Gods and Fighting MenCeltic MythologyLegend / Oral TraditionIrish source traditions arranged in EnglishShareGods and Fighting Men 16Project Gutenberg 1905 edition - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableProject Gutenberg 1905 editionLanguageEnglishEspañol‹Gods and Fighting Men 1Gods and Fighting Men 2Gods and Fighting Men 3Gods and Fighting Men 4Gods and Fighting Men 5Gods and Fighting Men 6Gods and Fighting Men 7Gods and Fighting Men 8Gods and Fighting Men 9Gods and Fighting Men 10Gods and Fighting Men 11Gods and Fighting Men 12Gods and Fighting Men 13Gods and Fighting Men 14Gods and Fighting Men 15Gods and Fighting Men 16Gods and Fighting Men 17Gods and Fighting Men 18Gods and Fighting Men 19Gods and Fighting Men 20Gods and Fighting Men 21Gods and Fighting Men 22Gods and Fighting Men 23Gods and Fighting Men 24Gods and Fighting Men 25Gods and Fighting Men 26Gods and Fighting Men 27Gods and Fighting Men 28Gods and Fighting Men 29Gods and Fighting Men 30Gods and Fighting Men 31Gods and Fighting Men 32Gods and Fighting Men 33Gods and Fighting Men 34Gods and Fighting Men 35Gods and Fighting Men 36Gods and Fighting Men 37Gods and Fighting Men 38Gods and Fighting Men 39Gods and Fighting Men 40Gods and Fighting Men 41Gods and Fighting Men 42Gods and Fighting Men 43Gods and Fighting Men 44Gods and Fighting Men 45Gods and Fighting Men 46Gods and Fighting Men 47Gods and Fighting Men 48Gods and Fighting Men 49Gods and Fighting Men 50Gods and Fighting Men 51Gods and Fighting Men 52Gods and Fighting Men 53Gods and Fighting Men 54Gods and Fighting Men 55Gods and Fighting Men 56Gods and Fighting Men 57Gods and Fighting Men 58Gods and Fighting Men 59Gods and Fighting Men 60Gods and Fighting Men 61Gods and Fighting Men 62Gods and Fighting Men 63Gods and Fighting Men 64Gods and Fighting Men 65Gods and Fighting Men 66Gods and Fighting Men 67Gods and Fighting Men 68Gods and Fighting Men 69Gods and Fighting Men 70Gods and Fighting Men 71Gods and Fighting Men 72Gods and Fighting Men 73Gods and Fighting Men 74Gods and Fighting Men 75Gods and Fighting Men 76Gods and Fighting Men 77Gods and Fighting Men 78Gods and Fighting Men 79Gods and Fighting Men 80Gods and Fighting Men 81Gods and Fighting Men 82Gods and Fighting Men 83Gods and Fighting Men 84Gods and Fighting Men 85Gods and Fighting Men 86Gods and Fighting Men 87Gods and Fighting Men 88›Chapter Viii. ManannanGods and Fighting Men 16ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1Now as to Manannan the Proud, son of Lir, after he had made places for the rest of the Tuatha de Danaan to live in, he went away out of Ireland himself. And some said he was dead, and that he got his death by Uillenn Faebarderg, of the Red Edge, in battle. And it is what they said, that the battle was fought at Magh Cuilenn, and that Manannan was buried standing on his feet, and no sooner was he buried than a great lake burst up under his feet in the place that was a red bog till that time. And the lake got the name of Loch Orbson, from one of the names of Manannan. And it was said that red Badb was glad and many women were sorry at that battle. 2But he had many places of living, and he was often heard of in Ireland after. It was he sent a messenger to Etain, mother of Conaire the High King, the time she was hidden in the cowherd's house. And it was he brought up Deirdre's children in Emhain of the Apple Trees, and it was said of that place, "a house of peace is the hill of the Sidhe of Emhain." And it was he taught Diarmuid of the Fianna the use of weapons, and it was he taught Cuchulain the use of the Gae Bulg, and some say it was he was Deirdre's father, and that he brought Conchubar, king of Ulster, to the place she was hidden, and he running with the appearance of a hare before the hounds of the men of Ulster to bring them there. 3And it is what they say, that the time Conchubar had brought the sons of Usnach to Emain Macha, and could not come at them to kill them because of their bravery, it was to Manannan he went for help. And Manannan said he would give him no help, for he had told him at the time he brought Deirdre away that she would be the cause of the breaking up of his kingdom, and he took her away in spite of him. But Conchubar asked him to put blindness for a while on the sons of Usnach, or the whole army would be destroyed with their blows. So after a while he consented to that. And when the sons of Usnach came out again against the army of Ulster, the blindness came on them, and it was at one another they struck, not seeing who was near them, and it was by one another's hands they fell. But more say Manannan had no hand in it, and that it was Cathbad, the Druid, put a sea about them and brought them to their death by his enchantments. 4And some say Culain, the Smith, that gave his name to Cuchulain afterwards, was Manannan himself, for he had many shapes. 5Anyway, before Culain came to Ulster, he was living in the Island of Falga, that was one of Manannan's places. And one time before Conchubar came into the kingdom, he went to ask advice of a Druid, and the Druid bade him to go to the Island of Falga and to ask Culain, the smith he would find there, to make arms for him. So Conchubar did so, and the smith promised to make a sword and spear and shield for him. 6And while he was working at them Conchubar went out one morning early to walk on the strand, and there he saw a sea-woman asleep on the shore. And he put bonds on her in her sleep, the way she would not make her escape. But when she awoke and saw what had happened, she asked him to set her free. "And I am Tiabhal," she said, "one of the queens of the sea. And bid Culain," she said, "that is making your shield for you, to put my likeness on it and my name about it. And whenever you will go into a battle with that shield the strength of your enemies will lessen, and your own strength and the strength of your people will increase." 7So Conchubar let her go, and bade the smith do as she had told him. And when he went back to Ireland he got the victory wherever he brought that shield. 8And he sent for Culain then, and offered him a place on the plains of Muirthemne. And whether he was or was not Manannan, it is likely he gave Cuchulain good teaching the time he stopped with him there after killing his great dog. 9Manannan had good hounds one time, but they went hunting after a pig that was destroying the whole country, and making a desert of it. And they followed it till they came to a lake, and there it turned on them, and no hound of them escaped alive, but they were all drowned or maimed. And the pig made for an island then, that got the name of Muc-inis, the Pigs Island afterwards; and the lake got the name of Loch Conn, the Lake of the Hounds. 10And it was through Manannan the wave of Tuaig, one of the three great waves of Ireland, got its name, and this is the way that happened. 11There was a young girl of the name of Tuag, a fosterling of Conaire the High King, was reared in Teamhair, and a great company of the daughters of the kings of Ireland were put about her to protect her, the way she would be kept for a king's asking. But Manannan sent Fer Ferdiad, of the Tuatha de Danaan, that was a pupil of his own and a Druid, in the shape of a woman of his own household, and he went where Tuag was, and sang a sleep-spell over her, and brought her away to Inver Glas. And there he laid her down while he went looking for a boat, that he might bring her away in her sleep to the Land of the Ever-Living Women. But a wave of the flood-tide came over the girl, and she was drowned, and Manannan killed Fer Ferdiad in his anger. 12And one time Manannan's cows came up out of the sea at Baile Cronin, three of them, a red, and a white, and a black, and the people that were there saw them standing on the strand for a while, as if thinking, and then they all walked up together, side by side, from the strand. And at that time there were no roads in Ireland, and there was great wonder on the people when they saw a good wide road ready before the three cows to walk on. And when they got about a mile from the sea they parted; the white cow went to the north-west, towards Luimnech, and the red cow went to the south-west, and on round the coast of Ireland, and the black cow went to the north-east, towards Lis Mor, in the district of Portlairge, and a road opened before each of them, that is to be seen to this day. 13And some say it was Manannan went to Finn and the Fianna in the form of the Gilla Decair, the Bad Servant, and brought them away to Land-under-Wave. Anyway, he used often to go hunting with them on Cnoc Aine, and sometimes he came to their help. ‹Previous chapterGods and Fighting Men 15Next chapterGods and Fighting Men 17›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain in the United States via Project Gutenberg