Celtic Paganism 04/17/01 Notes

Celtic Paganism

Black Irish > Celtic Paganism > Notes > 04/17/01

Gods and goddesses of Britain

Sources

archeology
- physical evidence of sacred places
- Celts of Gaulish Continent
  - -->post-conquest period of Gaul
ethnography
- see through eyes of alian culture
  - genre -- generic approach to ethnography
language
- place-names
- epigraphy
traditional literature of Early Ireland
- preserves a lot of mythic / mythological material
  - must sift out info see in other sources

Traditional literature of early Wales

Welsh
- medieval rem. of British Celts
- responsible for carving Uffington horse
- Nodons site -- silver/brass arm
- by ME -- confined to area of Wales
  - continuted to preserve tradition
- medaeval W. and I. sprung from same Celtic stock
  - descend. from common ancester
    - philology
    - can compare
  - expect kindred Celtic themes
    - desc. of amt.
    - related to seen in Irish lit
  - past as known
    - accident of survival
Mabinogi
- faux plural -- scribal error
- now 4 branches
  - Py.
  - M.
  - Math
- Mabinogion
  - Culh. and Olwen
  - Native tales
  - 2 dream
  - Arthur tales
  - Taliesen -- Gw. Bach
- Mabinogi -- word debated
  - hamp. -- mabon -- collection of material relating to god Maponos
  - collective suffex
  - Gaulish name of Apollo
    - Mapon son of Modron
- Interpretation of material
  - related to each other
    - much written
  - myth elements vs. medieval tales as examples
  - ways of looking at these tales
19th c. -- Matthew Arnold
- arthor / redactor of these tales
  - assuming traditional material
  - had to choose a version
  - assumed single author responsible for final version of 4 tales
  - some scholars starting to think more than one author
    - others say written by a woman -- children and babies
- 'pillaging an antiquity'
- didn't really udnerstand meaning of storeis
  - stitched together
  - therefore botched
- allows scholars to reconstruct and reorder
But they were closer to the material than we are and probably knew better
- so given that narrative did make sense to audience of M.A. and our problem due to distance in time and space from producing cultures

Pwyll /pu-/-/ voiceless l
- tl
- Llan -- Christian sanctuary
- Floyd < Lloyd
Rhiannon
- most obs. agree
  - story has 2 parts clumbsily put togetehr
    - 1. Meeting of P. and Arawn, King of Annufen
      - resolving diffic. and reconcil.
    - 2. Marriage of P. and R.
      - birth / loss of son Pryderi
      - Pryderi's eventual restoration
Annufen = inside world -- underworld
- p. 35 P. has decided to go hunting
  - sets out at night
    - why night?
      - Caesar -- all dec. < Dis Pater
        recon. time from dark half
        Welsh fortnight is 15 nights
- next day as hunting, hear cry of other pack of hounds
- convergence of 2 realms
- P. spots clearing in wood
  - sees stag in middle
    - "toward middle of clearing ..."
  - clearing in wood
    - mediolanum
    - Welsh text -- perfedd y llanerch
    - dead center of clearing
    - < medio-
  - stag right in middle of clearing at point where OW intersects MW
- P. does stupid
  - drives other dogs off so his dogs can feast
    - breach of conduct
  - ideal of rightful kingship -- fír flatha
    - Lebor G. -- imp. part of cosmog.
      - establishment of social order
        Fír Bolg
        Tryptic of Wasting Sickness
        heroic Inst.
        perfection of OW mirrored in ideal IReland
        steps to make
- P. not yet married at this state
  - cf. Eoch. w/ Étain -- not married
    - must be to be king
- P. far from perf. at this point
- Pwyll = sense, wisdom, discretion
  - but he does not yet have it
- Will let P. atone by doing favor for him
  - p. 38 "Here is how you shall make it up"
- P. to OW where perf. for year and no one know dif.
- What do with his? A. takes P's palce.
- Why can't A. rid H. himself?
  - another instance of incomp. -- OW needing human itnervention
    - cf. Labraith and CC
- P. does this
  - fights for A.
- has to guide P.
  - no visual marking
- lost -- neither here nor there -- liminal state
A. acts as guide
- not elab desc. but
  - p. middle 39
    - bottom -- best supplied
Not desc. like Loeg, but still -- place of perfection
P. dispatches Haf.
Meet in same place -- take back own shapes
P. asks men how things hav been
- gov. never better
- he never more generous (fír flatha)
A. in secular world and perfected kingship
- cf. F.B. in LG -- perf. inst of kingship
- Ó C -- OW true source of sover., perf. kingship
When A. gets back
- P. remained chaste
- imp. motif
From that time, great friendship between
- traded valuable goods and treasures
  - evidence -- deposited votive, wells / shafts, expect good back
  - hear about 1 s. in 4th branch.
- designation Pen d. Dyfed -- fell out of use
  - -->Pwyll Pen Annwfn from then on
  - pen = head
locus for mortal / OW meeting
- forest clearing
- center -- sacred and profane conversge
from this spot
- OW est. M. to par.
- OW spends time in RW perfecting
- mortal able to accomplish what OW could not
  - rid opressor
- MW enjoys fruits of friendship
Part 2 -- section deals with winning favors of equine sov. goddess
- cf. Macha
- Epona
  - widely-known divinity
    - even daopted by Roman cavelry units
    - Ep -
      - equ -- L. equuis, G. hippo
    - on
      - divinity
    - -a
      - feminine
  - Divine Mare
- Roman Cavelry units adopted
  - also by those connected with stables of horses and asses
- Epona as horse mare could mate with he-ass ==>mule = highly desirable
  - docile, carry lots of weight
- twinnned with Mars -- IS times in Gaulish Ma.
- Mars = Mulus - mule
  - Anne Ross -- Pagan Celtic Britain
    - cot equis ac.
- 1 dedication in plural form
  - cf. Lugobus
  - Eponabus -- the Eponas
- mounted astride horse
- between horse and foal
- birds/dogs/foals/cornucopia
  - also associated with Rhiannon in Mabino.
- nicknames
  - Epona Regina
  - Rhiannon < early form = divine queen
- Ev. Rh. is literary reflex of Gaulish Epona
  - W. version of goddess of sov. with equine assoc.
- 2nd branch -- expression of pagan
  - how/what conditions chieftan achieved h. with sov. goddess to ensure fertility and good reign.
- P. -->pen Anuwfn
  - The man in A. place how he called
  - proceed to top of mound
    - cf. hilltop, fort site, oppidum, relig site, in part rel site
      - preceded by a mediolanum
    - Ireland -- sacred sites on hilltops
      - Hill of Tara
      - Ard Macha
    - mound marking a tumulus
      - some figure buried
    - something always happens when on mound
      - gor-sedd = super seat = tumulus
        throne biship sits on
        sedd ~ Irish sídh
- Rhiannon on horse
  - slow amble
  - fastest horses can't catch
- 2-page episode in text
- What does narrator pay attention to?
  - important
  - cf. Pangs of Ulster -- couldn't catch Macha
  - narratives emph. horsiness of individual in question
- P. & Rh. married
  - after period of time -- no child, want him to pick another wife
  - P. wants more time
  - she has children
  - night of birth -- child disapp. while att. sleeping
    - Rh. accused -- remain @ horse block and carry them.
  - neighbor
    - Ternon -- Divine Lord
    - mare about to foal
      - every May eve
      - mysteriously disappears
    - mare inside -- cleaw reaches in
      - T. chops off -- runs out to find creature
        nothing
      - when goes back -- mare/foal/Rh's son
    - he and wife pretend it's theirs
      - raise -- restore to Rh.
      - sent to fosterage
  - Rh. equated w/ Epona
    - bag of plenty
      - bag can never be filled
    - 2nd -- magical birds -- brids of Rh.
    - identified with dogs -- where give birth -- bitch
      - just birthed puppies
    - women killed puppy and smeared bllod on here
      - child equated in text as dog
    - compelled to behave like horse
      - carry people like a horse
- What is the myth?
  - p. 204, SB
  - Fertility -- big issue in 1st branch
- Pwyll and Teirnon -- doubles of one another
  - Straus methodology
    - read myths vertically
  - both have char. of infertility
    - P. chaste in OW
    - accused of no child with RH.
    - T. never had children
  - both have productive female
    - offspring of which failed to protect
  - Rhiannon = mare
    - "I know her to have children"
    - both have offspring whose guard. failed to procure
  - birth at same time
    - T. during period of rearing
  - Rh. loses noble status
    - shadow of former self
      - div. queen / horse -- dissolved
        only horse status
  - Wife of T. -- pretend mother
    - shadow mother
- equine sovereignty goddess
  - in order to ensure fertility
- anthrop. self provides offspring /air
- two aspects produce foals
- divided -- divine nature ineff.
  - colts and chilren dis.
- When twin natures give birth simul. then fertility guaranteed
- cf. Conc. and birth of CC
  - 3 vers. -- not 1 way, all 3
- 1st parent of P.
  - only after A. perf. then Rh. like mare
- 2nd -- fertility achieved in Dyf.
  - following co. of Rh. makes poss. fertility of man and beast
- myth of sovereignty, esp. fem. equ. nature
- "I know has children" -- where are they?

Branwyn

MacCana -- B. A Study of the Irish Affinities
- book -- homage pie tas to W.J. Griffith
- Math son of Myth.
- pt. of approach: can understand B. ref. to Irish tales.
Ford
- if they look a lot like early Irish tales, from same cloth
- SB -- Study of Celtic Aff.
Children of Llyr -- sea
Manawydan son of Llyr -- not those characteristics
Man. mac Lir -- clearly a sea god
4th branch -- children of Dôn
- cf. Danu, TDD
principle characters
Llyr = Penar.
- Bend.
- Man.
- Bran
Penar. = Aros.
- Nesian -- peaceful
- Ethnesian -- troublemaker
SB -- Ben. & Br. ad doublets of a sort
- Bran-wen -- holy Bran
- Bendigeid-fran -- blessed Bran
  - bendigeid -- benedictus
  - fran -- Bran
Bran ~ Badb -- crow/raven warrior god/goddess
Br. called in Mabinogi p. 60
- "She, Br., one of 3 chief ancestresses ... "
but only had 1 kid and he tossed in fire
rianu -- not parents/ancesters
- but cognate righan -- queen
she is one of 3 chief queens of Island
if she is 3 queens and pretty much same name (br/si)
- -->1 of trio of war goddesses
  - cf. 3 Morrígan Badb/Nem./Macha
Nesian -- peace
E. -- strife
Isle of the Mighty -- Ynus y Codthwyr
story of strife, warriors, mil. might
strife begins early
- B. bride of Math., King of Ireland, enrages, disfig horses of M.
- dishonored -- so depart -->Bendig. loss of hnor as well
- situation saved -- Bend. sends emm. for full restoration and bonus
  - p. 63, "I will make your compensation complete" -- cauldron
- earlier scholars -- Interpretation, long digression -- but the. closely linked
  - Mathow. to Bend. -- How come by cauld.?
    - Ll Ll -- escaped from iron house
  - long account about cauldron and whense came
  - cf. SB art
Lake of Cauldron
- 2 people coming from lake
  - huge man and wife, she twice his size
- fr & month -- conceive. fr & mouth -->fully armed warriors
- trememdous fertility
  - her name = distended with battle
  - conceives on regular basis
- motif of battle/strife
- takes them in for a year
  - then pain -- must be ridded
  - escape to Isle of Mighty -- throwing everywhere
    - cf. Cattle raid of C. -- Galluoir
      - divide amongh other 17 so no threat.
  - These, if all together
- build iron chamber, put them in these and heat up
  - cha