Morrígan

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Morrígan or Morrígain [ ˈmoʀiːɣinʲ ] ("ghost queen ") or more rarely Mórrígan , old Irish "Great Queen", also Morrígu , Mórrígu , Mórríghan , Mór-Ríoghain , is a female figure in the Celtic mythology of Ireland . She is an otherworldly female figure, closely connected with war, struggle and sexuality.

etymology

There is disagreement about the origin of the name Morrígan. The first component "Mor" could be derived from the Indo-European root * mora- "incubus" (German "Geist, Kobold"). In Old English there is the lexeme "mare" with the meaning incubus, nightmare, monster , (German "Geist, Alptraum, Monster"), other forms are "mera, mære" from Proto-Germanic * maron "Kobold". Compare New English “nightmare”, Dutch “mare”, Old Norse and Old High German “mara” with the meaning “nightmare” or “spirit”, Bulgarian, Serbian “mora”, Czech “mura”, Polish “zmora” with the meaning “spirit ". French “cauchemar” goes back to the old French “caucher” meaning “trample” and Indo-European * mer (“hinder, inhibit”). The lexeme “rígain” can be translated from Irish as “queen”. The common interpretation would be "ghost queen ", English phantom queen . In Middle Irish, the name is often written "Mórrígan", with a diacritical longitude mark above the letter / o /, which indicates the meaning of "Great Queen" from Old Irish mór ("great") and rígan ( queen ), which in turn refers to the Protoceltic * māra Rīganī-s can be traced back. For antiquity , the early Middle Ages and the Middle Ages , the interpretation of the first syllable as mór for 'large' is considered likely. There have been attempts by some authors to connect “Morrígan” with the Welsh literary figure of Morgane as the picker of the body of King Arthur on the apple island of Avalon , but this is no longer accepted in research today. A derivation of the name from the Protoceltic marwo for 'dead' cannot be proven and contradicts the Indo-European word stems.

mythology

It cannot be proven that the origins of the Morrígan go back to a Stone Age mother cult. At Lebor Gabála Érenn , she is one of three sisters, daughters of the Ernmas and granddaughters of Bresal, together with Macha / Nemain and Badb / Fea . Morrígan belongs to the Túatha Dé Danann , which means "people of the goddess Danu". The Morrígan is also equated with Anu . She appears as a beautiful young woman as well as an ugly old woman and, like her sister Badb, also in the shape of a crow or a raven. In the story about the battle of Mag Tuired ( Cath Maige Tuired ) she is one of the partners of the Dagda and slays the last Firbolg king Eochaid mac Eirc .

In the Táin Bó Cuailnge , the most important saga of the old Irish Ulster cycle , she appears as an adversary of the hero Cú Chulainn . She appears one after the other in the form of a beautiful woman, an eel, a she-wolf and a heifer and tries to prevent him from defending Ulster against the attack of the army of Medb and Ailill . However, Cú Chulainn resists her and injures her, whereupon she uses a trick to trick him into healing her again.

Modern reception

literature

In the literature, Morrígan is often portrayed as a dark and often malicious figure.

  • In the crime comedy A Deadly Job by Christopher Moore , published in 2006 under the English title “A Dirty Job”, the messenger Charlie is harassed by the Morrigan. She is described there as one of the three harpies or raven women who represent the personifications of death in the form of beautiful warriors who can transform themselves into birds. Collectively, all three personify the queen of the underworld.
  • In Nora Roberts ' Fantasy Ring Trilogy , published in 2006 under the English titles Morrígan's Cross (Part 1), Dance Of The Gods (Part 2) and Valley Of Silence (Part 3), she is the helping and guiding hand of the six Chosen ones who defeat the vampire queen Lilith. Her representation in these works corresponds to that of a fairy queen and goddess. Here their animal forms are the owl and the deer / stag.
  • Kevin Hearne draws on characters from Irish mythology, including the Morrígan , in his fantasy series The Chronicle of the Iron Druid , published in 2013 under the English title "The Iron Druid Chronicles". Her wild, passionate side is highlighted, as well as her role as the goddess of death.
  • In Michael Scott's "The Secrets of Nicholas Flamel" she appears as one of the main antagonists. She is a powerful, magically gifted being, which is also known as the crow goddess. Furthermore, she and her sisters Macha and Babd share a body here.

music

The pagan folk group Omnia dedicated the “song Morrigan” to the goddess on their 2004 album “Crone of War”.

The Finnish metal band Children of Bodom released a song called "Morrigan" on their 2015 album "I worship Chaos".

Movie

In the Stargate - Command SG-1 series , Morrígan is a member of the alien species, the Goa'uld , and can be worshiped as a goddess.

In the series Sanctuary - Guardians of the Creatures , the Morrigan are three young women who are found in a tomb by the Sanctuary team. The Morry here are so-called abnormalities who have psychic abilities and who wiped out two armies in a great battle just by their thoughts.

In the series Lost Girl , Morrigan is the leader of the "Fae of Darkness" and wants to see the main character Bo either by her side or dead.

Fantasy and video games

Similar dark interpretations can also be found in several fantasy video games, for example in Dragon Age: Inquisition - Bioware role-playing game with open-world approaches and an epic story. She is also the namesake of Shay Cormac 's ship in Assassin's Creed Rogue . Furthermore, she appears as a goddess in the 3rd person Mobagame Smite .

See also

literature

  • J. Carey: Notes on the Irish War-Goddess . In: Éigse 19, 1982/1983, pp. 263-275
  • R. Clark: Aspects of the Morrgan in Early Irish Poetry . In: Irish University Review 17, 1987, pp. 223-236
  • Matthias Egeler: Valkyries, Bodbs, Sirens. Thoughts on the religious-historical connection of northwest Europe to the Mediterranean region. (= Real Lexicon of Germanic Archeology - Supplementary Volumes 71), Berlin - New York: de Gruyter 2011
  • WM Hennessy: “The Ancient Irish Goddess of War”. In Revue Celtique 1 (1870), pp. 32-55
  • Richard M. Meyer: Old Germanic Religionslehren, Severus Verlag 2013, p. 113

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ Matthias Egeler: Valkyries, Bodbs, Sirens. Thoughts on the religious-historical connection of northwest Europe to the Mediterranean region. (= Real Lexicon of Germanic Archeology - Supplementary Volumes 71), Berlin - New York: de Gruyter 2011
  2. ↑ http://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Richard M. Meyer: Old Germanic Religionslehren, Severus Verlag 2013, p. 113
  4. ^ Ranko Matasovic: Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic . Brill Academic Pub, Boston 2009, ISBN 9-0041-7336-6