Читать книгу 366 Celt: A Year and A Day of Celtic Wisdom and Lore - Carl McColman - Страница 51

In the Heroic Cycle of Irish myth we meet Fionn mac Cumhaill, who is not a god, or the son of one, but rather an ordinary boy who gains his supernatural skills by eating a magical fish. Fionn becomes the leader of a legendary band of hunter-warriors called the Fenians, whose job it is to serve as guardians of the land. Such guardianship could have spiritual as well as military implications—indeed, Fionn proves himself to the high king by successfully defeating a fairy monster that had taken to burning the great hall at Tara to the ground every year at Samhain. The tales of Fionn and the members of his war band, however, have as much to do with their own interpersonal dynamics as with enemies they must vanquish.

Then comes the Historic Cycle, fourth and final of the Irish mythic cycles. These tales are the least otherworldly of the myths, although enough interaction between the human and fairy realms takes place in these adventures to make them worthy of the best storyteller. Actual historical figures begin to show up, although often with mythic elements interwoven into their stories—like George Washington throwing the coin across the river, these tales represent the rubbing places where myth and history meet. A favorite theme in the Historic Cycle involves human encounters with otherworld beings—setting the stage, naturally enough, for the rich legacy to follow in the centuries-old fairy tradition of the common Celtic people.