Lughnasa & the Áenach Tailteann

Each year around the holidays I tend to pick my studies back up and dig more into the various elements of Pre-Christian Irish Practice... Usually these studies focus on the holiday itself, looming on the horizon. But sometimes they waver shakily off into unrelated territories. Fortunately that wasn't the case this year.

Something that came to my attention about Lughnasa this year was the story of its origin. Specifically, that the festival of Lughnasa was created by Lugh as a way of commemorating his foster mother- a woman named Tailtiu.

One source I was able to find such a story in came by way of Geoffery Keating; in Foras Feasa ar Éireann, he writes on the subject:

Laugh Lámhfada [...] who appointed the Fair of Taillte at first as a yearly commemoration of  Taillte [...] It is by this woman Lúgh Lámhfada was fostered and trained till he was fit to bear arms; and it is as an honorable commemoration for her Lúgh instituted the games of the Fair of Taillte a fortnight before Lúghnasadh, and a fortnight after it, resembling the games called 'Olympiades' [...]

It was for that reason that the name of Lughnasa, that is the gracious nasadh or commemoration, was given to the first day of August, on which is now held the feast of the Chains of [St.] Peter [in chains]. [...]

Depending on the source, Tailtiu died either in childbirth (Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore), or by way of overworking herself while clearing land to feed her people (which appears to be the general consensus). And while most state that it was Lugh who ordered the fair, a small handful of others claim it was she who, on her deathbed, requested that a fair be held in her honor.

I have to admit, though, that while the legend that Lugh created the Áenach Tailteann to honor the memory of his foster mother is a nice one... I don't believe it's actually true- even in a mythological sense. And in Ireland's Immortals, even Mark Williams argues that such lore was a much later addition to the festival- writing:

Lug may have remained imaginatively available during the conversion period because of a strong association with the great annual óenach or ‘fair’, which was held at Tailtiu, now Teltown in Co. Meath. (This was the most famous of such assemblies; there were a number of others) [...] 

Tailtiu had become a politically crucial royal site and the Uí Néill’s preeminent place of assembly by c.700, but it seems clear that its roots—especially the link  to Lug—went back to the pagan period. Later tradition made Tailtiu the name of Lug’s foster-mother, and also asserted that Lug had instituted the games there as part of her funeral rites. The antiquity of that particular idea is debatable, but the óenach at Tailtiu was certainly held each year at Lugnasad (probably meaning ‘the Festival of Lug’) at the beginning of August [...] 

That the festival originated in Tailtiu’s funeral-games might itself have been inspired by a homonym (nás in DIL) meaning ‘death, putting to death’, the story being concocted when the festival originally in the god’s honor was rebranded and historicized.

Given that the Áenach Tailteann was far from being the only festival of its type celebrated around Lughnasa (let alone at all)- and the fact that these festivals predate the lore about Tailtiu (more on all that later)? I feel inclined to agree with him on the matter... Especially since there's little actual mention of Tailtiu in lore.

In fact, the few references made to Tailtiu appear to be to the city itself, where the Áenach Tailteann is held. As a distinct person, however? So far I've personally only found one mention of her in any of the texts- in the Lebor Gabála Érenn, within the section on the Tuatha Dé:

§59. Tailltiu [...] queen of the Fir Bolg, came after the slaughter was inflicted upon the Fir Bolg in that first battle of Mag Tuired to Coill Cuan: and the wood was cut down by her, so it was a plain under clover-flower before the end of a year. This is that Tailtiu who was wife of Eochu [...] and Cian [...] gave her his son in fosterage, namely Lugh [...]. So Tailltiu died in Tailltiu, and her name clave thereto and her grave is from the Seat of Tailltiu north-eastward. Her games were performed every year and her song of lamentation, by Lugh. With gessa and feats of arms were they performed, a fortnight before Lugnasad and a fortnight after: under dicitur Lughnasadh, that is, the celebration (?) or the festival of Lugh [...]

She’s not actually mentioned in The First Battle of Mag Tuired, however- let alone in connection to a Fir Bolg King of that name. Nor, either, is she mentioned as Lugh’s Foster mother. Instead, the name of Lugh’s foster parents are given as someone else entirely in The Second Battle of Mag Tuired:

‘Here there is Lugh Lonnannsclech son of Cian son of Dian-cecht, and of Ethne daughter of Balor. Fosterson, he, of Tallan daughter of Magmor king of Spain and of Echoic the Rough, son of Duach’.

Now, no one spelt anything consistently. That much is a given- as evident by the near thousands of name and spelling variations present for... Well.... Most figures in mythos. And there are certainly more than enough similarities between the two sets of figures that it’s very possible that names were misgiven, or misspelt (or vice versa)- or that hers in particular underwent significant modification until eventually it became Tailtiu. 

I’m open to that possibility, certainly. But I’m also open to the possibility that someone went rooting for reasoning, and then forced the modification as needed (politically or otherwise). Because there are other considerations to take into account as well- most notably the fact that she doesn't appear anywhere else, so far that I've seen.

Of course, it's impossible to tell whether or not her name appears consistently across all versions of the Lebor Gabála Érenn in particular- and, if not, whether those she appears in predate the lore of her involvement with the Áenach Tailteann at Teltown... Likewise, I admit it’s also impossible to comb through every source extensively enough to rule out every mention under every variant (or possible variant) of her name.

I have no legitimate way of knowing whether this is truly the only mention of her. However, there is a precedent for the semi-deification of other Óenachs celebrated at roughly the same time, in other locations around Ireland; the Óenach Carmain comes to mind, if MacKillop’s to be trusted in A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. But Williams also points out similar occurrences himself.

Likewise, both Koch and Williams also make note of the political and royal importance of Telltown in particular- especially to the Uí Néills; as John Koch mentions in the first volume of Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia:

[... Cormac ua Cuilennáin] may have been referring to a local festival, or to the Oenach Tailten (fair of Tailtiu), held at what is now Telltown, Co. Meath (Contae na Mí). This was arguably the most important festival in ancient Ireland (Ériu), held by the claimant to the kingship of Ireland. The annals indicate that it was supposed to be held annually on Lugnasad, barring exceptional circumstances, though after the 9th century it was celebrated irregularly [...]

This is fascinating to me particularly because Williams himself touched on a similar thread; this occurs in his footnotes concerning Lughnasa (which I've already partially quoted from), in the same text mentioned earlier:

[...] It is tempting to see, with [DIL s.v. In ‘Cormac’s Glossary’ (c.900)], a connection to the verb nascid, ‘to bind’, as in an oath or legal contract; the original Lugnasad might have involved the brokering of political and social contracts under the auspices of Lugus, whose own name—scholars have suggested—may derive from *lugiom, ‘oath’, making him not only a god of kingship but also of ties and sureties. But here again the siren song of mere speculation is heard.

I admit I find Williams' theory about the etymology of Lugh’s name and the etymology of the name of the holiday incredibly compelling- which may pose a pretty convincing reason for why the history (and name) of the location would be mythologized as it was, if it were.

That being said, the link between Lughnasa and fairs such as the Áenach Tailteann is undeniable- as is their connection to Lugh in particular. There’s no disputing that much, as plenty of historical records make mention of it. As a result, it'd be incredibly ignorant to ignore that fact. and as mentioned, we also see this sort of gathering at other holidays, too. And while I can't tell if all of them would be considered Óenach in their own rights? This thread of kingship, power brokering, law telling, and rent paying is nevertheless a common thread among them; as the Óenach Project says:

Although usually translated in modern terms as ‘fair / market’, the original meaning of Óenach primarily signified a political assembly of a kingdom or territory. It was on these occasions, when the inhabitants of a territory came together, normally in a landscape of political, historical and sacro-religious import, that the actual business of various scales of community and kingdom was played out. We know, for instance, that an Óenach was an assembly convened by a king, possibly on royal land (mruig ríg), which held legal and judicial functions, such that, it is at major Óenaige that cáin (laws) were promulgated by early Irish provincial kings over their subjects from the 8th century AD onward. The Óenach represents an institution that is central to understanding the powers of kings in early medieval Ireland, and moreover, how civil society actually worked.

This is further echoed by Story Archaeology- a group well known for their in depth podcasts and articles covering many areas of Irish lore and practice:

The óenach, sometimes translated as “Fair”, was an important regular feature of early Irish society. There were several kinds of public gathering, including slógadh, “hosting”, where a lord would gather his able tenants for military activity, and airecht, “court”, which was a gathering of freemen for legal purposes. But the óenach is perhaps the most celebrated and comprehensive gathering, and an integral part of life in early Irish society.

I find the emphasis on the tests of strength and skill held at such fairs more interesting. But what truly piques my interest are the elements of Kingship that seem to have been removed from the holiday entirely- and it seems that it was really only later, after the dissolution of the Kingship of Ireland, that this functionality was no longer necessary... It makes sense, then, that the focus would eventually shift to other areas (and, perhaps, to other figures).

For those reasons, I ultimately lean towards agreeing with Williams; it's my personal feeling that Tailtiu was originally nothing more than a city- and that Tailtiu as a person was created much later in order to construct a mythical origin for the games; the practice of constructing similar mythical origins was fairly common in other areas (such as mythologizing Clan heritage), so it isn’t an unlikely possibility... In this case, however, it seems significantly less likely that Tailtiu the person existed before the lore.

As of right now, however, I'm a bit torn about what to do with this newfound information about Lughnasa.

On one hand, it doesn't affect my participation in the holiday much on the surface level... After all, I never celebrated Tailtiu or her connection to the holiday in the first place. So on a basic level, her removal (or, really, the refusal to acknowledge her) changes nothing.

But on the other, the holiday as I currently celebrate it? Doesn't account for the now defunct elements of Kingship- which I feel are important to recognize; nor does it account for the fair and its tests of skill- something that was integral to the holiday as far back as anyone can tell.

In fact, as currently celebrated, it's almost purely a celebration of the harvest- both wild and cultivated. In light of this information- and much more (such as the mountains of evidence of Brighid and Cailleach's connections to the holiday)- however... The holiday demands great change. I'm just not sure what that change is yet.

Maybe I'll spend the fortnight before, and the fortnight after, contemplating it.