QUEEN MEDB (MAEVE )

Medb was a queen living approximately in the first century B.C .
She was once considered a historical queen but now is considered mythological.
She lived in CO. Sligo in Connaught and she was named after the Celtic Goddess of intoxication.

In many accounts the attributes of Medb are very similar to the attributes of the Goddess.
She was wealthy, powerful, desirable and a formidable opponent in battle.
She was said to have run faster than horses, worn live animals and birds on her shoulders and slept with numerous Irish kings, discarding them as they failed to satisfy her.
Firstly she married Conchbar Mac Nessa of Ulster but they did not get on well. She then married a Connaught chieftain called Ailill but that did not work out either, so finally she was married to Ailill a son of the King of Leinster.

One morning Medb was lying in bed with her current husband, Ailill. By Celtic tradition, whichever of the couple brought greater wealth to a union became the ruler of the household. So Ailill and Medb began comparing possessions.
They matched each other in everything until finally Ailill mentioned his magical great white bull.
Medb insisted that she be equal in wealth with her husband.
She discovered that the only rival to Ailill's bull was owned by Daire Mac Fiachna.

She sent messengers to Daire, offering wealth, land and sexual favours in return for the loan of the bull, and Daire initially agreed. But when a drunken messenger declared that, if he had not agreed, the bull would have been taken by force, Dire withdrew his consent.

When her offer was turned down, Medb gathered her armies and set out to invade Ulster and steal the bull.
The result was the Tain Bo Cuailnge, the Cattle Raid of Cooley,
a lengthy battle in which many legendary heroes were slain.

In the end Medb did indeed win her bull, but it and Ailill's bull flung themselves upon each other, tore each other to bits and died, leaving Medb and Ailill's wealth equal after all.

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THE HAG AT THE FORD

The Morrigan (Celtic Goddess of Birth, Death and War), sometimes appears as the "Washer at the Ford", a maiden who is seen prior to battle washing the armour and weapons of those destined to die.


Her ability to change from a hag into a young girl and her mating with The Dagdha in the Dinnshenchas, denotes that she also is a goddess of sovereignty and fertility.


Cuchulainn attracted the attention of the Morrigan because of his exploits.
While sleeping deeply after an exhausting day of single combats, Cuchulainn was startled awake by a great shout coming from the north.
He ordered his charioteer to get the chariot ready for them to seek out the source of this strange cry.


They travelled north and met a woman riding towards them in another chariot. Cuchulainn greeted this woman and asked her who she was, and she replied that she was daughter of a king called Buan ( the Eternal One) who had fallen in love with him after hearing about his deeds.
Cuchulainn did not recognise the woman as an incarnation of the goddess and brusquely rejected her.
The Morrigan replied that she had been helping him throughout his combats and that she would continue to do so in return for his love. Cuchulainn arrogantly replied that he did not need the help of any woman in battle. The Morigan told him then that if he would not have her love, he would have her hatred; and that she would hinder him when he was in battle.


She appeared to him in four occasions and each time he failed to recognize her:


- When she declared her love for him.
-After he had wounded her, she appeared as an old woman and he offered his blessings to her.
-on his way to his final battle, he saw the Washer at the Ford, who declared that she was washing the clothes and arms of Cuchulainn, who would soon be dead.
-When he was forced by three hags to break a taboo of eating dog flesh.


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IRISH MYTHOLOGY

The Celtic lands are rich in mythology and ancient lore.

From distant past come tales of gods, giants and heroes to equal those of Homeric fame.

The bards of Ireland, Scotland and Wales told stories beside peat fires in great halls and village hovels, which have been passé down fron generation to generation over many hundred of years.

Ancient Irish history and legends have three main sources, known in modern times as the Mythological Cycle, the Ulster Cycle (also known as the Ultonian or Red Branch Cycle) and the Fenian or Fianna Cycle. The ancient bards didn't categorise the stories this way. Instead, they divided them according to topic, such as births, adventures, voyages, battles, feasts, courtships, cattle raids, invasions, destructions, slaughters, expeditions, violent deaths, sieges, etc.

The Mythological Cycle

The term "Mythological Cycle" is a collective term applied to the stories in Irish literature which describe the doings of otherworldly characters. The central story of the group was concerned with the battles between supernatural groups invading Ireland successively. These series of invasions are described in the Lebor Gabála or Book of Invasions. The supernatural groups were the Partholonians, the Nemedians, the demonic Fomhóire and the Fir Bholg, the divine Tuatha Dé Danaan, and the Milesians.

The Milesians, the fictional but first human ancestors of the Irish people, defeated the Tuatha Dé Danaan at the battle of Tailtiu, after which Ireland was in their possession. They divided it into two parts, with Éireamhóin ruling in the north and Éibhear in the south. Among the names in the stories of the Mythological cycle are Bodb Derg, Dagdha, Lir, Aonghus, Partholan, Erannan, Lugh and Balor.

The Fenian Cycle

This is considered to be much older than the tales of the Ulster Cycle, as the main occupation is that of hunting. The Fenians, or Fianna, are a legendary band of heroes who defended Ireland and Scotland and kept law and order. Their leader was the mythical Fionn mac Cumhaill, the truest, wisest and kindest of the Fianna. He had two sons, Fergus of the Sweet Speech and Ossian, who is credited with a series of poems known as the 'Ossianic Ballads'. Ossian went to the Land of Youth with Niamh. His mother was Sadb, who was changed into the shape of a deer by a druid. The warrior Caoilte was Fionn's right hand man, who is reputed to have conversed with St. Patrick many centuries later in the 'Dialogue of the Elders', extolling the virtues of the Fianna to him. Other notable Fenians include Oscar, the greatest warrior, Conan, Goll mac Morna, and Diarmait O'Duibhne, who eloped with Fionn's betrothed Grania. The tales of the Fianna are heroic and fantastic, incorporating much interaction with the gods. Through the deeds of the Fianna we can see their divinity shining through. From this cycle come Oisín, Oscar, Diarmaid and Gráinne.

The Ulster Cycle

This cycle comprises a large body of heroic tales in Irish literature, based on the Ulaidh, an ancient people from whom the province of Ulster got its name. The central, and structurally the basic, story in the cycle is Táin Bó Cúailnge (The cattle raid of Cooley). Other names in the stories of this cycle are characters like Cúchulainn, Conchobhar, Fergus, Caoilte and Deirdre. Cúchulainn is Ulster's greatest hero. His father was said to be the solar deity Lugh, and he trained in arms under the formidable female warrior Scathach. His greatest deeds are told in the Táin.

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