Page:Origin and Growth of Religion (Rhys).djvu/392

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376
IV. THE CULTURE HERO.

working portion of the day (p. 141), or else, perhaps, of time into present, past and future. This looks at first sight like a reversal of the Celtic habit of giving darkness precedence over light and day; but had we the myth in its original completeness, we should probably find that Teirgwaeᵭ had as her husband and father of Menyw a representative in some form or other of darkness, all reference to him being omitted in favour of the matronymic style of naming certain of the oldest Celtic divinities. All this is corroborated by the Triads[1] treating Menyw as one of the three chief magicians and glamour-men of the Isle of Britain.

It was suggested that the mon in the Welsh Nawmon was of the same origin as the Irish name Maine, and that is doubtless right, so that Mynach Nawmon may be rendered the Monk of the Nine Tricks;[2] for Irish proves the existence of a Celtic word mon, 'a trick,' from which was derived an Irish adjective monach or manach, 'tricky or dodgy.' This was applied to a notorious Fomorian called Forgall Monach, or Forgall the Tricky, who was an adept at magic and shape-shifting. In harmony with a very wide-spread kind of myth, he lost his life in trying to prevent Cúchulainn from carrying away his daughter to be his wife. The Welsh word mynawg corresponding to monach, however, means a courteous or polite person; the difference of meaning looks wide, but it is partly to be explained by the fact that the Welsh literature of the Middle Ages treats courteousness or good breeding as

  1. i. 31, 32, 33, ij. 20, iij. 90.
  2. Some of the Triad versions have Nawmod, which would mean, 'of nine modes or forms.' It is not impossible that the original was Mynawg Nawmon, with the mynawg explained below.