View source for Goibniu

{{short description|Irish god}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
In [[Irish mythology]], '''Goibniu''' ({{IPA-sga|ˈɡovʲnʲu}}; {{langx|ga|label=[[Irish language|Modern Irish]]|'''Gaibhne'''}}) was the [[metalsmith]] of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]]. He is believed to have been a smithing god and is also associated with [[hospitality]]. His name is related to the [[Welsh mythology|Welsh]] [[Gofannon]] and the [[Gauls|Gaulish]] [[Gobannus]].
==Etymology==
The name ''Goibniu'' stems from a [[Proto-Celtic]] form reconstructed as *''Gobeniū'' or *''Gobanniō'', which is derived from the stem *''goben''-, meaning 'smith' (cf. [[Old Irish]] ''gobae'', [[Middle Welsh]] ''gof,'' [[Middle Breton]] ''gof(f)'', [[Old Cornish]] ''gof'' 'smith'; cf. also [[Gaulish]] ''gobedbi'' 'with the smiths' < *''goben-bi'' or *''gob-et''-''bi-''). The same stem can be found in the Gaulish deity ''[[Gobannus|Deo Cobanno]]'' (< *''Gobannos''), and in ''[[Govannon]]'' (< *''Gobannonos''), the son of the goddess [[Dôn]] in [[Welsh mythology]], which may suggest a common origin of the name in Proto-Celtic legends. It is also attested in various personal names, such as the Gaulish ''Gobannitio'', ''Gobannicnus'', or ''Gobano'', the Old Irish [[Saint Gobain|''Gobain'']] (Lat. ''Gobanus''), the [[Old Breton]] ''Ran Gof'', as well as in the toponyms ''[[Gobannium]]'' (now [[Abergavenny]]) and ''Sanctus Gobanus'' ([[Saint-Gobain, Aisne|Saint-Gobain]]).{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=182}}''{{sfn|Matasović|2009|p=164}}{{Sfn|Blažek|2008|pp=67–68}}''
A [[Proto-Indo-European]] (PIE) origin of the stem *''goben''- is controversial, and some scholars have proposed that it is restricted to Celtic.{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=182}}{{sfn|Matasović|2009|p=164}} It could be connected to Latin ''faber'' ('craftsman'), via  PIE *''g<sup>(w)h</sup>ob<sup>h</sup>''-, although the former is generally derived from *''d<sup>h</sup>Hb<sup>h</sup>-ro-'' (cf. Armenian ''darbin'').{{sfn|Matasović|2009|p=164}} [[Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel]] has also proposed to derive it from PIE *''g(h)eubh''- ('curve, bend'), because bronze was hammered and bended, contrary to iron that was melted,{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=182}} and [[Václav Blažek]] has suggested a relation with the [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] goddess of fire ''[[Gabija]]''.''{{Sfn|Blažek|2008|p=79}}''
==Family==
The name of his father appears as Esarg or Tuirbe Trágmar, the 'thrower of [[axe]]s'.<ref>Part I Book IV: The Dagda of ‘[[Gods and Fighting Men]],’ by [[Lady Gregory]], (1904), available at http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/gafm/gafm12.htm
</ref> Goibniu is often grouped together with [[Creidhne|Credne]] the [[silversmith]] and [[Luchtaine|Luchta]] the [[Carpentry|carpenter]] as the ''Trí Dée Dána'' (three gods of art), who forged the weapons which the Tuath Dé used to battle the [[Fomorians]]. Alternatively, he is grouped with Credne and [[Dian Cecht]] the [[physician]].<ref>Section 62 of the [[Lebor Gabála Érenn]], available in translation at http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor4.html#55</ref> He is explicitly named as the brother of [[Dian Cecht|Dian Cécht]] and [[Nuada]] in the Second Battle of Moytura (Mag Tuired)<ref>[https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T300011/text075.html ''The Second Battle of Moytura'' Section 74, 75]</ref> Goibniu's unnamed wife was said to be buried in a cave at [[Drogheda]].<ref name="dolmens">{{cite book |last1=Borlase |first1=William Copeland |title=The Dolmens of Ireland |date=1897 |publisher=Chapman and Hall |location=Indiana University |pages=349, 888–890 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wvJMAAAAMAAJ&q=scal+balb&pg=PA802 |access-date=6 August 2019}}</ref>
== Mythology ==
When Nuada's arm is cut off in battle, Goibniu crafts him a new one of silver, thus he is known as [[Nuada Airgetlám]] "Nuada of the Silver Arm". He also makes weapons for the gods. In the ''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'', he is described as "not impotent in [[smelting]]",<ref name="LGE64">Section 64 of the [[Lebor Gabála Érenn]], available in translation at http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor4.html#55</ref> and is said to have died, along with Dian Cecht, of a "painful plague".<ref name="LGE64" /> During the Second Battle of Moytura, Goibniu is speared by [[Brigid|Brígh's]] son Ruadán, but he removes the spear and kills Ruadán with it.<ref>[https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T300011/text125.html ''The Second Battle of Moytura'' Section 125]</ref>
Goibniu also acts as a [[hospitality|hospitaller]] who furnishes feasts for the gods. According to the ''[[Acallam na Senórach]] and Altram Tige Dá Medar'', the feast of Goibniu was bestowed on the warriors of the Tuatha Dé by Manannán to protect them from sickness and decay.<ref>[http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/fosterage.html ''The Book of Fermoy'' "The Fosterage off the House of the Two Pails"]</ref> He is said to be the owner of the [[Glas Gaibhnenn]], the magical cow of abundance and in surviving folklore also has a magical bridle for the cow.
In the St Gall incantations,<ref>The St. Gall Incantations. ''Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus'' edited and translated by [[Whitley Stokes (scholar)|Whitley Stokes]] and [[John Strachan (linguist)|John Strachan]]. Cambridge: University Press, 1903.</ref> Goibniu is invoked against thorns (either literal or metaphorical):
<blockquote>Nothing is higher than heaven, nothing is deeper than the sea. By the holy words that Christ spake from His Cross remove from me the thorn, a thorn..... very sharp is Goibniu’s science, let Goibniu’s goad go out before Goibniu’s goad!
<br />
This charm is laid in butter which goes not into water and (some) of it is smeared all round the thorn and it (the butter) goes not on the point nor on the wound, and if the thorn be not there one of the two teeth in the front of his head will fall out.<ref>Jones, Mary [https://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/incantations_gall.html "The St. Gall Incantations"]</ref></blockquote>
Goibniu may be the same figure as [[Culann]].
==Folklore==
In the folklore of Ireland, there are several figures variously named Gavida and Gavigan who play a role in the birth of [[Lugh]]. These figures are identified as smiths and own a fabulous cow, the [[Glas Gaibhnenn]]. In the story featuring Gavigan, the cow here called Glas Gavigan, is taken by [[Balor]] and only returned after Gavigan makes trees grow on Tory Island. In this tale, Gavigan is introduced to Balor's daughter and becomes the father of [[Lugh]]. In another version of the story, Gavida is named as a smith and a brother of Mac Kineely and Mac Samthainn; in this version, Mac Kineely owns the famous cow whom Balor steals and later becomes the father of [[Lugh]].<ref name=dolmens />
Gaibhlen is another figure identified as the smith of the Tuatha De, who owned a gigantic cow. His furnace was located at [[Derrynatuan|''Doire-na-tuan'']] where he melted the ore of the iron mountain ''[[Sliabh an Iarainn]]''.<ref name=dolmens /> There has been a forge at that location ever since.
==See also==
*[[Gobán Saor]]
*[[Gofannon]]
*[[Gobannus]]
*[[Goblin]]
*[[Hephaestus]]
==References==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}
=== Primary sources ===
* ''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]''—[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/leborgabala.html The Book of Invasions]
* ''[[Cath Maige Tuireadh]]''—[http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T300011/index.html The (second) Battle of Magh Tuireadh]
* ''[[Oidheadh Chlainne Tuireann]]''—[http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/turenn.html The Death of the Children of Tuireann]
* ''[[Altram Tige Dá Medar]]'' ed. and trans. Maighréad ni C. Dobs.  Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie vol. 18 (1929–30). [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/fosterage.html The Fosterage of the House of the Two Milk-Pails].
* The St. Gall Incantations. ''Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus'' edited and translated by [[Whitley Stokes (scholar)|Whitley Stokes]] and [[John Strachan (linguist)|John Strachan]]. Cambridge: University Press, 1903.
=== Secondary sources ===
*{{Cite book|last=Blažek|first=Václav|title=Evidence and Counter-Evidence: Essays in honour of Frederik Kortlandt|publisher=Brill|year=2008|pages=67–85|chapter=Celtic 'Smith' and his Colleagues|author-link=Václav Blažek}}
*{{Cite book|last=Delamarre|first=Xavier|title=Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental|publisher=Errance|year=2003|isbn=9782877723695|author-link=Xavier Delamarre}}
*{{Cite book|last=Matasović|first=Ranko|title=Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic|publisher=Brill|year=2009|isbn=9789004173361|author-link=Ranko Matasović}}
* James MacKillop (1998). ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. London: Oxford. {{ISBN|0-19-860967-1}}.
{{Celtic mythology (Mythological)}}
[[Category:Health gods]]
[[Category:Irish gods]]
[[Category:Irish metalsmiths]]
[[Category:Irish silversmiths]]
[[Category:Tuatha Dé Danann]]
[[Category:Smithing gods]]