ERM - Ser 2, Bk 5 - Eochaidh The Heremonn
EOCHAIDH THE HEREMONN
THE KNIGHT OF THE SCARLET THREAD
SERIES II BOOK NO. 5
1891 - 1892
A BOOK REPORT ON....OUR RACE
TRUTH AGAINST THE WORLD.......MOTTO OF THE ANCIENT KUMREE
WE CAN DO NOTHING AGAINST THE TRUTH.....
ST. PAUL GREAT IS TRUTH,
AND MIGHTY ABOVE ALL THINGS.....ESDRAS
BUY THE TRUTH (OIL ) AND SELL IT NOT....SOLOMON
TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION.......BYRON
WHAT IS TRUTH..................PILATE
I AM THE CHRIST................ASSERTION OF THE CHRIST
THE RENEWAL OF HISTORY
HOW THE EMPIRE WAS REBUILT AND REPLANTED
Report by Ella Rose Mast
'OUR RACE' Its origin and its destiny.
In 1891-92 a series of Books was written by Charles A.L. Totten. First Lieut., 4th., Artillery, U.S.A. Professor of Military Science and Tactics. S.S.S. of Yale University. Professor Totten made an intense study to try to unravel the 'Saxon' Riddle. The books he wrote in this study were published by:...'The Our Race Publishing Company, New Haven, Conn.'
Dr. Swift had several of these old books which of course are no longer available and in our visit with Mrs. Swift this September of 1978, she gave me one of these old books, and suggested that I prepare a summary of some of the interesting parts of this story...'The Renewal of History'...Series II No.5 of Totten's work. This is the story of how the Empire was rebuilt and replanted as we are told in Scripture and History, Our History. 'Eochaidh The Heremonn...The Knight of the Scarlet Thread'
In this study the author proves that the reigns of the Kings of Israel, and the Kings of Judah harmonize, and that what some chronologists failed to see was that some events were from the sacred calendar, and some from the civil calendar, but that the writers of scripture knew exactly what they were telling you, even tho some translators and chronologists did not understand. The author also compares the Dynasties of Egypt to bring out... that...corruption of the office of Pharaoh produced the ruler who... 'Knew not Joseph'...and thus brought oppression to Israel in their last years in Egypt. Then he covers the genealogies of Pharez and Zarah the twin sons of Judah to bring you to the conclusion with the story of Eochaidh...The Heremonn...The Knight of the Scarlet Thread. (Genesis 38:27-30)
The work of the author in his series of books was to trace 'Our Race' out of the mid-east and Egypt in their Westward journey, then in this book conclude the Central Romance of what is all a Romance of Unique proportions. Altho Israel struggling thru the wilderness of Northern Europe would be without a King for many days, or all thru this weary pilgrimage, but still this being without a King was only from the defacto point of view, for their King 'de jure' was never wanting. The author also accompanied the Zarah people later called the Milesians in their quest of Empire far enough into these Western regions to anticipate the triple junction which eventually came about. Thus to the East..'The House of Israel' was lost, as well as the 'House of Pharez', and earliest of all 'The House of Zarah.' But in accompanying Jeremiah on his journey we find that the throne reached its Western Sanctuary long before the bulk of the tribes of Israel arrived there...to find that Zarah's Royal line was in place to greet them. To find that the culmination of all this brings forth the story of...'The Renewal of Israel history in the West thru the marriage of Our Hero and the Heroine..from the East from David's line.' This story is as the Mosaic of the Bible story, as piece by piece it fits into the whole picture of YAHWEH'S plans for this earth. The background must be laid and then we begin to see the picture as the main characters are put in place. Thus in effect...'The Renewal of History'..was what resulted from the transfer of the Throne seat..Bether..to the Isles.
In the Westward journey the tribes of Israel received many changes of names and this contributed to blindness on their part as to who they were and where they came from, but they struggled on, and as they journeyed they found some of their people had prepared the way. This was the purpose of the tribe of Dan as they took to their ships as well as in their overland journeys, but they also found the people called Phoenicians in many places who were also sea-faring people, but they were still of the same race...The Adamic Race.
In tracing the Zarah people the author tells us that they left Egypt before the Exodus, and started moving Westward altho a small group first went to the east. They lingered in Spain, and then some moved up the coastline of Western Europe, and formed colonies along the Western shores of Europe. Altho the bulk of the people might be Danites, or Phoenicians, or others of this race of people, still many, many times their kings were of the tribe of Zarah, later to be called Milesians. The name Milesian came from..MILESIUS..GUILLAM...or, 'William the conqueror of Ireland at a later date'. But the name came from this soldier of Spain whose name was Milesius. Thus we find that the Kingship of the House of David would be already in the west long before the transfer from the East to the West...was accomplished by Jeremiah.
To arrive at the setting of our story, the author, tells us that Milesius married an Irish Princess by the name of Muiream. This Princess was the only daughter of the Ruler of Ireland at the time, and she was of the ruling line of the Tribe of Dan. To this marriage was born.. Eochaidh...The Heremonn, or Heremon as he is generally known. Heremon was the eighth and last of the legitimate Princes of Spain. As the lad developed and grew, his father determined in his tenth year to send him to Ireland to complete his education. Also it was decided that his mother... Muiream...was to accompany him and oversee his education.
* MUIREAM * His mothers name, as we have intimated was the equivalent of Miriam or Mary. She was not only a pure descendant of the Tuatha De Danaans, but was strangely impressed with a presentment that some how in her the line in due time would become extinct. Although she never lived to be the last surviving child and heir of the old Ard Ri, Mac Greame (Son of the Sun), nevertheless in subtle premonition of what the Fates had yet in store, the constant tenor of her private converse with Eochaidh, was the impending downfall of her house.
This came to pass, but not exactly as she had dreamed, and the sunset of this noble line of Danaan Kings was very glorious, nor yet without the promise of a still more gorgeous dawn beyond.
By Irish Law the female line was fully recognized, and Muiream was destined to preserve it in a Providential manner by her very marriage. It is merely to be noted here that Eochaidh, the Heremonn, inherited the Danaan succession as well as the Milesian (Zarah) through his parents. There are other parallel cases to be found in England's History.
Muiream was well equipped to superintend the schooling of any one, particularly of her own son. Carefully educated in the storied greatness of her own people, and more than usually learned in all the Druid Mysteries which could be shared by women, nor were they few in Royal Quarters. She had been most tenderly reared in her grandfather's Court amid surroundings which at an early age had fully developed her superiority and Queenly parts. She was the embodiment of an old regime, older by far than its brief Irish past (75 years at that time) and its total short duration (3 years), and clung to its traditions with an open and determined constancy and affection.
Muiream possessed the power of persuasion, that subtle gift that comes of Faith in what one teaches, and she lost no opportunity to mold her son, who in reality was birth-marked a Danaan and responded to her impress.
To Muiream, the Milesian (Zarah) Union had been at first distasteful, hence its original delay. But Milesius was a chivalrous soldier, and actually won her love before he gained her hand. But the hand of Destiny is still seen in some marriages that at the first proposal meet with anything but quick response form all concerned, yet in the end, find deeper reasons and a sound philosophy. As a matter of fact the union had resulted in naught but good, and the Queens life had its full share of woman's joy; nor was it stripped of a far grander mission, of which she acquitted herself supremely well. To Muiream's perception, in spite of the Danaan throne...the Milesian (Zarah) conquest of her native land was an accomplished fact, for commerce had already won the issue. The land of Erin was itself entering upon its Golden Era, its art, its literature, its culture had already made it famous throughout Europe; but its commerce had developed it and that the island owed to the Phoenicians, and latterly to their Western representatives, the Milesian Princes...the great 'middle' men of ancient ocean trade until fate made them principals, by moving them to the West, and destroying their Eastern market-places.
It is true that there was a decisive battle in that generation, but after all we must view the Milesian conquest rather in the light of England's by the Normans 1635 years later, than as a deluge which swept the land and content away. Indeed the similarity between these two invasions in their motives, methods and results, is noticeably striking; and reading down between the lines possesses more philosophy than modern scribblers on the scrolls of history dream. During the reign of Milesius and the succeeding century, Spain was so completely drained of the wandering sons of Zarah who flocked to friendly coalition with a people of kindred interests that they have hardly left a trace behind them on the continent, while in the land of their adoption they have so evidently melted into the general mass of Irish, that, as between the Saxon and the Norman, there was soon no possibility of discrimination, and there is less today.
But:...To return to Muiream's love for her father's people, which was her ruling motive, and with all the qualities of a race whose women have ever been famous, she devoted herself to the fulfillment of her mission, which she felt the gods themselves had pre-arranged. Heremonn, or as with Danaan learning she preferred to call him..Eochaidh, was a youth of special promise, and like his mother a genuine Danaan, however he was also a son of Milesius, and well acquainted with Milesian History.
In the meantime, Muiream was particularly careful that her special charge should be instructed in the lore and history of her own people, and she brought to bear upon the task not only of her own magnetic influence, but secured the best assistance of the Elder Druids. However, in the deeper religious mysteries, his half brother, Amhergin, who was already studying Druidism in the same schools, turned out to be far more proficient. Heber another half brother remained at home and under his mother Scota's constant tutelage, prepared to take the kingdom when his father should relinquish it. Thus trouble would naturally come but Destiny would rule.
Muiream was also busy with designs which looked as steadily towards the consolidation of both realms in one, but although Mac Greame, the ranking King of Ireland had no children save herself, and soon learned to love and admire his Milesian (Zarah) grandson, still, to view him as a possible heir of the Danaan throne was far beyond his thoughts, and would have been unwelcome, aye, even dangerous to all concerned, thus Muiream never broached the topic to her father.
Thru out this sojourn in the Land of Destiny, she and Eochaidh dwelt at (?)athair Crofin, for here the Royal Palace was erected. His going in and out among the clans, and his excellence in manly sports of all descriptions soon endeared him to the people; and, far better known as an athlete and a leader in all feats of arms than as a mere university student, and particularly, ere he left the Irish Court, in maritime adventures, he gained the love and admiration of all with whom he came in contact. All this had a beneficial influence upon his fortunes when in later days an unfortunate occurrence brought about an open rupture resulting in the actual conquest of Ireland by the Milesians; and still later, then the clans took up the topic of supremacy between Heber and Heremonn in a partisan spirit.
But:..to return to this Queenly teacher and her son. As the time drew near then she began to anticipate their recall to Spain, she redoubled her efforts to instill Danaan learning in the young Prince, nor even after the summons and return were there wanting ample opportunities to pour the legends of her people into his ears. The summons came when he had reached his eighteenth year, and with reluctance she obeyed the order to return to Spain.
In Irish History...the Eras..(there were five in 497 years) belonged to different dynasties all jealous of each other, and to this day no one had threaded their labyrinth. But we must not forget that God was also in this matter, and was disposing its several and dissevered chapters. For purposes then future, and in methods hardly even yet quite manifest and clear, the same Providence was leaving in the East and West the more or less confusing groundwork of the romance of the Ages. By no possibility could the actors at either of these widely separated termini grasp the true purpose of the whole. They had mutually lost, in fact, the meaning of the Threads which tied their parts together, although their halting records show they severally followed them towards each other will show their very fibers were entwined.
MOTHER AND SON
Time and again reclining at his mothers feet, had Eochaidh listened with enjoyment to her graphic way of scanning through the story of her native island. To Muiream, its tale was simply one of continued Danaan settlement and conquest, and in his earliest childhood Eochaidh had caught from her the spirit of its romance. Nor had his broader education at the Irish Universities ever ruptured the Thread which she ran backward through it; indeed continued through thereon among his books had only served to string it more thickly with new beads, and fill the spaces here and there, which she, in the enthusiasm of a grounded faith, had either hastened over, or else entirely neglected.
Her work was like to that of genius upon canvas, which, in but few bold strokes, brings out the whole effect, but is impatient of too studied details, and the quick, receptive mind of Eochaidh was facile to her brush, nor, such is the power of woman as a mother, did it ever lose the master's outline. Moreover there was ample fund of interest in this theme which Muiream loved, and which she therefore chose most frequently in converse with her son. For we must not forget that there were earlier chapters in the story of these people. These chapters stretched still further back into its remotest past, and spanning at least another 1000 years, including the stories of the Tuatha de Danaans proper,...The Fir Bolgs..The Fomorians...The Neimhedians...The Parthalonians...The Iberians, and earliest of all the Craunnogs. No wonder our historians have been long at sea since they have sailed without a compass pointing unto Israel as the Pole!
Muiream's sole object was to establish the unity of the Irish Race down to the Milesian (Zarah) conquest which she foresaw, and which would bring, comparatively, but few new-comers to the Island; for, as she firmly believed that Eochaidh would be its Ard Ri, she desired to impress upon him that the mass of his subjects would be his mother's people, and that he would be as truly King of the Danaans as if he had been the Greame himself. She was jealous of her people's ancient prestige, and she wished her son to have good reason to be true to them, that they in turn might give him their support without reserve. As wave on wave, the human flotsam of successive immigration which history tossed up on Irish shores, was passed in survey before Muiream's gaze, her own analysis of what the sea gave up bore ample evidence that all of it was but a part of one great Ship of State, whose sections, derelict upon the tide...had simply come in one by one instead of all at once.
The wreckage all bore marks of common origin and gave ample opportunity for rude assortment when it reached the shore. Beyond this Muiream gave the subject little thought. She viewed it only from its Western aspect, which gave her summary its greatest value; for as already noted, it shows that God Himself was intimately in the case, and was disposing matters not to clearly in the West, so as to counterpart and carry on those we have already seen that He had begun so quietly in Eastern lands. We must not forget that we view Erin's story through still later heaps of jetsam, more and more confused by those who have disturbed it ever since the Emerald Isle became an object of Anglo-Saxon contention and dispute. None of its strata have much order now, and long ago their chief treasures were mined out. We do however believe that early Irish History as Muiream viewed it was most broadly true, so let us return to those earlier days of Eochaidh, and sitting with him at the feet of Muiream, take from thence a somewhat hasty survey of the previous history of Erin, for it is only thereafter that we may confidently move forward with our Hero into other scenes.
MUIREAM'S STORY
Quote......Well, Eochaidh, thy mother must at once betray the weakness of her sex, and therefore will anticipate the end, and fond conclusion of her story, at its very start. I shall bring Danaan history with you, to whom it has come fully down, and in whom, I believe, it will literally culminate. You are my son, and I the Queen, if not the last, am certainly the youngest of all the Royal Danaans; hence, too, you are peculiarly my people's son, for as my uncles have no children, and Mac Greame's own line runs out in me, you are the only rightful heir of Erin's 'Craun'. I am not concerned so much, my son, in your Milesian story; you have come hither to the Western bourn's, guided by the same Destiny that pioneered the future, for I see in the Philosophy of Facts that History will soon repeat itself, it is for you to follow back the special line marked by that 'Scarlet Thread'. Danaan History is without beginning; who we were in the far off 'Shadows of the Rising Sun' was never clear to me, accounts are so confusing, although they all conspire to point unto the gods themselves. A long time ago our ancestors came into a land which they named Dania for their fathers..DAN..who is our Posei-Dan,...or Father of the Sea. This land was at the very center of the earth, and therefore always over-run with enemies. For there first did men congregate, and there the struggle for supremacy began.
There to, I think, that they had many brethren; but very early they, that is, our own peculiar ancestors, grew weary of pursuits on shore, which so engrossed the others. So they abandoned Dania, one by one, for the more daring life upon the waves where they were born. Indeed they mostly lived upon their ships thereafter, and wandered in them every where. And perhaps this is the reason that we know so little of the true history of Ancient Dania, for it soon became an almost Universal name; and so in time, to men whose sons and daughters continued to be born, as at first, upon the sea, in various places, and from generation to generation, there literally was no special Dania left.
But some at last grew weary of having no fixed resting place, and hence it is that we, one branch of their descendants, have now once more become quite reconciled to life on land. Even so we still love the sea on which this island home floats safely even tho we worship the gods beneath the groves. But enough now of these primitive legends, for you know them all from earliest childhood. In spite of the many names by which the successive colonists who have settled here are known, there are really but two royal races now in Ireland, you own, and mine, that is...your father's and my father's. For as you know, I am the daughter of one whom I misgive will be the last Danaan King, and you,...your father's son, are a true Milesian (Zarah). Yet unlike your brothers, Heremonn you naturally so favor the characteristics of my own people, that to me you seem as one of them, and not a true Milesian.
However, to give you briefly but the skeleton of Erin's story, for you to clothe with all the incidents of flesh your education may suggest, I will commence at its earliest colonists:....THE CRAUNNOGS.
This island had no aborigines when Danaan keels first grazed upon its shores. It was a heritage in keeping for them, and quite desolate of all but natures loveliness; a spot of green, and peaceful, that it lured to land even those whose preference had till then been wedded to the waves. The legend says they drew near to it, at the termination of a dreadful storm, which had nearly driven them over the very ocean's furious limit in the West, when turning East, they sighted from afar its emerald diadem of leaves; and that they landed here at once, and as a sign that they came to stay we are told that they destroyed their ships, using the masts, which saved them from the tempest, as the very piers of their earliest dwellings.
These Craunnogs were really Danaan's people. Of course they were only the very rudest offshoots of a roving and adventurous people, none of whom had shaped themselves as yet so as to conform to any fixed and positive characteristics, save love of the sea and freedom. They live in lake and river dwellings as their descendants do today, preferring water, after all, to land. But...this very colony had been actually seeing our far off insular abode, when the tempest overtook them. This may seem strange, my son, but from the remote times it had been believed by their own ancestors that somewhere in the strong North-Western angle of the earth, the seat of final empire should find a throne of permanence.
This colony had wished to be the first to seize it, and had set out for this purpose when the storm fell on them. Thus discovering this island under the circumstances that had brought them to it, they settled here, believing it to be the very one meant by the ancient Ollams. This I believe to be true. For Eochaidh, this same thought has been in the hearts of every set of colonists who ever landed here; even your own Milesians (Zarahites) have a similar tradition. However our earliest colonists had it as part of their very life. They called themselves...CRAUNNOGS, or THE CROWNED PEOPLE', from this very notion, that the true meaning of their name is 'Tree Tops' as it comes from words common to all our dialects;..craun, meaning a tree, and ..og..a tuft or termination. We use this same word for a crown as they did.
Muiream continues:...You know my son, that even now no Danaan sailor ever trusts himself upon a ship whose mast head has been trimmed, that is, stripped of its 'craunnog' of its topmost tufts of leaves. Our learned Druids tell us that we inherited this custom, not from these early colonists, but with them must have had it from a common Eastern origin. The Druids say it is the universal sign of kinship among all the peoples who down to the present day have sought the refuge of this island sanctuary, that is of all except the fierce Milesians who...the last...have conquered it at least commercially. Tradition also points to it as one of the oldest emblems of Danaan destiny, the very sign of universal empire, but why?...The fates are still reserving for some future showing. It is also a sign of conquest and defeat; and I doubt not, Eochaidh, that some of the deeper mysteries of the Druids, whom I grieve to see you do not like over well...were, in their purer origin, significant of the branch of Empire destined, so they say to be planted here in time. They say the mistletoe, which came with us from Dania, was wrested thence in token of this very promise, and I would that thou, my peerless son, might be the one to grasp the leafy scepter from the hands of Destiny.
But the centuries have waited, and may linger still; yet, Eochaidh, the heraldry of that blazing Sun of Gold upon a blood red field, which you, the Royal son of Scythis's race inherit, must be indicative of something. Would that it meant that Dania's sun, which certainly will set in great Mac Greame, has, in his daughter's child a still more brilliant rising yet in store!
But a final word about these earliest colonists. The pulpits upon which the Druids stand when giving judgment, are to this day called...'Craunnogs', and they always have the mystic twig of mistletoe above them. Indeed, thy very throne will bear this ancient name, a fact which bids thee bear in constant mind that it is literally founded upon piles which drive their way through every human stratum in the land, down to this very oldest and rudest of them all, and all of this must prove to you that my argument is both just in its beginning, as well as full of moral import to a future King. 'Connaught' as you know, is the very land of Dan, one of its earliest Royal centers, and no one would deny to men from whom we have our finest seamen the plainest title to their ocean birthright. The very tufted 'Craun' they leave above each dwelling is an emblem of their Race.
Muiream goes on to describe the next coming of Danaan people...The Iberians, who were a richer and more cultivated class of the Danaan people, but still the same race of people, and they soon spread themselves over the island, and were soon more or less absorbed with the Craunnogs into a general people of like pursuits and habits. Muiream tells her son that other colonies are being established in the lowlands of Northern Europe, and then in a few centuries they too invaded Erin. These were the Fir Bolgs, or the Belgae. Then there also was the Fomorian Sea Kings, and these people were crossing and recrossing each others tracks so often, that it would require the closest care to avoid confusing them. However they were all of them...Sons of Dan, and in some cases his brethren, but they all live in their ships, they speak a common language, united in legends of a common origin, and are all impelled by common destiny to seek this very land. The day is coming when these brethren of a mighty race will re-cross each others tracks on the land just as the Danaans have already done upon the sea. But the land must be almost as ample as the sea itself, and therefore will be harder to fill up and overflow, nor can migrations there be rapid as when wafted by the winds.
MUIREAM CONTINUES HER STORY:.........THE PARTHALONIANS. We have now arrived at a period when we may dispense with mere legend and conjecture, no matter how well they may have been fortified by argument and collateral evidence and at last...appeal to records as our certain guide. For with the advent of the Parthalonians upon our shores we may fairly consider that the authentic history of Erin commences. It is true that this unfortunate colony left only their graves among us as their permanent records, but nevertheless, each of the succeeding waves of colonization was so intimately related to that of Parthalon, and was so legitimately its nature outcome, and so certainly recruited from similar sources, that through their unbroken records we may confidently work our way back to it as a positive starting point.
(According to the genealogical table provided by the Author in an earlier study the Parthalonians were really sons of Zarah. So were the Neimhedians, and indeed the leaders of the Fir Bolgs and Formorians. Their seafaring traits and common legends and customs, so similar to those of Muiream's own Danaan people that she might not realize the difference. None the less she was broadly right as all of these peoples were of the sea-faring branches of the Abrahamic stock, and although the Craunnogs and Iberians were undoubtedly of Dan...the others, equally with the direct generations of Milesians, have a straight descent from Zarah, or a generation back from Judah himself. There is no doubt however that the bulk of their followers were sons of Dan..they manned the ships, and owned all those that ruled the commerce of their days, at least they shared with the Phoenicians all the privilege of trading the Fairs of Tyre. These latter drew their wares from every harbor known to merchants, and Danish history has roots upon the coasts of India [Eastern Tarshis] as well as on the shores of Erin which was Tarshish of the West.)
Returning now to Muiream's account of the Parthalonians she finished their history as follows:..... In the latter days of their successors they were overtaken by the wrath of heaven, as a dreadful pestilence swept over Erin, and by it not only were the Iberian settlements in the North and South relentlessly decimated, but that of the Parthalonians was almost entirely swept away. They nearly all lie buried now in the Thaum Lacht of Ben Eider near by Lyffy, where the tomb of Parathalon himself may still be pointed out, for most of those who survived the pestilence fell victims to their own anarchy in the next thirty years, which complete the 300 of the Partahlonian Era. ......A pause in Muiream's story occurs as her son who is now a part of the Danaan navy has spent his vacation on the sea. At Eochaidh's return,
Muiream picks up the story of ...THE NEIMHEDIANS...(sons of Zarah)
The story of the people whom we are now to consider, Eochaidh, form such an important factor in Irish history, that I beg of you a particularly close attention to it. Although it is very brief, it is of great value for my purposes, in that it enables us to continue the special Danaan Thread, now firmly grasped in the Parthalonian recital, through them and their successors down to the present day. The Neimhedians if fact form the golden clasp in the chain of Danaan identity and kinship, which reaches backward to the Parthalonians, and forward to the Formorians, the Fir Bolgs, and the Tuatha de Danaans themselves. Let us resume our story: Our chronicles explicitly inform us that Parthalon did not bring his entire family with him when he came, for he left an infant son, named Adlah behind him in Javan. Thus at the time the pestilence swept the Parthalonians away, there had descended from this son a lineal successor named...Neimheidh. This man was a great warrior; so learning of the misfortunes that had overtaken his lineage, he resolved to proceed to Ealga in person, and thus secure the Western possessions which he had inherited. In the history of this time there were wars between the different groups in Ireland and they were all trying for supremacy and rulership of that land.
(The interesting thing about this time of Irish History is that at the same time that the Neimhedian rule ended in Ireland, it corresponded tot he final year of the Seige of Samaria back in the Mid-East. There can be no doubt that the sons of Dan and others of their brethren were busy in those days in escaping to the West.)
(The Formorian period was a short one for Ireland's history. It commenced with the fall of Samaria in the East and lasted 17 years. The Fir-Bolgians or Belgians had settled on the Western shores of Europe where we find Belgium today, these were colonists established by the Danaan people, but into which came many of their brethren as the escaped the East, rather than going into captivity to Assyria. With the coming of Israel brethren from the East, the people in the West were able to keep up with what was going on in the East...As Israel was taken into captivity, or fled before the Assyrian conquerors.)
MUIREAM'S STORY CONTINUES.......
Eochaidh, Mac Erc, the son of Radhnal, was the final king of the Fir-Bolgian line. He ruled Ireland for 10 years, and that brought my own people on the scene. His wife was a Mileso-Iberian Princess named Tailte, the sister of your great Grandfather Breogan, then the King of Spain, and the place of her interment still bears her name. The Fir-Bolgians ruled Ireland but 37 years. XXX...The Author now pauses in Muiream's account to demonstrate the accuracy of her count, for it is at variance with all the histories so far as time, yet she is right and they are wrong, and even worse, for they are also inconsistent. But their cause of their error was perhaps a very natural one, during these very years, and their total ignorance of any straight connection between the Eastern and Western phases of a common history. The genealogy of the leaders of this time settled the question, as the five leaders of the Fir-Bolgians were the sons of Dela, and they returned in person to avenge the death of More, their own brother who had been slain at Tor Conaing only 17 years before. Thus at a word there vanishes like a mirage from the horizon of Irish history, 200 years or more erroneously interpolated even by the best of her historians. Genealogy and Chronology must go hand in hand; these two important 'lines of time' must agree, within reasonable limits if history founded on them is to stand, and Ireland can honestly boast of quite sufficient antiquity without longer endorsing errors that only serve to bring discredit upon her otherwise unimpeachable annals. The errors were made because Erin's accredited historians would not stand strictly by the 'generations', and thus could not correctly base the years of each rule of these different kings. Now; let us return to Muiream's recital..as her people are in route to Erin.
THE TUATHA DE DANAAN
And now, my son, let us turn to the final chapter of our story, and now I can speak with the greatest degree of personal confidence and historical minuteness. For the Tuatha de Danaans are not only my own peculiar branch of this race of 'Sea Kings'...its Royal and Patrician class, but they were its last arrivals here in Erin. Their story will thus bring the Danaan history of Ireland down to date, that is, down to the Milesian conquest. Moreover, I believe most firmly that the so called Tuatha de Danaans were the last section of our race who left the ancient dwelling place of Dan in the far East, a land which your Father, himself, has visited in person, and found it to be almost entirely empty of inhabitants and history. I would, alas, that we could penetrate those Eastern chapters of our story! But beyond our debarkation, and its immediate Eastern cause, our history there seems to be as utterly washed as are the countless wakes left by Danaan keels upon the trackless waters which lie between. As well might we expect to see their phosphorescent glow renewed and fixed forever on the bosom of the deep, as now to hope to penetrate the gloom which covers up that Eastern story. It is true our actual exodus from Dania was only 112 years ago, but then we children of the sea seem to have been divorced by Fate from any deep concern in Eastern matters whole centuries before that final strand was cut. Our Western chapters however are more easily deciphered, for our chronicles are very positive upon their more important facts, to which I now invite you close attention.
(Muiream goes into detail to outline the genealogy of those coming from the East so as to keep in her sons mind the fact of who he was.)
Muiream's story continues...........We the Tuatha de Danaan's, left original Dania, only at the very last moment, and moreover, we left it empty behind us; for we came away as a body, with no intention of ever returning there, as for our ancient harbors....we burnt them. Moreover, somewhere on our journey it is equally certain we fell in with the Irish Neimhedians, and eventually came here under their pilotage, merely this and nothing more. Our records are equally positive that it was from Assyrian invasion and oppression that we fled from the East, and I doubt that not. For Enochaidh, those were the very Assyrians whom your father found still warring around that Danaan land of desolation in the East, and they are no doubt the natural descendants, or at least successors of the ancient enemies of Our Race. It was just about 100 years ago before your fathers visit to Riffleoir that the, Fir-Bolgian exodus took place. My ancestors left the East in the next generation, although we probably left Dania for Javan soon after the Fir-Bolgians. However, here we are safe, and far beyond the utmost reach of Eastern foes. Their chariots cannot ride the waves where we are indisputably the masters, and even should they ever reach the shores of Europe, all of its Danaan seaboard, reunited in such holy cause, would rise as one and offer them a sacrifice to...'Father Dan.'
It is thus clear that we originally inhabited the far off Eastern Dania; and that we left it by way of Javan because of an impending invasion from Assyria..but we the second one..for the Fir-Bolge left it first, and were pioneered Westward by refugees who had but recently returned to the East from Erin, and knew the way back to these Western colonies of OUR RACE. And moreover, from our Western chronicles, which are positive thereon, it now appears that fate has taken a hand in steering of our ships, guided us out into the ocean, and temporarily directed our prows away from these favored Islands of Atlantis, sent us rather to the Northern mainland colonies of Iberia, in the very wakes of the Belgae, or the Fir Bolgs who preceded us thither, but who had gone on to Ireland ere we arrived. By these latter kinsmen we also were well received, and treated with great hospitality. They assigned us lands for cultivation, and also gave us 4 cities to inhabit. The former we called Dan's mark, or...Dan's resting place (Denmark) and the latter were named Falia, Goria, Fennia and Mura. But the chronicles are equally explicit that, true to its name, this land was merely one of rest, for we remained in Denmark only 21 years, and then the constant cry of our chief men who had grown weary of the mainland, was:...'To the islands, or our ships.' We had deferred to our Neimhedian pilots who advised us to proceed to ports which were already well known as friendly to countrymen, and thus we avoided warfare, hence it was that we had not gone directly to Erin. I also think that the very fates conspired against our making your Milesian ports in Spain. We were destined, it is true, to meet your people, out in days yet then future. While resting peacefully in the lands of Denmark, just vacated by the Fir Bolgs, we were not idle by any means, and became fully posted upon Erin's affairs which was at that time under the joint occupancy of the Formorians, and Fir Bolgs.
Great errors have occurred in understanding these eras of Ireland's occupation and reigns. It is a great error however to misunderstand and ignore the fact that these occupations and reigns overlap, and thus to sum them all up to arrive at Erin age. This is the habitual method of all who have misconceived the secret of Irish chronology, and it is so subversive of her true history that we fear it will endanger the hope of future ages unraveling the story, and thus splicing it on to that of our ancestors in the East, unless we rectify it now. The fact is that from Parthalon down to Milesius is a period of but 497 years instead of the twelve to thirteen hundred, and nothing is to be gained by such wholesale misrepresentation. Indeed much is to be lost for it keeps the matter in derision, which to recognize the truth is to honor Irish history and reveal a truth of mighty moment to all true historians.
(Thus we find that the family of which Muiream was a part left Denmark, spent 7 years in Albion, and then they went on to Ireland. It was just 121 years after the Tuatha de Danaans left the ancient Eastern home of Dan that the Milesians (Zarah) entered Ireland. And now to prove this by here... own..genealogy:...Eochaidh, her son by Milesius, was the grandson of her father, Mac Greame, who was the son of Carmada, and the son of Eochaidh, the one for whom Eochaidh the Heremonn was named, and who came to Erin from Denmark with the Tuatha de Danaans, and was the nephew of Breas.)
THE RETURN TO SPAIN
Eochaidh and his mother returned to Spain and were welcomed by Milesius, then 62 years old and already contemplating a division of his realm between his several sons. Eochaidh had not reached the legal age of 25, but he had given evidence of peculiar ability as a sailor, and had won honor in that line, thus the command of the Milesian navy was given to this young son of Muiream and Milesius. In a successful season Heremonn's successful fleet punished the pirates so severely that commerce was assured of a long spell of safety, and Milesius then granted the oft-repeated request of the young Prince to visit Egypt, the famous scene of his fathers own early adventures. As a lad the Prince had listened to his father's stories of the East, and his later converse with his mother had only served to increase his desire to see these famous regions for himself. In correspondence with his father while away at school he had frequently reverted to this wish, and the hope had been fostered by his now fully assured naval successes.
In pursuing the interests of Milesian commerce, Heremonn had but lately passed in through the Gates of Hercules, and touched at several kindred colonies along the most western shores of that great inland sea, upon whose far off eastern coasts the legends of both branches of his ancestry related that his race sprung to powers and renown. Heremonn was still but eighteen, and Milesius assented the more readily in that several years yet remained before it would be proper to give him a share in the sceptral affairs at home. The elderly King looked upon the matter as a feature of his son's education, and was himself anxious to obtain direct news from the regions where he had personally spent many pleasant years. It was true that Necho, his royal friend was dead, as was his son, but Hophra, whom he remembered as a youthful prince, was on the throne of Egypt, and he knew his son would have a friendly welcome at that court.
Accordingly the young Prince hastily prepared for the voyage. A single ship was selected, one of the best in the navy, a few trusted officers and a well chosen crew were assembled. Plenty of means for several years of travel were provided by Milesius, and rich presents for the reigning Pharaoh.
To Muiream, however, the parting was an exciting one; her feelings were somewhat foreboding; but as the young man's heart was set upon the trip, she stifled all her fears and gave him her maternal blessing, and steeled herself to wait the outcome, which, after all, she viewed with subtle confidence, despite an ill-defined excitement. So it came about that he proceeded to the very confines of Egypt, visited its marts and ancient Temples, and admired its art and architectural wonders. But he spent less than a year at Pharaoh court, and as the state of affairs in the East was much less settled than he had anticipated, or was prepared for, he left the regions of Tanais toward the end of the year with the intention of touching at Crete and Cyprus, and thence returning west by way of Getulia according to circumstances.
AN EVENTFUL VOYAGE:.......
It was upon this return trip that Eochaidh experienced a remarkable adventure, and whose mysterious import never ceased to influence his after fortunes, although its most important link seemed to be fatally lacking for many years. Driven out of their course by severe weather his ship had gladly sought refuge in what appeared to be the ruins of an ancient harbor. It was that of--Joppa, already quite dismantled and deserted, save by a few fishermen of the lowest order. But from its inhabitants he had gleaned enough to suggest the strange fancy that perhaps it was here his ancestors had dwelt.
The storm-stressed Milesians, or Danaan if you will, for the crew consisted of about equal parts of both peoples, and Heremonn was quite as much the Prince of each, in their own, and his own estimation, had tarried there some time, and while his shipmates made such temporary repairs as would enable their craft to start again upon its homeward voyage, Eochaidh had heard of the luxurious city of Jerusalem, situated at some distance inland, and decided to visit it. Rumor added that it was even then being besieged by powerful Eastern armies. This however, only served to increase his resolution to journey thither. Thus in for any adventure, Eochaidh, together with two trusted tribesmen, now planned the short journey inland, for the double purpose of viewing the conflict, and relieving the ennui of their forced delay.
CAPTURED BY THE BABYLONIANS
Just as they were about to start for Jerusalem a strong detachment of Babylonians swept into Joppa, and seized the entire party, and were upon the point of destroying their galley; but upon second thoughts, and because of the evident value of the ship and the importance of its owners, the captors decided to report the matter to the Commander-in-Chief who was then at Ramah, only a few miles north of Jerusalem. Leaving therefore a strong guard in charge of the merchantmen, they returned with their prisoners to Mizpah, whence they had originally set out on learning of the shipwrecked strangers, intending to move forward to Ramah upon the following day.
At this critical juncture they were befriended by an unlooked-for circumstance. This was no less than the arrival of a party of Hebrew refugees at Mizpah. The latter were by no means prisoners, although they were also under special Babylonian escort. They were of evident rank, and consisted principally of a Queenly middle aged woman, named Hamutal, and the three young maidens who proved to be her granddaughters. The elder was a pretty child named 'Scota,' a familiar name! The middle one a maid of striking Hebrew type, while the younger was a still lovelier little girl of some three or four soft summers. They were also attended by an Ethiopian eunuch of commanding presence, by a younger companion apparently a scribe, whose attention to the elder girl was unmistakable, and finally, by an austere man, clad in the garb of Hebrew Priesthood. The latter seemed to be well known to the commander of the original detachment, who had indeed preceded them to Mizpah with the express purpose of providing for the safety of this particular Hebrew party. As soon as the Hebrew Priest learned of the captured prisoners he seemed deeply moved, and having diligently listened to all the Babylonians could impart, he persuaded a delay until the Commander-in-Chief himself, who was expected on the morrow, should arrive.
The interview which forever after was vividly impressed upon Eochaidh's mind was somewhat as follows:........As soon as Jeremiah, Nebuzaradas and Eochaidh were left alone, the Hebrew thus addressed the Babylonian captain:...'This stranger is the son of a great Prince whose domain is near 'the Blessed Isles', which lie far beyond the Ultima Thule. The kingdom is but small, and is underneath the setting sun, but know, O Nebuzaradan, that the destiny of Babylonia is mysteriously linked with the safety of these mariners, thus let them depart in peace. They will return unto their own land, nor will even their posterity visit these shores again...until...the golden age has changed to silver, that of silver to brass, and that of brass to iron, in the latter days of earthly empire.'
These words, uttered in Phoenician dialect, that was easily comprehended by each of his listeners, produced a marked effect on both, and observing their attention, the Seer continued:...'Thou hast, by order of the King, thy master, hitherto obeyed all the mandates of YAHWEH, and behold Jerusalem again has fallen! So, too, all other things unroll, even as the sacred scrolls predict, and I am here according to agreement with the daughters of Zedekiah, whom the King, Nebuchadnezzar, placed upon the throne of Judah. Let it be known to thee, O Babylonian, that the victory of the Chaldeans has been brought about, not by chariots nor horsemen, but by the Lord of Hosts, before whom even thou has lately trembled in thy visions.'
At this the Babylonian captain visibly startled changed color, no angrily, however, though with evident concern; but appearing not to notice his increased attention, the Seer continued as follows:.... 'Nor yet, without indubitable premonition, stands this stranger here today, who hitherto has bowed the knee to Baal only, amid the oaks and cromlechs of his native hills. Be it also known unto thee, O Nebuzaradan, that these ship-wrecked strangers have been cast upon the shores of Joppa for a 'sign' and for a 'witness' unto thee, that all my words shall surely come to pass, as well as unto them when Erin's times are also full.'
These remarks of Jeremiah, particularly the allusion to his mother's land, and the scenes of his youth, surprised Eochaidh beyond measure, but he held his peace, and the Prophet continued as follows:.....‘Behold! I will establish this, that thou mayest know that the words of YAHWEH are certain, and his counsels sure. Last night, O Captain, thou wert troubled in thine heart, and sleep went from thee, for a vision of deep import haunted thine eyelids. That dream was sent to thee from Heaven, nor hast thou yet mentioned it, or told it to another. Nevertheless this is the riddle thou didst dream:...Thou lookest, and behold a vine of low stature, and of unknown verdure, grew upon a mountain high and excellent. And as it spread abroad, behold a single leaf expanded in the midst thereof, and sent its lobes, the one toward the East, another to the West, a third to the North, and yet a last towards the sunny South. And the growth thereof was terrible, and the shadow of the leaf spread over the face of the whole earth. And thou sawest until the strength of the mountain whereon it flourished entered into the leaf. And gold and silver, brass and iron, flowed from the bowels of the mountain, into the veins thereof, and yet its texture seemed to be of stone, for the mountain also poured its quartz into the leaf that grew. And behold! as thou didst view the vine, and its growing leaf, one came and plucked a tender twig thereof, and gave it to a little child; and lo! the whole earth rejoiced, and all creation dwelt in peace beneath the shadow of the vine.' This is the remarkable interpretation of this vision:.......'Know therefore, O Nebuzaradan, that this vision is certain, and its interpretation sure. As a sign thereof, I charge thee, cause this stranger to be searched.'
The Captain of the guard commanded that the Prophets words be carried out and as the young Prince was searched, lo, beneath the...Caims..of Eochaidh was a chain of gold, clasped around his neck. And suspended to it hung a four leaved shamrock, curiously worked in inimitable filigree with gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and it was set with Quartz, and glistened in the sun. This talisman had been the parting gift of his mother ere he had started upon the eventful voyage, and was greatly treasured for supposed Druidic virtues. She had charged him to wear it on his heart, and told him that it was an ancient heirloom of great age, and it certainly was a treasure of great value and with all a work of art.
Now;...the little daughter of the unfortunate King of Judah (Zedekiah) strayed into the group at this moment, and Nebuzaradan, impressed with the strange fulfillment of his dream, directed that the treasured circlet with its pendent gem be cast around her neck, for her name was Taphah (or Tephi) which in Hebrew signifies a twig...or a maiden, and she was also called by the pet name of Teah (Tea) which is aä diminutive signifying...Tender. Teah Tephi...The Tender Twig! As this was done the Prophet spake again and said to Nebuzaradan the Captain:... 'Behold, thou hast found favor with Nebuchadnezzar, and thy king will make thee Captain of his four-fold host, and thou shalt lead his armies to the North, the South, to the East and the West; and thou shalt have great honor in thy latter days. As for now speed these strangers on their way.'
The Captain of the armies gave the orders and the prisoners were released, and the orders were given also to speed the departure of the galley.
THE MYSTERIOUS INTERVIEW:
This night before the merchantman of Tarshish was to start from Joppa, the young Prince was called into a place apart by the Mysterious Seer and blessed. The Prophet took a horn of oil, and anointed him and said:... 'Return no more into the Orient, nor pass the Pillars of Hercules again. Pause not in thy return voyage; obey the light thou hast, for the legends of thy people are well founded. Seek Empire in the West, for thou shalt be ruler in thy father's stead. The four-fold kingdom of the Sacred Isle shall be united upon the stem of thy posterity. Behold! YAHWEH blesses thee, and thou shalt judge thy people. And in the days of thy greatness thou shalt have a throne of stone....a scepter, and a Princess fair to see. Thy seed shall dominate the earth, nor shall it fail in the day of trouble. The Zeal of the Almighty shall accomplish this, and for a 'Sign', THE SERPENT SHALL DEPART FROM ERIN. Meanwhile return thou unto Western Heshbon, and forget not amid the groves of Baal, that there is a MIGHTY ONE in heaven, and that the cromlechs of thy people are to narrow for him who dwells in the Universe. Hasted not this vision nor be slow of faith, for many days must pass before these things take place in any phase or form. And finally, regret not the gem that thou hast lost, it is the price of thine escape; but when thou findest one amidst the verdure of some Greek Realm far away, recall these incidents and wield thy scepter wisely in thy day.' Thus spake the Seer, and on the morrow the galley proceeded the sun in its Westward journey. The young Prince returned home and related his personal experiences only to his mother, who concealed the story. Her son was the youngest of several half-brothers and his elders had the royal precedent. Muiream's observations to her son as to the incidents referred to, brought the observation that the words of the Prophet were a corroboration of much that she had known in her own life. For of all the ancient promises of his mothers people, they based their Faith upon the one that looks unto a woman as destined to preserve the Danaans from the Serpent that bites the tribal horse's heels. This was darkly symbolized upon the royal Danaan heraldry which came west with her family. Muiream then goes on to tell her son:...'Your birth was ominous of something strange and great. Enough that I had special reasons for belief in one born with an 'arrow mark' upon his heart. The day when thou shouldst have been passed above the sacred fire, the eldest of the Druids sought me, and forbade the act. He was a strange and silent man, who took no part in any of the outward rites we celebrate within the Cromlechs, but had remained a hermit in a place apart; I knew not he was in Spain. In fact I had not seen the 'Brehun' since Carmada died, save in a dream ere you were born, and when he came my vision was fulfilled. He was the one who gave me the talisman which you so strangely lost on this eventful voyage to the East, and with it he bestowed this curious seal which you have never seen before. I give it to you now, my son, but charge you never part with it in life or death.'
The Queen now produced a ring of great antiquity and gave it to her son saying:...'It is the cognizance of Dan himself, who was the founder of our 'House of Dan', a beryl pure and precious. Note with what skill its heraldry is graved, a creature, which, half man, half horse, is wielding in his hand an arrow-snake; and whose quaint characters below spell out his name, as you can see, for in spite of centuries, I dare not think how many, that is the secret Logham of the Druids. Dan was a 'Brehun' as his name implies, a Royal Monarch and Arch-druid, born to judge among his people always. So thou shalt do, and after thee thy sons, until the final fire shall quench the waters whereon Dan abides. I say sons, for when the aged Druid gave to me this seal he bade me know that....'In the strength of this child's thighs the stars predict an empire shall arise.' Smile not, my son, that thou preferrest me, thy mother, to a wife, for portents such as I have known may tarry...but not fail. Yet, marry no Milesian Princess Eochaidh; for thy star is double and the color of its second light must complement thine own. I say:..not to marry a Danaan...I know not what to say hereon save that thy counterpart will come.' Later Muiream continued her talk with her son:.....‘Let me return therefore to those earlier Danaans..'The Craunnogs' with whom my story of Ireland began. You recall the significance I placed upon the twigs and leafy emblems we have all inherited equally with them, and to which we still attribute so much subtle meaning? Well! What added weight all this obtains when taken in connection with your own adventures. Depend upon it..you have met a prophet of Our Race, and there is destiny awaiting thee behind the Veil of Isis, whom, I believe you said was one of the gods of Egypt, and certainly has sway in other lands. You have told me, my son, of how forcibly you were struck by the name of that wonderful Eastern city which you failed to reach, but how confident you were that the desolate land upon whose shores you found yourself was in some way related to our own Danaan forefathers. But this was not all; for what convinced you most of all as to its being truly classic Danish ground was the startlingly familiar name of that inaccessible interior city, which, among other lofty titles, all signifying...'The Holy Mountain', and which the fishermen thereabouts called Jhireon,...Akron...and Hierusalem! The people who gave the name Jeronakron to Erin's most sacred promontory were these identical Iberians of whom we used to talk long years ago in Erin. Yet the name is a pure Danaan one, and signifies to us, as it did to the Iberians...'The Sacred Mountain.' No wonder you were struck by it, my son, and I can only beg of you to be convinced anew that these early Iberians were actually Danaans, and that their ancestors must have known of the earlier Jhieronakron (Jerusalem) so near to ancient Yiffey in the land of Dan. The fact is, Eochaidh, the Iberos came Westward, seeking the same Scepter, and following the same...'Star of Destiny,' that led us all to Erin, and when accident thus took you to their most ancient land, behold you found it empty. It had been depleted every time that emigrants had gone to Ireland and the West. I shall often wonder what has become of the city and inhabitants of ancient Jhieron or Akron, which the Assyrians were besieging when you yourself fell into their hands, and were so wonderfully delivered. I think that Erin is the inner sanctuary of this land of Tarshish, and I would that you were sure of ruling it in days to come.'
The subject was dropped between mother and son as the years rolled on, but Heremonn never disobeyed the prophet's injunctions, and confined his voyages to the coasts North and South of Spain...on the Atlantic.
In the 25th., year of Heremonn's life sorrow came as his mother died, and was taken for burial to Ireland. After the funeral as the Prince returned to Spain he found that the Empire was in great trouble and the sacred books when consulted, reminded them of the ancient predictions:...that Ireland would be the 'Promised Land'. First it was decided to send a representative from Spain to the island to stop the insurrection there. It would have been better to have sent Heremonn as the people knew and loved him, but another was sent in his place and this created more bloodshed and unrest. As you remember there were other sons of Milesius, and now is the time for the sons of Scota the Queen to see if they can realize the aim of their mother. But also remember that all this is in the hands of the Almighty, and the Prince of the Scarlet Thread who is chosen will be the one to reign in Ireland. At the culmination of the trouble between the half brothers, when the feud was now between Heber and Heremonn the Danaan population arose as one to stand with Heremonn.
CHURCH AND STATE:
Heremonn's father's ancestors had left the land of Egypt before Sinai's law had been promulgated; theirs was but primitive and patriarchal, and although all knowledge of its origin had for long been dissipated in their constant wanderings...still its simple purity was summed up in a belief in One God only whom they named but rarely, YAH, and worshiped with but little ceremony, in the deepest heart. 'The Scarlet Thread' had led them to this land of Fate, whose very name they took to indicative of Supreme favor (for arriving, Ierin had phonetically meant Jar-in, or YAHWEH'S land; but some say Jurin or Judah's land) had wrapped itself about the very roots of Eochaidh's or Heremonn's deep nature, and he had been drawn to seek in constant converse all that the wisest of the pure Milesians could impart thereon. In his mothers teaching she had always warned her son that there were people in Ireland who were not of his race.
- Log in to post comments
