: I think the point of Myth: The Fallen Lords is that the
: Cycle was broken by Alric. I don't remember who (I
: believe it was one of our resident Irishmen), but
: someone brought up the similarity between Myth and a
: vague historical comparison to the coming of
: Christianity (which is exactly what The Lord of the
: Rings was about too). Irish mythology, for instance,
: died out when good portions of the population
: converted to a belief system that abhorred magic and
: was far less fond of the cyclical natures which were
: far more common in polytheistic beliefs ( exempli
: gratia , karma, or European versions of it, often
: dictate a circular form of retribution, an eye for an
: eye, even seven times the punishment on the person who
: committed the crime, and so forth in endless cycles,
: whereas Christianity has professed, albeit ironically,
: to turn the other cheek and forgive and forget).
Aye, that came up in my rather lengthy (and admittedly messy) article on Celtic Mythology. I believe the passage you're referring to is headed: "St Patrick and the Druids". I won't paste it here because the writing is a little painful.
The gist (and indeed the crux) lies effectively in the fact that Patrick's coming — and the subsequent banishment of the druids — led to the sudden disappearance of the cyclical Celtic tradition of rebirth and rejuvenation.
All the same, good to see you Archer, keep up the linguistics!
