Geis

This article is about the taboo in Irish mythology. For the band, see Geasa (band).

for the missionary in Burma see George J. Geis

In Irish mythology and folklore, a geis (Irish pronunciation: [ˈɟɛʃ]; English: /ˈɡɛʃ/; plural geasa) is an idiosyncratic taboo, whether of obligation or prohibition, similar to being under a vow or spell. The Scottish Gaelic spelling "geas" is also seen.

Geasa in Irish Mythology

A geis can be compared with a curse or, paradoxically, a gift. If someone under a geis violates the associated taboo, the infractor will suffer dishonor or even death. On the other hand, the observing of one's geasa is believed to bring power. Often it is women who place geasa upon men. In some cases the woman turns out to be a goddess or other sovereignty figure.

The geis is often a key device in hero tales, such as that of Cúchulainn in Irish mythology. Traditionally, the doom of heroes comes about due to their violation of their geis, either by accident, or by having multiple geasa and then being placed in a position where they have no option but to violate one geis in order to maintain another. For instance, Cúchulainn has a geis to never eat dog meat, and he is also bound by a geis to eat any food offered to him by a woman. When a hag offers him dog meat, he has no way to emerge from the situation unscathed; this leads to his death.

A beneficial geis might involve a prophecy that a person would die in a particular way; the particulars of their death in the vision might be so bizarre that the person could then avoid their fate for many years.^{[citation needed]}

Welsh mythology

There is a considerable similarity between geasa (which are a phenomenon of Gaelic mythology) and the foretold deaths of heroes in Welsh mythology. This is not surprising given the close origins of many of the variants of Celtic mythology.

For example, the Welsh hero Lleu Llaw Gyffes (in one version of his story) was destined to die neither "during the day or night, nor indoors or outdoors, neither riding nor walking, not clothed and not naked, nor by any weapon lawfully made." He was safe until his wife, Blodeuwedd, learning of these foretold conditions, convinced him to show her how he could theoretically be stepping out of a river onto a riverbank sheltered by a roof and put one foot on a goat, and so on, thus enabling the conditions that allowed him to be killed.

Parallels in English literature

Prohibitions and taboos similar to geasa are also found in more recent English literature, though they are not described as geasa in those texts. For example, in William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth believes himself safe because "no man of woman born shall harm Macbeth." Macduff, an enemy, was "from his mother's womb untimely ripp'd" (i.e., born by Caesarean section) and was therefore not "of woman born".

Clark Ashton Smith once included the term in his short story The Seven Geases, in which a foolish mortal wanders too close to a sorcerer's home and is punished with a geas to serve as offering to an Elder God, who subsequently geases him into reaching for another destination and so on, until the man is forced through seven different geases and ultimately meets his end.

In a 1964 short fantasy story "A case of Identity" by Randall Garrett, one of the characters, a homicidal psychopath by nature, is mentally restrained by a spell called geas "which forces him to limit his activities to those which are not dangerous to his fellow man".

In popular culture

There is a spell in the popular role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons called geas/quest, which compels the subject to pursue a certain objective.

In The Jennifer Morgue by Charles Stross, the term geas is used to describe spells cast in which the subjects must conform to a certain narrative archetype.

In the novel Halo: Cryptum, the term geas is used to describe a Forerunner method of programming genetic memories or commands into a living creature. Two humans had a geas programmed into their DNA in which they had to sing a song previously unknown to them in order to activate a Forerunner security program.

Lelouch Lamperouge, the main protagonist of the japanese animation Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion possesses a power (referred to as a "Geass", a corruption of "geas") that allows him to forcibly compel any person with whom he can make eye contact to obey a command he issues - in essence placing that person under a geis themselves. However, he cannot imbue someone with multiple geis. Others possess abilities similar to those spoken of in myth, as well. For example, one character possess the ability to make someone love them, similar to the one in the tale of Diarmuid Ua Duibhne.

In Shining the Holy Ark, there is a skeleton in Enrich Dungeon that describes his minding of the GOLD KEY as a "geas."

In the role-playing game Scion geas are.described in a supplement regarding the Tuatha de Danaan as a way to enhance a hero's powers in exchange for accepting the obligation of a taboo.

In the Harry Potter series, the Unbreakable Vow is similar to a Geis in consequences of violation of the pact.

In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, an enchanted axe called "Briarheart Geis" can be acquired from a faction known as the Forsworn. The weapon's eponymous power allows it to inflict more damage against Nords, the people that the Forsworn seek to overthrow.

See also

• Irish mythology in popular culture
• Tynged
• Code Geass
• Shining the Holy Ark