Tuatha Dé Danann

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For other uses, see Danann (disambiguation).
"Áes dána" redirects here. For other uses, see Aes Dana (disambiguation).

The Tuatha Dé Danann as depicted in John Duncan's "Riders of the Sidhe" (1911)

The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (Irish: [tt ˠuəhə dʲeː dtˠantˠəntˠ], usually translated as "people(s)/tribe(s) of the goddess
Dana or Danu", also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"),[1] are a supernatural race in Irish
mythology. They are thought to represent the main deities of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland.[1] The Tuatha Dé
Danann constitute a pantheon whose attributes appeared in a number of forms all across the Celtic world.[2]

The Tuath Dé dwell in the Otherworld but interact with humans and the human world. Their traditional rivals
are the Fomoire (or Fomorii), sometimes anglicized as Fomorians[3], who seem to represent the harmful or
destructive powers of nature.[4][5] Each member of the Tuath Dé has been associated with a particular feature of
life or nature, but many appear to have more than one association. Many also have bynames, some representing
different aspects of the deity and others being regional names or epithets.[6]

Much of Irish mythology was recorded by Christian monks, who modified it to an extent. They often depicted
the Tuath Dé as kings, queens and heroes of the distant past who had supernatural powers or who were later
credited with them.[7] Other times they were explained as fallen angels who were neither good nor evil. [8]
However, some medieval writers acknowledged that they were once gods. A poem in the Book of Leinster lists
many of them, but ends "Although [the author] enumerates them, he does not worship them". The Dagda's
name is explained as meaning "the good god"; Brigit is called "a goddess worshipped by poets"; while Goibniu,
Credne and Luchta are referred to as Trí Dé Dána ("three gods of craftsmanship"),[9] Characters such as Lugh,
the Morrígan, Aengus and Manannán mac Lir appear in tales set centuries apart, showing all the signs of
immortality. They also have parallels in the pantheons of other Celtic peoples: for example Nuada is cognate
with the British god Nodens; Lugh is cognate with the pan-Celtic god Lugus; Brigit with Brigantia; Tuirenn
with Taranis; Ogma with Ogmios; and the Badb with Catubodua.

The Tuath Dé eventually became the Aos Sí or "fairies" of later folklore.[10][11][12][13]

Contents
 1 Name
 2 Legendary history
 3 The Four Treasures
 4 Tuatha Dé Danann High Kings of Ireland
 5 Tuatha Dé Danann family tree
 6 See also
  7 References
 8 Primary sources
 9 External links

Name

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The Old Irish word tuath (plural tuatha) means "people, tribe, nation"; dé is the genitive case of día and,
depending on context, can mean "god, gods, goddess" or more broadly "supernatural being, object of worship".
[14]
In the earliest writings, the mythical race are referred to as the Tuath Dé (plural Tuatha Dé).[1] However,
Irish monks also began using the term Tuath Dé to refer to the Israelites,[1] with the meaning "People of God".[15]
Apparently to avoid confusion with the Israelites,[1] writers began to refer to the mythical race as the Tuath Dé
Danann (plural Tuatha Dé Danann).[16] The Old Irish pronunciation is [tt uaθa dtʲeː dtanant] and the Modern Irish
pronunciation is [tt ˠuə(hi) dʲeː dtˠantˠəntˠ] in the West and North, and [tt ˠuəhə dʲeː dtˠantˠəntˠ] in the South.

Danann is generally believed to be the genitive of a female name, for which the nominative case is not attested.
It has been reconstructed as Danu, of which Anu (genitive Anann) may be an alternative form. [1] Anu is called
"mother of the Irish gods" by Cormac mac Cuilennáin.[1] This may be linked to the Welsh mythical figure Dôn.
[1]
Hindu mythology also has a goddess called Danu, who may be an Indo-European parallel. However, this
reconstruction is not universally accepted.[17] It has also been suggested that Danann is a conflation of dán
("skill, craft") and the goddess name Anann.[1] The name is also found as Donann and Domnann,[18] which may
point to the origin being proto-Celtic *don, meaning "earth"[1] (compare the Old Irish word for earth, doman).
There may be a link with the mythical Fir Domnann[19] and the British Dumnonii.[20]

Legendary history
The Tuatha Dé Danann were descended from Nemed, leader of a previous wave of inhabitants of Ireland. They
came from four cities to the north of Ireland—Falias, Gorias, Murias and Finias—where they acquired their
magical skills and attributes. According to Lebor Gabála Érenn, they came to Ireland "in dark clouds" and
"landed on the mountains of [the] Conmaicne Rein in Connachta", otherwise Sliabh an Iarainn, "and they
brought a darkness over the sun for three days and three nights". They immediately burnt the ships "so that they
should not think of retreating to them; and the smoke and the mist that came from the vessels filled the
neighboring land and air. Therefore it was conceived that they had arrived in clouds of mist".

A poem in the Lebor Gabála Érenn says of their arrival:

It is God who suffered them, though He restrained them

they landed with horror, with lofty deed,

in their cloud of mighty combat of spectres,
upon a mountain of Conmaicne of Connacht.

Without distinction to descerning Ireland,

Without ships, a ruthless course
the truth was not known beneath the sky of stars,
whether they were of heaven or of earth.

Led by their king, Nuada, they fought the First Battle of Magh Tuireadh on the west coast, in which they
defeated and displaced the native Fir Bolg, who then inhabited Ireland. In the battle, Nuada lost an arm to their
champion, Sreng. Since Nuada was no longer "unblemished", he could not continue as king and was replaced
by the half-Fomorian Bres, who turned out to be a tyrant. The physician Dian Cecht replaced Nuada's arm with
a working silver one and he was reinstated as king. However, Dian Cecht's son Miach was dissatisfied with the
replacement so he recited the spell, "ault fri halt dí & féith fri féth" (joint to joint of it and sinew to sinew),
which caused flesh to grow over the silver prosthesis over the course of nine days and nights. [21][22] However, in
a fit of jealous rage Dian Cecht slew his own son. Because of Nuada's restoration as leader, Bres complained to
his family and his father, Elatha, who sent him to seek assistance from Balor, king of the Fomorians.

The Tuatha Dé Danann then fought the Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh against the Fomorians. Nuada was
killed by the Fomorian king Balor's poisonous eye, but Balor was killed himself by Lugh, the champion of the
Tuatha Dé, who then took over as king.

A third battle was fought against a subsequent wave of invaders, the Milesians, from the northwest of the
Iberian Peninsula (present day Galicia and Northern Portugal), descendants of Míl Espáine (who are thought to
represent the Goidelic Celts). The Milesians encountered three goddesses of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Ériu,
Banba and Fodla, who asked that the island be named after them; Ériu is the origin of the modern name Éire,
and Banba and Fodla are still sometimes used as poetic names for Ireland.

Their three husbands, Mac Cuill, Mac Cecht and Mac Gréine, who were kings of the Tuatha Dé Danann at that
time, asked for a truce of three days, during which the Milesians would lie at anchor nine waves' distance from
the shore. The Milesians complied, but the Tuatha Dé Danann created a magical storm in an attempt to drive
them away. The Milesian poet Amergin calmed the sea with his verse, then his people landed and defeated the
Tuatha Dé Danann at Tailtiu. When Amergin was called upon to divide the land between the Tuatha Dé Danann
and his own people, he cleverly allotted the portion above ground to the Milesians and the portion underground
to the Tuatha Dé Danann. The Tuatha Dé Danann were led underground into the Sidhe mounds by Manannán
mac Lir.

Mythical invasions of Ireland

Preceded by Succeeded by
AFM 1897 BC
Fir Bolg Milesians
FFE 1477 BC

The Four Treasures

Main article: Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann

The Tuatha Dé Danann brought four magical treasures with them to Ireland, one apiece from their Four Cities:
[23]

 Dagda's Cauldron
 The Spear of Lugh
 Lia Fáil (The Stone of Fal)
 Claíomh Solais (The Sword of Light)

Tuatha Dé Danann High Kings of Ireland

The following is a chronology from the Annals of the Four Masters; based on reign-lengths given in Geoffrey
Keating's Forus Feasa ar Erinn. Nuada's original reign lacks a precise start date.

 Nuada (first reign) AFM unknown-1897 BC; FFE unknown-1477 BC

 Bres AFM 1897-1890 BC; FFE 1477-1470 BC
 Nuada (final reign) AFM 1890-1870 BC; FFE 1470-1447 BC
 Lugh AFM 1870-1830 BC; FFE 1447-1407 BC
 Eochaid Ollathair AFM 1830-1750 BC; FFE 1407-1337 BC
 Delbáeth AFM 1750-1740 BC; FFE 1337-1327 BC
 Fiacha AFM 1740-1730 BC; FFE 1327-1317 BC
 Mac Cuill, Mac Cecht and Mac Gréine AFM 1730-1700 BC; FFE 1317-1287 BC

Tuatha Dé Danann family tree

The following table is based on the genealogies given by Geoffrey Keating and in the Lebor Gabála Érenn, and
references in Cath Maige Tuireadh. It is not clear whether the various Elathas and Delbáeths are meant to be
different figures of the same name or different traditions regarding the genealogy of the same figure. It is also
notable that Fomorians such as Elatha and Balor are closely related to the Tuatha Dé.

Agnoman of Scythia
|
Nemed
|
Iarbonel Faidh
|
Beothach
|
Iobáth
|
Enna
|
Tabarn
|
Tat
____________________________________|__________________________________
| |
Allai Indai
| __________________________|
__________________________
| |
|
Orda Nét
Elatha
| ____________________|
______________________________________________ |
| | |
| |
Etarlám Esar Brec Delbáeth
Dot Bres
| | |
|
| | |
|
Eochaid Dian Cecht Elatha
Balor
| | |
|
 | ___________|___________ _________________|
______________________ |
Nuada | | | | | | | | |
| |
(Elcmar) Cu Cethen Cian Miach Airmed Dagda Fiacha Delbáeth Ogma
Allód Ethniu
(Nechtan) | | | | |
(Lir)
_____|____ | | _____________|____________ | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
|
Etarlám Nemain Bec-Felmas Lug Cermait Aengus Bodb Midir Brigid Boann Delbáeth
Manannan
| | | (Tuireann)
| | _________|_________ ______________________|
__________________________________
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | |
Ernmas Abean MacCuill MacCecht MacGréine Fiacha Brian Iuchar Iucharba
Danand Goibniu Credne Luchta Ollam
|__________________
|
| | |
|
Ériu = Badb |
Aoi
Banba = Macha |
Fódla = Mórrígan = Anu

Other members of the Tuatha Dé Danann include:

 Abartach
 Beag
 Bé Chuille
 Brea
 Fand

See also
 Olympian Pantheon
 Picts