Orgain Denna Ríg

Orgain Denna Ríg [ 'orginʴ' dʴeNa Rʴiːɣʴ ] ("The Murder of Dinn Ríg") is the title of a story from the Historical Cycle of Irish Mythology . It probably dates from the 9th century and is preserved in three manuscripts: in Lebor Laignech ("The Book of Leinster"), in Leabhar Buidhe Lecain ("The Yellow Book of Lecan") and in the manuscript Rawlinson B 502 from the 12th century . Century.

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Labraid Moen (“the mute speaks”), the son of King Ailill Aine von Leinster , has to go into exile with his harpist Craiftine and his poet ( fili ) Ferchertne . His uncle Cobthach Cóel Breg ("the skinny one of Brega") had poisoned Labraids father and grandfather and usurped the royal dignity. As another version reports, Conthach Coel comes up with a cruel ruse: he pretends to be dead, lets himself be laid out - with a razor in hand - and when his brother leans over him in mourning, he cuts his throat.

In one version of the saga, Labraid has to swallow the hearts of father and grandfather together with a living mouse and then loses speech for a while. Because of his banishment he is also called Labraid Loingsech ("the exile"). In Munster he finds refuge and wins the love of the king's daughter Moriath. To distract the watchful mother, Craiftine plays a slumber song that makes her fall asleep. Labraid now sleeps with Moriath and marries her. He is able to persuade their father Scoriath to help and with the help of the Munster troops he recaptures his father's castle, Dinn Ríg (in County Carlow ). With the help of Labraids mother and the court jester, who both want to die voluntarily for son and king, he lures Cobthach and his companions into an iron house, the walls of which he makes glow with fire, so that everyone perishes in it. This cruel revenge earned him the nickname Lore ("the grim one").

See also

• List of Celtic gods and legendary figures
• Myths and legends from Ireland

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 , pp. 201, 259.

Web links

• Celtic Literature Collective: The Destruction of Dind Rig. (Book of Leinster)
• Article Labraid Loingsech in the English language Wikipedia
• Barbara E. Crawford, Beverley Ballin Smith, Simon Taylor, Gareth Williams: West over sea: studies in Scandinavian sea-borne expansion and settlement before 1300 . A festschrift in honor of Dr. Barbara E. Crawford. Brill, Leiden and Boston 2007, ISBN 978-90-04-15893-1 , pp. 509 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed December 31, 2016]).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. P. 466.