Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race - Knowledge Rush

98 Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race[120]it; barring which nothing could more nearly resemble heaven'sharmony.” 89 Some of the most beautiful of the antique Irishfolk-melodies,—e.g., the Coulin—are traditionally supposed tohave been overheard by mortal harpers at the revels of the FairyFolk.Names and Characteristics of the Danaan DeitiesI may conclude this narrative of the Danaan conquest withsome account of the principal Danaan gods and their attributes,which will be useful to readers of the subsequent pages. Thebest with which I am acquainted is to be found in Mr. StandishO'Grady's “Critical History of Ireland.” 90 This work is no lessremarkable for its critical insight—it was published in 1881,when scientific study of the Celtic mythology was little heardof—than for the true bardic imagination, kindred to that ofthe ancient myth-makers themselves, which recreates the deadforms of the past and dilates them with the breath of life. Thebroad outlines in which Mr. O'Grady has laid down the typicalcharacteristics of the chief personages in the Danaan cycle hardlyneed any correction at this day, and have been of much use to mein the following summary of the subject.The DagdaThe Dagda Mōr was the father and chief of the People ofDana. A certain conception of vastness attaches to him and to hisdoings. In the Second Battle of Moytura his blows sweep downwhole ranks of the enemy, and his spear, when he trails it on themarch, draws a furrow in the ground like the fosse which marksthe mearing of a province. An element of grotesque humouris present in some of the records about this deity. When theFomorians give him food on his visit to their camp, the porridgeand milk are poured into a great pit in the ground, and he eatsit with a spoon big enough, it was said, for a man and a womanto lie together in it. With this spoon he scrapes the pit, when89 S.H. O'Grady, “Silva Gadelica,” p. 191.90 Pp. 104 sqq., and passim.