The Mórrígan (Morrígan, Morrigu, Mór-Rhioghain) ("great queen" or "phantom queen"), is an Irish goddess of war and destruction. She is typically depicted as being armoured and armed: wherever war occurs, there is the Mórrígan. She is reputed to have hovered over the battlefield in the form either of a crow or a raven.

(Mórrígan is the Old Irish spelling of her name; Mor-Rioghain is the Modern Irish spelling and is pronounced as more ree-en.)

She is appears in the Mythological Cycle (see Irish mythology) of Celtic tales, where she is revered as one of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a race of shape-shifting magicians whom the Celts believed inhabited Ireland before them. She also contends with Cúchulainn in the Ulster Cycle.

The Mórrígan has three aspects: Macha, Nemain (or in Modern Irish Neamhain), and the Badhbh. These are translated respectively as Terror, Venomous, and Scaldcrow, and are pronounced : makh-uh, neh-wuhn, and bow (rhymes with cow). She also comes in the aspect of Badhbh Catha (pr. bow kaha), the Scaldcrow of Battle.

Though the first part of her name may be cognate with the Old English maere, which still persists within the modern English word "nightmare", it is more likely to be the Old, Middle and Modern Irish word mór, meaning "great"; the second root is rígan meaning "queen".

Arthurian myth

There have been attempts to link the Arthurian witch, Morgan le Fay, with the Mórrígan. Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote the first stories that describe Morgan le Fay in "Vita Merlini" ("The Life of Merlin") written during the 12th century.

Morrigan Aensland

Morrigan (right) battling the vampire Demitri

Morrigan Aensland is a character from the Capcom's Darkstalkers fighting game series, portrayed as a succubus. As the daughter of Belial, One of the rulers of the Makai realm, Morrigan was extremely powerful. So much so that Belial sealed away part of her power. This power eventually became a being of its own, a succubus named Lilith.

Morrigan is very vain, and lives for little more than the excitement of battle. She appears as a beautiful woman with long, light green hair, and bat-like wings on her back and the sides of her head. Morrigan can reshape these wings into spikes and blades when attacking her enemies, as well as using them to shield herself from enemy attacks. Her wings can also separate from her, and form into a cloud of bats.

Morrigan Aensland has been voiced by Yayoi Jinguuji since her debut.

Further reading

• The Hounds of the Morrigan, a work of children's literature by Pat O'Shea.
• "The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog," by Patricia Monaghan. (New World Library, 2002.)