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Scottish mythology

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Myths

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   See also

   Celt · Gaul
   Galatia · Celtiberians
   Early history of Ireland
   Prehistoric Scotland
   Prehistoric Wales
   Index of related articles

   Scottish mythology may refer to any of the mythologies of Scotland.
   Myths have emerged for various purposes throughout the history of
   Scotland, sometimes being elaborated upon by successive generations,
   and at other times being completely rejected and replaced by other
   explanatory narratives.

National mythology

     * Origin legends: Several origin legends for the Scots were created
       during the historical period, serving various purposes. Wishing to
       maintain a connection with Ireland, a common origin in the kingdom
       of Dál Riata was asserted for many centuries. The Scottish Crown's
       claim of independence against the aggressively expansionist English
       Crown during the Scottish Wars of Independence was the incentive
       for other more creative origin legends.
     * Picts: Once the Picts were assimilated into the Gaelic world and
       their actual characteristics faded out of memory, folkloric
       elements filled the gaps of history. Their "sudden disappearance"
       was explained as a slaughter happening at a banquet given by
       Kenneth MacAlpin (an international folklore motif) and they were
       ascribed with powers like those of the fairies, brewing heather
       from secret recipes and living in underground chambers. In the
       eighteenth century, as Lowlanders were eager to be accepted as
       fellow Anglo-Saxons by the Anglocentric British Empire, the Picts
       were co-opted as a "Germanic" race despite the fact that linguistic
       studies have shown the pictish language to have been either a
       pre-celtic or a brythonic language.

   See also Duan Albanach

Gaelic mythology

   Because of the close linguistic links between Ulster and the west of
   Scotland much of Gaelic mythology was imported and infact created in
   Scotland. The Ulster Cycle, set around the beginning of the Christian
   era, consists of a group of heroic stories dealing with the lives of
   Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, the great hero Cúchulainn, and of
   their friends, lovers, and enemies. These are the Ulaid, or people of
   the North-Eastern corner of Ireland and the action of the stories
   centres round the royal court at Emain Macha, close to the modern city
   of Armagh. The Ulaid had close links with Gaelic Scotland, where
   Cúchulainn is said to have learned the arts of war. The cycle consists
   of stories of the births, early lives and training, wooings, battles,
   feastings and deaths of the heroes and reflects a warrior society in
   which warfare consists mainly of single combats and wealth is measured
   mainly in cattle. These stories are written mainly in prose. The
   centrepiece of the Ulster Cycle is the Táin Bó Cúailnge. Other
   important Ulster Cycle tales include The Tragic Death of Aife's only
   Son, Bricriu's Feast, and The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel. This
   cycle is, in some respects, close to the mythological cycle of the rest
   of the Gaelic speaking world. Some of the characters from the latter
   reappear, and the same sort of shape-shifting magic is much in
   evidence, side by side with a grim, almost callous realism. While we
   may suspect a few characters, such as Medb or Cú Roí, of once being
   deities, and Cúchulainn in particular displays superhuman prowess, the
   characters are firmly mortal and rooted in a specific time and place.

Finn and the Fianna

   The stories of Finn (Irish: Fionn) mac Cumhaill and his band of
   soldiers the Fianna, appear to be set around the 3rd century in Gaelic
   Ireland and Scotland. They differ from other Gaelic mythological cycles
   in the strength of their links with the Gaelic-speaking community in
   Scotland and there are many extant texts from that country. They also
   differ from the Ulster Cycle in that the stories are told mainly in
   verse and that in tone they are nearer to the tradition of romance than
   the tradition of epic. The single most important source for the Fenian
   Cycle is the Acallam na Senórach (Colloquy of the Old Men), which is
   found in two 15th century manuscripts, the Book of Lismore and Laud
   610, as well as a 17th century manuscript from Killiney, County Dublin.
   The text is dated from linguistic evidence to the 12th century. The
   text records conversations between the last surviving members of the
   Fianna and Saint Patrick and runs to some 8,000 lines. The late dates
   of the manuscripts may reflect a longer oral tradition for the Fenian
   stories, the same oral tradition which was interpreted from Gaelic to
   English by James MacPherson in the Ossian stories. The Fianna of the
   story are divided into the Clann Baiscne, led by Fionnghall, and the
   Clann Morna, led by his enemy, Goll mac Morna. Goll killed Fionnghall's
   father, Cumhal, in battle and the boy Fionn was brought up in secrecy.
   As a youth, while being trained in the art of poetry, he accidentally
   burned his thumb while cooking the Salmon of Knowledge, which allowed
   him to suck or bite his thumb in order to receive bursts of stupendous
   wisdom. He took his place as the leader of his band and numerous tales
   are told of their adventures. Two of the greatest Gaelic tales,
   Tóraigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne (The Pursuit of Diarmuid and
   Grainne) and Oisin in Tir na nOg form part of the cycle. The Diarmuid
   and Grainne story, which is one of the few Fenian prose tales, is a
   probable source of Tristan and Iseult. The world of the Fenian Cycle is
   one in which professional warriors spend their time hunting, fighting,
   and engaging in adventures in the spirit world. New entrants into the
   band are expected to be knowledgeable in poetry as well as undergo a
   number of physical tests or ordeals. Again, there is no religious
   element in these tales unless it is one of hero-worship.

Religious mythology

   Myth is sometimes an aspect of folklore, but not all myth is folklore,
   nor is all folklore myth or mythological.

   People who express an interest in mythology are often most focused on
   non-human (sometimes referred to as "supernatural") beings. There have
   been numerous groups of such entities in Scottish culture, some of them
   specific to particular ethnic groups (Gaelic, Norse, Germanic, etc),
   others of them probably evolving from the circumstances unique to
   Scotland.

   The Aos-sídhe, Sìdhichean, or "Fairies" were originally the
   pre-Christian divinities of Gaelic Scotland. They eventually came to
   "co-habitate" the conceptual spiritual world with Christianity,
   generally diminishing in power and prominence over the centuries. The
   medieval Gaelic literati grouped them together as the Tuatha De Danann,
   who share certain characteristics with other characters in Celtic
   literature. Folk beliefs about the Banshee also reflect aspects of
   these beings.

   There are other supernatual beings whose characteristics reflect
   folkloric patterns from around the world. Ancestral spirits, and giants
   who help to form the landscape and represent the forces of nature, are
   ubitiquous and may point to non-elite registers of mythology.
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