Life after Death, Catholicism, C.S. Lewis, and European Myth
What important points did you learn from this article?
Compare and contrast these mythological beliefs about death and those in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Which ideas might Lewis have taken from myth and which ideas did he not?
How do our Catholic beliefs about life after death compare to what you just read in regard to:
1) Sections or boundaries
2) Concept of soul
3) Judgment and punishment
4) The Shift from the Otherworld to the Underworld in Northern Europe
Early Celtic religion was polytheistic, nature centered, and administered by a priestly caste called the Druids. The Druids were a major power within the Celtic empire, with all public and private affairs subject to their authority. Before Christianity had spread to these area, there was no hell-like world. Everything non-mortal existed in the Otherworld, which was always located to the west. After the influence of Christianity, the otherworld had been transformed into an underworld, namely to punish and lower the power of the old pagan gods in the eyes of the Northern European peoples. The Celtic Realms as well as their rulers were an important source of legendary underworld culture.
The Celtic underworld, Annwfn, is often called the kingdom of shades. It is a series of coexisting realms containing many different life-forms. In addition to housing the souls of the damned, Annwfn includes areas owned by the gods and the benevolent spirits. These different sectors are separated by mountain ranges, rivers and impassable chasms.
In the poem, Preiddeu Annwfn, Annwfn is depicted as a paradise island associated with King Arthur. In search of the Holy Grail, the narrator of this poem, Taliesin (who was a member of an expedition into the land of the Otherworld), provides a descriptive account of Annwfn. The poem relates that Annwfn is divided into three regions, Caer Wydyr, Caer Feddwidd, and Arran or Avalon. (Celtic Otherworld)
Caer Wydr, also referred to as Nennius, lies within a glass fort. It is not a waste land, but it is a gloomy and dark land. Of the three regions, Caer Wydr, is considered the most undesirable place to reside after death. In the poem, Taliesin relates that the members of the expedition try to strike up a conversation with the fortress guard, but he said nothing and acted as if they were not there at all. His silence indicated that only lost souls inhabited this land. (Celtic Otherworld)
Caer Feddwidd, the Fort of Carousal, is ruled by Arianrhod, the Goddess of time, space, and energy. It is also known as Caer Rigor or Caer Siddi. Taliesin reports that there is a mystical fountain of wine in this land which, if drunk from, one will find eternal youth and health. (Celtic Otherworld)
The third region of Annwfn is Arran or Avalon, and is considered the most divine of the three lands. Arran is based largely on pagan beliefs and hosts the Cauldron of Plenty, which is also linked to the Holy Grail. Avalon is closely associated with the Arthurian legends. These legends relate that only those who are pure, self sacrificing, and spiritual are allowed to enter this region. (Celtic Otherworld)
Another Northern European realm in Ireland, was known as the Cave of Cruachan in Connaught, and has been called the gateway to the underworld. In the old legends, Cruachan is a gateway through which dead armies of zombies come to attack the living. Christians updated the tales, claiming that it is through the cave that condemned human souls enter the underworld.
The inhabitants of this Irish realm were also an important part of their legends. The Fomorii are a monstrous race of creatures who dwell far below the sea. The inhabitants of this gloomy underworld are horribly misshapen and deformed. They are ruled by Balor, who has a terrible tempter, and often strikes out against his subjects without provocation. Legends vary, but most agree that the Fomorii's evil caused their deformities. In addition, Balor's wrath is punishment for the sins of their past.
All over Northern Europe different legendary Celtic gods or lords ruled the underworld. Bile is known as the ancient Celtic lord of the dead. He is said to be an evil and vicious god who requires human sacrifices to appease his violent nature. The kingdom of Bile is a vast wasteland of crushed spirits and broken bodies who must pay the deity eternal homage.
Bran is another the lord of the dead in Welsh mythology. His symbol is the raven, an image associated with death and the grave. Bran was a deified mortal who angered the gods, was beheaded, and then banished to the underworld as punishment for his transgressions. Bran's kingdom of the dead is filled with failed heroes who must spend eternity in angst and regret.
According to ancient Gaelic myth, another deity is Mider, a benevolent god of the underworld. Mider is a just overlord who does not torture spirits in his kingdom. His realm is a place of tedium and sorrow rather than physical pain. Mider has a magic caldron capable of performing supernatural feats. However, Mider's daughter betrays him and helps the hero Cuchulain steal the magic cauldron from the underworld.
Cernunnous, the horned one, is the ancient Celtic god of the underworld and ruler of the dead. Images of the dark sorcerer, etched into cave walls in France, date back to 9000 BC. Cernunnous is portrayed as a horned figure surrounded by fearsome animals. He is also associated with hunting and fertility. Cernunnous became identified with the antichrist (Satan) when Christianity spread to the Celtic regions. After the conversion of Ireland, Cernunnous was increasingly linked with a dark and foul underworld, the dwelling place of evil spirits and souls of the damned.
Gwynn is another Celtic god of the underworld. He is a hunter who preys on souls, claiming then for the underworld, Annwfn. Gwynn is also associated with Fairies, who have also been called the hosts of hell by some Christians.
The Celtic Donn is the Irish underworld god. According to legend, Donn was drowned by the Goddess Eriu after he insulted her. From that point on, he appears in the tales as the keeper of the first guidepost on the journey to the Otherworld. The dead were believed to have briefly visited or passed by his house just after the moment of death. This house is located on an island called Techn Duinn or House of Donn that is southwest of Munster off the coast of Ireland.
Another legendary Northern European realm is known as Niflheim. This land of mists is the Germanic underworld. It is described a cold realm of icy suffering ruled by the goddess, Hel. Souls of those who die by any other means other than battle are sent to Niflheim. It is surrounded by steep walls that are impassable to the living. It lies on the other side of Echoing Bridge, a treacherous passageway to the land of spirits. Souls are challenged and assaulted as they try to cross. Niflheim is a dreary, dark place of everlasting winter where a poisonous fountain spews rivers of ice. The entrance to Niflheim is Gnipahelli, a dark, foul smelling opening that is guarded by the fierce dog Garm. The ferocious monster is forever watching for Hermodr, the dark ferryman who brings the dead to the underworld. Garm also prevents the spirits from escaping Niflheim.
The goddess Hel, is the ruler of Niflheim and it's inhabitants. She is a hideous creature who is half human and half green rotting corpse. Hel is the daughter of the trickster god, Loki, and the giantess, Angrboda. Hel is also the sibling of both the Midgard Worm, who will cause the sea to flood the world with lashings of his tail, and of Fenrir, the phantom wolf who will swallow the sun at Ragnarok. Hel is aided by Hermodr who ferries some spirits to Niflheim. Other souls of immoral people wash up on the haunted shore of Nastron and are then delivered to Hel for punishment. Hel's father, Loki, is there to help. Legend's report that Loki who was banished to the underworld after becoming increasingly hostile and deceitful. He eventually killed Baldar, a fellow deity, sealing his own fate.
Sulis is the Romano-Celtic underworld goddess. She is also known as a deity concerned with knowledge and prophecy. Sulis is the tutelary goddess of the thermal waters at Bath, England, and is closely linked with the roman goddess, Minerva.
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Museum/5999/hell/celtic.html
The Otherworld
The land of the sidhe / Tuatha Dé Danann / Children of Don / Children of Llyr. That is, the home of the supernatural figures alternately called gods and faeries.
The designation of this land as "the otherworld" might be due to the etymology of the word Annwfn, one of the Welsh names for the place:
an- (intensifying prefix) + dwfn: deep = "The Very-Deep Place"
an- (negating prefix) + dwfn: world = "The Not-World"
In other words, we are dealing with a place which is deep in the earth, but not what we think of as the underworld, i.e. the land of the dead (called Uffern in later Welsh). The pagan Celts--and modern druids--believed in reincarnation, and so there was no real "land of the dead" per se, and especially no "god of the dead" despite the claims of Julius Caesar that the Celts say they are descended of Dis Pater. Only later, in the manuscripts, are we told of Tech Duinn as the home of the dead.
In Celtic mythology, it seems that the Otherworld can be divided into two realms (using Irish terms): the sidhe and Hy-Breasil.
Sídhe
The sídhe, while generally used as a collective term for the gods or faeries, originally refered to the long barrows, the hollow hills that the Tuatha Dé Danann inhabit.
According to Irish myth, the Tuatha Dé Danann were driven into the hills--literally, sídhe--after being defeated by the Milesians, the modern Irish. They sought refuge inside the hills, and through the wisdom of Manannan mac Lír, divided up into seperate kingdoms, with one high king over the various sidhe--this king was Bodb Derg, much to the anger of Lír. The most famous of these sídhe were Brú na Bóinne and Temhair in Meath.
What must be remembered, though, is that these hills are in fact neolithic structures--burial mounds. While the early history of Ireland is somewhat murky, let's propose an idea, one which has been floated around before. Could the Irish have known the function of the sídhe? Could the worship of these gods/faeries who inhabit the sidhe be a form of ancestor worship? It's unknown, and purely speculation.
The sidhe also exists in Welsh tradition. It is refered to as a gorsedd, meaning "seat", tor meaning "hill" or "tower", and "Caer Siddi" in the poems of Taliesin. For instance, there is the Gorsedd Arbeth, where Pwyll pen Annwfn first sees Rhiannon, and where later Pryderi causes an enchantment to fall on Dyfed. Then there is Glastonbury Tor, where according to one saints' life--that of Saint Collen--Gwynn ap Nudd rules over the Tylwyth Teg. Giraldus Cambriensis records the story of Elidur, a priest who lived with the "Good People" as a child, after finding their home in the side of a hill. Interestingly, Girladus claims that they spoke Greek, which would back up certain claims of descendence from the Greeks and Trojans, a common theme in some of the early histories and bruts
Then there is Caer Siddi, mentioned in the poems of Taliesin:
Save only seven
None returned from Caer Siddi.
--"The Spoils of Annwn"
Perfect is my seat in Caer Siddi
Manawyd and Pryderi know it.
--"Song Before the Sons of Llyr"
While the word siddi is a borrowing from the Irish sídhe, it should be noted that this actually seems to refer to an Otherworld island; for that, see below under Hy Breasil.
It should be noted that in Welsh literature there isn't a firm tradition of sidhe as a home to the gods, as there is in Irish literature. Figures like Gwydion, Arianrhod, and Bendigedfran do not live in the hollow hills; it is the home to "lesser" supernatural beings who have not been rationalized into kings and queens.
While Annwn/Annwfn--the Otherworld as ruled by Arawn--isn't specifically said to be inside a hill, it is likely that that is the case in the earliest version of the story. In alternate tales, when Annwfn is ruled by Gwyn ap Nudd, entrance is gained through Glastonbury Tor (see "St. Collen and Gwyn ap Nudd").
Now, when a human finds his way into these sidhe, it is usually on one of the "Fire Festivals": Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnassadh. On these days--but especially Samhain and Beltane--the doors on the hills would open and the faeries would walk about the realm of men. There are numerous stories, both literary (such as those dealing with Fionn mac Cumhill) and folklore (too numerous to mention) wherein the hero witnesses the faeries leaving and entering the hollow hills on these days, participating on combat on these days, and so on. This method seems to be discouraged by the faeries--this is their time, and the human who stumbles upon them is often punished in some form.
The other method of finding a way into the sidhe was to be lost: caught up in a magical fog--such as when Conn Céad Cathach and his men were caught, and found themselves at the house of Lugh Lamhfada, or lost in the woods, such as when Pwyll ran into Arawn while hunting. This is usually a case of being selected by the god for a special reason--kingship, or switching roles for a duel. In these instances, the hero is (eventually) rewarded for his deeds.
What is most important about the sídhe is that while it is supernatural, ruled by gods, it is very much like our world--there are wars, jealousy, betrayals. It is as full as strife as our world, and often this strife bleeds over into our world.
Hy Breasil
The term Hy Breasil (and its various spellings) refers to the Blessed Isles of legend. Until the modern era (well into the age of exploration), maps would often have an island of "Brasil" or "Breasil" out in the Atlantic. The idea of islands out to the west is, of course, half based in fact and half based in myth: the Hesperides and Hy Breasil could just as easily be the Azores and the Faroe Islands. So it is no surprise that the Celts had islands in their Otherworld; it is important to notice, though, that they differ with the sidhe in both their governance and their reachability.