Bres Mac Elathan appears in a number of texts besides Cath Maige Tuired, and often in a more sympathetic light. He appears as one of the Túatha Dé Danann, as in Tocmairc Étaíne, “The Wooing of Étaín”, where the Dagda sends Elcmar of the Brug away on business to Bres in Mag nInis so that…
Search Results for: Bres
Bres – Kingship and Status
In the 21st century, we have quite different ideas of government, nationhood, sovereignty and royalty to our ancestors of 1000 and more years ago. Indeed, it is hard to imagine that an island as small as Ireland had as many as 150 túatha (usually translated as “tribes” or “petty kingdoms”) between the 5th and…
The Story of Bres
It wasn’t his fault. How could one so noble, so beautiful, have been at fault? He was the golden youth, the beloved one chosen by his mother’s people. How could it all have gone so wrong? How had his golden dreams become so tarnished? He had grown up with his mother’s glowing stories. “When you…
The Battle of Moytura 02: Echtrae Breis – The Adventures of Bres
Bres the Beautiful, the Half-Blood Prince of the Túatha Dé Danann, fared little better than his modern literary counterpart. As the Battle of Moytura draws near, we explore the terrible tale of the king set up to be brought down by meanness and false judgement. Join the Story Archaeologists as we try to piece together…
Explore Series 2: The Battle of Moytura. Episodes 1-6
The epic tale of the Cath Maige Tuired, the battle of Moyrura was the story that inspired my passion for the early Irish tales. It had everything. fascinating, mysterious characters and world-altering battles. The Elizabeth Grey translation became my close companion. And yet, I always felt that there were deeper, more subtle levels that I…
The Story of Rúadán from Cath Maige Tuired
from Cath Maige Tuired, The Battle of Moytura edited by Elizabeth Gray translation and notes by Isolde Carmody [Terms in bold have notes and discussions below] 544] Tánic didiu frisna Fomore annísin, go tudciset-som fer n-úadaibh de déscin cathai & cosdotha Túath nDéa .i. Rúadán mac Bresi & Bríghi ingene in Dagdai. Ar ba mac-side & ba úa do Thúaith Déa. 124. Things were going against the…
Brig and Rúadán
It was the first time keening had been heard in the green land of Ireland. The poetry of mourning, the ritual of the eulogy. Brig keened for her lost son, her impetuous red-headed boy, Rúadán. Rúadán was dead, killed by the spear of Goibniu, and the smithcraft of the Dé Danann, killed as a spy…
The Story of Airmed from Cath Maige Tuired
from Cath Maige Tuired, The Battle of Moytura edited by Elizabeth Gray translation and notes by Isolde Carmody [Terms in bold have notes and discussions below] 133] Boí dano Núadae oga uothras, & dobreth láim n-argait foair lioa Díen Cécht go lúth cecha lámha indte. Meanwhile, Núada was debilitated. A silver hand / arm was set on him by Dían Cécht, with the power of every [other]…
Texts of Ethliu
From Tocmarc Étaine, “The Wooing of Étain” Edited O. Bergin & R. I. Best, Translated with endnotes by Isolde Carmody. Terms with related notes are in bold. View Bergin & Best’s edition on CELT While this text is included here in relation to “Tales of Eithliu”, we dealt with the whole of Tocmarc Étaíne in 3 episodes in Series 3, “Dindshenchas…
The Dindshenchas of Inber Ailbine: Gormanston, Co. Dublin
In Dindshenchas: A Magical Mystery Tour, we linked the characters and themes in this poem with two characters from Cath Maige Tuired, “The Battle of Moytura“. We explored connections between Rúad in this poem and Rúadán in Cath Maige Tuired, and his father, Rígdonn, with Rúadán’s father Bres. We have discussed Rúadán’s story in Series…