Incest in Folklore - British/Irish

British/Irish

In the Old Irish saga Tochmarc Étaíne ("The Wooing of Étaín"), Eochaid Airem, the high king of Ireland is tricked into sleeping with his daughter, whom he mistakes for her mother Étaín. The child of their union becomes the mother of the legendary king Conaire Mor.

In some versions of the medieval British legend of King Arthur, Arthur accidentally begets a son by his half sister Morgause in a night of blind lust, then seeks to have the child killed when he hears of a prophecy that it will bring about the undoing of the Round Table. The child survives and later becomes Mordred, his ultimate nemesis.

Read more about this topic:  Incest In Folklore

Famous quotes containing the words british and/or irish:

    A girl? Hey, that’s better in a way. A boy needs more from a father.
    Margaret Forster, British screenwriter, Peter Nichols, and Silvio Narizzano. Jos (Alan Bates)

    Irish Americans are about as Irish as black Americans are African.
    Bob Geldof (b. 1954)