JONES, BRYNMOR. Findings of, on origin o_Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race

Ireland, 78

JOYCE, DR. P.W. Reference to his “Old Celtic Romances,” 303, 309, 312

JUBAINVILLE, M. D’ARBOIS DE. Great Celtic scholar, 18, 23, 24;

explanation of, regarding Germans as a subject people, 31;

record regarding Megalithic People, 55;

reference of, to Taranus (? Thor), the god of Lightning, 87;

opinion regarding Dis, or Pluto, as representing darkness, death, and

evil, 88;

reference to Gaulish god whom Cæsar identifies with Mercury, 113;

Brigit identical with Dana, according to, 126;

Ith’s landing in Ireland described in his “Irish Mythological Cycle,”

131;

his translation of Amergin’s strange lay, 134

KAI. King Arthur’s seneschal, 387, 388;

accompanies Kilhwch on his quest for Olwen, 388-392;

refuses Peredur, 401, 402

KEATING. Reference to his “History of Ireland,” 150;

his reference to Maon, 153;

“History” of, tells of Ket’s death, 244;

“History” of, tells of Maev’s death, 245

KEELTA MAC RONAN. Summoned from the dead by Mongan, 81;

warrior and reciter, one of Finn’s chief men, 261;

St. Patrick and, 265, 266, 289;

Finn whispers the tale of his enchantment to, 280;

Oisīn and, resolve to part, 282;

meets St. Patrick, 282;

assists Oisīn bury Oscar, 307

KEEVAN OF THE CURLING LOCKS. Lover of Cleena, 127

KELTCHAR (kelt´yar). A lord of Ulster;

mac Datho’s boar and, 243

KENMARE RIVER. In Co. Kerry;

ancient name “Inverskena,” so called after Skena, 133

KENVERCH´YN. The three hundred ravens of, 399

KERRY. Murna marries King of, 256

KESAIR (kes´er). Gaulish princess, wife of King Ugainy the Great, 152;

grandmother of Maon, 153

KET. Son of Maga;

rallies to Maev’s foray against Ulster, 204;

slings Conall’s “brain ball” at Conor mac Nessa which seven years after

leads to his death, 240, 241;

the Boar of mac Datho and, 241-244;

death of, told in Keating’s “History of Ireland,” 244

KEVA OF THE WHITE SKIN. Daughter of Finn, given in marriage to Goll mac

Morna, 278

KIAN. Father of Lugh, 109;

brother of Sawan and Goban, 110;

the end of, 114

KICVA. Daughter of Gwynn Gohoyw, wife of Pryderi, 365, 373

KILHWCH (kil´hugh). Son to Kilydd and Goleuddydd;

story of Olwen and, 386-392;

accompanied on his quest (to find Olwen) by Kai, Bedwyr, Kynddelig,

Bedwyr (Bedivere), Gwrhyr, Gwalchmai, and Menw, 388-392

KILLARNEY, LAKES OF. Ancient name, Locha Lein, given to, by Len, 123

KILYDD. Husband of Goleuddydd, father of Kilhwch, 386, 387

KIMBAY (CIMBAOTH). Irish king;

reign of, and the founding of Emain Macha, 150;

brother of Red Hugh and Dithorba, 151;

compelled to wed Macha, 151

KING LEAR. “Historia Regum Britaniæ” furnished the subject of, 337, 338

KINGSBOROUGH, LORD. “Antiquities of Mexico,” example of cup-and-ring

markings reproduced in his book, 68

KNOWLEDGE. Nuts of, 256;

the Salmon of, 256

KYM´IDEU KYME´IN-VOLL. Wife of Llassar Llaesgyvnewid, 368

KYMON. A knight of Arthur’s court;

the adventure of, 394-399

KYN´DDELIG. One of Arthur’s servitors;

accompanies Kilhwch on his quest for Olwen, 388-392

KYOT (GUIOT). Provençal poet;

and Wolfram von Eschenbach, 408

LA TÈNE CULTURE. Relics found in Austria developed into, 29

LABRA THE MARINER. See Maon, 154

LAEG (layg). Cuchulain’s friend and charioteer, 183;

sent by Cuchulain to rouse men of Ulster, 213;

visits Fairyland to report on Fand, 226;

the Grey of Macha resists being harnessed by, 230;

slain by Lewy, 232

LAERY (lay´ry). 1. Son of King Ugainy the Great;

treacherously slain by his brother Covac, 152.

2. The Triumphant;

shrinks from test for the Championship of Ireland, 196;

mac Datho’s boar and, 243.

3. Son of Neill;

sees vision of Cuchulain, 239

LAIRGNEN (lerg-nen). Connacht chief, betrothed to Deoca;

seizes the Children of Lir, 142

LAKE OF THE CAULDRON. Place where Matholwch met Llassar Llaesgyvnewid and

his wife Kymideu Kymeinvoll, 367, 368

LAKE OF THE DRAGON’S MOUTH. Resort of Caer, 121;

Angus Ōg joins his love, Caer, at, 122

LAND OF THE DEAD. “Spain” a synonymous term, 130;

the western extremity of Great Britain is, according to ancient writer

cited by Plutarch, and also according to Procopius, 131

LAND OF THE LIVING. = Land of the Happy Dead, 96;

gifts which Lugh brought from, 113

LAND OF SHADOWS. Dwelling-place of Skatha;

Cuchulain at, 187-189

LAND OF THE WEE FOLK. See Wee Folk (otherwise, Faylinn), 246, &c.

LAND OF YOUTH. Identical with “Land of the Dead,” “Land of the Living,”

_q.v._;

See Mananan, 113, 125;

Cleena once lived in, 127;

Connla’s Well in, visited by Sinend, 129;

still lives in imagination of Irish peasant, 137;

mystic country of People of Dana after their dispossession by Children

of Miled, 156;

pagan conception of, referred to, 161;

lover from, visits Messbuachalla, to whom she bears Conary, 166, 167;

Oisīn sees wonders of, 272;

Oisīn returns from, 273;

“The Lady of the Fountain” and the, 395, 396

LAYAMON. Translator. See “Historia Regum Britaniæ”

LEGEND. The cycles of Irish, 95

LEICESTER. See Llyr

LEINSTER. Book of, and de Jubainville, 24;

ancient tract, the “Dinnsenchus,” preserved in, 85;

traditional derivation of name, 154;

men of, rally to Maev’s foray against Ulster, 205;

Mesroda, son of Datho, dwelt in province of, 241

LEIX. Reavers from, slay Ailill Edge-of-Battle, 310;

Maeldūn’s voyage to, 311-331

LEN. Goldsmith of Bōv the Red;

gave ancient name, Locha Lein, to the Lakes of Killarney, 123

LEVAR´CAM. Deirdre’s nurse, 197-200;

Conor questions, _re_ sons of Usna, 199

LEWY. Son of Curoi, Cuchulain’s foe, 228-233;

slain by Conall of the Victories, 233

LIA (lee´a). Lord of Luachar, treasurer to the Clan Morna, 255;

slain by Finn, 256;

father of Conan, 258

LIA FAIL (lee´a fawl), THE. The Stone of Destiny, 121

LIAGAN (lee´a-gan). A pirate, slain by Conan mac Morna, 260

LIGHT-OF-BEAUTY. See Sgeimh Solais

LIR (leer).

1. Sea-god, father of Mananan, 113, 139;

Mananan and, referred to, 125;

identical with the Greek Oceanus, 125;

father of Lodan and grandparent of Sinend, 129;

Cymric deity Llyr corresponds with, 347.

2. The Children of, the transformation of, 139-142;

their death, 142

LISMORE. “The Dean of Lismore’s Book,” by James Macgregor.

Dean of, described, 288

LLASSAR LLAESGYV´NEWID. Husband of Kymideu Kymeinvoll, giver of magic

cauldron to Bran, 368

LLEVELYS. Son of Beli;

story of Ludd (Nudd) and, 385, 386

LLEW LLAW GYFFES. Otherwise “The Lion of the Sure Hand.”

A hero the subject of the tale “Māth Son of Māthonwy,” 347, 348;

identical with the Gaelic deity Lugh of the Long Arm, 347, 348;

how he got his name, 381, 382;

the flower-wife of, named Blodeuwedd, 382, 383;

slays Gronw Pebyr, who had betrayed him, 383, 384

LLUDD. See Nudd

LLWYD. Son of Kilcoed, an enchanter;

removes magic spell from seven Cantrevs of Dyfed, and from Pryderi and

Rhiannon, 377

LLYR. In Welsh legend, father of Manawyddan;

Irish equivalents, Lir and Mananan, 347;

Llyr-cester (now Leicester) once a centre of the worship of, 347;

house of, corresponds with Gaelic Lir, 348, 349;

Penardun, daughter of Dōn, wife of, 349;

genealogy set forth, 351

LOCH. Son of Mofebis, champion sent by Mae against Cuchulain, 212;

wounds Cuchulain, but is slain by him, 212

LOCH GARA. Lake in Roscommon;

mac Cecht’s visit to, 176

LOCH RORY. Fergus mac Leda’s adventure in, 249

LOCH RYVE. Maev retires to island on, and is slain there by Forbay, 245

LODAN. Son of Lir, father of goddess Sinend, 129

LOHERANGRAIN. Knight of the Swan, son of Parzival, 408

LOUGHCREW. Great tumulus at, supposed burying-place of Ollav Fōla, 150

LOURDES. Cult of waters of, 66, 67

LUCAN. Triad of deities mentioned by, 86

LUCHAD (loo-chad). Father of Luchta, 112

LUCHTA (looch-ta). Son of Luchad, 112;

the carpenter of the Danaans, 117

LUDGATE. For derivation see Nudd

LUGH (loo), or LUGUS.

1. See Apollo, 58;

the god of Light, in Gaul and Ireland, as, 88;

2. Son of Kian, the Sun-god _par excellence_ of all Celtica, the coming

of, 109-113;

other names, Ildánach (“The All-Craftsman”) and Lugh Lamfada (Lugh of

the Long Arm), 113, 123;

his eric from sons of Turenn for murder of his father, Kian, 115-116;

slays Balor and is enthroned in his stead, 117;

fiery spear of, 121;

his worship widely spread over Continental Celtica, 123;

father, by Dectera, of Cuchulain, 123, 182;

Cymric deity Llew Llaw Gyffes corresponds with, 347, 348

LUGH OF THE LONG ARM. See Lugh.

Invincible sword of, 105, 106;

Bres, son of Balor, and, 123;

husband of Dectera and father of Cuchulain, 182;

appears to Cuchulain and protects the Ford while his son rests, 214;

fights by his son’s side, 215;

Cymric hero Llew Llaw Gyfles corresponds with, 347, 348

LUNED. Maiden who rescued Owain, 397;

Owain rescues her, 398, 399

“MABINŎG´ION, THE” (singular, _Mabinogi_).

Reference to story of Kilhwch and Olwen in, 343;

“The Red Book of Hergest,” the main source of the tales of, 344;

“Māth Son of Māthonwy,” tale in, 347;

Mr. Alfred Nutt’s edition, 356;

Four Branches of the Mabinogi form most important part of, 384;

Peredur’s story in, and French version, 406;

the tale of Taliesin and, 412

MABON. Son of Modron, released by Arthur, 391, 392

MACCECHT. Danaan king, husband of Fohla, 132;

member of Conary’s retinue at Da Derga’s Hostel, 175;

his search for water, 175, 176

MACCUILL (quill). Danaan king, husband of Banba, 132;

at fortress of Aileach, 132

MACGRENÉ. Danaan king, husband of Eriu, 132;

mythical name Son of the Sun, 132

MAC INDOC´, THE PLAIN OF. Laery and St. Benen on, 239

MACKERVAL, DERMOT. Rule of, in Ireland, and the cursing of Tara, 47, 48.

See Dermot

MACPHERSON. Pseudo-Ossian poetry of, 238

MAC ROTH. Maev’s steward, named, and the Brown Bull of Quelgny, 202;

sent to view host of Ulster men, 223

MACEDON. Attacked by Thracian and Illyrian hordes, 23

MACHA. Daughter of Red Hugh, 151;

slays Dithorba and compels Kimbay to wed her, 151;

captures five sons of Dithorba, 151, 152;

forms an instance of the intermingling of the attributes of the Danaan

with the human race, 152;

a super-natural being, 178;

goes to dwell with Crundchu, 178;

her race against Ultonian horses, 179;

gives birth to twins and curses the Ultonians, 180;

her curse on men of Ulster, 203-221;

the curse removed from men of Ulster, 222

MAELDŪN. Son of Ailill Edge-of-Battle, 310;

departs to his own kindred, 311;

sets out on his wonderful voyage, 311-331

MAELDŪN, VOYAGE OF (mayl’-doon). Found in MS. entitled “Book of the Dun

Cow,” 309;

reference to Dr. Whitley Stokes’ translation in the “Revue Celtique,”

309;

theme of Tennyson’s “Voyage of Maeldune” furnished by Joyce’s version in

“Old Celtic Romances,” 309;

narrative of, 311-331

MAEN TYRIAWC (ma’en tyr’i-awc). Burial-place of Pryderi, 379

MAEV (mayv). Queen of Connacht, 122;

Angus Ōg seeks aid of, 122;

debility of Ultonians manifested on occasion of Cattle-raid of Quelgny,

180;

Fergus seeks aid of, 202;

her famous bull Finnbenach, 202;

her efforts to secure the Brown Bull of Quelgny, 204-246;

host of, spreads devastation through the territories of Bregia and

Murthemney, 209;

offers her daughter Findabair of Fair Eyebrows to Ferdia if he will meet

Cuchulain, 216;

Conor summons men of Ulster against, 222;

overtaken but spared by Cuchulain, 225;

makes seven years’ peace with Ulster, 225;

vengeance of, against Cuchulain, 228-233;

mac Datho’s hound and, 241-244;

retires to island on Loch Ryve, 245;

slain by Forbay, 245

MAGA. Daughter of Angus Ōg, wife of Ross the Red, 181;

wedded also to Druid Cathbad, 181

MAGI. Word magic derived from, 60;

treated by Pliny, 61

MAGIC. The religion of Megalithic People that of, 59;

origin of word, 60;

Pliny on, 61;

religion of, invented in Persia and by Zoroaster, 61;

traces of, in Megalithic monuments, 63;

Clan Calatin learn, in Ireland, Alba, and Babylon, to practise against

Cuchulain, 228-233

MAITRE, M. ALBERT. Inspector of Musée des Antiquités Nationales, 64

MALORY. Anticipated by Wace, 338, 339;

Cymric myths and, 388

MAN´ANAN. Son of the Sea-god, Lir, 113, 139;

magical Boat of, brought by Lugh, with Horse of, and sword _Fragarach_,

from the Land of the Living, 113, 121;

attributes of Sea-god mostly conferred on, 125;

the most popular deity in Irish mythology, 125;

lord of sea beyond which Land of Youth or Islands of the Dead were

supposed to lie, 125;

master of tricks and illusions, owned magical possessions—boat,

Ocean-Sweeper; steed, Aonbarr; sword, The Answerer, &c. &c.,

125;

reference to daughter of, given to Angus, a Danaan prince, 143;

his wife, Fand, sets her love on Cuchulain, 226;

Fand recovered by, 227;

shakes his cloak between Fand and Cuchulain, 228;

Cymric deity Manawyddan corresponds with, 347, 348

MANAWYDDAN (mana-wudh’en). In Welsh mythology, son of Llyr;

Irish equivalents, Mananan and Lir, 347;

Bendigeid Vran (“Bran the Blessed”), his brother, 365;

the tale of Pryderi and, 373-378;

weds Rhiannon, 373

MANÉ-ER-H´OECK. Remarkable tumulus in Brittany, 63, 64

MANÉS. Seven outlawed sons of Ailell and Maev, 169;

their rally to Maev’s foray against Ulster, 204

MANESSIER. A continuator of Chrestien de Troyes, 408

MAN´ETHO. Egyptian historian, reference to human sacrifices, 85, 86

MANRED. The ineffable Name of God pronounced, and so was formed, 333;

the primal substance of the universe, 333

MAON (may’un). Son of Ailill;

brutal treatment of, by Covac, 152-154;

has revenge on Ailill by slaying him and all his nobles, 153;

weds Moriath, and reigns over Ireland, 154;

equivalent, “Labra the Mariner,” 154

MARCELLIN´US, AMMIAN´US. Gauls described by, 42

MARIE DE FRANCE. Anglo-Norman poetess;

sources relating to the Arthurian saga in writings of, 339, 340

MĀTH SON OF MĀTHONWY. Title of tale in the “Mabinogion,” 347;

Llew Llaw Gyffes, a character in tale of, 347, 348;

brother of Penardun, 349;

the tale of, 378-384;

Gwydion and Gilvaethwy, nephews of, 378;

his strange gift of hearing, 386

MATHOLWCH (math’o-law). King of Ireland;

comes seeking Branwen’s hand in marriage, 366;

wedding of, and Branwen’s, celebrated at Aberffraw, 366;

Evnissyen mutilates his horses, 367;

Bran, among other gifts, gives a magic cauldron to, 367, 368;

father of Gwern, 368;

informed of Bran’s invasion, 369;

hands sovranty of Ireland to Gwern, 370

MĀTHONWY. Ancestor of House of Dōn, 349

MATIÈRE DE FRANCE. Source of Round Table and chivalric institutions

ascribed to Arthur’s court, 341

MAXEN WLEDIG (oo’le-dig). Emperor of Rome;

the dream of, 384, 385

MAY-DAY. Sacred to Beltené, day on which Sons of Miled began conquest of

Ireland, 133, 134;

combat every, between Gwythur ap Greidawl and Gwyn ap Nudd, 353;

strange scream heard in Britain on eve of, 385

MEATH. Fergus in his battle-fury strikes off the tops of the three _Maela_

of, 224;

St. Patrick and the folk of, 282

MEDICINE. See Magic, 60, 61;

Pliny and, 61

MEGALITHIC PEOPLE. Builders of dolmens, cromlechs, &c., 52-93;

origin of the, 54-58;

Professor Ridgeway’s contention about, 56;

their religion that of magic, 59;

representations of the divine powers under human aspect unknown to, 75;

Druidism imposed on the Celts by the, 82;

human sacrifices, practice a survival from the, 84;

conception of, regarding their deities, 86

MERCURY. Regarded as chief of the gods by Gauls, 87;

Lugh Lamfada identified with, 113

MERLIN. See Myrddin.

Reference to his magical arts, 337;

equivalent Myrddin, 354;

believed by Geoffrey of Monmouth to have erected Stonehenge, 354;

the abode of, described, 354-356

MESGED´RA. The vengeance of, fulfilled, 241

MESRO´DA, MAC DATHO. Son of Datho, 241;

the carving of the boar of, 241-244;

Conor and Maev both send to purchase his hound, 241

MESSBUACHALLA (mess-boo’hala). Only daughter of Etain Oig, 166;

significance, “the cowherd’s foster-child,” 166;

King Eterskel’s promised son and, 166;

visited by a Danaan lover, and birth of Conary, 166, 167

MEXICO. Cup-and-ring marking in, 68;

symbol of the feet found in, 77;

the cross-legged “Buddha,” frequent occurrence in religious art of, 87

MIDIR THE PROUD (mid’eer). A son of the Dagda;

a type of splendour, 124;

his appearance to King Eochy, 124;

Fuamnach, wife of, 156;

Etain, second bride of, 156;

recovers his wife from Eochy, 160-163;

yields up Etain, 163

MILED.

1. Sons of;

conquer the People of Dana, 100;

the coming of, to displace rule in Ireland of Danaans, 130;

Bregon, son of, 130;

Amergin, son of, 133;

begin conquest of Ireland on May-day, 133, 134.

2. A god, represented as, in a Celtic inscription from Hungary, son of

Bilé, 130.

3. Children of;

resolve to take vengeance for Ith’s slaying, 133;

enter upon the sovranty of Ireland, 136

MILESIAN-S. See Sons of Miled, 130;

myth, meaning of, 138-145;

the early kings, 146-148

MINORCA. Analogous structures (to represent ships) to those in Ireland

found in, 76

MOCHAEN (mo-chayn’). Hill of, and Lugh’s eric, 115

MODRED. King Arthur’s nephew;

usurps his uncle’s crown and weds his wife Guanhumara, 337;

Arthur defeats and slays, 337, 338

MONGAN. Irish chieftain, reincarnation of Finn;

wager as to place of death of King Fothad, 81

MONTEL´IUS, DR. OSCAR. And the ship symbol, 72

MOONRE´MUR. A lord of Ulster;

mac Datho’s boar and, 243

MORANN. Druid;

prophecy of, concerning Cuchulain, 183

MORC. Fomorian king, 101

MORDA. A blind man, set by Ceridwen to keep fire under the magic cauldron,

413

MOR´IATH. Daughter of Scoriath, the King of Feramore;

her love for Maon and her device to win him back to Ireland, 153, 154;

curious tale regarding his hair, 154

MORNA. Father of Goll, 257

MORR´IGAN, THE. Extraordinary goddess, embodying all that is perverse and

horrible among supernatural powers, 126;

her love and friendship for Cuchulain, 126;

her visit to Conary Mōr at Hostel of Da Derga, 172;

appears to Cuchulain and offers her love, 212;

her threat to be about his feet in bottom of the Ford, 212;

attacks Cuchulain, and is wounded by him, 213;

croaks of war and slaughter before Cuchulain, 230;

settles on the dead Cuchulain’s shoulder as a crow, 233

MOUNTAINS OF MOURNE. Cuchulain on, 193

MOYRATH. Battle of, ended resistance of Celtic chiefs to Christianity, 51

MOYSLAUGHT (“The Plain of Adoration”).

Idol of Crom Cruach erected on, 85, 149

MOYTURA, PLAIN OF.

1. Scene of First Battle (Co. Sligo) between Danaans and the Firbolgs,

106, 107.

2. Scene of Second Battle (Co. Mayo) between Danaans and Fomorians, 117,

130;

the Dagda and, 120

MUNSALVÄSCHE (MONTSALVAT), THE CASTLE OF, where, in W. von Eschenbach’s

poem, the Grail is preserved, 407

MUNSTER. Ailill Olum, King of, 127;

“Hill of Ainé” and goddess Ainé 128;

origin of name, 154

MUR´IAS, THE CITY OF (see Dana), 105, 106

MURNA OF THE WHITE NECK. Wife of Cumhal, mother of Finn, 255, 266;

takes refuge in forests of Slieve Bloom, and gives birth to Demna

(Finn), 255;

marries King of Kerry, 256

MURTAGH MAC ERC. King of Ireland, brother of Fergus the Great;

lends famous Stone of Scone to Scotland, 105

MURTHEM´NEY.

Kian killed on Plain of, 114;

Cuchulain of, seen in a vision by prophetess Fedelma, 206;

the carnage of, 214;

host of Ulster assemble on, 229;

Cuchulain at his dūn in, 230

MYCEN´Æ. Burial chamber of the Atreidæ, ancient dolmen yet stands beside,

in, 53

MYRDDIN. See Merlin.

A deity in Arthur’s mythological cycle, corresponds with Sun-god Nudd,

354;

suggestion of Professor Rhys that chief deity worshipped at Stonehenge

was, 355;

seizes the “Thirteen Treasures of Britain,” 355

MYTHOLOGICAL CYCLE, THE, 95, 96

MYTHOLOGY. Comparison between Gaelic and Cymric, 346-348;

compared with folklore, 418

MYTHS. Danaan, meaning of, 137;

Milesian, meaning of, 138, 139;

Invasion, of Ireland, 138-145

NAISI (nay’see). Son of Usna, loved by Deirdre, 198;

abducts Deirdre, 198;

Ardan and Ainlé, his brothers, 198;

Conor invites return of, 198;

his return under care of Fergus, 199;

slain by Owen son of Duracht, 201

NAQADA (nak’a-da). Signs on ivory tablets discovered by Flinders Petrie in

cemetery at, 78

NARBERTH. Castle where Pwyll had his court, 359;

Pwyll’s adventure on the Mound of Arberth, near, 359-365;

Pryderi and Manawyddan and their wives left desolate at palace of, 373

NATCHRANTAL (na-chran’tal). Famous champion of Maev;

assists to capture Brown Bull, 211

NECHTAN. Dūn of the sons of, 193;

Cuchulain provokes a fight with sons of, 193, 194;

sons of, slain, 194

NEIT (nayt).

Danaan king, slain in battle with the Fomorians, 132

NEMED. Son of Agnoman;

takes possession of Ireland, 98;

fights victoriously against Fomorians, his death, 101

NEMEDIANS. Sail for Ireland, 99;

akin to the Partholanians, 101;

revolt of, against Fomorians, 101, 102;

routed by Fomorians, 102

NEMGLAN. Commands Conary go to Tara, 168;

he declares Conary’s _geise_, 168

NENNIUS. British historian in whose “Historia Britonum” (A.D. 800) is

found first mention of Arthur, 336

NESSA. Daughter of Echid Yellow-heel, wife of Fachtna, mother of Conor,

180;

loved by Fergus, 180

NETHERLANDS. Place-names of, Celtic element in, 27

NEW GRANGE. Tumulus at, regarded as dwelling-place of Fairy Folk, 69, 70;

symbolic carvings at, 70, 71;

the ship symbol at, 71-73;

Angus Ōg’s palace at, 121;

Angus’ fairy palace at Brugh na Boyna identical with, 143

NIAM (nee’am).

1. Wife of Conall of the Victories;

tends Cuchulain, 229;

Bave puts a spell of straying on her, 230

2. Of the Golden Hair;

daughter of the King of the Land of Youth, 270;

Oisīn departs with, 271, 272;

permits Oisīn to visit the Land of Erin, 273

NISS´YEN. Son of Eurosswyd and Penardun, 366

NODENS. See Nudd

NUADA OF THE SILVER HAND (noo’ada). King of the Danaans, 107-108;

his encounter with Balor, champion of the Fomorians, 117;

belongs to Finn’s ancestry, 255;

identical with solar deity in Cymric mythology, viz., Nudd or Lludd,

346, 347

NUDD, or LLUDD. Roman equivalent, Nodens.

A solar deity in Cymric mythology, 346, 347;

identical with Danaan deity, Nuada of the Silver Hand, 347;

under name Lludd, said to have had a temple on the site of St. Paul’s,

347;

entrance to Lludd’s temple called _Parth Lludd_ (British), which Saxons

translated _Ludes Geat_—our present Ludgate, 347;

story of Llevelys and, 385, 386;

Edeyrn, son of, jousts with Geraint for Enid, 399, 400

NUTS OF KNOWLEDGE. Drop from hazel-boughs into pool where Salmon of

Knowledge lived, 256

NUTT, MR. ALFRED. Reference to, in connexion with the “Hill of Ainé,” 128,

129;

reference to, in connexion with Oisīn-and-Patrick dialogues, 288, 289;

reference to object of the tale of Taliesin in his edition of the

“Mabinogion,” 412

NYNNIAW. Peibaw and, brothers, two Kings of Britain, their quarrel over

the stars, 355, 356

O’DONOVAN. A great Irish antiquary;

folk-tale discovered by, 109-119

O’DYNA, CANTRED OF. Dermot’s patrimony, 300

O’GRADY.

1. STANDISH.

References to his “Critical History of Ireland” on the founding of

Emain Macha, 119, 120, 151, 152;

his “Masque of Finn” referred to, 280, 281

2. STANDISH HAYES.

Reference to his “Silva Gadelica,” 250, 276, 281

OCEAN-SWEEPER. Mananan’s magical boat, 125

ODYSSEY, THE. Mr H.B. Cotterill’s hexameter version, quotation from, 79,

OGMA. Warrior of Nuada of the Silver Hand, 112, 118

OISĪN (ush’een). Otherwise Little Fawn.

Son of Finn, greatest poet of the Gael, 261;

father of Oscar, 261;

buries Aideen, 261;

birth of, from Saba, 266-270;

loved by Niam of the Golden Hair, 270-272;

returns from Land of Youth, 273;

Keelta and, resolve to part, 282;

assists Keelta bury Oscar, 307

OLD CELTIC ROMANCES. Reference to Dr. P.W. Joyce’s, 303, 309, 312

OLLAV. Definition of the term, 149

OLLAV FŌLA. Eighteenth King of Ireland from Eremon, the most distinguished

Ollav of Ireland, 149-150;

compared with Goban the Smith and Amergin the Poet, 150

OLWEN. The story of Kilhwch and, 386-392;

daughter of Yspaddaden, 387;

how she got the name “She of the White Track,” 390;

bride of Kilhwch, 392

ORLAM. Slain by Cuchulain, 209

OSCAR. Son of Oisīn;

slays Linné, 261;

Aideen, wife of, 261;

her death after battle of Gowra, 261;

type of hard strength, 262;

reference to death at battle of Gowra, 275;

his death described, 306, 308

OSI´RIS. Feet of, symbol of visitation, in Egypt, 77

OSSIANIC SOCIETY. “Transactions” of, 278-280;

battle of Gowra (Gabhra) described in, 305

OS´THANES. Earliest writer on subject of magic, 62

OTHER-WORLD. Keelta summoned from, 81;

faith of, held by Celts, 82;

Mercury regarded by Gauls as guide of dead to, 87

OWAIN. Son of Urien;

plays chess with King Arthur, 393;

the Black Knight and, 396-399;

seen by Peredur, 401

OWEL. Foster-son of Mananan and a Druid, father of Ainé, 127

OWEN. Son of Duracht;

slays Naisi and other sons of Usna, 201

OWENS OF ARAN. Ailill, of the sept of, 311;

Maeldūn goes to dwell with, 311

OWL OF CWM CAWLWYD (coom cawl´wŭd), THE, 392

PATRICK, ST. Ireland apostolised by, 51;

symbol of the feet and, 77

PASTH´OLAN. His coming into Ireland from the West;

his origin, 96

PARTHOLANIANS. Battle between the Fomorians and, 97;

end of race by plague on the Old Plain, 97;

Nemedians akin to, 101

PEIBAW. Nynniaw and, two brothers, Kings of Britain, their quarrel over

the stars, 355, 356

PENAR´DUN. Daughter of Dōn, wife of Llyr, and also of Eurosswyd, sister of

Māth, 349, 366;

mother of Bran, also of Nissyen and Evnissyen, 366

PEOPLE OF THE SIDHE (shee).

Danaans dwindle into fairies, otherwise the, 137

PER´DICCAS II. Son of Amyntas II., killed in battle, 23

PER´EDUR. The tale of, and the origin of the Grail Legend, 400, 407;

corresponds to Perceval of Chrestien de Troyes, 400

PER´GAMOS. Black Stone of, subject of embassy from Rome during Second

Punic War, 66

PERILOUS GLEN. Cuchulain escapes beasts of, 187

“PERONNIK” folk tale, 400, _note_

PERSIA. Religion of magic invented in, by Zoroaster, 61

PETRIE, FLINDERS. Discoveries by, 78;

on Egyptian origin of symbol of mother and child, 79

PHILIP. Younger brother of Perdiccas, 23

PHILO´STRATUS. Reference of, to enamelling by Britons, 30

PLAIN OF ILL-LUCK. Cuchulain crosses, 187

PLATO. Celts and, 17;

evidence of, to Celtic characteristics, 36

PLINY. Religion of magic discussed by, 61

PLUTARCH. Land of the Dead referred to by, as the western extremity of

Great Britain, 131

PLUTO (Gk. Pluton). Dis, equivalent;

god of the Underworld, 88;

associated with wealth, like Celtic gods of the Underworld, 349

POLYB´IUS. Description of the Gæsati in battle of Clastidium, 41

POLYNESIAN, the practice named “tabu” and the Irish _geis_, similarity

between, 165

PORTUGAL. Place-names of, Celtic element in, 27

POSIDON´IUS. On bardic institution among Celts, 57

PROCOP´IUS. Land of the Dead referred to by as the western extremity of

Great Britain, 131

PROVINCE OF THE SPEARMEN (Irish, _Laighin_—“Ly-in”). See Leinster, 154

PRYDERI (pri-dair’y) (Trouble). Son of Pwyll and Rhiannon;

his loss 363;

his restoration by Teirnyon, 365;

Kicva, the wife of, 365;

the tale of Manawyddan and, 373-378;

Gwydion and the swine of, 378;

his death, 379

PWYLL (poo-till; modern Powell). Prince of Dyfed;

how he got his title _Pen Annwn_, or “Head of Hades,” 336-359;

his adventure on the Mound of Arberth, near the Castle of Narberth,

359-365;

fixes his choice on Rhiannon for wife, 360;

Gwawl’s trick on him, 361;

Rhiannon’s plan to save Pwyll from Gwawl’s power, 361;

weds Rhiannon, 362;

imposes a penance on his wife, 363;

his son Pryderi (Trouble) found, 365

PYTHAG´ORAS. Celtic idea of transmigration and, 80

PYTH´EAS. The German tribes about 300 B.C. mentioned by, 31

QUELGNY, or CUAILGNÉ. Cattle-raid of, made by Queen Maev, 180;

Brown Bull of, owned by Dara, 202;

the theme of the “Tain Bo Cuailgné” is the Brown Bull of, 203;

Brown Bull of, is Celtic counterpart of Hindu sky-deity, Indra, 203;

Brown Bull of, captured at Slievegallion, Co. Armagh, by Maev, 211;

white-horned Bull of Ailell slain by Brown Bull of, 225;

reputed author of, Fergus mac Roy, 234;

Sanchan Torpest searches for lost lay of, 234-238

RĀ. Egyptian Sun god;

ship symbol in sepulchral art of Egypt connected with worship of, 74-76

RATH GRANIA. King Cormac and Finn feasted at, 300

RATH LUACHAR. Lia keeps the Treasure Bag at, 255

RATHCROGHAN. Maev’s palace in Roscommon, 202

RED BRANCH. Order of chivalry which had its seat in Emain Macha, 178;

the time of glory of, during Conor’s reign, 181;

heroes of, and Cuchulain strive for the Championship of Ireland, 195,

196;

Hostel, Naisi and Deirdre at, 199, 200;

with Cuchulain and Conor passes away the glory of, 241

RED HUGH. Ulster prince, father of Macha, brother of Dithorba and Kimbay,

151

RED RIDERS. Conary’s journey with, 170, 171

RELIGION. The Celtic, 46;

Megalithic People’s, that of Magic, 58;

of Magic, invented in Persia and by Zoroaster, 61

REVUE CELTIQUE. Dr. Whitley Stokes’ translation of the “Voyage of Maeldūn”

in, 309

RHIANNON (ree’an-non). Daughter of Hevydd Hēn;

sets her love on Pwyll, 360;

marries Pwyll, 362;

her penance for slaying her son, 363;

her son Pryderi (Trouble) found, 365;

wedded to Manawyddan, 373

RHONABWY (rōne’a-bwee). The dream of, 392, 393

RHUN. Sent from King Arthur’s court to Elphin’s wife, 415

RHYS AP TEWDWR. South Welsh prince;

brought knowledge of Round Table to Wales, 343

RHYS, SIR J. His views on origin of population of Great Britain and

Ireland, 78;

on Myrddin and Merlin, 354, 355

RIDGE OF THE DEAD WOMAN. Vivionn buried at, 287, 288

ROC. Angus’ steward, 290;

his son crushed to death by Donn, 291;

then changed into a boar and charged to bring Dermot to death at length,

291

ROMANCE. Gaelic and Continental, 345

ROMANS. Arthur resists demand for tribute by the, 337

ROME. Celts march on and sack, 25, 26;

Britain and Gaul under yoke of, 35;

the empire of Maxen Wledig in, usurped, 385

ROSS THE RED. King of Ulster, husband of Maga, a daughter of Angus Ōg,

181;

Roy, his second wife, 181;

originator of the Red Branch, 181

ROUND TABLE, THE. References to, 338, 339, 341, 343

ROY. Second wife of Ross the Red, 181

RU´ADAN, ST. Tara cursed by, 47, 49

RUSSELL, MR. G.W. Irish poet;

fine treatment of myth of Sinend and Connla’s Well, 129, 130

SABA. Wife of Finn, mother of Oisīn, 266-270

SACRIFICES. Practice of human, noted by Cæsar among Celts, 84;

human, in Ireland, 85;

Celtic practice of human, paralleled in Mexico and Carthage, 85;

of children, to idol Crom Cruach, by Gaels, 85;

in Egypt, practice of human, rare, 85, 86

ST. BENEN. A companion of St. Patrick, 239

ST. FINNEN. Irish abbot;

legend concernin Tuan mac Carell and, 97

ST. PATRICK. Record of his mission to Ireland, 51;

Cascorach and, referred to in the “Colloquy of the Ancients,” 119;

Brogan, the scribe of, 119;

Ethné aged fifteen hundred years old at coming of, 144;

Ethné baptized by, 144;

summons Cuchulain from Hell, 238, 239;

name Talkenn given by Irish to, 275;

met by Keelta, 282;

Irish legend and, 283

SALMON OF KNOWLEDGE. See Fintan

SALMON OF LLYN LLYW (lin li-oo’), THE, 392

SAMNITE WAR, THIRD. Coincident with breaking up of Celtic Empire, 26

SANCHAN TORPEST. Chief bard of Ireland;

and the “Tain,” 234-238

SA´WAN. Brother of Kian and Goban, 110

SCANDINAVIA. Dolmens found in, 53;

symbol of the feet found in, 77

SEM´ION. Son of Stariat, settlement in Ireland of;

Firbolgs descended from, 100

SERA. Father of Partholan, 96;

father of Starn, 98

SETAN´TA. Earliest name of Cuchulain, 183;

“the little pupil,” harries Maev’s hosts, 208

SGEIMH SOLAIS (skayv sulish) (Light of Beauty).

Daughter of Cairbry, wooed by son of King of the Decies, 304

SHANNON, THE RIVER. Myth of Sinend and the Well of Knowledge accounts for

name of, 129;

Dithorba’s five sons flee over, 151;

mac Cecht visits, 175;

Dermot and Grania cross Ford of Luan on the, 299

SHIP SYMBOL, THE. 71-76

SIC´ULUS, DIODORUS. A contemporary of Julius Cæsar;

describes Gauls, 41, 42

SIDHE (shee), or FAIRY FOLK. Tumulus at New Grange (Ireland) regarded as

dwelling-place of, 69

SILVA GADELICA. Reference to Mr. S.H. O’Grady’s work, 250, 276, 281

SIN´END. Goddess, daughter of Lir’s son, Lodan;

her fatal visit to Connla’s Well, 129

SIGN, LLEWELLYN. Welsh bard, compiler of “Barddas,” 332

SKATHA. A mighty woman-warrior of Land of Shadows, 187;

instructs Cuchulain, 187-189;

her two special feats, how to leap the Bridge of the Leaps and to use

the Gae Bolg, 188

SKENA. Wife of the poet Amergin;

her untimely death, 133

SLAYNEY, THE RIVER. Visited by mac Cecht, 175

SLIEVB BLOOM. Murna takes refuge in forests of, and there Demna (Finn) is

born, 255

SLIEVE FUAD (sleeve foo’ad) (afterwards Slievegallion).

Invisible dwelling of Lir on, 125;

Cuchulain finds his foe on, 232;

Finn slays goblin at, 258

SLIEVEGALL´ION. A fairy mountain;

the Chase of, 278-280.

See Slieve Fuad

SLIEVENAMON (sleeve-na-mon’). The Brugh of, Finn and Keelta hunt on,

284-286

SOHRAB AND RUSTUM. Reference to, 192

SPAIN. Celts conquer from the Carthaginians, 21;

Carthaginian trade with, broken down by Greeks, 22;

place-names of Celtic element in, 27;

dolmens found round the Mediterranean coast of, 53;

equivalent, Land of the Dead, 102

SQUIRE, MR. Author of “Mythol. of Brit. Islands,” 348, 353, 411

SRENG. Ambassador sent to People of Dana by Firbolgs, 106

STAG OF REDYNVRE (red-in’vry), THE, 392

STARN. Son of Sera, brother of Partholan, 97

STOKES, DR. WHITLEY. Reference to, 166, 167;

reference to his translation of the “Voyage of Maeldūn” in “Revue

Celtique,” 309

STONE, CORONATION. At Westminster Abbey, identical with Stone of Scone,

105

STONE OF ABUNDANCE. Equivalent, Cauldron of Abundance.

The Grail in Wolfram’s poem as a, 409;

similar stone appears in the Welsh “Peredur,” 409;

correspondences, the Celtic Cauldron of the Dagda, 410;

in the Welsh legend Bran obtained the Cauldron, 410;

in a poem by Taliesin the Cauldron forms part of the spoils of Hades,

410

STONE OF DESTINY. Otherwise _Lia Fail_.

One of the treasures of the Danaans, 105

STONE OF SCONE. Fabulous origin of, and present depository, 105

STONE-WORSHIP. Supposed reason of, 65, 66;

denounced by Synod of Arles, 66;

denounced by Charlemagne 66;

black stone of Pergamos and Second Punic War, 66;

the Grail a relic of ancient, 409

STONEHENGE. Dressed stones used in megalithic monument at, 54;

Professor Rhys’ suggestion that Myrddin was worshipped at, 354;

Geoffrey of Monmouth and, 354

STRABO. Characteristics of Celts, told by, 39, 46

STRAITS OF MOYLE (between Ireland and Scotland).

Aoife’s cruelty to her step-children on the, 140

STRAND OF THE FOOTPRINTS. How name derived, 191

SUALTAM (soo’al-tam). Father of Cuchulain (see Lugh), 206;

his attempts to arouse Ulster, 221;

his death, 222

SWEDEN. The ship symbol on rock-sculptures of, 72, 73

SWITZERLAND. Place-names of, Celtic element in, 27;

lake-dwellings in, 56

“TAIN BO CUAILGNÉ” (thawn bo quel’gny). Significance, 203;

tale of, all written out by Finn mac Gorman, Bishop of Kildare, in 1150,

225;

the recovery of, 234;

reputed author, Fergus mac Roy, 234;

Sir S. Ferguson treats of recovery of, in “Lays of the Western Gael,”

234;

Sanchan Torpest, taunted by High King Guary, resolves to find the lost,

234-236;

early Celtic MSS. and, 296

TALIESIN (tal-i-es’in). A mythical bard;

his prophecy regarding the devotion of the Cymry to their tongue, 385;

the tale of, 412-417;

found by Elphin, son of Gwyddno, 414;

made prime bard of Britain, 415-417

TALKENN. (Adze-head). Name given by the Irish to St. Patrick, 275

TALTIU, or TELTA. Daughter of the King of the “Great Plain” (the Land of

the Dead), wedded by Eochy mac Erc, 103

TARA. Seat of the High Kings of Ireland;

the cursing of, 47, 48-49;

Stone of Scone sent to Scotland from, 105;

Lugh accuses sons of Turenn at, of his father’s murder, 115;

appearance of Midir the Proud to Eochy on Hill of, 124, 161;

Milesian host at, 135;

institution of triennial Festival at, 149-150;

bull-feast at, to decide by divination who should be king in Eterskel’s

stead, 167, 168;

Conary commanded to go to, by Nemglan, 168;

proclaimed King of Erin at, 168;

pointed out to Cuchulain, 193;

Cuchulain’s head and hand buried at, 233;

Finn at, 257, 258

TAR´ANUS (? Thor). Deity mentioned by Lucan, 86, 87

TEGID VOEL. A man of Penllyn, husband of Ceridwen, father of Avagddu, 413

TEIRNYON (ter’ny-on). A man of Gwent Is Coed;

finds Pryderi, 364;

restores Pryderi, 365

TELLTOWN (TELTIN). Palace at, of Telta, Eochy mac Erc’s wife, 103;

great battle at, between Danaans and Milesians, 136;

Conall of the Victories makes his way to, after Conary’s death, 176;

pointed out to Cuchulain, 193

TENNYSON, LORD. Reference to source of his “Voyage of Maeldune,” 309;

Cymric myths and, 388;

reference to his “Enid,” 400

TEUTAT´ES. Deity mentioned by Lucan, 86

TEUTONIC. Loyalty of races, 45, 46

TEZCATLIPOCA. Sun-god;

festival of, in Mexico, 77

THE TERRIBLE. A demon who by strange test decides the Championship of

Ireland, 196

THOMAS OF BRITTANY. See Bleheris

TIBERIUS, EMPEROR. Druids, prophets, and medicine-men suppressed by, 62

TIERNA (Teer’na). Abbot of Clonmacnois, eleventh-century historian, 150

TIERNMAS (teern’mas). Fifth Irish king who succeeded Eremon, 148;

idol Crom Cruach and, 148, 149;

his death, 149

TONN CLIODHNA (thown cleena). Otherwise “Wave of Cleena.”

One of the most notable landmarks of Ireland, 127

TOR MŌR. Precipitous headland in Tory Island;

Ethlinn imprisoned by Balor in tower built on, 110

TORY ISLAND. Stronghold of Fomorian power, 101;

invaded by Nemedians, 101

TRADABAN´, THE WELL OF. Keelta’s praises of, 282, 283

TRANSMIGRATION. The doctrine of, allegation that Celtic idea of

immortality embodied Oriental conception of, 80;

doctrine of, not held by Celts in same way as by Pythagoras and the

Orientals, 81;

Welsh Taliessin who became an eagle, 100.

See Tuan mac Carell

TRENDORN. Conor’s servant, 199;

spies on Deirdre, 200;

is blinded in one eye by Naisi, 200;

declares Deirdre’s beauty to Conor, 200

TREON (tray’on). Father of Vivionn, 287

TRISTAN AND ISEULT. Tale of Dermot and Grania paralleled in story as told

by Heinrich von Freiberg, 299

TROYES. See Chrestien de Troyes

TUAN MAC CARELL. The legend of, recorded in MS. “Book of the Dun Cow,” 97;

king of all deer in Ireland, 99;

name of “gods” given to the People of Dana by, 104

TUATHA DE DANANN (thoo’a-haw day danawn’). Literal meaning, “the folk of

the god whose mother is Dana,” 103

TUMULI. See Dolmens, 53

TURENN. The quest of the Sons of, 113-116;

reference to Lugh in the quest of the Sons of, 123

TWRCH TRWYTH (toorch troo’-with). A king in shape of a monstrous boar, 391

TYLER. Reference of, in his “Primitive Culture,” to festival of Sun-god,

Tezcatlipoca, 77

TYLWYTH TEG. Welsh fairies;

Gwyn ap Nudd, King of the, 353

TYREN. Sister to Murna, 266;

Ullan, husband of, 266;

changed by a woman of the Fairy Folk into a hound, 266

UGAINY THE GREAT (oo’gany). Ruler of Ireland, &c., husband of Kesair,

father of Laery and Covac, 152

ULSTER. Kingdom of, founded in reign of Kimbay, 150;

Dithorba’s five sons expelled from, 151;

Dectera’s gift of Cuchulain to, 182;

Conor, King of, 180, 190, 191;

Felim, son of Dall, a lord of, 196;

Maev’s war against province of, to secure Brown Bull of Quelgny,

202-251;

under the Debility curse, 205;

passes of, guarded by Cuchulain of Murthemney, 206;

aroused by Sualtam, 221, 222;

Macha’s curse lifted from men of, 222;

Ailell and Maev make a seven years’ peace with, 225;

curse of Macha again on the men of, 229;

Wee Folk swarm into 248, 249

ULTONIAN-S. Great fair of, visited by Crundchu, 178;

his boast of Macha’s swiftness, 179;

the debility of, caused by Macha’s curse, 179, 180;

the debility of, descends on Ulster, 205;

Cycle, events of, supposed to have happened about time of Christ, 252

UNDERWORLD. The cult of, found existing by Celts when they got to Western

Europe, 82;

Dis, or Pluto, god of, 88;

Māth, god of, 349;

identical with Land of the Dead, 130

USNA. Father of Naisi, 198;

sons of, inquired for by Conor, 199

UTHER PENDRAGON. Father of Arthur, 337

VALLEY OF THE THRUSHES. Oisīn’s spell broken in, 274

VEIL OF ILLUSION, THE. Thrown over Caradawc by Caswallan, 372

VERCINGETORIX. Celtic chief;

his defeat by Cæsar, his death, 40

VERGIL. Evidence of Celtic ancestry in name, 21.

See Feryllt, 413

VITRA. The God of Evil in Vedantic mythology, related to _Cenchos_, the

Footless, 97

VIVIONN (BEBHIONN). A young giantess, daughter of Treon, from the Land of

Maidens, 287;

slain by Æda, and buried in the place called the Ridge of the Dead, 288

VOYAGE OF MAELDŪN. See Maeldūn

WACE. Author of “Li Romans de Brut,” 338

WALES. Arthurian saga in, 343, 344;

prophecy of Taliesin about, 385

WAVE OF CLEENA. See Tonn Cliodhna

WEE FOLK, THE. Fergus mac Leda and, 246-249;

Iubdan, King of, 246

WELL OF KESAIR. Mac Cecht visits, 175

WELL OF KNOWLEDGE. Equivalent, Connla’s Well.

Sinend’s fatal visit to, 129

WELSH FAIRIES. See Tylwyth Teg

WELSH LITERATURE. The Arthur in the Arthurian saga wholly different from

the Arthur in, 336;

compared with Irish, 344;

tales of Arthur in, 386

WELSH MS. SOCIETY. Llewellyn Sion’s “Barddas” edited by J.A. Williams ap

Ithel for, 332

WELSH ROMANCE. The character of, 395, 396

WESTON, MISS JESSIE L. Reference to her studies on the Arthurian saga, 341

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. Reference to, in connexion with Arthurian saga, 343

WOLFRAM VON ESCHENBACH. His story of the Grail, 407

YELLOW BOOK OF LECAN. Tale of Cuchulain and Connla in, 192

YOUTH. The maiden who gave the Love Spot to Dermot, 292

YSPADDADEN PENKAWR (is-pa-dhad’en). Father of Olwen, 387;

the tasks he set Kilhwch, 390-392;

slain by Goreu son of Custennin, 392

ZIMMER, DR. HEINRICH. On the source of the Arthurian saga, 343

ZOROASTER. Religion of magic invented by, 61

1 In reference to the name “Freeman,” Mr. Nicholson adds: “No one was

more intensely ‘English’ in his sympathies than the great historian

of that name, and probably no one would have more strenuously

resisted the suggestion that he might be of Welsh descent; yet I

have met his close physical counterpart in a Welsh farmer (named

Evans) living within a few minutes of Pwllheli.”

2 He speaks of “Nyrax, a Celtic city,” and “Massalia [Marseilles], a

city of Liguria in the land of the Celts” (“Fragmenta Hist. Græc.”).

3 In his “Premiers Habitants de l’Europe,” vol. ii.

4 “Cæesar’s Conquest of Gaul,” pp. 251-327.

5 The ancients were not very close observers of physical

characteristics. They describe the Celts in almost exactly the same

terms as those which they apply to the Germanic races. Dr. Rice

Holmes is of opinion that the real difference, physically, lay in

the fact that the fairness of the Germans was blond, and that of the

Celts red. In an interesting passage of the work already quoted (p.

315) he observes that, “Making every allowance for the admixture of

other blood, which must have considerably modified the type of the

original Celtic or Gallic invaders of these islands, we are struck

by the fact that among all our Celtic-speaking fellow subjects there

are to be found numerous specimens of a type which also exists in

those parts of Brittany which were colonised by British invaders,

and in those parts of Gaul in which the Gallic invaders appear to

have settled most thickly, as well as in Northern Italy, where the

Celtic invaders were once dominant; and also by the fact that this

type, _even among the more blond representatives of it, is

strikingly different, to the casual as well as to the scientific

observer, from that of the purest representatives of the ancient

Germans_. The well-known picture of Sir David Wilkie, ‘Reading of

the Waterloo Gazette,’ illustrates, as Daniel Wilson remarked, the

difference between the two types. Put a Perthshire Highlander side

by side with a Sussex farmer. Both will be fair; but the red hair

and beard of the Scot will be in marked contrast with the fair hair

of the Englishman, and their features will differ still more

markedly. I remember teeing two gamekeepers in a railway carriage

running from Inverness to Lairey. They were tall, athletic, fair

men, evidently belonging to the Scandinavian type, which, as Dr.

Beddoe says, is so common in the extreme north of Scotland; but both

in colouring and in general aspect they were utterly different from

the tall, fair Highlanders whom I had seen in Perthshire. There was

not a trace of red in their hair, their long beards being absolutely

yellow. The prevalence of red among the Celtic-speaking people is,

it seems to me, a most striking characteristic. Not only do we find

eleven men in every hundred whose hair is absolutely red, but

underlying the blacks and the dark browns the lame tint is to be

discovered.”

6 See the map of comparative nigrescence given in Ripley’s “Races of

Europe,” p. 318. In France, however, the Bretons are not a dark race

relatively to the rest of the population. They are composed partly

of the ancient Gallic peoples and partly of settlers from Wales who

were driven out by the Saxon invasion.

7 See for these names Holder’s “Altceltischer Sprachschatz.”

8 Vergil might possibly mean “the very-bright” or illustrious one, a

natural form for a proper name. _Ver_ in Gallic names

(Vercingetorix, Vercassivellasimus, &c.) is often an intensive

prefix, like the modern Irish _fior_. The name of the village where

Vergil was born, Andes (now Pietola), is Celtic. His love of nature,

his mysticism, and his strong feeling for a certain decorative

quality in language and rhythm are markedly Celtic qualities.

Tennyson’s phrases for him, “landscape-lover, lord of language,” are

suggestive in this connexion.

9 Ptolemy, a friend, and probably, indeed, half-brother, of Alexander,

was doubtless present when this incident took place. His work has

not survived, but is quoted by Arrian and other historians.

10 One is reminded of the folk-tale about Henny Penny, who went to tell

the king that the sky was falling.

11 The Book of Leinster is a manuscript of the twelfth century. The

version of the “Táin” given in it probably dates from the eighth.

See de Jubainville, “Premiers Habitants,” ii. 316.

12 Dr. Douglas Hyde in his “Literary History of Ireland” (p. 7) gives a

slightly different translation.

13 It is also a testimony to the close accuracy of the narrative of

Ptolemy.

14 Roman history tells of various conflicts with the Celts during this

period, but de Jubainville has shown that these narratives are

almost entirely mythical. See “Premiers Habitants,” ii. 318-323.

_ 15 E.g.,_ Moymell (_magh-meala_), the Plain of Honey, a Gaelic name

for Fairyland, and many place-names.

16 For these and many other examples see de Jubainville’s “Premiers

Habitants,” ii. 255 _sqq._

17 Quoted by Mr. Romilly Allen in “Celtic Art,” p. 136.

18 “Premiers Habitants,” ii. 355, 356.

19 Irish is probably an older form of Celtic speech than Welsh. This is

shown by many philological peculiarities of the Irish language, of

which one of the most interesting may here be briefly referred to.

The Goidelic or Gaelic Celts, who, according to the usual theory,

first colonised the British Islands, and who were forced by

successive waves of invasion by their Continental kindred to the

extreme west, had a peculiar dislike to the pronunciation of the

letter _p_. Thus the Indo-European particle _pare_, represented by

Greek _παρά_, beside or close to, becomes in early Celtic _are_, as

in the name _Are-morici_ (the Armoricans, those who dwell _ar muir_,

by the sea); _Are-dunum_ (Ardin, in France); _Are-cluta_, the place

beside the Clota (Clyde), now Dumbarton; _Are-taunon,_ in Germany

(near the Taunus Mountains), &c. When this letter was not simply

dropped it was usually changed into _c (k, g)_. But about the sixth

century B.C. a remarkable change passed over the language of the

Continental Celts. They gained in some unexplained way the faculty

for pronouncing _p_, and even substituted it for existing _c_

sounds; thus the original _Cretanis_ became _Pretanis_, Britain, the

numeral _qetuares_ (four) became _petuares_, and so forth. Celtic

place-names in Spain show that this change must have taken place

before the Celtic conquest of that country, 500 B.C. Now a

comparison of many Irish and Welsh words shows distinctly this

avoidance of _p_ on the Irish side and lack of any objection to it

on the Welsh. The following are a few illustrations:

_Irish_ _Welsh_ _English_

crann prenn tree

mac map ton

cenn pen head

clumh (cluv) pluv feather

cúig pimp five

The conclusion that Irish must represent the older form of the

language seems obvious. It is remarkable that even to a

comparatively late date the Irish preserved their dislike to _p_.

Thus they turned the Latin _Pascha_ (Easter) to _Casg; purpur_,

purple, to _corcair, pulsatio_ (through French _pouls_) to _cuisle_.

It must be noted, however, that Nicholson in his “Keltic Researches”

endeavours to show that the so-called Indo-European _p_—that is, _p_

standing alone and uncombined with another consonant—was pronounced

by the Goidelic Celts at an early period. The subject can hardly be

said to be cleared up yet.

20 The Irish, says Edmund Spenser, in his “View of the Present State of

Ireland,” “use commonyle to send up and down to know newes, and yf

any meet with another, his second woorde is, What newes?”

21 Compare Spenser: “I have heard some greate warriors say, that in all

the services which they had seen abroad in forrayne countreys, they

never saw a more comely horseman than the Irish man, nor that cometh

on more bravely in his charge ... they are very valiante and hardye,

for the most part great endurours of cold, labour, hunger and all

hardiness, very active and stronge of hand, very swift of foote,

very vigilaunte and circumspect in theyr enterprises, very present

in perrils, very great scorners of death.”

22 The scene of the surrender of Vercingetorix is not recounted by

Cæsar, and rests mainly on the authority of Plutarch and of the

historian Florus, but it is accepted by scholars (Mommsen, Long,

&c.) as historic.

23 These were a tribe who took their name from the _gæsum_, a kind of

Celtic javelin, which was their principal weapon. The torque, or

twisted collar of gold, is introduced as a typical ornament in the

well-known statue of the dying Gaul, commonly called “The Dying

Gladiator.” Many examples are preserved in the National Museum of

Dublin.

24 “Cæsar’s Conquest of Gaul,” pp. 10, 11. Let it be added that the

aristocratic Celts were, like the Teutons, dolichocephalic—that is

to say, they had heads long in proportion to their breadth. This is

proved by remains found in the basin of the Marne, which was thickly

populated by them. In one case the skeleton of the tall Gallic

warrior was found with his war-car, iron helmet, and sword, now in

the Music de St.-Germain. The inhabitants of the British Islands are

uniformly long-headed, the round-headed “Alpine” type occurring very

rarely. Those of modern France are round-headed. The shape of the

head, however, is now known to be by no means a constant racial

character. It alters rapidly in a new environment, as is shown by

measurements of the descendants of immigrants in America. See an

article on this subject by Professor Haddon in “Nature,” Nov. 3,

1910.

25 In the “Tain Bo Cuailgne,” for instance, the King of Ulster must not

speak to a messenger until the Druid, Cathbad, has questioned him.

One recalls the lines of Sir Samuel Ferguson in his Irish epic poem,

“Congal”:

“... For ever since the time When Cathbad smothered Usnach’s sons in

that foul sea of slime Raised by abominable spells at Creeveroe’s

bloody gate, Do ruin and dishonour still on priest-led kings await.”

_ 26 Celtice_, Diarmuid mac Cearbhaill.

27 It was the practice, known in India also, for a person who was

wronged by a superior, or thought himself so, to sit before the

doorstep of the denier of justice and fast until right was done him.

In Ireland a magical power was attributed to the ceremony, the

effect of which would be averted by the other person fasting as

well.

28 “Silva Gadelica,” by S.H. O’Grady, p. 73.

29 The authority here quoted is a narrative contained in a

fifteenth-century vellum manuscript found in Lismore Castle in 1814,

and translated by S.H. O’Grady in his “Silva Gadelica.” The

narrative is attributed to an officer of Dermot’s court.

30 From Greek _megas_, great, and _lithos_, a stone.

31 See p. 78.

32 See Borlase’s “Dolmens of Ireland,” pp. 605, 606, for a discussion

of this question.

33 Professor Ridgeway (see Report of the Brit. Assoc. for 1908) has

contended that the Megalithic People spoke an Aryan language;

otherwise he thinks more traces of its influence must have survived

in the Celtic which supplanted it. The weight of authority, as well

as such direct evidence as we possess, seems to be against his view.

34 See Holder,“Altceltischer Sprachschatz.” _sulb voce_ “Hyperboreoi.”

35 Thus the Greek _pharmakon_=medicine, poison, or charm; and I am

informed that the Central African word for magic or charm is

_mankwala_, which also means medicine.

36 If Pliny meant that it was here first codified and organised he may

be right, but the conceptions on which magic rest are practically

universal, and of immemorial antiquity.

37 Adopted 451 B.C. Livy entitles them “the fountain of all public and

private right.” They stood in the Forum till the third century A.D.,

but have now perished, except for fragments preserved in various

commentaries.

38 See “Revue Archeologique,” t. xii., 1865, “Fouilles de René Galles.”

39 Jade is not found in the native state in Europe, nor nearer than

China.

40 Small stones, crystals, and gems were, however, also venerated. The

celebrated Black Stone of Pergamos was the subject of an embassy

from Rome to that city in the time of the Second Punic War, the

Sibylline Books having predicted victory to its possessors. It was

brought to Rome with great rejoicings in the year 205. It is stated

to have been about the size of a man’s fist, and was probably a

meteorite. Compare the myth in Hesiod which relates how Kronos

devoured a stone in the belief that it was his offspring, Zeus. It

was then possible to mistake a stone for a god.

41 Replaced by a photograph in this edition.

42 See Sir J. Simpson’s “Archaic Sculpturings” 1867.

43 The fact is recorded in the “Annals of the Four Masters” Under the

date 861, and in the “Annals of Ulster” under 862.

44 See “Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy,” vol. xxx. pt. i.,

1892, and “New Grange,” by G. Coffey, 1912.

45 It must be observed, however, that the decoration was, certainly, in

some, and perhaps in all cases, carried out before the stones were

placed in position. This is also the case at Gavr’inis.

46 He has modified this view in his latest work, “New Grange,” 1912.

47 “Proc. Royal Irish Acad.,” vol. viii. 1863, p. 400, and G. Coffey,

_op. cit._ p. 30.

48 “Les Sculptures de Rochers de la Suède,” read at the Prehistoric

Congress, Stockholm, 1874; and see G. Coffey, _op. cit._ p. 60.

49 “Dolmens of Ireland,” pp. 701-704.

50 “The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria.”

51 A good example from Amaravati (after Fergusson) is given by

Bertrand, “Rel. des G.,” p. 389.

52 Sergi, “The Mediterranean Race,” p. 313.

53 At Lökeberget, Bohuslän; see Monteiius, _op. cit._

54 See Lord Kingsborough’s “Antiquities of Mexico,” _passim_, and the

Humboldt fragment of Mexican painting (reproduced in Churchward’s

“Signs and Symbols of Primordial Man”).

55 See Sergi, _op. cit._ p. 290, for the _Ankh_ on a French dolmen.

56 “Bulletin de la Soc. d’Anthropologie,” Paris, April 1893.

57 “The Welsh People,” pp. 616-664, where the subject is fully

discussed in an appendix by Professor J. Morris Jones. “The

pre-Aryan idioms which still live in Welsh and Irish were derived

from a language allied to Egyptian and the Berber tongues.”

58 Flinders Petrie, “Egypt and Israel,” pp. 137, 899.

59 I quote from Mr. H.B. Cotterill’s beautiful hexameter version.

60 Valerius Maximus (about A.D 30) and other classical writers mention

this practice.

61 Book V.

62 De Jubainville, “Irish Mythological Cycle,” p.191 _sqq._

63 The etymology of the word “Druid” is no longer an unsolved problem.

It had been suggested that the latter part of the word might be

connected with the Aryan root VID, which appears in “wisdom,” in the

Latin _videre_, &c., Thurneysen has now shown that this root in

combination with the intensive particle _dru_ would yield the word

_dru-vids_, represented in Gaelic by _draoi_, a Druid, just as

another intensive, _su_, with _vids_ yields the Gaelic _saoi_, a

sage.

64 See Rice Holmes, “Cæsar’s Conquest,” p. 15, and pp. 532-536. Rhys,

it may be observed, believes that Druidism was the religion of the

aboriginal inhabitants of Western Europe “from the Baltic to

Gibraltar” (“Celtic Britain,” p. 73). But we only _know_ of it where

Celts and dolmen-builders combined. Cæsar remarks of the Germans

that they had no Druids and cared little about sacrificial

ceremonies.

65 “Rel. des Gaulois,” leçon xx.

66 Quoted by Bertrand, _op. cit._ p. 279.

67 “The Irish Mythological Cycle,” by d’Arbois de Jubainville, p. 6l.

The “Dinnsenchus” in question is an early Christian document. No

trace of a being like Crom Cruach has been found as yet in the pagan

literature of Ireland, nor in the writings of St. Patrick, and I

think it is quite probable that even in the time of St. Patrick

human sacrifices had become only a memory.

68 A representation of human sacrifice has, however, lately been

discovered in a Temple of the Sun in the ancient Ethiopian capital,

Meroë.

69 “You [Celts] who by cruel blood outpoured think to appease the

pitiless Teutates, the horrid Æsus with his barbarous altars, and

Taranus whose worship is no gentler than that of the Scythian

Diana”, to whom captive were offered up. (Lucan, “Pharsalia”, i.

444.) An altar dedicated to Æsus has been discovered in Paris.

70 Mont Mercure, Mercœur, Mercoirey, Montmartre (_Mons Mercurii_), &c.

71 To this day in many parts of France the peasantry use terms like

_annuit, o’né, anneue_, &c., all meaning “to-night,” for

_aujourd’hui_ (Bertrand, “Rel. des G.,” p. 356).

72 The _fili_, or professional poets, it must be remembered, were a

branch of the Druidic order.

73 For instance, Pelagius in the fifth century; Columba, Columbanus,

and St. Gall in the sixth; Fridolin, named _Viator_, “the

Traveller,” and Fursa in the seventh; Virgilius (Feargal) of

Salzburg, who had to answer at Rome for teaching the sphericity of

the earth, in the eighth; Dicuil, “the Geographer,” and Johannes

Scotus Erigena—the master mind of his epoch—in the ninth.

74 Dealgnaid. I have been obliged here, as occasionally elsewhere, to

modify the Irish names so as to make them pronounceable by English

readers.

75 See p. 48, _note_ 1.

76 I follow in this narrative R.I. Best’s translation of the “Irish

Mythological Cycle” of d’Arbois de Jubainville.

77 De Jubainville, “Irish Mythological Cycle,” p. 75.

78 Pronounced “Yeo´hee.” See Glossary for this and other words.

79 The science of the Druids, as we have seen, was conveyed in verse,

and the professional poets were a branch of the Druidic Order.

80 Meyer and Nutt, “Voyage of Bran,” ii. 197.

81 “Moytura” means “The Plain of the Towers”—_i.e._, sepulchral

monuments.

82 Shakespeare alludes to this in “As You Like It.” “I never was so

be-rhymed,” says Rosalind, “since Pythagoras’ time, that I was an

Irish rat—which I can hardly remember.”

83 Lyons, Leyden, Laon were all in ancient times known as _Lug-dunum,_

the Fortress of Lugh. _Luguvallum_ was the name of a town near

Hadrian’s Wall in Roman Britain.

84 It is given by him in a note to the “Four Masters,” vol. i. p. 18,

and is also reproduced by de Jubainville.

85 The other two were “The Fate of the Children of Lir” and “The Fate

of the Sons of Usna.” The stories of the Quest of the Sons of Turenn

and that of the Children of Lir have been told in full by the author

in his “High Deeds of Finn and other Bardic Romances,” and that of

the “Sons of Usna” (the Deirdre Legend) by Miss Eleanor Hull in her

“Cuchulain,” both published by Harrap and Co

86 O’Curry’s translation from the bardic tale, “The Battle of Moytura.”

87 O’Curry, “Manners and Customs,” iii. 214.

88 The ancient Irish division of the year contained only these three

seasons, including autumn in summer (O’Curry, “Manners and Customs,”

iii. 217).]

89 S.H. O’Grady, “Silva Gadelica,” p. 191.

90 Pp. 104 _sqq._, and _passim_.

91 O’Grady, _loc. cit._

92 O’Grady, _loc. cit._

93 See p. 112.

94 Miss Hull has discussed this subject fully in the introduction to

her invaluable work, “The Cuchullin Saga.”

95 See the tale of “Etain and Midir,” in Chap. IV.

96 The name Tara is derived from an oblique case of the nominative

_Teamhair_, meaning “the place of the wide prospect.” It is now a

broad grassy hill, in Co. Meath, covered with earthworks

representing the sites of the ancient royal buildings, which can all

be clearly located from ancient descriptions.

97 A.H. Leahy, “Heroic Romances,” i. 27.

98 See p. 114.

99 I cannot agree with Mr. O’Grady’s identification of this goddess

with Dana, though the name appears to mean “The Great Queen.”

100 Gerald, the fourth Earl of Desmond. He disappeared, it is said, in

1398, and the legend goes that he still lives beneath the waters of

Loch Gur, and may be seen riding round its banks on his white steed

once every seven years. He was surnamed “Gerald the Poet” from the

“witty and ingenious” verses he composed in Gaelic. Wizardry,

poetry, and science were all united in one conception in the mind of

the ancient Irish.

101 “Popular Tales of Ireland,” by D. Fitzgerald, in “Revue Celtique,”

vol. iv.

102 “The Voyage of Bran,” vol. ii. p. 219.

103 In Irish, _Sionnain_.

104 Translation by R.I. Best.

105 The solar vessels found in dolmen carvings. See Chap. II. p. 71

_sqq_. Note that the Celtic spirits, though invisible, are material

and have weight; not so those in Vergil and Dante.

106 De Jubainville, “Irish Mythological Cycle,” p. 136. Beltené is the

modern Irish name for the month of May, and is derived from an

ancient root preserved in the Old Irish compound _epelta_, “dead.”

107 “Irish Mythological Cycle,” p. 138.

108 I follow again de Jubainville’s translation; but in connexion with

this and the previous poems see also Ossianic Society’s

“Transactions,” vol. v.

109 Teltin; so named after the goddess Telta. See p. 103.

110 Pronounced “Shee.” It means literally the People of the [Fairy]

Mounds.

111 Pronounced “Eefa.”

112 This name means “The Maid of the Fair Shoulder.”

113 The story here summarised is given in full in the writer’s “High

Deeds of Finn” (Harrap and Co.).

114 It may be mentioned that the syllable “Kill,” which enters into so

many Irish place-names (Kilkenny, Killiney, Kilcooley, &c.), usually

represents the Latin _cella_, a monastic cell, shrine, or church.

115 Cleena (_Cliodhna_) was a Danaan princess about whom a legend is

told connected with the Bay of Glandore in Co. Cork. See p. 127.

116 See p. 85.

117 “Omnia monumenta Scotorum ante Cimbaoth incerta erant.” Tierna, who

died in 1088, was Abbot of Clonmacnois, a great monastic and

educational centre in mediæval Ireland.

118 Compare the fine poem of a modern Celtic writer (Sir Samuel

Ferguson), “The Widow’s Cloak”—_i.e._, the British Empire in the

days of Queen Victoria.

119 “Critical History of Ireland,” p. 180.

120 Pronounced “El´yill.”

121 The ending _ster_ in three of the names of the Irish provinces is of

Norse origin, and is a relic of the Viking conquests in Ireland.

Connacht, where the Vikings did not penetrate, alone preserves its

Irish name unmodified. Ulster (in Irish _Ulaidh_) is supposed to

derive its name from Ollav Fōla, Munster (_Mumhan_) from King Eocho

Mumho, tenth in succession from Eremon, and Connacht was “the land

of the children of Conn”—he who was called Conn of the Hundred

Battles, and who died A.D. 157.

122 The reader may, however, be referred to the tale of Etain and Midir

as given in full by A.H. Leahy (“Heroic Romances of Ireland”), and

by the writer in his “High Deeds of Finn,” and to the tale of Conary

rendered by Sir S. Ferguson (“Poems,” 1886), in what Dr. Whitley

Stokes has described as the noblest poem ever written by an

Irishman.

123 Pronounced “Yeo´hee.”

124 I quote Mr. A.H. Leahy’s translation from a fifteenth-century

Egerton manuscript (“Heroic Romances of Ireland,” vol. i. p. 12).

The story is, however, found in much more ancient authorities.

125 Ogham letters, which were composed of straight lines arranged in a

certain order about the axis formed by the edge of a squared

pillar-stone, were used for sepulchral inscription and writing

generally before the introduction of the Roman alphabet in Ireland.

126 The reference is to the magic swine of Mananan, which were killed

and eaten afresh every day, and whose meat preserved the eternal

youth of the People of Dana.

127 See p. 124.

128 The meaning quoted will be found in the Dictionary under the

alternative form _geas_

129 I quote from Whitley Stokes’ translation, _Revue Celtique_, January

1901, and succeeding numbers.

130 Bregia was the great plain lying eastwards of Tara between Boyne and

Liffey

131 “The Destruction of Da Derga’s Hostel.”

132 Pronounced “Koohoo´lin.”

133 See p. 150.

134 See pp. 121-123 for an account of this deity.

135 It is noticeable that among the characters figuring in the Ultonian

legendary cycle many names occur of which the word _Cu_ (hound)

forms a part. Thus we have Curoi, Cucorb, Beälcu, &c. The reference

is no doubt to the Irish wolf-hound, a fine type of valour and

beauty.

136 Now Lusk, a village on the coast a few miles north of Dublin.

137 Owing to the similarity of the name the supernatural country of

Skatha, “the Shadowy,” was early identified with the islands of

Skye, where the Cuchulain Peaks still bear witness to the legend.

138 This, of course, was Cuchulain’s father, Lugh.

139 This means probably “the belly spear.” With this terrible weapon

Cuchulain was fated in the end to slay his friend Ferdia.

140 See genealogical table, p. 181.

141 Miss Hull, “The Cuchullin Saga,” p. lxxii, where the solar theory of

the Brown Bull is dealt with at length.

142 A _cumal_ was the unit of value in Celtic Ireland. It is mentioned

as such by St. Patrick. It meant the price of a woman-slave.

143 The cune laid on them by Macha. Sec p. 180.

144 Cuchulain, as the son of the god Lugh, was not subject to the curse

of Macha which afflicted the other Ultonians.

145 His reputed father, the mortal husband of Dectera

146 In the Irish bardic literature, as in the Homeric epics, chastity

formed no part of the masculine ideal either for gods or men.

147 “The Ford of the Forked Pole.”

148 I quote from Standish Hayes O’Grady’s translation, in Miss Hull’s

“Cuchullin Saga.”

_ 149 Ath Fherdia_, which is pronounced and now spelt “Ardee.” It is in

Co. Louth, at the southern border of the Plain of Murthemney, which

was Cuchulain’s territory.

150 See p. 126.

151 In ancient Ireland there were five provinces, Munster being counted

as two, or, as some ancient authorities explain it, the High King’s

territory in Meath and Westmeath being reckoned a separate province.

152 “Clan” in Gaelic means children or offspring. Clan Calatin=the sons

of Calatin.

153 Together with much that is wild and barbaric in this Irish epic of

the “Tain” the reader will be struck by the ideals of courtesy and

gentleness which not infrequently come to light in it. It must be

remembered that, as Mr. A.H. Leahy points out in his “Heroic

Romances of Ireland,” the legend of the Raid of Quelgny is, at the

very latest, a century earlier than all other known romances of

chivalry, Welsh or Continental. It is found in the “Book of

Leinster,” a manuscript of the twelfth century, as well as in other

sources, and was doubtless considerably older than the date of its

transcription there. “The whole thing,” says Mr. Leahy, “stands at

the very beginning of the literature of modern Europe.”

154 Another instance of the survival of the oath formula recited by the

Celtic envoys to Alexander the Great. See p. 23.

155 “Rising-out” is the vivid expression used by Irish writers for a

clan or territory going on the war-path. “Hosting” is also used in a

similar sense.

156 See p. 130.

157 The sword of Fergus was a fairy weapon called the _Caladcholg_ (hard

dinter), a name of which Arthur’s more famous “Excalibur” is a

Latinised corruption.

158 The reference is to Deirdre.

159 See p. 211.

160 A.H. Leahy’s translation, “Heroic Romances of Ireland,” vol. i.

161 The cloak of Mananan (see p. 125) typifies the sea—here, in its

dividing and estranging power.

162 This Curoi appears in various tales of the Ultonian Cycle with

attributes which show that he was no mortal king, but a local deity.

163 This apparition of the Washer of the Ford is of frequent occurrence

in Irish legend.

164 See p. 164 for the reference to _geis_. “His namesake” refers, of

course, to the story of the Hound of Cullan, pp. 183, 184.

165 It was a point of honour to refuse nothing to a bard; one king is

said to have given his eye when it was demanded of him.

_ 166 Craobh Ruadh_—the Red Branch hostel.

167 The story is told in full in the author’s “High Deeds of Finn.”

168 Pronounced “Bay-al-koo.”

169 Inis Clothrann, now known as Quaker’s Island. The pool no longer

exists.

170 “Youb´dan.”

171 Dr. P. W. Joyce’s “Irish Names of Places” is a storehouse of

information on this subject.

172 P. 211, _note_.

173 The name is given both to the hill, _ard_, and to the ford, _atha_

beneath it.

174 Pronounced “mac Cool.”

175 Pronounced “Usheen.”

176 Subject, of course, to the possibility that the present revival of

Gaelic as a spoken tongue may lead to the opening of a new chapter

in that history.

177 See “Ossian and Ossianic Literature,” by Alfred Nutt, p. 4.

178 Now Castleknock, near Dublin.

179 In the King’s County.

180 The hill still bears the name, Knockanar.

181 Glanismole, near Dublin.

182 Talkenn, or “Adze-head,” was a name given to St. Patrick by the

Irish. Probably it referred to the shape of his tonsure.

183 Pronounced “Sleeve-na-mon´”: accent on last syllable. It means the

Mountain of the [Fairy] Women.

184 Translation by S.H. O’Grady.

185 See p. 105.

186 Examples of these have been published, with translations, in the

“Transactions of the Ossianic Society.”

187 Taken down from the recital of a peasant in Co. Galway and published

at Rennes in Dr. Hyde’s “An Sgeuluidhe Gaodhalach,” vol. ii. (no

translation).

188 Now Athlone (_Atha Luain_).

189 How significant is this naïve indication that the making of forays

on his neighbours was regarded in Celtic Ireland as the natural and

laudable occupation of a country gentleman! Compare Spenser’s

account of the ideals fostered by the Irish bards of his time, “View

of the Present State of Ireland,” p. 641 (Globe edition).

190 Dr. John Todhunter, in his “Three Irish Bardic Tales,” has alone, I

think, kept the antique ending of the tale of Deirdre.

191 “Waifs and Strays of Celtic Tradition,” Argyllshire Series. The tale

was taken down in verse, word for word, from the dictation of

Roderick mac Fadyen in Tiree, 1868.

192 Here we have evidently a reminiscence of Briccriu of the Poisoned

Tongue, the mischief-maker of the Ultonians.

193 The Arans are three islands at the entrance of Galway Bay. They are

a perfect museum of mysterious ruins.

194 Pronounced “Ghermawn”—the “G” hard.

195 Horse-racing was a particular delight to the ancient Irish, and is

mentioned in a ninth-century poem in praise of May as one of the

attractions of that month. The name of the month of May given in an

ancient Gaulish calendar means “the month of horse-racing.”

196 The same phenomenon is recorded as being witnessed by Peredur in the

Welsh tale of that name in the “Mabinogion.”

197 Like the bridge to Skatha’t dūn, p. 188.

198 Probably we are to understand that he was an anchorite seeking for

an islet on which to dwell in solitude and contemplation. The

western islands of Ireland abound in the ruins of huts and oratories

built by single monks or little communities.

199 Tennyson has been particularly happy in his description of these

undersea islands.

200 Ps. ciii. 5.

201 This disposes of the last of the foster-brothers, who should not

have joined the party.

202 Tory Island, off the Donegal coast. There was there a monastery and

a church dedicated to St. Columba.

203 “One day we shall delight in the remembrance of these things.” The

quotation is from Vergil, “Æn.” i. 203 “Sacred poet” is a

translation of the _vates sacer_ of Horace.

204 This sage and poet has not been identified from any other record.

Praise and thanks to him, whoever he may have been.

205 “The Mabinogion,” pp. 45 and 54.

206 Pronounced “Annoon.” It was the word used in the early literature

for Hades or Fairyland.

207 “Barddas,” vol. i. pp. 224 _sqq_.

208 Strange as it may seem to us, the character of this object was by no

means fixed from the beginning. In the poem of Wolfram von

Eschenbach it is a stone endowed with magical properties. The word

is derived by the early fabulists from _gréable_, something pleasant

to possess and enjoy, and out of which one could have _à son gré_,

whatever he chose of good things. The Grail legend will be dealt

with later in connexion with the Welsh tale “Peredur.”

209 Distinguished by these from the other great storehouse of poetic

legend, the _Matière de Bretagne—i.e._, the Arthurian saga.

210 See p. 103.

211 “Cultur der Gegenwart,” i. ix.

212 A list of them is given in Lobineau’s “Histoire de Bretagne.”

213 See, _e.g.,_ pp. 243 and 218, _note_.

214 See p. 233, and a similar case in the author’s “High Deeds of Finn,”

p. 82.

215 See p. 232, and the tale of the recovery of the “Tain,” p. 234.

216 “Pwyll King of Dyfed,” “Bran and Branwen,” “Math Sor of Māthonwy,”

and “Manawyddan Son of Llyr.”

217 See p. 107.

218 “Hibbert Lectures,” pp. 237-240.

219 See pp. 88, 109, &c. Lugh, of course, = Lux, Light. The Celtic words

_Lamh_ and _Llaw_ were used indifferently for hand or arm.

220 Mr. Squire, in his “Mythology of the British Islands,” 1905, has

brought together in a clear and attractive form the most recent

results of studies on this subject.

221 Finn and Gwyn are respectively the Gaelic and Cymric forms of the

same name, meaning fair or white.

222 “Mythology of the British Islands,” p. 225.

223 The sense appears to be doubtful here, and is variously rendered.

224 Lloegyr = Saxon Britain.

225 Rhys, “Hibbert Lectures,” quoting from the ancient saga of Merlin

published by the English Text Society, p. 693.

226 “Mythology of the British Islands,” pp. 325, 326; and Rhys, “Hibbert

Lectures,” p. 155 _sqq_.

227 In the “Iolo MSS.,” collected by Edward Williams.

228 See, _e.g._, pp. 111, 272.

229 We see here that we have got far from primitive Celtic legend. The

heroes fight like mediaeval knights on horseback, tilting at each

other with spears, not in chariots or on foot, and not with the

strange weapons which figure in Gaelic battle-tales.

230 Hēn, “the Ancient”; an epithet generally implying a hoary antiquity

associated with mythological tradition.

231 Pronounced “Pry-dair´y.”

232 Evidently this was the triangular Norman shield, not the round or

oval Celtic one. It has already been noticed that in these Welsh

tales the knights when they fight tilt at each other with spears.

233 The reader may pronounce this “Matholaw.”

234 Compare the description of Mac Cecht in the tale of the Hostel of De

Derga, p. 173.

235 Where the Tower of London now stands.

236 These stories, in Ireland and in Wales, always attach themselves to

actual burial-places. In 1813 a funeral urn containing ashes and

half-burnt bones was found in the spot traditionally supposed to be

Branwen’s sepulchre.

237 Saxon Britain.

238 This is a distorted reminiscence of the practice which seems to have

obtained in the courts of Welsh princes, that a high officer should

hold the king’s feet in his lap while he sat at meat.

239 “Hawthorn, King of the Giants.”

240 The gods of the family of Dōn are thus conceived as servitors to

Arthur, who in this story is evidently the god Artaius.

241 “She of the White Track.” Compare the description of Etain, pp. 157,

158.

242 There is no other mention of this Kenverchyn or of how Owain got his

raven-army, also referred to in “The Dream of Rhonabwy.” We have

here evidently a piece of antique mythology embedded in a more

modern fabric.

243 Like the Breton Tale of “Peronnik the Fool,” translated in “Le Foyer

Bréton,” by Emile Souvestre. The syllable _Per_ which occurs in all

forms of the hero’s name means in Welsh and Cornish a bowl or vessel

(Irish _coire_—see p. 35, note). No satisfactory derivation has in

any case been found of the latter part of the name.

244 “They are nourished by a stone of most noble nature ... it is called

_lapsit exillîs_; the stone is also called the Grail.” The term

_lapsit exillîs_ appears to be a corruption for _lapis ex celis_,

“the stone from heaven.”

245 The true derivation is from the Low Latin _cratella_, a small vessel

or chalice.

246 A similar selective action is ascribed to the Grail by Wolfram. It

can only be lifted by a pure maiden when carried into the hall, and

a heathen cannot see it or be benefited by it. The same idea is also

strongly marked in the story narrating the early history of the

Grail by Robert de Borron, about 1210: the impure and sinful cannot

benefit by it. Borron, however, does not touch upon the Perceval or

“quest” portion of the story at all.

247 Hades.

248 Caer Vedwyd means the Castle of Revelry. I follow the version of

this poem given by Squire in his “Mythology of the British Islands,”

where it may be read in full.

249 The combination of objects at the Grail Castle is very significant.

They were a sword, a spear, and a vessel, or, in some versions, a

stone. These are the magical treasures brought by the Danaans into

Ireland—a sword, a spear, a cauldron, and a stone. See pp. 105, 106.

250 The Round Table finds no mention in Cymric legend earlier than the

fifteenth century.

251 Vergil, in his mediæval character of magician.

252 Taliesin.

253 Alluding to the imaginary Trojan ancestry of the Britons.

254 I have somewhat abridged this curious poem. The connexion with ideas

of transmigration, as in the legend of Tuan mac Carell (see pp.

97-101), is obvious. Tuan’s last stage, it may be recalled, was a

fish, and Taliesin was taken in a salmon-weir.

JONES, BRYNMOR. Findings of, on origin of populations of Great Britain and