Book of Medb hErenn

 
The legendary Queen Medb of Ireland is sometimes described by mythographers as a euhemerized local goddess. There were many such in ancient Ireland, because the Gaels did not have a formal, organized pantheon like the Greeks. These goddesses were associated with specific locations, often the hillforts of clan chieftains or tribal kings, and they were sovereignty goddesses, meaning that they sanctified the rule of the chief or king. Usually the ruler had to mate with the goddess in a yearly ritual that both legitimized his rule and ensured the fecundity of his people and their land; in this way, the goddesses were also concerned with fertility. This mating could be symbolic in some fashion, such as getting drunk on mead, or it might involve a surrogate, such as the ruler's wife or favorite concubine, or a woman specially prepared by the Druids. In some rituals, however, the surrogate was a mare or a cow, or even the earth itself. At these times, or when the ruler was ritually sacrificed for failure or weakness, or during the four prominent holidays of the Celtic year, the Druids would beseech the goddess to reveal to them the future, thereby associating the goddesses with prophecy and magic. At other times of the year, the goddesses also presided over combat and death, making them war and funerary goddesses. This is probably the origin of the Morrígan, the tripartite goddess of war, fertility, prophecy, and death.

I used all these ideas when I developed Medb hErenn's character. She is a skilled and well-trained warrior, bloodthirsty, a lover of combat, and would just as soon solve problems and win disputes with her fists or sword. She is hyper-promiscuous; not quite a nymphomaniac, but close. She makes love at the drop of a hat, and she will bed just about anyone: young or old, beautiful or ugly, man or woman, it makes no difference to her; only children are off limits. And while technically not into bestiality, some of the beings whom she has had intercourse with were more beasts than men. She is adept at various forms of magic, especially druidry, sorcery, and fairy magic, and has a prophetic ability, though it is somewhat erratic. She has no qualms about killing, even in cold blood, and is vengeful, spiteful, vindictive, and treacherous. Though neither immortal nor indestructible, she is a goddess in all but name only; indeed, the Celtic gods were like the Norse gods in that they could grow old and be killed, without magical means to protect them. This too is part of Medb's character.

But what does it mean to be "euhemerized"? It is based on the theory of Euhemerism, which was developed by Euhemerus, a fourth century B.C. Greek mythographer and skeptic. He suggested that the Classical Greek religion was based on real historical events which, through retelling and the addition of religious and cultural themes and motifs, became the myths that Greek religion was based on. In other words, the Greek gods and goddesses were once real people who were elevated to the level of deities. A modern literary example of this would be Robert E. Howard's contention that the god Crom that his character Conan swore to had actually been an ancient chief, whose exploits had made him a figure of worship to later generations. The deification of Roman emperors after death is another example.

However, the process can also work in reverse: beings revered as deities can, over time, dwindle to larger-than-life legend and folk heroes. Mythographers have long speculated that the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Fir Bholg, and the Fomorians were once the gods of the Celtic ancestors of the Gaels or even of the prehistoric people the Celts displaced, who over time were reduced to mortal races. Further, these same mythographers believe the Danann and Fir Bholg dwindled still further to became the Faeries of Irish folklore, especially after their conversion to Christianity. Similarly, the heroes of Irish mythology are believed to have been local gods and goddesses who were reduced in stature as more prominent deities displaced them.

So to say that Medb is a euhemerized local sovereignty goddess is to say that at one time she was worshiped by the people who lived around the hillfort at Rathcroghan as a symbol of fertility, life, and death, who blessed the king and his rule, but who could also curse him and blight his people if she was not properly revered. In time, though, her status was reduced until she became a legendary queen with superhuman powers and appetites.
 

 
In a recent edition of The Denver Post, Jeffrey A. Lockwood, a professor of natural sciences and humanities at the University of Wyoming, wrote an editorial entitled, "The Cowboy Myth". [Note: This link may become inactive in the near future, however, the editorial can still be found by going to the Archive section of the main site and doing a search for "the cowboy myth". A copy of the piece can then be purchased for three dollars.]

In the editorial, he defined "myth": "'Myth' has two very different meanings. The literary term denotes a traditional story that reveals the world-view of a people; let us call this Myth. But there is also a pejorative meaning — an unfounded account of the world; let's call this a myth. The goal of Myth is to illuminate a moral ideal toward which a people aspire, binding together generations and communities, and helping us to understand how we are to live in the world and treat one another. . . ."

It would be presumptuous of me to suggest my Medb hErenn stories are Myth rather than myth. Since all fiction is a lie, none of my stories are true even from a mythographic perspective. Still, the stories are written from my existential, transcendental point of view, which in turn serves as the basis for Medb's own worldview. So the stories do reflect the way Medb, and to some extent I, view reality. This goes beyond world building in the sense that, while this worldview does help determine the nature and structure of the Medb hErenn universe, it also describes our world; not how it should be, but one way that it might be interpreted. To some degree, all writers describe the world around them in their stories as they see it, whether the stories are meant to be metaphorical or not. This description may be subtle, trivial, or blatant, but often it is there, and often the writer himself may not even be aware of it. But it is this aspect that raises fiction, especially speculative fiction, from mere myth to actual Myth.
 

 
Many people are familiar with the literary trope known as the anti-hero, but most are unfamiliar with his opposite, the anti-villain. Yet in many ways, these character types simply represent two sides of the same coin.

The anti-hero is defined as a protagonist who lacks the traditional heroic qualities and attributes associated with the classical hero. Early forms of the anti-hero included protagonists who were timid and passive, even cowardly. Later we see characters like Robin Hood, who robbed from the rich to give to the poor. More later portrayals included Faust, who strove too earnestly after an ideal and succumbed to his own hubris, and Falstaff, a drunken, gluttonous buffoon and liar who nonetheless molds the character of the future Henry V of England for the better. In Victorian literature, you have the Byronic hero, an idealized yet flawed character, often portrayed as dark and brooding. More modern versions include the brooding vigilante and the noble criminal. Three famous examples of anti-heroes include:

• Batman, whose personification as the Dark Knight illustrates his shadowy nature, which puts him at odds with more openly heroic superheros;


• Bilbo Baggins, who cheats during the riddle-game with Gollum; uses a magic ring of invisibility to commit acts of thievery, hide from friend and foe alike, and attack unseen; and refuses to partake in an epic battle to help his friends; and


• Severus Snape, whose dark, brooding, unfriendly nature hides a dedication to good and the protection of his students.

Similarly, the anti-villain can be defined as an antagonist who eschews the traditional villainous qualities and attributes associated with the classical villain. There are two types of anti-villains: those whose goals are wicked while their methods are noble, and those whose goals are noble while their methods are wicked. The latter must not be confused with the so-called accidental villain, whose pursuit of noble goals produces unintended, disastrous consequences. The true anti-villain always knows exactly what the consequences of his actions will be. Nor should he be confused with the anti-hero, who sometimes uses wicked methods to achieve his noble goals. The anti-hero acts contingently, taking what he believes are the correct actions at the moment, but the true anti-villain plans his every move with great care. Even so, the anti-villain can be a sympathetic character, even more so than the protagonist, because his role as villain is dictated by the demands of the plot. In the "Star Trek: TOS" episode Balance of Terror, the commander of the Romulan Bird of Prey sent to test the cloaking device against Federation defenses is portrayed as a professional soldier who questions his orders but does his best to carry them out. For him, duty is everything, and in this he is Kirk's twin; only the circumstances of the story make him a villain. He even acknowledges this at the end of the episode, when he tells Kirk that under different circumstances the two of them could have been friends. Yet when Kirk offers to rescue him and his surviving crew, he responds that he has one last duty to perform, and destroys his own ship.

Probably the best example of a wicked goal/noble method anti-villain is Lex Luthor. While the nature of his goals and methods have changed, to keep him up to date with current times, for the most part he always works within whatever system he is part of to achieve his goals, virtually never going beyond what is considered acceptable behavior, though he will push the envelope as far as he can. While he would like to destroy Superman, he has no desire to kill Superman's friends and associates or innocent bystanders (the one major exception being Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor in the first Superman movie). He would also love to be able to corrupt Superman and bring him under his control, and he has occasionally worked with Superman to protect Earth. Meanwhile, three examples of noble goal/wicked method anti-villains would be:

• Magneto, who wants to protect mutants and their rights, but is willing to start a war with non-mutants to do it;


• Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, who wants to bring order, peace, and stability to the galaxy, but is willing to use tyranny and kill innocents to do it; and


• Ra's al Ghul, who wants to bring Humanity into environmental balance with nature, but is willing to kill off most of the world's population to do it.

As is probably obvious by now, the primary characteristic shared by both anti-heroes and anti-villains is moral ambiguity. Whereas the anti-hero frequently resorts to immoral methods to achieve a moral goal, an anti-villain can use moral methods to achieve an immoral goal, or may act in a kind, principled, even benevolent manner while pursuing far more nefarious ends. And in those cases where both the anti-hero and the anti-villain pursue moral goals but use immoral methods, the anti-hero may be even more ruthless or selfish than the anti-villain, but he is still considered to be the protagonist, either because his goal is viewed as more laudable or because he is directly opposed by the anti-villain. In extremely relativistic or postmodern fiction, it can often be very difficult to distinguish the anti-hero from the anti-villain, especially if their respective goals are as morally ambiguous as their methods.

I deliberately developed Medb hErenn to be an anti-hero. She follows a code of honor, but no specific moral code. She describes herself as selfish, treacherous, deceitful, vindictive, acquisitive, and ambitious, and she will not hesitate to commit acts of barbarity, such as kill helpless prisoners or pregnant women in cold blood to achieve her ends. Yet she also always does what is right to her way of thinking, she will not back down from a fight no matter how hopeless, she never lies or goes back on her word, and she will willingly sacrifice her own life to save a friend or defend those under her protection.

Contrarily, I developed her arch-nemesis, Elatha the Fomórach (Fomorian in English), to be a true anti-villain, specifically a wicked goal/noble method type. As a Fomorian, he is dedicated to the advancement of his people and would like to see them rule the world. Yet he does not engage in the abuse of power his fellow Fomorians practice to one degree or another. To illustrate this, Elatha takes on a beautiful form, rather than the horrific or beautiful-but-terrible forms most others take. He also believes in treating subject races kindly and with respect, but not out of any belief in fundamental rights or because he believes it is the right thing to do. He advocates it because he has the power to do so, and for the same reason an owner properly treats a dog or horse: it will do more work and do so willingly if kindly treated. In this way, he is more like Nietzsche's Master or Plato's philosopher king than Thomas Jefferson.

Ultimately, he is Medb's antagonist for one reason only: he opposes her actions, and in time comes to hate her so much he will do whatever he must to destroy her, even if that means destroying the whole world and himself. With Medb, though, the feeling is mutual, and she will not hesitate to take any opportunity to destroy him, though she won't go the extreme he does. Even so, there have been times when they have cooperated to achieve a goal they share, and there is a mutual, if grudging, respect between them.

Another anti-villain in the Medb hErenn universe is Lucifer, litter-brother to Selgach Mór the High Queen of All Cats, with powers equal to her own. He is a noble goal/wicked method type, in that his only aim is to protect Felinekind, but he will ruthlessly and mercilessly destroy any threat to their well-being, or any obstacle to their advancement. While not truly an enemy of Medb, he is the one opponent she truly respects and fears, and while they have cooperated at times, she knows he would not hesitate to kill her should he ever perceive her as a threat to cats, and not even the Cat Queen's patronage and protection would make him hesitate. For his part, he respects her power and honors her for the aid she has rendered to Felinekind.