Lia Fáil

The Lia Fáil is one of the many alternate names for the Stone of Destiny. ("Rock of Ages")

History

According to Shahrizad, King Eochaid received the Stone from the prophet Jeremiah as a dowry from his marriage to Princess Tamar Tea Tephi. King Eochaid set the Stone at Tara.

Centuries later, when the Lia Fáil refused to cry out for Lugaid Red-Stripe (denying his claim as High King to the Irish throne), Cu Chullain struck the stone with Gae Bolga, splitting it in two. ("Rock & Roll")

Real World Background

The Lia Fáil is the name of the Stone of Destiny kept at Tara in Irish myth. According to legend, it would scream aloud when the rightful High King of Ireland stood upon it.

According to legend, the Lia Fáil was brought to Ireland by the Tuatha de Danaan (the ancient gods of Ireland, who later became the faerie-folk) as one of four treasures from their four great cities; the Lia Fáil came from the city of Falias in the north. (The other three treasures were a cauldron, a spear, and a sword.) The legendary Irish king Conn of the Hundred Battles discovered it, apparently the first High King of Ireland to be acknowledged as such by the Stone.

Later stories, after the Christianization of Ireland, identify the Lia Fáil with the stone that Jacob used for a pillow at Bethel, and brought to Ireland by the prophet Jeremiah, as in Shahrizad's tales.

See Also

• Lia Fáil at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia