Swan Transformations

in Irish Literature

Heather Buzbee
ID 004 Presentations
26 November 2014

Swan Stories from Other

Cultures
Examples of swans in other
cultures
Leda and Zeus
Swan Fairy tales
Swan maidens

Common Motifs

Figure 2: Leda and Zeus

Love
Obtaining a lover/wooing
The divine or supernatural
An ascension to heaven

Figure 3: Swan Maidens

Aislinge enguso
The Dream of engus
Similarities to other
tales
Transformation into
swans
Obtaining a lover
The divine or
supernatural
Ascension to heaven

Figure 4: Cer flying

from engus in the
night

Differences from other

tales
Transformation of the
male into a swan
An appropriate
wooing
Both ascend to
heaven
Divine freedom in the

Figure 5: Cer and engus fly to

Newgrange as swans

Tochmarc tane
The Wooing of tan

Figure 6: Midir embraces tane to take her

away

Figure 8: Midir and tane as

swans together

Obtaining a lover
Appropriate wooing
Both ascend to heaven
Freedom for the lovers in the form of
swans

Figure 7: Midir and tane transform

into swans

Aided Derbforgaill
The Violent Death of Derbforgaill

Figure 10: Chained Otherworld

birds

Obtaining a lover
Derbforgaill tries to be with
C Chulainn but still gets a
lover in her marriage to
Lugaid
Chain between the swans
Otherworld or the
supernatural
The Wooing of Emer
Swans in Irish: elea

Figure 9

Children of Lir

Figure 11: Children of Lir

Much later
More like The Wild Swans by Hans Christian
Anderson and The Six Swans by the Brothers
Grimm
Themes: Jealousy, revenge, curses
Heavy Christian influence

Conclusion/Significant
Themes
Many of the swan transformations
are most like the swan maiden tales
in other cultures
But in Irish literature, these seem
like more appropriate wooings
Figure 13

Figure 12

There is a divine ascension to

heaven for both lovers
Landscape? Emphasizing the
idea of flight being inherent of
the otherworld and why so
many sacred sites look most
impressive from the sky?

Works Cited
Baring-Gould, Sabine. The Swan Maidens: Excerpt. Curious Myths of the Middle Ages: The Sangreal, Pope Joan,
The Wandering Jew, and Others. London: Rivingtons, 1866-1868. Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1867. Articles for Swan
Maidens: Part of the SurLaLune Fairy Tale Pages. SurLaLune Fairytales. 8 Feb. 2007. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.
Fiske, John. Myths And Myth-Makers; Old Tales And Superstitions Interpreted By Comparative Mythology.
Chapter 3: Werewolves and Swan-Maidens. Boston: James R. Osgood & Company, 1873. Articles for Swan
Maidens: Part of the SurLaLune Fairy Tale Pages. SurLaLune Fairytales. 8 Feb. 2007. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.
Hartland, Edwin Sidney. Swan Maidens: Excerpt: The Science of Fairy Tales. New York: Scribner & Welford,
[1891]. Articles for Swan Maidens: Part of the SurLaLune Fairy Tale Pages. SurLaLune Fairytales. 8 Feb. 2007. Web.
10 Nov. 2014.
Hatto, A.T. The Swan Maiden: A Folk-Tale of North Eurasian Origin? Bulletin of the School of Oriental and
African Studies, University of London. 24.2 (1961): 326-352. JSTOR. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
Ingridsdotter, Kicki. Aided Derbforgaill or The violent death of Derbforgaill. Diss. Uppsala Universitet, 2009. Print.
The Dream of engus. Early Irish Myths and Sagas. Trans. Jeffrey Gantz. London: 1981. 107-112. Print.
The Wooing of tan. Early Irish Myths and Sagas. Trans. Jeffrey Gantz. London: 1981. 37-59. Print.
The Wooing of Emer. CELT: The Corpus of Electronic Texts. 2008. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.

References for Pictures

Figure 1: Patricia Ariel. New Moon in Pisces This is the Sea. Posted on 22 Feb. 2012. Web. Sacred Familiar: Medicine Weavers, Forest Dwellers.
http://sacredfamiliar.com/category/patricia-ariel/page/4
Figure 2: Leonardo Da Vinci. Leda and the Swan. Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy. 1505-10. (in detail).
http://www.leonardoda-vinci.org/Leda-and-the-Swan-1505-10.html
Figure 3: Walter Crane. Swan Maidens. 1845-1915. (in detail).
http://windling.typepad.com/blog/2013/08/swan-maidens-crane-wives.html
Figure 4: Ted Nasmith. Caer Flees Suddenly. For The Dream of Aengus by Joanne Findon, 1996. (in detail).
http://www.tednasmith.com/2012/09/05/caer-flees-suddenly/
Figure 5: Etain. Irish mythology. Web. N.d.
http://oracleireland.com/Ireland/myths/etain.htm
Figure 6: W. Pogany. Etain et Midir. N.d. (in detail).
http://mythologica.fr/celte/etain.htm
Figure 7: draiodoir. Midir and Etain. 2010-2014. (in detail).
http://draiodoir.deviantart.com/art/Midir-and-Etain-152440341
Figure 8: Photo by Leaf McGowan/Thomas Baurkey. 2012. Statue in Ardagh, Ireland.
http://41.media.tumblr.com/b90ab41ddfceffbc1fb521afc24c86ae/tumblr_n4hu9wgob91rvu01lo1_500.jpg
Figure 9: n.a. n.t. 2010. From birdsofrhiannon.tumblr.com. (in detail).
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/452893306251162085/
Figure 10: Posted in Celtic Trickster Gods. Victoria Forrest. English12Trial. Web. 2014.
http://english12trial.wikispaces.com/file/view/swans.jpg/174025787/239x214/swans.jpg
Figure 11: PJ Lynch. Children of Lir. 2014. (in detail).
http://irelandofthewelcomes.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Acr4019.jpg
Figure 12: DeeDee Gollwitzer. 2008. (in detail).
http://i.pbase.com/o2/74/20774/1/105481681.T2Ycz17l.SwansInFlight2P8E6270Resized.jpg
Figure 13: Bowenpan. SwansCygnus olor. 2006.
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan#mediaviewer/File:SwansCygnus_olor.jpg