Leabharcham was charged by the

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Conchobar mac Nessa Conchobar mac Nessa (son of Ness) is the king of Ulster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He rules from Emain Macha (Navan Fort, near Armagh). He is usually said to be the son of the High King Fachtna Fáthach, although in some stories ...

with nursing

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 MacKil ...

in seclusion until the girl was old enough to be his bride, after it was prophesied at Deirdre's birth: "The infant shall be fairest among the women of Ireland and shall wed a king but because of her shall death and ruin come upon the province of

." When the time came for Deirdre to wed the king, Leabharcham, having raised and educated the beautiful maiden, dutifully returned her surrogate daughter to Conchobar's

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

at Emain Macha (now Navan Fort,

county Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

). There the old

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

unwittingly helped fulfill the

druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. The druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no wr ...

Cathbad's prophecy by providing Deirdre with information about

Naoise In Irish mythology, Naisi,"Deirdre and Naisi". In: Thomas, Edward. ''Celtic stories''. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. 1911. pp. 48-60. Noíse or Noisiu (modern spelling: Naoise ) was the nephew of King Conchobar mac Nessa of Ulster, and a son of ...

, being asked by the prospective queen to identify a handsome young warrior, "his hair like the raven's wing, his cheek the hue of blood and skin as white as snow". With Naoise, a hunter and singer at Conchobar's court, and his two brothers, Deirdre escaped to

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...

(Scotland). Years later, when the young lovers were tricked into returning to Ulster, the king sent for Leabharcham to discover whether or not Deirdre was still the fairest woman in Ireland. Leabharcham, in an effort to protect Deirdre, and discourage the bitter old king from taking vengeance against Naoise, reported back to Conchobar that she had lost all of her beauty. Only after the king sent a second spy did battle break out, ending tragically with the death of Naoise and his brothers and the king's seizure of Deirdre, who leaped out of a carriage after word of her arranged marriage was given, and burst her head into fragments. She appears as "Lavarcham" in Synge's 1910 play '' Deirdre of the Sorrows''. Her character delivers the last line of the play: "Deirdre is dead, and Naisi is dead; and if the oaks and stars could die for sorrow, it's a dark sky and a hard and naked earth we'd have this night in Emain."Consolatio
Lavarcham's last words

Notes

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External links

Play by J. M. Synge {{Celtic mythology (Ulster) Fictional nannies Ulster Cycle