Caílte ( Modern Irish : Caoilte ) mac Rónáin was a nephew of Fionn mac Cumhaill , a warrior and a member of the fianna in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology . He is described as being able to run at remarkable speed and communicate with animals, and was a great storyteller. Some poems of the Fenian Cycle are attributed to Caílte.
7-456: In the short Middle Irish tale Finn and Gráinne , his ancestry is given as "son of Oisgen or Conscen, the son of the Smith of Múscraige Dobrut; a son he of Cumall's daughter." Caílte's most celebrated fellow survivor was Oisín : according to Cath Gabhra ( The Battle of Gabhra ), Caílte and Oisín are the only members of the fianna to survive that final battle. They are both central figures in
14-543: A harp to attract and distract them and by persuading them to change to human form, while Caoilte cast a spear that penetrated all three, thereby killing them. He had the sword Cruadh-Chosgarach, the Hard Destroying One. The 'Bodb Dearg', god in fianna time who is the son of the Dagda had a daughter called Scathniamh. She and Cailte loved each other. But they were forced to part from one another, and they never met again till
21-561: Is preserved uniquely in the Great Book of Lecan ( RIA ), ff. 181a, 2. Although the spelling has been modernised, the text is thought to be very much earlier than the 14th/15th century, when the manuscript was compiled. Meyer suggests that the text was originally written in 10th or even the 9th century, while Gerard Murphy posits a somewhat later date, in the 11th or 10th century. The story begins to relate how Finn úa Báiscni courts Gráinne, daughter of King Cormac mac Airt. Intending to shake off
28-518: The marriage proves to be an unhappy disaster. One time when the Feast of Tara is celebrated, with all the men of Ireland and the fiana present, Cormac observes the sad expression on his daughter's face. She whispers to him how the hatred for her husband has made her physically ill, thickening her blood and swelling her sinews. Overhearing Cormac's reaction to the sad news, Finn becomes aware of Gráinne's plight and announces their separation. The text ends with
35-614: The tale Acallam na Senórach ( Colloquy of the Ancients ), in which they survive into Christian times and recount tales of the Fianna to a recently arrived Saint Patrick . In Irish mythology, Cas Corach was a hero who helped Caílte mac Rónáin kill three werewolf-like creatures, the daughters of Airitech who would come out of the Cave of Cruachan every year around Samhain and destroy sheep. The she-wolves liked music, so he aided in their slaying by playing
42-632: The time Caoilte was old and withered, and one of the last that was left of the Fianna. Caolte is characterized in the poem by W.B. Yeats, "The Hosting of the Sidhe." This article relating to a Celtic myth or legend is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Finn and Gr%C3%A1inne Finn and Gráinne is a short, probably Middle Irish anecdote of the Finn Cycle about Finn mac Cumaill and his wooing of and eventual divorce from Gráinne , daughter of King Cormac mac Airt . The text
49-484: The warrior, whom she seriously dislikes, she comes up with a seemingly impossible demand as her bridal gift: "a couple of every wild animal that was in Ireland to be brought in one drove, until they were on the rampart of Tara". However, Cáilte the "swift-footed" ( coslúath ), Finn's loyal companion, carries out the task for Finn and so Cormac has to give his daughter Gráinne in marriage to Finn. Gráinne detests her husband and
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