Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race - Knowledge Rush

86 Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race[106]This is the famous Stone of Scone, which never came back toIreland, but was removed to England by Edward I. in 1297, andis now the Coronation Stone in Westminster Abbey. Nor has theold prophecy been falsified, since through the Stuarts and Fergusmac Erc the descent of the British royal family can be tracedfrom the historic kings of Milesian Ireland.The second treasure of the Danaans was the invincible swordof Lugh of the Long Arm, of whom we shall hear later, and thissword came from the city of Gorias. From Finias came a magicspear, and from Murias the Cauldron of the Dagda, a vesselwhich had the property that it could feed a host of men withoutever being emptied.With these possessions, according to the version given in the“Book of Invasions,” the People of Dana came into Ireland.The Danaans and the FirbolgsThey were wafted into the land in a magic cloud, making theirfirst appearance in Western Connacht. When the cloud clearedaway, the Firbolgs discovered them in a camp which they hadalready fortified at Moyrein.The Firbolgs now sent out one of their warriors, named Sreng,to interview the mysterious new-comers; and the People of Dana,on their side, sent a warrior named Bres to represent them. Thetwo ambassadors examined each other's weapons with greatinterest. The spears of the Danaans, we are told, were light andsharp-pointed; those of the Firbolgs were heavy and blunt. Tocontrast the power of science with that of brute force is here theevident intention of the legend, and we are reminded of the Greekmyth of the struggle of the Olympian deities with the Titans.Bres proposed to the Firbolg that the two races should divideIreland equally between them, and join to defend it againstall comers for the future. They then exchanged weapons andreturned each to his own camp.The First Battle of Moytura