Nemain

Nemain

In Irish mythology, Nemain (modern spelling: Nemhain) is the fairy spirit of the frenzied havoc of war, and possibly an aspect of the Morrígan. The name is sometimes spelt Nemon or Neman.

Contents

Representation in literature

In the grand Irish epic of the Tain Bo Cuailnge, Neman confounds armies, so that friendly bands fall in mutual slaughter. When the forces of Queen Medb arrive at Magh-Tregham, in the present county of Longford, on the way to Cuailnge, Neman appears amongst them:

“Then the Neman attacked them, and that was not the most comfortable night with them, from the uproar of the giant Dubtach through his sleep. The bands were immediately startled, and the army confounded, until Medb went to check the confusion.” Lebor na hUidhre, fol. 46, b1.

And in another passage, in the episode called “Breslech Maighe Muirthemhne,” where a terrible description is given of Cuchullain’s fury at seeing the hostile armies of the south and west encamped within the borders of Uladh, we are told (Book of Leinster, fol.54, a2, and b1):

“He saw from him the ardent sparkling of the bright golden weapons over the heads of the four great provinces of Eriu, before the fall of the cloud of evening. Great fury and indignation seized him on seeing them, at the number of his opponents and at the multitude of his enemies. He seized his two spears, and his shield and his sword, and uttered from his throat a warrior’s shout, so that sprites, and satyrs, and maniacs of the valley, and the demons of the air responded, terror-stricken by the shout which he had raised on high. And the Neman confused the army; and the four provinces of Eriu dashed themselves against the points of their own spears and weapons, so that one hundred warriors died of fear and trembling in the middle of the fort and encampment that night.”

Kinship

In Cormac’s glossary, Nemain is said to have been the wife of Neit, “the god of battle with the pagan Gaeidhel”. A poem in the Book of Leinster (fol. 6, a2), couples Badb and Neman as the wives of Neid or Neit:—

“Neit son of Indu, and his two wives, Badb and Neamin, truly, Were slain in Ailech, without blemish, By Neptur of the Fomorians”.

At folio 5, a2, of the same MS., Fea and Nemain are said to have been Neit’s two wives but in the poem on Ailech printed from the Dinnsenchus in the “Ordinance Memoir of Templemore” (p. 226), Nemain only is mentioned as the wife of Neit. Also, in the Irish books of genealogy, both Fea and Neman are said to have been the two daughters of Elcmar of the Brugh (Newgrange, near the Boyne), who was the son of Delbaeth, son of Ogma, son of Elatan, and the wives of Neid son of Indae. This identical kinship of Fea and Nemain implies that the two are one and the same personality.

She sometimes appears as a bean nighe, the weeping washer by a river, washing the clothes or entrails of a doomed warrior.

Etymology

The variant forms in which her name appears in Irish texts are Nemon ~ Nemain ~ Neman. These alternations imply that the Proto-Celtic form of this theonym, if such a theonym existed at that stage, would have been *Nemānjā, *Nemani-s or *Nemoni-s.

The meaning of the name has been various glossed. Squire (2000:45) glossed the name as 'venomous' presumably relating it to the Proto-Celtic *nemi- ‘dose of poison’ ‘something which is dealt out’ from the Proto-Indo-European root *nem- ‘deal out’ (Old Irish nem, pl. neimi ‘poison’ ). However, *nemi- is clearly an i-stem noun whereas the stems of the reconstructed forms *Nemā-njā, *Nema-ni-s and *Nemo-ni-s are clearly a-stem and o-stem nouns respectively.

Equally, the Proto-Celtic *nāmant- ‘enemy’ (Irish námhaid, genitive namhad ‘enemy’ from the Old Irish náma, g. námat, pl.n. námait [1]) is too different in form from *Nemānjā, *Nemani-s or *Nemoni-s to be equated with any of them.

The name may plausibly be an extended form of the Proto-Indo-European root of the name is *nem- ‘seize, take, deal out’ to which is related the Ancient Greek Némesis ‘wrath, nemesis’ and the name Nemesis, the personification of retributive justice in Greek mythology. Also related to this Proto-Indo-European root is the Old High German nâma ‘rapine,’ German nehmen, ‘take,’ English nimble; Zend ‘’O’Neal’’ ‘crime,’ Albanian name ‘a curse’ and the Welsh, Cornish, and Breton nam, ‘blame’ [2]. According to this theory, the name would mean something like ‘the Great Taker’ or the ‘Great Allotter.’ However, it is just as plausible that the name be related to the Proto-Indo-European root *nem- ‘bend, twist.’ Along these lines, the theonym would mean something like the ‘Great Twister’ or the ‘Great Bender.’

References

  • MacCulloch, J. A. (1911). The religion of the ancient Celts. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 048642765X
  • Squire, C. (2000). The mythology of the British Islands: an introduction to Celtic myth, legend, poetry and romance. London & Ware: UCL & Wordsworth Editions Ltd.
  • Hennessey, WM. (1870). The Ancient Irish Goddess of War. Revue Celtique, Vol 1, pp. 27-57. Available 26/9/2007 online at Sacred-texts.com.



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Nemain — (ou Nemhain), dans la mythologie celtique irlandaise, est une déesse guerrière, qui apparait notamment dans le récit mythique de la Rafle des vaches de Cooley (Táin Bó Cúailnge). C’est une représentation de Bodb, elle même un avatar de Morrigan,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Nemain — Nemain, diosa irlandesa de la guerra, una Tuatha Dé Danann, esposa de Nuada. El significado de su nombre es “venenoso” o “terrible”. Historia Era parte de un grupo de deidades de la guerra compuesto por ella, Morrigan, Macha y Babd, que en… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Nemain — [ Nʴevʴeð], auch Neamhain, ist eine Sagengestalt aus der Irischen Mythologie, die wahrscheinlich auf eine keltische Gottheit zurückzuführen ist. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Mythologie 2 Siehe auch 3 Literatur …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ravenwood, Nemain —    see Rudi, Nadine Denise …   Dictionary of erotic artists: painters, sculptors, printmakers, graphic designers and illustrators

  • Badb — In Irish mythology, the Badb (IPA|/baðβ/ crow in Old Irish; modern Irish Badhbh IPA|/bəiv/ means vulture ) was a goddess of war who took the form of a crow, and was thus sometimes known as Badb Catha ( battle crow ). She often caused confusion… …   Wikipedia

  • The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog — The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nóg Format Action Adventure Fantasy Created by Saban Entertainment Starring Lochlainn O Mearain Lisa Dwan Vincent Walsh Justin Pierre Kelly Campbell Charlotte Bradley Ned Dennehy Peadar Lamb Stephen Brennan B …   Wikipedia

  • The Morrígan — Morrigan redirects here. For other uses, see Morrigan (disambiguation). The Morrígan ( phantom queen ) or Mórrígan ( great queen ), also written as Morrígu or in the plural as Morrígna, and spelt Morríghan or Mór Ríoghain in Modern Irish, is a… …   Wikipedia

  • Los caballeros Misticos de Tir Na Nog — Este artículo o sección sobre ficción y televisión necesita ser wikificado con un formato acorde a las convenciones de estilo. Por favor, edítalo para que las cumpla. Mientras tanto, no elimines este aviso puesto el 3 de marzo de 2011 …   Wikipedia Español

  • Morrígan — The Morrígan ( terror or phantom queen ) or Mórrígan ( great queen ) (also known as Morrígu, Morríghan, Mor Ríoghain, sometimes given in the plural as Morrígna) is a figure from Irish mythology who appears to have once been a goddess, although… …   Wikipedia

  • Tuatha Dé Danann — For other uses, see Danann (disambiguation). Áes dána redirects here. For other uses, see Aes Dana (disambiguation). Series on Celtic mythology Celtic polytheism Celtic deities ( …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”