The Mythology of the British Islands: An Introduction to Celtic Myth, Legend, Poetry, and RomanceSquire, Charles
General
The Mythology of the British Islands: An Introduction to Celtic Myth, Legend, Poetry, and Romance
Squire, Charles
Celts -- Folklore; Mythology, Celtic
“And I,” said Credné the Bronze-worker, “will furnish all the rivets for
the lances, the hilts for the swords, and the rims and bosses for the
shields.”
“And I,” said Luchtainé the Carpenter, “will provide all the shields and
lance-shafts.”
Ogma the Champion promised to kill the King of the Fomors, with thrice
nine of his followers, and to capture one-third of his army.
“And you, O Dagda,” said Lugh, “what will you do?”
“I will fight,” said the Dagda, “both with force and craft. Wherever the
two armies meet, I will crush the bones of the Fomors with my club, till
they are like hailstones under a horse’s feet.”
“And you, O Morrígú?” said Lugh.
“I will pursue them when they flee,” she replied. “And I always catch
what I chase.”
“And you, O Cairpré, son of Etan?” said Lugh to the poet, “what can you
do?”
“I will pronounce an immediately-effective curse upon them; by one of my
satires I will take away all their honour, and, enchanted by me, they
shall not be able to stand against our warriors.”
“And ye, O sorcerers, what will ye do?”
“We will hurl by our magic arts,” replied Mathgan, the head sorcerer,
“the twelve mountains of Ireland at the Fomors. These mountains will be
Slieve League, Denna Ulad, the Mourne Mountains, Bri Ruri, Slieve Bloom,
Slieve Snechta, Slemish, Blai-Sliab, Nephin, Sliab Maccu Belgodon,
Segais[112], and Cruachan Aigle[113]”.
Then Lugh asked the cup-bearers what they would do.
“We will hide away by magic,” they said, “the twelve chief lakes and the
twelve chief rivers of Ireland from the Fomors, so that they shall not
be able to find any water, however thirsty they may be; those waters
will conceal themselves from the Fomors so that they shall not get a
drop, while they will give drink to the people of the goddess Danu as
long as the war lasts, even if it last seven years.” And they told Lugh
that the twelve chief lakes were Lough Derg, Lough Luimnigh[114], Lough
Corrib, Lough Ree, Lough Mask, Strangford Lough, Lough Læig, Lough
Neagh, Lough Foyle, Lough Gara, Lough Reagh, and Márloch, and that the
twelve chief rivers were the Bush, the Boyne, the Bann, the Nem, the
Lee, the Shannon, the Moy, the Sligo, the Erne, the Finn, the Liffey,
and the Suir.
Finally, the Druid, Figol, son of Mamos, said: “I will send three
streams of fire into the faces of the Fomors, and I will take away
two-thirds of their valour and strength, but every breath drawn by the
people of the goddess Danu will only make them more valorous and strong,
so that even if the fighting lasts seven years, they will not be weary
of it.”
All decided to make ready for a war, and to give the direction of it to
Lugh.
-----
Footnote 109:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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