In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, Emer, it can also be spelt Eimear but it can also spelt Emer in modern Irish Emer, daughter of Forgall the Wily, was Cúchulainn's wife. The Ulster Cycle, formerly the Red Branch Cycle, is a large body of prose and verse centering around the traditional heroes of the Ulaid in what is now eastern Ulster. ... The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branches of Celtic mythology. ... Young Cúchulainn, 1912 illustration by Stephen Reid. ...

The Ulstermen searched all over Ireland for a suitable wife for Cúchulainn, but he would have none but Emer. He visited her at Forgall's house at Lusk, County Dublin, and wooed her by trading cryptic riddles with her. Emer would accept Cúchulainn as a husband, but only when his deeds justified it. The Ulaid, also known as the Ulaidh and the Ulad, are a people of Early Ireland who gave their name to the Irish Province of Ulster. ... Lusk is a town in Niobrara County, Wyoming, United States. ... Statistics Province: Leinster County Town: Dublin Code: D Area: 921 km² Population (2002) 1,122,821 County Dublin (Irish: Contae Bhaile Átha Cliath), or more correctly the Dublin Region[1] (Réigiúin Átha Cliath), is the area that contains the city of Dublin, the capital and largest city of...

However, Forgall was opposed to the match. He came to Ulster in disguise and suggested that Cúchulainn should train in arms with the renowned warrior-woman Scáthach in Scotland, hoping the ordeal would be too much for him and he would be killed. Cúchulainn took up the challenge. He learned all the arts of war from Scáthach, and while he was there slept with her rival Aoife, or Aífe, leaving her pregnant. Scáthach (shadowy) is the female warrior who trains Cúchulainn in the arts of war in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. ... Motto: (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots2 Government  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - UK Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by Kenneth I 843  Area    - Total 78,772 km... Aífe (Modern Irish Aoife ) is the name of several characters from Irish mythology: 1. ...

In the meantime, Forgall offered Emer to Lugaid mac Nóis, a king of Munster. However, when he heard that Emer loved Cúchulainn, Lugaid refused her hand. Statistics Area: 24,607. ...

"Cuchulainn Rebuked by Emer", illustration by H.R. Millar, c.1905.

Cúchulainn returned from Scotland fully trained, but Forgall still refused to let him marry Emer. Cúchulainn stormed Forgall's fortress, killing twenty-four of Forgall's men, abducted Emer and stole Forgall's treasure. Forgall himself fell from the ramparts to his death. An ally of Forgall's, Scenn Menn, tried to stop the fleeing couple, but Cúchulainn killed him in single combat at a ford. Having proved his prowess, Emer now agreed to marry him. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (400x617, 81 KB) Illustration of Cuchulainn and Emer by H.R.Millar, published in Celtic Myth and Legend by Charles Squire (1905), and scanned and made available online at sacred-texts. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (400x617, 81 KB) Illustration of Cuchulainn and Emer by H.R.Millar, published in Celtic Myth and Legend by Charles Squire (1905), and scanned and made available online at sacred-texts. ...

Conchobar mac Nessa, the king of Ulster, had the "right of the first night" over all marriages of his subjects. He was afraid of Cúchulainn's reaction if he exercised it in this case, but would lose his authority if he didn't. A solution was found - Conchobar would sleep with Emer on the night of the wedding, but Cathbad the druid would sleep between them. In Irish mythology, Conchobar mac Nessa (also Conchobor, Conchubar, Conchobhar, Conchubhar, Conchúr, Conchúir, Conor) was king of Ulster during the events of the Ulster Cycle. ... Cathbad is the chief druid in the court of Conchobar mac Nessa in the Ulster Cycle of Irish Mythology. ... Two druids, from an 1845 publication, based on a bas-relief found at Autun, France. ...

Though Cúchulainn had many lovers, Emer's only jealousy came when he was entranced into love with Fand, wife of Manannán mac Lir, the king of the great sea. She decided to kill her rival, but when she saw the strength of Fand's love for Cúchulainn she decided to give him up to her. Fand, touched by Emer's magnanimity, decided to return to her own husband. Manannán shook his cloak between Cúchulainn and Fand, ensuring the two would never meet again, and Cúchulainn and Emer drank a potion to wipe the whole affair from their memories. In Irish mythology, Fand was Queen of the Fairies, and wife of Manannan. ... In Irish and Manx mythology, Manannán mac Lir is the god of the sea. ... Magnanimity is the generosity of the victor to the defeated. ...

When Aoífe's son Connla came to Ireland in search of his father, Emer realised who he was and tried to persuade Cúchulainn not to kill him, but to no avail. In Irish mythology, Connla or Conlaoch was a son of Aífe and Cuchulainn. ...

Emer was said to possess the six gifts of womanhood: beauty, a gentle voice, sweet words, wisdom, skill at needlework and chastity.

The Only Jealousy of Emer

Emer is chronicalized in the William Butler Yeats play, The Only Jealousy of Emer. This play is one of his five famous Cuchulain pieces and is written with heavy stylistic influences from the Japanese Noh theatre. The story is taken with some liberty from Lady Augusta Gregory's saga-story of the same name in her collection, Cuchulain of Muirthemne(1902). Jealousy premiered in 1922 in Amsterdam under the direction of Albert van Dalsum with masks created by the sculptor Hildo Krop. It did not play on the Irish stage until May of 1926, when it was staged by the Dublin Drama League at the Abbey Theatre. W.B. Yeats in Dublin on 24 January 1908. ... Noh performance at Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima, Hiroshima Noh or Nō (Japanese: 能) is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. ... A photograph of Lady Gregory from her 1913 book Our Irish Theatre Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (15 March 1852–22 May 1932), née Isabella Augusta Persse, was an Irish dramatist and folklorist. ... A poster for the opening run at the Abbey Theatre from 27 December, 1904 to 3 January, 1905. ...

Trivia

The LÉ Emer (P21), a ship in the Irish Naval Service, is named after her. LÉ Emer (P21) is a ship in the Irish Naval Service. ... Irish Naval Jack The Irish Naval Service is the navy of the Republic of Ireland and is one of the three standing branches of the Irish Defence Forces (Óglaigh na hÉireann). ...

See also

• The Wooing of Emer

Tochmarc Emire, the Wooing of Emer, is one of the longest stories in the Ulster Cycle and concerns the efforts of Cúchulainn to marry Emer, a character who appears as his wife in later events of the cycle such as Táin Bó Cúailnge. ...

External links

• Tochmarc Emire la Coinculaind (Irish) at CELT
• The Wooing of Emer (English)
• The Only Jealousy of Emer (Play) at Cornell University Press