Editing Aengus

{{short description|Irish god of youth, love, and poetic inspiration}}
{{for|the given names Aonghas, Aengus|Angus (given name)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox deity
| type       = Irish
| name       = Aengus
| image      =Heroes of the dawn (1914) (14566173909).jpg
| caption    = Aengus, illustration by [[Beatrice Elvery]] in Violet Russell's ''Heroes of the Dawn'' (1914)
| member_of  = the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]]
| abodes     = [[Brú na Bóinne]]
| weapons    = {{hlist|Moralltach| Beagalltach| Gáe Buide| Gáe Derg }}
| animals    = [[Swan]]
| parents    = {{hlist| [[Dagda]]| [[Boann]]| [[Midir]] (foster-father) }}
| siblings   = [[Cermait|Oghma an Cermait]] (brother)
| consorts   = {{hlist| [[Étaín]]| [[Caer Ibormeith]] }}
| children   = [[Diarmuid Ua Duibhne]] (foster-son)
}}

In [[Irish mythology]], '''Aengus''' or '''Óengus''' is one of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] and probably originally a god associated with youth, love,<ref name="mythlegendromance">Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice-Hall Press, 1991. pp.38–40</ref> summer and poetic inspiration. The son of [[The Dagda]] and [[Boann]], Aengus is also known as '''Macan Óc''' ("the young boy" or "young son"), and corresponds to the [[Welsh mythology|Welsh]] mythical figure [[Mabon ap Modron|Mabon]] and the Celtic god [[Maponos]].<ref name="mythlegendromance"/> He plays a central role in five Irish myths.

==Name==
In [[Old Irish]] his name is ''Óengus'' or ''Oíngus'' {{IPA|sga|ˈoiŋɡus|}}, a name attested in [[Adomnán]]'s ''Life of St Columba'' as ''Oinogus(s)ius''.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Adamnan|editor1-last=Reeves|editor1-first=William|title=Life of Saint Columba, Founder of Hy|date=1874|publisher=Edmonston and Douglas|location=Edinburgh|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_8VULAAAAYAAJ/page/n307 123]|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_8VULAAAAYAAJ|access-date=18 January 2018}}</ref> This is believed to come from a [[Proto-Celtic]] name meaning "true vigour".<ref name="mythlegendromance"/> The medieval ''Dindsenchas'' derives it from "one desire", explaining that Boann gave him the name because her union with the Dagda had been her only desire.<ref name="Boand_II">{{cite web |last1=Stokes |first1=Whitley |title=The Metrical Dindsenchas: Boand II |url=https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T106500C.html |website=Corpus of Electronic Texts |publisher=University College, Cork |access-date=3 August 2019}}</ref> In Middle Irish this became ''Áengus'', and in [[Irish language|Modern Irish]] ''Aonghus'' {{IPA|ga|ˈeːnˠəsˠ|}}, {{IPA|ga|ˈn̪ˠiːsˠ|}}.

He is also known as ''Óengus Óc''/''Aengus Óg'' ("Aengus the young"), ''Mac ind Óc'' ("son of the young"), ''Maccan''/''Macán'', or ''Mac Óc/Mac Óg'' ("young son").<ref name="mythlegendromance"/>

According to Celticists [[John T. Koch]] and [[Kenneth H. Jackson]], ''Aengus'' is also cognate to the [[Pictish language|Pictish]] ''Onuist''/''Unuist'' and [[Old Welsh]] ''Unust''.<ref>''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. Ed. John T. Koch. Santa Barbara and Oxford: ABC-CLIO. 2006. pp. 1389, 1444, 1657. {{ISBN|185-1094407}}.</ref><ref>Calise, J. M. P. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=iAa6JoLgFRwC&dq=%22onuist%22+oengus&pg=PA246 Pictish Sourcebook: Documents of Medieval Legend and Dark Age History]''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. p. 246. {{ISBN|9780313322952}}.</ref>

==Family==
Aengus' parents were [[The Dagda]] and [[Boann]], and his foster-father was variously [[Elcmar]] or [[Midir]].<ref>[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/etain.html The Wooing of Etain] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150307235133/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/etain.html |date=2015-03-07 }} The Celtic Literature Collective</ref><ref name="mythlegendromance"/><ref name=Fermoy />  He was said to have lived at [[Newgrange]] by the [[River Boyne]], where he raised Manannán's blonde-haired daughter Curcog as his foster.<ref name="mythlegendromance"/><ref name=Fermoy /> In the folklore of [[Scotland]], Aengus is the husband of [[Brigid]] and son of [[Cailleach|Beira, the Fairy Queen of Winter]].<ref name="Mackenzie">{{cite book |last1=Mackenzie |first1=Donald Alexander |title=Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend |date=1917 |publisher=Frederick A. Stokes Co. |location=New York, NY |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/tsm/tsm05.htm |access-date=30 August 2020}}</ref> His siblings include [[Aed (god)|Aed]], [[Cermait]], [[Bodb Derg]], and [[Brigid]]. Aengus is the foster-father and protector of [[Diarmuid Ua Duibhne]] of the [[Fianna]].  He rescues Diarmuid and [[Gráinne]] during their pursuit by the Fianna; after Diarmuid's death, Aengus takes his body back to the Brú na Bóinne where he breathes life into it when he wishes to speak with Diarmuid. According to ''Death Tales of the Tuatha de Danann'', Aengus kills his stepfather Elcmar in retaliation for killing Midir. Aengus has a son named Nemhannach who is mentioned in the [[Cath Finntrágha|Battle of Ventry]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Meyer|first=Kuno|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J-wNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1|title=Cath Finntraga|date=1885|publisher=AMS Press|isbn=978-0-404-63954-9|language=en}}</ref>

==Physical description==
In a late folktale recorded in Scotland, the following physical description is provided:
<blockquote>"Then Angus mounted his white steed and rode eastward...He was clad in raiment of shining gold, and from his shoulders hung his royal robe of crimson which the wind uplifted and spread out in gleaming splendour athwart the sky."</blockquote>

Then a bard composed the following song about Angus:
<blockquote><poem>
Angus hath come - the young the fair,
The blue-eyed god with golden hair,
The god who to the world doth bring,
This morn the promise of the spring.<ref name="Mackenzie" />
</poem></blockquote>

In Irish myths, Aengus is variously described in the following terms:
* expert in arms<ref name=Fermoy>[http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/fosterage.html ''The Book of Fermoy'' "The Fosterage of the House of the Two Pails"]</ref>
* horseman<ref name=Fermoy />
* sailor<ref name=Fermoy />
* son of the Dagda<ref name=Fermoy />
* of the many exploits<ref name="Tuag">{{cite web |last1=Gwynn |first1=Edward |title=The Metrical Dindsenchas: Tuag Inber |url=https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T106500D.html |website=Corpus of Electronic Texts |publisher=University College Cork |access-date=3 August 2019}}</ref>
* of the battle squadrons (along with Aed and Cermait)<ref>[https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T106500D.html “Ailech III”]</ref>
* red armed<ref>[https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T106500D.html “Brefne”]</ref>
* mighty and stern<ref name=Tuag />

==Mythology==
===Irish mythology===
[[File:Newgrange, Ireland 001.jpg|thumb|The entrance of [[Newgrange]]]]
[[The Dagda]] has an affair with [[Boann]], the goddess of the River Boyne. She lives at [[Newgrange|Brú na Bóinne]] with her husband [[Elcmar]]. The Dagda impregnates her after sending Elcmar away on a one-day errand. To hide the pregnancy from Elcmar, the Dagda casts a spell on him, making "the sun stand still" so he will not notice the passing of time. Meanwhile, Boann gives birth to Aengus. Eventually, Aengus learns that the Dagda is his true father and asks him for a portion of land. In some versions of the tale—probably the original, from ''[[The Wooing of Etain]]''—the Dagda helps Aengus take ownership of the Brú from Elcmar. Aengus asks and is given the Brú for ''láa ocus aidche''; because in Old Irish this could mean either "a day and a night" or "day and night", Aengus claims it forever. Other versions have Aengus taking over the Brú from the Dagda himself by using the same trick. The Brú is then named ''Brug maic ind Óig'' after him.<ref>Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p.39</ref><ref name="Hensey">Hensey, Robert. Re-discovering the winter solstice alignment at Newgrange, in ''The Oxford Handbook of Light in Archaeology''. Oxford University Press, 2017. pp.11-13</ref> In ''The Wooing of Etain'' version, [[Midir]] is Aengus's foster-father.<ref>[http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T300012/index.html The Wooing of Étaíne] CELT: The Corpus of Electronic Texts</ref> 

It has been suggested that this tale represents the [[winter solstice]] illumination of Newgrange at Brú na Bóinne, during which the sunbeam (the Dagda) enters the inner chamber (the womb of Boann) when the [[Sun path|sun's path]] stands still. The word ''solstice'' (Irish ''grianstad'') means sun-standstill. The conception of Aengus may represent the 'rebirth' of the sun at the winter solstice, him taking over the Brú from an older god representing the growing sun taking over from the waning sun.<ref name="Hensey"/><ref>Anthony Murphy and Richard Moore. "Chapter 8, Newgrange: Womb of the Moon", ''Island of the Setting Sun: In Search of Ireland's Ancient Astronomers''. Liffey Press, 2008. pp.160-172</ref> [[Dáithí Ó hÓgáin]] suggested the tale probably dramatizes the idea "that the blooming of youth denies the process of aging - at the youthful stage of life time passes slowly and vitality seems to be permanent".<ref name="mythlegendromance"/> 

In ''The Fosterage of the House of the Two Pails'', a similar story is related in which [[Manannán mac Lir]], called the High King over all the Tuath Dé, convinces Aengus to cast a spell by reciting a poem called "Luck and Prosperity" to his foster-father Elcmar. The spell forces Elcmar from the Brú until "ogham and pillar, heaven and earth, and the sun and the moon have been blended together". Elcmar then tells Aengus that he would have given him the Brú if he had but asked, but due to Manannán's incantation, he and his people will face woe and madness for the rest of their days. In this telling of the story, Aengus expresses remorse for banishing Elcmar and his people.<ref name=Fermoy />

Aengus kills [[Lugh|Lugh Lámhfhada]]'s poet for lying about his brother [[Cermait|Ogma an Cermait]]. The poet claims that Ogma an Cermait had an affair with one of Lugh's wives.

In ''[[The Wooing of Etain]]'', Aengus is able to partially lift a spell against [[Étaín]], the horse goddess he won for his brother Midir. In a jealous rage, Midir's wife [[Fuamnach]] turns Étaín into a beautiful fly. Returning Étaín into her human form at night, Aengus makes her his lover until Fuamnach discovers the secret and drives Étaín away. Aengus kills his foster mother for her treachery.

In another tale Aengus falls in love with a girl he sees in his dreams. His mother, Boann, goddess of the River Boyne, and a cow goddess whose milk formed the Milky Way (Bealach na Bó Finne, or the White Cow's Way in Irish), searches Ireland for a year, then his father, the Dagda, does the same. Finally, King [[Bodb Derg]] of [[Munster]] finds her after a further year.<ref name=MJ-Oengus>[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/oengus.html The Dream of Oengus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131124041701/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/oengus.html |date=2013-11-24 }} The Celtic Literature Collective</ref>

Aengus visits the lake of the Dragon's Mouth and finds 150 girls chained in pairs, including [[Caer Ibormeith]], the girl from his dreams, among them. Every second [[Samhain]], Caer and the other girls transform into [[swan]]s for a year. Aengus is told he can marry Caer if he can identify her in swan form. Aengus turns himself into a swan and they fly away, singing beautiful music that puts all who listen to sleep for three days and nights.<ref name=MJ-Oengus />

In other legends Aengus is able to repair broken bodies and return them to life.{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}

Similarities have been observed between Aengus and the Greek god [[Hermes]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sergent |first1=Bernard |title=Celto-Hemlenica VI: Hermès et Aengus |journal=Bibliothèque des cahiers de l'institut de linguistique de Louvain |date=1994 |volume=73 |page=185 |isbn=9789068315868 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YblCNVg8avgC&q=%C3%93engus&pg=PA185 |access-date=3 August 2019}}</ref>

===Scottish folklore===
In the folklore of Scotland, Angus is the fairest son of the Beira (the [[Cailleach]]), who rules over Winter. Aengus remains in [[Tír na nÓg]] all winter until he has a dream of [[Brigid]] that compels him to search the land for her. Brigid was held in captivity by the Fairy Queen who envied her beauty and forced Brigid to complete impossible chores. Angus finally leaves Tír na nÓg on his white steed by borrowing three days from August in order to search for Brigid. After searching everywhere, he eventually finds Brigid in Beira's underground palace just as Spring is beginning; when they meet on the [[imbolc|first day of spring]], flowers begin to blossom and grass grows, and Brigid's shabby clothing is transformed into white robes with silver spangles, and her hair is garlanded with spring and summer flowers. Angus marries Brigid in a wedding feast, which is disrupted by Beira, who chases them off with storm clouds on her black steed. Eventually Beira grows old and weak and has to return to the Well of Youth for rejuvenation, where she again falls asleep, and Angus and Bride become the King and Queen of summer.<ref name="Mackenzie" />

In another folktale, it is related that Beira's son Angus contradicts all of his mother's orders in an effort to become King of the Universe. Angus is "weak minded and light headed," and in punishment Beira traps her son in the rocks, where he is forced to repeat the words of others (i.e. echo).<ref name="Mackenzie2">{{cite book |last1=Mackenzie |first1=Donald Alexander |title=Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend |date=1917 |publisher=Frederick A. Stokes Co. |location=New York, NY |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/tsm/tsm08.htm |access-date=30 August 2020}}</ref>

===Possessions===
Aengus owns a sword named Moralltach, the Great Fury, given to him by [[Manannan mac Lir]]. This he gave to his foster-son [[Diarmuid Ua Duibhne]], along with a sword named Beagalltach, the Little Fury, and two spears of great power, Gáe Buide and Gáe Derg.

In Scottish folklore Aengus possesses a golden harp with silver strings, and when he plays it maidens and youths follow the music through the woods. He also kisses lovers, and when the lovers part, the kisses become invisible [[songbird|birds]] that follow the lovers home singing love songs and whispering memories in their ears.<ref name="Mackenzie" /> Similarly, in the [[Dindsenchas]], Aengus shapes his kisses into four birds that followed [[Ogma|Cairbre]] to mock him each day before sunrise. This mockery continues until Cairbre's druid enchants a tree from Fid Frosmuine with song, which causes the tree to grow high above all others and detain Aengus' birds.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stokes |first1=Whitley |title=Hirarus |journal=Revue Celtique |date=1895 |volume=16 |page=68 |url=https://archive.org/stream/revueceltique16pari#page/68/mode/1up |access-date=3 August 2019}}</ref>

In some legends, Aengus possesses a white horse, which he rides from the Land of Promise during the Spring.<ref name="Mackenzie" /> In the Dindsenchas, a tale called "Tuag Inber" is relayed in which Aengus provides Eochu and Ablend a swift horse while they are encamped with their cattle. He tells them to unbridle the horse in a meadow before it "sheds its water" and causes their deaths; Eochu and Ablend forget to unharness the horse, and it forms a well, around which Eochu builds confinement.<ref name=Tuag /> The poem of Loch Ri is nearly identical to "Tuag Inber," except the character names differ and Aengus is replaced by [[Midir]].<ref>[https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T106500C/text084.html ''The Metrical Dindsenchas'': "Loch Ri," Poem 84]</ref>

==Modern depictions==
{{main|Irish mythology in popular culture}}
* Aengus appears in the Irish poet [[William Butler Yeats]]'s poem "[[The Song of Wandering Aengus]]",<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/146/9.html The Song of Wandering Aengus], Bartleby.com; [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55687/the-song-of-wandering-aengus "Source: The Wind Among the Reeds (1899)"], poetry foundation.org.</ref> which describes Aengus's endless search for his lover.
* Aengus Og appears in [[James Stephens (author)|James Stephens']] novel ''[[The Crock of Gold (novel)|The Crock of Gold]]'',<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1605/1605-h/1605-h.htm ''The Crock of Gold'']</ref> where his aid is solicited by the Philosopher.
* In the ''[[Copper (TV series)|Copper]]'' episode "Husbands and Fathers", Corcoran tells O'Brien to take Annie upstairs and tell her a story. O'Brien says to Annie, "I shall tell you about the Dream of Aengus and the Wooing of Etain."
* Aengus and his father the Dagda appear in [[Kate Thompson (author)|Kate Thompson]]'s young adult novel ''[[The New Policeman]]''. Aengus acts as the protagonist's guide to [[Tír na nÓg]] and helps him restore it to its timeless state.
* Aengus is the primary antagonist of ''[[Hounded (novel)|Hounded]]'', Book 1 of ''[[The Iron Druid Chronicles]]''.
* Aengus makes a brief appearance leading his father's funeral in [[Hellboy: The Wild Hunt]]. Although Angus himself never speaks, his father Dagda is a frequent character in other [[Hellboy]] stories.
* The name of Aengus appears also in the song of [[Johnny Flynn (musician)|Johnny Flynn]] "Wandering Aengus" from album "Sillion" (2017).
* Aengus appears in season four of ScyFy's "[[The Magicians (American TV series)|The Magicians]] " television show, though he is portrayed as a puzzle-loving trickster god.
* Aengus as Maccan appears as a villain in three novels in the [[Outlanders (book series)]] written by [[Mark Ellis (American author)|Mark Ellis]] under the pen-name of James Axler.

==Texts==
*''[http://www.ucd.ie/tlh/text/pk.tlh.002.text.html Aislingi Oengusai]'' original text from [[Egerton 1782]] at [http://www.ucd.ie/tlh Thesaurus Linguae Hibernicae].
* ''Tochmarc Étaíne'': [https://web.archive.org/web/20150307235133/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/etain.html The Wooing of Étaín]
* ''De Gabáil in t-Sída'': The Taking of the Fairy Mound
* ''Aisling Óenguso'': [https://web.archive.org/web/20131124041701/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/oengus.html The Dream of Óengus]
* ''[[The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne|Tóraigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne]]'': [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/diarmuid.html The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne]
* ''Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and legend'': [https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/tsm/tsm05.htm The Coming of Angus and Bride]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.faerie-world.org/tales/aengus.html A mythological view of Aengus, the poet god of love, romance, and meaning]

{{Celtic mythology (Mythological)}}
{{Celtic mythology (Fenian)}}

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{{subject bar|portal1=Ireland|portal2=Mythology}}

[[Category:Arts gods]]
[[Category:Irish gods]]
[[Category:Love and lust gods]]
[[Category:Tuatha Dé Danann]]