Danu (Irish goddess)

In Irish mythology, Danu ([ˈdanu]; modern Irish Dana [ˈd̪ ˠanˠə]) is a hypothetical mother goddess of
the Tuatha Dé Danann (Old Irish: "The peoples of the goddess Danu"). Though primarily seen as an
ancestral figure, some Victorian sources also associate her with the land.[1]

Contents
Name
In mythology
References
External links

Name
The hypothetical nominative form of the name, *Danu, is not found in any medieval Irish text, but is
rather a reconstruction by modern scholars based on the genitive Danann (also spelled Donand or
Danand), which is the only form attested in the primary sources (e.g. in the collective name of the Irish
gods, Tuatha De Danann "Tribe of the Gods of Danu"). In Irish mythology, Anu (or Ana, sometimes
given as Anann or Anand) is a goddess. She may be a goddess in her own right,[2] or an alternate name
for Danu.

The etymology of the name has been a matter of much debate since the 19th century, with some earlier
scholars favouring a link with the Vedic water goddess Danu, whose name is derived from the Proto-
Indo-European root *dʰenh₂- "to run, to flow", which may also lie behind the ancient name for the river
Danube, Danuuius – perhaps of Celtic origin, though it is also possible that it is an early Scythian
loanword in Celtic.[3]

Linguist Eric Hamp rejects the traditional etymologies in his 2002 examination of the name Danu and
proposes instead that *Danu is derived from the same root as Latin bonus (Old Latin duenos), from
Proto-Indo-European *dueno- "good", via a Proto-Celtic nominative singular n-stem *Duonū
("aristocrat").[4]

In mythology
Danu has no myths or legends associated with her in any surviving medieval Irish texts, but she has
possible parallels with the Welsh literary figure Dôn, whom most modern scholars regarded as a
mythological mother goddess in the medieval tales of the Mabinogion.[5] However, Dôn's gender is never
specified in the tales and was regarded as a man by some medieval Welsh antiquarians.[6]

References
1. Squire, Charles Celtic Myth and Legend (https://books.google.com/books?id=kFzOK47NmX
 0C&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=Danu+earth+mother+Charles+Squire&source=bl&ots=p00S0
N7A9o&sig=9ktHMTgp9OJoQa-X5EbnvSbGYIM&hl=en&ei=AcaESqz0EoPkNZ3BiNwL&sa
=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2#v=onepage&q=&f=false), p. 34: "Danu herself
probably represented the earth and its fruitfulness, and one might compare her with the
Greek Demeter. All the other gods are, at least by title, her children."
2. MacKillop, James (1998) Dictionary of Celtic Mythology Oxford: Oxford University Press
ISBN 0-19-280120-1 pp.10, 16, 128
3. Koch, John, ed. (2006). Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 569.
4. Hamp, Eric (2002). Sawicki, L.; Shalev, D. (eds.). "Donum grammaticum: Studies in Latin
and Celtic Linguistics in Honour of Hannah Rosen". Peeters: 163–169. |contribution=
ignored (help)
5. O hOgain, Dáithí (1999). The Sacred Isle : Belief and Religion in Pre-Christian Ireland (http
s://books.google.com/?id=wYAnySDa0O0C&pg=PA65&dq=danu+don#v=onepage&q=dan
u%20don&f=false) (1. publ. ed.). Woodbridge: Boydell [u.a.] p. 65. ISBN 9780851157474.
6. Bartrum, Peter C., A Welsh classical dictionary: people in history and legend up to about
A.D. 1000, Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1993, pp. 230-231.

External links
Associations between the Welsh Dôn and the Irish Dana (https://web.archive.org/web/2006
1021090016/http://www.shadowdrake.com/dondana.html)
Mentions of Danu in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series (https://books.google.com/books?i
d=b0Hvl7Q_BuIC&pg=PT677&lpg=PT677&dq=%22A+wise+man+leaves+those+things+be
yond+his+power+to+the+gods--and+prays+that+Danu+will+be+with+him.%22&source=bl&
ots=QPT5ffKJUX&sig=Dxv-738VEeTV37XwL8LawHLgM6c&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=o
nepage&q=%22A%20wise%20man%20leaves%20those%20things%20beyond%20his%20
power%20to%20the%20gods--and%20prays%20that%20Danu%20will%20be%20with%20
him.%22&f=false)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Danu_(Irish_goddess)&oldid=931631484"

This page was last edited on 20 December 2019, at 03:28 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using
this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.