West Cloister © Linda Witherill Pic: Glastonbury Abbey Symposium

From 2009 to 2012, the current Glastonbury Abbey Excavation Archive Project is studying and analysing the records of archaeological excavations on the site since 1904 and will provide new information about the Abbey. The project is an exciting collaboration between the Abbey and the Archaeology Department at the University of Reading, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The research is being undertaken by Professor Roberta Gilchrist and Dr Cheryl Allum (Reading University) working closely with Janet Bell (Curator, Glastonbury Abbey) and John Allan (Consultant Archaeologist to Glastonbury Abbey).

Excavations at Glastonbury Abbey began soon after the site was purchased for the Church of England in 1907, although a series of trenches had been dug by St John Hope three years earlier.

Since then, the 34 seasons of excavations up to 1979 exposed most of the plan of the medieval church and evidence of earlier phases of the monastery.

The results of the project will be published by the Society of Antiquaries with a generous donation from Linda Witherill, who took part in Radford’s excavations at the Abbey. The database will be archived with the Archaeology Data Service as an interactive online resource.

Read the full article and find out the background to the project on the Glastonbury Abbey Symposium website.

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You can also now download a Celtic Myth Podshow App from the iTunes store. This is the most convenient and reliable way to access the Celtic Myth Podshow on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode, and our App users have access to exclusive bonus content, just touch and play! To find out more visit the iTunes Store or our Description Page.
You can now also find an Android version of the App which works identically to the iPhone version. You can find it on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Wizzard-Media-Celtic-Myth-Podshow/dp/B004W8QR58 or by using the QR code opposite.
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St. Brigit Pic: Kildare Town Heritage Centre

Thanks to the wonderfully informative Kildare Town website, and in particular the section devoted to the Heritage Centre, we have some superb information about Saint Brigit for La Feile Bride or Saint Brigit’s Day on February 1st. The information they provide is also available in more detail in a book that you can get from their shop (although currently out of stock). They say: It is generally accepted that Brigid / Brigit established her abbey and church in Kildare around 480 AD, on the site now occupied by St. Brigid’s Cathedral. Some scholars suggest that her foundation may have evolved from a sanctuary of Druidic priestesses who converted to Christianity. Brigid the saint, inherits much of the folklore associated with the goddess Brigid, a dimension which contributes to her popularity.

It may be an exercise in futility to try separating the historical Christian Brigid/ Brigit from the goddess since, clearly, the two are so interwoven. St Brigid/ Brigit stands at the meeting of the two worlds. Neither the boundaries of Christianity nor the older beliefs can contain her exclusively. [link]

It seems that Brigid / Brigit held a unique position in the early Irish church and society of her day. As Abbess, she presided over the local church of Kildare and was leader of a double monastery for men and women. Tradition suggests that she invited Conleth, a hermit from Old Connell near Newbridge, to assist her in Kildare. Her abbey was acclaimed as a centre of education, culture, worship and hospitality in Ireland, and far beyond, up until the suppression of the abbeys in the sixteenth century.

Nothing remains today of the original Brigidine church and abbey which were probably constructed of timber or of mud and wattle. They were pulled down, rebuilt and enlarged many times as numbers grew in the double monastery for men and women. Cogitosus describes a remarkable building in Kildare in the 7th century.

Saint Brigid’s Early Life

There are many stories and legends relating to Brigid’s/ Brigit’s birth and early years. Brigid/ Brigit, we are told, was born around 453 AD. Although one story suggests Faughart, Co. Louth, as her place of birth, there is a strong local tradition in Kildare that Brigid/ Brigit was born in Umeras, about five miles northwest of Kildare Town. Her father, Dubthach, was a local chieftain whose descendants may now be called Duff or Duffy. Her mother, Broicsech , was a bondmaid in Dubthach’s household and tradition holds that she was a Christian.

Ancient Beliefs

To understand Brigid/ Brigit, the Christian saint, one needs to look briefly at the ancient beliefs that prevailed in Ireland prior to the coming of Christianity.

Male and Female deities, one of which was Brigid/ Brigit, were revered and worshipped in ancient Ireland. A great cult surrounded her. She is associated in Irish Folklore and literature with the gifts of poetry, healing and smithcraft, and is also identified with nurture, fertility and fire. With the coming of Christianity to Ireland, the power of the pre-Christian deities began to wane. Christianity slowly took root, assimilating features of the older beliefs and practices, including, for example, the use of sacred wells, the Celtic celebration of Imbolc and the use of fire. It was at this time of transition that the historical.

It is well worth exploring the Kildare Heritage website, there is a lot more information to discover and photos to see.

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You can also now download a Celtic Myth Podshow App from the iTunes store. This is the most convenient and reliable way to access the Celtic Myth Podshow on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode, and our App users have access to exclusive bonus content, just touch and play! To find out more visit the iTunes Store or our Description Page.
You can now also find an Android version of the App which works identically to the iPhone version. You can find it on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Wizzard-Media-Celtic-Myth-Podshow/dp/B004W8QR58 or by using the QR code opposite.
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Pic: Sacred Texts

During the dark ages the arts of bookmaking, illustration and manuscript illumination were preserved in remote Irish abbeys. A number of unique, exquisite books remain from this period, masterpieces of world art. This includes the ninth century Book of Kells, a manuscript of the Gospel richly illustrated with Celtic motifs and deep symbolism. This book by Edward Sullivan (1920) includes an extended introduction to the Book of Kells, along with its historic and linguistic background. We have included high resolution scans of the illustrations, which include many famous pages from this amazing manuscript. This wonderful Book is now available for us all to read and marvel at on the Sacred Texts website.

So says the introduction to this amazing 1920′s version of the Book of Kells along with the glorious colour plates that tell so much about the development of early Celtic Christianity.

The town of Kells, in County Meath in Ireland, lies some twenty miles west of Drogheda and the Irish Channel. It was known in days as early as St. Patrick’s in the Latinised form of Cenondæ, bearing at a somewhat later date the name of Cenannus and Kenlis. Kennansa was its old Irish appellation. Within its narrow precincts to-day there are still standing three very ancient and well-known Irish stone crosses with characteristic carvings on them; an old church, the rebuilt remains of which date from the year 1578; a round tower—one of the many to be found still in Ireland; and a building which has long been described as the House of St. Columb.

ITS weird and commanding beauty; its subdued and goldless colouring; the baffling intricacy of its fearless designs; the clean, unwavering sweep of rounded spiral; the creeping undulations of serpentine forms, that writhe in artistic profusion throughout the mazes of its decorations; the strong and legible minuscule of its text; the quaintness of its striking portraiture; the unwearied reverence and patient labour that brought it into being; all of which combined go to mate up the Book of Kells have raised this ancient Irish volume to a position of abiding preeminence amongst the illuminated manuscripts of the world. Many attempts have been made to reproduce its unique illuminations; and, so far as form and outline are concerned, the reproductions have been as far as possible successful. But all such efforts have up till now failed to give a living representation of its marvellous pages—for without its colour harmonies no reproduction can be regarded as adequate from the point of view of art. The last important attempt at reproduction in colour was made about forty years ago; but the scientific knowledge of the time was unequal to the strain sought to be put upon it. In the years which have since elapsed the science of light, photography, and colour-reproduction has made rapid advances towards an accuracy which was unknown when the earlier attempts were published; and it is only by the aid of such advancement that the production of the present volume has become possible.

In this respect the work now published differs from all its predecessors; for, though still distant from absolute perfection, the reproductions here given will be found to be infinitely closer to the originals in the important matter of actual colour than any of the so-called facsimiles which up to the present have been included in any published work. For this reason the present volume should not be regarded as in any sense a rival of the uncoloured reproductions which have already appeared of the Book of Kells. Its office is rather to supplement in colour what has already been accomplished by ordinary photography and monochrome; to add a new value to previous efforts with the assistance of the most recent methods and processes of polychromatic photography and colour-printing. Looked at from this standpoint one may fairly claim for the work here produced that it fills with some measure of satisfaction a gap in the pictorial history of Celtic illumination, and affords as it were a nearer view of one of the most interesting and beautiful manuscripts which have yet come from the hands of man.

Any student of Celtic Art and early Christianity amongst the Celtic peoples just has to read this wonderful book on the Sacred Texts website.

Originally posted 2010-02-17 07:27:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Brigit, the Bright One Pic: Hanging Gardens

We’re proud to bring another post by Guest Blogger, Ishtar from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon blog and Ishtar’s Gate  about the ancient Celtic Goddess Brigit, Brighid or Bride. As Imbolc/Imbolg, the 2nd of February – which is the Fire Festival associated with her – is rapidly approaching, this is an especially relevant post! Thank you, Ishtar Ever wonder where the word ‘Britain’ comes from? It originated with Brigit of the Fae, whose name the Romans, for reasons best known to themselves, combined with that of another indigenous spirit, Ana, to create Britannia. They changed her sun disc into a shield and her wand into a sword, and thus almost managed to emasculate the true spirit of these isles.

I say ‘almost’ because they didn’t succeed. The spirit of Brigit is beginning to burn bright again as more and more people search to uncover their spiritual roots. In fact, Brigit is the key to one of the most ancient initiations into the Underworld going back many thousands of years … but more about that later.

I only mention it now in order to signal that although I will be explaining the origins of Brigit, and going into some of the ancient customs associated with her, this is not going to be one of those dry, dusty, fusty essays about folklore that don’t lead anywhere. I leave all that to the folk historians. I’m not the least bit interested in folk songs or Morris dancing or corn dollies or May poles unless I can trace the magical, transformative seed underneath — the catalytic spark that creates change through magical or shamanic initiation. There is a very good reason for all that Morris dancing and singing of ballads, but that’s the bit most folk historians leave out.

However, I won’t let you down… so let’s get moving…

First of all, who was Brigit? And where does she come from?

Etymology of her name

The name Brigit means Fiery Arrow or Bright One, which is another name for Lucifer (for more about this, see Lucifer, the Fae and Initiation into the Underworld and also Why Lucifer Must Have Been a Woman). Her oldest name is Briganti, which could be derived from the ancient Indo European Bhrghnti (or in Sanskrit Brihati), which means ‘exalted one.’

The Celts shared many sacred ritual practises with the ancient Vedic Indians. They migrated from across and through the Himalayan region after the last Ice Age, eventually arriving in Europe. The Brigantes were among them. Before becoming the largest Celtic tribe in the British Isles, the Brigantes had settled in Austria near Lake Constance in a place known as Bregenz.They had fire priests known as bhrisingrs after the bhrigus or fire priests of the Anu tribes.

Bridestones Pic: Hanging Gardens

Brittany in northern France was also named for Brigit, and she was also the inspiration for Brechin in Scotland, the river Brent in England, the river Braint in Wales, and Bridewell ~ both in London and in Ireland. The city of Bristol takes its name from Brigit. And Brenin, the Welsh word for King, meant consort of Brigantia.

(There’s probably loads more Brigit-inspired locations, and so if you know of one, please do add it in the comments.)

Brigit in mythology

In Celtic mythology, Brigit appears as one of the offspring of the Dagda and the Morrigen, (about whom you can read more in The Underworld Initiation of King Arthur by Morgan the Fae.) She was part of the Tuatha da Danaan, which is another name for the Sidhe, the Fae, the Little People or the Gentry.

Brigit was known as the patron spirit of healers, smiths and bards, and she rules the elements of fire and water. Brigid’s Feast Day is on Imbolc in February, which the Christians call Candlemass. On Imbolc, milk products are offered to her as the young Bride. Butter, cheese and milk are put out for her. People say that Bride herself is abroad on Imbolc Eve. So they leave out pieces of cloth for her to bless as she passes, and which are used later in healings.

One of her symbols is the serpent entwined around a white wand, predating Asclepius. Other important animals associated with Brigit are the white swan, the white wolf and the white cow.

Post Christian Brigit

Brigit, the Bright One Pic: Hanging Gardens

The Romans Christians, as was their wont, found a way to amalgamate Brigit into the Christian religion by adding her to their pantheon of saints. Her centre was at Kildare in Ireland.“Cill Dare” means “Church of the Oak”, thus betraying its Druid past, and it was in an area known as Civitas Brigitae, “The City of Brigid”.Brigit is found in the carving below within a wall of what remains of the St Michael church on top of Glastonbury Tor, milking a cow.

In this way, even within the Christian pantheon, she retains her association with her primary totem animal.

Brigit milking a cow
pic: Hanging Gardens

Because Celtic Christianity retained many of the indigenous spiritual practises, Brigit’s fire was kept alight day and night at the Kildare convent, by dedicated vestal priestesses, for centuries — until they were finally put out by Henry VIII’s shock troops of the Reformation.

The Way of Brigit

I’ve been getting to know the kind and gentle spirit of Brigit in recent times, and have been honoured to receive her initiation. She has taught me to follow her in an ancient route through the Underworld which, although well-trodden, is not so well used today, since the advent of the Western Mystery Tradition with its pathworking up the Kabbalah or Qabalah.

This way in which Brigit guided me is a much more ancient route. It bypasses the Abyss of the Kabbalah, with all its perils and pitfalls, by travelling underneath it. The Way of Brigit is part of a magical working known as The Mask of the Bright One, and it has also been called The Harrowing*.

Now that Brigit has taken me through this initiation, I’m ready and able to help any of those who feel that it’s the right time for them to receive it.

The Way of Brigit is for those who wish to quicken their progress in terms of self-transformation but also with regard to their relationship with the Land. It is about healing our place in the Land, and about how we stand in relation to all the other creatures on the planet. It is about breathing at One with All That Is, and taking back the reins of our own power as the glorious Beings which we truly are. It will also afford you the protection and guidance of Brigit and the Fae.

So if you feel ready for this next step on your path, do let me know.

* I’m grateful to R.J. Stewart for providing some of the material for this journey.

Further Reading: You can find reviews and books to buy on the Fae in the Faerie Tradition section of the Ishtar’s Gate Library.

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You can also now download a Celtic Myth Podshow App from the iTunes store. This is the most convenient and reliable way to access the Celtic Myth Podshow on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode, and our App users have access to exclusive bonus content, just touch and play! To find out more visit the iTunes Store or our Description Page.
You can now also find an Android version of the App which works identically to the iPhone version. You can find it on Appbrain at http://www.appbrain.com/app/celtic-myth-show/tv.wizzard.android.celticmythpodshow841 or by using the QR code opposite.
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Portrait of Alexander Carmichael courtesy of the Carmichael family and copyright of the University of Edinburgh Pic: Uni. of Edinburgh

One of the most famous sources of Scottish lore and mythology is the Carmina Gadelica (“Songs of the Gaels” I think) which can be read online at Sacred Texts. The wonderful version online at Sacred Texts has the Gaelic and English versions side by side. We have already used sections from this massive two-volume tome in our shows and plan to use much more as we focus on the Scottish myths in the future.It is fantastic news to find out that the Carmina is estimated to be only a tenth of the lore and knowledge that Alexander Carmichael collected, and many of Carmichael’s lost note-books have been prepared for online publication by researchers at the University of Edinburgh. In June 2011, the BBC reported that:

The notebooks of the Scottish folklore pioneer Alexander Carmichael have been prepared for publication. It will be the first time Carmichael’s work has been available in its entirety. From 1860, he spent 50 years collecting legends, songs, curses and oral history from Gaelic-speakers.

Researchers and archivists have worked for two years preparing the notes for publication by the University of Edinburgh. Carmichael’s work has led to him being likened to the brothers Grimm in Germany.

His volume Carmina Gadelica, published in 1900, is estimated to have included only a tenth of his original research material. Senior researcher Dr Donald William Stewart said:

Alexander Carmichael tirelessly, even obsessively, recorded the culture, lore and beliefs of his native Scottish highlands.

Folklore Jukebox

By the end of his life in 1912, he was both Celtic guru and folklore jukebox, the internationally-recognised authority on Scottish Gaelic songs, stories, traditions and beliefs.

Carmichael’s voluminous papers, now preserved in Edinburgh University library, form one of the foremost folklore collections in the world.

Carmichael carried out his research while working as a tax collector on Lewis, Argyll, Uist and the west highlands. Researchers said the transcription of his notes was hindered by his “notoriously bad handwriting”. The work has been published online at the Carmichael Watson project website.

The Carmichael Watson Project

The Carmichael Watson collection in Edinburgh University Library, centred on the papers of the pioneering folklorist Alexander Carmichael (1832-1912), is the foremost collection of its kind in the country, a treasure-chest of stories, songs, customs, and beliefs from the Gaelic-speaking areas of Scotland. It offers us fundamental insights into the creation of Carmichael’s greatest work Carmina Gadelica, an anthology of Hebridean charms, hymns, and songs, and a key text in the ‘Celtic Twilight’ movement.

The value of the collection goes far beyond literary studies. It offers exciting potential for interdisciplinary cooperation between local and scholarly communities, for collaborative research in history, theology, literary criticism, philology, place-names, archaeology, botany and environmental studies.

Through cataloguing, indexing, transcribing, translating, digitisation, and conservation, this project aims to open up and make accessible this important collection to the academic and broader community.

What wonderful news! There is so much research information available in the Project’s data on their website that you could lose hours just browsing through it and learning of Carmichael’s life and the places and people that he visited. Some of the notebooks have wonderful summaries of subject, place, theme and family (along with a map) as well as an image or transcript of the text. Some images I had trouble loading and some had no transcript (I assume this was because of the difficulty in reading Carmichael’s hand-writing!) and some as yet have not been scanned! Ongoing work then

 An Example Leaf from a Carmichael Notebook

Onan cu cuinich a laimh.In going to S. (Saint) Cyril’s the four  men carrying the bier are each sup (supported) by other four men to steady them. They run rather than walk up – while the rest of the people follow as well as they  can. The cra-leaba is smashed  up against a tree immedly (immediately) the  corpse is taken off. Con. (Consequently)  a new bier is req. (required) for each  funeral of the episcop. (episcopal church). For  wood is plent (plentiful) in the place.Seangan mound close to  Leacan drom abt (about) 3 ft (feet) high x 3 ft (feet) long oval top.  (‘Cha bu toil liom do fo d  chomarsaich’ Bu choma  liom’)

Image of notebook ref. GB237 Coll-97/CW120/103, copyright of University of Edinburgh Pic: Carmichael-Watson Project

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You can also now download a Celtic Myth Podshow App from the iTunes store. This is the most convenient and reliable way to access the Celtic Myth Podshow on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode, and our App users have access to exclusive bonus content, just touch and play! To find out more visit the iTunes Store or our Description Page.
You can now also find an Android version of the App which works identically to the iPhone version. You can find it on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Wizzard-Media-Celtic-Myth-Podshow/dp/B004W8QR58 or by using the QR code opposite.
If you come to the site and listen or listen from one of our players – have you considered subscribing? It’s easy and you automatically get the episodes on your computer when they come out. If you’re unsure about the whole RSS/Subscribing thing take a look at our Help page.

Pic: raiadiff

The Clearwater Times comments on the resurgence of interest in Celtic Christianity. It says: Many evangelicals and pentecostals have left their denominations to join more ancient and liturgical denominations because they found that the time tested liturgies of those denominations better addressed their inner needs. For many that is a quantum leap.

Continue Reading »

Originally posted 2008-12-04 11:34:28. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The Bible’s translator, from London, taught himself Cornish at the age of 15 Pic: BBC

The BBC News Reports :Cornish speakers can now read the complete Bible – An Beybel Sans – in their chosen language. The New Testament was translated into Cornish by Professor Nicholas Williams and published in 2002. It has taken him about six years to translate all the books of the Old Testament, using a variety of versions, including Hebrew and Greek texts.

An Beybel Sans is written in standard Cornish and its 10 maps also have place names in Cornish.

When the translation was completed, it was reviewed by a number of Cornish speakers to help improve its “readability”

The professor also researched other Cornish texts, such as miracle plays and homilies, to find passages where native Cornish renderings could be used in the translation.

The 69-year-old professor from London, who is considered to be one of the leading experts on Celtic languages, taught himself Cornish at the age of 15 because it seemed “a bit odd and a bit bizarre”.

The Bible will be introduced to the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies in November.

In 2004, a Cornish version of just the New Testament was released.

Ray Chubb, who published the new Bible and has been involved in the Cornish language for more than 30 years, said it was important to keep it alive.

“I think one of the reasons we lost our language was because there was no bible in Cornish,”

he said.

“Of course we’ve had a very successful revival of the language and I think the whole bible in Cornish is the culmination of that revival.”

Source

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You can also now download a Celtic Myth Podshow App from the iTunes store. This is the most convenient and reliable way to access the Celtic Myth Podshow on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode, and our App users have access to exclusive bonus content, just touch and play! To find out more visit the iTunes Store or our Description Page.
You can now also find an Android version of the App which works identically to the iPhone version. You can find it on Appbrain at http://www.appbrain.com/app/celtic-myth-show/tv.wizzard.android.celticmythpodshow841 or by using the QR code opposite.
If you come to the site and listen or listen from one of our players – have you considered subscribing? It’s easy and you automatically get the episodes on your computer when they come out. If you’re unsure about the whole RSS/Subscribing thing take a look at our Help page.

Early Irish Man Pic: Irish Tribes

Thanks to the Irish Tribes website, specialists in Irish Genealogy, for this article exploring the story of the ‘Cath Almaine’  or ‘The Battle of Allen’ and what it shows us about early Ireland. the story of this battle is fascinating and reveals much about the early Christian celtic traditions. They begin with:- The Story   “Cath Almaine” or ”The Battle of Allen” is a story written in Middle Irish which was composed some time after 950 A.D. based on a battle which was fought in 722 A.D.  In that year, the High-King Fergal mac Máele Dúin demanded the bóramha or ”cattle-tribute” from the Laighin.  The Laighin and their king Murchad mac Brain refused.

The High-King called on Conn’s Half (i.e., on the Uí Néill, the Airghialla, and the Connachta) to come together to invade Leinster.  But, according to the story, the warriors of the North were reluctant.  They said that they should wait to see what Donn Bó would do, the young man who was best in Ireland for the composition of lays, the telling of stories, the harnessing of horses, the riveting of spears, and the plaiting of hair.  But Donn Bó didn’t get permission from his mother to go on this hosting until she got a promise from Máel mac Failbe, coarb of St. Colm Cille, that Donn Bó would return to her safe and sound.

The host of Conn’s Half entered Leinster.  The host insulted Áedán, a leper in Cluain Dubhail.  Áedán said that God would avenge him upon the Uí Néill forever.  Donn Bó became terribly discouraged.  He refused to sing or recite for Fergal that night, but he promised that he would sing a song for him the next night no matter where they might be.

St. Brighid Appears

The hosts came together on December 11, 722 at the Hill of Almhaine, Co. Kildare.  St. Brighid showed herself over the hosts for the sake of the Laighin and St. Colm Cille showed himself above the hosts for the sake of the Uí Néill.  Brighid won the day.  The battle was broken on the Uí Néill.  Fergal mac Máele Dúin was killed along with thousands of others on the Uí Néill side.  Many of them were beheaded, including Donn Bó.  That night while the Laighin were celebrating, the Laighin warrior Báethgalach went out to the field of slaughter.  There in the dark, he heard the head of Donn Bó singing sweetly for Fergal in fulfillment of his promise.  At last, through a miracle of Colm Cille, the head of Donn Bó was placed back on his neck and he came home safe and sound to his mother.

A Window on Early Christian Ireland

For a good part of the ancient beliefs, norms, relationships, and rituals found in the story called “Cath Almaine”, we can find corroboration in various fields such as archeology, DNA research, and European history. Let’s look at some of these cultural characteristics, particularly those which are corroborated by new research.

A.  Donn Bó and his Hair

…is uad bud ferr rann espa ocus ríg-scéla for doman. Is é bud ferr do glés ech ocus do innsma shleg ocus d’fhige fholt. (1)

…is é ba fhearr ar an domhain do laoithe a chumadh agus rí-scéalta a insint.  Is é ba fhearr do chapaill a ghléasadh, sleánna a inseamú, agus folt a thrilseánú.

… he was the best in the world in composing lays and telling royal stories.  He was the best at harnessing horses, rivetting spears, and plaiting hair.

We can see from these lines that the Gaeil had significant interest in the appearance of their hair in the early Christian period. We now have definite evidence that such interest came down from the centuries before Christ.

Specifically, a human sacrifice was found in 2003 in a bog in Clonycavan, Co. Meath. According to radiocarbon dating done on this “Clonycavan Man”, he was alive at some time between 392 BC and 201 B.C. During his lifetime, he gave much attention to his hair and he used a kind of hair-gel made from plant oil and resin imported from SE Europe.

We know that the human head was important in the religion and ritual of the Celts as the seat of the soul.  It is easy to understand, therefore, that hair and its appearance were also important.

There were others in Europe in the Iron Age who were interested in hair-plaiting and hair-styles. In 1948, “Osterby Man” was found in a bog near Osterby, Germany. He was a warrior of the Suebi, a warrior of the Germanic tribe mentioned by Tacitus and renowned for the ‘Swabian Knot’ in their hair. “Osterby Man” was alive about the first century after Christ.

B.  Connachta, Uí Néill, Airghialla, and DNA

Ba trom trá la Fergal sin .i. Laigin do nemchomall a n-gellta fris, co rofhuacrad sluaiged dírecra dímór uad for Leith Chuinn .i. for Eogan ocus for Conall ocus for Airgiallaib ocus Mide … do thobach na bórama.  (2)

Ba throm le Fergal é sin, .i. nár chomhlíon Laighin a ngeall leis, agus d’fhógair sé slógadh ollmhór ar Leath Chuinn, .i. ar Chinéal Eoghain agus ar Chinéal Chonaill agus ar Airghialla agus Mhíde …  chun an Bhóramha a thobhach.

That was onerous to Fergal, i.e., that the Laighin did not fulfill their promise to him, and he called on Conn’s Half for a great hosting, i.e., on the Cinéal eoghain and Cinéal Chonaill and the Airghialla and Míde… to levy the Bóramha.

In this sentence, we can see reference to the “official genealogy” of the Dál Chuinn created by the seanchaidhthe of the Uí Néill which claims that the Connachta, Uí Néill In Tuaiscirt (with Cinéal Chonaill and Cinéal Eoghain among them), Clann Choirpre mhic Néill (which is not mentioned in this sentence), Mide (.i. Uí Néill in Deiscirt), and Airghialla, descend from Conn Chéadchathach.

In 2006, geneticists at Trinity College, Dublin, suggested that most of the Uí Néill descend from someone who lived some 1700 years ago and that person was the “most fecund” man in the history of Ireland.  Many immediately assumed that this was Niall Naoighiallach.

Between 2006 and 2009, it was confirmed that most of the Uí Néill and Connachta descend from one common ancestor.  In those studies, the geneticists had plenty of DNA samples from the Uí Bhriúin and the Uí Fhiachrach, but it was difficult to find DNA samples from the Uí Ailella and the Uí Fergusa.  In Fergus’ case, only the Síl Fergusa Cháecháin descend from him.

In the genealogies, as we know, Eochu Mugmedón was the common ancestor of the Connachta and Uí Néill. But it is also possible that this common DNA comes down from an ancestor of Eochu, unknown or legendary (e.g. Muiredach Tírech, Fiachu Sraiptine, Cairbre Lifechair, 7rl.).

The Uí Ruairc are an important exception. We expect from Seanchas that they would descend from the Uí Bhriúin, but they have a distinct DNA ‘haplogroup’; i.e., they do not descend from the Uí Bhriúin.  Also, despite the official genealogies of the Uí Néill (and as predicted by T.F. O’Rahilly and other scholars), there is no blood relationship between the Airghialla and the Connachta.  And as Byrne shows with the following verse (written in a text of Féineachas in the 8th Century), there was no consanguinity either between Dal Chuinn (i.e., the Féini) and the Ulaidh, or between the Dal Chuinn and the Laighin:

Batar trí prímcheinéla i nHére, .i. Féini 7 Ulaith 7 Gáilni .i. Laigin.   (3)

Bhí trí phríomhchinéal in Éirinn, .i. Féini agus Ulaidh agus Gáilni, .i. Laighin.

There were three primary kinships in Ireland, i.e., the Féini and Ulaidh and Gáilióin, i.e., the Laighin.

C.  The Human Head as a Trophy

Is ann-sin roráid Murchad mac Brain: “Do-bérainn carpat ceithre cumala ocus mo ech ocus m’errad don láech noragad isin n-ármach ocus do-bérad comartha chucainn as.”   “Ragat-sa,” ar Báethgalach …  (4)

Is ansin go ndúirt Murchad mac Brain:  “Do bhéarfainn carbad ceithre cumhal agus m’each agus mo chathéide don laoch a rachadh in áit an áir agus do bhéarfadh comhramh chugainn as.”  “Rachaidh mé,” ar Báethgalach…

Then Murchad mac Brain said:  “I would give a chariot worth four cumhal and my steed and my battle dress to the warrior who would go into the place of slaughter and who would bear a trophy to us out of it.”  “I will go,” said Báethgalach…

Perhaps it is not an exaggeration to say that we can find head-hunting or head-taking in virtually every early Irish story except in those of naomhsheanchas. (Even in the area of the Faith, we can see images of heads on churches as at Díseart Uí Dheághaidh.) There is corroboration for our head-taking among the Celts outside Ireland in accounts written by Poseidonius, Strabo, Livy, Ammianus, Diodorus Siculus, and others. Celts took the heads of famous commanders such as the Roman general Postumius and the Greek king Ptolemy Keraunos.

But in the story “Cath Almaine”, when the warrior Báethgalach said he would go out to bring back a trophy from the field of slaughter, Murchad mac Brain said nothing about a human head.  Based on newly-discovered remains in a Celtic sanctuary at Ribemont-sur-Ancre, France, we can imagine that the word “comartha” was non-specific, just as is the word ‘comhramh’ in Modern Irish and the word ‘trophy’ in English. In this  sanctuary, built around 260 B.C. in honor of a Celtic god and in memory of a battle in which tribes of the Belgii won a victory over Armorican tribes, the enclosure is crowded with row on row of hundreds of warriors, decapitated but still in their battle-armor.

D.  Pious Lepers

I did an electronic search in the annals for “clamh”, “lobhar”, “leper” and their variations. There is no reference to any leper in the Annals of Tigenach or the Annals of Loch Cé, but I found the following references in other annals.

1.  Annála Ríoghachta na hÉireann:

551.2   S. Neasan Lobhar d’écc.
551.2  Fuair Naomh Neasan an lobhar bás.
551.2  St. Neasan the leper died.

722. For this year, a summary of the story “Cath Almaine” was written in which we find reference to “the cow of the leper”, but Áedan the leper is not named.

2.  Annála Uladh:

A.D. 921.8  Indredh Aird Macha … o Gallaibh Atha Cliath, .i. o Gothbrith oa Imhair, cum suo exercitu, …  & na taigi aernaighi do anacal lais cona lucht de cheilibh De & di lobraibh…

A.D. 921.8  Invasion of Ard Macha … by the Foreigners of Áth Cliath, .i. by Gothfrith grandson of Ímar, with his army, … and the houses of prayer were spared by him with their culdees and of lepers…

A.D. 952.3  Cele clam & ancorita ..
A.D. 952.3  Fuair Céile, lobhar agus ancairít, bás…
A.D. 952.3  Céile, leper and anchorite, died…

3.  Annála Inse Fáil:

A.D. 556.1  Nistán leprosus obíit.
A.D. 556.1  Fuair Nistán (.i. “San Neasan”) bás.
A.D. 556.1  Nistán (St. Nessan) died.

4.  Annála Chonnacht:

A.D. 1232.9  Fachtna h. hAllgaith comarba Dromma Mucado & oificel h. Fiachrach, fer tigi aiged & lubra & leginn & lesaigti tiri & talman, in hoc anno quieuit.

A.D. 1232.9  Fachtna Ó hAllgaith, coarb of Drumacoo and Official of the Uí Fiachrach, who kept a guest-house and a leper-house and was (a man) of learning and a benefactor of the countryside, rested this year.

5.  Chronicon Scotorum:

A.D. 557   Nessan leprosus quieuit.
A.D. 557  Nessan (.i. San Neasan) rested.

As we see above, there is a close link between lepers and Christianity in the Annals.

E. Brigid and Colm Cille making war on each other

The monasteries (and saints) made war on each other often enough in the early Christian period. For example, in the Annals of Ulster:

A.D. 760.8  Bellum hitir muintir Clono 7 Biroir i mMoin Choisse Blae.  (5)

A.D. 760.8 Cath idir manistir Chluain Mhic Nóis agus manistir Bhiorra i Móin Choise Blae

A.D. 760.8 a battle between the monastery of Clonmacnoise and the monastery of Birr in Móin Choise Blae

A.D. 764.6  Bellum Arggamain inter familiam Cluana Mocu Nois 7 Dearmaighe ubi ceciderunt Diarmait Dub m. Domnaill 7 Dighlach m. Duib Liss 7 .cc. uiri de familia Dermaige.  Bresal m. Murchada uictor exstetit com familia Cluana.  (6)

A.D. 764.6  Cath Argamain idir familia Chluain Mhic Nóis agus (mainistir Choilm Cille ag) Darú inar thit Diarmait Dub mac Domnaill agus Dighlach mac Duib Liss agus 200 fear saor de familia Dharú.  Tháinig Bresal mac Murchada agus familia Chluain Mhic Nóis as an gcath mar bhuaiteoirí.

A.D. 764.6  The Battle of Argamain between the family of Clonmacnoise and (the monastery of Colm Cille) at Durrow in which fell Diarmait Dub mac Domhnail and Dighlach mac Duib Liss and 200 free men of the family of Durrow.  Bresal mac Murchada and the family of Clonmacnoise came out of the battle as victors.

And it was said that Colm Cille made war for the sake of Cinéal Chonaill through the ages each time the Uí Dhomhnaill brought his Cathach into battle with them.

Summary

“Cath Almaine” is a wonderfully rich story, filled with the world-view (. i. ‘weltanschauung’) of the Gaeil.  With improvement in areas like archaeology and DNA research almost every day, I expect we will learn more about this story and its ancient beliefs, practices, relationships, and rituals in the coming years.

_____________

1   Cath Almaine, edited by Pádraig Ó Riain,   Baile Átha Cliath: Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath, 1978.
Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition (CELT), paragraph 3 on http://celt.ucc.ie/published/G302022/index.html .  I am
grateful to Professor Tomás Ó Cathasaigh for his translation “The Battle of Allen”, Coursepack,   Celtic E-  114,
Early Irish Historical Tales, Spring Term, 2011
2   Cath Almaine, edited by Pádraig Ó Riain, CELT edition, paragraph 2
3   Byrne, p. 106
4   Cath Almaine, edited by Pádraig Ó Riain, CELT edition, paragraph 15
5   Annals of Ulster, edited by Seán Mac Airt and Gearóid Mac Niocaill, Part 1.  Baile Átha Cliath:
Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath, 1983.  p. 214
6   Ibid., p. 216

With thanks to Gerald Kelly for his research. We are a little confused as to the freedom to use this piece as it is listed here as a “Free Article” and here as written permission needed. We have chosen the route most obvious to spread the word of Mr. Kelly’s research, but if he should wish that this article be withdrawn we will most happily do so and apologise for any misunderstanding or inconvenience caused.

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The letter was written by King Philip of France, in 1300 Pic: BBC  Scotland

A pair of letters directly connected to Scottish revolutionary Sir William Wallace are to be displayed side-by-side for the first time in Edinburgh. A 700-year-old letter from King Philip of France will be seen alongside the famous Lubeck letter, next summer.

Wallace led the Scots to a key victory over English forces at Stirling Bridge in 1297, as part of a struggle for independence.

He was hung, drawn and quartered for high treason in 1305.

The dates and venue for the exhibition are still to be confirmed.

The letters are the only two documents directly associated with Wallace.

A year after his arrival in France to ask for support against King Edward of England, Philip wrote to his agents in Rome in 1300 about Wallace.

The document, often seen as grant of safe passage for Wallace, was actually a request from the King of France for Pope Boniface VIII to give his support to the Scot.

The letter, currently held by the National Archives in London, suggests Wallace intended to visit the papal court, but it is not known whether he reached Rome.

William Wallace was executed in 1305, for high treason

“This exhibition is of tremendous importance – seeing the only two surviving documents directly connected to William Wallace side-by-side will be a unique experience.

“It is likely to give us a new perspective on Wallace’s vital role in Scottish history.

“The letter from the French king has been the subject of much speculation since it was discovered in the Tower of London in the 1830s. I am delighted that it is to be brought to Scotland next year and look forward to seeing it on public display with the Lubeck letter.”

The National Records of Scotland will borrow the letter from 2012-14, while talks on keeping it in Scotland are ongoing.

The Lubeck letter was sent by Wallace in the wake of his victory at Stirling Bridge, to inform European trading partners that Scottish ports were once again open for business.

Both letters are fragile and can only go on display under controlled lighting for a very limited period every few years.

Source

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Irish burial rituals – skeletons reveal fear of the undead Pic: Chris Read Deviant Burials

Two skeletons discovered with large stones wedged into their mouths, were buried in this way around 1300  years ago to stop them rising from their graves to haunt the living , a new documentary featuring the work of archaeologists at IT Sligo will suggest.Such “deviant burials” are associated with vampires and also with revenants or ghosts who were believed to  come back among the living,  unless  steps were taken to contain them in their graves.

The skeletons, both male, were found side by side in a historic site overlooking Lough Key Co Roscommon, and according to Chris Read, lecturer of Applied Archaeology at IT Sligo, this  is the only such  discovery of this kind in Ireland .

Similar discoveries have been made in Britain and other European countries. In 2006 the remains of a medieval “vampire” were discovered among the corpses of 16th century plague victims in Venice. The female skull had  a rock thrust  into the mouth ,  evidence that female “vampires” were often blamed for spreading the plague  through Europe, according to experts.

Read, along with his colleague Dr Thomas Finan from St Louis University in the US,  excavated 137 skeletons from a site at Kilteasheen, Knockvicar Co Roscommon  during a series of digs from 2005 to 2009,  in a project funded by the Royal Irish Academy. The archaeologists believe that there were close to 3,000 skeletons on the site spanning the centuries from 700 to 1400.

The two skeletons with stones in their mouths   were not buried at the same time but both were males – one elderly and the other a young adult.  Both are believed to have been buried in the 8th century. This puts them outside the time frame for vampires – a phenomenon which emerged in European folklore around the 1500’s.

Read explained  that this remarkable discovery,  which is to be featured next Tuesday (September 13th)  in a British  Channel 5 documentary,  could reflect the ancient  fear of revenants  who were believed to have had  the power to come back from their graves to harass their loved ones or others against whom they had a grudge. The documentary is to be broadcast on the National Geographic channel early next year.

“One of them was lying with his head looking straight up and a large black stone had been deliberately thrust into his mouth while the other  had his head turned to the side and had an even  larger stone,  wedged quite violently into his mouth so that his jaws were almost dislocated,”

explained the archaeologist.

He and a colleague, osteo archaeologist,  Dr. Catriona McKenzie  carried out detailed tests on the skeletons at IT Sligo this summer.

Read stressed that the revenant theory would be impossible to prove absolutely,   but said  there was no doubt that the skeletons had been subjected to deviant burials which are sometimes  associated with demonic possession. Revenants or the “walking dead”  often tended to be people who were outsiders in society when living, according to the IT Sligo lecturer .

There is a known tradition of revenants in Irish folklore and indeed it has been suggested that Bram Stoker got the inspiration for Dracula, not from a Romanian folk tale, but from an Irish legend about an evil chieftain  who had to be killed three times after he came back looking for a bowl of blood to sustain him.

The IT Sligo/St Louis team became interested in the Kilteasheen site because of its links to the O’Conor kings of Connacht and also because of historical references to a Bishop’s Palace which had been constructed there in the 1200’s. They were amazed to discover that a raised platform on the land owned by John and Tina Burke from Knockvicar, was in fact a burial ground which had been used over several centuries.  Initially, considerable circumstantial evidence prompted speculation that they had found a  Black Death-related burial ground,  but   radio carbon dating ruled that theory out. Read pointed out that Kilteasheen is adjacent to the Boyle river which was a “medieval motorway” linking  Lough Key with  the Shannon. But the layers of history there go back much further as a number of pre-historic artefacts including stone tools and arrow heads were also found on the site.

The Kilreasheen Archaeological Project will feature in the “Revealed” series on Channel 5  and next year on National Geographic.. The series is being produced by Bafta-nominated Mark Fielder, director of the independent production company QuickFireMedia.

For more information on the documentary, click here.

Source

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