Celtic Relgion And Myth: Sovereignty Essay

Front 1

Sovereignty intro

Back 1

1. What it is
2. How we know about it

Front 2

What is sovereignty?

Back 2

True kingship, designated by several factors

Front 3

How do we know about sovereignty?

Back 3

Literature reflected the social/political themes of the time
It appears in stories, myths and legends
Like the king and goddess type legend

Front 4

How many potential signs of sovereignty have you found?

Back 4

7

Front 5

What potential signs of sovereignty have you found?

Back 5

1. Cloak
2. Charriot
3. Validation from an inanimate object crying out (like the stone of fál)
4. Horses
5. Having the land the most strategic way
6. Validation from a lady
7. Having drink poured for you (probs most common seen one)

Front 6

Which of these must be most specially considered?

Back 6

The validation of a lady

Front 7

What do you have to say about these ladies?

Back 7

1. Comment on whether or not they must be supernatural
2. How we know they're particularly significant, if not that
3. What special abilities they have

Front 8

Must the woman be a literal Goddess?

Back 8

Nope! Étaín serves this role as both a human and a goddess. But it should be noted that she most often is a goddess, *or at least treated as such.*

Front 9

How do we know that these woman have such authority?

Back 9

1. They might be goddesses
2. They're often associated with the land itself*
3. Some other way – they might symbolize the journey to kingship

Front 10

How woman might be associated with the land

Back 10

Well, in the example of Étaín, she is associated with the shaping of the land itself

Front 11

What special abilities do the ladies have?

Back 11

1. They can pour drink like none other – and this is often the final word in declaring the rightful king, even after they have passed other challenges
2. They can expose the weaknesses of the king – be sure to explain how!

Front 12

How might a lady expose the weaknesses of a king?

Back 12

1. For example, as in the Étaín story they can expose a man's inability to see past appearances
2. Just like in Niall Noígiallach and the Sovereignty

Front 13

What stories am I going to discuss?

Back 13

1. The Wooing of Étaín
2. The Descendants of Conaire Maire
3. Niall Noígiallach and the Sovereignty
4. If required to give a negative example, then Medb Lethderg

Front 14

The Wooing of Étaín: Things to say

Back 14

1. Étaín represents a sovereignty goddess
2. There are at least 5 ways we know this

Front 15

What are the five ways we know that Étaín is a sovereignty goddess?

Back 15

1. She is one of the three things Midir requests to restore his honor
2. She gives Eochaid the right to convene the Feis Temro
3. Her special skill is pouring drink
4. She's associated with shaping the land
5. The king's inability to recognize her exposes his lack of right to kingship

Front 16

Elaborate on Étain restoring Midir's Honor

Back 16

1. Honor is an EXREMELY difficult thing to restore – more difficult than an eye
2. He cannot rule without his honor
3. And clearly he cannot rule without a lady either, since as we see there are certain kingly duties that a bachelor cannot perform
4. She gives him his right to rule even though he is a god

Front 17

Tell me everything you know about Étaín and the Feis Temro

Back 17

1. The Feis Temro is about many things, including the king reasserting his authority, but also including lying with people of the opposite gender
2. This means these two things are intertwined
3. And he can't do it without a lady. His most important assertion of power is impossible without Étaín and she gives him the authority to do that. Once she's there, people will listen.

Front 18

Étaín and Shaping the Land

Back 18

Every time an Étaín is gained, the land undergoes some shift
1. Midir has to reshape the land in order to gain her father's permission to marry her
2. Midir also reshapes the land during his Fidchell game with Eochaid

Front 19

Étaín and pouring drink

Back 19

1. This is her special skill, and this is the thing that generally has the final word in declaring a king
2. If somebody, like Eochaid, wants to assert his kingship, she pours the drink that he offers to, say, Midir
3. He has no drink to offer if she doesn't pour it in her special way
4. And note that this is the thing that distinguishes her even more than appearances, since clearly she did not look like herself in that room

Front 20

The final point in the Wooing of Étaín again?

Back 20

She exposes his ultimate inability to rule because he is still deceived by appearances
Couldn't recognize the sovereignty goddess

Front 21

The Descendants of Conaire Már

Back 21

1. We know that Conn does, in fact, have the right to rule, because he passes all the tests (so we know the girl is declaring the rightful ruler)
2. The girl who represents the Sovereignty of Ireland is distributing drink and wants to make sure to pour it for the right person, so asks Lug and Lug tells her to give it to Conn, the rightful King
3. Lug too represents the sovereignty of Ireland, so transmitting the authority to declare a woman through her

Front 22

What tests does Conn pass?

Back 22

1. The Chariot does not tilt up before him
2. Horses do not charge at him
3. The king's mantle on the charriot fits – not too big
4. The stone of fál cries out for him
5. All this cemented by being offered drink by a woman who represents the sovereignty of Ireland

Front 23

The Story of Niall Noígiallach and the Sovereignty

Back 23

1. A group of brothers go searching in the forest for water
2. One by one, they come accross a hag who is willing to exchange water for a kiss
3. Finally Niall gets there and says not only will he give her a kiss, but also he will lie beside her as well
4. She turns into a beautiful goddess named The Sovereignty

Front 24

How many things are significant about the story of Niall Noígiallach and The Sovereignty?

Back 24

3

Front 25

What things are significant about the story of Niall Noígiallach?

Back 25

1. She tests his ability to be fooled by appearances
2. She stands between the men and their drink, and offers drink only to him
3. She symbolizes the idea that sovereignty is not won without battle and difficulty

Front 26

Things to say about Medb Lethderg

Back 26

1. How we know she's important
2. General story
3. Significance

Front 27

How we know Medb Lethderg is important

Back 27

1. Her connection to Cualu
2. Her name
3. Her necessity to the king
4. Also worshipped as a goddess by the common people

Front 28

What's so significant about Medb's connection to Cualu?

Back 28

You have to drink the ale of Cualu to become king

Front 29

What's so significant about Medb's name?

Back 29

It means intoxicating drink, and has the same root as the word for intoxicating mead

Front 30

What's so significant about her necessity to the king?

Back 30

You can't be king if you're not married to Medb and without her there can be no king

Front 31

What's so significant about Medb being worshipped as a goddess by the common people?

Back 31

1. We see no other signs of her goddess-ship
2. Common people are rarely mentioned, so the fact that they even show up at all means it must be really really important

Front 32

General story of Medb?

Back 32

She poisons Lugaid of the Loígis so that the kingdom is divided and his descendants will have less power against her own

Front 33

Significance of Medb

Back 33

1. She can give the drink of kingship but also bring weakness, divide and downfall
2. Shows the opposite side of the sovereignty goddess – destroying the false instead of exalting the truth
3. She represents a certain character type of this anti-sovereignty – like Mongfhind, Niall's stepmother and the queen of Tara, who deceptively poisons her brother so that her son can be king