Cath Maige Rátha
Cath Maige Rátha [ kaθ 'maɣʴe' Raːθa ] ("The Battle of Mag Ráth") is the name of a story from the Historical Cycle of Irish Mythology . The legend probably dates from the early 10th century and is in the Leabhar Buidhe Lecain ("The Yellow Book of Lecan") in the oldest surviving version.
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The story Fled Dúin na nGéd (“The Feast of Dún na nGéd”) tells how the High King of Ireland , Domnall mac Aeda, and his foster son Congal Claen, the King of Ulster , quarrel because the latter fought for his services thinks unrewarded. At this festival for the coronation of the king, this dispute finally becomes so violent that Congal Claen gathers an army and also recruits King Domnall Brecc of Alba (Scotland) from the Dalriada family as allies. He declares war on Domnall mac Aeda and in 637 the battle of Mag Ráth ("Plain of the Ringforts", Moira , County Down ) takes place, which lasts for three days. However, the forces of Ulster and Scotland suffer a crushing defeat and Congal Claen is killed.
During this battle, Suibne , King of Dál nAraide in Northern Ireland, goes mad and escapes from the battlefield into the woods. This side story is the content of the saga Buile Suibne (" Suibne's madness").
Another comrade-in- arms, the petty king Cenn Fáelad mac Ailella , suffers a severe head wound, is operated on and afterwards has high mental powers and a never-ending memory.
See also
literature
- Bernhard Maier : Lexicon of Celtic Religion and Culture (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 466). Kröner, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-520-46601-5 .