Editing Geas (section)

==In Irish mythology==
A ''{{lang|ga|geas|italic=no}}'' can be compared with a [[curse]] or, paradoxically, a gift. If someone under a ''{{lang|ga|geas|italic=no}}'' violates the associated taboo, the infractor will suffer dishonor or even death.  Conversely, the observing of one's ''{{lang|ga|geas|italic=no}}'' is believed to bring power. Often, women place ''{{lang|ga|geasa|italic=no}}'' upon men; in some cases, the woman turns out to be a [[goddess]] or other [[sovereignty]] figure.<ref name="MacKillop1">MacKillop, James (1998) ''A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. Oxford, Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-280120-1}} p.249</ref>

The ''{{lang|ga|geas|italic=no}}'' is often a key device in hero tales, such as that of [[Cúchulainn|Cú Chulainn]] in [[Irish mythology]]. Traditionally, the doom of heroes comes about due to their violation of their ''{{lang|ga|geas|italic=no}}'' either by accident or by having multiple ''{{lang|ga|geasa|italic=no}}'', which then come into conflict. For instance, Cú Chulainn has a ''{{lang|ga|geas|italic=no}}'' to never eat dog meat, and he is also bound by a ''{{lang|ga|geas|italic=no}}'' to eat any food offered to him by a woman. When a [[hag]] offers him dog meat, he has no way to emerge from the situation unscathed; this leads to his death.<ref name="MacKillop1"/><ref name="MacKillop2">MacKillop (1998) pp.115-117</ref>

In some cases, the placing of a ''{{lang|ga|geas|italic=no}}'' can lead to tragedy even when it is not violated. ''{{lang|ga|[[Aífe|Aoife]]|italic=no}}'' imposed three ''{{lang|ga|geasa|italic=no}}'' on [[Connla]], her son with Cú Chulainn: he cannot turn back once he starts his journey; he must not refuse a challenge; and he must never tell anyone his name. She then sent Connla, aged seven, to seek out his father, but he was a child of such extraordinary skill that he was seen as a threat after having defeated all Ulster heroes who met him. Because of the ''{{lang|ga|geas|italic=no}}'' placed on him by his mother, he refuses to identify himself, which leads to his own father, Cú Chulainn, killing him in single combat using the [[Gáe Bulg]] before recognising too late who he is. He then introduces his dying son to the men of Ulster as a fitting hero.

A ''{{lang|ga|geas|italic=no}}'' might appear beneficial by involving a [[prophecy]] that a person would die in a particular way so bizarre that they could then avoid their fate for many years.{{Citation needed|date=November 2007}} As with [[Conaire Mór]], though, in the tale of ''[[Togail Bruidne Dá Derga]]'', who strictly observed a number of ''{{lang|ga|geasa}}'', a small unconnected infraction can escalate to one's undoing. By initially making exceptions to crimes of stealing by his foster-brothers contravening ''fír flathemon'', the king's upholding of true judgement, things proceed until they deliberately contravene a ''{{lang|ga|geis|italic=no}}'' of Conaire's against marauding in his reign. Though he tries to rectify the situation by exiling them, his fate intervenes, so the remaining ''{{lang|ga|geasa|italic=no}}'' are involuntarily and accidentally broken one after the other with a sense of gathering doom that cannot be checked.

In the Irish saga of [[Conchobar mac Nessa]], the king is said to have the right to the first night with any marriageable woman and the right to sleep with the wife of anyone who hosted him. This is called the Geis of the king.<ref>[[Rudolf Thurneysen]]: ''Die irischen Helden- und Königssage bis zum 17. Jahrhundert''. Halle 1921, p. 394, 525</ref> Whether this right actually existed and was exercised by the Celts is not attested outside the sagas.<ref>Helmut Birkhan. ''Kelten. Versuch einer Gesamtdarstellung ihrer Kultur.'' p. 1091.</ref> It is similar to the ''{{Lang|fr|[[droit du seigneur]]}}'' of feudal Europe.