in the Leabhar na h-Uidhri, have been compared in the general preface
to the volume, and little more need be said on this point; it may,
however, be noted that eight pages of the Egerton version (pp. 11 to
18) are compressed into two pages in L.U. (pp. 23 and 24). References
to the Etain story are found in different copies of the "Dindshenchas,"
under the headings of Rath Esa, Rath Croghan, and Bri Leith; the
principal manuscript authorities, besides the two translated here, are
the Yellow Book of Lecan, pp. 91 to 104, and the Book of Leinster, 163b
(facsimile). These do not add much to our versions; there are,
however, one or two new points in a hitherto untranslated manuscript
source mentioned by O'Curry ("Manners and Customs," vol. ii. p 192 to
194).
The Leabhar na h-Uidhri version is defective both at the beginning and
at the end; there is also a complete column torn from the manuscript,
making the description of the chess match defective. These three gaps
have been filled up by short passages enclosed in square brackets, at
the commencement of the Prologue, on p. 28, and at the end of the L.U.
version. The two first of these insertions contain no matter that
cannot be found by allusions in the version itself; the conclusion of
the tale is drawn, partly from the "Dindshenchas" of Rath Esa, partly
from the passage in O'Curry's "Manners and Customs."
The only alteration that has been made is that, following a suggestion
in Windisch (Irische Texte, i. p. 132), the poem on page 26 has been
placed four pages earlier than the point at which it occurs in the
manuscript. Three very difficult lines (Leabhar na h-Uidhri, 132a,
lines 12 to 14) have not been attempted; there are no other omissions,
and no insertions except the three noted above. The Prologue out of
the L.U. version has been placed first, as it is essential to the
understanding of any version, then follows the Egerton version as the
longer of the two, then the L.U. version of the Courtship, properly so
called.
PROLOGUE IN FAIRYLAND
FROM THE LEABHAR NA H-UIDHRI
Etain of the Horses, the daughter of Ailill, was the wife of Mider, the
Fairy Dweller in Bri Leith.[FN#6] Now Mider had also another wife
named Fuamnach[FN#7] who was filled with jealousy against Etain, and
sought to drive her from her husband's house. And Fuamnach sought out
Bressal Etarlam the Druid and besought his aid; and by the spells of
the Druid, and the sorcery of Fuamnach, Etain was changed into the
shape of a butterfly that finds its delight among flowers. And when
Etain was in this shape she was seized by a great wind that was raised
by Fuamnach's spells; and she was borne from her husband's house by
that wind for seven years till she came to the palace of Angus Mac O'c
who was son to the Dagda, the chief god of the men of ancient Erin.
Mac O'c had been fostered by Mider, but he was at enmity with his
foster-father, and he recognised Etain, although in her transformed
shape, as she was borne towards him by the force] of the wind. And he
made a bower for Etain with clear windows for it through which she
might pass, and a veil of purple was laid upon her; and that bower was
carried about by Mac O'c wherever he went. And there each night she
slept beside him by a means that he devised, so that she became
well-nourished and fair of form; for that bower was filled with
marvellously sweet-scented shrubs, and it was upon these that she
thrived, upon the odour and blossom of the best of precious herbs.
[FN#6] Pronounced Bree Lay.
[FN#7] Pronounced Foom-na.
Now to Fuamnach came tidings of the love and the worship that Etain had
from Mac O'c, and she came to Mider, and "Let thy foster-son," said
she, "be summoned to visit thee, that I may make peace between you two,
and may then go to seek for news of Etain." And the messenger from
Mider went to Mac O'c, and Mac O'c went to Mider to greet him; but
Fuamnach for a long time wandered from land to land till she was in
that very mansion where Etain was; and then she blew beneath her with
the same blast as aforetime, so that the blast carried her out of her
bower, and she was blown before it, as she had been before for seven
years through all the land of Erin, and she was driven by the wind of
that blast to weakness and woe. And the wind carried her over the roof
of a house where the men of Ulster sat at their ale, so that she fell
through the roof into a cup of gold that stood near the wife of Etar
the Warrior, whose dwelling-place was near to the Bay of Cichmany in
the province that was ruled over by Conor. And the woman swallowed
Etain together with the milk that was in the cup, and she bare her in
her womb, till the time came that she was born thereafter as in earthly
maid, and the name of Etain, the daughter of Etar, was given to her.
And it was one thousand and twelve years since the time of the first
begetting of Etain by Ailill to the time when she was born the second
time as the daughter of Etar.
Now Etain was nurtured at Inver Cichmany in the house of Etar, with
fifty maidens about her of the daughters of the chiefs of the land; and
it was Etar himself who still nurtured and clothed them, that they
might be companions to his daughter Etain. And upon a certain day,
when those maidens were all at the river-mouth to bathe there, they saw
a horseman on the plain who came to the water towards them. A horse he
rode that was brown, curvetting, and prancing, with a broad forehead
and a curly mane and tail. Green, long, and flowing was the cloak that
was about him, his shirt was embroidered with embroidery of red gold,
and a great brooch of gold in his cloak reached to his shoulder on
either side. Upon the back of that man was a silver shield with a
golden rim; the handle for the shield was silver, and a golden boss was
in the midst of the shield: he held in his hand a five-pointed spear
with rings of gold about it from the haft to the head. The hair that
was above his forehead was yellow and fair; and upon his brow was a
circlet of gold, which confined the hair so that it fell not about his
face. He stood for a while upon the shore of the bay; and he gazed
upon the maidens, who were all filled with love for him, and then he
sang this song:
West of Alba, near the Mound[FN#8]
Where the Fair-Haired Women play,
There, 'mid little children found,
Etain dwells, by Cichmain's Bay.
She hath healed a monarch's eye
By the well of Loch-da-lee;
Yea, and Etar's wife, when dry,
Drank her: heavy draught was she!
Chased by king for Etain's sake,
Birds their flight from Teffa wing:
'Tis for her Da-Arbre's lake
Drowns the coursers of the king.
Echaid, who in Meath shall reign,
Many a war for thee shall wage;
He shall bring on fairies bane,
Thousands rouse to battle's rage.
Etain here to harm was brought,
Etain's form is Beauty's test;
Etain's king in love she sought:
Etain with our folk shall rest!
[FN#8] The metre of these verses is that of the Irish.
And after that he had spoken thus, the young warrior went away from the
place where the maidens were; and they knew not whence it was that he
had come, nor whither he departed afterwards.
Moreover it is told of Mac O'c, that after the disappearance of Etain
he came to the meeting appointed between him and Mider; and when he
found that Fuamnach was away: "'Tis deceit," said Mider, "that this
woman hath practised upon us; and if Etain shall be seen by her to be
in Ireland, she will work evil upon Etain." "And indeed," said Mac
O'c, "it seemeth to me that thy guess may be true. For Etain hath long
since been in my own house, even in the palace where I dwell; moreover
she is now in that shape into which that woman transformed her; and
'tis most likely that it is upon her that Fuamnach hath rushed." Then
Mac O'c went back to his palace, and he found his bower of glass empty,
for Etain was not there. And Mac O'c turned him, and he went upon the
track of Fuamnach, and he overtook her at Oenach Bodbgnai, in the house
of Bressal Etarlam the Druid. And Mac O'c attacked her, and he struck
off her head, and he carried the head with him till he came to within
his own borders.
Yet a different tale hath been told of the end of Fuamnach, for it hath
been said that by the aid of Manannan both Fuamnach and Mider were
slain in Bri Leith, and it is of that slaying that men have told when
they said:
Think on Sigmall, and Bri with its forest:
Little wit silly Fuamnach had learned;
Mider's wife found her need was the sorest,
When Bri Leith by Manannan was burned.
THE COURTSHIP OF ETAIN
EGERTON VERSION
Once there was a glorious and stately king who held the supreme
lordship over all the land of Ireland. The name of the king was
Eochaid Airemm, and he was the son of Finn, who was the son of Finntan;
who was the son of Rogan the Red; who was the son of Essamain; who was
the son of Blathecht; who was the son of Beothecht; who was the son of
Labraid the Tracker; who was the son of Enna the Swift; who was the son
of Angus of Tara, called the Shamefaced; who was the son of Eochaid the
Broad-jointed; who was the son of Ailill of the Twisted Teeth; who was
the son of Connla the Fair; who was the son of Irer; who was the son of
Melghe the Praiseworthy; who was the son of Cobhtach the Slender from
the plain of Breg; who was the son of Ugaine the Great; who was the son
of Eochaid the Victorious.
Now all the five provinces of Ireland were obedient to the rule of
Eochaid Airemm: for Conor the son of Ness, the king of Ulster, was
vassal to Eochaid; and Messgegra the king of Leinster was his vassal;
and so was Curoi, the son of Dare, king of the land of Munster; and so
were Ailill and Maev, who ruled over the land of Connaught. Two great
strongholds were in the hands of Eochaid: they were the strongholds of
Fremain in Meath, and of Fremain in Tethba; and the stronghold that he
had in Tethba was more pleasing to him than any of those that he
possessed.
Less than a year had passed since Eochaid first assumed the sovereignty
over Erin, when the news was proclaimed at once throughout all the land
that the Festival of Tara should be held, that all the men of Ireland
should come into the presence of their king, and that he desired full
knowledge of the tributes due from, and the customs proper to each.
And the one answer that all of the men of Ireland made to his call was:
"That they would not attend the Festival of Tara during such time,
whether it be long or short, that the king of Ireland remained without
a wife that was worthy of him;" for there is no noble who is a wifeless
man among the men of Ireland; nor can there be any king without a
queen; nor does any man go to the Festival of Tara without his wife;
nor does any wife go thither without her husband.
Thereupon Eochaid sent out from him his horsemen, and his wizards, and
his officers who had the care of the roads, and his couriers of the
boundaries throughout all Ireland; and they searched all Ireland as
they sought for a wife that should be worthy of the king, in her form,
and her grace, and her countenance, and her birth. And in addition to
all this there yet remained one condition: that the king would take as
his wife none who had been before as a wife to any other man before him.
And after that they had received these commands, his horsemen, and his
wizards, and his officers who had the care of the roads, and the
couriers of the boundaries went out; and they searched all Ireland
south and north; and near to the Bay of Cichmany they found a wife
worthy of the king; and her name was Etain the daughter of Etar, who
was the king of Echrad. And his messengers returned to Eochaid, and
they told him of the maiden, of her form, and her grace, and her
countenance. And Eochaid came to that place to take the maiden thence,
and this was the way that he took; for as he crossed over the ground
where men hold the assembly of Bri Leith, he saw the maiden at the
brink of the spring. A clear comb of silver was held in her hand, the
comb was adorned with gold; and near her, as for washing, was a bason
of silver whereon four birds had been chased, and there were little
bright gems of carbuncle on the rims of the bason. A bright purple
mantle waved round her; and beneath it was another mantle, ornamented
with silver fringes: the outer mantle was clasped over her bosom with a
golden brooch. A tunic she wore, with a long hood that might cover her
head attached to it; it was stiff and glossy with green silk beneath
red embroidery of gold, and was clasped over her breasts with
marvellously wrought clasps of silver and gold; so that men saw the
bright gold and the green silk flashing against the sun. On her head
were two tresses of golden hair, and each tress had been plaited into
four strands; at the end of each strand was a little ball of gold. And
there was that maiden, undoing her hair that she might wash it, her two
arms out through the armholes of her smock. Each of her two arms was
as white as the snow of a single night, and each of her cheeks was as
rosy as the foxglove. Even and small were the teeth in her head, and
they shone like pearls. Her eyes were as blue as a hyacinth, her lips
delicate and crimson; very high, soft, and white were her shoulders.
Tender, polished, and white were her wrists; her fingers long, and of
great whiteness; her nails were beautiful and pink. White as the snow,
or as the foam of the wave, was her side; long was it, slender, and as
soft as silk. Smooth and white were her thighs; her knees were round
and firm and white; her ankles were as straight as the rule of a
carpenter. Her feet were slim, and as white as the ocean's foam;
evenly set were her eyes; her eyebrows were of a bluish black, such as
ye see upon the shell of a beetle. Never a maid fairer than she, or
more worthy of love, was till then seen by the eyes of men; and it
seemed to them that she must be one of those who have come from the
fairy mounds: it is of this maiden that men have spoken when it hath
been said: "All that's graceful must be tested by Etain; all that's
lovely by the standard of Etain."
Grace with Etain's grace compare!
Etain's face shall test what's fair!
And desire of her seized upon the king; and he sent a man of his people
in front of him to go to her kindred, in order that she might abide to
await his coming. And afterwards the king came to the maiden, and he
sought speech from her: "Whence art thou sprung, O maiden?" says
Eochaid, "and whence is it that thou hast come?" "It is easy to answer
thee," said the maiden: "Etain is my name, the daughter of the king of
Echrad; 'out of the fairy mound' am I" "Shall an hour of dalliance
with thee be granted to me?" said Eochaid. "'Tis for that I have come
hither under thy safeguard," said she. "And indeed twenty years have I
lived in this place, ever since I was born in the mound where the
fairies dwell, and the men who dwell in the elf-mounds, their kings and
their nobles, have been a-wooing me: yet to never a one of them was
granted sleep with me, for I have loved thee, and have set my love and
affection upon thee; and that ever since I was a little child, and had
first the gift of speech. It was for the high tales of thee, and of
thy splendour, that I have loved thee thus; and though I have never
seen thee before, I knew thee at once by reason of the report of thee
that I had heard; it is thou, I know, to whom we have attained." "It
is no evil-minded lover who now inviteth thee," says Eochaid. "Thou
shalt be welcomed by me, and I will leave all women for thy sake, and
thine alone will I be so long as it is pleasing to thee." "Let the
bride-price that befits me be paid," said the maiden, "and after that
let my desire be fulfilled." "It shall be as thou hast said," the king
answered her; and he gave the value of seven cumals to be her
brideprice; and after that he brought her to Tara, whereon a fair and
hearty welcome was made to her.
Now there were three brothers of the one blood, all sons of Finn,
namely, Eochaid Airem, and Eochaid, and Ailill Anglonnach, or Ailill of
the Single Stain, because the only stain that was upon him was the love
that he had for his brother's wife. And at that time came all the men
of Ireland to hold the festival of Tara; they were there for fourteen
days before Samhain, the day when the summer endeth, and for fourteen
days after that day. It was at the feast of Tara that love for Etain
the daughter of Etar came upon Ailill Anglonnach; and ever so long as
they were at the Tara Feast, so long he gazed upon the maid. And it
was there that the wife of Ailill spoke to him; she who was the
daughter of Luchta of the Red Hand, who came from the province of
Leinster: "Ailill," said she, "why dost thou gaze at her from afar? for
long gazing is a token of love." And Ailill gave blame to himself for
this thing, and after that he looked not upon the maid.
Now it followed that after that the Feast of Tara had been consumed,
the men of Ireland parted from one another, and then it was that Ailill
became filled with the pangs of envy and of desire; and he brought upon
himself the choking misery of a sore sickness, and was borne to the
stronghold of Fremain in Tethba after that he had fallen into that woe.
There also, until a whole year had ended, sickness long brooded over
Ailill, and for long was he in distress, yet he allowed none to know of
his sickness. And there Eochaid came to learn of his brother's state,
and he came near to his brother, and laid his hand upon his chest; and
Ailill heaved a sigh. "Why," said Eochaid, "surely this sickness of
thine is not such as to cause thee to lament; how fares it with thee?"
"By my word," said Ailill, "'tis no easier that I grow; but it is worse
each day, and each night." "Why, what ails thee?" said Eochaid, "By my
word of truth," said Ailill, "I know not." "Bring one of my folk
hither," said Eochaid, "one who can find out the cause of this illness."
Then Fachtna, the chief physician of Eochaid, was summoned to give aid
to Ailill, and he laid his hand upon his chest, and Ailill heaved a
sigh. "Ah," said Fachtna, "there is no need for lament in this matter,
for I know the cause of thy sickness; one or other of these two evils
oppresseth thee, the pangs of envy, or the pangs of love: nor hast thou
been aided to escape from them until now." And Ailill was full of
shame, and he refused to confess to Fachtna the cause of his illness,
and the physician left him.
Now, after all this, king Eochaid went in person to make a royal
progress throughout the realm of Ireland, and he left Etain behind him
in his fortress; and "Lady," said he, "deal thou gently with Ailill so
long as he is yet alive; and, should he die," said he, "do thou see
that his burial mound be heaped for him; and that a standing-stone be
set up in memory of him; and let his name be written upon it in letters
of Ogham." Then the king went away for the space of a year, to make
his royal progress throughout the realm of Ireland, and Ailill was left
behind, in the stronghold of Fremain of Tethba; there to pass away and
to die.
Now upon a certain day that followed, the lady Etain came to the house
where Ailill lay in his sickness, and thus she spoke to him: "What is
it," she said, "that ails thee? thy sickness is great, and if we but
knew anything that would content thee, thou shouldest have it." It was
thus that at that time she spoke, and she sang a verse of a song, and
Ailill in song made answer to her:
Etain
Young man, of the strong step and splendid,
What hath bound thee? what ill dost thou bear?
Thou hast long been on sick-bed extended,
Though around thee the sunshine was fair.
Ailill
There is reason indeed for my sighing,
I joy naught at my harp's pleasant sound;
Milk untasted beside me is lying;
And by this in disease am I bound.
Etain
Tell me all, thou poor man, of thine ailing;
For a maiden am I that is wise;
Is there naught, that to heal thee availing,
Thou couldst win by mine aid, and arise
Ailill
If I told thee, thou beautiful maiden,
My words, as I formed them, would choke,
For with fire can eyes' curtains be laden:
Woman-secrets are evil, if woke.
Etain
It is ill woman-secrets to waken;
Yet with Love, its remembrance is long;
And its part by itself may be taken,
Nor a thought shall remain of the wrong.
Ailill
I adore thee, white lady, as grateful;
Yet thy bounty deserve I but ill:
To my soul is my longing but hateful,
For my body doth strive with me still.
Eocho Fedlech,[FN#9] his bride to him taking,
Made thee queen; and from thence is my woe:
For my head and my body are aching,
And all Ireland my weakness must know.
Etain
If, among the white women who near me abide,
There is one who is vexing, whose love thou dost hide;
To thy side will I bring her, if thus I may please;
And in love thou shalt win her, thy sickness to ease.
Ah lady! said Ailill, "easily could the cure of my sickness be wrought
by the aid of thee, and great gain should there come from the deed, but
thus it is with me until that be accomplished:
Long ago did my passion begin,
A full year it exceeds in its length;
And it holds me, more near than my skin,
And it rules over wrath in its strength.
And the earth into four it can shake,
Can reach up to the heights of the sky
And a neck with its might it can break,
Nor from fight with a spectre would fly.
In vain race up to heaven 'tis urged;
It is chilled, as with water, and drowned:
'Tis a weapon, in ocean submerged;
'Tis desire for an echo, a sound.
'Tis thus my love, my passion seem; 'tis thus I strive in vain
To win the heart of her whose love I long so much to gain.
[FN#9] Pronounced Yeo-ho Fayllya, see note, p. 166.
And the lady stood there in that place, and she looked upon Ailill, and
the sickness in which he lay was perceived by her; and she was grieved
on account of it: so that upon a certain day came the lady to Ailill,
and "Young man," she said, "arouse thyself quickly, for in very truth
thou shalt have all that thou desirest; and thereon did she make this
lay:
Now arouse thyself, Ailill the royal:
Let thy heart, and thy courage rise high;
Every longing thou hast shall be sated,
For before thee, to heal thee, am I.
Is my neck and its beauty so pleasing?
'Tis around it thine arms thou shalt place;
And 'tis known as a courtship's beginning
When a man and a woman embrace.
And if this cometh not to content thee,
O thou man, that art son to a king!
I will dare to do crime for thy healing,
And my body to please thee will bring.
There were steeds, with their bridles, one hundred,
When the price for my wedding was told;
And one hundred of gay-coloured garments,
And of cattle, and ounces of gold.
Of each beast that men know, came one hundred;
And king Eocho to grant them was swift:
When a king gave such dowry to gain me,
Is't not wondrous to win me, as gift?