The mortal and divine histories of Mongán mac Fiachnai in Cín Dromma Snechtai

Abstract

It has long been claimed that Early Irish literature portrays a form of reembodiment which is the equivalent of Pythagorean metempsychosis. But this is not what we find in most examples. Where a human is said to have traversed multiple embodiments, the process of reembodiment generally comes to an end once the person in question has been restored to their proper form and bequeathed their memories of ancient history to the Church. However, some of the earliest stories about Mongán mac Fiachnai do not fit this pattern. Immacaldam Choluim Chille and Scél asa mberar combad hé Find mac Cumaill Mongán offer no indication that Mongán’s sequence of embodiments is drawing to an end, or which of his bodies may properly be his. This study will interpret the open-endedness of Mongán’s rebirths in these two instances in light of related stories which have also been attributed to the lost manuscript known as Cín Dromma Snechtai. Doing so will allow us to determine the degree to which Mongán’s rebirths show parallels with Pythagorean metempsychosis, and the meaning these rebirths had for their medieval Christian context. Moreover, it will demonstrate further links between the tales that the current consensus places in Cín Dromma Snechtai^.1