Y-DNA of the Fomorians In Irish mythology, the Fomoire (or Fomorians) are a semi-divine race of darked haired, dark-skinned giants said to have inhabited Ireland in ancient times. Known as being gallant seafarers, the legends say their name means ‘dark of the sea’. They may have once been believed to be the beings who preceded the gods, similar to the Greek Titans. They may represent the gods of a proposed pre-Goidelic population of Ireland. Theories abound for these beings from ancient Irish lore, one commonality that stands firm is , they came from the south by sea. Being that they were a pre-Goidelic peoples could be a reference to the Phoenicians or Egyptians. North Africa and the Iberian peninsula have always played a role in Irish myth. The Fomorians were eventually conquered by the divine Tuatha De Danaan, who in turn were overthrown by the Milesians of Spain. The Fomorians are said to have had the body of a man and the head of a goat, according to an 11th century text in Lebor na hUidre (the Book of the Dun Cow), or to have had one eye, one arm and one leg, but some, for example Elatha, the father of Bres, were very beautiful. Bres himself carries the epithet “the Beautiful.” The medieval myth of Partholon says that his followers were the first to invade Ireland after the flood, but the Fomorians were already there: Seathrún Céitinn reports a tradition that the Fomorians, led by Cíocal, had arrived two hundred years earlier and lived on fish and fowl until Partholon came, bringing the plough and oxen. Partholon defeated Cíocal in the Battle of Magh Ithe, but all his people later died of plague. eye_ra2A view at the etymology of the names that are often Anglicised as Fomorians, Fomors or Fomori. Later in Middle Irish they are also known as the Fomóraig. In 1888, John Rhys was the first to suggest that it is an Old Irish word composed of “under/below” and muire “sea”, concluding that it may refer to beings whose (original) habitat is under the sea. Consider the Middle Irish spelling ‘Fomoraig’ meaning ‘dark of the sea’ or ‘from under the sea’. Once again more sea references. I have my own hypothesis for the word origin which is often open to debate. Look at the modern Irish ‘Fomoire’, what does it mean? It is a combination of three Gaelic words: Fuil- Blood Mor- Great Ri- King It was quite possible that this word Fomoire is ‘Blood of the Great King Full Article: druidikal.wordpress/y-dna-of-the-fomorians/ sources: Seathrún Céitinn (Geoffrey Keating) “Foras Feasa ar Éirinn: the history of Ireland D. Comyn and P.S. Dineen (eds.) 4 vols. Irish Texts Society (London 1902-14).”
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 13:04:21 +0000
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