Celtic myth has provided us with tales of gallantry, love and furious battle. Stories of heroes, powerful sorcerers and dreamlike otherworlds. Perhaps most famously of all, it has provided us with the legend of King Arthur and his knights of the round table. But there is a place where Celtic myth meets the thrilling world of the supernatural and provides us with the following unusual creatures...

The Questing Beast

This creature, which was also known as Glatisant or the Chimaera, was a strange beast from a Celtic otherworld. It supposedly had the head of a serpent, the body of a leopard, the legs of a lion and the feet of a hare.

Myth states that it was impossible to capture the Questing Beast. In Arthurian legend Sir Pellinore and Sir Palomides supposedly wasted many years of their lives trying to catch the creature.

Mermen

As you would expect, mermen are described in Celtic legend as being half man and half fish. Heroes tended to encounter them whilst on ocean voyages into the unknown.

Like the Sirens of Greek myth, mermen would use powerful persuasion and mind tricks to lure sea-farers to their deaths. A Celtic monk called Brendan supposedly fended off a merman whilst on a journey across the sea in search of the Land of Promise.

Dragons

These fearsome creatures need no introduction. Dragons, which are discussed at length elsewhere in the Guide, supposedly terrorised the ancient Celts to some extent. There is even a tale of a castle which suffered terrible earthquakes due to two enormous dragons which fought a nightly battle in the caverns beneath.

It is thought by some modern scholars that these dragons were meant to represent the two opposing armies of the North and South. The red dragon is today a national embelm of Wales and appears on the country's flag.

The Fomorii

The Fomorii were a race of beings which supposedly ruled all of Ireland at one time. The exact date is unknown but it was certainly long before man came to the island.

The Fomorii were hideous, deformed monstrosities. They each had only one eye, one arm and one leg. In Irish myth they were regarded as evil sea gods who enslaved a weaker race of beings called the Firbolg.

Eventually, yet another race of higher beings called the Tuatha de Danann came to Ireland and drove the Fomorii away to the lakes, rivers and seas, where they supposedly hide to this day.

Fairies

Most people regard fairies as tiny people with butterfly wings, but this is not quite how they were percieved by the ancient Celts.

Some time after the victory of the Tuatha de Danann against the Fomorii, humans came to Ireland for the first time. These humans, known as the Milesius, invaded Ireland and overthrew the powerful Tuatha de Danann. These once-great beings were forced to flee underground to the Otherworld and were later regarded as fairies.

These fairies were essentially human in size and form, although many illustrations, both by ancient and contemporary artists, show them glowing as though they have a visible aura. They also had many magical powers and posessed magical objects. These included the Cauldron of Plenty (which contained rejuvinating food and could never be emptied), the Wand of Intelligence and the Tree of Knowledge.

On the 31st of October, when Samahain was celebrated by the ancient Celts, the fairies supposedly open the doors to their realm and allow mortal men to enter.