Cathbad--(kah-ha): The Druid of Emain Macha and King Conchobor Mac Nessa of Ulster.
Celts--(kelts): The name given to the European tribes north of the Mediterranean by the Greeks and Romans. This covered an extremely diverse group of peoples. More precisely, the term 'Celtic' refers to the family of languages, of Indo-European origin, spoken across a broad area of Europe and introduced there from as early as 2000BCE. More precisely still, Celtic is the name given by historians to describe the culturalimpulse that began in central Europe (Hallstat) before 1000BCE, but which achieved its full flowering with the La Tene era sometime after 500BCE. This culture (with its virtue of combining all definitions) developed urban, centralize, hierarchical, and socially stratified features including nobles, priests, warriors, craftsmen, and farmers, characteristic of its Indo-European origins. Growth depended upon trade with the Mediterranean world, and for many centuries the Graeco-Roman world mirrored the Celtic and vice versa. The Druid class grew in response to these social developments and, like the priests of Etruria and Rome, served the warrior class and nobles. Following the conquest by Rome, Celtic or Gaelic-speaking culture has survived only on the northern and western fringes of Eurpoe. Nevertheless, it has had an enormous effect on the Western world, especially in North America.
Cernunnos--(ker-noo-nos): See Herne.
Champion's Portion: The portion given by the king to his champion. The allocation of the portions at the royal feast define an order in which every person has a place. In this manner the order of the community becomes visible. Ritually sharing in the body of a creature makes a statement that at once mirrors the divisions of the social order and binds it together. The ritual partaking of a body in a feast in the Dionysian, Orphic, Osirisian, and Christian traditions involves the body of the god and establishes order on cosmic scale.
Conchobor--(kun-hur or con-or): Conchobor Mac Nessa was King of Ulster after Fergus Mac Roth.
Cruachan--(cru-a-ghin): Rath Cruachan is the ceremonial center of Connacht, traditionally the home and royal house of Queen Maeve. There is a cave here, known as the "Cave of the Cats", that is an entrance to the Fairy Realm. See Maeve.
Cuailgne--(cooli): A province in Ulster where dwealt the Brown Bull which Maeve coveted.
Cuchulainn--(cu-chullin): The Ulster chamption, the Hound of Culann. His father is Lugh, his mother Dechtire, daughter of the Druid Cathbad. His most famous exploit was to stand alone against the combined armies of Ireland led by Maeve while the men of Ulster lay under the curse of Macha.
Curio mac Daire or Cui Roi--(koo-ri): Associated in part with the Fairy realm, this powerful deity claimed his earthly home in Munster. He challenges the heroes of Ulster to a beheading game. |
