king receives affirmation of his legitimacy from one of the Tuath Dé. In other tales, a king's right to rule is affirmed by an encounter with an otherworldly woman. It has been argued that the inauguration of Irish kings originally represented his ritual marriage to the goddess of the land (see sovereignty goddess). The Tuath Dé can also bring doom to unrightful kings. The medieval writers who wrote about the Tuath Dé were Christians. Sometimes they explained the Tuath Dé as fallen angels; neutral angels who sided neither with God nor Lucifer and were punished by being forced to dwell on the Earth; or humans who had become highly skilled in magic. However, several writers acknowledged that at least some of them had been gods. There is strong evidence that many of the Tuath Dé represent the gods of Irish paganism. The name itself means "tribe of gods", and the ninth-century Scél Tuain meic Cairill (Tale of Tuan mac Cairill) speaks of the Tuath Dé ocus Andé, "tribe of gods and un-gods". Goibniu, Credne and Luchta are called the trí dé dáno, "three gods of craft". In Sanas Cormaic (Cormac's Glossary), Anu is called "mother of the Irish gods", Nét a "god of war", and Brigit a "goddess of poets" whose father is the Dagda; his own name meaning "the great god". Writing in the seventh century, Tírechán explained the sídh folk as "earthly gods" (Latin dei terreni), while Fiacc's Hymn says the Irish adored the sídh before the coming of Saint Patrick. Goibniu, Dian Cécht the physician, and Flidais the mistress of animals are invoked in incantations, further evidence that they were seen as supernatural powers. Several of the Tuath Dé are cognate with ancient Celtic deities: Lugh with Lugus, Brigit with Brigantia, Nuada with Nodons, and Ogma with Ogmios. Nevertheless, John Carey notes that it is not wholly accurate to describe all of them as gods in the medieval literature itself. He argues that the literary Tuath Dé are sui generis, and suggests "immortals" might be a more neutral term. Legend The Tuatha Dé Danann were descended from Nemed, leader of a previous wave of inhabitants of Ireland. They came from four cities to the north of Ireland—Falias, Gorias, Murias and Finias—where they taught their skills in the sciences, including architecture, the arts, and magic, including necromancy. According to Lebor Gabála Érenn, they came to Ireland "in dark