Medieval Irish literature preserves surprisingly precise descriptions of divinatory techniques. Written by Christian monks, often with the aim of condemning them or confining them to a pagan past, these pages nonetheless give us a rich picture: prophetic sleep, the ritual feast, the chant over the prey, contact with wisdom through food. In all these practices hidden knowledge arrives as a sudden illumination, called imbas.
What imbas is
In Old Irish the word imbas denotes «great knowledge», poetic and prophetic inspiration. It is a knowledge that is not built by reasoning but received, like a light. The poets, the filid, were its main recipients. In the tradition imbas is often associated with water, springs and rivers, and with sacred food.
Imbas forosnai according to Cormac's glossary
The glossary attributed to Cormac, an Irish dictionary of the early medieval period, explains the expression imbas forosnai, «the knowledge that illuminates». The description, in summary, is this:
- the poet chews a piece of raw flesh of pig, dog or cat;
- he places it on a flagstone behind the door;
- he chants over it and offers it to the gods;
- he calls on the gods and, if the revelation does not come, repeats the chant over his palms;
- he falls asleep with his palms resting on his cheeks, watched over so that no one disturbs him;
- on waking, or in his sleep, what he sought is revealed to him.
The glossary adds that Saint Patrick forbade this practice and a similar one, tenm laída, because they involved offerings to idols. He allowed instead dícetal do chennaib, a form of knowledge obtained, it is said, «with the fingertips», which required no sacrifice.
| Technique | Main elements | Christian verdict according to the glossary |
|---|---|---|
| Imbas forosnai | chewed flesh, offering, sleep with hands on the face | forbidden |
| Tenm laída | «illumination of song», inspired poetry | forbidden |
| Dícetal do chennaib | knowledge «with the fingertips» | permitted |
Tarbfeis: the bull feast
Another technique, tied to the choice of a king, is the tarbfeis, «the bull feast». The tale of the destruction of Dá Derga's hostel describes it thus: a bull is killed, a man eats his fill of its flesh and drinks its broth, then falls asleep while four druids chant a spell of truth over him. In his sleep he sees the man destined to become king. Were he to lie on waking, he would lose his life.
A similar rite for choosing the king of Tara also appears in the tale of Cú Chulainn's wasting sickness. The tarbfeis shows how Irish sovereignty was bound to a supernatural confirmation obtained through dreaming.
Fedelm, the prophetess of the Táin
In the great epic tale Táin Bó Cúailnge, Queen Medb of Connacht, on the eve of the expedition against Ulster, meets a young woman in a chariot. Her name is Fedelm, she is a poetess, and she declares that she learned seership in Britain. Medb asks whether she has imbas forosnai, and she says yes. The queen then asks how she sees her army. Fedelm's reply, repeated several times, is famous: «I see it crimson, I see it red». Medb refuses to believe her, but the prophecy will come true in the slaughter wrought by Cú Chulainn.
The thumb of Fionn
Wisdom can also arrive through sacred food. In the tales of the boyhood of Fionn mac Cumhaill, the youth serves the poet Finnéces, who has spent years trying to catch the salmon of wisdom in the river Boyne: whoever first ate of it would gain all knowledge. Finnéces catches it and gives it to Fionn to cook, forbidding him to taste it. But Fionn burns his thumb on a blister of the skin and puts it in his mouth. From then on, whenever he puts his thumb between his teeth, what he wishes to know is revealed to him.
The motif links wisdom to water, to the salmon and to chance: knowledge touches the one who does not seek it greedily.
Common features
Despite their differences, these techniques share recurring elements:
- sleep or a state of stillness as the vehicle of revelation;
- ritual food, animal flesh or sacred fish;
- chant or the word spoken over the one who is to see;
- the watchfulness of others, who protect the person in a visionary state.
A symbolic reading
These practices belong to their time and are not to be reproduced: what remains is their symbolic teaching. Deep knowledge requires silence, waiting and a readiness to receive rather than to conquer. The fili sleeping with his hands on his face and Fionn putting his thumb to his lips tell of the same gesture: closing oneself to the noise of the world to let an inner knowledge emerge.
In short
- Imbas is the inspired and prophetic knowledge of the Irish poets.
- Cormac's glossary describes imbas forosnai: chewed flesh, offering, chant and revelatory sleep.
- The tarbfeis was a ritual feast with prophetic sleep to identify the future king.
- In the Táin, the prophetess Fedelm sees Medb's army «crimson» and «red».
- Fionn gains wisdom by burning his thumb on the salmon of knowledge.
