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Crëyr
Cymric God of Death: Crane
Crëyr is a Cymric (Welsh) god of death known from folklore where the crane is a celtic bird associated with death. Crëyr being a crame-headed stalks the marsh-lands seeking his victims. |
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Cym: The Crane
Crëyr is a figure from from my own childhood; a boogey-man from local legend. The name means 'crane' but it is also root for the name of all long-legged birds such as herons and egrets.
The mythology of the crane, indeed of all long-legged water and marsh birds (which seem to be used rather interchangably in Celtic belief) is rather complex reflecting 2000 years of representation and folklore. The first records of the 'crane cult' are pre-roman conins that depict a crane or long-legged bird riding a horse which often bears the face of a man. Good examples being coins of the Lemovices and Bituriges. It should be noted that the horse in early Celtic belief is an animal associated with war and later traditions it seems that to see a heron or a crane on the eve of a battle was a bad omen, signifying the death of the viewer. Which may be why images of long-legged birds have been found on Celtic weapons, scabbards and armour. Protecting the wearer whilst cursing the viewer.
In the Irish legend of the Cailleach an Teampuill (The Hag of the Temple) her four sons appear as cranes, birds which, in this case at least, are clearly assiciated with death. They can only become men if the blood of the Connra Bull (owned by the Cailleach Bhéirre) is sprinkled over them. The association of bull and crane or egret is associated with Esus and the Tarvos Trigaranus (Bull with Three Egrets) which may represent a deity in its own right. The cult significance of this image is now largely lost but may represent the agrarian and healing aspects of the Celtic warrior deity.
One must also consider the Irish and, according to Geraldius Cambrensis Cymric tabu on the eating of crane and heron flesh. It may be that these birds where thought to represent the re-incarnated eneid or souls of the departed. This may be because of a combination of the association of cranes with the battle dead and their upright gait. Hoiwever, much of the existing Irish folklore depicts the crane as feminine; both a creative and a destructive force responsible for retribution and the engendering of new life.
Crëyr however, is seen as a harbinger of death; a crane-headed deity that stalks the marsh-land and the wetlands seeking victims. A myth-form that is reminiscent of the cross-slab from Papil, Shetland showing two crane-headed men with axes over their shoulders who are pinning a human head between their beaks (as shown above).
If you would like to try the foods of the time of the ancient Celts, then why not have a look at the ancient recipes section of this site. For the foods of the time when some of these tales were written down, take a look at the Medieval recipes section of the site and, in particular, the recipes from The Forme of Cury.
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