#for god and ulster

[tmarshconnors]

Orange Lilies

Lilium bulbiferum, common names orange lily, fire lily, Jimmy's Bane, tiger lily and St. John's Lily, is a herbaceous European lily with underground bulbs, belonging to the Liliaceae.

[sissiarte]

(og by sweepswoop on twitter)

I'm so sorry

[whirlmado]

Old meme. But that was my first thought after reading "The cattle raid of Regamain" and "The death of Cu Chulainn"

[godsofhumanity]

Cu Chulainn: Just want to wish Ferdiad the most special, magical birthday ever. I love you with all my heart. Cu Chulainn: Also, happy birthday to my wife, Emer.

[denndrawings]

What if I posted something I made like three months ago in a three hour frenzy after reading a fic. Yeah what if.

SORRY editing to credit @sissiarte for designs!!!

[ad-ciu]

what are the best resources for learning more about medb

Good question!

I would generally recommend reading a bunch of stories about her first, and then (if you can access them) looking at some scholarly articles about her. Possibly the most important article I think has been written on Medb is: Sheehan (Sarah), 'Loving Medb,' in Gablánach in scélaigecht: Celtic studies in honour of Ann Dooley (2013): 171–186. This article gives a great overview of previous scholarship and does a good job questioning a lot of the assumptions that have been in play.

For stories about Medb, well! If there was a big website database that contained an annotated list of every single story in the Ulster Cycle and a list of which characters appear in them, as well as the inverse (a list of every text a character appears in), that would sure make this easy, right?! If someone maybe had all that data on hand and just needed funding to host it and have a website.

It'd be crazy if someone had all that.

And just needed funding.

Anyways, if you want a list of recommended stories, I'd check out the following:

Táin Bó Cúailnge (Recension 1; Recension 2).

Táin Bó Fráech: Medb is awful to her daughter mk. 1 (mk. 2 is the Táin).

Tochmarc Ferb: Medb is inexplicably Hector?

Fled Bricrenn: Medb is here (briefly) doing funky stuff.

Mesca Ulad: Medb is here doing other funky stuff.

Ferchuitred Medba: Medb is here, this is why she's queen of Connacht, this is why her sons all have the same name, and tbh, she grooms Ailill and its pretty messed up.

Aided Ailella 7 Chonaill Chernaig: Medb reveals her brutal double standards and has Ailill murdered.

Further, if you have any more specific questions that pop up in relation to these stories, you can just ask me and I can answer them.

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

i do think it's kind of funny that ao3 seems to have made a blanket change to all the "mythology" tags to make them "religion and lore" (not a good change) EXCEPT the "arthurian mythology" tag, which remains intact despite a Number of people trying to get that one reworked or at least different wrangled for ages. they're like "we're taking mythology away from all the contexts where it might be applicable. and leaving it in the context where it's dubious. this is a sensible change"

[breitzbachbea]

Relistening to 'We sell any monk' and the thing about selling from Dublin (makes sense!) to as far away as Italy (also makes sense!) makes me want to have a very silly little medieval AU. They end up in the Emirate of Sicily - as a bunch, though being sold separately and still ending up in the same place may be even better.

Anyways, Michele lives there and meets the unfortunate souls, whose backstory is "Yeah, no, not monks - " "We're the only sons you see -" "And I never was particularly holy or called to Christ anyways, I just lived around a monastery -" "You've seen that fecker, you expect his sister to be pious? No, no nun either." "Anyways. We're from around Dubh Linn and uh. You know. Thought a raid couldn't hurt." "Oh yeah, that were your words, weren't they!"

This goes on for another five minutes. Especially if Michele introduces himself and someone, in true Irish fashion, is like "Oh, I met someone from Byzantium on my way here. Do you know a Tiffany from Ravenna?"

[acrylicafternooning]

how it feels to support munster rugby

[saturnsfrog]

I have never seen something so in depth in my life. I love info dumping so much especially on ‘niche’ topics. Did I read all of this? Yes. I ate it up. Felt like I was reading someone’s dissertation on the origins of werewolves. Chef’s kiss 💋 

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Hello! How many different types of werewolves are there, and what do they look like? Please and thank you!

Are the roles werewolves play in different myths, or any were-like creature, the same was what we think in modern times? I’m curious about how they were perceived in different cultures.

This is a second as we got that we feel is also answered by the Chorus here so we are adding it in and answering both at once. Now for the glorious Chorus’ answer!!

Ok, so, the thing is, most werewolves you see in media these days bear little resemblance to werewolves in folklore, aside from the becoming a wolf bit. Being bitten did not spread the curse/virus/whatever, wolf’s bane wasn’t considered a deterrent/poison, silver as a surefire kill was a very late addition in the early 1800’s in Germany, and they weren’t usually bound by the cycle of the moon. Werewolves as we know them now were mainly inspired by movies like An American Werewolf in London and The Wolf Man, so much so that the movie lore has been taken as folklore and it can be difficult to find accurate information. Lucky you, you’ve got us!

~ Readmore here if you think it’s necessary ~

Keep reading

[tmarshconnors]

“I have never made an inflammatory statement in my life”

Ian Richard Kyle Paisley was a Northern Irish loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader.

Born: 6 April 1926, Armagh, Northern Ireland

Died: 12 September 2014, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

[an-spideog]

"it's pronounced kah-HEER" no, it's pronounced cathaoir

"It's pronounced cheer" no, it's pronounced tír

"It's pronounced sow-roo", no it's pronounced samhradh

"it's pronounced BAW-shtock" no, it's pronounced báisteach

"It's pronounced dee-ah gwit, it's pronounced jee-ah gwitch, it's pronounced jee-ah ditch, it's proonunced jee-ah gwit, it's pronounced dee-ah dit it's it's it's", it's pronounced dia duit or dia dhuit

"it's pronounced cul-la saw-v", do you even know what the hyphens are for??

"It's pronounced fram-a drap-a-door-ackta", god help us all

"It's pronounced uvvaka", someone commented this under a video of a child native to the Gaeltacht I'm losing my mind (the child said uibheachaí I think, I would say uibhe)

Irish and English have different sounds, so it's not possible to accurately represent the sounds of Irish using English spelling. This is obvious for what people call "guttural" sounds, like broad ch, you often see some variation of "chock" or "chokh" or "choh" for teach, but obviously english has no way of spelling that sound. It's not just a few sounds though, Irish has like 30 different consonants. Broad b, slender b, broad d, slender d etc.

PLUS, Irish spelling usually tells you how to pronounce words pretty accurately if you understand the rules, so this kind of respelling isn't necessary.

DOUBLE PLUS, different dialects will pronounce words differently, but the spelling will often accurately represent that for all of them. I say samhradh as samhra with a neutral vowel at the end, because that's how -adh is read in munster*, whereas in ulster they would read it as samhrú because that's how -adh is read there.

*for nouns

[sissiarte]

Cú Chulainn and the three people who want to be buried with him :) I'm very happy that I'm finally settling their designs !!!!!!

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

A Touch of Sweetness 1

Warnings: non/dubcon, mentions of crime, and other dark elements. My username actually says you never asked for any of this.

My warnings are not exhaustive but be aware this is a dark fic and may include potentially triggering topics. Please use your common sense when consuming content. I am not responsible for your decisions.

Character: mob!Loki Laufeyson

Sister series to mob!Thor

Summary: you make a new friend, but that's not all. (short reader)

As usual, I would appreciate any and all feedback. I’m happy to once more go on this adventure with all of you! Thank you in advance for your comments and for reblogging ❤️

“So I thought we could go berry picking,” you suggest. “I saw it on the news. They’re going to be having a whole strawberry fest on this farm--” 

Estelle, Candy, and Jada sit at the table with you, sipping their fancy lattes as you nurse a hot chocolate. Caffeine always makes you so jumpy. Still, you could’ve got a tea and felt a little less childish. They always tend to make you feel a bit simple. Especially your sister, Jada. 

“Oh, look who just walked in,” Estelle raises her filled in brows. 

Candy cranes next to you and turns back with a gasp. You peer over your shoulder and see the large blond man as he joins the queue, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets casually. You squint as the person in front of him peeks back and moves frantically out of his way. You’re curious as the line scatters before him and he steps up to the counter without wait. 

You face the table again as the girls gape, “about the berries...” you begin. 

“Oh be quiet. You’re always talking about such stupid things,” Jada says. “What do you think he’s doing here?” 

“Well, he can go wherever he wants, can’t he?” Estelle intones. 

You don’t get the big deal. That man is huge, sure, but why are they so concerned. 

“It’s not stupid,” you argue. “We can bake after--” 

“Oh my god, grow up,” Candy barks. “Look at him...” 

You harrumph. You were nice enough to buy their drinks and once again, you’re pushed into the corner. You’re a nice person but they make you have un-nice thoughts. 

“Who cares?” You pout. 

“Whatever. Don’t be a baby because no one wants to go to a farm and get attacked by bees,” Jada snips. 

“Fine, I’ll go alone,” you stand and gather up your bag and cup. 

“Please, do.” Your sister chirps. 

“Ha, you are always so dramatic,” Candy cackles. 

You feel like crying. They’re always laughing at you. You tell your parents as much but they just come back with the same old excuse. ‘She’s your sister.’ 

Yes, well you’re an adult and so is Jada and she doesn’t need to be such a bully. You go up to the counter to hand over your used mug to the barista. 

“Thank you, it was very good,” you say. “Is it real cocoa?” 

“Um, I think so,” the girl behind the counter says. “Have a good day.” 

“You too,” you smile. Well, you don’t feel so bad now. 

You turn and head for the door. As you get there, that big blond man does too. He’s right ahead of you. And aware of you. He pulls the door inward and nods you outside. He has a bright pink box under his arm with the cafe’s logo on it. 

“Oh, thank you,” you duck your head and scurry out, sending one last look to your sister and her friends as they squint back at you. No, not at you, at that man. 

As you step outside, so does he. 

“Excuse me,” he calls after you before you can flee back home to mope. 

“Yes,” you stop and spin back so your ankles twist. 

“I suppose it’s not my place but I overheard you talking about berry picking? It sounds like a fun time and my... partner, she’s in need of distraction. Would you be able to tell me exactly where I can find this farm?” He asks. 

You’re shocked. He must have very good hearing. Or maybe you really are dramatic. 

You smile. His voice is deep and warm. Cozy, just like his beard. 

“Yes, it’s called Ulster’s Ridge,” you explain. “I’m not sure where exactly, I haven’t looked it up, but it’s all next week.” 

“Mm,” he nods thoughtfully. “It seems you don’t have anyone to go with.” 

“You... heard all that?” You look away bashfully. 

“Not very nice. Those are friends?” He wonders. 

“My sister. They’re her friends. Not mine, I guess,” you bat your lashes at the admittance stings in your eyes. “I’ll go by myself.” 

“That’s brave but if it isn’t too forward, my partner, she could use a friend. I’m not sure she’d like to be stuck with only me much longer.” He laughs lightly, “I’m afraid I can be a bit much myself.” 

“Oh, I... if she doesn’t mind, I guess,” you say. “I wouldn’t want to crash a date.” 

“Not at all,” he insists. “Might I have a name to give her? I don’t think she’d handle a ‘I met a strange woman today and chatted her up’ without more detail.” 

You giggle. He’s funny. “Sure,” you give your name. 

“Ah, lovely,” he praises. “My name is Thor. Odinson.” 

“It’s nice to meet--” you raise your hand and pause as the name strikes a familiar chord. Oh. Thor. When you pictured the infamous mafioso, you didn’t imagine a teddy bear of a man. 

“I see my reputation precedes me,” he grins and shakes your hand, his large one swallowing it up. “I promise, I’m not so vicious as they say I am. And how could anyone be so to a sweetheart like you?” 

“I... thanks, sir,” you say. 

“Thor, please. Only my men call me sir,” he squeezes and lets go of your hand. “I will see you for berry picking.” He takes his phone out. “I only need your number and I will have my lady choose a date.” 

“Oh, sure,” you accept his cell with a slight tremble. 

You bow your head as you focus on entering your number. You sense movement nearby and turn your head to the cafe window. You only realise then you’re standing right in front of your sister’s table. 

You sniff and hand the phone back with a smile, “thanks. I can’t wait.” 

“I look forward to it,” he says. He gets closer and leans in, “I know family can be tough. Don’t let your sister dull your shine, sweetness.” He winks and sidesteps you, “I hope your day gets brighter, little one.” 

“You too, Mr. Odinson,” you call after him and wave. 

“Thor,” he booms back over his shoulder as he struts away. 

You turn to look at your sister. Her and the others look gobsmacked. You smile wide and drop your hand. You don’t need them. More berries for you and your new friend. Whoever she is. 

[11queensupreme11]

How would Cu Chulainn feel about pjo demigods?

cú chulainn seeing how pjo demigods live: damn, your lives suck ASS 🤮

no seriously LMAO 😭😭😭😭😭😭

a lot of the greek demigods (the modern ones especially) either come from broken homes, poor single-parents, abusive parents, or just straight up HOMELESS and stay in camp year-round, etc.

some don't even KNOW that their kids are demigods so they're completely clueless about that part of their life; they might get frustrated by their kids adhd and dyslexia, the fact that they keep getting kicked out of school, getting into legal trouble (the mist made it look like they attacked someone when it was actually a monster trying to kill them, etc). it honestly just seems so frustrating for those poor demigods to deal with, especially during wartimes so imagine being depressed cuz you have half-siblings that defected or you're afraid that u and ur loved ones might die in the war, and you got a clueless parent being all "why are you moping all the time? 🤨 get ur ass back in school and get those grades up!" 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

i haven't found much yet about cú chulainn's childhood in the myths and how he was raised before he.... you know, started terrorizing ppl, but his mother, deichtine, was a princess. he's the nephew of conchobar mac nessa, king of ulster. so he was part of the ROYAL family. and that's just the mortal side. then he drank lugh's blood (again, my fic only) and became a demigod, and lugh is a supreme god of the celtic pantheon and the leader of the tuatha dé danann. when cú chulainn got adopted and blessed by him, he became part of that royal family too.

not only that, but back in ancient times people knew the gods were real so they absolutely knew that cú chulainn was a demigod and treated him as such (even though he was crazy and sucked ass 💀). and then there's the pjo demigods, constantly treated like shit, sometimes even by their own mortal families. they're seen as criminals, liars, troubled kids, stupid kids, kids beyond help, disappointments, mentally disturbed, weirdos who see things that don't exist, etc.

pjo demigods are treated like shit from both sides too, from the mortal side AND the godly side. though the latter may depend on who their godly parents are, but if PERCY JACKSON, poseidon's most favorite child ever, is still being treated like a toy soldier by the gods then what sort of hope do the other kids have? 💀 percy is literally the one kid that is so purely loved by her godly parent and yet her life still sucks. poseidon's love isn't enough to protect her from a hero's fate; in fact, it's what DOOMED her 💔 because percy, like all greek demigods, are destined to live and die as heroes, a greek tragedy just like all the others before them 😭💔💔💔💔

those poor kids are tools for the gods. pjo gods cannot act freely, so they use their children to do things that they can't. cú chulainn NEVER has to worry about that. yes, he had a few gods meddle in his life (morrigan being one), but they definitely aren't as bad as the way the pjo gods meddle. there's no oppressive system in the ror verse that requires the gods to use demigods to do their bidding. cú chulainn was free to live his life as he wishes; he is not shackled the same way pjo demigods are and his gods aren't shackled the way pjo gods are either.

he didn't have to live his life being told "you're never gonna make it to adulthood because ur a demigod and we always die as a tragic hero because that's the fate we've been given 🤗", was never used as a toy soldier, he has freedom. no suicide quests, no prophecies, no divine intervention constantly uprooting his life for the worse, there were wars and battles, but those were mortal ones that he willingly joined, not godly ones that the gods made him fight in.

pjo demigods' lives just genuinely SUCK. they have tragedy in their veins that they can never remove and the way their world works is just so heavily built against them 💔

cú chulainn is going to be so very very VERY grateful that he was not born as a demigod in that universe 💀💀💀💀💀 he's gonna gently grab percy by the shoulders, give her a good shake, and tell her very seriously, "your life is miserable 😐 (marry me and i'll give you a better one 💖)"

also, seeing how they live would be an eye-opener because a lot of stuff about percy makes SOOOO much sense to him now. no wonder she seemed aghast as to why he lives so selfishly, why he chooses to fight in the apocalypse despite it meaning he'd fight for the destruction of humanity should he win.

percy grew up amongst demigods who lived tragic lives but died heroic fates, she even WITNESSED it herself. the idea of a demigod consciously choosing to destroy humanity and being fully aware of his actions is so unlike what she's used to. luke at least had a good and noble reason for his revolution and he killed himself in the end to stop kronos, ethan's betrayal was understandable and just and he tried to stop kronos and died for it, but cú chulainn lives selfishly without a care for other people's lives and she's not used to that from a demigod.

(omg i rambled too much but i cannot wait to write more about them ashahfvh bahsgdhb i'm loving the whole "hero vs warrior" thing between them too much sorry guys! 💖💖💖)

[whencyclopedia]

Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth (l. c. 1797-1883) was an African American abolitionist, women's suffrage advocate, and civil rights activist who famously "walked away" from slavery in 1826, sued in court for the return of her son and, between 1843 and her death in 1883, became one of the most popular lecturers and preachers in the United States.

Truth was born into slavery in Ulster County, New York State, and given the name Isabella Bomefree (also given as Baumfree). When her master refused to free her, as promised, in 1826, Isabella walked off his land and found refuge with a neighbor. In 1843, she changed her name to Sojourner Truth, believing the Holy Spirit had ordained her to speak the truth about slavery. She later became involved with the women's suffrage movement in the United States and was active in recruiting Black soldiers for the Union during the American Civil War.

Today, Truth is honored throughout the United States through statuary, place names, monuments, and is the first African American woman to have a bust of herself installed at the United States Capitol (in 2009).

Early Life & Sales

Isabella Bomefree was born in Swartekill, New York (modern-day Rifton, near the Town of Esopus), Ulster County, c. 1797, the daughter of James and Elizabeth Bomefree, who were the property of one Colonel Charles Hardenbergh (also given as Charles Ardinburgh and Johannes Hardenbergh). She was one of ten or twelve children, almost all of whom were sold to other slaveholders when she was an infant, except her brother Peter.

James had been taken by slavers in Ghana, and Elizabeth was the daughter of slaves taken from Guinea, and, as Esopus had been settled by the Dutch and still had a large Dutch population in the late 18th century, learned Dutch as their second language, which they taught to their children.

Their mother also taught Isabella and Peter to pray and to always rely on God and to remember their brothers and sisters when they looked up at the stars and moon at night, recognizing that their siblings were seeing that same sky, and so they were all still together, even though separated.

When Hardenbergh died in 1806, nine-year-old Isabella was sold at auction in Kingston, NY, to one John Neely. Peter and her mother were also to be sold, but, because James Bomefree was old and infirm, it was decided she would be freed to care for him because no one else wanted that burden. What happened to Peter at this point is unclear. Her mother, and then her father, died a few years after she was sold to John Neely.

In her 1850 as-told-to autobiography, she relates how she had a difficult time from the start with the Neelys because she only spoke Dutch, which Neely knew only a little of and Mrs. Neely none at all. Mrs. Neely would become enraged when Isabella (Belle) would bring a wrong pan to the kitchen or make some other mistake due to the language barrier, and then John Neely would beat her.

She repeatedly prayed for a better master and, in 1808, was sold to the tavern keeper Martinus Scriver (also given as Schryver) of Port Ewen who, in 1810, sold her to John Dumont of West Park. At the Dumont house, she had the same problem with her mistress but for a different reason: Mr. Dumont was sexually attracted to her and raped her on more than one occasion.

In c. 1815, Isabella fell in love with Robert, a slave on the neighboring estate, but Robert's owners forbade the relationship because, if Isabella became pregnant, they had no claim on the children and so there was no profit in the relationship for them. When Robert ventured to see Isabella without his master's permission, he was caught and severely beaten, later dying.

She was married to a fellow slave on the Dumont farm, Thomas, and, with him, had five children (though one, Diana, is thought to have been fathered by Dumont through rape). In her autobiography, she depicts Dumont as a kind master who protected her from his wife and would even assist with her children but, still, she was considered his property without any agency of her own.

Read More

⇒ Sojourner Truth