Now it happened that the king of Munster one day saw a beautiful girl
bathing, and he loved her and made her his queen. And in all the land
was no woman so lovely to look upon as the fair Edain, and the fame of
her beauty came to the ears of the great and powerful chief and king of
the Tuatha-de-Danann, Midar by name. So he disguised himself and went
to the court of the king of Munster, as a wandering bard, that he might
look on the beauty of Edain. And he challenged the king to a game of
chess.
“Who is this man that I should play chess with him?” said the king.
“Try me,” said the stranger; “you will find me a worthy foe.”
Then the king said—“But the chess-board is in the queen’s apartment,
and I cannot disturb her.”
However, when the queen heard that a stranger had challenged the king
to chess, she sent her page in with the chess-board, and then came
herself to greet the stranger. And Midar was so dazzled with her
beauty, that he could not speak, he could only gaze on her. And the
queen also seemed troubled, and after a time she left them alone.
“Now, what shall we play for?” asked the king.
“Let the conqueror name the reward,” answered the stranger, “and
whatever he desires let it be granted to him.”
“Agreed,” replied the monarch.
Then they played the game and the stranger won.
“What is your demand now?” cried the king. “I have given my word that
whatever you name shall be yours.”
“I demand the Lady Edain, the queen, as my reward,” replied the
stranger. “But I shall not ask you to give her up to me till this day
year.” And the stranger departed.
Now the king was utterly perplexed and confounded, but he took good
note of the time, and on that night just a twelvemonth after, he made a
great feast at Tara for all the princes, and he placed three lines of
his chosen warriors all round the palace, and forbade any stranger to
enter on pain of death. So all being secure, as he thought, he took his
place at the feast with the beautiful Edain beside him, all glittering
with jewels and a golden crown on her head, and the revelry went on
till midnight. Just then, to his horror, the king looked up, and there
stood the stranger in the middle of the hall, but no one seemed to
perceive him save only the king, He fixed his eyes on the queen, and
coming towards her, he struck the golden harp he had in his hand and
sang in a low sweet voice—
“O Edain, wilt thou come with me
To a wonderful palace that is mine?
White are the teeth there, and black the brows,
And crimson as the mead are the lips of the lovers.
“O woman, if thou comest to my proud people,
’Tis a golden crown shall circle thy head,
Thou shalt dwell by the sweet streams of my land,
And drink of the mead and wine in the arms of thy lover.”
Then he gently put his arm round the queen’s waist, and drew her up
from her royal throne, and went forth with her through the midst of
all the guests, none hindering, and the king himself was like one
in a dream, and could neither speak nor move. But when he recovered
himself, then he knew that the stranger was one of the fairy chiefs of
the Tuatha-de-Danann who had carried off the beautiful Edain to his
fairy mansion. So he sent round messengers to all the kings of Erin
that they should destroy all the forts of the hated Tuatha race, and
slay and kill and let none live till the queen, his young bride, was
brought back to him. Still she came not. Then the king out of revenge
ordered his men to block up all the stables where the royal horses of
the Dananns were kept, that so they might die of hunger; but the horses
were of noble blood, and no bars or bolts could hold them, and they
broke through the bars and rushed out like the whirlwind, and spread
all over the country. And the kings, when they saw the beauty of the
horses, forgot all about the search for Queen Edain, and only strove
how they could seize and hold as their own some of the fiery steeds
with the silver hoofs and golden bridles. Then the king raged in his
wrath, and sent for the chief of the Druids, and told him he should
be put to death unless he discovered the place where the queen lay
hid. So the Druid went over all Ireland, and searched, and made spells
with oghams, and at last, having carved four oghams on four wands of a
hazel-tree, it was revealed to him that deep down in a hill in the very
centre of Ireland, Queen Edain was hidden away in the enchanted palace
of Midar the fairy chief.
Then the king gathered a great army, and they circled the hill, and
dug down and down till they came to the very centre; and just as
they reached the gate of the fairy palace, Midar by his enchantments
sent forth fifty beautiful women from the hillside, to distract the
attention of the warriors, all so like the queen in form and features
and dress, that the king himself could not make out truly, if his own
wife were amongst them or not. But Edain, when she saw her husband so
near her, was touched by love of him in her heart, and the power of
the enchantment fell from her soul, and she came to him, and he lifted
her up on his horse and kissed her tenderly, and brought her back
safely to his royal palace of Tara, where they lived happily ever after.
* * * * *
But soon after the power of the Tuatha-de-Danann was broken for ever,
and the remnant that was left took refuge in the caves where they exist
to this day, and practise their magic, and work spells, and are safe
from death until the judgment day.