strong and obstinate attack in their rage and in the might of their
violence, so that they forced in the outer gateway till it was in the
midst of the castle, and the men of Connaught go beside them. They
storm the castle with great might against the valiant warriors who were
there. A wild pitiless battle is fought between them, and each man
begins to strike out against the other, and to destroy him.
Then, after they had wearied of wounding and overcoming one another,
the people of the castle were overthrown, and the Ulstermen slay seven
hundred warriors there in the castle with Ailill the Fair-Haired and
thirty of his sons; and Amalgaid the Good;[FN#100] and Nuado; and
Fiacho Muinmethan (Fiacho the Broad-backed); and Corpre Cromm (the Bent
or Crooked); and Ailill from Brefne; and the three Oengus Bodbgnai (the
Faces of Danger); and the three Eochaid of Irross (i.e. Irross Donnan);
and the seven Breslene from Ai; and the fifty Domnall.
[FN#100] "The Good" is in the Book of Leinster and the Egerton text,
not in the Leabhar na h-Uidhri: the two later texts omit Nuado.
For the assembly of the Gamanrad were with Ailill, and each of the men
of Domnan who had bidden himself to come to him to aid him: they were
in the same place assembled in his castle; for he knew that the exiles
from Ulster and Ailill and Medb with their army would come to him to
demand the surrender of Fergus, for Fergus was under their protection.
This was the third race of heroes in Ireland, namely the Clan Gamanrad
of Irross Donnan (the peninsula of Donnan), and (the other two were)
the Clan Dedad in Temair Lochra, and the Clan Rudraige in Emain Macha.
But both the other clans were destroyed by the Clan Rudraige.
But the men of Ulster arise, and with them the people of Medb and of
Ailill; and they laid waste the castle, and take Flidais out of the
castle with them, and carry off the women of the castle into captivity;
and they take with them all the costly things and the treasures that
were there, gold and silver, and horns, and drinking cups, and keys,
and vats; and they take what there was of garments of every colour, and
they take what there was of kine, even a hundred milch-cows, and a
hundred and forty oxen, and thirty hundred of little cattle.
And after these things had been done, Flidais went to Fergus mac Rog
according to the decree of Ailill and Medb, that they might thence have
sustenance (lit. that their sustenance might be) on the occasion of the
Raid of the Cows of Cualgne. As[FN#101] a result of this, Flidais was
accustomed each seventh day from the produce of her cows to support the
men of Ireland, in order that during the Raid she might provide them
with the means of life. This then was the Herd of Flidais.
[FN#101] L.L. and Egerton give "For him used every seventh day," &c.
In consequence[FN#102] of all this Flidais went with Fergus to his
home, and he received the lordship of a part of Ulster, even Mag
Murthemni (the plain of Murthemne), together with that which had been
in the hands of Cuchulain, the son of Sualtam. So Flidais died after
some time at Trag Bàli (the shore of Bali), and the state of Fergus'
household was none the better for that. For she used to supply all
Fergus' needs whatsoever they might be (lit. she used to provide for
Fergus every outfit that he desired for himself). Fergus died after
some time in the land of Connaught, after the death of his wife, after
he had gone there to obtain knowledge of a story. For, in order to
cheer himself, and to fetch home a grant of cows from Ailill and Medb,
he had gone westwards to Cruachan, so that it was in consequence of
this journey that he found his death in the west, through the jealousy
of Ailill.
[FN#102] L.L. and Egerton give "thereafter," adopted in verse
translation.
This, then, is the story of the Tain bo Flidais; it[FN#103] is among
the preludes of the Tain bo Cualnge.
[FN#103] This sentence does not occur in the Leabhar na h-Uidhri. It
is given as in the Egerton version: the Book of Leinster gives "it is
among the preludes of the Tain."
THE APPARITION OF THE GREAT QUEEN TO CUCHULAIN
(TAIN BO REGAMNA)
INTRODUCTION
This tale is given by the same two manuscripts that give the Tain bo
Dartada and the Tain bo Regamon; namely the Yellow Book of Lecan, and
Egerton 1782. The text of both is given by Windisch, Irische Texte,
II. pp. 239-254; he gives a translation of the version in the Yellow
Book, with a few insertions from the Egerton MS., where the version in
Y.B.L. is apparently corrupt: Miss Hull gives an English translation of
Windisch's rendering, in the Cuchullin Saga, pages 103 to 107. The
prose version given here is a little closer to the Irish than Miss
Hull's, and differs very little from that of Windisch. The song sung
by the Morrigan to Cuchulain is given in the Irish of both versions by
Windisch; he gives no rendering, as it is difficult and corrupt: I can
make nothing of it, except that it is a jeering account of the War of
Cualgne.
The title Tain bo Regamna is not connected with anything in the tale,
as given; Windisch conjectures "Tain bo Morrigna," the Driving of the
Cow of the Great Queen (Morrigan); as the woman is called at the end of
the Egerton version. The Morrigan, one of the three goddesses of war,
was the chief of them: they were Morrigan, Badb, and Macha. She is
also the wife of the Dagda, the chief god of the pagan Irish. The
Yellow Book version calls her Badb in this tale, but the account in the
Tain bo Cualnge (Leabhar na h-Uidhri facsimile, pp. 74 and 77), where
the prophecies are fulfilled, agrees with the Egerton version in
calling the woman of this tale the Morrigan or the Great Queen.
THE APPARITION OF THE GREAT QUEEN TO CUCHULAIN
(ALSO CALLED "TAIN BO REGAMNA")
FROM THE YELLOW BOOK OF LECAN (FOURTEENTH CENTURY)
AT Dun Imrid lay Cuchulain,[FN#104] and slept, when a cry rang out;
And in fear he heard from the north-land come ringing that terrible
shout:
He fell, as he woke from his slumber, with the thud of a weight, to the
ground,
From his couch on that side of the castle that the rising sun first
found.
He left his arms in the castle, as the lawns round its walls he sought,
But his wife, who followed behind him, apparel and arms to him brought:
Then he saw his harnessed chariot, and Laeg,[FN#105] his charioteer,
From Ferta Laig who drave it: from the north the car drew near:
"What bringeth thee here?" said Cuchulain: said Laeg, "By a cry I was
stirred,
That across the plain came sounding." "And whence was the cry thou hast
heard?"
"From the north-west quarter it travelled, it crossed the great
Cayll[FN#106] Cooen road!"
"Follow on, on that track," said Cuchulain, "till we know what that
clamour may bode!"
[FN#104] Pronounced Cu-hoolin.
[FN#105] Pronounced Layg.
[FN#106] Spelt Caill Cuan.
At the ford of the Double Wonder, at Ah[FN#107] Fayrta, the car made
stand
For a chariot rattled toward them, from the clay-soiled
Coolgarry[FN#108] land
And before them came that chariot; and strange was the sight they saw:
For a one-legged chestnut charger was harnessed the car to draw;
And right through the horse's body the pole of the car had passed,
To a halter across his forehead was the pole with a wedge made fast:
A red woman sat in the chariot, bright red were her eyebrows twain
A crimson cloak was round her: the folds of it touched the plain:
Two poles were behind her chariot: between them her mantle flowed;
And close by the side of that woman a mighty giant strode;
On his back was a staff of hazel, two-forked, and the garb he wore
Was red, and a cow he goaded, that shambled on before.
[FN#107] Spelt Ath Ferta, or more fully Ath da Ferta, the ford of the
two marvels.
[FN#108] Spelt Culgaire.
To that woman and man cried Cuchulain, "Ye who drive that cow do wrong,
For against her will do ye drive her!" "Not to thee doth that cow
belong,"
Said the woman; "no byre of thy comrades or thy friends hath that cow
yet barred."
"The kine of the land of Ulster," said Cuchulain, "are mine to guard!"
"Dost thou sit on the seat of judgment?" said the dame, "and a sage
decree
On this cow would'st thou give, Cuchulain?--too great is that task for
thee!"
Said the hero, "Why speaketh this woman? hath the man with her never a
word?"
"'Twas not him you addressed," was her answer, "when first your
reproaches we heard."
"Nay, to him did I speak," said Cuchulain, "though 'tis thou to reply
who would'st claim!"
'Ooer-gay-skyeo-loo-ehar-skyeo[FN#109] is the name that he bears," said
the dame.
[FN#109] Spelt Uar-gaeth-sceo-luachair-sceo
"'Tis a marvellous name!" said Cuchulain, "if from thee all my answer
must come,
Let it be as thou wishest; thy comrade, this man, as it seemeth, is
dumb.
Tell me now of thine own name, O woman."
"Faebor-bayg-byeo-ill,"[FN#110] said the man.
"Coom-diewr-folt-skayv-garry-skyeo-ooa is her name, if pronounce it you
can!"
Then Cuchulain sprang at the chariot: "Would ye make me a fool with
your jest?"
He cried, as he leapt at the woman; his feet on her shoulders he
pressed,
And he set on her head his spear-point: "Now cease from thy sharp
weapon-play!"
Cried the woman. Cuchulain made answer: Thy name to me truth fully say!"
"Then remove thyself from me!" she answered: I am skilled in satirical
spells;
The man is called Darry I mac Feena[FN#111]: in the country of
Cualgne[FN#112] he dwells;
I of late made a marvellous poem; and as fee for the poem this cow
Do I drive to my home." "Let its verses," said Cuchulain," be sung to
me now!"
"Then away from me stand!" said the woman: "though above me thou
shakest thy spear,
It will naught avail thee to move me." Then he left her, but lingered
near,
Between the poles of her chariot: the woman her song then sang;
And the song was a song of insult. Again at the car he sprang,
But nothing he found before him: as soon as the car he had neared,
The woman, the horse, and the chariot, the cow, and the man disappeared.
[FN#110] Spelt Faebor-begbeoil-cuimdiuir-folt-seenb-gairit-sceo-uath.
[FN#111] Spelt Daire mac Fiachna: he is the owner of the Dun of
Cualgne in the Great Tain.
[FN#112] Pronounced Kell-ny.
At a bird on a bough, as they vanished, a glance by Cuchulain was cast,
And he knew to that bird's black body the shape of the woman had passed:
As a woman of danger I know you," he cried, "and as powerful in spell!"
From to-day and for ever," she chanted, "this tale in yon clay-land
shall dwell!"
And her word was accomplished; that region to-day is the Grella
Dolloo,[FN#113]
The Clay-land of Evil: its name from the deeds of that woman it drew.
[FN#113] Spelt Grellach Dolluid.
"Had I known it was you," said Cuchulain, "not thus had you passed from
my sight!"
And she sang, "For thy deed it is fated that evil shall soon be thy
plight!"
Thou canst. do naught against me," he answered. "Yea, evil in sooth can
I send;
Of thy Bringer of Death I am guardian, shall guard it till cometh thine
end:
From the Under-world Country of Croghan this cow have I driven, to breed
By the Dun Bull of Darry[FN#114] Mae Feena, the Bull that in Cualgne
doth feed.
So long as her calf be a yearling, for that time thy life shall endure;
But, that then shall the Raid have beginning, the dread Raid of
Cualgne, be sure."
[FN#114] Spelt Daire mac Fiachna.
"Nay, clearer my fame shall be ringing," the hero replied," for the
Raid:
All bards, who my deeds shall be singing, must tell of the stand that I
made,
Each warrior in fight shall be stricken, who dares with my valour to
strive:
Thou shalt see me, though battle-fields thicken, from the Tain Bo
returning alive!"
"How canst thou that strife be surviving?" the woman replied to his
song,
"For, when thou with a hero art striving, as fearful as thou, and as
strong,
Who like thee in his wars is victorious, who all of thy feats can
perform,
As brave, and as great, and as glorious, as tireless as thou in a storm,
Then, in shape of an eel round thee coiling, thy feet at the Ford I
will bind,
And thou, in such contest when toiling, a battle unequal shalt find."
"By my god now I swear, by the token that Ulstermen swear by," he cried;
"On a green stone by me shall be broken that eel, to the Ford if it
glide:
From woe it shall ne'er be escaping, till it loose me, and pass on its
way!"
And she said: "As a wolf myself shaping, I will spring on thee, eager
to slay,
I will tear thee; the flesh shall be rended from thy chest by the
wolf's savage bite,
Till a strip be torn from thee, extended from the arm on thy left to
thy right!
With blows that my spear-shaft shall deal thee," he said, "I will force
thee to fly
Till thou quit me; my skill shall not heal thee, though bursts from thy
head either eye!"
I will come then," she cried, "as a heifer, white-skinned, but with
ears that are red,
At what time thou in fight shalt endeavour the blood of a hero to shed,
Whose skill is full match for thy cunning; by the ford in a lake I will
be,
And a hundred white cows shall come running, with red ears, in like
fashion to me:
As the hooves of the cows on thee trample, thou shalt test 'truth of
men in the fight':
And the proof thou shalt have shall be ample, for from thee thy head
they shall smite!"
Said Cuchulain: "Aside from thee springing, a stone for a cast will I
take,
And that stone at thee furiously slinging, thy right or thy left leg
will break:
Till thou quit me, no help will I grant thee." Morreegan,[FN#115] the
great Battle Queen,
With her cow to Rath Croghan departed, and no more by Cuchulain was
seen.
For she went to her Under-World Country: Cuchulain returned to his
place.
The tale of the Great Raid of Cualgne this lay, as a prelude, may grace.
[FN#115] Spelt Morrigan.
THE APPARITION OF THE GREAT QUEEN TO CUCHULAIN
LITERAL TRANSLATION
When Cuchulain lay in his sleep at Dun Imrid, there he heard a cry from
the north; it came straight towards him; the cry was dire, and most
terrifying to him. And he awaked in the midst of his sleep, so that he
fell, with the fall of a heavy load, out of his couch,[FN#116] to the
ground on the eastern side of his house. He went out thereupon without
his weapons, so that he was on the lawns before his house, but his wife
brought out, as she followed behind him, his arms and his clothing.
Then he saw Laeg in his harnessed chariot, coming from Ferta Laig, from
the north; and "What brings thee here?" said Cuchulain. "A cry," said
Laeg, "that I heard sounding over the plains. "On what side was it?"
said Cuchulain. "From the north-west it seemed," said Laeg, "that is,
across the great road of Caill Cuan."[FN#117] "Let us follow after to
know of it (lit. after it, to it for us)," said Cuchulain.
[FN#116] Or "out of his room." The word is imda, sometimes rendered
"bed," as here by Windisch sometimes also "room," as in the Bruidne da
Derga by Whitley Stokes.
[FN#117] Lough Cuan was the old name for Strangford Lough.
They went out thereupon till they came to Ath da Ferta. When they were
there, straightway they heard the rattle of a chariot from the quarter
of the loamy district of Culgaire. Then they saw the chariot come
before them, and one chestnut (lit. red) horse in it. The horse was
one footed, and the pole of the chariot passed through the body of the
horse, till a wedge went through it, to make it fast on its forehead.
A red[FN#118] woman was in the chariot, and a red mantle about her, she
had two red eye-brows, and the mantle fell between the two
ferta[FN#119] of her chariot behind till it struck upon the ground
behind her. A great man was beside her chariot, a red[FN#120] cloak
was upon him, and a forked staff of hazel at his back, he drove a cow
in front of him.
[FN#118] The above is the Egerton text: the text of Y.B.L. gives "A
red woman there, with her two eyebrows red, and her cloak and her
raiment: the cloak fell," &c.
[FN#119] It is not known certainly what the ferta were: Windisch
translates "wheels," but does not give this meaning in his Dictionary:
the ferta were behind the car, and could be removed to sound the depth
of a ford. It is suggested that they were poles, projecting behind to
balance the chariot; and perhaps could be adjusted so as to project
less or farther.
[FN#120] This is the Egerton text; the Y.B.L. text gives "a tunic
forptha on him the meaning of forptha is unknown.
"That cow is not joyful at being driven by you!" said Cuchulain. "The
cow does not belong to you," said the woman, "she is not the cow of any
friend or acquaintance of yours." "The cows of Ulster," said
Cuchulain, "are my proper (care)." "Dost thou give a decision about
the cow?" said the woman; "the task is too great to which thy hand is
set, O Cuchulain." "Why is it the woman who answers me?" said
Cuchulain, "why was it not the man?" "It was not the man whom you
addressed," said the woman. "Ay," said Cuchulain, "(I did address
him), though thyself hath answered for him:"
"h-Uar-gaeth-sceo-luachair-sceo[FN#121] is his name," said she.
[FN#121] Cold-wind-and-much-rushes.
"Alas! his name is a wondrous one," said Cuchulain. "Let it be thyself
who answers,[FN#122] since the man answers not. What is thine own
name?" said Cuchulain. "The woman to whom thou speakest," said the
man, "is Faebor-begbeoil-cuimdiuir-folt-scenbgairit-sceo-uath."[FN#123]
"Do ye make a fool of me?" cried Cuchulain, and on that Cuchulain
sprang into her chariot: he set his two feet on her two shoulders
thereupon, and his spear on the top of her head. "Play not sharp
weapons on me!" "Name thyself then by thy true name!" said Cuchulain.
"Depart then from me!" said she: "I am a female satirist in truth," she
said, "and he is Daire mac Fiachna from Cualnge: I have brought the cow
as fee for a master-poem." "Let me hear the poem then," said
Cuchulain. "Only remove thyself from me," said the woman; "it is
none[FN#124] the better for thee that thou shakest it over my head."
Thereon he left her until he was between the two poles (ferta) of her
chariot, and she sang to him[FN#125] . . . . . . Cuchulain threw a
spring at her chariot, and he saw not the horse, nor the woman, nor the
chariot, nor the man, nor the cow.
[FN#122] Y.B.L. corrupt; Egerton version adopted here.
[FN#123]
Little-mouthed-edge-equally-small-hair-short-splinter-much-clamour.
[FN#124] Not is it better for thee that" is in Egerton alone.
[FN#125] See the introduction for the omission of the poem.
Then he saw that she had become a black bird upon a branch near to him.
"A dangerous[FN#126] (or magical) woman thou art," said Cuchulain:
"Henceforward," said the woman, "this clay-land shall be called dolluid
(of evil,)" and it has been the Grellach Dolluid ever since. "If only
I had known it was you," said Cuchulain, "not thus should we have
separated." "What thou hast done," said she, "shall be evil to thee
from it." "Thou hast no power against me," said Cuchulain. "I have
power indeed," said the woman; "it is at the guarding of thy death that
I am; and I shall be," said she. "I brought this cow out of the
fairy-mound of Cruachan, that she might breed by the Black Bull[FN#127]
of Cualnge, that is the Bull of Daire Mae Fiachna. It is up to that
time that thou art in life, so long as the calf which is in this cow's
body is a yearling; and it is this that shall lead to the Tain bo
Cualnge." "I shall myself be all the more glorious for that Tain,"
said Cuchulain: "I shall slay their warriors: I shall break their great
hosts: I shall be survivor of the Tain."
[FN#126] Windisch is doubtful about the meaning of this word. He gives
it as "dangerous" in his translation; it may also mean "magical,"
though he thinks not. In a note he says that the meaning "dangerous" is
not certain.
[FN#127] In Egerton "the Dun of Cualnge."
"In what way canst thou do this?" said the woman, "for when thou art in
combat against a man of equal strength (to thee), equally rich in
victories, thine equal in feats, equally fierce, equally untiring,
equally noble, equally brave, equally great with thee, I will be an
eel, and I will draw a noose about thy feet in the ford, so that it
will be a great unequal war for thee." "I swear to the god that the
Ulstermen swear by," said Cuchulain, "I will break thee against a green
stone of the ford; and thou shalt have no healing from me, if thou
leavest me not." "I will in truth be a grey wolf against thee," said
she, "and I will strip a stripe[FN#128] from thee, from thy right
(hand) till it extends to thy left."
[FN#128] This word is left doubtful in Windisch's translation. The
word is breth in Y.B.L. and breit in Egerton. Breit may be a strip of
woollen material, or a strip of land; so the meaning of a strip of
flesh seems possible.
"I will beat thee from me," said he, "with the spear, till thy left or
thy right eye bursts from thy head, and thou shalt never have healing
from me, if thou leavest me not." "I shall in truth," she said, "be
for thee as a white heifer with red ears, and I will go into a lake
near to the ford in which thou art in combat against a man who is thine
equal in feats, and one hundred white, red-eared cows shall be behind
me and 'truth of men' shall on that day be tested; and they shall take
thy head from thee." "I will cast at thee with a cast of my sling,"
said Cuchulain, "so as to break either thy left or thy right leg from
under thee; and thou shalt have no help from me if thou leavest me not."
They[FN#129] separated, and Cuchulain went back again to Dun Imrid, and
the Morrigan with her cow to the fairy mound of Cruachan; so that this
tale is a prelude to the Tain bo Cualnge.
[FN#129] All this sentence up to "so that this tale" is from the
Egerton version. The Yellow Book of Lecan gives "The Badb thereon went
from him, and Cuchulain went to his own house, so that," &c.
TEXT OF LEABHAR NA H-UIDHRI
GIVING THE CONCLUSION OF THE "COURTSHIP OF ETAIN"
INTRODUCTION
The following pages give, with an interlinear word for word[FN#130]
translation, the text of Leabhar na h-Uidhri, page 130 b. line 19 to
the end of page 132 a. of the facsimile. The text corresponds to the
end of the tale of the Court ship of Etain in vol. i., from page 27,
line 21, to the end of the story; it also contains the poem which is in
that volume placed on page 26, but occurs in the manuscript at the
place where the first line of it is quoted on page 30 of vol. i.
[FN#130] The Irish idiom of putting the adjective after the noun is
not always followed in the translation.
It is hoped that the text may be found to be convenient by scholars:
special care has been taken to make it accurate, and it has not, with
the exception of the poem just referred to, been published before
except in the facsimile; the remainder of the text of the L.U. version
of the Courtship of Etain, together with the poem, has been given by
Windisch in the first volume of the Irische Texte.
The immediate object of the publication of this text, with its
interlinear translation, is however somewhat different; it was desired
to give any who may have become interested in the subject, from the
romances contained in the two volumes of this collection, some idea of
their exact form in the original, and of the Irish constructions and
metres, as no Irish scholarship is needed to follow the text, when
supplemented by the interlinear translation. The translation may be
relied on, except for a few words indicated by a mark of interrogation.
The passage is especially well suited to give an idea of the style of
Irish composition, as it contains all the three forms used in the
romances, rhetoric, regular verse, and prose: the prose also is varied
in character, for it includes narrative, rapid dialogue, an antiquarian
insertion, and two descriptive passages. The piece of antiquarian
information and the resume of the old legend immediately preceding the
second rhetoric can be seen to be of a different character to the
flowing form of the narrative proper; the inserted passage being full
of explanatory words, conid, issairi, is aice, &c., and containing no
imagery. The two descriptions, though short, are good examples of two
styles of description which occur in some other romances; neither of
these styles is universal, nor are they the only styles; the favour
shown to one or the other in a romance may be regarded as a
characteristic of its author.
The first style, exemplified by the description of Mider's appearance,
consists of a succession of images presented in short sentences,
sometimes, as in this case, with no verb, sometimes with the verb batar
or a similar verb repeated in each sentence, but in all cases giving a
brilliant word-picture, absolutely clear and definite, of what it is
intended to convey. The second style, exemplified here by the
description of the horses that Mider offers to Eochaid, consists of a
series of epithets or of substantives, and is often imitated in modern
Irish. These passages are usually difficult to translate, as many
words appear to be coined for the purpose of the descriptions; but, in
the best writings, the epithets are by no means arbitrary; they are
placed so as to contrast sharply with each other, and in many cases
suggest brilliant metaphors; the style being in this respect more like
Latin than English. Absolutely literal translations quite fail to
bring out the effect of such passages; for not only is the string of
adjectives a distinctively Irish feature, but both in English and in
Greek such metaphors are generally expressed more definitely and by
short sentences. There is also a third style of description which does
not appear in the prose of any of the romances in this collection, but
appears often in other romances, as in the Bruidne da Derga, Bricriu's
Feast, and the Great Tain; it resembles the first style, but the
sentences are longer, yet it does not give clear descriptions, only
leaving a vague impression. This style is often used for descriptions
of the supernatural; it may be regarded as actual reproductions of the
oldest pre-Christian work, but it is also possible that it is the
result of legends, dimly known to the authors of the tales, and
represented by them in the half-understood way in which they were
apprehended by them: the Druidic forms may have been much more clear.
Such passages are those which describe Cuchulain's distortions; the
only passage of the character in this collection is in the verse of the
Sick-bed, vol. i. page 77. Five of the romances in the present
collection have no descriptive passages in the prose; the Combat at the
Ford and the Tain bo Fraich show examples of both the first and the
second form, but more often the first; the Tain bo Regamna, though a
very short piece, also shows one example of each; for the description
of the goblins met by Cuchulain is quite clear, and cannot be regarded
as belonging to the third form. There is also one case of the second
form in the Tain bo Dartada, and two other cases of the first in the
Court ship of Etain-one in the Egerton, one in the Leabhar na h-Uidhri
version. The best example of the first style is in the Egerton version
of Etain (vol. i. page 12); the best example of the second is the
description of Cuchulain's horses (vol. i. page 128); a still better
example of contrasts in such a description is in the Courtship of Ferb
(Nutt, page 23).
The piece of regular verse contained in the extract should give a fair
idea of the style of this form of composition. Description is common
in the verse, and it is in this case a prominent feature. It may be
noted that lines 8, 16, 23, 26 will not scan unless the present
diphthongs are divided, also that the poem has fewer internal rhymes
than is usual in this regular verse.
The two passages in rhetoric, for so I take them to be, are good
examples of the style. An attempt has been made to divide them into
lines, but this division is open to criticism, especially as some lines
in one of the two passages cannot be translated, and the translation of
some other lines is doubtful: the division suggested does, however,
appear to me to give a rough metre and occasional rhymes. It is
possible that, if attention is called to those lines which are at
present untranslatable, something may be done for them. The verse
translations given in vol. i. pages 27 and 29, give the meaning that I
take the Irish to bear where I can get any meaning at all.
As to the text, the usual abbreviation for n has in general not been
italicized, nor has that for fri; all other abbreviations, including
acht, final n in the symbol for con, and that for or in the recognized
symbol for for, have been italicized. In the rhetorics, owing to their
difficulty, the abbreviation for n has been italicized throughout; the
symbol for ocus is not italicised. A few conjectures have been
inserted, the text being given as a foot-note; a conjectured letter
supposed to be missing has been inserted in brackets, and a restoration
by Professor Strachan of a few letters where the MS. is torn are
similarly placed in brackets. The rest of the text is carefully copied
from the facsimile, including the glosses, which are inserted above the
words in the same places that they occupy in the manuscript.
TEXT WITH INTERLINEAR TRANSLATION
Fecht n-aile asraracht Eochaid Airem ri Temrach la n-alaind
Another time arose Eochaid Airem. king of Tara on a beautiful day
i n-amsir samrata frisocaib[FN#131] for sosta na Temrach do imcaisiu
maigi Breg,
in time of summer, mounted on heights of Tara for viewing of plain of
Breg,
[FN#131] A conjecture: MS. fosrocaib= fo-s-ro-od-gaib, an unknown
compound.
boi fo a li ocus fo bluth cach datha. Am-imracacha inti
was good its colour, and good blossom of every hue. When looked about
the aforesaid
Eochaid imbi, co acca inn oclaech n-ingnad for sin sossad[FN#132] inna
Eoebaid around him, he saw the young warrior unknown on the height
beside
[FN#132] A conjecture: MS. tossad.
chomairi. Fuan corcair imbi, ocus mong or-budi fair co brainni
him. Tunic purple about him, and hair gold-yellow on him to edges
a da imdae. Rosc cainlech glas ina chind. Sleg coicrind ina laim.
of his two shoulders. Eye lustrous gray in his head. Spear
five-pointed in his hand.
Sciath taulgel ina laim con gemaib oir forri. Sochtais Eochaid, ar ni
Shield white-bossed in his hand with gems of gold on it. Was silent
Eochaid, for not
fitir a bith isin Temraig inn aidehi riam, ocus ni orslaiethe ind lis
he knew of his being in the Tara the night before, and not was opened
the Liss
in trath sin. Tolluid ar inchaib Eochoda iarsain asbert Eochaid iarom,
at that hour. He came under protection of Eochaid thereon; said
Eochaid then,
fochen dond laech nad athgenmar. Is ed doroehtmar or in
welcome to the hero whom we know not. It is for that we have come,
said the
t-oclaech. Ni tathgenmar or Eochaid. Atotgensa chetus ol in
(young) warrior. We know thee not, said Eochaid. I know thee indeed,
said the
t-oclaech. Cia th'ainm seo? ol Eochaid. Ni airdairc son, ol se,
warrior. What (is) thy own name? said Eochaid. Not illustrious that,
said he,
Mider Breg Leith. Cid dotroacht ol Eochaid. Do imbert fidcille
Mider of Bri Leith. What brought thee? said Eochaid. To play at chess
frit-su ol se. Am maith se em, ol Eochaid for fithchill. A fromad
with thee, said he. I am good myself truly, said Eochaid, at
chess-play. Its essaying
dun ol Mider. Ata ol Eochaid, ind rigan ina cotlud, is le in tech
to us! said Mider. Is, said Eochaid, the queen in her sleep, it is
hers the house
ata ind fithchell. Ata sund chenae, ol Mider, fidchell nad
where is the chessboard. There is here yet, said Mider, a chessboard
which is not
messo. Ba fir on, clar n-argit ocus fir oir, ocus fursunnud cacha
worse. Was true that, a board of silver and men of gold, and shining
in every
hairidi for sin clar di liic logmair, ocus fer-bolg di figi rond
credumae.
direction on that board of costly stones, and a men-bag of woven chains
of brass.
Ecraid Mider in fidchill iarsin. Imbir ol Mider. Ni immer acht
Set out Mider the chessboard thereupon. Play! said Mider. Not will I
play, except
di giull ol Eochaid. Cid gell bias and? ol Mider. Cumma lim ol
for a stake, said Eochaid. What stake shall be here? said Mider.
Equal to me, said
Eochaid. Rot-bia lim-sa ol Mider mad tu beras mo thochell,
Eochaid. Thou shalt have from me, said Mider, if thou carry off my
stake,
L. gabur n-dub-glas ite cend-brecca, croderga, biruich,
50 horses of dark-gray, and they with dappled heads, blood-red, with
ears pricked high,
bruin-lethain, bolg(s)roin, coss choela, comrassa, faeborda,[FN#133]
femendae,[FN#133]
chests broad, nostrils distended, feet thin, strong, keen, ? vehement,
aurarda, aignecha, so-(a)staidi,[FN#133] so
very high, spirited, easily stopped,
[FN#133] See Bruidne da Derga (Stokes), 50, 51, faeborda, lit. with an
edge on them; femendae? = Lat. vehemens; soaistidi is the form adopted
by Stokes in his edition of the Bruidne; Egerton MS. gives soastaide.
There is a gap here, a complete column being torn from the manuscript.
The lost part obviously describes the issue of the chess game or games,
and the penalties demanded by Bochaid: what these penalties were is
plain from the succeeding story. The work of Mider and his folk in
paying these penalties must also have been described: the next column
(Leabhar na h- Uidhri, 131 b. of the facsimile) opens thus:
iarsin doberar uir ocus grian ocus clocha for sin monai. Fri etna
thereupon is, placed earth and gravel and stones on the bog. Over
foreheads
dam dano-batar fedmand la firu h-Erind cosind n-aidchi sin, co
of oxen then were yokes among men of Ireland till that very night, when
n-aicces la lucht in t-side for a formnaib. Dognith
it was seen (tbLat they were) among people of the Mounds on their
shoulders. It was done
samlaid la Eochaid, conid de ata do som. Echaid Airem, ar
so by Eochaid, so that hence is to himself (the name of) Echaid Airem,
for
is aice toisech tucad cuing for muinelaib dam do ferand h-Erind. Is
it is by him first was put yoke on necks of oxen for land of Ireland.
This
ed dino and food ro boi im belaib in t-sluaig oc denam in tocuir:
is then there word which was on lips of the host at making of the
causeway:
Rhetoric--
Cuire illaim,
Put into hand
tochra illaim,
place (it) into hand
aurdairc damrad trathaib iar fuin
noble (are) oxen for hours after sunset
for trom ailges
very heavy request
ni fes cuich les
it is not known to whom (is) gain
cuich amles de thochur dar moin Lamraige.
to whom harm from the causeway over moor of Lamrach.
Ni biad isin bith tochur bad ferr mani bethe oca
There would not be in the world a causeway which is better, if not
(men) had been at
n-descin Forracbad de bochtae and iartain. Iarsin dolluid
the seeing them. Was left on that account a breach there thenceforth.
Thereupon came
in rechtaire co Echaid ocus adfet scela in mor fedma, atconnaire
the steward to Echaid, and made known tales of the great serving band,
that he saw
fiadai, ocus asbert nad rabi for fertas in betha cumachta
before him, and said that there was not on the chariot pole of life a
power
dodrosce de. Am batar for a m-briathraib co n-accatar Mider
that excelled it. When they were at their talking they saw Mider (come)
chucu. Ard chustal ocus droch gne fair. Atrigestar Eochaid,
to them. High ? girt (he was), and evil face (was) on him.? Rose
?[FN#134] Eochaid,
[FN#134] This is a possible rendering, taking the word as a deponent
form of atregaim. It would be more natural to take the word as from
adagur; being equivalent to ad-d-raigestar, and to mean "feared him,"
but this does not agree with Eoebaid's general attitude.
ocus ferais faelti fri. Is ed dorochtmar ol Mider. Is toreda ocus is
and gave welcome to him. It is for that we have come, said Mider. It
is cruel and is
di-cheill no tai frim, mor decrai ocus mor aingcessa do thabairt form
senseless thou art to me, great hardship and great suffering thy
bestowing on me
adethaind ni bad maith lat chena acht is bairnech mo menma frit.
I used to get what seemed good to thee still but is angry my mind
against thee.
Ni bara fri bure dait-siu on do-gignestar do menma for Eochaid.
Not anger against anger: to thyself the thing that shall choose thy
mind, said Eochaid.
Gebthar dano, ol Mider. Inn imberam fidchill? for Mider. Cid gell
It shall be done then, said Mider. Shall we play at chess? said Mider.
What stake
bias and? for Eochaid. Gell adcobra cechtar da lina for
shall be there? said Eochaid. The stake that wishes each of the two
parties, said
Mider. Berar tochell n-Echdach alla sin. Rucais mo
Mider. Is carried off stake of Echaid in that very place. Thou hast
carried off my
thocell, for Eebaid. Mad ail dam no-beraind o chianaib,
stake, said Echaid. If wish to me (had been) I could have carried it
off long since,
for Mider. Cacht cid adcobrai form-sa? for Echaid. Di laim im
said Mider. Question what wishest thou from myself? said Echaid. Two
arms about
etain, ocus poc di ol Mider. Sochtais Echaid la, sodain, ocus asbert,
Etain, and a kiss from her, said Mider. Was silent Echaid thereon, and
said,
tis dia mis on diu, doberthar dait ani sin. In
thou shalt come in a month from to-day, (and) shall be given to thee
that very thing. The
bliadain ria tuidecht do Mider co Echaid do imbert na fidehille boi oc
year before the coming of Mider to Echaid for playing of the chess was
he at
tochmarc etaine, ocus nis n-etad leis. Is ed ainm dobered Mider
wooing of Etain, and nothing was found by him. This is the name used
to give Mider
di: befind conide asbert:
to her: fair-haired lady, so that thence he said:
a be find in raga lim
O fair-haired lady, wilt thou come with me
i tir n-ingnad hi fil rind
into a land marvellous, that is music?
Is barr sobarche folt and
(thus) is the top of the head, of primrose the hair there,
is dath snechta corp co ind:
is colour of snow the body to the head:
Is and nad bi mui na tai,
It is there not will be 'mine' or 'thine,'
gela det and, dubai brai,
white teeth there, black eyebrows,
Is li sula lin ar sluag,[FN#135]
is colour of eyes number of our hosts,
[FN#135] A conjecture by Windisch. Text gives sluaig the genitive
singular, which does not rhyme.
[FN#136]no is brece is dath sion and cech gruad:
or is many-coloured is hue of foxglove there each cheek:
[FN#136] The three glosses are interesting. It may be noted that the
last two certainly follow the word (above the line in which it occurs)
that they seem to gloss: it is therefore probable that the first does
so too; the two lines of a couplet are on the same line in the
manuscript. It {footnote p. 156} seems then possible that the gloss
"it is many-coloured" refers, not to the foxglove, but to the preceding
line, "the colour of eyes is number of our hosts," and that the writer
of this gloss gave the same meaning to the rather hard description of
the colour of the eyes as is given in the verse translation (vol. i. p.
26), i.e. that the eyes had changing lights and shapes. We must hope,
for the credit of his taste, that he did not think of the cheeks as
many-coloured or freckled, but his gloss of lossa does not seem happy.
The meaning "growth" is taken from O'Reilly's Dictionary.
no lossa
Is corcair maige cach muin,[FN#137]
or growth?
is purple of a plain each neck,
[FN#137] A conjecture (Str.), main, treasure, is in the text: this
does not rhyme, nor give good sense; note, however, that muin has no
accent-the text gives one.
no is dath
is li sula ugai luin:
or is hue
is colour of eyes (that of) eggs of a blackbird:
cid cain deicsiu maigi Fail
though pleasant (is) seeing plains of Fal (isle of Destiny)
annam iar gnais maige mair.
a wilderness[FN#138] after knowledge of the Great Plain.
[FN#138] This meaning for annam is doubtful; the sense of "seldom" is
established for the word; the line possibly means "it will seldom be so
after," &c.
Cid mesc lib coirm inse Fail,
Though intoxicating to you (is) ale of the island Fal,
is mescu coirm tire mair,
is more intoxicating the ale of the country great,
amra tire tir asbiur,
a wonder of a land the land I mention,
ni theit oac and re siun.
not goes a young man there before an old man.
Srotha teith millsi tar tir,
Streams warm (and) sweet through the land,
rogu de mid ocus fin,
choice of mead and wine,
doini delgnaidi, cen on,
men ? handsome, without blemish,
combart cen pecead, cen col.
conception without sin without crime.
Atchiam cach for each leth,
We see all on every side,
ocus ni-conn acci nech;
and yet not sees us anyone
temel imorbais adaim
the cloud of the sin of Adam
do-don-archeil[FN#139] ar araim
encompasses us from reckoning
[FN#139] From tairchellaim.
A ben dia ris mo thuaith tind,
O woman, if thou wilt come to my people strong,
is barr oir bias fort chind,
it is top of head of gold shall be on thy head,
inue ur, laith, lemnacht la lind
pork unsalted, ale, new milk for drink
rot bia lim and, a be find, a be find.
shall be to thee with me there, O woman fair-haired.
[a gap, 9 letters lost] i atumchotaise om aithech tige rag-sa, [a gap,
thou obtainest me from my master of the house I will go,
[9 letters lost] fetai, ni rag. Is iarsin dolluid Mider (L.U. 130 a.)
co
canst, not will I go. It is thereon came Mider to
Echaid, ocus damair a thochell fochetoir co m-beth fôlo acai
Echaid, and yields his stake immediately that may be (cause) of
reproach for him
do Echaid, is airi roic na comada mora, ocus issairi is
to Echaid, it is therefore he paid the great stakes, and on that
account it is (that)
fo anfis con atig a gell. Conid iarsin giull adrubrad in tan tra
under ignorance that he asked his wager. So that after that wager it
was said when now
ro boi Mider cona muinter oc ic comad na aidehi, i. in tochor, ocus
was Mider and his folk at paying the stake of the night, that is, the
causeway, and
di-chlochad Midi, ocus luachair Tetbai, ocus fid dar Breg: isse[FN#140]
seo
clearing stones off Meath, and rushes of Tethba and forest over Breg:
it is he this
[FN#140] Grammar not clear: perhaps the Irish is corrupt (Str.).
an no foclad boi oca muinter amal atbert lebor drom snechta:
what used to say was with his folk as says Book of Drom-snechta:
Rhetoric--
Cuirthe illand:
Put on the field:
tochre illand:
Put close on the field
airderg dararad:
very red oxen:
trom in choibden:
heavy the troop
clunithar fir ferdi.
Which hears ?really-manly
buidni balc-thruim crand-chuir
troops for strong heavy setting of trees
forderg saire fedar
of very red ?oaks[FN#141] are led
[FN#141] Reading daire for saire.
sechuib slimprib snithib
past them on twisted wattles:
scitha lama:
weary are hands,
ind rosc cloina:
the eye ?slants aside?
fobith oen mna
because of one woman
Duib in digail:
To you the revenge,
duib in trom-daim:[FN#142]
to you the heavy ?oxen
[FN#142] A conjecture. MS. gives trom-daim.
tairthim flatho fer ban:
splendour of sovereignty over white men:
fomnis, fomnis, in fer m-braine cerpae fomnis diad dergæ
? ? ?
fer arfeid solaig
?
fri aiss esslind
?
fer bron for-ti
? sorrow shall, come on the man?
i. more
ertechta inde
?
lamnado luachair
rushes
for di Thethbi
over?two Tethbas
di-chlochad[FN#143] Midi
clearing stones from Meath
[FN#143] A conjecture. MS. gives dilecad (Str.)
indracht
?
coich les, coich amles
to whom the benefit, to whom the harm
thocur dar clochach? moin.[FN#144]
causeway over stony moor.
[FN#144] The last line in the Ms. is t d c m.
Dalis Mider dia mis Fochiallastar (i. rotinoil). Echaid formna
Mider appointed a meeting for the end of a month. Echaid assembled
(i.e. collected)troops.
laech la-erend com batar hi Temrach, ocus an ro po dech do fiannaib
of heroes of Ireland so that they were in Tara, and what was best of
champions
h-Erind, cach cuaird imm araile im Temrach immedon ocus a nechtair,
of Ireland, each ring about another, around Tara im the middle, and
outside it
ocus is-tig. Ocus in ri ocus in rigan immedon in taigi, ocus ind lis
and within. And the king and the queen in the middle of the house, and
its Liss
iatai fo glassaib, ar ro fetatar do t-icfad fer in mar cumacht. Etain
shut under locks, for they knew that would comie of insen the great
might. Etain
boi ocon dail ind aidehi sin forsna flathi, ar ba sain dana disi dal.
was dispensing that night to the princes, for it was meet then for her
pouring (of the wine)
Am batar iarom fora. m-briathraib, co accatar Mider chucu for
When they were thereon at their talking they saw Mider (come) to them on
lar ind rigthige. Ba cain som dogres ba caini dana inn aidehi sin.
the floor of the royal palace. He was fair always, was fairer then on
that night.
Tosbert im mod na slûag ateonnairc. Sochsit uli iarom ocus
He brought to amazement the hosts that he saw.[FN#145] Were silent all
thereon, and
[FN#145] Reading atcondairc (Str.).
ferais in ri faelti fris. Is ed dorochtmar ol Mider. An ro gella
the king gave welcome to him. It is this we have come for, said Mider.
What was promised
dam-sa or se, tucthar dam. Is fiach ma gelltar, an ro gellad
to myself, said he, let it be given to me. It is a debt if a promise
is given,
tucus dait-siu. Ni imrordusa for Echaid, ani sin co se.
I have given to thee. Not have I thought on, said Echaid, that very
thing up to now.
Atrugell etain fein dam-sa, ol Mider, ticht uait-siu.
Thou hast promised Etain herself to me, said Mider, message (lit. a
coming) from you.
Imdergthar im Etain la, sodain. Na imdergthar imut for Mider, ni
There was a blush on Etain thereupon. Let there be no blush on thee,
said Mider, not
droch banas duit-siu. Atu-sa, ol si, bliadain oc do chuingid com
evil marriage-feast to thee. I am myself, said he, a year at seeking
thee with
mainib ocus setaib at aildem in ere, ocus ni tucus-sa
treasures and jewels that are the most beautiful in Ireland and not I
took thee
comad chomarlecud do Echaid. Ni -la-deoas damsa ce
till there should be permission of Echaid. Not by good-will to me any
dotchotaind. Atrubart-sa frit-su ol si, conom rire Echaid,
getting thee. I myself said to thyself, said she, until Echaid gives
me up
nit rius. Atometha lat ar mo chuit fein, dia nom rire Echaid.
not will I come to thee. Take me with thee for my own part, if me
Echaid will give up.
Nit ririub immorro, for Echaid, acht tabrad a di laim
Not thee will I give up however, said Echaid, but (I give) a placing of
his two hands
imut for lar in tige, amal ro gabais. Dogentar for Mider.
about thee on floor of the house, as thou art. It shall be done! said
Mider.
i. mider
Atetha a gaisced ina laim cli, ocus gabais in mnai fo a leth-oxail dess,
that is, Mider
He took his weapons in his hand left, and took the woman under his
shoulder right,
ocus focois-le for forles in tige. Conerget in-t-sluaig imon rig
and carried her off over skylight of the house. Pose up the hosts,
about the king
iar melacht forro, co n-accatar in da ela timchell na Temra. Is ed
after a disgrace on them, they saw the two swans around Tara. It is
this,
ro gabsat do sid ar Femun. Ocus luid Echaid co fomno
they took (the road) to elfmound about about Femun. And went Echaid
with a troop
fer n-Erend imbi do sith ar Femun i. sid ban-find.
of men of Ireland about him to elf mound about Femun i.e. elfmound of
the fair-haired women.
B (a si com)[FN#146] arli fer n-Erend, fochlaid each sid [a gap, 12
letters lost]
That was the counsel of the men of Ireland, he dug up each elf-mound.
[FN#146] The letters in parentheses are a conjecture by Strachan, to
fill up a gap in the manuscript.
tised a ben. do uadib, Foce [a gap of 13 letters, rest of the version
lost.]
should come his wife to him from them.