Ancestors

Toot

Written by Anna June Pagé on 2024-12-09 at 08:01

Medieval Irish literature has many lake monsters, especially in the Acallam na senórach "The Dialogue of the Ancients." Some have fascinating origin stories. The lake monster in Glendalough, called a peist, was once a quarter of the brain of the Leinster king Mess Gegra, which had been turned into a stone and used to kill the Ulster king Conchobar. At some point part of the brain was swallowed by the earth and transformed. The monster was eventually bound by St. Kevin. #MythologyMonday 1/3

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from AnnaJunePage@mstdn.ca

Descendants

Written by Anna June Pagé on 2024-12-09 at 08:06

In the Acallam we also find the story of a smirrdris in Loch Lurgan. Smirrdris seems to be a form of muirdris, a compound of the word muir "sea" and -dris, which seems to be connected to the word dragon. The origin story of this smirrdris is found in the Early Modern Irish version of Cath Muighe Tuireadh "The Second Battle of Mag Tuired." After Lugh kills his grandfather, the cyclops Balor, he takes his head as a trophy. Because the head is toxic and destructive, Lugh takes Balor's leg. 2/3

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from AnnaJunePage@mstdn.ca

Written by Anna June Pagé on 2024-12-09 at 08:12

The leg is also dangerous though, and becomes too heavy for Lugh. He abandons the foot and drags the shin-bone behind his chariot, where its weight forms a ditch filled with the putrefaction of the rotting bone. When Lugh finally leaves it behind, a dorb "worm" burrows into it, eats the marrow, and grows into the smirrdris. The smirrdris meets its end in the Acallam when Finn drains the lake that it lives in until it is too small for it and then kills it. 3/3

=> More informations about this toot | More toots from AnnaJunePage@mstdn.ca