#Serglige Con Culainn

[stairnaheireann]

Samhain and Irish Mythology

Irish mythology was originally a spoken tradition, but much of it was eventually written down in the Middle Ages by Christian monks, who Christianised it to some extent. Nevertheless, these tales may shed some light on what Samhain meant and how it was marked in ancient Ireland. Irish mythology tells us that Samhain was one of the four seasonal festivals of the year. The 10th-century tale…

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

I just got to reading a translation of "The wooing of Emer" online. Why is no-one (especially the online encyclopedias) talking about the fact Emer is fomorian?

why aren't the online encyclopaedias talking about it: bc they are not that useful for medieval irish literature most of the time, tbh, being heavily simplified and reliant on secondary sources that are often themselves not particularly reliable (although there have been efforts to improve some pages inc. wikipedia pages). loads of fun details missing from them, always

why isn't anyone else talking about it: eh. probably two main reasons

there's a lot of it around. cú chulainn's got a fomorian grandma (on lug's side) and no one ever really talks about that either. it's not that big a deal. i'm sure he's not the only one; can't throw a rock around here without hitting someone with a fomorian uncle or something. there's a lot more overlap / interaction between them and the tuatha dé danann than a simple oppositional binary would suggest, and family trees get fucky in general. being related to the fomoire doesn't automatically = being fomorian yourself bc belonging and kin-groups and stuff are a bit more complicated than that

i'm pretty sure it's only mentioned in tochmarc emire and only in passing and not directly in relation to emer herself, so it's easily overlooked even if you're dealing with that text and a lot of people will be dealing with other texts. it's also only in the later, longer redaction of the text and not in the earliest one, although so are a lot of things. if the authors thought it was important as part of her heritage -- whether they saw it as a good or a bad thing -- they would bring it up more often, but TE seems to be the only one that bothers to give background information about forgall's family tree, so mostly it looks like they think it's not that relevant. (although as it is not a particular focus of mine, it's entirely possible it comes up somewhere else and i just haven't noticed)

e.g. you might expect it to come up in fled bricrenn but it doesn't

sidenote: why the fuck henderson translations "ben ind fir as dech" as "wife of the best wight" i have no idea. it's just "fer"! it's just man! why are you trying to make cú chulainn sound even weirder than usual! it's a mystery to me. other than the fact it's from 1899 and people did whatever they wanted at that point tbh

(the parenthetical explaining the meaning of "Manach" is also editorial and not in the Irish; the meaning "tricky" may be more suitable bc it might have something to do with clessa, but that's getting into my friend emmet's in-progress research so i won't delve deeper there)

also, tethra, who is supposedly forgall's uncle in TE and who is described in the text as a "king of the fomoire" is a bit of a weird one iirc and there's potentially more going on with him than that phrasing suggests, although i can't remember the details and that's getting into cath maige tuired territory, at which point you're better off asking @margridarnauds bc it's not a topic i know a huge amount about

finally i'll be honest another factor is probably that there hasn't been a huge amount written about emer as a character. there's been a lot written about texts that she's in and her function there, but less on her just like, as a person (bc medieval celtic studies is a very small field, there are a lot of texts and characters, and there hasn't been that much written about anyone really). so lots of things don't get talked about. doesn't mean they're not worth talking about. just means nobody's got around to it yet.

[finnlongman]

The timeline choices in On Raven's Wing are wild.

[irelandseyeonmythology]

Very Urgent Poll about Deep Celtic Studies Questions:

[matchanne]

Just had a 'what-if' angst idea inspired by Serglige Con Culainn/Oenét Emire, Oisín in Tir na nÓg, @tainbocuailnge's writings about CasCu, and his interlude in FGO.

What if Cú never returned after he was cured? Instead of Emer storming through the Otherworld to get him back, she faithfully waits for him until he recovers from sickness. Sure enough, he does but doesn't return immediately since he feels good in the Otherworld and he's in the company of his new fairy lover.

Eventually, he gets homesick, decides to return to the mortal world, and goes back to Ulster. He gets slapped with the reality that many years have passed by. Much of everything he knew, cared about, and praises of his heroic deeds are already long gone. Emer, who seems to have never aged, appears to him with a melancholic expression. She can only ask in a sardonic tone.

"Was it fun?"

Cú attempts to embrace her but before he can, she immediately disappears. Just like the rest, Emer too, was no longer around. The woman who 'greeted' him in his return was merely an apparition of his wife.

(Should I make this into a full-fledged fanfic? But then, can I take the angst??)

[riastrad]

Does anyone have specific ideas as to where they’d put Serglige Con Chulainn in the vague ass ulster cycle timeline?

[oddnub-eye]

AITA for almost getting Stabbed

I (F Immortal) have been abandoned by my husband (M Immortal), so I started looking for a new partner. Eventually, I found one (M Beardless Boy) and decided to visit him while disguised as a bird. However, he tried to hit me with a spear, so me and my aide (F Likely Immortal) beat him with horsewhips while he was asleep and infected him with a magic illness.

After he had been sick for a year, I sent my aide to tell him that the only was he could fix his illness was if he defeated my enemies so he could get with me. After some pussyfooting around, he agreed and did so. We stayed together for a month after that.

After arranging the second date, my new bf's wife (F Same as BF) gathered all her friends to try and commit mob violence upon me. My new BF tried to defend me, but his wife said many things and he decided she was right and he should stay with her. After than, my husband arrived and I called him a little bitch and he took me back.

AITA?

[aescheretalks]

Issat áilsiu damsa ocus bidat áil hi céin bat béo.

You are beautiful to me, and you’ll be desirable to me as long as you live.

[galway-bae]

the Ulster Cycle is a comedy 

[incorrect-ulster-cycle]

Emer: You look like a corpse that was just pulled out of the river.

Cú Chulainn: Wrong. I look like a cool rock star who just OD'd in his own pool. Big difference.

[teatitty]

Fuck it here’s some Manannan lore to curb my fury at this pseudo servant bullshit so! 

Manannan is, of course, one of the most well-known and popular Irish Deities, chiefly known as being a great Merchant, Sailor and a God of the Sea (and occasionally described as a Fomorian). He owned swine that could be resurrected when killed, and those who ate of their flesh would be granted immortality

The Isle of Man was the throne of Manannan, his stronghold was on the top of Barrule, and he held his court from Manannan's Chair at Cronk y Voddy

In Irish mythology, Manannan was killed in battle by Uillenn Faebarderg in the battle of Magh Cuilenn and is said to be buried in the Tonn Banks, off the coast of Donegall. Many shipwrecks have occured there and the spirit of Manannan is supposed to ride on the storm. The Tonns form one part of a triad known as "The Three Waves of Erin"

He’s associated with Alder, Hawthorn, Ragwort, Burdock, The Crane, Horses, Pigs, Salmon, the Triskelion and The Triton

On Misummer Eve, the Manx would bring a tribute of rushes to South Barrule for him!

He is further identified with several trickster figures: the Gilla Decair and the Bodach an Chóta Lachtna ("the churl in the drab coat"). Manannán is given several names, bynames, epithets and surnames. His name is spelt Manandán in Old Irish, Manannán in modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic, and Mannan in Manx Gaelic. Some of the names equated with Manannan include: Oirbsiu or Oirbsen, Duartaine O'Duartaine, Cathal O'Cein (Cathal is derived from battle and means "great warrior"), Gilla de ("Boyservant") and Gilla Decair ("Troublesome boyservant") 

His most common epithets reinforce his connection with war and the sea:

Mac Lir, which means "son of the sea" or "son of Lir/Lyr”

Mac Alloit or Mac Alloid, which means "son of the soil or land" (effectively making him a son of sea and land)

chief of your [Tuatha De] kings

senior of your [Tuatha De] hosts

lord of champions

shining light of your batallions

tutor in valor, in feats of arms, in magic

foster son of the Dagda

the great and mighty

There are a shitton of places named after him all over Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. In Ireland, most of them are on the coast or contain water features. They include Mannin Lake (Loch Mhanainn) in County Mayo, Mannin Bay (Cuan Mhanainn) in County Galway, Mannin Island (Manainn) in County Cork, Cashelmanannan (Caiseal Mhanannáin, "Manannán's ringfort") and Sheevannan (Sí Mhanannáin, "Manannán's fairy mound") in County Roscommon and then Derrymannin (Doire Mhanainn, "Manann's oak") in County Mayo, and Carrickmannan (Carraig Mhanainn, "Manann's rock") in County Down. 

Also in Ireland, Lough Corrib takes its name from Manannán's alternate name Oirbsiu or Oirbsen. The placenames Clackmannan (Clach Mhanainn) and Slamannan (Sliabh Mhanainn) in Scotland may also refer to Manann

He appears in all four cycles of Irish Myth, most famously in the tale of Fand and Cu Chulainn’s affair. Some of these tales include:

In the Ulster Cycle: Tochmarc Étaíne ("The Wooing of Étaín"), Serglige Con Culainn ("The Wasting Sickness of Cúchulainn"), Tochmarc Luaine "The Wooing of Luan"

In the Cycles of the Kings: Immram Brain maic Febail ("The Voyage of Bran son of Febal)", Echtra Cormaic maic Airt ("The Adventure of Cormac mac Airt"), Compert Mongáin ("The Birth of Mongán")

In the Mythological Cycle: Lebor Gabála Érenn ("The Book of Invasions"), First Recension, Altram Tige Dá Medar ("The Nourishment of the Houses of Two Milk-Vessels")

other Old Irish texts: Sanas Cormaic ("Cormac's Glossary"), The Voyage of Bran, Compert Mongáin, His Three Calls to Cormac ("Cormac's Adventure in the Land of Promise")

Manannán was associated with a "cauldron of regeneration". This is seen in the tale of Cormac mac Airt! Here, he appeared at Cormac's ramparts in the guise of a warrior who told him he came from a land where old age, sickness, death, decay, and falsehood were unknown (Tír na nÓg) ).

He is lord and guardian of the Blessed Isles, Mag Mell, and Emhain Abhlach, the Isle of Apple Trees, where the magical silver apple branch is found. When he visits the land of the living, his movement is compared to the wind, a hawk or swallow, and sometimes takes the form of a thundering wheel rolling across the landscape

Manannan had a crapton of magical artifacts; he gave Cormac mac Airt his goblet of truth; he had a ship that didn’t need sails nor oars named "Wave Sweeper" (Scuabtuinne); he owned a cloak of mists that granted him invisibility (Féth Fíada, which also changed into every colour you could think of and when Manannan was angry would produce a thunderous clap when flapped), a flaming helmet, and a sword named Fragarach ("Answerer" or "Retaliator") that could slice through any armour and upon command when pointed at a target could make that target answer any question truthfully. He also owned a horse called "Enbarr of the Flowing Mane" which could travel over water as easily as land. Some sources say that, to Manannán, the sea itself was like a flowery plain

Mannanán bestowed upon the warriors of the Tuatha Dé the Féth fíada, Fleadh Goibhneann (the Feast of Goibniu), and Mucca Mhannanain (Mannanán's swine) whose regenerating flesh provided food for feasting by the gods, similar to Odin's boar Sæhrímnir in Scandinavian myth. He also owned a speckled cow that he and Aengus retrieved from India (some sources say it was Greece) along with a dun cow, two golden goblets (Grails), and two spancels of silk 

In "The Fosterage of the House of the Two Pails”, Eithne refuses to eat or drink anything from the houses of Mannanán and Aengus except for the honey-flavored, intoxicating milk from the Speckled and Dun Cows

In the Dinsenchas, Manannán is also described as the father of Ibel, after whose death Manannán cast draughts of grief from his heart that became Loch Ruidi, Loch Cuan, and Loch Dacaech

You can find an early Manx poem about Manannan titled Manannan-beg-mac-y-Lheirr, "little Manannan, son of the Sea". The tale "Manannan at Play" features the god as a clown and beggar who turns out to be a harper. Manannán (here in his trickster guise of the Bodach), plays a number of pranks, some of which result in serious trouble; by the end of the tale, he compensates for the pranks that got him in trouble

Some folklore that he appears in include “O’Donnell’s Kern” where he appears as a kern or serving man at the courts of various historical persons from 16th Century Ireland. As a kern, he is repeatedly described as wearing thinly striped clothing and leather brogues (shoes) soaking with water, having ears and half his sword protruding from his mantle, and carrying three scorched holly javelins (elsewhere described as a single javelin) in his right hand. In this guise, he again appears as a trickster, walking into his hosts' homes uninvited and undetected by the guardsmen

I’ve spoken of this next tale plenty of times so I won’t go into full details but he is a chief figure in the Fenian “The Pursuit of the Gilla Decair and His Horse.” Two other tales would be “O’Neill’s Horse Race” and “Giant” where he, as Orbsen, is said to be a giant who fought another giant named Uillin on a spot marked by a standing stone in Moycullen

In Book of Fermoy, a manuscript of the 14th - 15th century, Manannan is described as “a pagan and lawgiver among the Tuatha Dé Danann, and a necromancer possessed of power to envelope himself and others in a mist, so that they could not be seen by their enemies.” He was such a magnificent Sailor among the European continent that it was said he could predict the weather simply by looking at the stars

(For some extra lore: Fand, his beautiful wife, started her life as a sea bird and was herself a deity of the sea but was later reduced to a simple Fae Queen)

[stairnaheireann]

Samhain and Irish Mythology

Samhain and Irish Mythology

Irish mythology was originally a spoken tradition, but much of it was eventually written down in the Middle Ages by Christian monks, who Christianised it to some extent. Nevertheless, these tales may shed some light on what Samhain meant and how it was marked in ancient Ireland. Irish mythology tells us that Samhain was one of the four seasonal festivals of the year. The 10th-century tale…

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

this is specifically from the first recension by the way, the use of a lóeg for fer diad. this is interesting because on the whole LL/the second recension has more going on in that section. there he uses the term inmain, beloved, and also a phrase "fer dil diad" (shows up in R1 too) which inserts the endearment into the middle of fer diad's name (no i'm not normal about that either)

the verses in LL/R2 are way more elaborate and there's way more waxing poetic about fer diad's beauty and all of that, because twelfth century authors never saw an adjective they didn't want to use four of, so on the whole that's the one people would read if looking for queer readings. but this. this line is So Much and so fleeting and in that moment—

well, a lóeg is translated by o'rahilly here as my loved one and i must admit that pretty much every other example i can think of that uses this endearment is in a romantic context, especially in later/modern texts (it's in caoineadh airt uí laoghaire – 'mo chara is mo lao thu' – and she's addressing her dead husband). maybe it has different connotations in the eleventh century (which seems to be when this section was written) but it doesn't feel like a very neutral term to use

and that – the weight of connotation it's carrying – only adds to the realisation that holy shit this is Láeg's name. this is what everyone is saying when they address him directly. and then, of course, I started thinking about how often anybody except cú chulainn addresses láeg by name, and whether anyone else ever says a láeg. and the main one i can think of is emer, who definitely does, in oidheadh con culainn, when they are grieving together and she asks if he's coming home to the house they shared with cú chulainn. anyone else? not sure. maybe in serglige con culainn, though i know at least one of them address him as mac riangabra and not as láeg

i will have to research this further. so that i can cry as accurately as possible, you know

sometimes i think i'm okay about láeg/lóeg literally meaning "calf" but figuratively being a term of endearment meaning "beloved" or "favourite" and i'm like. that's fine. totally okay for him to be called that. i'm normal about it.

and then i consider that in cú chulainn's lament for fer diad when he directly address fer diad as "beloved", that is the word he uses. a lóeg.

and on the same page: a lóeg, a phopa láeg, help me cut the gae bolga out of him, take this message for me, be there with me, be the only person i trust in this moment when i am falling apart,

and his name is fucking beloved

and fer diad is beloved and fer diad is fucking dead and láeg is fucking culpable because he helped and i don't even know where i'm going with this it's just something about being loved as an act of violence i think. beloved as a weapon. a bloody favourite and a mirror and a double and

[mythsology]

Cú Chulainn (Irish for “Culann’s Hound”), born Sétanta, is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle. He is believed to be an incarnation of the god Lugh, who is also his father. He gained his name as a child after killing Culann's fierce guard-dog in self-defence and offered to take its place until a replacement could be reared. At the age of seventeen he defended Ulster single-handedly against the armies of queen Medb of Connacht in the famous Táin Bó Cúailnge. It was prophesied that his great deeds would give him everlasting fame, but his life would be a short one. 

Emer was the queen of Ulster, married to Cú Chulainn. The Ulstermen searched for a suitable wife for him, but he would have none but Emer. He visited and wooed her by trading cryptic riddles with her. Emer agreed to accept Cú Chulainn as a husband, but only when his deeds justified it. Emer’s father opposed the match and suggested that Cú Chulainn should train in arms with the renowned warrior-woman Scáthach in Scotland, hoping this would kill him. Cú Chulainn returned from Scotland fully trained, but Forgall still refused to let him marry Emer. Cú Chulainn stormed Forgall's fortress, killing twenty-four of Forgall's men, abducted Emer and stole Forgall's treasure. Having proved his prowess, Emer now agreed to marry him.

Though Cú Chulainn had many lovers, Emer's only jealousy came when he was entranced into love with Fand, wife of Manannán mac Lir, the king of the great sea, as recounted in the narrative Serglige Con Culainn. She decided to kill her rival, but when she saw the strength of Fand's love for Cú Chulainn she decided to give him up to her. Fand, touched by Emer's magnanimity, decided to return to her own husband. Manannán shook his cloak between Cú Chulainn and Fand, ensuring the two would never meet again, and Cú Chulainn and Emer drank a potion to wipe the whole affair from their memories.

(x, x) // Requested by @innersuperhero

[ad-ciu]

Of Gods and Dice: Morrigan

So, once again, we continue on in our examination of the presentation of ‘Celtic’ Deities within Dungeons and Dragons, Fourth Edition. As always, this is a commentary not on the developers of the game, but on how Celtic Studies fails to make itself approachable to the general public, leaving only dodgy sources for public consumption.

Today, we are looking at Morrigan who is described as a Goddess of Battle, as being Chaotic Evil, has the War Domain, and her Holy Symbol is two crossed spears. There’s a... lot in this one, I apologize if it gets a bit long.

So, right off the bat, the Deity’s name is missing the Definite Article. Her name is The Morrigan, similarly to how The Dagda’s name has the Definite Article attached to it. It’s really interesting that they gave the article to The Dagda but not The Morrigan. It’s sort of odd, and I can’t really explain this at all. Even dodgy modern sources would give her the article. It’s part of both of their names, as their names are functionally Epithets rather than proper names. The Dagda is ‘The Good God,’ not in a morality sense, but in a ‘good at things’ sort of thing. The Morrigan is ‘The Great Queen,’ with Mor being ‘Big’ or ‘Important,’ with Rigan being the word for ‘Queen.’ Though missing a fada on the i, and an extra i in there. Anyways, so yeah. Her name is The Morrígan. 

But, before we get into the details, I need to make a real quick aside about this whole situation. The name The Morrígan can mean a specific individual, or a group of individuals. As a single individual, she functions as a War Goddess totally. As a group, The Morrígan includes The Morrígan (Yeah, I know, there’s a reason this can be very confusing), Badb, and the third member is one of a number of other entities, with common ones being Macha, Nemain, and rarely Anu. In general, they are the target of the most misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or forceful reinvention. The best way to handle her is to either make a noted point that you are either talking about the Individual or the Trinity, and if you’re talking about the Trinity, either specific the members, or say that it’s a Trinity with more than three members. It’s mythology, it won’t fit a pure system.

For the rest of this discussion, I am going to be assuming that the Devs meant they were talking about The Morrígan as an individual, which might actually be why she isn’t given the article. Anyways, continuing on.

The Morrígan is totally a War Goddess, probably, most likely. It’s more evident with Badb or Nemain, but The Morrígan appears to have a War function. It is important to note however, she isn’t a fighter, she hangs around and causes fights, or patronizes fights, clashes, and violence. She is a Goddess of War, not a Warrior Goddess. So, the divine function she is given here is reasonable. One of the reasons I suspect she isn’t intended to be presented in her merged state here is because if she was merged, she would gain a bunch of other details like Ravens (Badb), Death (Badb), Battlefield Frenzy (Nemain), Horses (Macha), Sovereignty [of Ulster, Probably] (Macha). She shows up as an individual in two myths, in Cath Maige Tuired, and in the Táin Bó Cúailnge. She also shows up in various Dindshenchas myths, such as the one for the Barrow River, and I believe a few other of the larger sagas, but she is not given as much time ‘on screen’ as in these two.

Now, the weird thing is making her Chaotic Evil. Chaotic, yes, she effectively functions outside of the Tribe, has no profession, and is generally a bit spooky. Chaotic works to represent her detachment from society. Evil, however, she’s not evil. She is hostile to Cúchulainn after he refuses her sexual advances since he’s a bit busy at the time, but this isn’t exactly unique to her, it’s more of an Otherworldly Woman thing as proposed by Gregory Tower in his article Desire and Divorce in Serglige Con Culainn in Ériu Vol. 66 (2016). This is more of a function of her Chaotic function than a morality I would suggest, part of the inversion of social systems int he Otherworld where a woman is seen taking violent physical action against a desired lover to try to beat them into submission as we see with Fand and her sister. I would not argue that she is Good however, she is a bit scary, and does her own thing, but Chaotic Neutral works wonderfully to express her personality as someone who is doing what she feels like, or has been bribed into doing.

The War Domain is also totally fine, nothing much more to say on that front. Maybe add the Trickster Domain since it theoretically has a Chaos angle, and she also disguises herself a few times, taking on different shapes to cause problems. She isn’t really subtle though, she’s about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the sternum.

The Holy Symbol of two crossed spears is sort of interesting, and I think it’s further detail to the author trying to present her in a solitary state, as for a group entity, raven-related things is far more important to her than spears. Again, this is mostly a Mechanical thing over anything else. There is no iconographic depictions of the Irish or Welsh Deities that I know of to draw on for these.

Anyways, in conclusion, we can’t really see a whole ton here except that she is being presented as an individual Deity here, separated from her Trinity, and is being depicted as Chaotic Evil for some reason. It’s not super clear in my mind what’s going on here. This depiction doesn’t fit into some of the more common misunderstandings of her character either, which is somewhat interesting.

[oddnub-eye]

Emer talking to Fand: He is not your poor little meow meow. He is my violent little bark bark.

- Sergligle Con Culainn