Can someone please explain this crazy storyline? What is the connection between all these things and people? Why was Lugh captured? What’s with the midwinter birth significance? What’s with the King and Louis XIV? Where do the names Lugh, Epona and Maev come from?

Let’s start with the King. Louis XIV. Description page 114

LOUIS XIV ASSUMES CONTROL OF FRANCE In 1661, Louis XIV broke with tradition and astonished his court by declaring that he would rule without a chief minister. He viewed himself as the direct representative of God, endowed with a divine right to wield the absolute power of the monarchy. To illustrate his status, he chose the sun as his emblem and cultivated the image of an omniscient and infallible “Roi-Soleil” (“Sun King”) around whom the entire realm orbited. While some historians question the attribution, Louis is often remembered for the bold and infamous statement “L’État, c’est moi” (“I am the State”).

A hard-working and meticulous ruler who oversaw his programs down to the last detail, Louis XIV nevertheless appreciated art, literature, music, theater and sports. To accommodate his retinue of newly devoted nobles (and, perhaps, to distance himself from the population of Paris), Louis built several lavish châteaux that depleted the nation’s coffers while drawing accusations of extravagance. Most famously, he transformed a royal hunting lodge in Versailles, a village 25 miles southwest of the capital, into one of the largest palaces in the world, officially moving his court and government there in 1682.

The King in the Dustlands has done the same thing. He has chosen the identity of Louis XIV. Later in the book we find that he has carefully grabbed all the land and everything of value. He was a smart and greedy ruler, who created an empire by using his own army, The Ton Ton and creating slaves through the use of chaal, a drug that keeps people drugged and compliant. He is smart and also mad, with power and with the need to live forever. So why capture Lugh?

The Celtic Influence in the novel The plot line that involves the killing and need to save Lugh comes from author Moira Young’s drawing of characters and events from the Celtic traditions. Druids were the scholars, the elite the healers and the spiritual leaders of the Celtic peoples. How do we know she has drawn from the Celtic tradition? We know by the names and events she used in her book. So here’s part of the connection.

Significance of Midwinter birth The December solstice is the Winter Solstice Although winter is the season of dormancy, darkness and cold, the December Solstice marks the "turning of the Sun" and the days slowly get longer. Celebrations of the lighter days to come and nature’s continuing cycle have been common throughout cultures and history with feasts, festivals and holidays around the December Solstice.

Human sacrifice was apparently a normal part of the Celtic rituals, especially of kings in hard times. It was traditional to offer gifts of imitation fruit (a symbol of fertility), dolls (symbolic of the custom of human sacrifice), and candles (reminiscent of the bonfires traditionally associated with pagan solstice celebrations). A mock king was chosen, usually from a group of slaves or criminals, and although he was permitted to behave in an unrestrained manner for seven days of the festival, he was usually killed at the end. The Saturnalia eventually degenerated into a week-long spree of debauchery and crime – giving rise to the modern use of the tern saturnalia, meaning a period of unrestrained license and revelry.

What’s Lugh got to do with it? There are three clear connections that I can see. 1. Lugh’s description and name: See page 3. and next slide. 2. Lugh’s birthdate and the connection to ritualistic sacrifice. 3. Louis XIV’s need to rule forever. His choosing a substitute in his image keeps the patriarchy line clear. 4. Question to you. Did Young pull it off? Does the connection work?

Lugh: Celtic Sun God Celtic (Welsh, Irish) God, also known as Lleu, Llew and Lugh the Many Skilled. His animals are the raven and the lynx. He symbolizes healing, reincarnation, prophecy, and revenge. Also a Sun God as well; hence the Pagan Sabbath Lughnasadh, his namesake. Son of Cian, a Tuatha de Danaan.

Other Celtic References Epona Celtic (Britania and Gaul) Goddess of horsebreeding, healing spring, prosperity and mountains. Called Divine Horse and the Great Mare, the Goddess of horses was acknowledged and worshipped by Roman soldiers.

Maeve Celtic Goddess of Earth, fertility and war. Also known as Queen Maeve and known as Mebd. She was a great conqueror and enjoyed enslaving the men of the Armies she defeated as spoils of war to pleasure her at will. A VERY lustful woman. Also known as the "Drunk Woman". The mere sight of Maeve or Medb blinds enemies, and she runs faster than the fastest horse.

Homework Read Blood Red Road, pages Quiz next class.