Loan Maclibuin | |
|---|---|
 The Death of Loan Maclibuin, The Dark Smith (1882) | |
| Died | Norway |
| Nationality | Norwegian |
| Other names | The Dark Smith of Drontheim, Son of Luan [1] Lon Mac Liomtba, [2] Loan Maclibhuin [3] |
| Occupation | swordsmith |
| Children | Emergaid |
Loan Maclibuin was a legendary Norwegian smith. He was known as "The Dark Smith of Drontheim". He was the seventh son of Windy Cap, King of Norway. The "dark", does not refer to his working black magic, but rather to his swarthy nature.
He is generally known from the tale "Olave Goddardson And The Sword Macabuin". [4]
According to Manx legend, Baron Kitter's hunting had wiped out the animals of the Calf of Man, and the people of Man were afraid he would begin hunting their own beasts. They asked the wisest witches of the island to help them. While Baron Kitter was on the Calf, his cook Eaoch of the Loud Voice fell asleep. The witch Ada put a spell on the pot so that the fat within [5] boiled over, setting the castle on fire. Kitter's friends, who had stayed on the Calf, decided that Eaoch had plotted with the witch to kill off the Norwegians and had him brought before the Norwegian-born King Olave, who sentenced him to death.
Norwegian custom allowed him to choose the manner of his death, so Eaoch said he wished to have his head laid across the King's legs and cut off with the King's own sword. This sword, Macabuin, made by Loan Maclibuin the Dark Smith of Drontheim, could cut the hardest granite just by touching it. The Norwegians begged the King to refuse, but he would not break his word and gave orders to proceed. However, the witch Ada was there, and told them to lay nine times nine toads' skins, rowan twigs and adders' eggs across the King's legs. When the sword was laid gently on Eaoch's neck, it instantly cut it off, and cut through the adders' eggs and the rowan twigs as well - only the toads' skins saved the King's legs.
Loan heard about this and was angered, since the sword was given with the agreement that it not be stained with the blood of a low-born man. He sent his hammerman, Hiallus-nan-urd, who had lost a leg in the tempering of the sword Macabuin and had a mechanical one put in place.
Hiallus-nan-urd challenged Olave to travel with him to Drontheim to see the smith about the matter. Olave and he left, traveling by foot from Peel Castle to Ramsey and by boat to Drontheim. [6] Most versions gloss over the journey, which compares and contrasts their pagan and Christian natures.
By a strategy, Olave manages to be first in the door of Loan's smithy, barring the door against Hiallus-nan-urd. He picks up a large hammer and strikes the anvil, breaking it in two and turning the stone base to gravel. He spots Emergaid, Loan's daughter and learns from her that Loan is of royal blood and had caused him to come there so he could quench a new and better sword in Olave's blood. Olave seized the sword and did to Loan what he had intended for Olave. Emergaid faints at the sight, missing his killing of Hiallus-nan-urd by cutting him in two, lengthwise. Emergaid returns with Olave to Man and they are married.
Olave Goddardson is likely Olaf I Godredsson. [7] Macabuin may be connected with the Manx Sword of State.
Alswith, son of Hiallus-nan-urd, is connected with a hill on the Isle of Man, called "Break my Heart Hill (Ughtagh breesh my chree)." [8]
The character of Zee (full name Siebold Adelbertskrieger) from the Mercy Thompson series is based on him, and sometimes referred to as the dark smith of Drontheim. [9]
The Isle of Man had become separated from Great Britain and Ireland by 6500 BC. It appears that colonisation took place by sea sometime during the Mesolithic era. The island has been visited by various raiders and trading peoples over the years. After being settled by people from Ireland in the first millennium AD, the Isle of Man was converted to Christianity and then suffered raids by Vikings from Norway. After becoming subject to Norwegian suzerainty as part of the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, the Isle of Man later became a possession of the Scottish and then the English crowns.
Manannán or Manann, also known as Manannán mac Lir, is a warrior and king of the Otherworld in Irish and Manx mythology who is associated with the sea and often interpreted as a sea god, usually as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann.
The Kingdom of the Isles consisted of the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and the islands of the Firth of Clyde from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. The islands were known to the Norse as the Suðreyjar[ˈsuðz̠ˌœyjɑz̠], or "Southern Isles" as distinct from the Norðreyjar[ˈnorðz̠ˌœyjɑz̠] or Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland. In Scottish Gaelic, the kingdom is known as Rìoghachd nan Eilean. The historical record is incomplete, and the kingdom was not a continuous entity throughout the entire period. The islands concerned are sometimes referred to as the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, although only some of the later rulers claimed that title. At times the rulers were independent of external control, although for much of the period they had overlords in Norway, Ireland, England, Scotland or Orkney. At times there also appear to have been competing claims for all or parts of the territory. The islands involved have a total land area of over 8,300 square kilometres (3,205 sq mi) and extend for more than 500 kilometres (310 mi) from north to south.
The flag of the Isle of Man or flag of Mann is a triskelion, composed of three armoured legs with golden spurs, upon a red background. It has been the official flag of the Isle of Mann since 1 December 1932 and is based on the Manx coat of arms, which dates back to the 13th century.
In Manx folklore, a buggane was a huge ogre-like creature native to the Isle of Man. Some have considered them akin to the Scandinavian troll.
The Manx Loaghtan is a rare breed of sheep native to the Isle of Man. It is sometimes spelled as Loaghtyn or Loghtan. The sheep have dark brown wool and usually four or occasionally six horns.
The culture of the Isle of Man is influenced by its Celtic and, to a lesser extent, its Norse origins, though its close proximity to the United Kingdom, popularity as a UK tourist destination, and recent mass immigration by British migrant workers has meant that British influence has been dominant since the Revestment period. Recent revival campaigns have attempted to preserve the surviving vestiges of Manx culture after a long period of Anglicisation, and significant interest in the Manx language, history and musical tradition has been the result.
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Limited is the oldest continuously operating passenger shipping company in the world, having been founded in 1830.
Kitterland is an islet in the Calf Sound between the Isle of Man and the Calf of Man in the Irish Sea.
The Coat of Arms of the Isle of Man, blazoned Gules three legs in armour flexed at the knee and conjoined at the thigh, all proper, garnished and spurred or, dates from the late 13th century. The present version dates from 12 July 1996. As the Isle of Man is a Crown dependency and the present Lord of Man is King Charles III of the United Kingdom, the arms are more accurately described as the Arms of His Majesty in right of the Isle of Man. The origin of the triskeles is obscure, but it appears to stem from the Scottish takeover of the island in 1265. The heraldic supporters are birds associated with the island, whilst the motto first appears on record in the 17th century.
Glashtyn is a legendary creature from Manx folklore.
Skanke is a Norwegian surname, and a former noble family.
MV Ben-my-Chree is a Ro-Pax vessel which was launched and entered service in 1998. The flagship of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, it primarily operates on the Douglas to Heysham route. The Royal New Zealand Navy multi-role vessel HMNZS Canterbury, based on Ben-my-Chree's design, entered service in 2007.
Many types of trees found in the Celtic nations are considered to be sacred, whether as symbols, or due to medicinal properties, or because they are seen as the abode of particular nature spirits. Historically and in folklore, the respect given to trees varies in different parts of the Celtic world. On the Isle of Man, the phrase 'fairy tree' often refers to the elder tree. The medieval Welsh poem Cad Goddeu is believed to contain Celtic tree lore, possibly relating to the crann ogham, the branch of the ogham alphabet where tree names are used as mnemonic devices.
The King of Mann was the title taken between 1237 and 1504 by the various rulers, both sovereign and suzerain, over the Kingdom of Mann – the Isle of Man which is located in the Irish Sea, at the centre of the British Isles. Since 1504, the head of state has been known as the Lord of Mann.
Þórkell Þórmóðarson is a character from the mediaeval Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar, a kings' saga composed in the last half of the 13th century. The saga relates that in about the year 1230, a Norwegian-Hebridean fleet sailed down through the Hebrides, where it attacked certain islands there, and proceeded on to the Isle of Man. As the fleet made its way southward through the Hebrides, several members fought a battle with Þórkell at Vestrajǫrðr, near Skye. The exact location of Vestrajǫrðr is unknown, although Loch Bracadale, Loch Dunvegan, and Loch Snizort, all located on the western coast of Skye, have been proposed as possible locations. According to the saga, Þórkell and two of his sons were slain in the encounter, however a third son, named Þórmóðr, managed to escape with his life. Early the next year, the fleet headed northwards through the Hebrides back home. When it approached the Isle of Lewis, a man named Þórmóðr Þórkelson fled for his life, leaving behind his wife and possessions to be taken by the marauding fleet.
The Deemster is a novel by Hall Caine published in 1887, considered to be the first 'Manx novel'. It was Caine's third novel, the second to be set in the Isle of Man and it was his first great success. The plot revolves around the reckless actions of Dan Mylrea and the exile and atonement that follow.
The water bull, also known as tarbh-uisge in Scottish Gaelic, is a mythological Scottish creature similar to the Manx tarroo ushtey. Generally regarded as a nocturnal resident of moorland lochs, it is usually more amiable than its equine counterpart the water horse, but has similar amphibious and shapeshifting abilities.
William Cain was a Manx merchant navy officer who served as commanding officer of numerous Isle of Man Steam Packet Company vessels. Cain is remembered for ramming the German U-boat SM UC-26 on the night of 16 February 1917, whilst in command of the Mona's Queen.