The Taillten Fair was an annual event held in medieval times at Telltown

Telltown

Telltown is an outdated place name in County Meath, Ireland, for the area between Navan and Kells. It was named for the Irish mythological figure or goddess, Tailtiu...

, County Meath

County Meath

County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. The fair was a survival or revival of the Áenach Tailteann, the assembly and funeral games for the goddess Tailtiu

Tailtiu

Tailtiu or Tailltiu is the name of a presumed goddess from Irish mythology. Telltown in County Meath, was named for her.-In Irish mythology:...

, and was held on Lughnasadh

Lughnasadh

Lughnasadh is a traditional Gaelic holiday celebrated on 1 August. It is in origin a harvest festival, corresponding to the Welsh Calan Awst and the English Lammas.-Name:...

, aka Lammas

Lammas

In some English-speaking countries in the Northern Hemisphere, August 1 is Lammas Day , the festival of the wheat harvest, and is the first harvest festival of the year. On this day it was customary to bring to church a loaf made from the new crop...

 Eve, (August 1st).

For a period of time in the twentieth century, the fair was revived as the Tailteann Games

Tailteann Games

The Tailteann Games were an ancient sporting event held in Ireland in honour of the goddess Tailtiu. They ran from 632 BC to 1169-1171 AD when they died out after the Norman invasion....

.

The Fair was a time for contests of strength and skill, horse races, religious celebrations, and a traditional time for couples to contract "year and a day" trial marriages. "Taillten marriages" were legal up until the 13th century.

This trial marriage practice is documented in the fourth and fifth volumes of the Brehon

Brehon

Brehon is the term in Gaelic-Irish culture for a judge. The Brehons were part of the system of "Brehon Law". The Brehons wore yellow robes when delivering verdicts. Several dozen families were recognised as hereditary brehon clans.-See also:* Mac an Bhaird...

 law texts, which are compilations of the opinions and judgements of the Brehon class of Druids (in this case, Irish). The texts as a whole deal with a copious amount of detail for the Insular Celts.

Sources

Lewis Spence

Lewis Spence

James Lewis Thomas Chalmbers Spence was a Scottish journalist, whose efforts as a compiler of Scottish folklore have proved more durable than his efforts as a poet and occult scholar....

, "The History and Origins of Druidism" & Elizabeth Pepper

Elizabeth Pepper

Elizabeth Pepper DaCosta was the editor and publisher of The Witches’ Almanac, established in 1971. The company, founded in Newport, Rhode Island, produces an annual publication in almanac format as well as a variety of related books...

 and John Wilcock

John Wilcock

John Wilcock is a British journalist known for his work in the underground press, as well as his travel guide books....

, "Magical and Mystical Sites"