The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne
Encyclopedia
The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne (Irish
: Tóraigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne or Tóraíocht Dhiarmada agus Gráinne in modern spelling) is an Irish
prose narrative surviving in many variants. A tale from the Fenian Cycle
of Irish mythology
, it concerns a love triangle between the great warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill
, the beautiful princess Gráinne
, and her paramour Diarmuid Ua Duibhne
. Surviving texts are all in Modern Irish and the earliest dates to the 16th century, but some elements of the material date as far back as the 10th century.
, grieving over the death of his wife Maigneis. His men find that Gráinne, the daughter of High King
Cormac mac Airt
, is the worthiest of all women and arrangements are made for their wedding. At their betrothal feast, however, Gráinne is distressed that Fionn is older than her father, and becomes enamored with Fionn's handsome warrior Diarmuid (according to oral versions, this is because of the magical "love spot" on his forehead that makes him irresistible.) She slips a sleeping potion to the rest of the guests and encourages Diarmuid to run away with her. He refuses at first out of loyalty to Fionn, but relents when she threatens him with a geis forcing him to comply. They hide in a forest across the River Shannon
, and Fionn immediately pursues them. They evade him several times with the help of other Fianna members and Aengus Óg
, Diarmuid's foster father, who conceals Gráinne in his cloak of invisibility while Diarmuid leaps over the pursuers' heads.
Different variants from Ireland and Scotland
contain different episodes, sending Diarmuid and Gráinne to all manner of places. Commonly Diarmuid refuses to sleep with Gráinne at first out of respect for Fionn; in one version she teases that water that has splashed up her leg is more adventurous than he is. A similar quip appears in some versions of the Tristan and Iseult
legend. Another episode describes how the newly-pregnant Gráinne develops a craving for rowan
berries guarded by the one eyed giant Searbhán; though at first friendly to the lovers, Searbhán angrily refuses to give up the berries and Diarmuid must fight him. Searbhán's skill at magic protects him from Diarmuid's mortal weapons, but Diarmuid eventually triumphs by turning the giant's iron club against him.
threatens him with violence if he does not help Diarmuid, but when he returns from the well on the third attempt it is too late. Diarmuid has died.
Versions differ as to Gráinne's subsequent actions. In some Aengus takes Diarmuid's body to his home at Brú na Bóinne
. In some Gráinne swears her children to avenge their father's death upon Fionn, while in others she grieves until she dies herself. In some she is reconciled with Fionn, and negotiates peace between him and her sons; or goes so far as to marry Fionn at last.
in the Ulster Cycle
; like Gráinne, Deirdre is intended to marry a much older man, in this case the King of Ulster
Conchobar mac Nessa
, but she runs away with her young lover Naoise
, who is finally killed after a long pursuit. However, earlier versions of Diarmuid and Gráinne may not have been so similar to the Ulster tale; for instance medieval references imply that Gráinne actually married Fionn and divorced him, rather than fleeing before their wedding. Another tale, Scéla Cano meic Gartnáin, includes an episode in which a young wife drugs everyone in her household besides her desired. As in Diarmuid and Gráinne she eventually convinces the reluctant hero to be her lover, with tragic results.
Various scholars have suggested Diarmuid and Gráinne had some influence on the Tristan and Iseult
legend, notably Gertrude Schoepperle in 1913. That story developed in France during the 12th century, but its setting is in Britain. The hero, Tristan
, falls in love with the Irish princess Iseult
while escorting her to marry his uncle Mark of Cornwall
. They begin their affair behind Mark's back, but after they are discovered their adventures take on more similarities to the Irish story, including an episode in which lovers stay in a secret forest hideout.
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
: Tóraigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne or Tóraíocht Dhiarmada agus Gráinne in modern spelling) is an Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
prose narrative surviving in many variants. A tale from the Fenian Cycle
Fenian Cycle
The Fenian Cycle , also referred to as the Ossianic Cycle after its narrator Oisín, is a body of prose and verse centering on the exploits of the mythical hero Fionn mac Cumhaill and his warriors the Fianna. It is one of the four major cycles of Irish mythology along with the Mythological Cycle,...
of Irish mythology
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
, it concerns a love triangle between the great warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill
Fionn mac Cumhaill
Fionn mac Cumhaill , known in English as Finn McCool, was a mythical hunter-warrior of Irish mythology, occurring also in the mythologies of Scotland and the Isle of Man...
, the beautiful princess Gráinne
Gráinne
Gráinne is the daughter of Cormac mac Airt in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. She is one of the central figures in the Middle Irish text Finn and Gráinne and most famously, in the 17th-century tale The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne, which tells of her betrothal to Fionn mac Cumhaill, leader...
, and her paramour Diarmuid Ua Duibhne
Diarmuid Ua Duibhne
Diarmuid Ua Duibhne or Diarmid O'Dyna is a son of Donn and a warrior of the Fianna in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He is most famous as the lover of Gráinne, the intended wife of Fianna leader Fionn mac Cumhaill in The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne...
. Surviving texts are all in Modern Irish and the earliest dates to the 16th century, but some elements of the material date as far back as the 10th century.
The pursuit
The story begins with the aging Fionn, leader of the warrior band the FiannaFianna
Fianna were small, semi-independent warrior bands in Irish mythology and Scottish mythology, most notably in the stories of the Fenian Cycle, where they are led by Fionn mac Cumhaill....
, grieving over the death of his wife Maigneis. His men find that Gráinne, the daughter of 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...
Cormac mac Airt
Cormac mac Airt
Cormac mac Airt , also known as Cormac ua Cuinn or Cormac Ulfada , was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland...
, is the worthiest of all women and arrangements are made for their wedding. At their betrothal feast, however, Gráinne is distressed that Fionn is older than her father, and becomes enamored with Fionn's handsome warrior Diarmuid (according to oral versions, this is because of the magical "love spot" on his forehead that makes him irresistible.) She slips a sleeping potion to the rest of the guests and encourages Diarmuid to run away with her. He refuses at first out of loyalty to Fionn, but relents when she threatens him with a geis forcing him to comply. They hide in a forest across the River Shannon
River Shannon
The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...
, and Fionn immediately pursues them. They evade him several times with the help of other Fianna members and Aengus Óg
Aengus
In Irish mythology, Óengus , Áengus , or Aengus or Aonghus , is a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann and probably a god of love, youth and poetic inspiration...
, Diarmuid's foster father, who conceals Gráinne in his cloak of invisibility while Diarmuid leaps over the pursuers' heads.
Different variants from Ireland and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
contain different episodes, sending Diarmuid and Gráinne to all manner of places. Commonly Diarmuid refuses to sleep with Gráinne at first out of respect for Fionn; in one version she teases that water that has splashed up her leg is more adventurous than he is. A similar quip appears in some versions of the Tristan and Iseult
Tristan and Iseult
The legend of Tristan and Iseult is an influential romance and tragedy, retold in numerous sources with as many variations. The tragic story is of the adulterous love between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Iseult...
legend. Another episode describes how the newly-pregnant Gráinne develops a craving for rowan
Rowan
The rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or small trees in genus Sorbus of family Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the mountains of western China and the Himalaya, where numerous apomictic microspecies...
berries guarded by the one eyed giant Searbhán; though at first friendly to the lovers, Searbhán angrily refuses to give up the berries and Diarmuid must fight him. Searbhán's skill at magic protects him from Diarmuid's mortal weapons, but Diarmuid eventually triumphs by turning the giant's iron club against him.
Diarmuid's reconciliation and death
After many other adventures, Diarmuid's foster father Aengus negotiates peace with Fionn. The lovers settle in Keshcorran, County Sligo where they have five children; in some versions, Fionn marries Gráinne's sister. Eventually Fionn organizes a boar hunt near Benbulbin and Diarmuid joins, in spite of a prediction that he will be killed by a boar. Indeed, the creature wounds him mortally as he deals it a fatal blow. Fionn has the power to heal his dying comrade by simply letting him drink water from his hands, but he lets the water slip through his fingers twice. Finally Fionn's grandson OscarOscar (Irish mythology)
Oscar is a figure in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. He is the warrior son of Oisín and the fairy woman Niamh, who also bore his sister, Plor na mBan. Oisín, in turn, was the son of the epic hero Fionn mac Cumhail...
threatens him with violence if he does not help Diarmuid, but when he returns from the well on the third attempt it is too late. Diarmuid has died.
Versions differ as to Gráinne's subsequent actions. In some Aengus takes Diarmuid's body to his home at Brú na Bóinne
Brú na Bóinne
is a World Heritage Site in County Meath, Ireland and is the largest and one of the most important prehistoric megalithic sites in Europe.-The site:...
. In some Gráinne swears her children to avenge their father's death upon Fionn, while in others she grieves until she dies herself. In some she is reconciled with Fionn, and negotiates peace between him and her sons; or goes so far as to marry Fionn at last.
Influence
The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne is notable for its similarities to other tales of love triangles in Irish and European literature. It has a number of parallels with the tale of DeirdreDeirdre
Deirdre or Derdriu is the foremost tragic heroine in Irish mythology and probably its best-known figure in modern times. She is often called "Deirdre of the Sorrows." Her story is part of the Ulster Cycle, the best-known stories of pre-Christian Ireland.-Legendary Biography:Deirdre was the...
in the Ulster Cycle
Ulster Cycle
The Ulster Cycle , formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, one of the four great cycles of Irish mythology, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the traditional heroes of the Ulaid in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly counties Armagh, Down and...
; like Gráinne, Deirdre is intended to marry a much older man, in this case the King of Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
Conchobar mac Nessa
Conchobar mac Nessa
Conchobar mac Nessa was the king of Ulster in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He ruled from Emain Macha .-Birth:...
, but she runs away with her young lover Naoise
Naoise
In Irish mythology, Noíse or Noisiu was the nephew of King Conchobar mac Nessa of Ulster, and a son of Usnech , in the Ulster Cycle....
, who is finally killed after a long pursuit. However, earlier versions of Diarmuid and Gráinne may not have been so similar to the Ulster tale; for instance medieval references imply that Gráinne actually married Fionn and divorced him, rather than fleeing before their wedding. Another tale, Scéla Cano meic Gartnáin, includes an episode in which a young wife drugs everyone in her household besides her desired. As in Diarmuid and Gráinne she eventually convinces the reluctant hero to be her lover, with tragic results.
Various scholars have suggested Diarmuid and Gráinne had some influence on the Tristan and Iseult
Tristan and Iseult
The legend of Tristan and Iseult is an influential romance and tragedy, retold in numerous sources with as many variations. The tragic story is of the adulterous love between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Iseult...
legend, notably Gertrude Schoepperle in 1913. That story developed in France during the 12th century, but its setting is in Britain. The hero, Tristan
Tristan
Tristan is one of the main characters of the Tristan and Iseult story, a Cornish hero and one of the Knights of the Round Table featuring in the Matter of Britain...
, falls in love with the Irish princess Iseult
Iseult
Iseult is the name of several characters in the Arthurian story of Tristan and Iseult. The most prominent is Iseult of Ireland, wife of Mark of Cornwall and adulterous lover of Sir Tristan. Her mother, the Queen of Ireland, is also named Iseult...
while escorting her to marry his uncle Mark of Cornwall
Mark of Cornwall
Mark of Cornwall was a king of Kernow in the early 6th century. He is most famous for his appearance in Arthurian legend as the uncle of Tristan and husband of Iseult, who engage in a secret affair.-The legend:Mark sent Tristan as his proxy to fetch his young bride, the Princess Iseult, from...
. They begin their affair behind Mark's back, but after they are discovered their adventures take on more similarities to the Irish story, including an episode in which lovers stay in a secret forest hideout.
See also
- Diarmuid and GraniaDiarmuid and GraniaDiarmuid and Grania is a play in poetic prose co-written by George Moore and W. B. Yeats in 1901, with incidental music by the English composer Edward Elgar.-Play:...
, a play in poetic prose by George MooreGeorge MooreGeorge Moore may refer to:*George Edward Moore , G.E. Moore, British philosopher*George Moore , Member of Parliament for Dublin City 1826–1831*George Moore , landowner and High Sheriff of Derbyshire...
and W. B. YeatsWilliam Butler YeatsWilliam Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
, based on the translation of the tale by Lady Gregory, with incidental music by Edward ElgarEdward ElgarSir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos... - Dancing on Dangerous GroundDancing on Dangerous GroundDancing on Dangerous Ground is an Irish dance show created by and starring Jean Butler and Colin Dunne. It premiered in London at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 1999...
, the dance show based on the tale