Female emotional state in Irish mythology
This article is about the banshee of Irish folklore. For other uses, see Banshee ( disambiguation ) Bunworth Banshee, Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland, by Thomas Crofton Croker, 1825, by Thomas Crofton Croker, 1825

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A banshee ( BAN-shee ; Modern Irish bean sí, from Old Irish : ben síde [ bʲen ˈʃiːðʲe ], “ womanhood of the fairy pile “ or “ fagot woman ” ) is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a class extremity, [ 1 ] normally by wailing, shrieking, or keening. Her diagnose is connected to the mythologically important tumuli or “ mounds ” that dot the Irish countryside, which are known as síde ( curious síd ) in Old Irish. [ 2 ]

description [edit ]

sometimes she has farseeing stream hair’s-breadth and wears a grey cloak over a greens attire, and her eyes are crimson from continual dolorous. [ 3 ] She may be dressed in white with loss hair’s-breadth and a ghastly complexion, according to a firsthand account by Ann, Lady Fanshawe in her Memoirs. [ 4 ] Lady Wilde in Ancient Legends of Ireland provides another :

The size of the banshee is another physical have that differs between regional accounts. Though some accounts of her standing artificially tall are recorded, the majority of tales that describe her acme state the banshee ‘s stature as short-circuit, anywhere between one foot and four feet. Her exceeding shortness often goes alongside the description of her as an old woman, though it may besides be intended to emphasize her state of matter as a fairy creature. [ 5 ]

In O’Brien ‘s Irish- English Dictionary the submission for Síth-Bhróg states :

“ hence bean-síghe, plural mná-síghe, she-fairies or women-fairies, credulously supposed by the common people to be so moved to certain families that they are hears to sing doleful lamentations about their houses by night, whenever any of the kin labours under a sickness which is to end by death, but no families which are not of an ancient & baronial stock certificate, are believed to be honoured with this fairy prerogative ”. [ 6 ]

sometimes the banshee assumes the form of some dulcet scorch pure of the class who died young, and has been given the deputation by the inconspicuous powers to become the announce of coming destine to her person kindred. Or she may be seen at night as a shroud woman, crouched beneath the trees, lamenting with veiled face, or flying past in the moonlight, crying piercingly. The cry of this intent is doleful beyond all early sounds on earth, and betokens certain end to some member of the kin whenever it is heard in the hush of the night. [ 7 ]

Keening [edit ]

The Banshee Appears, 1862, 1862 In Ireland and parts of Scotland, a traditional separate of mourn is the keening charwoman ( bean chaointe ), who wails a lament—in irish : Caoineadh, pronounced [ ˈkiːnʲiː ] ( Munster dialect ), [ ˈkiːnʲə ] ( Connaught dialect ) or [ ˈkiːnʲuː ] ( Ulster dialect ), caoin meaning “ to weep, to wail ”. This keening charwoman may in some cases be a master, and the best keeners would be in gamey demand. irish legend speaks of a dirge being sung by a fagot charwoman, or banshee. She would sing it when a family member died or was about to die, tied if the person had died far away and news program of their end had not however come. In those cases, her wailing would be the inaugural warning the family had of the death. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] The banshee besides is a forecaster of death. If person is about to enter a site where it is unlikely they will come out alive she will warn people by screaming or wailing, giving rise to a banshee besides being known as a wailing woman.

It is much stated that the banshee laments only the descendants of the arrant Milesian lineage of Ireland, [ 10 ] sometimes clarified as surnames prefixed with O ‘ and Mac, [ 11 ] and some accounts even state of matter that each syndicate has its own banshee. One account, however, besides included the Geraldines, as they had obviously become “ more irish than the irish themselves, ” countering the lore ascribing banshees entirely to those of Milesian stock. [ 12 ] other exceptions were the Bunworth Banshee, which heralded the death of the Rev. Charles Bunworth, a name of Anglo-Saxon origin, and the Rossmore banshee, which purportedly heralded the death of a member of the family of Baron Rossmore, whose ancestry was predominantly scots and Dutch. When respective banshees appear at once, it indicates the death of person great or holy place. [ 13 ] The tales sometimes recounted that the woman, though called a fairy, was a ghostwriter, much of a specific murdered charwoman, or a mother who died in childbirth. [ 3 ]

beginning [edit ]

Most, though not all, surnames associated with banshees have the Ó or Mc/Mac prefix – that is, surnames of Goidelic origin, indicating a family native to the Insular Celtic lands rather than those of the Norse, English, or Norman. Accounts reach as far back as 1380 to the issue of the Cathreim Thoirdhealbhaigh ( Triumphs of Torlough ) by Sean macintosh Craith. [ 14 ] Mentions of banshees can besides be found in Norman literature of that time. [ 14 ] The Ua Briain banshee is thought to be named Aibell and the ruler of 25 other banshees who would always be at her attendance. [ 14 ] It is possible that this especial history is the informant of the mind that the howl of numerous banshees signifies the end of a great person. [ 14 ] In some parts of Leinster, she is referred to as the bean chaointe ( keening womanhood ) whose howl can be so piercing that it shatters glass. In scots folklore, a like creature is known as the bean nighe or ban nigheachain ( little washwoman ) or nigheag na h-àth ( fiddling washer at the ford ) and is seen washing the bloodstained clothes or armor of those who are about to die. In Welsh folklore, a alike animal is known as the cyhyraeth. [ 15 ]

In popular culture [edit ]

Banshees, or creatures based upon them, have appeared in many forms in popular culture .

See besides [edit ]

References [edit ]

far reading [edit ]