THE WARRIOR WOMAN PRECEDENT II: FINDABAIR: WHITE PHANTOM OR WOMAN WARRIOR? PART I: SCATHACH
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| "Hamlet and His Father's Ghost", by Henry Fuseli, 1780s; (Note the Ghost's Body Armor) |
The archetype of the Celtic Warrior Woman seems to have been a staple of the fifth century. In fact, during that strange time, it was more than a mere archetype. It was an accepted female function.
It appears that women of that time fought when needed; not infrequently ruled in their own right; consorted freely with (read: slept with) men of their choice; took lovers openly, even when married; divorced their husbands when they were dissatisfied with them; owned real property – they were sometimes raped by kings and warriors in order for the men to claim the land – made policy; wrote their own dowry stipulations; and occasionally even chose the warrior’s way as their sole calling. Damsels in distress, Medieval Romance notwithstanding, are more seldom heard from than is commonly believed.
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| Sheela-na-Gig, Fethard Town Wall, Co. Tipperary, Ireland, Photograph by Michael Sider |
Irish folklore, history, and pseudo-history attest to many women who fit the description of the Celtic Warrior Woman: Scáthach and her sister, Aífe; Medb, the Morrigan, and Nessa. These women also played the roles of mother, sister, queen, goddess, and banshee, among others. Guinevere herself fits three or four of these models, not including that of Warrior Woman. Many of these Celtic women’s lives also overlapped with – and indeed changed the course of – that of the famous Irish champion, Cú Chulainn.
It is worth looking at the setting of these individuals in order to determine whether their activities set a precedent for those of Guinevere and her contemporaries. Did they live before the Arthurian tales took place? After?
Or were they active during the fifth century? For, if so, they may have influenced some of the peculiar behavior that the foreign queen and her sisters exhibited. More likely still, they may have reflected the common practices of a shared culture.
Nessa, female leader of an Irish fianna – a gang of young, itinerant warriors, usually male and unattached to any one king or chieftain – was the mother of Conchobar macc Nessa, first husband of Queen Medb. His father, the druid Cathbad, was active in his royal son’s court and prophesied that Cú Chulainn would be a great warrior. So Cathbad was alive during the time of both Medb and Cú Chulainn. It is not uncommon for a man to be active well past his son’s majority, nor is it unusual for him to know his grandson, or in this case, someone of his grandson’s generation.
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| "Cuchulainn in Battle", by Joseph Christian Leyendecker, 1911 |
But there is a “glitch in the system”, or a "ghost in the machine", if you will. The stories of the Ulster Cycle – the tales of Medb and Cú Chulainn and the Táin Bó Cúailnge, or the Cattle Raid of Cooley – were initially situated around the time of Christ in an attempt by chroniclers to make these ancient, pagan stories fit a later, Christian agenda. They took place in Connacht. The Connachta, residents of Connacht, were descendents of Conn of the Hundred Battles, whose reign has been dated to sometime between 116-157 AD. He was the first king for whom the Lia Fail roared since the time when Cú Chulainn split it with his sword. This is perplexing, since Cú Chulainn fought in the war started by Conn’s descendents, Medb and her husband, Ailil.
I think it is safe to say that the timeline goes something like this:
Conchobar/Queen Medb/Ailil >
Scáthach/Aífe/Cú Chulainn >
Queen Guinevere (c. 400-500 AD).
The Morrigan, who appears in the stories of Cú Chulainn, is a goddess and therefore timeless. Since Nessa is associated with the fianna, we know that they were active during her lifetime. I would then hazard an educated guess that the events discussed here, particularly the Cattle Raid of Cooley and the life of Cú Chulainn, took place sometime between the end of the second century and the beginning of the fifth.
Scáthach was Cú Chulainn’s teacher, much as Jandree, known as the Loathly Damsel, was the much later Perceval’s instructress. Perceval killed Jandree in open combat, just as Cú Chulainn burned down a house over the heads of a hundred or so of his female teachers.
It seems that female instructors were the norm in the fifth century, even in military matters. Especially in military matters. These women were independent, unmarried, and sexually liberated. They went where they wanted, taught whom they wanted, and slept with whom they chose.
Scáthach’s name – like that of Medb’s daughter, Findabair – resembles some of Guinevere’s more mysterious monikers: the Welsh Gwenhwyfar, and the Old Irish Findabair. Both names mean “White Phantom”. Scáthach means “the Shade. “Shade”, as in “Phantom”.
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| Scáthach's Home: The Main Ridge of the Black Cuillins on Skye |
Her residence was Dún Scáith, “Fortress of Shadows”, on the Scottish Isle of Skye. A number of meanings are offered for the name of Skye, but I think the most likely, as well as the most poetic, is the one closest to its modern meaning: “Isle of Clouds”. This descriptive evokes the mist rising from the Irish Sea and at the same time echoes the name of Scáthach herself.
Perhaps, the warrior woman drew her name from the isle, or vice versa. Or maybe she earned it for her stealth in battle. Which came first: the chicken, or the egg? Whichever preceded, we have here a clear parallel: Phantom > Shade > Shadow(s) > Clouds > Mist.
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| Dún Ringill, Iron Age Fortress on Skye |
Before he became famous for his prowess in all things military and for the great battle frenzy that shook him from head to toe and transformed him from mortal man into misshapen monster, Cú Chulainn was sent by his prospective father-in-law, Forgall Monach, to Alba – Scotland – to train under Scáthach, whose fame as a warrior/teacher had spread throughout the isles. Cu Chulainn had fallen in love with Forgall’s daughter, Emer, and the feeling was mutual. Forgall didn’t want the young stud to marry his daughter. He hoped that, by having him trained as a warrior, Cú Chulainn would fall in battle before he ever got anywhere near Emer. Apparently, he hadn’t heard the druid’s prophecy that the youth would one day be a great warrior. And, apparently, he didn’t know Cú Chulainn.
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| "Cuchulainn Rebuked by Emer", by H.R. Millar |
The story goes that Scáthach did, indeed, train Cú Chulainn. And he made unusually swift prowess in his lessons. The warrior lady rewarded him for his remarkable proficiency through the use of gifts.
One such gift came in the form of sexual favors. The ancient Irish chronicler reports that, seeing how he excelled in his studies, Scáthach allowed Cú Chulainn to sleep with her. Her sister, Aífe, later also offered him “the friendship of her thighs”.
Cú Chulainn also slept with Scáthach’s daughter, Uathach, the Dread, at some point. Apparently, this kid was just sleeping with everybody. Typical young guy.
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| "David with Spear", from the Durham Cassiodorus |
A second famous gift was the fabulous Gae Bolg, the invincible spear of legend. The Gae Bolg was a throwing spear, much like a javelin, with a point that opened out upon contact into thirty barbs. Upon removal from a human body, it would rip the person to shreds. It goes without saying that it was invariably deadly. A useful little thing to have with you in mortal combat. Its name has several meanings, but gae is spear. The second half of its name, bolg, seems to have created some confusion in the scholarly ranks. It can derive from Old Irish bolg, “belly”, or bolc, “notch”, or from Proto-Celtic balu-, “mortal pain/death”. That last one seems like a good match for the Gae Bolg, considering that it never failed to take a life. Norma Lorre Goodrich suggests that it refers to a “bolt”, as in a “lightning bolt”, a good name for an elongated, stabbing weapon…like a spear.
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| Bronze Sculpture, Odin Holding Gungnir, His Enchanted Spear, by Lee Lawrie, Library of Congress Building |
Scáthach had a twin sister, Aífe, who was also a warrior woman. Aífe’s name is the same as that of the ancient Eve, and she lived in the east of Scotland. Some time toward the end of Cu Chulainn’s training, Aífe picked a fight over territory with Scáthach. I’m telling you, these sisters must have had some ugly, little hair-pulling contests in childhood.
Before their single combat began, Scáthach told Cú Chulainn that the two things her sister loved most in the world were her chariot and horses. Cú Chulainn agreed to fight Aífe on his teacher’s behalf, but found himself evenly matched with the woman warrior. In the heat of battle, Aífe managed to break the Irish champion’s sword. As a diversionary tactic, he cried out that her chariot and horses had fallen over a cliff. Like, “Your shoe’s untied.” Sure enough, Aífe turned her head to look, and Cú Chulainn grabbed her, slung her over his shoulder, and carried her back to his side of the battle line.
He agreed to spare her life on three conditions: that she leave her sister alone, sleep with him, and bear him a son. Where was this guy when I was growing up and fighting with my sisters?
Aífe agreed. By the time that Cú Chulainn was ready to return to Ireland, she was pregnant. He gave her a gold ring to give to the child when he reached maturity. He took his magical spear and new-earned store of military knowledge. And left his teacher, his lovers, and his son to sail back to his homeland…and into legend.
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