Fand

by Dawn O'Laoghaire

Known also as the Pearl of Beauty, Fand was the wife of Manannan Mac Lir, the god of the ocean. 1 Fand was the possessor of seven cows and seven sheep. The milk of the cows was sufficient to satisfy the whole of the men of the world and it is the milk on which people who live in the Land of Promise are sustained. The seven sheep provide sufficient wool to clothe all the men of the world and it is the wool with which all the clothes of the men who live in the Land of Promise are made. [2] Fand is described as being very beautiful, with yellow hair, very tall, and having clothes made of many colors. [3]

The most well known tale about Fand is in the Tain and described an affair between Cuchulain and Fand. Fand was attacked by three Fomorri warriors when Manannan was away. Because Fand and Manannan ruled over the oceans, they were particularly vulnerable to attacks from the Fomorri who also lived under the ocean or on offshore islands [4] and whose chaotic nature was anathema to the land of beauty, plenty and stability ruled by Fand and Manannan. Her brother-in-law sends Fand's sister to entreat Cuchulain to come and protect Fand from the warriors and offers him Fand as his lover as a reward. Cuchulain comes and defeats the Fomorri. He then becomes Fand's lover and brings her home to Ulster. Emer, as Cuchulain's first wife, protests the presence of Fand in her home and then attempts to kill Fand when Fand makes an assignation to see Cuchulain again. Manannan arrives and demands that Fand choose between her husband and Cuchulain. Fand chooses her husband and Manannan shakes his cloak between Fand and Cuchulain to ensure that they will not see one another again. [5]

Contributed by Dawn O'Laoghaire

Notes 1. Ellis, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, p. 95.
2. Gregory, Gods and Fighting Men, p. 117.
3. Gregory, Gods and Fighting Men, p. 119.
4. Dames, Mythic Ireland, p. 187.
5. Ellis, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, p. 95

Sources

Dames, Michael. Mythic Ireland. London: Thames and Hudson (1992). Library of Congress Card Number 91-67303

Ellis, Peter Berresford. Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO (1992). IBSN 0-87436-609-7

Gregory, Lady Augusta. Gods and Fighting Men. London: John Murray (1904)

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