In Irish mythology, the Badb, or in modern Irish Badhbh —also meaning "crow"—is a war goddess who takes the form of a crow, and is thus sometimes known as Badb Catha. She is known to cause fear and confusion among soldiers to move the tide of battle to her favoured side. Badb may also appear prior to a battle to foreshadow the extent of the carnage to come, or to predict the death of a notable person. She would sometimes do this through wailing cries, leading to comparisons with the bean-sídhe (banshee).
Badb would commonly take the form of the hooded crow.
Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era. In the early medieval era, some myths were transcribed by Christian monks, who heavily altered and Christianised the myths. Irish mythology is the best-preserved branch of Celtic mythology.
Riders of the Sidhe, a 1911 painting of the aos sí or Otherworldly people of the mounds, by the artist John Duncan
Cuchulain in Battle by Joseph Christian Leyendecker, 1911
The Fomorians, as depicted by John Duncan (1912)
Folio 53 of the Book of Leinster. Medieval manuscripts are the main source for Irish mythology and early literature.