Irish Celtic deity
The Morrigan
or
Morrigan
, also known as
Morrigu
, is a figure from
Irish mythology
. The name is
Mor-rioghan
in
modern Irish
before the
spelling reform
,
[1]
and it has been translated as "great queen" or "phantom queen".
The Morrigan is mainly associated with
war
and
fate
, especially with foretelling doom, death, or victory in battle. In this role she often appears as a crow, the
badb
.
[2]
She incites warriors to battle and can help bring about victory over their enemies. The Morrigan encourages warriors to do brave deeds, strikes fear into their enemies, and is portrayed washing the bloodstained clothes of those fated to die.
[4]
She is most frequently seen as a goddess of battle and war and has also been seen as a manifestation of the
earth- and sovereignty-goddess
,
[6]
chiefly representing the goddess's role as
guardian
of the territory and its people.
[7]
[8]
The Morrigan is often described as a
trio
of individuals, all sisters, called "the three Morrigna".
[9]
[10]
In mythology membership of the triad is given as
Badb
,
Macha
, and the Morrigan, who may be named
Anand
.
[11]
It is believed that these were all names for the same goddess.
[12]
In modern sources
Nemain
may also be named as one of the three Morrigan along with Badb, Macha, although her inclusion is unclear.
The three Morrigna are also named as sisters of the three land goddesses
Eriu
,
Banba
, and
Fodla
. The Morrigan is described as the envious wife of
The Dagda
and a shape-shifting goddess,
[14]
while Badb and Nemain are said to be the wives of
Neit
.
She is associated with the
banshee
of later folklore.
Etymology
[
edit
]
There is some disagreement over the meaning of the Morrigan's name.
Mor
may derive from an
Indo-European
root connoting terror, monstrousness,
cognate
with the
Old English
maere
(which survives in the modern English word "nightmare") and the Scandinavian
mara
and the
Old East Slavic
"mara" ("nightmare");
while
rigan
translates as "queen".
[17]
This etymological sequence can be reconstructed in the
Proto-Celtic language
as *
Moro-r?gan?-s
.
[18]
[19]
Accordingly,
Morrigan
is often translated as "Phantom Queen".
[17]
This is the derivation generally favoured in current scholarship.
In the
Middle Irish
period, the name is often spelled
Morrigan
with a lengthening diacritic over the
o
, seemingly intended to mean "Great Queen" (Old Irish
mor
, "great";
this would derive from a hypothetical
Proto-Celtic
*
M?ra R?gan?-s
).
[21]
Whitley Stokes
believed this latter spelling was due to a
false etymology
popular at the time.
[22]
There have also been attempts by modern writers to link the Morrigan with the
Welsh literary
figure
Morgan le Fay
from the
Matter of Britain
, in whose name
mor
may derive from Welsh word for "sea", but the names are derived from different cultures and branches of the Celtic linguistic tree.
Sources
[
edit
]
Glosses and glossaries
[
edit
]
The earliest sources for the Morrigan are
glosses
in Latin manuscripts and glossaries (collections of glosses). The 8th century
O'Mulconry's Glossary
says that
Macha
is one of the three
morrigna
.
In a 9th-century manuscript containing the
Vulgate
version of the
Book of Isaiah
, the word
Lamia
is used to translate the Hebrew
Lilith
.
[24]
A gloss explains this
night hag
as "a monster in female form, that is, a
morrigan
."
Cormac's Glossary
(also 9th century), and a gloss in the later manuscript H.3.18, both explain the plural word
gudemain
("spectres")
with the plural form
morrigna
.
Ulster Cycle
[
edit
]
The Morrigan's earliest narrative appearances, in which she is depicted as an individual,
[26]
are in stories of the
Ulster Cycle
, where she has an ambiguous relationship with the hero
Cu Chulainn
. In the
Tain Bo Regamna
("
The Cattle Raid of Regamain
"), Cu Chulainn encounters the Morrigan, but does not recognise her, as she drives a
heifer
from his territory. In response to this perceived challenge, and his ignorance of her role as a sovereignty figure, he insults her. But before he can attack her she becomes a black bird on a nearby branch. Cu Chulainn now knows who she is, and tells her that had he known before, they would not have parted in enmity. She notes that whatever he had done would have brought him ill luck. To his response that she cannot harm him, she delivers a series of warnings, foretelling a coming battle in which he will be killed. She tells him, "It is at the guarding of thy death that I am; and I shall be."
[27]
In the
Tain Bo Cuailnge
("
The Cattle Raid of Cooley
"), Queen
Medb
of
Connacht
launches an invasion of
Ulster
to steal the bull
Donn Cuailnge
; the Morrigan, like
Alecto
of the Greek
Furies
, appears to the bull in the form of a crow and warns him to flee.
Cu Chulainn defends Ulster by fighting a series of single combats at fords against Medb's champions. In between combats, the Morrigan appears to him as a young woman and offers him her love and her aid in the battle, but he rejects her offer. In response, she intervenes in his next combat, first in the form of an eel who trips him, then as a wolf who stampedes cattle across the ford, and finally as a white, red-eared heifer leading the stampede, just as she had warned in their previous encounter. However, Cu Chulainn wounds her in each form and defeats his opponent despite her interference. Later, she appears to him as an old woman bearing the same three wounds that her animal forms had sustained, milking a cow. She gives Cu Chulainn three drinks of milk. He blesses her with each drink, and her wounds are healed.
[30]
He regrets blessing her for the three drinks of milk, which is apparent in the exchange between the Morrigan and Cu Chulainn: "She gave him milk from the third teat, and her leg was healed. 'You told me once,' she said,'that you would never heal me.' 'Had I known it was you,' said Cu Chulainn, 'I never would have.'"
[31]
As the armies gather for the final battle, she prophesies the bloodshed to come.
In one version of Cu Chulainn's death-tale, as Cu Chulainn rides to meet his enemies, he encounters the Morrigan as a
hag
washing his bloody armour in a ford, an omen of his death. Later in the story, mortally wounded, Cu Chulainn ties himself to a
standing stone
with his own entrails so he can die upright, and it is only when a crow lands on his shoulder that his enemies believe he is dead.
[33]
Mythological Cycle
[
edit
]
The Morrigan also appears in texts of the
Mythological Cycle
. In 12th-century pseudohistorical compilation the
Lebor Gabala Erenn
("
The Book of the Taking of Ireland
"), she is listed among the
Tuatha De Danann
as one of the daughters of
Ernmas
, granddaughter of
Nuada
.
[11]
The first three daughters of Ernmas are given as
Eriu
,
Banba
, and
Fodla
. Their names are synonyms for "Ireland", and they were respectively married to
Mac Greine
,
Mac Cuill
, and
Mac Cecht
, the last three Tuatha De Danann kings of Ireland. Associated with the land and kingship, they probably represent a
triple goddess
of sovereignty. Next come Ernmas' other three daughters:
Badb
,
Macha
, and the Morrigan. A quatrain describes the three as wealthy, "springs of craftiness", and "sources of bitter fighting". The Morrigu's name is also said to be Anand.
[11]
According to
Geoffrey Keating
's 17th-century
History of Ireland
, Eriu, Banba, and Fodla worshipped Badb, Macha, and the Morrigan respectively.
[34]
The Morrigan also appears in the
Cath Maige Tuired
("
The Battle of Magh Tuireadh
").
[35]
On
Samhain
, she keeps a tryst with the
Dagda
before the battle against the
Fomorians
. When he meets her, she is washing herself, standing with one foot on either side of the river Unius, near
Riverstown, Co. Sligo
. In some sources, she is believed to have created the river. After they have sex, the Morrigan promises to summon the magicians of Ireland to cast spells on behalf of the Tuatha De, and to destroy Indech, the Fomorian king, taking from him "the blood of his heart and the kidneys of his valour." Later, we are told, she would bring two handfuls of his blood and deposit them in the same river (however, we are also told later in the text that Indech was killed by
Ogma
).
As battle is about to be joined, the Tuatha De leader,
Lug
, asks each what power they bring to the battle. The Morrigan's reply is difficult to interpret, but involves pursuing, destroying and subduing. When she comes to the battlefield, she chants a poem, and immediately the battle breaks and the Fomorians are driven into the sea. After the battle, she chants another poem celebrating the victory and prophesying the end of the world.
[36]
[37]
In another story, she lures away the bull of a woman named Odras. Odras then follows the Morrigan to the
Otherworld
, via the cave of
Cruachan
, which is said to be her "fit abode." When Odras falls asleep, the Morrigan turns her into a pool of water that feeds into the
River Shannon
.
[38]
In this story, the Morrigan is called the Dagda's envious queen, fierce of mood. She is also called a "shape-shifter" and a cunning raven caller whose pleasure was in mustered hosts.
Nature and role
[
edit
]
The Morrigan is often considered a
triple goddess
, but this triple nature is ambiguous and inconsistent. These triple appearances are partially due to the Celtic significance of
threeness
.
[2]
Sometimes she appears as one of three sisters, the daughters of
Ernmas
: Morrigan,
Badb
and
Macha
.
[39]
Sometimes the trinity consists of Badb, Macha and Anand, collectively known as the
Morrigna
. Occasionally,
Nemain
or
Fea
appear in the various combinations. However, the Morrigan can also appear alone,
[26]
and her name is sometimes used interchangeably with Badb.
[36]
The Morrigan is mainly associated with war and fate, and is often interpreted as a "war goddess".
W. M. Hennessy's
The Ancient Irish Goddess of War
, written in 1870, was influential in establishing this interpretation.
[40]
She is said to derive pleasure from mustered hosts.
[41]
Her role often involves premonitions of a particular warrior's violent death, suggesting a link with the
banshee
of later folklore. This connection is further noted by
Patricia Lysaght
: "In certain areas of Ireland this supernatural being is, in addition to the name banshee, also called the
badhb
".
[42]
Her role was to not only be a symbol of imminent death, but to also influence the outcome of war. Most often, she did this by appearing as a crow flying overhead, and would either inspire fear or courage in the hearts of the warriors. In some cases, she is written to have appeared in visions to those who are destined to die in battle as washing their bloody armor. In this specific role, she is also given the role of foretelling imminent death with a particular emphasis on the individual.
[43]
There are also a few rare accounts where she would join in the battle itself as a warrior and show her favouritism in a more direct manner.
[44]
The Morrigan is also associated with the land and animals, particularly livestock.
Maire Herbert
argues that "war
per se
is not a primary aspect of the role of the goddess." Herbert suggests that "her activities have a
tutelary
character. She oversees the land, its stock and its society. Her shape-shifting is an expression of her affinity with the whole living universe."
[45]
Patricia Lysaght notes that the
Cath Maige Tuired
depicts the Morrigan as "a protectress of her people's interests" and associates her with both war and fertility.
[7]
According to
Proinsias Mac Cana
, the goddess in Ireland is "primarily concerned with the prosperity of the land: its fertility, its animal life, and (when it is conceived as a political unit) its security against external forces."
[12]
Likewise,
Maria Tymoczko
writes, "The welfare and fertility of a people depend on their security against external aggression," and notes that "warlike action can thus have a protective aspect."
[8]
It is therefore suggested that the Morrigan is a manifestation of the
earth- and sovereignty-goddess
,
[6]
chiefly representing the goddess' role as guardian of the territory and its people.
[7]
[8]
She can be interpreted as providing political or military aid, or protection to the king?acting as a goddess of sovereignty, not necessarily of war.
It has also been suggested that she was closely linked to the
fianna
, and that these groups may have been in some way dedicated to her.
These were "bands of youthful warrior-hunters, living on the borders of civilized society and indulging in lawless activities for a time before inheriting property and taking their places as members of settled, landed communities."
[47]
If true, her worship may have resembled that of
Perchta
groups in Germanic areas.
[48]
There is a
burnt mound
site in
County Tipperary
known as
Fulacht na Mor Rioghna
("cooking pit of the Morrigan"). The
fulachtai
sites are found in wild areas, and are usually associated with outsiders such as the fianna, as well as with the hunting of deer. There may be a link with the three mythical
hags
who cook the meal of dogflesh that brings the hero
Cu Chulainn
to his doom. The
Da Chich na Morrigna
("two breasts of the Morrigan"), a pair of hills near
Bru na Boinne
in
County Meath
, suggest to some a role as a
tutelary goddess
, comparable to
Anu
, who has her own hills,
Da Chich Anann
("the breasts of Anu") in
County Kerry
. Other goddesses known to have similar hills are
Aine
and
Grian
of
County Limerick
who, in addition to a tutelary function, also have solar attributes.
Arthurian legend
[
edit
]
There have been attempts by some modern researchers and authors of fiction to link the Morrigan with the character of Morgan, the latter often being depicted in the legend as a
fairy
or otherwise supernatural sister of
King Arthur
. Morgan first appears in literature in
Geoffrey of Monmouth's
12th-century
Vita Merlini
as a goddess-like figure in no blood relation to Arthur, whom she takes to her Otherworld style land of
Avalon
following his mortal wound in a battle. In some Arthurian texts, such as
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
, Morgan is portrayed as a hag whose actions set into motion a bloody trail of events that lead the hero into numerous instances of danger. Morgan is also depicted as a seductress, much like the older legends of the Morrigan, and has numerous lovers whom she might even abduct for this purpose (as in some stories of
Lancelot
and
Ogier the Dane
, among others). The character is frequently depicted as wielding power over others to achieve her own purposes, allowing those actions to play out over time, to the benefit or detriment of other characters.
[49]
However, while the creators of the literary character of Morgan may have been somewhat inspired by the much older tales of the goddess, the relationship likely ends there. Scholars such as Rosalind Clark hold that the names are unrelated, the Welsh "Morgan" (Wales being the original source of the
Matter of Britain
) being derived from root words associated with the sea, while the Irish "Morrigan" has its roots either in a word for "terror" or a word for "greatness".
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Dinneen, Patrick S.
, ed. (1927). "mor, moir-".
Focloir Gae?ilge agus Bearla: an Irish?English dictionary, being a thesaurus of the words, phrases and idioms of the modern Irish language
(New edition, revised and greatly enlarged ed.). Dublin: Irish Texts Society. p. 761.
- ^
a
b
Aldhouse-Green, Miranda (2015).
The Celtic Myths: A Guide to the Ancient Gods and Legends
. New York: Thames & Hudson. p. 125.
ISBN
978-0-500-25209-3
.
- ^
Sessle, Erica J. (1994). "Exploring the Limitations of the Sovereignty Goddess through the Role of Rhiannon".
Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium
.
14
: 9?13.
ISSN
1545-0155
.
JSTOR
20557270
.
- ^
a
b
Koch, John T.
Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia
. ABC-CLIO, 2006. p.1622
- ^
a
b
c
Lysaght, Patricia (1996). "Traditions of the Banshee". In Green, Miranda; Billington, Sandra (eds.).
The Concept of the Goddess
. Psychology Press. pp. 157?163.
- ^
a
b
c
Tymoczko, Maria
(1994).
The Irish Ulysses
. University of California Press. pp. 98?101.
- ^
Sjoestedt, Marie-Louise
(18 September 2000).
Celtic Gods and Heroes
. Dover Publications. pp. 31?32.
ISBN
978-0-486-41441-6
.
- ^
Davidson, Hilda Ellis (1988).
Myths and symbols in pagan Europe: early Scandinavian and Celtic religions
. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press. p. 97.
ISBN
978-0-8156-2441-7
.
- ^
a
b
c
Lebor Gabala Erenn §62, 64
: "Badb and Macha and Anand... were the three daughters of Ernmas the she-farmer." "
Badb
and Morrigu, whose name was Anand."
- ^
a
b
Mac Cana, Prionsias (1970). "The Goddesses of the Insular Celts".
Celtic Mythology
. Hamlyn.
- ^
The Metrical Dindsenchas
"Odras" Poem 49
- ^
a
b
Jones Celtic Encyclopedia Entry:
Morrigan
- ^
"Proto-Celtic ? English wordlist"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 27 September 2007.
- ^
"
"nightmare"
"
.
EtymologyOnline
.
- ^
Alexander McBain,
An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language
, 1911:
mor
,
ribhinn
- ^
Stokes, Whitley
(1891). "Notes to "The Second Battle of Moytura"
".
Etudes Celtiques
xii
. p. 128.
- ^
Isaiah 34:14 "And wild beasts shall meet with hyenas, the satyr shall cry to his fellow; yea, there shall the
night hag
alight, and find for herself a resting place." (Revised Standard Version, emphasis added)
- ^
a
b
Unknown.
Tain Bo Regamna
. p. 33.
- ^
"
The Cattle Raid of Regamna
", translated by A. H. Leahy, from
Heroic Romances of Ireland
Vol II, 1906
- ^
O'Rahilly, Cecile (ed & trans) (1967).
Tain Bo Cualnge
from the Book of Leinster
. pp. 193?197.
- ^
Carson, Ciaran (2007).
The Tain: A New Translation of the Tain Bo Culailnge
. p. 96.
- ^
"The Death of Cu Chulainn"
.
Celtic Literature Collective
.
- ^
Keating, Geoffrey. "Book 2 Section 11".
The History of Ireland
.
- ^
"The Second Battle of Moytura"
.
Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
.
- ^
a
b
Unknown. "The Second Battle of Mag Tuired".
Cath Maige Tuired
.
- ^
Gray, Elizabeth A. (ed. & trans.) (1982). "167".
Cath Maige Tuired: The Second Battle of Mag Tuired
.
- ^
"Odras"
, from
The Metrical Dindshenchas
Vol 4
, translated by E. Gwynn
- ^
Macalister, R.A.S. (trans.) (1941).
Lebor Gabala Erenn: Book of the Taking of Ireland Part 1-5
. Dublin: Irish Texts Society.
- ^
W. M. Hennessy
,
"The Ancient Irish Goddess of War"
,
Revue Celtique
1, 1870?72, pp. 32?37
- ^
"Part 49 of The Metrical Dindshenchas"
.
celt.ucc.ie
.
- ^
Lysaght, Patricia (1986).
The Banshee: The Irish Death Messenger
. Roberts Rinehart Publishers. p. 15.
ISBN
1-57098-138-8
.
- ^
Rolleston, T. W. (1911).
Celtic Myths and Legends
. New York: Barnes and Noble.
ISBN
978-0-7607-8335-1
.
- ^
Cotterell, Arthur (2010).
The Encyclopedia of Mythology
. pp. 102, 152.
- ^
Herbert, Maire (1996). "Transmutations of an Irish Goddess". In Green, Miranda; Billington, Sandra (eds.).
The Concept of the Goddess
. Psychology Press. p. 145.
- ^
West, Maire. "Aspects of
diberg
in the tale
Togail Bruidne Da Derga
".
Zeitschrift fur Celtische Philologie
. Vol. 49?50. p. 950.
- ^
Ginzburg, Carlo (1991).
Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath
. New York: Pantheon Books. pp. 6?7, 91, 101?2, 115 (note 47), 146 (note 62), 193, 182?204, 262, as well as numerous related references throughout Parts Two and Three.
ISBN
0-394-58163-6
.
- ^
Morgan le Fay in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
.
References
[
edit
]
- Clark, Rosalind (1990).
The Great Queens: Irish Goddesses from the Morrigan to Cathleen Ni Houlihan
. Irish Literary Studies. Vol. Book 34.
ISBN
0-389-20928-7
.
- Cunliffe, Barry
.
The Ancient Celts
.
- DIL (1990).
Dictionary of the Irish Language
(Compact ed.). Royal Irish Academy.
- Gulermovich Epstein, Angelique (September 1998).
War Goddess: The Morrigan and her Germano-Celtic Counterparts
(Thesis). Los Angeles: University of California.
- MacKillop, James (1998).
Dictionary of Celtic Mythology
. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0-19-280120-3
.
- O hOgain, Daithi (1991).
Myth, Legend and Romance: An Encyclopedia of the Irish Folk Tradition
(1st ed.). New York: Prentice Hall Press.
ISBN
978-0132759595
.
OCLC
22181514
.
- O'Rahilly, Cecile (ed & trans)
(1976).
Tain Bo Cuailnge
Recension 1
.
- Ross, Anne (1967).
Pagan Celtic Britain: Studies in Iconography
.
- Ross, Anne. "The Divine Hag of the Pagan Celts". In Newall, V. (ed.).
The Witch Figure
.
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