422 



great mass of illustrative facts and evidences drawn from all the sources 

 accessible to him. The first member of the name (cathu, gen. of cath, 

 i. e. pugna) presents but little difficulty to a Celtic scholar like M. 

 Pictet, who would, however, prefer finding it written catu, without 

 aspiration, as more nearly approaching the rigid orthography of Gaulish 

 names, in which it is very frequently found as the first element ; but 

 the second member, bodua, although entering largely into the composition 

 of names amongst all the nations of Celtic origin, from the Danube to 

 the islands of Ara, is confessedly capable of explanation only through 

 the medium of the Irish, with its corresponding forms of bodb or badb, 

 aspirated bodhbh, badhbh (pron. bov, or bav), originally signifying rage, 

 fury, or violence, and ultimatately implying a witch, fairy, or goddess, 

 represented by the bird known as the scarecrow, scald-crow, orroyston- 

 crow, not the raven, as M. Pictet seems to think. 



As regards the etymology of the name Badb, the following evidences 

 may be added to the notices already furnished by M. Pictet. 



Badb was the name of the horse of Mac Luighdech, one of the com- 

 panions of Finn Mac Cumhaill. — Agallamh. " Book of Lismore." 



" Selais Conall in claideb aithger iarlebur assaentig bodba." " Conall 

 draws the sharp long sword out of its terrible scabbard." — " Book of 

 Leinster," fol. 142, b. 1. 



" Co rocherddainse mo buraig feirge ocus mo thigardail mbodba for 

 na sluagaib." " That I might discharge my paroxysm of rage, and my 

 fierce onslaught on the hosts." — lb. 



" Badb-slat ;" "scion of Badb," or warrior. — Pet. Tar a, fol. 165, 

 189. 



" Lan-badba ;" " full-fierce."— " Book of Rights," p. 4. 



The etymology of the name being sufficiently examined, M. Pictet 

 proceeds to illustrate the character of the Badb, and her position in 

 Irish fairy mythology, by the help of a few brief and scarcely intelli- 

 gible references from printed books, the only materials accessible to 

 him ; but finds himself unable to complete his task, " for want of 

 sufficient details," as he complainingly observes more than once. The 

 printed references, not one of which has escaped M. Pictet's industry, 

 are no doubt few ; but the ancient tracts, romances, and battle pieces 

 preserved in our Irish MSS. teem with details respecting this Badb}- 

 catha and her so-called sisters, Neman, Macha, and Morrigan, or, more 

 correctly, Morrigu, who are generally depicted as furies, witches, or 

 sorceresses, able to confound whole armies, even in the assumed form of 

 a royston-crow. 



Popular tradition also bears testimony to the former widespread 

 belief in the magical powers of Badb. In most parts of Ireland the 

 royston-crow, or fennog liath na gragarnaith ("the chattering grey 

 fennog"), as she is called by the Irish-speaking people, is regarded at 

 the present day with feelings of mingled dislike and curiosity by the 

 peasantry, who remember the many tales of depredation and slaughter 

 in which the cunning bird is represented as exercising a sinister in- 

 fluence. 



