Elcmar

What it is

Elcmar is a named figure in Irish mythology and belongs to the Tuatha Dé Danann, the divine people of those tales. He is married to Boann, goddess of the River Boyne, and serves the Dagda as chief steward. The Dindsenchas names him a judge and gives him a title linked to horses. In the same portrait he carries a cloak, a brooch of gold, and a fork whose wood is white hazel. His story is tied to the Brugh na Boinne, the dwelling he loses to Oengus mac Og. He is a mythic character, not a recorded ritual specialist.

Where it comes from

Elcmar's story is carried in the Yellow Book of Lecan, and the Dindsenchas also names him. One suggestion makes him a second name for Nuada. Some accounts mix him up with Nechtan, the man normally married to Boann. A separate line of thought reads his name as The Evil One. The tales place him among the Tuatha Dé Danann and around the Boyne. His modern spelling is Ealcmhar. These are learned suggestions and variant traditions, not a single fixed origin.

Tools and materials

The Dindsenchas gives Elcmar a cloak, a brooch of gold, and a fork whose wood is white hazel. The brooch is the metal item; the fork is the wooden one. The cloak completes the set. All three appear in the same passage that names him a judge and gives him a horse title. They sit within his portrait as a figure of rank.

What it is for

Within the cycle, Elcmar's role is tied to household and land. He is the Dagda's steward and Boann's husband, and his household is where the Dagda's affair with Boann begins. Later his holding at the Brugh na Boinne becomes the prize Oengus mac Og wins. The tale uses him as the displaced husband and the landholder who loses his seat. His daughters also enter the story: Englec is carried off by Midir, and Fea becomes the wife of Neit.

Peoples and places

Elcmar belongs to Irish mythology and is counted among the Tuatha Dé Danann. His story is set around the River Boyne, where his wife Boann is the river goddess, and at the Brugh na Boinne, the dwelling he holds. The Yellow Book of Lecan preserves one account, and the Dindsenchas also names him. These are the Irish contexts in which the tales place him. He is a figure of the divine race rather than a named human community.

What people believe

The tales assume a world of gods and divine peoples. The Tuatha Dé Danann are a divine race; the Dagda is one of their most powerful members; Boann is a river goddess; and the Sidhe have residences called sitheans. The Dagda can hold the sun in place and can keep hunger, thirst, and darkness from a traveller. Oengus wins the Brugh through a verbal trick that turns on Old Irish having no indefinite article. The story works with mythic time and with the power of a god over the day itself.

When it is done

Two festivals mark the narrative. The Dagda sends Elcmar on an errand around Imbolc, the point at which Boann becomes pregnant. On Samhain, Oengus challenges Elcmar for the Brugh. The pregnancy is compressed: the Dagda holds the sun still for nine months so that Boann carries the child in what seems a single day. For Elcmar, the journey is made to feel like one day by keeping hunger, thirst, and darkness from him. Festival time and altered time both drive the plot.

How scholars and sceptics see it

Several learned suggestions surround Elcmar. One makes him a second name for Nuada. Another reads his name as The Evil One. Some accounts mix him up with Nechtan, the man normally married to Boann. The Dindsenchas calls him a judge and gives him a horse title, which has prompted the idea that horses are part of his character, while the name reading points in another direction. These are presented as suggestions and confusions, not as settled identifications.

Compare and confuse

Elcmar is sometimes mixed up with Nechtan, the man normally married to Boann, and one suggestion makes him a second name for Nuada. The tale of Boann's pregnancy is compared in the account to the Greek story of Alcmene. His modern spelling is Ealcmhar, and an older variant is Ecmar. These are the main comparisons and name forms the tale offers.

Days linked to Elcmar

Questions people ask about Elcmar

Good reading and sources

• Elcmar on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data