Celtic Mythology and Religion

GODS OF THE GAELS.
Iig
oath in Irish history is when Breas, the Fomorian,
swore by " the sun and the moon, by the sea and the
land, and by all the elements, to fulfil the engagement
" which Luga imposed on him. Vows to the
heavens and the earth, to day and night, to the rain,
the dew and the wind, are exceedingly common,
appearing even in historic times both in Ireland and
Scotland ; among the Picts and Scots in the 4th
century, in Ireland in the 5th, as when Loegaire
was made to swear by the elements that he would
never again demand the cow-tribute, and with M'Conglinne
in the 8th century. It is said that Loegaire
forgot his oath, and thus met with an evil end, for
" it was the sun and the wind that wrought his death,
because he had violated their sanctity ;
" so say
the Four Masters, good Christians though they were !
The divine elements are known in Gaelic as duli,
and one of the oldest and most favourite epithets
of the Deity is " rig na n-dul," the King of the
Elements, to which may be compared " Dia nan
dul " of the Gaelic Psalms : the word for Creator
in old Gaelic is Dulem, the genitive of which is Duleman.
Our description of the Gaelic gods will naturally
begin with the Jupiter of the Gaels. This honour
belongs most probably to the Dagda, " in Dagda
mor," " the great good one " (?) as Mr. Fitzgerald
explains his name. Some interpret the name as the
" good fire." In any case, dag signifies " good,"
appearing in modern Gaelic as deagh, but what da