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Badb Quick reference
A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology
[Ir., hooded or hoodie crow, the scald crow in Ireland or the Royston in England; crow or raven with implications
Badh Quick reference
A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology
ModIr. variants of Badb. In east Munster badb was once current for banshee.
bánánach
Preternatural female beings in early Irish literature who haunt the field of battle. See also BADB; BOCÁNACH.
banshee
In Irish legend, a female spirit whose wailing warns of a death in the house. Recorded from the late 17th century, the term comes from Irish bean sidhe, from Old Irish ben side ‘woman of the fairies’.
bird
A class (Aves) of endothermic (see endotherm) vertebrates that are adapted for flight, bipedal walking or running, and, in some species, swimming on or below the surface of water; flightless species ...
black
In western countries, black has traditionally been worn as a sign of mourning, and in figurative use the word has traditionally implied foreboding, evil, or melancholy.Black Act a severe law passed ...
blood
In Hebrew thought blood was the seat of life, or even identified with life, and it therefore had an essential role in sacrifices, which were themselves fundamental in Hebrew society. The priests were ...
Cailitin
Irish wizard or druid, perhaps of Fomorian origin, friendly to Medb, who does battle with and is defeated by Cúchulainn. Cailitin travels with his twenty-seven offspring, and may be called ‘Clan ...
Cath Maige Tuired
(Battle of Mag Tuired),a saga of the mythological cycle dealing with the defeat of the malevolent Fomoiri by the gods of the Irish, known as the Tuatha Dé Danann ...
Cathubodua
[raven of battle]. Gaulish goddess known only from an inscription in Haute Savoie in eastern France; thought to be an anticipation of Badb, the Irish war-goddess. Perhaps identical with Cauth Bodva.
crow
Figurative uses may refer to carrion crows feeding on the bodies of the dead, and the bird is also taken as a type of blackness.A crow is the emblem of St Anthony of Egypt and St Paul the first ...
Cuchulain
In Irish mythology, Red Branch hero of the Ulster cycle, and nephew of Conchubar; he defends Ulster against the forces of the queen of Connaught, but at last (through the enmity of the Morrigan) is ...
Ernmas
Mother of divinities. According to some texts she is the mother of the divine eponyms of Ireland, Ériu, Banba, and Fódla, but in other texts Eirnin is their mother. She is also named as the mother of ...
Fea
Shadowy Irish war-goddess sometimes seen as the second consort of Néit instead of Badb; the other consort is Nemain. In some accounts she is a consort of Nuadu.
Macha
One of several Irish triune goddesses of war, Macha is the wife of the invader Nemed. But later, as the wife of the Tuatha Dé Danaan king, Nuada, she is ...
Morrigan
Morrigan (Morrighan, Morrigu) was the Irish triune goddess of war, death, and destruction. She was also a goddess of fertility who had intercourse with the Tuatha Dé Danaan king, the ...
Mórrígna
[Ir., great queens].Name for a trio of war-goddesses, usually thought to consist of Badb, Macha, and Mórrígan. Nemain is sometimes named, either because she is a double for or substitute for Badb or ...
Néit
Shadowy early Irish god of war, often grouped with the Fomorians. He is usually portrayed as having two wives or consorts, Badb and Nemain. This does not make him an adulterer; rather, he may be ...
