1.
Irish mythology
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The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity. However, much of it was preserved in medieval Irish literature and this literature represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branches of Celtic mythology. There are also a number of extant mythological texts that do not fit any of the cycles. Additionally, there are a number of recorded folk tales that, while not strictly mythological. Despite the dates of these sources, most of the material they contain predates their composition, the earliest of the prose can be dated on linguistic grounds to the 8th century, and some of the verse may be as old as the 6th century. The first of these part of the earliest known version of the Táin Bó Cúailnge and is housed in Trinity College. The other three are in the Royal Academy, when using these sources, it is, as always, important to question the impact of the circumstances in which they were produced. There was also a tendency to rework Irish genealogies to fit into the known schema of Greek or Biblical genealogy and it was once unquestioned that medieval Irish literature preserved truly ancient traditions in a form virtually unchanged through centuries of oral tradition back to the ancient Celts of Europe. A consensus has emerged which encourages the critical reading of the material, the Mythological Cycle, comprising stories of the former gods and origins of the Irish, is the least well preserved of the four cycles. The most important sources are the Metrical Dindshenchas or Lore of Places, Other manuscripts preserve such mythological tales as The Dream of Aengus, The Wooing Of Étain and Cath Maige Tuireadh, The Battle of Magh Tuireadh. One of the best known of all Irish stories, Oidheadh Clainne Lir, Lebor Gabála Érenn is a pseudo-history of Ireland, tracing the ancestry of the Irish back to before Noah. They faced opposition from their enemies, the Fomorians, led by Balor of the Evil Eye, Balor was eventually slain by Lug Lámfada at the second battle of Magh Tuireadh. With the arrival of the Gaels, the Tuatha Dé Danann retired underground to become the people of later myth. The Metrical Dindshenchas is the great work of early Ireland. It includes a lot of important information on Mythological Cycle figures and stories, including the Battle of Tailtiu, in which the Tuatha Dé Danann were defeated by the Milesians. It is important to note that by the Middle Ages the Tuatha Dé Danann were not viewed so much as gods as the shape-shifting magician population of an earlier Golden Age Ireland. Texts such as Lebor Gabála Érenn and Cath Maige Tuireadh present them as kings and heroes of the distant past, however, there is considerable evidence, both in the texts and from the wider Celtic world, that they were once considered deities. Even after they are displaced as the rulers of Ireland, characters such as Lug, a poem in the Book of Leinster lists many of the Tuatha Dé, but ends Although enumerates them, he does not worship them
2.
Goddess
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A goddess is a female deity in polytheistic religions. Goddesses most often have characteristics that are apotheosize in their pure form. However, in some cases goddesses may embody neutral forms personifying both male and female characteristics, or they may even exhibit traits that are associated with the male gender. In some faiths, a female figure holds a central place in religious prayer. For example, Shaktism, the worship of the force that animates the world, is one of the three major sects of Hinduism. Polytheist religions, including Polytheistic reconstructionists, honour multiple goddesses and gods and these deities may be part of a pantheon, or different regions may have tutelary deities. The reconstructionists, like their ancient forebears, honour the deities particular to their country of origin, the noun goddess is a secondary formation, combining the Germanic god with the Latinate -ess suffix. It first appeared in Middle English, from about 1350, the English word follows the linguistic precedent of a number of languages—including Egyptian, Classical Greek, and several Semitic languages—that add a feminine ending to the languages word for god. Joseph Campbell in The Power of Myth, a 1988 interview with Bill Moyers, links the image of the Earth or Mother Goddess to symbols of fertility and reproduction. For example, Campbell states that, There have been systems of religion where the mother is the prime parent, and in Egypt you have the Mother Heavens, the Goddess Nut, who is represented as the whole heavenly sphere. Joseph Campbell, Well that was associated primarily with agriculture and the agricultural societies and it has to do with the earth. The human woman gives birth just as the earth gives birth to the plants. so woman magic, and the personification of the energy that gives birth to forms and nourishes forms is properly female. It is in the world of ancient Mesopotamia, the Egyptian Nile. Campbell also argues that the image of the Virgin Mary was derived from the image of Isis and her child Horus, other Mesopotamian goddesses include Ninhursag, Ninlil, Antu, Gaga Goddesses of the Canaanite religion, Baalat Gebal, Astarte, Anat. Cybele, Her Hittite name was Kubaba, but her name changed to Cybele in Phrygian and Roman culture and her effect can be also seen on Artemis as the Lady of Ephesus. Hebat, Mother Goddess of the Hittite pantheon and wife of the sky god. She was the origin of the Hurrian cult, arinniti, Hittite Goddess of the sun. She became patron of the Hittite Empire and monarchy, leto, A mother Goddess figure in Lykia
3.
Ireland
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Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, in 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland, the islands geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild, thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, there are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, however, summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant, the earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE, the island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland, however, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, with the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s and this subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, an indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music. The culture of the island shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing. The name Ireland derives from Old Irish Eriu and this in turn derives from Proto-Celtic *Iveriu, which is also the source of Latin Hibernia. Iveriu derives from a root meaning fat, prosperous, during the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time
4.
Milesians (Irish)
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In the Lebor Gabála Érenn, a medieval Irish Christian pseudo-history, the Milesians are the final race to settle in Ireland. The Milesians are Gaels who sail to Ireland from Hispania after spending hundreds of years travelling the earth, when they land in Ireland they contend with the Tuatha Dé Danann, who represent the pagan gods. The two groups agree to divide Ireland between them, the Milesians take the world above, while the Tuath Dé take the world below and they are named after the character Míl Espáine, which is the Irish form of the Latin Miles Hispaniae. Scholars believe that the tale is mostly an invention of medieval Christian writers, the Lebor Gabála, which was probably first written in the 11th century AD by Christian monks, purports to be a history of Ireland and the Irish. It tells us that all mankind is descended from Adam through the sons of Noah, Fénius, a prince of Scythia, is described as one of 72 chieftains who built the Tower of Babel. His son Nel weds Scota, daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh, Goídel crafts the Goidelic language from the original 72 languages that arose after the confusion of tongues. Goídels offspring, the Goidels, leave Egypt at the time as the Israelites. Eventually, they reach Hispania by sea and conquer it, there, Goídels descendant Breogán founds a city called Brigantia, and builds a tower from the top of which his son Íth glimpses Ireland. Brigantia refers to Corunna in modern-day Galicia, in Spain, and Breogáns tower is based on the Tower of Hercules. Íth sails to the island with a group of men and he is welcomed by its three kings, Mac Cuill, Mac Cecht and Mac Gréine. These three are members of the Tuatha Dé Danann, who ruled Ireland at the time, evidence suggests that Tuath Dé were the main pagan gods of Ireland. Íth is then killed by unnamed attackers and his men return to Iberia, the eight sons of Íths brother Míl Espáine, lead an invasion force to avenge his death and take Ireland. After they land, they fight against the Tuath Dé and make for Tara, on the way, they are met on three mountains by Banba, Fódla and Ériu – the wives of Irelands three kings. They are believed to have been a trio of land goddesses, each woman says that the Gaels will have good fortune if they name the land after her. One of the Gaels, Amergin, promises that it shall be so, at Tara, they meet the three kings, who defend their claim to the joint kingship of the land. They ask that there be a truce, during which the Gaels must stay a distance of nine waves from land. The Gaels agree, but once their ships are nine waves from Ireland, however, Amergin calms the wind by reciting a verse. The surviving ships return to land and the two agree to divide Ireland between them
5.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
6.
Bard
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For example, William Shakespeare, and Rabindranth Tagore, are known as the Bard of Avon and the Bard of Bengal respectively. The word is a Celtic loan word from Scottish Gaelic bàrd, Irish bard, in 16th-century Scotland, it was a derogatory term for an itinerant musician, but it was later romanticised by Sir Walter Scott. The equivalent Cornish bardh was retained in English in the form of the drollteller, in medieval Gaelic and Welsh society, a bard or bardd was a professional poet, employed to compose eulogies for his lord. If the employer failed to pay the amount, the bard would then compose a satire. In other Indo-European societies, the function was fulfilled by skalds, rhapsodes, minstrels and scops. A hereditary caste of professional poets in Proto-Indo-European society has been reconstructed by comparison of the position of poets in medieval Ireland and in ancient India in particular. Bards were those who sang the songs recalling the tribal warriors deeds of bravery as well as the genealogies, the pre-Christian Celtic peoples recorded no written histories, however, Celtic peoples did maintain an intricate oral history committed to memory and transmitted by bards and filid. Bards facilitated the memorisation of such materials by the use of metre, rhyme, in medieval Ireland, bards were one of two distinct groups of poets, the other being the fili. According to the Early Irish law text on status, Uraicecht Becc, bards were a class of poets. However, it has also argued that the distinction between filid and bards was a creation of Christian Ireland, and that the filid were more associated with the church. By the Early Modern Period, these came to be used interchangeably. Irish bards formed a professional caste of highly trained, learned poets. As officials of the court of king or chieftain, they performed a number of official roles and they were chroniclers and satirists whose job it was to praise their employers and damn those who crossed them. It was believed that a well-aimed bardic satire, glam dicenn, the bardic system lasted until the mid-17th century in Ireland and the early 18th century in Scotland. In Ireland, their fortunes had always linked to the Gaelic aristocracy. The early history of the bards can be known indirectly through mythological stories. The first mention of the profession in Ireland is found in the The Book of Invasions, in a story about the Irish colony of Tuatha De Danann. They became the aos sí, comparable to Norse alfr and British fairy, during the tenth year of the reign of the last Belgic monarch, the people of the colony of Tuatha De Danann, as the Irish called it, invaded and settled in Ireland
7.
Erin
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Erin is a Hiberno-English derivative of the Irish word Éirinn. The dative has replaced the nominative in a few regional Irish dialects, poets and nineteenth-century Irish nationalists used Erin in English as a romantic name for Ireland. According to Irish mythology and folklore, the name was given to the island by the Milesians after the goddess Ériu. Erin go bragh, a slogan dating from the 1798 revolution, is translated as Ireland forever. The etymology of the word as it drifted throughout the Gaelic region gave rise to its use by the early Scots to both mean Ireland and west - as Ireland lies to the west of Scotland. As a given name, Erin is used for both sexes, although, given its origins, it is used as a feminine forename. It first became a popular name in the United States. Its US popularity for males peaked in 1974 with 321 boys registered with the name, Erin is also a name for Ireland in Welsh, and is one of the 20 most popular girls names in Wales. As a family name, Erin has been used as one of the spellings of the name of the Scottish clan Irwin - which was involved in the Scottish Plantations of Ireland. However, that name was derived from the place of the same name near Dumfries
8.
Albion
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Albion is the oldest known name of the island of Great Britain. Today, it is sometimes used poetically to refer to the island. The name for Scotland in the Celtic languages is related to Albion, Alba in Scottish Gaelic, Albain in Irish, Nalbin in Manx and Alban in Welsh, Cornish and these names were later Latinised as Albania and Anglicised as Albany, which were once alternative names for Scotland. New Albion and Albionoria were briefly suggested as names of Canada during the period of the Canadian Confederation, arthur Phillip, first leader of the colonization of Australia, originally named Sydney Cove New Albion, but for uncertain reasons the colony acquired the name Sydney. The Common Brittonic name for the island, Hellenised as Albíōn and Latinised as Albiōn, derives from the Proto-Celtic nasal stem *Albi̯iū, the name originally referred to Britain as a whole, but was later restricted to Caledonia. The root *albiio- is also found in Gaulish and Galatian albio- and it may be related to other European and Mediterranean toponyms such as Alpes, Albania and Liban. It has two possible etymologies, either *albho-, a Proto-Indo-European root meaning white, or *alb-, Proto-Indo-European for hill, likewise, Pytheas, as directly or indirectly quoted in the surviving excerpts of his works in later writers, speaks of Albiōn and Iernē. Pytheass grasp of the νῆσος Πρεττανική is somewhat blurry, and appears to include anything he considers a western island, the name Albion was used by Isidore of Charax and subsequently by many classical writers. By the 1st century AD, the name refers unequivocally to Great Britain, but this enigmatic name for Britain, revived much later by Romantic poets like William Blake, did not remain popular among Greek writers. It was soon replaced by Πρεττανία and Βρεττανία, Βρεττανός, from these words the Romans derived the Latin forms Britannia, Britannus, and Britannicus respectively. Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History likewise has, It was itself named Albion, in his 2nd century Geography, Ptolemy uses the name Ἀλουΐων instead of the Roman name Britannia, possibly following the commentaries of Marinus of Tyre. He calls both Albion and Ierne νῆσοι Βρεττανικαὶ, in 930, the English king Æthelstan used the title Rex et primicerius totius Albionis regni. His nephew, Edgar the Peaceful, styled himself Totius Albionis imperator augustus Augustus Emperor of all Albion in 970, a legend exists in various forms that giants were either the original inhabitants, or the founders of the land named Albion. The island was then called Albion, and inhabited by none, Geoffrey goes on to recount how the last of the giants are defeated, the largest one called Goëmagot is flung over a cliff by Corineus. Later, in the 14th century, an elaborate tale was developed, claiming that Albina and her sisters founded Albion. The Albina story survives in several forms, including the octosyllabic Anglo-Norman poem Des grantz geanz dating to 1300—1334 A prose English translation is given in Richard Barbers anthology, the eldest daughter Albina was the first to set shore and lay claim to the land, naming it after herself. At first, the women gathered acorns and fruits, but once they learned to hunt and obtain meat, as no other humans inhabited the land, they mated with evil spirits called incubi, and subsequently with the sons they begot, engendering a race of giants. These giants are evidenced by huge bones which are unearthed, brutus arrived 260 years after Albina,1136 before the birth of Christ, but by then there were only 24 giants left, due to inner strife
9.
Great Britain
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Great Britain, also known as Britain, is a large island in the north Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of 209,331 km2, Great Britain is the largest European island, in 2011 the island had a population of about 61 million people, making it the worlds third-most populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan. The island of Ireland is situated to the west of it, the island is dominated by a maritime climate with quite narrow temperature differences between seasons. Politically, the island is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, most of England, Scotland, and Wales are on the island. The term Great Britain often extends to surrounding islands that form part of England, Scotland, and Wales. A single Kingdom of Great Britain resulted from the union of the Kingdom of England, the archipelago has been referred to by a single name for over 2000 years, the term British Isles derives from terms used by classical geographers to describe this island group. By 50 BC Greek geographers were using equivalents of Prettanikē as a name for the British Isles. However, with the Roman conquest of Britain the Latin term Britannia was used for the island of Great Britain, the oldest mention of terms related to Great Britain was by Aristotle, or possibly by Pseudo-Aristotle, in his text On the Universe, Vol. III. To quote his works, There are two large islands in it, called the British Isles, Albion and Ierne. The name Britain descends from the Latin name for Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The French form replaced the Old English Breoton, Breoten, Bryten, Breten, Britannia was used by the Romans from the 1st century BC for the British Isles taken together. It is derived from the writings of the Pytheas around 320 BC. Marcian of Heraclea, in his Periplus maris exteri, described the group as αἱ Πρεττανικαὶ νῆσοι. The peoples of these islands of Prettanike were called the Πρεττανοί, Priteni is the source of the Welsh language term Prydain, Britain, which has the same source as the Goidelic term Cruithne used to refer to the early Brythonic-speaking inhabitants of Ireland. The latter were later called Picts or Caledonians by the Romans, the Greco-Egyptian scientist Ptolemy referred to the larger island as great Britain and to Ireland as little Britain in his work Almagest. The name Albion appears to have out of use sometime after the Roman conquest of Britain. After the Anglo-Saxon period, Britain was used as a term only. It was used again in 1604, when King James VI and I styled himself King of Great Brittaine, France, Great Britain refers geographically to the island of Great Britain, politically to England, Scotland and Wales in combination
10.
Fairy
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A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature in European folklore, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural. According to Thomas Keightley, the word derives from the Latin fata. Other forms are the Italian fata, and the Provençal fada, in old French romance, fee was a woman skilled in magic, and who knew the power and virtue of words, of stones, and of herbs. Faierie became fairy, but with that now almost exclusively referring to one of the legendary people. The word fairy was used to represent an illusion, or enchantment, to the word faie was added the suffix -erie, used to express either a place where something is found or a trade or typical activity engaged in. In later usage it applied to any kind of quality or activity associated with a particular type of person. In the sense land where fairies dwell, the distinctive and archaic spellings Faery, the latinate fay is not to be confused with the unrelated fey, meaning fated to die. Various folkloristic traditions refer to them euphemistically, by such as wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair folk. Sometimes the term fairy is used to any magical creature, including goblins or gnomes, at other times. Fairies have their origin in the conflation of Celtic traditions in the Middle French medieval romances. Fairie was in origin used adjectivally, meaning enchanted, but was used as a name for enchanted creatures from as early as the Late Middle English period. In English literature of the Elizabethan era, elves became conflated with the fairies of Romance culture, the Victorian and Edwardian eras saw an increase in interest in fairies. The Celtic Revival viewed them as part of Irelands cultural heritage, carole Silvers and others suggest that the fascination of English antiquarians arose from a reaction to greater industrialization, and loss of folkways. Fairies are generally described as human in appearance and having magical powers, even with these small fairies, however, their small size may be magically assumed rather than constant. Some fairies though normally quite small were able to dilate their figures to imitate humans, on Orkney they were described as short in stature, dressed in dark grey, and sometimes seen in armour. Wings, while common in Victorian and later artwork of fairies, are rare in the folklore, even very small fairies flew with magic. Nowadays, fairies are depicted with ordinary insect wings or butterfly wings. In some folklore, fairies have green eyes, some depictions of fairies either have them wearing some sort of footwear and other depictions of fairies are always barefoot
11.
County Limerick
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County Limerick is a county in Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster, and is part of the Mid-West Region. It is named after the city of Limerick, Limerick City and County Council is the local council for the county. The countys population at the 2016 census is 195,175 of which 58,319 live in Limerick City, Limerick borders four other counties, Kerry to the west, Clare to the north, Tipperary to the east and Cork to the south. It is the fifth largest of Munsters six counties in size, the River Shannon flows through the city of Limerick into the Atlantic Ocean at the north of the county. Below the city, the waterway is known as the Shannon Estuary, because the estuary is shallow, the countys most important port is several kilometres west of the city, at Foynes. Limerick City is the county town and is also Irelands third largest city and it also serves as a regional centre for the greater Mid-West Region. Newcastle West, Killmallock & Abbeyfeale are other important towns in the county, there are fourteen historic baronies in the county. While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they are no longer used for administrative purposes. Their official status is illustrated by Placenames Orders made since 2003, the highest point in the county is located in its south-east corner at Galtymore, which separates Limerick from County Tipperary. The county is not a simply a plain, its topography consists of hills, the eastern part of the county is part of the Golden Vale, which is well known for dairy produce and consists of rolling low hills. This gives way to flat land around the centre of the county. Towards the west, the Mullaghareirk Mountains push across the county offering extensive views east over the county, tributaries of the Shannon drainage basin located in the county include the rivers Mulkear, Loobagh, Maigue, Camogue, Morning Star, Deel, and the Feale. It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, the arrival of the Celts around 400 BC brought about the division of the county into petty kingdoms or túatha. The OBriens retained their power until late in the 1100s. The ancestors of both Michael Collins and the famous OConnells of Derrynane were also among the septs of the Uí Fidgenti. As the Ui Fidgenti were the clan in the Limerick after 400 a. d. the Uí Fidgenti still made a substantial contribution to the population of the central. Their capital was Dún Eochair, the earthworks of which still remain and can be found close to the modern town of Bruree
12.
Peat
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Peat, also called turf, is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter that is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem is the most efficient carbon sink on the planet because peatland plants capture the CO2 which is released from the peat. Sphagnum moss is one of the most common components in peat, soils that contain mostly peat are known as histosols. Peat forms in wetland conditions, where flooding obstructs flows of oxygen from the atmosphere, Peatlands, particularly bogs, are the most important source of peat. That said, other less common types, including fens, pocosins. Landscapes covered in peat are home to specific kinds of plants including Sphagnum moss, ericaceous shrubs, because organic matter accumulates over thousands of years, peat deposits also provide records of past vegetation and climates stored in plant remains like pollen. This allows humans to reconstruct past environments and study changes in land use. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world, by volume, there are about 4 trillion cubic metres of peat in the world, covering a total of around 2% of the global land area, containing about 8 billion terajoules of energy. Over time, the formation of peat is often the first step in the formation of other fossil fuels such as coal. This is also the commonly used in the peat industry. At 106 g CO2/MJ, the carbon dioxide emission intensity of peat is higher than that of coal and natural gas, lastly, peat fires have been responsible for large public health disasters including the 1997 Southeast Asian haze. Peat forms when plant material does not fully decay in acidic and anaerobic conditions and it is composed mainly of wetland vegetation, principally bog plants including mosses, sedges, and shrubs. As it accumulates, the peat holds water and this slowly creates wetter conditions that allow the area of wetland to expand. Peatland features can include ponds, ridges, and raised bogs, most modern peat bogs formed 12,000 years ago in high latitudes after the glaciers retreated at the end of the last ice age. Peat usually accumulates slowly at the rate of about a millimetre per year, using Carbon-dating, scientists found that Peat in peatlands started forming 360 million years ago based on it currently containing 550 Gt of carbon. Peat material is either fibric, hemic, or sapric, fibric peats are the least decomposed and consist of intact fiber. Hemic peats are partially decomposed and sapric are the most decomposed, Phragmites peat is one composed of reed grass, Phragmites australis, and other grasses. It is denser than other types of peat
13.
Duan Albanach
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The Duan Albanach is a Middle Gaelic poem found with the Lebor Bretnach, a Gaelic version of the Historia Brittonum of Nennius, with extensive additional material. Written during the reign of Mael Coluim III, it is found in a variety of Irish sources, and it follows on from the Duan Eireannach, which covers the earlier mythological history of the Gael. It is a poem of 27 stanzas, probably sung at court to a musical accompaniment by the harp. If performed in a context, it is possible that the audience would have participated in the performance. The Duan recounts the kings of the Scots since the eponymous Albanus came to Alba, the poem begins with the following stanzas. In the final stanzas it is seen that the dates from the time of Malcolm III. Duan Albanach - English Trans. by William F. Skene Duan Albanach at CELT
14.
Atholl
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Atholl or Athole is a large historical division in the Scottish Highlands. Today it forms the part of Perth and Kinross, Scotland bordering Marr, Badenoch, Breadalbane, Strathearn, Perth. Atholl was historically a mormaerdom or earldom, the first recorded Earl of Atholl was Matad, Earl of Atholl sometime in the 12th century. In 1703 the title was made a Dukedom by Queen Anne, the title also holds numerous subsidiary titles. The Barony of Percy forms part of the peerage of Great Britain, in Scottish Gaelic the name is Athall, which derives from the Old Irish Ath-fhotla, or New Ireland. Towns and villages in Atholl include Aberfeldy, Ballinluig, Blair Atholl, Dunkeld, Kirkmichael, Logierait, Pitlochry, john Small Alexander Mackenzie, born at Logierait in 1822, politician and second Prime Minister of Canada. Blair Atholl Duke of Atholl Earl of Atholl Vale of Atholl Pipe Band MacGillonie Atolovo, a Bulgarian village named after a Duke of Atholl Medieval Diocese of Dunkeld Athol, Massachusetts
15.
Picts
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The Picts were a tribal confederation of peoples who lived in what is today eastern and northern Scotland during the Late Iron Age and Early Medieval periods. They are thought to have been ethnolinguistically Celtic, where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from the geographical distribution of brochs, Brittonic place name elements, and Pictish stones. Picts are attested to in records from before the Roman conquest of Britain to the 10th century. Picts are assumed to have been the descendants of the Caledonii, Pictland, also called Pictavia by some sources, gradually merged with the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata to form the Kingdom of Alba. Alba then expanded, absorbing the Brittonic kingdom of Strathclyde and Northumbrian Lothian, Pictish society was typical of many Iron Age societies in northern Europe, having wide connections and parallels with neighbouring groups. Archaeology gives some impression of the society of the Picts, what the Picts called themselves is unknown. The Latin word Picti first occurs in a written by Eumenius in AD297 and is taken to mean painted or tattooed people. Their Old English name gave the modern Scots form Pechts and the Welsh word Fichti and it is generally accepted that this is derived from *Qritani, which is the Goidelic/Q-Celtic version of the Britonnic/P-Celtic *Pritani. From this came Britanni, the Roman name for those now called the Britons and it has been suggested that Cruthin referred to all Britons not conquered by the Romans—those who lived outside Roman Britannia, north of Hadrians Wall. A Pictish confederation was formed in Late Antiquity from a number of tribes—how, some scholars have speculated that it was partly in response to the growth of the Roman Empire. Pictland had previously described by Roman writers and geographers as the home of the Caledonii. These Romans also used names to refer to tribes living in that area, including Verturiones, Taexali. But they may have heard these other names only second- or third-hand, from speakers of Brittonic or Gaulish languages, Pictish recorded history begins in the Dark Ages. It appears that Picts were not the dominant power in Northern Britain for that entire period, the Gaels of Dál Riata controlled what is present day Argyll for a time, although they suffered a series of defeats in the first third of the 7th century. The Angles of Bernicia overwhelmed the adjacent British kingdoms, one of which, the Picts were probably tributary to Northumbria until the reign of Bridei mac Beli, when, in 685, the Anglians suffered a defeat at the Battle of Dun Nechtain that halted their northward expansion. The Northumbrians continued to dominate southern Scotland for the remainder of the Pictish period, a later Pictish king, Caustantín mac Fergusa, placed his son Domnall on the throne of Dál Riata. Pictish attempts to achieve a dominance over the Britons of Alt Clut were not successful. The Viking Age brought great changes in Britain and Ireland, no less in Scotland than elsewhere, in a major battle in 839, the Vikings killed the king of Fortriu, Eógan mac Óengusa, the king of Dál Riata Áed mac Boanta, and many others
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Mythological Cycle
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It is one of the four major cycles of early Irish literary tradition, the others being the Ulster Cycle, the Fenian Cycle and the Cycles of the Kings. The term Mythological Cycle seems to have gained currency with Arbois de Jubainville, 1881–1883, usage predating this applies the term generically, e. g. to Norse mythology. In the opinion of Mackillop, use of the term is somewhat awkward today, the characters appearing in the cycle are essentially gods from the pre-Christian pagan past in Ireland. Commentators exercising caution, however, qualify them as representing only godlike beings and this is because the Christian scribes who composed the writings were generally careful not to refer to the Tuatha Dé Danann and other beings explicitly as deities. The disguises are thinly veiled nonetheless, and these writings contain discernible vestiges of early Irish polytheistic cosmology, examples of works from the cycle include numerous prose tales, verse texts, as well as pseudo-historical chronicles found in medieval vellum manuscripts or later copies. Some of the romances are of later composition and found only in manuscripts dating to near-modern times. The god-folk of the invasions are euhemerised, i. e. described as having dwelt terrestrially. Afterwards, the Tuatha Dé Danann are said to have retreated into the sídhe, having disappeared but not died, the deities oftentimes make guest appearances in narratives categorised under other cycles. Collected #lore literature, while they do not belong to the cycle in entirety, in the list that follows, citations are generally only given if the wiki page for that work is not developed. Otherwise, citations are deferred to the article in question. See #External links for additional titles, aislinge Óenguso Altram Tige Dá Medar. Cath Muige Tuired Cunga Cath Maige Tuired Ceithri cathracha i r-robadar Tuatha De Danand De Gabáil in t-Sída Echtra Nera Eachtra Léithín How the Dagda Got His Magic Staff, Oidheadh Chloinne Lir Oidheadh Chloinne Tuirenn Scél Tuáin meic Chairill Tochomlod Nemid co hErin Tochomlod mac Miledh a hEspain i nErind. Besides independent verses, a number of poems are embedded in prose tales, a number of them are also preserved in the pseudohistorical LGE, Keating, etc. Arsaidh sin a eóuin Accla Coire Érmai / Coire Goriath Collected lore are not wholly of mythological content, the Fitness of Names provides interesting explanations on names of Dian Cecht among others. Irish onomastica, the Dindshenchas, also include stories about such as Boann. Genealogical tracts and the Roll of the Kings, various glosses may also be culled for information, banshenchus Dobbs 1932 Cóir Anmann, Stokes 1897 Dindsenchas Sanas Cormaic, Nes Triads of Ireland, mention of the indeoin Dagdai, ox of Díl, etc. Chronicon Scotorum Lebor Gabála Érenn Glas Gaibhnenn The euhemerised deities arrived in five sets of migrations, remnants of the migration tales are the summarised accounts given in the LGE. Apart from these are the tale of Tuan mac Cairill, Fintan mac Bóchra colloquy, Tuan and Fintan are ancient beings from the Antediluvian past, who have reincaranted into different creatures, and are referred to in the LGE as well
17.
Aengus
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In Irish mythology, Aengus is a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann and probably a god of love, youth and poetic inspiration. He is traditionally described as having singing birds circling his head, in Old Irish his name is spelled Oíngus or Óengus, from Proto-Celtic *oino- one and gus strength. In Middle Irish this became Áengus, and in Modern Irish Aengus or Aonghus and his parents were the Dagda and Boann. He was said to have lived at Newgrange by the River Boyne, the Dagda had an affair with the river goddess Boann, wife of Nechtan. To hide her pregnancy, the Dagda made the sun stand still for nine months so that Aengus was conceived, gestated, when he came of age Aengus dispossessed the Dagda of his home, Brú na Bóinne. Irish has no article, so a day and a night is the same as day and night, which covers all time. In a different version of story, appearing in The Wooing of Etain, Aengus uses the same ploy to trick Elcmar out of Brú na Bóinne. In this version, Midir is Aenguss foster-father, while Elcmar is the husband of Boann cuckolded by the Dagda, according to Death Tales of the Tuatha de Danaan, Aengus killed his stepfather Elcmar for killing Midir. Aengus also killed Lugh Lámhfhadas poet for lying about his brother Ogma an Cermait, the poet claimed that Ogma an Cermait was having an affair with one of Lughs wives. In The Wooing of Etain, Aengus was able to lift a spell against Étaín. Midirs wife Fuamnach in a jealous rage had turned Etain into a beautiful fly, turning her into a woman at night, Aengus made her his lover until Fuamnach found out about it and drove her away. Aengus killed his mother for her treachery. In the Tale of the Two Pails, a woman, foster daughter of Aengus, got lost. The girl converted to Christianity, and Aengus could not win her back and he left, and she died of grief. Aengus fell in love with a girl he had seen in his dreams. His mother, Boann, goddess of the River Boyne, and a cow goddess whose milk formed the Milky Way, searched Ireland for a year, then his father, finally, King Bodb Derg of Munster found her after a further year. Aengus went to the lake of the Dragons Mouth and found 150 girls chained in pairs, his girl, Caer Ibormeith, on November 1, Caer and the other girls would turn into swans for a year, every second Samhain. Aengus was told he could marry Caer if he could identify her in her swan form, Aengus turned himself into a swan and they flew away, singing beautiful music that put all listeners asleep for three days and nights
18.
Anu (Irish goddess)
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Not to be confused with Annan. In Irish mythology, Anu is a goddess and she may be a goddess in her own right, or an alternate name for Danu. In the Lebor Gabála Érenn, Anand is given as a name for Morrígu. While an Irish goddess, in parts of Britain a similar figure is referred to as Gentle Annie, in an effort to avoid offense, a tactic which is similar to referring to the fairies as The Good People. As her name is often conflated with a number of other goddesses and this name may be derived the Proto-Celtic theonym *Φanon-. Anu has particular associations with Munster, the hills known as the Paps of Anu, at 52°00′55″N 9°16′09″W, near Killarney. Evidence that Anu may be the deity as Danu appears in the following comment from Sanas Cormaic. Well did she feed the gods, Oxford, Oxford University Press,1998, ISBN 0-19-280120-1. Wood, Juliette, The Celts, Life, Myth, and Art, Thorsons Publishers, ISBN 0-00-764059-5
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Badb
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In Irish mythology, the Badb or Badhbh —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, with her sisters, Macha and the Morrígan, Badb is part of a trio of war goddesses known as the Morrígna. In Irish legends, Badb is associated with war and death, appearing either to foreshadow imminent bloodshed or to participate in battles, as a harbinger of doom, she appears in a number of different guises. In Togail Bruidne Dá Derga, she takes the form of a hag who prophesies Conaire Mórs downfall. In this role she has much in common with the bean-sídhe and she was also regularly depicted as an active participant in warfare, indeed, the battlefield was sometimes referred to as the garden of the Badb. During the First Battle of Mag Tuired, Badb—along with her sisters, Macha, Badb plays a similar role in the Táin Bó Cúailnge, terrorising and disorienting the forces of Queen Medb and causing many to fall on their own weapons. She would often take the form of a raven or crow, striking fear into those who heard her. Doman fo ním, nert hi cach, án forlann, lan do mil, sam hi ngam, gai for sciath, sciath for durnd. Dunad lonngarg, longait-tromfoíd fod di uí ross forbiur benna abu airbe imetha, mess for crannaib, craob do scis scis do áss saith do mac mac for muin, muinel tairb tarb di arccoin odhb do crann, crann do ten. Ail a n-uír uích a mbuaib boinn a mbru, Brú lafefaid ossglas iaer errach, foghamar forasit etha. Iall do tir, tir co trachd lafeabrae, bidruad rossaib síraib rithmár, Nach scel laut. Earth under sky, strength in each, a cup full, full of honey, summer in winter, spear over shield, shield over fist. Fort of spears, a battle-cry, land for sheep, bountiful forests mountains forever, magic enclosure. Mast on branches, branches heavy, heavy fruit, wealth for a son, a gifted son, strong neck of bull, a bull for a poem. Stone from earth, wealth from cows, belly of the Brú, doe cries from mist, stream of deer after spring, corn in autumn, upheld by peace. Warrior band for the land, prosperous land to the shore, from wooded headlands, waters rushing, “What news have you. ”Peace to the sky, life and land everlasting. Then she delivers a prophecy of the end of the world, foretelling every evil that would be therein
20.
Boann
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Boann or Boand is the Irish goddess of the River Boyne, a river in Leinster, Ireland. According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn she was the daughter of Delbáeth, son of Elada and her husband is variously Nechtan, Elcmar or Nuada Airgetlám. Her lover is her uncle, the Dagda, by whom she had her son, in order to hide their affair, the Dagda made the sun stand still for nine months, therefore, Aengus was conceived, gestated and born in one day. As told in the Dindsenchas, Boann created the Boyne, though forbidden to by her husband, Nechtan, Boann approached the magical Well of Segais, which was surrounded by hazels. Hazelnuts were known to fall into the Well, where they were eaten by the speckled salmon, Boann challenged the power of the well by walking around it widdershins, this caused the waters to surge up violently and rush down to the sea, creating the Boyne. In this catastrophe, she was swept along in the waters, and lost an arm, leg and eye. The poem equates her with famous rivers in other countries, including the River Severn, Tiber, Jordan River, Tigris and she also appears in Táin Bó Fraích as the maternal aunt and protector of the mortal Fráech. Her name is interpreted as white cow in the dinsenchas, ptolemys 2nd century Geography shows that in antiquity the rivers name was Bubindas, which may derive from Proto-Celtic *Bou-vindā, white cow. Modern-day commentators and modern paganism sometimes identify Boann with the goddess Brigid or believe Boann to be Brigids mother, however there are no Celtic sources that describe her as such
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Brian (mythology)
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In Gaelic mythology, Brian was one of the three Sons of Tuireann along with Iuchar and Iucharba. In Oidheadh Chlainne Tuireann, the three set out to kill their fathers enemy Cian, Cian is the father of Lugh, one of the greatest of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Cian shapeshifts into a pig to disguise himself, but the brothers shapeshift into dogs and they kill him, dismember his body and try to cover up their crime. In recompense, Lugh makes them quest all around the known world fetching magical weapons and they succeed in obtaining all that Lugh demanded, but return to Ireland badly wounded, pleading for Lugh to heal them, but he refuses. In at least one version of this tale, Brian is the clever and subtle one, while his brothers Iuchar and Iucharba are bumbling and this tale of the Sons of Tuireann has sometimes been likened to an Irish Argonautica. In later Scottish folklore, Brian was the name of a man who helped the Cailleach rescue Deò-ghrèine. Brian is one of the characters in As Baile, A Story
