Danu

In Irish mythology, *Danu is an obscure figure of Irish mythology, whose sole attestation is in the genitive in the name of the Tuatha dé Danann (Old Irish: "The peoples of the goddess Danu"). Though primarily seen as an ancestral figure, some Victorian sources also associate her with the land. She is referred to as a "mother of the gods" or "mother of all things" and is associated with abundance and prosperity. History Though early Irish literature refers to the pre-Christian Gaels as the Túatha Dé Danaan, or The People of the Goddess Danu, the goddess is not often active in these tales, and is only known through a few texts. Etymology The hypothetical nominative form of the name, *Danu, is not found in any medieval Irish text, but is rather a reconstruction by modern scholars based on the genitive Danann (also spelled Donand or Danand), which is the only form attested in the primary sources (e.g. in the collective name of the Irish gods, Tuatha dé Danann "Tribe / People of Danu"). In Irish mythology, Anu (sometimes written as Anann or Anand) is a goddess. She may be a distinct goddess in her own right or an alternative name for Danu, in which case Danu could be a contraction of *di[a] Anu ("goddess Anu").