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This is a Cornish version of the Wild Hunt, closely attached to Dando and His Dogs, to the Gabriel Ratchets and the Wish Hounds, the Welsh Cwn Annwn and, more loosely, to Herla's Rade. This last is the legend that has the closest fairy connection; most of the other spirits are more nearly allied to beliefs about the Devil than about fairies. The Devil and his dandy dogs are the most dangerous of all the diabolical packs. Hunt, in POPULAR ROMANCES OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND, quotes a story of T. Quiller Couch's in which a herdsman is only saved from being torn to pieces by the dandy dogs by kneeling and praying:
A poor herdsman was journeying homeward across the moors one windy night, when he heard at a distance among the Tors the baying of hounds, which he soon recognized as the dismal chorus of the dandydogs. It was three or four miles to his house; and very much alarmed, he hurried onward as fast as the treacherous nature of the soil and the uncertainty of the path would allow; but, alas! the melancholy yelping of the hounds, and the dismal holloa of the hunter came nearer and nearer. After a considerable run, they had so gained upon him, that on looking back, - oh horror! he could distinctly see hunter and dogs. The former was terrible to look at, and had the usual complement of SAUCER-EYES, horns, and tail, accorded by common consent to the legendary devil. He was black, of course, and carried in his hand a long hunting-pole. The dogs, a numerous pack, blackened the small patch of moor that was visible; each snorting fire, and uttering a yelp of indescriably frightful tone. No cottage, rock, or tree was near to give the herdsman shelter, and nothing apparently remained to him but to abandon himself to their fury, when a happy thought suddenly flashed upon him and suggested a resource. Just as they were about to rush upon him, he fell on his knees in prayer. There was strange power in the holy words he uttered; for immediately, as if resistance had been offered, the hell hounds stood at bay, howling more dismally than ever, and the hunter shouted, 'Bo Shrove,' which (says my informant) means in the old language, 'THE BOY PRAYS,' at which they all drew off some other pursuit and disappeared.
The Cornish devil hunts human souls. The prey of many devils are witches; but in the Scandinavian legend it is Odin, lately become like Dando a demi-devil, who leads the hunt, and it is the elf-women whom he pursues. One can see in all these varying hunts how close the connection between devils, fairies and the dead can be.
# 100 - 331
To make the devil's horns, or the Horns of Cernunnos (the two midfingers bent inward and held by the tumb), as a hand gesture, is one of the oldest prophylactic signs supposed to avert the evil eye and placate harmful powers.
In some parts of Europe it is still considered more efficacious than making the sign of the cross. In antiquity it must have represented an appeal to the Horned God; then in the Middle ages, an appeal to the devil, who was often considered more influential in the earthly realm than God. The hand in the devil's horns position does bear a striking resemblance to the head of a horned animal. Perhaps even more pertinent to the diabolization of the gesture, however, is the fact that it was once intimately associated with the Goddess. But the Sign against Evil was also, however, by holding the Fist of Thor, the very potent Norse god.
# 701 p 308
She was to be given in tribute to the Fomorians but was rescued by CuChulain who offered her in marriage to Lugaid. Angry at this slight she attempted to kill CuChulain. He wounded and then healed her by sucking her blood. By this action they became blood brother and sister.
# 454
See: DAVID, SAINT.
Horse of Conall of the Victories.
# 562
Dedications to Diana occur throughout Britain, including one temple which was re-dedicated on an old Iron-age site at Maiden Castle denoting perhaps a native cult of a similar, unnamed goddess. She was the goddess of venery and it is in this aspect that she is natively recognized. The site of St Pauls Cathedral, London, was anciently sacred to her and there is a tradition that live bucks were processed up its steps until medieval times.
# 265 - 454 - 709
(de'ân häht - or - JAN kett) The great physician of the Tuatha De Danann. Grandfather of Lugh. Assisted by Credne, he made the silver hand to replace the one lost by Nuadu in battle. The mortally wounded Tuatha de Danaan were bathed in the well, Slane, which he had specially blessed by him, recovering to fight on. Killed his son Miach because of professional jealousy. See: CAULDRON.
# 166 - 454 - 562
The goddess of the wood, mother of Dyonas and grandmother of Vivienne in the VULGATE VERSION. See: DIONES.
# 156
(de ar moo id) Hero of the Fianna. Nephew of Fionn. He was fostered in the Sidhe of Bruig na Boinne by Angus Og. His father, Donn, accidently(?) killed the Stewards son in that place. The Steward struck his son with a wand and turned him into a wild boar, charging him to kill Donns son when the time came, on which account Diarmuid was forbidden to hunt that boar. He had a love-spot, making him irresistible to women. Grainne put a gease on him to run away with her when she saw the ageing Fionn who had come to woo her. They run away together but had no rest, since Fionn swore that they should not sleep under one roof on two consecutive nights, nor eat a meal in the same place twice. After a long pursuit, Fionn made peace with them, but he sent Diarmuid to hunt the boar which wounded him. He begged a healing drink from Fionn's hands, but such was Fionn's jealousy and anger that the water dripped from his fingers to the ground and Diarmuid died. Equivalent to 'Tristan and Iseult', or Lancelot and Guinevere. See: DIARMUID AND GRAINNE, THE PURSUIT OF, and DERMOT OF THE LOVE SPOT.
# 267 - 454 - 654
This tale is beyond doubt the most striking and tragic of the Finn cycle. It relates the trials and sufferings of Diarmuid, one of Finn's warriors whom Grainne, Finn's affianced wife, forced to elope with her. The narrative is somewhat prolix, but because of its comparative inaccessibility, Cross and Slover reproduce the entire tale, except for one or two episodes not directly related to the main narrative. This story, which has often been compared with the tragic romance of 'Tristan and Iseult,' differs markedly in manner from the stories of the earlier tradition. It is more discursive, more delineative, and less restrained in style than the tales of Ulster cycle or even than the earlier tales of Finn. And yet, its realistic treatment of human motive and its objective analysis of character, devoid of editorial comment, place it definitely in the most honorable line of Irish literary tradition. The episodic digressions contain a considerable amount of material that belongs to the fairy tradition of the folk in later generations rather than to the epic literature of earlier times, but they are none the less interesting and they illustrate the tendency, found even in the oldest recorded Irish literature, to combine such material with what we may call the 'classical' tradition of the heroic age. The main plot of the story and the general conception of the characters are certainly ancient. The earliest reference to the love of Diarmuid and Grainne dates from the tenth century. But the version to be found in Cross' and Slover's ANCIENT IRISH TALES, however, represents accretions through many generations.
# 166
An enemy of Arthur. One of the tasks set Culhwch by Yspadadden was to obtain this man's beard to make a leash. To do this, Kay flung him into a pit and yanked out the hairs of his beard with tweezers.
# 156 - 346
The boy who taunted the young Merlin for not knowing the name of his father. This drew the attention of one of Vortigern's counsellors to him as Vortigern was seeking a fatherless child.
# 156
# 156: A Knight of the Round Table who saw no purpose in fighting for fighting's sake. He was the brother of Breunor the Black.He was killed by Mordred and Agravain.
# 454: Apart from Dagonet, he is about the only figure in the Arthurian sagas who has a genuine sense of humour and no little satirical talent. He wrote a lampoon against King Mark, and in a tournament in which Lancelot took part played all kinds of pranks on the other knights.
# 156 - 418 - 454
The senechal of Mark and a Knight of the Round Table. He sympathized with Tristan, whom he had felt had been mistreatet, and became his companion. When Lancelot ran off with Guinevere Dinas went with him and became Duke of Anjou. According to the TAVOLA RITONDA, after Mark's death Dinas became the King of Cornwall.
# 156 - 238 - 418
Just below Llyn Dinas in Nant Gwynant, 2 miles north-east of Beddgelert, Gwynedd is an isolated woodedhill called Dinas Emrys.The mountainous place in Snowdonia where Merlin had his confrontation with Vortigern. Merlin claimed that the tower which Vortigern could not make stay up was falling over because of a subterranean pool containing dragons, one red and the other white, who were fighting in an underground lake beneath the rock. Myrddin (Merlin) subsequently dealt with them and built his own fortress on the hill top.
Excavation has revealed the pool, and some Iron Age relics, which back up the legend. As to how the dragons became confined there, the story of LLUD AND LLEFELYS in the MABINOGION gives details. When Llud ruled Britain, a scream, whose origin could not be determined, was heard each May Eve. Llefelys, King of France, furnished the information that it was caused by battling dragons. The scream would be uttered by the dragon of the British nation when it was about to be defeated. The dragons were captured and buried at Dinas Emrys. The main entrance to the fort is on the northern side of the hill and traces of a ruined tower 36 feet by 24 feet have been found on the summit. Nearby is a circle of tumbled stones about 30 feet in diameter which is said to be a mystic circle in which the dragons were hidden. At one time the fort was known as Dinas Fforan - The Fort with High Powers. Myrddin apparently hid his treasure in a cave at Dinas Emrys. He placed it in a golden vessel and that was placed with his golden chair inside a cave. He then rolled a huge stone over the entrance and covered it with earth and green turf. We are told that the discoverer of the treasure will be 'golden-haired and blue-eyed'. When that lucky person is near to Dinas Emrys a bell will ring to invite him or her into the cave, which will open of its own accord as soon as that person's foot touches it. A young man who lived near Beddgelert once searched for the treasure, hoping to give himself a good start in life. He took a pickaxe and climbed to the top of the hill. When he began to dig in earnest on the site of the tower, some terrible unearthly noises began to rumble under his feet. The Dinas began to rock like a cradle and the sun clouded over so it became pitch dark. Lightning flashed in the sky and thunder clapped over his head. He dropped the pickaxe and ran home. When he arrived, everything was calm again but he never returned to collect his pickaxe. Not far from Dinas Emrys is Cell-y-Dewiniaid - The Grove of the Magicians. There is a field here that once had a thick grove of oak trees at its northern end. Vortigern's wise men used to meet here to discuss the great events of their times. An adjacent field is where they were buried and at one time a stone actually marked the site of each grave. A white thorn tree annually decorated each resting place with falling white blossoms.
# 49 - 156 - 308
The sister of Perceval, she went on the Grail Quest. The questers came to a castle where it was the custom to demand the blood of passing women to cure the leprous chatelaine. Hearing of this, Dindrane voluntarily donated her blood and died in so doing. In Italian romance, Perceval's sister is called Agrestizia. According to # 454, Dindranes body accompanied the Grail Knights on the Ship of Solomon to Sarras.
# 112 - 156 - 454 - 748
(deen han hus)
Reference to Dineen's Irish Dictionary. See : GEIS.
# 562
(din-shen'cus) Ancient tract, preserved in the 'Book of Leinster.'
# 562
Cantrev of Din'odig, over which Llew and Blodeuwedd reigned.
# 562
(din'ree) Maon slays Covac at Dinrigh.
# 562
A contemporary of Julius Caesar; describes Gauls, and note in particular the Gallic love of gold. Even cuirasses were made of it. This is also a very notable trait in Celtic Ireland. Diodorus about transmigration or reincarnation: 'Among them the doctrine of Pythagoras prevails, according to which the souls of men are immortal, and after a fixed term recommence to live, taking upon themselves a new body'.
# 562
The father of Nimue. His godmother was said to be the goddess Diana.
# 156
The name of two persons mentioned in the fourteenth-century Welsh BIRTH OF ARTHUR.
An enchanted chatelaine, liberated by Gawain, who refused to marry her.
# 156
The brother of Lac and uncle of Erec.
# 156
Pluto, equivalent.
# 562
Brother of Red Hugh and Kimbay, slain by Macha; five sons of Dithorba taken captive by Macha.
# 562
German and Diuran the Rhymer companions of Maeldun on his wonderful voyage; returns with piece of silver net.
# 562
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