medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>From: Phyllis Jestice <[log in to unmask]>
>Mylor (?) A very obscure saint, probably of Brittany, with an interesting
>later medieval legend. According to this legend, Mylor was a prince only 7
>years old when his father was killed by his uncle. The evil uncle wanted
>to kill Mylor, too, but was convinced by a council of bishops to spare the
>kid, only cutting off his right hand and left foot (which were replaced by
>a silver hand and a bronze foot). Mylor was then educated at a monastery,
>but by the age of 14 his artificial limbs were working like real ones. So
>the evil uncle got Mylor's guardian to behead the youth. The uncle then
>touched the severed head and died three days later.
The story of Mellor incorporates several themes found in Irish secualr tales
and customs. First, the reason for the mutilation is to make the boy unfit
to be king (physical deformity made one ineligible; the various Irish annals
are full of accounts of rivals for the kingship being eliminated not by
killing them but by disfiguring them, usually by blinding). Panels of
bishops don't usually approve of such actions; in fact, disfiguring is often
done in spite of bishops or abbots placing the target under their
protection.
Another theme is the silver hand or arm. The king of the Tu/stha De/ Danann
was removed from the kingship when his arm was cut off by an enemy. After
some time, the physician of the TDD, working with other members of that
supernatural tribe, managed to contrive a silver arm that functioned like
the original. Hence, the king, Nusadu, acquired the soubriquet
Airgetlam--Silver Hand (or Arm--the meaning is ambiguous). However, the
physician's son contrived to create a new arm of flesh, a feat which so
enflamed his father with jealousy that father killed son.
The bronze foot is unique to Mellor, as far as I know.
However, the killing poison secreted by a head is also found in the story of
Lugh and Balor. Lugh was Balor's grandson, but Lugh took the side of his TDD
father and killed and decapitated Balor. Like many powerful figures, Balor's
head went on speaking after being removed from its body. Balor tried to
convince Lugh to place the head on top of his own--to acquire Balor's power,
supposedly. But Lugh wasn't called Samildanach (master of all crafts) for
nothing and he recognized trickery when he heard it. He placed the head on a
stone pillar and the poison secreted onto the stone was so strong that the
pillar cracked and shattered.
Interesting how these motifs get recycled into hagiography.
Francine Nicholson
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