There was once, long, long, long ago, an elegant and very tall faerie people who were said to have come down from the skies "in dark ships". Perhaps, this meant that the ships were invisible, or cloaked. This was recorded in ancient Celtic texts thousands of years before Christ. These forebearers were called the "Children Of Danu" or "The Tribe Of Danu", the Mother Goddess. On our earth they were, --- the All-Father, The Dagda, The Morrighan, his triple aspect warrrior wife, their sons, Lugh of the Long Arm, Aonghus Mac Og, god of youth, love and beauty, and Brighid, goddess of smithcraft and protector of women and children, and others. They fought with the native peoples of Ireland and gained rule of the land. Master architects, they built seven great cities, each city made of a fabulous semi precious stone. They were artists, poets, wizards and wisdom makers. (In the "Lord Of The Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien, the great Elfin Lords and Ladies, Galadriel and Legolas among them, are said to be drawn from the Tuatha de Dannan.)
The noble De Dannans were fond of making solemn processions through the land at night, riding in a double line, one hundred and forty strong, wearing their finest robes and jewels, on magnificent faerie horses shod with filigreed silver and with bridles laden with tinkling silver bells. These processions were called faerie rades. The horses of the De Dannans were unlike any horses that ever trod the earth of men for they were fey creatures. One only had to look at them to see that they were made, not of blood, flesh and bone, but were constructed of something much, much finer, --- of spirit, fire, water, and air. (Gandalf's equine friend Shadowfax was created after these horses.)
The wonderful De Dannans were finally defeated by a people called the Milesians and driven underground to live in faerie raths. The last of their fantastic horses was somehow auctioned at a horse fair. He was bought by a great lord of the west of Ireland. Unknown to the lord, the faerie horses would never allow a servant or a base born person to ride them. The lord's groom mounted the horse, only to ride him into the stable. The magnificent horse threw him and killed him on the spot, then galloped away over a hill, never to be seen again. This was the end of the very singular and sensational horses of the Tuatha de Dannan.
The noble De Dannans were fond of making solemn processions through the land at night, riding in a double line, one hundred and forty strong, wearing their finest robes and jewels, on magnificent faerie horses shod with filigreed silver and with bridles laden with tinkling silver bells. These processions were called faerie rades. The horses of the De Dannans were unlike any horses that ever trod the earth of men for they were fey creatures. One only had to look at them to see that they were made, not of blood, flesh and bone, but were constructed of something much, much finer, --- of spirit, fire, water, and air. (Gandalf's equine friend Shadowfax was created after these horses.)
The wonderful De Dannans were finally defeated by a people called the Milesians and driven underground to live in faerie raths. The last of their fantastic horses was somehow auctioned at a horse fair. He was bought by a great lord of the west of Ireland. Unknown to the lord, the faerie horses would never allow a servant or a base born person to ride them. The lord's groom mounted the horse, only to ride him into the stable. The magnificent horse threw him and killed him on the spot, then galloped away over a hill, never to be seen again. This was the end of the very singular and sensational horses of the Tuatha de Dannan.
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