Gaelic, the Irish language.
Lore, learning.
Injunction, an order or charge, an advice that should be followed.
Extract, to take out.
Devotedly, with great and anxious care.
Balm, a sort of ointment that soothes pain and cures.
Sentiments, thoughts, feelings.
Comparatively late, late compared with older times.
Predecessor, one who held an office or place before another.
XXI.--Page 92.
Tradition, accounts handed down from generation to generation.
Provincial, belonging to one of the five provinces of Ireland.
Tests, trials.
Entertaining, amusing, diverting.
Festive, joyous, gay, with feasts.
Sedge, a kind of coarse grass.
Keating: the Rev. Doctor Geoffry Keating, who wrote, in Irish, a
well known History of Ireland, full of old stories: died 1644.
Oppression, cruelty, tyranny, hardship.
Suppress, to put down.
Exact, to make people pay.
An Irish poet: Thomas Darcy M'Gee.
Seers: among the Milesians were a good many druids, seers, or
prophets.
Strath, the level land along a river at both sides; an _inch_.
Mystic forts, the forts mentioned at page 16: mystic, mysterious.
Cairn-crowned hills. Many hills have cairns on top, round which the
people often held council meetings.
Elk, very large deer. Elk resorts, places frequented by elks.
Modern, belonging to the present time.
Unconquerably, such that he could not be conquered.
Untarnished, unstained, pure, with out a spot.
XXII.--Page 98.
Plaintive, sad, pitiful.
Hesitation, pause, delay.
Palsy, a sort of sickness that causes shivering or shaking.
Litter, a sort of bed in which a person is carried.
Tumult, great noise and confusion.
XXIII.--Page 103.
Revered, regarded with love, honour, and respect.
Distinguished, eminent, honoured.
Community, a number of persons living together.
Permanent, lasting.
Veneration, love and great respect.
Applicant, a person who applies.
Abbess, the head nun of a convent.
XXIV.--Page 107.
Humility, humbleness, lowliness of mind.
Domestic occupations, the work of the house.
Sward, a grassy place.
Reputation, fame, a great name.
Corresponded with her, wrote letters to her, and received replies.
Chariot, a kind of carriage.
Reproachfully, blaming her severely.
Universe, the whole world.
XXV.--Page 111.
Grave, sober, thoughtful.
Unassuming, modest, not forward.
Talents, great cleverness.
Discipline, strict rules and regulations.
Illustrious, eminent, noble, famous.
Detailed, exact, giving all particulars.
Consolation, comfort, a lightening of trouble.
Magnificent, grand, splendid.
Shrine, an ornamental tomb or box: sometimes applied to a small
church.
Commemorate, to keep in memory.
Gerald Barry, better known as "Giraldus Cambrensis," _i.e._ Gerald
the Welshman (Cambria, one of the old names of Wales).
Fane, a temple, a church.
Long ages of darkness and storm: _i.e._ of wars and troubles.
XXVI.--Page 114.
Scribe, a writer: a person who made it the chief business of his
life to copy books.
Expert, skilful, ready.
Accomplished, very skilful.
Devoted, given up to earnestly, attached.
Interlaced, woven in and out.
Magnifying glass, a glass that makes things seen through it seem
large.
Composition, a piece of writing, a book.
Library, a collection of books.
Dun, brown.
St. Kieran, or more properly Ciaran, lived in the sixth century.
Clonmacnoise on the Shannon, below Athlone, containing the ruins of
what was once a great monastery and college, founded by St.
Kieran.
XXVII.--Page 120.
Watch and ward: ward means guard: he stood sentinel.
Scared, frightened.
Humorous, full of humour or fun.
XXVIII.--Page 123.
Stud, a number of horses all kept in one place.
Vicious, wicked, spiteful.
Conan Mail, or Conan the bald: the Fena were always making fun of
him, for he was big, fat, gluttonous, a great boast, a great
coward, and had an evil tongue.
Unconcernedly, not caring a bit.
Perplexity, difficulty and doubt.
Horrible, hateful.
XXIX.--Page 129.
Took counsel, they advised with one another to know what was best
to be done.
Explore, to search.
Dizzy, enough to make one's head giddy.
Pillar-stone, a tall stone standing up, such as we often see in
Ireland.
Host, a large body of soldiers.
Decoration, an ornament.
Chase, to ornament with thin coatings of metal on the surface.
Enamelled, ornamented as if with enamel.
XXX.--Page 132.
Wizard champion, a champion having something of the nature of a
wizard or enchanter.
Circlet, a long thin plate often worn around the head and forehead.
Determination, a firm resolution to conquer.
Chafe, to vex.
Trophy, a prize taken from an enemy in battle.
Poise, to balance.
Scowl, to frown darkly and wickedly.
Terrify, to frighten.
XXXI.--Page 139.
Advantages, benefits, gains.
Diligent, industrious, hard-working.
Uninhabited, having no people living in it.
Presence, appearance.
Luminous, bright, sparkling.
Enlightenment, knowledge, learning, instruction.
Civilise, to refine, to educate, to bring people to live in a decent
and proper way.
Doctrine, teaching, belief, faith.
Structure, a building.
Venerable, old and greatly loved and respected.
Incessant, without ceasing, continual.
Occupation, employment, work.
His relative the king of that part of Scotland: the royal families
of Ireland and Scotland were related to each other (see pp. 5 and
6), and Columkille was related to both.
XXXII.--Page 145.
Voluntary, by his own choice.
Ben Edar, Howth, near Dublin.
Embarking, going on board ship.
Seniors, elderly persons.
Hospice, the part of a monastery set apart for the entertainment of
travellers.
Intently, with close attention.
XXXIII.--Page 150.
Heptarchy means seven kingdoms: for at this time England was
divided into seven parts with a king over each.
Relations, connexion, friendship.
Diligence, industry, working steadily.
Intimacy, close friendship.
Foster-son. When a man reared up and educated among his family a boy
belonging to another family, he was the foster-father, and the boy
was his foster-son.
Bondage, slavery.
Restoration, restoring, giving back.
Marauders, robbers, plunderers.
Intercession, pleading for.
Unfettered of any, not under any other province.
Redundance, more than enough, great plenty.
Historians recording truth: to record truth is the chief merit of a
historian.
Bulwark, a safeguard: "Ireland's bulwark," because Tara was in
Meath.
Sooth, truth.
XXXIV.--Page 155.
Directions, orders, instructions.
Revellers, persons feasting, drinking, and making merry.
Sack, to plunder and destroy.
XXXV.--Page 158.
Extraordinary, very strange, wonderful.
Keel, the bottom part of a ship or boat.
Astounding, astonishing, wonderful.
Oarstroke of the curragh, about 20 feet.
Circumference, the whole round.
Extending, stretching.
Meshes, the open spaces between the threads of a net.
XXXVI.--Page 162.
Reconcile, to become friends again, to come back to friendship.
Recognise, to know a thing again.
Prow, the head or fore part of a ship or boat.
Affliction, trouble and sorrow.
Reception, receiving or entertaining.
Reveal, to show, to make known.
XXXVII.--Page 164.
Liefer, rather.
Let be this purpose, let it lie by, don't attend to it, don't carry
it out: _i.e._ the purpose of revenge.
I let him be, I let him alone.
A tithe, a tenth part.
XXXVIII.--Page 167.
Monastic school, a school kept in a monastery.
Distinguished, eminent and great.
Pilgrimage, a journey to a place for devotion. Pilgrim, a person who
goes on a pilgrimage.
Determined will, allowing nothing to turn them from their purpose.
Relinquish, to give up, to abandon.
Luxuries, dainties, delicacies.
Peasantry, the common country people.
Swerve, to turn away from.
Consecrated, made sacred and venerable.
Hermitage, a place where a hermit lives.
XXXIX.--Page 170.
Object of their pilgrimage, the place they chiefly came to visit.
Sojourn, to dwell, to live in a place.
Revere, to regard with honour, love, and respect.
Memorial, something that reminds one of past persons or events.
Vehemently, very earnestly.
Envied, people of other nations envied them, or were jealous of
them.
Triumphant, gaining victories.
XL--Page 173.
Successfully cultivated: the Irish people studied and practised
them and made improvements.
Pirates, sea robbers.
Permanently, remaining there always.
Expel, to drive out.
Sovereignty, headship, kingship.
Annex, to join.
Encroaching, taking up or advancing on what belongs to another.
Anglo-Irish, partly English and partly Irish.
Milesian stock, the descendants of the Milesians (see p. 2).
XLI.--Page 179.
Croon, a continuous murmuring sort of musical sound or song.
Squire, a gentleman who attended on a knight.
Nier, a river flowing into the Suir from the Co. Waterford.
Spectrally, like a spectre or ghost.
Jack, a leathern jacket used for armour.
Plumes, the feathers of their helmets.
XLII.--Page 181.
Claimant, a person laying claim to something.
Contend, to struggle or fight.
Unimportant, trifling, of no consequence.
Remote, far off, out of the way.
Recognise, to know.
Prostrate, down on hands and knees.
Barons, lords.
Ambush, or ambuscade, an unexpected attack from a hiding place.
Reverses, misfortunes.
Surrender, to give up.
Vigilant, watchful.
Truce, an agreement for peace for a while.
Annals, histories of events as they occurred from year to year.
XLIII.--Page 186.
Cahal-More, Cahal the Great.
Portent, a prodigy, a fearful sign or omen of evil.
Entranced, in a trance, in a vision.
A land of morn, a bright sunny land.
Lustrous, bright, shining with fine crops and flowers.
Resplendent, splendid, sunny, bright.
Anon, immediately, on the spot.
Port sublime, stately and grand looking.
Him queried I, I asked him.
Golden time, a prosperous plentiful time.
Bland, soft, mild, temperate.
Dome, a grand building.
As by a spell, as if by magic; it started up suddenly. Remember this
is all in a dream.
Lyres, harps.
Wreathèd swell, sounding all together with sweet musical turns and
shakes.
Thrilling, moving the feelings and heart.
Aghast, frightened, pale with fear.
Minstrel group, those who had been playing the harps.
'Twas then the time, we were in the days. The poet
means:--"Something dreadful has clearly happened; but how can this
be, since this is the reign of Cahal-More?" He did not know--in
his dream--of Cahal's death.
Fleckt, spotted.
Alien sun, a strange sun: it was of course strange, for it glared
from the _north_.
Shorn beams, not bright, giving a dull gloomy sort of light.
Skeleton: the skeleton of a man, a sign of disaster: the skeleton,
and the blood spots in the sky, and the "alien sun" were some of
the portents.
Castled Maine: there are many castles along its banks.
Teuton, a German.
XLIV.--Page 190.
Expedition, an undertaking or journey.
Onslaught, a violent attack.
Tunic, a loose outer garment.
Dominions, territories.
XLV.--Page 193.
Disdain, to scorn, to hate.
Commendations, praises.
Do homage, to yield obedience.
Apprehend, to take prisoner.
Devise, to plan.
Confer, to take counsel.
Battle-harness, battle dress with arms.
Apparel, clothes.
Passport, permission in writing to pass from one country to another.
Subscribe, to write one's name.
Servitor, one in the king's service.
Furniture: _i.e._ the furniture of a ship--oars, sails, cordage, &c.
Ensample, old form of _example_.
XLVI.--Page 197.
Evil plight, miserable state.
Council, a number of men kept by the king to help him with their
advice.
Enterprise, an undertaking.
Perilous, dangerous.
Peer, an equal, a match.
Stalworth, strong, stout, brave.
Knightly, like a knight, valiant and stout-hearted.
Seemly, proper, decent.
XLVII.--Page 200.
Lists, the enclosed ground where a single combat was to be fought.
Obeisance, courtesy, saluting, bowing to.
Banquet, a feast.
Reverence, great respect.
Intently, with attention, closely.
Grim, very fierce and angry.
XLVIII.--Page 203.
Baron, a lord of the lowest rank. The ranks are:--baron, viscount,
earl, marquis, duke.
Independent, not under the authority of anyone.
Goodly presence, a noble or fine appearance.
Appease, to pacify.
Hobby, a middle-sized horse of Irish breed, much valued.
Adversary, an opponent, an enemy.
Discord, disagreement, quarrelling.
Jars, wrangles, quarrels.
Chapter house, a house or room in a cathedral where the clergy meet.
Trice, a very short time, as long as one would take to count three.
Outface, to dare him up to his face.
Green wound, a fresh wound.
Devise, to plan.
Bungerlie, in a bungling manner.
XLIX.--Page 208.
Cultivate, to study, practise, and improve.
Colonists, persons who leave their native land and settle in some
distant country.
Dirge, a mournful or funeral song.
Dialogue, two people speaking in turn, conversation between two.
Interrupt, to stop for a time.
Placid, quiet, gentle, peaceful.
Resume, to take up again.
Clansmen, the men belonging to a clan.
National music, music that has grown up gradually among the people
of a country.
Originally, in the beginning.
THE END.
Transcriber's notes:
Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been retained as in the
original.
The following corrections have been made to the text:
Page 5, second line from bottom: named Fergus,[missing comma added]
Angus, and Lorne.
Page 8, last line: sun and moon.[missing period added]
Page 13, description of illustration on the right: size of the
picture.[missing period added]
Page 16, line 1: and not nearly so good[original has goo]
Page 17, last line: There was then no whiskey.[missing period added]
Page 28, last line: My heart shall know one peaceful hour.[missing
period added]
Page 31, line 9: The cold and briny spray.[missing period added]
Page 49, line 3 of illustration caption: are in the National
Museum,[missing comma added]
Page 64, fifth line from bottom: three drops of honey in their
beaks,[missing comma added]
Page 65, line 1: "It denotes the message from Concobar to us,"[close
quote added]
Page 65, last line: "[open quote added]even though my sway should be
greater here."
Page 67, line 9: "[open quote added]Kil-Cuan, O Kil-Cuan,
Page 68, second line from bottom: "[original has ']Here I have a
three-days banquet ready for thee, and I invite thee to
come and partake of it."
Page 69, fourth line from bottom: accustomed to defend
ourselves!"[original has ']
Page 70, line 14: "[original has ']Why didst thou tarry, my
princess?"
Page 82, line 16: "[open quote added]Three generous heroes of the
Red Branch,
Page 90, sixth line from bottom: More especially I[missing 'I'
added] charge them that they do their duty devotedly
Page 94, line 15: never using horses in the chase.[original has ,]
Page 94, line 22: beside a stream or lake.[original has ,]
Page 94, last line: next another layer of hot stones:[colon added]
Page 107, line 11: accounts of her life[original has Life] we are
told
Page 108, caption for illustration: ten miles from[original has rom]
Cork city.
Page 113, last line: ages of darkness and storm."[original has ']
Page 132, seventh line from bottom: "[original has ']Surely, Dermot
O'Dyna,
Page 158, line 2: "Heaven has guided our ship to this place.[missing
period added]
Page 163, seventh line from bottom: remained here for some
days,[missing comma added]
Page 164, chapter title: TENNYSON'S "VOYAGE OF MAILDUNE."[original
has ']
Page 164, line 13: "[original has ']The Voyage of Maildune."
Page 177, line 3: and they built splendid abbeys,[missing comma
added] churches,
Page 210, line 2: in every part of Ireland.[missing period added]
Page 210, line 6: i.e., laments, or dirges.[missing period added]
Page 213, seventh entry under 'IV.--Page 14.': Establishment, the
whole house, and[original has an] all belonging to it.
Page 218, third entry under 'XXXIV.--Page 155.': Sack, to plunder
and destroy[original has distroy].
End of Project Gutenberg's A Reading Book in Irish History, by P. W. Joyce