![]() ![]() In one legend, Badb is named as the goddess who appears as a hag on the day before a battle to foretell the death of High King Conaire Mor.īadb could also use her powers to sew confusion in battle and spread chaos among troops. In the form of a crow, the animal with which she shares her name, Badb frequently appears on the eve of a battle to presage the bloodshed that is to follow.Īt times, she takes on an even more frightening role. The three goddesses are most often identified as the Morrigan, Badb, and Macha.Īll three are associated with war and death, but Badb most often appears as a portent of future slaughter. To add to the confusion over the Morrigan’s nature, the name is sometimes used for one member of the trio. Like this group, the Morrigan is a collection of individual beings that create a singular whole. Modern scholars sometimes compare the tripartite nature of the Morrigan to the Catholic doctrine of the Holy Trinity. The Morrigan, as this collective is usually called in English, can be seen as both a trio of goddesses or as a single being. In Irish mythology, Badb is one of the three goddesses collectively known as the Morrigna. In later Irish folklore, Badb inspired a figure that continued to foretell doom throughout the Celtic world. The forms she took to frighten Irish warriors allowed Badb to live on after the pagan era ended. Badb is one of the most often mentioned, though, and her particular skill was in causing panic and fear in the midst of battle. The three war goddesses who made up the collective Morrigan were often interchangeable or poorly-attested. ![]() ![]() In Ireland, the crow that foretold death and disaster was Badb, an aspect of the Morrigan. Sometimes, though, these birds would appear before the battle had even begun. Shrieking and cawing as they fed on dead flesh, crows and ravens were almost synonymous with casualties. In the aftermath of ancient battles, black birds would often descend on the battlefield. ![]()
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