by Matt Clayton
Celtic Mythology
Captivating Celtic Myths of Celtic Gods, Goddesses, Heroes and Legendary Creatures
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Table of Contents
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Introduction
PART I
Ireland
The Children of Lir
The Birth of Cuchulainn
How Cuchulainn Got His Name
PART II
Wales
Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed
The Story of Culhwch and Olwen
PART III
Cornwall and Brittany
The Drowned City of Ys
The Romance of Tristan and Iseult
Pronunciation Guide
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Introduction
Giants and fairies, druidical magic, impossible deeds done by heroes: all of these are features of Celtic myths and legends. Stories such as these are all that remain of the mythos of the ancient Celts, a people whose language and culture once covered a wide swath of continental Europe and extended into Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales. However, Celtic culture and language diminished under the expansion of the Roman Empire and the advent of Christianity; its decline was well advanced by the early Middle Ages. Today, what remains of Celtic cultures may largely be found only in Brittany in northwestern France, and in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
We have no ancient sources for the stories of the Celts, which originally were passed down orally. Irish monks wrote versions of their native tales starting in the eighth century, while the Welsh redactions survive in manuscripts dating from the twelfth century onwards, and Cornish legends were never captured at all. Breton tales were written down even later, in close to modern times: the Barzazh Breiz, a collection of Breton folk songs that includes the story of the drowned City of Ys, was first published in 1839, leading to some controversy over their authenticity as representatives of ancient Breton myth and legend.
The impact first of Romanization and then the advent of Christianity on the transmission of these tales cannot be underestimated. The imposition of a new culture and new religion resulted in the loss of the original Celtic mythos, including any cosmological narratives. We now find only echoes of this original mythos in physical artefacts such as the Gundestrup Cauldron, or Neolithic tomb carvings; in the few descriptions of the Celts and their beliefs from Roman sources; or in stories such as the Irish tales of the Tuatha De Danann, or simply the Tuatha De ("people of the goddess Danu" and "tribe of the gods," respectively), who are extraordinarily beautiful, gifted warriors, learned in magic and near-immortal.
When they were finally recorded by Christian scribes, the original myths became watered down as some of the old gods were turned into superhuman heroes, while others were banished to their mounds in a mysterious and perilous Otherworld, the land of Faerie. The latter is in fact a reimagining of the function of mounded tombs made in ancient times, which kept their association with the pagan gods through their transformation into the homes of the Sidhe, or fairy-folk. These once-powerful beings are sometimes even further diminished when they are seen as magical, small winged creatures, the fairies and pixies who play pranks on clumsy humans.
The stamp of Christianity on the Celtic mythos can be seen in Ireland, particularly, where monks concocted pseudo-histories and linked these to Biblical tales, partly in an attempt to reconcile the ancient pagan stories with the new Christian faith. They did this, for example, by making the old gods in their guise as the Tuatha De one of several groups who invade Ireland and take up residence there, but only centuries after the granddaughter of Noah leads a group of her own people there from Palestine in an attempt to escape the Flood. Irish scribes also attempted to further valorize these pseudo-histories by claiming Irish connections to ancient Greece, in much the same way as the Romans had tried to boost their own legitimacy by claiming descent from the hero Aeneas after the fall of Troy. In these instances, exiles from Ireland go to Greece for a time where they grow strong and sometimes acquire magical learning (part of the history of the Tuatha De) before returning to Ireland once again.
Modern scholars have grouped Irish myths into one of three basic cycles: the Mythological Cycle, which contains the pseudo-histories and stories of god-heroes such as Lug and Lir; the Ulster Cycle, which contains the epic Tain Bo Cuailgne ("Cattle Raid of Cooley") and the Cuchulainn legends; and the Fenian Cycle, which tells the stories of Finn mac Cumhaill, another hero similar in some ways to Cuchulainn. Of these, only one of the Mythological Cycle legends and some of the Cuchulainn stories are told here.
Welsh myths usually are referred to under the umbrella term Mabinogion. The Mabinogion is divided into four groupings known as "branches," each of which involves the adventures of a particular protagonist. The first branch is about Pwyll of Dyfed and is retold here. The other three branches tell the stories of Branwen daughter of Llyr, Manawydan son of Llyr, and Math son of Mathonwy, in that order. In addition to the four branches of the Mabinogion, there are a handful of so-called "native tales" that include the story of Culhwch and Olwen, which is also included in this collection.
Brittany is represented
here by the tale of the drowned City of Ys from the Barzazh Breiz. This story has distinctly Celtic elements even if it never was an actual Celtic myth. Cornwall is represented by the story of Tristan and Iseult, a medieval Arthurian legend that has resonances with the ancient Irish tale "The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Grainne."
PART I
Ireland
The Children of Lir
This story is a perfect example of the ways Irish myth became filtered through a Christian lens in the Middle Ages. With very few exceptions, the characters of the story are all members of the Tuatha De Danann, who are a kind of echo of the old Celtic gods: they have magical powers, and if they are not quite immortal, they live hundreds of times longer than normal humans. In this story, the Children of Lir—whose name means "sea" and who apparently was some kind of Celtic ocean god—are turned into swans by their evil stepmother. In this form, they wander the world for more than nine hundred years, and their enchantment is only reversed after the Christianization of Ireland, when the rest of the Tuatha De have departed forever.
The Tuatha De Danann were a fair people, wise and learned in many arts. At a time, they met to elect who might be their king, and the two rivals for the throne were Lir and Bodb Derg, the son of the Dagda. The Tuatha De said that Bodb should be their king. This pleased Lir not at all, and he left the assembly without pledging fealty to Bodb Derg. The followers of the new king urged him to go after Lir, to assail his homestead, burn his house, and kill his people, but Bodb Derg refused, saying, "He will defend his home, and too many will die in the attempt. Besides, I am still king whether he gives me his fealty or not."
Now, Lir had a wife whom he loved very much. One day she fell ill. She was sick for three nights, and at the end of that time she died. Lir was stricken with grief, and he went about in mourning for a long time.
Word came to Bodb Derg of the loss of Lir. He took counsel with his nobles, and they all agreed that it would be well to try to help Lir. "For I have three foster daughters who are now of an age to marry," said Bodb, "and perhaps one of them would make a good wife for Lir."
And so messengers were sent to Lir, inviting him to the court of Bodb. The messengers said that if Lir were to offer fealty to Bodb, he might join his house to that of the Dagda by marrying one of the Bodb's foster daughters. Lir took thought on this and decided to accept. He gathered his nobles about him, and they went in fifty chariots to the court of Bodb Derg, where they were made very welcome.
At the feast, Bodb's foster daughters were seated on a bench with their foster mother, the wife of Bodb and queen of the Tuatha De. Bodb presented them to Lir, and their names were Aobh, Aoife, and Ailbhe. Bodb said to Lir, "You may choose which of my foster daughters you wish to have as your wife."
Lir replied, "I do not know which to choose, but I think it best to take the noblest of them, and this will be the eldest."
"Aobh is eldest," said Bodb, "and she shall be your wife this night if you desire it."
"It is my wish," said Lir, and so he and Aobh were wed that night.
And so Lir stayed at the court of Bodb Derg for a fortnight and then returned to his own home, where he made a great feast among his own people to celebrate his wedding to Aobh.
Soon enough, Aobh found herself with child, and when her time came she was delivered of twins. A daughter and a son she had, and they were named Fionnula and Aodh. Not long after that she became with child again and had two more children, boys named Fiachra and Conn, and in giving birth to them Aobh died. This caused Lir a grief so great that he might have died of it, had he not had four little ones to look after.
When the news of Aobh's death came to the court of Bodb Derg, everyone there went into mourning, for Aobh was a beautiful woman and much loved. Bodb Derg sorrowed for Lir, and once again took counsel with his nobles. They decided to invite him to court again and to give him Aobh's sister, Aoife, to be his wife. Messengers were sent to Lir with the offer from the king, and Lir said that he would gladly accept once his mourning was completed. When this was done, Lir went to the court of Bodb Derg, and there he took to wife Aoife.
Aoife and Lir lived together happily as man and wife for several years. Aoife never had any children of her own, but she doted on her stepchildren, and they loved her well. Indeed, everyone loved Aobh's children, for they were comely and a great delight. Their grandfather, the king, frequently visited Lir's household to be with them and also took them back to his court to stay from time to time, and all of Bodb Derg's court were entranced with them. And Lir especially loved his children and cared for them generously.
Aoife saw how the children captured the hearts of all who met them, and how well Lir loved them, and a worm of jealousy began to eat its way into her heart. Soon she had nothing but contempt for the children, which she took pains to hide by pretending to be ill. She lay ill for an entire year, all the while devising a wicked plan to be rid of them. And when the year was up, she announced that her illness had passed and that she wished to make a journey with the children. She called for a chariot to be harnessed, that she might take them to visit her foster father, the king.
Fionnula refused to get into the chariot saying, "I do not know where you mean to take us, but I know it is not to our grandfather's house. I had a dream last night, and I think you do not mean us well."
"My dear child," said Aoife, "how can that be? I wish nothing but the best for yourself and your brothers. We are going to visit Bodb Derg, as we often have done. Take no account of foolish dreams."
In the end, Fionnula could not resist Aoife and got into the chariot with her and her brothers. They drove on for a time, until they came to Loch Dairbhreach, the Lake of the Oaks. It was a fine summer's day, and very warm, so Aoife told the children to go into the lake and bathe to refresh themselves. The children removed their clothing, and when they had gone into the water Aoife struck them with her druid's wand, saying:
Luck be taken from you all
Children no more shall you be
In the shape of birds shall you go
And mourning cries fill the home of your father.
At this, the children were changed into four beautiful, white swans. But for all Aoife was able to change their shapes, she could not take from them the power of human speech. Fionnula reproached Aoife, saying, "Why have you done this to us? Surely we have never done any wrong to you deserving of such punishment. Know this, witch: we will seek help wherever it might be found, and soon enough you will have what you deserve for this deed. But until the day comes when you are held to account, at least have mercy enough to put bounds on our time under this enchantment."
Aoife was angered by Fionnuala's defiance, and said, "It were better had you not asked for that favor, for now I say to you that your own forms you will not find until the Lord of the North shall wed the Lady of the South, and until you have spent three hundred years on Loch Dairbhreach, and three hundred years on Sruth na Maoile between Ireland and Alba, and three hundred years between Irrus Domnann and Inis Gluaire."
But then Aoife looked upon the swan-children, her heart softened towards them in their plight, although she did not repent. She said, "Those shall be the bounds, but this I grant: that you shall always keep human speech, and that you shall always sing with the voices of the Sidhe, and the music of your song shall be the most beautiful in all the world and shall put mortal men to sweet sleep. And human thought also shall you keep, and the nobility of your spirits, that your hardship may be somewhat the less."
Then Aoife mounted her chariot and continued on to the court of Bodb Derg, leaving the swan-children lamenting behind her on the lake. When she reached her foster father's home, he asked her what had become of his grandchildren.
"I did not bring them," said Aoife, "for you no longer have the trust of Lir. He fears the love you bear for them and thinks that you will keep them here forever."
Bodb Derg was puzzled by this, for although the children were most dear to him he had never had any thought of taking them
from their father, nor had he given Lir any cause to think that he might. Bodb therefore sent messengers to the home of Lir, on the pretext of asking after his children, saying that Aoife had told Bodb that Lir was keeping them back from him. By this did Lir understand the illness of Aoife, and that she had destroyed his children.
Lir called for horses to be saddled, and taking a band of picked men he set out the way Aoife had gone. When they came near the shores of Loch Dairbhreach, the swan-children heard the hoof beats and gathered on the shore near the road. They called out to the men with their own human voices, and Lir heard them. He and his companions halted, and Lir said to the swans, "Who are you, that you can speak and I can understand?"
"We are your own dear children," said Fionnula. "The wicked Aoife has enchanted us into the shape of swans."
Lir said, "How may I reverse this magic and give you back your own shapes?"
"There is no way that I know of," said Fionnula, "for she has put the enchantment on us for the space of nine-hundred years."
Then Lir and his companions cried out with grief, and they lamented there on the shores of the lake. When they were done with their weeping, Lir said, "Since you still have the power of speech and of human reason, will you not return home with us? For even in swan-shape you are still my own dear children, and I would have you with me."
"We may not leave Loch Dairbhreach," said Fionnula, "for that also is part of the enchantment. But rest you here tonight, and we shall sing for you a sweet song that will take from you your sorrows for a while."
And so this was done, that Lir and his companions made camp there for the night, and the children sang them to sleep with their sweet voices.
In the morning, Lir made ready to leave, but his heart was heavy that he could not take his children with him. He bade them a tearful farewell and then rode with his companions to the court of Bodb Derg. There Lir was given a fine welcome, but he gave no hint of what he had found at the lake until Bodb asked him where the children were, and Aoife was standing with him at the time.