#Fenian name theory | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

midnight-in-town · 7 months

Text

Let's talk about the "Fenian brotherhood" theory !! :D

Firstly, in case you don't know about it, please go read the theory that our!Ciel's birth name might be Fenian/Fionn/Finnian by @azuresins. It is incredibly relevant to what I'm about to explain next !

TBH, I don't really care about discovering our!Ciel's birth name. However, I truly enjoy this theory and I think it makes a lot of sense, because I absolutely agree with the idea of Vincent supporting (secretly or not) Irish independence, turning him into a political enemy of Queen Victoria...

...which could be very much why he ended up dead.

This theory comes from a private convo with my friend, @dorkshadows and I'll sum up their thoughts (and some of mine) below the cut !

First of all, while we think Claudia, Vincent's predecessor, may have been a personal enemy of Victoria because of whatever happened when Albert died in 1861, Vincent strikes us more as a political enemy precisely because of Brown's comment in ch108.

After all, if our!Ciel, who just managed to thwart their plans of getting the sulin gas, is "more like his father everyday", then it makes sense that Vincent "got in the way" of some of Victoria & JB's war/political plans too. >_>

Now, about the Fenian Cycle book: it was an important symbol for Irish independence and the Fenian Brotherhood that started in the 19th century before it got dissolved in 1880. To quote Wikipedia:

"The Fenian Brotherhood traced their origins back to 1790s, in the rebellion, seeking an end to British rule in Ireland initially for self-government and then the establishment of an Irish Republic. The rebellion was suppressed, but the principles of the United Irishmen were to have a powerful influence on the course of Irish history."

But how would Vincent even get involved with it and why?

In the theory that OC's name is Fenian/Finnian, @azuresins mentioned that maybe it's all related to Cedric K. Ros having Celtic origins. Since we do have one sketch by Yana of one twin bringing the Fenian Cycle book to the Undertaker (the most likely candidate for Cedric K. Ros)...

...it might indeed be a partial answer.

There is another possibility though, entirely thought by @dorkshadows, which is that Rachel (and Ann) might have been of Irish origins too.

After all, a common stereotype for Irish people in many stories is red hair and it's hard to forget that it was a very distinctive characteristic of Ann, Rachel's sister !

In fact, one of their first interactions is Vincent telling Ann to be proud of that hair, which we were told she inherited from her dad, the twins' maternal grandfather.

So Vincent might have not just been talking about Ann's hair color in that scene, but more specifically about her taking more pride in her Irish origins. Obviously though, Dalles/Durless aren't very Irish names, but it is possible that their original family name got anglicized into a more traditionally English name.

In any case, Vincent met Rachel and Ann after already knowing their father :

So it's possible that Vincent was, as the Watchdog, investigating Lord Durless as a nobleman with Irish lineage and possible ally of the Fenian Brotherhood. After all, to quote this article, "the Fenians in England and the British Empire were a major threat to political stability". Then Vincent met and fell in love with Rachel, thus deciding to support the Brotherhood instead.

I'd add that Vincent supporting such a cause simply makes sense, considering that the Phantomhive family, too, might have been burdened by the Watchdog's duty generations ago, because of their "different" lineage (full theory here). On top of that, if you add the possibility that Cedric/UT also was of Celtic origins (many decades or centuries ago) and that Vincent knew Claudia's death was Victoria's fault, it only makes sense that he'd eventually politically antagonize the Queen (both for his parents' sake and for Rachel's).

@dorkshadows also pointed out that, to this day, we don't know if the twins' maternal grandfather is alive or dead in canon : he was important enough to be mentioned in Red's flashback but has been missing from the narrative ever since. Timeline-wise, he could be dead, especially since we never saw him in the Blue Memory arc (our!Ciel's flasback), but we never know with Yana (look at Claudia being hinted in panels ever since the circus arc and probably being incredibly relevant), so it's worth keeping in mind.

Then, moving on to ch132 we know that, when the twins were born, Rachel is the one who named them.

Coincidentally (read: it's probably not a coincidence xD), ch132 had the cover with Vincent reading the Fenian Cycle book to the twins and it's also the chapter in which Vicar Rathbone casually says that one twin/both twins (it's deliberately ambiguous in Japanese) have a name that is "rare for England" :

Many fans, myself included, thought that "Ciel" was the name being discussed there, but maybe they were actually talking about our!Ciel's celtic birth name ! To quote @azuresins, in that case that'd basically mean that, in that scene above, "Vincent said to an ENGLISH PRIEST [...] that people of Celtic origin deserved freedom, and to be treated better and that it probably was soon to come".

No wonder that Vicar Rathbone would immediately change the topic lmao ! xD

Vicar Rathbone be like

It is also very meaningful that Rachel decided to give the "Fionn/Fenian/Finnian" name to our!Ciel ("the spare"), as if to emphasize that he was free to make his own path in life, as the second son, unburdened by earldom. Choosing such a meaningful name might even be a parallel to Vincent's own situation with Frances as his spare, since both also have names with a meaning relating to victory and freedom.

Another important detail, as @azuresins already explained here, is that Fenian Cycle is also a tale of revenge and that our!Ciel parallels Fionn big deal, making it all even more relevant. And maybe Yana left other hints in her artworks too...

Finally, historically the Fenian Brotherhood officially got dissolved around 1880 (the twins were 5 years old), but it's always possible that, in Kuroverse, Vincent managed to make it thrive secretly as the Watchdog. The Fenian Brotherhood caused several incidents, including after 1880 (they assassinated a British Chief Secretary in 1882), so it wouldn't be impossible that the Queen eventually found out that Vincent didn't properly take care of them, because he was supporting them.

And when she found out? Well, she branded Vincent a political enemy and we know the rest (the household was massacred in 1885 and the killer most likely received help from real!Ciel, more details in the real!Ciel mastermind theory hehe).

The idea that Vincent ultimately became a political enemy of Victoria because he fell in love with Rachel makes their death...

...even more emotional to me, since Rachel probably died trying to protect Vincent. T_T

TL;DR that's the Fenian Brotherhood theory: because they supported an Irish rebellious group that wanted freedom, Vincent & Rachel were branded political enemies of Victoria and she & JB plotted their deaths, which led in happenstance to the RCMT.

(friendly reminder that the twins are 7, when Vincent asked Dee to look after them should he die)

I hope it was clear ! Thanks for reading. :))

#kuroshitsuji #vincent phantomhive #ciel phantomhive #rachel phantomhive #angelina durless #madam red #cedric k. ros #finnian #kuro132 #fenian brotherhood theory #ciel's real name #kuroshitsuji theory #dorkshadows #my analysis #blue memory arc

242 notes · View notes

funtomfiction · 7 months

Text

Kuroshitsuji Manga Spoiler THEORY Time:

I only have the cover so far, but let's take a look at the panels.

To make the whole thing logical and orderly I will start with the lower one.

Finnian

It shows Finnian, who holds the Fenian cycle book in his hands. About the meaning of the book we already know the following.

The twins were read it as children by Vincent.

Finnian was named Fenian by Ciel.

It appears in the F.O.L. orphanage.

Ciel is applied by the viewer and is opposite Finnian. Sebastian is behind Finnian and watches what happens. Finnian sees these two as his saviors, the once that made him into who he is now.

Finnian is generally very loyal to Ciel and protective.

Snake

Snake we see emaciated, dirty with long fingernails, covered only with a blanket and surrounded by his snakes. They all look up at Doll, who reaches out her hand to Snake. Like Ciel, she is turned away from the viewer.

Through these parallels, Doll is given the same meaning for Snake as Ciel has for Finnian, and also his snakes.

So what if...

...this is a clue. We already know how loyal Finnian is to Ciel, so is this an indication that Finnian has a similar relationship to Doll and will therefore turn against our Ciel to be on Doll's side?

Another similarity between the characters is the connection with book names. Finnian's name is based on Fenian cycle, and Snakes are named after famous authors in the Victorian era.

Are the two two sides of the same coin? So similar, friends, and yet will perhaps find themselves on different sides in the end, as enemies?

94 notes · View notes

greypetrel · 4 months

Note

HI ARJA I’m so curious about your moby dick AU lol you always have the best AUs

HI ROWAN I'm glad you asked! :D It's gonna be a big ass rant, so it's under the cut. I'm very excited about this AU, it tackles some things I love and have first-hand experience of, so yeah, I'll be chatty about it ahahahah.

I've posted a chapter at random on AO3 and you can find some snippets in the whale au tag!

So, it's "Zoologist Aisling who thinks whales are the best thing after sliced bread saves Cullen, who happens to have survived a shipwreck caused by a whale". Shenanigans happen.

It was an idea of @shivunin (thank you again) and I'm currently trying to give it a little outline not to go totally at random. I am thinking about characters background, it's a non-magical AU and so stuff needs to be adapted. The title of the WIP is old, I realised after that... You know, it's a Moby Dick INSPIRED thing. The first idea was having Aisling as Melville and Cullen as Ishmael teaming up to write Moby Dick. Cullen has the sailing parts, Aisling filling in with conspiracy theories about whalers and spite over naturalists. And both of them inserting a gay relationship because I'm still a big part of the Bi!Cullen agenda, and that book is terribly gay.

I did realise later on that there's a limit to the horrors I'm willing to put characters through and write, and cannibalism is really NOT one. I also moved it to another period and to the 1900s because I already did research for another original project and I'm more familiar with it.

The title of the file will change when I'll have a better one for this AU.

For now I do have a background for Aisling, what she's in Nantucket to do, and I'm so happy to say @melisusthewee jumped on the bandwagon aboard with Quinn and Horatio, but I'm letting her introduce you to them in this. I'll just say that Aisling refers to Quinn as "Mr Arch-Nemesis".

She's in Nantucket for a research over sperm whales behaviour, restore her family's name (dad was a scholar too, but alas, he was caught being a member of the Fenian society and giving money to the Irish revolutionaries... She's the Royal Society's favourite person, yes) and hopefully put a brake on whale hunting (the 1900s saw the peak of killed whales, you can bet miss "I'd adopt a dragon if Bull didn't constantly prevent me to try and befriend one" won't be ok with it). Dorian and Josephine -whom I couldn't fathom being there with her, seriously I can't picture Dorian on a ship if not in first class, unless he was beaten unconscious before boarding and dragged on. Josie finances ships, sure... but being on board of one and working? A whole different thing. So, they're Aisling friends, but they stayed in London to get her fundings.

Cullen needs to find reason to get to the sea again, he was a harpooner and worked on ships all his life... After being the sole survivor, he needs to find his centre back and get on with it. The crazy whale fangirl may or may not help him on this.

And there was only one bed, of course. (have I already said that Moby Dick is VERY gay?) (I had a blast reading it, thank you so much @salsedinepicta for making me curious about it! <3 Also if you want to throw your characters in this GO ON.)

I thiiiink I may change names and design and also do something fully original. I'm particularly enthusiastic about it because it allows me to tackle stuff I experienced in my life (I did some sailing! Very little and purely recreational, but still) and to re-use some research I already did for another original project which I love dearly, but it's definitely more than I can chew on my own. If I don't chicken out because the place is linked to some trauma, I maaaaay add a part in the seaside town I spent a lot of time growing up.

But again, let's see how it goes, researching on Italy isn't the easiest thing ever if you're not aiming at Rome or the Renaissance, and we're talking about a pretty regional side of Italy. I have good hopes because the people are very very very much into their own history and claiming it back, so I may find some good infos without spitting too much blood.

it's a work in progress, but there's gonna be more about this!

#whale au #petrel replies #dragon age inquisition #dragon age AU

12 notes · View notes

stairnaheireann · 6 months

Text

The Fenian Claddagh

The most notable variation of Irish Claddagh rings is the Fenian Claddagh ring, which is unique from other Claddaghs in that it has no crown. There are two theories put up explaining the first occurrence of the Claddagh Irish ring. First Theory: Margaret Joyce inherited a huge amount of money from her late husband named Domingo de Rona. He was a wealthy Spanish merchant trading with Galway in…

View On WordPress

#Claddagh Rings #Crown #Fenian Claddagh Rings #Galway #History #Ireland

14 notes · View notes

abybweisse · 2 years

Note

Hello! I would love to hear your take on a theory I’ve heard, maybe you’ve already done something about it but —

The theory that the phantomhives are actually of Irish/Scottish/Celtic decent and that’s part of the reason Victoria (supposedly) wiped them out. Also kind of explains the “Windsor incident” and the “sour faces” of relatives at the mention of the twins names (I realize Ciel is French—I believe? But still!)

I just wanna sing ancient Celtic tunes to OCiel 😭 hits home for me because my lineage is extremely Irish and German, and I know how horribly they treated anyone Irish or Scottish at that time, even in America. So sad to think this might be the case, albeit with a supernatural twist

Celtic roots?

There has been discussion of that possibility within the fandom, and I've had a few posts and reblogs that talk about it.

For one thing, some in the fandom think our earl (who only pretends to be Ciel) might have named Finny after himself. A specific book has been shown on two separate occasions in the manga: Fenian Cycle: Celtic Mythology.

In ch100, it's shown several times, as our earl explains to Finny why he's chosen that name for him.

And it's shown again on the cover of ch132.

Now, our earl selects the name for Finny because of his blond hair and his strength. And years later, when our earl joins the circus, he calls himself Finnian. Some people think this is a clue that it's his real given name, and perhaps he has never liked it because it doesn't fit: he doesn't have blond hair, and he's not all that physically fast, strong, or healthy. Canonically, Rachel is the one to name the boys, and I personally cannot see her choosing a name like that for our earl. He didn't show signs of asthma until he was 5 or so, but he obviously doesn't have blond hair, and I expect Rachel to choose a more fitting name for him. Preferably one that works well with "Ciel" (like Claus and Lucas, mirror twin brothers in Mother3, having anagram names). That's one of the reasons why I like the name Elic. (I also like that it means "protection", much like Alex.) However, the idea that our earl is really Finnian (or some spelling variant) persists within the fandom.

I think it's more likely that our earl just fondly remembers Vincent reading the book to him, but it's interesting that the book is shown again on a cover page, with Vincent reading to the boys, and the tag line is "Gazing at the promised future". The chapter includes Vincent showing the boys around the estate and their earldom, but that cover also happens to show the boys "gazing" at the book. This could be a hint that the family is indeed of Celtic origins, or at least partly, despite the fact the image looks more like "gazing at the fabled past".

Then Yana-san revealed the cover art for Artworks 3, and wow. That's a lot of tartans and thistles. She mixes so many different tartan patterns that we cannot really say the family must be from one particular clan or another. But it's really interesting for her to choose all these tartans and pair them with a bunch of thistle, Scotland's national flower. There are even thistles on his boots.

Here and here are a couple old posts about it, including the symbolic meaning of thistles (includes some Japanese flower language meanings, too). Notice thistles are often associated with "protection". (Makes me like the name Elic even more.)

If the twins have some Celtic roots, it might not actually be on the Phantomhive side so much as Rachel's side. Her sister and father have that red hair, after all, and so-called "Gingers" have suffered discrimination for a very long time, particularly in England. Vincent might have wanted to teach his boys to appreciate and take pride in their partly Celtic heritage.

If Rachel has a strong Celtic background, then Vincent's choice to marry her might have ruffled some feathers. Perhaps family and people in the peerage didn't think it was a good idea; maybe this made Queen Victoria angry. Keeping all this in mind (and making a point of it), the decidedly strong-willed Rachel might have selected names that reflect each side of the family. Something French for the firstborn... and something Celtic for the unexpected twin? (Idk exactly where Elic comes from, but it looks/sounds Celtic, doesn't it? Oh, hey. Look. CELTIC. 😆)

Every time I look up "Elic name meaning" online, I get different results for both the meaning and origin, but when I looked a moment ago, this was from one of the top websites (Names.com):

Another website says it's Greek in origin and means "defender of mankind", a variation of Alec. Older website entries used to give a similar meaning (protection/protector of man) but claim it's Hungarian or something. So, nothing conclusive, of course, but gosh I hope our earl ends up being Elic. I really do. It's one of the major Mother3 predictions, so of course I'm fond of it. 😅

Speaking of lineage, mine is English, German, Irish, Scottish, French, and Dutch. My first name, Arran, is after the Isle of Arran (Scottish). My last name, Walker, is supposedly from the MacGregor clan, while my Allison ancestors (married into the Walkers about six generations ago) came from the MacAlister clan, straight from Somerled himself! Then again, being a descendent of Somerled is somewhat common. Roughly 500,000 people today are. Only Genghis Khan is documented as having more -- about 16 million. Big oof 😅.

BONUS:

Another person to mix with the Phantomhives could prove to be of Celtic decent.

77 notes · View notes

seavoice · 2 years

Text

other possible reveals apart from people being dreams:

--jordan is the next visionary

--declan is a sweetmetal (depleted once and now somehow recharged)

--farooq-lane is a dreamer

--ronan is the lace (NOT clickbait!!! version)

--HENNESSY is a visionary (what if liliana was waiting for her not because wlw murder threesome D: but because she’s the next visionary D:)

--bryde was cabeswater, lindenmere, once nathan’s trees AND niall’s magic source thingy

--mor was the og dream who got away (guess this is a dream theory)

--the new fenian is a clone in the way jordan is hennessy’s rather than from a conscious act

--old(er) ronan is actually the one everyone remembers running around in the d.c. fairy market not young niall and he dreamt liliana

--nathan dreamt liliana

--niall dreamt liliana

--farooq-lane shares a parent with one or more of the lynches (what was mor’s original name. was niall unfaithful. etc)

--matthew is glendower

#birdverse #ronan lynch #declan lynch #matthew lynch #jordan hennessy #carmen farooq lane

37 notes · View notes

awesomelizziethewriter-blog · 5 years

Text

Essay on Folklore and Mysticism in some of Yeats works

In this essay I will address the way Yeats uses folklore and mysticism in his many works such as plays and poems. In order to do this essay the following books were used : “Folklore and W.B.Yeats:the function of folklore elements in three early plays" by Birgit Bramsback , “Yeats , Philosophy and the Occult” by Matthew Gigson and Neil Mann , and “Music and the Irish Literary Imagination” by Harry White.

Folklore represents the beliefs , legends and customs of common people and the main idea of it is tradition , which is something that is handed from one person to another by memory or written record. Irish legends can be divided into several categories such as cattle-raids , battles , and adventures , but later Irish tales started to be divided into cycles. There are four main cycles : The first one is the Mythological Cycle, which describes the origins of Irish deities, the second one is called the Ulster Cycle (the most famous story in this cycle is the “Tain bo Cuailnge”),the third cycle is called the Fenian Cycle in honor of the hero Finn MacCumhall , the fourth and final cycle is called the Historical Cycle. Yeats often used the first three cycles and never used the last one. Folklore can be divided in three categories : traditional tales , traditional popular belief , and folk poetry. The first category provides us with themes , motifs and symbols. The second category has largely to do with the concept of the Otherworld. The third category sets the tone of the scenes , intensifies emotions and conflicts and also provides us the theme of rebirth and transformation. Yeats devoted most of his time in uniting poetry with magic , and he was responsible for the Celtic revival and worked for the preservation of folklore and its communication to a larger number of people , and the use of it in creative writing. He dreamed that folklore would function as “living organism in a country's literature” and he often mentioned that irish culture had a rich Celtic tradition at its disposal and that irish poets should use these stories and pass them on to listeners all over the world.

To Yeats the word folk meant all the majority of illiterate people of the irish country side and he believed that folklore should be used to “vitalize” literature. One example of this is his poem entitled “By the Roadside” , in which Yeats describes his going one night to “a wide place on the Kiltartan road to listen to some irish songs” where he heard traditional irish songs and saw folk dancing performed. According to him , a poet should listen to storytellers and have access to symbols and stories in Folk imagination which is why he edited many collections of stories such as “Fairy and Folk tales of the Irish Peasantry”.

According to Birgit Bramsbäck , “Yeats drew folklore from two main sources : from his personal work and from material previously adapted or treated in a literary way”. In one of his plays entitled “The Land of Heart's desire” we can find the story of a newly married bride who is taken away to fairyland. In Ireland there are countless tales and legends about meetings between faeries and mortals. In “Irish Fairy and Folk Tales” there are many stories about fairies and humans being taken by them.

There are many types of fairies in the Irish fairy lore with different abilities and characteristics. These include leprechauns, banshees, changelings and many others. The origin of Irish fairies can be dated back to the ancient Celtic beliefs of pagan Gods and supernatural beings. The poem “The Host of the Air” is about the story of a married woman named Bridget who was “tempted away” by fairy pipers. This story takes place near the Heart Lake. Fairy music plays a major part in the play previously mentioned and many beliefs among the Irish country ended up “woven into the play”. The main difference between the tales and his play is that the character named Mary does not see herself as a victim, but as a specifically selected individual whose destiny lies in the Otherworld ( in Yeats early works he was always turning his imagination to the Otherworld and the belief that the veil between the two worlds is very thin). Mary fears and longs for the Otherworld and in her loneliness she thinks and talks about the faeries. The wind in this poem symbolizes the fairy world and Mary longs to be as free as the wind and to be united with the faeries. Yeats presents us with several theories about who the faeries are , and the suggestion that perhaps they are human souls foreshadows Yeats belief in the “Plastic power of the soul”. According to Birgit Bramsbäck, “ Mary's soul is in contact with this invisible world of faeries whose song strikes a familiar note in her soul” and there is very short step between the human world and the fairy world.

In this play Yeats also uses fire symbolism , as the fairy child has the power to change the primroses into flames and they become enchanted “like Nature herself” and the fairy uses them to have power over Mary. We can see that Mary feels divided between these elemental powers and her husband whom she loves ( Yeats uses folk beliefs in the depiction between Mary and her husband and he also uses it to enhance the conflict between the visible world and the invisible one).

In the play , the fairy is symbol of beauty and love ,and the Otherworld is everywhere as Mary hears the fairy's voice in the wind. We can see that this play is full of fairy songs and Mary is clearly drawn to this dream world whose call she keeps hearing in the wind ( in Ireland there has always been a very strong belief in fairy music because people thought that it allured many innocents to fairyland). Yeats was clearly influence by many Irish legends and myths when he wrote the play“The Shadowy Waters” , as there are few elements of black magic and oral lure ( in his drafts he had included more of these elements than he included in the published version). We can see that the mythological tale of “The dream of Oengus” underlies this play because they both share the same theme : a woman that appears to the hero in a dream. In this play there is also the bird symbolism which is present in many other plays and poems by Yeats. According to Birgit Bramsbäk , in “The Shadowy Waters”, “the Otherworld is located at sea and the voyage undertaken by Forgael is a quest for this land and the immortal love to be enjoyed there.” The natural elements in this play such as the sea and the storm are vital symbols because there is a clear association of the storm with the Ever-living. The Otherworld vision relates to love , desire and a hope for immortality. Brigit Bramsbäck also states that “ in this play there is a symbolic use of the combination of wind , spirit , desire and hope but “the vague desires and hopes” are changed into a strong desire to experience love in “immortal fashion”. In this play Yeats portrays the so called visible world as being in constant conflict with the “ideal world” to which specifically selected individuals are drawn. In “The Countess Cathleen” , Yeats tells us the story of Countess Cathleen who is a known figure of Irish legends. According to the legend, when a famine striked Ireland , Satan sent demons to buy the souls of the starving Irish but Cathleen ended up selling her estates and possessions in order to buy the people food and keep them from selling their souls. But in the end Satan defeats her and she chooses to sacrifice herself for the poor people. According to Bramsbäck “The Countess' legendary donation of her worldly possessions takes on an otherworldly aspect in this poem because it suggests that Cathleen, in giving over her body, lets go of her heavy burden. She dances lightly and wisely in the heavens, celebrating her sacrifice and her role in the grand order of the universe.” In this play the countess is meant to represent martyrdom.As we can see there are quite a number of folkloric symbols , legends and ancient tales and myths portrayed in these plays. In the poem entitled “A Fairy Song” , Yeats was inspired by the story of Diarmuid and Gráinne. We can consider this poem to be about the origin of myths. As I have previously mentioned , it is believed that faeries inhabit the mythical world and because of that they are immortal. The cromlech can symbolize 2 things : a portal to the realm of the Faeries , and a monument that immortalizes the lives of Diarmuid and Grania. Therefore we can say that the cromlech is a symbol of transition because in the poem the fairies say that Diarmuid and Grania are “ new from the world” , which means that they have entered the fairy world.

The poem entitled “The Song of Wandering Aengus” is about the life the main character called Aengus who according to the legend belonged to a mythical people who conquered Ireland after having defeated the native tribes of the Fir Bolg. Aengus was considered to be the god of love and youth. In this poem Yeats tells the story of how Aengus fell in love with a girl he had seen in a dream and spent years searching for her , which can be seen as the lifelong search for a soulmate. In the poem entitled “Who Goes With Fergus” , Fergus “represents the archetype of the mystical poet who gives up pursuit of the worldly to seek the spiritual realms.” In this poem Yeats is asking people to pursue the mystic which in this poem is symbolized by the woods , the stars and the sea. The poem “The Rose Upon the Rood of Time” is about the nationalist vision of Ireland symbolized by the rose in this poem. It is believed that the rose also symbolizes Maud Gonne , who was a female revolutionary. In this poem , Yeats promises to sing about some ancient figures , namely druids, who were considered to be very important figures in Ireland.He also promises to sing of “Cuchulain, the hound of Culain”,the hero of Irish myth cycles.

In the poem “Byzantium” , Yeats describes the realm of spirits in which we can see that the world of spirits is a dark place because the speaker does not know who or what he is looking at. In conclusion , Yeats deeply believed in the interaction between folklore and literature and explored the living traditions as well as the tales of many generations before and used numerous symbols such as faeries , animals and natural elements to create an arcane world of magic , and it was his deep interest in spiritualism, Irish myths and legends, and his celebration of Irish culture that we are able to see in many of his works. Yeats exploration of the esoteric helped him to get access to this primary field of consciousness and imagination. According to Yeats “the borders of our mind are always shifting, and many minds can flow into one another and create or reveal, a single energy ,and our memories are part of one great memory, the memory of Nature herself and this great mind and great memory can be evoked by symbols.”

Bibliography:

“Folklore and W.B.Yeats:the function of folklore elements in three early plays" by Birgit Bramsback.

“Yeats , Philosophy and the Occult” by Matthew Gigson and Neil Mann.

“Music and the Irish Literary Imagination” by Harry White.

“W.B. Yeats and the music of poetry” by Harry White.

“By the roadside” by Yeats

“The Land of Heart's desire” by Yeats

“The Host of the Air” by Yeats

“The Shadowy Waters” by Yeats

“The Countess Cathleen” by Yeats

“A Fairy Song” by Yeats

“The Song of Wandering Aengus” by Yeats

“Who Goes With Fergus” by Yeats

“The Rose Upon the Rood of Time” by Yeats

#english literature #english lit major #mysticism

5 notes · View notes

and-all-that-palaver · 6 years

Text

A Theory on Ciel’s Real Name

A question we've all been pondering ever since Yana revealed Ciel wasn't actually Ciel.

I've had this theory in mind for a while but after a few of the recent chapters I decided this theory might be very possible.

What if Ciel's real name is Finnian?

First off on the cover page of Chapter 132 we can see Vincent reading this book called 'Fenian Cycle' to the twins.

The Fenian cycle is a collection of short stories centering around this character called Fionn mac Cumhaill (his name is translated to Fionn in modern Irish but was also known as Find and Finn in old Irish) and his warriors the Fianna. Basically, Fionn is the son of the the late Cumhaill (the former leader of the Fianna) and was always on the run and in hiding as a child from the men who slain his father. The current leader of the Fianna did not want Fionn to take his rightful ownership as the leader of the Fianna. This can parellel with how Vincent was slaughtered and how Our Ciel was always seen as the weaker and timid child compared to Real Ciel who was depicted as the braver and stronger of the two. Not to mention Real Ciel is the rightful heir to the Watchdog title and the Earl of Phantomhive, not Our Ciel. It is also worth noting that in the recent chapters where Real Ciel has mysteriously and grandiosely reappeared he seems to have this underlying vendetta to get his title back. To make things simpler, it's as if Real Ciel is trying to 'steal' Our Ciel's 'title' as the Queen's Watchdog and although he is the rightful heir, Yana has made us all read through and experience Our Ciel carrying out the Watchdog duty so in a way, we are able to empathise with him as being the 'rightful' person to do this job and that this duty 'rightfully' belongs to him.

What follows from the story is that Fionn showcases how great and omnipotent he really is and eventually regains his leadership of the Fianna and spends the rest of the story roaming Ireland, carrying out the duties of the Fianna. This parallels greatly with Kuroshitsuji as Our Ciel proves he is capable of the Watchdog title and being an earl. He is calculating, dexterous, and vigilant. And we as readers watch as he masterfully carries out the Watchdog duties throughout each arc.

What I'd like to point out next is this:

Notice that look of surprise on Our Ciel's face in the left hand corner panel when he sees Finny. I interpreted this as Our Ciel seeing a reflection of himself (or his past self) in Finny somehow. Both of them were kidnapped and locked up and used as 'lab rats' for heinous, nefarious reasons.

I think Our Ciel also recognised the distant, faraway look in Finny's eyes as somebody who has gone through an equally heartwrenching, dark experience as he has.

Granted, they both also watched as their loved ones/close friends were brutally murdered right before their very eyes.

This was Finny when he watched a doctor gun down two of his fellow inmates:

And this is Our Ciel watching his twin brother, Real Ciel (whom he seems to have a very close relationship with based on the flashback chapters) getting stabbed right before him:

I found it really interesting how similar Yana drew both of these panels when showing how both these characters witness the murdering of their loved ones/close friends (especially the eye panels where she highlighted the pure shock in them).

There are other interesting parallels that could possibly hint that Our Ciel’s name is actually Finnian. Both Finny and Our Ciel were branded (one with a slave mark and the other with a tattoo) to indicate whom they belonged to.

And in this sense, it shows how both were being treated as mere objects instead of actual human beings.

Moreover, one compelling fact is that both Our Ciel and Finny were the only ones to survive their horrendous ordeal (I'm not taking Real Ciel into account because as of now we are unsure as to whether he actually survived or was revived or is some form of developed Bizarre Doll, although I would place my bet on the latter as there is no possible indication whatsoever that he could've survived). In addition to this, in order to escape from their cruel captors they both sought to killing them.

This was the doctor that shot Finny's fellow inmates:

And I think this panel speaks for itself:

So I assume this was one of the reasons why Our Ciel spared Finny's life on that day and hired him as a Phantomhive servant. Finny reminded Our Ciel of himself (or again, his past self) in terms of how they were both victims of human greed and savagery.

I found other interesting links that could possibly hint at Our Ciel's name being Finnian. One of them is how both Our Ciel and Finny are caring, selfless individuals who tend to think about the people around them first rather than themselves (in Our Ciel's case, I suppose this trait was more dominant before the kidnapping and the whole cult event that ensued).

Also, Our Ciel was depicted as a naïve, wide-eyed innocent child which is basically Finny in a nutshell.

And here's a bonus picture of a̶ ̶c̶u̶t̶i̶e̶ Our Ciel getting really mad because Real Ciel told him that it was silly to believe in something he hadn't seen before (and if you do believe in Santa then by all means you do you).

What really striked me is how similar Finny is compared to the younger version of Our Ciel. I've already cited the evidence as shown above but this revelation only further strengthens my belief that Ciel's possible name could be Finnian.

I think it's also worth mentioning that out of all the servants Finny seems to be the closest to Our Ciel and remember, Finny was the only one who saw through Real Ciel when he first entered the manor.

I also find it interesting how Finny was the only one that Our Ciel allowed to be near him and to tend to him during the Emerald Witch Arc.

During this time Our Ciel had broken down completely and reverted into the part of himself whom he vowed he'd never be anymore. So why was Finny the only person who was allowed to be near Our Ciel during his extreme mental breakdown? Even Sebastian whom Our Ciel seems to 'trust' the most was rejected and thrown aside. Well, I'd like to think that was because Our Ciel could relate to Finny in some way. Since I've mentioned how similar younger version of Our Ciel and Finny actually are, considering how Our Ciel has relapsed into his 'old' self, 'the one who died on the altar', I'd assume he found comfort in Finny because Finny represented him. He allowed Finny to stay because Finny could understand and empathise with him. Kind, innocent, selfless, and caring. These were all prevalent traits Our Ciel possessed before he was tortured by the cult. And these are all the traits that Finny possesses after he was rescued from the lab (granted, I'm sure Finny had kindness and a sense of closeness with his fellow inmates but these characteristics did not have the opportunity to grow or nurture until he was rescued by Our Ciel). What's also interesting is how Yana illustrates Our Ciel and Finny's relationship being far more prominent than with the other Phantomhive servants.

With the way this is worded, I can only assume it was Our Ciel who actually invited Finny and not vice versa so this shows that he feels comfortable in Finny's presence. Again we are presented with parallels between these two characters and I'd like to think that it's not all just a coincidence.

Bonus indications that Our Ciel is actually a Finnian/Finny:

1) I'm probably being a little too far-fetched here but both Our Ciel and Finny had injections during their time in captivity.

I know it's kind of a "So what?" point but knowing how Yana loves to add in obviously ridiculous and ridiculously obvious hints I thought this was worth taking note.

2) Take a look at this panel.

Judging by how Our Ciel says "Um..." before stating his name I assume he hasn't prepared himself for a situation like the one unfolding before him to occur. Also, he was unprepared for the first test that he had to pass through in order to become recruited as one of the circus members. He had no idea as to how or when Sebastian would help him until his darts were surprisingly hitting the target after every single throw. This means that Ciel was utterly and completely unaware of how things would play out when he arrived. So, back to my original statement, the fact that he paused and THEN claimed his name was Finnian could be an instinctive and reflex statement as again, he was caught off guard and responded with the first thing that came to his mind. Why Finnian? Perhaps because that was his name?

Then we have Joker responding with, "That's a grand name," and we know for a fact that Vincent mentioned this:

The fact that Joker says 'grand', not 'beautiful' or 'nice', could indicate that even he himself has not heard of the name often (if ever) and is amazed by how a mere 'pageboy' could possess such a name. Moreover, the word 'grand' itself has royal connotations to it, giving one the impression of something majestic and glorious just like how the Phantomhives are perceived as.

So there you have it! Of course, this is all mere speculation and nothing is confirmed, some of the points made could also be bias on my part so you may take this with a grain of salt. As always, you are free to tell me your own opinions on this if you want! Thanks for reading~

509 notes · View notes

black--kuro · 7 years

Text

Some thoughts on Kuroshitsuji

Hello, ladies and lords!

Lately I’ve been rereading the most recent chapters and, as inspired by bururaven’s brilliant theories, I also have been developing more into common ground, pushing away through the idea that Our Ciel’s name might be related to the Celtic Mythology, more specifically the Irish one, and I’ve also been trying to find a reason for Our Ciel to take his brother’s place. In this article, I’m referring as “Our Ciel” the Ciel we know from the beginning of the manga and as “Real Ciel” his twin brother.

The Earl Ciel Phantomhive

As you might notice, since young both twins had somehow a strong yet sweet and pure personality. That being said, and after the incident that robbed both their families, such purity should have vanished and the sense of individuality should have grown bigger (Our Ciel is a great example for that). That and the fact that true twins hate to be compared with each other (believe me, I know what I’m talking about XD) must have been enough reason for Our Ciel to maintain his true identity. However he didn’t. I have been thinking of some reasons for such, and after reading chapter 133, the most recent one at this time, I stumbled across this panels:

Vincent, apparently, didn’t believe that his younger son would be able to rule the Phantomhive Estate if the Real Ciel died, preferring to renounce to the family title as well as to donate everything to the British Crown. Although I don’t quite believe that much of his believes behind such decision, I do think that the Queen would beneficiate a lot from such. Afterall, the Phantomhives were an influential family and they know lots of dark secrets about the royal family. Erasing such people would be an advantage for her. Now, what if Our Ciel knew it? As we see, in this chapter Our Ciel listened in secret to Frances and Vincent talking about such matters and I’m sure that Vincent should put something important as that in his testament.

This way, I do believe the Queen knew about such, so she probably tried to erase the Phantomhives, burning down their mansion. After coming back, knowing from his father will, Our Ciel adopted his brother’s identity, so that way he could continue with the Phantomhive Estate and the Queen could do nothing about it, since it was legit.

Our Ciel’s Name

@bururaven suggested that Our Ciel’s name would be based on the Celtic Mythology, probably something connected to “light”. Afterall, sky (“ciel”, in French) and “light” are somehow synonymous, especially in religious terms. I do think that such assumption might have came from the diverse clues that are given to us, for example when Our Ciel named Finnian after one of the most famous heroes from the Celtic (Irish) Mythology book “Fenian Cycle”, as seen in chapter 91 (Greenwitch Arc) or in the cover of chapter 132, when he see the twins reading the same book with their father.

Even though Vincent claims he didn’t named his children (Rachel did), I do consider that he had, at some point, an opinion about the matter, at least when naming Our Ciel. He even claimed that traditional English names:Said that, I do think that Our Ciel’s name could be the one from some character from the “Feninan Cycle”, since ancient Irish Celtic names would obviously fit the criteria Vincent and/or Rachel used.

“But what the hell is the Fenian Cycle actually?”, you might be wondering. Well, Celtic Mythology is divided in 4 major cycles, being the one of the most important ones the Fenian Cycle. It tells the story of Fion mac Cumhaill and his group of soldiers, the Fianna. Such group was formed by the union of two noble families, the Bascna and the Morna. The Morna betrayed the Bascna, killing its leader. Fion was born in the Bascna family and after obtaining revenge on such atrocity, he tasted the Tuna of Wisdom and gets admitted to the court of the king in Tara, where he achieves great things. One day, when hunting, he spotted a fawn, however his hounds didn’t let him killing it and he took it home with him, Turns out the faw was Sadbh, a woman that was transformed in faw by a druid. After some time, Fion had to go outside of his lands, to fight against invasors and Sadbh stayed alone at home, The druid transformed himself in Fion, assuming his identity (just like Our Ciel) and temped the woman outside, where the spell was active. Fion never saw his wife again, but when he tried to search for her, he found that the woman had a son with him, named Oisín (this is supposedly the author of most Fenian Cycle stories).

This whole cyle is quite long, but at the end Fion and the rest of the Fianna die in battle, surviving only two characters, Oisín (Fion’s son) and Caílte (Fion’s nephew – note the similarities with Ciel’s name), probably a connection to the Phantomhive twins. The last one is quite the protagonist in the Acallam na Senórach, the most important text of all the Fenian Cycle. However, this character is portrayed as a fast runner, good at storytelling and had the ability to speak with animals. None of these characteristics resemble Our Ciel.

Analysing Oisín’s story, I do guess we can somehow make some more reliable approaches. After the battle both survived, Oisín felt in love with a fairy, going with her to Tir na nÓg, where he had his famous son Oscar. He then came back to his father’s land, but when he came back he realized that 300 years had passed (3 years passed since the incident that took Our Ciel away from his house). His wife also informed him that he could not touch the soil with his feet, having to walk around by horse always (Sebastian is sometimes referred in the manga as a loyal chess horse, that never leaves its king). However, Oisín ends up touching the ground, becoming an old man and dying.

As you can see, the Fenian Cycle theory still has some flaws, but I do believe that, as such book is shown a lot in the manga it might have some deeper meaning. What do you think? Do you like Celtic Mythology? Could you tell us more about the Fenian Cycle? What do you think of such? Please, tell us! (^-^) See you! o/

- Blackuro

#kuroshitsuji #theories #theory #bururaven #black--kuro #blackuro #our ciel #real ciel #vincent phantomhive #rachel phantomhive #two ciels theory #phantomhive twins #celtic mythology #mythology #history #irish #ireland #finnian

48 notes · View notes

azuresins · 7 months

Text

I want to reiterate part of the reason why I also think Our!Ciel's birth-name possibly being "Finnian" is a good choice for the narrative, is because it's a name he would have put in the effort to make sure that he couldn't take back for himself. By giving it to someone else. And thus he can continue to be Ciel Phantomhive. If his mother chose this namesake in part because it represents freedom, then he's free to chose the path he wants to take. It's his right to give the name to someone else, his right to choose the path he's on, even if it's dark... It's still his choice. If he ends up doing something incredible that happens to benefit some in his pursuit for his revenge, that's an added bonus but not necessary... I think that's quite powerful. In addition, the Reaper world chooses to put birth-names of the dead on their records... their policies do not account for names someone has taken up for identity reasons (demonstrated by Agni). That doesn't make it right, though. Someones birth name doesn't mean it's their 'real' name... a point that seems to come up often, in this story for multiple characters. There's some misinformation now and then, about the origin of a 'deadname' that I see circulate once in a while. A deadname isn't called that because the name is "dead to the person" ... it's called that because queer people knew when they died and were buried, their "deadname" would be on their grave. Hence why some people say 'birthname,' instead.

If Finnian-the-gardener dies... and he truly doesn't HAVE a birthname he'll be "Test Subject Zwölf," on the Reaper's books. That lives rent free in my head, constantly... I don't think our!Ciel would be too happy about it... I don't think Finnian would be happy about it... and I don't think that's what would be on his gravestone if our!Ciel gets a say in it. This reaper-policy plainly adds to the element of how impersonal, bureaucratic, and cold the process of someone dying and being collected actually is, in Kuro's universe by these Death Gods. Its all being run as a corporation. Reapers accept their orders and do as they're told and adhere to the policies, or else. Is it any wonder that after a while, one of them just... snaps? Like Undertaker, like Grelle?

#kuroshitsuji #black butler #Finnian name theory #Fenian name theory #our!ciel

56 notes · View notes

keyrajaeger · 7 years

Text

Our Ciel’s name;

After my theory about the Fenian Cycle, I still wonder what Our Ciel’s real name could be. I have a new theory about it.

“Ciel” is a feminine, rare name but even if it’s a French name it’s not used in France. Thanks to Chapter 132, we know that both the names of the Phantomhive twins are rare and weird ones, and are not common in England. Ciel fits the description.

So, I checked a list of rare and ancient French names and I found the names Astère and Astrée. In particular, Astrée is the French form of the names Astraea and Astraeus and it means “star”. Astrea, in Greek Mythology, was a goddess who represented the Justice. She went on Earth to teach justice and kindness to the humans, but then she decided to come back to the sky and she transformed herself in the constellation of Virgo.

Ciel means “sky” while Astrée means “star”. I think they could be a cute couple of names.

Then I thought about Sirius, the blood type of Our & Real Ciel. Sirius’s also a star, the brightest one. I don’t know, I think this could be another good name for Our Ciel. I still wonder why they named their blood type with that name, maybe there is a hidden reason, but these are just theories. I can’t wait to know what his real name is!

#ciel phantomhive #our!ciel #real!ciel #kuroshitsuji #black butler #phantomhive twins #manga #keyra jaeger

85 notes · View notes

celticnoise · 4 years

Link

The drive up to Hidden Hills takes you down a wooded path, where the trees on either side of you stretch out in a way that suggests that the forest is swallowing you. It’s disconcerting until you see the place loom in front of you; that’s even more disconcerting.

Built sometime in the 30’s, this place was once a luxury hotel and you can see that clearly. When the place ran into financial trouble in the 50’s it was bought up by an overseas consortium who thought they could restore it to its former glory. They failed.

It passed through various hands after that, from private owners to huge conglomerates who tried their luck at various projects including making it into private housing, before the Jenkins Trust took it over in the early 90’s as part of their major expansion. They opened it for business in 1998.

It holds 300 inmates, incarcerated there for a wide range of crimes from the deadly serious to the seriously ordinary.

One thing unites all of them; none was found even remotely competent to stand trial. When two prisoners escaped in 2012, one of them was found standing by the side of the road a mile from the institution; he was directing a phantom army down the country lanes.

He told staff that he was a World War 2 general, determined “to put the hun in their place.”

I arrive and I am greeted by a tall black man; this is Dennis Northwood, and he has been the administrator here for nearly ten years.

He is dressed in jeans and a t-shirt; it’s very informal. He takes me in through the large entrance door and into a wide reception area. Once more I recognise what this place once was in the way this lobby branches off, allowing easy access to every area of this vast building, and all its various wings.

“Do you want the basic tour?” he asks me, and I nod and for the next 20 minutes he gives me the rundown of the place, all without ever leaving the lobby. He is engaging and smart; he has written two books on paranoia and psychosis and one on the running of this place. He has seen it all.

By the time he’s finished I think have the background for a separate article.

But of course, I’m here on very specific business.

“Are you ready for the show, then?” I nod and he smiles and walks off, and I fall into line behind him, keeping up with his brisk pace. He talks as he goes, pointing out little things, highlighting certain bits of his tour from a moment ago with an anecdote or two, and we go down halls and in and out of spaces that open up in front of us, until we are there.

Here it is, at last. I’ve heard so much about this place.

“Welcome to La La Land,” he says with a grin. It should sound flippant coming from someone who works in one of these places, but of course that’s what many of the former residents called it, and there was one bestselling non-fiction book called A Big Hoose With Padded Walls which came out of here. The name seems appropriate considering some of the stories I’ve heard about the people who dwell inside this particular area of the building.

The House of Divergent Mental Disorders is the official title of this wing. Some call it La La Land, as Northwood does.

Others have a different name for it.

They call this wing Sevconia.

And as we walk through the doors I hear a familiar song; a tuneless voice starts to sing “There’s not a team like the Glasgow Rangers” and before I’m even through the first layer of security other inmates have joined in, and they are banging on the walls … it’s like a football bar at the end of a Saturday night.

Northwood points out individual cells; “Ex Daily Record sportswriter,” he says passing one.

“Ex Grade One referee,” he says going by another.

There are three cells in a row occupied by former bloggers and website guys.

He introduces me to a few of the inmates those who aren’t in their cells, and I find each of them interesting in his or her own way.

But I haven’t come here for those people at all.

I’m here to witness a very specific, and amazing, spectacle.

We get to the meeting hall, where the inmates are encouraged to come together and talk, expressing themselves in whatever way they choose.

Some of the nonsense that’s been uttered in here down through the years has been truly mind-bending; complex conspiracy theories that would baffle the likes of Alex Jones.

One theme dominates; the Unseen Fenian Hand.

Today the meeting room is empty, but all the desks have been joined together in the middle of the floor to create one big table.

Northwood motions me towards the wall, where a row of seats is arrayed for spectators and as we sit down the door opens and in troops the first of them; his nametag reads Douglas. He is wearing standard issue hospital pyjamas but he has on a pair of polishing brown brogues; I’ve heard they all wear these, and as they come in one at a time it turns out that they do.

This is the “weekly board meeting” of the “Rangers International Football Club” and it has been going on in this building now for some eight years now. There is a fax machine in the corner and over the years it has churned out many a head-scratching press release.

Today I’m going to see how that process takes place, how this group of befuddled, confused and clinically insane men has generated so much news and created such chaos in the outside world.

It is not at all what I expected. These men do not ramble at rave at one another; they talk, rationally, quietly, softly. A “secretary” keeps minutes. A fat man at the far end of the scribbles furiously into a notebook. There are no raised voices. T

his is not a rabble, although the stuff that comes out of here often reads as if it were written by a raving lunatic.

It’s only when you listen to the content of the talk that you understand why they are all here; it is some of the most paranoid stuff you’ve ever heard in your life. Ranging from theories about how much air is pumped into the footballs at Ibrox compared to those at Celtic Park to gigantic, titanic webs of complexity involving giant corporations and government institutions it is smorgasbord of the bizarre and incredible. You wonder how the minute-taker keeps a coherent track of it.

One theory involving Scottish Water piping certain drugs into their stadium so that the players tire more easily is so involved and detailed that I wonder, briefly, if they might not be working off so kind of leaked information but then the fat man suggests that Celtic Park is getting a different drug piped to them and I snap out of it in an instant.

Man, they told me that it was easy to get sucked into this stuff and they were right.

As I watch this meeting going on I am struck by how completely these men are enclosed in the belief that they are running an enormous football club, forever on the cusp of glory only to see it snatched away from them by myriad dark forces.

They hold a vote on some bizarre point of order, and the fat man rushes away to a separate table to start scribbling a press release. Coffee is brought by an orderly. The men drink it slowly, talking about how they are going to catch Celtic in the league and whether the club manager Steven Gerrard will have money to spend on transfers.

Then they start to ramble a bit.

“Medication time,” Northwood says, and a row of orderlies comes in and starts to escort them all back to their padded rooms, one at a time, all except the fat man who keeps demanding time to finish and finally slaps the paper down on the desk and asks that it be released to the press immediately.

Northwood nods, and picks it up. He lets me read the first few lines;

“We have been presented with evidence via a whistle-blower that raises serious concerns surrounding …” and at that he folds it up and puts it into the fax machine. I will later read that they have called for the suspension of Neil Doncaster and the SPFL’s legal team.

I thank Northwood for allowing me to observe and he takes my back down through the halls and down towards my car. As I start the engine, Clyde 1 comes on and I recognise the first caller. He’s in one of the first rooms in SevcoLand … they let these people use phones too?

“Aye, see that bloody SPFL board … absolutely disgraceful lot so they are, what they’ve done this time … what they’ve done here, what they’ve been doing … hey do you guys know exactly what they’ve been doing? Would somebody care to explain it to me?”

I guess that press release has worked just as intended.

As Scottish football goes through the current crisis it is important to keep up with developments and the key issues. We are determined to do so, and to keep you informed as well. Please subscribe to the blog.

https://ift.tt/2K9wMMR

#CelticNoise #Celtic #CelticFC #TheCelticBlog #News

0 notes