dun (fortress)
  • Dun Ailinne: mythical capital of the kingdom of Leinster, in the county of Kildare
  • Dun Dalgan (Dun Dealgan): Dundalk, county of Louth
  • Emain Ablach: residence of the gods of the Other World , “ablach” means Pomme, fruit of immortality. Even etymology that Avallon, island where the King Arthur is currently in dormition
  • Emain Macha, mythical capital of the kings of Ulster, of which Conchobar Mac Nessa, localized with Navan Fort, close to Armagh in the Comté of Armagh
  • Goirt-year-Ort (ground of gold): place where the king Lugaid Mac Con is killed whereas it gave gold to his poets. In the county of Tipperary
  • Mag Mor (large plain): another name of the Sidh
  • Mag Slecht (plain of prostration): place of worship of an idol which, according to the hagiography, will be destroyed by Saint Patrick. Located in the County of Leitrim
  • Slieve Fuad (hills of Fuad): county of Armagh
  • Tared: capital of the laughed Ard Érenn (supreme kings of Ireland), in the County of Meath

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