Bres -- Celtic Fertility God Essay

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Somehow, Nuada, the former ruler of the Tuatha De Danann, had his hand lost in battle replaced with a living flesh and blood hand and soon after managed to have Bres exiled.

Not long after, Bres "rallied the Fomorians to battle" in the Second Battle of Magh Tuireadh, but when they were defeated, Bres was captured. Although the punishment for treason and treachery in ancient Ireland was usually death, Bres' life was spared "when he promised to instruct the Tuatha De in the art of agriculture" (Lindemans, Internet), thus making him a fertility god, due to bringing fertility and bounty to the lands of the Tuatha De Danann in the form of foodstuffs.

In discussing the mythological lore surrounding the life of Bres, his relationship with Brigid his wife must be mentioned, due to its importance and influence on many other Celtic/Irish myths. As the daughter of Dagda, Brigid is often referred to as the Celtic Sun God and as a very powerful creator of all things beautiful. As Winter Cymres relates, Brigid married Bres and had three sons, Brian (Ruadan), Iuchar and Uar, all of whom later went on to become important Celtic rulers and symbols of Celtic bravery, tenacity, and strength on the battlefield. This marriage "was essentially an alliance to bring peace between the two warring factions" ("Brigid," Internet), being the Fomorians and the Danu, Brigid's royal family and the heirs to all of Ireland.

Not surprisingly, Brigid was viewed by the ancient Celts as the "mother of all mothers," not only for her ability to bring fertility to the fields but also to men and women when it came to having children.

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Thus, Bres, like his wife Brigid, were very powerful fertility deities at a time in the ancient past when Ireland was devoid of fertile ground for planting crops. Obviously, "without fertile soil for planting and cultivating food, the people of Ireland would either have perished or been taken over by rival tribes bent on controlling all of ancient Eire" (Brezina, Internet). In conclusion, as one of the major Celtic/Irish gods, Bres remains as a figure of fertility and plenty, especially related to agriculture which in ancient Ireland was pivotal to survival and to the ways in which other deities were worshipped and revered.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brezina, Corona. Celtic Mythology. Berlin: Rosen Publishing Group, 2007. Accessed fromCalifornia State University -- San Bernardino online library (http://www.lib.csusb.

edu/book/findbooks.cfm).

Cymres, Winter. "Brigid: The Survival of a Goddess." 1995. Internet. Accessed June 17,

2009 from http://www.druidry.org/obod/deities/brigid.html.

Lindemans, Micha F. "Bres." Encyclopedia Mythica. 1998. Internet. Accessed June 17, 2009

from http://www.pantheon.org/articles/b/bres.html.

MacKillop, James. Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. New York: Oxford University Press,

2000. Accessed from California State University -- San Bernardino online library

((http://www.lib.csusb.edu/books/findbooks.cfm).

Monaghan, Patricia. Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore. New York: Checkmark

Books, 2008. Accessed from California State University -- San Bernardino online library ((http://www.lib.csusb.edu/books/findbooks.cfm)......

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