Crom Cruach
Encyclopedia
Crom Cruach or Cromm Crúaich (Classical Irish/Gaelic pronunciation /ˈkɾˠɔmˠ ˈkɾˠuəç/), also known as Cenn Cruach /ˈkʲɛnˠ: ˈkɾˠuəxˠ/ or Cenncroithi /ˈkʲɛnˠ: ˈkɾˠoθʲɨ/, was a deity
in pre-Christian Ireland, reputedly propitiated
with human sacrifice
, whose worship is said to have been ended by St. Patrick
.
, Crom Cruach's cult image
, consisting of a gold figure surrounded by twelve stone figures, stood on Magh Slécht
("the plain of prostration") in County Cavan
, and was propitiated with first-born sacrifice in exchange for good yields of milk and grain. Crom is said to have been worshipped since the time of Érimón. An early High King
, Tigernmas
, along with three quarters of his army, is said to have died while worshipping Crom on Samhain
eve, but worship continued until the cult image was destroyed by St. Patrick with a sledgehammer.
This incident figures prominently in medieval legends about St. Patrick, although it does not appear in his own writings, nor in the two 7th century biographies by Muirchu
and Tírechán
. In the 9th century Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick the deity is called Cenn Cruach, and his cult image consists of a central figure covered with gold and silver, surrounded by twelve bronze figures. When Patrick approaches it he raises his crozier, the central figure falls face-down, with the imprint of the crozier left in it, and the surrounding figures sink into the earth. The "demon" who inhabits the image appears, but Patrick curses him and casts him to hell. Jocelin's 12th century Life and Acts of St. Patrick tells much the same story. Here the god is called Cenncroithi, interpreted as "the head of all gods", and when his image falls the silver and gold covering it crumble to dust, with the imprint of the crozier left on bare stone.
In the old Irish tale from the Book of Lismore
, "The Siege of Druim Damhgaire or Knocklong" (Forbhais Droma Dámhgháire), Crom is associated with Moloch
.
, however, refers to this image as Crom Dubh
. Roughly dome-shaped and covered in Iron Age La Tène
designs, it was discovered broken in several pieces and partly buried close to a Bronze Age stone circle, inside which it probably once stood. The site has several associations with St. Patrick. Nearby is Tobar Padraig (St. Patrick's Well), and Kilnavert Church, which is said to have been founded by the saint. Kilnavert was originally called Fossa Slécht or Rath Slécht, from which the wider Magh Slécht area was named.
Although now much damaged, the stone can be reconstructed from the different surviving pieces. At the base of the stone there were four rectangular adjoining panels measuring 90 cm each in width giving a circumference of 3m 60 cm when it was first carved. The height of each panel was about 75 cm. When excavated and placed upright on its flat base, it was found to lean obliquely to the left from the vertical, perhaps explaining the name Crom, "bent, crooked". The Killycluggin Stone, as it is known, is now in the Cavan County Museum, while a replica stands near the road about 300 metres from the original site.
The 14th century Book of McGovern, written in Magh Slécht, contains a poem which states that Crom was situated at Kilnavert beside the road and that the local women used to tremble in fear as they passed by. There is still a local tradition in the area that the Killycluggin stone is the Crom stone.
There is another standing stone identified with Crom Crúaich in Drumcoo townland, County Fermanagh
. A nearby street is named Crom Crúaich Way after it. It has the figure of a man walking engraved on it which either represents Saint Patrick or a druid, depending on when it was engraved.
The references in the dinsenchas to sacrifice in exchange for milk and grain suggest that Crom was a fertility deity. The description of his image as a gold figure surrounded by twelve stone or bronze figures has been interpreted by some as representing the sun surrounded by the signs of the zodiac
, making Crom a solar deity
.
He is related to the later mythological and folkloric figure Crom Dubh
. The festival for Crom Cruach is called Domhnach Crom Dubh, Crom Dubh Sunday.
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
in pre-Christian Ireland, reputedly propitiated
Propitiation
Propitiation is appeasing or making well disposed , especially a deity, thus incurring divine favor or avoiding Divine retribution.-Christian theology:...
with human sacrifice
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
, whose worship is said to have been ended by St. Patrick
Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints....
.
Literature
According to an Irish dinsenchas ("place-lore") poem in the 12th century Book of LeinsterBook of Leinster
The Book of Leinster , is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled ca. 1160 and now kept in Trinity College, Dublin, under the shelfmark MS H 2.18...
, Crom Cruach's cult image
Cult image
In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents...
, consisting of a gold figure surrounded by twelve stone figures, stood on Magh Slécht
Magh Slécht
Magh Slécht is the name of an historic plain in Ireland. It comprises an area of about three square miles situated in the south-eastern part of the Parish of Templeport, Barony of Tullyhaw and County of Cavan. It is bounded on the north by Templeport Lough, on the east by Slieve Rushen mountain,...
("the plain of prostration") in County Cavan
County Cavan
County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...
, and was propitiated with first-born sacrifice in exchange for good yields of milk and grain. Crom is said to have been worshipped since the time of Érimón. An early High King
High King of Ireland
The High Kings of Ireland were sometimes historical and sometimes legendary figures who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over the whole of Ireland. Medieval and early modern Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings, ruling from Tara over a hierarchy of...
, Tigernmas
Tigernmas
Tigernmas, son of Follach, son of Ethriel, a descendant of Érimón, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical traditions, an early High King of Ireland...
, along with three quarters of his army, is said to have died while worshipping Crom on Samhain
Samhain
Samhain is a Gaelic harvest festival held on October 31–November 1. It was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and was popularised as the "Celtic New Year" from the late 19th century, following Sir John Rhys and Sir James Frazer...
eve, but worship continued until the cult image was destroyed by St. Patrick with a sledgehammer.
This incident figures prominently in medieval legends about St. Patrick, although it does not appear in his own writings, nor in the two 7th century biographies by Muirchu
Muirchu moccu Machtheni
Muirchu moccu Machtheni , usually known simply as Muirchu, was a seventh-century Irish historian and Leinster monk.-Works:...
and Tírechán
Tírechán
Tírechán was a 7th century Irish bishop and biographer of Saint Patrick. Tírechán wrote his untitled memoir sometime after the death of his mentor, Ultan of Ardbraccan, in 657. The work survives in the manuscript The Book of Armagh.Tírechán's account, which J. B...
. In the 9th century Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick the deity is called Cenn Cruach, and his cult image consists of a central figure covered with gold and silver, surrounded by twelve bronze figures. When Patrick approaches it he raises his crozier, the central figure falls face-down, with the imprint of the crozier left in it, and the surrounding figures sink into the earth. The "demon" who inhabits the image appears, but Patrick curses him and casts him to hell. Jocelin's 12th century Life and Acts of St. Patrick tells much the same story. Here the god is called Cenncroithi, interpreted as "the head of all gods", and when his image falls the silver and gold covering it crumble to dust, with the imprint of the crozier left on bare stone.
In the old Irish tale from the Book of Lismore
Book of Lismore
The Book of Lismore is a Medieval Irish manuscript.-Overview:The Book of Lismore is an Irish vellum manuscript, compiled in early 15th century, Lismore, Ireland. Its original name was Leabhar Mhic Cárthaigh Riabhaigh...
, "The Siege of Druim Damhgaire or Knocklong" (Forbhais Droma Dámhgháire), Crom is associated with Moloch
Moloch
Moloch — also rendered as Molech, Molekh, Molok, Molek, Molock, or Moloc — is the name of an ancient Semitic god...
.
Archaeology
A decorated stone which has been interpreted by some as the cult image of Crom Cruach was found at Killycluggin, County Cavan, in 1921 (Site number 93, Killycluggin townland, “Archaeological Inventory of County Cavan”, Patrick O’Donovan, 1995, p. 19). O'KellyMichael J. O'Kelly
Professor Michael J. O'Kelly was an Irish archaeologist who excavated and restored Newgrange, a Late Stone Age passage tomb in the Boyne Valley, County Meath, Ireland, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. P. R...
, however, refers to this image as Crom Dubh
Crom Dubh
Crom Dubh or Crum Dubh , meaning "black crooked [one]", alt. "Dark Crom", was a Celtic god, for which see The Voyage of Bran, Book II, p49. He may have been represented by megaliths....
. Roughly dome-shaped and covered in Iron Age La Tène
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
designs, it was discovered broken in several pieces and partly buried close to a Bronze Age stone circle, inside which it probably once stood. The site has several associations with St. Patrick. Nearby is Tobar Padraig (St. Patrick's Well), and Kilnavert Church, which is said to have been founded by the saint. Kilnavert was originally called Fossa Slécht or Rath Slécht, from which the wider Magh Slécht area was named.
Although now much damaged, the stone can be reconstructed from the different surviving pieces. At the base of the stone there were four rectangular adjoining panels measuring 90 cm each in width giving a circumference of 3m 60 cm when it was first carved. The height of each panel was about 75 cm. When excavated and placed upright on its flat base, it was found to lean obliquely to the left from the vertical, perhaps explaining the name Crom, "bent, crooked". The Killycluggin Stone, as it is known, is now in the Cavan County Museum, while a replica stands near the road about 300 metres from the original site.
The 14th century Book of McGovern, written in Magh Slécht, contains a poem which states that Crom was situated at Kilnavert beside the road and that the local women used to tremble in fear as they passed by. There is still a local tradition in the area that the Killycluggin stone is the Crom stone.
There is another standing stone identified with Crom Crúaich in Drumcoo townland, County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh
Fermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas....
. A nearby street is named Crom Crúaich Way after it. It has the figure of a man walking engraved on it which either represents Saint Patrick or a druid, depending on when it was engraved.
Name, nature and functions
Crom Cruach's name takes several forms and can be interpreted in several ways. Crom (or cromm) means "bent, crooked, stooped". Cenn means "head". Cruach can be an adjective, "bloody, gory", or a noun, meaning variously "slaughter", "stack of corn", or "pile, heap, mound". Plausible meanings include "bloody crooked one", "crooked stack of corn", "crooked one of the mound", "bloody head", "head of the stack of corn" or "head of the mound". It has also been interpreted as deriving from Proto-Celtic *Croucacrumbas "crooked one of the tumulus".The references in the dinsenchas to sacrifice in exchange for milk and grain suggest that Crom was a fertility deity. The description of his image as a gold figure surrounded by twelve stone or bronze figures has been interpreted by some as representing the sun surrounded by the signs of the zodiac
Zodiac
In astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...
, making Crom a solar deity
Solar deity
A solar deity is a sky deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it, usually by its perceived power and strength. Solar deities and sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms...
.
He is related to the later mythological and folkloric figure Crom Dubh
Crom Dubh
Crom Dubh or Crum Dubh , meaning "black crooked [one]", alt. "Dark Crom", was a Celtic god, for which see The Voyage of Bran, Book II, p49. He may have been represented by megaliths....
. The festival for Crom Cruach is called Domhnach Crom Dubh, Crom Dubh Sunday.
See also
- Irish mythology in popular culture - Crom Cruach
- The Secret of Kells