British literature summaries - 2020

Short summary - Cath Maige Tuired

On the northern islands lived the Tribes of the Goddess Dana, who had learned magic, enchantment and secret knowledge. They possessed four of the greatest treasures: the Meadow spear, the Nouadou sword, the Dagda cauldron, and the Leah Fall stone, which cried out under everyone who was destined to rule Ireland. The Goddess Tribes sailed in many ships and burned them as soon as they stepped to the ground. Burn and smoke then enveloped the whole sky - that is why it is believed that the Goddess Tribes appeared from the smoky clouds. In the first battle of Mage Tuired, they fought the Fir Bolg tribes and put them to flight.

In this battle, Nuadu was cut off his arm, and the healer Dian Keht put a silver arm in his hand. The crippled Nouadou could not rule Ireland, so a contention began - and after much debate it was decided to give royal power to Bres.

Bres was the son of Elata, the ruler of the Fomorians.

Once, Eri, a woman from the Goddess Tribes, went to the sea and suddenly saw a silver ship, and on his deck stood a warrior with golden hair and a gold robe. He connected with Eri and said that she would have a son named Eauheid Bres, Eauheid the Beautiful - everything that is beautiful in Ireland will be compared with this boy.

Before disappearing, Elata removed the golden ring from his finger, instructing him not to give or sell it to anyone, except for those who fit it.

When Bres assumed royal power, three Fomorian rulers — Indech, Elat, and Tetra — levied a tribute to Ireland. Even great husbands served: Ogma carried firewood, and Dagda built fortresses. Many then began to murmur, for their knives were no longer covered with fat, and from their mouths did not smell like hoppy.

Once, a field of Tribes to the Goddess Korpre came to Bres and uttered the first song of vilification in Ireland - from that day the king lost his strength.

Tribes of the Goddess decided to transfer the kingdom to another, but Bres asked for a delay of seven years. He did this in order to gather the husbands from the Fidorian side and subjugate Ireland by force, Eri led Bres to the hill from which she had once seen a silver ship. She took out a gold ring, which the king had to fit on the middle finger.

Then the mother and son went to the Fomorians. Elata sent Bres to Balor and Indej, who led the army. A string of ships stretched from the Alien Islands to Ireland itself - it was a formidable and terrible army.

And the Goddess Tribes were again elected King of Nouadh with the Silver Hand. Once a warrior named Samildanah (“Skilled in all crafts”) came to the gates of Tara - that was the nickname of Luga. Nouadou ordered to let him in to experience.

Convinced of the warrior’s multi-skill, the Goddess Tribes decided that he would help them get rid of the bondage of the Fomorians, and Nouadou swapped places with him. Lug consulted with Dagda and Ogma, as well as with the Nouadu brothers - Goibniu and Dian Keht. Druids and healers, blacksmiths and charioteers promised them help. Dagda connected with a woman named Morrigan, and she vowed to crush Indeh: to drain the blood in his heart and take away the kidneys of valor. Before the battle, the greatest of the Tribe of the Goddess gathered at Lug. The blacksmith Goibniu said that not a single tip forged by him will fly past the target, and pierced skin will not heal forever. Dian Keht said he would heal any injured Irishman. Ogma said he would take a third of his enemies dead. Corpre said he would blaspheme and defame Fomorians in order to weaken their stamina. Dagda said that he would use a wonderful club,

When the battle of Mage Tuired began, the kings with the leaders did not immediately enter the battle. Fomors saw that their dead did not return, and among the Tribes of the Goddess, those who had been killed to death again enter the battle thanks to the art of Dian Keht.

The blunted and cracked weapons of the Fomorians disappeared without a trace, and the blacksmith Goibniu tirelessly renewed spears, swords and darts. The Fomoras did not like this, and they sent Ruadan, the son of Bres and Brig, the daughter of Dagda, to find out about the intrigues of the Goddess Tribes. Ruadan tried to kill Goibniu, but he himself fell at the hands of a blacksmith. Then Brig stepped forward - she sobbed and screamed over her son's body, and this was the first funeral cry in Ireland.

Finally, kings and leaders entered the fray. The Irish did not want to let Meadows into the battle, but he slipped away from the guard and stood at the head of the Goddess Tribes. Streams poured blood on the white bodies of brave warriors. The noise of the battle was terrible, the cries of the heroes were terrible when they collided with bodies, swords, spears and shields.

The Balor with the Fatal Eye defeated Nouad with the Silver Hand, and then Meadow himself came out against him. The eye of Balor was evil: it opened only on the battlefield, when four soldiers lifted the eyelid through a smooth stick passing through it. The meadow threw a stone from the sling and knocked out his eyes over his head, so that the army of Balor himself saw it, and three times nine fomors lay in rows. Morrigan began to encourage the warriors of the Goddess Tribes, urging them to fight fiercely and mercilessly. Many leaders and royal sons fell in battle, and ordinary and noble warriors died without counting. The battle ended with the flight of the Fomorians - they were driven out to the sea itself. The meadow captured Bres, and he prayed for mercy. Then Lug asked how to plow the Irish, how to sow and how to reap - Bres said that plowing should be on Tuesday, sowing fields on Tuesday, reaping on Tuesday. With this answer, Bres saved his life.