Irish Mythology.....Help!!
Peter Corless
dailey sean patrick <dai...@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu> wrote:
> I'm glad you asked. The most facinating role in Irish mythology is that
> played by the Banshee. Banshees are spirits in the form of old hags,
> though they are not malevolent. They morn the dead by crying out at
> night. When an Irishman says he heard the cry of the Banshee, he knows
> someone died recently. If the dead person in question was a great hero
> or saint, then he would be mourned by a group of Banshees. This was
> considered a great honor.
"banshee" is a modern, limited interpretation of the original Irish
meaning. Originally, it was "bann sidhe" (pronounced "banshee"), which
means "woman faerie". (Native Irish speakers, please forgive any
mispellings on my part!)
> Other figures of Irish folklore are the wee folk, or fairies. They are
> also sometimes called "the host of the air." This area is rich with
> folklore, and I would suggest books of fairy ledgends of Donegal, or
> similar subjects. The poetry of William Butler Yeats is also a rich
> store of Irish mythology. Happy Hunting!
The sidhe (again, pronounced "shee"), or faerie folk, are thought to live
within or under faerie rings (ancient hill forts), cairns, dolmens, passage
graves and crannogs -- all archaeological structures that relate back to
Irish history from the Iron Age back to the Neolithic.
These ancient structures are all thought to be entranceways to Tir na Nog,
the Land of Youth -- literally "Land of the Youths" -- which is related to,
but somewhat different from, the place where many people go when they die.
This place of life after death is often thought to lie in the West, over
the ocean from Ireland. It was also called "HyBrasil", which is where the
name of the South American country comes from... I kid you not!
There is a myth of the Voyages of St. Brendan to this and other places over
the ocean to the West. It is also where Tolkien got his ideas for the Elves
and their Undying Land in the West in "The Lord of the Rings".
There is a lot to this topic, and the original response only reveals a
small patch of a huge tapestry of Celtic mythology and literature.
Yet I agree...Happy Hunting! :-)
-Pete.
>
> On 24 Feb 1995, jeremy ray kuntz wrote:
>
> > What I'm looking for, is anything that someone has that has to do with
> > Irish mythology. I'm part Irish myself, which has sparked my interest.
> > Since my family has been thoroughly Americanized, except St. Patrick's
> > day, I have no idea about the myths and legends that my ancestors once
> > spoke of. Besides the regular school-boy knowledge of leprochauns, I
> > mean. If anyone has any thing to add....or say, it will be GREATLY
> > appreciated.
> >
> > -Jeremy
> >
> > email-...@Indiana.ucs.edu
> >
> >
SCerniglia
I have a wonderful book entitled WOMEN IN CELTIC MYTH by Caldecott (which,
unfortunately, is lent out at the moment so I can't get you the ISBN).
It's well worth trying to find, as it covers many myths.
Sharyn
jeremy ray kuntz
on my usage of Irish and Mythology as one consolodated idea. Instead I
was told that these two contradict each other. That there is no myth in
Irish history, that it's all true. Instead of mailing that person back,
I wanted to get a wholistic point of view from everyone to see what they
thought. Because, I am definately not an authority in this area, I
didn't want to debate this on my own. However, although I'm over 80%
Irish, I lay to rest the beliefs of my ancestors as being legends, lore,
myths, etc. I may be wrong. If I am, please tell my why you think so. I
thank everyone for the information they've sent me....it has been very
helpful.
-Jeremy
Robert Stuart
Surely this is a matter of personal view point? One person's history is
another person's mythology.
This is an area where my knowledge is thin, but most of the references I've
read point to a consistency in the 'high' myths - Cuchullian (sp??),
the Sorrows, which is lacking in the folk tales including Finn
McCool*, and other popular heros.
This has much, I believe, to do with the way the histories were
recorded - either by monks transcribing bardic tales, or by local
story tellers keeping the folk memory alive. As I understand it, the
bards kept their stories consistent as a matter of honour. Where
versions were felt to differ, each would be told, and the best would
be agreed, and in future only this one version would be told.
*Finn McCool - I know, there is an accepted Gallic spelling - I just
don't know it. These stories migrated to Scotland with the Scots.
Stephan Baitz
..
>This is an area where my knowledge is thin, but most of the references I've
>read point to a consistency in the 'high' myths - Cuchullian (sp??),
Cu Chullain, meaning _Cullan's hound_ (Chullain is the genitive of Cullan).
When he was a child he killed the dog of the smith Cullan and then
promised to replace it by himself, hence the name
(if I remember it right, please correct me otherwise).
>the Sorrows, which is lacking in the folk tales including Finn
>McCool*, and other popular heros.
>
>This has much, I believe, to do with the way the histories were
>recorded - either by monks transcribing bardic tales, or by local
>story tellers keeping the folk memory alive. As I understand it, the
>bards kept their stories consistent as a matter of honour. Where
>versions were felt to differ, each would be told, and the best would
>be agreed, and in future only this one version would be told.
>
>*Finn McCool - I know, there is an accepted Gallic spelling - I just
>don't know it. These stories migrated to Scotland with the Scots.
The Irish Gaelic spelling is Fionn Mac Cumhail
(it is pronounced roughly like Finn McCool.)
hope I could be of help,
Stephan Baitz
Rob Maxwell
> Cu Chullain, meaning _Cullan's hound_ (Chullain is the genitive of Cullan).
> When he was a child he killed the dog of the smith Cullan and then
> promised to replace it by himself, hence the name
> (if I remember it right, please correct me otherwise).
Spelling is Cu Chulainn.
>
> >the Sorrows, which is lacking in the folk tales including Finn
> >McCool*, and other popular heros.
> >
> >This has much, I believe, to do with the way the histories were
> >recorded - either by monks transcribing bardic tales, or by local
> >story tellers keeping the folk memory alive. As I understand it, the
> >bards kept their stories consistent as a matter of honour. Where
> >versions were felt to differ, each would be told, and the best would
> >be agreed, and in future only this one version would be told.
> >
According to what was written down by the monks who brought writing to
Ireland following it's 'conversion,' there were actually different
rankings for bards, based on what tales they knew. From what I've
seen, there are actually lists of tales one had to know to qualify
as X-type bard/poet. Highest rank was 'filid,' I believe, (pronounced
filith, th pronounced as in 'the.') As for the integrity of stories,
as in many cultures, the parts that were really important, such that
they needed to be memorized verbatim, were in verse, and thus, easier
to remember. The rest was remembered as a skeleton for the story, go
ahead and fill in details to please the audience. How big were the
cattle that Cu Chulainn protected? How strong was he? Well, go ahead,
make it up, it just doesn't matter too much.
Hope this helps, I can provide documentation for this, email me.
Rob Maxwell
Dermod Moore
Mythology in the new PaddyNet site, which although in its infancy,
promises to be a valuable public resource of Irish Mythology.
Check it out at:
http://www.paddynet.ie/paddynet.html
--
Dermod...@astrolog.demon.co.uk
Metalog: "That which is being discussed is also arising"