Nechtan is a figure in

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

who is associated with a spring marking the source of the

River Boyne The River Boyne ( or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows north-east through County Meath to reach the ...

, known as Nechtan's Well or the Well of Wisdom. He was the husband of

Boann Boann or Boand is the Irish mythology, Irish goddess of the River Boyne (''Bóinn''), an important river in Ireland's historical province of Kingdom of Meath, Meath. According to the ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' and ''Táin Bó Fraích'' she was th ...

, eponymous goddess of the Boyne. Nechtan is believed to be another name for Nuada.

Etymology

According to

Georges Dumézil Georges Edmond Raoul Dumézil (4 March 189811 October 1986) was a French Philology, philologist, Linguistics, linguist, and religious studies scholar who specialized in comparative linguistics and comparative mythology, mythology. He was a prof ...

the name ''Nechtan'' is perhaps cognate with that of the

Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...

god

Nodens *''Nodens'' or *''Nodons'' ( reconstructed from the dative ''Nodenti'' or ''Nodonti'') is a Celtic healing god worshipped in Ancient Britain. Although no physical depiction of him has survived, votive plaques found in a shrine at Lydney Park ...

or the

Roman god Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the Latin literature, literature and Roman art, visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these ...

called Neptunus and the Persian and Vedic gods sharing the name

Apam Napat Apam Napat is a deity in the Indo-Iranian pantheon associated with water. His names in the Vedas, ''Apām Napāt'', and in Zoroastrianism, ''Apąm Napāt'', mean "child of the waters" in Sanskrit and Avestan respectively. '' Napāt'' ("grands ...

. The name could ultimately be derived from the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

root ''*nepot-'' "descendant, sister's son", or, alternatively, from ''nebh-'' "damp, wet". Another etymology suggests that ''Nechtan'' is derived from Old-Irish ''necht'' "clean, pure and white", with a root ''-neg'' "to wash", from IE ''neig^u̯-'' "to wash" As such, the name would be closely related mythological beings, who were dwelling near wells and springs: English

neck The neck is the part of the body in many vertebrates that connects the head to the torso. It supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that transmit sensory and motor information between the brain and the rest of the body. Addition ...

(from Anglosaxon ''nicor''), Swedish ''Näck'', German ''Nixe'' and Dutch '' nikker'', meaning "river monster, water spirit", hence Old-Norse ''nykr'' "water spirit in the form of a horse".

Description

He inhabited the otherworldly Síd Nechtain, the mythological form of Carbury Hill. In the

Dindsenchas ''Dindsenchas'' or ''Dindshenchas'' (modern spellings: ''Dinnseanchas'' or ''Dinnsheanchas'' or ''Dınnṡeanċas''), meaning "lore of places" (the modern Irish word ''dinnseanchas'' means "topography"), is a class of onomastic text in early Irish ...

Nechtan is described as the husband of

and the son of Nuadu. Elsewhere in the Dindsenchas Nechtan is said to be the son of Labraid or called "mac Namat". Similarly in the ''Book of Invasions'' Nechtan is named along with his brother Caicher as the sons of Nama, sons of Eochu Garb, but Caicher is elsewhere in the same text named as the son of Nuada.''

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of Ireland's Taking"; Modern Irish spelling: ''Leabhar Gabhála Éireann'', known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'') is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language inten ...

'
§64
Only Nechtan and his three cup-bearers named Flesc, Lam, and Luam were permitted to visit the '' Tobar Segais'' or "Well of Wisdom" into which nine sacred

hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...

trees dropped their wisdom-bearing nuts. In that well swam the Salmon of Wisdom, which ate the hazelnuts. Eating one of the salmon could in turn imbue a person with knowledge of all things. In the ''Book of Invasions'' Nechtan killed Cairpre and was in turn killed by Sigmall, the grandson of

Midir In the Mythological Cycle of early Irish literature, Midir (Old Irish), Midhir (Modern Irish) or Mider was a son of the Dagda of the Tuatha Dé Danann. After the Tuatha Dé were defeated by the Milesians, he lived in the sidh of Brí Léith ...

Legacy

''Nechtan'' or ''Nectan'' became a common

Celt 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 apoge ...

ic name and a number of historical or legendary figures bear it. Nechtan was a frequent name for

Pictish kings The list of kings of the Picts is based on the Pictish Chronicle king lists. These are late documents and do not record the dates when the kings reigned. The various surviving lists disagree in places as to the names of kings, and the length ...

. Nectan of Hartland, said to have lived in the 5th century AD, is the patron saint of

Hartland, Devon The village of Hartland, whose parish incorporates the hamlet of Stoke to the west and the village of Meddon in the south, is the most north-westerly settlement in the county of Devon, England. Now a large village which acts as a centre for a ...

. Some however argue that St. Nectan never existed as a historical person, but was instead a Christianized form of the god Nechtan.

St Nectan's Kieve Saint Nectan's Kieve (, meaning ''Nathan's tub'') in Saint Nectan's Glen, near Tintagel in Cornwall, Great Britain, is a plunge pool or basin fed by a waterfall on the Trevillet River. Geology The river is carved into Late Devonian slate and s ...

St Nectan's Glen Saint Nectan's Glen (, meaning ''deep wooded valley of Nathan/Nectan'') is an area of woodland in Trethevy near Tintagel, north Cornwall stretching for around one mile along both banks of the Trevillet River. The glen's most prominent feature i ...

near

Tintagel Tintagel () or Trevena (, meaning ''Village on a Mountain'') is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village and nearby Tintagel Castle ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

is said to be named for St. Nectan - though this is a Victorian invention. The place was called Nathan's Cave in 1799. and was named after a local landowner.Ceri Houlbrook (2016) Saints, Poets, and Rubber Ducks: Crafting the Sacred at St Nectan's Glen, Folklore, 127:3, 344-361, DOI: 10.1080/0015587X.2016.1197593 The name MacNaughton derives from "MacNeachdainn", meaning "Son of Nechtan."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nechtan (Mythology) Irish gods Water gods Tuatha Dé Danann Neptune (mythology)

Etymology

Description

Legacy

See also

References