Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race - Knowledge Rush

CHAPTER III: THE IRISH INVASION MYTHS 89Elatha recognised the ring, and gave his son an army wherewithto reconquer Ireland, and also sent him to seek further aid fromthe greatest of the Fomorian kings, Balor. Now Balor wassurnamed “of the Evil Eye,” because the gaze of his one eyecould slay like a thunderbolt those on whom he looked in anger.He was now, however, so old and feeble that the vast eyeliddrooped over the death-dealing eye, and had to be lifted up byhis men with ropes and pulleys when the time came to turn iton his foes. Nuada could make no more head against him thanBres had done when king; and the country still groaned underthe oppression of the Fomorians and longed for a champion andredeemer.The Coming of LughA new figure now comes into the myth, no other than Lugh sonof Kian, the Sun-god par excellence of all Celtica, whose namewe can still identify in many historic sites on the Continent. 83 Toexplain his appearance we must desert for a moment the ancientmanuscript authorities, which are here incomplete, and have tobe supplemented by a folk-tale which was fortunately discoveredand taken down orally so late as the nineteenth century by thegreat Irish antiquary, O'Donovan. 84 In this folk-tale the names of [110]Balor and his daughter Ethlinn (the latter in the form “Ethnea”)are preserved, as well as those of some other mythical personages,but that of the father of Lugh is faintly echoed in MacKineely;Lugh's own name is forgotten, and the death of Balor is givenin a manner inconsistent with the ancient myth. In the story as Igive it here the antique names and mythical outline are preserved,but are supplemented where required from the folk-tale, omittingfrom the latter those modern features which are not reconcilable83 Lyons, Leyden, Laon were all in ancient times known as Lug-dunum, theFortress of Lugh. Luguvallum was the name of a town near Hadrian's Wall inRoman Britain.84 It is given by him in a note to the “Four Masters,” vol. i. p. 18, and is alsoreproduced by de Jubainville.