Monaghan Patricia. The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore
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Tree of Tortu (Irish mythic object, Ash of Tortu,
Tree of Dath-í) One of the five great TREES of
Ireland, it was an ASH, one of the most sacred trees
to the Celts. The tree of Tortu was so huge that
when it was felled it stretched across Ireland.
tree soul Scottish folkloric symbol. Just as a
human soul could lodge in a rock or an animal,
the EXTERNAL SOUL could also reside in a tree.
This belief may derive from the widespread
Celtic belief in the sanctity of TREES.
Tregeagle (John Tregeagle, Jan Tregeagle)
Cornish folkloric figure. Once in Cornwall, leg-
end says, lived an evil man who pledged his soul
to the DEVIL after killing his wife. He outwitted
his fate, however, because he was so selfish that
he would not leave earth after his death but
remained to interfere with neighbors who
wished to use his land. Finally a local clergyman,
intent on saving even lost souls, gave him the
task of emptying a pool with a seashell, which he
did until he wearied. At the moment he stopped
to rest, the devil appeared and dragged him
away, “roaring like Tregeagle,” as the Cornish
saying goes.
Source: Spence, Lewis. The Minor Traditions of
British Mythology. New York: Benjamin Blom,
Inc., 1972, p. 96.
Trenfher See OGMIOS.
Trewa Cornish folkloric site. At this region
near the town of Zennor, WITCHES were said to
meet for their MIDSUMMER festival, lighting fires
on Burn Downs and dancing around, casting
spells and otherwise concocting magic and mis-
chief. The festival was centered on a strange
rock formation called Witches’ Rock, which
local superstition holds is certain protection
against bad luck, if one touches it nine times at
the stroke of midnight.
triad Welsh and Irish literary form. Because of
the mystic importance of the number THREE and
to facilitate memorization by providing a stan-
dard formula, poets and other BARDS composed
many short poems that listed three examples of
qualities, people, and places. Triads list the
THREE SPLENDID WOMEN of king ARTHUR’s
court, the THREE SORROWS OF IRELAND, and
many other groups. Scholars examine the triads
for the mythological material they encode.
Source: Bromwich, Rachel. Trioedd Ynys Prydein:
The Welsh Triads. Cardiff: University of Wales
Press, 1961.
Triduana British goddess. In a story similar to
one told of Ireland’s BRIGIT, this minor British
goddess is said to have pulled her eyes out of her
head to avoid an unwanted suitor. As Brigit was
a triple goddess, and Triduana’s name includes
the syllable for “three,” it is possible this was a
local title of the goddess.
triplicity See THREE.
Tristan Cornish hero. The story of Tristan
and his fated love, ISEULT, is one of the great
romances of the Celtic world. He was a young
warrior, strong and vigorous; he was talented in
the arts, being a fine musician and storyteller.
And he was handsome as well, easy on the eyes
of the many maidens who swooned after him,
but Tristan was fated to love and be loved by the
wife of his king.
When that king—Tristan’s uncle, MARK of
Cornwall (sometimes, Cornouille in Brittany)—
discovered a hair of the most glorious gold, he
determined to marry the woman to whom it
belonged. That woman was Iseult, and Tristan
traveled to Ireland to escort her to her wedding.
On the way, Iseult’s handmaid BRANGIEN gave the
two a potion to relieve their thirst. It was no ordi-
nary drink, however, but a magic brew from
Iseult’s mother, who to assure her daughter’s hap-
454 Tree of Tortu
piness had concocted a potion for her wedding
night. As she was meant to do with her king, Iseult
fell in love with the handsome knight Tristan.
The couple tried to be true to their vows to
king Mark, and the wedding went forward but
eventually Tristan and Iseult consummated their
love. Despite their happiness, Iseult finally
returned to her husband. Heartbroken, Tristan
married a woman with the same name, but he
could not bring himself to sleep with her, and
when he heard the false news that his beloved
Iseult was dead, he died himself.
The story, long viewed as only a romantic
tale, has its basis in the myth of the goddess of
SOVEREIGNTY who chooses as her mate the
strongest and most virile lover. The same story
appears in variations throughout the Celtic
lands: in the story of king ARTHUR, his queen
GUINEVERE, and her knight LANCELOT in
Britain; and in the Irish myth of the aging hero
FIONN MAC CUMHAILL, the glorious GRÁINNE,
and the handsome DIARMAIT.
trooping fairies Folkloric motif. FAIRIES
came in two varieties: SOLITARY FAIRIES like the
LEPRECHAUN kept their own company and
avoided others of their kind, and the more com-
mon trooping fairies who lived together in great
palaces where they danced and sang the day
away. (Some writers add a third category of fairy
being: the domestic fairy like the
BROWNIE who,
although living without other fairy kin, was
nonetheless sociable to humans.) Generally
these fairies caused little trouble to humans who
left them alone, although sometimes they rode
forth on the
WILD HUNT to steal babies and
brides AWAY to FAIRYLAND.
trow Scottish folkloric figure. On the
Shetland and Orkney Islands, these figures rep-
resent the most common kind of FAIRY. Like the
Scandinavian trolls, from whom their name
probably derives, the trows did not like sunlight
and so were nocturnal creatures. Unlike trolls,
trows were not typically turned to stone by sun-
light but were merely paralyzed, to return to life
at nightfall.
Trows were found in two varieties. The sea
trow lived beneath the waves, like a MERMAID or
SEAL, while the land trows could be GIANTS or
human-sized gray-coated fairies. If you met one
on the road, he walked backward rather than
toward you. Seeing one was unlucky, but over-
hearing them talking to each other brought
good luck.
Sources: Keightley, Thomas. The Fairy Mythology.
London: H. G. Bohn, 1870, p. 105; MacGregor,
Alasdair Alpin. The Peat-Fire Flame: Folk-Tales
and Traditions of the Highlands & Islands.
Edinburgh: The Moray Press, 1937, p. 104;
Spence, Lewis. The Minor Traditions of British
Mythology. New York: Benjamin Blom, Inc.,
1972, p. 52.
Tryamour Arthurian heroine. In the poetry of
Marie de France, this FAIRY LOVER traded wealth
for sex with the knight LAUNFAL but, like any such
woman, made one demand: that he never boast
about her. He was unable to fulfill his promise, as
is common in such cases, but Tryamour was less
punitive than others of her race and permitted
Launfal to join her in the OTHERWORLD.
Trystan (Drystan, Drystan fab Tallwch) Welsh
hero. In a Welsh-language version of the familiar
tale of
TRISTAN and ISEULT, the hero and heroine
are named Trystan and ESYLLT, and she is the wife
of king March ap Meirchion. The couple eloped
to a forest, where they were besieged by March’s
three armies. The battle was bloody and brutal,
and when it appeared that Trystan might win, king
ARTHUR was called in to negotiate a truce. That
wise king told them to share the woman’s favors,
with one having her in the summer, the other in
the winter. March chose first: he wanted winter,
when nights were longest, but Trystan tricked
him, claiming that because yew trees are green
year-round, he would keep Esyllt forever. Trystan
may have derived from the lore of the PICTS, a
Trystan 455
mysterious northern British people whose cultural
background is unknown.
Tuag Irish heroine. At the age of 15, this lovely
girl caught the eye of the god of the sea, MANAN-
NÁN MAC LIR, although she had been reared on
the royal hill of TARA by the high king CONAIRE
himself. To ensure that she was kept safe, Conaire
decreed that no man should approach Tuag’s
home. Many nobles and kings came to court to
seek her hand, but Manannán was determined to
wed her, so he sent his BARD, the dwarf FER Í, as
his emissary. Fer Í disguised himself a woman and
crept into her chambers, where he sang a lullaby
so potent that she fell into a dreamless sleep.
Continuing to sing to the girl, Fer Í hoisted her
onto his shoulders and carried her away. Later,
exhausted from carrying her strong body on his
small shoulders, he set her down while he rested.
Unfortunately, he chose his resting place poorly,
for the waters of the Bann River rose and carried
Tuag away, drowning her.
Similar stories are told of many river god-
desses, such as BÓAND and SÍNANN, so Tuag may
be the goddess of the Bann River. Its estuary, Tuag
Inber, bears her name. Three great waves were
said to dash against Ireland’s coasts: the wave of
the FAIRY QUEEN CLÍDNA, the Wave of Rudraige,
and the wave that strikes the shores at Tuag Inber.
Source: Gwynn, Edward. The Metrical Dindshenchas.
Royal Irish Academy, Todd Lecture Series.
Dublin: Hodges, Figgis, and Co., Ltd.,
1906–1924. Reprinted Dublin Institute for
Advanced Studies, School of Celtic Studies,
1991, pp. 61–63.
Tuairisgeal (t-Urraisgeal) Scottish folkloric
figure. When the king of Ireland was out riding
in Scotland one day, he met this strange man
who lured him into gambling. Tuairisgeal
seemed an easy mark: First he lost his wife, then
his horse. The third time, Tuairisgeal won, earn-
ing the right to ask anything of the king. He
wanted only one thing: the answer to an unlikely
question. How had his father died? The king did
not know, so he set off to find out. Riding
Tuairisgeal’s horse and helped by Tuairisgeal’s
wife, the Irish king finally found himself in the
court of Greece, where he learned that
Tuairisgeal’s father had been a monster who had
turned children into WOLVES. The king of
Greece lost several children to the monster, and
at last when his daughter was threatened by a
monstrous claw, she was protected by angry
wolves—her transformed brothers and sisters.
One bit off the monster’s hand, after which the
king of Greece tracked the creature to his home
and killed it. The wolfish children were immedi-
ately restored to their human forms, and the
king of Ireland had to bring bad news back to the
mysterious gambling stranger.
Source: McKay, John G. More West Highland Tales.
Vol. 2. Scottish Anthropological and Folklore
Society. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1969, p. 3.
Tuan mac Cairill (Tuan Mac Carell) Irish
hero. The brother of the early Irish invader
PARTHOLÓN, Tuan survived the plague that
killed off his people and lived on in a series of
forms, including a STAG, a BOAR and an EAGLE.
After many such REINCARNATIONS, Tuan became
a SALMON that was eaten by a woman who
became pregnant (see
PREGNANCY THROUGH
DRINKING, EATING). Reborn as a human, Tuan
remembered all his lives, which made him a
great and eloquent
BARD. A similar story in
Wales told of the boy GWION who, eaten by the
goddess CERIDWEN while SHAPE-SHIFTING, was
reborn as the bard TALIESIN.
It was Tuan who narrated the mythological
history of Ireland called the BOOK OF INVASIONS.
He did so as an expert witness, having lived
through almost all of Irish history. Some texts
claim that Tuan was the same as the salmon of
WISDOM, otherwise known as FINTAN.
tuath Irish concept. This word, often trans-
lated as “tribe,” had a more complex meaning in
456 Tuag
ancient Irish than merely a group of people, for
it also referred to the land upon which that
group lived. Each tuath chose its own king.
Ireland had approximately 150 tuaths, hence the
large number of kings in Irish mythology and
history. Some scholars assert that the usual num-
ber of members of a tuath was approximately
3,000, leading to a proposed total population for
the island of nearly a half-million people. A sim-
ilar word appeared in continental Celtic lan-
guages, where it became the basis for the name
of an apparent tribal god, TEUTATES.
One ancient legal text says that not only does
each tuath need a king, but other offices must be
filled as well: BARD, churchman, and scholar.
Kings were paid taxes (usually in food) by the
tuath and could call upon the able-bodied men to
assist in protecting the land and its people. Most
people stayed within the physical territory of
their tuath virtually all their lives, seeing their
friends and relations (and their enemies as well)
at regular festivals and assemblies called ÓENACH.
While most legal rights were confined to the ter-
ritory of the tuath, the bard or poet had the right
to travel beyond the tuath’s boundaries and to be
treated according to the expected standard.
Source: Kelly, Fergus. A Guide to Early Irish Law.
Dublin: School of Celtic Studies, Dublin
Institute for Advanced Studies. Early Irish Law
Series, Vol. III, 1988, pp. 3–4.
Tuatha Dé Danann (Tuatha Dé, De Danaan,
de Danaan, Fir Dea) Irish mythological race.
According to the mythological history of
Ireland, the BOOK OF INVASIONS, the penultimate
invaders were a magical race, distant descen-
dants of the earlier children of NEMED. They
fought against the monstrous FOMORIANS and
the tough FIR BOLG, defeating both to earn the
right to rule the land. They kept control of
Ireland for nearly 3,000 years, until the final
migratory wave struck the island shores. The
MILESIANS fought bitterly against the Tuatha Dé,
who refused to give way. Finally a treaty was pro-
posed, whereby the land would be divided. The
Milesians took the surface world, while the
Tuatha Dé took the rest: the misty ISLANDS out to
sea, the bottoms of LAKES, and the FAIRY MOUNDS.
And so they departed, yet never left, Ireland.
They became the FAIRY people, immortal pres-
ences that still interacted with their human neigh-
bors, especially at times when the veils between
the worlds lifted, like the magical festivals of
BELTANE on May 1 and SAMHAIN on November 1.
The Tuatha Dé Danann get their name from
DANU, the goddess from whom they were
descended; for this reason they are also called
Fir Dea, “men of the goddess.” They include
many of the greatest divinities of Ireland: BRIGIT,
goddess of healing, smithcraft and poetry; ÉRIU,
after whom the island is named; BÓAND, the
white cow goddess of rivers; the three war god-
dess, BADB, MACHA, and the MÓRRÍGAN; the good
god DAGDA; MANANNÁN MAC LIR, god of the sea;
the envious physician DIAN CÉCHT; the many-
gifted LUGH; and many others. When they were
driven from the surface world, they each estab-
lished a SÍDHE or palace, some of which were
especially famous, such as KNOCKSHEGOWNA,
where ÚNA lived, and BRÍ LÉITH, home of the
loyal MIDIR. There they lived immortal, pleasant
lives surrounded by beauty and song, only ven-
turing to this world to engage in FAIRY KIDNAP-
PING and similarly amoral activities.
Source: MacAlister, R. A. Stewart. Lebor Gabála
Érenn: The Book of the Taking of Ireland, Parts
1–4. Dublin: Irish Texts Society, 1941, pp.
91–314.
tuathal See DIRECTIONS.
Tuireann (Turrean) Irish hero. Like a parallel
figure, UISNEACH, Tuireann receives little atten-
tion in Irish mythology, although the story of his
three sons’ deaths is one of the THREE SORROWS
OF IRELAND. The young warriors set out after
CIAN, a hero with whom their father was at war.
When he realized he was surrounded, Cian
Tuireann 457
turned into a BOAR and attacked, but the SHAPE-
SHIFTING warriors turned into DOGS and brought
him down. They permitted Cian to resume his
human shape just before he died. For this mur-
der, the SONS OF TUIREANN had to perform a
series of exhausting tasks, from which they died.
Their father, who was the consort of the great
goddess DANU (sometimes called DONAND in this
tale), himself died of sorrow at hearing the news.
Tuiren See UIRNE.
tulman Scottish folkloric site. This word is
used in Scotland to describe the palace inside a
FAIRY MOUND.
turning the jacket Irish folkloric symbol.
Like carrying IRON or SALT, turning one’s cloth-
ing backward or inside out is supposed to be a
sure protection against FAIRIES, who otherwise
might kidnap a traveler AWAY.
Turoe Stone Irish mythological site. In a
field outside the small town of Loughrea near
Galway City, a human-sized boulder stands
upright, its top swirling with ornate bas-reliefs.
It originally stood near a rath called Feerwore
but was moved in historical times to the current
site. The ornamented stone appears to be in the
LA TÈNE style, suggesting that it is Celtic in ori-
gin. What purpose it was intended to serve is
unknown, but four other pillar stones are known
in other parts of Ireland: at Castle Strange in Co.
Roscommon, Killycluggin in Co. Cavan,
Mullaghmas in Co. Kildare, and Derrykeighan
in Co. Antrim. Such stones may have been sym-
bolic central points, like the
STONE OF DIVISIONS
on the hill of UISNEACH, which is said to be
Ireland’s exact center. A replica of the Turoe
Stone can be seen in the National Museum in
Dublin.
Source: Harbison, Peter. Pre-Christian Ireland:
From the First Settlers to the Early Celts. London:
Thames and Hudson, 1988, p. 158.
Tweedie Scottish folkloric figure. This minor
water spirit was the child of a water demon who
lived in the Tweed River.
twins Cosmological concept. Although THREE
was the most significant number to the Celts,
there is also evidence that they saw symbolic
value in the number two. Celtic mythology fre-
quently pictured goddesses who gave birth to
twins. Typically one twin was light and the other
dark or, as in the case of the Welsh NISIEN and
EFNISIEN, one good and the other evil. The
Romans associated such twin gods with their own
Dioscures, Castor and Pollux.
Twrch Trwyth (Twrch Trwyd) Welsh mon-
ster. In the tale of KULHWCH AND OLWEN, the
human hero Kulhwch sought the hand of the fair
Olwen, but her father YSPADDADEN PENKAWR
refused to permit the wedding until the groom
had performed 40 impossible tasks. The most
difficult was the capture of a COMB, razor, and
scissors from the horrifying Twrch Trwyth,
who appeared to be a monstrous BOAR but was
in reality a bewitched king trapped in animal
form for his misdeeds. With the help of
MABON, freed from bewitchment to help with
the quest, the great boar was found and cap-
tured. Given that Kulhwch’s name means “pig-
run,” the connection between hunter and prey
appears close.
tylwyth teg (fair family) Welsh folkloric fig-
ure. This name is often used as a NAME FOR THE
FAIRIES in Wales; there as in other Celtic lands,
it was believed impolite or unlucky to refer the
FAIRIES by their real names. The king of this fair
family was GWYNN AP NUDD. Small, childlike
beings, the tylwyth teg wore homespun clothes of
blue, unlike most fairies who wore GREEN or
RED. Petroleum was their BUTTER and toad-
stools, their bread.
Tyronoe See MORGAN.
458 Tuiren
Uaithne (Uathe) Irish folkloric figure. The
harper who served the beneficent god, the
DAGDA, Uaithne eloped with the Dagda’s con-
sort BÓAND, with her he had three children,
including the musician SÚANTRADE, who inher-
ited his father’s great talent. The name is also
given to the Dagda’s magical HARP, which would
only sing when its owner demanded it.
Uathach (Uathach of the Glen) Scottish
mythological figure. The daughter of SCÁTHACH,
the WARRIOR WOMAN of the Isle of Skye, Uathach
met the budding hero CÚCHULAINN at the border
of her mother’s lands (the “glen” in her title) and
challenged him. Despite putting forth enormous
effort, neither could win against the other.
Realizing that she had met her equal and finding
that enormously attractive, Uathach then set
about helping Cúchulainn with his studies in the
martial arts. Although they shared a bed as well as
lessons, Cúchulainn finally left Skye to return to
his home in Ulster, abandoning Uathach to return
to his intended wife
EMER, to whom he had
pledged fidelity. A variant of the tale says the hero
wounded Uathach and then, when another lover
arrived to help her, killed him, although whether
he acted out of jealousy or defensiveness is
unclear; in another tale, Uathach gave Cúchulainn
his greatest weapon, the mysterious magical GÁE
BULGA, as a reward for his sexual performance.
Uath mac Imoman Irish mythological fig-
ure. In the Irish story of the Feast of BRICCRIU, the
warrior Uath mac Imoman challenged all of
Ireland’s heroes to a test of their courage: He
would let them cut off his head, if they would do
the same afterward. Two of ULSTER’s finest war-
riors refused, but the great CÚCHULAINN agreed,
despite knowing that Uath had FAIRY blood and
thus was able to regrow his head. Cúchulainn’s
courage was rewarded, and he went uninjured,
for the blade of Uath’s sword refused to kill him.
For this peculiar feat, Cúchulainn was hailed as
the land’s greatest warrior, an honor that trou-
blemaking Briccriu used to stir up the rest of the
warriors against him.
Ucuetis Continental Celtic god. This obscure
god, consort of the goddess BERGUISA, was
depicted carrying a HAMMER, which may indicate
that he was a parallel to the Irish god of fertility,
the mallet-wielding
DAGDA, or a local form of
the hammer-bearing god SUCELLUS.
Uffington See WHITE HORSE OF UFFINGTON.
Uicce Irish hero. This obscure leader of the
MILESIANS was, according to the BOOK OF INVA-
SIONS, an important early Irish warrior of whom
little is now known.
6
U
459
Uigreann (Uirgriu) Irish hero. Although this
obscure hero plays only a small role in Irish
mythology, that role is significant, for he was
killed by the great hero FIONN MAC CUMHAILL.
Fionn, in turn, was killed by Uigreann’s five
sons, who all cast their spears at once.
Uirne (Tuiren, Tuirn, Tuirreann) Irish mytho-
logical figure. The mother of the favorite hunting
dogs of the heroic FIONN MAC CUMHAILL was his
sister or aunt, Uirne, who was transformed into a
DOG by a jealous rival for the affections of her
husband ULLEN. Uirne was pregnant when the
enchantment struck her, and so her children were
born as TWIN puppies, BRAN and SCEOLAN, who
grew up to become Fionn’s companions. While
their mother was released from the spell, her
twins remained forever trapped in canine form.
Uisneach (Usnech, Usna, Uisnech, Usliu,
Usnach, Usnoth) Irish mythological site. In the
geographical center of Ireland, a low hill rises
among the rolling lands near the village of
Ballymore, between Athlone and Mullingar in Co.
Westmeath. Although from its base Uisneach is a
nondescript hill, the view from its summit is
extraordinary, for almost the entire island can be
seen from that single vantage point. Ireland’s bowl
shape, with mountains along the seashore rim and
a great interior plain, is clearly visible from the top
of the mountain that was, in ancient times, recog-
nized as the island’s magical center (see MIDE).
In Celtic cosmology, the center is not so
much a physical as a metaphoric or spiritual loca-
tion, and thus Uisneach shares with the hill of
TARA the title of Ireland’s center. In a manner
typical of the Celtic view of DUALITY, Uisneach
and Tara make up a pair of TWINS that may, in
ancient times, have represented two different
kinds of power. Tara’s associations are predomi-
nantly with the political and kingly history of the
land, while Uisneach—now little known com-
pared to Tara, whose fame remains widespread—
was the center of spiritual power, the domain of
the DRUIDS rather than the kings. The connec-
tion between two hills was recognized by ancient
geographers such as Giraldus Cambrensis, who
called them “alike as two kidneys.”
Despite their apparent equality, however, it is
Uisneach rather than Tara that is more signifi-
cant in mythology. For it was on Uisneach that
the last wave of invaders, the MILESIANS, met the
greatest goddess of the land, ÉRIU. They had
previously met her two sisters, FÓDLA and
BANBA, each standing upon her own mountain.
In each case, the Milesians had promised to
name the land after the goddess, provided she let
their armies pass unopposed. Fódla and Banba
each in turn stood aside, permitting the
Milesians to pass to the center of the island,
where they met the superlative Ériu. In awe of
her power and opulence, the Milesians cast their
earlier promises aside so that the island could
bear her name, as it still does today.
When Ériu was killed, local legend says that
she was buried beneath the STONE OF DIVISIONS,
a great, naturally placed boulder on the side of
Uisneach that is said to mark the exact point
where the four PROVINCES come together. The
Stone, sometimes called “the naval of Ireland,” is
described as showing, on its broken surface, the
map of Ireland. More commonly, it was not a
goddess killed on the hill but the god LUGH, who
was set upon by three gods, MAC CUILL, MAC
CÉCHT
, and MAC GRÉINE, the last being Ériu’s
husband. The myths are somewhat fragmented
and self-contradictory, but the connection of the
hill with the magical center of the island and
with its tutelary goddess are invariable.
Apparently the first dwellers on the hill were
the
FOMORIANS, ancient monsters who warred
with the magical TUATHA DÉ DANANN. The
Fomorians required that the Tuatha Dé pay tax
on all their kneading-troughs, querns, and bak-
ing stones, as well as for every male of the tribe.
Anyone who refused to pay the taxes had his
nose cut off. After the Tuatha Dé conquered the
monstrous Fomorians, Uisneach became the
home of the strange DRUID MIDE, whose name
means “middle”; thus the magician doubles the
metaphorical meaning of the hill itself.
460 Uigreann
Mide lit a huge fire on the hill, fed with trib-
utes from all the other druids of Ireland. When
they objected to paying this tax, Mide had them
all killed and their tongues cut out; he had the
tongues buried in the hill, sitting above them
(the source of the hill’s name, “over somewhat,”
although it may also refer to the hill’s prospect;
the name is also translated as “proudly,” for
Mide sat proudly over the druids’ tongues).
Another legend credits the igniting of the
Uisneach fire to the druid or fire goddess DEL-
BÁETH, from whose blaze FIVE great points of
light streamed forth. Some scholars have inter-
preted the mutilation motif as indicating cultural
change and the social oppression that often
attends on it.
Fires were important in the mythology of
Uisneach. They were also important ritually, for
it was on that hill that the first BELTANE fire of
each year was lit. Reconstructions of an island-
wide ceremony suggest that the hill of Tara
responded to the twin fires on Uisneach’s summit
with its own fires, whereupon the other hilltops
of Ireland were similarly set ablaze. Yet early doc-
uments also suggest that Tara remained dark, its
role in the ceremonies being taken up by other
nearby hills such as KNOCKAULIN and TLACHTGA.
Into historical times, Beltane fires were lit on
Uisneach, and CATTLE driven between them as a
ritual prayer for protection against disease and
bad magic. Uisneach was also the site of a great
ÓENACH or assembly, presumably held at
Beltane. Until recent years, the assemblies con-
tinued in nonreligious form as cattle fairs, for
the fertile region around Uisneach is one of the
most renowned for its herds.
The connection of Uisneach hill to the
mythological figure of the same name is unclear.
Little narrative exists about the warrior
Uisneach, whose wife Ebhla was the daughter of
CATHBAD, the evil DRUID who figures promi-
nently in the ULSTER CYCLE, and his wife Maga,
an otherwise obscure daughter of the god of
poetry, AONGHUS ÓG. The SONS OF UISNEACH
figure in a story known as one of the THREE SOR-
ROWS OF IRELAND (see DEIRDRE).
Sources: Dames, Michael. Mythic Ireland. London:
Thames and Hudson, 1992; Gwynn, Edward.
The Metrical Dindshenchas. Part II. Vol. IX.
Royal Irish Academy, Todd Lecture Series.
Dublin: Hodges, Figgis, and Co., Ltd., 1906;
Joyce, P
. W. Ancient Celtic Romances. London:
Parkgate Books, 1997, p. 36; O’Rahilly,
Thomas. Early Irish History and Mythology
.
Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced
Studies, 1946, p. 171.
Ulfius Arthurian hero. One of the knights
who served UTHER PENDRAGON, Ulfius assisted
his master’s plot to SHAPE-SHIFT into the form
of duke GORLOIS of Cornwall, so that he might
take his pleasure with the virtuous IGRAINE
without the lady knowing of the deceit. Ulfius’s
loyalty continued when he became chamberlain
to king ARTHUR, the child conceived as a result
of the deception.
Uliad (Uliadh, Ultonian) Irish mythological
figures. This term, now out of fashion, was used
to refer to the people of the land of ULSTER, one
of Ireland’s four great PROVINCES.
Ullen (Ullan, Illann, Iollann) Irish hero. The
husband of UIRNE, sister (or aunt) of the hero
FIONN MAC CUMHAILL, Ullen was indirectly
responsible for her bewitchment. A woman
DRUID became enamored of Ullen and, gaining
no attention from him, turned his wife Uirne
into a DOG out of spite. This won the druid what
she desired, because Ullen slept with her to win
back his wife’s human form.
Ulster Irish mythological site. One of the
PROVINCES of ancient Ireland, Ulster is not syn-
onymous with the political unit now called by
this name, for the old provincial boundaries
included three counties (Monaghan, Cavan, and
Donegal) that are part of the Republic of
Ireland, as well as the six counties that make of
Northern Ireland (Armagh, Antrim, Down,
Ulster 461
Derry, Fermanagh, and Tyrone) and are part of
the United Kingdom. In myth, Ulster was asso-
ciated with war, as the stories of the ULSTER
CYCLE make clear. FINTAN, the SALMON of WIS-
DOM, when asked to describe the attributes of
the various provinces, connected Ulster with
battle, strife, pride, and conflict. The capital of
the ancient province of Ulster was EMAIN
MACHA; after the fall of Emain Macha, GRIANÁN
AILEACH became the capital.
Ulster Cycle (Red Branch Cycle) Irish
mythological texts. The series of tales about the
PROVINCE of ULSTER that make up the Ulster
Cycle are among the most renowned in Irish lit-
erature. The Cycle begins with MACHA, a goddess
or FAIRY QUEEN who was betrayed by her human
husband. He wagered that she could outrun king
CONCOBAR MAC NESSA’s best horses, and so she
did, despite being ready to give birth to TWINS.
As she died bearing her children, Macha leveled
a curse that all the men of the province would fall
down in intense pain whenever invasion threat-
ened (see DEBILITY OF THE ULSTERMEN).
This left the province vulnerable to attack,
which it suffered when queen MEDB of CON-
NACHT marched upon the land, intent upon seiz-
ing the great bull DONN CUAILNGE, in order to
settle a dispute with her consort AILILL mac
Máta. The greatest of Ulster’s heroes,
CÚCHU-
LAINN, held off Medb’s encroaching armies, for
he was not born of Ulster blood and was there-
fore exempt from Macha’s curse. Other stories in
the Ulster Cycle include the tragic tale of
DEIRDRE and the SONS OF UISNEACH, the story of
NESSA the raped maiden, and of DECHTIRE the
miraculous mother.
Úna (Oona, Oonagh, Nuala) Irish heroine.
The beautiful FAIRY QUEEN of MUNSTER, the
southwestern province of Ireland, Úna lived in
the great mound of KNOCKSHEGOWNA (Cnoc
Sídhe Úna) in Co. Tipperary. Despite her asso-
ciation with Munster, Úna took as her lover the
powerful fairy king FINNBHEARA of the western
province of CONNACHT. Although he constantly
cheated on her with non-fairy women, she did
not hold it against the human race, to whom she
was beneficent. One of the most famous stories
of Úna tells how, annoyed by a drunken piper,
she turned herself into a calf and, with the piper
clinging to her back, made a massive leap to the
shores of the Shannon River. When the piper
appeared undismayed by his calf-assisted flight,
Úna forgave him his bad piping and returned
him to the place from which she had stolen him.
Uncumber (Liberata, Livrade, Wilgefortis,
Saint Uncumber) British folkloric figure. It is
possible that the SAINT of this name disguises an
ancient goddess of the region around Burton, in
Sussex, where Uncumber is still honored. She
has strange duties for a Christian saint, for
Uncumber was charged with freeing wives from
the encumbrance of their husbands. Once called
Wilgefortis, Uncumber was a pagan princess of
southern France who, threatened by her father
with an unwanted marriage, prayed to be made
unattractive to men and woke up with a beard.
Undry (Uinde) Irish symbolic object. This
name is sometimes given to the great CAULDRON
of the beneficent god DAGDA, which fed everyone
who needed food and refused no hungry person.
Unseelie Court British folkloric motif. The
FAIRIES who screamed through the earth on their
WILD HUNT are known by this name, which
means “unseemly” or “unholy.” While some
fairies, like BROWNIES, were helpful to human
beings, the TROOPING FAIRIES of the Unseelie
Court were dangerous. Anyone who saw them
was a potential victim for FAIRY KIDNAPPING.
Good fairies who danced and sang but did not
kidnap mortals formed the SEELIE COURT.
Urban (Urban of the Black Thorn) Arthurian
hero. This guardian figure stood at a RIVER ford,
protecting his land from invasion. Magical birds
462 Ulster Cycle
helped him: One, killed by PERCIVAL, was
revealed to be an enchanted woman. He plays lit-
tle part in Arthurian legend.
Urien British mythological figure and
Arthurian hero. In the works of the early
mythographer and historian Nennius, we learn
of four ancient warriors, one of them named
Urien. With the others—Dhydderch, Gua-Ilaug
and Morcant—Urien attacked the ruler
Theodric, who held out against him for three
days on the island of Lindisfarne before suc-
cumbing to their mightier force.
In Arthurian legend, Urien was the king of
Gore and husband of king ARTHUR’s half sister,
the sorceress MORGAN; their son was the heroic
knight OWEIN. In some texts, Urien is mated
with the otherwise obscure MODRON, whom he
met at a RIVER ford, where they had intercourse,
a motif that occurs as well in tales of the Irish
goddess MÓRRÍGAN. Urien’s name was adopted
by poet William Blake for one of his earth spir-
its, although there is no evidence from earlier
texts that he was a god or FAIRY.
urine (urination) Mythological motif. In Irish
and Scottish mythologies, female creator figures
carve out gullies and ravines down the sides of
mountains by letting out enormous gushes of
urine.
MEDB stopped the CATTLE RAID on ULSTER
to urinate, thus carving out a gulch that can still
be seen today. More commonly, the
HAG goddess
called the CAILLEACH, along with her regional
forms such as MÓR, is credited with this landscape-
creating behavior.
Urnfield Period of Celtic culture. The earliest
period of Celtic culture is called the Urnfield,
named for the practice of cremating the dead and
then burying the ashes in huge ceramic urns.
Whether this period (ca. 13th–8th century B.C.E.)
should be called Celtic is arguable, as it is not
known for certain what language those buried in
Urnfield cemeteries spoke, and therefore
whether they were Celtic or not.
uruisg (urisk, water-man) British folkloric
figure. A stupid and slovenly kind of FAIRY who
haunted lonely waterfalls, the uruisg was not
especially threatening to humans, except for
pretty girls who could be terrified by his leering
and lurching. Sometimes the uruisg appeared
like a BROWNIE, willing to help with farm chores
provided no recompense was offered, but more
typically he hid from human contact.
Uscias Irish hero. The mysterious cities from
which the TUATHA DÉ DANANN, Ireland’s magical
race, originated were each governed by a master
of WISDOM. Uscias was the master of the city of
FINDIAS, from which the unerring sword of king
NUADA reached Ireland.
Usnach (Usnoth) See UISNEACH.
Uther Pendragon (Uthr Bendragon) Arthur-
ian hero. The father of the great king ARTHUR,
Uther Pendragon (“dragon-head”) desired the
faithful IGRAINE, wife of GORLOIS the duke of
Cornwall, and with the assistance of the great
magician
MERLIN he had his way with her. While
Gorlois was away fighting some of Arthur’s men, a
man looking exactly like him arrived at his home
and went immediately to bed with his wife.
Gorlois was indeed far away, and the apparent
duke was Uther, under a
GLAMOUR to appear as
Igraine’s husband. Once Arthur’s mother had con-
ceived him, his father played little additional role
in his legend.
Source: Geoffrey of Monmouth. Histories of the
Kings of Britain. London: J. M. Dent and Sons,
1912, pp. 147 ff.
Uther Pendragon 463