Aonbarr
Also called Aonbharr, Aonbárr, Enabarr ("foam" or "froth").
Aonbarr is the magical horse of the sea-god Manannán mac Lir in Irish tradition, able to run over the ocean as easily as over land while guaranteeing that whoever rides it comes to no harm.
At a glance
- Tradition
- Irish folklore
- Region
- Ireland (place of origin)
- Trait family
- The Swift-Footed
- Symbols
- Horse
Near this figure
Symbols
Judged against the description by a model. Meanings are our own paraphrase.
- Horse is image-domain The horse denotes harnessed striving power, mount of gods, sun and sea alike, carrying the dead as psychopomp and the living into their conquests.
why
Aonbarr is the magical horse of the sea-god Manannán mac Lir in Irish tradition, able to run over the ocean as easily as over land while guaranteeing that whoever rides it comes to no harm.
Traits
Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.
Form
- Fish-tailed horse-headed steed of a sea god
why
Aonbarr belongs to the set of marvelous possessions attached to Manannán mac Lir, the sea-lord of the Irish mythological cycle, alongside his boat, which needs no oar or sail, and his sword.
Behaviour
- Gallops across water
why
The horse's defining feat is treating the sea as solid ground, carrying its rider across open water at full speed with no more difficulty than a road.
Defensive powers
- Invulnerability
why
Alongside that, the tradition holds that no one mounted on Aonbarr can be killed or thrown while riding it.
Utility powers
- Superhuman speed
why
It is described as exceptionally swift, matched in the sources to the pace of a spring wind rather than to any ordinary mount. The horse's defining feat is treating the sea as solid ground, carrying its rider across open water at full speed with no more difficulty than a road.