Bé Chuille
Encyclopedia
Bé Chuille, also known as Becuille and Bé Chuma, is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann
in Irish mythology
. In a tale from the Metrical Dindshenchas, she is a good sorceress who joins three other of the Tuatha Dé to defeat the evil Greek
witch Carman
. According to the Book of Leinster (1150) Bé Chuille was killed, along with Dianann, by "gray demons of air."
She is often confused with Bechuma of the Fair Skin. In Echtrae Airt meic Cuinn (The Echtra
, or Adventure, of Art mac Cuinn
), Bechuma is the wife of Eogan Inbir, but commits adultery with Gaidiar, son of Manannán mac Lir
, and is banished to the human world. Conn of the Hundred Battles
marries her, but she becomes infatuated with his son Art. The druid
s inform Conn Bé Chuille's wickedness has turned his realm into a Wasteland
, and she is eventually exiled.
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....
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...
. In a tale from the Metrical Dindshenchas, she is a good sorceress who joins three other of the Tuatha Dé to defeat the evil Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
witch Carman
Carman
In Irish mythology, Carman or Carmun was a warrior-woman and sorceress from Athens who tried to invade Ireland in the days of the Tuatha Dé Danann, along with her three sons, Dub , Dother and Dian...
. According to the Book of Leinster (1150) Bé Chuille was killed, along with Dianann, by "gray demons of air."
She is often confused with Bechuma of the Fair Skin. In Echtrae Airt meic Cuinn (The Echtra
Echtra
An Echtra or Echtrae is one of a category of Old Irish literature about a hero's adventures in the Otherworld ; the otherworldly setting is the distinctive trait of these tales...
, or Adventure, of Art mac Cuinn
Art mac Cuinn
Art mac Cuinn , also known as Art Óenfer , was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland....
), Bechuma is the wife of Eogan Inbir, but commits adultery with Gaidiar, son of Manannán mac Lir
Manannán mac Lir
Manannán mac Lir is a sea deity in Irish mythology. He is the son of the obscure Lir . He is often seen as a psychopomp, and has strong affiliations with the Otherworld, the weather and the mists between the worlds...
, and is banished to the human world. Conn of the Hundred Battles
Conn of the Hundred Battles
Conn Cétchathach , son of Fedlimid Rechtmar, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland, and the ancestor of the Connachta, and, through his descendant Niall Noígiallach, the Uí Néill dynasties, which dominated Ireland in the early middle ages, and...
marries her, but she becomes infatuated with his son Art. The druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
s inform Conn Bé Chuille's wickedness has turned his realm into a Wasteland
Wasteland (mythology)
The Wasteland is a Celtic motif that ties the barrenness of a land with a curse that must be lifted by a hero. It occurs in Irish mythology and French Grail romances, and hints of it may be found in the Welsh Mabinogion....
, and she is eventually exiled.