Lí Ban (; thus 'paragon of women') may refer to an otherworldly female figure in

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by Ch ...

. This Lí Ban claimed the beautiful Fand as sister, and was wife to

Labraid Luathlám ar Claideb Labraid Luathlám ar Claideb ('Labraid swift sword-hand') is a figure in Irish mythology, appearing in the medieval Ulster Cycle story '' Serglige Con Culainn''. Here he is the ruler of Mag Mell. He is husband to Lí Ban, who woos Cú Chulainn for ...

("Labraid of the swift sword-hand"), the ruler of Magh Mell.: s.v. ''Fand'', ''Lí Ban'', ''Mag Mell'', ''Serglige Con Culainn'' She appears primarily in the Irish tale of ''

Serglige Con Culainn ''Serglige Con Culainn'' ( en, The Sick-Bed of Cú Chulainn or The Wasting Sickness of Cúchulainn), also known as ''Oenét Emire'' ( en, The Only Jealousy of Emer) is a narrative from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. It tells of a curse tha ...

'' (''The Wasting Sickness of Cú Chulainn''), where she is the daughter of Áed Abrat. She appears first in the form of a

sea bird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

, then as an otherworldly woman who inflicts the story's eponymous sickness on Cú Chulainn. In the story Lí Ban acts as messenger and mediator; she and

Cú Chulainn Cú Chulainn ( ), called the Hound of Ulster ( Irish: ''Cú Uladh''), is a warrior hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. He is believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god L ...

's charioteer

Láeg Láeg, or Lóeg, son of Riangabar, is the charioteer and constant companion of the hero Cú Chulainn in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. His horses are Liath Macha and Dub Sainglend. Cú Chulainn sends Láeg to the Otherworld with Lí Ban, ...

work together to see that Cú Chulainn is healed in exchange for his aid in Fand's battle in the

Otherworld The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherwor ...

. From this Lí Ban may have derived her namesake, a legendary Lí Ban of Lough Neagh.

Notes

References

*
The Sick-Bed of Cuchulain
- An English translation of the above

Notes

References

Further reading