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60-728: Manannán or Manann , also known as Manannán mac Lir ('son of the Sea'), is a sea god , warrior, and king of the otherworld in Gaelic (Irish, Manx, and Scottish) mythology who is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann . He is seen as a ruler and guardian of the otherworld , and his dominion is referred by such names as Emain Ablach (or Emhain Abhlach , 'Isle of Apple Trees'), Mag Mell ('Plain of Delights'), or Tír Tairngire ('Land of Promise'). He

120-625: A "druid of the Tuath Dé Danann" whose "proper name was Oirbsen"; Manandán mac Lir , a great sailor, merchant and druid; Manandán mac Cirp , king of the Isles and Mann; and Manandán mac Atgnai , who took in the sons of Uisnech and sailed to Ireland to avenge their deaths. Tradition has it that Orbsen engaged in the Battle of Moycullen in Co. Galway, and fell on the brink of Lake Orbsen; the lake, named after him,

180-480: A Celtic word for 'mountain' or 'rise', as the Isle of Man rises from the sea on the horizon. Alternatively, it may come from an earlier Proto-Indo-European root for 'water' or 'wetness'. In medieval Irish tradition, it appears that Manannán came to be considered eponymous to the island (rather than vice versa). The most common epithets for Manannán reinforce his association with war and the sea. Mac Lir means 'son of

240-468: A causeway across Lough Gara by carrying large stones in her petticoat but was prevented by modesty. In another legend of Athractha, she was said to live at the bottom of Lough Gara and only emerged every seven years to visit her sister Cé. Athractha cured a woman, and once a dragon with the roar of a lion emerged from the sludge and was vanquished by the Holy Virgin. There is also folklore that Cé (or Céibh)

300-532: A deadly strength-sapping sword named Fragarach , though the list does not end there. Manannán appears also in Scottish and Manx legend, where he is known as Manannan beg mac y Leir ('little Manannan, son of the Sea'). The Isle of Man ( Mannin ) is generally thought to be named after him, though some have said he is named after the island. He is cognate with the Welsh figure Manawydan fab Llŷr . Manannán

360-585: A dun cow, two golden goblets, and two spancels of silk. Manannán's father is the sea-god Ler ('Sea; Ocean'; Lir is the genitive form), whose role he seems to take over. As Oirbsen , his father is named as Elloth , son of Elatha . In the Altram Tige Dá Medar , Manannán calls himself the foster-son of the Dagda . According to Táin Bó Cúailnge ('The Cattle-raid of Cooley'), his wife

420-416: A large rock is placed in the spot where they were digging, and no chisel or hammer can break it. In a variant of this story, all the men's horses are killed, and the work they had completed to dig the channel was filled with silt. In another story, Manann was said to live in a castle and own a fabulous cow and calf that gave milk to everyone in the parish who wanted it. Some of the older people were jealous of

480-458: A poetic pantomime (1950) is a comedy based on the tale of Mongán and Dub Lacha. A third tale concerning Mongán and a poet, this time Eochaid Rígéiges, again perhaps based on the historical poet Dallan Forgaill, purports to explain why he had no children. The tale recounts a journey by Mongán and Eochaid where they are asked to explain the meaning of various place names—a branch of poetical learning called dindshenchas —and on each occasion Eochaid

540-440: A shield to be made of wood, and this later passed on to Finn, according to the lay ( duan ) "Shield of Fionn". The wood came from a withered hazel tree , on the fork which Lugh had set the severed head of Balor . The venom had penetrated this tree, killing or blinding workers trying uprooting or handling it. Various owners are named, such as Tadg mac Nuadat , but was given by Manannán to Crimall mac Trenmor, Finn's uncle, after

600-453: A soothing musical silver branch with apples made of gold , and the Goblet of Truth. Manannán initially appeared in the guise of a warrior, and described without naming his homeland as a place where old age, sickness, death, decay, and falsehood were unknown. He eventually coaxed the king to arrive as guest to this Land of Promise ( Tír Tairngire ). Manannán had other magical items according to

660-522: A symbol or as serpentine deities , sharing many similarities with dragons. Ainu In Hindu culture, each water body is worshipped as a form of God. Hence, the rivers are worshipped as goddesses and the ocean is worshipped as a god. Cook Islands Finnish Lencan Mong%C3%A1n mac F%C3%ADachnai His origin story is told in the Compert Mongáin found in the Yellow Book of Lecan and

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720-476: Is a young woman from Manannán's lands, whose epithet is "of the Fair Hair". Manannán also had a yellow-haired daughter given also the name Curcog (meaning 'Beehive' or 'Bushy-tuft') who was given up to be fostered by Aengus . Manannán is also given sons named Eachdond Mór and Gaidiar, who raped Becuma Cneisgel. Another daughter of Manannán was said to be Saint Athrachta; according to oral legend, she tried to build

780-733: Is alluded to in the 9th century tale De Chophur in dá Muccado (The quarrel of the two swineherds), found in the Book of Leinster , which is one of the stories setting the scene for the Táin Bó Cuailnge . The Ulstermen ask Manannán to send Mongán to rule over them, but he remains in the otherworld for a further ten years, returning to Ulster when he is sixteen. An agreement is made that Ulster will be divided between Fiachnae mac Demmáin and Mongán, and that Mongán will marry Fiachnae's daughter Dub Lacha. Mongán later kills his father-in-law in revenge for his father's death, again chronologically at odds with

840-410: Is described as over-king of the surviving Tuatha Dé after the advent of humans ( Milesians ), and uses the mist of invisibility ( féth fíada ) to cloak the whereabouts of his home as well as the sidhe dwellings of the others. In modern tales, he is said to own a self-navigating boat named Sguaba Tuinne ('Wave-sweeper'), a horse Aonbharr which can course over water as well as land, and

900-712: Is given several names, bynames, epithets, and surnames or patronymics . His name is spelt Manandán in Old Irish , Manannán in Modern Irish, Manannàn in Scottish Gaelic , and Mannan in Manx Gaelic . Some of the names equated with Manannán include: According to some, his name is derived from the Isle of Man with the -an suffix indicating 'one who is from' the named place. The island's name itself may come from

960-560: Is implied was slain by Fergus and Ceite. Similarly, in Welsh folklore Brân the Blessed is the brother of Manawydan. There are many oral folktales about conflicts between Manannán and St. Patrick in County Monaghan. In many of them Manannán invites St. Patrick to his castle for a feast; however, Patrick is warned by a butler or servant not to eat the food because it is poisoned. In retaliation for

1020-587: Is shown up by Mongán. As a result, Eochaid curses Mongán so that he will have no noble-born children and that his descendants will be peasants. Yeats took Mongán as a subject in his writings, including the poems "Mongan laments the Change that has come upon him and his Beloved" and "Mongan thinks of his past Greatness" ( The Wind Among the Reeds , 1899). The record of Mongán's death in the Annals of Tigernach has him killed by

1080-513: Is the beautiful goddess Fand ('Pearl of Beauty' or 'A Tear' – later remembered as a "fairy queen", though earlier mentions point to her also being a sea deity). Other sources say his wife was the goddess Áine , though she is at other times said to be his daughter. Manannán had a daughter, whose name was Niamh of the Golden Hair. It is also probable that another daughter was Clíodhna , but early sources do not treat her consistently. Either way, she

1140-484: Is the present-day Lough Corrib . The conflict in which Manannan mac Alloid was slain by Ullinn was recorded in verse by 11th century poet Flann Mainistrech . There is a great stone pillar erected in the field of Moycullin, possibly marking the battle location. Water deity A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water . Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which

1200-532: The Compert Mongáin , Compert Mongáin ocus Serc Duibe Lacha do Mongán (The conception of Mongán and Mongán's love for Dub Lacha), contains a lengthy romance concerning Mongán and another wife, Dub Lacha, daughter of Fiachnae mac Demmáin, in which Brandub mac Echach is a major character. This story makes frequent use of Mongán's otherworldly shapeshifting and magical powers. Austin Clarke 's play The plot succeeds;

1260-510: The Lebor na hUidre . The tale Compert Mongáin (the Conception of Mongán), which survives in three variants, has Mongán fathered on Fiachnae's wife Cáintigern by the sea-god Manannán mac Lir while Fíachnae campaigned alongside Áedán mac Gabráin of Dál Riata . The versions have different accounts of how this came about, all of which agree that some form of bargain was struck whereby Fiachnae's life

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1320-526: The Oidheadh Chloinne Tuireann , a romance that only survives in early Modern Irish recensions. He had a self-navigating boat called "Manannán's currach " (coracle), Sguaba Tuinne ( Scuab-tuinne ) or 'Wave-sweeper' was self-navigating, as well as a horse that could travel over land or sea called Aonbharr of Manannan, translated in popular re-telling as " Enbarr of the Flowing Mane". Both

1380-548: The Feast of Goibniu (Fleadh Goibhneann) which conferred eternal youth, and feeding them Manannan's Swine (Mucca Mhannanain) which gave an inexhaustible supply of food. Arbois de Jubainville stated that these seven pigs here and Manannán 's swine of the ancient text parallel each other. The routine for reviving the seven pigs was to put the bones in the sty (or manger). Manannán in the tale " Echtra Cormaic " owned two magical items which he gave away to Cormac mac Airt , high king of Tara:

1440-568: The Houses of Two Milk-vessels') in the 14th to the 15th century manuscript, the Book of Fermoy . Máire MacNeill gave a summary of the work. After the Tuatha Dé Danann were defeated by Érimón of the Milesians (humans), Bodb Derg was chosen as king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and Manannán as co-king or perhaps the king's overseer. In one passage Manannán declares he has assumed over-kingship above

1500-597: The Isle of Man and the best sailor in western Europe, who knew by "studying the heavens" when the weather would be good and bad. O'Donovan's annotation remarks that this merchant went by another name, Orbsen, son of Allot, and it is stated thus in Roderick O'Flaherty 's Ogygia (1685). However, the Yellow Book of Lecan (written c. 1400) separates these figures, stating there were four individuals called Manandán who lived at different times. They were: Manandán mac Alloit ,

1560-498: The Sea' or 'son of Ler ', a sea god whose name means 'Sea'. It has been suggested that his mythological father Ler 's role as sea god was taken over by Manannán . Manannán 's other surname mac Alloit or mac Alloid means 'son of the Soil/Land', so that Manannán is effectively son of the sea and land. 'Per Mare, Per Terras: WHICH WAY DO YE WANT IT?' is still the battle-cry of his grandsons. Manannán appears in all of

1620-407: The boy would ask Colum Cille what sort of people go to hell. Colum Cille told the boy that people such as Manann go to hell, and when he returned to report this to Manann, Manann was so enraged that he packed up his gold in a barrel and enchanted both the gold and himself. A diver from Dublin later went down into the lake and found Manann's barrel of gold with a monstrous serpent chained to it. Men from

1680-510: The castle. Neill's army was defeated Manann's, but in retribution, Neill (or in a variant, Manann) rode out to Bar Mouth; there he removed three enchanted rods that held back the ocean. The castle and land were subsequently submerged, but the gardens and castle can still be seen beneath the waves in Straghbregagh. According to Donegal folklore, Manannán is said to be buried in the Tonn Banks off

1740-611: The coast of Inishowen , which form part of a Triad called the Three Waves of Erin. When Cú Chulainn struck his shield, the three waves of Erin echoed the sound and roared across the ocean. Manannán's spirit is believed to ride the storms that occur when ships are wrecked. The three legs of Manannán "paradoxically" make up the heraldic arms of Man , and are said to represent the "storm-god careering over land and sea with whirling motion". The 9th century Sanas Cormaic ('Cormac's Glossary') euhemerizes Manannán as "a famous merchant" of

1800-545: The cow's abundance, and an old Protestant woman went to milk the cow into a sieve. When the cow saw what has happening, it was enraged and she and her calf ran to Dunany Point in County Louth, where they were turned to stone. In County Mayo, a pot of treasure was supposed to be buried in Manann's wood, and this treasure was guarded by a serpent. In a variant to the story about the formation of Lough Cullin and Lough Conn , Manann

1860-480: The crime, Patrick turns Manannán into a giant eel or salmon, and in some stories he is placed in a bottle and sent to the bottom of a lake to guard his iron treasure chest (or barrel) until the end of time. The treasure is chained to a team of white horses, and the chain can be seen at the top of the lake. In one story from County Monaghan, Manannán's castle was built with mortar from the blood of slaughtered animals, which allowed it to resist weathering for centuries. When

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1920-664: The cycles of Irish mythology , although he only plays a prominent role in a limited number of tales. In the Ulster Cycle tale "The Wasting Sickness of Cúchulainn " , Manannán 's wife, Fand , has an ill-fated affair with the warrior Cúchulainn . When Fand sees that Cúchulainn 's jealous wife, Emer , is worthy of him (and accompanied by a troop of armed women), she decides to return to Manannán , who then shakes his cloak ( brat[t] ) of forgetfulness between Fand and Cúchulainn which causes them not be able to remember each other. Manannán rode his chariot over

1980-419: The daughter of Manannan lost her beauty and wits due to an incantation, but recovered her beauty after Oisín provided her hospices after others all shunned her. In " The Voyage of Bran ", Manannán prophesied to Bran that a great warrior would be descended from him. Thus Mongán mac Fiachnai becomes a late addition to the mac Lir family tree. The historical Mongán was a son of Fiachnae mac Báetáin , born towards

2040-460: The death of Túathal Máelgarb , events dated to the year AD 549. Mongán's wife Findtigernd asks him to recount his journey to the otherworld. When they are at the hill of Uisnech , a supernatural hailstorm comes on. When it ends Mongán, his wife, his poet, and seven companions, find a hall ringed by trees. They enter, are greeted by the inhabitants, and Mongán is given to drink, after which he recounts his journey. Although it seems as though they are in

2100-657: The death of Finn's father. Manannán is furthermore identified with several trickster figures including the Gilla Decair and the Bodach an Chóta Lachtna ('the Churl in the Drab Coat'). The similarity of Manannan's inexhaustible swine to Odin 's boar Sæhrímnir in Scandinavian myth has been noticed. Mannanán also owned a speckled cow that he and Aengus retrieved from India along with

2160-528: The deeds of a legendary son, In the Dinsenchas , Manannán is also described as the father of Ibel, after whose death Manannán cast draughts of grief from his heart that became Loch Ruidi, Loch Cuan, and Loch Dacaech. Manannán is often seen in the traditional role of foster father, raising a number of foster children including Lugh of the great hand and the children of Deirdre . Two brothers of Manannán are named, after whom cleared plains were named: Bron, who it

2220-457: The end of the 6th century. According to legend, Fiachnae came home with a victory from a war in what is today Scotland because of a bargain made with Manannán (either by him, or by his wife) to let Manannán have a child by his wife. This child, Mongán, was supposedly taken to the Otherworld when he was very young, to be raised there by Manannán. The 8th-century saga Compert Mongáin tells recounts

2280-520: The gray waves in the Highlands of Scotland. In a variant of this story, Manann was said to live in a castle near a lake, and at night, he would draw the lake around the castle like a moat, but each morning he would return the lake to its proper place. A boy gathering water from a well ran into Manann and accidentally broke his Delft pitcher. Manann offered to put the Dellft pitcher back together using witchcraft if

2340-499: The high king at Tara. The crane-bag was eventually owned by Cumhall mac Trénmhóir, as told at the outset of this lay. Macgnímartha Finn . This is assumed to be the "treasure-bag" that was lost to Cumhall's "servant-turned-traitor", Liath Luachra , who treacherously wounded Cumall in the Cath Cnucha , but recovered later by Cumhall's son, Finn when he grew up. Manannán also commissioned the craftsman Lucra (recté Luchta ) to make him

2400-562: The horse and boat were on loan to Lugh Lamhfada , but the Sons of Tuireann managed to borrow the boat. Manannán also supplied Lugh with a full array of armor and weapon as the Tuatha Dé gathered their host to battle the Fomorians . Lugh rode Manannán's steed Aonbharr, and was girt with Manannán's sword Fragarach ("Retaliator" or "The Answerer"). Any wound this sword gave proved fatal, and its opponent

2460-498: The house for only a short time, when they leave a year has passed, and they are now at Rath Mor, Mongán's home near modern Larne , 150 miles away. In the tale of Forgoll and Fothad, Mongán is said to be married Breothigernd. Tucait Baili Mongáin names his wife Findtigernd. The Banshenchas or Lore of Women contained in the Book of Leinster , attributed to a Leinster poet named Gilla Mo-Dutu (died 1147), also names Dub Lacha as Mongán's wife. An alternative version of

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2520-434: The land in darkness, but St. Patrick placed his crozier in the ground, prayed to God, and dispelled the darkness. At the spot where St. Patrick placed his crozier, a well called Tobar Lasar sprang from the ground. In another story, villagers searching for Manann's treasure attempt to drain his lake, but just before they complete their task, a man on a white steed appears before them to send them on an errand. When they return

2580-532: The land of the living, his movement is compared to the wind, a hawk or swallow, and sometimes takes the form of a thundering wheel rolling across the landscape, such as in the "Pursuit of the Gilla Decair ", a 16th-century comic tale. There is also the local lore that Manannán moved like a wheel turning on his three legs , a tradition widespread on the Isle of Man , but also found in some eastern counties of Leinster according to John O'Donovan, though this folklore

2640-404: The petty kings of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Manannán was tasked with allotting which sídhe or fairy mounds the surviving members of the Tuatha Dé Danann were to be settled. Manannán's own dwelling was at Emain Ablach , in the city of Cruithin na Cuan, as the tale later reveals. Manannán ensured the welfare of the Tuatha Dé Danann by concealing in the féth fíada or a mist of invisibility, holding

2700-498: The poet Forgoll. This has the two meet a poor student whom Mongán takes pity on and sends to the otherworld to bring back gold, silver and a precious stone, the silver which the student is to keep for himself. Little occurs in the tale which concentrates on the magnificence of the otherworld. The second, Tucait Baili Mongáin ("What caused Mongán's Frenzy"), is said to take place in the year in which Ciarán of Clonmacnoise died and Diarmait mac Cerbaill became King of Tara following

2760-474: The presumed original intent being to vaunt Mongán's seamanship. Manannán takes Mongán away with him to Tír Tairngire —the land of promise, an otherworld similar to Tír na nÓg —where he learned shapeshifting and other esoteric knowledge. While Mongán is in the otherworld, his father is killed by Fiachnae mac Demmáin , an event which the Irish annals place after Mongán's death. Mongán's ability to change his shape

2820-431: The sea or ocean, or a great river was more important. Another important focus of worship of water deities has been springs or holy wells . As a form of animal worship , whales and snakes (hence dragons ) have been regarded as godly deities throughout the world (as are other animals such as turtles , fish, crabs, and sharks ). In Asian lore, whales and dragons sometimes have connections. Serpents are also common as

2880-513: The sea, meeting with Bran and his crew sailing by ship, in the tale "The Voyage of Bran son of Febal ", considered an early work. In this story, he told Bran that sea was not actually water to him but rather "I [ Manannán ] see in the Plain of Feats red topped flowers without fault". He goes on to tell Bran about how he is heading to Ireland to have relations with Caintigern who would go on to bear Mongán . In late sources, Manannán visits

2940-458: The servant met a stranger in a currach (later identified as Manannán), who blew his breath on the chalice, which then became whole again. Manannán then asked for a response from Colum Cille, who relayed that there would be no forgiveness for the man responsible for such works. When Manannán heard this, he said he would provide no more help to the Irish until they are "as weak as water", and then retired to

3000-567: The shroud of invisibility ( féth fíada ). Emhain Abhlach was the place of origin of the Silver Branch brought to Bran . Manannán is also said to dwell in the Land of Promise ( Tír Tairngire ), as in the tale " The Adventure of Cormac mac Airt ". An over-king's role for Manannán among the Tuatha Dé Danann is described in the narrative Altram Tige Dá Medar ('The Nourishment of

3060-571: The surviving record which has Fiachnae mac Demmáin killed several years after Mongán. One tale recounts a dispute between Mongán and the poet Forgoll, Forgoll being perhaps based on traditions about the historical poet Dallan Forgaill . Forgoll claims to know how Fothad Airgthech , a legendary High King of Ireland died, but Mongán says he is wrong. Forgoll threatens to curse and satirise Mongán for this insult to his knowledge and will settle for nothing less than Mongán's wife Breothigernd in reparation. A mysterious stranger appears who claims that Mongán

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3120-401: The top of the castle toppled over, the bottom part sank into the ground, but the ruins could still be seen owing to the power of Manannán. In some stories, Manann was said to ride a flying white steed and could transform himself into a dove and could be heard crying every seven years. In another story, Manann was a druid who challenged St. Patrick over whose god was more powerful. Manann covered

3180-506: The village then tried to drain the lake, but the morning after drilling the drain, they found it all closed up with grass growing over it. Manann was king of the faeries and coveted a beautiful meadow in Carndonagh owned by Neill na hAirde (in some versions another faery king). Manann bought the land from Neill with pearls from the ocean and built a beautiful castle there. Neill's wife grew jealous, and she compelled her husband to go to war over

3240-542: Was also the owner of the "crane-bag" ( Irish : corrbolg ) full of treasures, according to the Middle-Irish Fenian lay "The Crane-Bag" ( Duanaire Finn Poem VIII) datable to the 13th century, To Manannán was sent a woman transformed into the shape of a crane. She was Aoife, daughter of Dealbhaoth ( Irish : Áiffe ingen Dealbhaoíth ), and mistress of Ilbhreac of many beauties ( Irish : Ilbric Iolchrothaigh ). Ilbhreac here may have been Ilbhreac son of Manannán. Aoife

3300-407: Was reduced to the weakness of a woman in childbirth . Lug also wore Manannán's helmet Cathbarr, which O'Curry amends to Cennbhearr, which he regards as a common noun and not a proper name. This helm was set with two precious gems on the front and one in the rear. Manannán's lúirech or body armour and Manannán's scabal ( neck-piece or breastplate ) were also part of Lugh's panoply. Manannán

3360-459: Was said to have a huntsman named Cullen who had two hunting dogs. The dogs chased after a ferocious boar, and when they overtook the boar, the boar turned and killed the dogs in Lough Conn. Cullen was then drowned at Lough Cullin. In a folktale from Donegal, St. Colum Cille broke his golden chalice and sent a servant to the mainland to have it repaired. While returning to the mainland in his currach,

3420-603: Was saved by Manannán in return for a night with Cáintigern. An early version of this tale is found in the Immram Brain where Manannán prophecies Mongán's birth and near divine nature to Bran. Although the surviving versions of the tale are from the 10th or 11th century, earlier versions are believed to have been included in the lost Cín Dromma Snechtai manuscript. The verses in which the claims of Mongán's divine parentage and tutoring are made are described by Charles-Edwards are "literary conceit" and by Carney as "poetic hyperbole",

3480-464: Was transformed by the druidery of her jealous love-rival (Iuchra daughter of Ábartach), whose spell was to last 200 years. When Aoife died, Manannán crafted her crane's skin into a magical treasure bag, whose contents were only visible when flooded during full tide, and would seem empty when the tide had ebbed. The bag was in the possession of Lugh Lamhfada , then taken by Lugh's killers, the three sons of Cermait. Later Manannán endowed it to Conaire Mór

3540-606: Was unfamiliar to Whitley Stokes. Manannán is lord and guardian of the Blessed Isles , Emhain Abhlach ('Isle of Apple-trees', cognate with the Avalon of the Welsh Arthurian cycle ), and Mag Mell or Magh Meall ('Plain of Delights'). Manannán sings a verse describing his sea as Mag Mell , in "The Voyage of Bran ", stating that the steeds on the plain cannot be seen, thus alluding to his concealment of his dwelling using

3600-399: Was with him when he slew Fothad, and proves Forgall wrong. The story ends by revealing that the stranger was the legendary fianna hero Caílte mac Rónáin and that Mongán was the reincarnation of Finn mac Cumaill . Two short tales survive which associate Mongán with the otherworld, both dating from the late 10th or early 11th century. One is Scél Mongáin , a story concerning Mongán and

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