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Legends and Lore
Chapter 1: The Tuatha de Anu
Legend has it that the Tuatha de Anu was created by Anu to help protect the people of Hibernia. Anu is known throughout Hibernia as the mother goddess or as Mother Nature. She is the Wife of the Sun God Belenos, and mother to the Tuatha de Anu, or Tribe of Anu. She is well known for her benevolence and is often times referred to as the goddess of fertility and nature. It is believed that she is the source of all energy that lives within all natural elements. This is the very same energy, which allows the ancient druids to practice the magical ways that help protect the land of Hibernia. Little is known about the origins of Anu however its believed that she has been around since the creation of time.
The Tuatha de Anu was comprised of several gods and goddess. The most well known being Dagda the king of the Tuatha de Anu. This was not always so. His brother Nuada was once the king of the Tuatha de Anu. Untill the first battle of Magh Tuiredh. In this treacherous battle King Nuada had his hand severed in combat. Due to this sign of mortality the Tuatha de Anu removed him from his throne and in his place sat his brother Dagda.
Nuada was rather upset by the loss of his seat as king and also the loss his hand. His brother Being a clever as he is and a skilled craftsmen, Nuada's younger brother Dian Cecht, forged Nuada a new hand made of pure silver. The hand was given to Nuada and from that day on he became known as "Nuada Argetlamh" or "Nuada of the silver hand".
When Dagda took the throne his brothers Nuada, Dian Cecht and Lir quickly became dominant figures in the Tuatha de Anu as well as Dagda's 4 sons; Aonghus Mac Og, Lugh Lamfhota, Oghma, and Aodh, and 3 daughters Brighid, Banbha, and Eire. He is endowed with great wisdom and extreme magical skills. He wears a coarse-woven, brown low-necked tunic, which only reached down below his hips; and over this a hooded cape, which barely covered his shoulders. He wears knee high animal-hide boots, and has long hair with a full silvery white beard. Even though he is a king he has never been seen with a crown or any type of jewels or riches. He is a rather large man towering over most firbolgs.
He had enormous strength and carries a club-of-anger. This eight-pronged war club is so huge that several men would be needed just to carry it. The club is imbued with magical powers on the smooth end he could touch a dead man and instantly bring him to life. Thus one end has the power to destroy while the other the power to recreate. He is also known for his mighty bronze cauldron named the Undry, in which provides an endless bountiful harvest to the people of Hibernia. He also possesses a harp that when played can change the weather and seasons.
His first son was Aonghus Mac Og. He was raised by Midhir, a chieftain in Bri Leith, after his mother Boinne gave birth to him. This was because Boinne was the wife of Dagda's brother Nuada who he had taken the throne from. In an act of passion Dagda ordered his brother Nuada to travel to the islands in the east to investigate a new civilization that had been discovered. In the time that Nuada was away Dagda impregnated his wife and delivered his child. In an effort to keep his heredity secret the Tuatha de Anu's poets of skillful words and magic educated him. He excelled in the magical ways of shape shifting and in time was told of his true heredity.
His next son, Lugh Lamfhota, was endowed with abnormal strength. Based on his abnormal strength and the long range of his weapons, Lugh became known as the Raven of the Long Arm. He carried a sword that could cut through anything, and a spear given to him by Dagda, which was extremely powerful. It could fly through the air for a great distance when cast by him, and when he spoke the word "Ibar" it would never to miss his mark. Then he would speak "Athibar" and the spear would return to his hand. He earned the name Raven from his ability to speak with the ravens to learn the positions of the enemy soldiers. He has long blonde hair and was very tall and muscular. He is handsome and well proportioned. He is a heroic warrior, sorcerer, and accomplished in all skills. From music to crafting in metals stone and wood. He is portrayed by many, to be the God of Light.
Dagda's third son, Oghma is a master of wisdom, speech, and poetry. Oghma is shrewd and thinks quickly in warfare, and a champion in battle. He is one of the leading warrior chiefs in battles. He was the creator of the Ogham script, the earliest form of written language. He is fair haired, blue eyed, and handsome with a chiseled face. He is tall, muscular and very strong. Even today, his language can only be read by the Tuatha.
The fourth son is rather elusive. There is little documented about his son Aodh. It is rumored that he is the god of shadows and no mortal has ever laid eyes upon him. It is believed that Aodh was extremely jealous of his other brothers and decided to spend life in shadows and only to appear upon the request of the goddess Anu herself.
Dagda's first daughter Brighid was born at the exact moment that the sun rose over the eastern foothills. A great tower of flame rose from the top of her tiny head, reaching far into the skies, thus signaling the birth of a uniquely divine baby. Her breath gave life to the dead and this earned her the name "the Exalted One". She is a great poet and possesses many talents in the realm of arts and crafts. Many Bards and Poets aspire to be like Brighid and often times find themselves in awe of her greatness. However, while Brighid's words are beautiful she is cursed with one half of her face being ugly while the other being beautiful. However her long hair hangs over her one side of her face to hide this curse. She is rather well proportioned and is always clad in a simple, long white robe. She is married to Breas, the son of a Fomorian king in an attempt to form an alliance between the two races. She gave birth to a son Ruadan who was beheaded and killed in a battle at a young age. Due to the delay in reaching her slain son she was unsuccessful in breathing life into his body. Her sorrow was great and she was the first to lament the death of a love one by weeping, shrieking and wailing. In his memory she erected a shrine in Kildare that contained a sacred flame that would never go out.
His second daughter Banbha took king MacCuill hand in marriage at a young age. She is a gifted magician and is known to be the goddess of war and of fertility.
Dagda's last child was Eire, a extremely powerful magician who cast powerful spells by the use of incantations and herbs. She sometime appears as a tall, powerfully built woman in colorful, intricately adorned robes, luxuriant gold-blonde hair, and sometimes as a long-beaked gray crow, casting her spells and weaving magic wherever she goes.
Dagda's brother Nuada is known as one of the gods of healing, he once ruled the Tuatha de Anu. In the first battle of Magh Tuiredh Nuada lost his hand. He then was crafted a hand of silver by his brother Dian Cecht. Thus taking on the name "the Silver Hand".
Dian Cecht is a fine Craftsmen and maker of Nuada's silver hand. He is the great god of healing and is the physician of the Tuatha de Anu. It was Dian who blessed the well Slane in which the wounded Tuatha de Anu bathed. It is known that this would cure all wounds so they could resume fighting.
Lir is the god of the sea and father of four. The most controversial of which, was his son Bran, who was born from a mortal woman. Lir's love for this mysterious woman would eventually lead to her death. Bran still lives today as a well known as a giant that roams the land south of Innis Carthaig.
The Tuatha were strong and brought prosperous times to Hibernia. Many years passed before the great conflict began.
» Next Week: Chapter 2: The Great Conflict
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Special thanks to: Twryhyggyr, Thame Bladesong, and Mohanna for their contributions to this edition.
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