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Briccriu
Bricriu (also Briccriu, Bricne) is a hospitaller (''briugu''), troublemaker and poet in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. ''Fled Bricrenn'' The story of ''Fled Bricrenn'' ("The Feast of Bricriu") tells how he once held a lavish feast for Conchobar mac Nessa and the heroes of Ulster in his house at Dún Rudraige (modern Dundrum, County Down), but knowing his reputation the Ulstermen had to be threatened to attend. First Bricriu threatened to set the Ulster warriors at odds with each other, then to set father against son and mother against daughter, but the Ulstermen finally agreed to come when he threatened to set the two breasts of each Ulster woman beating against each other. At the feast he promised the " champion's portion" to Cú Chulainn, then to Conall Cernach, then to Lóegaire Búadach, and the three heroes proceeded to compete for the honour. Challenges were set, some judged by Ailill and Medb of Connacht, some by Cú Roí of Munster. At every test set Cú Chulainn c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fidchell
() or (in Welsh, pronounced ) was a board game popular among the ancient Celts. Fidchell was played between two people who moved an equal number of pieces across a board; the board shared its name with the game played upon it. Based on the descriptions in Irish and Welsh literature as well as archaeological finds of game pieces, it is likely to have been a variant of ludus latrunculorum played in Ireland and Britain. Etymology The name of the game in multiple Celtic languages -- Old Irish , Middle Welsh , Breton , Cornish —is a compound translating to "wood-wisdom", "wood-intelligence", or "wood-sense". The fact that the compound is identical in both languages suggests that it is of extreme antiquity, with the unattested earlier form being reconstructed ''*widu-kweillā'' "wood-understanding" in Common Celtic. The game is often compared to or identified with chess, though chess was unknown in Europe until the 12th century. The Old Irish form evolved into , the word used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulster Cycle
The Ulster Cycle (), formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly counties Armagh, Down and Louth. It focuses on the mythical Ulster king Conchobar mac Nessa and his court at Emain Macha, the hero Cú Chulainn, and their conflict with the Connachta and queen Medb. The longest and most important tale is the epic '' Táin Bó Cúailnge'' (Cattle Raid of Cooley). The Ulster Cycle is one of the four 'cycles' of Irish mythology and legend, along with the Mythological Cycle, the Fianna Cycle and the Kings' Cycle. Ulster Cycle stories The Ulster Cycle stories are set in and around the reign of King Conchobar mac Nessa, who rules the Ulaid from Emain Macha (now Navan Fort near Armagh). The most prominent hero of the cycle is Conchobar's nephew, Cú Chulainn. The Ulaid are most often in conflict with the Connachta, le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lóegaire Búadach
In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, Lóegaire Búadach (Lóegaire the Victorious) is a hapless Ulaid, Ulster warrior who mainly functions as comic relief. When he, Cúchulainn and Conall Cernach contend for the champion's portion at Briccriu's feast, Lóegaire is always a distant third. He lived at Inber Seimne (Larne, county Antrim). His death-tale sums him up. When the poet Aed was to be drowned in a lake near Lóegaire's house for adultery with Conchobar mac Nessa, Conchobar's wife Mugain, he cried for help and Lóegaire rushed to the rescue. As he leaped out the door, he knocked the top of his own head off on the lintel (architecture), lintel. Still, he managed to kill thirty soldiers and save Aed's life before he died. TextsBricriu's Feast References Ulster Cycle {{Celt-myth-stub ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celts
The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apogee of their influence and territorial expansion during the 4th century BC, extending across the length of Europe from Britain to Asia Minor."; . "[T]he Celts, were Indo-Europeans, a fact that explains a certain compatibility between Celtic, Roman, and Germanic mythology."; . "The Celts and Germans were two Indo-European groups whose civilizations had some common characteristics."; . "Celts and Germans were of course derived from the same Indo-European stock."; . "Celt, also spelled Kelt, Latin Celta, plural Celtae, a member of an early Indo-European people who from the 2nd millennium bce to the 1st century bce spread over much of Europe." in Europe and Anatolia, identified by their use of Celtic languages and other cultural similarities.. "C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loughbrickland
Loughbrickland ( or ; ) is a small village in County Down, Northern Ireland, south of Banbridge on the A1 Belfast–Dublin road. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 693. Loughbrickland is within the Banbridge District. History Loughbrickland may have been the site where the Three Collas fought the Battle of Achadh Leithdheirg in 331 AD, defeating the forces of Fergus Foga, king of Ulster. The victors killed Fergus and burned Emain Macha, the famous palace of the Ultonian kings, to the ground. The sovereignty of Ulster thus passed from the race of Ir to the race of Heremon. John O'Mahony the Gaelic scholar states that the battle site was commemorated by "a huge Carn of loose stones near Loughbrickland". Samuel Lewis (publisher) in his "Topographical dictionary of Ireland - County Down" states - "''At Drummillar is a vast cairn of loose stones, 60 feet high and 226 feet in circumference.''" This Carn, known as Carn Cochy in the Annals of the Four Masters, stood ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lebor Na HUidre
(, LU) or the Book of the Dun Cow (MS 23 E 25) is an Irish vellum manuscript dating to the 12th century. It is the oldest extant manuscript in Irish. It is held in the Royal Irish Academy and is badly damaged: only 67 leaves remain and many of the texts are incomplete. It is named after an anachronistic legend that it was made from the hide of a dun cow by Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise. History The manuscript is thought to be the work of three scribes, whose handwriting was distinguished by Richard Irvine Best in 1912 and identified with the letters ''A'', ''M'' and ''H''. A and M are believed to be contemporary. A began the manuscript and wrote the opening pages of several of the texts, which were continued by M, who Best identified as Máel Muire mac Céilechair meic Cuinn na mBocht, based on matching the handwriting with two marginal '' probationes pennae'' or pen tests, in which the scribe wrote his name. A much later note elsewhere in the manuscript names Máel Muire a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Echtra Nerai
An Echtra or Echtrae (pl. Echtrai), is a type of pre-Christian Old Irish literature about a hero's adventures in the Otherworld or with otherworldly beings. Definition and etymology In Irish literature ''Echtrae'' and ''Immram'' are tales of voyages to an Otherworld. In general the ''"Echtrae"'' are set in a pagan context. In contrast the ''Immram'', though containing mythological story elements, are set in post-pagan Ireland, and the main protagonist is Christian, and the journey is usually by sea. A point of contention in absolute definition exists in the case of ''" Immram Brain maic Febail"''. Despite the naming this tale is considered to form part of the ''Echtrae'' milieu, and may have been named as an Immram due to a conflation of Bran (Brain) and St. Brendan. Generally, ''echtra'' was the Old Irish word for "adventure" (literally meaning an "outing".), as well as a cognate for the Latin ''extra'', The modern and middle Irish language word is ''eachtra''. The Dictionary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Táin Bó Flidhais
''Táin Bó Flidhais'', also known as the ''Mayo Táin'', is a tale from the Ulster Cycle of early Irish literature. It is one of a group of works known as Táin Bó, or "cattle raid" stories, the best known of which is ''Táin Bó Cúailnge''. ''Táin Bó Flidhais'' survives in two forms, a short version from the Old Irish period and a longer version found in the 15th century Glenmasan manuscript, which is held in the Advocates Library in Edinburgh. It is believed to be a copy of an earlier manuscript from the 12th century. The early version of ''Táin Bó Flidhais'' predates the ''Táin Bó Cúailnge''. It is named for the heroine of the tale, Flidais. Historical setting At the time that these legendary tales relate to (the second half of the Iron Age (approximately AD 50–500) and early Medieval Ireland (approximately 500–800), Ireland was a country divided up into hundreds if not thousands of territories known as tuatha. This tale is likely to relate to incidents aro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flidais
Flidas or Flidais (modern spelling: Fliodhas, Fliodhais) is a female figure in Irish Mythology, known by the epithet ''Foltchaín'' ("beautiful hair"). She is believed to have been a goddess of cattle and fertility. Mythology Flidas is mentioned in the Metrical Dindshenchas as mother of Fand, and in the ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' as the mother of Argoen, Bé Téite, Dinand and Bé Chuille. Dinand and Bé Chuille are mentioned as "she-farmers" in a passage about Dian Cecht in Lebor Gabála Érenn and as witches in the Second Battle of Moytura, where they agree to enchant the trees, stones, and sods of the earth to become a host under arms. In the Middle Irish glossary ''Cóir Anmann'' ("Fitness of Names") Flidas is said to be the wife of the legendary High King Adamair and the mother of Nia Segamain. The Ulster Cycle tale "The Tidings of Conchobar" says that it took seven women to satisfy Fergus, unless he could have Flidais. Her affair with Fergus is the subject of oral tradi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cruachan, Ireland
Rathcroghan () is a complex of archaeological sites near Tulsk in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is identified as the site of Cruachan, the traditional capital of the Connachta, the prehistoric and early historic rulers of the western territory. The Rathcroghan Complex (Crúachan Aí) is an archaeological landscape with many references found in early Irish medieval manuscripts. Located on the plains of Connacht (Mag nAí/Machaire Connacht), Rathcroghan is one of the six Royal sites of Ireland. The landscape extends over and consists of over 240 archaeological sites, 60 of which are protected national monuments. The monuments range from the Neolithic (4000–2500 BC), the Bronze (2500–500 BC) and Iron Ages (500 BC–400 AD), to the medieval period. These monuments include burial mounds, ringforts and medieval field boundaries amongst others. The most prominent of these are the multi-period Rathcroghan Mound, the Oweynagat cave, the Mucklaghs (a set of linear earthworks), and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deirdre
Deirdre ( , ; ) is a tragic heroine in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She is also known by the epithet "Deirdre of the Sorrows" (). Deirdre is a prominent figure in Irish legend. American scholar James MacKillop (author), James MacKillop assessed in 2004 that she was its best-known figure in modern times. In legend Deirdre was the daughter of the royal storyteller Fedlimid mac Daill. Before she was born, Cathbad, the chief druid at the court of Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, prophesied that Fedlimid's daughter would grow up to be very beautiful, but that kings and lords would go to war over her, much blood would be shed because of her, and Ulster's three greatest warriors would be forced into exile for her sake. Hearing this, many urged Fedlimid to kill the baby at birth, but Conchobar, aroused by the description of her future beauty, decided to keep the child for himself. He took Deirdre away from her family and had her brought up in seclusion by Leabharcham, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
