#Celtic#MythologyMonday for #MerMay: There was much celebration to be had when the Lady Knockdolian was delivered of a baby- at last, an heir, the family name and future was assured. The baby slept soundly until a mermaid’s cry disrupted their nights. Lady Knockdolian decided to drive the #mermaid away by destroying her favourite perch below the castle’s windows. In response to this, the mermaid sang quietly a curse:
“Ye may think on your cradle- I’ll think on my stane,
An’ there’ll never be an heir to Knockdolion again”.
Source: The Vengeful Mermaid - Folklore Scotland
#Celtic#MythologyMonday: After her favourite spot beneath the castle windows had been destroyed at the behest of Lady Knockdolian, a mermaid had cursed the family. Tragedy followed: the death of the heir, more stillborn children, the Lord’s sudden death, and the Lady’s own demise. Over the years that followed, the castle at Knockdolian lay abandoned and fell to ruins. The family had, just as the mermaid’s curse foretold, become extinct.
Source: The Vengeful Mermaid - Folklore Scotland #MerMay
#Celtic#MythologyMonday for #MerMay: Most often, the groagez are described as being solitary in their retreats under the sea, in a rock or in the sands, but some stories tell of an entirely female family life. They do not abandon their children or leave changelings. Sometimes they are accompanied by a green water horse and a pikeman.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groac%27h
#Celtic#FolkloreSunday: In mythology, Fintan the Ancient White One was said to be the first person to arrive in Ireland after the Great Flood. He planted the Branching Ash Tree of #Uisneach, also known as the Tree of Enchantment. This tree was sacred to #Lugh, and the druids often made their wands from ash, as it was associated with rebirth, divination, protection, wisdom and spiritual knowledge.
Source: Ali Isaac | Substack
#Celtic#FolkloreSunday: Other monuments on the Hill of #Uisneach besides the Ail na Mirean, or Stone of Divisions, consist of the remains of circular enclosures, barrows, cairns, a holy well, and two walkways, or ancient roads, all spread over a two km area, but they are not quite so easy to identify as the Stone of Divisions.
Source: Ali Isaac | Substack
#Celtic#FolkloreSunday: The Ail na Mirean, or Stone of Divisions, is a limestone boulder standing six metres tall and estimated at weighing thirty tons. It sits on the south west side of the Hill of #Uisneach in a circular enclosure. It is said to be situated where the borders of #Ireland’s five provinces, Leinster, Munster, Connacht, Ulster and Mide met. Nowadays, there are only four provinces, ancient Mide becoming the Counties Meath and Westmeath.
Source: Ali Isaac | Substack
#Celtic#FolkloreSunday@uisneachfire: The Hill of Uisneach stands 183 metres tall, and is located between the villages of Ballymore and Loughanavally in County Westmeath, not far from Mullingar. Twenty counties can be seen from the summit on a clear day. Historically and mythologically, it was regarded as the centre point, or ‘naval’ of #Ireland, symbolised by the presence of a great stone called the Ail na Mirean, or Stone of Divisions.
Source: Ali Isaac | Substack
“Fili meant ‘seer’, so it is not beyond the realms of possibility that part of their role revolved around the foretelling of the future. In fact, originally the Fili may have served many functions, such as sorcerer, judge, keeper of law, chieftain’s adviser as well as poet and storyteller.
At some point, these responsibilities seem to have been divided, with the Brehons specialising in the legal aspects, the Druids taking on the religion and ritual, and the Fili concentrating on history and poetry.“ #Celtic
Source: https://aliisaac.substack.com/
The Seanchai was a traditional #Irish storyteller. They memorised and recited epic stories and poems from Irish mythology for the enjoyment of their audiences.` #Celtic
„In pre-Christian #Ireland, there were two types of poet; the elite class of the Fili, and the lesser caste of the Bard.
They normally served a clan chieftain, keeping all their clan’s lore and history, and were highly respected. Some belonged to a community, and served at community ceremonies and events, while others belonged to no particular area or lord, but traveled, offering their skills in return for board and lodging.“ #Celtic
Source: Ali Isaac | Substack
„The chief Fili in each province was known as the Ollamh (pronounced Ollav), which means ‘most great’, and would have been equal in status to the provincial King. Over all, presided the Ollamh Eirean, who was ranked equal to the Ard Ri, or High King of Ireland, so there was plenty of scope for promotion.
The advent of Christianity, however, put quite a strain on the Kings’ resources, as not only did they have to provide lands, titles and funding to the Fili, but also to the bishops.
In the 6th century, the decision was taken to limit the number of Fili purely to those families where the position of the poet was seen as a birth right. This was the beginning of the end for this role in Irish society, and much lore was lost.“ #Celtic
Source: Ali Isaac | Substack
#Celtic#FolkloreThursday: How did the storytellers of the #IronAge learn about the prehistory of #Ireland? #Fintan mac Bochra could tell them all about it, because he lived for at least 5000 years after the Deluge well into the time of #Fionn Mac Cumhaill, becoming the repository of all knowledge of #Ireland and all history.
#Celtic#FolkloreThursday: #Ogma mac Elathan, son of Delbaeth, is according to #Irish tradition the inventor of the #Ogham script. This Son of Art was not only extremely famous in the art of speech and poetry, but also an athletic trénḟer, a power man. In the battle of #MagTuired he fought on the side of the #TuathaDéDanann against #Bres and his #Fomorians.
Source: Helmut Birkhan Die #Kelten
#Celtic#LegendaryWednesday: #Cróchan Crogderg (= ”bloodred”) was an obscure goddess or heroine who gave birth to the great queen/goddess #Medb in the cave of #Cruachain. Medbs royal seat was named after Cróchan which means cuporcauldron. Both form an entrance to the #Otherworld, a miniature well. Source: Patricia Monaghan The Red-Haired Girl From The Bog`
#Celtic#LegendaryWednesday: The liminal nature of #Conaire (later as "Conaire the Great" High King of #Ireland) is immediately understood at his birth. His mother, Mes Buachalla, who is herself connected to the #otherworldly áes síde, conceived Conaire through a union with a supernatural bird-warrior, #Nemglan, who placed a geis on his son to not harm birds.
Source: Bridgette Slavin The Irish Birdman: Kingship and Liminality in Buile Suibhne https://x.com/eDIL_Dictionary/status/866639498586845184
#LegendaryWednesday: King Cathaír Mór had a dream, in which a woman was pregnant for eight hundred years, finally giving birth to a son near a fragrant, singing fruit tree. His #druid explained to Cathaír that the lady was the River Slaney that ran near Tara, her child the harbor at its mouth, and the singing tree the king himself.
Source: P. Monaghan Encyclopedia of #Celtic #Mythology and Folklore
Four friends, after hunting, encountered four Baobhan Sith who appeared as beautiful women. They danced and sang, luring the men, except for one who resisted their charm. He witnessed the enchantresses slaying his friends and narrowly escaped by hiding among iron-shod horses, which these malevolent fairies feared. He survived until dawn, then vowed to share his tale to prevent others from falling victim to the Baobhan Sith.
The Baobhan Sith - Folklore Scotland #Celtic
RT @frome_maude
The Baobhan Sith is a faery vampire of the Scottish Highlands. She appears as a beautiful woman in a long green dress that hides her hooves, immediately after a yearning male hunter expresses a desire for female companionship. She seduces then attacks her prey. #FaustianFriday
James Macgrigor encountered a Kelpie disguised as a stallion. Recognizing it, he stroke its nose with his claymore, severing its magical bridle bit. The Kelpie pleaded for its return, revealing its transformational powers and ability to reveal hidden beings: “If you look through the holes in the bit, you will see all manners of fairies and witches and devils.” Macgrigor lifted the bit to his eyes and peered through, and sure enough, the world he saw was bright with colour and full of beings invisible to the human eye. He was so enamoured by the contraption that he wanted to study it in more detail. He was also not deaf to the Kelpie’s claim that without the bit, he would die, and Macgrigor saw an opportunity to free the people of the surrounding area from the Kelpie’s reign of terror.
Macgrigor, captivated by the bit’s power, decided to study it further, leaving the Kelpie in a vulnerable state. Despite the Kelpie’s pleas and threats, Macgrigor cleverly kept the bit, learning about the #Otherworld. #Celtic
„Rarely is a Kelpie the victim of a trick, but after that day, no one went missing on the banks of Loch Ness ever again, all thanks to the cunning of James Macgrigor.“
Source: The Kelpie of Loch Ness - Folklore Scotland https://twitter.com/gonzalokenny/status/1790707801330688016?s=19
#Celtic#FairyTaleTuesday: Three soldiers deserted their army and each took a different path. The sergeant and corporal were tricked and imprisoned by a lady at her palace. The private, however, won her heart and they planed to marry. Repeatedly put to sleep by a tailor’s tricks, the soldier received gifts from his fiancée: a golden ring, a penknife and a golden pin. Despite the tailor’s efforts, the soldier set out to find his beloved in the Kingdom of the Green Mountains. An eagle from the kingdom agreed to carry him, but grew weak from hunger. The „eagle agreed to continue on her journey; but only if the soldier would let her have a bite from his thigh.
After eating from both of his thighs, soldier and eagle finally arrived at the kingdom of the Green Mountains.“ After his wounds had healed, the private reunited with his beloved after showing her the tokens of their past. They married, and he freed his old friends imprisoned in the lady’s castle. Each found their own happily ever after.
Source: The Kingdom of the Green Mountains - Folklore Scotland
#Celtic#FairyTaleTuesday: "The Swans Swim Sae Bonnie" tells of two sisters, one dark and one fair, who were inseparable in their childhood. Over time, however, the dark sister developed jealousy of her fair sister, who was favoured by others. This jealousy grew into hatred as both sisters competed for the love of the same man. In an act of desperation, the dark sister drowned her fair sister in the river. Later, three fiddlers used parts of the fair sister's body to improve their musical instruments, leading to a ghostly revelation that exposed the dark sister:
“It’s yonder he sits ma aul-man the king,
It’s yonder she sits ma mither the queen.
It’s yonder she sits ma fause sester Jean
An sae lightly she pushed me inta the stream.”
The dark sister was burnt as punishment. John fell into madness. The king, however, now had no children at all.
Source: https://folklorescotland.com/the-swans-swim-sae-bonnie/
#Celtic#FairyTaleTuesday: One night, a group of merfolk shed their seal skins to play on the shore. A Shetlander found a skin and a beautiful mermaid lamenting its loss. He refused to return it, offering marriage instead. They lived together for years and had children. One day, a child found the hidden skin. The mermaid bid her children goodbye, returned to the sea, and left the human world forever. She confessed to her second husband, who stood miserably on the shore: “I always loved my first husband best.”
Source: The Mermaid Wife - Folklore Scotland