Fergus mac Róich is a character of the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Fergus is sent to face him, but as foster-father and foster-son, neither wants to fight the other, and in any case Fergus has no sword. O'Rahilly.[12].
Conchobar announces he has forgiven them and sends Fergus, Cormac, Dubthach Dóeltenga, and Fergus' son Fíachu, to offer them safe conduct home. Naoise and his brothers swear they will eat no food until they dine with Conchobar at Emain Macha. Caladbolg ("hard cleft", cognate with Middle Welsh: Caledfwlch in medieval Welsh literature and Excalibur in the Matter of Britain; the name appears in the plural as a generic word for "great swords" in the 10th-century Irish translation of the classical tale The Destruction of Troy, Togail Troí), sometimes written Caladcholg ("hard blade"), is the sword of Fergus mac Róich from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.
Dictionary of National Biography. Ailill is suspicious, and sends his charioteer to spy on them. According to others of the lists, Ferchard or Feardach, the father of Fergus, was the first and Fergus the second king. ), "Da Choca's Hostel", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fergus_mac_Róich&oldid=912311804, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 24 August 2019, at 17:31.
Father Innes presses somewhat hardly on Boece, for the origin of this narrative dates back at least as early as the twelfth century, but the special blame undoubtedly attaches to Boece and still more to Buchanan that they clothed the dry list of names with characters, and invented events or incidents which gave the narrative more of the semblance of history.
The story has it that Fergus married the beautiful woman Neas, who was the mother of Conor, on condition that he allow Conor to rule the province for one year. Scots had aided the Picts in opposing the Romans in the fourth century, and Bede evidently inclines to an earlier date for the Scottish settlement. "Atlas historique, ou nouvelle introduction a l'Histoire. Fergus honours his promise and yields, pulling his followers from the field. When they arrive, Fíachu, Naoise and his brothers are murdered by Éogan mac Durthacht, a former enemy of Conchobar who has recently made peace with him. He tells his brother, Lugaid Dalleces, who is blind, that deer are playing in the water, and persuades him to throw a spear at them.
His son Muirgen came to Fergus' grave and spoke a poem, and Fergus' ghost appeared to him and related the events of the Táin as they happened. Conchobar, however, orders the Ulstermen to invite Fergus, Cormac and Dubthach to feasts, and, as it is shameful to refuse hospitality, Fergus is separated from his charges, and Fíachu is left to escort them to Emain alone. [2] While king, he desires Eochaid Sálbuide's daughter Ness, but she will only consent to marry him if he allows her son Conchobar to be king for a year, so his sons will be the sons of a king. [1] Fergus remains Conchobar's loyal retainer, and becomes the foster-father of Conchobar's eldest son Cormac Cond Longas and nephew Cúchulainn. [4] It is said that unless he could have Flidais, it took seven women to satisfy him. to assist the Scots already settled in Scotland against the joint attack of the Picts and Britons. The "first king of Scotland", according to the fictitious chronologies of Boece and Buchanan, is said to have come to Scotland from Ireland about 330 B.C. "[7], After the death of Conchobar, some of the Ulstermen propose inviting him home to be their king, but they ultimately decide to appoint Cormac, Conchobar's son and Fergus' foster-son, who is also in exile in Connacht.
Innes's results have been adopted by subsequent historians. Whitley Stokes (ed.
), is generally identified as the son of Ferchard, Prince of Scots in Ireland and is the first of the line of Legendary kings of Scotland. Formerly the king of Ulster, he is tricked out of the kingship and betrayed by Conchobar mac Nessa, and becomes the ally and lover of Conchobar's enemy queen Medb of Connacht, and joins her expedition against Ulster in the Táin Bó Cúailnge. According to Fordoun, Wyntoun, and most of the earlier genealogical lists of Scottish kings, the same account is given of the settlement of the Scots from Ireland by a King Fergus, son of Ferchard.
Buchanan, from whom this sentence is quoted, attempts to save his own credit by prefixing the words "historians say that", but by adopting it he became himself one of these historians, and gave the fabulous narrative a prolonged existence. [8], One day, after Fergus has been in exile for fourteen years, Ailill sees him swimming in a lake with Medb, and is overcome with jealousy. The Masraige, a tribe inhabiting Magh Slécht in County Cavan were descended from Fergus according to Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae, 1 16r A44, 279.
[9], The story is told that, in the 6th century, the poet Senchán Torpéist gathered the poets of Ireland together to see if any of them knew the story of the Táin Bó Cúailnge, but they all only knew parts of it.
Only one man, barely out of childhood himself, can stand against the invaders and protect his people until they are able to rise. After hearing of this betrayal, Fergus, Cormac and Dubthach burn Emain Macha and defect to Connacht with three thousand followers, where they enter the service of king Ailill mac Máta and queen Medb. The critical insight of Father Innes demolished these fabulous lists of kings, and put the chronology of Scottish history on a sound foundation, by his proof that Fergus II, son of Earc, who came to Scotland about the end of the fifth century A.D., was in reality the first Dál Riata king in Scotland.
[3], Flidais, wife of Ailill Finn, a petty king of the Erris district of Connacht, falls in love with Fergus from afar. It is supposed to have been due to the desire to establish a higher antiquity for the Scottish peoplehood, royal line, and church, than could be claimed for the Irish or English. Medb had a sacred tree, bile Medb, and was often represented with a squirrel and a bird sitting on her shoulders.
)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fergus_I_(mythological_king)&oldid=980965883, Articles incorporating DNB text with Wikisource reference, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 29 September 2020, at 14:21. [1] This leads him into many a precarious situation as in the story of the Táin Bó Flidhais. In Táin Bó Flidhais Fergus and Dubthach visit Ailill Finn, claiming to have fallen out with Ailill mac Máta and Medb, and provoke him to battle. There follows a series of thirty-nine or forty-five kings between Fergus I and Fergus II, son of Earc.