The Guises of the Morrigan

Viac o knihe

The Morrígan is the pre-eminent and most powerful of the Celtic Goddesses. She is the Bestower of Sovereignty, and it is she who shapes the land and rules the faery as Queen. She is a Goddess of both sex and battle, and she uses her potent magic and sorcery to shapeshift, assuming the forms of numerous wild animals. In this book the many parallels between The Morrígan and other Goddesses and figures from both British and Gallic folklore, including Morgan Le Fay, the Banshee, Black Annis, Danu, Epona, Grian, Modron, Nantosuelta and Rhiannon are explored. Her manifold roles, titles and guises weave a rich and colourful tapestry showing the continued dominion of The Morrígan in mythology, folklore and literature. She was the tutelary Goddess to the ill-fated hero Cu Chulainn; she was the Faery Queen and the Washer at the Ford. She was also the wise crone the Cailleach, and the battle crow Badb, the frenzied Nemain and the Warrior Queen Macha. Her roles and guises which are brought together for the first time in this carefully researched volume, the work of many years of study, demonstrate clearly the significant status that she held in the ancient Celtic world and continues to enjoy today.