Cross Pollenation

It is plain to see through study of modern Irish Christian customs and modern interpretations of ancient Irish traditions that Christianity and the interpretation of Irish beliefs had heavy influences upon each other. In the following essay I intend to demonstrate how Christian translations of old Irish tales had been altered and biased to fit with the Christian mythos, as well as this I intend to demonstrate that many old pagan beliefs have carried on into modern Christian practices, being adopted and altered to be reused by the Christians.

Ancient Irish tales were first translated into English in the nineteenth century in Irish monasteries. It was done in monasteries because monasteries were the centres of literacy in Ireland at the time, in fact that it is likely the translation was the first time the stories had been recorded in the written word at all. These translations were done for two reasons, to complete the somewhat lacking history of Ireland and to tie in Irish history with that of the rest of the world. The first problem encountered by the monks was that the Irish traditions did not have an origin story, or else that it had been lost, upon finding that “Irish tradition is here defective”   they more than likely created one that would not only complete the history but also tie Irish history in with the Christian mythos “Their guiding purpose was to accommodate this tradition within the framework provided by the bible and early Christian historians” .Instead of the Irish having their own unique origin or having been descended from a non-biblical figure the monks wrote the Irish history in such a way that “Adam became the ancestor of the Irish as well as the rest of mankind.” . It is unclear as to why they did this instead of giving the traditional Irish history (if they knew it) and then dismiss it as superstition. There are other factors that show us Christian beliefs created a certain amount of bias in the translation of the celtic legends. For example, with the exception of the Dagda the Tuatha de Dannan are never described as being gods despite their powers, mystical origins, long life spans and recurrent deaths they are always portrayed as being human. While it cannot definitely be said that the ancient Irish definitely held them as gods it would be a reasonable assumption to make. The Tuatha De Danna are very quickly classed as being non Christian and it would seem attempts are made to influence the reader into thinking of them as wicked or unnatural they are described having “Surpassed the sages of the pagan arts”  their practices are also described as being “Diabolic arts” . This is probably inserted in order to associate the Tuatha De Dannan with demons and to make the reader less sympathetic towards them when they are later defeated by the Milesians. The connection with the Tuath and Christian demons is further exemplified after the second battle of Magh Tuireadh when “It was then decided the country should be divided into two parts, the lower half going to the Tuath De Dannan” . The fact that the Tuath are consigned to underground dwellings increases their similarity with Christian demons and the Christian underworld, however reference to celtic pagan mythology would suggest that this is not a Christian invention but rather a covenient part of the celtic mythology that places the Tuath de Dannan in the traditional place of the Christian demons.

Many people associate the fight between Lug and Balar with the fight between David and Goliath in the bible. Both involve a young man, considered beautiful defeating a great giant with a stone flung from a sling. Most people say that it is most likely that this was added by the monks in order that the two be analogous. This would certainly show a degree of influence of Christian belief over the Irish Insular tradition. However there are several flaws with this idea. While it may, at first seem like a good comparison; the righteous warrior defeating the evil monster in an unlikely fashion; David was a follower of the Judaeo/Christian god, whereas Lug was of mixed descent Formorian and Tuath de Dannan, two pagan races. The point of the story of David and Goliath as I interpret it is that David triumphed over Goliath because he had the blessing of god; Lug was likely to have no such blessing. Instead of arguing that the story of David and Goliath influenced the story of Lug and Balar I would rather say that the story of Lug was taken to Ireland from the continent where it had influenced the story of David and Goliath long beforehand. If the story of Lug and Balar was taken over from mainland Europe it would bed nearly impossible to tell which culture came up with the story first. There are examples of other stories that have been told by different cultures whose source is impossible to find, for example the Gaedhels, Huns, Greeks and Goths all told a story that had their people originating from the Maeotic marshes and nobody can sure now who told the story first.

The worship and prayer at holy wells is a good example of how pagan traditions have carried on to modern Christian traditions. The idea of offering a prayer and leaving an offering at wells such as St Martin’s in Roscommon or the many St. Patrick’s or St. Brigid’s wells dotted around the country are good examples of this. The idea of leaving coins, scraps of clothing, food or water by a statue of a saint or a saint’s well is very similar to the idea of defixionnes  left in pools or rivers to bargain with the ancient gods.  This can also be seen in the idea of the rag tree, where people seeking a cure or a prayer will tie a piece or scrap of clothing to a tree. The striking thing about the rag tree is that the rag tree is often out on its own, far from other trees similar to druidic sacred trees. The fact that festivals still happen around the times of Lughnasadh and Bealtaine are also good examples of how pagan beliefs have permeated modern Christian ones.

Christian beliefs have influenced our perceptions of old Irish beliefs, whether because they were translated by people trying to tell a Christian story, because the origins of the stories have been lost in the mists of time or because perceptions in from a mostly Christian country obfuscate out viewpoint. Conversely it is plain to see that Pagan beliefs have survived to permeate Christian practices today. At Holy Wells, in holidays at Christmas (Yule), festivals such as the Puck fair in Kerry (Lughnasadh) or saints who used to be pagan deities as Saint Brigid was once Brid.