Hungry grass
Encyclopedia
In Irish mythology
, hungry grass is a patch of cursed grass
. Anyone walking on the hungry grass was doomed to perpetual and insatiable hunger
.
Harvey suggests that the hungry grass is cursed by the proximity of an unshriven
corpse (the fear gorta
). William Carleton's stories suggest that faeries plant the hungry grass. According to Harvey this myth may relate to beliefs formed in the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s. In Margaret McDougall
's letters the phrase "hungry grass" is - by analogy to the myth - used to describe hunger pains.
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...
, hungry grass is a patch of cursed grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
. Anyone walking on the hungry grass was doomed to perpetual and insatiable hunger
Hunger
Hunger is the most commonly used term to describe the social condition of people who frequently experience the physical sensation of desiring food.-Malnutrition, famine, starvation:...
.
Harvey suggests that the hungry grass is cursed by the proximity of an unshriven
Absolution
Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness experienced in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This concept is found in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Anglican churches, and most Lutheran churches....
corpse (the fear gorta
Fear gorta
In Irish mythology, the fear gorta is a phantom of hunger resembling an emaciated human....
). William Carleton's stories suggest that faeries plant the hungry grass. According to Harvey this myth may relate to beliefs formed in the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s. In Margaret McDougall
Margaret McDougall
Margaret McDougall is a Labour Member of the Scottish Parliament, representing the West of Scotland region.She previously represented the Kilwinning South ward on North Ayrshire Council and stood for election to the Scottish Parliament on the Labour list for the South of Scotland region in the 2007...
's letters the phrase "hungry grass" is - by analogy to the myth - used to describe hunger pains.