Celtic Myth - The Isle of Destiny - Extra Mythology - #1

Welcome back everyone. Get cozy by the fire. This month, the patrons have chosen Gaelic mythology for our topic. Thanks, everyone I see you over there. So for the next few tales We'll be travelling to Ireland. Inis Fáil: The Island of Destiny "Extra Mythology Theme" by Big Giant Circles Void became form and form became earth and out of the earth Sprang a tree it was the mighty oak watered by the river of heaven The Danu and from that oak fell two acorns from which sprang the first of the Gods the Dagda and Brigid they were the first children of the Danu and Over time that children of the Danu grew and built four great cities on the banks of the sacred River Those cities flourished and in each of them was crafted a great artifact in one was the Stone of Destiny Which would shout with joy when a righteous ruler set his foot upon it in Another was Retaliator the greatest sword ever forged in the third could be found the red javelin Which once thrown would find its mark no matter how it's foes hid and finally in the fourth city lay The caldron of Plenty which could feed all of the children of the Danu and still never empty But one day the Dagda called the greatest of his children from all of the cities and told them of their destiny For it was not for them to remain by the sacred River Danu but to head to an island where the Sun set Before they went though Bridgid offered them a warning They would not be alone on this island others would try to make it theirs With this warning the children of the Danu set out for their new home bringing with them their four great treasures for protection Unsure of what they'd find on this island of destiny or so some say some Say they came in a dark cloud from origins unknown And delighted on a mountaintop Others still say they came from strange cities across the sea where they learned science And magical arts and when they arrived they burnt their ships behind them wagering all on the conquest of Ireland But this much is known as they started to explore the misty plains of Inis Fáil they encountered a curious people already living there the Fir Bolg and When they met they looked to strike up a bargain The Danu asked for half of Ireland to be theirs to settle and they could live in peace But the Fir Bolg refused so battle was decided upon but just to be clear Battle back then was a lot different than the way we think of it now This was a matter of honor the children of the Danu made spears for the Fir Bolg to use and the Fir Bolg crafted javelins for the children of the Danu they agreed on how many soldiers each side would bring and Where they would do battle they even agreed on how many days they would fight for? Who then at last they met in the high pass of Baljit an assembled in all of their strength? Glistening armor and shining spears made out rank after rank of warriors back and forth They fought one side taking the lead and then the other until the leaders of both sides Nuada of the children of the Danu and Sreng for the Fir Bolg met in the center of the melee a Silence rippled out from around them the fighting stopped and both sides cleared a space for their champions to enter Single combat, the metal of their blades was dazzling as they moved with a swiftness None had seen before blow after blow they hammered at each other then Sreng landed a Titanic strike his blade cleft through Nuada's shield and severed his right arm in one stroke Nuada stumbled back dazed. It looked as though the end had come Then the Dagda himself intervened and spirited Nuada away They took him to Dian Cecht god of healing lord of physicians who Crafted him a new arm of pure silver that moved like an arm of flesh and blood and they called him by a new name Nuada Airgetlam, Nuada Silverhand Eat your heart out Bucky now You might think the children of the Danu would have quavered at the sight of their leader Fallen in front of them that they would break as their King was smote by the Fir Bolg champion but no Bres warrior of the Danu quick of mind and Beautiful of form seized the Kings right hand and raised it aloft angered by such a sight the children of the Danu swore vengeance and plunged into the Fir Bolg's ranks So great was the slaughter of the Fir Bolg that their fort would be known as the Fort of Packs For the packs of wild dogs that surrounded it to eat the flesh of their dead Finally the Fir Bolg were all but defeated 300 Fir Bolg warriors remained led by Sreng their great champion They took counsel and decided to fight to the last and so made one final glorious charge There Sreng and Nuada again came to face one another But this time they could have no equitable duel as Nuada's arm had been hewn away so instead impressed by the bravery of these last of the Fir Bolg the children of the Danu offered them any province they wanted in Ireland and so they took Connacht to make their home But it was the tradition of the children of the Danu that only a man of sound body could be their king so even as they celebrated their victory, they knew they had one last matter to attend to Nuada could no longer rule them despite the fact that his arm had been replaced with one of shining silver His body was not whole and thus he couldn't be king They quickly chose Bres as their leader for his valor and charm in mind but Bres was half Fomorian We've not heard tell of yet in this tale, but we soon will in his rule He acted more Fomorian then as one of the Danu But the rein of Bres and the war against the ancient and strange Fomorian's is a story for next time You know, I could really get used to this silver arm thing spot me while I pick up this log

Channel: Extra Credits

Views: 878,699

Rating: 4.9573555 out of 5

Keywords: documentary, extra credits, extra credits mythology, extra mythology, james portnow, joe maslov, matt krol, video essay, celtic myth, the isle of destiny, the children of danu, Inis Fáil, irish myths, dagda, brigid, fir bolg

Id: EfPfWsVRAkg

Length: 7min 19sec (439 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 14 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/Mythosaurus]

A javelin that doesn't miss it's mark sounds a lot like Odin's spear Gungnir.

[u/IRSunny]

Interesting, so this sounds like a mythologized history of one of the previous immigration waves from continent. With Danu sounding quite a bit like Danube, I looked into it and yup, "dānu" was the Proto-Indo-European word for river and its from that root word that the Danube derives.