Page:Origin and Growth of Religion (Rhys).djvu/581

Rh they competed for the fostering of Cúchulainn he is made to describe himself as famed for prowess in arms as well as wisdom and eloquence of speech.

Now in the Welsh talc of Taliessin, the father of the ugly boy Avagᵭu was a nobleman called Tegid the Bald of Penỻyn, whose abode was where Bala Lake now lies, and Eccet's gorgeously dressed daughter in the Irish version is matched by Tegid's daughter Creirwy, who was the handsomest woman of her time. Tegid had, however, more than one ugly son, for Avagᵭu had a brother called Morvran, which literally means a sea-crow or cormorant. Of him it is said that he had the luck to be one of the three warriors who escaped from the Battle of Camlan; for his appearance prevented anybody from touching him, as he was taken to be an auxiliary devil from hell: he was hairy all over, like a stag. His brother Avagᵭu was probably still more hideous, since we learn that his lack of personal attractions was perceptible even to his mother Kerridwen, who accordingly exerted herself to bring him up endowed with transcendent talents. It is to be noticed that in the Irish tale the mother is not once mentioned, everything being left to the father and his daughter, neither of whom does anything in the Welsh version; but it is something to be able to place Eccet the Sooty Smith over against Tegid the Bald, of whom Welsh literature says little. The first part of the story of Amorgen is just the reverse of that of Lleu or Cúchulainn with their precocious growth, or that of Finn,