Sexual temptation in European myth

The story of Y Chadee hails from the Isle of Man, a small British island situated between England and Ireland in the Irish sea. The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, meaning it has its own government, parliament and laws, but the UK government is responsible for some areas of policy, such as defence and foreign affairs. I’ve been to Isle of Man a couple of times. Last time I arrived with a friend and we stood there in the tiny airport arrivals lounge and were like ‘what now’. It’s that kind place. Very little going on aside from peaceful untouched landscapes and the yearly TT races – a superbike race during which, on average, more than one rider dies each year. They have no speed limits on the Isle of Man.

Given the island’s location between the kingdoms of Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales, it has seen its fair share of conflict throughout history and generated an extensive mythology. It was under the control of the Ango-Saxon English in the 7^th century, during which period King Edwin of Northumbria utilised its proximity to Ireland to launch raids. Then the Vikings arrived, then the Scots took control in 1266. Then the Island returned under the possession of England. Then it was retaken by Scotsman, Robert of Bruce, then back to the English, then the Scots again. Control passed back and forth until 1346 when the English Crown seized and maintained the island under her dominion. During both world wars the Island became an internment camp for enemy prisoners.

Until the 13^th century the island’s primary language was Manx, a Celtic language. There was also some scholarly use of Latin and courtly use of Anglo-Norman. Tourism from the early 19^th century led to a decline in the use of Manx. The language is now considered critically endangered. Efforts are ongoing to revive the language, and there are still some fluent speakers. I like such descriptions of languages, like they are rare animals with lifespans, living and breathing organisms subject to the same stresses of time as any organic being.  

I’ll be exploring the Manx myth Y Chadee. A story about how integrity and resistance to temptation leads to transcendent and joyous rewards in this life.  

I’m taking the version presented in Peter Berresford Ellis’ The Mammoth Book of Celtic Myths and Legends. The book has become something of a mythological Bible for me over the last year or so. As a writer, I am inspired by Western European mythology, often repurposing our myths in some shape or form. I find drawing on these ancient stories and archetypes binds me to my ancestors. Exploring our culture’s myths creates the strange sense of exploring one’s own dreams.

Western mythology is enriching. It’s like burying your hands in the soil of your ancestors, the soil that provided support and subsistence to your culture, the soil that spawned your very being.

What’s more, in exploring such myths, you realise the uniformity of story across cultures and times. We are all born of a single psychology, no matter our place or time of birth. Although the stories and the figures within those stories wear different cloaks and masks, they are driven by the same human motivations, moulded by similar feelings and experiences. 

Y Chadee

There were two handsome princes, sons of the ageing King of Ellan Vannin, and their names were Eshyn and Ny-Eshyn. Eshyn was the elder of the two. He was fair and upright like his father. He was also renowned as a brave warrior who was fearless in battle and just in his judgement. All the young women of Ellan Vannin admired Eshyn and many tried to attract his attention, fluttering their eyelids and blushing as he passed by.

The story goes on to describe how Eshyn is an upright, serious young man who wasn’t distracted by such romantic opportunities.

He believed in true love; that one day he would meet the woman he would spend the rest of his life with.  

It feels as if we’re about to get something akin to Cain and Abel. Sure enough, we’re then introduced to Eshyn’s younger brother, Ny-Eshyn. Although handsome, he drinks too much, has affairs and gambles. Ny-Eshyn is the shadow brother. Etymologically, the name Eshyn symbolises wisdom. This is the good, older brother’s name. Looking up the term ‘ny’ in Manx, it seems to have some association to negatives such as ‘do not’, ‘not’, ‘nor’. This stands to reason, given the dichotomous pairing. Ny-Eshyn is ‘not wise’ and simultaneously ‘not Eshyn’ i.e. not like his older brother. He is the fallen one, the Cain in their relationship.  

Ny-Eshyn is also incredibly jealous of his elder brother. The tale describes his jealousy as like a knife twisting in his stomach.

One evening, Ny-Eshyn was returning across the slopes of South Barrule, on whose peak was a castle.

South Barrule is close to one of the Island’s largest towns, Peel. I previously wrote about this region on my blog. The wide expanse of desolate moor and heathland. You can totally imagine the brooding Ny-Eshyn traipsing across those baron snowy planes, his mutterings as hostile as the chill breeze.

On the peak of South Barrule, Ny-Eshyn encounters a strange old man.

The old man had strange eyes, one blue and one green. They could look east and west and south, but never could they look towards the north.

Aside from having what is usually considered the attractive ocular abnormality, Heterochromia, the old man’s eyes are misaligned. They can see in every direction, suggesting he is all-seeing and wise. Is he though? There is some kind of mutation, a contortion in his all-seeing abilities. He cannot look towards the North. I think this is of upmost significance. Usually, the hero will meet a benevolent guide on his travels. Here, however, we are dealing with Ny-Eshyn the anti-hero, so he will meet the shadow equivalent of the benevolent guide, that being a negative force that guides the anti-hero to negative ends. The fact the old man can see in every direction except north signals this to the reader. North speaks of home and security, the North Star being a symbol of guidance and direction. What Ny-Eshyn will receive from his negative guide then, is not direction, truth, wisdom, but misdirection and falsehood.

The old man greets Ny-Eshyn and tells him he is a friend to all who are troubled and in search of happiness in this life. When Ny-Eshyn shares the fact he hates his brother for all his virtues and success, the old man replies with a proverb. It is not he with little who is poor, but he who desires more.

Ny-Eshyn becomes frustrated, reasserting that his brother has made his life miserable. The old man sighs and says it’s nothing to worry about. The next passage is interesting:

“Why so?” Ny-Eshyn was much irritated and might well have struck the old man down had he not been intrigued by the movements of the man’s strange eyes and he remembered that it was said evil spirits had that cast of eye. So he kept his temper in check.   

The archetypal evil in the old man resonates with Ny-Eshyn, it calls to his bad nature. One’s vibration, or frequency, attracts its like. If one’s frequency is of the negative or low variety, it will attract low things. Vice versa if it’s positive. I’ve become acutely aware recently that in doing good things and avoiding damaging things, the universe responds. In a previous article I talked about the benefits of desexualising the brain, of avoiding pornography. I’ve definitely felt how that kind of easy, pleasure-seeking activity lowers my frequency. Alternatively, when you start engaging in high frequency behaviour – you do your work diligently, you pray or meditate, you voluntarily bear suffering like exercise, cold showers and other difficult things – it changes your perception. If I have a moment of weakness during a high frequency phase and look at pornography, it doesn’t appear the same at all, the images look base. I’m not as responsive to the lures of internet sirens.

In the context of this story, Ny-Eshyn is operating on a low frequency as a result of compounded jealous thought patterns. Negative opportunities present themselves to him in greater abundance and he is drawn to them to a greater degree.    

The old man says that Ny-Eshyn’s jealousy for his brother is an issue easily solved. He gives him a basket with a snake inside, telling Ny-Eshyn that he can put it under his brother’s bed during the day, by evening his brother, Eshyn, will become ugly and no women will desire him.

Ny-Eshyn takes the basket and, when his brother leaves to go hunting in the morning, places it under his bed.

That evening, a strange apparition appeared at the gates of the castle: a bent figure of a man with coarse grey skin and a protruding nose like the beak of a bird. His eyes were crossed, his hair matted and he had a permanent dribble on his chin.

I love the constant descriptions of bizarre character features. The crossing of eyes, the dribble. This story would provide much enjoyment for a film’s costume and makeup department.

The warriors on guard frowned and looked at one another, for they did not recognize him, but they saw that he rode Prince Eshyn’s favourite horse.

The guards ask the figure what he’s done with the handsome Prince Eshyn.

“I am Prince Eshyn,” replies the figure. The guards burst out laughing.

The guards resolve that this figure has killed Prince Eshyn and taken his horse. They sound the alarm. Prince Eshyn cries out to his father:

“Father! Father! They are attacking your eldest son!”

But the old king does not recognise his son. Eshyn calls out to his mother and gets the same response.

The queen gazed on him in disgust. “Drive this evil one away and find out what has happened to my dear son, Eshyn!” she ordered.

The deformed Prince Eshyn gallops away on his horse, escaping the baying mob. He reaches a stream and see his reflection in the water.

He screamed at what he saw. Now he knew why he had not been recognised at the castle. His heart was, heavy and he sent his horse, with a slap on the rump, back in the direction of the castle. It was not fitting for someone looking like he did to ride the horse of a prince.

Eshyn wanders in the wilderness down a valley between Snaefell and another mountain.

I’ve been up Snaefell. It’s the highest mountain on the Isle of Man. Its summit is the only vantage point in the United Kingdom from which, on a clear day, you can see all the Kingdom’s the British Isles across the seas:  England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Geography is a powerful signal for Eshyn’s disposition. He does not rise over mountain summits, he traipses through valleys, later coming to what is described as a deep black lake under the shadow of a black mountain. Everything is low and sombre.

Here, he sat down on a great granite stone and placed his head in his hands.

An old woman comes along dropping and gathering up sticks as she goes. Eshyn offers to help, taking the lady’s sticks up a mountain. They talk and she asks him why he has a heavy heart. Eshyn tells her what he knows of the story. When they reach the woman’s cottage, she invites him in. He insists that she sit while he prepares a fire. As they cook some fish, the old woman gazes at the cloudless night, studying the stars.

“Eat and grow strong, young Eshyn,” she told him. “You shall be as comely as you once were and as happy. You will, however, need all your strength. So eat and rest here until morning and then I shall tell you how you may accomplish that.”

In the morning, the old woman tells Eshyn to walk across the hills to South Barrule, where he will find an old man with funny, different-colour eyes. Greet him and do the opposite of what he says.

“Whatever he tells you to do, do the exact opposite, do you understand?”

Eshyn doesn’t understand but promises to do exactly as she says. He meets the man and is greeted in the same way as his brother was.

I am a friend to all who are in trouble and who seek joy in this life.

The old man tells Eshyn to avoid someone he calls the Queen of the Fairies. He then leaves. Eshyn waits in the dark night. Eventually a group of sprites appear in the distance, one of whom is a beautiful woman in green holding a basket of light.

Eshyn does the opposite of what the old man said and stands in the fairies’ path. Eshyn tells his story and asks what to do. The Queen of the Fairies tells him that it is serpent’s venom that has caused his afflictions.

“You can be returned to what you were, but to achieve this you must come along with me.”

The Queen of the Fairies escorts Eshyn across a sea to a fleet of ships. On one of the ships, she says, is Y Chadee, a beautiful princess. She is the only one who will be able to restore Eshyn.

Eshyn must enter the cave of heroes, seize a magic sword and look for a pearl that symbolises Y Chadee. He must not be distracted on his quest by anything, no woman or subtle device.

Eshyn enters the cave and comes upon a room of drinking warriors. At the far end of the room he sees a blazing sword. Eshyn waits until the warriors have drunk themselves into a stupor and goes for the sword. A raven sounds the alarm, waking the warriors who go to attack Eshyn. But the prince is now in possession of the magic sword so no one can harm him. He leaves the room. Eshyn goes down a narrow tunnel, finding a chute. The only way to descend is by dint of rope. Eshyn descends into a new hall where warriors drink and eat. Eshyn sees the pearl, concealed in a candleholder. Eshyn is invited to drink but he says he’s after the pearl. The warriors laugh at him, saying it cannot be done. If the pearl is taken the room is plunged into darkness and he will never be able to find the end of the rope to exit back up the chute.

Again, Eshyn waits until the men fall asleep, takes one end of the rope in his hand and takes the pearl. The room is plunged into darkness but Eshyn is able to find his way out.

Eshyn exits through a passage and finds himself in a great hall with hanging tapestries, bowls of fruit and maidens lying on couches who greet him with shouts of joy, begging him to stay and make love to them. They can make him happier, they say, than all the women he has ever known.

The 2021 film adaptation of The Green Knight – a medieval tale from the Arthurian legends – follows the quest of Sir Gawain, a knight of the round table. During his quest, Gawain stays at a castle where he encounters the lord and lady. The lady of the castle tempts Gawain sexually.

This scene is significant as it tests Gawain's virtue and commitment to his knightly values. The queen's temptation represents a moral and ethical challenge, putting his honour, chastity, and loyalty to the test. In the hero's quest, this moment of temptation is crucial. Succumbing to the temptation would signify a failure to uphold the chivalric code, whereas resisting demonstrates growth and dedication to knightly duties.

During his stay at the castle, the queen seduces Gawain. Gawain succumbs to her temptations and ejaculates into his sheets. This act is a significant deviation from the original text, but it’s an incredibly powerful moment.

In the story of Y Chadee, Eshyn is exhausted and tempted. He momentarily lays down to be pampered, but remembers the advice he had been given and pushes on.

Eshyn ends up on a seashore and encounters Y Chadee. Eshyn shares his love for her immediately.

“Indeed,” she says, “you are a brave man who has overcome every hardship to obtain the Sword of Light and the Everlasting Pearl.” 

Y Chadee asks for the sword and pearl, but Eshyn promised the Queen of the Fairies he would keep them until she said otherwise.

Eshyn awakens in the old woman’s cottage. He puts his hand in his pocket and finds the pearl. He realises he is wearing the great sword, so it can’t have been a dream.

He laments to the old woman that he lost the beautiful lady, Y Chadee. If he had exchanged the items for her love, he would have remained ugly, says the old woman. Now look, she says. She hands him in a mirror and he stares at himself. He is as tall and handsome as ever he had been.

The old woman tells Eshyn to return to his father’s castle and cast the sword and pearl into the ocean in front of the entire court.

At the castle, his cruel brother, Ny-Eshyn, is the only person angry at Eshyn’s return.

Against much resistance, Eshyn casts the items from the battlements into the sea.

“You have thrown away a great treasure,” muttered his brother.

“Not so. I have gathered a treasure, for I have garnered wisdom in great store. I hold that wisdom is the greatest treasure.”

The old king nodded reflectively.

Ny-Eshyn storms out of the castle and is never seen again. At that very moment, a carriage pulls up. In it, is Y Chadee.

“You did not settle for treasures from the Otherworld,” she says, “but rather for love in this one. For the love of a man such as you, I am destined in this world and the Otherworld, for there are no barriers to true love.”