Chapter I. Brief information about celtic fairy-tales

CHAPTER II. COMMON THEMES AND MOTIFS OF CELTIC FAIRY-TALES
2.1 Common topic and motifs of Celtic fairy-tales
Celtic fairy tales are rich in themes and motifs that reflect the culture and beliefs of the Celtic people. These tales are filled with magic and wonder, and they offer a glimpse into a world that is deeply connected to the supernatural and natural world.
The common topics and motifs of Celtic fairy tales – the Otherworld, heroes and heroines, the triumph of good over evil, and the role of magic – are all themes that have lasting appeal and speak to the deeply held beliefs and values of the Celtic culture. These tales continue to captivate readers and inspire wonder, offering a glimpse into a fantastical world that continues to fascinate and delight[5,24].
Celtic fairy tales are a genre of folklore that have gained great popularity and recognition due to their unique themes and motifs. These tales originated from the Celtic mythology of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Brittany, and were passed down orally from generation to generation[4,36].
Celtic fairy tales are known for their magical and supernatural elements, which include fairies, goblins, witches, and other legendary creatures. These stories have captivated readers and listeners for centuries with their themes of courage, perseverance, and triumph over adversity.
The Otherworld
One of the most common motifs in Celtic fairy tales is the idea of an Otherworld. This realm is often depicted as existing alongside our own world and is inhabited by supernatural beings such as fairies and spirits. In many stories, humans can enter the Otherworld either by accident or through magic, and they often find themselves on magical quests or encountering fantastic creatures. The Otherworld is typically portrayed as a place of magic and wonder, where the natural world is infused with magic and anything is possible.
The Otherworld is often depicted as a place where the rules of the mortal world do not apply. Time flows differently in the Otherworld, and things that are impossible in the mortal world become possible. The importance of the Otherworld in Celtic fairy tales reflects the belief of the Celts in a supernatural realm that lay just beyond the boundaries of their everyday experiences. This Otherworld was seen as a place of great enchantment and power, where supernatural beings held sway over the forces of nature and the cycles of the seasons.
Heroes and Heroines
Another common motif in Celtic fairy tales is the heroic journey of the protagonist. Celtic fairy tales often feature a hero or heroine who must undertake a quest or overcome a challenge to achieve their goals. The hero or heroine is often portrayed as an individual of great courage and strength, who overcomes adversity and emerges victorious. The journey of the hero or heroine is typically filled with challenges and obstacles that test their character and resolve. Through this journey, the hero or heroine learns important life lessons about the importance of perseverance, courage, and integrity, and gains valuable experience and knowledge that will serve them well in future challenges. The challenges that the hero or heroine faces typically involve supernatural beings of some kind, such as witches, giants, or fairies. These characters represent the forces of nature or the supernatural world, and they are often seen as representing the obstacles that must be overcome in order to achieve one's goals.
The Triumph of Good over Evil
Another common theme in Celtic fairy tales is the triumph of good over evil. Many of these stories depict a struggle between good and evil forces, with the hero or heroine emerging as the champion of the righteous. The forces of good are typically portrayed as virtuous and heroic characters, who seek to do what is right and just. The forces of evil, on the other hand, are often depicted as malevolent and wicked beings, who seek to harm and destroy. The victory of good over evil in Celtic fairy tales represents a deeply held belief in justice and fairness. These stories reflect the belief of the Celts that there is an inherent moral order in the universe, and that justice will ultimately triumph over injustice.
The Role of Magic
Magic is another integral element of Celtic fairy tales. These stories often feature magical creatures, enchanted objects, and spells that help to move the plot forward and add to the sense of magic and wonder. Magic is typically seen as a powerful tool that can be used for both good and evil. The use of magic in these stories is often linked to the supernatural world, and characters who wield magic are often seen as having a deep connection to the forces of nature.
Magic in Celtic fairy tales is often used to solve problems and overcome obstacles. It can be used to bring healing, restore the balance of nature, or to defeat powerful enemies.
The natural world is often imbued with magic, with elements such as trees, flowers, and animals all possessing mystical qualities. In these tales, magic is seen as a fundamental aspect of the natural world, representing the unseen forces that govern the cycles of life and death[5,67].
It could be too to provide the peruser with some record of the colossal degree of the Celtic cultural stories in presence. Although only about 250 have been published, I estimate that these will last for 2000. The first number is greater than the number that is known in France, Italy, Germany, and Russia, where collection has been most active, and only the MS is greater than it. collection of Finnish folklore at Helsingfors, estimated to number more than 12,000 As will be seen, the phenomenal and patriotic efforts of a single man, the late J. F. Campbell of Islay, who wrote Popular Tales and MS, are to blame for the Celts' superiority. No less than 1281 tales are mentioned in the collections, which Mr. Alfred Nutt partially describes in Folk-Lore, i. 369–83. Many of the tales are, of course, variations and scraps. Despite their greater number, Celtic folktales are also the oldest of the modern European races' tales; Some of them, such as " Connla," as it appears in the current selection, is found in the earliest Irish vellums. They include: (1) fairy tales that are properly referred to as stories or anecdotes about fairies, hobgoblins, and other creatures told as if they were real; 2) hero stories, which are tales of adventure about national or mythological heroes; 3) cultural stories legitimate, portraying heavenly experiences of in any case obscure legends, in which there is a characterized plot and extraordinary characters (talking creatures, goliaths, smaller people, &c.); lastly jokes, comic tales of accomplishments of ineptitude or crafty.
T. Crofton Croker's Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland, published in 1825, marked the beginning of the collection of Celtic folk tales in Ireland. This included 38 anecdotes from the first class, which demonstrated the Irish peasantry's belief in the existence of fairies, gnomes, goblins, and other similar beings. Croker was honored when the Grimms translated a portion of his book and published it under the title Irische Elfenmärchen. Among the authors and story journalists of the schools of Miss Edgeworth and Switch classic stories were at times used, as via Carleton in his Characteristics and Stories, by S. Sweetheart in his Legends and Stories, and by G. Griffin in his Stories of a Jury-Room. All of these tell stories in the style of the stage Irishman. In Thackeray's Irish Sketch-Book, the chapbooks Royal Fairy Tales and Hibernian Tales also contained authentic folktales. The Irish Grimm, be that as it may, was Patrick Kennedy, a Dublin book retailer, who had confidence in pixies, and in five years printed around 100 society and legend stories and jokes in his Unbelievable Fictions of the Irish Celts, 1866, Fireside Accounts of Ireland, 1870. He tells his stories neatly and with enthusiasm, and he keeps much of his diction. He got his materials from the English-talking lower class of district Wexford, who changed from Gaelic to English while narrating was in full power, and consequently extended the accounts with the difference in language. In her 1887 book Ancient Legends of Ireland, Lady Wylde has effectively told numerous folk tales. Stories gathered from Gaelic-only West and North peasants have recently been published by two collectors. Curtin, an American author who published Myths and Folk-Tales of Ireland in 1890, wrote these; While Dr. Douglas Hyde published spirited English versions of some of the stories he had originally published in Irish in his, Dublin, 1889, in Beside the Fireside, Miss Maclintoch has a severe form of MS. assortment, some portion of which has showed up in different periodicals; what's more, Messrs. and D. Fitzgerald are known to have a lot of story material in their control.
Yet, close to these more present day assortments there exist in old and center Irish an enormous number of legend stories which shaped the staple of the old ollahms or troubadours. A bard of even the fourth class had to know seven fifty stories about "cattle-liftings, elopements, battles, voyages, courtships, caves, lakes, feasts, sieges, and eruptions," probably one for each day of the year. Sir William Sanctuary knew about a north-country refined man of Ireland who was shipped off rest each night with a new story from his poet. A list of 189 of these hero-stories can be found in the 12th-century Irish vellum known as The Book of Leinster; many of these tales are still in existence today. The list is provided in the MS's Appendix by E. O'Curry. Information about Irish history. The preface to the third volume of the Ossianic Society's publications includes yet another list of approximately 70. Some of the most well-known of these were published by Dr. Joyce in Old Celtic Romances; Others appeared in Kennedy's Bardic Stories, as mentioned earlier, and in Atlantis.
When discussing SCOTLAND, we must disregard Chambers' Popular Rhymes of Scotland, published in 1842, which primarily contains English folk tales rather than those unique to the Gaelic-speaking Scots. J. F. Campbell of Islay is the oldest and most significant name in this place. There are approximately 120 folk- and hero-tales in his four volumes, Popular Tales of the West Highlands (Edinburgh, 1860–2), which were recently republished by the Islay Association. The tales are told strictly in the language of the narrators, with an English translation that is almost too literal. His versions haven't gained the deserved popularity because of this meticulous accuracy, which has given them an un-English flavor. Only a small portion of Campbell's collection has been published. He provides a list of 791 stories, etc., that he or his assistants collected between the years 1859 and 1861 at the end of the fourth volume; in his MS, and assortments at Edinburgh are two different records containing 400 additional stories. Just a part of these are in the Promoters' Library; the rest, if surviving, should be in confidential hands, however they are unmistakably of public significance and interest.
In recent years, Campbell's influence has been effective in Scotland. (vols.) The Celtic Magazine xii. what's more, xiii.), while under the editorship of Mr. MacBain, contained a few people and legend stories in Gaelic, thus did the Scotch Celtic Survey. These came from the collections of Messrs. Carmichael, K. Mackenzie, and Campbell of Tiree. Lord Archibald Campbell's recent interest in the preservation of Gaelic folk and hero tales is commendable. Under his direction, a handsome series of books with the general title "Waifs and Strays of Celtic Tradition" have recently been published. Four of the books have already been published, and each one comes with notes from Mr. Alfred Nutt. These notes are the most important tool for studying Celtic folk tales since Campbell himself. The stories collected by Rev. D. MacInnes, the second volume's 100 pages of condensed information on all aspects of the subject are presented in light of the most recent research on Celtic literature and European folktales. Scotland is now at the forefront of British folklore collection and research thanks to Mr. Nutt.
Grains makes an unfortunate show close to Ireland and Scotland. British Goblins by Sikes and the short stories compiled by Prof. Rhys for Y Cymrodor, vols. ii.-vi., are predominantly of our five star pixie stories. The Cambrian Quarterly Magazine for 1830 and 1831 contained a few fairy anecdotes, including a curious Welsh version of the "Brewery of Eggshells," and Borrow makes reference to a collection of fables in his Wild Wales. The Iolo MS., an older piece of scholarly work, The Welsh MS is the publisher. The charming Mabinogion, translated by Lady Guest, contains tales that can be traced back to the twelfth century and are on the borderline between folktales and hero tales. Society also contains a few fables and apologues.
Even worse than Wales are Cornwall and Man. Chase's Jokes from the West of Britain has nothing particularly Celtic, and it is simply by an opportunity Lhuyd picked a cultural story as his example of Cornish in his Archaeologia Britannica, 1709 (see Story of Ivan). Fairy tales and legends make up the majority of the Manx folktales that have been published, including Mr. Moore's most recent collection, Folk-Lore of the Isle of Man, published in 1891.
It is evident from this examination of the field of Celtic folk tales that Ireland and Scotland provide the majority. The striking resemblance between Irish and Scots folktales is an intriguing observation. This distinct identity of their folktales is clearly attributable to the continuity of language and culture between these two divisions of Gaeldom. The following notes will demonstrate that the tales found in Scotland almost always parallel those found in Ireland, and vice versa. This result is a striking confirmation of the general truth that folklores from various nations share similarities proportional to their similarity and continuity of language and culture.
One more focal point in these Celtic cultural stories is the light they toss upon the connection of legend stories and classic stories (classes 2 and 3 above). Tales about anonymous or unknown heroes can also be found elsewhere and fall under the category of hero-tales because they are related to Finn of Cuchulain. The question is whether the heroic sagas were generalized and applied to an unknown individual or whether the folktales were the earliest, localized, and applied to heroes. tis]? All the proof, as I would see it, slopes to the previous view, which, as applied to Celtic classic stories, is of exceptionally extraordinary abstract significance; Because of the admirable work of Mr. Alfred Nutt in his Studies on the Holy Grail, it is becoming increasingly clear that the introduction of Celtic hero tales into Romance-speaking nations' literature was largely responsible for the rise of European Romance in the 12th century. The remarkable aspect of this is the persistence of these hero tales in oral tradition to the present day. In "Deirdre," there is a marked case.) As a result, we might expect to learn a lot about the most distinctive spiritual product of the Middle Ages—Romance literature and the spirit of chivalry—from contemporary Celtic folktales. Mr. Alfred Nutt has previously demonstrated this to be valid for a unique segment of Sentiment writing, that associated with the Sacred goal, and it appears to be likely that further review will expand the field of utilization of this new technique for research.
Again, the Celtic folk tale is interested in keeping many of the primitive characteristics of the early inhabitants of these islands, which no other record has preserved. Take, for instance, "Gold Tree and Silver Tree's" calm assumption of polygamy. That is a state of mind that is unquestionably pre-Christian. The faith in an outer soul "Life File," as of late monographed by Mr. Frazer in his "Brilliant Branch," likewise tracks down articulation in two or three the Stories (see notes on "Ocean Lady" and "Fair, Brown, and Shaking"), thus with numerous other crude thoughts.
However, using folktales as evidence for primitive practices in the nations in which they are found must be done with caution. The tales may have originated from a different race—for instance, "Gold Tree and Silver Tree" probably did (see Notes). Celtic stories are of curious interest in this association, as they bear the cost of one of the most amazing fields for concentrating on the issue of dispersion, the most squeezing of the issues of the classic stories right as of now, in some measure as I would see it. The Celts are at the furthermost finish of Europe. The stories that got to them couldn't go any further, so they had to be the last ones.
For this multitude of reasons, then, Celtic classic stories are of high logical interest to the society lorist, while they respect none in creative and artistic characteristics. Any other European nation would have long ago established a national system for recording them. For instance, the French Minister of Public Instruction asked M. Luzel to collect and report on Breton folk tales. England must rely on the enthusiasm of a few private individuals for work of national significance, as it does elsewhere without organized means of historical and philological scientific research. Every Celt on these islands or in the Gaeldom beyond the sea, as well as every Celt lover in English-speaking nations, ought to view it as one of the responsibilities of the race to record its traditions in the few years that remain before they cease to exist forever in the hearts and memories of the humblest members of the race.
Similar to my English Fairy Tales, I've included sources, detailed parallels for the British Isles, bibliographical references for international parallels, and comments where the tales seemed to require them in the following Notes. In these, I did not bore or frighten the reader with common tall talk about the Celtic genius and its folktale manifestations; When Matthew Arnold is at his best, in his Celtic Literature, one can only repeat himself on that subject. I also haven't tried to address the more general aspects of studying Celtic folklore. For these I should allude to Mr. Nutt's series of papers in The Celtic Magazine, vol. xii., or, even better, to the masterful introductions he is writing to Dr. Hyde's Beside the Fireside and the series Waifs and Strays of Celtic Tradition. In my remarks, I have primarily focused on discussing the various stories' origins and dissemination, to the extent that anything definitive can be leaded or hypothesized about that topic.
I may "put in," as the lawyers say, a few summaries of the results achieved in them before moving on to the Notes. Twelve of the 26 stories (i., ii., v., viii., ix., x., xi., xv., xvi., xvii., xix., xxiv.) have origins in Gaelic; three (vii xiii., xxv.) originate from Wales; one is xxii. from the Cornish, now extinct; one a variation of an English sonnet established on a Welsh practice (xxi., " Gellert”); The remaining nine individuals are Irish-Anglophone. Twelve are both Scots and Irish in terms of their spread among the Celts (iv., v., vi., ix., x., xiv.- xvii., xix., xx., xxiv); one, xxv. is shared by Welsh and Irish people; one, and xxii. to the Cornish and Irish; seven are viewed as just among the Celts in Ireland (I.- iii., xii., xviii., xxii., xxvi); two (viii., xi.) within the Scots; three and (vii., xiii., xxi.) among Welsh people. Finally, as far as we are able to determine where they came from, four (v., xvi., xxi., xxii.) are from East Asia; five (vi., x., xiv., xx., xxv.) are drolls from Europe; Three of the love stories appear to have been brought over (vii., ix., xix.); whereas three others may have been Celtic exports to Europe (xv., xvii., xxiv.) however the, last might have recently come thus; the excess eleven are, similar to known, unique to Celtic terrains. I believe that an analysis of any representative collection of folktales from any
From the old Irish, the Leabhar na h-Uidhre ("Book of the Dun Cow"), which probably been composed before 1106, when its recorder Maelmori was killed. Windisch provides the original on page 120 of his Irish Grammar, which is also in the Trans. Archaeology of Kilkenny. Soc. for 1874. A Rawlinson MS contains a fragment., described by Dr. W. Stokes on page xxxvi of Tripartite Life. In his Keltische Beiträge, ii., I used Prof. Zimmer's translation. Zeits. f. German Altertum, Book. I've borrowed a few elements from Dr. Joyce's somewhat florid Old Celtic Romances version. Only the last sentence of the Fairy Maiden's last speech has been altered or added to by me. A piece of the first is in metrical structure, so the entire is of the cante-tale species which I accept to be the first type of the classic story.
The similar adventure of Cormac, the nephew of Connla, or Condla Ruad, as he should be referred to, is one of three additional accounts of the terra repromissionis in the Irish sagas included in Zimmer's paper. When Cormac MacArt visits the Brug of Manannan, the fairy apple of gold appears.
Conn the hundred-contender had the head-authority of Ireland 123-157 A.D., as per the Chronicles of the Four Bosses, I. 105. The five major roads that connected Tara to the rest of Ireland were completed on his birthday: They still use one from Dublin. According to Irish Local Names, Connaught is said to have been named after him, but this is not at all consistent with Joyce's identification with Ptolemy's Nagnatai. However, Conn's power as a ruler in Ireland in the second century cannot be disputed. The fact that the Annals of Clonmacnoise refer to Connla as Conly, the eldest son of Conn, lends credence to the historical existence of Connla. Connla was either killed or vanished during his father's lifetime, as Art Enear, his third son, succeeded Conn. Under these conditions it isn't impossible that our legend grew up soon after Conn-i.e., towards the end of the second century.
As respects its current type, Prof. Zimmer It is dated to the seventh century. The reference to the day of judgment and the waning power of the Druids has unmistakably been added by a Christian. In any case, nothing turns upon this addition, so almost certainly, even the current type of the legend is pre-Christian-for example for Ireland prior to the fifth century, pre-Patrician.
The story of Connla is accordingly the earliest fantasy of present day Europe. In addition to this interest, it contains an early account of one of the most distinctive Celtic conceptions, that of the Isle of Youth, or Earthly Paradise. The European imagination has been shaped by this; It is represented by the Vale of Avalon in the Arthuriad, and it is one of the primary sources for Dante's Divina Commedia, as it is in various Celtic visions of the future life. I also think that the ancient Homeric Hesperides and the Fortunate Isles may have had Celtic roots because, as is common knowledge, the majority of the early place names in Europe are Celtic. I have found, I accept, a reference to the origination in perhaps of the earliest section in the works of art managing the Druids. Lucan, in his Pharsalia (I. 450-8), addresses them in these high terms of adoration:
And your barbarians, moremque sinistrum, Sacrorum, and Druids, positis repetistis ab armis, Solis nosse Deos, and coeli number of vobis Aut solis nescire datum; nemora alta distantis lucis incolitis Vobis auctoribus umbrae,
Non tacitas Erebi sedes, Ditisque profundi,
Pallida regna petunt: regit idem spiritus artus
Orbe alio: vitae Mors media est, longae, cognita si.
The entry surely appears to me to infer an alternate origination from the common traditional perspectives on the post-existence, the dim and horrid fields of Erebus inhabited with phantoms; furthermore, the section I have stressed would toll in well with the origination of a duration of youth (idem spiritus) in Tir-nan-Og (orbe alio).
The return of Ossian from Tir-nan-Og and his interview with St. Patrick is one of the most heartbreaking, beautiful, and typical scenes in Irish legend. Two of the most distinctive works of Irish imagination combine the old faith and the new, the old order and the one that took its place (the legendary Patrick is as much a legend as Oisin himself). With the fairy Niamh, Ossian had traveled to Tir-nan-Og in much the same circumstances as Condla Ruad; In the land of eternal youth, time flies, and when Ossian returns, it will have been more than three centuries since St. Patrick successfully introduced the new faith. The difference of At various times has never been all the more clearly or wonderfully addressed.