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Celtic Paganism
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Black Irish > Celtic Paganism > Notes > 04/10/01

Aed Abrat /t/ /avrad/

  • Oengus
  • Fand = Manannán
  • Lí Ban = Labraid

  • Eithne
  • Emer
  • Mag Mell
    • Plain of Delights

The Wasting sickness of Cú Chulaind

  • Starts with a look back at Ireland's past to the heroic age
  • assembly -- 3 days before Samhain and 3 days after
    • not at Emain Macha but Mag Morthemna -- CC land
    • reason -- give each warrior the chance to boast valor and exhibit triumphs
      • triumphs often accomplished in guarding borders -- defense of borders
    • exhibiting tongues of slain warriors
      • cf. brain balls
    • some threw in cattle tongues as well
      • skeptical redacter
        • cow's tongues a lot bigger
      • spoke with swords on thighs which turned against any who swore falsely
    • raids
      • drive off cows
      • carry off women
      • legal tender ties
    • 2nd Battle of Moyturra
      • ¶162 -- sword of Tethra, told what done by it
    • sword worship
      • TDD -- 4 treasures, spear / sword
    • delayed
      • Conall and Fergus nottyet arrived
    • amuse themselves in the meantime
    • flock of brids settle on lake
  • p. 156, curious CC reaction
    • cause of 3rd blemish
      • Conall -- crooked neck
      • Cúscraid -- stammar
      • Cú C -- blind in one eye
  • birds -- for all but for wife
  • p. 157 -- 2 OW birds
    • cause host to sleep
    • missed for 1st time
  • Goes to sleep
    • 2 women approach, smile, and beat him with a horsewhip and then leave
  • Fergus perceives it's a vision
    • cf. post divination -- mantic sleep while others watch
  • CC awakens
    • can't speak for a year
  • vision whipping has real effects
  • end of year
    • Conall in picture now
    • Lugaid Réoderg
  • While gathered t.g.
    • Oengus turns up
      • invites CC to come to his land (OW)
      • if comes, favors of Fand, Manannán's (sea god) estranged wife
  • Conchub. advises CC to go back to same stone
    • Lí Ban (color white) wife of Labraid /b/ /th/ Lúathlám ar Cladeb (swift hand on a sword)
  • if CC fights vs. L's enemies, will get Lí Ban
    • CC sends char. instead
  • Mag Mell
    • chieftly inhabited by women
    • Do not leave Lóeg except under a woman's protection
  • Continued emphases on women occup. this spot
  • Left-out protion
  • p. 162 -- back up a bit
  • p. 163 -- poem to strengthen CC.
  • p. 164 -- bottom poem
    • important to meaning of story
    • description of ideal Ireland under ideal kingship
    • human counterpoint to Loeg's OW description
    • OW is source of rightful kingship
      • model for all that's good
  • p. 166 -- CC won't go on a woman's invitation so sends Lóeg instead
  • p. 167-170 -- CC healed by recitation of glories of OW
    • came to mound, on mound sm. Lab.
  • p. 168 -- 3 special trees
    • gentle flock of birds
    • transf. of women
    • a well
  • So CC goes off to Mag Mell, aids M., and then sleeps with Fand and returns to own land, instr. for FAnd to join him.
    • other women consp. to kill Fand
  • p. 174 -- in e. Ireland, multiple wives
    • but here Emer jealous
  • MML comes to save Fand
    • no memory betgween them
  • druids charm CC -- drink of forgetfulness
  • bird motif familiar
    • vision/action in liminal zone
      • called to assembly but assembly not begun
        • liminal time
          • samhain -- in between part of year
    • Why women come in friendship and horsewhip?
      • horse important with whip?
      • treating CC like horse
      • injuring so can promise to heal him for favor
  • Handout
    • p. 162 is where is occurs
    • ritual of divination to see rightful king
      • all of Ireland except Ulstermen
    • bull feast -->Lugaid Réoderg (red stripe)
      • conceived by 3 brotehrs raping their sister
      • triple conception motif -- 2 stripes divide body to 3rds
    • §25, 26 -- tecosca -- teachings / precepts
      • well-known genre -- speculum principus (prince's mirror)
      • how to be an ideal king
      • originally thought as interpolation irrelevant to story, but now thought relevant.
    • §28 -- Ó C. analysis
      • story is a tryptic
        • Ireland's historic past, p. 156, desr. by Emer (arise p. 164-5)
          • idealized human domain
        • OW as described by Loeg
          • p. 167-170
        • Conditions necessary for a golden age in human world
          • prov. kings meeting to elec. king vs. force
          • bull feast/prophesy
            • OW helps select hero
          • CC instr. to king after has knowle. of OW
          • OW as source of rightous kingship
          • WW ensure golden age of peace and plenty in Ireland.
    • OW -- mist / snow
      • obscure / distort
      • ordin -- human perception distorted
    • CC between wives
    • Why Lugaid need CC help?
    • symbioltic relationship between OW and HW.
    • true in later folklore of Ireland
      • OW Queen needs human midwife
    • Labraid and CC as shadows of eachother
      • Labraid = he speaks
        • articulation of ideals that make ideal world in human realm
    • Lí Ban
      • beauty
      • splendor of form
      • color white

Exile -- p. 257

  • long history
    • 8th c. - earliest redaction
  • continued to be retold t.o. Irish literature
    • Yeats
    • Singe
  • one of 3 sorrows of storytelling
  • Is it only a sad story or something more in the tale?
  • Ulsterman assembled
    • Fedilmid's wife present, etc.
      • wife pregnant, as goes to bed, child screams and is heard in court
      • men's reaction
        • jump up ready for battle
      • Senchae
        • p. 258
      • roaring roar
        • durdurtur
      • druid -- Cathub
        • prophesy
          • trouble
      • after born
        • another reg. prophesy
      • prophesies of druids will come true
      • Ulstermen
        • Slay here!
      • Conchubar
        • claims as own
  • One day, p. 260 -- fate sign
    • Noísiu just like that
      • has 2 brothers, inseparatble, function as one
    • music considered magical
      • happy
      • sad
      • forget
      • magical singing, 1/3rd more milk
    • like triple deities in iconography
  • p. 260 -- cattle talk
    • bull of the province = king
  • 2 ears of shame and mockery -- p. 261
    • 1 way poets got people to comply was to grab their ears and rub between fingertips until red
    • e. 10th c allusion to this
      • briatran smertruch
  • D. putting N. under constraints that he can't get out of.
  • p. 261 -- won't be disgraced by turning her down
    • conflict of interest -- Conchuber/D.
  • leave E. Macha, eventually go to Albu
    • hide D. but found out
  • p. 262, can come back
    • guarantors -- Fergus, Dubthach, C's son Cormac
      • if renig, guarantors lose honor/standing in society
  • Fergus derailed by invitations to feasts and banquets
    • had geis -- could not refuse hospitality in certain circumstances
  • So N. and 2 brothers were killed by Conchuber's machinations
  • Fergus informed
    • C's son killed
    • sets fire to E.M.
    • goes into exile -- dishonored
      • raid and destroy for next 16 years
  • Year after N's death
    • D's lament
  • finale
    • what hate most? You and Éogan
    • idea -- alt. Conch. & Éogan, 1 year each for rest of life
    • p. 267 -- eye of a ewe between 2 rams
  • Máire Herbert
    • sovereignty myth
    • betrayed by love or heroic ethos?
    • submit to lover or influence her own destiny?
    • separates verse from prose
    • story mediated through ethos of Christianity
    • verse is post-Christian
      • kind of verse -- quatrains of exact syllable count
        • end rhyme
      • inherited Irish verse not of this sort
    • beginning around 6-7th centuries
      • new kind of verse < Latin hymn meters
        • this is type in text
    • similarly with highly styleized rhythmic prose passages
    • in poetry find Christian view of women
      • cf. Adam and Eve view
    • in poem
      • p. 258
        • C. prophesy -- because of you this will happen
      • p. 264
        • N's grave now been made -- D. accepting responsibility for things happening
      • Christian mediation of events of original story
    • What was the original story about?
      • exemp. on kingship
      • right to spare, wrong to keep for self, isolate, unsocialize
    • Is N. doing the right thing? Negl. obl. of loyalty to Conch.
      • heifer where no bulls, suggest no bull of province, sov. still has choice
      • goddesses' choice, not king keeping
      • Conch. choosing her
      • shee chooses younger person
    • p. 18-19 in article
      • complementarity between nature and culture
        • neither dominates other
        • also between sexes
        • -->balance in society for good kingship / sovereignty
    • tale
      • myth of sov. -- sov. goddess
      • idea mediated by church by adding verse voices
        • med. patriarchal Christian view
    • p. 261 -- last time N. speaks in this story

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