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MAB The Queen of Faery. The etymology of the name is uncertain, although it has
been suggested that it may be associated with Maeve or the Welsh 'mab' for
baby, since she is called the 'fairies midwife', which is her name in
Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET, but in this play, she is a much less dignified
person than his Titania in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. # 100 -
454 MABIN OF THE MABINOGION, THE In republishing the work with the above title, the 'Research Into Lost
Knowledge Organisation,' hope to bring the attention of thoughtful readers a
remarkable collection of knowledge which has been overlooked. It is known that
Tyndale during his work on translation of the Bible was astonished to discover
the correspondance between old Welsh and the Hebrew language. This in turn
owed much to the connection of the Hebrews with Chaldea, and to this day the
folklore, customs and modes of expression in Britain show remarkable
similarities with the Near East, especially so in the west of Britain, Wales,
Cornwall, the Scottish Highlands and Ireland, to which the original people
were driven by later invaders. That several of the papers collected in the
MABIN OF THE MABINOGION will scandalise some of today's scholars is more than
likely, but when we recollect how many times even in the last hundred years or
so statements of opinion have had to be altered or repudiated, we think the
more liberal minded readers who are not easily alarmed by the unfamiliar, will
welcome the book and gain a deeper understanding of the appellation "Britain
the Great". These were the words by Elizabeth Leader, Founder Member of
R.I.L.K.O., and here is some extracts from the Introduction by the author
Morien O. Morgan: ... 'We learn that the Rock at Horeb, which yielded "Water"
to the nation in the Wilderness, was the symbol of Christ-Messiah. (1. Cor. x.
2, 3, 4). The great apostle tells the Corinthians, who were familiar with the
Ambrosia, for in their Vintage feast in honour of the Sun's fertilising heat,
under the name of Bacchus, they partook of the portion of the wine consecrated
and named Ambrosia. When St Paul states that the Rock "followed" the nation in
the wilderness, he asserts, mystically, that the Divine essence - "Water" -
the Divine Ambrosia - the basis of all created things, and, therefore, of the
said Rock itself, had followed as a river. To this day in Wales it is said of
a dried up fruit of the earth. "It is devoid of Rhinwedd"
(virtue) or Ambrosia. They therefore understood perfectly Paul's meaning. ... The Druids called
Ambrosia Rhin, or Virtue, of all nourishing essences, but instead of the juice
of grapes, they used the juice of apples, as well as oil, as Ambrosia. In
India Ambrosia is called Amrita, and as a fertilizer, descending through the
sun, it is called in the Bible the food of the angels, by the Gentiles, the
food of the Gods, but by the Druids was regarded as the food of Fairies.
Carnal creatures take it mixed with solids and water. The "fruit" of the Tree
of Knowledge of Good and Evil is alluded to by the serpent as the food of
Elohim, or Gods. (Gen. iii. 4). The reader is reminded also of Elijah's circle
of twelve stones on Mount Carmel, and then, states the Septuagint, "poured a
sea around its outward circular trench" (VIDE Homer's Iliad xviii), like that
around Stonehenge, Avebury, and each of the ancient Mounds on Salisbury
Plain.' The foregoing examples, agreeing with Druidism as a creed, induced the
author to make researches with the object of discovering the common source of
the two great creeds. the results are the MABIN OF THE MABINOGION, or as it
was originally published, THE ROYAL WINGED SON OF STONEHENGE AND AVEBURY. #
777 MABINOGION, THE (ma-bin-OG-eon) In the MABINOGION we meet the only genuine Welsh Arthurian
story we possess, the story of Culhwch and Olwen. The tales of the MABINOGION
are mainly drawn from the fourteenth century manuscript entitled 'The Red Book
of Hergest'. The MABINOGION is the work in which the chief treasures of Cymric
myth and legend were collected by Lady Charlotte Guest and published in 1849,
given to the world in a translation which is one of the masterpieces of
English literature. MABINOGION is the plural form of MABINOGI, which means a
story belonging to the equipment of an apprentice-bard. Strictly speaking, the
MABINOGI in the oldest volume are only the four tales given first, and which
were entitled FOUR BRANCHES OF THE MABINOGI. Later other tales were added. One
of them, the romance of Taliesin, came from another source, a manuscript of
the seventeenth century. The four oldest tales in the Mabinogion are supposed
by scholars to have taken their present shape in the tenth or eleventh
century. The following tales are listed in the Mabinogion: Pwyll Lord of Dyfed-
Branwen Daughter of Llyr - Manawydan Son of Llyr Math Son of Mathonwy - The
Dream of Maxen - Lludd and Llevelys Culhwch and Olwen - The Dream of Rhonabwy
Owain or The Lady of the Fountain - Peredur Son of Efrawg Gereint and Enid -
and alone of the tales in the collection called by Lady Charlotte Guest, the
story of Taliesin q.v. Four Branches of the Mabinogi: Pwyll, Branwen,
Manawydan and Math, form most important part of it. But as J. Gantz says:
'While we in fact posses only one version of each tale, it is quite possible
that other, substantially different, versions also existed at one time.' #
100: Katharine Briggs: In Culhwch and Olwen we are half-way back to the
mythological Arthur and in the land of fairy-tales where the hero is
accompanied by a picked band of strong men with magical, specialized powers to
aid him in the performance of his quest. These manuscripts appear to represent
the material used by the Welsh bards or cyfarwydd's. This was
transmitted by word of mouth, and it would be centuries before it was written
down, and therefore these tales were probably very ancient indeed, as can be
judged by the customs and linguistic turns which are built into them. The word
Mabinogi means: 'story of youth' or 'story'. # 100 - 237 - 562 - 772 -
773 MABON The Young Son of Light. Mabon or Maponus, the Celtic god of liberation,
harmony, unity and music. He may have been one of the most universally
worshipped deities in the Celtic world, and was at the centre of the Druidic
magical cosmology as the original Being, pre-existent, Son of the Great
Mother. He is represented in myth and legend as both a prisoner and a
liberator; many other heroic and divine figures are related to Mabon. # 562:
Son of Modron - released by Arthur. # 156: In the poem PA GUR two of Arthur's
followers are so called: one the son of Modron, described as the servant of
Uther Pendragon, and the other the son of Mellt. This may be a duplication,
the same character having Modron for a mother and Mellt for a father. CULHWCH
says he was abducted when he was three nights old. It was necessary for
Culhwch to find him, as part of his quest. Arthur attacked his prison, while
Kay and Bedivere rescued him. Similarly named characters are Mobonagrain in
Chrétien's EREC ET ENIDE and Mabuz in Ulrichs LANZELET. In origin, these
characters are perhaps all the same. Mabon, the son of Modron, is undoubtedly
the Celtic god Maponus (perhaps the equivalent of the Irish Mac ind oc) Modron
originally being the Celtic goddess, Matrona, and Mellt perhaps a hypothetical
god called Meldos. C. Matthews regards the story of Mabon as a mystery cycle.
G. Ashe argues that Merlin may have acted as a prophet of the god Maponos,
while J. Matthews feels that the history of Gawain replays the story of the
god. Mabon is also referred to as a sorcerer. See: BLONDE ESMERÉE, and
MARSIQUE. # 439: The mystery of Mabon is hard to disentangle and restore. The main
textual source appears in CULHWCH AND OLWEN. Where textual evidence is meagre
it is possible to assume further facts about Mabon from his many aliases who
appear as heroes within the MABINOGION and related literature, although we
must be circumspect when drawing from secondary sources. Yet texts alone do
not give us a full picture. The cult of the Divine Youth, Maponus, was
localised in both Gaul and Northern Britain. Two place names survive:
Lochmaben, a village, and Clochmabenstane, a prehistoric stone, both in
Dumfriesshire. The stone was a tribal assembly point (#564). - The Romans
swiftly identified many native deities as aspects of their own, as well as
recognising the genii loci of the land in their own right. Maponus was
soon identified as a type of Apollo - a Greek aspect which the Romans
retained, although they renamed his sister Artemis as Diana. In Greek
tradition, the name of Apollo, or Apple-Man, recalled the hidden youth of
Britain whose mysteries were celebrated within a circular temple, and whose
cult was associated with music and the paradisal Otherworld(#258). Apollo the
Harper, has been identified closely with Maponus (#564). - Mabon and Modron
are merely titles and not names; they are honorifics. Initiates of a
particular cult always spoke of their gods in such a guarded manner, while
preserving the secret names and inner titles from the profane. - Within
British tradition, 'Mabon is not only the Great Prisoner, he is also the
Immemorial Prisoner, the Great Son who has been lost for aeons and is at last
found' (# 564). - Mabon is the Wondrous Youth of Celtic tradition: like
Merlin, he is the child of otherworld and earthly parents. His cult was
widespread in north-west Britain, along Hadrian's Wall. Like Angus, he is the
god of youth. His name merely means 'son' and so is a mystery title which is
ascriable to many suitable local deities (# 454). # 26 - 156 - 258 - 269 - 439
- 450 - 454 - 455 p 70 - # 562- 564 MABONAGRAIN An opponent of Erec, Mabonagrain was a prisoner of sorts in a castle with
an airy wall and he was the lover of a lady who dwelt there. When Erec
overcame hime, Mabonagrain told him to blow a horn and this freed him from his
imprisonment. It seems likely that Mabon is the original of this character,
especially as the motif of liberation from imprisonment occurs in the story. #
152 - 156 MABUZ In Ulrich, the son of the Lady of the Lake. His territory was being raided
by Iweret and Lancelot came to succour him. He is very likely identified with
Mabon; this would, in turn, identify the Lady of the Lake with Modron/Morgan.
# 156 - 686 MAC CECHT (môc ceht') Danaan king, husband of Fohla; member of Conary's retinue at Da
Derga's Hostel. Mac Cecht has rushed over Ireland in frantic search for water.
But the Fairy Folk, who are here manifestly elemental powers controlling the
forces of nature, have sealed all the sources against him. He tries the Well
of Kesair in Wicklow in vain; he goes to the great rivers - they all hide away
at his approach; the lakes deny him also; at last he finds a lake, Loch Gara,
which failed to hide itself in time, and thereat he fills his cup. He returned
to the Hostel finding a reaver with Conary's head. He slew the reaver, and mac
Cecht, taking up his master's head, poured the water into his mouth. Thereupon
the head spoke, and praised and thanked him for the deed. # 166 -
562 MAC CONGLINNE, THE VISION OF This story stands almost alone as perhaps the only extended piece of
vernacular narrative from the earlier Middle Ages that was composed expressly
for humorous purposes. It is one of the wildest extravaganzas of all
literature; in fact we find nothing quite so preposterous again until we come
to Rabelais. The writer adopts the conventional literary form of those who
wrote for religious edification, and composes an uproarious satire on
hagiography, ecclesiastical mendicancy, and royal gluttony. In his higher
moments he throws overboard his satirical purpose for the sake of his
gastronimical cadenzas. The piece is at least as old as the twelfth century
and perhaps even more ancient. The vigor of the burlesque spirit is closely
akin to that in THE FEAST OF BRICRIU, one of the earlier tales of the Ulster
cycle. # 166 MAC CUILL (QUILL) Danaan king, husband of Banba. # 562 MAC DATHO (moc' da ho') A king in Leinster; owner of a famous hound. #
166 MAC DATHO'S PIG, THE STORY OF # 166: This is a remarkably picturesque narrative. The action is swift, the
dialogue spirited, and the climatic arrangement of the episodes highly
effective. The plot is based on the ancient Celtic practice of assigning the
choicest portion at feasts to the guest who could most successfully establish
his superiority over his fellows. It is of interest to note that the author,
writing as early as the ninth or tenth century, thought of the enmity between
Ulster and Connacht as extending back into remote antiquity. Incidentally,
'The Story of Mac Datho's Pig' is one of the few sagas of the Ulster cycle in
which CuChulain does not appear. The scene was laid in Leinster, and the saga
is brought in Cross' and Slover's ANCIENT IRISH TALES. # 236: Although 'The Tale of Macc Da Thó's Pig' (The title in Irish, as
Jeffrey Gantz put it in his 'Early Irish Myths and Sagas), with its feasting
and fighting, may seem the quintessential Ulster Cycle story, its antiquity is
open to doubt. Every other important figure of the Ulster Cycle - Ailill, Medb
and Cet of the Connachta; Conchobar, Fergus, Loegure, Conall Cernach and all
the Ulaid warriors- is present; but CuChulain is not only absent, he is not
even mentioned. One could argue (as Cross and Slover does it above) that
CuChulain is a late addition to the traditions of the Ulaid and that this
story predates his arrival. There are, however, other puzzling elements. The
pig of the title is so large that forty oxen can be laid across it; such a
beast could be mythic in origin, but it could also be satiric. In 'The Cattle
Raid of Cuailnge', Ulaid and Connachta go to war over a mythic beast, the
finest bull in Ireland; in this tale, the two provinces fall out over a dog.
Macc Da Tho promises the dog to both Ulaid and Connachta, then feigns
innocence when they show up to collect on the same day. During the bragging
contest for the right to carve the pig, the Ulaid warriors - the heroes of any
ordinary Ulster Cycle story - not only are shamed but are made to look
ridiculous: Loegure has been speared and chased from the border, Oengus's
father has had his left hand cut off, Eogan has had an eye put out, and so on.
And Fer Loga's demand that the nubile women of Ulaid sing 'Fer Loga Is My
Darling' to him every night is so comical its inclusion cannot possibly be
inadvertent. Some of the rhetorical verse is old and obscure; but it is hard
to resist the conclusion that 'The Tale of Macc Da Thó's Pig' is a later
story, a parody of the Ulster Cycle in general and of 'The Cattle Raid of
Cuailnge' in particular. # 166 - 236 MAC GRENÉ Danaan king, husband of Eriu. Mythical name of the Son of the Sun. #
562 MAC IND OC (moc' in og') See: ANGUS. MAC KERVAL, DERMOT Rule of Dermot mac Kerval in Ireland, and the cursing of Tara. See: DERMOT.
# 562 MAC PHERSON Pseudo-Ossian poetry by Mac Pherson. # 562 MAC ROTH Maeve's steward named Mac Roth, and the Brown Bull of Quelgny. He said to
Maeve: 'The Brown Bull of Quelgny, that belongs to Dara son of Fachtna, is the
mightiest beast that is in Ireland'. And after that Maeve felt as if she had
no flocks and herds that were worth anything at all unless she possessed the
Brown Bull of Quelgny. The Brown Bull is the Celtic counterpart of the Hindu
sky-deity, Indra, represented in Hindu myth as a mighty bull, whose roaring is
the thunder and who lets loose the rains 'like cows streaming forth to
pasture.' # 562 MACHA (mak-kha) An aspect of the Morrighan. Macha herself appeared in three
guises:
The last mentioned was the silent wife of a farmer who came from the
Otherworld. She imposed one condition upon her husband - that he should not
mention her to anyone. The king boasted that his horses were the swiftest but
Crunnchu said that Macha was faster. She was made to run a circuit against the
horses when she was about to give birth. She won the race, and after
delivering her two children, cursed Ulster saying that when its greatest need
was upon it, all its warriors would suffer the weakness of a woman in
childbirth for five days and four nights, to the ninth generation. It was so
that CuChulain defended Ulster single-handed, because he was not descended
from the stock of Ulster. Emain Macha (The Twins of Macha in the centre at the
foundation of the kingdom of Ulster) was named after her, and the name is
redolent to the Irish student of legendary splendour and heroism. Macha the
Red was the battle-aspect of the Morrigan and it was upon the Pole of Macha
that the heads of slaughtered men were stuck. The legend of Macha tells that
she was the daughter of Red Hugh, an Ulster prince who had two brothers,
Dithorba and Kimbay. They agreed to enjoy, each in turn, the sovereignty of
Ireland. Red Hugh came first, but on his death Macha refused to give up the
realm and fought Dithorba for it, whom she conquered and slew. She then, in
equally masterful manner, compelled Kimbay to wed her, and ruled all Ireland
as Queen. Macha was no mere woman, but a supernatural being offering support
for the worthy, but cursed the unworthy with magical spells. One of the triple
forms taken by the ancient Irish war goddess Badb. All are in the shape of Royston or hoodie crows. Macha is a fairy that
'riots and revels among the slain', as Evans Wentz puts it in his analysis of
Badb's triple form. # 100 - 166 - 367 - 439 - 454 - 562 MACSEN WLEDIG See: MAXEN WLEDIG. MADAGLAN A king in PERLESVAUS, who, after the death of Guinevere, demanded that
Arthur yield him the Round Table as he was Guinevere's relation; otherwise, he
required Arthur to marry his sister. He was twice defeated by Lancelot. # 112
- 156 MADOC In the poem YMDDIDDAN ARTHUR A'R ERYR, Arthur's nephew, Eliwlod, appears in
the shape of an eagle. Eliwlod's father is called Madoc, implying that Madoc
was Arthur's brother-in-law. A possible reference to Madoc, son of Uther,
appears in the BOOK OF TALIESIN. A Madoc or Maduc appears as an opponent of
Arthur in French romance. See: TALIESIN. # 156 MADOC AP OWAIN GWYNEDD A Welsh prince who discovered America in the twelfth century. Southey wrote
a long poem about this legend. George Catlin, the nineteenthcentury artist who
lived among the indians of the Mid-West, found supposed traces of European
ancestors among their customs. # 454 MADOR # 156: A Knight of the Round Table and Grail quester, surnamed de la
Porte (of the Door). In EACHTRA MHELORA he is called the son of the King
of the Hesperides. # 454: Cousin of Sir Patrice, a knight who was murdered, his death blamed
on Guinevere. In fury and anguish at his cousin's death he challenges the
knights who defend the Queen, but fortunately the real culprit is discovered
and slain by Lancelot, and Guinevere willingly forgives her would-be accuser.
# 156 - 418 - 454 MADRUN MATRIANA (fifth century) She was said to be the daughter of Vortimer, Vortigern's
son who fled with her son Ceidio, from Caerwent to Cornwall where she died.
Her story may be vaguely derived from the lost myth of Modron. Madrun is
depicted fleeing from battle carrying her son. Her feast-day is 9 April. #
454 MAELDUIN, THE VOYAGE OF The Immram upon which the CELTIC BOOK OF THE DEAD is based is
Immram curaig Maelduin inso or The Voyage of Maelduin's
boat. This text was transcribed in the eight or ninth century, although
later transcriptions exist. Apart from the VOYAGE OF BRAN, it is the earliest
immram story. Many incidents in the VOYAGE OF ST BRENDAN are reworkings of
scenarios found in the Maelduin story. The son of a nun who was raped by his
father, Ailill Edge of Battle. He desired to go in search of his father's
murderers, and so made a skin-boat and sailed on a great voyage among the
Blessed Islands q.v. where he encountered many islands q.v., including Tir na
mBan, where he and his crew would have stayed, but for their homesickness for
Ireland. Many of the islands are similar to those visited by Brendan. See:
BRAN, and BRENDAN, and ISLANDS, and BLESSED ISLANDS. # 282 - 416 - 437 p 18 ff
- # 454 MAELGWYN See: MELKIN. MAEN ARTHUR The name of a stone which can no longer be identified which had a hollow in
it where Arthur's horse had stepped. It was in the vicinity of Mold (Clwyd).
Another stone called Maen Arthur Wood near Llanafan (Dyfed). #
156 MAEVE MEDB # 562: Queen of Connacht; Angus Og seeks aid of Maeve; debility of
Ultonians manifested on occasion of Cattle-raid of Quelgny; Fergus seeks aid
of Maeve; her famous bull Finnbenach, and her efforts to secure the Brown Bull
of Quelgny; host of Maeve spreads devastation through the territories of
Bregia and Murthemney; she offers her daughter Findabair of Fair Eyebrows to
Ferdia if he will meet CuChulain; Conor summons men of Ulster against Maeve;
She is overtaken but spared by CuChulain; she makes seven years peace with
Ulster; vengeance of Maeve against CuChulain; Maeve retires to island of Loch
Ryve; she is slain by Forbay. # 454: She was originally the woman of Conchobar whom she left for Ailill.
She coveted the Brown Bull owned by the Ulsterman Daire. When he refused to
give it to her she appointed the disaffected Ulster warrior, Fergus mac Roigh
to attack Ulster. They succeeded in their attempt to raid the Bull because the
Ulstermen were suffering from the debility brought upon them by Macha's curse.
Only CuChulain was able to hold the ford against them and he was eventually
killed by the help of the daughters of Calatin. Maeve was renowned for her
lust for men, taking her lovers indiscriminately. In antiquity she may have
represented the earthly Sovereignty in her own person. # 769: Medb's very promiscuity marks her as a goddess, symbolic of the
fertility of Ireland. She is the personification of the land itself and its
prosperity. Other indications of her divinity include her ability to
shape-shift between young girl and aged hag: in the story of Niall of the Nine
Hostages, Medb appears to Niall as a crone guarding a well. She gives him
water, and he agrees to mate with her; she is immediately transformed into a
beautiful young woman, who grants him the kingship of Ireland. The goddess of
sovereignty could also be a deity of death, and Medb possesses this
characteristic also. She brings about the death of CuChulain and of her own
husband Ailill, infuriated (though hardly fairly) by his infidelity. She
incites the former Ulster hero, Conall Cernach, to murder him on the Feast of
Beltaine. Medb has other supranormal traits: she has animal attributes, in the
form of a bird and a squirrel who perch on her shoulder; she can run very
fast; and she is able to deprive men of their strength simply by her
presence. Medb's death is described in an 11th century text: she is killed by her
nephew, Furbaidhe, whose mother, Clothra, has been murdered by Medb. Her death
is somewhat bizarre: she is killed by a sling-shot with a lump of hard cheese.
# 100 - 166 - 266 - 367 - 454 - 562 - 769 MAG (môy) A plain. # 166 MAG BREG (môy bräg) 'The Plain of Bray'. A district formerly comprising most of
eastern Meath; said to have been named after Breaga, son of Breogan and uncle
of Mil. # 166 MAG MELL The pleasant plain in which gods and immortal heroes lived and sported.
Manannan speaks of it to Bran mac Febal as the 'plains' of the sea wherein
otherworldly folk move as on land: its fish are its flocks, its vegetation are
its forests, while its chariots are ships. The fairy Otherworld; a beautiful
land of perpetual spring and sunshine, the Land of Youth (Tir na n-Og). # 166
- 434 - 454 MAG MOR The great plain: the heartland of the gods where men and maidens lived
together without shame, where music always sounded, where possessions were
unknown and where the ale was more intoxicating than the best produced in
Ireland. # 454 MAG MUIRTHEMNE (môy moor'hev ni) A plain extending from the River Boyne to the mountains
of Cualgne; CuChulain's inheritance. # 166 MAG SLECHT (moy slackd) MAG TUIREADH (moy-TOO-ra) MAG TURED, THE SECOND BATTLE OF The central heroic tale of the group dealing with the Tuatha De Danann and
the so-called Mythological Cycle is THE SECOND BATTLE OF MAG TURED (MOYTURA).
The text, though not so early in date as most of the stories of the Ulster
cycle, still preserves much of the rugged strength and directness for which
the older tales are admired. It also exhibits something of the rough
exaggerated humor of the earlier texts. The diversity of material, the
repetitions, and the contradictions all go to show thet the story as we now
have it is a compilation made up of a number of independent narratives. #
166 MAGA Daughter of Angus Og, wife of Ross the Red. Also wedded to Druid Cathbad. #
562 MAGIC # 160: Celtic magic is an ancient practice firmly rooted in the Celtic
pantheon, Nature and the Elements, and just the words Celtic Magic conjure up
pictures of Druids and mystical oak groves, daring Irish warriors existing
cheek to cheek with fairies, elves and ancient deities who took an active part
in the lives of their worshippers. # 562: Traces of magic found in Megalithic monuments. Clan Calatin learn
magic in Ireland. Alba and Babylon magic to practise against CuChulain. # 612: The tradition of the arcane and the mysterious cleaves to certain
races so naturally as to make it seem an inherent and inalienable possession.
The magic of Arabia, the secret doctrines of India and the runic mysteries of
Scandinavia are salient expressions of racial affinity with the mystical and
the marvellous. But to na race, Lewis Spence maintain, was it given to
cultivate a higher or keener sense of spiritual vision or of the fantastically
remote than to the Celtic. It has indeed justified the claim by the production
of a literature which casts back to the seventh and eighth centuries of our
era, and is unsurpassed in fantasy and weirdly delicate invention. Later
Celtic popular stories and folk-tales reflect and continue this distinction in
the primitive yet brilliant simplicity and remote strangeness of their
subject-matter and narrative quality. And as if unexhausted by the conception
in its Irish sphere of a series of sagas unmatched for magical charm among the
world's mythologies, the Celtic tradition addressed itself in its later heyday
in the island of Britain to the transformation of these older materials into a
body of romance which, because of its noble excellence, its amazement of
marvel and incident and its almost divine sentiment of chivalry, made every
land in Europe its spiritual tributary. To the Celtic sense of wonder and the
generous ideals which accompanied it as expressed in the Arthurian epic, the
folk of the Empire of Britain, both in these islands and in the Britain
oversea, are vastly more indebted than even the wisest among us suspects. The
writers of antiquity were at one in realizing the native superiority of the
Celtic mind in the science of Magic. Pliny remarks that the Britain of his day
(the first among the new centuries) "celebrates them with such ceremonies that
it might seem possible that she taught Magic to trhe Persians". Diodorus
Siculus, Timagenes, Hippolytus and Clement of Alexandria were unanimous in
believing that Pythagoras had received his mystical philosophy from the Celtic
priests of Gaul, rather than they from him. Valerius Maximus, in the Second
Book of his 'Stromata', issues a warning that if one should jeer at the
notions of the Druids respecting immotality, he must also laugh at those of
Pythagoras. The ancient world was assuredly almost as deeply impressed by the doctrines
and mysteries of ancient Britain as it was by those of Egypt or Chaldea. In
the pages of THE MAGIC ART AMONG THE CELTS, Lewis Spence indicate that a very
complete system of Magic, associated with a definite body of mystical dogma
and arcane thought, was practised by the Magi of ancient Britain and Ireland
is apparent from trustworthy evidence. # 160 - 562 - 612 MAGICIANS Those learned men who, like Dr Dee, stretched the area of their learning to
include magic and intercourse with spirits. Some of them restricted their
studies to theurgic magic, in which they approached God by intensive prayer,
and sought intercourse with angels; others called up the spirits of the dead
in a kind of refinement of necromancy called 'sciomancy'. A step lower was to
reanimate a corpse- true necromancy - as Edward Kelly was said to have done.
Others engaged in more dangerous experiments still and tried to call up devils
and confine them into a stone or magic circle. This was an exeedingly tedious,
and was felt to be a highly dangerous, proceeding, for if the spirit raised
succeeded in frightening the magician to the edge of his ring, so that a step
backward would cause a fold of his robe or the heel of his foot to protrude,
he would be liable to be seized and carried down to Hell. It was tediousness
and danger of these efforts to control the Devil that induced some magicians
to take the last step down the slippery slope and sign the Diabolic Contract,
thus becoming Wizards. There was an alternative to raising devils, and that
was 'Traffic with the Fairies', of which we have mentions in the Scottish
witch trials and in the North of England. To the Puritans as a whole, all
fairies were devils, but the country people generally took a more lenient view
of the 'Good Neighbours.'#100 MAGNUS (1075-1116) Earl of Orkney. When King Magnus Barefoot of Norway invaded
Orkney, Magnus fled to Scotland, returning when the king died. However, his
cousin Haakon was in possession of Orkney. The rival earls decided to divide
the islands between them. After a few years of uneasy peace, a conference was
called on Egilsay, each earl bringing an equal shipload of retainers. It was
clear that Haakon intended to murder Magnus, and Haakon's cook, Lifolf, was
bidden to strike the blow. Magnus is remembered on 16 April. # 108 -
454 MAGPIE The most 'talkative' of birds, the magpie was often credited with oracular
announcements and the communication of secrets to those who could understand
the mystical bird language. Like other relatives of the crow, magpies could
learn to imitate human speech when kept in captivity. For centuries the
chattering of magpies was said to foreshadow the arrival of guests. Two or
more magpies prophesied a happy occasion; one magpie meant sorrow. The bird
was sacred to 'MAGOG.' # 701 p 404 MAID OF THE NARROW WOOD She fell in love with Gawain but, when the latter did not reciprocate her
sentiments, she tried to kill him. # 156 MAIDENLAND The country where Lancelot was raised by his foster-mother, a waterfairy.
It parallels the Irish Celtic Otherworld land called Tir na mBan (Land of
Women). See: JOHFRIT DE LIEZ. # 156 - 686 MAIMED KING One of the two characters into whom the Fisher King was divided in the
VULGATE VERSION. He is called Parlan, Pelleam, Pellehan or Pelles. His injury
was variously ascribed to a wound by Balin or to a punishment for drawing the
Sword of Strange Hangings. # 156 MAINE (ma'ni) A name borne by seven sons of Ailill and Medb (Maeve). #
166 MALDUC A wizard who said he would free Guinevere from the clutches of Valerin if
given Erec and Gawain as prisoners. He freed Guinevere and duly received the
prisoners but they were rescued by Lancelot. # 156 - 710 MALEDISANT Wife of Bruno le Noir (La Cote Mail-Taile) who begins by accompanying him
on a dangerous adventure rebuking him mercilessly all the time for his ragged
and ill-fitting clothes and apparent lack of money. In the end she falls in
love with him, and perhaps as the similar tale of Gareth and Linet should have
ended, marries him. Her name, which means 'ill speech' clearly reflects her
acid tongue. # 454 MALEGINIS See: KING WITH A HUNDRED KNIGHTS. MALEHAUT A city of Arthurian Britain. The Lord of Malehaut was called Danain the
Red. His wife, Bloie, the Lady of Malehaut, was the lover of Galehot and the
mother of Dodinel. Elsewhere, Noie is called Eglante, see Dodinel. The city
was supposedly in the realm of the King with a Hundred Knights. #
156 MALLOLWCH (ma-HLOL-lukh) MALMESBURY, WILLIAM OF Here follow the author, William of Malmesbury's epistle¹ to Robert Earl of
Gloucester, Son of King Henry the First.² To my respected lord, the renowned
earl Robert, son of the king, greeting; and, if aught they may avail, his
prayers, from William, monk of Malmesbury. The virtue of celebrated men holds
forth as its greatest excellence, its tendency to excite the love of persons
even far removed from it: hence the lower classes make the virtues of their
superiors their own, by venerating those great actions to the practice of
which they themselves cannot aspire. Moreover it redounds altogether to the
glory of exalted characters, both that they do good, and that they gain the
affection of their inferiors. To you therefore, princes, it is owing that we
act well; To you, indeed, that we compose anything worthy of remembrance: your
exertions incite us to make you live for ever in our writings, in return for
the dangers which you undergo to secure our tranquillity. For this reason I
have deemed it proper to dedicate the History of the Kings of England, which I
have lately published, more especially to you, my respected and truly amiable
lord. None surely can be a more suitable patron of the liberal arts than
yourself, in whom combine the magnanimity of your grandfather, the munificence
of your uncle,³ the circumspection of your father; more especially as you add
to the qualities of these men, whom while you equal in industry, you resemble
in person, this characteristic peculiarly your own, a devotion to learning.
Nor is this all: you even condescend to honour with your notice, those
literary characters who are kept in obscurity either by the malevolence of
fame, or the slenderness of their fortune. And as our nature inclines us not
to condemn in others what we approve in ourselves, therefore men of learning
find in you manners which are congenial to their own; for, without the
slightest indication of moroseness, you regard them with kindness, admit them
with complacency, and dismiss them with regret.* Indeed, the greatness of your
fortune has made no difference in you, except that your beneficence can now
almost keep pace with your inclination. Accept then, most illustrious sir, a
work in which you may contemplate yourself as in a glass, where your
highness's sagacity will discover that you have imitated the actions of the
most exalted characters, even before you could have heard their names. The
preface to the first book declares the contents of the work; on deigning to
peruse which, you will briefly collect the whole subject-matter. Thus much I
must request from your excellency, that no blame may attach to me because my
narrative often wanders wide from the limits of England, since I design this
as a compendium of many histories, although, with reference to the larger
portion of it, I have entitled it an 'History of the Kings of England.' ¹ In two MSS. (D.E.) this dedication occurs at the end of the third book;
in two others (C.K.) it appears at the commencement of the work; but in others
(A.G.H.L.) it is not found at all. ² Robert earl of Gloucester was one of the
natural children of Henry I. He married Maud, or Mabell as she is sometimes
called, the eldest co-heir of Robert Fitz-Hamon, and in her right had the
honour of Gloucester. He died on the 31st of October, 1147. Dugd.Baron i. 534.
³ An allusion probably to Robert duke of Normandy, to whose munificence
Malmesbury more than once alludes in this work. * V. R. 'with presents.' #
731 MAN, ISLE OF In Arthurian times, this island was ruled by various Celtic kings about
whom we know very little. According to Arthurian romance, Gromer, an enchanted
knight, became King of Man with the help of Gawain. It was at Castle Rushden
on the island that Merlin was said to have defeated giants and buried them in
the caves beneath the castle. There has been a recent attempt to identify the
Isle of Man with Avalon. # 156 - 255 MANANNAN MAC LIR # 166: (mö'nan an moc ler') # 454: The sea-deity of Ireland, older than the
Tuatha de Danaan, although he is reckoned as one of them. He prepared the
Sidhe for their occupation after the coming of the sons of Miled. He was the
foster-father of many gods including Lugh. He lost his wife, Fand to
CuChulain. He became the father of Mongan, his earthly incarnation, by
visiting Caintigerna in the shape of her husband, Fiachna. He is the guardian
of the Blessed Islands: these have been identified with the Isle of Arran
(Emain Abhlach) and the Isle of Man. In his crane-bag, he kept the earliest
forms of the Hallows, including his magical coracle and the cup of truth,
which Cormac journeyed to find. In the Irish version of Nennius, Manannan is
mentioned as one of the Grail guardians with Pryderi. He was a great
shape-shifter and nightvisitor of women, often assuming the shape of a
sea-bird or heron. He is analogous to Manawyddan. # 628: In Irish tradition the best-documented sea god is Manannan mac Lir,
whose name means, simply, Manannan Son of the Sea. He may be relatively local
to the Isle of Man area, and is not an overall ocean god. He is also called
Barinthus. A primal god of the ocean deeps, who is also associated with
stellar navigation. In the VITA MERLINI he ferries the wounded King Arthur,
accompanied by the prophet Merlin and the bard Taliesin, to the Otherworld for
his cure. # 562: The magical boat with Horse of Manannan, and sword Fragarach,
brought by Lugh from the Land of the Living. He is the most popular deity in
Irish mythology. The Lord of Sea beyond which Land of Youth or Islands of the
Dead were supposed to lie. The Cymric deity Manawyddan corresponds with Irish
Manannan. # 166 - 416 - 454 - 469 - 562 - 628 p 74 ff and 120
ff. MANAWYDAN MANAWYDDAN (man-OW-eeth-an) # 156: The son of Llyr. He is mentioned in CULHWCH as a
follower of Arthur, but is in origin a Celtic sea-god corresponding to the
Irish Manannan mac Lir. The MABINOGION calls him the brother of Bendigeid Vran
(Bran the Blessed). # 454: He was left landless on the death of Bran and
became the husband of Rhiannon. He helped break the enchantments upon Dyfed,
caused by Llwyd in revenge for Gwawl's rough treatment at the hands of
Rhiannon's first husband, Pwyll. Manawyddan is a man of cunning and a master
craftsman, able to earn his own living when the land is enchanted. As
instructor and man of power, he stands in the place of father to Pryderi, and
inherits the qualities of Pwyll. # 104-156-272 - 346 - 439 -
454 MANESSIER A continuator of Chrétien de Troyes # 562 MANÉ ER H'OECK Remarkable tumulus in Brittany. # 562 MANÉS Seven outlawed sons of Ailill and Maeve, who rallies to Maeve's foray
against Ulster. # 562 MANGOUN The King of Moraine, he sent Caradoc a horn which would expose any
infidelity on the part of his wife. # 156 - 604 MANTLE OF INVISIBILITY Arthur's mantle became one of the Thirteen Treasures of the Island of
Britain. # 104 - 156 MANX See: MAN, ISLE OF MAON (may'un) Son of Ailill. Brutal treatment of Maon by Covac; has revenge on
Ailill by slaying him and all his nobles; weds Moriath and reigns over
Ireland; equivalent, 'Labra the Mariner.' # 562 MAPONOS MAPONUS # 156: An early Celtic god, son of Matrona, the original of Mabon in
Arthurian lore. # 454: Dedications to him occur as far apart as Gaul and
Dumfriesshire. He assimilated the attributes of Apollo and appears on a relief
with Diana, who is likely to have taken on the attributes of Modron in that
locality. # 156 - 264 - 439 - 454 - 563 MARA MERA An old English name for a demon, which survives in 'night-mare' and 'mare's
nest'. Gillian Edwards, in HOBGOBLIN AND SWEET PUCK, discussing the origin of
'Mirryland', mentioned in ballads and sometimes in the witch trials, accepts
D. A. Mackenzie's explanation of it as deriving from 'Mera'. # 100 - 202 MARDOC A character who appears on the Arthurian bas-relief in Modena Cathedral
where he is represented on the battlements with Winlogee (possibly Guinevere).
He may be identical with Mordred. # 156 - 238 MARHALT King of Ireland and father of Marhaus (according to Malory). The chronology
in Malory is a little odd: when Marhaus fought Tristan he was the
brother-in-law of the Irish King Anguish, yet only later does his father,
Marhalt, ascend the throne. One wonders if names such as Marhalt and Marhaus
might preserve some genuine memory of the fifth-century King of Tara,
Muircheartach I. # 156 MARHAUS The brother of Iseult, slain by Tristan in combat. Malory tells us that,
prior to this, he had been a follower of Arthur and had killed the giant,
Taulurd. Gottfried supplies us with the information that he was a duke and
Eisner feels that his combat with Tristan was based on that of Theseus and the
Minotaur. He had sons named Amoroldo and Golistant. See also: MARHALT. # 156 -
204 - 256 - 418 MARIE DE FRANCE Anglo-Norman poetess. Sources relating to the Arthurian saga in writings of
Marie de France. # 562 MARINAIA See: ALDAN. MARIUS An early King of Britain, and according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, the son of
Arviragus. See: SODRIC. # 156 MARJODOC The steward of Mark, at first friendly towards Tristan, but, when he
discovered Tristan's intrigue with Iseult, he turned against him. # 156 -
256 MARK # 156: 1. King of Cornwall, uncle of Tristan and husband of Iseult. He is
generally presented as something of a tyrant, Malory calling him 'bad King
Mark'. In Welsh his name (March) means a horse and Beroul informs us he had
horse's ears - a characteristic he shares with other legendary personages. THE
DREAM OF RHONABWY tells us that he was Arthur's cousin while, in the TRIADS we
learn that Tristan was his swineherd. In the story of Tristan, Mark did not
find out for some time of his nephew's affair with his wife. One version says
that, on the deaths of the lovers, Mark had them interred in a single grave.
However, in Malory, Mark is the slayer of Tristan. The question arises as to whether Mark was identical with a historical
Cornish ruler called Cunomerus, who reigned also on the far side of the
channel in Brittany. The ancient inscription on a stone at Castle Dor
(Cornwall) may read (though this is uncertain) Drustans hic iacit Cunomori
filius (Here lies Tristan, son of Cunomorus). If the reading is accurate,
it may mean that, in the original version, Tristan was more closely related to
Mark than subsequent story tellers were prepared to allow. The writer Wrmonoc
says Cunomorus was also called Mark and he may have thought him identical with
March, son of Meirchiaun, King of Glamorgan. A story tells that this Cunomorus
had been warned that one of his sons would kill him, so he murdered his wives
when they become pregnant. One wife, Trephina, daughter of Warok, chief of the
Venetii, actually gave birth before Cunomorus had her decapitated. However, he
performed this task after the birth and her son (Judval or Tremeur, apparently
identical) was left to die. Gildas restored Trephina to life. They went back
to the castle (Trephina carrying her head) and the battlements fell on
Cunomorus, killing him. At a more prosaic historical level, we are told that
Cunomorus supported Chramm, son of the Frankish King Clothair, in a rebellion
in which both he and Chramm fell (AD 560). However, M. Dillon and N. K.
Chadwick state that Cunomorus fell while fighting people who had rebelled
against him. King Mark lives on in Breton tradition. He is thought to ride a
winged horse (MORMARC'H) when the sea off Penmarc'h (Mark's head, a headland
in Brittany) is stormy. 2. King of Glamorgan. See: LABIANE, and MERCHIAUN. # 55 - 156 - 194 - 243 -
418 - 484 MARLYN The son of Ogier and Morgan Le Fay; hence, Arthur's nephew. #
156 MARRIAGE # 548:In medieval Ireland and Wales, the most highly esteemed form of
Marriage was a contract between consenting kin-groups - marriage 'by gift of
kin' (as it is termed in the Welsh laws) - and between partners of comparable
status, with proper arrangements about marriage payments. Abductions were
known and there were procedures whereby such faits accomplis could be
legalized, but these were inferior kinds of marriage. Similarly in more recent
centuries, although temporary marriages and other irregular unions existed,
the approved union, even among the common people, was a 'match' negotiated by
two families. There was shrewd bargaining over brideprice and dowry, and a
'good match' in the material sense seems to have counted more than mutual
attraction between bride and bridegroom. How different are the marriages of
mythology! Just as the hero's birth has an outward resemblance to the most
disgraceful births in human society, so does his marriage have more in common
with abductions and elopements than with the socially approved forms of
marriage. Yet some wedding customs express attitudes towards marriage which
are strangely reminiscent of the stories we have related. As a counterpart to the sober contract, there are displays of
mock-hostility. Gates are tied and rope-barriers and other obstacles impede
the bridegroom's progress to church and his return with his bride, and
forfeits must be paid for safe conduct. Hostile powers threatening the success
of the marriage must be banished with gunshots. In parts of Ireland, on the
day of bringing home the bride, the bridegroom and his friends would ride out
and meet the bride and her friends at the place of treaty. 'Having come near
to each other, the custom was of old to cast short darts at the company that
attended the bride, but at such a distance that seldom any hurt ensued; yet it
is not out of the memory of man that the Lord of Howth, on such an occasion,
lost an eye.' This brings to mind the spear-throwing contest in CULHWCH AND
OLWEN, while the escape with the bride in the tales is recalled by Lady
Wilde's description of the bride 'placed on a swift horse before the
bridegroom while all her kindred started in pursuit with shouts and cries.' #
209 - 548 - 669 - 728 - 751 MARROK # 156: One of the Knights of the Round Table whose wife changed him into a
werewolf for seven years. # 454: She, it seems, discovered his secret, and he
had to hide his clothes until he was ready to turn back into a human being.
She stole them and Marrok was a wolf until Arthur discovered him behaving in a
very unwolf-like manner and brought him home. Here the wolf was gentle with
all save his wife and her lover. She was then forced to confess and Marrok was
given back his clothing, whereupon he returned to his natural shape. It is
made clear that he was not the kind of werewolf normally written about, but
simply a man who, perhaps under enchantment, turned into a wolf at night. #
156 - 454 MARS # 454: He was a particularly popular god in Roman Britain, with both native
and occupying peoples alike, so that his name appears linked with that of
native deities embodying similar characteristics, e.g. Mars Loucetius
(Brilliant), or Mars Rigonemetis (King of the Sacred Grove), Mars forsakes his
classical attributes, reverting instead of the original Italian attributes as
a god of vegetation and agriculture. In Britain he is also associated with
healing and sometimes appears as the Triple Mars - a truly Celtic idea -
complete with ram-headed snakes, the attributes of Cernunnos. He is often
partnered by Nemetona. # 265 - 454 - 563 MARY, THE BLESSED VIRGIN England has been traditionally known as Mary's Dowry for centuries. The
claim to this title is not difficult to discover, since Joseph of Arimathea
founded the first Christian church at Glastonbury - a humble edifice of
wattles which was dedicated to Our Lady Mary. He was also, according to
variant legends, supposed to have brought Mary with him to England after the
death and resurrection of her son. The other focus of her cult was at
Walsingham where in 1061, Lady Richeldis had a vision of Mary which commanded
her to build a replica of Mary's house in Nazareth. This shrine became the
pilgrimage centre of England up until the Reformation when the image of the
Virgin was destroyed. The shrine is now operative again and drawing almost as
many pilgrims as in the Middle Ages where its reputation for answering prayer
has not failed. The healing well still dispenses its waters. The Milky Way
became known as the Walsingham Way. # 454 MATH # 454: Son of Mathonwy and uncle to Gwydion, Gilfaethwy and Arianrhod, and
brother of Penardun. He was omniscient, among other skills, the strange gift
of hearing everything that was said if once the winds got hold of it, was a
property also attributed to him. He was full of wisdom, a great king. In MATH,
SON OF MATHONWY (The MABINOGION), he can only live when his feet are in the
lap of a virgin footholder. Goewin. War causes him to abandon this mode of
living temporarily and Goewin is raped by Gilfaethwy. Math marries her to
assuage her shame, and punishes his nephews, Gilfaethwy and Gwydion, by
causing them to assume various animal disguises. It is with his help that
Gwydion makes Blodeuwedd out of flowers, as a bride for Llew, his
great-grandson. # 104 - 272 - 439 - 454 - 562 MATHOLWC (math-ol-ook) King of Ireland who comes to Prydein, seeking Branwen's hand
in marriage. His and Branwen's wedding celebrated at Aberffraw, where
Efnissien mutilates his horses. Among other gifts, Bran gives a maigic
cauldron to Matholwc. He is ill-treating Branwen, which cause Bran to invade
Ireland, where Matholwc is defeated and deposed in favour of his son, Gwern.
See: BRAN, and EFNISSIEN, and GWERN. # 272 - 439 - 454 -
562 MATHONWY (math-ON-wee) Two great divine houses or families are discernible that of
Don, a mother-goddess representing the Gaelic Dana), whose husband is Beli,
the Irish Bilé, god of Death, and whose descendants are the Children of Light;
and the house of Llyr, the Gaelic Lir, who were represents, not a Danaan
deity, but something more like the Irish Fomorians. As in the case of the
Irish myth, the two families are allied by intermarriage - Penardun, a
daughter of Don, is wedded to Llyr. Don herself has a brother, Math, whose
name signifies wealth or treasure (cf. Greek Pluton, ploutos), and they
descend from a figure indistinctly characterised, called MATHONWY. #
562 MATIèRE DE FRANCE Source of Round Table and chivalric institutions ascribed to Arthur's
court. # 562 MATRES See: MOTHERS, THE. MATRONA An early goddess of the Celts, worshipped in Britain and Gaul where her
name survives in the River Marne, near the source of which she had a sanctuary
(#102). It is thought that she is the original of
Morgan.#156-187 MATTER OF BRITAIN, THE The Arthurian legends were first called 'The Matter of Britain' by a
twelft-century French poet, Jean Bodel, who spoke of 'those idle and pleasant
tales of Britain' (Chanson des Saisnes, edited by Michel, Paris, 1939 vols.
ff.). He treated them frankly as legendary, but they had been thought of as
genuine history as early as the year 679 by Nennius of South Wales in his
HISTORIA BRITONUM. He speaks of 'the warrior Arthur', and gives a list of the
twelve battles in which he was victorious, ending with Mount Badon, where
Arthur slew 960 men in one onslaught; 'no one laid them low save he'.
Professor Collingwood in his book ROMAN BRITAIN came to the conclusion that
Arthur was an actual warrior who led a picked band, armed and deployed in the
almost forgotten manner, to aid whatever king was in need of his services
against invading Saxons. By Nennius' time, however, it is plain that legend
had been at work, and indeed Nennius, among his 'wonders' gives us a real
piece of Celtic tradition in the mark left by Arthur's foot in his legendary
hunting of the boar Troynt with his dog Cabal. As early as 1090 the Celtic
traditions of Arthur had spread even down into Italy, and many children were
baptized by tha name of Artus. By the year 1113, the sixth-century warrior Arthur had become a King of
Fairy, one of the sleeping warriors whose return was confidently expected. At
that date a riot broke out in Bodmin church. Some monks of Laon, visiting
Cornwall on a collecting expedition, were shown King Arthur's chair and oven
and their servants openly mocked the Cornishmen's belief that Arthur was still
alive and would return to help his countrymen. The sacredness of the place in
which they spoke did not prevent a furious retaliation. It is of these beliefs
that William of Malmesbury, a serious and scholarly historian, wrote a few
years later in his GESTA REGUM ANGLORUM (Exploits of the English Kings, 1125),
'He is the Arthur about whom the Britons rave in empty words, but who in truth
is worthy to be the subject not of deceitful tales and dreams, but of true
history.' The mythological treatment of the Matter of Britain is clearly shown
in the tale of 'Culhwch and Olwen' from the Red Book of Hergest, a part of the
MABINOGION. Here we have a god-like king surrounded by a lesser pantheon of
knights with special and magical skills, very much like the atmosphere to many
of the early Irish folktales. Something of this was known, as we have seen,
outside the Celtic folk-tales, but it received comparatively little attention
until in 1135 Geoffrey of Monmouth launched it as serious history in LIBELLUS
MERLINI, afterwards incorporated into his HISTORIA REGUM BRITANNIAE. This hit
the popular taste between wind and water, in spite of the horrified protests
of such serious historians as William of Newbridge and Giraldus Cambrensis. R.
F. Treharne in THE GLASTONBURY LEGENDS has pointed out how well suited
Geoffrey's treatment was to catch the taste of the tough fighting men of his
period, and how it became modified in the gentler and more civilized society
of the later twelfth and thirteenth centuries, so that the idea of a gentleman
was evolved in the writings of Marie de France in England and Chrétien de
Troyes in France, and in the works of many anonymous poets and prose writers.
Geoffrey of Monmouth brought nationalistic fervour, delight in combat and a
simple pleasure in magic into his historical background, but the later authors
introduced their countrymen to chivalry and the idea of gentleness; and it was
in a fairy world that they both moved. # 100 - 250 - 494 - 682 - 732 -
733 MAXEN WLEDIG MACSEN WLEDIG MAXIMUS A Roman emperor, Magnus Maximus (AD 383-88), known in Welsh tradition as
Macsen Wledig (oo'le-dig). He was said by Geoffrey - who calls him Maximianus
- to have made Conan Meriadoc the ruler of Brittany. In the DREAM OF MAXEN,
the Emperor dreams of an unknown woman with whom he falls in love. Messengers
eventually report her existence in Cymru so that he leaves Rome in order to
marry her. She is Elen. The historical Maximus, underlying the legend, did
indeed serve in Britain, but took many troops away from the island in his
struggles against his rival Western Emperor, Gratian, thus leaving Britain
unprotected. Traces of fact remain in the legend: the Welsh retained his name
where it appears in many genealogies of noble families as an imperial
connection. The leaving Roman soldiers, took with them foreign wives, but, it
is said, cut out their tongues, lest they should corrupt the speech of the
Britons. Thus early and thus powerful was the devotion to their tongue of the
Cymry. # 32 - 104 - 156 - 243 - 272 - 346 - 454 - 562 MAY DAY See: MAY EVE and: BELTAINE. MAY EVE MAY DAY # 701: May Eve was known as Beltain or Beltane to the Celts. The presiding
deity was the Goddess Flora also known as The Maiden. The festival celebrated
her virgin or 'flower' aspect, harbinger of the fruit to come. It was a time
of 'Wearing of the Green', in honor of Earth's new green garment, as well as a
time of sexual licence, symbolizing nature's fertilization: a honey-moon when
marriage bonds were temporarily forgotten and sexual freedom prevailed. # 562:
Sacred to Beltane, the day which Sons of Miled began conquest of Ireland. In
the story of Lludd and Llevelys, one of the three plagues were a fearful
scream that was heard in every home in Britain on May Eve. See: LLUD AND
LLEVELYS. # 562 - 701 p 186 MAYPOLE # 701: The Maypole was a pagan symbol for the May King's phallus,
traditionally set up for the festivities of Beltane (May Eve) that initiated
the new season of growth and fertility, and "wearing of the green" in
imitation of Mother Earth's new green cloak. The Maypole dance was the origin
of the square dancer's Grand Right and Left, as men and women alternately
passed in and out of each others circles, winding the ribbons around the pole.
# 162: Originally it was the sacred pine of Attis which was taken in
procession, or on a chariot, to the temple of Cybele and set up for
veneration; it was followed by men, women and children and dances were
performed round it. Later this ceremony appeared in the May Day celebrations
of the May Queen and the Green Man. The ribbons of the maypole are also
suggested as the bands of wool bound round the Attis pine. The entire ceremony
is symbolic of renewed life, sexual union, resurrection and Spring.# 162 -
701 MAZADAN According to Wolfram, Arthur's great-grandfather and also an ancestor of
Perceval. He was a fairy, husband of Terdelaschoye. # 156 -
748 MAZE, SAFFRON WALDEN See: SAFFRON WALDEN MAZE. MEATH Fergus in his battle-fury strikes off the tops of MAELA of Meath, so that
they are flat-topped (mael) to this day. See also: MIDE. #
562 MEBD (maev) See: MEDB, and MAEVE. MECHI He was the Morrigan's son. He was killed by Ogma's son, because of a
prophesy which said that he would ruin Ireland. This was due to his three
hearts out of which three serpents would hatch, devastating the
land.#166-454 MEDB (mayv) Daughter of Eochaid Fedlech, High King of Ireland; queen of
Connacht; wife of Ailill mac Matach. See also: MAEVE. #
166 MEDRAWT See: MORDRED. MEGALITHIC PEOPLE The religions of 'primitive' peoples mostly centre on, or take their rise
from, rites and practices connected with the burial of the dead. The earliest
people inhabiting Celtic territory in the West of Europe of whom we have any
distinct knowledge are a race without name or known history, but by their
sepulcral monuments, of which so many still exist, we can learn a great deal
about them. They were the socalled Megalithis People (from Greek megas, great,
and lithos, a stone), the builders of dolmens, cromlechs and chambered tumuli
of which more than five thousand were found alone in northern and western
Europe. Druidism in its essential features was imposed upon the imaginative
and sensitive nature of the Celt - the Celt with his 'extraordinary aptitude'
for picking up ideas - by the earlier population of Western Europe, the
Megalithic People. # 562 MELCHINUS See: MELKIN. MELEAGRAUNCE See: MELVAS. MELEHAN A son of Mordred. When Mordred was dead, he and his brother seized the
kingdom, but they were defeated by Lancelot. He was killed by
Bors.#156-604 MELIODAS A natural son of King Meliodas of Liones and the Queen of Scotland. His
mother set him adrift and he was raised by the Lady of the Lake. # 156 - 238 -
418 MELKIN John of Glastonbury mentions a vaticinator (one who foresees the future)
called Melkin, who lived before Merlin and uttered a prophecy about
Glastonbury, couched in obscure Latin, which is difficult to interpret. It may
refer to Glastonbury as a place of pagan burial and to a future discovery of
the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Apart from an entry in the Annals of
Glastonbury Abbey, evidence is scanty for his existence, but there is a strong
indication that he embodied an ancient tradition before Christian times. It
has been suggested that Melkin is to be identified with Maelgwyn, a
sixth-century ruler of Gwynedd. Henry VIII's royal antiquary, John Leland
(c.1503-52) claimed to have seen Melkin's book at Glastonbury Abbey. # 156 -
344 - 454 MELORA In an Irish romance, a daughter of Arthur who fell in love with Orlando,
son of the King of Thessaly. Mador, who was jealous, bribed Merlin to get rid
of him and Merlin complied, persuading his servant, the Destructive One, to
imprison the hapless prince. Only the Lance of Longinus, the carbuncle of the
daughter of the King of Narsinga, and the oil of the pig of Tuis could dispose
of the enchantments that surrounded him. Melora, dressed as a knight, defeated
the King of Africa on behalf of the King of Babylon who gave her the Lance and
sent Levander, his servant, to accompany her, They were imprisoned by the King
of Asia but escaped with the aid of a guard, Uranus, and obtained the porcine
oil from their captor. They lured the King of Narsinga and his daughter,
Verona, on to a ship, but all became friends and the carbuncle was secured.
Melora freed Orlando and they went to Thessaly, while Levander married Verona.
# 156 - 406 MELWAS MELEAGAUNCE MELEAGRAUNCE A knight, son of the otherworld King Bagdemagus, who abducted Guinevere,
taking her to his territory. Only his father prevented him from raping her.
Lancelot rescued her. There are different versions of what befell Meleagaunce.
In the ancient LIFE OF CARADOC, the saint mediates between Arthur and Melwas
(here called the King of the Summer Country) to prevent warfare between them.
In later medieval tradition, Melwas becomes Sir Meleagraunce. In another
version he subsequently imprisoned Lancelot but the latter escaped and slew
him. In another, he and Lancelot fought a single combat over Guinevere,
Lancelot winning and killing his opponent. A Welsh version of the abduction
story tells how Melwas, ruler of Somerset, carried Guinevere off to
Glastonbury. Arthur laid siege to it but the Abbot and Gildas prevailed upon
Melwas to return his captive. # 24 - 156 - 378 - 418 -
454 MENW AP TEIRNAEDD (menoo ap tair-noo-AYTH) An enchanter in Arthur's service. In CULHWCH,
Arthur assigned him to help the hero, Culhwch, in case he and his party needed
to be made invisible. # 156 - 346 MERAUGIS King Mark of Cornwall violated his niece, Labiane, and as a result she gave
birth to Meraugis. Mark then murdered Labiane and abandoned Meraugis in the
woods, but he was raised by a forester and grew to be a Knight of the Round
Table. After Arthur's last battle, he became a hermit with Bors and others. #
30 - 156 MERCHIAUN The father of King Mark of Glamorgan. This Mark may have been the original
of, or confused with, Mark of Cornwall. # 156 MERCURY # 562: Regarded as chief of the gods by Gauls; Lugh Lamfada identified with
Mercury. # 454: He was particularly popular among natives of Britain and,
although he retained his classical attributes, he blended in well with native
gods. He is shown with caduceus, cockerel and purse, indicating his function
as conductor of the dead and god of financial transactions. He is partnered by
Rosmerta in many inscriptions and reliefs. #
265-454-562-563 MERIADEUC A knight who obtained a second sword because he was the only one able to
unfasten a swordbelt which Lore, Lady of Garadigan, brought to Arthur's court.
He was therefore known as the Knight of the Two Swords (a title also given to
Balin). He eventually married Lore. # 30 - 156 MERIADOC He was the son of King Caradoc of Wales. The latter was succeeded by
Griffith who had secured the throne by murder. Griffith sent Meriadoc and his
sister Orwen to the woods to be killed, but the executioners did not carry out
their task. Meriadoc was subsequently raised by Ivor the Huntsman and his wife
Morwen. Urien, here called the King of Scots, abducted Orwen and married her.
Meriadoc went to Arthur's court and, with that king's help, he ousted Griffith
and gained his rightful throne which he handed over to Urien. Meriadoc went
abroad and rescued the daughter of the Emperor of Germany from Grundebald,
king of the Land From Which No One Returns, and married her. # 156 -
753 MERLIN # 156: (In Welsh: Myrddin, latinized as Merlinus because the more natural
Merdinus would have connected it with Latin merdus, 'dung'). Arthur's magician
and counsellor, in many ways the architect of his reign. The popular modern
image of Merlin is a wise elder, but there is abundant evidence in many early
sources of Merlin's true nature as a primal prophet, magician, wise man, and,
paradoxically, foolish seeker of the truth. His life was in three phases:
innocent prophetic youth, madman and hermit, and wise elder. In the classic
form of the tale, Merlin was begotten by an incubus. Robert says the devils of
Hell had determined to set on earth an evil being to counter-balance the good
introduced by Jesus Christ. Happily, the child was promptly baptized so he was
not evil! Vortigern, King of Britain some time after the Roman withdrawal was
haplessly trying to build a tower for, whenever it was erected, it would
collapse. The king's counsellors told him he would need to sacrifice a
fatherless child to remedy this. Such children were hardly thick on the ground
but Merlin, now a youth, was popularly supposed to be sireless so he was
secured for this purpose. However, he pointed out that the real reason for the
collapse was the existence of a pool beneath the foundations. Digging revealed
the truth of this and a brace of dragons emerged, one red and one white; these
caused Merlin to utter a series of prophecies. # 632: It was Geoffrey of Monmouth whose HISTORIA REGNUM BRITTANIAE and
VITA MERLINI are the chief sources for his life, there renamed him Merlin. In
these books Merlin makes a series of prophecies concerning the fate of
Britain. It is possible that he may be the same character as the sixth-century
Welsh poet, Myrddin, several of whose poems are still extant. (He fought on
the side of King Gwenddolau against Rhydderch Hael at Arfderydd in AD 575 and
went mad as a result of losing the battle.) The madness of Merlin is contained
in several traditional stories concerning suibhne gelt and
Laioken. All three mad prophets are said to suffer the threefold death
caused by falling, hanging and drowning, although the usual tale of Merlin's
death or passing away became attached to the story of Niniane or Vivienne, an
otherworld woman who tricked him into revealing his magic. She then shut him
up in a glass tower, or under a stone or in a hawthorn tree. This tradition is
probably a garbled understanding of Merlin's withdrawal from the world into
the Otherworld. # 156: When Aurelius Ambrosius defeated Vortigern he wished to
put up a monument. Merlin advised him to procure certain stones from Ireland
and these were erected on Salisbury Plain as Stonehenge. After the death of
Aurelius, when Uther came to the throne, Merlin arranged for him to seduce
Igraine by magically making him take the shape of her husband, Gorlois. He
took the child, Arthur, born of this union, and arranged the sword-in-stone
contest, whereby Arthur became king. According to Malory became Merlin infatuated by Nimue (elsewhere called
Viviane), whom he taught magical secrets which she used to imprison him.
Geoofrey, however, have him active after Camlann, bringing the wounded Arthur
to Avalon. As mentioned above he went mad after the battle of Arthuret and
became a wild man, living in the woods. According to Giraldus Cambrensis, this
was because of some horrible sight he beheld during the fighting, where three
of his brothers were killed. King Rhydderch Hael was married to Merlin's
sister, Ganieda, who persuaded him to give up his life in the forest, but he
revealed to Rhydderch that she had been unfaithful to him. He decided to
return to the greenwood and urged his wife, Guendoloena, to remarry. However,
his madness once again took hold of him and he turned up at the wedding,
riding a stag and leading a herd of deer. In his rage, he tore the antlers
from the stag and flung them at the bridgegroom, killing him. He went back to
the woods and Ganieda built him an observatory from which he could study the
stars. Welsh poetry antedating Geoffrey largely agrees with this account,
though it has Merlin fighting against Rhydderch rather than for him. Similar
tales are told about a character called Lailoken, who was in Rhydderch's
service and this may have prompted Geoffrey to change the side which Merlin
was on. As Lailoken is similar to a Welsh word meaning 'twin brother' and as
Merlin and Ganieda were thought to be twins, it is possible it was merely a
nickname applied to Merlin. Merlin is not, at any rate, a personal name but a
place name - the Welsh Myrddin comes from Celtic Maridunon (Carmarthen) -
which was applied to the magician because, according to Geoffrey, he came from
that city. Elsewhere it is averted that the city was founded by, and named
after, the wizard. Robert has him born in Brittany. Geoffrey makes him King of
Powys, and the idea that he was of royal blood is also found in Strozzi's
VENETIA EDIFICATA (1624). As to the historical Merlin, if he existed, modern writers such as Ward
Rutherford and N. Tolstoy think he may have been a latter-day Druid and so
took part in shamanistic practices. Jung and von Franz also see shamanistic
elements in the story of Merlin. This contrasts with the earlier theory of E.
Davies that Merlin was a god (the evening star), and his sister Ganieda a
goddess (the morning star). There is some evidence that Merlin may originally
have been a god, for in the TRIADS, we are told that the earlieast name for
Britain was Merlin's Precinct, as though he were a god with proprietorial
rights. G. Ashe would connect him with the cult of the god Mabon. Because of
his association with stags, there may be a connection with Cernunnos, the
Celtic horned god. Merlin's mother was called Aldan in Welsh tradition. The
Elizabethan play THE BIRTH OF MERLIN - which may have been partially authored
by Shakespeare - calls her Joan Go-to-'t. That he had no father does not seem
to be a feature of Welsh tradition in which he is given the following
pedigree: Coel Godebog - Ceneu - Mor - Morydd - Madog Morfryn - Myrddin
(Merlin). He was also said to be the son of Morgan Frych who, some claimed,
had been a prince of Gwynedd. Both Welsh poetry and Geoffrey have him speaking
with Taliesin, with whom he seemed to be considerably connected in the Welsh
mind. Thus one Welsh tradition asserted he first appeared in Vortigern's time,
then was reincarnated as Taliesin and reincarnated once more as Merlin the
wild man. The idea that there were two Merlins, wizard and wild man, is found
in Giraldus Cambrensis (the Norman-welsh chronicler of the twelfth century),
doubtless because of the impossibly long lifespan assigned to him by Geoffrey.
A modern relic of the Merlin legend was to be found in the pilgrimages made to
Merlin's Spring at Barenton in Brittany, but these were stopped by the Vatican
in 1853. Merlin's ghost is said to haunt Merlin's Cave at Tintagel, and some have
had a real meeting at Dinas Emrys with somebody claiming he were Merlin. #
635: R. J. Stewart in his book, THE WAY OF MERLIN: (p 63 ff)...'a man stepped
out of the tree. There is no other way to describe this - it was not a faint
impression or a spiritual vision, not a meditational intimation, but a man
stepping out of the tree to stand before me. ... His build was very
powerful... his manner was demanding and stern. He looked at me and said,
without any preamble, 'I am Merlin. You will be my pupil.' This was a flat
statement that seemed to declare an inevitable established fact; it was not an
introduction or a suggestion.' This experience was followed by several others,
probably making Stewart our times most knowing Merlin scolar and interpreter,
which brought about his many books including a tarot set build up around
Merlin, See also: CONRAD, and DINABUTIUS. #
156-177-238-242-243-341-353-418-562-571-606-632-635-673-780 MERLIN'S ENCLOSURE Merlin is the tutelar of Britain which is anciently called Clas Merdin or
Merlin's Enclosure. # 454 MERLIN'S HILL CAVE A Carmarthen cave where Merlin is said to be buried. #
156 MERLIN'S OAK A tree, also called Merlin's Oak, (in Priory Street in Carmarthen). It was
believed that, if the tree fell, Carmarthen's destruction would follow. Every
care was taken over the centuries to protect it from falling, however, a few
years ago the Local Authority decided to risk it and remove the tree which had
become a traffic hazard and consisted mainly of concrete and iron bars anyway.
# 49 MERLIN, ENTERTAINMENTS BY To cure Vortigern's fit of melancholy, and, to cheer him up, Merlin
provided various entertainments, such as invisible musicians and flying hounds
chasing flying hares. # 308 MERROWS MURDHUACHA MERMAIDS (muroo-cha) The Irish equivalent of Mermaids. Like them they are beautiful,
though with fishes' tails and little webs between their fingers. They are
dreaded because they appear before storms, but they are gentler than most
mermaids and often fall in love with mortals. The offspring of these marriages
are sometimes said to be covered with scales, just as the descendants of the
Roane, or Seal People, are said to have webs between their fingers. Sometimes
they come ashore in the form of little hornless cattle, but in their proper
shape they wear red feather caps, by means of which they go through the water.
If these are stolen they cannot return to the sea again. If the female merrows
are beautiful, the male are very ugly indeed, with green faces and bodies, a
red, sharp nose and eyes like a pig. They seem, however, to be generally
amiable and jovial characters. A lively story by Crofton Croker gives a
pleasant picture of a merrow, and can be read in FAIRY LEGENDS OF THE SOUTH OF
IRELAND, VOL.II. # 100 - 165 MESS BUACHALLA (mess'boo'a hal a) A name given to the daughter of the second Etain and
Cormac, King of Ulster. Cormac, tiring of Etain, bade her baby daughter be
cast into a pit, but she was rescued and fostered by the cowherds of Eterscel,
King of Tara. When she grew up she was kept closely guarded by the cowherds,
but Eterscel saw her and desired her. It was prophesied that a woman of
unknown race would bear him a son, but Mess Buachalla - the Cowherd's
Fosterchild, as she was known- was warned by an otherworldly man in the shape
of a bird; it was he who was the real father of Conaire Mor, not Eterscel. #
166 - 188 - 454 MESTER STOORWORM The Orcadian Mester Stoorworm is a prime example of the Scandinavian Dragon
in Britain. There are two main types of dragon in these islands: the heraldic
dragon, winged and usually fire-breathing, and the Worm, for which one
generally supposes a Scandinavian origin, which is generally huge, often
wingless and most commonly a sea monster. These worms are not fire-breathing,
but have a poisonous breath. The Mester Stoorworm fulfilled all these qualifications. Trail Dennison,
whose manuscript is reproduced in SCOTTISH FAIRY AND FOLK TALES, gives several
descriptions of the creature. 'Now you must know that this was the largest,
the first, and the father of all the Stoorworms. Therefore was he well named
the Mester Stoorworm. With his venomous breath he could kill every living
creature on which it fell, and could wither up everything that grew.' A little
later, as Assipattle sails out towards the Stoorworm, the description becomes
even more gargantuan: 'The monster lay before him like an exceedingly big and
high mountain, while the eyes of the monster - some say he had but one eye -
glowed and flamed like a ward fire. It was a sight that might well have
terrified the bravest heart. The monster's length stretched half across the
world. His awful tongue was hundreds on hundreds of miles long. And, when in
anger, with his tongue he would sweep whole towns, trees, and hills into the
sea. His terrible tongue was forked. And the prongs of the fork he used as a
pair of tongs, with which to seize his prey. With that fork he would crush the
largest ship like an egg-shell. With that fork he would crack the walls of the
biggest castle like a nut, and suck every living thing out of the castle into
his maw. Later, in his dying agony, he spews out his teeth and they become the
Orkneys, the Faroes and the Shetland Islands. His forked tongue entangles
itself on one horn of the moon and his curled-up body hardens into Iceland.'
The whole thing is an extravaganza, a fairytale, not a legend. # 100 - 192 -
473 METEMPSYCHOSIS Celtic mythology assumes the constant interchanging of souls which can pass
from one body to another. Finn's two dogs were actually his nephews. #
161 MEURIG A king of Glenvissig whose son, Arthrwys is identified with King Arthur. #
72 - 73 - 156 MEURVIN The son of Ogier and Morgan, therefore Arthur's nephew. He was the father
of Oriant and an ancestor of the Swan Knight. # 156 MIACH (mee-ah) A great physician of the Tuatha De Danann. After his father
Diancehct made a silver hand for Nuadu, Miach, whose skill surpassed his, made
a hand of flesh instead. In his jealous rage Diancecht wounded him in three
separate attacks, which Miach healed. On the fourth attack he received a wound
in the brain from which he died. 365 herbs grew from his grave which his
sister Airmed gathered, but Diancecht confused them so that no one knew which
was which. # 166 - 454 MICHAEL'S MOUNT, ST The mount of St Michael, Cornwall (who is the archangel of the sun), with
its fairy-tale castle, may be reached only by boat before low tide, after
which a causeway is revealed, making it possible to walk across to the island
from the mainland. Although given to the National Trust, the castle is the
'embattled home' of the St Aubyn purchased it in 1567. #
702 MICHEL, LE MONT ST Mont St-Michel was originally called 'Mont-Tombe', and like Tombelaine was
doubtless one of the sea-tombs whither, according to Celtic mythology, the
souls of the dead were ferried in an invisible barque. In 708 an apparition of
St Michael the archangel to St Aubert, Bishop of Avranches, commanded the
building of an oratory on the summit of this rock, which gave place to a
Carolingian church in the tenth century, and a Romanesque basilica in the next
centuries. In 966 Richard I of Normandy installed Benedictines here, who
provided several vessels for the Conqueror's fleet a century later. In 1047 a
chapel on St Michael's Mount in Cornwall was placed under their control by
Edward the Confessor. By the twelfth century, under its abbot Robert de
Totigni, it became a celebrated seat of monkish learning. In 1166 Henry II
held court here and received the homage of the turbulent Bretons he had
subdued. In 1203 the French king sent an expedition against the Mont, when
some of its dependencies were burnt, for which depredation Philippe Auguste
later compensated the monks royally, and with the proceeds the 'Merveille' was
built, while Louis IX, who visited the abbey in 1254, contributed to the cost
of its defensive works; indeed it increasingly took on the character of an
ecclesiastical fortress, with a garrison maintained at the joint charge of
both king and abbot. It was the only stronghold which held out when the rest
of Normandy was overrun by Henry V's armies, and withstood two sieges under
Louis d'Estouteville (in 1417 and 1423), and a third English assault was
beaten off in 1434. In 1469 Louis XI added to the prosperity of the monastery
by instituting the royal order of St Michel. Noël Beda, head of the Collège de
Montaigu in Paris from 1499, was banished here by François I for his
officiousness, where he died in 1536. In 1591 it successfully resisted
Montgomery and his Calvinist troops. In 1622 the vitiated confraternity were
replaced by the reformed (but Philistine) congragation of St Maur, who divided
the refectory into the storeys of dormitory cells. From 1790 to 1863 it was a
State prison, and only after 1874, when it passed into the hands of the
Commission des Monuments Historiques, did its restoration commence. # 3 -
559 MIDE (mi'he) Meath. The central portion of Ireland. # 166 MIDER (MEETH-er) MIDIR MIDHIR MIDAR (mi'yâr) King of Sidhe of Femen, and the fairy lover of Etain, the queen.
He lost his wife Etain, who was a human, and went in search of her to the
court of Eochaid Airem, whom she had married. He sought her through many
reincarnations and strove to remind her of their happiness within the sidhe.
He fought to regain her by playing fidchell (chess) with Eochaid and
eventually abducted Etain by seizing her and rising through the smoke-hole of
Eochaid's hall in the form of swans. # 166 - 267 - 454 MIDSUMMER The festival of the summer solstice remained a major pagan holiday, up
through the ages. The solstices and equinoxes were important festivals keyed
to the progress of the growing season. Midsummer was the vital, somewhat scary
time when the sun reached its turning point and began its slow decline toward
another winter. Therefore Midsummer was always a festival of fire, when
bonfires burned all night to encourage the solar deity to return again in due
course. # 701 p 187 MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, A The diminutive fairies of which we have some mentions in the medieval
chronicles were first introduced into literature in the poetry and drama of
Elizabethan times. We find them first in Lyly's ENDIMION, but here they are
incidental. In A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM they are among the principal
characters with a sub-plot of their own, but are important agents in the main
plot as well. There is no doubt that the fairies are small - the elves creep
into acorn cups to hide, find a bee's honey bag a heavy burden and a bat a
formidable adversary. But they still have their powers. All of them can travel
immense distances as swiftly as the moon. The chief ones among them can change
their shape and size. When they quarrel, all nature is affected and the
seasons are out of gear. Like all fairies they have great herbal knowledge;
they have power over human offspring and can bless marriage beds. Like most
fairies they are amorous of mortals. They have their Fairy Rades like the
Heroic Fairies. These are good fairies, the Seelie Court, benevolent to
mortals except for an occasional jest, ready to help those who are in need. In
other plays of Shakespeare there are mentions of fairies, the bestknown,
perhaps, being Mercutio's description in ROMEO AND JULIET of Queen Mab, the
midwife of dreams, an intentionally comic description. There is the invocation
to the fairies in CYMBELINE, where, in pagan Britain, the fairies take the
place of God. When we come to THE TEMPEST we have full treatment of a fairy
again, if we may call Ariel a fairy; he is perhaps rather an elemental - a
sylph; but he can summon fairies to help him in his revels and he sings their
songs. # 100 - 593 MIDWIFE TO THE FAIRIES From the earliest times there have been stories of mortal women summoned to
act as midwives to fairy mothers among the themes of the dependence of fairies
on mortals. One of the latest of these was of a district nurse summoned by a
queer old man who boarded a bus near Greenhow Hill in Yorkshire. He conducted
the nurse to a cave in the side of Greenhow Hill, and the occupants turned out
to be a family of pixies. The interesting point here, since the pixies are not
native to Yorkshire, is that Greenhow Hill was said to have been mined by
Cornishmen. The anecdote had currency in the 1920s and after. The Fairy
Ointment motif does not occur in this version. The earliest version of the
midwife tale is to be found in Gervase of Tilbury's thirteenth-century OTIA
IMPERIALIS. The fullest of all, however, perhaps the only complete fairy
midwife story, is given by John Rhys in CELTIC FOLKLORE, VOL. I, he gives the
Welsh version, written down by William Thomas Solomon. # 100 - 246 -
554 MILED (mee-leh) Ancestor of the Milesians. Grandson of Bregon. He sailed from
Spain to avenge the death of his uncle (sometimes called brother), Ith. The
Tuatha de Danaan caused Ireland to be swathed in a magic mist, so that he
called the place 'Muic Inis' or Pig Island. He willed the land to his sons
Eber and Eremon. # 454 - 469 MILESIANS The sons of Miled and ancestors of the Gaels. They came to Ireland via
Scythia, Egypt and Spain. They held the land after the departure of the Tuatha
de Danaan. See also: THEORIES OF FAIRY ORIGINS. # 454 -
469 MILKY WAY The 'river of stars' created by our edge-on view into the central portion
of our galaxy was seen as a river of sparkling, life-giving Goddess milk by
ancient civilizations, and in Celtic lands as the Track of the White Cow. In
the nursery rhyme, the famous White Cow became the animal who jumped over the
moon, leaving a trail of her star-milk across the sky. # 701 p
343 MIMIR God of the sea, which is sometimes named 'Mimir's weel'. Its draughts gave
him knowledge of all things past and future, and Odin traded one of his own
eyes for a drink of it. Like the Celtic Bran, Mimir's head when cut off,
became oracular and Odin preserved and consulted it long afterwards. Mimir is
clearly a god of primeval power and qualities. In some versions of the Norse
myths, Yggdrasil, the worldtree, is named Minameid, Mimir's tree, after him. #
168 - 454 MINERVA In Celtic understanding, the Goddess took many forms, but she was
especially revealed as a goddess of wisdom, governing the inspired wisdom of
the initiate. Minerva's chief temple in Britain was at Bath where she was
twinned with the native goddess, Sulis. The veneration of the virgin goddess
of wisdom and of war was already wellestablished in Britain: the attributes of
Minerva are given to Brigantia. # 265 - 454 - 627 MIODHCHAOIN (MEE-than) MIRAUDE The wife of Torec. Torec had been sent to obtain his grandmother's circlet
from Miraude and she promised to wed him if he overcame the Knights of the
Round Table. This he did. # 156 MIRROR Celtic women were buried with their personal mirrors, which were supposed
to be their soul-carriers. # 701 p 145 MISER ON THE FAIRY GUMP, THE The Gump near St Just in Cornwall had been famous as the meetingplace of
the Small People. Robert Hunt, in POPULAR ROMANCES OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND,
gives a vivid description of a fairy gathering as tiny, bejewelled and courtly
as any to be found in the poetry of Herrick or Drayton. The old people of St
Just had long told their children and grandchildren of the great spectacle
there, of the music, dancing and feasting. Modest spectators were not
punished, and some had even been given tiny but most precious gifts. # 100 -
331 MISTLETOE Druid's considered the plant's poisonous, pearly white berries to be drops
of the oak god's semen, much as the red holly berries were drops of the
life-giving lunar blood of the Goddess Hel (Holle). Thus the mistletoe
acquired phallic significance. Druids 'castrated' the oak god by cutting the
mistletoe with a golden sickle, and catching it in a white cloth before it
could touch the ground. # 701 p 447 MNA ALLTHACHA A wise woman, who was learned about the various herbs and poultices that
could be made from the seemingly innocent roadside weeds, one familiar with
the ways of the gentry, the fairies. # 582 MOCHAEN (mo-chayn') Hill of Mochaen and Lugh's eric. ...and the three shouts are to
be given on the hill of a fierce warrior, Mochaen, who, with his sons, are
under vows to prevent any man from raising his voice on that hill. See: ERIC.
# 562 MOCHAOMHOG (mo hay-voc) The priest who cared for the enchanted children of Lir,
Fionnuala and her brothers. He fashioned chains of silver for their necks,
heard their story and instructed them in the Christian faith. He refused to
give them up and eventually baptized them before they died, restored to their
human shapes. See also: CHILDREN OF LIR. # 267 - 454 MODDEY DHOO MAUTHE DOOG (moor tha do) The most famous of the Black Dogs of the Isle of Man was the
Moddey Dhoo or Mauthe Doog of Peel Castle, made famous by Walter Scott. In the
seventeenth century when the castle was garrisoned, a great, shaggy black dog
used to come silently into the guardroom and stretch himself there. No one
knew whom he belonged to nor how he came, and he looked so strange that no one
dared to speak to him, and the soldiers always went in pairs to carry the keys
to the governor's room after the castle was locked up. At length one man, the
worse for drink, taunted his companions and mocked the dog. He snatched up the
keys, dared the dog to follow him, and rushed out of the room alone. The dog
got up and padded after him, and presently a terrible scream was heard and the
man staggered back, pale, silent, shuddering. The dog was never seen again,
but after three days of silent horror the man died. That was the last thing
seen of the Mauthe Doog, but the Moddey Dhoo persists to modern times. # 100 -
585 MODRED See: MORDRED. MODRON # 156: 1. This is the Welsh name for the Celtic goddess Matrona, thought to
be the prototype of Morgan. See: AVALON and EVELAKE. # 454: 2. Mother of Mabon. Her name merely means 'mother' and is a mystery
title. No specific legend exists about her, although traces of her mythos are
appeciable in the stories of Rhiannon, Macha, Demeter etc. She is the mother
who loses her child. Her cult is closely tied with that of her lost son,
Mabon. Modron appears as the title of Morgan in a late sixteenth-century
folk-story, where she is also called 'daughter of Afallach'. Her mythic
lineage can be traced through Morrigan and is probably associated with the
once widespread cult of the Mothers. She may be associated with Saint Madrun.
# 104 - 156 - 272 - 439 - 454 MOEL ARTHUR A hill in Clwyd where, according to legend, King Arthur's table was
situated. Certainly, a hill fort on the site may have been in use in the early
Middle Ages and a survey of 1737 mentions Cist Arthur, a burial chamber,
possibly thought to be Arthur's last resting place. #
156 MOG RUITH 'Slave of the Wheel'. A druid or enchanter who lived on Valentia Island off
south-west Munster. With his 'rowing wheel' - prototype aircraft - he is
supposed to have been a disciple of Simon Magus. His daughter Tlachtga was the
only survivor of Simon Magus' ill-fated attempts to fly. His location, so near
to the home of the Cailleach Bheare, suggests that he may have some
connections with her cult. # 454 - 548 MOINE In the PROSE MERLIN, the name given to the elder brother of Ambrosius and
Uther. His real name was Ivoine, from Ivoire, his mother's name, but he was
called Moine (monk) because he had been brought up in a monastery. Elsewhere
he is called Constans. # 156 MOLING, SAINT In Irish tradition St Moling figures as the friend of a celebrated leaper,
the mad Suibne Geilt, who, resorting to the woods, grew feathers and so could
jump from tree to tree and from hill-top to hill-top - an Irish counterpart of
the Welsh Myrddin Wyllt. For a parallel to a tale about St Moling we will turn to the contest
between Vishnu, one of the three supreme gods of Hinduism, and the demon Bali
son of Virocana. This is the version related in the Râmâyana: Bali, who had
overcome Indra, Lord of Gods, enjoyed the empire of the three worlds, and he
was celebrating a sacrifice when Indra and the other gods, distressed with
fear, spoke to the great ascetic Vishnu who was engaged in mortification and
contemplation in 'The Hermitage of the Perfect'. 'Bali, son of Virocana', they
said, 'is performing a sacrifice... Do thou, O Vishnu, for the benefit of the
gods resort to a phantom shape and assuming the form of a dwarf bring about
our highest welfare...' Thus adressed by the gods, Vishnu, adopting a dwarfish
form, approached the son of Virocana and begged three of his own paces. Having
obtained three paces Vishnu took a monstrous form and with three steps the
Thrice-stepper then gained possession of the worlds. With one step he occupied
the whole earth, with the second the eternal atmosphere, with the third the
sky....He made that demon Bali a dweller in the underworld and gave the empire
of the three worlds to Indra...' The predicament of the gods at the beginning
of the Hindu story, which reproduces that of the Tuatha before the Second
Battle of Mag Tuired, has no counterpart in the Moling story. Otherwise, the
parallelism is well-nigh complete. The full collation between the texts from Hindi and Celtic sources is to be
found in Alwyn Rees and Brinley Rees CELTIC HERITAGE. See also: KENTIGERN,
SAINT. # 548 MOMUR The name of the fairy kingdom ruled by Oberon in the French romance HUON DE
BORDEAUX. # 156 MONGAN King of Ireland. He was the son of Caintigerna who was visited by Manannan
after her husband Fiachna had gone to fight in Scotland. Manannan promised to
help her husband win his battle if she lay with him. Mongan was the son of
this union. Manannan made her promise to allow Mongan to accompany him to the
Otherworld, where he would be taught magical skills. Mongan was thus skilled
in magic and poetry as well as kingship and overcame his enemies by the use of
these arts. He was eventually killed in battle and passed into the Otherworld.
Some consider him to have been a reincarnation of Finn mac Cumhal as well as
an avatar of Manannan. In the VOYAGE OF BRAN MAC FERBAL, Mongan's coming is
likened to that of Christ. # 454 - 548 MONGAN, STORIES OF With the stories of Mongan we come upon an unusually puzzling phase of
Irish literature. The characters of Mongan and Manannan mac Lir may have had a
very early origin, but they appear to enjoy their greatest popularity in the
later texts. They seem to belong to an age when people were more interested in
getting the explanations of things than they were in simple narrative for its
own sake. Little is definitely known about the original date of this material,
but it seems certainly to be later than the beginning of the cycle of Finn.
Its preoccupation with the bizarre and complicated is not necessarily an
indication of a late date, but the fact may be significant that the
demonstrably earlier texts seem to have no knowledge of the characters here
involved. Mongan, as well as Mannanan, is regarded by many as a sort of
Adonis-like divinity who has much in common with Angus of the Brug. In neither
case, however, is the evidence for an originally divine character absolutely
conclusive. That Mongan was looked upon as a reincarnation of the famous Finn
mac Cumhal is clear enough from the texts preserved. #
166 MONGAN, THE BIRTH OF A king who was also believed to have had a supernatural father was Mongan.
Fiachna Finn, King of Ulster, was sorely pressed in battle in Lochlann when a
tall warrior, who transpired to be Manannan mac Lir, appeared on the
battlefield and offered victory if Fiachna would allow him to go to Ireland to
sleep with Fiachna's wife. He would go in Fiachna's shape and beget a glorious
child who would be called Mongan son of Fiachna Finn. The king agreed and
secured his victory. In due course a son was born to Fiachna's wife, but when
he was three nights old Manannan came and took him to be reared in the Land of
Promise until he was twelve years of age. According to another version,
Manannan first went to Fiachna's wife and offered to save her husband's life
if she consorted with him. He then went and told Fiachna what had taken place
and gave him the victory. Features similar to those which recur in the
different tales of the birth of the heroes are likewise found in many others.
You will find them throughout this encyclopaedia under the specific name of
the hero concerned. # 468 - 548 MONGFIND The jealous stepmother of Niall. She sent his mother, Cairenn, to serve her
by drawing water from a well. Her four sons by Eochu the King of Ireland were
passed over when Niall succeeded in winning all the tests to establish which
of the boys had the right to the succession. # 188 - 454 MONSTERS Giants and Dragons generally absorb the greater part of the monsters of
British fairy-lore. Heraldic monsters, properly speaking, are those that
display a mixture of parts of the body belonging to other creatures, as, for
example, a griffin, which has the head and wings and forefeet of an eagle, the
body, hindquarters and tail of a lion and ears which appear to be its own
invention. Griffins are occasionally mentioned in some of the fairy-stories.
In 'Young Conall of Howth', for instance, which is included in
ó'Súilleabhain's FOLKTALES IN IRELAND, a volume of the FOLKTALES OF THE WORLD
series, there is a causal mention of an old man having been carried to Ireland
by a griffin, but these heraldic monsters are given little importance. Less
formal creatures occupy the imagination of both the Celts and the Saxons,
Hagges of extraordinary hideousness, with their eyes misplaced and hair
growing inside their mouths, the Direach, with one leg, one hand and one eye,
the skinless Nuckelavee, the shapeless Brollachan and Boneless and
watermonsters like the Afanc and the Boobrie; these are felt to be more
satisfactory than the mathematical conceptions of the heralds. # 100 -
513 MOR Ancestress of the royal houses of Munster. A sun goddess whose throne is
pointed out in the western seas of Ireland. # 454 - 548 MORANN It is said that the Druid Morann prophesied over the infant, Setanta: 'His
praise will be in the mouths of all men; charioteers and warriors, kings and
sages will recount his deeds; he will win the love of many. This child will
avenge all your wrongs; he will give combat at your fords, he will decide all
your quarrels'. # 562 MORC A Fomorian king. # 562 MORDA A blind man, set by Ceridwen to keep fire under the magic cauldron. See
also: MORFRAN. # 562 MORDRAIN The name adopted by Evelake when he was baptized. #
156 MORDRED The incest motif where Mordred was the fruit of the union between Arthur
and his half-sister Morgause, appeared first in Malory's MORTE DARTHUR. In the
ANNALES CAMBRIAE we are told that Arthur and Medrawt (Mordred) perished at
Camlann, but we are not told they were on different sides. Geoffrey informs us
that Mordred was Arthur's nephew, the son of Arthur's sister Anna and her
husband, Lot of Lothian. The DREAM OF RHONABWY makes him Arthur's foster-son
as well as his nephew. Geoffrey asserts that, when Arthur was away on his Roman campaign, Mordred
seized Guinevere and the throne, thus paving the way for their final battle.
As to Malory's version, if Mordred indeed was the incestuous union, it made
him both son and nephew of Arthur - anciently a powerful position according to
the kingmaking rules of Celtic times which favoured the King's nephew, rather
than his son as heir-apparent. (Hence the strong relationships which Arthur
has with other nephews, including more particularly, Gawain, whose family had
greatest claim to the throne.) As an adult, Mordred became one of Arthur's
knights and was for a time a companion of Lancelot. He took the part of the
Orkney family against the family of Pellinore, slaying Pellinore's son,
Lamorak. When Arthur went to fight Lancelot, Mordred was left as regent in his
absence. He proclaimed that Arthur was dead and then laid siege to Guinevere,
so Arthur's return became necessary. In most versions of the Arthurian story,
Mordred is depicted as a villain. His father sought to kill him when he
realized that he had slept with Morgause; he ordered all children born at that
time to be put into a boat and left to drown. Mordred escaped and was brought
up with his half-brothers Gawain, Gaheris, Gareth and Agravaine. In Wace,
Mordred is not Arthur's son, but Guinevere (whom he seized and made his queen)
was his sister. In the ALLITERATIVE MORTE ARTHURE, he and Guinevere had a
child. In Welsh tradition Mordred married Cywyllog, daughter of Caw, and they
had two sons. In the earliest Welsh sources he seems to have been regarded as
a hero rather than a villain. But in most versions, he was finally slain by
his father whom he mortally wounded at the Battle of Camlann. See: MARDOC, and
TWENTY-FOUR KNIGHTS. # 55 - 156 - 243 - 418 - 483 - 562 -
697 MORFESSA Great-Knowledge, is the meaning of his name. He was the master of wisdom
who dwelt in Falias, one of the four cities from which the Tuatha de Danaan
came to Ireland. He gave ste stone of Fal into their care; this was the sacred
inauguration stone which shrieked out under a rightful
king.#166-454 MORFRAN MORVRAN He was one of the Twenty-four Knights of Arthur's Court. The son of
Ceridwen and Tegid Foel. His name means 'great cow'. He was also called
'Afagddu' or 'Utter Darkness'. He was so ugly that his mother sought to
compensate this by the acquisition of great wisdom. It was for him that she
prepared her cauldron of inspiration, but it was Gwion (Taliesin) who drank
it. Morfran was so ugly that, according to CULHWCH AND OLWEN, he was not slain
at the Battle of Camlann because his enemy thought him to be a devil. See:
AFGADDU. # 104 - 156 - 272 - 439 - 454 MORFUDD In Welsh tradition, the twin sister of Owain. Her lover was Cynon, son of
Clydno, one of Arthur's warriors. # 156 MORGAN MORGANA MORGAN LE FAY In the VITA MERLINI by Geoffrey, Merlin tells Taliesin that, after Camlann,
they took Arthur to the Isle of Apples, presided over by Morgan Le Fay (the
Fairy), Arthur's half-sister, the chief of nine sisters, including Moronoe,
Mazoe, Gliten, Glitonea, Cliton, Tyronoe and Thitis. Nothing here indicate
that she was Arthur's sister. It does say, however, that she could fly with
wings and change her shape. According to Malory, she was the daughter of
Gorlois of Cornwall and Igerna, half-sister to Arthur, mother of Owain by
Urien of Gore. She was 'put to school in a nunnery, where she learned great
sorcery'. She became Arthur's most implacable enemy, attempting by means of
magic to destroy him and the Round Table Fellowship. She was responsible for
stealing the sword Excalibur and when this was recovered, succeeded in loosing
forever the scabbard which protected its wearer from all wounds. The VULGATE MERLIN and the HUTH-MERLIN both make her Arthur's niece, the
daughter of Lot. She became a lady-in-waiting to Guinevere and fell in love
with Arthur's nephew, Guiomar, but Guinevere parted them. She learned much of
her magic from Merlin. She tried unsuccessfully to have Arthur killed by her
lover, Accolon of Gaul. She fell in love with Lancelot and captured him, but
he escaped. In Malory, she was one of the queens who bore Arthur off on a
barge after his final battle. Behind Morgan stands the figure of the ancient
Celtic battle-goddess the Morrigan. Vestiges of this earlier identity remain
embedded in the character as we now have it, such as her appearance with two
other shadowy queens on the ship to Avalon. She is almost certainly in origin
the goddess Modron (earlier Matrona). Indeed Giraldus Cambrensis refers to
Morgan as a dea phantastica (imaginary goddess). Although localized in
time in Arthur's reign, romancers sometimes seemed aware that she had existed
in early times, for example, in the ROMAN DE TROIE (c. 1160) she is alive at
the time of the Trojan War, while the romance PERCEFOREST has her alive in
early Britain. The author of SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT also seems to
realize her originally divine status, calling her 'Morgan the goddess' (line
2452). Her name may have changed from Modron to Morgan in Brittany where there
was a belief in a class of water-fairies called Morgans or Mari-Morgans. They
also believed in one particular Morgan identified as Dahut or Ahes who caused
the destruction of the city of Ys. It is now difficult, if not impossible, to argue that Morgan was derived
from the Irish goddess, the Morrigan. In more recent times her name has become
synonymous with witchcraft, although there are again signs that she is
becoming restored as a more ancient and powerful figure more in accordance
with her origins. She may also be identified with a mirage sometimes seen in
the Straits of Messina, which is called, in Italian Fata Morgana, in French,
le Chateau de Morgan Le Fée. Italian romance gives Morgan a daughter, Pulzella
Gaia, the lover of Gawain. The poet Torquato Tasso (1544-95) endows her with
three daughters, Morganetta, Nivetta and Carvilia. Other authors took up her
name in their Arthurian romances like in Rauf de Buon's PETIT BRUT, Morgan the
Black was a son of Arthur. - Morgan Frych was said to be the father of Merlin.
- Arthur's physician was called Morgan Tud. - She was the illegitimate
daughter of the Duke of Tintagel, distinct from Morgan Le Fay, who married
Nentres. See also: TERRESTRIAL PARADISE, and THIRTEEN TREASURES. There is a mysterious story about the Morgan who was supposed to haunt the
Lake Glasfryn Uchaf in the parish of Llangybi. It is one of quite a number of
lakes which were said to have burst forth from a covered well when the cover
had been removed and the well exposed. Rhys, in CELTIC FOLKLORE, carefully
explores all the various forms in which he received the legend. The one that
he finds of special interest is that of the Morgan, which is said to come from
the lake and carry away naughty or over-adventurous children. He believes that
the Morgan was originally a Mermaid of the same breed as the Breton Morgens
and connected with Morgan Le Fay. 'Morgan' in Welsh, however, was always a
man's name, and Rhys suggests that the water spirit became male in this
tradition because of the Welsh usage. #
21-88-100-156-202-221-238-242-243-346-397-418-438-439-454-516-632
MORGANNWG A minor kingdom in Wales. Caradoc was believed to have been the ancestor of
the royal family. # 98 - 156 MORGAUSE A daughter of Gorlois of Cornwall and Igraine (Igerna). She was Arthur's
half-sister who married Lot of Orkney. The mother of Gawain, Gaheris, Gareth,
Agravain and Mordred. She had a dark reputation, much like that of her sister,
Morgan Le Fay. According to ENFACES GAUVAIN, Lot was her page with whom she
had an intrique, as a result of which Gawain was born. In Malory she is Lot's
queen who, as the result of an amatory encounter with Arthur who were ignorant
of their relationship) gave birth to Mordred. She eventually perished at the
hands of her son Gaheris, who caught her in bed with Lamorak, son of the
Orkney clan's greatest enemy, King Pellinore who had slain Lot. Morgause does
not seem to have been the original name of this character. In Geoffrey, the
wife of Lot is called Anna, sister of Arthur. In DE ORTU WALUUANII the part
taken by Morgause in the ENFACES GAUVAIN is assigned to Anna; and the name
Morgause itself seems to be in origin a territorial designation rather than a
personal name, for in DIU CRôNE Gawain's mother is called Orcades or
Morchades, which seems to be taken from the Orkneys (in Latin: Orcades), the
name of one of Lot's kingdoms, and Morchades seems to be a variant form of
Morgause. # 156-418-450 MORHOLT The giant Irish champion who came every year to claim a tribute from King
Mark of Cornwall. He was slain by Tristan, Mark's nephew, who received a
poisoned wound from Morholt's sword. He was evidently of royal blood, being
the uncle of Isolt. See also: MARHAUS. # 156 - 418 - 658 MORNA Father of Goll. See: GOLL MAC MORNA. # 562 MORONOE A sister of Morgan Le Fay. # 242 MORRIGAN # 562: (MOR-rig-ahn) Extraordinary goddess, embodying all that is perverse
and horrible among supernatural powers. - # 454: The Great Queen. She was the
archetypal form of the Goddess in Ireland, particularly associated with war
(when she appeared in triple guise as Macha, Nemainn and Badb). She also
combined with her bloodthirsty war-mongering, a lust for men - just like the
Sumerian Inanna whom she much resembles. She fought on the side of the Tuatha
de Danaan against the Firbolgs in the first Battle of Mag Tuired, after the
second battle she foretold the end of the world, when moral virtues were
ignored and where the land was laid waste. She offered her love to CuChulain
and after he rejected her, fought him in the shape of an eel and a wolf-bitch.
Her normal appearance was in the shape of a battle-crow. She mated with the
Dagda while straddling a river. Her name is really a title and is sometimes
used as a collective noun for her three aspects - the Morrigan. There are
obvious overlays with both Modron and Morgan. # 628: Phantom Queen of Death, Sexuality and Conflict. The Morrigan known
in Irish legend and mythology as a red-haired goddess of battle and
pro-creation, often appearing in triple form. She combined the treshold
energies of life and death, sexuality and conflict in one terrifying goddess.
Part of the doom of CuChulain was that he did not recognize her when in her
presence. # 100: Morrigan (moreeghan), or Morrigu. One of the forms taken by
the ancient Irish war goddess Badb. In the CuChulain epic, TAIN BO CUAILNGE,
in which the great war between the Fomorians and the Tuatha De Danann is
celebrated, the three war goddesses in the form of crows are Neman, Macha and
Morrigu, of whom Morrigu is the greatest. As Evans Wentz analyses the legend,
they are the tripartite form of 'Badb'. Neman confounds the armies of the
enemy, so that allies wage mistaken war against each other, Macha revels in
indiscriminate slaughter, but it was Morrigu who infused supernatural strength
and courage into CuChulain, so that he won the war for the Tuatha De Danann,
the forces of goodness and light, and conquered the dark Fomorians, just as
the Olympic gods conquered the Titans. # 166: She was perhaps the ancestor of
the Ban Sidhe. # 100-166-282-367-389-454-469-562-563-628 p 74
ff MORRIS SQUARE The Morris square, also known as the Mill, is the board used for the modern
game of Morris, a simple procedure for placing counters on the lines,
reminiscent of tic-tac-toe. As a sacred figure in ancient Celtic paganism, it
was called the Triple Enclosure, delineating the center of the world with the
four quarters, four cardinal directions, four elements, four winds, four
rivers of paradise, and so on emanating from the holy Mill or Cauldron at the
center. # 701 MORUADH See: MERROWS. MOTHERS, THE MAMAU MATRES Directly related to the great Neolithic goddesses of Europe, the triple
mothers appeared all over the Celtic world, even becoming attached to certain
Roman deities such as Mercury. The Romano-British Matres show the native
influence combined with an intrinsic understanding of the classical Parcae
(Fates). They are usually depicted as three seated, heavily draped women of
mature years, bearing the fruits of the earth - cornucopias, fruit,
barley-loaves, cakes, beer etc. Some also nurse babies (Dea Nutrix). Their
frequent depiction in reliefs denotes their universal function as guardians of
the hearth, the land and of plenty. They are never given individual names but
are adressed as the Mother of a particular locale - just as the Blessed Virgin
Mary is entitled Our Lady of a particular place. While they undoubtedly
flourished before Roman occupation, after it we find inscriptions adressing
'the Mothers of my Homeland' - of Gaul, Italy and Germany - showing their
widespread understanding as the native goddesses or genia locus of every land.
They were called the 'Mamau' in Welsh tradition. # 264 - 265 - 454 -
563 MOUNDS # 548: The centre of the mysterious adventures of Pwyll and Pryderi is the
throne-mound (GORSEDD) which was outside the court of Arberth. Who-ever sat on
it would see a wonder or suffer wounds or blows. It was from this mound that
Pwyll, the Head of Annwfn, first saw Rhiannon on her magic horse. There sat
Pryderi when enchantment fell upon Dyfed, and it was there that Manawydan was
on the point of executing a super-natural, thieving 'mouse' when the land was
disenchanted and his lost companions restored to him. The association of a ritual mound with Annwfn appears in Ellis Wynne's
GWELEDIGAETHEU Y BARDD CWSC (1703), which tells of three visions- of the
World, of Death and of Hell. The poet falls asleep and sees crowd of people
whom he takes to be Gypsies or witches until, noticing their beauty and
recognizing among them the faces of deceased acquaintances, he realizes they
are fairies (tylwyth teg). They are dancing on the 'play mound'
(twmpath chwareu), but they now take hold of the poet and they carry
him over land and sea until he espies below him the most beautiful castle he
has every seen. Meanwhile they try to get the poet to satirize his own king,
when he is rescued from their clutches by an angel who informs him that they
were the Children of Annwfn. A 'play mound' used to be found near or inside
graveyards in Wales. The mound was banked up, with turf seats for the
spectators arranged around an open floor where the games were played. It
appears to be a simple version of the Cornish plen an gwary ('the place
of the play'), the examples of which have been described as 'the only
surviving medieval theatres in Britain'. The Irish word oenach
(assembly) is glossed by theatrum, and the Welsh word gorsedd which
means 'assembly' and 'court' as well as 'throne-mound', occurs as the
equivalent of théátre. That 'mound', theatre, and place of general
assembly should be closely related, or indeed identified with one another, is
not peculiar to Celtic tradition. In Irish tales, mounds outside courts are
scenes of games and visionary encounters which do not belong to the round of
mundane existence, and the holding of assemblies on hills and mounds is a
commonplace of Irish history. It may be assumed that every local community had
such a traditional assembly place, but it is to Munster that assemblies are
attributed in 'The Settling of the Manor of Tara', and the gorsedd
celebrated in Welsh story is in Dyfed. Moreover, CuRoi, herdsman and King of
Munster, has been compared with the giant herdsman in Arthurian stories who
sits on a mound and directs the hero to the strange palace where his mettle is
proved. In the story of 'The Lady of the Fountain', this director is a big,
black, ugly forester, onefooted and one-eyed, and wild animals 'numerous as
the stars in the firmament' assemble and disperse at his command. In both
Celtic and Norse tales, the person who sits on a mound is usually a king or a
herdsman or both at once, while many a Fenian wonder-tale begins with Finn
seated on his hunting-mound when his company follow the chase. Like the throne-mound outside the court, the sun-chamber (grianán)
outside the banqueting-hall has features which suggest comparison with the
'outer fifth' province. In some contexts, the grianán is the women's part of
the court. Again, it is from his grianán that Bricriu, the master of
ceremonies who always stands aside from the conflicts he initiates, watches
the proceedings in the hall from which, though he built it, he is excluded.
Bricriu and CuRoi seem to have their Norse counterparts in Loki and
Utgarda-Loki, respectively. Utgarda-Loki is the colossal lord of an outer
world, and his conduct towards Thorr, the champion god, is in some ways
similar to that of CuRoi towards CuChulain. Loki, a ruthless deceiver and
creator of conflict, is of the gods and yet not of them. They vainly try to
exclude him from their feast, and later he seeks refuge from them in a
mountain where he builds himself an observatory from which he can see in every
direction. It is no accident that Bricriu and Goll, in the Ulster cycle, are
both sons of Carbad (i.e. they have the same patronymic); that in the Fenian
Cycle, Conan Mael, the reviler and trouble-maker, and Goll, the slayer of
Finn, are both sons of Morna, and that Kai, the churlish senechal in the
Arthurian Cycle, is concerned with the service of the king's table. # 49: All over Britain one can come across man-made earthen mounds. It has
been estimated that there are at least 40.000 of them; and it is likely that
at one time there were far more. Thousands must have been destroyed by farming
and road-building activities. The mounds vary considerably in size and many
were constructed as places to bury the dead. But some have been excavated with
no sign of such a purpose being discovered and so the original function of
these prehistoric remains is still regarded as a mystery. It is neccessary to
distinguish between the mounds known as tumuli and those referred to as
barrows. The tumuli are impressive heaps of earthen often situated on high
ridges and on the sites of Iron Age hill forts where they were probably used
for defensive purposes. There are round barrows and long barrows which
generally have been found to contain so-called burial chambers. In the round
barrows the bodies were often buried in a crouched position and when cremation
was involved the remains of the dead were placed in an urn. Some of the long
barrows are between 200 and 300 feet in length and often more than 50 feet
wide and about 8 feet high. They were possibly even higher when first built.
Sometimes they are found to be just mounds of earth but they often contain
stone-lined chambers. They usually have an east-west orientation and the
chamber is situated in the east end, which is generally higher than the west
end. They were mainly used for multi-burials. In the earthen variety the group
of bodies all had to be interred at the same time but barrows containing stone
chambers were used for separate burials carried out over a period of time.
Bedd in Welsh means 'grave' and such graves are generally barrows. Such
an example is Bedd Taliesin on the slopes of Moel y Garn, near Talybont in
Dyfed (See: TALIESIN). This is a barrow with a stone lining reputed to have
been the grave of the sixth-century bard Taliesin. In the Preseli Hills is a
Neolithic long barrow with a stone gallery known as Bedd-yr-Afanc or 'Grave of
the Monster'. There are many fascinating legends associated with tumuli, carns
and barrows. Many were believed to have been constructed by giants or to have
giants or monsters buried inside them. Some of these so-called 'Giants'
Graves' have been excavated and surprisingly found to contain skeletons of men
of considerable height, sometimes as much as 8 feet tall. Wales must have been
famous for its burial mounds during the Arthurian period (sixth century) for
Taliesin referred to the country as Cymru Garneddog (Carn Wales). These
monumental heaps over the remains of the dead would sometimes vary according
to the nature of the terrain. In stony districts a carn of stones was heaped,
but where stones were scarce a circular mound of earth was constructed and
covered with turf. In ancient times it was customary when passing a stone carn
covering the remains of a warrior of a great man to throw a stone on top in
respect of his memory. Perhaps even more intriguing than the mounds are the
massive hill fort constructions that can be seen throughout the British Isles
and Ireland. They are generally very fine situations and the climb up to their
summits can be rewarded with an extensive view. They appear to have been used
mainly as places where the local population could take temporary refuge in
times of danger, but some, such as the wellpreserved fort of Tre'r Ceiri on
the Lleyn Peninsula, were inhabited for quite long periods. It has been
suggested by some modern writers that these so-called hill forts with their
massive rings of ditches were not originally built for purposes of defence but
had some other mysterious function. They were certainly used as fortresses
during the Iron Age and Roman periods and the people of those times probably
adapted them to suit their purpose. # 49 - 212 - 283 - 347 -
548 MOUNTAIN Often the Goddess as creator of the world began her activities with
mountain-making. A Welsh title of the Crone or Caillech was 'Hag of the
Dribble,' because she let stones dribble from her apron to form the Earth's
mountain ranges. However, the 'dribble' may have been originally her milk or
her uterine blood, both of which were once considered the creative fluid whose
curdling or clotting made all land masses. # 701 p 346 MOYRATH Battle of Moyrath ended resistance of Celtic chiefs to Christianity. #
562 MOYS According to Robert, a follower of Joseph of Arimathea, who wished to sit
on the Siege Perilous but was swallowed up by the earth. # 156 -
557 MOYSLAUGHT 'The Plain of Adoration'. Idol of Crom Cruach erected there. #
562 MOYTURA, PLAIN OF 1. Scene of First Battle (Co. Sligo) between Danaan and the Firbolgs. 2.
Scene of Second Battle (Co. Mayo) between Danaans and Fomorians. #
562 MôR CYLCH Stone-carving depicting the life-maze. # 384 p 101 MUGAN (moog'an) Wife of Conchobar; daughter of Eochaid Fedlech. #
166 MUGMEDON, THE ADVENTURES OF THE SONS OF
EOCHAID Here, as in 'The Death of Niall,' the hero is Niall of the Nine Hostages,
who, according to the annals, was high-king of Ireland from AD 379 to 405.
Niall, the eponymous ancestor of the O'Neills, is reputed to have been one of
the most powerful kings of ancient Ireland. The tale is not an especially good
example of the Irish story-teller's art, but it is full of interest for the
student of ancient Irish beliefs. It is still more noteworthy as an early
example of a theme dear to the Irish people, the personification of Ireland in
the form of a beautiful woman. The plot itself is of a type widely circulated
in medieval Europe and perhaps best known to the general reader in the form
given to it by the Wife of Bath in Chaucer's CANTERBURY TALES. The story in
ANCIENT IRISH TALES is not older than the eleventh century. #
166 MUILEARTEACH The watery form of the Cailleach Bheur. She could appear as a hag or as a
sea-serpent. On land, she would often appear to beg shelter at a mortal's
fire, whereupon she would grow in size and ferocity. She had a blue-black face
with one eye and raised winds and storms at sea. # 454 MUIR N-ICHT (mwir aiht) The Sea of Wight; the English Channel. #
166 MUIRCERTACH MAC ERCA, THE DEATH OF Muircertach mac Erca, according to the Irish annals, was high-king of
Ireland during the first half of the sixth century. The story to be found in
Cross' and Slover's ANCIENT IRISH TALES is rich in details that throw light on
the early social history of Ireland. In Muircertach's prophetic dream, the
fear of having one's name uttered, the accounts of the standards of Tyrconnel
and Tyrone, the blood-covenant, the magic powers of the enchantress Sin, the
practice of beheading foes and placing their heads on stakes, the washing of
corpses in a river, and women going to battle. Like 'The Adventures of Art Son
of Conn', the story tells of the machinations of a supernatural woman who
fascinates a mortal and involves him in difficulties. It also illustrates the
introduction of ecclesiastical elements into pagan heroic tales, and a special
point is made of the conflict between pagan and Christian ideals. The writer
shows considerable skill in building up the climax which leads to the death of
the unfortunate king. Though relatively late, the story is certainly older
than the twelfth century. # 166 MUIRCHEARTACH Fifth-century King of Tara who may have been the prototype for the various
characters called Marhalt and Marhaus in Arthurian stories. #
156 MUIRTHEMNE See: MAG MUIRTHEMNE. MULLAGHMAST, THE LEGEND OF Earl Fitzgerald (Gearoidh Iarla) is the Irish hero of the widespread legend
of the Sleeping Warriors. He was the son of the fairy Aine and Gerald, Earl of
Desmond. Through the breach of a gease (taboo) he had disappeared into an
underground resting-place, but there are different versions of the story.
This, which is the best-known, is given by Patrick Kennedy in his LEGENDARY
FICTIONS OF THE IRISH CELTS. Earl Fitzgerald was a champion of the Irish
against the Normans, and as well as a great warrior he was a great master of
magic. His lady had often heard of his power of shape-shifting, but she had
never seen any evidence of it and she kept begging him to show her what he
could do. He often put her off, and at last he warned her that if she cried
out or gave any sign of fear while he was under enchantment he would disappear
out of this world and would have no power to return to it till many
generations of men had passed away. But she said proudly that she was the wife
of a great warrior and knew better than to show fear. So he turned himself in
a twinkling into a beautiful goldfinch and flew up on to her hand. They played
merrily together, and he flitted out of the window for a moment, but sped in
again to take refuge in her breast with a great hawk behind him. His lady
screamed out and beat at the hawk and it swerved and dashed against the wall
and fell dead. But when the lady looked down for her goldfinch he was nowhere
to be seen, and she never saw Earl Fitzgerald again. He and his warriors are
sleeping in a long cave under the Rath of Mullaghmast, as Arthur sleeps under
Cadbury. Once in seven years they ride round the rath on white horses shod
with silver. Their shoes were once half an inch thick and when they are worn
as thin as a cat's ears, Earl Fitzgerald will return again and reign as king
over Ireland. Once in seven years the door of the cave is open, and one night,
over a hundred years ago, a drunken horse dealer went in. He was terrified at
the sight of the slumbering host, and when one of them raised his hand and
said, 'Is it time yet?' he answered hastily, 'Not yet, but it will be soon, '
and fled from the cave. Arthur and Fitzgerald both had fairy blood in them;
but the same may not be true of Charlemagne or Frederick Barbarossa, two other
famous sleeping warriors. # 100 - 364 MUNREMAR MAC GERRCIND (mwin'rëv ar moc gâr'cin) 'Fat-Neck son of Short Head.' An Ulster warrior.
# 166 MUNSTER Ailill Olum, King of Munster. - Province in Ireland. Origin of the name:
The ending -ster- in three of the names of the Irish provinces is of Norse
origin, and is a relic of the Viking conquest in Ireland. Connacht, where the
Vikings did not penetrate, alone preserves its Irish name unmodified. Ulster
(in Irish Ulaidh) is supposed to derive its name from Ollav Fôla, Munster
(Mumhan) from King Eocho Mumho, tenth in the succession from Eremon, and
Connact was 'the land of the children of Conn' - he who was called Conn of the
Hundred Battles, and who died AD 157. # 562 MURDHUACHA (muroo-cha) See: MERROWS. MUREIF See: URIEN. MURIAS, THE CITY OF One of the four cities from which the Tuatha de Danaan came to Ireland. Its
master of wisdom was Semias, who entrusted the cauldron of knowledge to the
Dagda. See: DANA, and HALLOWS. # 166 - 454 - 562 MURINE Sister-in-law of Lugh. Mother of Fionn (Finn). She bore Fionn after his
father's death and was unable to protect him, so she left him in fosterage
with Bodhmall and Laith Luachra: a female druid and a woman warrior. # 267 -
454 MURNA OF THE WHITE NECK Wife of Cumhal, mother of Finn; takes refuge in forests of Slieve Bloom,
and gives birth to Demna (Finn); marries King of Kerry. #
562 MURTAGH MAC ERC King of Ireland, brother of Fergus the Great; lends famous stone of Scone
to Scotland. (The Stone of Scone was abducted from Westminster Abbey in 1950,
but later returned). # 562 MURTHEMNEY Cian killed on the Plain of Murthemney. CuChulain of Murthemney seen in a
vision by prophetess Fedelma; host of Ulster assemble on this Plain. #
562 MURYANS Muryan is the Cornish word for 'ant'. The Cornish belief about the fairies
was that they were the souls of ancient heathen people, too good for Hell and
too bad for Heaven, who had gradually declined from their natural size, and
were dwindling down until they became the size of ants, after which they
vanished from this state and no one knew what became of them. For this reason,
the Cornish people thought it was unlucky to kill ants. In the Fairy Dwelling
on Selena Moor the reason given for the dwindling size of the Small People of
Cornwall was that they had the power of changing into birds or other forms,
but after every such change, when they resumed their former shape, they were
rather smaller, and therefore as time went on they dwindled. #
100 MYLOR He was a boy prince when his uncle killed his father. In order to block
Mylor's becoming king, his uncle maimed him by cutting off his right hand and
left foot, which were replaced by a silver and bronze appendage, respectively.
These started to function as natural limbs and Mylor was subsequently executed
in the monastery where he had taken shelter. This myth is parallel to that of
Nuadu's silver hand, and shows the persistence of the Celtic abhorrence for a
WOUNDED KING. Mylor's relics are kept at Amesbury Abbey and he is remembered
on 1 October. # 454 MYNYDD FYRDDIN A mountain at Longtown (Herefordshire) where Merlin is said to be buried. #
156 MYRDDIN (MER-thin) See: MERLIN. A deity in Arthur's mythological cycle, corresponds
with the Sun-god Nudd. Suggestion of Professor Rhys that chief deity
worshipped at Stonehenge was Myrddin. Seizes the THIRTEEN TREASURES OF
BRITAIN. # 562 MYTH, MEANING OF All myths constructed by a primitive people are symbols, and if we can
discover what it is that they symbolise we have a valuable clue to the
spiritual character, and sometimes even to the history, of the people from
whom they sprang. Now the meaning of the Danaan myth as it appears in the
bardic literature, though it has undergone much distortion before it reached
us, is perfectly clear. The Danaans represent the Celtic reverence for
science, poetry and artistic skill, blended of course, with the earlier
conception of the divinity of the powers of Light. In their combat with the
Firbolgs the victory of the intellect over dulness and ignorance is plainly
portrayed the comparison of the heavy, blunt weapon of the Firbolgs with the
light and penetrating spears of the people of Dana is an indication which it
is impossible to mistake. # 562 MYTHOLOGY, COMPARISON BETWEEN GAELIC AND CYMRIC
We can clearly discern certain mythological figures common to all Celtica.
We meet, for instance, Nudd or Lludd, evidently a solar deity. A temple dating
from Roman times, and dedicated to him under the name of Nodens, has been
discovered at Lydney, by the Severn. On a bronze plaque found near the spot is
he encircled by a halo and accompanied by flying spirits and by Tritons. We
are reminded of the Danaan deities and their close connection with the sea;
and when we find that in Welsh legend an epithet is attached to Nudd, meaning
of 'the Silver Hand' (though no extant Welsh legend tells the meaning of the
epithet), we have no difficulty in identifying this Nudd with Nuadu of the
Silver Hand, who led the Danaans in the battle of Moytura. Under his name
Lludd he is said to have had a temple on the site of St. Paul's in London, the
entrance to which was called in the British tongue parth Lludd, which
the Saxons translated Ludes Geat, our present Ludgate. #
562 MYTHS Before everything else, myths are stories. The word muthos means an
account: words organised to give specific information or to make a particular
effect. More narrowly, myths are attempts to explain - or at least bring
nearer to our comprehension - matters such as the beginning of the universe
(see TALIESIN), the nature and demands of supernatural powers, the hierarchy
of creation, the causes of things, and the origins of certain social customs
and popular beliefs. In a pre-scientific age, myths were an intellectual
binding-force, a net of ideas and attitudes which guaranteed social identity.
Whether each set of myths reflected its society, or the society reflected in
the myths, is a moot point, but certainly myths had a defining and enabling
power which scientific rationalism has still not begun to
equal.
Moling:
Vishnu: