Manannan

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Manannan mac Lir [ 'mananaːn mak Lʴirʴ ] is a legendary figure in the Celtic mythology of Ireland . He was considered the son of the sea Lir and local spirit or embodiment of the Isle of Man ( Old Irish Mana , genitive Manann ). Nicknames are Lodan and Oirbsen . As Lodan he is the father of the goddess Macha , as Oirbsen he is the spirit of Loch Oirbsen in Ireland. Another nickname in Gaul and Britain is Barinthus . Its Welsh equivalent is Manawyddan .

mythology

Manannan mac Lir comes into contact with the people of Ireland in a wide variety of shapes and disguises, as a man with blond curls who glides over the sea on a cart, as a gigantic blacksmith Culann or in the form of a juggler. In addition to Tethra, he is considered to be the ruler of Mag Mell ("plane of joy"), which is also called Tir na nOg ("land of youth"), and of the "blessed islands". His daughter here is Niamh .

In more recent stories he is counted among the Túatha Dé Danann , whom he provides at the Goibnius festival with the meat of his everlasting magical pigs, which ensures immortality and invisibility.

His wife is Fand or Fann, the sister of Angus , his son is Gaiar (or Gaidiar), Cormac and Lugh are considered his adopted sons. He has a number of magical items: a ship that doesn't need a sail, a cloak that makes him invisible, and a sword that never misses its target. Manannan's horse, Aonbharr, solicits the sons of Tuirenn, as well as his chariot, so that they can cope with Lugh's task of repenting the murder of Cian . Both move across the water as if it were solid ground. Manannan gave the magic cup of truth to Cormac. In the story Compert Mongáin ocus serc Duibe Lacha do Mongán (“Mongán's procreation and Mongán's love for Dub Lacha”) it is reported how he and King Fíachna Finn's wife Cáintigern fathered the later Ulster King Mongán, kidnapped him and raised him himself.

When Manannan leaves his wife Fand, she falls in love with the mortal hero Cú Chulainn (see Serglige Con Chulainn ocus oenét Emire "Cú Chulainn's sick bed and Emer's only jealousy"). Her beauty makes him live with her in the Other World, but when she renounces him at the urging of Cú Chulainn's wife Emer, he goes mad. Only the intervention of Manannan, who wipes out both memories of each other with his magic cloak and brings Fand back into his realm, makes him well again.

With Muirne he is said to have fathered the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill .

reception

In the Middle Ages Manannan was thought to be a wealthy merchant from the Isle of Man, who, due to his skills as a seafarer, was called a "god of the sea" ( mac Lir ) by the island celts . However, it is more likely that it can be traced back to an ancient Celtic deity . On the Isle of Man he was worshiped under the name Mannan (or Mannan-beg-mac-y-Leir ). There they offered him green grass on midsummer evening and implored his blessings for fishing and seafaring. It was also believed that he could use his magical abilities to create a fleet of warships from pea pods to deter invaders.

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 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c 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 , p. 677 f.
  2. ↑ Isabella Augusta Gregory : The Great Book of Irish Myths and Legends . Pattloch Verlag, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-629-01624-3 , several places, including p. 31 ff: "The Sons of Tuireann"