Badb
Encyclopedia
In 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...

, the Badb (Old Irish, ˈbaðβ) or Badhbh (Modern 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...

, ˈbəiv)—meaning "crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...

" or "vulture
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...

"—was a war goddess who took the form of a crow, and was thus sometimes known as Badb Catha ("battle crow"). She often caused fear and confusion among soldiers in order to move the tide of battle to her favoured side. Badb would also appear prior to a battle to foreshadow the extent of the carnage to come or to predict the death of a notable person. She would sometimes do this through wailing cries, leading to comparisons with the bean-sídhe
Banshee
The banshee , from the Irish bean sí is a feminine spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld....

.

With her sisters, Macha
Macha (Irish mythology)
Macha is a goddess of ancient Ireland, associated with war, horses, sovereignty, and the sites of Armagh and Emain Macha in County Armagh, which are named after her...

 and the Morrígan
Morrígan
The Morrígan or Mórrígan , also written as Morrígu or in the plural as Morrígna, and spelt Morríghan or Mór-Ríoghain in Modern Irish, is a figure from Irish mythology who appears to have once been a goddess, although she is not explicitly referred to as such in the texts.The Morrigan is a goddess...

, Badb was part of a trio
Triple deity
A triple deity is a deity associated with the number three. Such deities are common throughout world mythology; the number three has a long history of mythical associations. C. G...

 of war goddesses known as the Morrígna.

Representations in legends

In Irish legends, Badb was associated with war and death, appearing either to foreshadow imminent bloodshed or to participate in battles, where she created confusion among the soldiers and fed on the discord of the conflict. As a harbinger of doom, she appears in a number of different guises. In Togail Bruidne Dá Derga, she takes the form of an ugly hag who prophesies Conaire Mór
Conaire Mor
Conaire Mór , son of Eterscél, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His mother was Mess Búachalla, who was either the daughter of Eochu Feidlech and Étaín, or of Eochu Airem and his daughter by Étaín...

's downfall. She appears in a similar guise in Togail Bruidne Dá Choca to foretell the slaying of Cormac Condloinges, as well as taking the form of a "washer at the ford
Bean Nighe
The bean nighe , is a Scottish fairy, seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. She is a type of bean sìth .-Legends:...

"—a woman washing Cormac's chariot and harness in a ford in what was considered an omen of death. The cries of Badb may also be an ill omen: Cormac's impending death is foreshadowed with the words "The red-mouthed badbs will cry around the house,/For bodies they will be solicitous" and "Pale badbs shall shriek". In this role she has much in common with the bean-sídhe.

She was also regularly depicted as an active participant in warfare; indeed, the battlefield was sometimes referred to as "the garden of the Badb". During the First Battle of Mag Tuired, Badb—along with her sisters, Macha and Morrígan—fights on the side of the Tuatha Dé Danann
Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuatha Dé Danann are a race of people in Irish mythology. In the invasions tradition which begins with the Lebor Gabála Érenn, they are the fifth group to settle Ireland, conquering the island from the Fir Bolg....

. Using their magic, the three sisters incite fear and confusion among the Fir Bolg
Fir Bolg
In Irish mythology the Fir Bolg were one of the races that inhabited the island of Ireland prior to the arrival of the Tuatha Dé Danann.-Mythology:...

 army, conjuring "compact clouds of mist and a furious rain of fire" and allowing their enemies "neither rest nor stay for three days and nights". Badb plays a similar role in the Táin Bó Cúailnge
Táin Bó Cúailnge
is a legendary tale from early Irish literature, often considered an epic, although it is written primarily in prose rather than verse. It tells of a war against Ulster by the Connacht queen Medb and her husband Ailill, who intend to steal the stud bull Donn Cuailnge, opposed only by the teenage...

, terrorising and disorienting the forces of Queen Medb
Medb
Medb – Middle Irish: Meḋḃ, Meaḋḃ; early modern Irish: Meadhbh ; reformed modern Irish Méabh, Medbh; sometimes Anglicised Maeve, Maev or Maive – is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology...

 and causing many to fall on their own weapons. She would often take the form of a screaming raven or crow, striking fear into those who heard her, and could also be heard as a voice among the corpses on a battlefield.

Following the defeat of the Formorians in the Second Battle of Mag Tuired, Badb prophesies both a blessing and the end of the world, declaring first:

Peace to the sky

sky to the earth

earth beneath sky

strength in everyone

a cup very full

a fullness of honey

honor enough

summer in winter

spear supported by shield

shields supported by forts

forts fierce eager for battle

fleece from sheep

woods full of stags

forever destructions have departed

mast on trees

a branch drooping-down

drooping from growth

wealth for a son

a son very learned

neck of bull in yoke

a bull from a song

knots in woods

wood for a fire

fire as wanted

palisades new and bright

salmon their victory

the Boyne their hostel

hostel with an excellence of length

new growth after spring

in autumn horses increase

the land held secure

land recounted with excellence of word

Be might to the eternal much excellent woods

peace to the sky

be this nine times eternal

Before concluding:
I shall not see a world that will be dear to me.

Summer without flowers,

Kine will be without milk,

Women without modesty,

Men without valour,

Captures without a king.

Kinship

Badb was often identified as one of the Morrígna, a trio of Irish war goddesses, although there exist a number of conflicting accounts on this subject. In Lebor Gabála Érenn
Lebor Gabála Érenn
Lebor Gabála Érenn is the Middle Irish title of a loose collection of poems and prose narratives recounting the mythical origins and history of the Irish from the creation of the world down to the Middle Ages...

, Badb, Macha and Morrígan make up the Morrígna trinity and are named as daughters of the goddess Ernmas
Ernmas
Ernmas is an Irish mother goddess, mentioned in Lebor Gabála Érenn and "Cath Maige Tuired" as one of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Her daughters include the trinity of eponymous Irish goddesses Ériu, Banba and Fódla, the trinity of war goddesses the Badb, Macha and the Mórrígan , and also a trinity of...

. According to this version, she is also the sister of Ériu
Ériu
In Irish mythology, Ériu , daughter of Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland. Her husband was Mac Gréine ....

, Banba
Banba
In Irish mythology, Banba daughter of Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, is the patron goddess of Ireland....

 and Fódla
Fódla
In Irish mythology, Fódla or Fótla , daughter of Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was one of the tutelary goddesses of Ireland. Her husband was Mac Cecht....

, the three matron goddesses of Ireland. Other accounts identify the trio as daughters of the druid Cailitin and his wife.

Lebor Gabála Érenn also states that Badb is one of the two wives of the war god Neit
Neit
For the Egyptian goddess, see Neith.In Irish mythology Neit was a god of war. He was the husband of Nemain, and sometimes of Badb. Also grandfather of Balor, he was killed at the legendary Second Battle of Moytura. The name probably derives from the proto-Celtic *nei-t- meaning fighting or passion...

. Less commonly, she has been described as the wife of the Fomorian king Tethra
Tethra
In Irish mythology, Tethra of the Fomorians ruled Mag Mell after dying in the Second Battle of Mag Tuiredh.-Etymology:Tethra may be derived from the Proto-Indo-European *tetro- meaning 'quacking sound'....

.

Similar deities

In her role as a terrifying battlefield goddess and harbinger of doom, Badb closely resembles Nemain
Nemain
In Irish mythology, Nemain is the fairy spirit of the frenzied havoc of war, and possibly an aspect of the Morrígan. The name is sometimes spelt Nemon or Neman.-Representation in literature:...

, and indeed the two may be one and the same. Like Badb, Nemain is identified as a wife of Neit and is sometimes listed as one of the three Morrígna. Writers would sometimes use their names interchangeably, suggesting that they may in fact be a single goddess. On the other hand, W.M. Hennessy notes that Badb and Nemain were said to have different sets of parents, suggesting that they may not be entirely identical figures.

Badb also appears to be closely related to the Gaulish goddess Catubodua
Catubodua
Catubodua is the name of a Gaulish goddess inferred from a single inscription in Haute Savoie, eastern France that actually reads ATHVBODVAE AVG SERVILIA TERENTIA S L M plus the debatable assumptions that an initial C has been lost and that ATEBODVAE, ATEBODVVS and ATEBODVI in 3 other...

, or Bodua.

Etymology

Pointing to variants such as Irish badhbh ‘hoodie crow, a fairy, a scold,’ Early Irish badb, ‘crow, demon,’ Badba, Welsh bod, ‘kite,’ the Gaulish name Bodv-, in Bodvo-gnatus and the Welsh name Bodnod, Macbain (1982) suggests *bodwā- as the Proto-Celtic ancestral form. However, Julius Pokorny
Julius Pokorny
Julius Pokorny was an Austrian linguist and scholar of the Celtic languages, particularly Irish, and a supporter of Irish nationalism. He held academic posts in Austrian and German universities.-Life:...

 (1959:203) suggests *badwā- on the basis of similar data. Both MacBain (1982) and Julius Pokorny
Julius Pokorny
Julius Pokorny was an Austrian linguist and scholar of the Celtic languages, particularly Irish, and a supporter of Irish nationalism. He held academic posts in Austrian and German universities.-Life:...

 (1959:203) correlate the element with Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 böð, genitive boðvar, ‘war,’ and Anglo-Saxon beadu, genitive beadwe, ‘battle,’ suggesting that the word originally denoted ‘battle
Enyo
Enyo , was an ancient goddess of war, acting as a counterpart and companion to the war god Ares. She is also identified as his sister, and daughter of Zeus and Hera, in a role closely resembling that of Eris; with Homer representing the two as the same goddess...

’ or ‘strife
Eris (mythology)
Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and discord, her name being translated into Latin as Discordia. Her Greek opposite is Harmonia, whose Latin counterpart is Concordia. Homer equated her with the war-goddess Enyo, whose Roman counterpart is Bellona...

.’ Julius Pokorny
Julius Pokorny
Julius Pokorny was an Austrian linguist and scholar of the Celtic languages, particularly Irish, and a supporter of Irish nationalism. He held academic posts in Austrian and German universities.-Life:...

 (1959:203) presents the element as an extended form of the Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...

 root *bhedh- ‘pierce, dig.’ To this root Pokorny also links the Sanskrit bádhate, ‘oppress,’ and the Lithuanian bádas, ‘famine’.

W. M. Hennessy argues that the word bodb or badb originally meant rage, fury, or violence, and came to mean a witch, fairy, or goddess, represented in folklore by the scald-crow, or royston-crow. Peter O'Connell's 1819 Irish Dictionary defines the Badb as a "bean-sidhe
Banshee
The banshee , from the Irish bean sí is a feminine spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld....

, a female fairy, phantom, or spectre, supposed to be attached to certain families, and to appear sometimes in the form of squall-crows, or royston-crows" and badb-catha as "Fionog, a royston-crow, a squall crow". Other entries relate to her triple nature: "Macha, i. e. a royston-crow; Morrighain, i. e. the great fairy; Neamhan, i. e. Badb catha nó feannóg; a badb catha, or royston-crow."

Footnotes

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