spéirbhean
deity sky Irish single tradition · 1
In aisling poetry, the spéirbhean (pronounced [ˈsˠpʲeːɾʲvʲanˠ], 'heavenly woman') is a female figure from the Otherworld who appears to the poet in a vision. She is sometimes young and beautiful, other times old and haggard. She laments the current state of the Irish people and predicts an imminent revival of their fortunes, usually linked to the restoration of the Roman Catholic House of Stuart to the thrones of Great Britain and Ireland.
When
- First attested
- 1600 CE
- Attested period
- 1600 – 1699
- Historical notes
- Appears in aisling poems from the early 17th century.
Relationships
Mentioned by
Sources
wikipedia (1)
Source passages
“This female figure is generally referred to in the poems as a spéirbhean (pronounced [ˈsˠpʲeːɾʲvʲanˠ], 'heavenly woman').”
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