Amergin and Amergin
The archetypal bard of the Irish, who was called Amergin Glungel, “White Knee,” was also Amergin of the Milesians, the first Celtic tribe of Ireland. Amergin was the chief of eight sons of the Spanish ruler Míl Espáine (literally, “Soldier of Spain”), by legend, the conquerors of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Amergin was a druid poet of supernatural ability and talent.
According to mythological accounts of the founding of Ireland, it was with the supernatural aid of Amergin and his power of song that the Milesians won Ireland from its divine inhabitants.
As the legend goes, an uncle of Míl, named Ith, sets out on a journey of exploration which brings him to Ireland. He is welcomed there by the three kings of Ireland, Mac Cuill, Mac Cecht, and Mac Greine, who offer him hospitality and think him wise. After Ith has been in their company a time, they ask him to settle a dispute between them, about which nothing is related. Ith responds with a paean to Ireland's beauty and bounty, which for some reason infuriates his hosts. Ith is attacked and mortally wounded, but he manages to reach his ship and relate his misfortunes before he expires. His countrymen return to Spain with stories of the treachery of the Dé Danann kings and also of the bounty of their kingdom.
The eight sons of Míl gather their arms and, along with forty chieftains, set sail for Ireland. The Tuatha Dé Danann call up a magical mist with which to shroud the island, but after three days, the Milesians discover a patch of land. They meet with the wives of the three Irish kings, Banba, Eiru, and Fodhla, and battle them in succession. Each time they are victorious, and each queen in turn demands of Amergin that her name be given to the island after her. Amergin agrees and demands battle with the Dé Danann kings who have been concealing the island. The queens agree, and they nominate the wise Amergin as judge, to set the terms of battle between the two races.
The Dé Danann, of course, are supernatural beings, and they attempt to defeat the Milesians through trickery. They request that the Milesians retreat “beyond the ninth wave” while they prepare their defenses for battle, to which the sporting Amergin agrees. The Milesians return to their ships and sail away from the island. However, when they attempt to return, they are confounded by a magical storm raised up by the Tuatha Dé Danann's powerful druids. They are no match for Amergin, however, who calls upon the island itself:
I invoke the land of Ireland.
At the conclusion of Amergin's song, the sea becomes as smooth as glass, and the Milesians are able to easily land their ships. Numerous battles follow, during which each of the Danann kings is bested in single combat by the three surviving sons of Míl. Amergin then divides the isle among his brothers, and each portion is named for one of the queens of the vanquished kings, as promised. Afterward, the remnant of the Tuatha Dé Danann was led underground by the Dagda, destined to become the fairy rulers of the Sidhe. They remained in Ireland, inhabiting the ancient tombs, and making occasional appearances to help or hinder the descendants of Míl as they saw fit.
Amergin's most famous song has become Ireland's most famous poem and invocation. The “Song of Amergin” is sung when his ships have landed and he first sets foot upon Ireland's shores:
I am a wind on the sea,
With his song, Amergin proves the Milesians worthy of occupying the land, and the magic of the Tuatha Dé Danann is lifted.
Supernatural Child: Amergin mac Eccit
Amergin of the Milesians was one of two poets who went by that name. The story of Amergin mac Eccit's childhood, as told in the Book of Lienster, is a typical Irish tale of the wise child. It tells that Amergin, the son of a smith, is born ugly and mute, never speaking even into puberty. He sits in rags and filth, eating table scraps and amusing himself with empty nutshells until one day a servant of the poet Athirne startles him, and he utters a spontaneous verse.
That Amergin mac Eccit is the son of a smith is telling. Both bardcraft and smithcraft were considered by the Irish to be magical arts, and both fell under the patronage of the fire goddess Brighid. Under her tutelage, the smith fashioned with metal and earthly fire, and the bard worked with words and Otherworld fire.
Word quickly spreads of the boy's gilded tongue, until the tale reaches the ears of Athirne. Athirne, fearing for his position as king Conchobar's bard, conspires to kill his young competitor. He is, however, tricked into assaulting an earthen copy of the boy instead, and afterward he is forced to compensate the smith. This he does by adopting the boy as his foster son and teaching him the poet's craft. Amergin mac Eccit goes on to become the chief bard of Ulster in Athirne's place.
The poems of the semi-legendary Welsh poet Taliesin have similarities to those attributed to Amergin.
