Clothru

Clothru is the sister of Queen Medb of Connacht in the Ulster cycle of Celtic mythology of Ireland .

mythology

Clothru of Cruachan, her nickname, is the daughter of King Eochaid Fedlech and one of his six daughters. Your castle is said to have been on Inis Clothrann ("Island of the Clothru", today Inchcleraun / Inis Cloithrinn) in Loch Rí ( Lough Ree ), a lake in the river area of ​​the Shannon .

In the story Aided Medba / Meidbe ("Medb's death") it is reported in a subplot that Clothru was Queen of Cruachan before Medb , which is why both of them were nicknamed "of Cruachan". When her brothers Bres, Nár and Lothar, known as the Findemna ("the beautiful triplets"), planned to overthrow their father from the throne, she first wanted to prevent this through betrayal. But since this plan failed, she invited the three to her castle, where she seduced her brothers. She gave birth to a son, Lugaid Riab nDerg ("Lugaid with the red stripes"), and threatened them with betraying this shame if they ever raised their hand against their father. At the same time, she wanted to ensure that her father's tribe would not die out if her sons died, which she feared.

Clothru is later murdered by Medb and avenged by her son Furbaide Ferbend .

See also

• List of Celtic gods and legendary figures
• Celtic women

literature

• Bernhard Maier : Lexicon of Celtic Religion and Culture (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 466). Kröner, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-520-46601-5 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Bernhard Maier: Lexicon of the Celtic religion and culture . P. 80.
2. ↑ Georges Dumézil: The Destiny of a King , University of Chicago Press, 1988, p. 103.
3. ↑ The Violent Death of Medb ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.