Mes Gegra

Mes Gegra [ mʴes' gʴeɣra ], also Mesgegra or Mes Gedra , is the name of a king of Leinster in the Ulster cycle of Celtic mythology of Ireland .

mythology

In the story Cath Étair ("The Battle of Étar") Mes Gegra and his army besieged the fortress Étar ( Howth , County Fingal near Dublin ), in which Aithirne Áilgesach entrenched himself with 100 Ultern . This had tried to rob noble women from Leinster and was therefore persecuted and locked in Étar. The Ulster warrior Conall Cernach, who hurries to help, kills and beheads Mes Gegra in a duel and drives away the army of besiegers. Since Mes Gegra lost a hand in a previous fight, Conall is fair enough to fight him with one hand tied to his belt.

Because the head of the victim seemed too heavy to the charioteer Conall to carry, Conall orders him:

“So take out the brain. Cut it up with your sword, then mix in lime and form a ball out of it. "

In the story Aided Chonchobuir ("Conchobar's death") , Cet mac Mágach from Connacht throws this brain ball so violently against King Conchobar mac Nessa's forehead that the ball gets stuck in it. This brings about Conchobar's later death after a long illness.

See also

• List of Celtic gods and legendary figures
• Myths and legends from Ireland
• Celtic head cult
• Portlaun by clans

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

Web links

• Jean Markale: Women of the Celts - The Head of Mesgegra , Inner Traditions / Bear & Company, 1986
• Jean Markale / Jody Gladding: The epics of Celtic Ireland: ancient tales of mystery and magic. Inner Traditions / Bear & Company, 2000

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Rudolf Thurneysen : The Irish hero and king saga. Verlag Georg Olms, Hildesheim 1980, p. 77. f
2. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. P. 825.