Aífe
Encyclopedia
Aífe is a character from the Ulster Cycle
of Irish mythology
. She appears in the sagas Tochmarc Emire
("the wooing of Emer") and Aided Óenfhir Aífe
("the death of Aífe's only son"). In Tochmarc Emire she lives east of a land called Alpi, usually understood to mean Alba
(Scotland
), where she is at war with a rival warrior-woman, Scáthach
. In Aided Óenfhir Aífe she lives in Letha (the Armorica
n peninsula), and is Scáthach's sister as well as rival – they are both daughters of Ardgeimm.
In Tochmarc Emire the Ulaid
hero Cú Chulainn
has come to train in arms under Scáthach when a battle breaks against Aífe. Scáthach, fearful of Cú Chulainn's safety, gives him a sleeping potion to keep him from the battle, but a potion that would put most people to sleep for twenty-four hours only knocks him out for an hour, and he joins the fray. Aífe challenges Scáthach to single combat, and Cú Chulainn fights as Scáthach's champion, but before the fight he asks Scáthach what it is that Aífe loves most, which Scáthach reveals is her chariot and horses. They begin to fight, and Aífe shatters Cú Chulainn's sword, at which he cries out that Aífe's chariot and horses have fallen over a cliff. When Aífe turns to look, he overpowers her, throws her over his shoulder, and carries her back to his side. She asks him to spare her life, which he does, on three conditions: that she cease hostilities with Scáthach, spend the night with him, and bear him a son.
When Cú Chulainn returns to Ireland he leaves Aífe pregnant. He gives her a gold ring to give to the child, and instructs her that when he is seven he is to come to Ireland in search of him, but he must not identify himself to anyone. The story is taken up again in Aided Óenfhir Aífe, when the boy, Connla
by name, comes to Ireland as Cú Chulainn had instructed, and his precocious prowess alarms the Ulaid. Because he will not identify himself, Cú Chulainn fights and kills him.
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...
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...
. She appears in the sagas Tochmarc Emire
Tochmarc Emire
Tochmarc Emire is one of the stories in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology and one of the longest when it received its form in the second recension . It concerns the efforts of the hero Cú Chulainn to marry Emer, who appears as his wife in other stories of the cycle, and his training in arms...
("the wooing of Emer") and Aided Óenfhir Aífe
Aided Óenfhir Aífe
Aided Óenfhir Aífe is a story from the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.It is a sequel to Tochmarc Emire , in which the Ulaid hero Cú Chulainn, while training in arms overseas, left the warrior princess Aífe pregnant...
("the death of Aífe's only son"). In Tochmarc Emire she lives east of a land called Alpi, usually understood to mean Alba
Alba
Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is cognate to Alba in Irish and Nalbin in Manx, the two other Goidelic Insular Celtic languages, as well as similar words in the Brythonic Insular Celtic languages of Cornish and Welsh also meaning Scotland.- Etymology :The term first appears in...
(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...
), where she is at war with a rival warrior-woman, Scáthach
Scáthach
Scáthach is a figure in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She is a legendary Scottish warrior woman and martial arts teacher who trains the legendary Ulster hero Cú Chulainn in the arts of combat...
. In Aided Óenfhir Aífe she lives in Letha (the Armorica
Armorica
Armorica or Aremorica is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul that includes the Brittany peninsula and the territory between the Seine and Loire rivers, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic coast...
n peninsula), and is Scáthach's sister as well as rival – they are both daughters of Ardgeimm.
In Tochmarc Emire the Ulaid
Ulaid
The Ulaid or Ulaidh were a people of early Ireland who gave their name to the modern province of Ulster...
hero Cú Chulainn
Cú Chulainn
Cú Chulainn or Cúchulainn , and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin , is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore...
has come to train in arms under Scáthach when a battle breaks against Aífe. Scáthach, fearful of Cú Chulainn's safety, gives him a sleeping potion to keep him from the battle, but a potion that would put most people to sleep for twenty-four hours only knocks him out for an hour, and he joins the fray. Aífe challenges Scáthach to single combat, and Cú Chulainn fights as Scáthach's champion, but before the fight he asks Scáthach what it is that Aífe loves most, which Scáthach reveals is her chariot and horses. They begin to fight, and Aífe shatters Cú Chulainn's sword, at which he cries out that Aífe's chariot and horses have fallen over a cliff. When Aífe turns to look, he overpowers her, throws her over his shoulder, and carries her back to his side. She asks him to spare her life, which he does, on three conditions: that she cease hostilities with Scáthach, spend the night with him, and bear him a son.
When Cú Chulainn returns to Ireland he leaves Aífe pregnant. He gives her a gold ring to give to the child, and instructs her that when he is seven he is to come to Ireland in search of him, but he must not identify himself to anyone. The story is taken up again in Aided Óenfhir Aífe, when the boy, Connla
Connla
Connla or Conlaoch is a character in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, the son of the Ulster champion Cú Chulainn and the Scottish warrior woman Aífe. He was raised alone by his mother in Scotland...
by name, comes to Ireland as Cú Chulainn had instructed, and his precocious prowess alarms the Ulaid. Because he will not identify himself, Cú Chulainn fights and kills him.