Loeg mac Riangabra
Loeg mac Riangabra [ Loiɣ mak 'Rʴianɣvra ], also Lœg or Laeg , is the name of Cú Chulainn's charioteer in the Ulster cycle of Ireland's Celtic mythology .
Loeg mastered the three búada (" forces of victory") of the charioteer art : leim dar boilg ("the jump over the chasm"), foscul n-diriuch ("suddenly taking away, pulling together" [the horses?]) And the "swinging the whip, Whip". For the fight he arm himself with a doublet made of deerskin, thin enough not to be hindered in movement, a mythical feather coat, an ornate helmet and a red headband, the symbol of the charioteer. He protects the horses with iron armor, and equips the chariot with sickles and spears on all sides. With the help of a magic spell, he can make the vehicle invisible.
In the Táin Bó Cuailnge ("The cattle robbery of Cooley "), he mocks Cú Chulainn as ordered, when he threatens to slacken in a duel with Fer Diad . He hands him the death spear Gae Bolga , who is thus kindled in a rage , with which he kills his opponent.
In Serglige Con Chulainn ocus oenét emirs ( "Cú Chulainn sickbed and the only jealousy Emers ") is Loeg at the request of the fairy Lí Ban of Cu Chulainn to Found in the otherworld sent and brings thence a glowing report about this "wonderful country" back .
In the story Aided Chon Culainn (“The Death of Cú Chulainn”) it is reported that Loeg has great difficulty harnessing the horses because they - especially the favorite horse Liath Macha - resist. Loeg sees this as a bad omen and warns his masters against the campaign to Muirtheimne, Cú Chulainn's possession. During the fight, recounted in the chapter Brislech Mór Maige Muirtheimne (“The great felling of Mag Muirtheimne”), Loeg is killed with Cú Chulainn's own spear, which he has to leave to the enemies because of a magic curse ( glám dícenn ).
See also
literature
- Helmut Birkhan : Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. 2nd, corrected and enlarged edition. Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-7001-2609-3 .
- Ingeborg Clarus : Celtic Myths. Man and his otherworld. Walter, Düsseldorf et al. 1991, ISBN 3-530-70014-2 , pp. 290 ff. (2nd edition. Patmos, Düsseldorf 2003, 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 .