The Wooing Of Étaín: Ireland's Mythological Cycle

Marriage and love are complex things, and even more so when magic and mythology are involved. In The Wooing of Étaín, from Ireland’s Mythological Cycle, the story is told of how Midir, the lord of Brí Leith, came to be with Étaín, the fairest woman in all of Ireland. One of many tales where “the hero must complete a series of arduous tasks before being able to win the girl” Midir, and his foster-son Oengus have to accomplish various challenges in order to for Étaín to become Midir’s wife (Findon, 1997). Filled with magic, revenge, love, and deception, The Wooing of Étaín has all the characteristics of an early version of soap opera. However, this story not only functions as an entertaining fairy tale, but also as a glimpse into early Irish
As demonstrated in The Wooing of Étaín, when Étaín’s father, Ailill the king of the north-eastern part of Ireland, demanded that Oengus clear his land and pay him in Étaín’s weight in gold and silver, the family of the bride had to be compensated. This bridal price was typically worth half of the father’s honour price (Kelly, 2014). Another interesting aspect of early Irish society that was shown in The Wooing of Étaín was the idea of polygamy. Although monogamy was seen was the ideal form of marriage during this time in Ireland, that did not stop men from having more than one wife (Kelly, 2014). Though Midir was already married to Fuamnach, the daughter of a druid, that did not stop him from wanting Étaín, whose beauty took his breath away. Although technically Étaín’s social standing is higher than Fuamnach’s, as she is the daughter of a king, Fuamnach is the first wife, and therefore ranks higher than Étaín. Because of her lower legal status, Étaín has to obey Fuamnach and is therefore powerless to stop Fuamnach when she strikes her with a rod of scarlet quicktree and turns her into a pool of water (Kelly, 2007). As stated by Kelly (2014), “she is legally entitled to physically assault the other woman...after her entry into the household”. Due to this law, Midir could not do anything to stop Fuamnach take her anger out on
Women were viewed upon as people with secondary status, and generally did not have much legal capacity (Kelly, 1988). For the most part, they were forced to rely on their male guardian in order to do things like make contracts and transactions (Kelly, 1988). In other words, they are made dependent from the moment they are born, first under the care of their father, then, their husband, and finally, their sons (Kelly, 1988). That could be the reason why Étaín refused to go with Midir when he came to the mortal realm for her, for she was married to Echaid, and therefore was unable to leave without his permission. She did not want to break the law, for doing so would mean that she ruined Echaid’s reputation and honour. Her faithfulness to Echaid also highlights the aspect of being a virtuous wife. Many times she came close to losing her honour when Echaid’s brother Ailill was sick with love for her, yet in the end her virtue was protected by Midir. This shows not only how heavily women relied on men, but also how a righteous wife was seen as the ideal. In fact, throughout the story Étaín is portrayed as a rather docile and passive (Findon, 1997). As Findonn (1997) mentions, “Étaín submits herself...to the barter and exchange of men…”. This description could also function as a model for how wives should behave. Early Irish society seemed to prefer women with “steady virtue and a steady tongue” (Kelly, 1988). In