Celtic mythology and folklore

Nabelcus To Ny Shee (Celtic mythology and folklore)

Nabelcus Continental Celtic god. This obscure divinity from the region of Vaucluse in France was associated by the Romans with their warrior god mars. Name Cosmological concept. The power of naming is commonly connected to spiritual prowess in many cultures, as is evidenced in the Christian myth in which the first humans, Adam and Eve, […]

Oak To Quintessence (Celtic mythology and folklore)

Oak Symbolic plant. Large and impressively long-lived, the oak was one of the most important trees to the Celts. In part, this was because of the oak’s usefulness: It provides abundant acorns, which were in ancient times a favored food of pigs, whose flesh then became part of the human diet; its long-lasting wood is […]

Ragallach (Raghallach) To Ryons (Riance) (Celtic mythology and folklore)

Ragallach (Raghallach) Irish hero. This obscure figure was said to have been king of connacht, the western province of Ireland, in the seventh century c.e. There is some historical evidence of his life, although the elaborate tales told about him are partially legend. Because of his greed for power, Ragallach arranged to have his only […]

Sabraan To Sympathetic magic (Celtic mythology and folklore)

Sabraan British goddess. This obscure goddess is known from a single Romano-Celtic temple built on a site in Gloucestershire that is believed to have been inhabited from pre-Celtic times; thus she may have been derived from or connected to a pre-Celtic goddess of the region. Sabrina British goddess or folkloric figure. A goddess of this […]

Tadg (Tighe, Tadc) To Tylwyth teg (fair family) (Celtic mythology and folklore)

Tadg (Tighe, Tadc) Irish hero. This name is common in Irish history and mythology. The most prominent bearer was Tadg mac Nuadat, grandfather of the hero fionn mac cumhaill; Tadg has been interpreted as a form of the god nuada, although his name implies that he was Nuada’s son. A more obscure Tadg was foster […]

Uaithne (Uathe) To Uther Pendragon (Uthr Bendragon) (Celtic mythology and folklore)

Uaithne (Uathe) Irish folkloric figure. The harper who served the beneficent god, the dagda, Uaithne eloped with the Dagda’s consort boand, with her he had three children, including the musician suantrade, who inherited his father’s great talent. The name is also given to the Dagda’s magical harp, which would only sing when its owner demanded […]

Varia (Vaum) To Yvonne and Yvon (Celtic mythology and folklore)

Varia (Vaum) Irish heroine. An Irish folktale tells of this nagging woman who was married to an unusually lazy man named donagha. When he was gifted by the fairy people with two wishes, he wasted one by asking that the load of wood he was carrying would grow feet so that it could walk by […]

Next Entries →