The blog: Arthuriana from a queer, polyamorous, psychological perspective.
The blogger: A queer, late-30-something psychotherapist who writes/facilitates live-action roleplaying games, takes care of horses, and reads Arthurian medieval literature.
Expect influences from: existential psychology, chronic illness/disability, trauma psychology, ADHD, theater/larp, equestrian experience, aviculture, queer culture, polyamory, bdsm culture, being a white U.S. ex-vangelical pastor's kid with religious trauma, and Western occultism.
Fandom-focused introduction on my main blog, liminalpsych
AO3: liminalpsych
Frequent/relevant tags:
#arthurian medlit quest: My first impressions, reactions, and stream of consciousness thoughts in response to reading through the huge backlog of Arthurian literature and exploring Arthuriana in general.
- Reading progress: All the Arthurian literature I’m reading or have read, and I’ll try to include links from specific texts to the corresponding tag.
#character study: Character analysis and character-focused posts.
#my writing: My writing (that isn’t just a rambling essay, anyway). Larpwriting and fanfic, mostly.
- Once and Future Court: Everything related to the Arthurian live-action roleplaying game I’ve written and facilitated.
#resources: Arthuriana resources I’ve found or reblogged.
#reading list: Arthurian literature and academia to read later.
#queering arthuriana: Queer readings (and sometimes retellings) of Arthurian medieval literature.
- #qrv: Queer reading of the Vulgate Cycle.
I like to imagine King Arthur refused to believe he was adopted as a child because if your mean older brother said “You’re not even related to us, a wizard dropped you off at our house when you were a baby.” you would be sooooo skeptical.
I have had close to nothing but Morgause on the brain for the last week so it is Morgause Time... the thing is when a woman is deeply misunderstood and also actively done dirty (T.H. White I'm looking at you) I must become her defender
fell into the trenches that is lancelot x galehaut.
gonna explain why they matter so much to me because i genuinely think they may be one of the most extraordinary relationships in medieval literature, and because every time i see them reduced to "lancelot's close friend galehaut" i feel a part of my soul leave my body.
For context: Galehaut is a character from the great French Arthurian prose romances of the thirteenth century, particularly the Lancelot-Grail Cycle (often called the Vulgate Cycle), one of the most influential literary projects of the European Middle Ages. When people think of Arthurian legend today, they are often imagining a version of the mythos shaped directly or indirectly by these texts. The Arthurian world most modern audiences recognize—the Round Table as a complex political institution, the centrality of Lancelot, the tragedy of Camelot, the Grail Quest, the immense emotional focus placed upon individual characters and their relationships—owes an incalculable debt to these prose cycles.
And Galehaut is not a footnote within them.
He is not an obscure side character who wanders onstage for a chapter and disappears.
He is, for substantial portions of the narrative, one of the most important people in Lancelot's life.
Which is remarkable because when Galehaut first appears, he seems destined to be something entirely different.
He enters the story as a conqueror.
Arthurian literature contains many kings. What makes Galehaut unusual is the scale on which he exists. He is called the Uncrowned King, a title that sounds almost paradoxical until one understands what it means. According to the romance tradition, Galehaut rules so many territories that no single crown can adequately symbolize his authority. The title is not a mark of deficiency. It is a mark of excess. He possesses too much power to be contained by ordinary political language.
He is wealthy. He is feared. He is militarily brilliant. He commands immense armies. He has spent much of his life expanding his influence across the known world.
And when he turns his attention toward Arthur's kingdom, the situation is not particularly favorable for Arthur. Galehaut is winning.
I will repeat this because it is essential to understanding the magnitude of what follows.
This is a man positioned to reshape the political order of Britain. This is a man whose ambitions are vast enough that even Arthur's kingdom appears merely another prize to be claimed. This is a man who has spent years constructing power.
Then he sees Lancelot. Not Sir Lancelot. Not the greatest knight in Christendom. Not the legendary lover of Guinevere. Not the future hero whose fame will eclipse almost every other knight of the Round Table.
Just a mysterious anonymous warrior fighting among Arthur's forces.
And something happens.
Galehaut becomes fascinated.
Suddenly the war matters less than identifying this knight. Political calculations matter less than understanding him. Military victories matter less than remaining near him.
One of the things that strikes me whenever I revisit these texts is how quickly Galehaut begins making decisions that become difficult to explain through ordinary political logic.
He repeatedly sacrifices advantage. He repeatedly prioritizes Lancelot's welfare. He repeatedly chooses personal attachment over strategic benefit.
The conqueror begins surrendering opportunities that conquerors do not ordinarily surrender.
And this is where people often invoke the medieval friendship discourse.
Which is fair. Genuinely. It is important.
The Middle Ages possessed emotional vocabularies that do not correspond to modern categories. Aristocratic friendship could be intense, passionate, and openly affectionate. Men could express forms of devotion that modern readers might instinctively interpret as romantic without necessarily conceptualizing them that way themselves.
All of this is true.
But sometimes I think the friendship discourse accidentally obscures the thing that is actually interesting.
Because regardless of how we categorize the relationship, the text itself is absolutely obsessed with Galehaut's love for Lancelot.
The question is not whether Galehaut loves Lancelot.
The text tells us he does.
Repeatedly.
The question is how we understand that love.
And what fascinates me is that the narrative treats this attachment not as a passing emotion but as the defining force of Galehaut's existence.
His ambitions begin bending around it. His choices begin bending around it. His future begins bending around it.
There is a reason Galehaut remains memorable despite existing in a literary tradition overflowing with kings, knights, giants, enchantresses, and saints.
His emotional life is astonishingly vivid.
Again and again the romances emphasize his desire for Lancelot's affection.
At one point Galehaut's deepest wish is essentially to be loved by Lancelot.
And every time I remember that detail I have to stare into the distance.
Because this is the Uncrowned King.
This is a man who could command armies. Who could alter kingdoms. Who could negotiate with monarchs as an equal.
And the thing he wants most in the world is something he cannot command.
The love of a single knight.
There is something profoundly human about that.
In many ways, Galehaut's greatness as a character comes from this contradiction.
Outwardly, he embodies power.
Inwardly, he is vulnerable.
The conqueror becomes emotionally dependent.
The king becomes hopeful.
The warrior becomes tender.
And nowhere is this more evident than in his relationship to Guinevere.
Because if Galehaut's devotion were purely possessive, the story would be much simpler.
But it isn't.
Instead, Galehaut becomes instrumental in facilitating one of literature's most famous romances.
He helps Lancelot and Guinevere.
He creates opportunities for their relationship to flourish.
And what devastates me about this is that the texts never suggest his own feelings diminish in the process.
He simply places Lancelot's happiness above himself.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Which means that one of the most powerful rulers in the Arthurian world spends enormous portions of his narrative helping another man pursue someone else.
If that is not tragedy, I do not know what is.
And then comes the ending.
Galehaut receives false news that Lancelot has died.
And he cannot bear it.
Upon learning of Lancelot's death, Galehaut's love was transfigured into a grief so profound that he could scarcely endure the burden of his own continued life.
Think about that for a moment.
This man has faced armies. Kingdoms. Wars. Political crises. He has spent his life navigating the brutal realities of medieval power.
And yet the thing that destroys him is grief.
He loses Lancelot.
(Or rather, he believes he has.)
And the loss proves unbearable.
The conqueror who could challenge Arthur himself simply wastes away.
There is something almost classical about the tragedy of it.
A great ruler brought low not by external enemies but by the internal magnitude of his own love.
And then Lancelot learns what has happened.
And his response matters.
Because the story could have treated Galehaut's devotion as one-sided.
It could have transformed him into a tragic figure whose feelings ultimately vanish into the margins.
It does not.
Instead, Lancelot is inconsolable.
He arranges for Galehaut to receive magnificent honors. He ensures that his memory endures. And most famously of all, he requests to be buried within the same tomb.
The tomb itself bears an inscription that has haunted readers for centuries:
"Here lies Galehaut, who died for his love of Lancelot."
I think that may be one of the most extraordinary epitaphs in medieval literature.
Because look at what has been omitted.
Not a word about conquest. Not a word about kingdoms. Not a word about military victories. Not a word about political power.
All of Galehaut's worldly achievements disappear.
The text strips them away.
What remains is love.
The defining fact of his life is not that he ruled. Not that he conquered. Not that he commanded armies.
It is that he loved Lancelot.
And Lancelot's response is to ask that, after death, they remain together.
Which means that buried deep within one of the foundational texts of the Arthurian tradition is the story of a king who saw a knight and willingly allowed that encounter to transform the entire course of his existence.
A conqueror who abandoned ambition for companionship.
A ruler who valued affection above power.
A man who died believing the person he loved was gone.
And another man who could not bear to be separated from him even in death.
And medievalists wonder why some of us emerge from the Prose Lancelot permanently altered.
looking at the timeline trying to arrange some events in my head and I've decided that the best unit of time we have to use in Arthuriana is in fact Lancelot Predicaments
a Lancelot Predicament may last 1 to 5 years
he may be mad, imprisoned, or otherwise in a Situation
When you see multiple Lancelot Predicaments in close succession you can assume a substantial passage of time
An untitled Old Irish poem by an unknown poet written in the early 8th century (Breatnach 1981). In Irish, it is commonly known by the first line of the text: "Moí Coire coir Goiriath". The title 'The Cauldron of Poesy' was given to it centuries after it was written. The complete text of the poem, along with the Middle Irish annotations and glosses added by a later scribe, is found in the manuscript TCD MS 1337.
This poem is about the kinds of knowledge and ability required to be a great poet. It describes 3 metaphorical cauldrons found within each person. These cauldrons are vessels for different kinds of knowledge and skills. They are called Coire Érmae (the Cauldron of Progression), Coire Sofis (the Cauldron of Knowledge), and Coire Goiriath (Breatnach 1981, 1990). They can be upright (full of knowledge), inclined (half-full), or upside-down (empty), and events during a person's life can change the position of the cauldrons.
8th-9th c. bronze vessel from the Derrynaflan Hoard
This poem is frequently misinterpreted as describing some kind of metaphysical energy centers. Some people go as far as to link the cauldrons to Asian concepts like qi or chakras. The inaccurate translations used in these interpretations obscure the fascinating blend of Christian, Pagan, and possibly ancient Greek influences in this complex work of medieval Irish poetic lore.
Poetry was a complicated profession in medieval Ireland. Professional poets, known as filid, had a minimum of 7 years of formal education and were divided into 7 different grades with ánroth and ollamh being the 2 highest. In addition to writing and preforming poetry, an ollamh was required to memorize genealogies and compose satires (Carey 1997, Breatnach 1983, Breatnach 1981, eDIL). Bards were poets who lacked formal education and were considered to be of inferior grade to a fili (eDIL, MacNeill 1924).
I don't feel qualified to talk about these topics in depth, but I want to share an accurate translation of the poem and to discuss at least some of its cultural elements.
I know of 2 authoritative translations of this poem, one by P. L. Henry (1980) and one by Liam Breatnach (1981) which has some additions and corrections (Breatnach 1984, 1990, 2023). The translation of the poem I give here is almost entirely Breatnach's with the exception of a small section that I rewrote, because I found Breatnach's wording confusing. For the glosses and annotations, I included a few of Henry's translations and some additional information from other authors. My changes and additions are in purple. I chose to leave out more than half of the annotations, because there were so many they overwhelmed the poem. This did mean losing some information about the role of poets in medieval Irish society.
We don't actually know what the word goiraith means (eDIL). Henry translates it as warming, incubation, or maintenance, based on the inference that goiraith comes from gorad (heating or warming), the intransitive form of guirid (Henry 1980). This interpretation doesn't make sense semantically in the context of the poem. The gloss for goiraith translates as, "i.e. 'it has closed off great falsehood', i.e. 'near to me in every land'," (Breatnach 1981). The text of the poem indicates that the Cauldron of Goiraith is related to having knowledge of language and grammar, and to learning and knowledge in childhood (Breatnach 1981). I don't see how warming/incubation could relate to either closing off lies or knowing grammar.
In addition to not fitting the semantic context, the interpretation of goiraith = gorad = warming doesn't fit the poetic form. The 3 cauldrons form a triad in the poem, and triads in poetry are typically written using parallel structure. The names of the other 2 cauldrons, sofis (knowledge) and érmae (progression), are both nouns (Breatnach 1981, 1990), so it follows that goiraith should also be a noun. Guirid/gorad is a verb (Henry 1980). Breatnach identifies goiraith as a compound noun with the first syllable likely being gor 'warm.' He suggests that goiraith might mean something like 'raw material' but stresses that this translation is "speculative in the extreme; the only thing that we can be reasonably sure of is that it has to do with the initial stages of study" (Breatnach 1981).
Old Irish glossary for this post:
Amairgen: mythical ollamh of ancient Ireland
ánroth: the second highest rank of fili (eDIL)
bairdne: bardic craft or metre, a type of poetry considered inferior to the work of a fili (eDIL)
Éber and Donn: mythical Irish kings
Érmae: progression (Breatnach 1990) or motion (Henry 1980)
fili (pl filid): a professional poet with at least 7 years of formal education (Breatnach 1983)
imbas: poetic inspiration or prophetic knowledge which poets (filid) obtained through magical or supernatural means (eDIL, Carey 1997)
ollamh: the highest rank of fili (eDIL)
raind: verses of poetry? (cf eDIL rann)
síd: fairy mound (eDIL)
túath: group of people or territorial unit (eDIL)
(I apologize for the formatting. I can't figure out how format this nicely on tumblr.)
'The Cauldron of Poesy' translated by Liam Breatnach:
Mine is the proper Cauldron of Goiriath,(1)
warmly God has given it to me out of the mysteries of the elements;(2)
a noble privilege which ennobles the breast
is the fine speech which pours forth from it.(3)
I being white-kneed, blue-shanked,(4) grey-bearded Amairgen,
let the work(5) of my goiriath in similes and comparisons be related
- since God does not equally provide for all,
inclined, upside-down (or) upright-
no knowledge,(6) partial knowledge(7) (or) full knowledge,(8)
in order to compose poetry for Éber and Donn with many great chantings,(9)
of masculine, feminine and neuter,(10)
of the signs for double letters, long vowels and short vowels,
(this is) the way by which is related(11) the nature of my cauldron.(12)
1 goriath, i.e. 'it has closed off great falsehood', i.e. 'near to me in every land'. 2 Well has God given it to me out of the mysteries of the elements, or 'that naming which ennobles' is a raw instrument which He has granted to me out of the mysteries of the elements. 3 which pours forth poetry from it. 4 a tattooed shank, or who has the blue tattooed shank. 5 What my cauldron does is the relation of poetry on which there are said to be many forms, i.e. white and black and speckled, or the colour of praise on praise. 6 when it is upside-down, i.e. in foolish people. 7 inclined, i.e. in those who practice bairdne and raind. 8 when it is supine, i.e. in ánroth's of knowledge and poetic art. 9 with numerous displays out of the many 'great seas' of poetry, i.e. many chantings of poetry. 10 Old Irish had 3 grammatical genders. 11 This is the law which I relate about them, or it is the declaration by which poetry is related. 12 This is the function of my cauldron.
I acclaim the Cauldron of Knowledge
where the law of every art is set out
as a result of which prosperity increases(1)
which magnifies(2) every artist in general
which exalts a person(3) by means of an art.
1 It confers increase of wealth on everyone. 2 'It makes great of' every art in general, or it generally 'makes great of' him who has that skill. 3 It gives exaltation to persons together with granting something to them, or his art exalts every person.
Where is the source of poetic art in a person; in the body or in the soul?
Some say in the soul since the body does nothing without the soul. Others say in the body since it is inherent in one in accordance with physical relationship, i.e. from one's father or grandfather,(1) but it is more true to say that the source of poetic art(2) is and knowledge is present in every corporeal person(3), save that in every second person it does not appear; in the other it does.
1 a fili only had full status (honor-price) if his father or grandfather was a fili (Corthals 2014). 2 of bardic art. 3 that it is in the body.
What does the source of poetic art and every other knowledge consist of? Not difficult; three cauldrons are generated in every person, i.e. the Cauldron of Goiriath and the Cauldron of Progression and the Cauldron of Knowledge.
The Cauldron of Goiriath,(1) it is that which is generated upright in a person from the first; out of it is distributed knowledge to people in early youth.
The Cauldron of Progression, then, after it has been converted(2) it magnifies; it is that which is generated on its side in a person.
The Cauldron of Knowledge, it is that which is generated upside down, and out of it is distributed(3) the knowledge of every other art besides poetic art.
1 a cauldron in which 'great falsehood' has been 'closed off'. 2 Afterwards, after being turned over, it magnifies a person. 3 measured.
The Cauldron of Progression,(1) then, in every second person it is upside down, i.e. in ignorant people. It is on its side in those who practice bairdne and raind. It is upright in the ánroth’s of knowledge and poetic art.(2) And the reason, then, why everyone else does not practice at that same stage is because the Cauldron of Progression is upside down in them until sorrow or joy converts it.
How many divisions are there of the sorrow which converts it? Not difficult; four: longing,(3) grief,(4) and the sorrow of jealousy,(5) and exile for the sake of God,(6) and it is internally that these four make it upright,(7) although they are produced from outside.
1 a cauldron 'which turns over afterwards' in him. 2 the ollam of bardic art. 3 for his father. 4 for friends (Henry 1980). 5 after cuckolding. 6 on account of the extent of his sins. 7 it is out of its interior that these four convert the cauldron, although they are put into it from outside.
There are, then, two divisions of joy through which it is converted into the Cauldron of Knowledge, i.e. divine joy and human joy.
As for human joy, it has four divisions: (i) the force of sexual longing, and (ii) the joy(1) of safety and freedom from care, plenty of food and clothing until one begins bairdne,(2) and (iii) joy at the prerogatives of poetry after studying it well, and (iv)* joy(3) at the arrival of imbas which the nine hazel trees of fine fruit at Segais(4) in the síd’s collect and which is sent upstream(5) along the surface of the Boyne, as extensive as a ram’s fleece(6), swifter than a racehorse, in the middle of June once every seven years.*
1 after (recovering from) sickness. 2 until he practices poetry. 3 at the coming of imbas along the Boyne or the Graney, ie a bubble which the sun cause on the plants, and whoever consumes them will have an art. 4 Segais is a well at Síd Neachtain which is the source of the River Boyne according to the Dindsenchas (Gwynn 1913). 5 Possibly referring to the hazel nuts falling into the well and being eaten by salmon. See discussion on imbas below. 6 ('extensive as a ram's fleece' refers to the surface area of the river covered). (A ram’s fleece being the largest size of fleece) *Division (iv) is the section of the translation I altered.
Divine joy, moreover, is the coming of divine grace to the Cauldron of Progression, so that it converts it into the upright position, as a result there are people who are both divine and secular prophets and commentators(1) both on matters of grace and of (secular) learning, and they then utter godly utterances and produce the corroborations(2), and their word are maxims and judgments, and they are an example for all speech. But it is from outside that these make the cauldron upright,(3) although they are produced internally.
1 (ie people versed in both secular and ecclesiastical learning) as were Cumain, etc. Colmán mac Lénin and Colum Cille. 2 (that is, commentaries confirming the truth of Scripture (Breatnach 2023)). 3 it is from outside that these 'are handed over’ into his cauldron. although they are produced on the inside, i.e. it is outside the person that the divisions of enlightenment 'operate' the converting of the cauldron, while composing poetry (?) i.e. the performing of their deeds caused the converting of the cauldron.
Concerning that, what Néde mac Adnai said:
I acclaim the Cauldron of Progression
with understandings of grace
with accumulations of knowledge
with strewings of imbas,
(which is) the estuary of wisdom
the uniting of scholarship
the stream of splendor
the exalting of the ignoble(1)
the mastering of language
quick understanding
the darkening of speech
the craftsman of synchronism
the cherishing of pupils,
where what is due is attended to
where senses are distinguished
where one approaches meanings(2)
where knowledge is propagated
where the noble are enriched
where he who is not noble is ennobled,
where names are exalted(3)
where praises are related
by lawful means
with distinctions of ranks
with pure estimations of nobility
with the fair speech of wise men
with streams of scholarship,
a noble womb in which is cooked
the basis of all knowledge(4)
which is set out according to law
which is advanced to after study
which imbas quickens(5)
which joy converts
which is revealed through sorrow;
it is an enduring power
whose protection does not diminish.
I acclaim the Cauldron of Progression.
1 ‘Its essence raises up' the ignoble people to make them of noble status ie with regard to equal honor-price. 2 Many varieties of knowledge are approached in it, i.e. tales and genealogies. 3 It gives exaltation to the names of the people to whom praises are made if they are uttered according to lawful means. 4 The imbas of the Boyne which is distributed lawfully afterwards. 5 The imbas of the Boyne or the Graney moves the cauldron.
What is the Progression? Not difficult; an artistic* ‘noble-turning’(1) or an artistic 'after-turning'(2) or an artistic course, ie it confers knowledge(3) and status and honour after being converted.
*The MS has sai here, Breatnach tentatively interprets this as soí (artistic) 1 The 'conversion of knowledge’ to that which it has not done before is noble. 2 or 'which reverts afterwards' to that which it has done. 3 poetry or eloquence.
The Cauldron of Progression
it grants, it is granted
it extends, it is extended
it nourishes, it is nourished(1)
it magnifies, it is magnified
it requests, it is requested of(2)
it acclaims, it is acclaimed
it preserves, it is preserved
it arranges, it is arranged
it supports, it is supported.
Good is the source of measuring,(3)
good is the acquisition of speech,(4)
good is the confluence of power,(5)
which builds up strength.
It is greater than any domain,
it is better than any patrimony,
it brings one to wisdom,*(6)
it separates one from fools.
1 He feeds a person together with (his) retinue, and he is fed together with (his) retinue, i.e. he provides entertainment and entertainment is provided for him. 2 He makes demands on the members of the túath, and entreaties are made to him for their forcibly removed cattle'. (This gloss refers to the function of the poet in enforcing claims on behalf of the members of his túath outside the boundaries of the túath, his means of enforcement being satire, and to the entitlements due to him for performing this function (Breatnach 1984).) 3 Good is the cauldron out of which one measures by letter and verse-foot. 4 Good is the cauldron in which is the 'fire of knowledge' 5 Good is the cauldron out of which all this is obtained. *Henry translates this line as 'it brings to (the grade of) a scholar'. 6 the same honour-price as a king. This gloss refers to the fact that an ollamh was considered worthy of the same honor-price as a king in medieval Ireland (Carey 1997).
Discussion: Divine Joy, Imbas, and Philosophy
An early 8th century composition date (Breatnach 1981) means that this poem was written a few centuries after the arrival of Christianity to Ireland. That the original author was Christian can be seen in the description of the divine joy that turns the Cauldron of Progression. Divine grace and divine prophets are common themes in Christian writing. The consistent use of God singular (Dia) as a proper noun and the mention of the body and soul as 2 separate entities also indicate a Christian author (cf Henry 1980). The mentions of imbas, however, suggest the acceptance of continued Pagan magic practices by the Christian author (Carey 1997).
The early 10th c. text Cormac’s Glossary clearly marks imbas as Pagan magic when it condemns the ritual of imbas forosnai for requiring offerings to Pagan gods (Russell 1995, Carey 1997). This attitude is in sharp contrast with earlier Irish texts like Bretha Nemed where having imbas forosnai is considered a required qualification for an ollamh (Carey 1997). 'The Cauldron of Poesy' is, perhaps, a middle ground between a pre-Christian norm, and later Christian intolerance. It categorizes imbas as one of the 4 kinds of human joy that can turn the Cauldron of Progression, something which is beneficial for an ollamh to have but not essential (Carey 1997).
How did a medieval poet obtain the supernatural knowledge known as imbas? In the ritual described in Cormac’s Glossary, the poet chews on raw meat, chants over his hands, and then sleeps with his palms against his face (Russell 1995), a practice which bears no resemblance to the one hinted at in 'The Cauldron of Posey'. Some modern scholars have questioned whether Cormac actually knew what he was talking about (Carey 1997). Some later medieval sources are more useful for making sense of the the arrival of imbas on the River Boyne mentioned in the poem.
The Dindsenchas about the River Shannon mention 9 hazels growing around the well of Segais which is the source of 7 rivers. The hazels, which are associated with poetic wisdom, drop their nuts into the water. The nuts are then eaten by salmon (Gwynn 1913). The 12th c. Macgnimartha Find explicitly connects eating salmon from the Boyne to gaining imbas. It tells how Finn Éces spent 7 years by the Boyne waiting to catch a salmon that would grant him knowledge only to have his student Fionn mac Cumhaill accidentally eat a bit of the fish while cooking it and gain the knowledge of imbas forosnai instead (Carey 1997). Salmon swim upstream to breed during the spring and summer in Ireland (Inland Fisheries Ireland) which might explain why the poem describes imbas as being sent upstream in the middle of June.
Based on these sources, it appears the ritual for gaining the joy of imbas was simply: go to the Boyne on the summer solstice of the 7th year, catch a salmon, and eat it. How you identified the correct year, I don't know, but perhaps it was linked to the 7 years of a fili's education.
Although the joys which turn the Cauldron of Progression could be either Christian or Irish Pagan, the metaphor of the cauldrons appears to have a completely different origin. The 3 cauldrons serve as vessels for different things. Coire Goiriath, given out of the (natural) elements, contains basic childhood knowledge. Coire Érmae (Progression) contains the capacity to expand a person's knowledge based on experiences of joy or sorrow. Coire Sofis (Knowledge) contains advanced knowledge of the arts. This setup bears a striking resemblance to Aristotle's 3-part concept of the human soul. Aristotle divides the soul into (1) the nutritive soul, possessed by all living things, which contains the most basic faculties necessary for survival, (2) the animal soul, possessed by animals and humans, which contains faculties for sensation and movement, and (3) the rational soul, possessed by humans, which contains faculties for thinking and logic (Corthals 2014).
The similarities between Aristotle and the cauldrons go beyond just dividing the inner workings of humans into 3 categories of increasing intellectual complexity. Coire Érmae is moved by experiences of joy or sorrow, much like Aristotle's animals, with their animal souls, move in response to desires to experience pleasure or avoid pain (Corthals 2014, Aristotle 350 BCE/1907). Furthermore, the sensations experienced by the animal soul that lead to pleasure or pain are caused by external forces much like the sorrows that move the cauldron are caused by external forces (Aristotle 350 BCE/1907).
If Coire Goiriath is inspired by Aristotle's nutritive soul, this might explain the enigmatic glosses: 'it has closed off great falsehood', i.e. 'near to me in every land'. As the nutritive soul was only concerned with basic survival, Aristotle believed it was incapable of producing lies (Aristotle 350 BCE/1907), hence the Cauldron of Goiriath would be incapable of producing falsehood. As for the second gloss, a person always has their basic survival instincts with them, no matter where they go. The decision to replace types of souls with types of cauldrons might have been made by an Irish poet who was looking for imagery that was more familiar to their audience. (See Henry 1980 for other examples of cauldrons used in medieval Irish literature.)
While it seems unlikely than an 8th c. Irish poet actually read Aristotle, the poet may have had access to other works inspired by Aristotle's ideas. For example, the 7th c. writer Virgilius Grammaticus describes a 3-part soul that seems to have been derived from Aristotle. Virgilius might have been Irish, and even if he wasn't, parts of his writing definitely made it to Ireland (Corthals 2014).
In addition to the religious and philosophical elements I've discussed, 'The Cauldron of Posey' also contains quite a bit of material on secular Irish society with topics including the education of poets, the status of poets, and the role of poets in settling disputes (Breatnach 1981, 1984, Corthals 2014). In the section on divine joy, it appears the poet is trying to create unity between secular and ecclesiastic views of learning (Breatnach 1981). These things are well outside my area, but I do want to point out that there is more to this poem than religion.
'The Cauldron of Posey' contains an intriguing mix of Christian and Pagan, secular and ecclesiastic, foreign and native, cooked together into a single harmonious poem. It shows us that the transition from Pagan to Christian was a gradual process with elements of both existing side by side. It also shows us that religion was just one piece of Ireland’s cultural history, and if we focus exclusively a search for spiritual meaning, we risk missing out on the rich cultural details.
Bibilography:
Aristotle. (1907). De Anima (R. D. Hicks, Trans.). Cambridge University Press. (Original work published ca. 350 BCE) https://archive.org/details/aristotledeanima005947mbp/page/n7/mode/2up
Breatnach, L. (1981). The Cauldron of Poesy. Ériu, 32(1981), 45-93. https://www.jstor.org/stable/30007454
Breatnach, L. (1984). Addenda and Corrigenda to 'The Caldron of Poesy' (Ériu xxxii 45-93). Ériu, 35(1984), 189-191. https://www.jstor.org/stable/30007785
Breatnach, L. (1990). On the Citation of Words and a Use of the Neuter Article in Old Irish. Ériu, 41(1990), 95-101. http://www.jstor.com/stable/30006290
Breatnach, L. (2023). Varia 1. Proclitic mis. 2. fírad. 3. Further to In Coire Érmae, ‘The Caldron of Poesy’. Celtica, 35(2023), 66-77. https://journals.dias.ie/index.php/celtica/article/view/6/5
Breatnach, P. (1983). The Chief's Poet. Proceedings of the RIA: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature, 83C(1983), 37-79. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25506096
Carey, J. (1997). The Three Things Required of a Poet. Ériu, 48(1997), 41-58. https://www.jstor.org/stable/30007956
Corthals, J. (2014). Decoding the 'Caldron of Poesy'. Peritia, 24-25(2013-14), 74-89. https://www.scribd.com/document/721674860/Decoding-the-Caldron-of-Poesy
eDIL 2019: An Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language, based on the Contributions to a Dictionary of the Irish Language (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1913-1976) (www.dil.ie 2019). Accessed on 6/30/24
Gwynn, E. (1913). Royal Irish Academy Todd lecture series: The Metrical Dindshenchas Part III (Vol. X). Hodges, Figgis, & Co., LTD. https://archive.org/details/toddlectureserie10royauoft/page/n3/mode/2up
Henry, P.L. (1980). The Cauldron of Poesy. Studia Celtica, 14/15(1979/1980), 114-128. https://www.seanet.com/~inisglas/henrycauldronpoesy.pdf
MacNeill, E. (1924). Ancient Irish Law. The Law of Status or Franchise. Proceedings of the RIA: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature, 36(1921 - 1924), 265-316. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25504234
Russell, P. (1995). Notes on words in early Irish glossaries. Etudes Celtiques, 31(1995), 195-204. https://www.persee.fr/doc/ecelt_0373-1928_1995_num_31_1_2070Russell 1995
The Four Cycles of Irish Mythology: Mythological, Ulster, Fenian, and Kings
The landscape of Irish mythology changes shape frequently in a way that can be confusing to new readers. In one tale, gods walk a pre-human Ireland and command the weather. In other stories those same gods seem to still be around but in a much diminished capacity while the stories focus on Kings or bands of warriors. Modern scholars sort the surviving Irish mythological texts into four “cycles,” and knowing which cycle a story belongs to tells you what kind of Ireland you’re standing in.
Each of the four cycles gets its own overview article in this series. This piece sets up the frame they all share.
Where the four-cycle framework comes from
The “four cycles” framework is a late 19th-century scholarly construction, not a native Irish category. Welsh scholar John Rhys popularized it in his 1888 Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by Celtic Heathendom. Later editors standardized it. It became the way English-language readers were taught to sort Irish stories.
Medieval Irish scribes didn’t think this way. They organized their material by tale-type, with Irish names: tochmarc (wooing), aided (death tale), immram (sea voyage), echtra (otherworld adventure), togail (destruction), cath (battle), fled (feast), tóraigheacht (pursuit). The tale-lists preserved in the Book of Leinster catalogued stories by these types. A storyteller was expected to know a certain number of tochmarca, aitheda, and so on.
The cycles are useful for a new reader who needs a starting map, but they aren’t airtight. Characters and stories cross between them. Some texts get pulled into different cycles depending on the editor.
The 19th-century scholars who built this scheme were doing the best they could with the manuscript evidence available, and the framework has held up because it’s proven to be useful.
The internal mythic timeline
The story cycles roughly correspond to different ages of Irish mythological time as imagined by the medieval compilers. The framing text is the Lebor Gabála Érenn (Book of Invasions), a medieval pseudo-history that organized everything into successive waves of settlers:
Cessair (pre-flood)
Partholón
Nemed
Fir Bolg
Tuatha Dé Danann
Milesians (the Gaels, modern human Irish)
You can find a more in-depth timeline of these waves here from Story Archaeology.
The story cycles map onto that sequence of settlers:
Mythological Cycle — Tuatha Dé Danann era. Ireland before modern humans. Gods and supernatural battles. The Tuatha Dé still rule and the Milesians haven’t arrived.
Ulster Cycle — set in the human era, deliberately synced by medieval scribes with the reign of Augustus and the birth of Christ. King Conchobar’s court at Emain Macha.
Fenian Cycle — set in the 3rd century AD by internal dating, during the reign of the High King Cormac mac Airt. The Fianna under Fionn mac Cumhaill operate at the edges of the kingdom.
Cycle of the Kings — overlaps with Ulster and Fenian on the timeline and continues forward through the early historical period, reaching the 7th century with figures like Diarmait mac Cerbaill (and sometimes 11th century figures like Brian Boru).
However, none of this is real chronology. It’s the mythic timeline the medieval compilers built. Treating these dates as historical is one of the easier ways to misread what the texts are actually doing.
The Ulster Cycle is where the historical question gets most interesting. Some scholars have argued that the cultural picture preserves Iron Age realities. Others, including J.P. Mallory in In Search of the Irish Dreamtime: Archaeology and Early Irish Literature, argue for a more layered composite: partly archaic, partly medieval, partly invented. The Ulster stories are evidence of how medieval Irish people thought about a heroic past.
Quick portraits of each cycle
Mythological Cycle. The gods of Ireland (the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomoire) fighting for control of the island. The Dagda, the Morrígan, Lugh, Brigid, Manannán mac Lir all feature heavily. The big text is the Cath Maige Tuired, the Battle of Moytura. Read this cycle first if you want to meet the divine cast.
Ulster Cycle. A heroic-age cycle centered on King Conchobar’s court at Emain Macha. Cú Chulainn, Fergus, Conall Cernach, Deirdre. Single combats, cattle raids, drinking horns, oath-breaking. The big text is the Táin Bó Cúailnge, the Cattle Raid of Cooley. Read this cycle for high tragedy and the warrior code.
Fenian Cycle. A roving band of hunter-warriors led by Fionn mac Cumhaill. Set outside settled society, in woods and on headlands and hilltops. More lyrical and more pastoral than the Ulster Cycle. The framing text is the Acallam na Senórach, in which the last surviving Fianna meet Saint Patrick centuries after their own time. Read this cycle for landscape, longing, and the collision with Christianity.
Cycle of the Kings. The shaggiest and most varied cycle. Kings real and legendary, geasa broken, sovereignty won and lost. Includes Buile Shuibhne (the cursed bird-king), Togail Bruidne Da Derga (Conaire Mór’s destruction), and the threefold death of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Read this cycle for the bridge between myth and the historical record.
The Christian and monastic layer
Every Irish mythological text we have was written down by Christian monks in monasteries. The earliest surviving manuscripts containing the major cycle stories are the Lebor na hUidre (Book of the Dun Cow, c. 1100), the Book of Leinster (c. 1160), and the Yellow Book of Lecan (late 14th century). Anything modern readers know about pre-Christian Irish belief, they know through the work of scribes who were themselves Christian.
Those scribes had agendas. They were fitting Irish prehistory into a biblical timeline, so everyone in the Lebor Gabála descends from Noah. They were turning the old gods into ancient kings, a process scholars call euhemerization. They were preserving prestige stories that mattered to royal lineages.
The Tuatha Dé Danann as we have them are partly a medieval Christian construction (for more about this read Mark Williams’s *Ireland’s Immortals). That doesn’t mean nothing pre-Christian survives. It means we can’t read past the medieval layer to a “pure” pagan original, because the medieval layer is what produced the texts in the first place.
Put another way: these stories are real evidence of Irish traditions and real evidence of medieval Christian scholarship at the same time. The practical takeaway for a reader is to treat the surviving texts as evidence of medieval Irish thought about the past, not as a recording of pre-Christian belief that survived intact. Celtic Reconstructionism takes a related but distinct approach to the same problem; if you want that angle, the CR article on mythology covers it.
Where the cycles overlap and bleed into each other
The cycles are reading aids, not airtight categories. A few specifics worth naming:
Manannán mac Lir crosses all four cycles. He shows up in Mythological texts (Cath Maige Tuired), in Ulster (Serglige Con Culainn), in Fenian (Acallam na Senórach), and in Kings (the Mongán material).
Mongán straddles Kings and Fenian. He’s a 7th-century king with a supernatural origin who’s identified in some texts as Fionn mac Cumhaill reborn.
Togail Bruidne Da Derga gets pulled toward the Mythological Cycle by some scholars (the supernatural sovereignty material) and toward the Cycle of the Kings by others (Conaire Mór as historical-ish king).
When a story is filed under one cycle in one source and another cycle elsewhere, that isn’t a contradiction. It’s the framework showing its seams.
How to use this series and where to go next
I’ll be publishing an article on each cycle in the coming weeks/month.
Things this series won’t cover, in case you’re looking for them: the Dindshenchas (place-lore poems and prose), the immrama and echtrai as a category (some are Mythological, some Kings, some sit on their own), saint’s lives (a separate medieval genre), and 19th-century folk collection material like Lady Gregory and Yeats (those show up as sources but aren’t cycles in their own right).
Two podcasts will keep coming up as good companions throughout the series. Story Archaeology, with Chris Thompson and Isolde Carmody, does academic close-readings of specific Irish texts. Candlelit Tales does narrative retellings performed live with music. Different uses, both worth knowing about.
New Cambridge History Explores the Arthurian Legend from the Middle Ages to Modern Media
The Cambridge History of Arthurian Literature and Culture explores the legends of King Arthur from the early Middle Ages to modern media in a major new two-volume publication co-edited by Raluca Radulescu.
okay here is the harder one that requires more specific familiarity w medieval texts - four groups of four in this, find who goes together based on a category you have to figure out! will post answers in a reblog
btw speaking of manuscripts did you all know that you can just go to this website that lists all the lancelot-grail manuscripts that exist and links to views for most of them, all of which are available for free to look at online!!! you can just go browsing and find your favorite arthurian characters :) a little hard to navigate + definitely helpful if you happen to know medieval french LOL but regardless you too can peruse medieval arthurian manuscripts for free whenever you want
in the furthest right column it also will tell you which manuscripts are illustrated and how much illustrations they have so you can easily see which ones have pictures (because some of them don’t.) this manuscript is one that i found that has pretty large and very high quality illustrations if you would like a place to start :)
[in which we ask the question of: what were kay and guinevere doing for 130some pages while lancelot got up to all that. probably not having a very good time.]
