Celtic Tale - The Man in the Tree

 

The Peaked Red One or The Man in the Tree 

"Finn was was walking through a wood one day and happened to spy a man sitting at the top of a tree. A blackbird on his right shoulder, and in his left hand a bronze vessel filled with water, in which swam a skittish trout, and a stag at the bottom of the tree. The man would crack a nut, half of which he ate himself the other half he gave to the blackbird. Then he would take an apple out of the bronze vessel, half of which he ate himself the other half he threw to the stag below. Then he would take a sip of the water in the vessel, as did the stag and the blackbird - they would all drink together.  And then his followers asked Finn who he in the tree was for they did not recognise him on account of the hood of disguise which he wore."

The followers of Finn asked who this disguised hooded man was. Ann Ross in her book 'Pagan Celtic Britain'  speculates that this 'nurturer of animals' could be attributed to Cernunnos  or the Romano-Celtic god Vosegus,  who had some of the attributes of the man in the tree.

The stag headed god called Cernunnos.  Surrounded by animals.  In one hand a serpent in the other a torc.

Trees were also very important in the Celtic mythology.  Men were given the name of trees such as Mac Iba - son of Yew.  There is a story of Saint Martin of  Tour, who  died in 397.  Given the job of converting the pagan people to Christianity he razed temples to the ground and also cut down sacred trees....

"When in a certain village he had demolished a very ancient temple, and had set about cutting down a pine-tree, which stood close to the temple, the chief priest of that place, and a crowd of other heathens began to oppose him; and these people, though, under the influence of the Lord, they had been quiet while the temple was being overthrown, could not patiently allow the tree to be cut down"

The story goes on of course in typical Christian manner, by stating that Martin stood in front of the tree as it was cut down, and by some miracle the tree missed him!

There is also on the Gundestrup Cauldron another depiction of a tree in the inner plate, it is called the giant general/priest and cauldron.  The cauldron I believe is supposed to renew life.  You can see it on the following video.