The Helpful Hag

Heroes need help.  It's one of the great truths found in stories across all genres and media types.  No one can go through life alone, whether it's ordinary mundane life...or the sort of life that involves an epic quest with armies opposing you.  That help can come in many forms: a sidekick, like Batman and Robin; a raid group taking on a difficult boss in a video game; a group of friends supporting one another, like in Friends; an adorable animal companion.

Fairy tales are full of helpers such as these.  Sometimes it's a talking animal.  In other stories, it's the fairy godmother.  But another archetype appears time and time again: The Helpful Hag.

Rarely named in any stories, the Helpful Hag is most often a little old lady by the side of the road.  I've also referred to her as the Kind Crone, or the Wizened Wise Woman.  She fits into the category of the Donor, an individual who provides the protagonist with aid.  Joseph Campbell recognized the Crone when encountering the first stages of a hero's journey, when they meet with someone who provides them with help of some sort.

There are several fairy tales in which three sons all set out on the same quest.  They each, along the way, encounter an old crone begging on the side of the road.  This woman is described as wizened, ugly, a poor beggar with nothing to offer.  The first two brothers refuse to share their bread with her.  The youngest, considerably kinder than his kin, splits his meal with the hag.

This is where the hag shows her true nature.  Her begging is a test; for those who show her kindness, she provides aid.  Sometimes this is a magical item.  More frequently, her aid comes in the form of advice.

But for those who spurn her request for help...well, let's take a look at one of the more famous fairy tales to see how that turns out.

The opening scene of Disney's Beauty and the Beast shows how the prince spurned the offer of a rose from a wizened old woman.  Irked by his lack of manners, she revealed that it had been a test.  In fact, the old hag was actually a beautiful, powerful enchantress.  For his rudeness, the prince was transformed into a Beast.

So the Helpful Hag is not only a benefactor towards do-gooders in fairy tales - she is also a test, to see if a character is worthy of her help.

There are a lot of myths that could serve as the origin of the Helpful Hag character.  Let us look first at Greek mythology.  Demeter spent some time wandering the earth disguised as a mortal, while she was searching for her missing daughter.  During that time she became a nursemaid for a young boy.  Seeing that the boy and his family were good, she attempted to make the boy immortal.  Unfortunately, this involved holding him in a fire - something his parents didn't take too kindly to when they burst into the room.  Demeter is one example of a Helpful Hag.

Another can be found in the Fates - or the Norns, the Moirai, or any other name you care to call them by.  Appearing in Celtic, Norse, Greek, Roman, and many other mythologies, the Fates are three women.  One is the Maiden; one is the Mother; one is the Crone.

But another example of a Helpful Hag is not actually a wizened old woman at all...but, instead, an old man.  He frequently traveled the earth under the name of High.  While there, he would offer his aid to great heroes on quests.  This man was the Norse god Odin.

Now, Norse mythology has been the basis of inspiration for a number of authors (myself included).  One such author created a character based heavily upon Odin in his mortal disguise - someone who could aid the protagonist, but never be the main character himself.

This is all a very roundabout way to confess that yes, I am comparing Gandalf to a Helpful Hag.

Can you guys think of any story examples of the Kind Crone?  Little old women offering aid abound in stories of all sorts.  One of my absolute favorite examples is from Diana Wynn Jones' Howl's Moving Castle.  Jones recognized the archetype of the Helpful Hag and turned it onto its head.  The main character spends most of the book convinced that she can't be the main character, because she's too old to go off and have adventures - so instead, she must be the helper to everyone else.  What a surprise for her when she discovers the truth!

I'll be back next week!

The Six Swans

Hello all!

Today I wanted to take a look at a fairy tale I really enjoy.  There's several different versions of it (the one by the Grimms is, of course, significantly more violent), but the one I know best comes from Andrew Lang's The Yellow Fairy Book.  The story itself is called The Six Swans.  Shall we begin?

Once upon a time there was a king who was out hunting with his court.  The king got himself quite lost in the woods, and found himself hungry and thirsty, with no idea where he was or how to get back.  He wandered for a time before he met an old woman - a witch.

The witch told the king that without her help, he would never find his way out of the woods.  He would die of starvation, all alone.  Left with no choice, the king begged the witch for help.  She led him to her home, where her daughter, a beautiful maiden, sat waiting.  (The book actually says "She received the King as if she were expecting him" - I've always wondered if the witch or her daughter cast some spell to get the king lost.)

A deal was offered by the witch.  If the king married her daughter, she would show him the way out of the forest.  On the surface, the deal was not a bad one; the witch's daughter was quite beautiful and well behaved.  Yet a sense of dread filled the king every time he looked at her.  Left with no choice, the king reluctantly accepted the witch's offer.  He and the witch's daughter left the woods, and were soon married at his castle.

This was not the king's marriage.  He was a widower, and his previous wife had given him seven children: six boys and one girl.  The king's sense of unease about his new spouse lingered, and he feared for the safety of his children.  Without telling her of their existence, he whisked the seven children away to a small castle in the woods, where they could live in safety.

But the king was a doting father, and he did not like to be separated from his children.  Because of this, he visited them frequently, disappearing into the woods for hours at a time.  The queen took note of this, and did not like his absences.  Since the king refused to tell her where he went, she bribed some of his servants, who admitted to the existence of the children.  (Since girls were considered inconsequential at the time, only the boys were mentioned.  As such, the queen thought that there were only six kids.)

The queen did not like that at all.  Her mother had taught her some of her witchcraft, so she set out for the castle with magic in hand - six enchanted shirts she had sewn.  When the children saw a rider approaching they ran to meet it, expecting their father.  However, the daughter was more cautious, and stayed back to watch.  She was horrified to see the queen throw the shirts over her six brothers.  One by one, the boys fell to the ground...where they transformed into swans!

The queen rode back to the castle, satisfied that her job was done.  As for the swans, they flew off into the night, leaving the king's daughter all alone.

When the king came to visit the next day, he was horrified to find his sons missing.  The princess explained everything that had happened to him, but she did not know that the attacker was the queen.  Not wanting to lose his only remaining child, the king begged his daughter to return with him to the castle.  However, she was afraid of the place, and instead ran away.

After she grew tired of running, the princess found shelter in a tiny cottage.  There were six beds within the home, and she fell asleep underneath one of them.  She awoke to the sound of wings.  Six swans were flying in through the window.  One by one they landed - and then they transformed into her brothers.

The boys were delighted to see their sister, and much hugging ensued.  However, they warned her that she could not stay in the cottage, as its owners were rough brigands.  They sadly told her that they would be unable to protect her, for the curse only allowed them to transform back into humans for fifteen minutes each evening.

The princess wanted nothing more than to find a way to break the curse on her brothers.  They told her that such a thing was impossible, and that the effort required would be too great.  Undaunted, she demanded to know what she needed to do.

In order to break the curse, the brothers explained, the princess would need to spend six years in complete silence.  She could not speak a word, or even utter a laugh.  In addition, she would need to sew six shirts out of starflowers.  (In the Brothers Grimm version of the story, the shirts must be sewn out of nettles - a plant which would be significantly more painful to work with.)  Despite their warnings about its difficulty, the princess vowed to do this in order to save her brothers.

With their fifteen minutes up, the brothers transformed back into swans and flew away.

With her brothers gone, the princess found a tree and climbed it to sleep.  As soon as she awoke the next morning, she gathered as many starflowers as she could find.  The princess began to sew.

Some time passed, and there came a day when huntsmen stumbled upon the tree the princess was sewing in.  They hailed her, but she did not answer.  Question after question they asked her, but the girl continued to sew in silence.  When they continued to bother her, she threw down her jewelry in the hopes of quieting them; when that did not work, she began to throw down her clothing, one piece at a time.

The huntsmen were soon joined by their king, who ruled over a nearby land.  He was struck with curiosity about the girl, who still refused to speak.  The tree was climbed, and the princess carried down to be presented to the king.  He flung his cloak around her and put her on his horse.  They rode back to his castle together.

Even though she was voiceless, it didn't take long for the king to fall in love with the beautiful princess.  Soon they were married, and she became his queen.

But not everyone in the kingdom was happy about this.  The king's mother still lived in the castle, and she was an evil, conniving woman.  She disliked the new queen, and was distrustful of her silence.  She began to spread nasty rumors about the queen.

Time passed, and the queen kept true to her word - she never spoke, or laughed, and she sewed every day on the shirts.  Eventually she became pregnant, and bore a child to the king.  However, as soon as the child was born, the king's mother whisked it away.  She spread a rumor that the queen had killed the child.  The king refused to believe it, but the queen remained silent on the matter, simply taking up her sewing once more.

Again the queen became pregnant, and once more the king's mother stole away the child, claiming that the queen had killed it.  The king still refused to believe that his gentle wife could do such a thing, but she was unable to speak up in her own defense.  When the third child of the king and queen likewise disappeared, the king was left with no choice but to turn his wife over to the castle guards.  She was sentenced to be burned at the stake the next day.

All the while, the queen continued to sew.  When dawn came and she was lead away to the stake to face her punishment, she took the shirts with her.  They were all finished, save for the left sleeve on the sixth shirt.

It so happened that the day she was to be burned alive was also the last day of the six years of her silence.  As the queen was led to the stake, she looked up and saw six swans flying towards her.  She smiled then.

The swans swooped in, and the queen flung a shirt onto each of them.  One by one, the swans transformed back into her brothers.  (One of them was left with a wing instead of a left arm, because he wore the shirt that she had been unable to complete.)

Her trial completed, the queen stepped down from the stake and approached her husband, who was staring in wonder at the swans-to-men.  She spoke to him for the first time, and told him that she was now free to defend herself against the allegations of his mother.  The queen explained that it was the king's mother who had stolen their children.  The castle was searched, the children were found, and they were brought before their father.

The king's mother was punished for her wickedness.  (In some versions of the story, she is attacked by the swans before they are turned back into princes.  In others, she is so overcome with rage at her plan's failure that she falls into a fit and dies.)

As for the king and queen, they lived in joy and peace with the six brothers for the rest of their days.

What did you guys think of the story?  If it sounds familiar, there's a good reason why.  There are an enormous number of fairy tales in which the female is unable to speak for some reason (The Little Mermaid is a great example of this).  There are also many in which children are transformed into birds.  Sometimes these are other fowl, such as ravens - but this particular version of the story used swans for a reason.  Its origins lie in the Celtic myth of The Children of Lir, which I discussed in an earlier post.

I hope you guys enjoyed!  I had a great time looking for pictures to use for this post.  I'll be back next week with another story!

Happy Beltane!

Hey guys!

Today we're going to be taking a look at a Gaelic festival called Beltane.  Beltane is an ancient holiday celebrating the coming of summer.  You might be more familiar with the name May Day.  Taking place on May 1st, Beltane falls between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.  Where Samhain marks the beginning of winter and the arrival of the cold spell, Beltane celebrates the start of summer and the arrival of the heat wave.  It's a time for fertility and the hope for renewal.

There are a number of characters involved in the rituals celebrating Beltane.  There's a neutral party called the Blue Men who watch over everything.  They don't take sides, but they defend the other players from outside forces.  The central figure is the May Queen, whose job is to awaken the earth from winter by harnessing the four elements.

The May Queen is guarded by the White Warrior Women, who represent order.  The May Queen is courted by the Winter King and takes him as her consort.  However, the Winter King attempts to overpower the May Queen, aided by the Red Men, who represent chaos.  The Red Men and the White Warrior Women counter one another, and are opponents.

(In behavior, the Red Men are very similar to the satyrs of Greek mythology, or to some of the earlier celebrations of Lupercalia.  They eat, drink, make merry, seduce, bed, and act in excess on the night of Beltane...and they attempt to encourage everyone at the festival to do the same thing.  A friend who has seen the Beltane festival described their behavior to me as "lewdness and lascivious.")

In the conflict which ensues, the Winter King is slain.  The May Queen takes pity on her consort, and brings him back to life...but he is changed.  He becomes the Green Man, a representation of the frozen winter earth being renewed for summer.  The corpse of the Winter King is then thrown onto the Beltane bonfire, and traditional blessings are spoken.

I mentioned that I had a friend attend the Beltane festival.  This festival occurs every year.  In the darkness, bonfires are lit, and an enormous ceremony takes place.  People dress as the May Queen, the Winter King, and all of the other characters.  There are enormous amounts of red and white paint used.  And then...they dance, and they perform the story.  I have never been lucky enough to see it in person, though I hope to one day.

However, my friend is a professional photographer, and she takes pictures of Beltane.  You can see her pictures from last year's celebration here, and this year's here.  (Some of the pictures are not quite safe for work, as a warning.)

I hope you guys enjoyed the look at Beltane!  My words do not do it justice.  I highly recommend checking out pictures or video footage of the celebration; the images are absolutely stunning, and tell a breathtaking story.

See you guys next week!

Solstice and Christmas: Old Traditions Made New

Hey guys!

First off: oh my dear sweet goodness Star Wars!!!!  SO.  GOOD.
(If you're interested, you can check out two posts I've done in the past about the mythology behind Star Wars here and here.)

Now that I've got my fangirling out of the way, let's take a look at today's post!

I have a tradition of looking at different holidays in this blog - you can check out my Christmas post from last year here.  Due to that, I want to move away from Jewish folk tales to look at some of the ancient traditions and celebrations that have influenced the modern holiday of Christmas.  The holidays I've chosen to discuss today primarily come from Celtic, Norse, and Roman traditions, but if you're curious and go looking you might find that the mythologies of a lot of different cultures have influenced the current celebration of Christmas.  Should you do so, please shoot me a message - I'd be interested in seeing what you find!

Let us begin with the celebration of Yule.

Mention of Yule appears frequently in the celebration of Christmas.  A certain song immediately comes to my mind:

If, like me, you've sung this song while caroling, the words Yuletide carols being sung by a choir might have made you question their meaning.  After years of cheerfully singing along I began to wonder...just what is Yule?  The mention of a Yule log in several older books also piqued my curiosity, and so I began to research.

Yule is an old Norse holiday celebrating the end of the cold season.  Many cultures have festivities to celebrate the turning of the seasons (we'll talk more about another in a minute), and the Norse were no exception.  Yule was marked by feasting (particularly upon boar, which was hunted during the season), drinking, and praising Odin (called the Yule father at times) for victories and Freyr and his father Niord for successful harvests.



 

(Of course there was drinking at the feasts!)

Perhaps the most important aspect of Yule was the burning of the Yule log.  Yule is celebrated from November to January, which are the darkest and coldest parts of the year (in the region in which it is celebrated, at least).  Many cultures from around the world have celebrations during those months that revolve around light and fire.  A few older examples come to mind - the Egyptians praying for Ra, god of the sun, to rise again - but there are a considerable number of modernly celebrated festivals as well.  We talked about Hanukkah last week, which celebrates the miracle of light.  Kwanzaa begins later this week, and also revolves around the lighting of candles.  The Yule log, still commonly used in some parts of the modern world, is lit and then allowed to smolder for 12 days.  Should the fire go out, bad luck is signified.  The remnants of the log are then saved for a year and used to light the Yule log the following year.

(Modern versions of the Yule log tend to include the burning of candles instead of the actual log.  As such, they can be very beautifully decorated!)

Certain aspects of Yule can be seen in modern Christmas celebrations.  I know that ham is one of my favorite holiday foods, and while I don't pray to Odin, Freyr, or Niord I do tend to give thanks around Christmas.  My heater is currently broken, so fires in the fireplace have been a huge blessing this year...though I tend to look forward to a blazing fire every Christmas season.  What about you guys?  Do any of the practices of Yule show up in your own celebrations?

Lastly, we have the tradition of mistletoe.  While not specifically tied to Yule, mistletoe nonetheless has strong ties to both Norse and Celtic mythology.  When Loki goes full-on Dark Side and arranges the death of Baldr, it is mistletoe that ends the god.  As such, it was regarded as a very powerful plant.

 

 

(Death by mistletoe...gotta be an embarrassing way to go!)

 

Mistletoe was also considered sacred by the Celts and druids; enemies who met under it were required to stop fighting and make a temporary peace.

I'm not sure how we went from that to kissing under the mistletoe, but hey.  Whatever works?

If you're interested in learning more about Yule, I found this quick guide quite interesting, especially since it focuses more on the modern celebration of the holiday and some of its Celtic influences.  For a truly fantastic in-depth look at the Norse origins of Yule, check out this article.

We'll move now to a Roman holiday called Saturnalia.

Saturnalia is celebrated towards the middle/end of December - another solstice festival.  It is named for the Roman god Saturn, god of the harvest.  Candles were commonly used as both home decorations and gifts during this time - for it was a time of gift giving.  Sweets and goodies were exchanged, and both holly and ivy were used as decorations given their being sacred plants to Saturn.  All of these things show up in modern Christmas celebrations.

What I find most interesting about Saturnalia is the common reversal of roles, including the election of a Mock King.  During Saturnalia slaves and masters swapped places for a time, allowing the slaves to give the commands to their masters.  Of course, to quote Terry Pratchett: "We suspect that the slaves were magnanimous in office, though; tomorrow the masters would be the masters again."  After all, it isn't wise to antagonize the person who will soon rule over your life once again!

This custom of swapping roles is still alive in some places of the world.  It was adapted into Christianity in the form of the Boy Bishop.  Around the feast of Saint Nicholas (the patron saint of children), a church would elect a boy to be temporary bishop.  He would then elect many of his fellows to aid him in his duties.  The boy was allowed to give the sermons and lead the church for a time, before the actual bishop resumed his duties.  This practice is still held, primarily in Europe.

I hope you found this post interesting!  I was very intrigued to see just how much of what I celebrate has been influenced by past holidays.  If you're interested in learning more I recommend checking out a book on holidays symbols (if your library has one) - the one I flipped through is called Holiday Symbols and Customs.

If you haven't read anything by Terry Pratchett, I highly recommend all of his works.  I usually reread Hogfather during this time of year, which blends all of the traditions mentioned above with many others to create an entirely unique take on holidays - plus, Death is Santa!

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas, and whatever other holidays you might celebrate.  I'll leave you with a cheerfully burning Yule log of sorts, and I'll see you next week!

Mythology in Pop Culture

Hey guys! So tomorrow I'm going to be doing a panel on mythology at my local community college. I needed to type up all of my notes for it, and it struck me as I was doing so that my presentation would make a pretty good blog post. Because of that, you get to read what I'm talking about tomorrow – which is the way that mythology influences pop culture.

Let's start by taking a look at comics, shall we?

Obviously, there's Thor. I wish I could quote Stan Lee and say “ 'nuff said”, but there's actually more to talk about. In both the comics and the myths, Thor is the Norse god of war and storms; Loki is a trickster trying to bring about the downfall of the gods; the Bifrost is a rainbow bridge; and Odin is the king of the gods. Odin is also the god of wisdom. In the myths he has two ravens who fly around the world and tell him everything that they see. One of my favorite parts about Marvel's movie is that in the first Avengers, two ravens fly by when Thor and Loki are arguing – a very nice reference to the original myths!

Although the comics and movie adaptations are awesome, there are quite a few differences between them and the original myths. For one thing, the mythological Thor isn't all that bright. He mostly just wants to hit things with his hammer.

 

Then you have Sif, who is a goddess of fertility and the harvest – she's definitely not a warrior. Perhaps the biggest difference is that Thor and Loki aren't actually brothers! In the myths, Loki is the sworn blood brother of Odin.

Thor may be the most obvious representation of mythology in modern comics, but he's not the only one. Let's move away from him and take a look at the DC comics.

First, you have Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman is an Amazonian princess. Some of her origin stories say that Wonder Woman is the daughter of Zeus, king of the Greek gods and lord of the skies. That's right – Wonder Woman is a demigod.

 

Then you have Superman. His story has close ties to the Christian and Jewish faiths – and those ties were written deliberately. There's a story in the book of Exodus about a baby named Moses. During the time period in which Moses was born, the Pharaoh of Egypt had enslaved the Jewish population. Their numbers kept growing, and the Pharaoh feared revolt, so he ordered all baby boys to be killed. To save Moses, his mother put him in a basket and sent him floating down the river. He was adopted by the Pharaoh's daughter and raised by a family not his own. Eventually, Moses grows up to save his people.

Now let's look at Superman's origin story. He was born on a world that's about to be destroyed. His parents put him in a little space-cradle and sent him away to save his life. The cradle carries him to Earth, where he is raised by an adoptive family. Superman goes on to save the world – many, many times.

(This photo was just too hilarious to not share!)

There's definitely some similarities between the two stories – and, like I said, they were put there deliberately. The writer and artist of the original Superman stories were both Jewish. The character of Superman first appeared around the time of World War II, when Jews were facing horrific persecution. Superman's creators wanted to create a figure of hope for their people, so they wove the story of Moses into the character of Superman. Pretty cool, right?

Let's turn away from comics and take a look at another aspect of popular culture. I'm a huge fan of video games – how about you? Do any of you guys play World of Warcraft?

Mythology has influenced a lot of video games, but WoW is a treasure trove of mythology. I can think of about half a dozen different mythologies that show up in World of Warcraft, and that's just off the top of my head – I'm sure there are a lot more. One of those mythologies appears as soon as you go to make a character – the druid.

 

Druids have their origins as sort of priests in Celtic mythology. In the myths they have close ties to nature, and are often depicted as shapeshifters. In various stories druids turn into wolves, bears, boars, swans, and a myriad of other things.

In World of Warcraft the druid class' powers are tied to nature – sun, moon, and plants. Like their mythological counterparts, druids are shapeshifters. These are a few of their various forms.

 

 

Another mythological influence in WoW can be seen heavily in the race of the Trolls. The religion and culture of the Trolls are based on myths from Latin America. An area in WoW called Zul'Drak provides the best example of this. Take a look at the architecture: This is a temple in Zul'Drak.

 

This is the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, found in the Aztec city of Teotihuacan.

 

 

One of the most prevalent figures in Latin American mythology is the god Quetzalcoatl. He appears in the pantheons of several different Latin American cultures, including the Aztec. Quetzalcoatl translates to “the plumed serpent”, meaning a snake covered in feathers.

 

 

Creatures that match this description appear in many places in WoW.

 

 

Let's travel from Zul'Drak and Latin America to the Storm Peaks and the Norse.

 

 

This zone is perhaps the most obvious portrayal of mythology in World of Warcraft – they barely even changed the names! First you have the val'kyr, servants of the Lich King who raise the dead to join his evil army. In Norse mythology the valkyrie are choosers of the slain. They raise worthy dead warriors to a hall called Valhalla, where they have a huge drinking party until the end of days.

Perhaps the most amusing nod to mythology in this zone are the characters of Loken and Thorim. Loken is a nefarious trickster trying to bring down Thorim. Thorim has a hammer named Krolmir.

 

(Thorim with Krolmir)

 (Thor with Mjolnir)

Hmm.

I'd like to look at another genre influenced by mythology: Fairy tales.

How many of you have seen or read Sleeping Beauty? You know the story: a girl is cursed and falls into a 100-year sleep; a wall of roses grows up around her; a dashing prince finds her and wakes her up with a kiss.

Now let me tell you the story that I think inspired Sleeping Beauty – an old Norse saga called the Story of Sigurd.

I mentioned valkyries when I was talking about WoW. In addition to being choosers of the slain, valkyries were also able to influence the outcomes of mortal battles. When the Story of Sigurd begins, a young valkyrie named Brynnhilda has been ordered by Odin, king of the gods, to let one specific side win a battle. Instead, she allows the other side to win.

Not a good mistake to make when your boss is king of the gods.

To punish Brynnhilda, Odin locks her away in a castle and curses her to sleep until a man comes along and wakes her up. She will then marry this man. Odin does take some pity on Brynnhilda – he raises a wall of fire around the castle, so that only a truly brave man will be able to reach her.

That's right. Odin is Maleficent.

 

 

(They even have matching birds!) 

Brynnhilda is eventually woken up by a man named Sigurd, and the two fall in love. Unfortunately, unlike in Sleeping Beauty, the duo do not live happily ever after. Sigurd is given a potion that makes him forget about Brynnhilda. He marries someone else, and his brother-in-law finds and marries Brynnhilda. The jealous valkyrie talks her husband's brothers into killing Sigurd. She then kills herself by jumping onto Sigurd's funeral pyre.

Yeah, Norse stories aren't really known for their happy endings. If it makes you feel any better, a horse was found missing from the stables and a stablehand said he saw Sigurd and Brynnhilda riding off into the sunset together.

But I digress. The Story of Sigurd differs vastly from Sleeping Beauty in its ending, but the core concepts are pretty darn similar.

 

 

Let's look now at one of my favorite parts of modern pop culture: Star Wars.

Is anyone else totally psyched for the new movie? Because I sure am!

Anyway, Star Wars has some of its roots in Arthurian legend. You have a bunch of knights running around trying to save the galaxy from evil. They help the innocent, protect the weak, and are generally seen as virtuous – at least, until they turn evil themselves. That's pretty similar to King Arthur and his knights, right?

Well, Star Wars also has heavy ties to Buddhism. Let's take a look at the Jedi Code, which states:

There is no emotion, there is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

There is no chaos, there is harmony.

There is no death, there is the Force.

In Buddhism there is a concept called The Four Noble Truths. These truths state that:

1. There is suffering.
2. Suffering is caused by desire and ignorance.
3. Suffering can be ended by putting aside one's desires.
4. The fourth noble truth details an Eightfold Path to enlightenment, which leads to the end of suffering and desire. This path includes moral conduct, meditation, and wisdom.

I see a lot of Buddhism in the Jedi Code. If you give up emotion, you will not suffer, so you will be at peace. Ignorance can cause suffering, so it follows that knowledge can prevent suffering. Without passion, one will not desire, so one will not suffer from their desires.

So...I guess the Jedi are a sort of Knight/Buddhist monk hybrid?

 

I hope you guys found this interesting! I really love seeing how mythology influences pop culture, and the way that pop culture adapts mythology to suit its own needs. What have you watched (or read, or played, or heard) that you can see mythological ties in?

The Morrigan: Goddess(es) of Death

Happy Monday, readers!  How was your week?  Classes have begun, so mine was pretty busy.  Four history classes = lots of reading homework.  Still, I'm having fun so far!

This week we're going to be talking about one of the best known characters in Celtic mythology.  She is a fearsome warrior with an affinity for birds, and she is feared and respected by both gods and men.  Her name is the Morrigan.

The Morrigan is a truly interesting character in Celtic mythology due to her...unique nature.  You could say she has a split personality.  You see, while the Morrigan is often referred to using singular pronouns - "she", "her" - she is, in fact, more than one person.  The Morrigan is made up of three distinct goddesses.

This isn't necessarily something new in mythology, particularly when one looks at what the Morrigan is goddess of.  She rules over death, and calls the battlefield her home.  Some of my previous posts have talked about triple goddesses who fulfilled a similar purpose in their own mythology.  The Greeks had the Moirai, the Fates; the Norse believed in the Norns.  Both the Moirai and the Norns were three women, sisters, who were each part of a greater purpose - Fate.  Each group had one sister who specifically represented death: the Greek Atropos and the Norse Skuld.

However, that's about where the similarities end.  While the Norns and the Moirai have some things in common with the Morrigan, they also have striking differences.  For one thing, the two non-Celtic trio goddesses were worshipped as separate beings; the Morrigan is worshipped as only one.

I'm sorry if this sounds confusing.  Describing the Morrigan in a way that makes sense is definitely complicated, haha!

Like I said, the Morrigan is referred to using singular pronouns.  Art of her usually shows only one woman.  I'm not entirely sure how that works, since she's made up of three women, but somehow it does.  In fact, this is one of the only pictures I was able to find that showed three goddesses instead of one.

As to who those women are - well, there's some debate on that subject.  They're generally agreed to be sisters, but can be related through blood, fostering, or marriage.  One of the possible candidates for the Morrigan, Anand, has her name used interchangeably with that of the Morrigan.  Other possible members of the goddess include the goddesses Badb, Macha, and Nemain.

I'll stop talking about the somewhat confusing split personality of the Morrigan now.  Instead, let us take a look at what the Morrigan can do.

The Morrigan is a goddess of war.  Much like the Norse Valkyries, the Morrigan's allegiance greatly effects the outcome of a battle.  Whichever group she sides with almost always wins.  Because of this, Lugh Long-Arm made sure to win the Morrigan's favor before attacking Bres.

(I love the Wonder Woman look of this picture.)

 

The various personas who make up the Morrigan are known for many things associated with death.  They can strike confusion into the hearts of warriors who do not have the Morrigan's favor - and confusion is never a good thing in the midst of a battle.  The goddesses who make up the Morrigan are also known for shapeshifting.  The Morrigan can take several forms, but she is most often seen as a crow.  Ancient cultures associated crows with death and war, since the birds circle above fields of carnage and are known for eating the dead.

(This one, on the other hand, looks more like Morticia Addams!)

All told, the Morrigan sounds like a fun and cheery person, right?  Just wait.  We haven't even gotten to my favorite part!

The Morrigan (or one of her members) frequently appears as a portent of doom.  Warriors who see her know that their death is approaching; she's a little like the Grim in Harry Potter.  Of course, the warriors don't just see a beautiful woman and know that their death is coming.  No, that wouldn't be creepy enough for the Morrigan!

Instead, the myths frequently show fighters walking past a lake or a stream.  They'll look over and see a lovely woman staring at them as she washes something.  In the more PG versions of the stories, the Morrigan is washing the warrior's blood-stained armor, signaling his death.

In the more NC-17 versions, the Morrigan is washing the warrior's entrails.

Lovely, right?

I'll end my post there.  I hope you guys enjoyed reading about the Celtic goddess of war!  She is definitely not someone you want to have on your bad side.

This will be my final post (for now) about Celtic mythology.  I'll have something special for you next week.  After that I'm going to be posting a series about...

(Dramatic pause!)

...Arthurian legend!

The stories of King Arthur and his knights are pretty numerous, so I've got a lot of material to draw on.  I'm planning on talking about several of the main characters and events from the legends.  I'm really excited for this, and I hope you guys are too!

I'll see you next week!

Cath Palug: The Kitten...of TERROR

I love cats.

I am, in fact, what you might call a cat person.  I've volunteered at a cat shelter for half of my life.  I cat-sit for friends.  I have the Crazy for Cats achievement in World of Warcraft (so yes, I am a Crazy Cat Lady!).  I even have two cats of my own: Elli, who is blind but somehow always knows where shadows are (the better to lurk in and pounce on my poor unsuspecting toes), and Tali, who loves to curl up and trap my hand rubbing her belly whenever I try to get any work done.

My friends all know that I love to talk about cats - even cats who aren't mine.  (I go for walks in my neighborhood to visit with various cats who live close to me.)  Because of this, I was thrilled when I remembered that Celtic mythology featured a famous cat, and I had to write a post about him.

(Yes, this entire post is an excuse for me to talk about cats.  Stick around, though!  Even if you're not a cat person, this particular feline is awesome!)

Meet Cath Palug.

Cath Palug is ridiculously huge - the size of a horse, if not bigger.  Cat claws hurt even when they're normal sized, so imagine the kind of damage a cat with claws the size of large daggers could do!  In fact, in the stories about him Cath Palug puts his claws to good use, killing quite a few knights.

There are actual several giant, vicious cats in Celtic mythology.  Another famous one is Cat Sith, a feline member of the sidhe who is quite vicious.

(Sadly, he doesn't have a red lightsaber - though that would be amazing!)

Cat Sith shows up in Cold Days by Jim Butcher, where he's pretty terrifying.  If I remember correctly, Butcher attributes most of the giant, scary cat stories in Celtic mythology to Cat Sith.  However, the most famous stories I know are all about Cath Palug.

What are those stories?  Let me tell you what I know.

The stories of Cath Palug's birth vary.  In some he is a mysterious kitten fished up from a river.  In others, Cath Palug is the spawn of a faerie who was raped by a goblin.  However, that version of the story is French and was written considerably later than the others.  Generally, Cath Palug is thought to be the child of a cow.  This particular cow gave birth to many strange litters - wheat, bees, and a wolf, amongst other things - but Cath Palug was the last to be born.

It was near the island of Anglesey that Cath Palug was birthed.  The shepherd who was guarding the cow was filled with horror when he saw the cat.  Though still only a kitten, Catch Palug was the size of a horse!  (The poor cow!  That must have been a very painful birth.)  Gazing into his menacing yellow eyes, the shepherd became convinced that nothing but evil could come from the cat.

(Humph!  He was obviously more of a dog person.)  The shepherd seized Cath Palug and flung him into the sea, determined to drown him.

Bad move, shepherd.

Now, I don't know about your cats, but mine don't like water.  Elli flat out hates it.  Tali will dip her paw into her waterbowl and lick it off of her paw whenever she's thirsty - so dainty! - but she is terrified whenever she sees water in the bathtub.  I've seen videos of cats who like to take baths, and I've heard of cats who enjoy swimming, but I haven't seen one in person.

Turns out, Cath Palug loves to swim.

Imagine the look on the shepherd's face when the kitten he tried to drown immediately began paddling in the water.  He swam away from the man (can you blame him?) and headed to the shore of Anglesey, where he was found by the sons of a man named Palug.  The boys took pity on the poor wet kitten and took him home, where he received the name of Cath Palug - "Palug's Cat".

Unfortunately, Cath Palug did turn out to be evil, just as the shepherd had feared.  He slaughtered cattle and other livestock; he terrorized the denizens of the island; eventually, he began to kill.  Cath Palug became known as one of the three plagues of Anglesey.

Tales of Cath Palug's exploits vary.  If you listen to the origin story in which he was fished out of a river, Cath Palug murders the fisherman and all of his family.  In some stories everyone on Anglesey are either dead or in hiding.  Monks attempt to visit but are warned away by the survivors - only to be pursued through the sea by Cath Palug, who appears to be able to control storms.

Most interestingly, Cath Palug also appears in Arthurian legend.  Here he is said to have fought and defeated quite a lot of knights.  When the number of the dead continues to rise, King Arthur himself travels in search of Cath Palug.  Eventually he finds the dreaded giant feline.  They fight, but it is Arthur who eventually emerges victorious, killing the fell beast and at last ending the great plague of Anglesey.

(I was quite amused to find out that there is a French poem written in the 12th century which pokes fun at this story.  I haven't been able to find a copy of it, so my knowledge is coming from Wikipedia; as such, this might be inaccurate.  However, according to Wikipedia the poem features King Arthur getting his butt kicked by Cath Palug, who slays the king, takes his crown, and goes back to Camelot to rule in his stead.  Quite funny!)

What did you guys think?  I'm quite partial to the story of Cath Palug, but that might just be because I'm a crazy cat lady.  Did you like it?  I especially love the pictures of him, because he always looks so adorably fierce and angry.

I'll be back next week with my last post (for now) about Celtic mythology.  I'll see you guys then!

The Children of Lir: Here Today, Swan Tomorrow

Hey guys, how are you all doing today?  I hope everyone is having a nice weekend!  We passed the 2000 pageview mark here, so I'm pretty happy.  Thank you, my readers!

Our story today is called The Children of Lir.  It's a little more well-known than some of the other stories I've been talking about in Celtic mythology, so you might have heard of it.  The Children of Lir is one of those interesting stories that somehow blends Celtic mythology and Christianity.  Its main characters are children of the Tuatha De Danann, the Celtic gods.  Despite this, they build a friendship with the Irish monk Mo Chaemoc, and ultimately convert to Christianity.

The children of gods become Christian.

This intrigues me to no end.

Anyway: the story.  It begins in ancient times, but ends after Saint Patrick brings Christianity to Ireland - sometime around the fifth or sixth century.  The spelling of its characters' names can vary drastically.  I'm sticking with what's in the books I have, but if you're interested you should look up the characters.  For example, even Lir, which is by far the shortest name in this story, is sometimes spelled Lear.  (You might be familiar with that version of spelling.  Yes, he's that Lear - or, at least, the inspiration for him.)

The story also has some truly fascinating parallels to certain fairy tales - both Cinderella and Snow White come to mind when I read it, as does the tale of Hase-Hime.  Of course, there's also some similarities to The Black Swan.  Keep an eye out for them!

The story begins when the Tuatha De Danann are electing a king.  Lir, a prominent member of the group, fully expects the crown to fall to him.  As such, he is quite furious when another member named Bobd is named king instead.  Lir storms out of the assembly in a huff, and keeps to himself for quite some time.

Well, not entirely to himself.  Lir has a wife whom he loves very much, and she keeps him company as he sulks.  Then, one day, she falls ill.  It is not long before she dies, leaving Lir heartbroken by his loss.

While Lir mourns his wife, Bobd begins to think.  Lir's long absence from the Tuatha De Danann has not gone unnoticed, and King Bobd wants to bring him back into the fold.  To this end, Bobd offers to let Lir marry his choice of one of Bobd's foster daughters.

The prospect of a new wife cheers Lir up considerably; he accepts Bobd's offer and takes his eldest foster daughter, Aeb, to be his wife.  A great wedding feast is held, and the couple are happy together...for a time.

Not long after the wedding, Aeb becomes pregnant.  Soon she gives birth to twins - a boy and a girl, named Luke and Leia.

(Kidding.  Their actual names are Aed and Fionnguala.)

Shortly thereafter, Aeb becomes pregnant again.  Once more she gives birth to twins.  This time they're both boys, who are named Fiachra and Conn.  Sadly, their birth is a difficult one.  Both boys survive, but Aeb does not.

The loss of a second wife pushes Lir into despair.  Only his children are capable of comforting the grief-stricken man, who clings to his remaining family.

(I love that he doesn't blame the children for their mother's death.  That's actually pretty common in stories, particularly in fairy tales - both Snow White and Donkeyskin/Tattercoats come to mind.)

Wanting to help, Bobd once again offers Lir his choice of wife from amongst Bobd's foster daughters.  (Pretty generous, right?  At this point, Lir has outlived two wives.  I'm not sure I'd be offering him any more with that kind of bad luck!  Then again, Bobd might not like his foster daughters too much...)

Lir takes Aoife to be his wife, and she returns with him to his home. Lir dotes on his children as they grow up, and often takes them to see their grandfather Bobd.  The youths are kind and intelligent, and everyone loves them...except for one person.

In the beginning Aoife tried to care for her step-children.  She wanted to please her husband and honor her sister, so she cared for the four young ones as if they were her own brood.  Over time, however, Aoife began to grow jealous.  Everyone was so enamored with the children that they failed to notice the step-mother - even her husband, Lir.

One day Aoife couldn't stand it anymore.  She faked an illness (which I'm sure made Lir pretty nervous, given what happened to his previous wives...) and took to her bed.  She spent a year there, "resting" - when in fact she was plotting the downfall of her step-children.

When the year was over Aoife was convinced she had a scheme that would work.  She sprang from her bed, cured - look!  It's a miracle! - and announced that she wanted to take the children to visit Bobd.

Lir was thrilled to see his wife recovered and agreed to the idea at once, despite the protestations of his daughter Fionnguala.  (Alright, I finally got curious and looked up the pronunciation of her name.  I might be messing this up, but I think it's "Fin-ooh-la".  Pretty, right?)  Fionnguala had a sense that her stepmother was planning something evil.  Unfortunately, her premonitions were dismissed.  She and her brothers were sent with Aoife and some servants for their journey to Bobd's castle.

When they were some distance away from the castle, Aoife called some servants to her.  She offered them whatever they wanted if they would kill Lir's children for her.

(It took her a year to think up that plan?!?)

The servants were horrified and refused, calling the mere idea evil.  Yet, for some reason, they didn't warn the kids, and they didn't turn around and head straight back to Lir.  Gee, nice going, servants...

Instead, the group marched on.  Aoife considered killing the children herself, but couldn't quite work up the nerve.  Then, as they neared a lake, an idea struck her.  Aoife stopped the group and told the children to take a bath in the nearby waters.  As soon as they were in the lake she used her druidic powers and turned them into swans!

Fionnguala was horrified when she realized what had happened.  Unable to reverse the curse herself, Lir's daughter turned to her step-mother.  She pleaded with Aoife, begging her to set a time limit on the transformation so that they would not remain cursed for all eternity.  I'm sure Fionnguala was hoping that Aoife would make the curse only last for a year or two.  Unfortunately, Aoife really hated her step-children.  She condemned them to spend 300 years trapped on that lake in swan form.  After that the four siblings would be forced to fly to another lake, where they would spend another 300 years.  When the time was up they would fly to one last lake and spend an additional 300 years there.  There would be no escaping the curse; because Fionnguala herself had requested a time limit, the spell could not possibly be lifted before the 900 years were up.

Evil Aoife left her distressed swan step-children (the victims of fowl play) and continued on to Bobd's palace.  Immediately the king wanted to know where his grandchildren were.  Aoife told him that Lir would not let her take the children, for he did not trust her.  Perhaps Aoife was hoping that her foster-father would attack Lir for this insult, and her misdeeds would be hidden in the chaos of war.  If so, she was out of luck.  Bobd, while furious, did not take up arms against Lir.

Instead the king sent Lir an angry message demanding an explanation.  A confused Lir responded that he had sent the children with Aoife.  Before too long, the woman's treachery was revealed.  Horrorstruck by what she had done to his grandchildren, Bobd used his own druidic powers to turn Aoife into a wind demon.  She was forever cursed to roam the skies as recompense for her actions.

Bobd and Lir then raced for the lake, where they found four beautiful swans.  The swan children sensed the distress of their relatives, so they swam to the edge of the lake and began to sing.  The music was unlike anything the listeners had ever heard before.  It was so sweet and pure that all negative emotions were driven away by its sound.

Word of the swan children of Lir - and their beautiful songs - soon spread.  For the next 300 years they were never alone.  People travelled from all over the country just to hear their song and be healed by it.  The lilting music made all of their cares melt away; it was well worth the trip.

Eventually the 300th year passed, and the swans were forced by their curse to move to a new lake far from home.  This one was a far less pleasant place, for its waters were often tossed by violent storms.  There were times when the siblings were separated by fierce winds and feared that the others had drowned, only to be reunited when the storm ended.

Their torment was eventually broken by visitors from the Tuatha De Danann.  They told Fionnguala and her brothers about their family, and that all was well with their people.  The news cheered the swans, but the messengers soon departed.  Fionnguala and her brothers were once again left to the mercy of the storms.

The swans were grateful when their 300 years were up.  They flew to their new home, which was a little more bearable than the last.  During their time there Christianity spread to Ireland, and a small oratory was built by the waters of the lake.  The monk that built it, Mo Chaemoc, had never heard the stories of the magical swans.  He was quite surprised to hear them begin singing one morning after the monks had finished their own songs.

Mo Chaemoc inquired after the swans, and soon he knew the story of the Children of Lir.  He called the swans to him and kept them as his companions.  In Mo Chaemoc's company Fionnguala and her brothers learned of Christ, and found themselves hopeful.

They passed the last of their cursed years as friends, until their curse at last was lifted.  Mo Chaemoc watched as his swan friends transformed back into humans - but humans who rapidly aged 900 years before his eyes.  Though old and wizened, the siblings held on to life long enough for Mo Chaemoc to baptize them.  Then they passed on and were buried - Fionnguala in the center, with her brothers surrounding her.

I think the story is beautiful (albeit somewhat depressing).  It's an immensely popular tale, too - there are still statues of the Children of Lir

 and the story continues to be told.  I hope you guys enjoyed it!

As a few sidenotes - spell check really hated me on this post.  Interestingly enough, the only name it didn't try to tell me was misspelled was Aoife.  I wonder why?

As far as the monks and their singing goes...have you guys ever heard the singing of monks?  It is astonishingly lovely.  I first heard it through the mystery TV show Cadfael.  Here's a link to a video of the opening theme; the episodes often feature the monks singing.

I'll be back next week with a post about Cath Palug, who is one of my favorite characters in Celtic mythology.  He's an evil kitty cat!  After that I've got one more Celtic post planned, and then we'll switch to a different set of legends.  I'll let you know next week what it'll be; see you then!

Fionn the Fearless Fenian

Hey guys!  Any of you still enjoying summer vacation, or has school started for you yet?  I've got another two weeks of break before my semester starts, and I'm hoping to write up drafts of most of the posts for this year before then.  Do you guys have any plans for your remaining freedom?  Or are you already shackled with homework?  Either way, I think it's awesome you're here reading this!  I'll do my best to keep the posts entertaining.

Be warned - most of the names in this post begin with the letter F.

The character we're going to focus on today is named Fionn.  (Fionn means "fair"; he was named for his looks.)  Fionn is a very interesting character in Celtic mythology, and his story is one of my favorites.  Much like Cu Chulainn, there are a lot of stories about Fionn.  I'm going to tell you a very compressed version of his life, but I'd like to set the stage first.

First off: the gods.  The Tuatha De Danann aren't seen in this story until the very end.  The stories of Fionn were written much later than several of the other tales we've talked about, and so the Tuatha De Danann have evolved.  Ireland is famous for its stories of the sidhe, or the fae - they are what the ancient Celtic gods became as stories changed with the times.  The sidhe mostly stay in their own realms, hidden underground beneath magic mounds, but they sometimes come to our world to meddle with (or, occasionally, help) mortals.

Next up: Fionn himself.  He's a fascinating character, because people have wondered for some time if he was based upon a historical person.  The same question surrounds King Arthur.  Did these men actually exist?  Are their stories embellished truth, or pure fantasy?  Another question often asked is whether Fionn and Arthur are human personifications of gods.  Whatever the case, their stories sure are interesting!

Lastly: The Fenians.  All of the other stories we've talked about so far have revolved around kings and their warriors; the same hierarchy exists even among the Tuatha De Danann.  Celtic society had a high king, who ruled over all of the lesser kings.  Warriors served these kings...except for one specific type of warrior.  These fighters were called Fenians, and they operated out side of the normal structure of Celtic society.  They served no king, but were warriors under the command of those fighters who were strongest.

As a side note: There are so very many different ways of spelling the names of the various Celtic gods and heroes.  I'm going with the versions I have in my books, but upon trying to find images for this post I discovered a lot of other variations.  For instance, you may see Fionn spelled as Finn if you go looking, and there are tons of ways to spell his last name.  The group I refer to as the Fenians are also called the Fianna.  I'm just an enthusiast, not an expert, so I can't tell you which is the proper way to refer to any of these people.  I'm just sticking with the terms I know.

Our story begins with the birth of Fionn, called Demne at the time.  He was born into a time of strife, for his father had been killed when Demne was still in his mother's womb.  There was a long-standing feud between Demne's family and that of his father's killers, the mac Morna clan.  Fearing for her child's safety, Demne's mother sent him away to be raised in the wilds.

There, Demne was raised by a druidess and a warrior who taught him magic and how to fight.  He had many adventures in his youth, and eventually a king gifted him with the name of Fionn due to his appearance.  Fionn often left the women who were raising him to seek out adventure, and spent much of his childhood roaming the country with bands of warriors.

Once, Fionn came across a poet named Finneces who was fishing in a pool.  This pool was said to be the home of a special salmon; whoever caught and ate the fish would know the future.  A prophecy had been made about the salmon - it would be caught and eaten by a man named Fionn.

Finneces figured his name was close to Fionn, so he had spent years trying to catch the fish.  Not long after Fionn met him, Finneces finally managed to fish up the salmon.  Overjoyed, he asked Fionn to cook it for him, but cautioned him not to eat it.

(Who knew you could look so heroic cooking a fish?)

Fionn did as he was asked, but he burned his finger while cooking the fish.  Ouch!  Anyone else ever burnt their finger?  What's the first thing you do?  Most people, myself included, immediately put the burn in their mouth to try and soothe the pain.  Fionn was no different.  He sucked on his finger to try and ease his discomfort, and then brought the fish to Finneces.

The old poet asked if Fionn had eaten any of the fish, and he truthfully explained about his burn.  Only then did Finneces think to ask Fionn's name.  Upon hearing that his companion was called Fionn (maybe he should have checked on that before handing him the fish!) Finneces gave up and told Fionn to eat the fish, explaining the prophecy.  From then on, any time Fionn sucked his burn he could see the future.

Fionn had many adventures from that point forward.  He slew an evil goblin, became leader of the Fenians, loved and lost two women, and had both children and grandchildren.  If you're interested in these stories, you can find a concise version of them here.  Fionn even managed to kill Goll mac Morna, the man who had killed Fionn's father.

Unfortunately, this act was to be his undoing.

A glimpse into the future had told Fionn that he would die in Ireland during a certain year.  When this year arrived the old warrior decided to leave Ireland and head for Scotland, hoping to escape his prophesized demise.  Upon hearing of this, the Fenians begged their leader to come to their homes and be feasted by them before he departed - sort of a series of farewell parties, if you will.  Fionn was touched by the friendship of his warriors and agreed.

He probably should have sucked his finger first.

The very first home Fionn visited was that of the warrior Fer-tai.  Fer-tai was a friend of Fionn's, as was his wife - but she was the daughter of Goll mac Morna, and her son Fer-li had loved his grandfather well.  Fer-li had hated Fionn ever since the Fenian had killed his grandfather.  Upon haring that Fionn would be staying in his father's house, Fer-li began to plot revenge.

(Dun dun dunnnnn!)

Fer-li's desire for blood was complicated by the fact that Fionn was a guest.  Most ancient cultures had strong rules of hospitality, and the Celts were no exception.  A guest was under the protection of his host, so Fer-li had to be careful or risk finding himself fighting his own father.

Fionn arrived at Fer-tai's house with a small group of warriors - less than two hundred men.  He had most of these remain outside while he entered Fer-tai's home, where a splendid feast began.

The party was in full swing when the doors were flung open and a group of men stormed inside.  These men were in cahoots with Fer-li; according to his plot, they accused Fionn's men of having killed many of the local villagers and animals.  As their leader, Fionn could be held responsible for the Fenians' actions.  Fer-li hoped to be able to kill him for the Fenians' "crime".

Fionn knew his men well, and so he knew that the accusations were false.  Still, he wanted to appear willing to make amends.  Fionn promised to give Fer-tai two animals to make up for every one slaughtered - a generous offer.

Seeing that his plan had not worked, Fer-li became enraged.  He yelled that Fionn had come to kill he and his father just as the Fenian had killed Goll mac Morna.  Overcome with rage, Fer-li then flung himself at Fionn, attacking the great warrior.  Fionn's men rose up to defend him, but Fer-li's men countered them.

Fer-tai tried to break up the fight, but was unable to do so before blood was shed.  The warriors only stopped fighting when Fer-tai's wife ran into the hall, naked and with her hair loose as a sign of peace.  (Don't ask me why, but this is pretty common in Celtic mythology - something similar happens with Cu Chulainn.  Naked women show up, and the fighting stops.  Hey, at least it works!)

As soon as the brawl ended, Fer-li's mother began to berate him.  How dare he attack a guest under his father's roof!  And not just any guest - Fionn, who was dearly loved by all!
Nothing quite like being lectured in front of your warriors by your mom...who then proceeded to kick Fer-ti out of the hall.  Ouch.  That's gotta hurt your image...

Unfortunately, it was too late.  Fer-li's plot had succeeded - Fionn had slain several of Fer-tai's subjects during the fight.  As he left, Fer-li challenged Fionn to a battle the next day, secure in the knowledge that his father would have to side with him.

In the morning Fionn and his men approached the battlefield.  They found themselves hopelessly outnumbered - a few hundred versus several thousand.  Unable to withdraw from the fight without ruining both his honor and his reputation, Fionn attempted to buy peace.  His offer was generous, and Fer-tai urged his son to accept it.  Fer-li refused, still full of wrath at his grandfather's death.  Fionn tried to negotiate peace once again, but still Fer0li refused to step down.

Left with no other choice, the battle began.  Fionn and his Fenians fought bravely against the thousands who opposed them, but they could not hope to prevail against such numbers.  One by one the Fenians fell - until all, even Fionn, were dead.

In the end, the mac Morna clan prevailed.

But the story does not end there.  It is said that Fionn and his loyal warriors did not truly die.  Instead, the sidhe came and took them from where they lay upon the battlefield.  They carried the brave fighters back to the fairy realms, where their wounds were healed.  To this day Fionn and the Fenians lie sleeping there, garbed for war.  One day Ireland will again be in danger - and on that day, Fionn and his men will rise up to defend it.

Kind of a cool story, right?  I love the ending; it reminds me of the dead Norse warriors, the Einherjar, who are fated to rise up and defend Asgard during Ragnarok.  What do you guys think?  Shoot me an email or post below to let me know!

Also, as a fun little aside - apparently Fionn showed up on an old card for Magic: The Gathering.  I discovered the image while searching for other pictures, and I just had to share it with you guys.  Any Magic players reading this?

I'll see you guys next week!