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Claíomh Solais facts for kids

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This page is about the mythological Sword of Light. For other uses, see Claíomh Solais (disambiguation).
Ireland-stamp-1922-sword-of-light-6p
Definitive 6-pence stamp of Sword of Light, Ireland, 1922–3. Arched caption reads "An Claiḋeaṁ Soluis"

The Sword of Light or Claidheamh Soluis (Old Irish; modern Irish: Claíomh Solais [ˌklˠiːvˠ ˈsˠɔlˠəʃ]) is a trope object that appears in a number of Irish and Scottish Gaelic folktales. The "Quest for sword of light" formula is catalogued as motif H1337.

The sword appears commonly as a quest object in the Irish folktale of a hero seeking "The One Story" (or the "Cause of the one story about women"), which culminates in the discovery of a "Tale of the Werewolf" (a man magically turned wolf by an unfaithful wife). However, the sword is uninvolved in the man-wolf portion, and only figures in the hero-adventure frame story.

The sword of light, according to a different commentator, is a fixture of an Irish tale group describable as a quasi-bridal-quest. This characterization is inspired by the formula where the hero gains a beautiful wife (and riches) by gambling against a gruagach aka wizard-champion, but suffers losses which makes him beholden to mount on a hopeless-seeming quest. Like the actual "giant's daughter" bridal quest tales, the sword of light hero often gains assistance of "helpful animals" in completing his tasks or ordeals.

The sword has been regarded as a legacy to the god-slaying weapons of Irish mythology by certain scholars, such as T. F. O'Rahilly, the analogues being the primeval Celtic deity's lightning-weapon, Lugh's sling that felled Balor, the hero Cúchulainn's supernatural spear Gae bulga and his shining sword Cruaidín Catutchenn.

Forms

The spelling as appears in published Irish texts and scholastic commentary is Claidheamh Soluis alternatively (an) cloidheamh solais; but these are pre-reform spelling, and in modernized reformed spelling Claíomh Solais would be used. The name has also been transliterated into Hiberno-English as chloive solais. The sword may be rendered in English as the "Sword of Light", or "Shining Sword".

Likewise, the Scottish Gaelic form is claidheamh solais "glaive of light", or claidheamh geal solais "White Glave of Light".

Overview

The folk tales featuring the sword of light may be bridal quests, and the hero's would-be bride often becomes the hero's helper.

But also typically the story is a sort of quasi-bridal quest, where the hero wins a bride by wager, but then suffers a loss, becoming oath-bound (compelled by geis) to never come home until he has completed the quest for the sword (and other objectives). The opponent who tempts the hero with this gambling game is usually a gruagach ("wizard-champion") or wizard/druid. and the sword's keeper is often a giant (athach, Scottish Gaelic: fhamhair) or hag (cailleach), or a sibling of the wizard.

The sword-keeper oftentimes must be defeated (killed), which is not possible except by some secret means. Thus the hero or helper may resort to the sword of light as the only effective weapon against this enemy. But often the sword is not enough, and the supernatural enemy has to be attacked on a single vulnerable spot. The weak spot, moreover, may be an external soul (motif index E710) concealed somewhere in the world at large (inside animals, etc.); or, as in the case of "The Young King Of Easaidh Ruadh", this external soul is encased within a nested series of animals.

Typically bound up with the quest for the sword of light is the quest for the "One Story" (' truth about women'), namely, the story of the faithless wife who transforms her husband into a wolf.

The hero in some examples are compelled to perform (three) sets of tasks, aided by helpers, who may be the would-be bride, "helpful animals", or a supernatural being ("little green/red man").

Texts

Colum-KOIS(Holt1916)-Pogany-illustr-p000-sword of light
The King of Ireland's Son thrusts the sword of light.
—Willy Pogany illustr., frontispiece of Padraic Colum, The King of Ireland's Son (1916).

Below are the lists of tales where the sword of light occurs. Kittredge's sigla (K J L C1 O'F H c m) are given in boldface:

Irish folktales

  • "The Story of the Sculloge's son from Muskerry (Sceal Vhic Scoloige)" (Kennedy (1866)) K
    • (in-tale) "Fios Fath an aon Sceil" (perfect narrative of the unique story)"
  • "Adventure of the Sgolog and the Red" (GruagachEachtra air an sgolóig agus air an ngruagach ruadh) (Ó Briain (1889), Gaelic Journal) J
  • "The Weaver's Son and the Giant of the White Hill", (Curtin (1890), Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland).
  • "The Thirteenth Son of the King of Erin" ( Curtin, Myths)
  • Leaduidhe na luaithe ("Ashypet" or "The Lazy Fellow") (Ó Fotharta/O'Foharty/O'Faherty (1892))
  • "Smallhead and the King's Sons" (Curtin (1892), repr. Jacobs (1894) No. XXXIX)
  • "Baranoir, son of a King in Erin, and the Daughter of King under the Wave" (Curtin (1893), repr. Ó Duilearga (1942) ed. Béaloideas 12 (1/2))
  • "Morraha; Brian More, son of the high-king of Erin, from the Well of Enchantments of Binn Edin" (Larminie (1893); repr. Jacobs (1894)) L
  • "Simon and Margaret" (Larminie)
  • "Beauty of the World" (Larminie)
  • "The King who had Twelve Sons" (Larminie)
  • "Cud, Cad, and Micad", (Curtin (1894), Hero-tales of Ireland).
  • "Coldfeet and Queen of Lonesome Island", (Curtin, Hero-tales)
  • "Art and Balor Beimenach", (Curtin, Hero-tales). C1
  • "The Shining Sword and the Knowledge of the Cause of the One Story about Women" (O'Foharta (1897), ZCP 1)) O'F
  • "The King of Ireland's Son (Mac Riġ Eireann)" (Hyde (1890), Beside the Fire)
    • Mac Rígh Eireann agus Ceann Gruagach na g-Cleasann "The king's son of Ireland and the chief-magician's with his tricks" ( Hyde (1899), No. XXIX, Annales de Bretagne ) H
    • "The Snow, Crow, and the Blood" (MacManus (1900)).
  • An untitled tale of Finn's three sons by the Queen of Italy collected at Glenties in Donegal (Andrews (1919))
  • An Claiḋeaṁ Soluis: agus Fios-fáṫa-'n-aoin-scéil "The Sword of Light and the knowledge of the motive of the unique (?) tale" (Ó Ceocháin (1928) in Béaloideas 1).
  • Fios ḃás an an-sgéalaiḋe agus an Claiḋeaṁ Solais "Knowledge of death of the Ansgéalidhe (Storyteller) and the Sword of Light" ( Ó Cillín (1933) in Béaloideas 4).

Scottish Gaelic folktales

The publication of tales from the Highlands (Campbell (1860), Popular Tales of the West Highlands) predate the Irish tales becoming available in print.

  • "The Young King Of Easaidh Ruadh" ("Rìgh òg Easaidh Ruadh") (Campbell (1860), No. 1) c
  • "Widow's Son" (Campbell, No. 2, 2nd variant)
  • "Tale of Conal Crovi" (Campbell, No. 6)
  • "Tale of Connal" (Campbell, No. 7)
  • "Maol a' Chliobain" (Campbell, No. 17)
  • "The Widow and her Daughters" (Campbell, No. 41, 2nd variant)
  • "Mac Iain Dìreach" (Campbell, No. 46)
  • "An Sionnach, the Fox" (Campbell, No. 46, 4th variant;)
  • "The Herding of Cruachan (Buachaillechd Chruachain)" (MacInnes (1890), No. 4.) m
  • "The History of Kitty Ill-Pretts" (Bruford & MacDonald (1994), No. 21)

See also

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