Anna June Pagé

Canadian in Austria. Teaching in the Linguistics Department at University of Vienna. PhD in Indo-European Studies. Focus on Celtic Studies, Ulster Cycle, comparative mythology, medieval Irish language and literature. She/Her.

Humanities Commons: https://hcommons.org/members/annajunepage/
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1730-4281
University of Vienna: https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/persons/anna-page(1cdd54ca-1f6d-4673-8c98-d11c02c8bdac).html
Blog: https://ulstercycle.hcommons.org/

Last Notes

2025-02-10 12:55:13 UTC

- reply

They are both at times portrayed as scheming and deceitful, but they fit well together and accept each other. Until they don't. The one relationship that Ailill can't seem to get past is Medb's affair with Fergus, and it leads to Fergus' death. When Ailill is later carrying on an affair of his own, Medb asks Conall Cernach to deal with it, and he is happy to kill Ailill to avenge Fergus. No happy endings here, but a good marriage while it lasted? 3/3 #MythologyMonday #IrishMyth

2025-02-10 12:54:43 UTC

- reply

Ailill grew to be a powerful warrior, and Eochaid Dala became jealous. He challenged Ailill, and Medb intervened to ensure Ailill's victory. After Eochaid's death, Ailill ruled Connacht with Medb. Many stories say that Medb kept Ailill as her husband because he was a man without meanness, without jealousy, and without fear. This is what she requires in a husband, and he is the only man who suits her. 2/3#MythologyMonday #IrishMyth

2025-02-10 12:54:16 UTC

The relationship between Ailill and Medb is a fascinating one. Medb's first partner was Conchobar, but she left him. Her second partner was Tindi mac Connra, who declared war on Conchobar because he raped Medb. Tindi was killed by his own brother at Conchobar's urging. Eochaid Dala then took over the battle and became Medb's third partner and ruled Connacht with her. During this time Ailill, who was the grandson of Medb's sister Ele, came to be fostered by Medb. 1/3 #MythologyMonday #IrishMyth

2025-02-10 12:17:59 UTC

- reply

The fact that Óengus buys Étaín for Midir isn't exactly romantic, and he's only doing it to compensate Midir for an injury that he sustained in Óengus' territory. The relationship between Óengus' parents might qualify much better as a romance. The Dagda sends Bóand's husband away and literally alters the flow of time so that he can have a child with her before her husband returns in the evening. 3/3 #MythologyMonday #IrishMyth

2025-02-10 12:17:42 UTC

- reply

The second woman Óengus is linked with is Cáer Ibormeith, who visits him in his dreams and makes him sick. When his lovesickness is diagnosed, cooperation and exchanges of favours between various members of the Túatha Dé Danann and humans are required in order to locate Cáer Ibormeith and negotiate for her. With the sole exception of Óengus wooing Étaín on behalf of his foster-father Midir, Óengus can't really be said to be involved in love or romance at all. 2/3 #MythologyMonday #IrishMyth

2025-02-10 12:17:28 UTC

A common misconception is that the Irish Óengus is a god of love, but there's no real reason to think this. He is the son of the Dagda and the Bóand and the stories about him are more focused on questions of land ownership and exchange and on legal trickery than on love. He is linked with two different women. The first is Derbriu, who is the sister of Medb. When Derbriu's foster-sons are turned into pigs, Óengus tries to help them, but ultimately fails. 1/3 #MythologyMonday #IrishMyth

2025-02-03 15:47:09 UTC

- reply

After his bath, Fráech was taken to bed to rest, but soon after a weeping was heard. The weeping was the sound of Fráech's mother and the women of Bóand, who had come to take Fráech into the síd of Crúachan. He returned the following day, completely healed. Fráech later died after facing Cú Chulainn in single combat in Táin Bó Cúailnge, and women from the síd came for him again, this time to take his body into what became known as the síd of Fráech. #MythologyMonday #IrishMyth 3/3

2025-02-03 15:46:37 UTC

- reply

During this sleep, a warrior of the síd used healing plants and herbs and a curing charm to heal Cú Chulainn's wounds. Another warrior who was healed in the síd is Fráech, whose mother was Bé Find, sister of Bóand. After Fráech was wounded during his combat with a lake monster, Ailill and Medb ordered that a bath be prepared for him with a broth of fresh bacon and the flesh of a heifer. 2/3 #MythologyMonday #IrishMyth

2025-02-03 15:46:07 UTC

In Irish stories, a warrior might be taken into the síd to be healed if one of his parents was of the Túatha Dé Danann. This happened to Cú Chulainn, whose father was Lug mac Ethlend, during his solitary defense of Ulster in Táin Bó Cúailnge. When he was grievously injured, his father came and told him to sleep for three days in the mound of Lerga while Lug took his place protecting Ulster. 1/3 #MythologyMonday #IrishMyth

2025-02-03 11:09:17 UTC

The poet (and completely terrible person) Athirne once demanded that the king Echu mac Luchta give him one of his eyes. To prevent Athirne's anger and satire against his people, Echu plucked out his own eye and gave it to Athirne. To reward Echu for his generosity, God performed a healing miracle and gave him the two most beautiful eyes in Ireland.
#MythologyMonday #IrishMyth

2025-02-03 08:22:29 UTC

- reply

A drop of blood from the head pierced the stone and then knocked the pillar over, and Conall then used the force of the head to cure his crooked neck. 2/2
#MythologyMonday #IrishMyth

2025-02-03 08:21:52 UTC

Conall Cernach is described "crooked." This seems to refer to his neck, which was injured when his uncle Cet mac Mágach tried kill him at birth by stomping on him. After killing Mess Gegra, Conall Cernach took his head. Mess Gegra told Conall Cernach that he would benefit from putting his head on top of his own. Conall realized this was a trick and put the head on a pillar-stone instead. 1/2
#MythologyMonday #IrishMyth

2024-12-09 08:12:24 UTC

- reply

The leg is also dangerous though, and becomes too heavy for Lugh. He abandons the foot and drags the shin-bone behind his chariot, where its weight forms a ditch filled with the putrefaction of the rotting bone. When Lugh finally leaves it behind, a dorb "worm" burrows into it, eats the marrow, and grows into the smirrdris. The smirrdris meets its end in the Acallam when Finn drains the lake that it lives in until it is too small for it and then kills it. 3/3

2024-12-09 08:06:54 UTC

- reply

In the Acallam we also find the story of a smirrdris in Loch Lurgan. Smirrdris seems to be a form of muirdris, a compound of the word muir "sea" and -dris, which seems to be connected to the word dragon. The origin story of this smirrdris is found in the Early Modern Irish version of Cath Muighe Tuireadh "The Second Battle of Mag Tuired." After Lugh kills his grandfather, the cyclops Balor, he takes his head as a trophy. Because the head is toxic and destructive, Lugh takes Balor's leg. 2/3

2024-12-09 08:01:01 UTC

Medieval Irish literature has many lake monsters, especially in the Acallam na senórach "The Dialogue of the Ancients." Some have fascinating origin stories. The lake monster in Glendalough, called a peist, was once a quarter of the brain of the Leinster king Mess Gegra, which had been turned into a stone and used to kill the Ulster king Conchobar. At some point part of the brain was swallowed by the earth and transformed. The monster was eventually bound by St. Kevin. #MythologyMonday 1/3

2024-11-18 13:13:04 UTC

In Irish myth, Conganchnes was a nearly invincible warrior with a horn-skin. After he was killed, he was beheaded and his head was buried in a cairn. Later a crying sound was heard from the grave, and three puppies were found inside. They became three famous dogs from Irish myth: Culann's Hound, Mac Dathó's dog Ailbe, and Celtchar's dog Dóelchú. #MythologyMonday