Aided Oenfir Aífe
Aided Oenfir Aífe [ 'aðʴeð' oinirʴ 'aifʴe ] ("The death of Aífe 's only son") is the name of a story from the Ulster cycle of Irish mythology . The oldest version is contained in the Leabhar Buidhe Lecain ("The Yellow Book of Lecan") from the 14th century.
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In the story Tochmarc Emire ("The Advertisement for Emer") it is reported how Cú Chulainn wins a duel with Aoife as one of the tasks that he has to fulfill in order to achieve Emers . With her he fathered a son, to whom he imposed three gesa (taboos): never to be dissuaded from the path by an individual, never to reveal his name to an individual and never to refuse a duel. He also leaves his ring behind to recognize him later.
Seven years later this son, Connla , comes to Ulster in his boat . This boat and its handlebars impress and frighten the Ulter at the same time, it is made of bronze and the boy wields golden oars. Before he lands, he does some tricks with sling stones. King Conchobar mac Nessa sends Conall Cernach to the beach to find out more. However, he does not succeed in overpowering the boy, but is even stunned by him with the sling stones, tied up and sent back with abuse. Now Cú Chulainn is sent out, although Emer tries in vain to hold him back, because unconsciously she suspects the origin of the newcomer. Since Cú Chulainn comes alone, Connla withholds his name and origins from him, too, and asks to bring in a second warrior. This forbids Cú Chulainn his pride, so that it comes to a duel in which he fatally wounds his son with the Gae Bolga . Only then does Cú Chulainn recognize him by the ring and make up with him. Connla dies with the words to the Ulter:
- "If I had only been allowed to live among you for five years, I would have conquered the 'men of the world' for you and extended your kingdom to Rome."
A correspondence with the Old High German legend of the Hildebrandslied is unmistakable. Whether it is a topos of old legends or a loan from one language group to another is still a matter of dispute. The Irish legend Fingal Rónáin (“Rónán's killing of relatives”) also tells of a father-son conflict with a fatal outcome .
Modern reception
The Irish poet William Butler Yeats wrote his drama On Baile's Strand in 1904 , which is about this father-son tragedy. Cúchulainn kills his son Conlœch out of a sense of duty to the country and under pressure from King Conchubar , although he has recognized his ancestry. The drama follows tradition, but after the duel, Cúchulainn goes mad for some time. The title of the drama is based on the alleged landing site of Conlœchs , Baile na Tragha (today Seatown, a suburb of Dundalk ).
See also
literature
- Helmut Birkhan : Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-7001-2609-3 .
- Helmut Birkhan: Post-ancient Celtic reception. Praesens Verlag, Vienna 2009, ISBN 978-3-7069-0541-1 .
- Ingeborg Clarus : Celtic Myths. Man and his otherworld. Walter Verlag 1991, ppb edition Patmos Verlag, Düsseldorf, 2000, 2nd edition, ISBN 3-491-69109-5 .
- Bernhard Maier : Lexicon of Celtic Religion and Culture (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 466). Kröner, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-520-46601-5 .
Web links
- Aided Óenfir Aífe Original Irish text in Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition .
- The tragic Death of Connla English translation in The Celtic Literature Collective .