Tuatha De Danann

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Tuatha Dé Danann, Dé Donann, de Danaan [Ir. tuatha, people, tribe, nation; dé, god; danann, of Ana (?); cf. trí dee dána, three gods of skill; fir Tri nDéa, men of the three gods]. Name found in the pseudo-history Lebor Gabála [Book of Invasions] for the principal family of euhemerized pre-Christian deities in Old Irish tradition. They were described as excelling over all peoples of the earth in their proficiency in every art. The phrase Tuatha Dé pre-dates the Lebor Gabála, describing both the Israelites in translations of the Bible (cf. L Plebes Dei) and the old gods. The origin of Danann is still disputed. In English and Irish the group may be known as Tuatha Dé for short; Dédanann, Dedananns, etc., while commonly seen, are non-standard. Also called ‘the Ever-Living Ones’, they are often implied by the phrase áes sídhe [Ir., people of the sídh].

Although individual members of the Tuatha Dé unquestionably pre-date the Lebor Gabála, their literary characterization begins in that text, where they are synchronized with other invaders. The Tuatha Dé Danann arrive thirty-seven years after the Fir Bolg, whom they displace, and 297 years before the Milesians, who represent the Q-Celtic, Goidelic people, ancestors of the Irish. Overriding their conflicts with other invaders, the usual adversaries of the Tuatha Dé Danann are the other euhemerized deities, the Fomorians. Glints of their divine origin persist in the literary portrayal of the Tuatha Dé Danann; unlike other invaders, who arrive by ship, the Tuatha Dé disembark from sombre clouds just before Beltaine, settling on an obscure mountain in the west, causing a three-day eclipse. They are often associated with the west. A variant text has the Tuatha Dé arrive in ships, which were burned on the shore; the smoke from this conflagration also causes an eclipse. Descended through eleven generations from the Nemedians, the Tuatha Dé were thought to have come from ‘Greece’ but to have learned magic and druid lore, draíocht, in remote northern lands. Their former homes were four magical cities: Falias, Findias, Gorias, and Murias. From them they take their principal treasures: from Falias Fál or Lia Fáil, the stone of destiny, which cries out under a lawful king; from Findias the sword of Nuadu, which allows no one to escape; from Gorias Gáe Assail, the spear of Lug Lámfhota, which guarantees victory; from Murias the cauldron of the Dagda, which leaves everyone satisfied. Shortly after their entry on the Irish scene, the Tuatha Dé defeat the Fir Bolg in the First Battle of Mag Tuired [Moytirra], near Lough Arrow, Co. Sligo; see CATH MAIGE TUIRED. After forming three lakes and introducing pigs into Irish agriculture, the Tuatha Dé Danann need only to quell the hateful Fomorians before establishing a golden era of peaceful prosperity.

Also euhemerized deities, the Fomorians are not a part of the invasion sequence and are sometimes characterized as demonic pirates; they harass previous settlers, the Partholonians and the Nemedians, from their fortress on Tory Island, off Donegal. Although they are adversaries, the Tuatha Dé Danann intermarry with the Fomorians. Thus when the Tuatha Dé king Nuadu is made unfit by losing his hand, his successor, Bres, is the son of a Fomorian father. The great champion of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Lug Lámfhota, is the grandson of the Fomorian juggernaut Balor. After an epic struggle, Lug and the Tuatha Dé Danann triumph, as described in Cath Maige Tuired [The (Second) Battle of Mag Tuired], which, like the First Battle, takes place at Moytirra, near Lough Arrow, Co. Sligo. The text of Cath Maige Tuired exists independently of Lebor Gabála but is summarized in it. After the Second Battle of Mag Tuired, the Tuatha Dé Danann establish a capital at Tara, which they call Cathair Crofuind. They are credited with building many of Ireland's (in fact) pre-Celtic ruins, including Ailech.

The three sons of the Dagda, Mac Cuill, Mac Cécht, and Mac Gréine, divide Ireland among themselves. Further, each takes wives who are eponyms for Ireland, Mac Cuill marrying Banba, Mac Cécht marrying Fódla, and Mac Gréine marrying Eriu. Such triplism is not only general in Irish myth but seems especially pertinent to the Tuatha Dé Danann, who are sometimes called Trí Dé Danann [the three gods of Danu/Ana] and fir Trí nDéa [men of the three gods]. The phrase Tri Dée Dána [three gods of arts], from which Trí Dé Danann may be derived, describes Brian (1), Iuchair, and Iucharba, who are also sons of Ana/ Danu and who appear in many episodes of Lebor Gabála; they are leading characters in Oidheadh Chlainne Tuireann [The Tragic Story of the Children of Tuireann]. Three other sons of Ana/Danu are Goibniu the blacksmith, Credne the artificer or silversmith, and Luchta the wright or carpenter.

Leading figures of the Tuatha Dé Danann include: the Dagda, the ‘good god’, a king who specializes in druidical magic; Manannán mac Lir, the sea-god; Dian Cécht, the principal healing god; Lug Lámfhota, not only an important champion but a master of arts and crafts; Angus Óg, the god of poetry and music; Brigid, the fire-goddess and patron of poets; Boand, goddess of the Boyne and lover of the Dagda; the triad of war-goddesses, Badb, Macha, and Mórrígan; Ogma, a god of eloquence who is also a strongman and warrior; Donn (1), ruler of the dead; and Bodb Derg, a son of the Dagda and a later king. Artists among the Tuatha Dé Danann include Cas Corach, harper; Féthnat, a female musician; Aillén mac Midgna, the fairy musician; the poets Abcán and Aí mac Ollamon; Eadon, the ‘nurse of poets’; the druids Esras and Figol; satirists Cridenbél and Cairbre mac Ethne. Other names often cited are: Áed Minbhreac, the son of the Dagda wrongly accused of adultery; Assal, original owner of the spear Gáe Assail; Bé Chuille, a witch-like woman; Bé Téite, a beautiful woman; Colum Cúaillemech, another smith; Conarán, a Tuatha Dé chief mentioned in the Fenian Cycle; Delbáeth (2), a noble youth; Echtge, a beautiful lady commemorated in the place-name Echtge; Eochaid Iúil, a god of the underworld; Étaín, the great beauty; Finnbarr, who makes a lewd remark to Eithne (1); Ethal Anbúail, a Connacht leader. Flidais, the goddess of beasts, is sometimes included.

Although the mortal Milesians, under Míl Espáine, defeat the Tuatha Dé Danann twice, at Tailtiu and Druim Ligen, their struggle is far from epic. The fate of the Tuatha Dé after this is not a subject of the Lebor Gabála but rather of more popular materials that describe them surviving as immortals in the ancient barrows and cairns. The world is then divided in two, the surface going to the ordinary, mortal Milesians and their progeny while the Tuatha Dé live underground, the route to which is the sídh. A war between immortals and mortals causes the Tuatha Dé to deprive the living of their milk and edible grain, for which restitution is later made. In some texts the Dagda is described as not having been killed at Mag Tuired so that he may now rule under the earth. Often his son Bodb Derg is the king. Although mortals might consider ancient ruins to be places of fear, the underground Tuatha Dé are often portrayed as living in idyllic realms; one is Mag Mell [Pleasant Plain]; another is Emain Ablach [Fortress of Apples], a cognate of the Arthurian Avalon; and the best-known is Tír na nÓg [the Land of Youth]. A most important distinction was their power of féth fíada, which could render them invisible, so that they could roam at will among mortals undetected. In many other respects, however, their world mirrors that of the mortals above. The Tuatha Dé Danann may have beauty and agelessness, but they still know quarrels, hierarchies, and intrigues. In time, the realm of the Tuatha Dé Danann becomes indistinguishable from that of the fairies or the áes sídhe. A ‘king’ of the fairies, Finnbheara, is described as having first been a king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, but the prominent figures from the Lebor Gabála are not reduced to this status. A certain malevolence attributed to them may derive from a popular confusion with the predatory Fomorians. The reduced stature of such beings comes from living underground, away from the sun. Countless sites on the Irish countryside were thought to be their residences.

Bibliography

See also: John Carey , ‘The Name “Tuatha Dé Danann” ‘, Éigse, 18 (1981), 291–4;
‘A Tuath Dé Miscellany’, Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies, 39 (1992), 24–45;
Vernam E. Hull , ‘The Four Jewels of the Tuatha Dé Danann’, Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie, 18 (1930), 73–89;
Gustav Lehmacher , ‘Tuatha Dé Donann’, Zeitschrift für celtische. Philologie, 13 (1921), 360–4.

Tuatha Dé Danann, in Gaelic mythology, the gods, the ‘Folk of the goddess Danu’, the enemies of the Fomors. They are represented as invaders of Ireland, subsequent to the Fomors and the Fir Bolgs. They rout the Fomors at the battle of Moytura, and are ousted in their turn by the Milesians. Conspicuous among the Tuatha Dé Danann are Lugh, the Gaelic sun-god, their leader; and Lêr, the god of the sea.

Tuatha Dé Danann in Irish mythology, the members of an ancient race said to have inhabited Ireland before the historical Irish. Formerly believed to have been a real people, they are credited with the possession of magical powers and great wisdom. The name is Irish, literally ‘people of the goddess Danann’.

Tuatha De Danann , in Irish mythology, invaders of ancient Ireland before the Milesians. They were endowed with great supernatural powers, which enabled them to defeat their predecessors, the Fomors. However, they were themselves defeated by the Milesians.