Mac Roth

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mac Roth [ mak Roθ ] is the name of a legendary figure from the Ulster cycle of Celtic mythology in Ireland .

mythology

Mac Roth is in the legend Táin Bó Cuailnge ("The cattle robbery of Cooley ") the groom, scout and messenger of the king Ailill mac Máta of Connacht and his wife Medb . He is able to hike all of Ireland in a single day .

When Medb marries King Ailill, she leaves her bull and joins her husband's herd. With this in her pride, she wants to buy or lend the only bull that comes close to her finding , namely the Donn Cuailnge from Ulster . She therefore sends her messenger Mac Roth to the owner, Dáire mac Fiachna from Cooley, to close the deal. For a year she offers him

[…] Fifty year old heifers , a chariot and on top of that my willing thighs.

However, when Dáire learns that Medb would use violence if her offer was rejected, he chases Mac Roth away. Medb now begins the Connacht war against Ulster, in which the youthful Ulter Cú Chulainn will perform his greatest exploits.

Mac Roth is constantly on a patrol during the approach of the Connachters. In Thurneysen you can read how he observed the whole army of the Ulter and reported every movement, every warrior troop to Medb immediately. He describes the leaders so that Fergus mac Róich, who has joined the Connachtern , can name them to the royal couple. Mac Roth is no longer mentioned in the following fights.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bernhard Maier: Lexicon of the Celtic religion and culture. P. 220.
  2. ^ Ingeborg Clarus: Celtic myths. Man and his otherworld. P. 139 f. (entire 2nd paragraph including quote)
  3. ↑ Rudolf Thurneysen: The Irish hero and king legend up to the 17th century. New edition. Georg Olms Verlag, 1980, ISBN 3-487-06882-6 , pp. 203 f. (books.google.at)