The gate of the year

Bronze deer, part of the “treasure”, a set of bronze objects of the Gallo-Roman period (I century B.C. – I century A.D.), discovered in 1861 near the village of Neuvy-en-Sullias, in the central region of France, now in the Historical and Archaeological Museum (Musée Historique et Archéologique de l'Orléanais), Orléans, France.
In Celtic tradition, the animals of the forest were regarded as a kind of wild equivalents of the domesticated animals owned by humankind. Some mythological figures took care of the animals of the wilderness, just as the shepherd looked after his flocks. If the herds of domesticated animals were dominated by a powerful bull, the wild animal herds were led by a great stag, symbol of strength and generative power. However, the deer in mythology assumed frequently female associations. The beautiful maiden Sadb, daughter of the druid Bodb Derg, was transformed into a deer by her father’s enemy, Fear Doirche. During the night, the girl took up her human aspect again and visited the hero Fionn, of whom she had fallen in love. But the dark druid discovered her and condemned the maiden to remain forever in the shape of a deer. After long peregrinations searching for his lover, one day Fionn saw a deer nursing a human infant, and recognized his own son, who was called Oisín (“little fawn”).
In Scotland, the popular figure of the Cailleach, probably descended from an ancient Celtic divinity, was represented as an old woman who herded deer, whose milk she drank. She was regarded as the personification of the winter winds, which brought snowstorms: mummers dances were performed in spring to drive the old woman away, who should have been replaced by the figure of Bride, a maiden possibly associated with the Celtic goddess Brigit (Monaghan 2004).

[Image: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C3%A9sor_de_Neuvy-en-Sullias]




Animals

Back

Bronze deer, part of the “treasure”, a set of bronze objects of the Gallo-Roman period (I century B.C. – I century A.D.), discovered in 1861 near the village of Neuvy-en-Sullias, in the central region of France, now in the Historical and Archaeological Museum (Musée Historique et Archéologique de l'Orléanais), Orléans, France. In Celtic tradition, the animals of the forest were regarded as a kind of wild equivalents of the domesticated animals owned by humankind. Some mythological figures took care of the animals of the wilderness, just as the shepherd looked after his flocks. If the herds of domesticated animals were dominated by a powerful bull, the wild animal herds were led by a great stag, symbol of strength and generative power. However, the deer in mythology assumed frequently female associations. The beautiful maiden Sadb, daughter of the druid Bodb Derg, was transformed into a deer by her father’s enemy, Fear Doirche. During the night, the girl took up her human aspect again and visited the hero Fionn, of whom she had fallen in love. But the dark druid discovered her and condemned the maiden to remain forever in the shape of a deer. After long peregrinations searching for his lover, one day Fionn saw a deer nursing a human infant, and recognized his own son, who was called Oisín (“little fawn”). In Scotland, the popular figure of the Cailleach, probably descended from an ancient Celtic divinity, was represented as an old woman who herded deer, whose milk she drank. She was regarded as the personification of the winter winds, which brought snowstorms: mummers dances were performed in spring to drive the old woman away, who should have been replaced by the figure of Bride, a maiden possibly associated with the Celtic goddess Brigit (Monaghan 2004). [Image: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C3%A9sor_de_Neuvy-en-Sullias]