|
|
|
|
Ireland
Ireland
Daoine Sidhe
These are the Heroic Fae of Ireland, very like the Highland Sleeth Ma. May Eve - Beltane - and November Eve - Samhain - are their great festivals. On Beltane they revel, and - the door being open from fairyland to the mortal world that night - they often steal away beautiful mortals as their brides. On Samhain they dance with the ghosts. They live under the fairy hills, offerings of milk are set out for them, and in all ways they partake of the fairy nature. Some say that they are the fallen angels who were too good for hell and some say that they are the remnants of the heroic Daanan race.
Phooka
The Phooka was a kind of Bogey-Beast who took various forms, usually a horse, or goat, or an eagle and was a mischievous spirit that goaded humans to fall into wells, or take a ride on his back. He would appear on lonely roads, standing there shaggy and friendly, a welcome sight for weary travelers: but after the human had climbed on his back, he would take off like a bolt of lightning, rushing headlong through the dark woods, brambles, and soggy moorlands, where he would suddenly STOP, and throw the unfortunate rider over his head into a ditch or thornbush, then gallop away, laughing madly! Phookas are pack animals and frequent fights occur among the vicious creatures. The Irish believe that should the sun shine though it be raining, the Phooka will be abroad that night. In Ireland, the Phooka never enters human houses, however in Wales the Booka sneak have taken their cue from Santa Claus and sneak in through the chimney. This poses particular dangers because the species adores human babies and are always looking for one to steal.
Aside from babysnatching, they wreck havoc by destroying crops, specifically claiming any crop not harvested by Samhain. A farmer who dares to cut any crops after that date is likely to receive retribution in the form of a dead herd animals (the Irish say mysteriously dead cows have been pooked, at term which likely grew from Phooka). In particular, the Phooka loves potatoes and swipes them from untended fields at night. Between Midsummer and Samhain humans are safe from the Phooka's tricks, as they are believed to go into hibernation for a time.
There is an old Irish story of a boy, Phadrig, who captured a Phooka by throwing his coat over the beast as it rushed towards him; afterwards it was very tame and would appear, in the form of a ragged old man, with many of it's fellows, in the boy's family field each night to thresh the corn for them. When the boy gave him new clothes to replace the rags, the Phooka took them and, thinking himself too fine to work, disappeared--but not before blessing Phadrig and his family.
Merrow or Merpeople
The female merrow (mulrruhgach), also called a mermaid (mur�ch) or a sea-maiden (maighdean mhara), is lovely and graceful. She has the tail of a fish and web-like scales between her fingers. She sometimes wears a gown as white as the sea foam. The gown is trimmed with red and purple seaweeds. The sea water on her hair glistens like dew when the rays of the sun's morning light shines upon it. She also wears a red hat which suits her alluring face with its mocking eyes. Sometimes she wears a dark sleeveless cloak that clings about her, half-revealing the voluptuous curves of her body. She teases men with her beauty. In legends the singing of a mermaid, or her sirensong, is described as irresistible. As she lounges upon the rocks, she attempts to attract fishermen to her. But if he comes too near, she dives into the sea, laughing at the men. Little joy do they get from her, for her presence always ensures a storm or a disaster at sea. When a sailor fails to come home from the sea it is sometimes said he "married a mermaid". She upsets the waves and causes rain to fall from the sky. Ships at sea are cracked like straws. Small boats and rafts capsize. To her this is a delightful diversion.
On the sea she is as wild as she is alluring, but on land she becomes shy and submissive to men. Many Irish women emigrated to other lands causing many fishermen to linger by the sea long after work in hopes that a female merrow might appear.
If a man can capture her red cap or cloak, she will forget her past life and quietly marry him. She is an obedient and loving wife. Although she is always mindful of her husband and her household duties, she never quite adjusts to living on land. A married merrow laughs rarely. Her greatest emotions are ones of a quiet caring.
If she finds her cap or cloak (the husband seems to rarely hide the cap or cloak well and they never destroy them), and she sets the cap on her head or the cloak about her body, she will remember her past watery life and will joyfully abandon her home and her mate for the sea. When she remembers her past marine life she regains her youth and beauty that she lost while among the mortals
Roanes or Selkies
The Roanes are the Gaelic Seal people, the gentlest of all the faerie folk. They are said to have been humans not evil enough for Hell, yet not pure enough to enter Heaven, and so were banished to the Sea.
They are gentler creatures who are seals by day but men and women by night. They are also called selkies seal people or selchies. In their mortal form the selkies are described as possessing an unearthly beauty with dark hair and eyes. Silently they emerge from the sea to shed their skins and frolic on the sand.
Like the merrows they have webs between their fingers and toes (or at least wide palms that hint of their watery origin) and must obey anyone who secures their oily skins.
The seal-folk have a natural human form,and live underwater or on lonely skerries, putting on seal-skins to enable them to pass through the waters from one region of air to another.
Though generally kind to humans, they will avenge the death of one of their own by raising great storms, and thus sinking the boats of the seal-catchers.
Occasionally they encounter humankind, sometimes becoming their mates. They are not always constant lovers, though, and long for the sea, seeking any chance to return to it.
A human male may take a Roane female as his wife if he finds her seal skin on the beach and hides it from her. In the end she always recovers the skin and returns to the sea, though she may return occasionally to watch over her human family from the safety of the waves. But unlike the merrow, the roane will not forget her husband and children and can be seen swimming close to the shore watching over them.
A human woman may bear the child of a Roane male if she weeps seven tears or seven drops of blood in the nighttime sea. Such relationships are rarely lasting. Seven years hence, the selkie would return for his child, offering the mother a fee for nursing her own babe.
Sheoques
The Sheoques are the spirits that haunt the sacred thorn bushes and the green raths. All over Ireland are little fields circled by ditches, and supposed to be ancient fortifications and sheepfolds. These are the raths, or forts, or "royalties", as they are variously called.
Here marrying and giving in marriage, live the land fairies. Many a mortal they are said to have enticed down into their dim world.
Many more have listened to their fairy music, till all human cares and joys drifted from their hearts and they became great peasant seers or "Fairy Doctors", or great peasant musicians or poets like Carolan, who gathered his tunes while sleeping on a fairy rath; or else they died in a year and a day, to live ever after among the fairies.
These Sheoques are on the whole good; but one most malicious habit have they - a habit worthy of a witch. They steal children and leave a withered fairy a thousand or maybe two thousand years old, instead.
At times full-grown men and women have been taken. Near the village of Coloney, Sligo lives an old woman who was taken in her youth. When she carne home at the end of seven years she had no toes, for she had danced them off.
Now and then one hears of some real injury being done a person by the land fairies, but then it is nearly always deserved. They are said to have killed two people County Down, but then these persons had torn up thorn bushes belonging to the Sheoques.
Leprachauns
Originally coined by Thomas Keightley in The Fairy Mythology (1850) from the Irish "Leith bhroyan" or "Leith phroyan" meaning "one shoemaker," comes the name Leprechaun. They are also known by the name Gentry. In addition, Jewish folklore tells of a similar creature, the Sheedem or Shedim. It is now demonized and the name used derogatorily in reference to pagan deities. Their typical habitat is wild areas with large grassy hills.
They are also known by the name Gentry. In addition, Jewish folklore tells of a similar creature, the Sheedem or Shedim. It is now demonized and the name used derogatorily in reference to pagan deities. Their typical habitat is wild areas with large grassy hills.
Leprechauns are a race of cobblers whose craftsmanship is beyond compare. As a result, their wares go for astonishing sums which makes most of them exceedingly wealthy and is likely the source of the tales of their pots of gold. Infamous hoarders, they are loathe to spend a single penny, which probably explains their poor appearance in spite of their great wealth.
Some legends says that once a leprachaun begins dancing to a human's song, he cannot stop until the tune ceases. His exhausted state may cause him to make outlandish offers, including his crock of gold, if you will please only allow him to stop dancing. Other means of finding his gold include looking at the end of a rainbow, which may lead him offer 3 wishes in exchange for his treasure. His promises of gold alway proves hollow, as the Leprechaun always employs clever tricks in his granting of wishes, often resulting in the embarrassment or injury to the one who expected a bounteous reward.
Green is the color of choice among this race, though their clothing is never extravagant. Their footwear, however, is a source of pride and every Leprechaun posses the very finest he can make. Their clientele is exclusively faery and legend holds that they only make one shoe at a time, never pairs.
Apparently, the race is exclusively male as no female Leprechaun have ever been seen.
Some Leprechauns belong to the unseelie court; they are raiders of wine cellars who revel drunkenly after dark riding the backs of sheep or shepherd's dogs. The name cluricauns (kloor-a-kawns) is applied to the dark members of the family. Cluricauns often favor red clothing to set themselves apart from the seelie Leprechauns.
Ballybogs
The Irish Ballybogs, known as bogles among the Cornish and Welsh and Boggans among those residing in Northern England, are also called Peat Faeries, Mudbogs, Boggies and Bog-a-boos. The reoccurrence of the word bog in their name harkens to their typical habitat: peat bogs and mud holes. They were most typically encountered in Ireland, where people used peat as a main source of fuel because Ireland lacks natural coal and oil deposits. Their appearance of the very small creatures was decidedly odd. Mud-covered, almost completely round bodies, supporting heads without the benefit of a neck. Their arms and legs were long and spindly; apparently too much so to support their weight. Ballybogs possess no language, but rather communicate with grunts and slobbering.
While the Irish Ballybog was merely unpleasant, the English Bogle possesses a nasty temper. The Bogle focuses the majority of its ill will upon those who are lazy, incontinent, or guilty of crimes. Like many of the fae kind, both manifestations enjoy leading unwary travelers astray.
It is believed that at one time, they were they guardian spirits of bogs. Some have suggested that the preserved human remains found in the peat bogs of northern Europe are evidence of ritual human sacrifices made to placate the fae who dwelled within the bogs.
Bean-Sidhe or Banshee
Out on the lonely roads of old Ireland, or riding across the moor under a pale moon, the cry of the Bean Sidhe could pierce the soul with an Old Terror: hers was the wail that called the Prince of Death.
Banshee or 'Bean-sidhe is Irish for fairy woman. Her sharp, cries and wails are also called 'keening'. The English word 'Keen' is from the Irish 'Caoineadh' meaning lament. .
There is no harm or evil in her mere presence, unless she is seen in the act of crying; but this is a fatal sign.
The wail of a banshee pierces the night, it's notes rising and falling like the waves of the sea, it always announces a mortal's death. She is solitary woman fairy, mourning and forewarning those only of the best families in Ireland, those with most ancient Celtic lineages. Those whose names begin with 'Mac/Mc' or 'O', whose origin dates from the time of the Irish heroes. The banshee loves the old mortal families with a fierce and unearthly caring.
When a member of the beloved race is dying, she paces the dark hills about his house. She sharply contrasts against the night's blackness, her white figure emerges with silver-grey hair streaming to the ground and a grey-white cloak of a cobweb texture clinging to her tall thin body. Her face is pale, her eyes red with centuries of crying.
But this is not the only way that the banshee appears, at other times she is seen as a beautiful young girl, with long, red-golden hair, and wearing a green kirtle and scarlet mantle, broached with gold, after the Irish fashion. Or she will appear shrouded and muffled in a dark, mist-like cloak.
She can also assume the form of a young unmarried woman, one who had died in childbirth, who sang sweetly to the ill-omened soul of his imminent demise--other times, she appeared in a blood-red robe, down by a river, chilling the air with her wild weeping and washing the grave clothes of the next to die. Still others saw her as an old woman, naked from the waist up, washing bloody clothes in the mill stream.
White Lady of Sorrow some people name her, and Lady of Death. She is the Woman of Peace and the Spirit of the Air. For despite her wailing, she is somehow graced with a manner of peace.
Unseen, banshees attend the funerals of the beloved dead. Although, sometimes she can be heard wailing, her voice blending in with the mournful cries of others.
Each banshee has her own mortal family. Out of love she follows the old race across the ocean to distant lands. Her wails or keen can be heard in America and England, wherever the true Irish have settled. But they never forget their blood ties; and neither does she.
Dullahans
The dullahan (Gan Ceann) rides during the dead of night. The man is a headless horseman riding wild upon a headless horse; wherever he stops a mortal dies. His face is the color and texture of molding cheese; his head, has a large mouth and huge eyes that dart around like flies. He holds his head firmly tucked beneath his arm.
The head of the black horse has flaming eyes and short-cropped ears. The horse's head is longer than the body by six yards or more. This is the dullahan, a ghastly creature always ready to fling a bucket of blood at a healthy man's face. He will come to your door and if you open it a basin of blood is thrown at you, this is a death omen.
Sometimes he, with the grey-haired banshee shrieking by his side, drives a black coach drawn by six black horses with tails sweeping the ground and no heads. Flickering candles set in the hollows of skulls light the way; there's a flash of white from the wheel spokes as they turn--for they are made from a thigh- bone. A man's spine serves as a pole, and a mildewed pall (the cloth that covers a coffin), well chewed by the worms, covers it all. The dullahan serves no master but death.
In fear of the headless rider; men alone in the fields at night cower behind the bushes because of his reputation with a whip. With his whip he can accurately remove the eyes of all mortals foolish enough to spy on his ventures. Since he has no head, he is somewhat defective in seeing and the dullahan resents those with skilled vision.
The dullahan has a number of cousins and headlessness appears to be a family trait. Nothing puts fear into these creatures except gold. You can be saved by as little as the drop of a gold pin.
Animals of the Fae
Many animals roam the fairy underlands and water ways, and frequently they stray into mortal realms. Great horses have charged nobly out of the sea, only to be entangled, panting and helpless, in a fisherman's net. Cows often rise up from the sea in search of sun-greened grass to feed their calves.
On May Day especially, fairy cows appear to and bring good luck to the farmer whose fields they cross. Rarely is a mortal ever honored, except on this day, by the Glas Gaivlen, the sacred milk-white cow studded with bright green spots.
Wherever she treads the grass grows greener, the potato bigger and the hay more abundant.
Black cats and lake serpents guard the fairy treasure well. Cats, as legends have it, were once serpents and that is why they are so hard to kill and so dangerous to meddle with.
The most predominant characteristic of fairy animals is their ability to defy natural laws. Cows breathe under water; pigs appear and disappear at will. Trout and salmon converse with mortals in fluent Irish.
Faery hares have been caught, washed, skinned and boiled, but never add a flavor to the soup; nor can a mortal sink his teeth in their flesh. A fairy trout when thrown in a pan will not brown, and has been known to leap from the fire and out the door in the form of a glimmering girl.
This leads to the question whether faery animals are actually animals at all. The answer is complex. Some are known to be glamored objects, such as the wisps of straw which become for a night great black steeds which cross a mountain at a single leap. A log looks and moans like a dying cow or woman. The fairies have even made an old nag so to resemble a cow that its mortal owners, once they slew and prepare it, were convinced they were eating fresh beef.
Some are suspected to be fairies themselves who take on elusive animal forms to tease mortals; such ae the appearing and disappearing hares which men may chase until doomsday but will never catch.
Some animals, like the seal, are of ambiguous nature, being part animal and part faery man or woman. All seals are intimate with the faefolk, but one is never sure if all, or only a few, are actually silkies.
Of course, mortal cows and sheep graze in faeryland, having been stolen from mortal realms to nourish the good people. Guarding cats and serpents are animals in their own faery right. So, are faery animals fae? Or are they animals?
Far Liath
The Grey Man or Far Liath appears as a fog and covers land and sea with his mantle. He obscures the rocks so that ships crash upon them and darkens the road so that travelers unwittingly stumble over steep cliffs to their deaths. Because of him many a galleon was wrecked and many a mortal never returned home for dinner.
Fin Bheara
The High King of the Tuatha de Danann is Fin Bheara, crafty and courageous Faerie Lord, with a gift for the game of Chess, great skill at running the Hunt, and an eye for Beauty.
One long tale tells of his kidnapping of the Bride Ethna, the lovely wife of a human King, right on the evening of the Wedding. He is also considered a King of the Dead, dressed all in black, and the owner of a stable of fine ebony horses, who run as swift as the wind and never tire. Occasionally he will lend one to a mortal in need, such as the Kirwans of Galway--of course, he *always* expects a favour in return!
The Faerie mound where he live is Knockma, and woe to any mortal who enters and is foolish enough to eat at the Faerie Feast there--he would be trapped forever...
Fir Darrig
The Fir Darrig, pronounced "fear dearg", is an Irish fairy, though its original home may have been Scotland. Translated, the name means "red man." They are also known by the name Rat Boys, largely due to their appearance; they have long course grey hair, dark splotched yellow hairy skin, long snouts, skinny tails and are rather fat and squat. He dresses in red from his hat to his tail-trailing cape to the woolen stockings which cling to his calves.
His clothing looks as though it might have been scrounged from a sewer, being extremely torn and shabby. They may be seen somking a blackthorn pipe. Some legends hold that the Fir Darrig is an unlucky former human who wandered into fairy land by mistake and now attempts to warn others from making the same mistake. Despite this apparently good natured move, they revel in cruel and gruesome pratical jokes, which they play upon those who have made the mistake of irritating them. He manipulates his voice, emitting sounds like the thudding waves on the rocks or the cooing of pigeons. His favorite is the dull, hollow laugh of a dead man; which he makes sound as if it's coming from the grave. He has also been know to give evil dreams.
Possessing a similar lack of taste in their choice of foodstuffs, Fir Darrigs consume carrion as their main staple. Occasionally, he invites a mortal to enter a lonely bog hut, then he orders him to make dinner out of a hag skewered on a spit. The man usually faints. When he recovers, he finds himself alone with the sound of laughter filling the air, but coming from no distinguishable source.
Most active in winter, and found along polluted coastlines, in swamps, marshes and coastal ruins, it is best to avoid these creatures at almost any cost. Occasionally they venture into the land of humans, where they delight in startling people by knocking upon their doors in the dead of night and asking to warm themselves at the fire.
Never refuse such a request, as it is exceedingly bad luck and you may wake to find a changeling in your child's crib or that your cows have come down with the pox. Should you happen to encounter a Fir Darrig, take great pains to be polite to it lest you become the victim for one of its practical jokes.
If cozened and given something good to eat (such as milk and sweetmeats), then one could find gold on the table, or ask a wish for one's family: to take a Wish, though, is not often wise, as the Fir Darrig's weird sense of humor could turn the words of your wish into something less than desirable.
BR>
It is advisable to say 'Na dean maggadh fum'-- do not mock me', when you encounter a far darrig, that way you cannot be used in one of his macabre games. Unfortunately, he plans his tricks so well that a mortal is snared long before he realizes the need to protest.
With all his pranks, the far darrig desires not to do harm but to show favor. He actually is good natured and will bring luck to those whom he approves; but he cannot resisit a preliminary teasing.
Glaistig
The Glaistig has many different attributes, depending in which part of Ireland-or Scotland-you find her. She is often described as having a beautiful female form, with the legs of a goat. The Glaistig is a Water spirit, always living in close proximity to rivers, waterfalls, and streams.
In some incarnations she is like the Banshee, mourning the death of her favourite humans. Her nature is basically benign, and she is very fond of children and old people, and partial to pregnant women.
The Glaistig frequently have been seen herding cattle, caring for them secretly at night, and blessing them with abundant milk: for this favor, she is to be given libations of milk and honey.
Faeries, often perverse, will take on unexpected forms--and so she is sometimes seen as a murderous seductress, preying on unwary males who venture near her protected brooks and waterfalls. In this form she is vampiric, like the Lhiannon-Sidhe, but darker, draining the life energies of her human lover, and leaving him pale and lifeless on the shore of her haunted woodland stream.
Green Man
Green Man is an ancient deity whose likeness has been carved into older churches across much of the British Isles. Typically it is a composite image of a face formed for a mask of leaves or a face devouring vines and leaves. The image's meaning is typically one of life, renewal and rebirth, and inspiration.
He is a personification of the union between mankind and nature. His association with churches is likely an instance of pagan gods being absorbed into Christianity to entice converts or to make their worship safe.
The Green Lady is sometimes named as female counterpart of the Green Man. Some consider her a pagan worship form of the Virgin Mary. Others dispute her existence. At the very least, the image is not as old as that of the Green Man.
Robin Hood is considered by some scholars to be one of the many incarnations of the Green Man. In this case, it is the ancient legend of the King of the Wood whose lady was named Marion. It was to this older and more powerful figure that the story of Robin of Locksley was eventually grafted.
The Green Man is also connected to Robin Goodfellow and Puck, as well as Jack the Green who dances ahead of the May Queen in May Day parades.
Kelpies
Kelpies have their origin in Scotland, though they are also part of northern Irish faery lore where they are called Eisges (Ech-ooshk-ya) or Fuath (Foo-ah). The Cornish call them Shoney which is derived from the Norse name Sjofn, meaning a Goddess of the Sea. Those in Iceland know them by the name Nickers, being related to the Nix (who are German water sprites). In Shetland and the Orkney Islands they are called Nuggies.
These foul-tempered denizens of the fae are rarely seen today, a fact which is a blessing as humans are among the favorite meals of these cannibalistic faeries. When other faeries or humans were unavailable for dinner, Kelpies chose deer who had wandered too close to the lochs.
Irish lore describes them as web-footed water spirts, who possess the manes and tails of horses and the bodies of women. In Scotland they appear as friendly seahorses who allow passing humans to mount them, drowning their hapless victims once they're away from the shore.
They are able to shape change, occasionally appearing as humans though they can be distinguished by their seaweed hair which they are unable to change.
Kelpies may be captured by placing a bridle over their heads, though it was a difficult and dangerous task due to the beasts strong and willful nature. However, if a person managed to accomplish this task the kelpie was forced to serve the one who bridled it
Leanan Sidhe
Leanan Sidhe (lan-awn shee), is a Celtic muse possessing a dark unearthly beauty. Her names translates directly as My Inspiration (Leanan) Faery (Sidhe). She is sometimes called Lhiannan-Shee (lannan-shee). Legend says she resides under the Irish Sea off the eastern coast of Ireland and roams sometimes roams the Isle of Man at night as she searches for a new lover. Other haunting places can include along the banks of streams lined with moss and willows.
Her lovers are frequently artists, and all who fall under her spell suffer a keen longing in her absence. In return for the depth of emotion she receives, she inspires genius in her loves. They have been likened to candles burning at both ends: incredibly bright, but lacking the endurance of that which burns normally they expire quickly. Such is often the price of her gift, though it usual results from a great heartbreak or sorrow when she leaves, rather than a malicious intent on the part of the Leanan Sidhe.
While the artist in question typically considers her attentions a gift, the self destructive nature of the artists once she has left seems to have inspired a belief that the Leanan Sidhe is evil and dangerous. Some have even likened her to a vampire, attached to one man as she ruins his body and soul.
Radiantly beautiful to her lover, she is invisible to all other mortals. So beautiful, in fact, that all other mortals become lifeless and dull when compared to the Leanan Sidhe.
Changelings
When a mother finds a scrawny, ill-tempered, foul-mouthed yellow-faced little man in the cradle, she knows instantly that the faeries have traded her boy for this thing. The dwarfed form and irritable manner convince some that the creature is actually a child, but a smart mother knows that a faery changeling has entered her home.
Each faery changeling has a distinctive personality; but ugliness and an ill temper are generic traits.
Fairies, in their immortal perfection, are repulsed by these creatures with their restless, coal-burnt eyes, puckered features and textured skin; that is why they eject them from their lands.
The fairy changeling's whines, yowls, screeches and cries so aggravate humans that we immediately want to remove them from ours!
Before they live a year in our world, they grow a full mouth of teeth; their hands are like claws, their legs no thicker than chicken bones. No matter how much food they devour, they still want more, yet remain runty as ever. After a farmer labors to feed the faery changeling's appetite, little remains for the rest of the family.
A family whose son or daughter is abducted may receive as a substitute a sickly faery child or a log of wood bewitched to look like their own, which soon appears to sicken and die. They bury and mourn it, never realizing that their own child plucks flowers in faeryland. Yet despite their grief and ignorance, they are more fortunate to suffer such a loss than to have a faery changeling pounding their floors and raiding their cupboards.
Placing a set of bagpipes by the cradle is a sure test to discover whether the child is fairy. No changeling can resist them. Soon fairy music spills out of the house and into the village, paralyzing with joy all those who hear the sounds.
Boiling egg shells is another way of detecting. A mother boils egg shells in front of the suspected child. In an old man's voice, the changeling will cackle with laughter at the notion of making dinner from egg shells.
Horses of the Fae
Faery horses of the Tuatha De Danann, All the Heroic Fairies spent a great part of their time in solemn rides, and their horses, large or small according to the riders, were often described.
The fae described by Elidor were small, but noble, and they had horses and hounds proportioned to their size, the Welsh Gwragedd Annwyn rode on milk-white horses and the Faery Rade described in the Scottish ballads was on horses of varying colours richly caparisoned with tinkling bells.
"And the breed of horses they reared could not be surpassed in the world - fleet as the wind, with the arched neck and the broad chest and the quivering nostril, and the large eye that showed they were made of fire and flame, and not of dull, heavy earth. And the Tuatha made stables for them in the great caves of the hills, and they were shod with silver and golden bridles, and never a slave was allowed to ride them.
A splendid sight was the cavalcade of the Tuatha-de-Danann knights. Seven-score steeds, each with a jewel on his forehead like a star, and seven-score horsemen, all the sons of kings, in their green mantles fringed with gold, and golden helmets on their head, and golden greaves on their limbs, and each knight having in his hand a golden spear.
And so they lived for a hundred years and more, for by their enchantments they could resist the power of death."
A few pages later she tells of the last of these royal steeds:
"Of the great breed of splendid horses, some remained for several centuries, and were at once known by their noble shape and qualities. The last of them belonged to a great lord in Connaught, and when he died, all his effects being sold by auction, the royal steed came to the hammer, and was bought up by an emissary of the English Government, who wanted to get possession of a specimen of the magnificent ancient Irish breed, in order to have it transported to England.
But when the groom attempted to mount the high-spirited animal, it reared, and threw the base-born churl violently to the ground, killing him on the spot.
Then, fleet as the wind, the horse galloped away, and finally plunged into the lake and was seen no more. So ended the great race of the mighty Tuatha-de-Danann horses in Ireland, the like of which has never been seen since in all the world for majesty and beauty."
|
|
Copyright © 2000-2004
LV426, All Rights Reserved
Design by LV426
| |
