BAYV (also BYVE)
Badb, whose name means "crow", is a war goddess of Irish myth who appears as a carrion bird on battlefields and whose cries foretell death.
Badb, also written Badb Catha, "battle crow", is a goddess of war and fate. She appears as a hooded crow or raven over the dead and the dying, and her screams can stir warriors to battle or panic. She is one of the sisters sometimes grouped as the Morrígna, with the Morrígan and Macha, and some texts treat Badb as another name of the Morrígan. In Cath Maige Tuired she is named among the daughters of Ernmas.
In the Ulster Cycle a crow lands on the shoulder of the dying Cú Chulainn, which shows that he is dead, and it is often read as the Badb. Later folklore preserves her in the figure of the washer at the ford, who washes the clothes of those about to die, though that image is also tied to the Morrígan and to Scottish tradition, and the link to the banshee is debated.
| Cycle | Entries here | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| The Mythological Cycle | 21 | The oldest of the four cycles, telling of the Tuatha Dé Danann and the successive invasions of Ireland. |
| The Fenian Cycle | 7 | Tales of Fionn mac Cumhaill and his band of warriors, the Fianna, set generations after the Ulster Cycle in a world of hunting, romance, and roaming adventure. |
| The Ulster Cycle | 12 | The heroic tales of Conchobar mac Nessa's court at Emain Macha, centered on Cú Chulainn and the great cattle raid of the Táin Bó Cúailnge. |
| The Historical Cycle | 1 | Also the Cycle of the Kings — legendary and semi-legendary tales of Ireland's High Kings, treated by medieval scribes as genuine national history. |