Author: Tim B. Page 147 of 204

The name is generally considered to be of Welsh origin (though an Old Cornish or Old Breton origin is also possible), derived from Old Welsh, Old Cornish, or Old Breton aball or avallen(n), “apple tree, fruit tree” (cf. afal in Modern Welsh, derived from Common Celtic *abalnā, literally “fruit-bearing (thing)”).[1][2][3][4][5] It is also possible that the tradition of an “apple” island among the British was related to Irish legends concerning the otherworld island home of Manannán mac Lir and Lugh, Emain Ablach (also the Old Irish poetic name for the Isle of Man),[2] where Ablach means “Having Apple Trees”[6]—derived from Old Irish aball (“apple”)—and is similar to the Middle Welsh name Afallach, which was used to replace the name Avalon in medieval Welsh translations of French and Latin Arthurian tales. All are etymologically related to the Gaulish root *aballo “fruit tree”—(as found in the place name Aballo/Aballone) and are derived from a Common Celtic *abal- “apple”, which is related at the Proto-Indo-European level to English apple, Russian яблоко (jabloko), Latvian ābele, et al.[7][8]

Source: Avalon – Wikipedia

A magical mist arises, and a horseman approaches who throws three spears towards Conn, then asks him and the druid to follow him to his house, which stands on a plain by a golden tree. They enter, and are welcomed by a woman in a gold crown. First they see a silver vat, bound with gold hoops, full of red ale, and a golden cup and serving spoon. Then they see a phantom, a tall beautiful man, on a throne, who introduces himself as Lugh. The woman is the sovereignty of Ireland, and she serves Conn a meal consisting of an ox’s rib 24 feet (7.3 m) long, and a boar’s rib. When she serves drinks, she asks “To whom shall this cup be given?”, and Lugh recites a poem which tells Conn how many years he will reign, and the names of the kings who will follow him. Then they enter Lugh’s shadow, and the house disappears, but the cup and serving spoon remain.[5][6]

Source: Conn of the Hundred Battles – Wikipedia

The Tuatha Dé Danann had travelled to the “Northern Isles” where they learned many skills and magic in its four cities Falias, Gorias, Murias and Findias. From there they travelled to Ireland bringing with them a treasure from each city – the four legendary treasures of Ireland. From Falias came the Lia Fáil. The other three treasures are the Claíomh Solais or Sword of Light, the Sleá Bua or Spear of Lugh and the Coire Dagdae or The Dagda’s Cauldron.

Source: Lia Fáil – Wikipedia

In Arthurian legend, the Siege Perilous (also known as The Perilous Seat) is a vacant seat at the Round Table reserved by Merlin for the knight who would one day be successful in the quest for the Holy Grail.[1] […] The Siege Perilous is so strictly reserved that it is fatal to anyone else who sits in it.

[…] According to many scholars, the motif of the dangerous seat can be further traced to Welsh, Cornish, and Breton mythology, whence the bulk of the Arthurian legend was derived.

Source: Siege Perilous – Wikipedia

According to legend the Badalisc lives in the woods around the village of Andrista (commune of Cevo) and is supposed to annoy the community: each year it is captured during the period of Epiphany (5 & 6 January) and led on a rope into the village by musicians and masked characters, including il giovane (the young man), il vecchio (the old man), la vecchia (the old woman) and the young signorina, who is “bait” for the animal’s lust. There are also some old witches, who beat drums, and bearded shepherds, and a hunchback (un torvo gobetto) who has a “rustic duel” with the animal.

Source: Badalisc – Wikipedia

Gyrovagues (sometimes Gyrovagi or Gyruvagi) were wandering or itinerant monks without fixed residence or leadership, who relied on charity and the hospitality of others. The term, coming from French, itself from Late Latin gyrovagus (gyro-, “circle” and vagus, “wandering”), is used to refer to a kind of monk, rather than a specific order, and may be pejorative as they are almost universally denounced by Christian writers of the Early Middle Ages. The Council of Chalcedon (451) and Second Council of Nicaea

Source: Gyrovague – Wikipedia

Harrespil is the Basque name, that can be translated by “stone circle”, given to small megalithic monuments which abounds on mountains of the Basque Country in particular. They are also called baratz, a basque word meaning “garden” and traditionally applied to the prehistoric necropoles.

Source: Harrespil – Wikipedia

The peasant then had to give the duke a gentle blow on the cheek (un petit soufflet), after which the duke was allowed to draw his sword, mount the Stone and turn full circle, so as to face ritually in all directions. While this was being done, all had to sing the Slovenian Kyrie and praise God for the gift of a new ruler, in accordance with His divine will. Finally, the ruler had to be placed on horseback and conducted around the Stone three times.[2]

Source: Prince’s Stone – Wikipedia

They are shapeshifters and there are a number of legends, and versions of the same legend, as a result of centuries of oral tradition. They appear as guardians of the pathways into the earth and of the “limit” frontiers where it was believed that the supernatural could manifest itself. Mouras encantadas are magical maidens who guard castles, caves, bridges, wells, rivers, and treasures. […]

Almost every Portuguese or Galician town has a tale of a Moura Encantada.[10] The lore of the mouros encantados is used to find prehistoric monuments and was for some time used in the 19th century as the main method to locate Lusitanian archaeological “monuments”, as Martins Sarmento viewed these as a kind of folk memory that was erased with Christianization.[11][12]

Like the Mairu of Basque mythology built dolmens or harrespil, the mouras are builders of ancient monuments.

Source: Enchanted Moura – Wikipedia