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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/5680.txt b/5680.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9df4c46 --- /dev/null +++ b/5680.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14246 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Heroic Romances of Ireland Volumes 1 and +2 Combined, by A. H. Leahy + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Heroic Romances of Ireland Volumes 1 and 2 Combined + +Author: A. H. Leahy + +Release Date: May, 2004 [EBook #5680] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on August 7, 2002] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, HEROIC ROMANCES OF IRELAND COMPLETE *** + + + + +This eBook was produced by John B. Hare and Carrie Lorenz. + + + + +HEROIC ROMANCES OF IRELAND + + +TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH PROSE AND VERSE, WITH PREFACE, SPECIAL +INTRODUCTIONS AND NOTES + +BY + +A. H. LEAHY + + +IN TWO VOLUMES + +VOL. I + + + + + +PREFACE + + +At a time like the present, when in the opinion of many the great +literatures of Greece and Rome are ceasing to hold the influence that +they have so long exerted upon human thought, and when the study of the +greatest works of the ancient world is derided as "useless," it may be +too sanguine to hope that any attention can be paid to a literature +that is quite as useless as the Greek; which deals with a time, which, +if not actually as far removed from ours as are classical times, is yet +further removed in ideas; a literature which is known to few and has +yet to win its way to favour, while the far superior literature of +Greece finds it hard to defend the position that it long ago won. It +may be that reasons like these have weighed with those scholars who +have opened up for us the long-hidden treasures of Celtic literature; +despairing of the effort to obtain for that literature its rightful +crown, and the homage due to it from those who can appreciate literary +work for itself, they have been contented to ask for the support of +that smaller body who from philological, antiquarian, or, strange as it +may appear, from political reasons, are prepared to take a modified +interest in what should be universally regarded as in its way one of +the most interesting literatures of the world. + +The literary aspect of the ancient literature of Ireland has not indeed +been altogether neglected. It has been used to furnish themes on which +modern poems can be written; ancient authority has been found in it for +what is essentially modern thought: modern English and Irish poets have +claimed the old Irish romances as inspirers, but the romances +themselves have been left to the scholars and the antiquarians. + +This is not the position that Irish literature ought to fill. It does +undoubtedly tell us much of the most ancient legends of modern Europe +which could not have been known without it; but this is not its sole, +or even its chief claim to be heard. It is itself the connecting-link +between the Old World and the New, written, so far as can be +ascertained, at the time when the literary energies of the ancient +world were dead, when the literatures of modern Europe had not been +born,[FN#1] in a country that had no share in the ancient civilisation +of Rome, among a people which still retained many legends and possibly +a rudimentary literature drawn from ancient Celtic sources, and was +producing the men who were the earliest classical scholars of the +modern world. + + +[FN#1] The only possible exceptions to this, assuming the latest +possible date for the Irish work, and the earliest date for others, are +the kindred Welsh literature and that of the Anglo-Saxon invaders of +Britain. + + +The exact extent of the direct influence of Irish literature upon the +development of other nations is hard to trace, chiefly because the +influence of Ireland upon the Continent was at its height at the time +when none of the languages of modern Europe except Welsh and +Anglo-Saxon had reached a stage at which they might be used for +literary purposes, and a Continental literature on which the Irish one +might have influence simply did not exist. Its subsequent influence, +in the tenth and eleventh centuries, upon Welsh, and through Welsh upon +the early Breton literature (now lost) appears to be established; it is +usually supposed that its action upon the earliest French compositions +was only through the medium of these languages, but it is at least +possible that its influence in this case also was more direct. In +Merovingian and early Carlovingian times, when French songs were +composed, which are now lost but must have preceded the extant chansons +de geste, the Irish schools were attracting scholars from the +neighbouring countries of Europe; Ireland was sending out a steady +stream of "learned men" to France, Germany, and Italy; and it is at +least possible that some who knew the Irish teachers realized the merit +of the literary works with which some of these teachers must have been +familiar. The form of the twelfth-century French romance, "Aucassin +and Nicolete," is that of the chief Irish romances, and may well have +been suggested by them; whilst the variety of the rhythm and the +elaborate laws of the earliest French poetry, which, both in its +Northern and Southern form, dates from the first half of the twelfth +century, almost imply a pre-existing model; and such a model is more +easily traced in Irish than in any other vernacular literature that was +then available. It is indeed nearly as hard to suppose that the +beautiful literature of Ireland had absolutely no influence upon +nations known to be in contact with it, as it would be to hold to the +belief that the ancient Cretan civilisation had no effect upon the liter +ary development that culminated in the poems of Homer. + +Before speaking of what the Irish literature was, it may be well to say +what it was not. The incidents related in it date back, according to +the "antiquaries" of the ninth to the twelfth centuries, some to the +Christian era, some to a period long anterior to it; but occasional +allusions to events that were unknown in Ireland before the +introduction of Christianity, and a few to classical personages, show +that the form of the present romances can hardly be pre-Christian, or +even close translations into Old or Middle Irish of Druidic tales. It +has therefore been the fashion to speak of the romances as inaccurate +survivals of pre-Christian works, which have been added to by +successive generations of "bards," a mode of viewing our versions of +the romances which of course puts them out of the category of original +literature and hands them over to the antiquarians; but before they +suffer this fate, it is reasonable to ask that their own literary merit +should be considered in a more serious manner than has yet been +attempted. + +The idea that our versions of the romances are inaccurate reproductions +of Druidic tales is not at all borne out by a study of the romances +themselves; for each of these, except for a few very manifestly late +insertions, has a style and character of its own. There were, +undoubtedly, old traditions, known to the men who in the sixth and +seventh centuries may have written the tales that we have, known even +to men who in the tenth and eleventh centuries copied them and +commented upon them; but the romances as they now stand do not look +like pieces of patchwork, but like the works of men who had ideas to +convey; and to me at least they seem to bear approximately the same +relation to the Druid legends as the works of the Attic tragedians bear +to the archaic Greek legends on which their tragedies were based. In +more than one case, as in the "Courtship of Etain," which is more fully +discussed below, there are two versions of the same tale, the framework +being the same in both, while the treatment of the incidents and the +view of the characters of the actors is essentially different; and when +the story is treated from the antiquarian point of view, that which +regards both versions as resting upon a common prehistoric model, the +question arises, which of the two more nearly represents the "true" +version? There is, I would submit, in such cases, no true version. The +old Druidic story, if it could be found, would in all probability +contain only a very small part of either of our two versions; it would +be bald, half-savage in tone, like one of the more ancient Greek myths, +and producing no literary effect; the literary effect of both the +versions that we have, being added by men who lived in Christian times, +were influenced by Christian ideals, and probably were, like many of +their contemporaries, familiar with the literary bequests of the +ancient world.[FN#2] + + +[FN#2] It seems to be uncertain whether or not the writers of the +Irish romances shared in the classical learning for which Ireland was +noted in their time. The course of study at the schools established +for the training of the fili in the tenth and eleventh centuries was +certainly, as has been pointed out, very different from that of the +ecclesiastical schools (see Joyce, vol. i. p. 430). No classical +instruction was included in this training, but it is not certain that +this separation of studies was so complete before what is called the +"antiquarian age" set in. Cormac mac Cuninan, for example, was a +classical scholar, and at the same time skilled in the learning of the +fili. It should also be observed that the course at the ecclesiastical +schools, as handed down to us, hardly seems to be classical enough to +have produced a Columbanus or an Erigena; the studies that produced +these men must have been of a different kind, and the lay schools as +originally established by Sanchan Torpest may have included much that +afterwards gave place to a more purely Irish training. The tale of +Troy seems to have been known to the fili, and there are in their works +allusions to Greek heroes, to Hercules and Hector, but it has been +pointed out by Mr. Nutt that there is little if any evidence of +influence produced by Latin or Greek literature on the actual matter or +thought of the older Irish work. On this point reference may be made +to a note on "Mae Datho's Boar" in this volume (p. 173), but even if +this absence of classical influence is established (and it is hard to +say what will not be found in Irish literature), it is just possible +that the same literary feeling which made Irish writers of +comparatively late tales keep the bronze weapons and chariots of an +earlier date in their accounts of ancient wars, while they described +arms of the period when speaking of battles of their own time, affected +them in this instance also; and that they had enough restraint to +refrain from introducing classical and Christian ideas when speaking of +times in which they knew these ideas would have been unfamiliar. + + +It may be, and often is, assumed that the appearance of grotesque or +savage passages in a romance is an indication of high antiquity, and +that these passages at least are faithful reproductions of Druidic +originals, but this does not seem to be quite certain. Some of these +passages, especially in the case of romances preserved in the Leabhar +na h-Uidhri (The Book of the Dun Cow), look like insertions made by +scribes of an antiquarian turn of mind,[FN#3] and are probably of very +ancient date; in other cases, as for example in the "Boar of Mac +Datho," where Conall dashes Anluan's head into Ket's face, the savagery +is quite in 'keeping with the character of the story, and way have been +deliberately invented by an author living in Christian times, to add a +flavour to his tale, although in doing so he probably imitated a +similar incident in some other legend. To take a classical parallel, +the barbarity shown by Aeneas in Aeneid x. 518-520, in sacrificing four +youths on the funeral pyre of Pallas, an act which would have been +regarded with horror in Virgil's own day, does not prove that there was +any ancient tale of the death of Pallas in which these victims were +sacrificed, nor even that such victims were sacrificed in ancient +Latium in Pallas' day; but it does show that Virgil was familiar with +the fact that such victims used in some places to be sacrificed on +funeral pyres; for, in a sense, he could not have actually invented the +incident. + + +[FN#3] See the exhibition of the tips of tongues in the "Sick-bed of +Cuchulain," page 57. + + +Thus the appearance of an archaic element in an Irish romance is in +itself no proof of the Druidic origin of that form of the romance, nor +even of the existence of that element in the romance's earliest form: +upon such a principle the archaic character of the motif of the +"Oedipus Coloneus" would prove it to be the oldest of the Greek +tragedies, while as +a matter of fact it seems to be doubtful whether the introduction of +this motif into the story of Oedipus was not due to Sophocles himself, +although of course he drew the idea of it, if not from the original +legend of Oedipus, from some other early legend. + +The most satisfactory test of the authorship of an Irish romance, and +one of the most satisfactory tests of its date, is its literary +character; and if we look at the literary character of the best of the +Irish romances, there is one point that is immediately apparent, the +blending of prose and verse. One, the most common, explanation of +this, is that the verse was added to the original tale, another that +the verse is the older part, the prose being added to make a framework +for the verse, but a general view of some of the original romances +appears to lead to a very different conclusion. It seems much more +probable that the Irish authors deliberately chose a method of making +their work at once literary and suited to please a popular audience; +they told their stories in plain prose, adding to them verse, possibly +chanted by the reciters of the stories, so that while the prose told +the story in simple language, the emotions of pity, martial ardour, and +the like were awakened by the verse. They did not use the epic form, +although their knowledge of classical literature must have made them +familiar with it; the Irish epic form is Romance. They had, besides +the prose and what may be called the "regular" verse, a third form, +that of rose, or as it is sometimes called rhetoric, which is a very +irregular form of verse. Sometimes it rhymes, but more often not; the +lines are of varying lengths, and to scan them is often very difficult, +an alliteration taking the place of scansion in many cases. The +rhetoric does not in general develop the story nor take the form of +description, it usually consists of songs of triumph, challenges, +prophecies, and exhortations, though it is sometimes used for other +purposes. It does not conform to strict grammatical rules like the +more regular verse and the prose, and many of the literal translations +which Irish scholars have made for us of the romances omit this +rhetoric entirely, owing to the difficulty in rendering it accurately, +and because it does not develop the plots of the stories. Notable +examples of such omissions are in Miss Faraday's translation of the +Leabhar na h-Uidhri version of the "Great Tain," and in Whitley Stokes' +translation of the "Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel." With all +respect to these scholars, and with the full consciousness of the +difficulty of the task that has naturally been felt by one who has +vainly attempted to make sense of what their greater skill has omitted, +it may be suggested that the total omission of such passages injures +the literary effect of a romance in a manner similar to the effect of +omitting all the choric pieces in a Greek tragedy: the rhetoric indeed, +on account of its irregularity, its occasional strophic correspondence, +its general independence of the action of the tale, and its difficulty +as compared with the other passages, may be compared very closely to a +Greek "chorus." Few of the romances written in prose and verse are +entirely without rhetoric; but some contain very little of it; all the +six romances of this character given in the present volume (counting as +two the two versions of "Etain") contain some rhetoric, but there are +only twenty-one such passages in the collection altogether, ten of +which are in one romance, the "Sick-bed of Cuchulain." + +The present collection is an attempt to give to English readers some of +the oldest romances in English literary forms that seem to correspond +to the literary forms which were used in Irish to produce the same +effect, and has been divided into two parts. The first part contains +five separate stories, all of which are told in the characteristic form +of prose and verse: they are the "Courtship of Etain," the "Boar of Mac +Datho," the "Sick-bed of Cuchulain," the "Death of the Sons of Usnach" +(Book of Leinster version), and the "Combat at the Ford" out of the +Book of Leinster version of the "Tain bo Cuailnge." Two versions are +given of the "Courtship of Etain "; and the "Sick-bed of Cuchulain," as +is pointed out in the special preface prefixed to it, really consists +of two independent versions. It was at first intended to add the +better-known version of the "Death of the Sons of Usnach" known as that +of the Glenn Masain MS., but the full translation of this has been +omitted, partly to avoid making the volume too bulky, partly because +this version is readily attainable in a literal form; an extract from +it has, however, been added to the Book of Leinster version for the +purpose of comparison. In the renderings given of these romances the +translation of the prose is nearly literal, but no attempt has been +made to follow the Irish idiom where this idiom sounds harsh in +English; actives have been altered to passive forms and the reverse, +adjectives are sometimes replaced by short sentences which give the +image better in English, pronouns, in which Irish is very rich, are +often replaced by the persons or things indicated, and common words, +like iarom, iarsin, iartain, immorro, and the like (meaning thereafter, +moreover, &c.), have been replaced by short sentences that refer back +to the events indicated by the words. Nothing has been added to the +Irish, except in the Leabhar na h-Uidhri version of "Etain," where +there is a lacuna to be filled up, and there are no omissions. The +translations of the verse and of the rhetoric are, so far as is +possible, made upon similar lines; it was at first intended to add +literal renderings of all the verse passages, but it was found that to +do so would make the volume of an unmanageable size for its purpose. +Literal renderings of all the verse passages in "Etain," the first of +the tales in volume i., are given in the notes to that story; the +literal renderings of Deirdre's lament in the "Sons of Usnach," and of +two poems in "The Combat at the Ford," are also given in full as +specimens, but in the case of most of the poems reference is made to +easily available literal translations either in English or German: +where the literal rendering adopted differs from that referred to, or +where the poem in question has not before been translated, the literal +rendering has been given in the notes. These examples will, it is +believed, give a fair indication of the relation between my verse +translations and the originals, the deviations from which have been +made as small as possible. The form of four-line verse divided into +stanzas has generally been used to render the passages in four-lined +verse in the Irish, the only exception to this rule being in the verses +at the end of the "Boar of Mac Datho": these are in the nature of a +ballad version of the whole story, and have been rendered in a ballad +metre that does not conform to the arrangement in verses of the +original. + +The metre of all the Irish four-lined verses in this volume is, except +in two short pieces, a seven-syllabled line, the first two lines +usually rhyming with each other, and the last two similarly +rhyming,[FN#4] in a few cases in the "Boar of Mac Datho" these rhymes +are alternate, and in the extract from the Glenn Masain version of the +"Sons of Usnach" there is a more complicated rhyme system. It has not +been thought necessary to reproduce this metre in all cases, as to do +so would sound too monotonous in English; the metre is, however, +reproduced once at least in each tale except in that of the "Death of +the Sons of Usnach." The eight-lined metre that occurs in five of the +verse passages in the "Combat at the Ford" has in one case been +reproduced exactly, and in another case nearly exactly, but with one +syllable added to each line; the two passages in this romance that are +in five-syllabled lines have been reproduced exactly in the Irish +metre, in one case with the rhyme-system of the original. With the +rhetoric greater liberty has been used; sometimes the original metre +has been followed, but more often not; and an occasional attempt has +been made to bring out the strophic correspondence in the Irish. + + +[FN#4] An example of this metre is as follows:-- + +All the elves of Troom seem dead, +All their mighty deeds are fled; +For their Hound, who hounds surpassed, +Elves have bound in slumber fast. + + +In the first volume of the collection the presentation has then been +made as near as may be to the form and matter of the Irish; in the +second volume, called "Versified Romances," there is a considerable +divergence from the Irish form but not from its sense. This part +includes the five "Tains" or Cattle-Forays of Fraech, Dartaid, Regamon, +Flidais, and Regamna; which in the originals differ from the five tales +in volume i, in that they include no verse, except for a few lines in +Regamna, most of which are untranslatable. The last four of these are +short pieces written in a prose extremely rapid in its action, and +crowded with incident. They are all expressly named as "fore-tales," +remscela, or preludes to the story of the great war of Cualnge, which +is the central event in the Ulster heroic cycle, and appear suited for +rapid prose recitations, which were apparently as much a feature in +ancient as they are in modern Irish. Such pieces can hardly be +reproduced in English prose so as to bring out their character; they +are represented in English by the narrative ballad, and they have been +here rendered in this way. Literal translations in prose are printed +upon the opposite page to the verse, these translations being much more +exact than the translations in the first volume, as the object in this +case is to show the literal Irish form, not its literal English +equivalent, which is in this case the verse. The "Tain bo Fraich" is +also, in a sense, a "fore-tale" to the Great Raid, but is of a +different character to the others. It consists of two parts, the +second of which is not unlike the four that have just been mentioned, +but the first part is of a much higher order, containing brilliant +descriptions, and at least one highly poetic passage although its Irish +form is prose. Fraech has been treated like the other fore-tales, and +rendered in verse with literal prose opposite to the verse for the +purpose of comparison. The notes to all the five Tana in the second +volume accompany the text; in the first volume all the notes to the +different romances are collected together, and placed at the end of the +volume. The second volume also includes a transcript from the +facsimile of that part of the Irish text of the tale of Etain which has +not before been published, together with an interlinear literal +translation. It is hoped that this arrangement may assist some who are +not Middle Irish scholars to realise what the original romances are. + + +The manuscript authorities for the eleven different romances (counting +as two the two versions of "Etain") are all old; seven are either in +the Leabhar na h-Uidhri, an eleventh-century manuscript, or in the Book +of Leinster, a twelfth-century one; three of the others are in the +fourteenth-century Yellow Book of Lecan, which is often, in the case of +texts preserved both in it and the Leabhar na h-Uidhri, regarded as the +better authority of the two; and the remaining one, the second version +of "Etain," is in the fifteenth-century manuscript known as Egerton, +1782, which gives in an accurate form so many texts preserved in the +older manuscripts that it is very nearly as good an authority as they. +The sources used in making the translations are also stated in the +special introductions, but it may be mentioned as a summary that the +four "Preludes," the Tana of Dartaid, Regamon, Flidais, and Regamna, +are taken from the text printed with accompanying German translations +by Windisch in Irische Texte, vol. ii.; Windisch's renderings being +followed in those portions of the text that he translates; for the +"Tain bo Fraich" and the "Combat at the Ford" the Irish as given by +O'Beirne Crowe and by O'Curry, with not very trustworthy English +translations, has been followed; in the case of the fragment of the +Glenn Masain version of "Deirdre" little reference has been made to the +Irish, the literal translation followed being that given by Whitley +Stokes. The remaining five romances, the "Boar of Mac Datho," the +Leinster version of "Deirdre," the "Sick-bed of Cuchulain," the Egerton +version of "Etain," and the greater part of the Leabbar na h-Uidhri +version of the same, are taken from the Irish text printed without +translation in Irische Texte, vol. i., the end of the Leabhar na +h-Uidhri version omitted by Windisch being taken from the facsimile of +the manuscript published by the Royal Irish Academy. + +I have to acknowledge with gratitude many corrections to O'Beirne +Crowe's translation of the "Tain bo Fraich" kindly given me by +Professor Kuno Meyer; in the case of O'Curry's translation of the +"Combat at the Ford," similar help kindly given me by Mr. E. J. +Quiggin; and in the case of the two versions of "Etain," more +especially for the part taken direct from the facsimile, I have to +express gratitude for the kind and ready help given to me by Professor +Strachan. Professor Strachan has not only revised my transcript from +the facsimile, and supplied me with translations of the many difficult +passages in this of which I could make no sense, but has revised all +the translation which was made by the help of Windisch's glossary to +the Irische Texte of both the versions of "Etain," so that the +translations given of these two romances should be especially reliable, +although of course I may have made some errors which have escaped +Professor Strachan's notice. The three other romances which have been +translated from the Irish in Irische Texte have not been similarly +revised, but all passages about which there appeared to be doubt have +been referred to in the notes to the individual romances. + +It remains to add some remarks upon the general character of the tales, +which, as may be seen after a very cursory examination, are very +different both in tone and merit, as might indeed be expected if we +remember that we are probably dealing with the works of men who were +separated from each other by a gap of hundreds of years. Those who +have read the actual works of the ancient writers of the Irish romances +will not readily indulge in the generalisations about them used by +those to whom the romances are only known by abstracts or a +compilation. Perhaps the least meritorious of those in this collection +are the "Tains" of Dartaid, Regamon, and Flidais, but the tones of +these three stories are very different. Dartaid is a tale of fairy +vengeance for a breach of faith; Flidais is a direct and simple story +of a raid like a Border raid, reminding us of the "riding ballads" of +the Scottish Border, and does not seem to trouble itself much about +questions of right or wrong; Regamon is a merry tale of a foray by boys +and girls; it troubles itself with the rights of the matter even less +than Flidais if possible, and is an example of an Irish tale with what +is called in modern times a "good ending." It may be noted that these +last two tales have no trace of the supernatural element which some +suppose that the Irish writers were unable to dispense with. The "Tain +bo Regamna," the shortest piece in the collection, is a grotesque +presentation of the supernatural, and is more closely associated with +the Great Tain than any of the other fore-tales to it, the series of +prophecies with which it closes exactly following the action of the +part of the Tain, to which it refers. Some of the grotesque character +of Regamna appears in the "Boar of Mac Datho," which, however, like +Regamon and Flidais, has no supernatural element; its whole tone is +archaic and savage, relieved by touches of humour, but the style of the +composition is much superior to that of the first three stories. A +romance far superior to "Mae Datho" is the Leinster version of the +well-known Deirdre story, the "Death of the Sons of Usnach." The +opening of the story is savage, the subsequent action of the prose is +very rapid, while the splendid lament at the end, one of the best +sustained laments in the language, and the restraint shown in its +account of the tragic death of Deirdre, place this version of the story +in a high position. As has been already mentioned, parts of the +fifteenth-century version of the story have been added to this version +for purposes of comparison: the character of the Deirdre of the +Leinster version would not have been in keeping with the sentiment of +the lament given to her in the later account. + +The remaining five romances (treating as two the two versions of +"Etain") all show great beauty in different ways. Three of the four +tales given in them have "good endings," and the feeling expressed in +them is less primitive than that shown in the other stories, although +it is an open question whether any of them rises quite so high as +Deirdre's lament. "Fraech" has, as has been mentioned before, two +quite separate parts; the second part is of inferior quality, showing, +however, an unusual amount of knowledge of countries lying outside +Celtdom, but the first is a most graceful romance; although the hero is +a demi-god, and the fairies play a considerable part in it, the +interest is essentially human; and the plot is more involved than is +the case in most of the romances. It abounds in brilliant +descriptions; the description of the Connaught palace is of antiquarian +interest; and one of the most beautiful pieces of Celtic mythology, the +parentage of the three fairy harpers, is included in it. + +The "Sick-bed of Cuchulain" and the Leabhar na h-Uidhri version of the +"Courtship of Etain" seem to have had their literary effect injured by +the personality of the compiler of the manuscript from which the +Leabhar na h-Uidhri was copied. Seemingly an antiquarian, interested +in the remains of the old Celtic religion and in old ceremonies, he has +inserted pieces of antiquarian information into several of the romances +that he has preserved for us, and though these are often of great +interest in themselves, they spoil the literary effect of the romances +in which they appear. It is possible that both the Leabhar na h-Uidhri +version of "Etain" and the "Sick-bed" might be improved by a little +judicious editing; they have, however, been left just as they stand in +the manuscript. The "Sick-bed," as is pointed out in the special +introduction to it, consists of two separate versions; the first has +plainly some of the compiler's comments added to it, but the second and +longer part seems not to have been meddled with; and, although a +fragment, it makes a stately romance, full of human interest although +dealing with supernatural beings; and its conclusion is especially +remarkable in early literature on account of the importance of the +action of the two women who are the heroines of this part of the tale. +The action of Fand in resigning her lover to the weaker mortal woman +who has a better claim upon him is quite modern in its tone. + +The nearest parallel to the longer version of the "Sick-bed" is the +Egerton version of "Etain," which is a complete one, and makes a +stately romance. It is full of human interest, love being its keynote; +it keeps the supernatural element which is an essential to the original +legend in the background, and is of quite a different character to the +earlier Leabhar na h-Uidhri version, although there is no reason to +assume that the latter is really the more ancient in date. In the +Leabbar na h-Uidhri version of "Etain," all that relates to the +love-story is told in the baldest manner, the part which deals with the +supernatural being highly descriptive and poetic. I am inclined to +believe that the antiquarian compiler of the manuscript did here what +he certainly did in the case of the "Sick-bed of Cuchulain," and pieced +together two romances founded upon the same legend by different +authors. The opening of the story in Fairyland and the concluding part +where Mider again appears are alike both in style and feeling, while +the part that comes between is a highly condensed version of the +love-story of the Egerton manuscript, and suggests the idea of an +abstract of the Egerton version inserted into the story as originally +composed, the effect being similar to that which would be produced upon +us if we had got Aeschylus' "Choaphorae" handed down to us with a +condensed version of the dialogue between Electra and Chrysothemis out +of Sophocles' "Electra" inserted by a conscientious antiquarian who +thought that some mention of Chrysothemis was necessary. This version +of the legend, however, with its strong supernatural flavour, its +insistence on the idea of re-birth, its observation of nature, and +especially the fine poem in which Mider invites Etain to Fairyland, is +a most valuable addition to the literature, and we have to lament the +gap in it owing to the loss of a column in that part of the Leabhar na +h-Uidhri manuscript which has been preserved. + +The last piece to be mentioned is the extract from the "Tain be +Cuailnge" known as the "Combat at the Ford." This seems to me the +finest specimen of old Irish work that has been preserved for us; the +brilliance of its descriptions, the appropriate changes in its metres, +the chivalry of its sentiments, and the rapidity of its action should, +even if there were nothing to stand beside it in Irish literature, give +that literature a claim to be heard: as an account of a struggle +between two friends, it is probably the finest in any literature. It +has been stated recently, no doubt upon sound authority, that the +grammatical forms of this episode show it to be late, possibly dating +only to the eleventh century. The manuscript in which it appears, +however, is of the earlier part of the twelfth century; no literary +modem work other than Irish can precede it in time; and if it is the +work of an eleventh-century author, it does seem strange that his name +or the name of some one of that date who could have written it has not +been recorded, as MacLiag's name has been as the traditional author of +the eleventh-century "Wars of the Gaedhill and the Gaill," for the +names of several Irish authors of that period axe well known, and the +Early Middle Irish texts of that period are markedly of inferior +quality. Compare for example the Boromaean Tribute which Stokes +considers to take high rank among texts of that period (Revue Celtique, +xiii. p. 32). One would certainly like to believe that this episode of +the "Combat at the Ford" belongs to the best literary period, with +which upon literary grounds it seems to be most closely connected. + +But, whether this comparative lateness of the "Combat at the Ford" be +true or not, it, together with all the varied work contained in this +collection, with the possible exception of the short extract from the +Glenn Masain "Deirdre," is in the actual form that we have it, older +than the Norman Conquest of Ireland, older than the Norse Sagas. Its +manuscript authority is older than that of the Volsunga Saga; its +present form precedes the birth of Chretien de Troyes, the first +considerable name in French literature, and, in a form not much unlike +that in which we have it, it is probably centuries older than its +actual manuscript date. The whole thing stands at the very beginning +of the literature of Modern Europe, and compares by no means +unfavourably with that which came after, and may, in part, have been +inspired by it. Surely it deserves to be raised from its present +position as a study known only to a few specialists, and to form part +of the mental equipment of every man who is for its own sake interested +in and a lover of literature. + + + + +INTRODUCTION IN VERSE + + + +'Tis hard an audience now to win +For lore that Ireland's tales can teach; +And faintly, 'mid the modern din, +Is heard the old heroic speech. + +For long the tales in silence slept; +The ancient tomes by few were read; +E'en those who still its knowledge kept +Have thought the living music dead. + +And some, to save the lore from death, +With modern arts each tale would deck, +Inflate its rhymes with magic breath, +As if to buoy a sinking wreck. + +They graft new morbid magic dreams +On tales where beating life is felt: +In each romance find mystic gleams, +And traces of the "moody Celt." + +Yet, though with awe the grassy mound +That fairies haunt, is marked to-day; +And though in ancient tales are found +Dim forms of gods, long passed away; + +Though later men to magic turned, +Inserting many a Druid spell; +And ill the masters' craft had learned +Who told the tales, and told them well; + +No tale should need a magic dress +Or modern art, its life to give: +Each for itself, or great, or less, +Should speak, if it deserves to live. + +Think not a dull, a scribal pen +Dead legends wrote, half-known, and feared: +In lettered lands to poet men +Romance, who lives to-day, appeared. + +For when, in fear of warrior bands, +Had Learning fled the western world, +And, raised once more by Irish hands, +Her banner stood again unfurled; + +'Twas there, where men her laws revered, +That Learning aided Art's advance; +And Ireland bore, and Ireland reared +These Eldest Children of Romance. + +Her poets knew the Druid creeds; +Yet not on these their thoughts would rest: +They sang of love, of heroes' deeds, +Of kingly pomp, of cheerful jest. + +Not as in Greece aspired their thought, +They joyed in battles wild and stern; +Yet pity once to men they taught +From whom a fiercer age could learn. + +Their frequent theme was war: they sang +The praise of chiefs of courage high; +Yet, from their harps the accents rang +That taught to knighthood chivalry. + +Their heroes praise a conquered foe, +Oppose their friends for honour's sake, +To weaker chieftains mercy show, +And strength of cruel tyrants break. + +Their nobles, loving fame, rejoice +In glory, got from bards, to shine; +Yet thus ascends Cuchulain's voice: +"No skill indeed to boast is mine!" + +They sang, to please a warlike age, +Of wars, and women's wild lament, +Yet oft, restraining warriors' rage, +Their harps to other themes were bent. + +They loved on peaceful pomp to dwell, +Rejoiced in music's magic strains,. +All Nature's smiling face loved well, +And "glowing hues of flowery plains." + +Though oft of Fairy Land they spoke, +No eerie beings dwelled therein, +'Twas filled throughout with joyous folk +Like men, though freed from death and sin. + +And sure those bards were truest knights +Whose thoughts of women high were set, +Nor deemed them prizes, won in fights, +But minds like men's, and women yet. + +With skilful touch they paint us each, +Etain, whose beauty's type for all; +Scathach, whose warriors skill could teach +Emer, whose words in wisdom fall; + +Deirdre the seer, by love made keen; +Flidais, whose bounty armies feeds +The prudent Mugain, Conor's queen; +Crund's wife, more swift than Conor's steeds; + +Finnabar, death for love who dared; +Revengeful Ferb, who died of grief +Fand, who a vanquished rival spared; +Queen Maev, who Connaught led, its chief. + +Not for the creeds their lines preserve +Should Ireland's hero tales be known +Their pictured pages praise deserve +From all, not learned men alone. + +Their works are here; though flawed by time, +To all the living verses speak +Of men who taught to Europe rhyme, +Who knew no masters, save the Greek. + +In forms like those men loved of old, +Naught added, nothing torn away, +The ancient tales again are told, +Can none their own true magic sway? + + + + +PRONUNCIATION OF PROPER NAMES + + + +The following list of suggested pronunciations does not claim to be +complete or to be necessarily correct in all cases. Some words like +Ferdia and Conchobar (Conor) have an established English pronunciation +that is strictly speaking wrong; some, like Murthemne are doubtful; the +suggestions given here are those adopted by the editor for such +information as is at his disposal. It seems to be unnecessary to give +all the names, as the list would be too long; this list contains those +names in the first volume as are of frequent occurrence; names that +occur less commonly, and some of those in the following list, have a +pronunciation indicated in foot-notes. The most important names are in +small capitals. + + + + +LIST OF NAMES + + + +Aife (Ee-fa), pp. 117, 129, 1342 141, 148, an instructress of +Cuchulain, Ferdia, and others in the art of war. + +Cathbad (Cah-ba), pp. 91, 92, 93, 95, a Druid. + +Cualgne (Kell-ny), mentioned in the Preface, Introductions, the +"Combat" and elsewhere; a district corresponding to County Louth. + +Cuchulain (Cu-hoo-lin), the hero of the "Sick-bed" and the "Combat," +and of the Ulster Heroic cycle in general. + +Deirdre (Dire-dree), the heroine of the "Exile of the Sons of Usnach." + +Dubhtach (Doov-ta), pp. 48, 97, 98, 107, an Ulster hero. + +Eochaid Airem (Yeo-hay Arrem), the king in the "Courtship of Etain." + +Eochaid Juil (Yeo-hay Yool), pp. 63, 70, 76, 79, a fairy king killed by +Cuchulain. + +Eogan mac Durthacht (Yeogan mac Door-ha), pp. 43, 48, 93, 97, 101, 107; +an Ulster hero, the slayer of the sons of Usnach. + +Etain (Et-oyn), the heroine of the "Courtship of Etain." + +Ferdia (Fer-dee-a), Cuchulain's opponent in the "Combat at the Ford." +The true pronunciation is probably Fer-deed. + +Fuamnach (Foom-na), pp. 79 9, 10, 19, 26, a sorceress. + +Laeg (Layg), son of Riangabra (Reen-gabra), the charioteer and friend +of Cuchulain, frequently mentioned in the "Sick-bed" and the "Combat at +the Ford." + +Laegaire (Leary), pp. 42, 46, 67, an Ulster hero. + +Leabhar na h-Uidhri (Lyow-er na hoorie), frequently mentioned, the +oldest Irish manuscript of romance. It means the "Book of the Dun +Cow," sometimes referred to as L.U. + +Mac Datho (Mac Da-ho), king of Leinster in the "Boar of Mac Datho," the +word means "son of two mutes." + +Murthemne (Moor-temmy), pp. 57, 59, 61, 73, 77, 78, a district in +Ulster, with which Cuchulain is connected in the "Sick-bed" (in the +"Combat" he is "Cuchulain of Cualgne"). + +Naisi (Nay-see), the hero of the "Exile of the Sons of Usnach." + +Scathach (Ska-ha), pp. 117, 129) 131, 134, 141, 149, 151 a sorceress in +the Isle of Skye, instructress of Cuchulain in war. + +Uathach (Oo-ha), pp. 117, 129, 134; 141) 149, daughter of Scathach. + + + + +Other prominent characters, in the pronunciation of whose names as +given in the text no special assistance is required, are: + + + +Ailill mac Mata (Al-ill), king of Connaught. + +Ailill Anglonnach, lover of Etain, in the "Courtship of Etain." + +Conall Cernach, Conall the Victorious, second champion of Ulster after +Cuchulain. + +Conor (properly spelt Conchobar and pronounced Con-ower), king of +Ulster. + +Emer, wife of Cuchulain, appears often in the "Sick-bed." This name is +by some pronounced A-vair, probably from a different spelling. + +Fand, the fairy princess, in love with Cuchulain, in the "Sick-bed." + +Fergus, son of Rog, prominent in the "Exile of the Sons of Usnach," and +in "Combat"; step-father to King Conor, he appears in most of the +romances. + +Ket (spelt Cet), son of Mata, the Connaught champion, appears in the +"Boar of Mac Datho." + +Maev (spelt Medb), the great Queen of Connaught. + +Mider, Etain's fairy lover, in the "Courtship of Etain." + + + + +CONTENTS + + + +THE COURTSHIP OF ETAIN + +MAC DATHO'S BOAR + +THE SICK-BED OF CUCHULAIN + +THE EXILE OF THE SONS OF USNACH + +THE COMBAT AT THE FORD + +SPECIAL NOTE ON THE COMBAT AT THE FORD + +GENERAL NOTES + + + + +THE COURTSHIP OF ETAIN + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The date which tradition assigns to the events related in the tale of +the "Courtship of Etain" is about B.C. 100, two or, according to some +accounts, three generations before the king Conaire Mor, or Conary, +whose death is told in the tale called the "Destruction of Da Derga's +Hostel." This king is generally spoken of as a contemporary of the +chief personages of what is called more especially the "Heroic Age" of +Ireland; and the two versions of the "Courtship of Etain" given in this +volume at once introduce a difficulty; for the sub-kings who were +tributary to Eochaid, Etain's husband, are in both versions stated to +be Conor, Ailill mac Mata, Mesgegra, and Curoi, all of whom are +well-known figures in the tales of the Heroic Age. As Conary is +related to have ruled sixty years, and several of the characters of the +Heroic Age survived him, according to the tale that describes his +death, the appearance of the names of Conor and Ailill in a tale about +his grandfather (or according to the Egerton version his +great-grandfather) introduces an obvious discrepancy. + +It appears to be quite impossible to reconcile the dates given to the +actors in the tales of the Heroic and preceding age. They seem to have +been given in the "antiquarian age" of the tenth and eleventh +centuries; not only do they differ according to different chronologers +by upwards of a hundred years, but the succession of kings in the +accounts given by the same chronologer is often impossible in view of +their mutual relationships. The real state of things appears to be +that the "Courtship of Etain," together with the story of Conary, the +lost tale of the destruction of the Fairy Hill of Nennta,[FN#5] and the +tale of the Bull-Feast and election of Lugaid Red-Stripes as king of +Ireland, forms a short cycle of romance based upon ancient legends that +had originally no connection at all with those on which the romances of +the Heroic Age were built. The whole government of the country is +essentially different in the two cycles; in the Etain cycle the idea is +that of a land practically governed by one king, the vassal kings being +of quite small importance; in the tales of the Heroic Age proper, the +picture we get is of two, if not of four, practically independent +kingdoms, the allusions to any over-king being very few, and in great +part late. But when the stories of Etain and of Conary assumed their +present forms, when the writers of our romances formed them out of the +traditions which descended to them from pro-Christian sources, both +cycles of tradition were pretty well known; and there was a natural +tendency to introduce personages from one cycle into the other, +although these personages occupy a subordinate position in the cycle to +which they do not properly belong. Even Conall Cernach, who is a +fairly prominent figure in the tale of the death of Conary, has little +importance given to him compared with the people who really belong to +the cycle, and the other warriors of the Heroic Age mentioned in the +tale are little but lay figures compared with Conary, Ingcel, and Mac +Cecht. A wish to connect the two cycles probably accounts for the +connection of Lugaid Red-Stripes with Cuchulain, the introduction of +Conor and Ailill into the story of Etain may be due to the same cause, +and there is no need to suppose that the authors of our versions felt +themselves bound by what other men had introduced into the tale of +Conary. The practice of introducing heroes from one cycle into another +was by no means uncommon, or confined to Ireland; Greek heroes' names +sometimes appear in the Irish tales; Cuchulain, in much later times, +comes into the tales of Finn; and in Greece itself, characters who +really belong to the time of the Trojan War appear in tales of the +Argonauts. + + +[FN#5] A short account of this is in the story of King Dathi (O'Curry +Lectures, p. 286). The tale seems to be alluded to in the quatrain on +p. 10 of this volume. + + +There are very few corresponding allusions to personages from the small +Etain cycle found in the great cycle of romances that belong to the +Heroic Age, but MacCecht's name appears in a fifteenth-century +manuscript which gives a version of the tale of Flidais; and I suspect +an allusion to the Etain story in a verse in the "Sick-bed of +Cuchulain" (see note, p. 184). It may be observed that the +introduction of Conor and his contemporaries into the story of Conary's +grandparents is an additional piece of evidence that our form of the +story of Etain precedes the "antiquarian age"; for at that time the +version which we have of the story of Conary must have been classical +and the connection of Conor's warriors with Conary well-known. A keen +eye was at that time kept on departures from the recognised historical +order (compare a note by Mr. Nutt in the "Voyage of Bran," vol. ii. p. +61); and the introduction of Conor into our version of the tale of +Etain must have been at an earlier date. + +The two versions of the "Courtship of Etain," the Egerton one, and that +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? + + +Now each day the lady came to Ailill to tend him, and to divide for him +the portion of food that was allotted to him; and she wrought a great +healing upon him: for it grieved her that he should perish for her +sake. And one day the lady spoke to Ailill: "Come thou to-morrow," +said she, "to tryst with me at the break of day, in the house which +lieth outside, and is beyond the fort, and there shalt thou have +granted thy request and thy desire." On that night Ailill lay without +sleep until the coming of the morning; and when the time had come that +was appointed for his tryst, his sleep lay heavily upon him; so that +till the hour of his rising he lay deep in his sleep. And Etain went +to the tryst, nor had she long to wait ere she saw a man coming towards +her in the likeness of Ailill, weary and feeble; but she knew that he +was not Ailill, and she continued there waiting for Ailill. And the +lady came back from her tryst, and Ailill awoke, and thought that he +would rather die than live; and he went in great sadness and grief. +And the lady came to speak with him, and when he told her what had +befallen him: "Thou shalt come," said she, "to the same place, to meet +with me upon the morrow." And upon the morrow it was the same as upon +the first day; each day came that man to her tryst. And she came again +upon the last day that was appointed for the tryst, and the same man +met her. "'Tis not with thee that I trysted," said she, "why dost thou +come to meet me? and for him whom I would have met here; neither from +desire of his love nor for fear of danger from him had I appointed to +meet him, but only to heal him, and to cure him from the sickness which +had come upon him for his love of me." "It were more fitting for thee +to come to tryst with me," says the man, "for when thou wast Etain of +the Horses, and when thou wast the daughter of Ailill, I myself was thy +husband. "Why," said she, "what name hast thou in the land? that is +what I would demand of thee." "It is not hard to answer thee," he +said; "Mider of Bri Leith is my name." "And what made thee to part +from me, if we were as thou sayest?" said Etain. "Easy again is the +answer," said Mider; "it was the sorcery of Fuamnach and the spells of +Bressal Etarlam that put us apart." And Mider said to Etain: "Wilt +thou come with me?" + +"Nay," answered Etain, "I will not exchange the king of all Ireland for +thee; for a man whose kindred and whose lineage is unknown." "It was I +myself indeed," said Mider, "who filled all the mind of Ailill with +love for thee: it was I also who prevented his coming to the tryst with +thee, and allowed him not thine honour to spoil it." + +After all this the lady went back to her house, and she came to speech +with Ailill, and she greeted him. "It hath happened well for us both," +said Ailill, "that the man met thee there: for I am cured for ever from +my illness, thou also art unhurt in thine honour, and may a blessing +rest upon thee!" "Thanks be to our gods," said Etain, "that both of us +do indeed deem that all this hath chanced so well." And after that +Eochaid came back from his royal progress, and he asked at once for his +brother; and the tale was told to him from the beginning to the end, +and the king was grateful to Etain, in that she had been gracious to +Ailill; and, "What hath been related in this tale," said Eochaid, "is +well-pleasing to ourselves." + +And, for the after history of Eochaid and Etain, it is told that once +when Eochaid was in Fremain, at such time as the people had prepared +for themselves a great gathering and certain horse-races; thither also +to that assembly came Etain, that she might see the sight. Thither +also came Mider, and he searched through that assembly to find out +where Etain might be; and he found Etain, and her women around her, and +he bore her away with him, also one of her handmaidens, called Crochen +the Ruddy: hideous was the form in which Mider approached them. And +the wives of the men of Ireland raised cries of woe, as the queen was +carried off from among them; and the horses of Ireland were loosed to +pursue Mider, for they knew not whether it was into the air or into the +earth he had gone. But, as for Mider, the course that he had taken was +the road to the west, even to the plain of Croghan; and as he came +thither, "How shall it profit us," said Crochen the Ruddy, "this +journey of ours to this plain?" "For evermore," said Mider, "shall thy +name be over all this plain:" and hence cometh the name of the plain of +Croghan, and of the Fort of Croghan. Then Mider came to the Fairy +Mound of Croghan; for the dwellers in that mound were allied to him, +and his friends; and for nine days they lingered there, banqueting and +feasting; so that "Is this the place where thou makest thy home?" said +Crochen to Mider. "Eastwards from this is my dwelling," Mider answered +her; "nearer to the rising-place of the sun;" and Mider, taking Etain +with him, departed, and came to Bri Leith, where the son of Celthar had +his palace. + +Now just at the time when they came to this palace, king Eochaid sent +out from him the horsemen of Ireland, also his wizards, and his +officers who had the care of the roads, and the couriers of the +boundaries, that they might search through Ireland, and find out where +his wife might be; and Eochaid himself wandered throughout Ireland to +seek for his wife; and for a year from that day until the same day upon +the year that followed he searched, and he found nothing to profit him. + +Then, at the last, king Eochaid sent for his Druid, and he set to him +the task to seek for Etain; now the name of the Druid was Dalan. And +Dalan came before him upon that day; and he went westwards, until he +came to the mountain that was after that known as Slieve Dalan; and he +remained there upon that night. And the Druid deemed it a grievous +thing that Etain should be hidden from him for the space of one year, +and thereupon he made three wands of yew; and upon the wands he wrote +an ogham; and by the keys of wisdom that he had, and by the ogham, it +was revealed to him that Etain was in the fairy mound of Bri Leith, and +that Mider had borne her thither. + +Then Dalan the Druid turned him, and went back to the east; and he came +to the stronghold of Fremain, even to the place where the king of +Ireland was; and Eochaid asked from the Druid his news. Thither also +came the horsemen, and the wizards, and the officers who had the care +of the roads, and the couriers of the boundaries, to the king of +Ireland, and he asked them what tidings they had, and whether they had +found news of Mider and Etain. And they said that they had found +nothing at all; until at the last said his Druid to him: "A great evil +hath smitten thee, also shame, and misfortune, on account of the loss +of thy wife. Do thou assemble the warriors of Ireland, and depart to +Bri Leith, where is the palace of the son of Celthar; let that palace +be destroyed by thy hand, and there thou shalt find thy wife: by +persuasion or by force do thou take her thence." + +Then Eochaid and the men of Ireland marched to Bri Leith, and they set +themselves to destroy that fairy dwelling, and to demand that Etain be +brought to them, and they brought her not. Then they ruined that fairy +dwelling, and they brought Etain out from it; and she returned to +Fremain, and there she had all the worship that a king of Ireland can +bestow, fair wedded love and affection, such as was her due from +Eochaid Airemm. This is that Eochaid who ruled over Ireland for twelve +years, until the fire burned him in Fremain; and this tale is known by +the name of the "Sick-bed of Ailill," also as "The Courtship of Etain." + Etain bore no children to Eochaid Airemm, save one daughter only; and +the name of her mother was given to her, and she is known by the name +of Etain, the daughter of Eochaid Airemm. And it was her daughter +Messbuachalla who was the mother of king Conary the Great, the son of +Eterscel, and it was for this cause that the fairy host of Mag Breg and +Mider of Bri Leith violated the tabus of king Conary, and devastated +the plain of Breg, and out off Conary's life; on account of the capture +of that fairy dwelling, and on account of the recovery of Etain, when +she was carried away by violence, even by the might of Eochaid Airemm. + + + + +THE COURTSHIP OF ETAIN + + + +LEABHAR NA H-UIDHRI VERSION + + +Eochaid Airemon took the sovereignty over Erin, and the five provinces +of Ireland were obedient to him, for the king of each province was his +vassal. Now these were they who were the kings of the provinces at +that time, even Conor the son of Ness, and Messgegra, and Tigernach +Tetbannach, and Curoi, and Ailill the son of Mata of Muresc. And the +royal forts that belonged to Eochaid were the stronghold of Fremain in +Meath, and the stronghold of Fremain in Tethba; moreover the stronghold +of Fremain in Tethba was more pleasing to him than any other of the +forts of Erin. + +Now a year after that Eochaid had obtained the sovereignty, he sent out +his commands to the men of Ireland that they should come to Tara to +hold festival therein, in order that there should be adjusted the taxes +and the imposts that should be set upon them, so that these might be +settled for a period of five years. And the one answer that the men of +Ireland made to Eochaid was that they would not make for the king that +assembly which is the Festival of Tara until he found for himself a +queen, for there was no queen to stand by the king's side when Eochaid +first assumed the kingdom. + +Then Eochaid sent out the messengers of each of the five provinces to +go through the land of Ireland to seek for that woman or girl who was +the fairest to be found in Erin; and he bade them to note that no woman +should be to him as a wife, unless she had never before been as a wife +to any one of the men of the land. And at the Bay of Cichmany a wife +was found for him, and her name was Etain, the daughter of Etar; and +Eochaid brought her thereafter to his palace, for she was a wife meet +for him, by reason of her form, and her beauty, and her descent, and +her brilliancy, and her youth, and her renown. + +Now Finn the son of Findloga had three sons, all sons of a queen, even +Eochaid Fedlech, and Eochaid Airemm, and Ailill Anguba. And Ailill +Anguba was seized with love for Etain at the Festival of Tara, after +that she had been wedded to Eochaid; since he for a long time gazed +upon her, and, since such gazing is a token of love, Ailill gave much +blame to himself for the deed that he was doing, yet it helped him not. + For his longing was too strong for his endurance, and for this cause +he fell into a sickness; and, that there might be no stain upon his +honour, his sickness was concealed by him from all, neither did he +speak of it to the lady herself. Then Fachtna, the chief physician of +Eochaid, was brought to look upon Ailill, when it was understood that +his death might be near, and thus the physician spoke to him: "One of +the two pangs that slay a man, and for which there is no healing by +leechcraft, is upon thee; either the pangs of envy or the pangs of +love. And Ailill refused to confess the cause of his illness to the +physician, for he was withheld by shame and he was left behind in +Fremain of Tethba to die; and Eochaid went upon his royal progress +throughout all Erin, and he left Etain behind him to be near Ailill, in +order that the last rites of Ailill might be done by her; that she +might cause his grave to be dug, and that the keen might be raised for +him, and that his cattle should be slain for him as victims. And to +the house where Ailill lay in his sickness went Etain each day to +converse with him, and his sickness was eased by her presence; and, so +long as Etain was in that place where he was, so long was he accustomed +to gaze at her. + +Now Etain observed all this, and she bent her mind to discover the +cause, and one day when they were in the house together, Etain asked of +Ailill what was the cause of his sickness. "My sickness," said Ailill, +"comes from my love for thee." "'Tis pity," said she, "that thou hast +so long kept silence, for thou couldest have been healed long since, +had we but known of its cause." "And even now could I be healed," said +Ailill, "did I but find favour in thy sight." "Thou shalt find +favour," she said. Each day after they had spoken thus with each +other, she came to him for the fomenting of his head, and for the +giving of the portion of food that was required by him, and for the +pouring of water over his hands; and three weeks after that, Ailill was +whole. Then he said to Etain: "Yet is the completion of my cure at thy +hands lacking to me; when may it be that I shall have it?" "'Tis +to-morrow it shall be," she answered him, "but it shall not be in the +abode of the lawful monarch of the land that this felony shall be done. + Thou shalt come," she said, "on the morrow to yonder hill that riseth +beyond the fort: there shall be the tryst that thou desirest." + +Now Ailill lay awake all that night, and he fell into a sleep at the +hour when he should have kept his tryst, and he woke not from his sleep +until the third hour of the day. And Etain went to her tryst, and she +saw a man before her; like was his form to the form of Ailill, he +lamented the weakness that his sickness had caused him, and he gave to +her such answers as it was fitting that Ailill should give. But at the +third hour of the day, Ailill himself awoke: and he had for a long time +remained in sorrow when Etain came into the house where he was; and as +she approached him, "What maketh thee so sorrowful?" said Etain. "'Tis +because thou wert sent to tryst with me," said Ailill, "and I came not +to thy presence, and sleep fell upon me, so that I have but now +awakened from it; and surely my chance of being healed hath now gone +from me." "Not so, indeed," answered Etain, "for there is a morrow to +follow to-day." And upon that night he took his watch with a great +fire before him, and with water beside him to put upon his eyes. + +At the hour that was appointed for the tryst, Etain came for her +meeting with Ailill; and she saw the same man, like unto Ailill, whom +she had seen before; and Etain went to the house, and saw Ailill still +lamenting. And Etain came three times, and yet Ailill kept not his +tryst, and she found that same man there every time. "'Tis not for +thee," she said, "that I came to this tryst: why comest thou to meet +me? And as for him whom I would have met, it was for no sin or evil +desire that I came to meet him; but it was fitting for the wife of the +king of Ireland to rescue the man from the sickness under which he hath +so long been oppressed." "It were more fitting for thee to tryst with +me myself," said the man, "for when thou wert Etain of the Horses, the +daughter of Ailill, it was I who was thy husband. And when thou camest +to be wife to me, thou didst leave a great price behind thee; even a +marriage price of the chief plains and waters of Ireland, and as much +of gold and of silver as might match thee in value." "Why," said she, +"what is thy name?" "'Tis easy to say," he answered; "Mider of Bri +Leith is my name." "Truly," said she; "and what was the cause that +parted us?" "That also is easy," he said; "it was the sorcery of +Fuamnach, and the spells of Bressal Etarlam. And then Mider said to +Etain: + + +Wilt thou come to my home, fair-haired lady? to dwell +In the marvellous land of the musical spell, +Where the crowns of all heads are, as primroses, bright, +And from head to the heel all men's bodies snow-white. + +In that land of no "mine" nor of "thine" is there speech, +But there teeth flashing white and dark eyebrows hath each; +In all eyes shine our hosts, as reflected they swarm, +And each cheek with the pink of the foxglove is warm. + +With the heather's rich tint every blushing neck glows, +In our eyes are all shapes that the blackbird's egg shows; +And the plains of thine Erin, though pleasing to see, +When the Great Plain is sighted, as deserts shall be. + +Though ye think the ale strong in this Island of Fate, +Yet they drink it more strong in the Land of the Great; +Of a country where marvel abounds have I told, +Where no young man in rashness thrusts backward the old. + +There are streams smooth and luscious that flow through that land, +And of mead and of wine is the best at each hand; +And of crime there is naught the whole country within, +There are men without blemish, and love without sin. + +Through the world of mankind, seeing all, can we float, +And yet none, though we see them, their see-ers can note; +For the sin of their sire is a mist on them flung, +None may count up our host who from Adam is sprung. + +Lady, come to that folk; to that strong folk of mine; +And with gold on thy head thy fair tresses shall shine: +'Tis on pork the most dainty that then thou shalt feed, +And for drink have thy choice of new milk and of mead. + +"I will not come with thee," answered Etain, "I will not give up the +king of Ireland for thee, a man who knows not his own clan nor his +kindred." "It was indeed myself," said Mider, "who long ago put +beneath the mind of Ailill the love that he hath felt for thee, so that +his blood ceased to run, and his flesh fell away from him: it was I +also who have taken away his desire, so that there might be no hurt to +thine honour. But wilt thou come with me to my land," said Mider, "in +case Eochaid should ask it of thee?" "I would come in such case," +answered to him Etain. + +After all this Etain departed to the house. "It hath indeed been good, +this our tryst," said Ailill, "for I have been cured of my sickness; +moreover, in no way has thine honour been stained." "'Tis glorious +that it hath fallen out so," answered Etain. And afterwards Eochaid +came back from his royal progress, and he was grateful for that his +brother's life had been preserved, and he gave all thanks to Etain for +the great deed she had done while he was away from his palace. + +Now upon another time it chanced that Eochaid Airemm, the king of Tara, +arose upon a certain fair day in the time of summer; and he ascended +the high ground of Tara to behold the plain of Breg; beautiful was the +colour of that plain, and there was upon it excellent blossom, glowing +with all hues that are known. And, as the aforesaid Eochaid looked +about and around him, he saw a young strange warrior upon the high +ground at his side. The tunic that the warrior wore was purple in +colour, his hair was of a golden yellow, and of such length that it +reached to the edge of his shoulders. The eyes of the young warrior +were lustrous and grey; in the one hand he held a five-pointed spear, +in the other a shield with a white central boss, and with gems of gold +upon it. And Eochaid held his peace, for he knew that none such had +been in Tara on the night before, and the gate that led into the Liss +had not at that hour been thrown open. + +The warrior came, and placed himself under the protection of Eochaid; +and "Welcome do I give," said Eochaid, "to the hero who is yet unknown." + +"Thy reception is such as I expected when I came," said the warrior. + +"We know thee not," answered Eochaid. + +"Yet thee in truth I know well!" he replied. + +"What is the name by which thou art called?" said Eochaid. + +"My name is not known to renown," said the warrior; "I am Mider of Bri +Leith." + +"And for what purpose art thou come?" said Eochaid. + +"I have come that I may play a game at the chess with thee," answered +Mider. "Truly," said Eochaid, "I myself am skilful at the chess-play." + +"Let us test that skill! said Mider. + +"Nay," said Eochaid, the queen is even now in her sleep; and hers is +the palace in which the chessboard lies." + +"I have here with me," said Mider, "a chessboard which is not inferior +to thine." It was even as he said, for that chessboard was silver, and +the men to play with were gold; and upon that board were costly stones, +casting their light on every side, and the bag that held the men was of +woven chains of brass. + +Mider then set out the chessboard, and he called upon Eochaid to play. +"I will not play," said Eochaid, "unless we play for a stake." + +"What stake shall we have upon the game then?" said Mider. + +"It is indifferent to me," said Eochaid. + +"Then," said Mider, "if thou dost obtain the forfeit of my stake, I +will bestow on thee fifty steeds of a dark grey, their heads of a +blood-red colour, but dappled; their ears pricked high, and their +chests broad; their nostrils wide, and their hoofs slender; great is +their strength, and they are keen like a whetted edge; eager are they, +high-standing, and spirited, yet easily stopped in their course." + +[Many games were played between Eochaid and Mider; and, since Mider did +not put forth his whole strength, the victory on all occasions rested +with Eochaid. But instead of the gifts which Mider had offered, +Eochaid demanded that Mider and his folk should perform for him +services which should be of benefit to his realm; that he should clear +away the rocks and stones from the plains of Meath, should remove the +rushes which made the land barren around his favourite fort of Tethba, +should cut down the forest of Breg, and finally should build a causeway +across the moor or bog of Lamrach that men might pass freely across it. + All these things Mider agreed to do, and Eochaid sent his steward to +see how that work was done. And when it came to the time after sunset, +the steward looked, and he saw that Mider and his fairy host, together +with fairy oxen, were labouring at the causeway over the bog;] and +thereupon much of earth and of gravel and of stones was poured into it. + Now it had, before that time, always been the custom of the men of +Ireland to harness their oxen with a strap over their foreheads, so +that the pull might be against the foreheads of the oxen; and this +custom lasted up to that very night, when it was seen that the +fairy-folk had placed the yoke upon the shoulders of the oxen, so that +the pull might be there; and in this way were the yokes of the oxen +afterwards placed by Eochaid, and thence cometh the name by which he is +known; even Eochaid Airemm, or Eochaid the Ploughman, for he was the +first of all the men of Ireland to put the yokes on the necks of the +oxen, and thus it became the custom for all the land of Ireland. And +this is the song that the host of the fairies sang, as they laboured at +the making of the road: + + +Thrust it in hand! force it in hand! +Nobles this night, as an ox-troop, stand: +Hard is the task that is asked, and who +From the bridging of Lamrach shall gain, or rue? + + +Not in all the world could a road have been found that should be better +than the road that they made, had it not been that the fairy folk were +observed as they worked upon it; but for that cause a breach hath been +made in that causeway. And the steward of Eochaid thereafter came to +him; and he described to him that great labouring band that had come +before his eyes, and he said that there was not over the chariot-pole +of life a power that could withstand its might. And, as they spake +thus with each other, they saw Mider standing before them; high was he +girt, and ill-favoured was the face that he showed; and Eochaid arose, +and he gave welcome to him. "Thy welcome is such as I expected when I +came," said Mider. "Cruel and senseless hast thou been in thy +treatment of me, and much of hardship and suffering hast thou given me. + All things that seemed good in thy sight have I got for thee, but now +anger against thee hath filled my mind!" "I return not anger for +anger," answered Eochaid; "what thou wishest shall be done." "Let it +be as thou wishest," said Mider; "shall we play at the chess?" said he. +"What stake shall we set upon the game?" said Eochaid. "Even such +stake as the winner of it shall demand," said Mider. And in that very +place Eochaid was defeated, and he forfeited his stake. + +"My stake is forfeit to thee," said Eochaid. + +"Had I wished it, it had been forfeit long ago," said Mider. + +"What is it that thou desirest me to grant?" said Eochaid. + +"That I may hold Etain in my arms, and obtain a kiss from her!" +answered Mider. + +Eochaid was silent for a while and then he said: "One month from this +day thou shalt come, and the very thing that thou hast asked for shall +be given to thee." Now for a year before that Mider first came to +Eochaid for the chess-play, had he been at the wooing of Etain, and he +obtained her not; and the name which he gave to Etain was Befind, or +Fair-haired Woman, so it was that he said: + + +Wilt thou come to my home, fair-haired lady? + + +as has before been recited. And it was at that time that Etain said: +"If thou obtainest me from him who is the master of my house, I will +go; but if thou art not able to obtain me from him, then I will not +go." And thereon Mider came to Eochaid, and allowed him at the first +to win the victory over him, in order that Eochaid should stand in his +debt; and therefore it was that he paid the great stakes to which he +had agreed; and therefore also was it that he had demanded of him that +he should play that game in ignorance of what was staked. And when +Mider and his folk were paying those agreed-on stakes, which were paid +upon that night; to wit, the making of the road, and the clearing of +the stones from Meath, the rushes from around Tethba, and of the forest +that is over Breg, it was thus that he spoke, as it is written in the +Book of Drom Snechta: + + +Pile on the soil; thrust on the soil: +Red are the oxen around who toil: +Heavy the troops that my words obey; +Heavy they seem, and yet men are they. +Strongly, as piles, are the tree-trunks placed +Red are the wattles above them laced: +Tired are your hands, and your glances slant; +One woman's winning this toil may grant! +Oxen ye are, but revenge shall see; +Men who are white shall your servants be: +Rushes from Teffa are cleared away: +Grief is the price that the man shall pay: +Stones have been cleared from the rough Meath ground; +Whose shall the gain or the harm be found? + + +Now Mider appointed a day at the end of the month when he was to meet +Eochaid, and Eochaid called the armies of the heroes of Ireland +together, so that they came to Tara; and all the best of the champions +of Ireland, ring within ring, were about Tara, and they were in the +midst of Tara itself, and they guarded it, both without and within; and +the king and the queen were in the midst of the palace, and the outer +court thereof was shut and locked, for they knew that the great might +of men would come upon them. And upon the appointed night Etain was +dispensing the banquet to the kings, for it was her duty to pour out +the wine, when in the midst of their talk they saw Mider standing +before them in the centre of the palace. He was always fair, yet +fairer than he ever was seemed Mider to be upon that night. And he +brought to amazement all the hosts on which he gazed, and all thereon +were silent, and the king gave a welcome to him. + +"Thy reception is such as I expected when I came," said Mider; "let +that now be given to me that hath been promised. 'Tis a debt that is +due when a promise hath been made; and I for my part have given to thee +all that was promised by me." + +"I have not yet considered the matter," said Eochaid. + +"Thou hast promised Etain's very self to me," said Mider; "that is what +hath come from thee." Etain blushed for shame when she heard that word. + +"Blush not," said Mider to Etain, "for in nowise hath thy wedding-feast +been disgraced. I have been seeking thee for a year with the fairest +jewels and treasures that can be found in Ireland, and I have not taken +thee until the time came when Eochaid might permit it. 'Tis not +through any will of thine that I have won thee." "I myself told thee," +said Etain, "that until Eochaid should resign me to thee I would grant +thee nothing. Take me then for my part, if Eochaid is willing to +resign me to thee." + +"But I will not resign thee!" said Eochaid; "nevertheless he shall take +thee in his arms upon the floor of this house as thou art." + +"It shall be done!" said Mider. + +He took his weapons into his left hand and the woman beneath his right +shoulder; and he carried her off through the skylight of the house. +And the hosts rose up around the king, for they felt that they had been +disgraced, and they saw two swans circling round Tara, and the way that +they took was the way to the elf-mound of Femun. And Eochaid with an +army of the men of Ireland went to the elf-mound of Femun, which men +call the mound of the Fair-haired-Women. And he followed the counsel +of the men of Ireland, and he dug up each of the elf-mounds that he +might take his wife from thence. [And Mider and his host opposed them +and the war between them was long: again and again the trenches made by +Eochaid were destroyed, for nine years as some say lasted the strife of +the men of Ireland to enter into the fairy palace. And when at last +the armies of Eochaid came by digging to the borders of the fairy +mansion, Mider sent to the side of the palace sixty women all in the +shape of Etain, and so like to her that none could tell which was the +queen. And Eochaid himself was deceived, and he chose, instead of +Etain, her daughter Messbuachalla (or as some say Esa.) But when he +found that he had been deceived, he returned again to sack Bri Leith, +and this time Etain made herself known to Eochaid, by proofs that he +could not mistake, and he bore her away in triumph to Tara, and there +she abode with the king.] + + + + +MAC DATHO'S BOAR + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The tale of "Mac Datho's Boar" seems to deal with events that precede +the principal events of the Heroic Period; most of the characters named +in it appear as the chief actors in other romances; Conor and Ailill +are as usual the leaders of Ulster and Connaught, but the king of +Leinster is Mesroda Mac Datho, not his brother Mesgegra, who appears in +the "Siege of Howth" (see Hull, Cuchullin Saga, p. 87), and the Ulster +champion is not Cuchulain, but his elder comrade, Conall Cernach. + +The text followed is that of the Book of Leinster as printed by +Windisch in Irische Texte, vol. i.; the later Harleian manuscript's +readings given by Windisch have been taken in a few cases where the +Leinster text seems untranslatable. There is a slightly different +version, given by Kuno Meyer in the Anecdota Oxoniensia, taken from +Rawlinson, B. 512, a fifteenth-century manuscript, but the text is +substantially that of the Leinster version, and does not give, as in +the case of the tale of Etain, a different view of the story. The +verse passages differ in the two versions; two verse passages on pages +37 and 46 have been inserted from the Rawlinson manuscript, otherwise +the rendering follows the Leinster text. + +The style of the tale is more barbaric than that of the other romances, +but is relieved by touches of humour; the only supernatural touch +occurs in one of the variations of the Rawlinson manuscript. Some of +the chief variations en in this manuscript are pointed out in the +notes; the respectful men on of Curoi mac Dari, who seems to have been +a Munster hero, overshadowed in the accepted versions by the superior +glory of Ulster, may be noted; also the remark that Ferloga did not get +his cepoc, which seems to have been inserted by a later band of a +critic who disapproved of the frivolity of the original author, or was +jealous for the honour of the Ulster ladies. + + + + +MAC DATHO'S BOAR + + + +FROM THE BOOK OF LEINSTER (TWELFTH-CENTURY MS.) + + +With some Additions from Rawlinson, B. 512, written about 1560 + + +A glorious king once hold rule over the men of Leinster; his name was +Mesroda Mac Datho. Now Mac Datho had among his possessions a hound +which was the guardian of all Leinster; the name of the hound was +Ailbe, and all of the land of Leinster was filled with reports of the +fame of it, and of that hound hath it been sung: + + +Mesroda, son of Datho, +Was he the boar who reared; +And his the hound called Ailbe; +No lie the tale appeared! +The splendid hound of wisdom, +The hound that far is famed, +The hound from whom Moynalvy +For evermore is named. + + +By King Ailill and Queen Maev were sent folk to the son of Datho to +demand that hound, and at that very hour came heralds from Conor the +son of Ness to demand him; and to all of these a welcome was bid by the +people of Mac Datho, and they were brought to speak with Mac Datho in +his palace. + +At the time that we speak of, this palace was a hostelry that was the +sixth of the hostelries of Ireland.; there were beside it the hostelry +of Da Derga in the land of Cualan in Leinster; also the hostelry of +Forgall the Wily, which is beside Lusk; and the hostelry of Da Reo in +Breffny; and the hostelry of Da Choca in the west of Meath; and the +hostelry of the landholder Blai in the country of the men of Ulster. +There were seven doors to that palace, and seven passages ran through +it; also there stood within it seven cauldrons, and in every one of the +cauldrons was seething the flesh of oxen and the salted flesh of swine. + Every traveller who came into the house after a journey would thrust a +fork into a cauldron, and whatsoever he brought out at the first +thrust, that had he to eat: if he got nothing at the first thrust, no +second attempt was allowed him. + +They brought the heralds before Mac Datho as he sat upon his throne, +that he might learn of their requests before they made their meal, and +in this manner they made known their message. "We have come," said the +men who were sent from Connaught, "that we might ask for thy hound; +'tis by Ailill and Maev we are sent. Thou shalt have in payment for +him six thousand milch cows, also a two-horsed chariot with its horses, +the best to be had in Connaught, and at the end of a year as much again +shall be thine." "We also," said the heralds from Ulster, "have come +to ask for thy hound; we have been sent by Conor, and Conor is a friend +who is of no less value than these. He also will give to thee +treasures and cattle, and the same amount at the end of a year, and he +will be a stout friend to thee." + +Now after he had received this message Mac Datho sank into a deep +silence, he ate nothing, neither did he sleep, but tossed about from +one side to another, and then said his wife to him: +"For a long time hast thou fasted; food is before thee, yet thou eatest +not; what is it that ails thee? and Mac Datho made her no answer, +whereupon she said: + + +The Wife[FN#10] + +Gone is King Mac Datho's sleep, +Restless cares his home invade; +Though his thoughts from all he keep, +Problems deep his mind hath weighed. + +He, my sight avoiding, turns +Towards the wall, that hero grim; +Well his prudent wife discerns +Sleep hath passed away from him. + + +[FN#10] The Irish metre is followed in the first four verses. + + +Mac Datho + +Crimthann saith, Nar's sister's son, +"Secrets none to women tell. +Woman's secret soon is won; +Never thrall kept jewel well." + + +The Wife + +Why against a woman speak +Till ye test, and find she fails? +When thy mind to plan is weak, +Oft another's wit avails. + + +Mac Datho + +At ill season indeed came those heralds +Who his hound from Mac Datho would take; +In more wars than by thought can be counted +Fair-haired champions shall fall for its sake. + +If to Conor I dare to deny him, +He shall deem it the deed of a churl +Nor shall cattle or country be left me +By the hosts he against me can hurl. + +If refusal to Ailill I venture, +With all Ireland my folk shall he sack; +From our kingdom Mac Mata shall drive us, +And our ashes may tell of his track. + + +The Wife + +Here a counsel I find to deliver, +And in woe shall our land have no share; +Of that hound to them both be thou giver, +And who dies for it little we care. + + +Mac Datho + +Ah! the grief that I had is all ended, +I have joy for this speech from thy tongue +Surely Ailbe from heaven descended, +There is none who can say whence he sprung. + +After these words the son of Datho rose up, and he shook himself, and +May this fall out well for us," said he, "and well for our guests who +come here to seek for him." His guests abode three days and three +nights in his house, and when that time was ended, he bade that the +heralds from Connaught be called to confer with him apart, and he spoke +thus: "I have been," he said, "in great vexation of spirit, and for +long have I hesitated before I made a decision what to do. But now +have I decided to give the hound to Ailill and Maev, let them come with +splendour to bear it away. They shall have plenty both to eat and to +drink, and they shall have the hound to hold, and welcome shall they +be." And the messengers from Connaught were well pleased with this +answer that they had. + +Then he went to where the heralds from Ulster were, and thus he +addressed them: "After long hesitation," said he, "I have awarded the +hound to Conor, and a proud man should he be. Let the armies of the +nobles of Ulster come to bear him away; they shall have presents, and I +will make them welcome;" and with this the messengers from Ulster were +content. + +Now Mac Datho had so planned it that both those armies, that from the +East and that from the West, should arrive at his palace upon the +selfsame day. Nor did they fail to keep their tryst; upon the same day +those two provinces of Ireland came to Mac Datho's palace, and Mac +Datho himself went outside and greeted them: "For two armies at the +same time we were not prepared; yet I bid welcome to you, ye men. +Enter into the court of the house." + +Then they went all of them into the palace; one half of the house +received the Ulstermen, and the other half received the men of +Connaught. For the house was no small one: it had seven doors and +fifty couches between each two doors; and it was no meeting of friends +that was then seen in that house, but the hosts that filled it were +enemies to each other, for during the whole time of the three hundred +years that preceded the birth of Christ there was war between Ulster +and Connaught. + +Then they slaughtered for them Mac Datho's Boar; for seven years had +that boar been nurtured upon the milk of fifty cows, but surely venom +must have entered into its nourishment, so many of the men of Ireland +did it cause to die. They brought in the boar, and forty oxen as +side-dishes to it, besides other kind of food; the son of Datho himself +was steward to their feast: "Be ye welcome!" said he; "this beast +before you hath not its match; and a goodly store of beeves and of +swine may be found with the men of Leinster! And, if there be aught +lacking to you, more shall be slain for you in the morning." + +"It is a mighty Boar," said Conor. + +"'Tis a mighty one indeed," said Ailill. "How shall it be divided, O +Conor?" said he. + +"How?" cried down Bricriu,[FN#11] the son of Carbad, from above; "in +the place where the warriors of Ireland are gathered together, there +can be but the one test for the division of it, even the part that each +man hath taken in warlike deeds and strife: surely each man of you hath +struck the other a buffet on the nose ere now!" + +"Thus then shall it be," said Ailill. + +"'Tis a fair test," said Conor in assent; "we have here a plenty of +lads in this house who have done battle on the borders." + +"Thou shalt lose thy lads to-night, Conor," said Senlaech the +charioteer, who came from rushy Conalad in the West; "often have they +left a fat steer for me to harry, as they sprawled on their backs upon +the road that leadeth to the rushes of Dedah." + +"Fatter was the steer that thou hadst to leave to us," said +Munremur,[FN#12] the son of Gerrcind; "even thine own brother, +Cruachniu, son of Ruadlam; and it was from Conalad of Cruachan that he +came." + +"He was no better," cried Lugaid the son of Curoi of Munster, "than +Loth the Great, the son of Fergus Mac Lete; and Echbel the son of Dedad +left him lying in Tara Luachra."[FN#13] + + +[FN#11] Pronounced Brik-roo. + +[FN#12] Pronounced Moon-raymer. + +[FN#13] Pronounced Looch-ra. + + +"What sort of a man was he whom ye boast of?" cried Celtchar of Ulster. + "I myself slew that horny-skinned son of Dedad, I cut the head from +his shoulders." + +At the last it fell out that one man raised himself above all the men +of Ireland; he was Ket, the son of Mata, he came from the land of +Connaught. He hung up his weapons at a greater height than the weapons +of any one else who was there, he took a knife in his hand, and he +placed himself at the side of the Boar. + +"Find ye now," said he, "one man among the men of Ireland who can equal +my renown, or else leave the division of the Boar to me." + +All of the Ulstermen were thrown into amazement. "Seest thou that, O +Laegaire?"[FN#14] said Conor. + + +[FN#14] Pronounced Leary. + + +"Never shall it be," said Laegaire the Triumphant, "that Ket should +have the division of this Boar in the face of us all." + +"Softly now, O Laegaire!" said Ket; "let me hold speech with thee. +With you men of Ulster it hath for long been a custom that each lad +among you who takes the arms of a warrior should play first with us the +game of war: thou, O Laegaire, like to the others didst come to the +border, and we rode against one another. And thou didst leave thy +charioteer, and thy chariot and thy horses behind thee, and thou didst +fly pierced through with a spear. Not with such a record as that shalt +thou obtain the Boar;" and Laegaire sat himself down. + +"It shall never come to pass," said a great fair-haired warrior, +stepping forward from the bench whereon he had sat, "that the division +of the Boar shall be left to Ket before our very eyes." + +"To whom then appertains it?" asked Ket. + +"To one who is a better warrior than thou," he said, "even to Angus, +the son of Lama Gabaid (Hand-in-danger) of the men of Ulster." + +"Why namest thou thy father 'Hand-in-danger?" said Ket. + +"Why indeed, I know not," he said. + +"Ah! but I know it!" said Ket. "Long ago I went upon a journey in the +east, a war-cry was raised against me, all men attacked me, and Lama +Gabaid was among them. He made a cast of a great spear against me, I +hurled the same spear back upon him, and the spear cut his hand from +him so that it lay upon the ground. How dares the son of that man to +measure his renown with mine?" and Angus went back to his place. + +"Come, and claim a renown to match mine," said Ket; "else let me divide +this Boar." + +"It shall never be thy part to be the first to divide it," said a great +fair-haired warrior of the men of Ulster. + +"Who then is this?" said Ket. + +"'Tis Eogan, son of Durthacht,"[FN#15] said they all; "Eogan, the lord +of Fernmay." + +"I have seen him upon an earlier day," said Ket. + +"Where hast thou seen me?" said Eogan. + +"It was before thine own house," said Ket. "As I was driving away thy +cattle, a cry of war was raised in the lands about me; and thou didst +come out at that cry. Thou didst hurl thy spear against me, and it was +fixed in my shield; but I hurled the same spear back against thee, and +it tore out one of thy two eyes. All the men of Ireland can see that +thou art one-eyed; here is the man that struck thine other eye out of +thy head," and he also sat down. + +"Make ye ready again for the strife for renown, O ye men of Ulster!" +cried Ket. "Thou hast not yet gained the right to divide the Boar," +said Munremur, Gerrcind's son. + +"Is that Munremur?" cried Ket; "I have but one short word for thee, O +Munremur! Not yet hath the third day passed since I smote the heads +off three warriors who came from your lands, and the midmost of the +three was the head of thy firstborn son!" and Munremur also sat down. + +"Come to the strife for renown!" cried Ket. + +"That strife will I give to thee," said Mend the son of Salcholcam (the +Sword-heeled). + +"Who is this?" asked Ket. + +"'Tis Mend," said all who were there. + +"Hey there!" cried Ket. "The son of the man with the nickname comes to +measure his renown with mine! Why, Mend, it was by me that the +nickname of thy father came; 'twas I who cut the heel from him with my +sword so that he hopped away from me upon one leg! How shall the son of +that one-legged man measure his renown with mine?" and he also sat down. + + +[FN#15] Pronounced Yeogan, son of Doorha. + + +"Come to the strife for renown!" cried Ket. + +"That warfare shalt thou have from me!" said an Ulster warrior, tall, +grey, and more terrible than the rest. + +"Who is this?" asked Ket. + +"'Tis Celtchar, the son of Uitechar," cried all. + +"Pause thou a little, Celtchar," said Ket, "unless it be in thy mind to +crush me in an instant. Once did I come to thy dwelling, O Celtchar, a +cry was raised about me, and all men hurried up at that cry, and thou +also camest beside them. It was in a ravine that the combat between us +was held; thou didst hurl thy spear against me, and against thee I also +hurled my spear; and my spear pierced thee through the leg and through +the groin, so that from that hour thou hast been diseased, nor hath son +or daughter been born to thee. How canst thou strive in renown with +me?" and he also sat down. + +"Come to the strife for renown!" cried Ket. + +"That strife shalt thou have," said Cuscrid the Stammerer, of Macha, +king Conor's son. + +"Who is this?" said Ket. "'Tis Cuscrid," said all; "he hath a form +which is as the form of a king." + +"Nor hath he aught to thank thee for," said the youth. + +"Good!" said Ket. "It was against me that thou didst come on the day +when thou didst first make trial of thy weapons, my lad: 'twas in the +borderland that we met. And there thou didst leave the third part of +thy folk behind thee, and thou didst fly with a spear-thrust through +thy throat so that thou canst speak no word plainly, for the spear cut +in sunder the sinews of thy neck; and from that hour thou hast been +called Cuscrid the Stammerer." And in this fashion did Ket put to +shame all the warriors of the province of Ulster. + +But as he was exulting near to the Boar, with his knife in his hand, +all saw Conall, the Victorious enter the palace; and Conall sprang into +the midst of the house, and the men of Ulster hailed him with a shout; +and Conor himself took his helmet from his head, and swung it on high +to greet him. + +"'Tis well that I wait for the portion that befalls me!" said Conall. +Who is he who is the divider of the Boar for ye?" + +"That office must be given to the man who stands there," said Conor, +"even to Ket, the son of Mata." + +"Is this true, O Ket?" said Conall. "Art thou the man to allot this +Boar?" And then sang Ket: + + +Conall, all hail! +Hard stony spleen +Wild glowing flame! +Ice-glitter keen! +Blood in thy breast +Rageth and boils; +Oft didst thou wrest +Victory's spoils: +Thou scarred son of Finuchoem,[FN#16] thou truly canst claim +To stand rival to me, and to match me in fame! + + +And Conall replied to him: + +Hail to thee, Ket! +Well are we met! +Heart icy-cold, +Home for the bold! +Ender of grief! +Car-riding chief! +Sea's stormy wave! +Bull, fair and brave! +Ket! first of the children of Matach! +The proof shall be found when to combat we dart, +The proof shall be found when from combat we part; +He shall tell of that battle who guardeth the stirks, +He shall tell of that battle at handcraft who works; +And the heroes shall stride to the wild lion-fight, +For by men shall fall men in this palace to-night: +Welcome, Ket![FN#17] + + +[FN#16] Pronounced Finn-hoom. + +[FN#17] The short lines of this rhetoric have the metre of the +original Irish. + + +"Rise thou, and depart from this Boar," said Conall. + +"What claim wilt thou bring why I should do this?" said Ket. + +"'Tis true indeed," said Conall, "thou art contending in renown with +me. I will give thee one claim only, O Ket! I swear by the oath of my +tribe that since the day that I first received a spear into my hand I +have seldom slept without the head of a slain man of Connaught as my +pillow; and I have not let pass a day or a night in which a man of +Connaught hath not fallen by my hand." + +"'Tis true indeed," said Ket, "thou art a better warrior than I. Were +but Anluan here, he could battle with thee in another fashion; shame +upon us that he is not in this house!" + +"Aye, but Anluan is here! "cried Conall, and therewith he plucked +Anluan's head from his belt. And he threw the head towards Ket, so +that it smote him upon the chest, and a gulp of the blood was dashed +over his lips. And Ket came away from the Boar, and Conall placed +himself beside it. + +"Now let men come to contend for renown with me!" cried Conall. But +among the men of Connaught there was none who would challenge him, and +they raised a wall of shields, like a great vat around him, for in that +house was evil wrangling, and men in their malice would make cowardly +casts at him. And Conall turned to divide the Boar, and he took the +end of the tail in his mouth. And although the tail was so great that +it was a full load for nine men, yet he sucked it all into his mouth so +that nothing of it was left; and of this hath been said: + + +Strong hands on a cart thrust him forward; +His great tail, though for nine men a load, +Was devoured by the brave Conall Cernach, +As the joints he so gaily bestowed. + + +Now to the men of Connaught Conall gave nothing except the two +fore-legs of the Boar, and this share seemed to be but small to the men +of Connaught, and thereon they sprang up, and the men of Ulster also +sprang up, and they rushed at each other. They buffeted each other so +that the heap of bodies inside the house rose as high as the side-walls +of it; and streams of blood flowed under the doors. + +The hosts brake out through the doors into the outer court, and great +was the din that uprose; the blood upon the floor of the house might +have driven a mill, so mightily did each man strike out at his fellow. +And at that time Fergus plucked up by the roots a great oak-tree that +stood in the outer court in the midst of it; and they all burst out of +the court, and the battle went on outside. + +Then came out Mac Datho, leading the hound by a leash in his hand, that +he might let him loose between the two armies, to see to which side the +sense of the hound would turn. And the hound joined himself with the +men of Ulster, and he rushed on the defeated Connaughtmen, for these +were in flight. And it is told that in the plain of Ailbe, the hound +seized hold of the poles of the chariot in which Ailill and Maev rode: +and there Fer-loga, charioteer to Ailill and Maev, fell upon him, so +that he cast his body to one side, and his head was left upon the poles +of the chariot. And they say that it is for that reason that the plain +of Ailbe is so named, for from the hound Ailbe the name hath come. + +The rout went on northwards, over Ballaghmoon, past Rurin Hill, over +the Midbine Ford near to Mullaghmast, over Drum Criach Ridge which is +opposite to what is Kildare to-day, over Rath Ingan which is in the +forest of Gabla, then by Mac Lugna's Ford over the ridge of the two +plains till they came to the Bridge of Carpre that is over the Boyne. +And at the ford which is known as the Ford of the Hound's Head, which +standeth in the west of Meath, the hound's head fell from the chariot. + +And, as they went over the heather of Meath, Ferloga the charioteer of +Ailill fell into the heather, and he sprang behind Conor who followed +after them in his chariot, and he seized Conor by the head. + +"I claim a boon from thee if I give thee thy life, O Conor!" said he. + +"I choose freely to grant that boon," said Conor. + +"'Tis no great matter," said Ferloga. "Take me with thee to Emain +Macha, and at each ninth hour let the widows and the growing maidens of +Ulster serenade me[FN#18] with the song: 'Ferloga is my darling.'" + + +[FN#18] Literally, "sing me a cepoc," or a choral song. + + +And the women were forced to do it; for they dared not to deny him, +fearing the wrath of Conor; and at the end of a year Ferloga crossed +byAthlone into Connaught, and he took with him two of Conor's horses +bridled with golden reins. + +And concerning all this hath it been sung: + +Hear truth, ye lads of Connaught; +No lies your griefs shall fill, +A youth the Boar divided; +The share you had was ill. + +Of men thrice fifty fifties +Would win the Ailbe Hound; +In pride of war they struggled, +Small cause for strife they found. +Yet there came conquering Conor, +And Ailill's hosts, and Ket; +No law Cuchulain granted, +And brooding Bodb[FN#19] was met. + +Dark Durthacht's son, great Eogan, +Shall find that journey hard; +From east came Congal Aidni, +And Fiaman,[FN#20] sailor bard; +Three sons of Nera, famous +For countless warlike fields; +Three lofty sons of Usnach, +With hard-set cruel shields. + +From high Conalad Croghan +Wise Senlaech[FN#21] drave his car; +And Dubhtach[FN#22] came from Emain, +His fame is known afar; +And Illan came, whom glorious +For many a field they hail: +Loch Sail's grim chief, Munremur; +Berb Baither, smooth of tale; + + +[FN#19] Pronounced Bobe, with sound of 'robe.' + +[FN#20] Pronounced Feeman. + +[FN#21] Pronounced Senlay, with the light final ch. + +[FN#22] Pronounced Doov-ta. + + +And Celtchar, lord in Ulster; +And Conall's valour wild; +And Marcan came; and Lugaid +Of three great hounds the child. + +Fergus, awaiting the glorious hound, +Spreadeth a cloak o'er his mighty shield, +Shaketh an oak he hath plucked from ground, +Red was the woe the red cloak concealed. + +Yonder stood Cethern,[FN#23] of Finntan son, +Holding them back; till six hours had flown +Connaughtmen's slaughter his hand hath done, +Pass of the ford he hath held alone. + +Armies with Feidlim[FN#24] the war sustain, +Laegaire the Triumpher rides on east, +Aed, son of Morna, ye hear complain, +Little his thought is to mourn that beast. + +High are the nobles, their deeds show might, +Housefellows fair, and yet hard in fight; +Champions of strength upon clans bring doom, +Great are the captives, and vast the tomb. + + +[FN#23] Pronounced Kay-hern. + +[FN#24] Pronounced Fay-lim. + + + + +THE SICK-BED OF CUCHULAIN + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The romance called the "Sick-bed of Cuchulain," the latter part of +which is also known as the "Jealousy of Emer," is preserved in two +manuscripts, one of which is the eleventh-century Leabhar na h-Uidhri, +the other a fifteenth century manuscript in the Trinity College +Library. These two manuscripts give substantially the same account, +and are obviously taken from the same source, but the later of the two +is not a copy of the older manuscript, and sometimes preserves a better +reading. + The eleventh-century manuscript definitely gives a yet older book, the +Yellow Book of Slane, now lost, as its authority, and this may be the +ultimate authority for the tale as we have it. But, although there is +only one original version of the text, it is quite plain from internal +evidence that the compiler of the Yellow Book of Slane, or of an +earlier book, had two quite different forms of the story to draw from, +and combined them in the version that we have. The first, which may be +called the "Antiquarian" form, relates the cause of Cuchulain's +illness, tells in detail of the journey of his servant Laeg to +Fairyland, in order to test the truth of a message sent to Cuchulain +that he can be healed by fairy help, and then breaks off. In both the +Leabhar na h-Uidhri and in the fifteenth-century manuscript, follows a +long passage which has absolutely nothing to do with the story, +consisting of an account how Lugaid Red-Stripes was elected to be king +over Ireland, and of the Bull Feast at which the coming of Lugaid is +prophesied. Both manuscripts then give the counsel given by Cuchulain +to Lugaid on his election (this passage being the only justification +for the insertion, as Cuchulain is supposed to be on his sick-bed when +the exhortation is given); and both then continue the story in a quite +different form, which may be called the "Literary" form. The cause of +the sickness is not given in the Literary form, which commences with +the rousing of Cuchulain from his sick-bed, this rousing being due to +different agency from that related in the Antiquarian form, for in the +latter Cuchulain is roused by a son of the fairy king, in the former b +his wife Emer. The journey of Laeg to Fairyland is then told in the +literary form with different detail to that given in the Antiquarian +one, and the full conclusion is then supplied in this form alone; so +that we have, although in the same manuscript version, two quite +distinct forms of the original legend, the first defective at the end +of the story, the other at its beginning. + +Not only are the incidents of the two forms of the story different in +many respects, but the styles are so absolutely different that it would +seem impossible to attribute them to the same author. The first is a +mere compilation by an antiquarian; it is difficult to imagine that it +was ever recited in a royal court, although the author may have had +access to a better version than his own. He inserts passages which do +not develop the interest of the story; hints at incidents (the +temporary absence of Fergus and Conall) which are not developed or +alluded to afterwards, and is a notable early example of the way in +which Irish literature can be spoiled by combining several different +independent stories into one. There is only one gem, strictly so +called, and that not of a high order; the only poetic touches occur in +the rhetoric, and, although in this there is a weird supernatural +flavour, that may have marked the original used by the compiler of this +form ' the human interest seems to be exceptionally weak. + +The second or Literary form is as different from the other as it is +possible for two compositions on the same theme to be. The first few +words strike the human note in Cuchulain's message to his wife: "Tell +her that it goeth better with me from hour to hour;" the poems are +many, long, and of high quality; the rhetoric shows a strophic +correspondence; the Greek principle of letting the messenger tell the +story instead of relating the facts, in a narrative of events (the +method followed in the Antiquarian version) is made full use of; the +modest account given by Cuchulain of his own deeds contrasts well with +the prose account of the same deeds; and the final relation of the +voluntary action of the fairy lady who gives up her lover to her rival, +and her motives, is a piece of literary work centuries in advance of +any other literature of modern Europe. + +Some modern accounts of this romance have combined the two forms, and +have omitted the irrelevant incidents in the Antiquarian version; there +are literary advantages in this course, for the disconnected character +of the Antiquarian opening, which must stand first, as it alone gives +the beginning of the story, affords little indication of the high +quality of the better work of the Literary form that follows; but, in +order to heighten the contrast, the two forms are given just as they +occur in the manuscripts, the only omissions being the account of the +election of Lugaid, and the exhortation of Cuchulain to the new king. + +Thurneysen, in his Sagen aus dem Alten Irland, places the second +description of Fairyland by Laeg with the Antiquarian form, and this +may be justified not only by the allusion to Ethne, who does not appear +elsewhere in the Literary form, but from the fact that there is a touch +of rough humour in this poem, which appears in the Antiquarian form, +but not elsewhere in the Literary one, where the manuscripts place this +poem. But on the other hand the poetry of this second description, and +its vividness, come much closer to the Literary form, and it has been +left in the place that the manuscript gives to it. + +The whole has been translated direct from the Irish in Irische Texte, +vol. i., with occasional reference to the facsimile of the Leabhar na +h-Uidhri; the words marked as doubtful by Windisch in his glossary, +which are rather numerous, being indicated by marks of interrogation in +the notes, and, where Windisch goes not indicate a probable meaning, a +special note is made on the word, unless it has been given in +dictionaries subsequent to that of Windisch. Thurneysen's translation +has sometimes been made use of, when there is no other guide; but he +omits some passages, and Windisch has been followed in the rendering +given in his glossary in cases where there would seem to be a +difference, as Thurneysen often translates freely. + + + + +THE SICK-BED OF CUCHULAIN + + + +Transcribed from the Lost Yellow Book of Slane + + +By Maelmuiri mac Ceileachair into the Leabhar na h-Uidhri in the +Eleventh Century + + +Every year the men of Ulster were accustomed to hold festival together; +and the time when they held it was for three days before Samhain, the +Summer-End, and for three days after that day, and upon Samhain itself. + And the time that is spoken of is that when the men of Ulster were in +the Plain of Murthemne, and there they used to keep that festival every +year; nor was there an thing in the world that they would do at that +time except sports, and marketings, and splendours, and pomps, and +feasting and eating; and it is from that custom of theirs that the +Festival of the Samhain has descended, that is now held throughout the +whole of Ireland. + +Now once upon a time the men of Ulster held festival upon the Murthemne +Plain, and the reason that this festival was held was that every man of +them should then give account of the combats he had made and of his +valour every Summer-End. It was their custom to hold that festival in +order to give account of these combats, and the manner in which they +gave that account was this: Each man used to cut off the tip of the +tongue of a foe whom he had killed, and he bore it with him in a pouch. + Moreover, in order to make more great the numbers of their contests, +some used to bring with them the tips of the tongues of beasts, and +each man publicly declared the fights he had fought, one man of them +after the other. And they did this also--they laid their swords over +their thighs when they declared the strifes, and their own swords used +to turn against them when the strife that they declared was false; nor +was this to be wondered at, for at that time it was customary for demon +beings to scream from the weapons of men, so that for this cause their +weapons might be the more able to guard them. + +To that festival then came all the men of Ulster except two alone, and +these two were Fergus the son of Rog, and Conall the Victorious. "Let +the festival be held!" cried the men of Ulster. "Nay," said Cuchulain, +"it shall not be held until Conall and Fergus come," and this he said +because Fergus was the foster-father of Cuchulain, and Conall was his +comrade. Then said Sencha: "Let us for the present engage in games of +chess; and let the Druids sing, and let the jugglers play their feats;" +and it was done as he had said. + +Now while they were thus employed a flock of birds came down and +hovered over the lake; never was seen in Ireland more beautiful birds +than these. And a longing that these birds should be given to them +seized upon the women who were there; and each of them began to boast +of the prowess of her husband at bird-catching. "How I wish," said +Ethne Aitencaithrech, Conor's wife, "that I could have two of those +birds, one of them upon each of my two shoulders." "It is what we all +long for," said the women; and "If any should have this boon, I should +be the first one to have it," said Ethne Inguba, the wife of Cuchulain. + +"What are we to do now?" said the women. "'Tis easy to answer you," +said Leborcham, the daughter of Oa and Adarc; "I will go now with a +message from you, and will seek for Cuchulain." She then went to +Cuchulain, and "The women of Ulster would be well pleased," she said, +"if yonder birds were given to them by thy hand." And Cuchulain made +for his sword to unsheathe it against her: "Cannot the lasses of Ulster +find any other but us," he said, "to give them their bird-hunt to-day?" + "'Tis not seemly for thee to rage thus against them," said Leborcham, +"for it is on thy account that the women of Ulster have assumed one of +their three blemishes, even the blemish of blindness." For there were +three blemishes that the women of Ulster assumed, that of crookedness +of gait, and that of a stammering in their speech, and that of +blindness. Each of the women who loved Conall the Victorious had +assumed a crookedness of gait; each woman who loved Cuscraid Mend, the +Stammerer of Macha, Conor's son, stammered in her speech; each woman in +like manner who loved Cuchulain had assumed a blindness of her eyes, in +order to resemble Cuchulain; for he, when his mind was angry within +him, was accustomed to draw in the one of his eyes so far that a crane +could not reach it in his head, and would thrust out the other so that +it was great as a cauldron in which a calf is cooked. + +"Yoke for us the chariot, O Laeg!" said Cuchulain. And Laeg yoked the +chariot at that, and Cuchulain went into the chariot, and he cast his +sword at the birds with a cast like the cast of a boomerang, so that +they with their claws and wings flapped against the water. And they +seized upon all the birds, and they gave them and distributed them +among the women; nor was there any one of the women, except Ethne +alone, who had not a pair of those birds. Then Cuchulain returned to +his wife; and "Thou art enraged," said he to her. "I am in no way +enraged," answered Ethne, "for I deem it as being by me that the +distribution was made. And thou hast done what was fitting," she said, +"for there is not one of these woman but loves thee; none in whom thou +hast no share; but for myself none hath any share in me except thou +alone." "Be not angry," said Cuchulain, "if in the future any birds +come to the Plain of Murthemne or to the Boyne, the two birds that are +the most beautiful among those that come shall be thine." + +A little while after this they saw two birds flying over the lake, +linked together by a chain of red gold. They sang a gentle song, and a +sleep fell upon all the men who were there; and Cuchulain rose up to +pursue the birds. "If thou wilt hearken to me," said Laeg, and so also +said Ethne, "thou shalt not go against them; behind those birds is some +especial power. Other birds may be taken by thee at some future day." +"Is it possible that such claim as this should be made upon me?" said +Cuchulain. "Place a stone in my sling, O Laeg!" Laeg thereon took a +stone, and he placed it in the sling, and Cuchulain launched the stone +at the birds, but the cast missed. "Alas!" said he. He took another +stone, and he launched this also at the birds, but the stone flew past +them. "Wretched that I am," he cried, "since the very first day that I +assumed arms, I have never missed a cast until this day!" And he cast +his spear at them, and the spear went through the shield of the wing of +one of the birds, and the birds flew away, and went beneath the lake. + +After this Cuchulain departed, and he rested his back against a stone +pillar, and his soul was angry within him, and a sleep fell upon him. +Then saw he two women come to him; the one of them had a green mantle +upon her, and upon the other was a purple mantle folded in five folds. +And the woman in the green mantle approached him, and she laughed a +laugh at him, and she gave him a stroke with a horsewhip. And then the +other approached him, and she also laughed at him, and she struck him +in the like manner; and for a long time were they thus, each of them in +turn coming to him and striking him until he was all but dead; and then +they departed from him. + +Now the men of Ulster perceived the state in which Cuchulain was in; +and they cried out that he should be awakened; but "Nay," said Fergus, +"ye shall not move him, for he seeth a vision;" and a little after that +Cuchulain came from his sleep. "What hath happened to thee?" said the +men of Ulster; but he had no power to bid greeting to them. "Let me be +carried," he said, "to the sick-bed that is in Tete Brecc; neither to +Dun Imrith, nor yet to Dun Delga." "Wilt thou not be carried to Dun +Delga to seek for Emer?" said Laeg. "Nay," said he, "my word is for +Tete Brecc;" and thereon they bore him from that place, and he was in +Tete Brecc until the end of one year, and during all that time he had +speech with no one. + +Now upon a certain day before the next Summer-End, at the end of a +year, when the men of Ulster were in the house where Cuchulain was, +Fergus being at the side-wall, and Conall Cernach at his head, and +Lugaid Red-Stripes at his pillow, and Ethne Inguba at his feet; when +they were there in this manner, a man came to them, and he seated +himself near the entrance of the chamber in which Cuchulain lay. "What +hath brought thee here?" said Conall the Victorious. "No hard question +to answer," said the man. "If the man who lies yonder were in health, +he would be a good protection to all of Ulster; in the weakness and the +sickness in which he now is, so much the more great is the protection +that they have from him. I have no fear of any of you," he said, "for +it is to give to this man a greeting that I come." "Welcome to thee, +then, and fear nothing," said the men of Ulster; and the man rose to +his feet, and he sang them these staves: + + +Ah! Cuchulain, who art under sickness still, +Not long thou its cure shouldst need; +Soon would Aed Abra's daughters, to heal thine ill, +To thee, at thy bidding, speed. + +Liban, she at swift Labra's right hand who sits, +Stood up on Cruach's[FN#25] Plain, and cried: +"'Tis the wish of Fand's heart, she the tale permits, +To sleep at Cuchulain's side. + + +[FN#25] Pronounced something like Croogh. + + +"'If Cuchulain would come to me,' Fand thus told, +'How goodly that day would shine! +Then on high would our silver be heaped, and gold, +Our revellers pour the wine. + +"'And if now in my land, as my friend, had been +Cuchulain, of Sualtam[FN#26] son, +The things that in visions he late hath seen +In peace would he safe have won. + +"'In the Plains of Murthemne, to south that spread, +Shall Liban my word fulfil: +She shall seek him on Samhain, he naught need dread, +By her shall be cured his ill.'" + + +[FN#26] Pronounced Sooltam. + + +"Who art thou, then, thyself?" said the men of Ulster. "I am Angus, +the son of Aed Abra," he answered; and the man then left them, nor did +any of them know whence it was he had come, nor whither he went. +Then Cuchulain sat up, and he spoke to them. "Fortunate indeed is +this!" said the men of Ulster; "tell us what it is that hath happened +to thee." "Upon Samhain night last year," he said, "I indeed saw a +vision;" and he told them of all he had seen. "What should now be +done, Father Conor?" said Cuchulain. "This hast thou to do," answered +Conor, "rise, and go until thou comest to the pillar where thou wert +before." + +Then Cuchulain went forth until he came to the pillar, and then saw he +the woman in the green mantle come to him. "This is good, O +Cuchulain!" said she. "'Tis no good thing in my thought," said +Cuchulain. "Wherefore camest thou to me last year?" he said. "It was +indeed to do no injury to thee that we came," said the woman, "but to +seek for thy friendship. I have come to greet thee," she said, "from +Fand, the daughter of Aed Abra; her husband, Manannan the Son of the +Sea, hath released her, and she hath thereon set her love on thee. My +own name is Liban, and I have brought to thee a message from my spouse, +Labraid the Swift, the Sword-Wielder, +that he will give thee the woman in exchange for one day's service to +him in battle against Senach the Unearthly, and against Eochaid +Juil,[FN#27] and against Yeogan the Stream." "I am in no fit state," +he said, "to contend with men to-day." "That will last but a little +while," she said; "thou shalt be whole, and all that thou hast lost of +thy strength shall be increased to thee. Labraid shall bestow on thee +that boon, for he is the best of all warriors that are in the world." + + +[FN#27] Pronounced, nearly, Yeo-hay Yool. + + +"Where is it that Labraid dwelleth?" asked Cuchulain. + +"In Mag Mell,[FN#28] the Plain of Delight," said Liban; "and now I +desire to go to another land," said she. + + +[FN#28] Pronounced Maw Mel. + + +"Let Laeg go with thee," said Cuchulain, "that he may learn of the land +from which thou hast come." "Let him come, then," said Liban. + +They departed after that, and they went forward until they came to a +place where Fand was. And Liban turned to seek for Laeg, and she set +him upon her shoulder. "Thou wouldest never go hence, O Laeg!" said +Liban, "wert thou not under a woman's protection." "'Tis not a thing +that I have most been accustomed to up to this time," said Laeg, "to be +under a woman's guard." "Shame, and everlasting shame," said Liban, +"that Cuchulain is not where thou art." "It were well for me," +answered Laeg, "if it were indeed he who is here." + +They passed on then, and went forward until they came opposite to the +shore of an island, and there they saw a skiff of bronze lying upon the +lake before them. They entered into the skiff, and they crossed over +to the island, and came to the palace door, and there they saw the man, +and he came towards them. And thus spoke Liban to the man whom they +saw there: + + +Say where He, the Hand-on-Sword, +Labra swift, abideth? +He who, of the triumphs lord, +In strong chariot rideth. +When victorious troops are led, +Labra hath the leading; +He it is, when spears are red, +Sets the points a-bleeding. + + +And the man replied to her, and spoke thus: + + +Labra, who of speed is son, +Comes, and comes not slowly; +Crowded hosts together run, +Bent on warfare wholly. +Soon upon the Forest Plain +Shall be set the killing; +For the hour when men are slain +Fidga's[FN#29] Fields are filling![FN#30] + + +[FN#29] Pronounced, nearly, Feega. + +[FN#30] Irish metre approximately imitated in these stanzas. + + +They entered then into the palace, and they saw there thrice fifty +couches within the palace, and three times fifty women upon the +couches, and the women all bade Laeg welcome, and it was in these words +that they addressed him: + + +Hail! for the guide, +Laeg! of thy quest: +Laeg we beside +Hail, as our guest! + + +"What wilt thou do now?" said Liban; "wilt thou go on without a delay, +and hold speech with Fand?" + +"I will go," he answered, "if I may know the place where she is." + +"That is no hard matter to tell thee," she answered; "she is in her +chamber apart." They went therein, and they greeted Fand, and she +welcomed Laeg in the same fashion as the others had done. + +Fand is the daughter of Aed Abra; Aed means fire, and he is the fire of +the eye: that is, of the eye's pupil: Fand moreover is the name of the +tear that runs from the eye; it was on account of the clearness of her +beauty that she was so named, for there is nothing else in the world +except a tear to which her beauty could be likened. + +Now, while they were thus in that place, they heard the rattle of +Labraid's chariot as he approached the island. "The spirit of Labraid +is gloomy to-day," said Liban, "I will go and greet him." And she went +out, and she bade welcome to Labraid, and she spoke as follows: + + +Hail! the man who holdeth sword, the swift in fight! +Heir of little armies, armed with javelins light; +Spears he drives in splinters; bucklers bursts in twain; +Limbs of men are wounded; nobles by him slain. +He for error searcheth, streweth gifts not small, +Hosts of men destroyeth; fairer he than all! +Heroes whom he findeth feel his fierce attack; +Labra! swiftest Sword-Hand! welcome to us back! + + +Labraid made no reply to her, and the lady spoke again thus: + + +Welcome! swift Labra, +Hand to sword set! +All win thy bounty, +Praise thou shalt get; +Warfare thou seekest, +Wounds seam thy side; +Wisely thou speakest, +Law canst decide; +Kindly thou rulest, +Wars fightest well; +Wrong-doers schoolest, +Hosts shalt repel. + + +Labraid still made no answer, and she sang another lay thus: + + +Labra! all hail! +Sword-wielder, swift: +War can he wage, +Warriors can sift; +Valiant is he, +Fighters excels; +More than in sea +Pride in him swells; +Down in the dust +Strength doth he beat; +They who him trust +Rise to their feet +Weak ones he'll raise, +Humble the strong; +Labra! thy praise +Peals loud and long! + + +"Thou speakest not rightly, O lady," said Labraid; and he then spoke to +her thus: + + +O my wife! naught of boasting or pride is in me; +No renown would I claim, and no falsehood shall be: +Lamentation alone stirs my mind, for hard spears +Rise in numbers against me: dread contest appears: +The right arms of their heroes red broadswords shall swing; +Many hosts Eochaid Juil holds to heart as their king: +Let no pride then be ours; no high words let there be; +Pride and arrogance far should be, lady, from me! + + +"Let now thy mind be appeased," said the lady Liban to him. "Laeg, the +charioteer of Cuchulain, is here; and Cuchulain hath sent word to thee +that he will come to join thy hosts." + +Then Labraid bade welcome to Laeg, and he said to him: "Welcome, O +Laeg! for the sake of the lady with whom thou comest, and for the sake +of him from whom thou hast come. Do thou now go to thine own land, O +Laeg!" said Labraid, "and Liban shall accompany thee." + +Then Laeg returned to Emain, and he gave news of what he had seen to +Cuchulain, and to all others beside; and Cuchulain rose up, and he +passed his hand over his face, and he greeted Laeg brightly, and his +mind was strengthened within him for the news that the lad had brought +him. + +[At this point occurs the break in the story indicated in the preface, +and the description of the Bull-Feast at which Lugaid Red-Stripes is +elected king over all Ireland; also the exhortation that Cuchulain, +supposed to be lying on his sick-bed, gives to Lugaid as to the duties +of a king. After this insertion, which has no real connection with the +story, the story itself proceeds, but from another point, for the +thread is taken up at the place where Cuchulain has indeed awaked from +his trance, but is still on his sick-bed; the message of Angus appears +to have been given, but Cuchulain does not seem to have met Liban for +the second time, nor to have sent Laeg to inquire. Ethne has +disappeared as an actor from the scene; her place is taken by Emer, +Cuchulain's real wife; and the whole style of the romance so alters for +the better that, even if it were not for the want of agreement of the +two versions, we could see that we have here two tales founded upon the +same legend but by two different hands, the end of the first and the +beginning of the second alike missing, and the gap filled in by the +story of the election of Lugaid. + +Now as to Cuchulain it has to be related thus: He called upon Laeg to +come to him; and "Do thou go, O Laeg!" said Cuchulain, "to the place +where Emer is; and say to her that women of the fairies have come upon +me, and that they have destroyed my strength; and say also to her that +it goeth better with me from hour to hour, and bid her to come and seek +me;" and the young man Laeg then spoke these words in order to hearten +the mind of Cuchulain: + + +It fits not heroes lying +On sick-bed in a sickly sleep to dream: +Witches before thee flying +Of Trogach's fiery Plain the dwellers seem: +They have beat down thy strength, +Made thee captive at length, +And in womanish folly away have they driven thee far. + +Arise! no more be sickly! +Shake off the weakness by those fairies sent: +For from thee parteth quickly +Thy strength that for the chariot-chiefs was meant: +Thou crouchest, like a youth! +Art thou subdued, in truth? +Have they shaken thy prowess and deeds that were meet for the war + +Yet Labra's power hath sent his message plain: +Rise, thou that crouchest: and be great again. + + +And Laeg, after that heartening, departed; and he went on until he came +to the place where Emer was; and he told her of the state of Cuchulain: +"Ill hath it been what thou hast done, O youth!" she said; "for +although thou art known as one who dost wander in the lands where the +fairies dwell; yet no virtue of healing hast thou found there and +brought for the cure of thy lord. Shame upon the men of Ulster!" she +said, "for they have not sought to do a great deed, and to heal him. +Yet, had Conor thus been fettered; had it been Fergus who had lost his +sleep, had it been Conall the Victorious to whom wounds had been dealt, +Cuchulain would have saved them." And she then sang a song, and in +this fashion she sang it: + + +Laeg! who oft the fairy hill[FN#31] +Searchest, slack I find thee still; +Lovely Dechtire's son shouldst thou +By thy zeal have healed ere now. + +Ulster, though for bounties famed, +Foster-sire and friends are shamed: +None hath deemed Cuchulain worth +One full journey through the earth. + +Yet, if sleep on Fergus fell, +Such that magic arts dispel, +Dechtire's son had restless rode +Till a Druid raised that load. + +Aye, had Conall come from wars, +Weak with wounds and recent scars; +All the world our Hound would scour +Till he found a healing power. + +Were it Laegaire[FN#32] war had pressed, +Erin's meads would know no rest, +Till, made whole from wounds, he won +Mach's grandchild, Conna's son. + +Had thus crafty Celthar slept, +Long, like him, by sickness kept; +Through the elf-mounds, night and day, +Would our Hound, to heal him, stray. + +Furbaid, girt by heroes strong, +Were it he had lain thus long; +Ah! our Hound would rescue bear +Though through solid earth he fare. + + +[FN#31] The metre of these verses is that of the Irish. + +[FN#32] Pronounced Leary. + + +All the elves of Troom[FN#33] seem dead; +All their mighty deeds have fled; +For their Hound, who hounds surpassed, +Elves have bound in slumber fast. + +Ah! on me thy sickness swerves, +Hound of Smith who Conor serves! +Sore my heart, my flesh must be: +May thy cure be wrought by me. + +Ah! 'tis blood my heart that stains, +Sick for him who rode the plains: +Though his land be decked for feast, +He to seek its plain hath ceased. + +He in Emain still delays; +'Tis those Shapes the bar that raise: +Weak my voice is, dead its tone, +He in evil form is shown. + +Month-long, year-long watch I keep; +Seasons pass, I know not sleep: +Men's sweet speech strikes not mine ear; +Naught, Riangabra's[FN#34] son, I hear. + + +[FN#33] Spelt Truim. + +[FN#34] Pronounced Reen-gabra. + + +And, after that she had sung that song, Emer went forward to Emain that +she might seek for Cuchulain; and she seated herself in the chamber +where Cuchulain was, and thus she addressed him: "Shame upon thee!" she +said, "to lie thus prostrate for a woman's love! well may this long +sickbed of thine cause thee to ail!" And it was in this fashion that +she addressed him, and she chanted this lay: + + +Stand up, O thou hero of Ulster! +Wake from sleep! rise up, joyful and sound! +Look on Conor the king! on my beauty, +Will that loose not those slumbers profound? + +See the Ulstermen's clear shining shoulders! +Hear their trumpets that call to the fight! +See their war-cars that sweep through the valleys, +As in hero-chess, leaping each knight. + +See their chiefs, and the strength that adorns them, +Their tall maidens, so stately with grace; +The swift kings, springing on to the battle, +The great queens of the Ulstermen's race! + +The clear winter but now is beginning; +Lo! the wonder of cold that hangs there! +'Tis a sight that should warn thee; how chilly! +Of what length I yet of colour how bare! + +This long slumber is ill; it decays thee: +'Tis like "milk for the full" the saw saith +Hard is war with fatigue; deadly weakness +Is a Prince who stands second to Death. + +Wake! 'tis joy for the sodden, this slumber; +Throw it off with a great glowing heat: +Sweet-voiced friends for thee wait in great number: +Ulster's champion! stand up on thy feet! + + +And Cuchulain at her word stood up; and he passed his hand over his +face, and he cast all his heaviness and his weariness away from him, +and then he arose, and went on his way before him until he came to the +enclosure that he sought; and in that enclosure Liban appeared to him. +And Liban spoke to him, and she strove to lead him into the fairy hill; +but "What place is that in which Labraid dwelleth?" said Cuchulain. It +is easy for me to tell thee!" she said: + + +Labra's home's a pure lake, whither +Troops of women come and go; +Easy paths shall lead thee thither, +Where thou shalt swift Labra know. + +Hundreds his skilled arm repelleth; +Wise be they his deeds who speak: +Look where rosy beauty dwelleth; +Like to that think Labra's cheek. + +Head of wolf, for gore that thirsteth, +Near his thin red falchion shakes; +Shields that cloak the chiefs he bursteth, +Arms of foolish foes he breaks. + +Trust of friend he aye requiteth, +Scarred his skin, like bloodshot eye; +First of fairy men he fighteth; +Thousands, by him smitten, die. + +Chiefs at Echaid[FN#35] Juil's name tremble; +Yet his land-strange tale-he sought, +He whose locks gold threads resemble, +With whose breath wine-scents are brought. + +More than all strife-seekers noted, +Fiercely to far lands he rides; +Steeds have trampled, skiffs have floated +Near the isle where he abides. + +Labra, swift Sword-Wielder, gaineth +Fame for actions over sea; +Sleep for all his watch sustaineth! +Sure no coward hound is he. + +The chains on the necks of the coursers he rides, +And their bridles are ruddy with gold: +He hath columns of crystal and silver besides, +The roof of his house to uphold. + + +[FN#35] Pronounced, apparently, Ech-ay, the ch like the sound in +"loch." + + +"I will not go thither at a woman's call," said Cuchulain. "Let Laeg +then go," said the lady, "and let him bring to thee tidings of all that +is there." "Let him depart, then," said Cuchulain; and Laeg rose up +and departed with Liban, and they came to the Plain of Speech, and to +the Tree of Triumphs, and over the festal plain of Emain, and over the +festal plain of Fidga, and in that place was Aed Abra, and with him his +daughters. + +Then Fand bade welcome to Laeg, and "How is it," said she, "that +Cuchulain hath not come with thee?" "It pleased him not," said Laeg, +"to come at a woman's call; moreover, he desired to know whether it was +indeed from thee that had come the message, and to have full knowledge +of everything." "It was indeed from me that the message was sent," she +said; "and let now Cuchulain come swiftly to seek us, for it is for +to-day that the strife is set." Then Laeg went back to the place where +he had left Cuchulain, and Liban with him; and "How appeareth this +quest to thee, O Laeg?" said Cuchulain. And Laeg answering said, "In a +happy hour shalt thou go," said he, "for the battle is set for to-day;" +and it was in this manner that he spake, and he recited thus: + + +I went gaily through regions, +Though strange, seen before: +By his cairn found I Labra, +A cairn for a score. + +There sat yellow-haired Labra, +His spears round him rolled; +His long bright locks well gathered +Round apple of gold. + +On my five-folded purple +His glance at length fell, +And he said, "Come and enter +Where Failbe doth dwell." + +In one house dwells white Failbe, +With Labra, his friend; +And retainers thrice fifty +Each monarch attend. + +On the right, couches fifty, +Where fifty men rest; +On the left, fifty couches +By men's weight oppressed. + +For each couch copper frontings, +Posts golden, and white; +And a rich flashing jewel +As torch, gives them light. + +Near that house, to the westward, +Where sunlight sinks down, +Stand grey steeds, with manes dappled +And steeds purple-brown. + +On its east side are standing +Three bright purple trees +Whence the birds' songs, oft ringing +The king's children please. + +From a tree in the fore-court +Sweet harmony streams; +It stands silver, yet sunlit +With gold's glitter gleams. + +Sixty trees' swaying summits +Now meet, now swing wide; +Rindless food for thrice hundred +Each drops at its side. + +Near a well by that palace +Gay cloaks spread out lie, +Each with splendid gold fastening +Well hooked through its eye. + +They who dwell there, find flowing +A vat of glad ale: +'Tis ordained that for ever +That vat shall not fail. + +From the hall steps a lady +Well gifted, and fair: +None is like her in Erin; +Like gold is her hair. + +And so sweet, and so wondrous +Her words from her fall, +That with love and with longing +She breaks hearts of all. + +"Who art thou?" said that lady, +"For strange thou art here; +But if Him of Murthemne +Thou servest, draw near." + +Slowly, slowly I neared her; +I feared for my fame: +And she said, "Comes he hither, +Of Dechtire who came?" + +Ah! long since, for thy healing, +Thou there shouldst have gone, +And have viewed that great palace +Before me that shone. + +Though I ruled all of Erin +And yellow Breg's hill, +I'd give all, no small trial, +To know that land still. + +"The quest then is a good one?" said Cuchulain. "It is goodly indeed," +said Laeg, "and it is right that thou shouldest go to attain it, and +all things in that land are good." And thus further also spoke Laeg, +as he told of the loveliness of the fairy dwelling: + + +I saw a land of noble form and splendid, +Where dwells naught evil; none can speak a lie: +There stands the king, by all his hosts attended, +Brown Labra, swift to sword his hand can fly. + +We crossed the Plain of Speech, our steps arrested +Near to that Tree, whose branches triumphs bear; +At length upon the hill-crowned plain we rested, +And saw the Double-Headed Serpent's lair. + +Then Liban said, as we that mount sat under: +"Would I could see--'twould be a marvel strange-- +Yet, if I saw it, dear would be that wonder, +if to Cuchulain's form thy form could change." + +Great is the beauty of Aed Abra's daughters, +Unfettered men before them conquered fall; +Fand's beauty stuns, like sound of rushing waters, +Before her splendour kings and queens seem small. + +Though I confess, as from the wise ones hearing, +That Adam's race was once unstained by sin; - +Yet did I swear, when Fand was there appearing, +None in past ages could such beauty win. + +I saw the champions stand with arms for slaying, +Right splendid was the garb those heroes bore; +Gay coloured garments, meet for their arraying, +'Twas not the vesture of rude churls they wore. + +Women of music at the feast were sitting, +A brilliant maiden bevy near them stood; +And forms of noble youths were upwards flitting +Through the recesses of the mountain wood. + +I saw the folk of song; their strains rang sweetly, +As for the lady in that house they played; +Had I not I fled away from thence, and fleetly, +Hurt by that music, I had weak been made. + +I know the hill where Ethne took her station, +And Ethne Inguba's a lovely maid; +But none can drive from sense a warlike nation +Save she alone, in beauty then displayed. + + +And Cuchulain, when he had heard that report, went on with Liban to +that land, and he took his chariot with him. And they came to the +Island of Labraid, and there Labraid and all the women that were there +bade them welcome; and Fand gave an especial welcome to Cuchulain. +"What is there now set for us to do?" said Cuchulain. "No hard matter +to answer," said Labraid; "we must go forth and make a circuit about +the army." They went out then, and they came to the army, and they let +their eyes wander over it; and the host seemed to them to be +innumerable. "Do thou arise, and go hence for the present," said +Cuchulain to Labraid; and Labraid departed, and Cuchulain remained +confronting the army. And there were two ravens there, who spake, and +revealed Druid secrets, but the armies who heard them laughed. "It +must surely be the madman from Ireland who is there," said the army; +"it is he whom the ravens would make known to us;" and the armies +chased them away so that they found no resting-place in that land. + +Now at early morn Eochaid Juil went out in order to bathe his hands in +the spring, and Cuchulain saw his shoulder through the hood of his +tunic, and he hurled his spear at him, and he pierced him. And he by +himself slew thirty-and-three of them, and then Senach the Unearthly +assailed him, and a great fight was fought between them, and Cuchulain +slew him; and after that Labraid approached, and he brake before him +those armies. + +Then Labraid entreated Cuchulain to stay his hand from the slaying; and +"I fear now," said Laeg, "that the man will turn his wrath upon us; for +he hath not found a war to suffice him. Go now," said Laeg, "and let +there be brought three vats of cold water to cool his heat. The first +vat into which he goeth shall boil over; after he hath gone into the +second vat, none shall be able to bear the heat of it: after he hath +gone into the third vat, its water shall have but a moderate heat." + +And when the women saw Cuchulain's return, Fand sang thus: + + +Fidga's[FN#36] plain, where the feast assembles, +Shakes this eve, as his car he guides; +All the land at the trampling trembles; +Young and beardless, in state he rides. + +Blood-red canopies o'er him swinging +Chant, but not as the fairies cry; +Deeper bass from the car is singing, +Deeply droning, its wheels reply. + +Steeds are bounding beneath the traces, +None to match them my thought can find; +Wait a while! I would note their graces: +On they sweep, like the spring's swift wind. + +High in air, in his breath suspended, +Float a fifty of golden balls; +Kings may grace in their sports have blended, +None his equal my mind recalls. + + +[FN#36] Pronounced, nearly, Fee-ga. + + +Dimples four on each cheek are glowing, +One seems green, one is tinged with blue, +One dyed red, as if blood were flowing, +One is purple, of lightest hue. + +Sevenfold light from his eyeballs flashes, +None may speak him as blind, in scorn; +Proud his glances, and dark eyelashes +Black as beetle, his eyes adorn. + +Well his excellence fame confesses, +All through Erin his praise is sung; +Three the hues of his high-piled tresses; +Beardless yet, and a stripling young. + +Red his blade, it hath late been blooded; +Shines above it its silver hilt; +Golden bosses his shield have studded, +Round its rim the white bronze is spilt. + +O'er the slain in each slaughter striding, +War he seeketh, at risk would snatch: +Heroes keen in your ranks are riding, +None of these is Cuchulain's match. + +From Murthemne he comes, we greet him, +Young Cuchulain, the champion strong; +We, compelled from afar to meet him, +Daughters all of Aed Abra, throng. + +Every tree, as a lordly token, +Stands all stained with the red blood rain +War that demons might wage is woken, +Wails peal high as he raves again. + + +Liban moreover bade a welcome to Cuchulain, and she chanted as follows: + + +Hail to Cuchulain! +Lord, who canst aid; +Murthemne ruling, +Mind undismayed; +Hero-like, glorious, +Heart great and still +Battle-victorious, +Firm rock of skill; +Redly he rageth, +Foemen would face; +Battle he wageth +Meet for his race! +Brilliant his splendour, like maidens' eyes, +Praises we render: praise shall arise! + + +"Tell us now of the deeds thou hast done, O Cuchulain! cried Liban, and +Cuchulain in this manner replied to her: + + +From my hand flew a dart, as I made my cast, +Through the host of Stream-Yeogan the javelin passed; +Not at all did I know, though great fame was won, +Who my victim had been, or what deed was done. + +Whether greater or less was his might than mine +I have found not at all, nor can right divine; +In a mist was he hid whom my spear would slay, +Yet I know that he went not with life away. + +A great host on me closed, and on every side +Rose around me in hordes the red steeds they ride; +From Manannan, the Son of the Sea, came foes, +From Stream-Yeogan to call them a roar arose. + +And I went to the battle with all at length, +When my weakness had passed, and I gat full strength; +And alone with three thousands the fight I fought, +Till death to the foes whom I faced was brought. + +I heard Echaid Juil's groan, as he neared his end, +The sound came to mine ears as from lips of friend; +Yet, if truth must be told, 'twas no valiant deed, +That cast that I threw, if 'twas thrown indeed. + + +Now, after all these things had passed, Cuchulain slept with the lady, +and he abode for a month in her company, and at the end of the month he +came to bid her farewell. "Tell me," she said, "to what place I may go +for our tryst, and I will be there;" and they made tryst at the strand +that is known as the Strand of the Yew-Tree's Head. + +Now word was brought to Emer of that tryst, and knives were whetted by +Emer to slay the lady; and she came to the place of the tryst, and +fifty women were with her. And there she found, Cuchulain and Laeg, +and they were engaged in the chess-play, so that they perceived not the +women's approach. But Fand marked it, and she cried out to Laeg: "Look +now, O Laeg!" she said, "and mark that sight that I see." "What sight +is that of which thou speakest?" said Laeg, and he looked and saw it, +and thus it was that the lady, even Fand, addressed him: + + +Laeg! look behind thee! +Close to thine ear +Wise, well-ranked women +Press on us near; +Bright on each bosom +Shines the gold clasp; +Knives, with green edges +Whetted, they grasp: +As for the slaughter chariot chiefs race, +Comes Forgall's daughter; changed is her face. + +"Have no fear," said Cuchulain, "no foe shalt thou meet; +Enter thou my strong car, with its sunny bright seat: +I will set thee before me, will guard thee from harm +Against women, from Ulster's four quarters that swarm: +Though the daughter of Forgall the war with thee vows, +Though her dear foster-sisters against thee she rouse, +No deed of destruction bold Emer will dare, +Though she rageth against thee, for I will be there." + + +Moreover to Emer he said: + + +I avoid thee, O lady, as heroes +Avoid to meet friends in a strife; +The hard spear thy hand shakes cannot injure, +Nor the blade of thy thin gleaming knife; +For the wrath pent within thee that rageth +Is but weak, nor can cause mine affright: +It were hard if the war my might wageth +Must be quenched by a weak woman's might! + +"Speak! and tell me, Cuchulain," cried Emer, +"Why this shame on my head thou wouldst lay? +Before women of Ulster dishonoured I stand, +And all women who dwell in the wide Irish land, +And all folk who love honour beside: +Though I came on thee, secretly creeping, +Though oppressed by thy might I remain, +And though great is thy pride in the battle, +If thou leavest me, naught is thy gain: +Why, dear youth, such attempt dost thou make? + +"Speak thou, Emer, and say," said Cuchulain, +"Should I not with this lady delay? +For this lady is fair, pare and bright, and well skilled, +A fit mate for a monarch, in beauty fulfilled, +And the billows of ocean can ride: +She is lovely in countenance, lofty in race, +And with handicraft skilled can fine needlework trace, +Hath a mind that with firmness can guide: + +And in steeds hath she wealth, and much cattle +Doth she own; there is naught under sky +A dear wife for a spouse should be keeping +But that gift with this lady have I: +Though the vow that I made thee I break, +Thou shalt ne'er find champion +Rich, like me, in scars; +Ne'er such worth, such brilliance, +None who wins my wars." + + +"In good sooth," answered Emer, "the lady to whom thou dost cling is in +no way better than am I myself! Yet fair seems all that's red; seems +white what's new alone; and bright what's set o'erhead; and sour are +things well known! Men worship what they lack; and what they have +seems weak; in truth thou hast all the wisdom of the time! O youth!" +she said, "once we dwelled in honour together, and we would so dwell +again, if only I could find favour in thy sight!" and her grief weighed +heavily upon her. "By my word," said Cuchulain, "thou dost find +favour, and thou shalt find it so long as I am in life." + +"Desert me, then!" cried Fand. "Nay," said Emer, "it is more fitting +that I should be the deserted one." "Not so, indeed," said Fand. "It +is I who must go, and danger rusheth upon me from afar." And an +eagerness for lamentation seized upon Fand, and her soul was great +within her, for it was shame to her to be deserted and straightway to +return to her home; moreover the mighty love that she bare to Cuchulain +was tumultuous in her, and in this fashion she lamented, and lamenting +sang this song: + + +Mighty need compels me, +I must go my way; +Fame for others waiteth, +Would I here could stay! + +Sweeter were it resting +Guarded by thy power, +Than to find the marvels +In Aed Abra's bower. + +Emer! noble lady! +Take thy man to thee: +Though my arms resign him, +Longing lives in me. + +Oft in shelters hidden +Men to seek me came; +None could win my trysting, +I myself was flame. + +Ah! no maid her longing +On a man should set +Till a love full equal +To her own she get. + +Fifty women hither, +Emer! thou hast brought +Thou wouldst Fand make captive, +Hast on murder thought. + +Till the day I need them +Waits, my home within; +Thrice thy host! fair virgins, +These my war shall win. + + +Now upon this it was discerned by Manannan that Fand the daughter of +Aed Abra was engaged in unequal warfare with the women of Ulster, and +that she was like to be left by Cuchulain. And thereon Manannan came +from the east to seek for the lady, and he was perceived by her, nor +was there any other conscious of his presence saving Fand alone. And, +when she saw Manannan, the lady was seized by great bitterness of mind +and by grief, and being thus, she made this song: + + +Lo! the Son of the Sea-Folk from plains draws near +Whence Yeogan, the Stream, is poured; +'Tis Manannan, of old he to me was dear, +And above the fair world we soared. + +Yet to-day, although excellent sounds his cry, +No love fills my noble heart, +For the pathways of love may be bent awry, +Its knowledge in vain depart. + +When I dwelt in the bower of the Yeogan Stream, +At the Son of the Ocean's side, +Of a life there unending was then our dream, +Naught seemed could our love divide. + +When the comely Manannan to wed me came, +To me, as a spouse, full meet; +Not in shame was I sold, in no chessmen's game +The price of a foe's defeat. + +When the comely Manannan my lord was made, +When I was his equal spouse, +This armlet of gold that I bear he paid +As price for my marriage vows. + +Through the heather came bride-maids, in garments brave +Of all colours, two score and ten; +And beside all the maidens my bounty gave +To my husband a fifty men. + +Four times fifty our host; for no frenzied strife +In our palace was pent that throng, +Where a hundred strong men led a gladsome life, +One hundred fair dames and strong. + +Manannan draws near: over ocean he speeds, +From all notice of fools is he free; +As a horseman he comes, for no vessel he needs +Who rides the maned waves of the sea. + +He hath passed near us now, though his visage to view +Is to all, save to fairies, forbid; +Every troop of mankind his keen sight searcheth through, +Though small, and in secret though hid. + +But for me, this resolve in my spirit shall dwell, +Since weak, being woman's, my mind; +Since from him whom so dearly I loved, and so well, +Only danger and insult I find. + +I will go! in mine honour unsullied depart, +Fair Cuchulain! I bid thee good-bye; +I have gained not the wish that was dear to my heart, +High justice compels me to fly. + +It is flight, this alone that befitteth my state, +Though to some shall this parting be hard: +O thou son of Riangabra! the insult was great: +Not by Laeg shall my going be barred. + +I depart to my spouse; ne'er to strife with a foe +Shall Manannan his consort expose; +And, that none may complain that in secret I go, +Behold him! his form I disclose! + + +Then that lady rose behind Manannan as he passed, and Manannan greeted +her: "O lady!" he said, "which wilt thou do? wilt thou depart with me, +or abide here until Cuchulain comes to thee?" "By my troth," answered +Fand, "either of the two of ye were a fitting spouse to adhere to; and +neither of you two is better than the other; yet, Manannan, it is with +thee that I go, nor will I wait for Cuchulain, for he hath betrayed me; +and there is another matter, moreover, that weigheth with me, O thou +noble prince!" said she, "and that is that thou hast no consort who is +of worth equal to thine, but such a one hath Cuchulain already." +And Cuchulain saw the lady as she went from him to Manannan, and he +cried out to Laeg: "What meaneth this that I see?" "'Tis no hard +matter to answer thee," said Laeg. "Fand goeth away with Manannan the +Son of the Sea, since she hath not been pleasing in thy sight!" + +Then Cuchulain bounded three times high into the air, and he made three +great leaps towards the south, and thus he came to Tara Luachra,[FN#37] +and there he abode for a long time, having no meat and no drink, +dwelling upon the mountains, and sleeping upon the high-road that +runneth through the midst of Luachra. +Then Emer went on to Emain, and there she sought out king Conor, and +she told Conor of Cuchulain's state, and Conor sent out his learned men +and the people of skill, and the Druids of Ulster, that they might seek +for Cuchulain, and might bind him fast, and bring him with them to +Emain. And Cuchulain strove to slay the people of skill, but they +chanted wizard and fairy songs against him, and they bound fast his +feet and his hands until he came a little to his senses. Then he +begged for a drink at their hands, and the Druids gave him a drink of +forgetfulness, so that afterwards he had no more remembrance of Fand +nor of anything else that he had then done; and they also gave a drink +of forgetfulness to Emer that she might forget her jealousy, for her +state was in no way better than the state of Cuchulain. And Manannan +shook his cloak between Cuchulain and Fand, so that they might never +meet together again throughout eternity. + + +[FN#37] Pronounced Looch-ra: Tara Luachra is on the borders of +Limerick and Kerry. + + + + +THE EXILE OF THE SONS' OF USNACH + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The version given in the following pages of the well-known tale of +Deirdre has been translated from the Irish text of the Book of Leinster +version as printed by Windisch in Irische Texte, vol. i. Readings from +the two parallel texts of the Book of Lecan, and Egerton, 1782, have +been used where the Leinster text is deficient or doubtful, but the +older MS. has in the main been followed, the chief alterations being +indicated in the notes. The only English translation hitherto given of +this version is the unreliable one in Atlantis, vol. iii. There is a +German translation in Thurneysen's Sagen aus dem alten Irland which may +be consulted for literal renderings of most of the verse portions, +which, however, are sometimes nearer the original than Thurneysen's +renderings. + +It was at first intended to place beside this version the much better +known version of the tale given by the Glenn Masain manuscript and its +variants; but, as this version is otherwise available in +English,[FN#38] it has been thought better to omit most of it: a verse +translation of Deirdre's final lament in this version has, however, +been added for the purpose of comparing it with the corresponding +lament in the Leinster text. These two poems are nearly of the same +length, but have no other point in common; the lament in the Leinster +version strikes the more personal note, and it has been suggested that +it shows internal evidence that it must have been written by a woman. +The idea of Deirdre as a seer, which is so prominent in the Glenn +Masain version of the tale, does not appear in the older Leinster text; +the supernatural Druidic mist, which even in the Glenn Masain version +only appears in the late manuscript which continues the story after the +fifteenth-century manuscript breaks off, does not appear in the Book of +Leinster; and the later version introduces several literary artifices +that do not appear in the earlier one. That portion of the Glenn +Masain version immediately following after Deirdre's lament is given as +an instance of one of these, the common artifice of increase of horror +at a catastrophe by the introduction of irrelevant matter, the tragedy +of Deirdre's death being immediately followed by a cheerful account of +the relationships of the chief heroes of the Heroic Period; a still +better example of this practice in the old Irish literature is the +almost comic relief that is introduced at the most tragic part of the +tale of the murder of the son of Ronan. + + +[FN#38] See Irische Texte, vol. ii., and the Celtic Review, vol. i. +1904-1905. + + + + +THE EXILE OF THE SONS OF USNACH + + + +BOOK OF LEINSTER VERSION + + +In the house of Feidlimid,[FN#39] the son of Dall, even he who was the +narrator of stories to Conor the king, the men of Ulster sat at their +ale; and before the men, in order to attend upon them, stood the wife +of Feidlimid, and she was great with child. Round about the board went +drinking-horns, and portions of food; and the revellers shouted in +their drunken mirth. And when the men desired to lay themselves down +to sleep, the woman also went to her couch; and, as she passed through +the midst of the house, the child cried out in her womb, so that its +shriek was heard throughout the whole house, and throughout the outer +court that lay about it. And upon that shriek, all the men sprang up; +and, head closely packed by head, they thronged together in the house, +whereupon Sencha, the son of Ailill, rebuked them: "Let none of you +stir!" cried he, "and let the woman be brought before us, that we may +learn what is the meaning of that cry." Then they brought the woman +before them, and thus spoke to her Feidlimid, her spouse: + + +What is that, of all cries far the fiercest, +In thy womb raging loudly and long? +Through all ears with that clamour thou piercest; +With that scream, from Bides swollen and strong: +Of great woe, for that cry, is foreboding my heart; +That is torn through with terror, and sore with the smart. + + +[FN#39] Pronounced Feylimid. + + +Then the woman turned her, and she approached Cathbad[FN#40] the Druid, +for he was a man of knowledge, and thus she spoke to him: + + +[FN#40] Pronounced Cah-ba. + + +Give thou ear to me, Cathbad, thou fair one of face, +Thou great crown of our honour, and royal in race; +Let the man so exalted still higher be set, +Let the Druid draw knowledge, that Druids can get. +For I want words of wisdom, and none can I fetch; +Nor to Felim a torch of sure knowledge can stretch: +As no wit of a woman can wot what she bears, +I know naught of that cry from within me that tears. + + +And then said Cathbad: + + +'Tis a maid who screamed wildly so lately, +Fair and curling shall locks round her flow, +And her eyes be blue-centred and stately; +And her cheeks, like the foxglove, shall glow. +For the tint of her skin, we commend her, +In its whiteness, like snow newly shed; +And her teeth are all faultless in splendour +And her lips, like to coral, are red: +A fair woman is she, for whom heroes, +that fight In their chariots for Ulster, to death shall be dight. + +'Tis a woman that shriek who hath given, +Golden-haired, with long tresses, and tall; +For whose love many chiefs shall have striven, +And great kings for her favours shall call. +To the west she shall hasten, beguiling +A great host, that from Ulster shall steal: +Red as coral, her lips shall be smiling, +As her teeth, white as pearls, they reveal: +Aye, that woman is fair, and great queens shall be fain +Of her form, that is faultless, unflawed by a stain. + + +Then Cathbad laid his hand upon the body of the woman; and the little +child moved beneath his hand: "Aye, indeed," he said, "it is a woman +child who is here: Deirdre shall be her name, and evil woe shall be +upon her." + +Now some days after that came the girl child into the world; and then +thus sang Cathbad: + + +O Deirdre! of ruin great cause thou art; +Though famous, and fair, and pale: +Ere that Felim's hid daughter from life shall part, +All Ulster her deeds shall wail. + +Aye, mischief shall come, in the after-time, +Thou fair shining maid, for thee; +Hear ye this: Usna's sons, the three chiefs sublime, +To banishment forced shall be. + +While thou art in life, shall a fierce wild deed +In Emain, though late, be done: +Later yet, it shall mourn it refused to heed +The guard of Rog's powerful son. + +O lady of worth! It is to thee we owe +That Fergus to exile flies; +That a son of king Conor we hail in woe, +When Fiachna[FN#41] is hurt, and dies. + +O lady of worth! It is all thine the guilt! +Gerrc, Illadan's son, is slain; +And when Eogan mac Doorha's great life is spilt, +Not less shall be found our pain. + +Grim deed shalt thou do, and in wrath shalt rave +Against glorious Ulster's king: +In that spot shall men dig thee thy tiny grave; +Of Deirdre they long shall sing. + + +[FN#41] Pronounced Feena. + + +"Let that maiden be slain!" cried out the young men of Ulster; but "Not +so!" said Conor; "she shall in the morning be brought to me, and shall +be reared according to my will, and she shall be my wife, and in my +companionship shall she dwell." + +The men of Ulster were not so hardy as to turn him from his purpose, +and thus it was done. The maiden was reared in a house that belonged +to Conor, and she grew up to be the fairest maid in all Ireland. She +was brought up at a distance from the king's court; so that none of the +men of Ulster might see her till the time came when she was to share +the royal couch: none of mankind was permitted to enter the house where +she was reared, save only her foster-father, and her foster-mother; and +in addition to these Levorcham, to whom naught could any refuse, for +she was a witch. + +Now once it chanced upon a certain day in the time of winter that the +foster-father of Deirdre had employed himself in skinning a calf upon +the snow, in order to prepare a roast for her, and the blood of the +calf lay upon the snow, and she saw a black raven who came down to +drink it. And "Levorcham," said Deirdre, "that man only will I love, +who hath the three colours that I see here, his hair as black as the +raven, his cheeks red like the blood, and his body as white as the +snow." "Dignity and good fortune to thee!" said Levorcham; "that man +is not far away. Yonder is he in the burg which is nigh; and the name +of him is Naisi, the son of Usnach." "I shall never be in good health +again," said Deirdre, "until the time come when I may see him." + +It befell that Naisi was upon a certain day alone upon the rampart of +the burg of Emain, and he sent his warrior-cry with music abroad: well +did the musical cry ring out that was raised by the sons of Usnach. +Each cow and every beast that heard them, gave of milk two-thirds more +than its wont; and each man by whom that cry was heard deemed it to be +fully joyous, and a dear pleasure to him. Goodly moreover was the play +that these men made with their weapons; if the whole province of Ulster +had been assembled together against them in one place, and they three +only had been able to set their backs against one another, the men of +Ulster would not have borne away victory from those three: so well were +they skilled in parry and defence. And they were swift of foot when +they hunted the game, and with them it was the custom to chase the +quarry to its death. + +Now when this Naisi found himself alone on the plain, Deirdre also soon +escaped outside her house to him, and she ran past him, and at first he +know not who she might be. + + +"Fair is the young heifer that springs past me!" he cried. + +"Well may the young heifers be great," she said, "in a place where none +may find a bull." + +"Thou hast, as thy bull," said he, "the bull of the whole province of +Ulster, even Conor the king of Ulster." + +"I would choose between you two," she said, "and I would take for +myself a younger bull, even such as thou art." + +"Not so indeed," said Naisi, "for I fear the prophecy of Cathbad." + +"Sayest thou this, as meaning to refuse me?" said she. + +"Yea indeed," he said; and she sprang upon him, and she seized him by +his two ears. "Two ears of shame and of mockery shalt thou have," she +cried, "if thou take me not with thee." "Release me, O my wife!" said +he. + +"That will I." + +Then Naisi raised his musical warrior-cry, and the men of Ulster heard +it, and each of them one after another sprang up: and the sons of +Usnach hurried out in order to hold back their brother. + +"What is it," they said, "that thou dost? let it not be by any fault of +thine that war is stirred up between us and the men of Ulster." + +Then he told them all that had been done; and "There shall evil come on +thee from this," said they; "moreover thou shalt lie under the reproach +of shame so long as thou dost live; and we will go with her into +another land, for there is no king in all Ireland who will refuse us +welcome if we come to him." + +Then they took counsel together, and that same night they departed, +three times fifty warriors, and the same number of women, and dogs, and +servants, and Deirdre went with them. And for a long time they +wandered about Ireland, in homage to this man or that; and often Conor +sought to slay them, either by ambuscade or by treachery; from round +about Assaroe, near to Ballyshannon in the west, they journeyed, and +they turned them back to Benn Etar, in the north-east, which men to-day +call the Mountain of Howth. Nevertheless the men of Ulster drave them +from the land, and they came to the land of Alba, and in its +wildernesses they dwelled. And when the chase of the wild beasts of +the mountains failed them, they made foray upon the cattle of the men +of Alba, and took them for themselves; and the men of Alba gathered +themselves together with intent to destroy them. Then they took +shelter with the king of Alba, and the king took them into his +following, and they served him in war. And they made for themselves +houses of their own in the meadows by the king's burg: it was on +account of Deirdre that these houses were made, for they feared that +men might see her, and that on her account they might be slain. + +Now one day the high-steward of the king went out in the early morning, +and he made a cast about Naisi's house, and saw those two sleeping +therein, and he hurried back to the king, and awaked him: "We have," +said he, "up to this day found no wife for thee of like dignity to +thyself. Naisi the son of Usnach hath a wife of worth sufficient for +the emperor of the western world! Let Naisi be slain, and let his wife +share thy couch." + +"Not so!" said the king, "but do thou prepare thyself to go each day to +her house, and woo her for me secretly." + +Thus was it done; but Deirdre, whatsoever the steward told her, was +accustomed straightway to recount it each even to her spouse; and since +nothing was obtained from her, the sons of Usnach were sent into +dangers, and into wars, and into strifes that thereby they might be +overcome. Nevertheless they showed themselves to be stout in every +strife, so that no advantage did the king gain from them by such +attempts as these. + +The men of Alba were gathered together to destroy the sons of Usnach, +and this also was told to Deirdre. And she told her news to Naisi: +"Depart hence!" said she, "for if ye depart not this night, upon the +morrow ye shall he slain!" And they marched away that night, and they +betook themselves to an island of the sea. + +Now the news of what had passed was brought to the men of Ulster. +"'Tis pity, O Conor!" said they, "that the sons of Usnach should die in +the land of foes, for the sake of an evil woman. It is better that +they should come under thy protection,[FN#42] and that the (fated) +slaying should be done here, and that they should come into their own +land, rather than that they should fall at the hands of foes." "Let +them come to us then," said Conor, "and let men go as securities to +them." The news was brought to them. + + +[FN#42] Literally, "It is better their protection, and their slaying, +and coming for them to their own land, &c." If this reading is right +(and three MSS. agree), the extended words of the text seem to give the +intention: it is, however, possible that the reading should be, "It is +better their protection than their slaying" (oldaas for ocus), which +would make sense at once. The idea of the text seems to be that the +sons of Usnach were, owing to Cathbad's prophecy, thought of as fated +men; and it was only a question where they should be put to death. + + +"This is welcome news for us," they said; "we will indeed come, and let +Fergus come as our surety, and Dubhtach, and Cormac the son of Conor." +These then went to them, and they moved them to pass over the sea. + +But at the contrivance of Conor, Fergus was pressed to join in an +ale-feast, while the sons of Usnach were pledged to eat no food in +Erin, until they had eaten the food of Conor. So Fergus tarried behind +with Dubhtach and Cormac; and the sons of Usnach went on, accompanied +by Fiacha, Fergus' son; until they came to the meadows around Emain. + +Now at that time Eogan the son of Durthacht had come to Emain to make +his peace with Conor, for they had for a long time been at enmity; and +to him, and to the warmen of Conor, the charge was given that they +should slay the sons of Usnach, in order that they should not come +before the king. The sons of Usnach stood upon the level part of. the +meadows, and the women sat upon the ramparts of Emain. And Eogan came +with his warriors across the meadow, and the son of Fergus took his +place by Naisi's side. And Eogan greeted them with a mighty thrust of +his spear, and the spear brake Naisi's back in sunder, and passed +through it. The son of Fergus made a spring, and he threw both arms +around Naisi, and he brought him beneath himself to shelter him, while +he threw himself down above him; and it was thus that Naisi was slain, +through the body of the son of Fergus. Then there began a murder +throughout the meadow, so that none escaped who did not fall by the +points of the spears, or the edge of the sword, and Deirdre was brought +to Conor to be in his power, and her arms were bound behind her back. + +Now the sureties who had remained behind, heard what had been done, +even Fergus and Dubhtach, and Cormac. And thereon they hastened +forward, and they forthwith performed great deeds. Dubhtach slew, with +the one thrust of his spear, Mane a son of Conor, and Fiachna the son +of Feidelm, Conor's daughter; and Fergus struck down Traigthren, the +son of Traiglethan, and his brother. And Conor was wrath at this, and +he came to the fight with them; so that upon that day three hundred of +the men of Ulster fell and Dubhtach slew the women of Ulster; and, ere +the day dawned, Fergus set Emain on fire. Then they went away into +exile, and betook them to the land of Connaught to find shelter with +Ailill and Maev, for they knew that that royal pair would give them +good entertainment. To the men of Ulster the exiles showed no love: +three thousand stout men went with them; and for sixteen years never +did they allow cries of lamentation and of fear among the Ulstermen to +cease: each night their vengeful forays caused men to quake, and to +wail. + +Deirdre lived on for a year in the household of Conor; and during all +that time she smiled no smile of laughter; she satisfied not herself +with food or with sleep, and she raised not her head from her knee. +And if any one brought before her people of mirth, she used to speak +thus: + + +Though eager troops, and fair to see,[FN#43] +May home return, though these ye wait: +When Usna's sons came home to me, +They came with more heroic state. + +With hazel mead, my Naisi stood: +And near our fire his bath I'd pour; +On Aindle's stately back the wood; +On Ardan's ox, or goodly boar. + +Though sweet that goodly mead ye think +That warlike Conor drinks in hall, +I oft have known a sweeter drink, +Where leaps in foam the waterfall: + +Our board was spread beneath the tree, +And Naisi raised the cooking flame: +More sweet than honey-sauced to me +Was meat, prepared from Naisi's game. + + +[FN#43] A literal rendering of this poem will be found in the notes, +p. 187. + + +Though well your horns may music blow, +Though sweet each month your pipes may sound, +I fearless say, that well I know +A sweeter strain I oft have found. + +Though horns and pipes be sounding clear, +Though Conor's mind in these rejoice, +More magic strain, more sweet, more dear +Was Usna's Children's noble voice. + +Like sound of wave, rolled Naisi's bass; +We'd hear him long, so sweet he sang: +And Ardan's voice took middle place; +And clearly Aindle's tenor rang. + +Now Naisi lies within his tomb: +A sorry guard his friends supplied; +His kindred poured his cup of doom, +That poisoned cup, by which he died. + +Ah! Berthan dear! thy lands are fair; +Thy men are proud, though hills be stern: +Alas! to-day I rise not there +To wait for Usna's sons' return. + +That firm, just mind, so loved, alas! +The dear shy youth, with touch of scorn, +I loved with him through woods to pass, +And girding in the early morn. + +When bent on foes, they boded ill, +Those dear grey eyes, that maids adored; +When, spent with toil, his troops lay still, +Through Irish woods his tenor soared. + +For this it is, no more I sleep; +No more my nails with pink I stain: +No joy can break the watch I keep; +For Usna's sons come not again. + +For half the night no sleep I find; +No couch can me to rest beguile: +'Mid crowds of thoughts still strays my mind; +I find no time to eat or smile. + +In eastern Emain's proud array +No time to joy is left for me; +For gorgeous house, and garments gay, +Nor peace, nor joy, nor rest can be. + + +And when Conor sought to soothe her; thus Deirdre would answer him: + + +Ah Conor! what of thee! I naught can do! +Lament and sorrow on my life have passed: +The ill you fashioned lives my whole life through; +A little time your love for me would last. + +The man to me most fair beneath the sky, +The man I loved, in death away you tore: +The crime you did was great; for, till I die, +That face I loved I never shall see more. + +That he is gone is all my sorrow still; +Before me looms the shape of Usna's son; +Though o'er his body white is yon dark hill, +There's much I'd lavish, if but him I won. + +I see his cheeks, with meadow's blush they glow; +Black as a beetle, runs his eyebrows' line; +His lips are red; and, white as noble snow +I see his teeth, like pearls they seem to shine. + +Well have I known the splendid garb he bears, +Oft among Alba's warriors seen of old: +A crimson mantle, such as courtier wears, +And edged with border wrought of ruddy gold. + +Of silk his tunic; great its costly price; +For full one hundred pearls thereon are sewn; +Stitched with findruine,[FN#44] bright with strange device, +Full fifty ounces weighed those threads alone. + +Gold-hilted in his hand I see his sword; +Two spears he holds, with spear-heads grim and green; +Around his shield the yellow gold is poured, +And in its midst a silver boss is seen. + +Fair Fergus ruin on us all hath brought! +We crossed the ocean, and to him gave heed: +His honour by a cup of ale was bought; +From him hath passed the fame of each high deed. + +If Ulster on this plain were gathered here +Before king Conor; and those troops he'd give, +I'd lose them all, nor think the bargain dear, +If I with Naisi, Usna's son, could live. + +Break not, O king, my heart to-day in me; +For soon, though young, I come my grave unto: +My grief is stronger than the strength of sea; +Thou, Conor, knowest well my word is true. + + +"Whom dost thou hate the most," said Conor, "of these whom thou now +seest?" + +"Thee thyself," she answered, "and with thee Eogan the son of +Durthacht." + + +[FN#44] Pronounced find-roony; usually translated "white bronze." + + +"Then," said Conor, "thou shalt dwell with Eogan for a year;" and he +gave Deirdre over into Eogan's hand. + +Now upon the morrow they went away over the festal plain of Macha, and +Deirdre sat behind Eogan in the chariot; and the two who were with her +were the two men whom she would never willingly have seen together upon +the earth, and as she looked upon them, "Ha, Deirdre," said Conor, "it +is the same glance that a ewe gives when between two rams that thou +sharest now between me and Eogan!" Now there was a great rock of stone +in front of them, and Deirdre struck her head upon that stone, and she +shattered her head, and so she died. + +This then is the tale of the exile of the sons of Usnach, and of the +Exile of Fergus, and of the death of Deirdre. + + + + +THE LAMENT OF DEIRDRE OVER THE SONS OF USNACH + + + +ACCORDING TO THE GLENN MASAIN VERSION + +ALSO THE CONCLUSION OF THE TALE FROM THE SAME VERSION + + +I grieved not, Usna's sons beside; +But long, without them, lags the day: +Their royal sire no guest denied; +Three lions from Cave Hill were they. + +Three dragons bred in Mona's fort +Are dead: to them from life I go; +Three chiefs who graced the Red Branch Court, +Three rocks, who broke the rush of foe. + +O loved by many a British maid! +O swift as hawks round Gullion's peak! +True sons of king, who warriors swayed, +To whom bent chiefs in homage meek. + +No vassal look those champions wore; +Full grief is mine that such should die! +Those sons, whom Cathbad's daughter bore; +Those props, who Cualgne's[FN#45] war held high. + + +[FN#45] Pronounced Kell-ny. + + +Three bears of might, to war they came; +From Oona's walls, like lions, burst; +Three hero-chiefs, who loved their fame; +Three sons, on Ulster's bosom nursed. + +Twas Aife[FN#46] reared them; 'neath her yoke +A kingdom bowed, and tribute brought; +They propped the war, when armies broke, +Those foster-sons, whom Scathach[FN#47] taught. + +The Three, who once from Bohvan's skill +All feats have learned that heroes know; +King Usna's glorious sons! 'tis ill +That these afar from me should go. + +That I should live, with Naisi dead, +Let none such shame believe of me; +When Ardan's life, when Ainnle's fled, +But short my life I knew would be. + +Great Ulster's king my hand had won; +I left him, Naisi's love to find; +Till Naisi's funeral rites be done, +I wait a little while behind. + +This widowed life no more I'll bear; +The Three rejoiced, when toil they faced; +Where'er 'twas found, the war they'd dare, +And proffered fight with joy embraced. + +A curse on Cathbad's wizard spell! +'Twas Naisi's death! and I the cause! +None came to aid that king, who well +To all the world might grant his laws. + + +[FN#46] Pronounced Eefa. + +[FN#47] Pronounced Ska-ha. + + +O man, who diggest low the grave, +And from my sight my love would hide, +Make wide the tomb; its room I crave, +I come to seek my hero's side. + +Great load of hardship I'd endure with joy, +If yet those heroes my companions were; +No lack of house or fire could then annoy, +No gloom I'd know with them, nor aught of care. + +Ah! many a time each shield and guardian spear +To make my couch have piled those noble Three: +O labouring man, their grave who diggest here, +Their hardened swords above well set should be. + +The hounds of all the Three their masters lack, +Their hawks no quarry leave, nor hear their call; +The three are dead, who battle's line held back +Who learned their skill in Conall Cernach's hall! + +Their hounds I view; from out my heart that sight +Hath struck a groan; behind their leashes trail, +'Twas mine to hold them once, and keep them tight;, +Now slack they lie, and cause me thus to wail. + +Oft in the desert I and they have strayed, +Yet never lonely was that desert known +For all the Three a grave to-day is made, +And here I sit, and feel indeed alone. + +I gazed on Naisi's grave, and now am blind, +For naught remains to see; the worst is spent; +My soul must leave me soon, no help I find, +And they are gone, the folk of my lament. + +'Twas guile that crushed them: they would save my life +And died therefor; themselves three billows strong: +Ere Usna's children fell in cruel strife, +Would I had died, and earth had held me long! + +To Red-Branch Hall we made our mournful way; +Deceitful Fergus led; our lives he stole; +A soft sweet speech indeed he'd learned to say, +For me, for them was ruin near that goal. + +All Ulster's pleasures now are nothing worth +I shun them all, each chief, each ancient friend; +Alone I sit, as left behind on earth, +And soon my lonely life in death shall end. + +I am Deirdre, the joyless, +For short time alive, +Though to end life be evil, +'Tis worse to survive. + + +And, after she had made this lament, Deirdre seated herself in the +tomb, and she gave three kisses to Naisi before that he was laid in his +grave; and with heaviness and grief Cuchulain went on to Dun Delga. +And Cathbad the Druid laid a curse upon Emain Macha to take vengeance +for that great evil, and he said that, since that treachery had been +done, neither king Conor nor any other of his race should hold that +burg. + +And as for Fergus, the son of Rossa the Red, he came to Emain Macha on +the morrow after the sons of Usnach had been slain. And, when he found +that they had been slain, and that his pledge had been dishonoured, he +himself, and Cormac the Partner of Exile, king Conor's own son, also +Dubhtach, the Beetle of Ulster, and the armies they had with them, gave +battle to the household of Conor; and they slew Maine the son of Conor, +and three hundred of Conor's people besides. And Emain Macha was +destroyed, and burned by them, and Conor's women were slain, and they +collected their adherents on every side; the number of their host was +three thousand warriors. And they went away to the land of Connaught, +even to Ailill the Great, who was the king of Connaught at that time, +and to Maev of Croghan, and with them they found a welcome and support. + Moreover Fergus and Cormac the Partner of Exile and their warriors, +after that they had come to the land of Connaught, never let pass one +single night wherein reavers went not forth from them to harry and burn +the land of Ulster, so that the district which men to-day call the land +of Cualgne was subdued by them; and from that in the after-time came +between the two kingdoms much of trouble and theft; and in this fashion +they spent seven years, or, as some say, ten years; nor was there any +truce between them, no, not for one single hour. + +And while those deeds were doing, Deirdre abode by Conor in his +household for a whole year after the sons of Usnach had been slain. +And, though it might have seemed but a small thing for her to raise her +head, or to let laughter flow over her lips, yet she never did these +things during all that time. And when Conor saw that neither sport nor +kindness could hold her; and that neither jesting nor pleasing honour +could raise her spirits, he sent word to Eogan the son of Durthacht, +the lord of Fernmay;[FN#48] as some tell the story, it was this Eogan +who had slain Naisi in Emain Macha. And after that Eogan had come to +the place where Conor was, Conor gave command to Deirdre that, since he +himself had failed to turn her heart from her grief, she must depart to +Eogan, and spend another space of time with him. And with that she was +placed behind Eogan in his chariot, and Conor went also in the chariot +in order to deliver Deirdre into Eogan's hand. And as they went on +their way, she cast a fierce glance at Eogan in front of her, and +another at Conor behind her; for there was nothing in all the world +that she hated more than those two men. And when Conor saw this, as he +looked at her and at Eogan, he said: "Ah Deirdre! it is the glance of a +ewe when set between two rams that thou castest on me and on Eogan!" +And when Deirdre heard that, she sprang up, and she made a leap out of +the chariot, and she struck her head against the stony rocks that were +in front of her, and she shattered her head so that the brains leapt +out, and thus came to Deirdre her death. + + +[FN#48] The Irish is Fernmag; written Fearnmhuidh in the late +manuscript of this part of the tale. + + +This is the Tree of their race, and an account of the kinships of some +of the Champions of the Red Branch, which is given here before we +proceed to speak of the Deeds of Cuchulain: + + +'Twas Cathbad first won Magach's love, and arms around her threw; +From Maelchro's loins, the Battle Chief, his princely source he drew; +Two, more in love she knew, of these the wrath was long and dread, +Fierce Rossa, named the Ruddy-Faced, and Carbre, thatched with red. + +To all the three were children born, and all with beauty graced, +To Cathbad, and to Carbre Red, and Rossa Ruddy-faced; +A gracious three indeed were they to whom she gave her love, +Fair Magach, brown the lashes were that slept her eyes above. + +Three sons to Rossa Ruddy-faced as children Magach bore; +To Carbre sons again she gave, the count of these was four; +And three white shoots of grace were hers, on these no shame shall fall; +To Cathbad children three she bare, and these were daughters all. + +To Cathbad, who in wizard lore and all its arts had might, +Three daughters lovely Magach bore, each clothed in beauty white; +All maids who then for grace were famed in grace those maids surpassed, +And Finuchoem,[FN#49] Ailbhe twain he named, and Deithchim named the +last. + + +[FN#49] Pronounced Finn-hoom, Ail-vy, and Die-himm. + + +To Finnchoem, wizard Cathbad's child, was born a glorious son, +And well she nursed him, Conall wild, who every field hath won; +And Ailbhe glorious children bare in whom no fear had place, +These Ardan, Ainnle, Naisi were, who came of Usnach's race. + +A son to Deithchim fair was born, a bright-cheeked mother she; +She bore but one: Cuchulain of Dun Delga's hold was he: +Of those whom Cathbad's daughters reared the names full well ye know, +And none of these a wound hath feared, or therefore shunned a foe. + +The sons of Usnach, who like shields their friends protected well, +By might of hosts on battle-field to death were borne, and fell; +And each was white of skin, and each his friends in love would hold, +Now naught remains for song to teach, the Third of Griefs is told. + + + + +THE COMBAT AT THE FORD + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +This version of the "Combat at the Ford," the best-known episode of the +Irish romance or romantic epic, the "War of Cualnge," will hardly be, +by Irish scholars, considered to want a reference. It is given in the +Book of Leinster, which cannot have been written later than 1150 A.D., +and differs in many respects from the version in the fourteenth-century +Book of Lecan, which is, for the purposes of this text, at least equal +in authority to the Leabbar na h-Uidhri, which must have been written +before 1100 A.D. Mr. Alfred Nutt has kindly contributed a note on the +comparison of the two versions, which has been placed as a special note +at the end of the translation of the "Combat." To this note may be +added the remark that the whole of the Leabhar na h-Uidhri version of +the "War of Cualnge" seems, to be subject to the same criticisms that +have to be passed on the "Sickbed" and the "Courtship of Etain" in the +same volume, viz. that it is a compilation from two or three different +versions of the same story, and is not a connected and consistent +romance, which the version in the Book of Leinster appears to be. As +an illustration of this, the appearance of Conall Cernach as on the +side of Connaught in the early part of the L.U. version may be +mentioned; he is never so represented in other versions of the "War." +In the description of the array of Ulster at the end of L.U., he is +noted as being expected to be with the Ulster army but as absent +(following in this the Book of Leinster, but not a later manuscript +which agrees with the Book of Leinster in the main); then at the end of +the L.U. version Conall again appears in the Connaught army and saves +Conor from Fergus, taking the place of Cormac in the Book of Leinster +version. Miss Faraday, in her version of the "War" as given in L.U., +notes the change of style at page 82 of her book. Several difficulties +similar to that of the position of Conall could be mentioned; and on +the whole it seems as if the compiler of the manuscript from which both +the Leabhar na h-Uidhri and the Yellow Book of Lecan were copied, +combined into one several different descriptions of the "War," one of +which is represented by the Book of Leinster version. + +This version shows no signs of patchwork, at any rate in the story of +the "Combat at the Ford;" which has, ever since it was reintroduced to +the world by O'Curry, been renowned for the chivalry of its action. It +forms one of the books of Aubrey de Vere's "Foray of Queen Meave," and +is there well reproduced, although with several additions; perhaps +sufficient attention has not. been paid to the lofty position of the +character, as distinguished from the prowess, that this version gives +to Cuchulain. The first verse, put in Cuchulain's mouth, strikes a new +note, contrasting alike with the muddle-headed bargaining of Ferdia and +Maev, and the somewhat fussy anxiety of Fergus. The contrast between +the way in which Cuchulain receives Fergus's report of the valour of +Ferdia, and that in which Ferdia receives the praises of Cuchulain from +his charioteer, is well worked out; Cuchulain, conscious of his own +strength, accepts all Fergus's praises of his opponent and adds to +them; Ferdia cannot bear to hear of Cuchulain's valour, and charges his +servant with taking a bribe from his enemy in order to frighten him. +Ferdia boasts loudly of what he will do, Cuchulain apologises for his +own confidence in the issue of the combat, and gently banters Fergus, +who is a bit of a boaster himself, on the care he had taken to choose +the time for the war when king Conor was away, with a modest +implication that he himself was a poor substitute for the king. +Cuchulain's first two stanzas in the opening dialogue between himself +and Ferdia show a spirit quite as truculent as that of his opponent; +the reason of this being, as indicated in the first of these stanzas +and more explicitly stated in the preceding prose, that his anxiety for +his country is outweighing his feeling for his friend; but in the third +stanza he resumes the attitude of conscious strength that marks all his +answers to Fergus; and this, added to a feeling of pity for his +friend's inevitable fate, is maintained up to the end of the tale. In +the fourth stanza, which is an answer to a most insulting speech from +Ferdia, he makes the first of those appeals to his former friend to +abandon his purpose that come from him throughout the first three days +of the fight; even in the fatal battle of the fourth day, he will not +at first put forward all his strength, and only uses the irresistible +Gae-Bulg when driven to it by his foe. The number of Cuchulain's +laments after the battle--there are five of these (one in prose), +besides his answers to Laeg--has been adversely criticised; and it is +just possible that one or more of these come from some other version, +and have been incorporated by a later hand than that of the author; but +the only one that seems to me not to develop the interest is the +"brooch of gold," which it may be noticed is very like the only lament +which is preserved in the Book of Lecan text of the L.U. version. +Cuchulain's allusion to Aife's only son in the first verse lament is +especially noticeable (see note, p. 196). + +Ferdia's character, although everywhere inferior to that of his victor, +is also a heroic one; he is represented at the commencement of the +episode as undertaking the fight for fear of disgrace if he refused; +and this does appear to be represented throughout as the true reason; +his early boasts and taunts are obviously intended to conquer a secret +uneasiness, and the motif of a passion for Finnabar with which +Cuchulain charges him hardly appears outside Cuchulain's speeches, and +has not the importance given to it in the Leabhar na h-Uidhri version. +The motif of resentment against Cuchulain for a fancied insult, +invented by Maev, which is given in the L.U. version as the determining +cause, does not appear in the Leinster version at all; and that of race +enmity of the Firbolg against the Celt, given to him by Aubrey de Vere, +is quite a modern idea and is in none of the old versions. His +dialogue with Maev suggests that, as stated in the text, he was then +slightly intoxicated; his savage language to his servant gives the idea +of a man who feels himself in the wrong and makes himself out to be +worse than he is by attributing to himself the worst motives, the hope +of pay; but as the battle proceeds he shows himself equal to Cuchulain +in generosity, and in the dialogue at the beginning of the third day's +fight his higher character comes out, for while his old boastfulness +appears in one passage of it, and is immediately repressed, the +language of both heroes in this dialogue is noticeable for a true +spirit of chivalry. The mutual compliments, "thy kingly might," "fair +graceful Hound" "gently ruling Hound" recall the French "Beausire"; it +may be also noted that these compliments are paid even when Ferdia is +protesting against Cuchulain's reproaches; similar language is used +elsewhere, as "much thine arms excel" (page 122), and "Cuchulain for +beautiful feats renowned" (page 134). It may be considered that these +passages are an indication that the episode is late, but it should be +noticed that the very latest date that can possibly be assigned to it, +the eleventh century, precedes that of all other known romances of +chivalry by at least a hundred years. To this later attitude of +Ferdia, and to that maintained by Cuchulain throughout the whole +episode, nothing in French or Welsh romance of approximately so early a +date can be compared. Is it not possible that the chivalric tone of +the later Welsh romances, like the "Lady of the Fountain," which is +generally supposed to have come from France, really came from an Irish +model? and that this tone, together with the Arthurian Saga, passed to +the Continent? + +A great contrast to both the two heroes is afforded by the introduction +of Laeg with his cries of exultation, which come between the dying +groans of Ferdia and the fine prose lament of Cuchulain, increasing the +effect of both. Laeg seems quite unable to see his master's point of +view, and he serves as a foil for Ferdia, just as the latter's +inferiority increases the character of Cuchulain. The consistency of +the whole, and the way in which our sympathy is awakened for Ferdia +contrast with the somewhat disconnected character of the L.U. version, +which as it stands gives a poor idea of the defeated champion; +although, as Mr. Nutt suggests, the lost part may have improved this +idea, and the version has beauties of its own. + +For the convenience of those readers who may be unacquainted with the +story of the war, the following short introduction is given:-- + +At a time given by the oldest Irish annalists as A.D. 29, the War of +Cualnge was undertaken by Maev, queen of Connaught, against the kingdom +or province of Ulster. Gathering together men from all the other four +provinces of Ireland, Maev marched against Ulster, the leaders of her +army being herself, her husband Ailill, and Fergus the son of Rog, an +exile from Ulster, and formerly, according to one account, king of that +province. Not only had Maev great superiority in force, but the time +she Ed chosen for the war was when Conor, king of Ulster, and with him +nearly all his principal warriors, were on their sick-bed in accordance +with a curse that had fallen on them in return for a cruel deed that he +and his people had done. One hero however, Cuchulain, the greatest of +the Ulster heroes, was unaffected by this curse; and he, with only a +few followers, but with supernatural aid from demi-gods of whose race +he came, had caused much loss to the queen and her army, so that Maev +finally made this compact: she was each day to provide a champion to +oppose Cuchulain, and was to be permitted to advance so long as that +combat lasted; if her champion was killed, she was to halt her army +until the next morning. Before the Combat at the Ford between +Cuchulain and Ferdia, Cuchulain had killed many of Maev's champions in +duel, and the epic romance of the "War of Cualnge" gives the full story +of these combats and of the end of the war. The episode given in the +following pages commences at the camp of Queen Maev, where her chiefs +are discussing who is to be their champion against Cuchulain on the +following day. + + + + +THE COMBAT AT THE FORD + + + +AN EPISODE OF THE CATTLE SPOIL OF CUALNGE IN THE BOOK OF LEINSTER +VERSION + + +At that time debate was held among the men of Ireland who should be the +man to go early in the morning of the following day to make combat and +fight with Cuchulain. And all agreed that Ferdia, the son of Daman, +the son of Dire, was the man who should go; even the great and valiant +champion of the men of Irross Donnand, for the manner in which he +fought and did battle was like to the manner of Cuchulain. They had +got their skill in arms, and valour, and bravery from the same +teachers, from Scathach, from Uathach, and from Aife[FN#50]; nor had +either of them advantage over the other except that Cuchulain alone +could perform the feat of the Gae-bulg. Yet Ferdia was fenced by a +horny skin-protecting armour, and this should guard him when he faced a +hero in battle and combat at the Ford. So to Ferdia were sent +messengers and heralds; but Ferdia denied the heralds, and he refused +to depart with them, for well he knew why it was he was called; even to +fight against his own friend, his comrade and fellow-pupil Cuchulain; +and for that cause he came not with the heralds who were sent. + + +[FN#50] Pronounced Scaha, Ooha, and Eefa: Scaha and Ooha end with a +slight guttural like the ch in the Scotch lock, difficult to express in +English. + + +And then did Maev send to Ferdia Druids, and satirists and revilers, in +order that against him should be made three crushing reproaches, and +three satires; that the stains of shame, and of blemish, and of +disgrace should be raised on his face; so that even if he died not at +once, death should be his within the space of nine days if he went with +them not. And for the sake of his honour, Ferdia came at their call; +for to him it was better to fall before the shafts of valour, of +bravery, and of daring than by the stings of satire, of abuse, and of +reproach. And he, when he arrived, was received with all worship and +service, and was served with pleasant, sweet intoxicating liquor, so +that his brain reeled, and he became gently merry. And these were the +great rewards that were promised to him if he consented to make that +combat and fight: a chariot of the value of four times seven cumals, +and the equipment of twelve men with garments of all colours, and the +length and breadth of his own territory on the choice part of the +plains of Maw Ay; free of tribute, without purchase, free from the +incidents of attendance at courts and of military service, that therein +his son, and his grandson, and all his descendants might dwell in +safety to the end of life and time; also Finnabar the daughter of Maev +as his wedded wife, and the golden brooch which was in the cloak of +Queen Maev in addition to all this. And thus ran the speech of Maev, +and she spake these words, and thus did Ferdia reply: + + +Maev + +Of rings great treasure sending,[FN#51] +Wide plains and woodlands bending +I grant: till time hath ending +I free thy tribe and kin. +O thou who oft o'ercamest! +'Tis thine what gift thou namest! +Why hold'st thou back, nor claimest +A boon that all would win? + + +[FN#51] The metre of this dialogue and rhyme-system are taken from the +Irish but one syllable has been added to each line. The exact Irish +metre is that given on page 129. + + +Ferdia + +A bond must hold thee tightly, +No force I lend thee lightly; +Dread strife 'twill be; for rightly +He bears that name of "Hound." +For sharp spear-combat breaketh +That morn; hard toil it waketh +The war Cuchulain maketh +Shall fearless war be found. + + +Maev + +Our chiefs, with oaths the gravest, +Shall give the pledge thou cravest; +For thee, of all men bravest, +Brave bridled steeds shall stand. +From tax my word hath freed thee, +To hostings none shall lead thee, +As bosom friend I need thee, +As first in all the land. + + +Ferdia + +Mere words are naught availing +If oaths to bind be failing; +That wondrous Ford-Fight hailing, +All time its tale shall greet: +Though sun, moon, sea for ever +And earth from me I sever; +Though death I win--yet never, +Unpledged, that war I'll meet. + + +Maev + +These kings and chiefs behind me +Their oaths shall pledge to bind me: +With boundless wealth thou'lt find me, +With wealth too great to pay. +'Tis thou who oaths delayest; +'Tis done whate'er thou sayest; +For well I know thou slayest +The foe who comes to slay. + + +Ferdia + +Ere thou to slaughter lure me, +Six champions' oaths procure me; +Till these rewards assure me +I meet, for thee, no foe: +If six thou grant as gages, +I'll face the war he wages, +And where Cuchulain rages, +A lesser chief, I go. + + +Maev + +In chariots Donnal raceth, +Fierce strife wild Neeman faceth, +Their halls the bards' song graceth, +Yet these in troth I bind. +Firm pledge Morand is making, +None Carpri Min knew breaking +His troth: thine oath he's taking; +Two sons to pledge I find. + + +Ferdia + +Much poison, Maev, inflameth +Thy heart; no smile thee tameth +But well the land thee nameth +Proud queen of Croghan's hold; +Thy power no man can measure; +'Tis I will do thy pleasure; +Now send thy silken treasure, +Thy silver gifts, and gold. + + +Maev + +This brooch, as champion's token, +I give of troth unbroken; +All words my lips have spoken +Performed shall Sunday see. +Thou glorious chief, who darest +This fight, I give thee rarest +Of gifts on earth, and fairest, +Yea greater meed shall be. +For Findabar my daughter; +All Elgga's chiefs have sought her; +When thou that Hound shalt slaughter, +I give in love to thee. + + +And then did Maev bind Ferdia in an easy task; that on the next day he +was to come to combat and fight with six of her champions, or to make +duel against Cuchulain; whichever of the two he should think the +easier. And Ferdia on his side bound her by a condition that seemed to +him easy for her to fulfil: even that she should lay it upon those same +six champions to see to it that all those things she had promised to +him should be fulfilled, in case Cuchulain should meet death at +Ferdia's hand. + +Thereupon Fergus caused men to harness for him his horses, and his +chariot was yoked, and he went to that place where Cuchulain was that +he might tell him what had passed, and Cuchulain bade him welcome. I +am rejoiced at your coming, O my good friend Fergus," said Cuchulain. +And I gladly accept thy welcome, O my pupil," said Fergus. But I have +now come hither in order to tell thee who that man is who comes to +combat and fight with thee early on the morning of the day which is at +hand." "We shall give all heed to thy words," said Cuchulain. "'Tis +thine own friend," said Fergus, "thy companion, and thy fellow pupil; +thine equal in feats and in deeds and in valour: even Ferdia, the son +of Daman, the son of Dare, the great and valiant champion of the men of +Irross Donnan." "Truly," said Cuchulain, "I make mine oath to thee +that I am sorry that my friend should come to such a duel." +"Therefore," said Fergus, "it behoves thee to be wary and prepared, for +unlike to all those men who have come to combat and fight with thee +upon the Tain be Cuailgne is Ferdia, the son of Daman, the son of +Dare." "I have stood here," said Cuchulain, "detaining and delaying +the men of the four great provinces of Ireland since the first Monday +in Samhain (November) till the beginning of the spring, and not one +foot have I gone back before any one man during all that time, nor +shall I, as I trust, yield before him." And in this manner did Fergus +continue to put him on his guard, and these were the words that he +spoke, and thus did Cuchulain reply: + + +Fergus + +Rise, Cuchulain! foes are near,[FN#52] +All their covenant is clear; +Daman's ruddy son in rage +Comes the war with thee to wage. + + +[FN#52] The metre is that of the Irish; a literal rendering of the +whole dialogue is given in the notes, p. 191. + + +Cuchulain + +Here I stand, whose valiant toil +Erin's bands held back from spoil; +Never a foot of ground they won, +Never a foe they found me shun. + + +Fergus + +Fierce is he in rage; his trust +In his blade's deep searching thrust: +Plates of horn protect his side, +Pierced by none his strength who tried. + + +Cuchulain + +Fergus, much thine arms excel; +Cease, this tale no longer tell +Land is none, nor battle-field +Where to his my strength must yield. + + +Fergus + +He is fierce, with scores can fight, +Spear nor sword can on him bite; +From that strength, a hundred's match, +Hard 'twill be the prize to snatch. + + +Cuchulain + +Yea! Ferdia's power I know; +How from foughten field we go; +How was fought our piercing war, +Bards shall tell to ages far. + + +Fergus + +Loss of much I'd little mourn +Could I hear how, eastward borne, +Great Cuchulain's bloody blade +Proud Ferdia's spoils displayed. + + +Cuchulain + +Though in boasts I count me weak, +Hear me now as braggart speak: +Daman's son, of Darry's race, +Soon shall I, his victor, face. + + +Fergus + +Brought by me, hosts eastward came, +Ulster sought to hurt my fame; +Here have come, to ease my grief, +Many a champion, many a chief. + + +Cuchulain + +Sickness Conor's might withheld, +Else his sight thy host had quelled; +Less the shouts of joy had been, +Raised by Maev, Maw Scayl's high queen. + + +Fergus + +Greater deeds than done by me +O Cuchulain! thine shall be: +Daman's son thy battle nears; +Hear thy friend! keep hard thy spears. + + +Then Fergus returned to where the army was encamped: Ferdia, also went +from Maev and came to his own tent; and there he found his followers, +and he told them how he had been bound to Maev as in an easy task, that +he was on the morrow to combat and fight with six of her champions, or +to make duel with Cuchulain, whichever of the two he might think the +easier. Also he told them how she had been bound by a condition that +was easy for her to grant: that she should lay it on these same six +champions to see that her promises to him of rewards should be +fulfilled in case Cuchulain met his death at Ferdia's hand. + +There was no cheerfulness, or happiness, or even melancholy pleasure +among the inmates of Ferdia's camp that night: they were all cheerless, +and sorrowful, and low in spirit; for they knew that whenever those two +champions, those two slayers of hundreds met, one of the two must fall +in that place, or that both of them should fall: and if one only was to +fall they were sure that that one would be their own master; for it was +not easy for any man to combat and fight with Cuchulain on the Tain bo +Cuailnge. + +Now the first part of that night Ferdia slept very heavily, and when +the middle of the night had come his sleep had left him, and the +dizziness of his brain has passed away, and care for the combat and the +fight pressed heavily upon him. Then he called for his charioteer to +harness his horses, and to yoke his chariot; and the charioteer began +to rebuke him, if haply he might turn him from his purpose. "It would +be better for thee to stay!" said the charioteer. "Be thou silent, O +my servant!" said Ferdia, and he then spoke the words that follow, and +thus did his servant reply to him:-- + + +Ferdia + +'Tis a challenge provoking +To war, and I go +Where the ravens' hoarse croaking +Shall rise for my foe: +With Cuchulain still seeking +The strife at yon ford; +Till his strong body, reeking, +Be pierced by my sword! + + +Servant + +Nay, thy threats show no meekness; +Yet here thou should'st stay; +For on thee shall come weakness, +Woe waits on thy way: +For by Ulster's Rock broken +This battle may be, +And it long shall be spoken +How ill 'twas to thee. + + +Ferdia + +An ill word art thou saying; +It fits not our race +That a champion, delaying +From fight, should thee grace. +Then thy speech, my friend, fetter, +No foe will we fear; +But, since valour is better, +His challenge we near. + + +Then Ferdia's horses were harnessed for him, and his chariot was yoked, +and he came forward to the ford of battle; but when he had come there +he found that the full light of the day had not yet dawned, and "O my +servant!" said Ferdia, "spread out for me the cushions and skins that +are upon my chariot, that I may rest upon them till I take the deep +repose of refreshing sleep, for during the latter part of this night +have I taken no rest, on account of the care that I had for this combat +and fight." And the servant unharnessed his horses, and he placed +together the cushions and the skins that were upon the chariot, so that +Ferdia might rest upon them, and he sank into the deep repose of +refreshing sleep. + +Now in this place I will tell of the acts of Cuchulain. He rose not at +all from his couch until the full light of the day; and this he did in +order that the men of Ireland should not be able to say that it was +from fear or from dread that he rose, if it had been early that he had +arisen. And when the full daylight had come, he commanded his +charioteer to harness for him his horses, and to yoke his chariot: "O +my servant!" said Cuchulain, "harness for us our horses, and put the +yoke to our chariot, for early rises the champion who cometh to meet us +this day: even Ferdia, the son of Daman, the son of Dare." "The horses +are harnessed," said the charioteer, "and the chariot is yoked; step +thou into it, for it will bring no shame on thy valour." Then did +Cuchulain, the fighter of battles, the skilful in feats, the winner of +victory, that red-sworded hero, the son of Sualtam, leap into his +chariot. All around him screamed the Bocanachs, and the Bananachs, and +the wild people of the glens, and the demons of the air; for it was the +custom of the people of the wizard race of Danu to raise their cries +about him in every battle, on every stricken field, in every duel, and +in every fight to which he went, that thereby in such fight the hatred, +and the fear, and the avoidance, and the terror that men felt for him +should be increased. In no short time the charioteer of Ferdia heard +the roar of Cuchulain's approach; the clamour, and the hissing, and the +tramp; and the thunder, and the clatter, and the buzz: for he heard the +shields that were used as missiles clank together as they touched; and +he heard the spears hiss, and the swords clash, and the helmet tinkle, +and the armour ring; and the arms sawed one against the other, and the +javelins swung, and the ropes strained, and the wheels of the chariot +clattered, and the chariot creaked, and the hoofs of the horses +trampled on the ground as that warrior and champion came forward in +triumph to the ford, and approached him. + +Then that servant of Ferdia arose, and he placed his hand upon his +lord: "Arise now, O Ferdia!" said the servant, "for here they come +towards thee, even to the Ford;" and this was the speech of the driver +of the chariot of Ferdia as he stood before him: + + +Lo! a chariot yoked with silver, creaking loud, draws nigh;[FN#53] +O'er the chariot-wheels a man his perfect form rears high: +The warlike car +Rolls on from far +Braeg Ross, from Braina's bounds; +Past that burg they ride whose wooded side the roadway rounds; +For its triumphs high in triumph cry its song resounds. + + +[FN#53] For a literal translation of the above poem and another +rendering, see the notes. + + +Urged by hero-Hound, and yoked by charioteer's hand true, +Flies the war-car southward ever; nobler hawk ne'er flew +Than he who speeds +His rushing steeds, +That chief of stubborn might; +Soon the blood to flow from slaughtered foe shall meet his sight; +Sure for us 'tis ill, for soon with skill he gives us fight. + +Woe to him who here on hillock stands, that Hound to wait; +Emain Macha's perfect Hound is he, foretold by fate: +Last year I cried +That him I spied +Who guards his land from foe: +That battle-Hound, on whom are found all hues to glow: +'Twas then from far I heard that car: its sound I know. + + +"O my servant!" said Ferdia, "wherefore is it: that thou hast continued +in thy praise of this man ever since the time that I left my tent? +surely it must be a reward that thou seekest at his hand, so greatly +dost thou extol him; yet Ailill and Maev have foretold that it is by me +he shall fall. Certain it is that for sake of the fee I shall gain he +shall be slain quickly; and 'tis full time that the relief that we wait +for should come." Thus then it was that in that place he spoke these +words, and thus did his servant reply: + + +Ferdia + +'Tis time that I grant my assistance! +Be still: let thy praise of him sink: +Peer not, like a seer, at the distance; +Wilt fail me on battle-field's brink? +Though Cualgne's proud champion, displaying +His gambols and pride thou dost see; +Full soon shalt thou witness his slaying +For price to be paid down to me. + + +Servant + +If he who this glory is showing +Be champion of Cualgne indeed; +'Tis not in retreat he is going; +To meet us he cometh with speed: +He comes, nor 'tis slowly he blunders, +Like wind his swift journey he makes; +As stream, from the cliff-top that thunders; +As bolt, from the storm-cloud that breaks. + + +Ferdia + +'Tis pay at his hand thou hast taken, +So loudly resoundeth thy praise; +Else why, since our tent was forsaken, +Hast sung with such frequence thy lays? +Men, like thou, who, when foes are appearing, +Would to chant the foe's praises begin, +Will attack not, when battle is nearing, +But the name of base cowards shall win. + + +Now the charioteer of Ferdia was not long in that place before he saw a +marvellous sight; for before his eyes came the beautiful five-pointed, +four-peaked chariot, skilfully driven with swiftness and power. A +canopy of green overspread it; thin and well-seasoned was the body of +it; lofty and long were the spears that adorned it; well was it +fashioned for war. Under the yokes of that chariot sped forward with +great bounds two great-eared, savage, and prancing steeds; bellies had +they like whales, broad were their chests, and quick-panting their +hearts; their flanks were high, and their hoofs wide; their pasterns +fine, their loins broad, and their spirits untamable. The horse under +one of the yokes was grey, with a long mane and with broad hind +quarters; swiftly he galloped, and his leaps were great; the horse +beneath the other yoke was black, his mane was in tufts, his back was +broad, and eager was his pace. As a hawk, on a day when the wind +bloweth hard, darts up from the furrow; as the gusts of the wind in +spring sweep forward over a smooth plain upon a day in March; swift as +a going stag at the beginning of the chase, after he hath been roused +by the cry of the hounds; such was the pace of the two steeds that bore +forward Cuchulain and his chariot, touching upon the soil as rapidly as +if the stones that they trod on were hot with the fire, so that the +whole earth trembled and shook at the violence of their going. And +Cuchulain reached the ford, and Ferdia awaited him on the south side of +it, and Cuchulain halted his horses upon the north. + +Then did Ferdia bid welcome to Cuchulain: "O Cuchulain!" said Ferdia, I +rejoice to see thine approach." "Thy welcome would have been received +by me upon an earlier day," said Cuchulain, "but this day I cannot +receive it as one from a friend. And Ferdia," said he, "it were more +suitable that it was I who bade welcome to thee rather than that thou +shouldest welcome me; for out in flight before thee are my women, and +my children; my youths, and my steeds, and my mares; my flocks, and my +herds, and my cattle." "Ah, Cuchulain!" said Ferdia, "how hast thou +been persuaded to come to this fight and this battle at all? For when +we were with Scathach, with Uathach, and with Aife, thou wert mine +attendant; thine was the office to whet my spears, and to make ready my +couch." "'Tis true indeed," said Cuchulain, "but it was then as thy +younger in years and in standing that it was my custom to perform this +office for thee; and that is not my quality to-day; for now there is +not in all the world any champion with whom I would refuse to fight." +And then each of them reproached the other bitterly with breach of +friendship, and there Ferdia spoke the words which here follow, and +thus did Cuchulain reply: + + +Ferdia + +Hound! why hither faring,[FN#54] +Strife with strong ones daring? +As if home were flaring, +Woe shall come on thee! +Blood from out thee draining +Shall thy steeds be staining; +Thou, thy home if gaining, +Wounded sore shalt be. + + +[FN#54] The metre is that of the Irish. + + +Cuchulain + +Hot with indignation, +Take I battle-station, +Face yon warrior nation, +Round their warlike king: +They shall see me meet thee, +Count the strifes that greet thee, +Watch, as down I beat thee, +Drowning, suffering. + + +Ferdia + +Here is one to shame thee; +How 'twas I o'ercame thee, +They who champion name thee +Long the tale shall tell. +Ulster, near thee lying, +Soon shall see thee dying; +All shall say, with sighing, +Theirs the chief who fell. + + +Cuchulain + +Thine shall be the choosing; +Say, what warfare using +Hosts shall see thee losing +At the Ford this fight? +Swords dost choose, hard-clashing +Cars, in conflict crashing? +Spears, thy life-blood splashing? +'Tis thy death in sight. + + +Ferdia + +Ere the twilight gleameth, +Red thy life-blood streameth: +Small thy stature seemeth, +Like a cliff thy foe. +Ulster's hosts who prated, +And thy pride inflated; +Through them feel thy hated +Spectre sadly go. + + +Cuchulain + +Down a chasm appalling +Thou to death art falling; +One thy foe: yet galling +Weapons press thee sore. +Proud thou wert but lately, +Strife shall change thee greatly, +Thee as champion stately +Earth shall know no more. + + +Ferdia + +Cease this endless vaunting, +Speech for ever flaunting, +Thou a chief! a taunting, +Giggling child thou art. +None would pay, or fee thee, +I as coward see thee; +Strength hast none to free thee, +Caged bird! quaking heart! + + +Cuchulain + +Ah! in bygone story +We, as peers in glory, +Sports and combats gory +Shared when Scaha taught: +Thou, of all who nearest +To my soul appearest! +Clansman! kinsman dearest! +Woe thy fate hath brought! + + +Ferdia + +Naught this strife avails thee, +Glory fades, and fails thee; +Cock-crow loudly hails thee, +High on stake thy head! +Cualgne's[FN#55] Hound, Cuchulain! +Faults thy soul bear rule in: +Thee to bitter schooling +Frantic grief hath led. + + +[FN#55] Pronounced Kell-ny. + +"O my friend Ferdia!" said Cuchulain, "it was not right for thee to +have come to the combat and the fight with me, at the instigation and +the meddling of Ailill and Maev: none of those who came before thee +have gained for themselves victory or success, and they all fell at my +hand; neither shalt thou win victory or success from this battle, by me +shalt thou fall." And it was in this manner that he was speaking, and +he recited these words, and Ferdia hearkened to him: + + +Come not near, thou powerful man![FN#56] +O Ferdia mac Daman: +Worst of woe on thee is hurled, +Though thy fate shall grieve the world. + + +[FN#56] The metre is that of the Irish. + + +Come not near, nor right forget +In my hand thy fate is set: +Those recall, whom late I fought, +Hath their fall no wisdom taught? + +Thou for gifts wert passed in sale, +Purple sash, firm coat of mail; +Never maid, O Daman's son! +In this war of thine is won. + +Findabar, Maev's lovely child, +With her form thy sense beguiled: +Brightly though her beauty glows, +She no love on thee bestows. + +Wouldst thou win the prize they bring, +Findabar, the child of king? +Many ere now that maid could cheat +Here, like thee, their wounds to meet. + +Thou hast sworn, and plighted. troth, +Ne'er to fight me: keep thine oath: +Friendship's tie thee firm should hold, +Come not nigh me, champion bold. + +Fifty chiefs, who sought that maid, +Fought me, fell, in earth are laid; +Well I know that tempting bait, +All have found, and earned their fate. + +Ferbay fell, though bold his boast, +Him obeyed a valiant host; +Quickly here his rage I stilled; +Cast my spear but once, and killed. + +Cruel fate Srub Darry slew, +Tales of hundred dames he knew; +Great his fame in days of yore; +Silver none, 'twas gold he wore. + +Though that maid, whom Erin's best +Hope to gain, my heart would charm; +South and north, and east and west +I would keep thee safe from harm. + + +"And, O my friend Ferdia!" said Cuchulain "this is the cause why it was +not thy part to come here to the combat and the fight with me. It is +because that when with Scathach, with Uathach, and with Aife we abode, +it was the custom with us that together we should go to every battle, +and to every field of battle; to every fight and to every skirmish; to +every forest and to all wildernesses; to all things dark and +difficult." These were the words of his speech, and it was in that +place that he recited these staves: + + +Tuned our hearts were beating, +We, where chiefs were meeting, +Brotherly went: when slumbering +One was our couch: we sought +Fierce fights, and fought. +Oft in woods that are far away +Joined we stood in our skilful play; +Scathach our feats had taught. + + +And Ferdia replied to him thus: + + +O Cuchulain! for beautiful feats renowned, +Though together we learned our skill; +Though thou tellest of friendship that once we found, +From me shall come first thine ill; +Ah, recall not the time of our friendship's day: +It shall profit thee nothing, O Hound, I say. + + +"For too long now have we thus waited," said Ferdia; "tell me now O +Cuchulain! to what weapons shall we resort?" "Thou hast the choice of +the weapons till the night," said Cuchulain, "because thou wert the +first to reach the Ford." "Hast thou any remembrance," said Ferdia, +"of the weapons for casting, that we were accustomed to practise the +use of when we were with Scathach, with Uathach, and with Aife?" "I do +indeed remember them," said Cuchulain." "If thou rememberest them, let +us resort to them now," said Ferdia. Then they resorted to their +weapons used for the casting. They took up two shields for defence, +with devices emblazoned upon them, and their eight shields with sharp +edges such that they could hurl, and their eight javelins, and their +eight ivory-hilted dirks, and their eight little darts for the fight. +To and fro from one to the other, like bees upon a sunny day, flew the +weapons, and there was no cast that they threw that did not hit. Each +of them then continued to shoot at the other with their weapons for +casting, from the dawn of the morning to the full middle of the day, +until all of their weapons had been blunted against the faces and the +bosses of their shields; and although their casting was most excellent, +yet so good was the defence that neither of them wounded the other nor +drew the other's blood during all that time. "Cease now from these +feats, O Cuchulain!" said Ferdia, "for it is not by means of these that +the struggle between us shall come." "Let us cease indeed," said +Cuchulain, "if the time for ceasing hath arrived." And they ceased +from their casting, and they threw the weapons they had used for it +into the hands of their charioteers. + +"To what weapons shall we next resort, O Cuchulain?" said Ferdia. + +"Thou hast the choice of weapons until the night," said Cuchulain, +"because thou wert the first to reach the Ford." "Then," said Ferdia, +"let us turn to our straight, well-trimmed, hard, and polished +casting-spears with tough cords of flax upon them." "Let us do so +indeed," said Cuchulain. Then they took two stout shields of defence, +and they turned to their straight, well-trimmed, hard, and polished +casting-spears with the tough cords of flax upon them, and each of them +continued to hurl his spears at the other from the middle of midday +until the ninth hour of the evening: and though the defence was most +excellent that each of them made, yet so good was the casting of the +spears that each of them wounded the other at that time, and drew red +blood from him. "Let us desist from this now, O Cuchulain!" said +Ferdia. "Let us desist indeed," said Cuchulain, "if the time has come." + +They ceased, and they threw away their weapons into their charioteers' +hands; and each of them at the end of that fight sought the other, and +each threw his arms about the other's neck, and gave him three kisses. +Their horses were in the same paddock that night, the men who had +driven their chariots sat by the same fire, moreover the charioteers of +both those warriors spread couches of fresh rushes for the two, and +supplied them with such pillows as are needed by wounded men. And such +folk as can heal and cure came to heal and to cure them, and they +applied soothing and salving herbs and plants to their bruises, and +their cuts, and their gashes, and to all their many wounds. And of +every soothing and salving herb and plant that was brought for the +bruises, the cuts, and the gashes, and all the wounds of Cuchulain, he +used to send an equal portion westward across the ford to Ferdia, so +that in case Ferdia fell at his hand the men of Ireland should not be +able to say that it was owing to superiority in leech-craft that he had +done it. And of each kind of food, and of pleasant, palatable, +intoxicating drink that the men of Ireland brought to Ferdia, he would +send a fair half northward across the ford to Cuchulain; for the men +who provided food for Ferdia were more in number than they who provided +food for Cuchulain. All the army of the men of Ireland helped to +provide Ferdia with food, because he was their champion to defend them +against Cuchulain; yet to Cuchulain also food was brought by the people +who dwell in the Breg. And it was the custom with these that they came +to converse with him at the dusk of each night. + +Thus they remained that night, but early in the morning they arose, and +repaired to the Ford of Combat. "What weapons shall we turn to to-day, +O Ferdia?" said Cuchulain. "Thou hast the choice of weapons until the +night," answered Ferdia, "because it is I who had my choice of them in +the day that is past." "Let us then," said Cuchulain, "resort to our +great, broad-bladed, heavy spears this day, for nearer shall we be to +our battle by the thrusting of our spears this day than we were by the +throwing weapons of yesterday: let our horses be harnessed for us, and +our chariots yoked, that upon this day from our chariots and our horses +we may fight." "Let us turn to these indeed," said Ferdia. They then +took to them two exceedingly stout, broad shields, and they resorted to +their great, broad-bladed, heavy spears that day. And each of them +continued to thrust at, and to pierce through, and to redden, and to +tear the body of the other from the dawn of the morning until the ninth +hour of the evening; and if it were the custom for birds in their +flight to pass through the bodies of men, they could have passed +through the bodies of those warriors that day, carrying with them +pieces of their flesh from their wounds into the clouds and to the sky +around them. So when the ninth hour of the evening was come, the +horses were weary, and the charioteers were weak; and they themselves, +champions and heroes of valour as they were, had themselves become +weary; and "Let us cease now from this, O Ferdia!" said Cuchulain, "for +our horses are weary, and our charioteers are weak; and now that these +are weary, why should not we be weary too?" and then it was that he +sang this stave: + + +Not like Fomorians, men of the sea, +Stubborn, unending our struggle should be; +Now that the clamour of combat must cease, +Quarrels forget, and between us be peace. + + +Let us cease now indeed," said Ferdia, "if the time for it hath come." +They ceased, and they threw away their weapons into their charioteers' +hands, and each of them at the end of that fight sought the other, and +each threw his arms about the other's neck, and gave him three kisses. +Their horses were in the same paddock that night, the men who had +driven their chariots sat by the same fire, moreover the charioteers of +both those warriors spread couches of fresh rushes for the two, and +supplied them with such pillows as are needed by wounded men. And such +folk as can heal and cure came to examine into their wounds and to tend +them that night, for they could do nothing more for them, so severe and +so deadly were the stabs and the thrusts, and the gashes of the many +wounds that they had, than to apply to them spells and incantations and +charms, in order to staunch their blood, and their bleeding mortal +wounds. And for every spell and incantation and charm that was applied +to the stabs and the wounds of Cuchulain, he sent a full half westward +across the ford to Ferdia; and of each kind of food, and of pleasant, +palatable, intoxicating drink that the men of Ireland brought to +Ferdia, he sent a half across the ford to Cuchulain, in the north. For +the men who brought food to Ferdia were more in number than they who +brought food to Cuchulain, for all the army of the men of Ireland +helped to provide Ferdia with food, because he was their champion to +defend them against Cuchulain; yet to Cuchulain also food was brought +by the people who dwell in the Breg. And it was the custom with these +that they came to converse with him at the dusk of each night. + +Thus they rested that night: but early in the morning they arose, and +repaired to the Ford of Combat; and Cuchulain saw that an evil look and +a lowering cloud was on the face of Ferdia that day. "Ill dost thou +appear to me to-day, O Ferdia!" said Cuchulain. "Thy hair hath been +darkened to-day, and thine eye hath been dimmed, and the form and the +features and the visage that thou art wont to have are gone from thee." + "'Tis from no fear or from terror of thee that I am what I am to-day," +said Ferdia, "for there is not in Ireland to-day a champion that I am +not able to subdue." And Cuchulain complained and lamented, and he +spoke the words that follow, and thus did Ferdia reply: + + +Cuchulain + +Is't indeed Ferdia's face?[FN#57] +Sure his meed is dire disgrace; +He, to war by woman led, +Comes his comrade's blood to shed. + + +[FN#57] The metre is that of the Irish. + + +Ferdia + +Thou who warrior art indeed, +Champion tried! who wounds dost breed, +I am forced the sod to see +Where my final grave shall be. + + +Cuchulain + +Maev her daughter, Findabar, +Who all maids excelleth far, +Gave thee, not at love's behest, +She thy kingly might would test. + +Ferdia + +Gently ruling Hound, I know +That was tested long ago; +None so great is known to fame, +None, till now, to match it came. + + +Cuchulain + +All that's chanced from thee hath sprung, +Darry's grandchild, Daman's son; +Woman's hest hath brought thee here +Swords to test with comrade dear. + + +Ferdia + +Comrade! had I fled, nor found +Fight with thee, fair graceful Hound, +Maev my word could broken call; +Croghan hold my fame but small. + + +Cuchulain + +None put meat his lips between, +None to king or stainless queen +Yet was born, whose praise I'd gain, +None whose scorn would win thy pain. + + +Ferdia + +Thou who deep in wars dost wade, +'Twas not thou, 'twas Maev betrayed: +Back with conquest shalt thou ride, +Fault hast none thy fame to hide. + + +Cuchulain + +Clots of blood my faithful heart +Choke; my soul is like to part: +'Tis with little force my arm +Strikes, to do Ferdia harm! + + +"Greatly although thou makest complaint against me to-day," said +Ferdia, "tell me to what arms shall we resort?" Thine is the choice of +weapons until the night," said Cuchulain, "because it was I who had the +choice in the day that is past." "Then," said Ferdia, "let us this day +take to our heavy hard-smiting swords; for sooner shall we attain to +the end of our strife by the edge of the sword this day than we did by +the thrusts of our spears in the day that is gone." "Let us do so +indeed," said Cuchulain. That day they took upon them two long and +exceedingly great shields, and they resorted to their heavy and +hard-striking swords. And each of them began to hew, and to cut, and +to slaughter, and to destroy till larger than the head of a month-old +child were the masses and the gobbets of flesh which each of them cut +from the shoulders and the thighs and the shoulder-blades of his foe. + +After this fashion did each of them hew at each other from the dawn of +the day until the ninth hour of the even, and then Ferdia said, "Let us +desist from this now, O Cuchulain!" "Let us cease indeed," said +Cuchulain, "if the time has come." + +They ceased from their strife, and they threw from them their arms into +the hands of their charioteers. Pleasant and cheerful and joyous was +the meeting of the two: mournfully, and sorrowfully, and unhappily did +they part from each other that night. Their horses were not in the +same paddock, their charioteers were not at the same fire, and there +they stayed for that night. + +It was early in the morning when Ferdia arose, and he advanced alone +towards the Ford of Combat. Well did he know that the battle and the +conflict would be decided that day; that upon that day and in that +place one of the two would fall or that both would fall. And then, +before Cuchulain could come, Ferdia put on the armour that he was to +use for that battle in the conflict and fight. And this was the battle +armour that he used for that conflict and fight; he put a kilt of +striped silk, bordered with spangles of gold, next to his white skin, +and over that he put his well-sewn apron of brown leather to protect +the lower part of his body. Upon his belly he put a great stone as +large as a millstone, and over that great stone as large as a millstone +he put his firm deep apron of purified iron, on account of the fear and +the dread that he had of the Gae-Bulg that day. And his crested helmet +that he used for battle and conflict and fight he put upon his head: +there were upon it four jewels of carbuncle, each one of them fit to +adorn it: also it was studded with enamels, with crystals, with +carbuncles, and with blazing rubies that had come from the East. Into +his right hand he took his death-dealing sharp-pointed strong spear; +upon his left side he hung his curved sword of battle with its golden +hilt and its pommels of red gold: upon the slope of his back he took +his great and magnificent shield with great bosses upon it: fifty was +the number of the bosses, and upon each of them could be supported a +full-grown hog: moreover in the centre of the shield was a great boss +of red gold. Upon that day Ferdia displayed many noble, rapidly +changing, wonderful feats of arms on high; feats which he had never +learned from any other, either from his nurse or his tutor, or from +Scathach, or from Uathach, or from Aife, but which he himself invented +that day for his battle with Cuchulain. And Cuchulain approached the +ford, and he saw the many, rapidly changing, wonderful feats that +Ferdia displayed on high; and "O my friend Laeg!" said Cuchulain, "I +mark those noble, rapidly changing, wonderful feats which Ferdia +displays, and I know that all of those feats will in turn be tried upon +me; and for this reason if it be I who begin to go backwards this day, +let it be thy part to rouse me by reproaches, and by evil speech, so +that my rage and my wrath may be kindled, and increase. And if it be I +that shall prevail, then do thou give to me praise and approval; and +speak good words tome, that my courage may be the greater." "This +indeed will I do, O Cuchulain!" said Laeg. + +Then did Cuchulain put on his battle armour that he used for the combat +and fight. And that day he displayed noble, many-changing, wonderful, +and many feats that he had learned from none: neither from Scathach, +from Uathach, or from Aife. And Ferdia marked those feats, and he know +that each in turn would be tried upon him. + +"O Ferdia!" said Cuchulain, "tell me to what arms we shall resort? + +"Thine is the choice of weapons until the night," said Ferdia. "Then," +said Cuchulain, "let us try the Feat of the Ford."[FN#58] "Let us do +so indeed," said Ferdia; but although he thus spoke, it was with sorrow +that he consented, for he knew that Cuchulain had ever destroyed every +hero and champion who had contended with him at the Feat of the Ford. + + +[FN#58] i.e. in which all weapons were allowed. + + +Mighty were the deeds that were done upon that day at the ford by those +two heroes, the champions of the west of Europe; by those two hands +which in the north-west of the world were those that best bestowed +bounty, and pay, and reward; those twin loved pillars of valour of the +Gael; those two keys of the bravery of the Gaels, brought to fight from +afar, owing to the urging and the intermeddling of Ailill and Maev. +From the dawn till the middle of the day, each began to shoot at the +other with his massive weapons; and when midday had come, the wrath of +the two men became more furious, and each drew nearer to the other. +And then upon a time Cuchulain sprang from the shore of the ford, and +he lit upon the boss of the shield of Ferdia the son of Daman, the son +of Dare, to strike at his head from above, over the rim of his shield. +And then it was that Ferdia gave the shield a blow of his left elbow, +and he cast Cuchulain from him like a bird, till he came down again, +upon the shore of the ford. And again Cuchulain sprang from the shore +of the ford, till he lit upon the boss of the shield of Ferdia the son +of Daman, the son of Dare, to strike his head from above, over the rim +of the shield. And Ferdia, gave the shield a stroke of his left knee, +and he cast Cuchulain from him like a little child, till he came down +on the shore of the ford. + +Laeg saw what had been done. "Ah!" said Laeg, "the warrior who is +against thee, casts thee away as a loose woman casts her child; he +flings thee as high as the river flings its foam; he grinds thee even +as a mill would grind fresh malt; pierces thee as the axe would pierce +the oak that it fells; binds thee as the woodbine binds the tree; darts +upon thee even as the hawk darts upon little birds, so that never until +time and life shall end, shalt thou have a call, or right, or claim for +prowess or for valour: thou little fairy phantom!" said Laeg. Up +sprang Cuchulain, swift as the wind; quick as the swallow; fiery as the +dragon; powerful as the lion; and he bounded into the air for the third +time into the troubled clouds of it, until he lit upon the boss of the +shield of Ferdia, the son of Daman, striving to strike his head from +above, over the rim of the shield. And the warrior shook his shield, +and he threw Cuchulain from him, into the middle of the ford, just as +if he had never been cast off at all. + +And then for the first time the countenance of Cuchulain was changed, +and he rose in his full might, as if the air had entered into him, till +he towered as a terrible and wonderful giant, with the hero-light +playing about his head; rising as a wild man of the sea; that great and +valiant champion, till he overtopped Ferdia. And now so closely were +they locked in the fight, that their heads met above them, and their +feet below them; and in their middles met their arms over the rims and +the bosses of their shields. So closely were they locked in the fight, +that they turned and bent, and shivered their spears from the points to +the hafts; and cleft and loosened their shields from the centres to the +rims. So closely were they locked, that the Bocanachs, and the +Bananachs, and the wild people of the glens, and the demons of the air +screamed from the rims of their shields, and from the hilts of their +swords, and from the hafts of their spears. And so closely did they +fight, that they cast the river from its bed and its course, so that +there might have been a couch fit for a king and a queen to he in, +there in the midst of the ford, for there was no drop of water left in +it, except such as fell therein from off those two heroes and +champions, as they trampled and hewed at each other in the midst of the +ford. And so fierce was their fight, that the horses of the Gaels, in +fear and in terror, rushed away wildly and madly, bursting their +chains, and their yokes, and their tethers, and their traces; and the +women, and the common folk, and the followers of the camp, fled +south-westwards out of the camp. + +All this time they fought with the edges of their swords. And then it +was that Ferdia found Cuchulain for a moment off his guard, and he +struck him with the straight edge of his sword, so that it sank into +his body, till the blood streamed to his girdle, and the soil of the +ford was crimson with the blood that fell from the body of that warrior +so valiant in fight. And Cuchulain's endurance was at an end, for +Ferdia continually struck at him, not attempting to guard, and his +downright blows, and quick thrusts, and crushing strokes fell +constantly upon him, till Cuchulain demanded of Laeg the son of +Riangabra to deliver to him the Gae-Bulg. Now the manner of using the +Gae-Bulg was this: it was set with its end pointing down a stream, and +was cast from beneath the toes of the foot: it made the wound of one +spear on entering a person's body; but it had thirty barbs to open +behind, and it could not be drawn out from a man's body until he was +cut open. And when Ferdia heard mention of the Gae-Bulg, he made a +stroke of his shield downwards to guard the lower part of his body. +And Cuchulain thrust his unerring thorny spear off the centre of his +palm over the rim of the shield, and through his breast covered by +horny defensive plates of armour, so that its further half was visible +behind him after piercing the heart in his chest. Ferdia gave an +upward stroke of his shield to guard the upper part of his body, though +too late came that help, when the danger was past. And the servant set +the Gae-Bulg down the stream, and Cuchulain caught it between the toes +of his foot, and he threw it with an unerring cast against Ferdia, and +it broke through the firm deep apron of wrought iron, and it burst the +great stone that was as large as a millstone into three parts, and it +passed through the protection of his body into him, so that every +crevice and cavity in him was filled with its barbs. "'Tis enough +now," said Ferdia. "I have my death of that; and I have but breath +enough to say that thou hast done an ill deed against me. It was not +right that thy hand should be that by which I should fall." And thus +did he cry, as he gasped out these words: + + +Hound, of feats so fair![FN#59] +Death from thee is ill: +Thou the blame must bear, +Thou my blood dost spill. + +Help no wretch hath found +Down this chasm of woe: +Sick mine accents sound, +As a ghost, I go. + +Torn my ribs, and burst, +Gore my heart hath filled: +This of fights is worst, +Hound! thou hast me killed. + + +[FN#59] The metre is that of the Irish. + + +And after those words, Cuchulain ran towards him, and with his arms and +armour about him, carried him northwards across the ford, in order that +the slain man might be on the north side of the ford, and not upon the +western side together with the men of Erin. Then Cuchulain laid Ferdia +down, and there it was that a trance and a faint and a weakness came +upon Cuchulain when he saw the body of Ferdia, Laeg saw his weakness, +and the men of Ireland all arose to come upon him. "Rise up now, O +Cuchulain!" said Laeg, "for the men of Erin are coming towards us, and +no single combat will they give to us, since Ferdia the son of Daman, +the son of Dare, has fallen by thy hand." + +"How shall I be the better for arising, O my servant!" said he, "now +that he who lieth here hath fallen by me?" And it was in this manner +that his servant spoke to him, and he recited these words, and thus did +Cuchulain reply: + + +Laeg + +Now arise, Battle-Hound of Emania! +It is joy and not grief should be sought; +For the leader of armies, Ferdia, +Thou hast slain, and hard battle hast fought. + + +Cuchulain + +What availeth me triumph or boasting? +For, frantic with grief for my deed, +I am driven to mourn for that body +That my sword made so sorely to bleed. + + +Laeg + +'Tis not thou shouldst lament for his dying, +Rejoicing should spring to thy tongue; +For in malice, sharp javelins, flying +For thy wounding and bleeding he flung. + + +Cuchulain + +I would mourn, if my leg he had severed, +Had he hewn through this arm that remains, +That he mounts not his steeds; and for ever +In life, immortality gains. + + +Laeg + +To the dames of Red Branch thou art giving +More pleasure that thus he should fall: +They will mourn for him dead, for thee living, +Nor shall count of thy victims be small. + +Great Queen Maev thou hast chased, and hast fought her +Since the day when first Cualgne was left; +She shall mourn for her folk, and their slaughter, +By thy hand of her champions bereft. + +Neither sleep nor repose hast thou taken, +But thy herd, her great plunder, hast chased, +Though by all but a remnant forsaken, +Oft at dawn to the fight thou didst haste. + + +Now it was in that place that Cuchulain commenced his lament and his +moan for Ferdia, and thus it was that he spoke: + +"O my friend Ferdia! unhappy was it for thee that thou didst make no +inquiry from any of the heroes who knew of the valorous deeds I had +done before thou camest to meet me in that battle that was too hard for +thee! Unhappy was it for thee that thou didst not inquire from Laeg, +the son of Riangabra[FN#60] about what was due from thee to a comrade. + Unhappy was it for thee that thou didst not ask for the honest and +sincere counsel of Fergus. Unhappy it was for thee that thou hast not +sought counsel from the comely, the fresh-coloured, the cheery, the +victorious Conall about what was due from thee to a comrade. Well do +these men know, that never, till life and time come to an end, shall be +born in the land of Connaught one who shall do deeds equal to those +which have been done by thee. And if thou hadst made inquiry from these +men concerning the habitations, the gatherings, the promises, and the +broken faith of the fair-haired ladies of Connaught; hadst thou asked +them concerning spear-play and sword-play; concerning skill in +backgammon and chess; concerning feats with horses, and chariots of +war; they would have said that never had been found the arm of a +champion who could wound a hero's flesh like the arm of Ferdia; he +whose colour matched the tints of the clouds: none who like thee could +excite the croak of the bloody-mouthed vulture, as she calls her +friends to the feast of the many-coloured flocks; none who shall fight +for Croghan or be the equal of thee to the end of life and time, O thou +ruddy-cheeked son of Daman!" said Cuchulain. And then Cuchulain stood +over Ferdia. "Ah! Ferdia," said Cuchulain, "great was the treachery +and desertion that the men of Ireland had wrought upon thee, when they +brought thee to combat and fight with me. For it was no light matter +to combat and fight with me on the occasion of the Tain bo Cuailnge." +And thus it was that he spoke, and he then recited these words: + + +[FN#60] Pronounced Reen-gabra. + + +'Twas guile to woe that brought thee; +'Tis I that moan thy fate; +For aye thy doom hath caught thee, +And here, alone, I wait. + +To Scathach, glorious mother, +Our words, when boys, we passed; +No harm for each from other +Should come while time should last. + +Alas! I loved thee dearly, +Thy speech; thy ruddy face; +Thy gray-blue eyes, so clearly +That shone; thy faultless grace. + +In wrath for strife advances +No chief; none shield can rear +To piercing storm of lances +Of Daman's son the peer. + +Since he whom Aife[FN#61] bore me +By me was slain in fight, +No champion stood before me +Who matched Ferdia's might. + +He came to fight, thus trusting +Might Findabar be won; +Such hopes have madmen, thrusting +With spears at sand or sun. + + +[FN#61] Pronounced Eefa. See note on this line. + + +Still Cuchulain continued to gaze upon Ferdia. And now, O my friend +Laeg!" said Cuchulain, "strip for me the body of Ferdia, and take from +him his armour and his garments, that I may see the brooch for the sake +of which he undertook this combat and fight." Then Laeg arose, and he +stripped Ferdia; he took his armour and his garments from him, and +Cuchulain saw the brooch, and he began to lament and to mourn for him, +and he spake these words: + + +Ah! that brooch of gold![FN#62] +Bards Ferdia knew: +Valiantly on foes +With hard blows he flew. + +Curling golden hair, +Fair as gems it shone; +Leaflike sash, on side +Tied, till life had gone. + + +[FN#62] The metre and the rhyme-system is that of the Irish. See +notes, p. 196. + + +Comrade, dear esteemed! +Bright thy glances beamed: +Chess play thine, worth gold: +Gold from shield rim gleamed. + +None of friend had deemed +Could such tale be told! +Cruel end it seemed: +Ah! that brooch of gold! + + +"And now, O my friend Laeg!" said Cuchulain, "open the body of Ferdia, +and take the Gae-Bulg out of him, for I cannot afford to be without my +weapon." Laeg came, and he opened Ferdia's body, and he drew the +Gae-Bulg out of him, and Cuchulain saw his weapon all bloody and red by +the side of Ferdia, and then he spake these words: + + +Ferdia, I mourn for thy dying, +Thou art pale, although purple with gore: +Unwashed is my weapon still lying, +And the blood-streams from out of thee pour. + +Our friends in the East who have seen us, +When with Uathach and Scathach[FN#63] we dwelled, +Can bear witness, no quarrel between us +Or with words or with weapons was held. + +Scathach came; and to conflict inciting +Were her accents that smote on mine ear; +"Go ye all, where a swift battle fighting, +German wields his green terrible spear! + +To Ferdia, I flew with the story, +To the son of fair Baitan I sped, +And to Lugaid, whose gifts win him glory, +"Come ye all to fight German," I said. + + +[FN#63] Pronounced Ooha and Scaha. + + +Where the land by Loch Formay lies hollowed +Had we come, fit for fight was the place; +And beside us four hundred men followed; +From the Athisech Isles was their race. + +As beside me Ferdia contended +Against German, at door of his dun; +I slew Rind, who from Niul[FN#64] was descended, +I slew Rood, of Finnool was he son. + + +[FN#64] Pronounced Nyool. + + +'Twas Ferdia slew Bla by the water, +Son of Cathbad red-sworded was he: +And from Lugaid Mugarne gat slaughter, +The grim lord of the Torrian sea. + +Four times fifty men, stubborn in battle, +By my hand in that gateway were slain; +To Ferdia, of grim mountain cattle +Fell a bull, and a bull from the plain. + +Then his hold to the plunderers giving, +Over ocean waves spangled with foam, +Did we German the wily, still living, +To the broad-shielded Scathach bring home. + +There an oath our great mistress devising, +Both our valours with friendship she bound; +That no anger betwixt us uprising +Should 'mid Erin's fair nations be found. + +Much of woe with that Tuesday was dawning, +When Ferdia's great might met its end; +Though red blood-drink I served him that morning: +Yet I loved, though I slew him, my friend. + +If afar thou hadst perished when striving +With the bravest of heroes of Greece, +'Tis not I would thy loss be surviving; +With thy death should the life of me cease. + +Ah! that deed which we wrought won us sorrow, +Who, as pupils, by Scathach were trained: +Thou wilt drive not thy chariot to-morrow; +I am weak, with red blood from me drained. + +Ah! that deed which we wrought won us anguish, +Who, as pupils, by Scathach were taught: +Rough with gore, and all wounded, I languish; +Thou to death altogether art brought. + +Ah! that deed that we wrought there was cruel +For us pupils, from Scathach who learned: +I am strong; thou art slain in the duel, +In that conflict, with anger we burned. + + +"Come now, Cuchulain," said Laeg, "and let us quit this ford, for too +long have we been here." "Now indeed will we depart, O my friend +Laeg!" said Cuchulain, "but every other combat and fight that I have +made hath been only a game and a light matter to me compared with this +combat and fight with Ferdia." Thus it was that he spoke; and in this +fashion he recited: + + +Wars were gay, and but light was fray[FN#65] +Ere at the Ford his steeds made stay: +Like had we both been taught, +Both one kind mistress swayed; +Like the rewards we sought, +Like was the praise she paid. + + +[FN#65] Metre and rhyme-system of the Irish imitated, but not exactly +reproduced. + + +Wars were gay, and but light was fray +Ere at the Ford his steeds made stay: +Like were our fights, oft fought, +Like were our haunts in play; +Scathach to each of us brought +A shield one day. + +Wars were gay, and but light was fray +Ere at the Ford his steeds made stay: +Pillar of gold, loved well, +Low at the Ford's side laid; +He, when on troops he fell, +Valour unmatched displayed. + +Wars were gay, and but light was fray +Ere at the Ford his steeds made stay: +Lionlike, on he sped; +High, in his wrath, he blazed; +Rose, as a wave of dread; +Ruin his onset raised. + +Wars were gay, and but light was fray +Ere at the Ford his steeds made stay: +Never, till hour of doom, +Ferdia's form shall fade; +High as a cliff it loomed, +Now is but left his shade. + +Three great armies went this Raid,[FN#66] +All the price of death have paid; +Choicest cattle, men, and steeds +Lie in heaps, to tell my deeds. + + +[FN#66] The metre is that of the Irish. + + +Widely spread their battle-line, +Less than half their host was mine; +Though to war stout Croghan came, +All I slew, for me a game! + +None the battle neared like thee, +None of all whom Banba nursed +Passed thy fame; on land, on sea, +Thou, of sons of kings, art first! + + + + +SPECIAL NOTE + + + +ON THE "COMBAT AT THE FORD" + + +The episode translated in the foregoing pages is not only one of the +famous examples on which Irish literature can fairly rest its claim to +universal recognition, but it also affords an excellent instance of the +problems involved when it comes to be studied critically. These +problems, upon the solution of which must to some extent depend our +estimate of the place of Irish in the general development of European +literature) axe briefly dealt with in Mr. Leahy's Preface, as well as +in his special Introduction (supra, pp. 114, 115), but may perhaps be +thought worthy of somewhat more detailed examination. + +The existence of two markedly different versions of the "Tain bo +Cuailnge," one, obviously older, represented by the eleventh-century +MS. Leabhar na h-Uidhri (L.U.), and the fourteenth-century MS. Yellow +Book of Lecan (Y.B.L.); the other, obviously younger, by the +twelfth-century Book of Leinster (L.L.), was pointed out by Professor +Heinrich Zimmer twenty-seven years ago in his study of the L.U. heroic +saga texts (Keltische Studien V.: Zeitschrift für vergleichende +Sprachforschung, vol. xxviii.). The conclusion that he drew from the +fact, as also from the peculiarities disclosed by his analysis of the +L.U. texts, is substantially that stated by Mr. Leahy: "On the whole it +seems as if the compiler of the manuscript from which both the Leabhar +na h-Uidhri and the Yellow Book of Lecan were copied, combined into one +several different descriptions of the 'War,' one of which is +represented by the Book of Leinster version." He furthermore +emphasised a particular aspect of this compiler's activity to which Mr. +Leahy also draws repeated attention; he (the compiler) was a man +interested in the historical and antiquarian rather than in the +literary side of the texts he harmonised and arranged: hence his +preference for versions that retain archaic and emphasise mythical +elements; hence his frequent interpolation of scraps of historical and +antiquarian learning; hence his indifference to consistency in the +conduct of the story, and to its artistic finish. Professor Zimmer +urged that the "compiler" was no other than Flann, Abbot of +Monasterboice, who died in 1047, and was regarded as the most famous +representative of Irish learning in his day. There has come down to us +under his name a considerable mass of chronological and historical +writing, partly in prose, partly in verse, and it seems certain that he +was one of the chief artisans in framing that pragmatic redaction of +Irish myth, heroic legend, and historical tradition most fully +represented by the two great compilations of the seventeenth century: +the Annals of the Four Masters, emphasising its antiquarian, historical +side; Keating's History, emphasising its romantic, legendary side. + +Whilst Professor Zimmer's conclusion as to the personality of the L.U. +compiler has been challenged, his main thesis has remained unshaken. +On the whole, it can be asserted positively that the common source of +L.U. and Y.B.L. goes back to the early eleventh century; on the whole, +that this common source itself utilised texts similar to those +contained in the Book of Leinster. Moreover, the progress of +linguistic analysis during the past quarter-century has strengthened +the contention that some of the elements used by Flann (or another) in +compiling his eleventh-century harmony are as old, in point of +language, as any existing remains of Irish outside the Ogham +inscriptions; in other words, being as old as the earliest glosses, +they may date back to the eighth or even seventh century. In +particular the L.U.-Y.B.L. version of the "Tain bo Cuailnge" contains a +large proportion of such elements and may, in the main, be treated as +an eighth-century text. + +It must, however, be pointed out, and for this reason I have italicised +the qualifying "on the whole," "in the main," that this conclusion does +not enable us to declare dogmatically (1) that all portions of the +L.U.-Y.B.L. version must go back to the eighth century; (2) that all +portions of the Book of Leinster version must precede the compilation +of the common source of L.U. and Y.B.L. For as regards (1), not only +must the definitely ascertained activity of the eleventh-century +compiler be taken into account, but also the possible activity of later +scribes. If we possessed the complete text of the L.U.-Y.B.L. +redaction in both MSS., we could at least be sure concerning the +possible variations introduced during the two centuries that elapsed +between the writing of the Yellow Book (early fourteenth century) and +that of L.U. (late eleventh century). But most unfortunately both MSS. +are imperfect, the Yellow Book at the opening, L.U. at the close of our +tale. Thus of the special episode under consideration, the "Combat at +the Ford," the older redaction is only extant in the fourteenth-century +MS., and it is always open to impugners of its archaic character to say +that it has been introduced there from the rival Leinster version. +Again, as regards (2), whilst it is practically certain that the great +mass of the Leinster version was in existence before the time of the +source whence both L.U. and Y.B.L. are derived, and must therefore date +back to the early eleventh century, it is by no means certain that this +version was not considerably altered and enlarged before it came to be +written down in the Book of Leinster some time before 1154. + +The older version of the "Tain bo Cuailnge" has been translated by Miss +Winifred Faraday (Grimm Library, No. xvi. 1904). In her Introduction +(p. xvii.) Miss Faraday argues against the assumption "that L.L. +preserves an old version of the episode," and questions "whether the +whole Fer Diad[FN#67] episode may not be late." The truth of this one +contention would by no means involve that of the other; and again, both +might be true without invalidating any of the conclusions drawn by Mr. +Leahy (supra, p. 115). If the episode as we have it first took shape +in the tenth century, it would be late as compared with much of the +rest of the "Tain," and yet it would be the earliest example in +post-classic European literature of the sentiments and emotions to +which it gives such fine and sympathetic expression. In comparing the +two versions, the following fact is at once noticeable. The Y.B.L. +text occupies pp. 100-112 of Miss Faraday's translation, in round +figures, 320 lines of 8 words to the line, or some 2600 words; the +Leinster version, omitting the verse, fills some 500 lines of 14 words, +or 7000 words. Up to a certain point, however, the actual meeting of +the two champions, there is no difference between the versions in +length; the prose of both runs to about 2200 words. But the whole of +the actual fight (supra, pp. 129-153 in the Leinster version) is +compressed into a page and a half in the older redaction, some 800 +words as against over 4000. Obviously this cannot represent the +original state of things; it would be psychologically impossible for +any story-teller to carry on his narrative up to a given stage with the +dramatic vigour, point, and artistically chosen detail displayed in the +first portion of the Y.B.L. version of the combat, and then to treat +the culmination of the tale in such a huddled, hasty, scamped manner. +The most likely explanation is that the original from which the Y.B.L. +scribe was copying was imperfect, and that the lacuna was supplied from +memory, and from a very faulty memory. No conclusion can thus, I +think, be drawn from the fact that the details of the actual combat are +so bald and meagre in the only extant text of the older redaction. + + +[FN#67] This is the spelling in Y. B. L. In L.L. the name appears as +one word, "Ferdiad"; usually scanned as a dissyllable--though +occasionally as a trisyllable. The spelling Ferdia is the conventional +one sanctioned by the usage of Ferguson, Aubrey de Vere, and others; +the scansion of the word as a trisyllable is on the same authority. + + +If the two versions be compared where they are really comparable, i.e. +in that portion which both narrate at approximately the same length, +the older redaction will be found fuller of incident, the characters +drawn with a bolder, more realistic touch, the presentment more +vigorous and dramatic. Ferdiad is unwilling to go against Cuchulain +not, apparently, solely for prudential reasons, and he has to be goaded +and taunted into action by Medb, who displays to the full her wonted +magnificently resourceful unscrupulousness, regardless of any and every +consideration, so long as she can achieve her purpose. The action of +Fergus is far more fully dwelt upon, and the scones between him and his +charioteer, as also between him and Cuchulain, are given with far +greater spirit. The hero is indignant that Fergus should think it +necessary to warn him against a single opponent, and says roundly that +it is lucky no one else came on such an errand. The tone of the older +redaction is as a whole rough, animated, individualistic as compared +with the smoother, more generalised, less accentuated presentment of +the Leinster version. But to conclude from this fact that the older +redaction of the actual combat, if we had it in its original fulness +instead of in a bald and fragmentary summary, would not have dwelt upon +the details of the fighting, would not have insisted upon the courteous +and chivalrous bearing of the two champions, would not have emphasised +the inherent pathos of the situation, seems to me altogether +unwarranted. On the contrary the older redaction, by touches of +strong, vivid, archaic beauty lacking in the Leinster version leads up +to and prepares for just such a situation as the latter describes so +finely. One of these touches must be quoted. Cuchulain's charioteer +asks him what he will do the night before the struggle, and then +continues, "It is thus Fer Diad will come to seek you, with new beauty +of plaiting and haircutting and washing and bathing.... It would +please me if you went to the place where you will got the same adorning +for yourself, to the place where is Emer of the Beautiful Hair.... So +Cuchulain went thither that night, and spent the night with his own +wife." There is indeed the old Irish hero faring forth to battle as a +lover to the love tryst! How natural, how inevitable with warriors of +such absurd and magnificent susceptibility, such boyish love of +swagger, how natural, I say, the free and generous emotion combined +with an overmastering sense of personal honour, and a determination to +win at all costs, which are so prominent in the Leinster version of the +fight.[FN#68] + + +[FN#68] The trait must not be put down as a piece of story-teller's +fancy. In another text of the Ulster cycle, Cath ruis na Rig, +Conchobor's warriors adorn and beautify themselves in this way before +the battle. The Aryan Celt behaved as did the Aryan Hellene. All +readers of Herodotus will recall how the comrades of Leonidas prepared +for battle by engaging in games and combing out their hair, and how +Demaretus, the counsellor of Xerxes, explained to the king "that it is +a custom with these men that when they shall prepare to imperil their +lives; that is the time when they adorn their heads" (Herodotus vii. +209.) + + +The contention that the older redaction, if we had it complete, would +resemble the younger one in its insistence upon the chivalrous bearing +of the two opponents, may also be urged on historical grounds. The +sentiment which gives reality and power to the situation is based upon +the strength of the tie of blood-brotherhood; so strong is this that it +almost balances the most potent element in the ideal of old Irish +heroism--the sense of personal honour and pre-eminence in all that +befits a warrior. The tie itself and the sentiment based upon it +certainly belong to pre-Christian times, and must have been losing +rather than gaining in strength during the historic period, say from +the fourth century onwards. The episode of Cuchulain's combat with +Ferdiad must have existed in the older redaction of the "Tain" for the +simple reason that a tenth and eleventh century story-teller would have +found nothing in the feelings, customs, or literary conventions of his +own day to suggest to him such a situation and such a manner of working +it out. But--and this consideration may afford a ground of +conciliation with Miss Faraday and the scholars who hold by the +lateness of the episode--the intrinsic beauty and pathos of the +situation, the fact of its constituting an artistic climax, would +naturally tempt the more gifted of the story-telling class. There +would be a tendency to elaborate, to adorn in the newest fashion, hence +to modernise, and it is not only conceivable but most probable that the +original form should be farther departed from than in the case of much +else in the epic. + +ALFRED NUTT. + + + + +GENERAL NOTES + + + +THE COURTSHIP OF ETAIN + + +The translation of both versions of this romance has been revised by +Professor Strachan, and the linguistic notes are due to him, unless +otherwise stated. The rendering given in the text is noted as +"doubtful," in cases where Professor Strachan does not assent. + + +PAGE 7 +@@both line 17? +Line 17. "By a means that he devised," do airec memman, lit. "by a +device of mind." Compare airecc memman aith (Meyer, Hib. Minora, p. 28). + +Line 17. "So that she became well-nourished, &c.," lit. "till there +came to her fatness and form;" sult probably means "fatness," and feth +"form." + + +PAGE 8 + +Line 25. "Curvetting and prancing," tuagmar, foran. These are guesses +by O'Curry: curvetting may be right, but there is little authority for +rendering foran as "prancing "; this word is doubtful. "With a broad +forehead," forlethan, lit. "broad above," O'Curry renders +"broad-rumped." + +Line 34. "Upon the shore of the bay," forsin purt. Windisch's +rendering of port is "bank, harbour"; but it is doubtful whether the +word means more than "place." + + +PAGE 9 + +The literal rendering adopted for the poem runs thus: + + +Etain is here thus +at the elf-mound of the Fair-Haired Women west of Alba +among little children to her +on the shore of the Bay of Cichmaine. + +It is she who cured the eye of the king +from the Well of Loch da lig, +it is she who was drunk in a draught +by the wife of Etar in a heavy draught. + +Through war for her the king will chase +the birds from Tethba, +and will drown his two horses +in the lake da Airbrech. + +There shall be abundant and many wars +through the war for thee on Echaid of Meath, +destruction shall be on the elf-mounds, +and war upon many thousands. + +It is she who was hurt in the land (?), +it is she who strove to win the king, +it is she as compared to whom men men speak of fair women, +it is she, our Etain afterwards. + + +Line 2. "West of Alba" is literally "behind Alba," iar n-Albai: iar +is, however, also used in the sense of "west of." + +Line 14 is given by Windisch "through the war over Meath rich in +horses"; this is impossible. + +The translation of line 17 is not quite certain; the literal +translation of the MS. seems to be "it is she who was hurt and the +land." Da Airbrech in line 12 may mean "of two chariots." + + +PAGE 10 + +Literal translation of the quatrain: + + +Ignorant was Fuamnach, the wife of Mider, +Sigmall and Bri with its trees +in Bri Leth: it was a full trial +were burned by means of Manannan. + + +PAGE 11 + +Line 5. "Labraid the Tracker." This is a very doubtful rendering, the +text gives Labradae Luircc. + +Line 25. "That he desired full knowledge of." There seems to be +something with the Irish here; the word is co fessta which could only +be third singular subj. pass. "that it might be known," which does not +make grammar. It should be co fessed or co festais, "that he (or they) +might know." + + +PAGE 12 + +Line 9. "His officers who had the care of the roads." A very doubtful +rendering; the Irish is tarraluing sligeth. + +Line 29. "A bright purple mantle waved round her," lit. "a bright +purple curling (?) mantle," but the sense of caslechta as "curling" is +not certain. + +Line 30. "Another mantle." The word for mantle here is folai, in the +former line it was brat. + + +PAGE 13 + +Line 3. "As white as the snow." ba gilighuir mechto: not "whiter than +the snow," as Windisch's Dict. gives it. + +Line 17. "All that's graceful, &c.," cach cruth co hEtain, coem cach +co hEtain. Compare conid chucum bagthir cach n-delb. (L.U., 124b, 17, +"Courtship of Emer "), and Ir. Text., iii. p. 356, 1. 4, from which it +may be seen that the meaning is that Etain is the test to which all +beauty must be compared. + + +PAGE 14 + +Line 19. "So long as they were," not "so long as he was." The Irish +is cein ropas, and ropas is the impersonal preterite passive. + +Line 29. "The choking misery, &c.," lit. "he let come to him the +slaodan of a heavy sickness:" slaodan is the cough of consumption. + + +PAGE 15 + +Line 2. Lit. "worse and worse," messa a cach. + +Line 18. "His burial mound," a fert fodbuigh. Compare Zimmer, Kuhn's +Zeitschrift, xxx. 9, for fotbuig. + + +Literal rendering of the dialogue: + + +B. What hath happened to thee, O young man? +long is thy bed of sickness, +prostrate is thy full and splendid pace, +however fair the weather may be. + +A. There is cause for my sighs; +the music of my harp contents me not; +neither does any milk please me, +it is this that brings me into a pitiful state. + +E. Tell me what ails thee, O man, +for I am a maiden who is wise; +tell me of anything which may be of benefit to thee +that thy healing may be wrought by me. + +A. To speak of it is not possible for me +(lit. "finds not room in me"), +O maiden, lovely is thy form, +there is fire of some one behind her eyes (?) +nor are the secrets of women good. + +B. Though the secrets of women are bad, +yet, if it is love, the remembrance remains for long; +from the time when the matter is taken into hand +this thing is not deserving of its (?) recognition. + +A. A blessing on thee, O white maiden, +I am not worthy of this speech to me; +neither am I grateful to my own mind, +my body is in opposition to me. + +Wretched indeed is this, O wife of the King, +Eochaid Fedlech in very truth, +my body and my head are sick, +it is reported in Ireland. + +E. If there is among the troops of white women +any one who is vexing thee, +she shall come here, if it is pleasing to thee, +there shall be made by my help her courtship. + + +In verse 3, line 2, inniss dam gach dal, dal means no more than thing +it is not an accusative from dal, a meeting. + +Verse 4, line 3. Meaning doubtful. + +Verse 7, line 2. The confusion between Eochaid Airemm, the king in +this story, and his brother Eochaid Fedlech is obvious. It may, as +Windisch thinks, be an indication that the poem is not part of the +romance as originally composed, but other explanations are possible. + +Line 4. "It is reported." Not quite certain; Irish is issed berair. + + +PAGE 17 + +Line 11. "And great gain, &c." Text defective, and meaning uncertain. + +Line 13. Rhetoric; the literal translation seems to be as follows, but +some words are uncertain: + + +It is love that was longer enduring (?) than a year my love, +it is like being under the skin, +it is the kingdom of strength over destruction. + +It is the dividing into quarters of the earth, +it is summit (7) of heaven, +it is breaking of the neck, +it is a battle against a spectre. + +It is drowning with cold (or ? water), +it is a race up heaven, +it is a weapon under the ocean, +it is affection for an echo; +(so is) my affection and my love and my desire of the one on whom I +have set (my love). + + +PAGE 18 + +Line 2. The translation given is Windisch's, "it is sorrow under the +skin is Strachan's rendering. + +Line 5. Translation uncertain. Irish is dichend nime. + +Line 8. Is combath fri huacht (I read husce). + +Literal rendering of the poem: + + +Arise, O glorious Ailill, +great bravery is more proper to thee than anything; +since thou shalt find here what was wished by thee, +thy healing shall be done by me. + +If it should please thee in thy wise mind, +place hand about my neck; +a beginning of courtship, beautiful its colour, +woman and man kissing each other. + +But, if this is not enough for thee, O good man, +O son of a king, O royal prince, +I will give for thy healing, O glorious crime, +from my knee to my navel. + +A hundred cows, a hundred ounces of gold, +a hundred bridled horses were collecting, +a hundred garments of each variegated colour, +these were brought as a price for me. + +A hundred of each other beast came hither, +the drove was great; +these to me quickly, till the sum was complete, +gave Eochaid at the one time. + + +Line 14. Of poem. "Were collecting," ratinol. This is the rendering +in Windisch's Dictionary, but is a doubtful one. + +Line 18. Imerge means "drove," not "journey," as in Windisch. + +Line 27 of text. "Wrought a great healing, &c." Irish, ro lessaig, +"healed him" (Windisch); "waited upon him" (Strachan). + + +PAGE 19 + +Line 17. "For fear of danger." Baegal, "danger," has sometimes the +sense of "chance," "risk." + +Line 23. "That is what I would demand of thee." Translation not quite +certain Irish, cid rotiarfaiged. + + +PAGE 20 + +Line 2. "That both of us do indeed deem, &c." lit. "it is so indeed +well to us both." + +Line 22. For the incident compare Bodleian Dinnshenchas (Nutt, p. 27): +the introduction of Crochen is a human touch which seems to be +characteristic of the author of this version. The Dinnshenchas account +seems to be taken from the romance, but it gives the name of Sinech as +Mider's entertainer at Mag Cruachan. + +Line 25. "The Fairy Mound of Croghan." Irish, co sith sínighe Cruachan; +for sínighe read Maighe, "to the sid of Mag C." + + +PAGE 21 + +Line 2. Until the same day upon the year, &c.," on lo cu cele, "from +that day to its fellow," i.e. "till the same day next year." + +Line 10. "Three wands of yew." This looks like an early case of a +divining-rod. + +Line 21. "Hath smitten thee," rotirmass for ro-t-ormaiss, "hath hit +thee." + +Line 29. "They ruined," "docuas ar," an idiomatic phrase; "they +overcame," an idiomatic phrase. Compare Annals of Ulster under years +1175, 1315, 1516. + + +PAGE 22 + +Line 2. "Messbuachalla." This makes Etain the great-grandmother of +Conary, the usual account makes her the grandmother, so that there is +here an extra generation inserted. Yet in the opening she and Eochaid +Airem are contemporary with kings who survived Conary! + +Line 4. "The fairy host, &c." The order of the words in the original +is misleading and difficult sithchaire and Mider are the subjects to ro +choillsiut and to doronsat. + + +PAGE 23 + +Line 12. That there should be adjusted)" fri commus, lit. "for +valuation," but commus has also the sense of "adjusting." + + +PAGE 24 + +Line 4. "Since he for a long time, &c.," fodaig dognith abairt dia +sirsellad. See Meyer's Contributions, s.v. abairt. + +Line 23. "To gaze at her." Up to this point the L.U. version +(exclusive of the Prologue) bears the character of an abstract, +afterwards the style improves. + + +PAGE 25 + +Line 2. "But it shall not be in the abode, &c." Windisch seems to +have mimed the point here, he considers these lines to be an +interpolation. + + +PAGE 26 + +Line 5. Following Windisch's suggestion, this poem has been placed +here instead of the later place where it occurs in the text. This +famous poem has been often translated; but as there appear to be points +in it that have been missed, a complete literal rendering is appended: + + +O fair-haired woman, will you come with me +into a marvellous land wherein is music (?); +the top of the head there is hair of primrose, +the body up to the head is colour of snow. + +In that country is no "mine" and no "thine"; +white are teeth there, black are eyebrows, +the colour of the eyes is the number of our hosts, +each cheek there the hue of the foxglove. + +The purple of the plain is (on) each neck, +the colour of the eyes is (colour of) eggs of blackbird; +though pleasant to the sight are the plains of Fal (Ireland), +they are a wilderness (7) for a man who has known the Great Plain. + +Though intoxicating to ye the ale of the island of Fal, +the ale of the Great Country is more intoxicating +a wonder of a land is the land I speak of, +a young man there goes not before an old man. + +Stream smooth and sweet flow through the land, +there is choice of mead and wine; +men handsome (?) without blemish, +conception without sin, without crime. + +We see all on every side, +and yet no one seeth us, +the cloud of the sin of Adam it is +that encompasses us from the reckoning. + +O woman, if thou wilt come to my strong people, +it is top of head of gold shall be on thy head, +unsalted pork, new milk and mead for drink +shalt thou have with me there, O fair-haired woman. + + +Line 2. Hi fil rind. The meaning of rind (?) music) is uncertain. + +Line 3. Is barr sobarche folt and. This line is often translated as +"hair is wreathed with primrose": the image would be better, but it is +not the Irish. Barr is "top of head," and folt is "hair." + +Line 4. Is and nad bi mui na tai. Muisse is in old Irish the +possessive of the first sing when followed by a noun it becomes mo, +when not so followed it is mui; tai is also found for do. O'Curry gave +this line as "there is no sorrow nor care." + +Lines 7 and 10. Is li sula lin ar sluag and is li sula ugai luin are +so similar that is li sula must mean the same in both, and cannot mean +"splendour of eyes" in the first case unless it does so in the second. +The idea in the first case seems to be that the hosts are reflected in +the eyes; it is so rendered in the verse translation. A blackbird's +egg has a blue ground, but is so thickly powdered with brown spots of +all shapes that it looks brown at a distance. At first I was inclined +to take the idea to be "hazel" eyes, but comparing line 7, it seems +more likely that the idea is that all sorts of shapes appear in the +pupil. + +Line 12. The translation of annam as a "wilderness" is very doubtful, +it more probably is "seldom"; and the line should be "seldom will it be +so after knowledge of, &c." + +Line 16. This has always been rendered "no youth there grows to old +age." But the Irish is ni thecht oac and re siun, and re siun can only +mean "before an old (man)." The sense possibly is, that as men do not +become feeble with advancing years, the younger man has not the same +advantage over his elders in the eyes of women that he has in this +world. + +Line 17. Teith millsi, "smooth and honey-sweet" (Meyer, MacCongl., p. +196). + +Line 24. Compare a story of some magical pigs that could not be +counted accurately (Revue Celtique, vol. xiii. p. 449). + +Line 31. Muc ur, "unsalted pork"; see Glossary to Laws, p. 770; also +MacConglinne (Kuno Meyer), p, 99. + + +PAGE 27 + +Line 23. "He ascended." Fosrocaib for sosta: fosrocaib is an unknown +compound (=fo-sro-od-gaib). Perhaps frisocaib for sosta, "mounted on +the heights." + +Line 29. Co brainni a da imdae, "to the edges of his two shoulders"; +see braine, in Meyer's Contributions. + + +PAGE 28. + +Line 19. "Casting their light on every side," cacha air di = cacha +airidi, "in every direction." + +Line 25. "If thou dost obtain the forfeit of my stake," mad tu beras +mo thocell. For tocell see Zimmer, Kuhn's Zeitsch., xxx. 80. + +Line 29. "Eager" (?), femendae. See Bruiden da Derga (Stokes), 50, 51. + +Line 30. "Easily stopped," so-ataidi suggested for sostaidi in the +text: cf. Bruiden da Derga. The conjecture has not Strachan's +authority. + + +PAGE 29 + +Line 19. Literal translation of rhetoric: "Put it in hand, place it +close in hand, noble are oxen for hours after sunset, heavy is the +request, it is unknown to whom the gain, to whom the loss from the +causeway." + +Line 28. "Over the chariot-pole of life" seems to be a literal +rendering of for fertas in betha. Strachan renders "on the face of the +world," which is of course the meaning of the simile. + +Line 30. "High was he girt," ard chustal. The meaning of custal is +not known; it was used of some arrangement of the dress. See Ir. +Text., iii. 226; also L.U. 79a, 35, L.L. 97a, 40; 98a, 51; 253a, 30. + +Line 31. "Eochaid arose," Atrigestar Eochaid. Strachan thinks it much +more likely that this is "Eochaid feared him," the verb coming from +atagur. It is, however, just possible that the word might be a +deponent form from atregaim, "I arise." Eochaid does not elsewhere +show any fear of Mider, the meaning given agrees better with the tone +of the story, and is grammatically possible. + + +PAGE 30 + +Line 1. "All things that seemed good, &c.," lit. "I have been +accustomed to get what seemed good to thee," adethaind ni bad maith. + +Line 3. "Anger for anger," bara fri bure. Compare the word bura in +Meyer's Contributions. + +Line 25. "In order that Eochaid should stand in his debt," lit. "that +there might be cause of reproach for him to Eochaid." + +Line 32. "Forest that is over Breg." MS. fid dar bre, with mark of +abbreviation. This is read to be dar Breg. Professor Rhys (Arthurian +Legend, p. 28) renders "to cover Darbrech with trees." + +Line 33. "As it is written in the book of Drom Snechta. "This is a +conjecture by Mrs. Hutton as a restoration of the words in L.U., which +is torn just here: the words appear to be amal atbert lebor drums. + + +PAGE 31 + +Line 1. This rhetoric is very obscure; much of it cannot be +translated. The text seems to be as follows, according to Strachan: +Cuisthe illand tochre illand airderg damrad trom inchoibden clunithar fír +ferdi buidni balc-thruim crandchuir forderg saire fedar sechuib +slimprib snithib scítha lama indrosc cloina fo bíth oen mna. Duib in dígail +duib in trom daim tairthim flatho fer ban fomnis fomnis in fer mbranie +cerpiae fomnis diad dergae fer arfeid soluig fria iss esslind fer bron +for-tí ertechta in de lamnado luachair for di Thethbi dílecud (? diclochud) +Midi in dracht coich les coich amles ? thocur ? dar c? moin. + +Apparent rendering: "Place on the land, place close on the land, very +red oxen, heavy troop which hears, truly manlike ? troops, strong heavy +placing of trees, very red . . . is led past them with twisted wattles, +weary hands, the eye slants aside (squints) because of one woman. To +you the vengeance, to you the heavy ? oxen ? splendour of sovereignty +over white men, . . . man sorrow on thee . . . of childbirth, rushes +over Tethba, clearing of stones from Meath . . . where the benefit +where the evil, causeway over . . . moor." It seems that the oxen were +transformed people of Mider's race; this appears from fír-ferdi, which is +taken to mean "really men"; and duib in digail duib in trom-daim, which +is taken to mean "to you the vengeance, to you heavy oxen." + +Professor Strachan disagrees with this, as daim, to be "oxen," should +not have the accent, he makes trom-daim "heavy companies." He also +renders clunithar fír ferdi buindi, as "which hears truth, manly troops." + The rest of the translation he agrees to, most of it is his own. + +The passage from fomnis fomnis to lamnado seems untranslatable. + + +PAGE 32 + +Line 1. Lit. "no evil wedding feast (banais, text banas) for thee? + + + +MAC DATHO'S BOAR + + +PAGE 37 + +Line 3. The Rawlinson version gives, instead of "who was the guardian +of all Leinster," the variant "who would run round Leinster in a day." +This semi-supernatural power of the hound is the only supernatural +touch in either version of the tale. + +Line 6. The verse "Mesroda son of Datho" is from the Rawlinson MS. +The literal version of it is in Anecdota Oxoniensia, Mediaeval Series, +part viii. p. 57. (This reference will in future be given as A.O., p. +57.) + +Line 20. The list of the hostelries or guest-houses of Ireland +includes the scene of the famous Togail Da Derga, in the sack of which +Conaire, king of Ireland, was killed. Forgall the Wily was the father +of Emer, Cuchulain's wife. The tale of the plunder of da Choca is in +the MS. classed as H. 3, 18 in the Trinity College, Dublin, Library. + + +PAGE 38 + +The literal version of the dialogue between Mac Datho and his wife is +given in A.O., p. 58, following the Leinster text (there are only two +lines of it given in the Rawlinson MS.); but I note a few divergencies +in the literal version from which the verse translation was made. + +Verse 3, line 1. Asbert Crimthann Nia Nair, "Crimthann Nia Nair has +said" (A.O.). Nia is "sister's son," and has been so rendered. Nia is +a champion, and this is the meaning given in the Coir Anmann; but nia +has no accent in either the Leinster or Harleian manuscripts of the +text. The Coir Anmann (Ir. Tex., iii. 333) says that Nar was a witch. + +Verse 4, lines 1, 2. Cid fri mnai atbertha-su Mani thesbad ní aire, "Why +wouldest thou talk to a woman if something were not amiss?" (A.O.). +"Why dost thou speak against a woman unless something fails on that +account" seems as good a translation, and fits the sense better. + +Verse 7, line 2. Leis falmag dar sin tuaith, "By him Ireland (shall be +roused) over the people." The omitted verb is apparently "to be," as +above. Line 4 of the same verse is left untranslated in A.O., it is +ata neblai luim luaith. It seems to mean "There is nothing on the +plain for bareness (luim) of ashes," more literally, "There is a +no-plain for, &c." + +Verse 9, lines 2, 3. Isi ním dení cutal. Ailbe do roid dia. "It does not +make sorrow for me; as for Ailbe, "God sent him" seems to be the sense; +but the meaning of cutal is obscure. + + +PAGE 41 + +Line 8. "Forty oxen as side-dishes," lit. "forty oxen crosswise to it" +(dia tarsnu). The Rawlinson MS. gives "sixty oxen to drag it" (dia +tarraing). + +Line 33. "The son of Dedad." Clan Dedad was the Munster hero clan, +having their fortress in Tara Luachra; they correspond to the more +famous Clan Rury of Ulster, whose stronghold was Emain Macha. Curoi of +Munster seems to have been a rival hero to Cuchulain. + + +PAGE 42 + +Line 20. "Pierced through with a spear." The different ways in which +Ket claims to have conquered his rivals or their relations may be +noted; the variety of them recalls the detailed descriptions of wounds +and methods of killing so common in Homer. There are seven victories +claimed, and in no two is the wound the same, a point that +distinguishes several of the old Irish romances from the less elaborate +folk-tales of other nations. Arthur's knights in Malory "strike down" +each other, very occasionally they "pierce through the breast" or +"strike off a head," but there is seldom if ever more detail. In the +Volsunga Saga men "fall," or are "slain," in a few cases of the more +important deaths they are "pierced," or "cut in half," but except in +the later Niebelungenlied version where Siegfried is pierced through +the cross embroidered on his back, a touch which is essential to the +plot, none of the Homeric detail as to the wounds appears. The same +remark applies to the saga of Dietrich and indeed to most others; the +only cases that I have noticed which resemble the Irish in detail are +in the Icelandic Sagas (the Laxdale Saga and others), and even there +the feature is not at all so prominent as here, in the "Tain be +Cuailnge," and several other Irish romances, though it is by no means +common to all of them. It may be noted that the Irish version of the +"Tale of Troy" shows this feature, and although it is possible that the +peculiarity is due to the great clearness and sharpness of detail that +characterises much of the early Irish work, it may be that this is a +case of an introduction into Irish descriptions of Homeric methods. + +It may be also noted that six of Ket's seven rivals are named among the +eighteen Ulster chiefs in the great gathering of Ulster on the Hill of +Slane before the final battle of the Tain, Angus being the only one +named here who is not in the Hill of Slane list. Two others in the +Hill of Slane list, Fergus mac Lets and Feidlimid, are mentioned +elsewhere in this tale. Several of these are prominent in other tales: +Laegaire (Leary) is a third with Cuchulain and Conall in the Feast of +Bricriu, and again in the "Courtship of Emer;" Cuscrid makes a third +with the same two principal champions in the early part of the +"Sick-bed;" Eogan mac Durthacht is the slayer of the sow of Usnach in +the old version of that tale; and Celtchar mac Uitechar is the Master +of the Magic Spear in the "Bruiden da Derga," and has minor romances +personal to himself. + + +PAGE 45 + +The literal translation of the rhetoric seems to be: Ket. "Welcome, +Conall! heart of stone: wild glowing fire: sparkle of ice: wrathfully +boiling blood in hero breast: the scarred winner of victory: thou, son +of Finnchoem, canst measure thyself with me!" Conall. "Welcome, Ket! +first-born of Mata! a dwelling place for heroes thy heart of ice: end +of danger (7); chariot chief of the fight: stormy ocean: fair raging +bull: Ket, Magach's son! That will be proved if we are in combat: that +will be proved if we are separated: the goader of oxen (?) shall tell +of it: the handcraftsman (?) shall testify of it: heroes shall stride +to wild lion-strife: man overturns man to-night in this house." + + +PAGE 46 + +The literal translation of the quatrain is in A.O., p. 63. The +quatrain does not occur in the Leinster version. + + +PAGE 47 + +Line 4. "A great oak-tree." After the plucking up of the oak-tree by +Fergus, the Rawlinson MS. adds: "Others say that it was Curoi mac Dari +who took the oak to them, and it was then that he came to them, for +there was no man of Munster there (before) except Lugaid the son of +Curoi and Cetin Pauci. When Curoi had come to them, he carried off all +alone one half of the Boar from all the northern half of Ireland." +This exploit attributed to Curoi is an example of the survival of the +Munster account of the Heroic Age, part of which may be preserved in +the tales of Finn mac Cumhail. + + +PAGE 48 + +The Rawlinson manuscript adds, after mentioning the rewards given to +Ferloga But he did not get the serenade (cepoca), though he got the +horses." Literal translation of the final poem: + + +O lads of Connaught, I will not fill +your heaviness with a lying tale; +a lad, small your portion, +divided the Boar of Mac Datho. + +Three fifties of fifty men +are gone with troops of heroes; +combat of pride for that Ailbe, +small the fault in the matter of the dog. +Victorious Conor came (?), +Ailill of the hosts, and Ket; +Bodb over the slaughters after the fight, +Cuchulain conceded no right. + +Congal Aidni there from the east, +Fiamain the man of harmony from the sea, +(he who) suffered in journeys after that +Eogan the son of dark Durthacht. +three sons of Nera (famous) for numbers of battle-fields, +three sons of Usnach, fierce shields: + +Senlaech the charioteer, +he was not foolish, (came) from high Conalad Cruachan; +Dubhtach of Emain, high his dignity; +Berba Baither of the gentle word; +Illan glorious for the multitude of his deeds; +fierce Munremur of Loch Sail; +Conall Cernach, hard his valour; +Marcan . . . +Celtchar the Ulsterman, man over man; +Lugaid of Munster, son of three dogs. + +Fergus waits great Ailbe, +shakes for them the . . . oak, +took hero's cloak over very strong shield; +red sorrow over red shield. + +By Cethern the son of Finntan they were smitten, +single his number at the ford (i.& he was alone); +the men of Connaught's host +he released not for the time of six hours. + +Feidlimid with multitude of troops, +Loegaire the Triumphant eastwards, +was half of complaint about the dog +with Aed son of Morna not great. + +Great nobles, mighty (?) deeds, +hard heroes, fair companions in a house, +great champions, destruction of clans, +great hostages, great sepulchres. + +@@line x2? +In this poem may be noted the reference to Cuchulain in line x2 in +close connection with that to Bodb the Goddess of War, as indicating +the original divine nature of Cuchulain as a war-god also the epithet +of Lugaid, "son of three dogs." Two of the dogs are elsewhere stated +to be Cu-roi and Cu-chulain, the third seems uncertain. + +Line 26, describing Marcan, seems untranslatable; the Irish is Marcan +sinna set rod son. The epithet of the oak in line 32 is also obscure, +the Irish is dairbre n-dall. + + + +THE SICK-BED OF CUCHULAIN + + +PAGE 57 + +Line 2. "Samhain." Samhain was held on November 1st, and on its eve, +"Hallow-e'en". + +The exhibition of tips of tongues, on the principle of Indian scalps, +has nothing at all to do with the story, and is not mentioned in the +usual descriptions of the romance. It is a piece of antiquarian +information, possibly correct, and should serve to remind us that the +original form of these legends was probably of a barbaric kind, before +they were taken in hand by the literary men who gave to the best forms +of the romances the character they now have. + +Line 23. For the demons screaming from the weapons of warriors compare +the Book of Leinster version of the "Combat at the Ford": pages 126, +143 in this volume. + + +PAGE 58 + +Line 4. The delay of Conall and Fergus leads to nothing, it is perhaps +an introduction from some third form of the story. + +Line 19. Leborcham is, in the story of Deirdre, Deirdre's nurse and +confidant. + +Line 26. "Their three blemishes." +This disfigurement of the women of Ulster in honour of their chosen +heroes seems to point to a worship of these heroes as gods in the +original legend. It may, however, be a sort of rough humour +intentionally introduced by the author of the form of the story that we +call the Antiquarian form; there are other instances of such humour in +this form of the story. + + +PAGE 59 + +Line 2. "Like the cast of a boomerang." This is an attempt to +translate the word taithbeim, return-stroke, used elsewhere (L.U., +63a., 4) for Cuchulain's method of capturing birds. + +Line 8. "I deem it as being by me that the distribution was made." +The words "I deem it" are inserted, they are not in the text. It +appears that what Ethne meant was that the distribution by Cuchulain +was regarded by her as done by her through her husband. + + +PAGE 60 + +Line 9. "Dun Imrith nor yet to Dun Delga." Dun Imrith is the castle in +which Cuchulain was when he met the War-Goddess in the "Apparition of +the Morrigan," otherwise called the "Tain bo Regamna." Dun Delga or +Dundalk is the residence usually associated with Cuchulain. The +mention of Emer here is noticeable; the usual statement about the +romance is that Ethne is represented as Cuchulain's mistress, and Emer +as his wife; the mention here of Emer in the Antiquarian form may +support this; but this form seems to be drawn from so many sources, +that it is quite possible that Ethne was the name of Cuchulain's wife +in the mind of the author of the form which in the main is followed. +There is no opposition between Emer and Ethne elsewhere hinted at. + +Line 15. The appearance of Lugaid Red-Stripes gives a reason for his +subsequent introduction in the link between the two forms of the story. + +Line 18. "Near the entrance of the chamber in which Cuchulain lay." +It does not yet seem certain whether imda was a room or a couch, and it +would seem to have both meanings in the Antiquarian form of this story. + The expression forsind airiniuch na imdai which occurs here might be +rendered "at the head of the bed"; but if we compare i n-airniuch ind +rigthige which occurs twice in "Bricriu's Feast," and plainly means "at +the entrance of the palace," it seems possible that airinech is here +used in the same sense, in which case imda would mean "room," as +Whitley Stokes takes it in the "Bruiden da Derga." On the other hand, +the word imda translated on page 63, line 11, certainly means "couches." + +Line 27. "Ah Cuchulain, &c." Reference may be made for most of the +verses in this romance to Thurneysen's translation of the greater part +of it in Sagen aus dem alten Irland but, as some of his renderings are +not as close as the verse translations in the text, they require to be +supplemented. The poem on pp. 60, 61 is translated by Thurneysen, pp. +84 and 85; but the first two lines should run:-- + + +Ah Cuchulain, under thy sickness +not long would have been the remaining. + + +And lines 7 and 8 should be: + + +Dear would be the day if truly +Cuchulain would come to my land. + + +The epithet "fair" given to Aed Abra's daughters in line 4 by +Thurneysen is not in the Irish, the rest of his translation is very +close. + +Line 32. "Plain of Cruach." Cromm Cruach is the name of the idol +traditionally destroyed by St. Patrick in the "Lives." Cromm Cruach is +also described In the Book of Leinster (L.L. 213b) as an idol to whom +human sacrifices were offered. The name of this plain is probably +connected with this god. + + +PAGE 61 + +Line 30. "Hath released her," Irish ros leci. These words are usually +taken to mean that Manannan had deserted Fand, and that she had then +turned to Cuchulain, but to "desert" is not the only meaning of lecim. +In the second form of the story, Fand seems to have left Manannan, and +though of course the two forms are so different that it is not +surprising to find a contradiction between the two, there does not seem +to be any need to find one here; and the expression may simply mean +that Manannan left Fand at liberty to pursue her own course, which +divine husbands often did in other mythologies. Manannan is, of course, +the Sea God, the Celtic Poseidon. + + +PAGE 62 + +Line 3. Eogan Inbir (Yeogan the Stream) occurs in the Book of Leinster +version of the Book of Invasions as one of the opponents of the Tuatha +De Danaan, the Folk of the Gods (L.L. 9b, 45, and elsewhere). + +Line 15. "Said Liban." The text gives "said Fand." This seems to be +a scribal slip: there is a similar error corrected on page 79, line 21, +where the word "Fand" is written "Emer" in the text. + +Line 16. "A woman's protection." The "perilous passage," passed only +by a woman's help, occurs elsewhere both in Irish and in other early +literatures. See Maelduin, para. 17; Ivain (Chretien de Troyes), vv. +907 sqq.; and Mabinogion, "Lady of the Fountain" (Nutt's edition, p. +177). + +Line 28. "Labra." Labraid's usual title, as given to him by Liban in +both forms of the romance and once by Laeg in the second description of +Fairyland, is Labraid Luath lamar-claideb, the title being as closely +connected with him as {Greek boh`n a?gaðo`s Mene'laos}with Menelaus in +Homer. It is usually translated as "Labraid quick-hand-on-sword," but +the Luath need not be joined to lam, it is not in any of the places in +the facsimile closely joined to it, and others than Liban give to +Labraid the title of Luath or "swift," without the addition. + +The literal translation of the short pieces of rhetoric on pages 62, 63 +are, + + +"Where is Labraid the swift hand-on-sword, +who is the head of troops of victory? +(who) triumphs from the strong frame of his chariot, +who reddens red spear-points." + +"Labraid the son of swiftness is there, +he is not slow, abundant shall be +the assembly of war, slaughter is set +when the plain of Fidga shall be full." + +"Welcome to thee, O Laeg! +for the sake of her with whom thou hast come; +and since thou hast come, +welcome to thee for thyself!" + + +The metre of the first two pieces is spirited and unusual. The second +one runs: + + +Ata Labraid luithe cland, +ni ba mall bid immda +tinol catha, cuirther ar, +día ba Ian Mag Fidgae. + + +PAGE 63 + +Line 24. "Fand." The derivations of the names of Fand and of Aed Abra +are quite in keeping with the character of the Antiquarian form, and +would be out of place in the other form of the romance. It may perhaps +be mentioned that the proper meaning of Abra is "an eyelash," but the +rendering "Aed Abra of the Fiery Eyebrows," which has been employed in +accounts of this romance, would convey a meaning that does not seem to +have been in the mind of the authors of either of the two forms. + +For the literal translations of the three invocations to Labraid, on +pp. 63, 66, Thurneysen (p. 87) may be referred to; but there would be a +few alterations. + +In the first, line 2 should be "heir of a little host, equipped with +light spears," if Windisch's Dictionary is to be followed; line 5 would +seem to begin "he seeketh out trespasses" (oirgniu); and line 7 should +begin, "attacker of heroes," not "an attacking troop," which hardly +makes sense. + +In the second invocation the first line should alter Labraid's title to +"Labraid the swift hand-on-sword-of-battle;" line 3 should end with +"wounded his side." In line 6 and again in the third line of the third +invocation, Thurneysen translates gus as "wrath": Windisch gives the +word to mean "strength." + +Line 4 of the third invocation is rendered "he pierceth through men" by +Thurneysen; the Irish is criathraid ocu. Criathraim is given by +O'Reilly as meaning "to sift": "he sifteth warriors" seems a +satisfactory meaning, if O'Reilly is to be relied on. + + +PAGE 65 + +Labraid's answer to the three invocations seems to run thus, but the +translation is doubtful, many words are marked unknown by Windisch: "I +have no pride or arrogance, O lady, nor renown, it is not error, for +lamentation is stirred our judgment" (reading na ardarc nid mell, chai +mescthair with the second MS.), "we shall come to a fight of very many +and very hard spears, of plying of red swords in right fists, for many +peoples to the one heart of Echaid Juil (?), (let be) no anbi of thine +nor pride, there is no pride or arrogance in me, O lady." I can make +nothing of Anbi. + + +PAGE 66 + +Thurneysen does not translate the rhetoric; the translation seems to +run thus: + + +Great unprofitableness for a hero to lie +in the sleep of a sick-bed; +for unearthly women show themselves, +women of the people of the fiery plain of Trogach, +and they have subdued thee, +and they have imprisoned thee, +and they have chased thee away (?) amid great womanish folly. + +Rouse thyself from the contest of distress +(Gloss, "the sickness sent by the fairy women") +for all is gone of thy vigour +among heroes who ride in chariots, +and thou sittest (?) in the place of the young +and thou art conquered (? condit chellti if connected with tochell), +and thou art disturbed (?) in thy mighty deeds, +for that which Labraid's power has indicated +rise up, O man who sittest (?) that thou mayest be great. + +"Chased thee away" in line 7, for condot ellat, perhaps connected with +do-ellaim (?). + + +PAGE 67 + +Thurneysen's translation (p. 91) of Emer's lament may be referred to, +but he misses some strong points. Among these are: + +Line 5. "Woe to Ulster where hospitality abounds." + +Line 12. "Till he found a Druid to lift the weight." + +Line 25. "Were it Furbaide of the heroes." + +Line 27. "The hound would search through the solid earth." + +Line 29. "The hosts of the Sid of Train are dead." + +Line 30. "For the hound of the Smith of Conor." + +Line 34. "Sick for the horseman of the plains." + +Note the familiarity with the land of the fairies which Laeg is +asserted to have in the first verse of the poem: this familiarity +appears more than once in the Literary form of the story. Laeg speaks +of the land of Labraid as "known to him" in his- first description of +that land, again in the same description Laeg is recognised by Labraid +by his five-folded purple mantle, which seems to have been a +characteristic fairy gift. Also, Laeg seems at the end of the tale to +be the only one to recognise Manannan. There is no indication of any +familiarity of Laeg with the fairy country in the Antiquarian form. + +The different Ulster heroes alluded to are mostly well-known; all +except Furbaide are in "Mae Datho's Boar." Furbaide was a son of +Conor; be is one of the eighteen leaders who assemble on the Hill of +Slane in the "Tain bo Cuailgne." + +The Smith of Conor is of course Culann, from whom Cuchulain got his +name. + + +PAGES 68, 69 + +A translation of Emer's "Awakening of Cuchulain" may be found in +Thurneysen, p. 92 but there are one or two points that seem to be noted +as differing from the rendering there given. + +Lines 3 and 4 seem to mean: "Look on the king of Macha, on my beauty / +does not that release thee from deep sleep?" Thurneysen gives "Look on +the king of Macha, my heart! thy sleep pleases him not." Mo crath can +hardly mean "my heart." + +Line 6 is in the Irish deca a churnu co comraim! "see their horns for +the contest!" Instead of comraim Thurneysen seems to prefer the +reading of the second MS., co cormaim, and translates "their horns full +of beer." Churnu may mean trumpets as well as drinking-horns, and Emer +would hardly call on Cuchulain to throw off a drunken sleep (line 21) +and then take to beer! + +The following translation of lines 17 to 20 seems preferable to +Thurneysen's: + + +"Heavy sleep is decay, and no good thing; +it is fatigue against a heavy war; +it is 'milk for the satiated,' +the sleep that is on thee; +death-weakness is the tanist of death." + + +The last line is tanaisi d'ec ecomnart. The tanist was the prince who +stood next to the king; the image seems too good a one to be lost; +Thurneysen translates "weakness is sister to death." + +Line 14 seems to mean "see each wonder wrought by the cold"; Emer calls +Cuchulain's attention to the icicles which she thinks he is in danger +of resembling. + + +PAGE 69 + +For the literal translation of Liban's invitation see Thurneysen, p. 93. + +Line 14 should run: "Colour of eyes his skin in the fight;" the +allusion is, apparently, to a bloodshot eye. + + +PAGE 71 + +Line 4. The Plain of Speech (Mag Luada) and the Tree of Triumphs (Bile +Buada) are apparently part of the Irish mythology; they appear again in +Laeg's second description of Fairyland, which is an additional reason +for keeping this poem where it is in the second version, and not +following Thurneysen in transferring it to the first. Mag Luada is +sometimes translated as "moving plain," apparently deriving the word +from luath, "swift." + +Laeg's two descriptions of the Fairyland are (if we except the voyage +of Bran) the two most definite descriptions of that country in Irish +literature. There is very little extravagance in these descriptions; +the marvellously fruitful trees, the ever-flowing vat of mead, and the +silver-branched tree may be noted. Perhaps the trees of "purple glass" +may be added, but for these, see note on line 30. The verse +translation has been made to follow the original as closely as +possible; for a literal translation Thurneysen's versions (pp. 94 and +88) may be referred to, but some alterations may be made. + +The first description seems to begin thus: + + +I went with noble sportiveness +to a land wonderful, yet well-known; +until I came to a cairn for twenty of troops +where I found Labraid the Long-haired. + +There I found him on that hill +sitting among a thousand weapons, +yellow hair on him with beautiful colour, +an apple of gold for the confining of it. + + +And it ends thus: + + +Alas I that he went not long ago, +and each cure (should come) at his searching, +that he might see how it is +the great palace that I saw. + +Though all Erin were mine +and the kingship of yellow Bregia, +I would resign it; no slight trial; +for knowledge of the place to which I came. + +The following points should also be noted: + +Line 30 of this first description is tri bile do chorcor glain. This +undoubtedly means "three trees of purple glass"; but do chorcor glan +would mean "of bright purple"; and this last rendering, which is quite +a common expression (see Etain, p. 12), has been adopted in the verse +translation. The order of the words in the expression in the text is +unusual, and the adoption of them would give an air of artificiality to +the description which is otherwise quite absent from it. + +Lines 37 and 38 run thus: + + +There are there thrice twenty trees, +their tops meet, and meet not. + + +Lines 43, 44, rendering: "Each with splendid gold fastening well hooked +through its eye," are literally "and a brooch of gold with its +splendour in the 'ear' of each cloak." The ears of a cloak, usually +described as made of the peculiar white bronze, occur elsewhere in the +tales, and there are different speculations as to their use and +meaning. The most probable explanation is that they were bronze rings +shaped like ears, and sewn into the cloak; a brooch to fasten the cloak +being passed through the rings. This explanation has been suggested by +Professor Ridgeway, and seems to fit admirably the passages in which +these "ears" occur. Compare Fraech, line 33, in the second volume; +also the "Courtship of Ferb" (Nutt), p. 6. + +There are also a few corrections necessary to Thurneysen's translation +of the second description. + +Lines 13 to 20 should run thus: + + +A beautiful band of women;--victory without fetters;-- +are the daughters of Aed Abra; +the beauty of Fand is a rushing sound with splendour, +exceeding the beauty of a queen or king. + + +(The last line is more literally, "not excepting a queen or, &c.") + + +I will say, since it hath been heard by me, +that the seed of Adam was sinless; +but the beauty of Fand up to my time +hath not found its equal. + + +For the allusion to Adams sin, compare Etain, p. 26. Allusions like +these show that the tales were composed in Christian times. There +seems no reason to suppose them to be insertions, especially in cases +like this one, where they come in quite naturally. + +Line 21 is literally "with their arms for slaying"; not "who warred on +each other with weapons" as in Thurneysen. + + +PAGE 76 + +For the cooling of Cuchulain's battle-frenzy with water compare the +similar treatment in the account of his first foray (L.U., 63a; Miss +Faraday's translation, p. 34). + +For a literal translation of Faud's triumph song over Cuchulain's +return see Thurneysen's translation on page 97 Of the work already +referred to. Thurneysen's translation is very close; perhaps the last +verse should run: "Long rain of red blood at the side of the trees, a +token of this proud and masterful, high with wailing is the sorrow for +his fiend-like frenzy." + +The description of Cuchulain's appearance in verses 5 and 6 seems to +point to a conception of him as the sun-god. Compare the "sunlike" +seat of his chariot on page 79. + + +PAGE 78 + +The literal translation of Liban's rhetoric in welcome to Cuchulain +seems to be, "Hail to Cuchulain! King who brings help, great prince of +Murthemne! great his mind; pomp of heroes; battle-triumphing; heart of +a hero; strong rock of skill; blood-redness of wrath; ready for true +foes of the hero who has the valour of Ulster (?); bright his +splendour; splendour of the eyes of maidens; Hail to Cuchulain!" + +Torc in the second line is glossed in the MS. by "that is, a king." + +Cuchulain's account of his own battle is omitted by Thurneysen, +possibly because the account that he gives differs from that in the +text, as is pointed out by Windisch, Ir. Text., vol. i. p. 201). But +it is quite in keeping with the hero's character that he should try to +lessen his own glory; and the omission of this account destroys one of +the features of the tale. + +The literal rendering is: + + +I threw a cast with my light spear +into the host of Eogan the Stream; +not at all do I know, though renowned the price, +the victory that I have done, or the deed. + +Whether he was better or inferior to my strength +hitherto I chanced not on for my decision, +a throw, ignorance of the man in the mist, +certainly he came not away a living man. + +A white army, very red for multitudes of horses, +they followed after me on every side (?), +people of Manannan Mac Lir, +Eogan the Stream called them. + +I set out in each manner +when my full strength had come to me; +one man to their thirty, hundreds, +until I brought them to death. + +I heard the groan of Echaid Juil, +lips speak in friendship, +if it is really true, certainly it was not a fight (?), +that cast, if it was thrown. + + +The idea of a battle with the waves of the sea underlies the third +verse of this description. + + +PAGE 79 + +Five pieces of rhetoric follow, all of which are translated by +Thurneysen. A few alterations may be made, but all of them would be +small ones. The verse translations given are, it is believed, a little +closer to the text than Thurneysen's. The metres of the first three +pieces are discussed by Professor Rhys in Y Cymmrodor for 1905 (pages +166, 167). Professor Rhys reduces the second of these to a hexameter +followed by three pentameters, then a hexameter followed by a +pentameter. The other two reduce to hexameters mixed with curtailed +hexameters and pentameters. The last two pieces of the five, not +mentioned by Professor Rhys, show a strophic correspondence, which has +been brought out in the verse translation; note especially their +openings, and the last line of Emer's speech, cia no triallta, as +balancing the last line but four of Cuchulain's speech, cia no +comgellta. The last of these five pieces shows the greatest +differences between the verse and literal translations. A literal +translation of this would run: + + +"Wherefore now, O Emer!" said Cuchulain, "should I not be permitted to +delay with this lady? for first this lady here is bright, pure, and +clear, a worthy mate for a king; of many forms of beauty is the lady, +she can pass over waves of mighty seas, is of a goodly shape and +countenance and of a noble race, with embroidery and skill, and with +handiwork, with +understanding, and sense, and firmness; with plenty of horses and many +cattle, so that there is nothing under heaven, no wish for a dear +spouse that she doth not. And though it hath been promised (?), Emer," +he said, "thou never shalt find a hero so beautiful, so scarred with +wounds, so battle-triumphing, (so worthy) as I myself am worthy." + + +PAGE 81 + +Line 11. "Fair seems all that's red, &c.," is literally "fair is each +red, white is each new, beautiful each lofty, sour is each known, +revered is each thing absent, failure is each thing accustomed." + +For a translation of the poem in which Fand resigns Cuchulain reference +may be made to Thurneysen (p. 101). A more accurate translation of the +first verse seems to run thus: + + +I am she who will go on a journey +which is best for me on account of strong compulsion; +though there is to another abundance of her fame, +(and) it were dearer to me to remain. + + +Line 16 of poem, translated by Thurneysen "I was true and held my +word," is in the original daig is misi rop iran. Iran is a doubtful +word, if we take it as a form of aur-an, aur being the intensitive +prefix, a better translation may be, "I myself was greatly glowing." + + +PAGE 82 + +Line 26. "The lady was seized by great bitterness of mind," Irish ro +gab etere moir. The translation of etere is doubtful. + + +PAGE 83 + +For the final poem, in which Fand returns to Manannan, reference may as +before be made to Thurneysen's translation; but a few changes may be +noted: + +Line 1 should be, "See the son of the hero people of the Sea." + +Line 5 seems to be, "Although" (lit. "if") "it is to-day that his cry +is excellent." + +Line 7 is a difficult one. Thurneysen gives, "That indeed is the +course of love," apparently reading rot, a road, in place of ret; but +he leaves eraise untranslated; the Irish is is eraise in ret in t-serc. + Might not eraise be "turning back," connected with eraim, and the line +run: "It is turning back of the road of love"? + +Lines 13 to 16 are omitted by Thurneysen. They seem to mean: + + +When the comely Manannan took me, +he was to me a fitting spouse; +nor did he at all gain me before that time, +an additional stake (?) at a game at the chess. + + +The last line, cluchi erail (lit. "excess") ar fidchill, is a difficult +allusion. Perhaps the allusion is to the capture of Etain by Mider as +prize at chess from her husband. Fand may be claiming superiority over +a rival fairy beauty. + +Lines 17 and 18 repeat lines 13 and 14. + +Lines 46 and 47 are translated by Thurneysen, "Too hard have I been +offended; Laeg, son of Riangabra, farewell," but there is no "farewell" +in the Irish. The lines seem to be: "Indeed the offence was great, O +Laeg, O thou son of Riangabra," and the words are an answer to Laeg, +who may be supposed to try to stop her flight. + + +PAGE 85 + +Line 24. "That she might forget her jealousy," lit. "a drink of +forgetfulness of her jealousy," deoga dermait a heta. The translation +seems to be an accepted one, and certainly gives sense, but it is +doubtful whether or not eta can be regarded as a genitive of et, +"jealousy "; the genitive elsewhere is eoit. + +There is a conclusion to this romance which is plainly added by the +compiler: it is reproduced here, to show the difference between its +style and the style of the original author: + + +"This then was a token given to Cuchulain that he should be destroyed +by the People of the Mound, for the power of the demons was great +before the advent of the Faith; so great was that power that the demons +warred against men in bodily form, and they showed delights and secret +things to them; and that those demons were co-eternal was believed by +them. So that from the signs that they showed, men called them the +Ignorant Folk of the Mounds, the People of the Sid." + + + +THE EXILE OF THE SONS OF USNACH + + +PAGE 91 + +The four pieces of rhetoric, at the beginning of this text are +translated by Thurneysen, Sagen aus dem alten Irland, pp. 11 and 12. +In the first, third, and fourth of those, the only difference of any +importance between the text adopted and Thurneysen's versions is the +third line of the third piece, which perhaps should run: "With stately +eyes with blue pupils," segdaib suilib sellglassaib, taking the text of +the Yellow Book of Lecan. + +The second piece appears to run as follows: + + +Let Cathbad hear, the fair one, with face that all love, +the prince, the royal diadem, let he who is extolled be increased +by druid arts of the Druid: +because I have no words of wisdom +to oppose (?) to Feidlimid, +the light of knowledge; +for the nature of woman knows not +what is under her body, +(or) what in the hollow of my womb cries out. + + +These rhetorics are remarkable for the great number of the +alliterations in the original. + + +PAGE 93 + +Thurneysen omits a verse of Cathbad's poem. A translation of the whole +seems to run thus: + + +Deirdre, great cause of destruction, +though thou art fair of face, famous, pale, +Ulster shall sorrow in thy time, +thou hidden (?) daughter of Feidlimid. + + +Windisch's Dict. gives "modest daughter" in the last line; the original +is ingen fial. But the word might be more closely connected with fial, +"a veil." "Modest" is not exactly the epithet that one would naturally +apply to the Deirdre of the Leinster version, and the epithet of +"veiled" or "hidden" would suit her much better, the reference being to +her long concealment by Conor. + + +There shall be mischief yet afterwards +on thy account, O brightly shining woman, +hear thou this! at that time shall be +the exile of the three lofty sons of Usnach. + +It is in thy time that a violent deed +shall be done thereupon in Emain, +yet afterwards shall it repent the violation +of the safeguard of the mighty son of Rog. + + +Do foesam is read in the last verse, combining the Leinster and the +Egerton texts. + + +It is through thee, O woman with excellence, +(is) the exile of Fergus from the Ulstermen, +and a deed from which weeping will come, +the wound of Fiachna, the son of Conor. + + +Fiachna. is grandson to Conor in the Book of Leinster account of the +battle. Fiacha is Conor's son in the Glenn Masain version. + + +It is thy fault, O woman with excellence, +the wound of Gerrc son of Illadan, +and a deed of no smaller importance, +the slaying of Eogan mac Durthacht. + + +There is no account of the slaying of Eogan in the Book of Leinster +version; and Eogan appears on the Hill of Slane in the Ulster army in +the War of Cualgne. The sequel to the Glenn Masain version, however, +describes Eogan's death at the hand of Fergus (Celtic Review, Jan. +1905, p. 227). + + +Thou shalt do a deed that is wild and hateful +for wrath against the king of noble Ulster; +thy little grave shall be in that place, +thy tale shall be renowned, O Deirdre. + + +PAGE 95 + +Line 13. "Release me, O my wife!" eirgg uaim a ben. It is suggested +that the vocative ben is "wife," not "woman." It occurs in seven other +places besides this in Windisch's Dictionary, and in six of these it +means wife (Emer is addressed as wife of Cuchulain in a deig-ben, in +"Sick-bed," 44). In the remaining case ("Fled Bricrend," 31) the word +is abbreviated, and stands b in the text, which might be for be, "O +lady," though we should have then expected the accent. I suggest that +Naisi, by giving to Deirdre the name of "wife," accepts her offer, for +no other sign of acceptance is indicated, and the subsequent action +shows that she is regarded as his wife afterwards. + +Line 30. "Near to Ballyshannon," and "which men to-day call the +Mountain of Howth," are inserted as the modern names of the places. +The words correspond to nothing in the Irish. + + +PAGE 97 + +Line 13. "Fiacha." Fiacha, the son of Fergus, corresponds to Illan in +the better known version. There is no one in this version who +corresponds to the traitor son, Buinne. + + +PAGE 98 + +The "Lament of Deirdre," one of the finest of the older Irish poems, +has been rendered by Thurneysen and by others, among which should be +specially mentioned Miss Hull, in the Cuchullin Saga, pp. 50-51. +O'Curry's and O'Flanagan's versions seem to be very far from correct, +and it will be more convenient to give that literal translation which +seems nearest to the original, instead of indicating divergencies. The +literal translation adopted runs as follows: + + +Though fair to you seems the keen band of heroes +who march into Emain that they lately left (lit "after departing"), +more stately was the return to their home +of the three heroic sons of Usnach. + +Naisi, with mead of delicious hazel-nuts +(came), to be bathed by me at the fire, +Ardan, with an ox or boar of excellence, +Aindle, a faggot on his stately back. + +Though sweet be the excellent mead to you +which is drunk by the son of Ness, the rich in strife, +there has been known to me, ere now, leaping over a bank, +frequent sustenance which was sweeter. + + +Line 3 of the above stanza seems to be baithium riam reim for bra, +taking reim from the Egerton text. The allusion is to a cascade. + + +When the noble Naisi spread out +a cooking-hearth on hero-board of tree, +sweeter than any food dressed under honey[FN#69] +was what was captured by the son of Usnach. + + +[FN#69] For "food dressed under honey" compare Fraech, line 544, in +the second volume. + + +Though melodious to you each month +(are the) pipers and horn-blowers, +it is my open statement to you to-day +I have heard melody sweeter far than these. + +For Conor, the king, is melody +pipers and blowers of horns, +more melodious to me, renowned, enchanting +the voice given out by the sons of Usnach. + +Like the sound of the wave the voice of Naisi, +it was a melodious sound, one to hearken to for ever, +Ardan was a good barytone, +the tenor of Aindle rang through the dwelling-place. + +Naisi is laid in his tomb, +sad was the protection that he got; +the nation by which he was reared poured out +the cup of poison by which he died. + +Dear is Berthan, beautiful its lands, +stately the men, though hilly the land, +it is sorrowful that to-day I rise not +to await the sons of Usnach. + +Dear the mind, firm, upright, +dear the youth, lofty, modest, +after going with him through the dark wood +dear the girding (?) at early morning. + +Dear his gray eye, which women loved, +it was evil-looking against enemies, +after circuit of the wood (was) a noble assembly, +dear the tenor through the dark wood. + +I sleep not therefor, +and I stain not my nails with red, +joy comes not to my wakefulness, +for the sons of Usnach return not. + + +The last line is the Egerton reading. + + +I sleep not +for half the night on my bed, +my mind wanders amidst clouds of thoughts, +I eat not, nor smile. + +There is no leisure or joy for me +in the assemblies of eastern Emain; +there is no peace, nor pleasure, nor repose +in beholding fine houses or splendid ornaments. + +What, O Conor, of thee? +for me only sorrow under lamentation hast thou prepared, +such will be my life so long as it remains to me, +thy love for me will not last. + +The man who under heaven was fairest to me, +the man who was so dear +thou hast torn from me; great was the crime; +so that I shall not see him until I die. + +His absence is the cause of grief to me, +the shape of the son of Usnach shows itself to me, +a dark hill is above his white body +which was desired before many things by me. + +His ruddy cheeks, more beautiful than meadows (?), +red lips, eyebrows of the colour of the chafer, +his teeth shining like pearls, +like noble colour of snow. + +Well have I known his splendid garb +among the warrior men of Alba; +mantle of crimson, meet for an assembly, +with a border of red gold. + +His tunic of satin of costly price, +on it a hundred pearls could be counted, goodly the number +(lit. "a smooth number" ? a round number), +for its embroidery had been used, it was bright, +fifty ounces of findruine (i.e. white bronze). + +A gold-hilted sword in his hand, +two green spears with terrible points (?), +a shield with border of yellow gold, +and a boss of silver upon it. + +Fair Fergus brought injury upon us +when inducing us to cross the sea; +he has sold his honour for ale, +the glory of his high deeds is departed. + +If there were upon this plain +the warriors of Ulster in the presence of Conor, +all of them would I give up without a struggle +for the companionship of Naisi, the son of Usnach. + +Break not to-day my heart (O Conor!), +soon shall I reach my early grave, +stronger than the sea is my grief, +dost thou not know it, O Conor? + + +PAGE 103 + +For the literal translations of the poems in the Glenn Masain version +see +Whitley Stokes in Irische Texte, ii. 2, 172 sqq. + +Stanzas 13 to 16 are not in LVI. (the manuscript which is the second +authority used by Stokes for this version, and is the chief authority +for this part of the version). They are in the manuscript that Stokes +calls II. (the version used by O'Flanagan), which, like LVI., agrees +pretty closely with the Glenn Masain text so far as the latter +manuscript extends. + +Stanza 22 is also from O'Flanagan's manuscript. This verse is not +translated by Stokes, but it seems worth inserting. The literal +translation of it is: + + +I am Deirdre without joy, +it is for me the end of my life; +since to remain behind them is the worst thing, +not long life to myself. + + +PAGE 107 + +Line 21. Two passages, one describing Fergus' sons born in Connaught, +the other summing up his deeds, are omitted, as it is not intended to +reproduce this version in full. + + + +THE COMBAT AT THE FORD + + +The well-known translation by O'Curry of this part of the Book of +Leinster version of the "Tain bo Cuailgne" is given in the third volume +of his "Manners and Customs," pp. 414-463. There are, as has often +been pointed out, many inaccuracies in the translation, and the present +version does not claim to correct all or even the greater part of them; +for the complete version of the Great Tain by Windisch which has so +long eagerly been expected should give us a trustworthy text, and the +present translation is in the main founded on O'Curry; to whose version +reference may be made for literal translations for such parts of the +verse passages as are not noted below. A few more obvious corrections +have been made; most of those in the prose will appear by comparing the +rendering with O'Curry's; some of the corrections in the literal +versions adopted for the poems are briefly indicated. Two poems have +been literally translated in full: in these the renderings which have +no authority other than O'Curry's are followed by a query, in order to +give an indication of the extent to which the translation as given may +for the present be regarded as uncertain. For all the more valuable of +the corrections made to O'Curry's translation I am indebted to the +kindness of Mr. E. J. Quiggin, Fellow of Caius College, Cambridge. + + +PAGE 118 + +Line 7 Of the first stanza. O'Curry gives this as "Thou hast come out +of every strife," which seems to be an impossible rendering; "Take +whatever is thy will" seems to be nearer the sense of the passage, and +has been adopted. + +Lines 5 to 8 of the fourth stanza are very uncertain; and the +translation given, which is in part based upon O'Curry, is very +doubtful; a more trustworthy one has not, however, been arrived at. + +Line 4 of the fifth stanza in O'Curry's rendering means "Here is what +thou wilt not earn," i.e. "We can pay more than a full reward for thy +services." + +Lines 5 and 6 of the sixth stanza should be, "If my request be granted +me I will advance, though I am not his match." + +Line 2 Of the eighth stanza, "Not thine a pleasant smile for a +consort." Brachail in the next line is "guardian." + +Line 10 of the last stanza. Elgga is one of the names of Ireland. + + +PAGE 121 + +Line 1. Maeth n-araig, "in an easy task," the force of which O'Curry +seems to miss, translating it "as he thought." + +There are several changes to make in O'Curry's rendering of the +dialogue between Fergus and Cuchulain. It should run thus: + + +F. O Cuchulain, manifest is the bargain, +I see that rising is timely for thee; +here comes to thee in anger +Ferdiad, son of Daman, of the ruddy face. + +C. I am here, it is no light task +valiantly delaying the men of Erin; +I have not yielded a foot in retreat +to shun the combat of any one man. + +F. Fierce is the man in his excited (?) rage +because of his blood-red sword: +a horny skin is about Ferdiad of the troops, +against it prevails not battle or combat. + +C. Be silent, urge not thy story, +O Fergus of the powerful weapons! +on any field, on any ground, +there is no unequal fight for me. + +F. Fierce is the man, a war for twenties, +it is not easy to vanquish him, +the strength of a hundred in his body, valiant his deed (?), +spears pierce him not, swords cut him not. + +C. Should we happen to meet at a ford (i.e. a field of battle), +I and Ferdiad of well-known valour, +the separation shall not be without history, +fierce shall be our edge-combat. + +F. Better would it be to me than reward, +O Cuchulain of the blood-stained sword, +that it was thou who carried eastward +the spoils (coscur, not corcur) of the proud Ferdiad. + +C. I give thee my word with boasting, +though I am not good at bragging, +that it is I who shall gain the victory +over the son of Daman, the son of Dare. + +F. It is I who gathered the forces eastwards +in revenge for my dishonour by the men of Ulster; +with me they have come from their lands, +their champions and their battle warriors. + +C. If Conor had not been in his sickness +hard would have been his nearness to thee; +Medb of Magh in Scail had not made +an expedition of so loud boastings. + +F. A greater deed awaits thy hand, +battle with Ferdiad son of Daman, +hardened bloody weapons, friendly is my speech, +do thou have with thee, O Cuchulain! + + +PAGE 124 + +Line 7 of O'Curry's rendering of the first stanza should run: "So that +he may take the point of a weapon through him." + +Stanza 2 of the poem should run thus: + + +It would be better for thee to stay, +thy threats will not be gentle, +there will be some one who shall have sickness on that account, +distressful will be thy departure +to encounter the Rock of Ulster; +and ill may this venture turn out; +long will be the remembrance of it, +woe shall be to him who goeth that journey. + + +Line 4 of the next stanza, "I will not keep back to please you." + + +PAGE 126 + +The literal rendering of the poem seems to be: + + +I hear the creaking of a chariot +with a beautiful silver yoke, +the figure of a man with perfection +(rises) from the wheels of the stout chariot; +over Breg Row, over Braine +they come (?), over the highway +beside the lower part of the Burg of the Trees; +it (the chariot?) is triumphant for its victories. + +It is a heroic (?) hound who drives it, +it is a trusty charioteer who yokes it, +it is a noble hawk who scourges +his horses to the south: +he is a stubborn hero, +he is certain (to cause) heavy slaughter, +it is well-known that not with indexterity (?) +is the bringing of the battle to us. + +Woe for him who shall be upon the hillock +waiting for the hound who is fitly framed (lit. in harmony"); +I myself declared last year +that there would come, though it be from somewhere, a hound +the Hound of Emain Macha, +the Hound with a form on which are hues of all colours, +the Hound of a territory, the Hound of battle; +I hear, we have heard. + +As a second rendering of the above in a metre a little closer to the +original than that given in the text, the following may be suggested: + + +Shrieks from war-car wake my hearing, +Silver yokes are nigh appearing; +High his perfect form is rearing, +He those wheels who guides! +Braina, Braeg Ross past it boundeth, +Triumph song for conquests soundeth, +Lo! the roadway's course it roundeth, +Skirting wooded sides. + +Hero Hound the scourge hard plieth, +Trusty servant yoke-strap tieth, +Swift as noble hawk, he flieth, +Southward urging steeds! +Hardy chief is he, and story +Soon must speak his conquests gory, +Great for skilful war his glory; +We shall know his deeds! + +Thou on hill, the fierce Hound scorning, +Waitest; woe for thee is dawning; +Fitly framed he comes, my warning +Spoke him thus last year: +"Emain's Hound towards us raceth, +Guards his land, the fight he faceth, +Every hue his body graceth:" +Whom I heard, I hear. + + +PAGE 127 + +In O'Curry's rendering of the dialogue between Ferdia and his servant, +line 3 should be, "That it be not a deed of prophecy," not "a deferred +deed"; and line 6, With his proud sport." + +Last stanza of the poem: + + +It seems thou art not without rewards, +so greatly hast thou praised him; +why else hast thou extolled him +ever since I left my house? +they who now extol the man +when he is in their sight +come not to attack him, +but are cowardly churls. + + +PAGE 128 + +Line 34. "As a hawk darts up from the furrow." O'Curry gives "from +the top of a cliff." The word in the Irish is claiss. + + +PAGE 129 + +The metre of this poem, which is also the metre of all the preceeding +poems except the second in this romance, but does not occur elsewhere +in the collection, may be illustrated by quoting the original of the +fifth verse, which runs as follows: + + +Re funiud, re n-aidchi +Madit eicen airrthe, +Comrac dait re bairche, +Ni ba ban in gleo: +Ulaid acot gairmsiu, +Ra n-gabartar aillsiu, +Bud olc doib in taidbsiu +Rachthair thairsiu is treo. + + +Literal translation of the first two stanzas: + + +What has brought thee here, O Hound, +to fight with a strong champion? +crimson-red shall flow thy blood +over the breaths of thy steeds; +woe is thy journey: +it shall be a kindling of fuel against a house, +need shalt thou have of healing +if thou reach thy home (alive). + +I have come before warriors +who gather round a mighty host-possessing prince, +before battalions, before hundreds, +to put thee under the water, +in anger with thee, and to slay thee +in a combat of hundreds of paths of battle, +so that thine shall the injury +as thou protectest thy head. + + +Line 2 of the fifth stanza, "Good is thy need of height." + +Line 8 of the seventh stanza, "Without valour, without strength." + + +PAGE 133 + +Line 3. Literally: "Whatever be the excellence of her beauty." A +similar literal translation for page 138, line 10, of the dialogue; the +same line occurs in verse 3 on page 148, but is not rendered in the +verse translation. + + +PAGE 134 + +Line 18. "O Cuchulain! for beautiful feats renowned." O'Curry gives +this as prose, but it is clearly verse in the original. + + +PAGE 138 + +Lines 5, 6 of dialogue. "O Cuchulain! who art a breeder of wounds" +(lit. "pregnant with wounds"); "O true warrior! O true" (?accent +probably omitted) "champion!" + +Lines 7, 8. "There is need for some one" (i.e. himself) "to go to the +sod where his final resting-place shall be." The Irish of line 7 is is +eicen do neoch a thecht, which O'Curry translates "a man is constrained +to come," and he is followed by Douglas Hyde, who renders the two lines: + + +Fate constrains each one to stir, +Moving towards his sepulchre. + + +But do neoch cannot possibly mean "every man," it means "some man;" +usually the person in question is obvious. Compare page 125 of this +romance, line 3, which is literally: "There will be some one who shall +have sickness on that account," biaid nech diamba galar, meaning, as +here, Ferdia. + +The line is an explanation of Ferdia's appearance, and is not a moral +reflection. + +Line 29. "O Cuchulain! with floods of deeds of valour," or "brimming +over with deeds, &c." + + +PAGE 141 + +Line 9. "Four jewels of carbuncle." This is the reading of H. 2, 17; +T.C.D; which O'Curry quotes as an alternative to "forty" of the Book of +Leinster. "Each one of them fit to adorn it" is by O'Curry translated +"in each compartment." The Irish is a cach aen chumtach: apparently +"for each one adornment." + + +PAGE 144 + +Line 8 of poem. "Alas for the departing of my ghost." + + +PAGE 146 + +Lines 1, 2. "Though he had struck off the half of my leg that is +sound, though he had smitten off half my arm." + + +PAGE 148 + +Line 5. "Since he whom Aife bore me," literally "Never until now have +I met, since I slew Aife's only son, thy like in deeds of battle, never +have I found it, O Ferdia." This is O'Curry's rendering; if it is +correct, and it seems to be so substantially, the passage raises a +difficulty. Aife's only son is, according to other records, Conlaoch, +son of Cuchulain and Aife, killed by his father, who did not at the +time know who Conlaoch was. This battle is usually represented as +having taken place at the end of Cuchulain's life; but here it is +represented as preceding the War of Cualgne, in which Cuchulain himself +is represented to be a youth. The allusion certainly indicates an +early date for the fight with Conlaoch, and if we are to lay stress on +the age of Cuchulain at the time of the War, as recorded in the Book of +Leinster, of whose version this incident is a part, the "Son of Aife" +would not have been a son of Cuchulain at all in the mind of the writer +of this verse. It is possible that there was an early legend of a +fight with the son of Aife which was developed afterwards by making him +the son of Cuchulain; the oldest version of this incident, that in the +Yellow Book of Lecan, reconciles the difficulty by making Conlaoch only +seven years old when he took up arms; this could hardly have been the +original version. + +Line 23 of poem is literally: "It is like thrusting a spear into sand +or against the sun." + +The metre of the poem "Ah that brooch of gold," and of that on page +144, commencing "Hound, of feats so fair," are unique in this +collection, and so far as I know do not occur elsewhere. Both have +been reproduced in the original metre, and the rather complicated +rhyme-system has also been followed in that on page 148. The first +verse of the Irish of this is + + +Dursan, a eo oir +a Fhirdiad na n-dam +a belc bemnig buain +ba buadach do lamh. + + +The last syllable of the third line has no rhyme beyond the echo in the +second syllable of the next line; oir, "gold," has no rhyme till the +word is repeated in the third line of the third verse, rhymed in the +second line of the fourth, and finally repeated at the end. The second +verse has two final words echoed, brass and maeth; it runs thus + + +Do barr bude brass +ba cass, ba cain set; +do chriss duillech maeth +immut taeb gu t-ec. + + +The rhymes in the last two verses are exactly those of the +reproduction, they are cain sair, main, laim, chain, the other three +end rhymes being oir, choir, and oir. + +Line 3 of this poem is "O hero of strong-striking blows." + +Line 4. "Triumphant was thine arm." + + +PAGE 149 + +Lines 11 and 12 of the poem. "Go ye all to the swift battle that shall +come to you from German the green-terrible" (? of the terrible green +spear). + + +PAGE 150 + +Line 12. The Torrian Sea is the Mediterranean. + + +PAGE 151 + +Line 15. Literally: "Thou in death, I alive and nimble." + +Line 23. "Wars were gay, &c." Cluchi cach, gaine cach, "Each was a +game, each was little," taking gaine as gainne, the known derivative of +gand, "scanty." O'Curry gives the meaning as "sport," and has been +followed by subsequent translators, but there does not seem any +confirmation of this rendering. + + +PAGE 153 + +Line 10. Banba is one of the names of Ireland. + + + +END OF VOL. I. + + + +VOL. II + + + + + +@@{Redactors Note: In the original book the 'Literal Translation' is +printed on facing pages to the poetic translation. In this etext the +literal translation portions have been collated after the poetic +translation, for the sake of readability. Hence the page numbers are +not sequential--JBH} + + + + + +PREFACE TO VOL. II + + +It seems to have been customary in ancient Ireland to precede by +shorter stories the recital of the Great Tain, the central story of the +Irish Heroic Age. A list of fourteen of these "lesser Tains," three of +which are lost, is given in Miss Hull's "Cuchullin Saga"; those +preserved are the Tain bo Aingen, Dartada, Flidais, Fraich, Munad, +Regamon, Regamna, Ros, Ruanadh, Sailin, and Ere. Of these, five only +have been edited, viz. the Tain bo Dartada, Flidais, Fraich, Regamon, +and Regamna; all these five are given in this volume. + +The last four tales are all short, and perhaps are more truly +"preludes" (remscela) than the Tain bo Fraich, which has indeed enough +of interest in itself to make it an independent tale, and is as long as +the four put together. All the five tales have been rendered into +verse, with a prose literal translation opposite to the verse +rendering, for reasons already given in the preface to the first +volume. A short introduction, describing the manuscript authority, is +prefixed to each; they all seem to go back in date to the best literary +period, but appear to have been at any rate put into their present form +later than the Great Tain, in order to lead up to it. A possible +exception to this may be found at the end of the Tain bo Flidais, which +seems to give a different account of the end of the war of Cualgne, and +to claim that Cuchulain was defeated, and that Connaught gained his +land for its allies. It may be mentioned that the last four tales are +expressly stated in the text to be "remscela" to the Great Tain. + + + + +INTRODUCTION IN VERSE + + + +When to an Irish court of old +Came men, who flocked from near and far +To hear the ancient tale that told +Cuchulain's deeds in Cualgne's War; + +Oft, ere that famous tale began, +Before their chiefest bard they hail, +Amid the throng some lesser man +Arose, to tell a lighter tale; + +He'd fell how Maev and Ailill planned +Their mighty hosts might best be fed, +When they towards the Cualgne land +All Irelands swarming armies led; + +How Maev the youthful princes sent +To harry warlike Regamon, +How they, who trembling, from her went, +His daughters and his cattle won; + +How Ailill's guile gained Darla's cows, +How vengeful fairies marked that deed; +How Fergus won his royal spouse +Whose kine all Ireland's hosts could feed; + +How, in a form grotesque and weird, +Cuchulain found a Power Divine; +Or how in shapes of beasts appeared +The Magic Men, who kept the Swine; + +Or how the rowan's guardian snake +Was roused by order of the king; +Or how, from out the water, Fraech +To Finnabar restored her ring. + +And though, in greater tales, they chose +Speech mired with song, men's hearts to sway, +Such themes as these they told in prose, +Like speakers at the "Feis" to-day. + +To men who spake the Irish tongue +That form of Prose was pleasing well, +While other lands in ballads sung +Such tales as these have loved to tell: + +So we, who now in English dress +These Irish tales would fain +And seek their spirit to express, +Have set them down in ballad verse; + +And, though to Celts the form be strange, +Seek not too much the change to blame; +'Tis but the form alone we change; +The sense, the spirit rest the same. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + +THE PRELUDES TO THE RAID OF CUALGNE + + +TAIN BO FRAICH - Page 1 + +THE RAID FOR DARTAID'S CATTLE - Page 69 + +THE RAID FOR THE CATTLE OF REGAMON - Page 83 + +THE DRIVING OF THE CATTLE OF FLIDAIS - Page 101 + +THE APPARITION OF THE GREAT QUEEN TO CUCHULAIN - Page 127 + +APPENDIX + +IRISH TEXT AND LITERAL TRANSLATION OF PART OF THE COURTSHIP OF ETAIN - +Page 143 + + + + +TAIN BO FRAICH + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The Tain bo Fraich, the Driving of the Cattle of Fraech, has apparently +only one version; the different manuscripts which contain it differing +in very small points; most of which seem to be due to scribal errors. + +Practically the tale consists of two quite separate parts. The first, +the longer portion, gives the adventures of Fraech at the court of +Ailill and Maev of Connaught, his courtship of their daughter, +Finnabar, and closes with a promised betrothal. The second part is an +account of an expedition undertaken by Fraech to the Alps "in the north +of the land of the Long Beards," to recover stolen cattle, as well as +his wife," who is stated by O'Beirne Crowe, on the authority of the +"Courtship of Trebland" in the Book of Fermoy, to have been Trebland, a +semi-deity, like Fraech himself. Except that Fraech is the chief actor +in both parts, and that there is one short reference at the end of the +second part to the fact that Fraech did, as he had promised in the +first part, join Ailill and Maev upon the War of Cualnge, there is no +connection between the two stories. But the difference between the two +parts is not only in the subject-matter; the difference in the style is +even yet more apparent. The first part has, I think, the most +complicated plot of any Irish romance, it abounds in brilliant +descriptions, and, although the original is in prose, it is, in +feeling, highly poetic. The second part resembles in its simplicity +and rapid action the other "fore tales" or preludes to the War of +Cualnge contained in this volume, and is of a style represented in +English by the narrative ballad. + +In spite of the various characters of the two parts, the story seems to +have been regarded as one in all the manuscripts which contain it; and +the question how these two romances came to be regarded as one story +becomes interesting. The natural hypothesis would be that the last +part was the original version, which was in its earlier part re-written +by a man of genius, possibly drawing his plot from some brief statement +that Finnabar was promised to Fraech in return for the help that he and +his recovered cattle could give in the Great War; but a difficulty, +which prevents us from regarding the second part as an original legend, +at once comes in. The second part of the story happens to contain so +many references to nations outside Ireland that its date can be pretty +well fixed. Fraech and his companions go, over the sea from Ulster, +i.e. to Scotland; then through "north Saxon-land" to the sea of Icht +(i.e. the sea of Wight or the English Channel); then to the Alps in the +north of the land of the Long-Beards, or Lombards. The Long-Beards do +not appear in Italy until the end of the sixth century; the suggestion +of North Saxon-Land reaching down to the sea of Wight suggests that +there was then a South Saxon-Land, familiar to an Irish writer, dating +this part of the story as before the end of the eighth century, when +both Saxons and Long-Beards were overcome by Charlemagne. The second +part of the story is, then, no original legend, but belongs to the +seventh or eighth century, or the classical period; and it looks as if +there were two writers, one of whom, like the author of the Egerton +version of Etain, embellished the love-story part of the original +legend, leaving the end alone, while another author wrote an account of +the legendary journey of the demi-god Fraech in search for his stolen +cattle, adding the geographical and historical knowledge of his time. +The whole was then put together, like the two parts of the Etain story; +the difference between the two stories in the matter of the wife does +not seem to have troubled the compilers. + +The oldest manuscript authority for the Tain bo Fraich is the Book of +Leinster, written before 1150. There are at least two other manuscript +authorities, one; in Egerton, 1782 (published by Professor Kuno Meyer +in the Zeitschrift für Celt. Philologie, 1902); the other is in MS. XL., +Advocates' Library, Edinburgh (published in the Revue Celtique, Vol. +XXIV.). Professor Meyer has kindly allowed me to copy his comparison +of these manuscripts and his revision of O'Beirne Crowe's translation +of the Book of Leinster text. The text of the literal translation +given here follows, however, in the main O'Beirne Crowe's translation, +which is in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy for 1870; a few +insertions are made from the other MSS.; when so made the insertion is +indicated by a note. + +For those who may be interested in the subsequent history of Fraech, it +may be mentioned that he was one of the first of the Connaught +champions to be slain by Cuchulain in the war of Cualnge; see Miss +Faraday's translation (Grimm Library, page 35). + + + + +PERSONS IN THE STORY + + + +MORTALS + + +Ailill, King of Connaught. + +Medb (or Maev), Queen of Connaught. + +Findbar (or Finnabar), their daughter. + +Froech (or Fraech), (pronounced Fraych); son of a Connaught man and a +fairy mother. + +Conall Cernach (Conall the Victorious), champion of Ulster. + +Two Irish women, in captivity in the Alps, north of Lombardy. + +Lothar (or Lothur), a follower of Fraech. + +Bicne, a follower of Conall. + + + + +IMMORTALS + + + +Befind, Fraech's fairy mother. + +Boand (pronounced like "owned"), sister to Befind; Queen of the Fairies. + +Three fairy harpers. + + + + +TAIN BO FRAICH + + + +THE RAID FOR THE CATTLE OF FRAECH + + +Now the news of the love of that maid to Fraech, at his home where he +dwelt, was brought, +And he called his folk, and with all he spoke, and for speech with the +maid he sought: +And they counselled him thus: "Let a message from thee be sent to thy +fairy kin +To entreat their aid when we seek that maid; a boon we may chance to +win: +For the wondrous robes of the fairy land, and for gifts from the +fairies plead; +And sure thy mother's sister's hand will give to thee all thy need." + +To Mag Breg,[FN#1] where his mother's sister dwelt, to Boand he away +hath gone, +And she gave to him mantles of dark black-blue, like a beetle's back +they shone: +Four dark-grey rings in each cloak she gave were sewn, and a brooch +shone, bright +With the good red gold in each mantle's fold; she gave tunics pale and +white, +And the tunics were bordered with golden loops, that forms as of beasts +displayed; +And a fifty she added of well-rimmed shields, that of silver white were +made. + + +[FN#1] Pronounced Maw Brayg. + + +Then away they rode, in each hero's hand was a torch for a kingly hall, +For studs of bronze, and of well-burned gold, shone bright on the +spears of all; +On carbuncle sockets the spears were set, their points with jewels +blazed; +And they lit the night, as with fair sunlight, as men on their glory +gazed. + +By each of the fifty heroes' side was a sword with a hilt of gold; +And a soft-grey mare was for each to ride, with a golden curb +controlled; +At each horse's throat was a silver plate, and in front of that plate +was swung, +With a tinkling sound to the horse's tread, a bell with a golden tongue. +on each steed was a housing of purple hide, with threads of silver +laced, +And with spiral stitch of the silver threads the heads of beasts were +traced, +And each housing was buckled with silver and gold: of findruine[FN#2] +was made the whip +For each rider to hold, with a crook of gold where it came to the horse +man's grip. + + +[FN#2] Pronounced "find-roony," the unknown "white-bronze" metal. + + +By their sides, seven chase-hounds were springing +At leashes of silver they strained, +And each couple a gold apple, swinging +On the fetter that linked them, sustained: +And their feet with bronze sheaths had been guarded, +As if greaves for defence they had worn, +Every hue man hath seen, or hath fancied, +By those chase-hounds in brilliance was borne. + +Seven trumpeters strode on the road before, with colour their cloaks +were bright, +And their coats, that shone with the gauds they wore, flashed back as +they met the light; +On trumpets of silver and gold they blew, and sweet was the trumpets' +sound, +And their hair, soft and yellow, like fairy threads, shone golden their +shoulders round. + +Three jesters marched in the van, their-crowns were of silver, by gilt +concealed, +And emblems they. carried of quaint device, engraved on each jester's +shield; +They had staves which with crests were adorned, and ribs down their +edges in red bronze ran; +Three harp-players moved by the jesters' sides, and each was a kingly +man. +All these were the gifts that the fairy gave, and gaily they made their +start, +And to Croghan's[FN#3] hold, in that guise so brave, away did the host +depart. + + +[FN#3] Pronounced Crow-han. + + +On the fort stands a watchman to view them, +And thus news down to Croghan he calls: +"From yon plain comes, in fulness of numbers, +A great army to Croghan's high walls; +And, since Ailill the throne first ascended, +Since the day we hailed Maev as our Queen, +Never army so fair nor so splendid +Yet hath come, nor its like shall be seen." + +"'Tis strange," said he," as dipped in wine, +So swims, so reels my head, +As o'er me steals the breath divine +Of perfume from them shed." + +"A fair youth," said he, "forth with them goeth, +And the grace of such frolicsome play, +And such lightness in leap as he showeth +Have I seen not on earth till to-day: +For his spear a full shot's length he flingeth, +Yet the spear never reacheth to ground, +For his silver-chained hounds follow after, +In their jaws is the spear ever found!" +The Connaught hosts without the fort +To see that glory rushed: +Sixteen within, of baser sort, +Who gazed, to death were crushed. + +To the fort came the youths, from their steeds they leapt, for the +steeds and the stabling cared, +And they loosed the hounds that in leash they kept, for the hunt were +the hounds prepared; +Seven deer, seven foxes and hares, they chased to the dun on Croghan's +plain, +Seven boars they drave, on the lawn in haste the game by the youths was +slain: +With a bound they dashed into Bree, whose flood by the lawns of Croghan +flows; +Seven otters they caught in its stream, and brought to a hill where the +gateway rose. + +'Twas there that Fraech and the princes sat at the castle-gate to rest, +And the steward of Croghan with Fraech would speak, for such was the +king's behest: +Of his birth it was asked, and the men he led all truth to the herald +spake: +"It is Idath's son who is here," they said, and they gave him the name +of Fraech. +To Ailill and Maev went the steward back of the stranger's name to tell; +"Give him welcome," said they: "Of a noble race is that youth, and I +know it well; +Let him enter the court of our house," said the king, the gateway they +opened wide; +And the fourth of the palace they gave to Fraech, that there might his +youths abide. + +Fair was the palace that there they found, +Seven great chambers were ranged it round; +Right to the walls of the house they spread, +Facing the hall, where the fire glowed red: +Red yew planks, that had felt the plane, +Dappled the walls with their tangled grain: + +Rails of bronze at the side-walls stood, +Plates of bronze had made firm the wood, +Seven brass bolts to the roof-tree good +Firmly the vaulting tied. + +All that house had of pine been made, +Planks, as shingles, above were laid; +Sixteen windows the light let pass, +Each in a frame of the shining brass: +High through the roof was the sky seen bright; +Girder of brass made that opening tight, +Under the gap it was stretched, and light +Fell on its gleaming side. + +All those chambers in splendour excelling, +The midmost of all in the ring, +Rose a room, set apart as the dwelling +Of Queen Maev, and of Ailill the king. +Four brass columns the awning supported +For their couch, there was bronze on the wall; +And two rails, formed of silver, and gilded, +In that chamber encircled it all: +In the front, to mid-rafters attaining, +Rose in silver a wand from the floor; +And with rooms was that palace engirdled, +For they stretched from the door to the door. + +'Twas there they went to take repose, +On high their arms were hung; +And down they sank, and welcome rose, +Acclaimed by every tongue. + +By the queen and the king they were welcome made, the strangers they +turned to greet; +And their courtesy graciously Fraech repaid: "'Twas thus we had hoped +to meet." +"Not for boasting to-day are ye come!" said Maev; the men for the chess +she set: +And a lord of the court in the chess-man sport by Fraech in a match was +met. +'Twas a marvellous board of findruine fair was prepared, when they +played that game, +Four handles, and edges of gold it had, nor needed they candles' flame; +For the jewels that blazed at the chess-board's side, a light, as from +lamps, would yield; +And of silver and gold were the soldiers made, who engaged on that +mimic field. + +"Get ye food for the chiefs!" said the king; said Maev, "Not yet, 'tis +my will to stay, +To sit with the strangers, and here with Fraech in a match at the chess +to play!" +"Let thy game be played!" said Ailill then, "for it pleaseth me none +the less:" +And Queen Maev and Fraech at the chess-board sate, and they played at +the game of chess. + +Now his men, as they played, the wild beasts late caught were cooking, +they thought to feed; +And said Ailill to Fraech, "Shall thy harpmen play?" "Let them play," +said Fraech, "indeed:" +Now those harpers were wondrous men, by their sides they had sacks of +the otter's skin, +And about their bodies the sacks were tied, and they carried their +harps within, +With stitches of silver and golden thread each case for a harp was +sewed; +And, beneath the embroidery gleaming red, the shimmer of rubies showed! + +The skin of a roe about them in the middle, it was as white as snow; +black-grey eyes in their centre. Cloaks of linen as white as the tunic +of a swan around these ties.[FN#4] Harps of gold and silver and +bronze, with figures of serpents and birds, and hounds of gold and +silver: as they moved those strings those figures used to run about the +men all round. + + +[FN#4] This is the Egerton version, which is clearly right here. The +Book of Leinster gives: "These figures accordingly used to run," &c., +leaving out all the first part of the sentence, which is required to +make the meaning plain. + + +They play for them then so that twelve of the people[FN#5] of Ailill +and Medb die with weeping and sadness. + + +[FN#5] The Book of Leinster omits "of Ailill and Medb." + + +Gentle and melodious were the triad, and they were the Chants of +Uaithne[FN#6] (Child-birth). The illustrious triad are three brothers, +namely Gol-traiges (Sorrow-strain), and Gen-traiges (Joy-strain), and +Suan-traiges (Sleep-strain). Boand from the fairies is the mother of +the triad: + + +[FN#6] Pronounced something like Yew-ny. + + +At every one of the harpers' waists was girded the hide of a roe, +And black-grey spots in its midst were placed, but the hide was as +white as snow; +And round each of the three of them waved a cloak, as white as the wild +swan's wings: +Gold, silver, and bronze were the harps they woke; and still, as they +touched the strings, +The serpents, the birds, and the hounds on the harps took life at the +harps' sweet sound, +And those figures of gold round the harpmen rose, and floated in music +round. + +Then they played, sweet and sad was the playing, +Twelve of Ailill's men died, as they heard; +It was Boand[FN#7] who foretold them that slaying, +And right well was accomplished her word. + + +[FN#7] Pronounced with sound of "owned." + + +'Tis the three Chants of Child-Birth +Give names to those Three; +Of the Harp of the Dagda[FN#8] +The children they be. + + +[FN#8] The Dagda seems to have been the chief god of the old Celtic +mythology. + + +To those harpers a fairy +Is mother, of yore +To that Harp, men call Child-Birth, +Queen Boand the three bore. + +They are three noble brothers, +And well are they known; +They are kindly and gentle, +And tuneful of tone. + +One is Joy-Song, one Sorrow's, +One, "Song that gives Sleep," +And the Harp's strains, their father's, +Remembered they keep. + +For when Boand was at bearing, +Came Sorrow the first, +From the Harp, its strings tearing +With cry, Sorrow burst. + +Then there came to her pleasure +For birth of a boy; +And a sweet smiling measure +The Harp played, 'twas Joy. + +And she swooned in her anguish, +For hard the third birth: +From the Harp, her pains soothing, +Sleep's strain came on earth. + +Then from Boand passed her slumber, +And, "Uaithne,"[FN#9] she cried, +Thy three sons, thou sharp Child-Birth, +I take to my side. + + +[FN#9] Pronounced something like Yew-ny. + + +Cows and women by Ailill +And Maev shall be slain; +For on these cometh Sorrow, +And Joy, and Sleep's strain: + +Yea, and men, who these harpers, +Thy children, shall hear, +By their art to death stricken, +Shall perish in fear." + +Then the strains died away in the palace, +The last notes seemed to sink, and to cease: +"It was stately," said Fergus, "that music." +And on all came a silence, and peace. + +Said Fraech, "The food divide ye! +Come, bring ye here the meat!" +And down to earth sank Lothar, +On floor he set his feet; + +He crouched, on haunches sitting, +The joints with sword he split; +On bones it fell unerring, +No dainty part he hit! + +Though long with sword he hewed, and long +Was meat by men supplied, +His hand struck true; for never wrong +Would Lothar meat divide. + +Three days at the chess had they played; three nights, as they sat at +the game, had gone: +And they knew not the night for the sparkling light from the jewels of +Fraech that shone; +But to Maev turned Fraech, and he joyously cried, "I have conquered +thee well at the chess! +Yet I claim not the stake at the chess-board's side, lest thy palace's +wealth be less." + +"For no lengthier day have I sat in such play," said Maev, "since I +here first came." +"And well may the day have seemed long," said Fraech, "for three days +and three nights was the game!" +Then up started Maev, and in shame she blushed that the chiefs she had +failed to feed; +To her husband, King Ailill, in wrath she rushed: "We have both done a +goodly deed! +For none from our stores hath a banquet brought for the youths who are +strangers here!" +And said Ailill, "In truth for the play was thy thought, and to thee +was the chess more dear." +"We knew not that darkness had come," said Maev, "'tis not chess thou +should'st thus condemn; +Though the day had gone, yet the daylight shone from the heart of each +sparkling gem; +Though the game we played, all could meal have made, had men brought of +the night advice, +But the hours sped away, and the night and the day have approached and +have fled from us thrice!" +"Give command," said the king, "that those wailing chants, till we give +them their food, be stilled." +And food to the hands of each they gave, and all with the meat were +filled; +And all things merrily went, for long the men with a feast were fed, +For, as feasting they sat, thrice rose the day, thrice night above +earth was spread. + +They brought Fraech, when that banquet was ended, +To the House of Debate, which was near, +And they asked of his errand: "In friendship, +For a visit," said Fraech, "am I here!" +"And 'twas joy that we felt, when receiving +This your host," said the king, "ye have brought +Much of pleasure to all, and with grieving, +When ye go, shall your presence be sought!" + +"Then," said Fraech, "for a week we abide here." +For two weeks in that dun they abode: +And the Connaught men pressed round to view them, +As each eve home from hunting they rode. + +Yet Fraech was sad, with Findabar +A word he sought in vain; +Though he in truth from home so far +Had come that word to gain. + +Fraech, as night was ending, +Sprang from out his bed; +Sought the brook, intending +There to lave his head. + +There King Ailill's daughter +Stood, and there her maid: +They that hour from water +Sought the cleansing aid. + +"Stay," he cried, and speaking +Caught the maiden's hand; +"Thee alone as seeking, +I have reached this land: + +Here am I who sought thee, +Stay, and hear me woo!" +"Ah! thy speech hath brought me +Joy," she said, "most true; + +Yet, thy side if nearing, +What for thee can I?" +"Maid!" he cried, "art fearing +Hence with me to fly?" + +"Flight I hold disloyal," +Answered she in scorn; +"I from mother royal, +I to king was born; + +What should stay our wedding? +None so mean or poor +Thou hast seemed, nor dreading +Kin of mine; be sure: + +I will go! 'tis spoken, +Thou beloved shalt be! +Take this ring as token, +Lent by Maev to me! + +'Twas my mother who bid me to save it, +For the ring she in secret would hide; +'Tis as pledge of our love that I gave it, +As its pledge it with thee should abide. + +Till that ring we can freely be showing +I will tell them I put it astray!" +And, the love of each other thus knowing, +Fraech and Finnabar went on their way. + +"I have fear," said the king, "that with Fraech yon maid to his home as +his wife would fly; +Yet her hand he may win, if he rides on the Raid with his kine when the +time draws nigh." +Then Fraech to the Hall of Debate returned, and he cried: "Through Some +secret chink +Hath a whisper passed?" and the king replied, "Thou would'st fit in +that space, I think!" + +"Will ye give me your daughter?" said Fraech: said the king, "In sight +of our hosts she goes; +If, as gift to suffice for her marriage price, thy hand what I ask +bestows." +"I will give thee what price thou dost name," said Fraech, "and now let +its sum be told!"' +"Then a sixty steeds do I claim," said the king, "dark-grey, and with +bits of gold; +And twelve milch-cows, from their udders shall come the milk in a +copious stream, +And by each of the cows a white calf shall run; bright red on its ears +shall gleam; +And thou, with thy harpers and men, shalt ride by my side on the +Cualgne[FN#10] Raid, +And when all thy kine driven here shall stand, shall the price of her +hand be paid!" + + +[FN#10] Pronounced Kell-ny. + + +Now I swear by the edge of my sword," said Fraech, "I swear by my arms +and shield, +I would give no such pledge, even Maev to take, were it her thou wert +fain to yield!" +And he went from the House of Debate, but Maev with Ailill bent low in +plot: +All around us our foes," said the king, "shall close, if Finnabar stays +here not; +Many kings of Erin, who seek that maid, shall hear of her borne away, +And in wrath they will rush on our land; 'twere best that Fraech we +devise to slay; +Ere that ruin he bring, let us make our spring, and the ill yet +unwrought arrest." +"It were pity such deed should be done," said Maev, "and to slay in our +house our guest! +'Twill bring shame on us ever." "No shame to our house," said King +Ailill, "that death shall breed!" +(And he spake the words twice)--"but now hear my advice, how I plan we +should do this deed." + +All the plot had been planned; to their house at last +King Ailill and Maev through the doorway passed; +And the voice of the king uprose: +"'Tis now that the hounds should their prey pursue, +Come away to the hunt who the hounds would view; +For noon shall that hunting close." +So forth went they all, on the chase intent, +And they followed till strength of the hounds was spent, +And the hunters were warm; and to bathe they went +Where the river of Croghan flows. + +And, "'Tis told me," said Ailill, "that Fraech hath won +A great fame for the feats he in floods hath done: +Wilt thou enter these streams by our side that run? +We are longing to see thee swim!" +And said Fraech: "Is it good then indeed thy stream? +And said Ailill: "Of danger no need to dream, +For many a youth from the Connaught Court +In its current hath bathed, and hath swum it in sport, +Nor of any who tried have we heard report +That ill hath been found by him!" + +Then Fraech from his body his garments stripped, +And he sprang down the bank, and he swiftly slipped +In the stream: and the king's glance fell +On a belt, left by Fraech on the bank; the king +Bent low; in the purse saw his daughter's ring, +And the shape of the ring could tell. +"Come hither, O Maev," Ailill softly cried; +And Queen Maev came up close to her husband's side +"Dost thou know of that ring?" in the purse she spied +The ring, and she knew it well. +Then Ailill the ring from the purse withdrew, +And away from the bank the fair gem he threw; +And the ring, flashing bright, through the air far flew, +To be lost in the flood's swift swell. + +And Fraech saw the gem as it brightly flashed, +And a salmon rose high, at the light it dashed, +And, as back in the stream with the ring he splashed, +At the fish went Fraech with a spring: +By its jole was the salmon secured, and thrown +To a nook in the bank, that by few was known; +And unnoticed he threw it, to none was it shown +As it fell to the earth, with the ring. + +And now Fraech from the stream would be going: +But, "Come not," said the king, "to us yet: +Bring a branch from yon rowan-tree, showing +Its fair berries, with water-drops wet." + +Then Fraech, swimming away through the water, +Brake a branch from the dread rowan-tree, +And a sigh came from Ailill's fair daughter; +"Ah! how lovely he seemeth," said she. + +Fair she found him, swimming +Through that pool so black +Brightly gleamed the berries, +Bound athwart his back. + +White and smooth his body, +Bright his glorious hair; +Eyes of perfect greyness, +Face of men most fair: + +Soft his skin, no blemish, +Fault, nor spot it flawed; +Small his chin, and steady, +Brave his brow, and broad. + +Straight he seemed, and stainless; +Twixt his throat and chin +Straying scarlet berries +Touched with red his skin. + +Oft, that sight recalling, +Findabar would cry: +"Ne'er was half such beauty, +Naught its third came nigh!" + +To the bank he swam, and to Ailill was thrown, with its berries, the +tree's torn limb: +"Ah! how heavy and fair have those clusters grown; bring us more," and +he turned to swim; +The mid-current was reached, but the dragon was roused that was guard +to that rowan-tree; +And it rose from the river, on Fraech it rushed: "Throw a sword from +the bank!" cried he. +And no man on the bank gave the sword: they were kept by their fear of +the queen and the king; +But her clothes from her Finnabar stripped, and she leapt in the river +his sword to bring. +And the king from above hurled his five-barbed spear; the full length +of a shot it sped: +At his daughter it flew, and its edge shore through two tresses that +crowned her head: +And Fraech in his hand caught the spear as it fell, and backward its +point he turned. +And again to the land was the spear launched well: 'twas a feat from +the champions learned. +Though the beast bit his side as that spear was cast, yet fiercely the +dart was flung, +Through the purple robe of the king it passed, through the tunic that +next him clung! + +Then up sprang the youths of the court, their lord in danger they well +might deem, +But the strong hand of Fraech had closed firm on the sword, and +Finnabar rose from the stream. +Now with sword in his hand, at the monster's head hewed Fraech, on its +side it sank, +And he came from the river with blade stained red, and the monster he +dragged to the bank. +Twas then Bree's Dub-lind in the Connaught land the Dark Water of +Fraech was named, +From that fight was it called, but the queen and the king went back to +their dun, ashamed! + +"It is noble, this deed we have done!" said Maev: "'Tis pitiful," +Ailill cried: +"For the hurt of the man I repent, but to her, our daughter, shall woe +betide! +On the morrow her lips shall be pale, and none shall be found to aver +that her guilt, +When the sword for his succour to Fraech she gave, was the cause why +her life was spilt! +Now see that a bath of fresh bacon broth be prepared that shall heal +this prince, +And bid them with adze and with axe the flesh of a heifer full small to +mince: +Let the meat be all thrown in the bath, and there for healing let +Fraech be laid!" +And all that he ordered was done with care; the queen his command +obeyed. + +Then arose from Fraech's trumpets complaining, +As his men travelled back to the dun; +Their soft notes lamentation sustaining, +And a many their deaths from them won; + +And he well knew its meaning; +And, "Lift me, my folk," +He cried, "surely that keening +From Boand's women broke: +My mother, the Fairy, is nigh." + +Then they raised him, and bore him +Where wild rose the sound; +To his kin they restored him; +His women pressed round: + +And he passed from their sight out of Croghan; +For that night from earth was he freed, +And he dwelt with his kin, the Sid-Dwellers +In the caverns of Croghan's deep Sid.[FN#11] + + +[FN#11] Pronounced Sheed; Sid is the fairy mound. + + +All at nine, next morrow, +Gazed, for back he came, +Round their darling pressing +Many a fairy dame: + +Brave he seemed, for healing +All his wounds had got; +None could find a blemish, +None a sear or spot. + +Fifty fairies round him, +Like in age and grace; +Like each form and bearing; +Like each lovely face. + +All in fairy garments, +All alike were dressed; +None was found unequal; +None surpassed the rest. + +And the men who stood round, as they neared them, +Were struck with a marvellous awe; +They were moved at the sight, and they feared them, +And hardly their breath they could draw. + +At the Liss all the fairies departed, +But on Fraech, as they vanished, they cried: +And the sound floated in of their wailing, +And it thrilled through the men, and they sighed. + +Then first that mournful measure, +"The Ban-Shee[FN#12] Wail," was heard; +All hearts with grief and pleasure +That air, when harped, hath stirred. + + +[FN#12] Spelt "Ban Side," the fairy women. + + +To the dun came Fraech, and the hosts arose, and welcome by all was +shown: +For it seemed as if then was his birth among men, from a world to the +earth unknown! +Up rose for him Maev and King Ailill, their fault they confessed, and +for grace they prayed, +And a penance they did, and for all that assault they were pardoned, +and peace was made. +And now free from all dread, they the banquet spread, the banqueting +straight began: +But a thought came to Fraech, and from out of his folk he called to his +side a man. + +"Now hie thee," he said, "to the river bank, a salmon thou there shalt +find; +For nigh to the spot where in stream I sank, it was hurled, and 'twas +left behind; +To Finnabar take it, and bid her from me that the salmon with skill she +broil: +In the midst of the fish is the ring: and none but herself at the task +must toil; +And to-night, as I think, for her ring they call ": then he turned to +the feast again, +And the wine was drunk, and the revellers sunk, for the fumes of it +seized their brain, +And music and much of delights they had; but the king had his plans +laid deep, +"Bring ye all of my jewels," he cried-on the board they were poured in +a dazzling heap. +"They are wonderful, wonderful!" cried they all: "Call Finnabar!" said +the king; +And his daughter obeyed, and her fifty maids stood round in a lovely +ring. +My daughter," said Ailill, "a ring last year I gave thee, is't here +with thee yet? +Bring it hither to show to the chiefs, and anon in thy hand shall the +gem be set." +"That jewel is lost," said the maid, "nor aught of the fate of the ring +I know!" +Then find it," said Ailill, "the ring must be brought, or thy soul from +thy limbs must go!" + +"Now, nay!" said they all, "it were cruel +That such fate for such fault should be found: +Thou hast many a fair-flashing jewel +In these heaps that lie scattered around!" +And said Fraech: "Of my jewels here glowing +Take thy fill, if the maid be but freed; +'Tis to her that my life I am owing, +For she brought me the sword in my need." + +"There is none of thy gems that can aid her," +Said Ailill, "nor aught thou canst give; +There is one thing alone that shall save her; +If the ring be restored, she shall live! + +Said Finnabar; "Thy treasure +To yield no power is mine: +Do thou thy cruel pleasure, +For strength, I know, is thine." + +"By the god whom our Connaught land haileth, +I swear," answered Ailill the king, +"That the life on thy lips glowing faileth, +If thou place in my hand not the ring!" +And that hard," he laughed softly, "the winning +Of that jewel shall be, know I well; +They who died since the world had beginning +Shall come back to the spot where they fell +Ere that ring she can find, and can bear it +To my hand from the spot where 'twas tossed, +And as knowing this well, have I dared her +To restore what for aye hath been lost!" + +"No ring for treasure thus despised," +She said, "exchanged should be; +Yet since the king its worth hath prized, +I'll find the gem for thee!" + +Not thus shalt thou fly," said the king, "to thy maid let the quest of +the ring be bid!" +And his daughter obeyed, and to one whom she sent she told where the +ring was hid: + +"But," Finnabar cried, "by my country's god I swear that from out this +hour, +Will I leave this land, and my father's hand shall no more on my life +have power, +And no feasting shall tempt me to stay, no draughts of wine my resolve +shall shake!" +"No reproach would I bring, if as spouse," said the king, "thou a groom +from my stalls would'st take! +But that ring must be found ere thou goest! "Then back came her maid, +and a dish she bore: +And there lay a salmon well broiled, as sauce with honey 'twas +garnished o'er: +By the daughter of Ailill herself with skill had the honey-sweet sauce +been made. +And high on the breast of the fish, the ring of gold that they sought +was laid. +King Ailill and Maev at the ring gazed hard; Fraech looked, in his +purse he felt: +Now it seemeth," he said, "'twas to prove my host that I left on the +bank my belt, + +And Ailill now I challenge +All truth, as king to tell; +What deed his cunning fashioned, +And what that ring befell." + +"There is naught to be hidden," said Ailill; +"It was mine, in thy purse though it lay +And my daughter I knew as its giver: +So to river I hurled it away. + +Now Fraech in turn I challenge +By life and honour's claim: +Say how from yon dark water +That ring to draw ye came." + +"There is naught to be hidden," he answered, +"The first day that I came, on the earth, +Near the court round thy house, was that jewel; +And I saw all its beauty and worth: + +In my purse then I hid it; thy daughter, +Who had lost it, with care for it sought; +And the day that I went to that water +Was the news of her search to me brought: + +And I asked what reward she would give me, +If the gem in her hand should be placed; +And she answered that I, if I found it, +For a year by her love should be graced. + +But not then could the ring be delivered: +For afar in my chamber it lay: +Till she gave me the sword in the river, +We met not again on that day. + +'Twas then I saw thee open +My purse, and take the ring: +I watched, and towards the water +That gem I saw thee fling: + +I saw the salmon leaping, +The ring it caught, and sank: +I came behind, and seized it; +And brought the fish to bank. + +Then I wrapped it up close in my mantle; +And 'twas hid from inquisitive eyes; +And in Finnabar's hand have I placed it: +And now there on the platter it lies!" + +Now all who this or that would know +To ask, and praise began: +Said Finnabar, "I'll never throw +My thoughts on other man!" + +Now hear her word," her parents cried, +"And plight to her thy troth, +And when for Cualgne's[FN#13] kine we ride +Do thou redeem thine oath. + + +[FN#13] Pronounced Kell-ny. + + +And when with kine from out the east +Ye reach our western land; +That night shall be thy marriage feast; +And thine our daughter's hand." + +"Now that oath will I take," answered back to them Fraech, "and the +task ye have asked will do!" +So he tarried that night till the morning's light; and they feasted the +whole night through; +And then homewards bound, with his comrades round, rode Fraech when the +night was spent, +And to Ailill and Maev an adieu he gave, and away to their land they +went. + + + + +TAIN BO FRAICH + + + +Part I + + + +LITERAL TRANSLATION + + +FRAECH, son of Idath of the men of Connaught, a son he to Befind from +the Side: a sister she to Boand. He is the hero who is the most +beautiful that was of the men of Eriu and of Alba, but he was not +long-lived. His mother gave him twelve cows out of the Sid (the fairy +mound), they are white-eared. He had a good housekeeping till the end +of eight years without the taking of a wife. Fifty sons of kings, this +was the number of his household, co-aged, co-similar to him all between +form and instruction. Findabair, daughter of Ailill and Medb, loves him +for the great stories about him. It is declared to him at his house. +Eriu and Alba were full of his renown and the stories about him. + + +To Fraech[FN#14] was Idath[FN#15] father, +A Connaught man was he: +And well we know his mother +Who dwells among the Shee;[FN#16] +Befind they call her, sister +To Boand,[FN#17] the Fairy Queen; +And Alba ne'er, nor Erin, +Such grace as Fraech's hath seen. +Yet wondrous though that hero's grace, +His fairy lineage high, +For years but few his lovely face +Was seen by human eye. + + +[FN#14] Pronounced Fraych. + +[FN#15] Pronounced Eeda. + +[FN#16] The Fairies. + +[FN#17] Pronounced with the sound of "owned." + + +Fraech had twelve of white-eared fairy-cattle, +'Twas his mother those cattle who gave: +For eight years in his home he dwelt wifeless, +And the state of his household was brave; +Fifty princes, whose age, and whose rearing, +And whose forms were as his, with him played; +And his glory filled Alba and Erin +Till it came to the ears of a maid: +For Maev and Ailill's[FN#18] lovely child, +Fair Findabar, 'twas said, +By tales of Fraech to love beguiled, +With Fraech in love would wed. + + +[FN#18] Pronounced Al-ill. + + +After this going to a dialogue with the maiden occurred to him; he +discussed that matter with his people. + +"Let there be a message then sent to thy mother's sister, so that a +portion of wondrous robing and of gifts from the Side (fairy folk) be +given thee from her." He goes accordingly to the sister, that is to +Boand, till he was in Mag Breg, and he carried away fifty dark-blue +cloaks, and each of them was like the back of a black chafer,[FN#19] +and four black-grey, rings on each cloak, and a brooch of red gold on +each cloak, and pale white tunics with loop-animals of gold around +them. And fifty silver shields with edges, and a candle of a +king's-house in the hand of them (the men), and fifty studs of +findruine[FN#20] on each of them (the lances), fifty knobs of +thoroughly burned gold on each of them; points (i.e. butt-ends) of +carbuncle under them beneath, and their point of precious stones. They +used to light the night as if they were the sun's rays. + + +[FN#19] The Book of Leinster gives "fifty blue cloaks, each like +findruine of art." + +[FN#20] Pronounced "find-roony," the unknown "white-bronze" metal. + + +And there were fifty gold-hilted swords with them, and a soft-grey +mare under the seat of each man, and bits of gold to them; +a plate of silver with a little bell of gold around the neck of each +horse. Fifty caparisons[FN#21] of purple with threads of silver out of +them, with buckles of gold and silver and with head-animals (i.e. +spiral ornaments). Fifty whips of findruine, with a golden hook on the +end of each of them. And seven chase-hounds in chains of silver, and +an apple of gold between each of them. Greaves of bronze about them, +by no means was there any colour which was not on the hounds. + + +[FN#21] The word for caparisons is "acrann," the usual word for a +shoe. It is suggested that here it may be a caparison of leather: +"shoes" seem out of place here. See Irische Texts, iii. + + + +Seven trumpeters with them with golden and silver trumpets with many +coloured garments, with golden fairy-yellow heads of hair, with shining +tunics. There were three jesters before them with silver diadems under +gilding. Shields with engraved emblems (or marks of distinction) with +each of them; with crested staves, with ribs of bronze (copper-bronze) +along their sides. Three harp-players with a king's appearance about +each of them opposite to these.[FN#22] They depart for Cruachan with +that appearance on them. + + +[FN#22] The word for caparisons is "acrann," the usual word for a +shoe. It is suggested that here it may be a caparison of leather: +"shoes" seem out of place here. See Irische Texts, iii. 2. p. 531. + + +The watchman sees them from the dun when they had come into the plain +of Cruachan. "A multitude I see," he says, "(come) towards the dun in +their numbers. Since Ailill and Maev assumed sovereignty there came +not to them before, and there shall not come to them, a multitude, +which is more beautiful, or which is more splendid. It is the same +with me that it were in a vat of wine my head should be, with the +breeze that goes over them. + +"The manipulation and play that the young hero who is in it makes--I +have not before seen its likeness. He shoots his pole a shot's +discharge from him; before it reaches to earth the seven chase-hounds +with their seven silver chains catch it." + +At this the hosts come from the dun of Cruachan to view them. The +people in the dun smother one another, so that sixteen men die while +viewing them. + + +They alight in front of the dun. They tent their steeds, and they +loose the chase-hounds. They (the hounds) chase the seven deer to +Rath-Cruachan, and seven foxes, and seven hares, and seven wild boars, +until the youths kill them in the lawn of the dun. After that the +chase-hounds dart a leap into Brei; they catch seven otters. They +brought them to the elevation in front of the chief rath. They (Fraech +and his suite) sit down there. + +A message comes from the king for a parley with them. It is asked +whence they came, they name themselves according to their true names, +"Fraech, son of Idath this," say they. The steward tells it to the +king and queen. "Welcome to them," say Ailill and Maev; "It is a noble +youth who is there," says Ailill, "let him come into the Liss (outer +court)." The fourth of the house is allotted to them. This was the +array of the house, a seven fold order in it; seven apartments from +fire to side-wall in the house all round. A rail (or front) of bronze +to each apartment; a partitioning of red yew under variegated planing +all. + +Three plates of bronze in the skirting of each apartment. Seven plates +of brass from the ceiling (?) to the roof-tree in the house. + +Of pine the house was made; it is a covering of shingle it had +externally. There were sixteen windows in the house, and a frame of +brass, to each of them; a tie of brass across the roof-light. Four +beams of brass on the apartment of Ailill and Medb, adorned all with +bronze, and it in the exact centre of the house. Two rails of silver +around it under gilding. In the front a wand of silver that reached +the middle rafters of the house. The house was encircled all round +from the door to the other.[FN#23] + + +[FN#23] It should be noted that it is not certain whether the word +"imdai," translated apartments, really means "apartments" or "benches." + The weight of opinion seems at present to take it as above. + + +They hang up their arms in that house, and they sit, and welcome is +made to them. + +"Welcome to you," say Ailill and Medb. "It is that we have come for," +says Fraech. "It shall not be a journey for boasting[FN#24] this," +says Medb, and Ailill and Medb arrange the chess-board after that. +Fraech then takes to the playing of chess with a man of their (?) +people. + + +[FN#24] This is the rendering in the Yellow Book of Lecan, considered +by Meyer to be the true reading. The Book of Leinster text gives +"aig-baig," a word of doubtful meaning. The Eg. MS. has also a +doubtful word. + + +It was a beauty of a chess-board. A board of findruine in it with four +ears[FN#25] and edges of gold. A candle of precious stones at +illuminating for them. Gold and silver the figures that were upon the +table. "Prepare ye food for the warriors," said Ailill. "Not it is my +desire," said Medb, but to go to the chess yonder against Fraech." +"Get to it, I am pleased," said Ailill, and they play the chess then, +and Fraech. + + +[FN#25] The "ears" were apparently handles shaped like ears. The same +word is used for the rings in the cloaks, line 33 above. + + +His people were meanwhile at cooking the wild animals. "Let thy +harpers play for us," says Ailill to Fraech. "Let them play indeed!" +says Fraech. A harp-bag[FN#26] of the skins of otters about them with +their adornment of ruby (or coral), beneath their adornment of gold and +silver. + + +[FN#26] Meyer translates this: "the concave part of the harp." + + +It is from the music which Uaithne, the Dagda's harp, played that the +three are named. The time the woman was at the bearing of children it +had a cry of sorrow with the soreness of the pangs at first: it was +smile and joy it played in the middle for the pleasure of bringing +forth the two sons: it was a sleep of soothingness played the last son, +on account of the heaviness of the birth, so that it is from him that +the third of the music has been named. + +Boand awoke afterwards out of the sleep. "I accept," she says, "thy +three sons O Uaithne of full ardour, since there is Suan-traide and +Gen-traide, and Gol-traide on cows and women who shall fall by Medb and +Ailill, men who shall perish by the hearing of art from them." + +They cease from playing after that in the palace: "It is stately it has +come," says Fergus. "Divide ye to us," says Fraech to his people, +"the food, bring ye it into the house." Lothur went on the floor of +the house: he divides to them the food. On his haunches he used to +divide each joint with his sword, and he used not to touch the food +part: since he commenced dividing, he never hacked the meat beneath his +hand. + +They were three days and three nights at the playing of the chess on +account of the abundance of the precious stones in the household of +Fraech. After that Fraech addressed Medb. "It is well I have played +against thee (i.e. have beaten thee)," he says, "I take not away thy +stake from the chess-board that there be not a decay of hospitality for +thee in it." + +"Since I have been in this dun this is the day which I deem longest in +it ever," says Medb. "This is reasonable," says Fraech, "they are +three days and three nights in it." At this Medb starts up. It was a +shame with her that the warriors were without food. She goes to +Ailill: she tells it to him. "A great deed we have done," said she, +"the stranger men who have come to us to be without food." "Dearer to +thee is playing of the chess," says Ailill. "It hinders not the +distribution to his suite throughout the house. They have been three +days and three nights in it but that we perceived not the night with +the white light of the precious stones in the house." "Tell them," +says Ailill, "to cease from the lamenting until distribution is made to +them." Distribution is then made to them, and things were pleasing to +them, and they stayed three days and three nights in it after that over +the feasting. + +It is after that Fraech was called into the house of conversation, and +it is asked of him what brought him. "A visit with you," said he, "is +pleasing to me." "Your company is indeed not displeasing with the +household," said Ailill, "your addition is better than your diminution." + +"We shall stay here then," says Fraech, "another week." They stay +after that till the end of a fortnight in the dun, and they have a hunt +every single day towards the dun. The men of Connaught used to come to +view them. + +It was a trouble with Fraech not to have a conversation with the +daughter: for that was the profit that had brought him. A certain day +he starts up at the end of night for washing to the stream. It is the +time she had gone and her maid for washing. He takes her hand. "Stay +for my conversing," he says; "it is thou I have come for." "I am +delighted truly," says the daughter; "if I were to come, I could do +nothing for thee." "Query, wouldst thou elope with me?" he says. + +"I will not elope," says she, "for I am the daughter of a king and a +queen. There is nothing of thy poverty that you should not get me +(i.e. thy poverty is not so great that thou art not able to get me) +from my family; and it shall be my choice accordingly to go to thee, it +is thou whom I have loved. And take thou with thee this ring," says +the daughter, "and it shall be between us for a token. My mother gave +it to me to put by, and I shall say that I put it astray." Each of +them accordingly goes apart after that. + +"I fear," says Ailill, "the eloping of yon daughter with Fraech, though +she would be given to him on solemn pledge that he would come towards +us with his cattle for aid at the Spoil." Fraech goes to them to the +house of conversation. "Is it a secret (cocur, translated "a whisper" +by Crowe) ye have?" says Fraech. "Thou wouldest fit in it," says +Ailill. + +"Will ye give me your daughter?" says Fraech. "The hosts will clearly +see she shall be given," says Ailill, "if thou wouldest give a dowry as +shall be named." "Thou shalt have it," says Fraech. "Sixty black-grey +steeds to me, with their bits of gold to them, and twelve milch cows, +so that there be milked liquor of milk from each of them, and an +ear-red, white calf with each of them; and thou to come with me with +all thy force and with thy musicians for bringing of the cows from +Cualgne; and my daughter to be given thee provided thou dost come" (or +as soon as[FN#27] thou shalt come). "I swear by my shield, and by my +sword, and by my accoutrement, I would not give that in dowry even of +Medb." He went from them out of the house then. Ailill and Medb hold +a conversation. "It shall drive at us several of the kings of Erin +around us if he should carry off the daughter. What is good is, let us +dash after him, and let us slay him forthwith, before he may inflict +destruction upon us." "It is a pity this," says Medb, "and it is a +decay of hospitality for us." "It shall not be a decay of hospitality +for us, it shall not be a decay of hospitality for us, the way I shall +prepare it." + + +[FN#27] This is Thurneysen's rendering ("Sagen aus dem alten Irland," +p. 121). + + +Ailill and Medb go into the palace. "Let us go away," says Ailill, +that we may see the chase-hounds at hunting till the middle of the day, +and until they are tired." They all go off afterwards to the river to +bathe themselves. + +"It is declared to me," says Ailill, "that thou art good in water. +Come into this flood, that we may see thy swimming." "What is the +quality of this flood?" he says. "We know not anything dangerous in +it," says Ailill, "and bathing in it is frequent." He strips his +clothes off him then, and he goes into it, and he leaves his girdle +above. Ailill then opens his purse behind him, and the ring was in it. + Ailill recognises it then. "Come here, O Medb," says Ailill. Medb +goes then. "Dost thou recognise that?" says Ailill. "I do recognise," +she says. Ailill flings it into the river down. + +Fraech perceived that matter. He sees something, the salmon leaped to +meet it, and caught it in his mouth. He (Fraech) gives a bound to it, +and he catches its jole, and he goes to land, and he brings it to a +lonely[FN#28] spot on the brink of the river. He proceeds to come out +of the water then. "Do not come," says Ailill, "until thou shalt bring +me a branch of the rowan-tree yonder, which is on the brink of the +river: beautiful I deem its berries." He then goes away, and breaks a +branch off the trees and brings it on his back over the water. The +remark of Find-abair was: "Is it not beautiful he looks?" Exceedingly +beautiful she thought it to see Fraech over a black pool: the body of +great whiteness, and the hair of great loveliness, the face of great +beauty, the eye of great greyness; and he a soft youth without fault, +without blemish, with a below-narrow, above-broad face; and he +straight, blemishless; the branch with the red berries between the +throat and the white face. It is what Find-abair used to say, that by +no means had she seen anything that could come up to him half or third +for beauty. + + +[FN#28]"Hidden spot" (Windisch + + +After that he throws the branches to them out of the water. "The +berries are stately and beautiful, bring us an addition of them." He +goes off again until he was in the middle of the water. The serpent +catches him out of the water. "Let a sword come to me from you," he +says; and there was not on the land a man who would dare to give it to +him through fear of Ailill and Medb. After that Find-abair strips off +her clothes, and gives a leap into the water with the sword. Her +father lets fly a five-pronged spear at her from above, a shot's throw, +so that it passes through her two tresses, and that Fraech caught the +spear in his hand. He shoots the spear into the land up, and the +monster in his side. He lets it fly with a charge of the methods of +playing of championship, so that it goes through the purple robe and +through the tunic (? shirt) that was about Ailill. + +At this the youths who were about Ailill rise to him. Find-abair goes +out of the water and leaves the sword in Fraech's hand, and he cuts the +head off the monster, so that it was on its side, and he brought the +monster with him to land. It is from it is Dub-lind Fraech in Brei, in +the lands of the men of Connaught. Ailill and Medb go to their dun +afterwards. + +"A great deed is what we have done," says Medb. "We repent," says +Ailill, "of what we have done to the man; the daughter however," he +says, "her lips shall perish [common metaphor for death] to-morrow at +once, and it shall not be the guilt of bringing of the sword that shall +be for her. Let a bath be made by you for this man, namely, broth of +fresh bacon and the flesh of a heifer to be minced in it under adze and +axe, and he to be brought into the bath." All that thing was done as +he said. His trumpeters then before him to the dun. They play then +until thirty of the special friends of Ailill die at the long-drawn (or +plaintive) music. He goes then into the dun, and he goes into the +bath. The female company rise around him at the vat for rubbing, and +for washing his head. He was brought out of it then, and a bed was +made. They heard something, the lament-cry on Cruachan. There were +seen the three times fifty women with crimson tunics, with green +head-dresses, with brooches of silver on their wrists. + +A messenger is sent to them to learn what they had bewailed. "Fraech, +son of Idath," says the woman, "boy-pet of the king of the Side of +Erin." At this Fraech heard their lament-cry. + +Thirty men whom King Ailill loved dearly +By that music were smitten to die; +And his men carried Fraech, and they laid him +In that bath, for his healing to lie. + +Around the vat stood ladies, +They bathed his limbs and head; +From out the bath they raised him, +And soft they made his bed. + +Then they heard a strange music; +The wild Croghan "keen"; +And of women thrice fifty +On Croghan were seen. + +They had tunics of purple, +With green were they crowned; +On their wrists glistened silver, +Where brooches were bound. + +And there neared them a herald +To learn why they wailed; +"'Tis for Fraech," was their answer, +"By sickness assailed; + +'Tis for Fraech, son of Idath,[FN#29] +Boy-darling is he +Of our lord, who in Erin +Is king of the Shee!"[FN#30] + +And Fraech heard the wail in their cry; + + +[FN#29] Pronounced Eeda. + +[FN#30] The Fairies. + + +"Lift me out of it," he says to his people; "this is the cry of my +mother and of the women of Boand." He is lifted out at this, and he is +brought to them. The women come around him, and bring him from them to +the Sid of Cruachan (i.e. the deep caverns, used for burial at +Cruachan). + +They saw something, at the ninth hour on the morrow he comes, and fifty +women around him, and he quite whole, without stain and without +blemish; of equal age (the women), of equal form, of equal beauty, of +equal fairness, of equal symmetry, of equal stature, with the dress of +women of the fairies about them so that there was no means of knowing +of one beyond the other of them. Little but men were suffocated around +them. They separate in front of the Liss.[FN#31] They give forth their +lament on going from him, so that they troubled[FN#32] the men who were +in the Liss excessively. It is from it is the Lament-cry of the Women +of the Fairies with the musicians of Erin. + + +[FN#31] The Liss is the outer court of the palace. + +[FN#32] "Oo corastar tar cend," "so that they upset, or put beside +themselves." Meyer takes literally, "so that they fell on their backs" +(?) + + +He then goes into the dun. All the hosts rise before him, and bid +welcome to him, as if it were from another world he were coming. + +Ailill and Medb arise, and do penance to him for the attack they had +made at him, and they make peace. Feasting commenced with them then at +once. Fraech calls a servant of his suite: + +"Go off," he says, "to the spot at which I went into the water. A +salmon I left there--bring it to Find-abair, and let herself take +charge over it; and let the salmon be well broiled by her, and the ring +is in the centre of the salmon. I expect it will be asked of her +to-night." Inebriety seizes them, and music and amusement delight +them. Ailill then said: "Bring ye all my gems to me." They were +brought to him then, so that the were before him. "Wonderful, +wonderful," says every one. "Call ye Find-abair to me," he says. +Find-abair goes to him, and fifty maidens around her. "O daughter," +says Ailill, "the ring I gave to thee last year, does it remain with +thee? Bring it to me that the warriors may see it. Thou shalt have it +afterwards." "I do not know," she says, "what has been done about it." + "Ascertain then," says Ailill, "it must be sought, or thy soul must +depart from thy body." + +"It is by no means worth," say the warriors, "there is much of value +there, without that." "There is naught of my jewels that will not go +for the maid," says Fraech, "because she brought me the sword for +pledge of my soul." + +"There is not with thee anything of gems that should aid her unless she +returns the ring from her," says Ailill. + +"I have by no means the power to give it," says the daughter, "what +thou mayest like do it in regard to me." "I swear to the god to whom +my people swear, thy lips shall be pale (literally, shall perish) +unless thou returnest it from thee," says Ailill. "It is why it is +asked of thee, because it is impossible; for I know that until the +people who have died from the beginning of the world. Come, it comes +not out of the spot in which it was flung." "It shall not come for a +treasure which is not appreciated,"[FN#33] says the daughter, "the ring +that is asked for here, I go that I may bring it to thee, since it is +keenly it is asked." "Thou shalt not go," says Ailill; "but let one go +from thee to bring it." + + +[FN#33] This is Windisch's rendering (Irische Texte, I. p. 677: s.v. +main). + + +The daughter sends her maid to bring it. + +"I swear to the god to whom my territories swear, if it shall be found, +I shall by no means be under thy power any longer though I should be at +great drinking continually." (?)[FN#34] "I shall by no means prevent +you from doing that, namely even if it were to the groom thou shouldst +go if the ring is found," says Ailill. The maid then brought the dish +into the palace, and the broiled salmon on it, and it dressed under +honey which was well made by the daughter; and the ring of gold was on +the salmon from above. + + +[FN#34] "dian dumroib for sar-ol mogreis." Meyer gives "if there is +any one to protect me." The above is Crowe's rendering. + + +Ailill and Medb view it. After that Fraech looks at it, and looks at +his purse. "It seems to me it was for proof that I left my girdle," +says Fraech. "On the truth of the sovereignty," says Fraech, "say what +thou did'st about the ring." "This shall not be concealed from thee," +says Ailill; "mine is the ring which was in thy purse, and I knew it is +Find-abair gave it to thee. It is therefore I flung it into the Dark +Pool. On the truth of thine honour and of thy soul, O Fraech, declare +thou what way the bringing of it out happened." + +"It shall not be concealed on thee," says Fraech. "The first day I +found the ring in front of the outer court, and I knew it was a lovely +gem. It is for that reason I put it up industriously in my purse. I +heard, the day I went to the water, the maiden who had lost it +a-looking for it. I said to her: 'What reward shall I have at thy +hands for the finding of it?' She said to me that she would give a +year's love to me. + +"It happened I did not leave it about me; I had left it in the house +behind me. We met not until we met at the giving of the sword into my +hand in the river. After that I saw the time thou open'st the purse +and flungest the ring into the water: I saw the salmon which leaped for +it, so that it took it into its mouth. I then caught the salmon, took +it up in the cloak, put it into the hand of the daughter. It is that +salmon accordingly which is on the dish." + +The criticising and the wondering at these stories begin in the house +hold. "I shall not throw my mind on another youth in Erin after thee," +says Find-abair. "Bind thyself for that," say Ailill and Medb, "and +come thou to us with thy cows to the Spoil of the Cows from Cualnge; +and when thou shalt come with thy cows from the East back, ye shall wed +here that night at once and Find-abair." "I shall do that thing," says +Fraech. They are in it then until the morning. Fraech sets about him +self with his suite. He then bids farewell to Ailill and Medb. They +depart to their own territories then. + + + + +TAIN BO FRAICH + + + +PART II + + +Unto Fraech it hath chanced, as he roved from his lands +That his cattle were stolen by wandering bands: +And there met him his mother, and cried, "On thy way +Thou hast tarried, and hard for thy slackness shalt pay! +In the Alps of the south, the wild mountains amid, +Have thy children, thy wife, and thy cattle been hid: +And a three of thy kine have the Picts carried forth, +And in Alba they pasture, but far to the north!" + +"Now, alack!" answered Fraech, "what is best to be done?" +"Rest at home," said his mother, "nor seek them my son; +For to thee neither cattle, nor children, nor wife +Can avail, if in seeking thou losest thy life; +And though cattle be lacking, the task shall be mine +To replace what is lost, and to grant thee the kine." + +"Nay, not so," answered Fraech, "by my soul I am sworn, +That when cattle from Cualgne by force shall be torn +To King Ailill and Maev on my faith as their guest +I must ride with those cattle for war to the west!" +"Now but vainly," she said, "is this toil on thee cast; +Thou shalt lose what thou seekest", and from him she passed. + +Three times nine of his men for that foray were chosen, and marched by +his side, +And a hawk flew before, and for hunting, was a hound with a +hunting-leash tied; + +To Ben Barchi they went, for the border of Ulster their faces were set: +And there, of its marches the warder, the conquering Conall they met. +Fraech hailed him, the conquering Conall, and told him the tale of his +spoil; +"'Tis ill luck that awaits thee," said Conall, "thy quest shall be +followed with toil! +"'Twill be long ere the goal thou art reaching, though thy heart in the +seeking may be." +"Conall Cernach,[FN#35] hear thou my beseeching said Fraech, "let thine +aid be to me; +I had hoped for this meeting with Conall, that his aid in the quest +might be lent." +"I will go with thee truly," said Conall: with Fraech and his comrades +he went. + + +[FN#35] Pronounced Cayr-nach. + + +Three times nine, Fraech and Conall before them, +Over ocean from Ireland have passed; +Through the Land of North Saxony bore them, +And the South Sea they sighted at last. +And again on the sea billows speeding, +They went south, over Ichtian foam; +And marched on: southward still was their leading: +To the land where the Long-Beards have home: +But when Lombardy's bounds they were nearing +They made stand; for above and around +Were the high peaks of Alpa appearing, +And the goal that they sought had been found. + +On the Alps was a woman seen straying, and herding the flocks of the +sheep, +"Let our warriors behind be delaying," said Conall, "and south let us +keep: + +'Twere well we should speak with yon woman, perchance she hath wisdom +to teach!" +And with Conall went Fraech at that counsel; they neared her, and held +with her speech. + +"Whence have come you?" she said: "Out of Ireland are we," +Answered Conall: "Ill luck shall for Irishmen be +In this country," she cried, "yet thy help I would win; +From thy land was my mother; thou art to me kin!" + +"Of this land we know naught, nor where next we should turn," +Answered Conall.; "its nature from thee we would learn." +"'Tis a grim land and hateful," the woman replied, +"And the warriors are restless who forth from it ride; +For full often of captives, of women and herd +Of fair kine by them taken is brought to me word." + +"Canst thou say what latest spoil," said Fraech, "they won?" +"Ay," she said, "they harried Fraech, of Idath[FN#36] son +He in Erin dwelleth, near the western sea; +Kine from him they carried, wife, and children three +Here his wife abideth, there where dwells the king, +Turn, and see his cattle, yonder pasturing." + + +[FN#36] Pronounced Eeda. + + +Out spoke Conall Cernach;[FN#37] "Aid us thou" he cried: +"Strength I lack," she answered, "I can only guide." +"Here is Fraech," said Conall, "yon his stolen cows": +"Fraech!" she asked him, "tell me, canst thou trust thy spouse?" +"Why," said Fraech, "though trusty, doubtless, when she went; +Now, since here she bideth, truth may well be spent." +"See ye now yon woman?" said she, "with your herd, +Tell to her your errand, let her hear your word; +Trust in her, as Irish-sprung ye well may place; +More if ye would ask me, Ulster reared her race." + + +[FN#37] Pronounced Cayr-nach. + + +To that woman they went, nor their names from her hid; +And they greeted her; welcome in kindness she bid: +"What hath moved you," she said, "from your country to go?" +"On this journey," said Conall, "our guide hath been woe: +All the cattle that feed in these pastures are ours, +And from us went the lady that's kept in yon towers." +"'Tis ill-luck," said the woman, "that waits on your way, +All the men of this hold doth that lady obey; +Ye shall find, amid dangers, your danger most great +In the serpent who guardeth the Liss at the gate." + +"For that lady," said Fraech, "she is none of my +She is fickle, no trust from me yet did she win: +But on thee we rely, thou art trusty, we know; +Never yet to an Ulsterman Ulster was foe." + +"Is it men out of Ulster," she said, "I have met?" +"And is Conall," said Fraech, "thus unknown to you yet? +Of all heroes from Ulster the battle who faced +Conall Cernach is foremost." His neck she embraced, +And she cried, with her arms around Conall: "Of old +Of the conquering Conall our prophets have told; +And 'tis ruin and doom to this hold that you bring; +For that Conall shall sack it, all prophecies sing." + +"Hear my rede," she told him: "When at fall of day +Come the kine for milking, I abroad will stay; +I the castle portal every eve should close: +Ye shall find it opened, free for tread of foes: +I will say the weakling calves awhile I keep; +'Tis for milk, I'll tell them: come then while they sleep; +Come, their castle enter, all its wealth to spoil; +Only rests that serpent, he our plans may foil: +Him it rests to vanquish, he will try you most; +Surely from that serpent swarms a serpent host!" + +"Trust us well," answered Conall, "that raid will we do! +And the castle they sought, and the snake at them flew: +For it darted on Conall, and twined round his waist; +Yet the whole of that castle they plundered in haste, +And the woman was freed, and her sons with her three +And away from her prison she went with them free: +And of all of the jewels amassed in that dun +The most costly and beauteous the conquerors won. + +Then the serpent from Conall was loosed, from his belt +It crept safely, no harm from that serpent he felt: +And they travelled back north to the Pictish domains, +And a three of their cattle they found on the plains; +And, where Olla Mae Briuin[FN#38] his hold had of yore, +By Dunolly their cattle they drove to the shore. + + +[FN#38] Pronounced "Brewin." + + +It chanced at Ard Uan Echach,[FN#39] where foam is hurled on high, +That doom on Bicne falling, his death he came to die: +'Twas while the cows were driven that Bicne's life was lost: +By trampling hooves of cattle crushed down to death, or tossed; +To him was Loegaire[FN#40] father, and Conall Cernach chief +And Inver-Bicne's title still marks his comrades' grief. + + +[FN#39] Pronounced "Ard Oon Ay-ha," + +[FN#40] Pronounced "Leary." + + +Across the Stream of Bicne the cows of Fraech have passed, +And near they came to Benchor, and there their horns they cast: +'Tis thence the strand of Bangor for aye is named, 'tis said: +The Strand of Horns men call it; those horns his cattle shed. + +To his home travelled Fraech, with his children, and +And his cattle, and there with them lived out his life, +Till the summons of Ailill and Maev he obeyed; +And when Cualgne was harried, he rode on the Raid. + + + + +TAIN BO FRAICH + + + +PART II + + +LITERAL TRANSLATION + +It happened that his cows had been in the meanwhile stolen. His mother +came to him. "Not active (or "lucky") of journey hast thou gone; it +shall cause much of trouble to thee," she says. "Thy cows have been +stolen, and thy three sons, and thy wife, so that they are in the +mountain of Elpa. Three cows of them are in Alba of the North with the +Cruthnechi (the Picts)." "Query, what shall I do?" he says to his +mother. "Thou shalt do a non-going for seeking them; thou wouldest not +give thy life for them," she says. "Thou shalt have cows at my hands +besides them." "Not so this," he says: "I have pledged my hospitality +and my soul to go to Ailill and to Medb with my cows to the Spoil of +the Cows from Cualnge." "What thou seekest shall not be obtained," +says his mother. At this she goes off from him then. + +He then sets out with three nines, and a wood-cuckoo (hawk), and a +hound of tie with them, until he goes to the territory of the +Ulstermen, so that he meets with Conall Cernach (Conall the Victorious) +at Benna Bairchi (a mountain on the Ulster border). + +He tells his quest to him. "What awaits thee," says the latter, "shall +not be lucky for thee. Much of trouble awaits thee," he says, "though +in it the mind should be." "It will come to me," says Fraech to +Connall, "that thou wouldest help me any time we should meet." (?) "I +shall go truly," says Conall Cernach. They set of the three (i.e. the +three nines) over sea, over Saxony of the North, over the Sea of Icht +(the sea between England and France), to the north of the Long-bards +(the dwellers of Lombardy), until they reached the mountains of Elpa. +They saw a herd-girl at tending of the sheep before them. "Let us go +south," says Conall, "O Fraech, that we may address the woman yonder, +and let our youths stay here." + +They went then to a conversation. She said, "Whence are ye?" "Of the +men of Erin," says Conall. "It shall not be lucky for the men of Erin +truly, the coming to this country. From the men of Erin too is my +mother. Aid thou me on account of relationship." + +"Tell us something about our movements. What is the quality of the +land we have to come to?" "A grim hateful land with troublesome +warriors, who go on every side for carrying off cows and women as +captives," she says. "What is the latest thing they have carried off?" +says Fraech. "The cows of Fraech, son of Idath, from the west of Erin, +and his wife, and his three sons. Here is his wife here in the house +of the king, here are his cows in the country in front of you." "Let +thy aid come to us," says Conall. Little is my power, save guidance +only." "This is Fraech," says Conall, and they are his cows that have +been carried off." "Is the woman constant in your estimation?" she +says. "Though constant in our estimation when she went, perchance she +is not constant after coming." "The woman who frequents the cows, go +ye to her; tell ye of your errand; of the men of Ireland her race; of +the men of Ulster exactly." + +They come to her; they receive her, and they name themselves to her, +and she bids welcome to them. "What hath led you forth?" she says. +"Trouble hath led us forth," says Conall; "ours are the cows and the +woman that is in the Liss." + +"It shall not be lucky for you truly," she says, "the going up to the +multitude of the woman; more troublesome to you than everything," she +says, "is the serpent which is at guarding of the Liss." "She is not +my country-name(?)," says Fraech, "she is not constant in my +estimation; thou art constant in my estimation; we know thou wilt not +lead us astray, since it is from the men of Ulster thou art." "Whence +are ye from the men of Ulster?" she says. "This is Conall Cernach +here, the bravest hero with the men of Ulster," says Fraech. She +flings two hands around the throat of Conall Cernach. "The destruction +has come in this expedition," she says, "since he has come to us; for +it is to him the destruction of this dun has been prophesied. I shall +go out to my house,"[FN#41] she says, "I shall not be at the milking of +the cows. I shall leave the Liss opened; it is I who close it every +night.[FN#42] I shall say it is for drink the calves were sucking. +Come thou into the dun, when they are sleeping; only trouble. some to +you is the serpent which is at the dun; several tribes are let loose +from it." + + +[FN#41] "To my house" is in the Egerton MS. only. + +[FN#42] "Every night" is in the Egerton MS. only. + + +"We will go truly," says Conall. They attack the Liss; the serpent +darts leap into the girdle of Conall Cernach, and they plunder the dun +at once. They save off then the woman and the three sons, and they +carry away whatever was the best of the gems of the dun, and Conall +lets the serpent out of his girdle, and neither of them did harm to the +other. And they came to the territory of the people of the Picts, +until they saw three cows of their cows in it. They drove off to the +Fort of Ollach mac Briuin (now Dunolly near Oban) with them, until they +were at Ard Uan Echach (high-foaming Echach). It is there the gillie +of Conall met his death at the driving of the cows, that is Bicne son +of Loegaire; it is from this is (the name of) Inver Bicne (the Bicne +estuary) at Benchor. They brought their cows over it thither. It is +there they flung their horns from them, so that it is thence is (the +name of) Tracht Benchoir (the Strand of Horn casting, perhaps the +modern Bangor?). + +Fraech goes away then to his territory after, and his wife, and his +sons, and his cows with him, until he goes with Ailill and Medb for the +Spoil of the Cows from Cualnge. + + + + +THE RAID FOR DARTAID'S CATTLE + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +This tale is given by Windisch (Irische Texte, II. pp. 185-205), from +two versions; one, whose translation he gives in full, except for one +doubtful passage, is from the manuscript in the British Museum, known +as Egerton, 1782 (dated 1414); the other is from the Yellow Book of +Lecan (fourteenth century), in the library of Trinity College, Dublin. + +The version in the Yellow Book is sometimes hard to read, which seems +to be the reason why Windisch prefers to translate the younger +authority, but though in some places the Egerton version is the fuller, +the Yellow Book version (Y.B.L.) often adds passages, some of which +Windisch has given in notes; some he has left untranslated. In the +following prose version as much of Y.B.L. as adds anything to the +Egerton text has been translated, with marks of interrogation where the +attempted rendering is not certain: variants from the text adopted are +placed below the prose version as footnotes. The insertions from +Y.B.L. are indicated by brackets; but no note is taken of cases where +the Egerton version is fuller than Y.B.L. + +The opening of the story (the first five lines in the verse rendering) +is in the eleventh century Book of the Dun Cow: the fragment agrees +closely with the two later texts, differing in fact from Y.B.L. in one +word only. All three texts are given in the original by Windisch. + +The story is simple and straightforward, but is a good example of fairy +vengeance, the description of the appearance of the troop recalls +similar descriptions in the Tain bo Fraich, and in the Courtship of +Ferb. The tale is further noticeable from its connection with the +province of Munster: most of the heroic tales are connected with the +other three provinces only. Orlam, the hero of the end of the tale, was +one of Cuchulain's earliest victims in the Tain bo Cualgne. + + + + +THE RAID FOR DARTAID'S CATTLE + + + +FROM THE EGERTON MS. 1782 (EARLY FIFTEENTH-CENTURY), AND THE YELLOW +BOOK OF LECAN (FOURTEENTH-CENTURY) + + +EOCHO BEC,[FN#43] the son of Corpre, reigning in the land of +Clew,[FN#44] +Dwelt in Coolny's[FN#45] fort; and fostered sons of princes not a few: +Forty kine who grazed his pastures gave him milk to rear his wards; +Royal blood his charges boasted, sprung from Munster's noblest lords. +Maev and Ailill sought to meet him: heralds calling him they sent: +"Seven days hence I come" said Eocho; and the heralds from him went. +Now, as Eocho lay in slumber, in the night a vision came; +By a youthful squire attended, rose to view a fairy dame: +"Welcome be my greeting to you!" said the king: "Canst thou discern +Who we are?" the fairy answered, "how didst thou our fashion learn?" +"Surely," said the king, "aforetime near to me hath been thy place!" +"Very near thee have we hovered, yet thou hast not seen my face." +"Where do ye abide?" said Eocho. "Yonder dwell we, with the Shee:[FN#46] +"In the Fairy Mound of Coolny!" "Wherefore come ye hereto me?" +"We have come," she said, "a counsel as a gift to thee to bring!" +"Speak! and tell me of the counsel ye have brought me," said the king. +"Noble gifts," she said, "we offer that renown for thee shall gain +When in foreign lands thou ridest; worship in thine own domain; +For a troop shall circle round thee, riding close beside thy hand: +Stately it shall be, with goodly horses from a foreign land!" +"Tell me of that troop," said Eocho, "in what numbers should we ride? " +Fifty horsemen is the number that befits thee," she replied: + + +[FN#43] Pronounced Yeo-ho Bayc. + +[FN#44] Cliu, a district in Munster. + +[FN#45] Spelt Cuillne, in Y.B.L. it is Cuille. + +[FN#46] The Fairies, spelt Sidh. + + +"Fifty horses, black in colour; gold and silver reins and bits; +Fifty sets of gay equipment, such as fairies well befits; +These at early dawn to-morrow shall my care for thee provide: +Let thy foster-children with thee on the road thou makest ride! +Rightly do we come to help thee, who so valiantly in fray +Guardest for us soil and country!" And the fairy passed away. + +Eocho's folk at dawn have risen; fifty steeds they all behold: +Black the horses seemed; the bridles, stiff with silver and with gold, +Firmly to the gate were fastened; fifty silver breeches there +Heaped together shone, encrusted all with gold the brooches were: +There were fifty knightly vestments, bordered fair with golden thread: +Fifty horses, white, and glowing on their ears with deepest red, +Nigh them stood; of reddish purple were the sweeping tails and manes; +Silver were the bits; their pasterns chained in front with brazen +chains: +And, of fair findruine[FN#47] fashioned, was for every horse a whip, +Furnished with a golden handle, wherewithal the goad to grip. + + +[FN#47] Pronounced "findroony." + + + +Then King Eocho rose, and ready made him; in that fair array +Forth they rode, nor did they tarry till they came to Croghan[FN#48] Ay. +Scarcely could the men of Connaught bear to see that sight, amazed +At the dignity and splendour of the host on which they gazed; +For that troop was great; in serried ranks the fifty riders rode, +Splendid with the state recounted; pride on all their faces glowed. +"Name the man who comes!" said Ailill; "Easy answer!" all replied, +Eocho Bee, in Clew who ruleth, hither to thy court would ride": +Court and royal house were opened; in with welcome came they all; +Three long days and nights they lingered, feasting in King Ailill's +hall. +Then to Ailill, king of Connaught, Eocho spake: "From out my land +{50} Wherefore hast thou called me hither?" "Gifts are needed from thy +hand," +Ailill said; "a heavy burden is that task upon me laid, +To maintain the men of Ireland when for Cualgne's kine we raid." + + +[FN#48] Pronounced Crow-han. + + + +Eocho spoke: "What gift requirest thou from me?" "For milking-kine," +Ailill said, "I ask"; and Eocho, "Few of these indeed are mine! +Forty sons of Munster's princes have I in my halls to rear; +These, my foster-sons, beside me m my troop have journeyed here; +Fifty herdsmen guard the cattle, forty cows my wards to feed, +Seven times twenty graze beside them, to supply my people's need." + +"If, for every man who follows thee as liege, and owns a farm, +Thou a cow wilt yield," said Ailill, "then from foes with power to harm +I will guard thee in the battle!" "Keep then faithfully thy vows," +Eocho said, "this day as tribute shall to Croghan come the cows." + +Thrice the sun hath set and risen while they feasting there abide, +Maev and Ailill's bounty tasting, homeward then they quickly ride: +But the sons of Glaschu met them, who from western Donnan came; +Donnan, from the seas that bound it, Irross Donnan hath for name; +Seven times twenty men attacked them, and to battle they were brought, +At the isle of O'Canàda, fiercely either party fought; +With his foster children round him, Eocho Bec in fight was killed, +All the forty princes perished, with that news the land was filled; +All through Ireland lamentation rose for every youthful chief; +Four times twenty Munster princes, weeping for them, died of grief. + +Now a vision came to Ailill, as in sleep he lay awhile, +or a youth and dame approached him, fairer none in Erin's Isle: +"Who are ye?" said Ailill; "Conquest," said the fairy, "and Defeat +"Though Defeat I shun," said Ailill, "Conquest joyfully I meet." +"Conquest thou shalt have!" she answered: "Of the future I would ask, +Canst thou read my fate?" said Ailill: "Light indeed for me the task," +Said the dame: "the kine of Dartaid, Eocho's daughter, may be won: +Forty cows she owns; to gain them send to her thy princely son, +Orlam, whom that maiden loveth: let thy son to start prepare, +Forty youths from Connaught with him, each of them a prince's heir: +Choose thou warriors stout and stately; I will give them garments +bright, +Even those that decked the princes who so lately fell in fight: + +Bridles, brooches, all I give thee; ere the morning sun be high +Thou shalt count that fairy treasure: to our country now we fly." + +Swiftly to the son of Tassa sped they thence, to Corp the Gray: +On the northern bank of Naymon was his hold, and there he lay; +And before the men of Munster, as their champion did he stand: +He hath wrought-so runs the proverb-evil, longer than his hand. +As to Corp appeared the vision: "Say," he cried, "what names ye boast!" +"Ruin, one is called," they answered; "one, The Gathering of the Host!" +An assembled host I welcome," answered them the gray Corp Lee; +"Ruin I abhor": "And ruin," they replied, "is far from thee; +Thou shalt bring on sons of nobles, and of kings a ruin great": +"Fairy," said Corp Lee, the Gray one, "tell me of that future fate." + +"Easy is the task," she answered, "youths of every royal race +That in Connaught's land hath dwelling, come to-morrow to this place; +Munster's kine they hope to harry, for the Munster princes fell +Yesterday with Connaught fighting; and the hour I plainly ten: +At the ninth hour of the morning shall they come: the band is small: +Have thou valiant men to meet them, and upon the raiders fall! +Munster's honour hath been tarnished! clear it by a glorious deed! +Thou shalt purge the shame if only in the foray thou succeed." + +"What should be my force?" he asked her: "Take of heroes seven score +For that fight," she said, "and with them seven times twenty warriors +more: +Far from thee we now are flying; but shall meet thee with thy power +When to-morrow's sun is shining; at the ninth, the fated hour." + +At the dawn, the time appointed, all those steeds and garments gay +Were in Connaught, and they found them at the gate of Croghan Ay; +All was there the fay had promised, all the gifts of which we told: +All the splendour that had lately decked the princes they behold. +Doubtful were the men of Connaught; some desired the risk to face; +Some to go refused: said Ailill, "It should bring us to disgrace + +If we spurned such offered bounty": Orlam his reproaches felt; +Sprang to horse; and towards the country rode, where Eocho's daughter +dwelt: +And where flows the Shannon river, near that water's southern shore, +Found her home; for as they halted, moated Clew[FN#49] rose high before. + + +[FN#49] Spelt Cliu. + + +Dartaid met them ere they halted, joyful there the prince to see: +All the kine are not assembled, of their count is lacking three!" +"Tarry not for search," said Orlam, "yet provision must we take +On our steeds, for hostile Munster rings us round. Wilt home forsake, +Maiden? wilt thou ride beside us?" "I will go indeed," she said. +Then, with all thy gathered cattle, come with us; with me to wed! +So they marched, and in the centre of their troop the kine were set, +And the maiden rode beside them: but Corp Lee, the Gray, they met; +Seven times twenty heroes with him; and to battle they must go, +And the Connaught nobles perished, fighting bravely with the foe: +All the sons of Connaught's princes, all the warriors with them died: +Orlam's self escaped the slaughter, he and eight who rode beside: +Yet he drave the cows to Croghan; ay, and fifty heifers too! +But, when first the foe made onset, they the maid in battle slew. +Near a lake, did Eocho's[FN#50] daughter, Dartaid, in the battle fall, +From that lake, and her who perished, hath been named that region all: +Emly Darta is that country; Tain bo Dartae is the tale: +And, as prelude, 'tis recited, till the Cualgne[FN#51] Raid they hail. + + +[FN#50] Pronounced Yeo-ho. + +[FN#51] Pronounced Kell-ny. + + + + +THE RAID FOR DARTAID'S CATTLE + + + +LITERAL TRANSLATION + + +The Passages that occur only in the Yellow Book (Y.B.L.) are indicated +by being placed in square brackets. + + +EOCHO BEC, the son of Corpre, king of Cliu, dwelt in the Dun of +Cuillne,[FN#52] and with him were forty fosterlings, all sons of the +kings of Munster; he had also forty milch-cows for their sustenance. By +Ailill and Medb messengers were sent, asking him to come to a +conference. "[In a week,"][FN#53] said Eocho, "I will go to that +conference;" and the messengers departed from him. + + +[FN#52] The eleventh century MS., the Leabhar na h-Uidhri, which gives +the first four lines of this tale as a fragment, adds here as a note: +"this is in the land of the O'Cuanach": apparently the O'Briens of +Cuanach. + +[FN#53] At Samhuin day (Egerton). + + +One night Eocho lay there in his sleep, when he saw something approach +him; a woman, and a young man in her attendance. "Ye are welcome!" +said Eocho. ["Knowest thou us?"] said she, "Where hast thou learned to +know us?" "It seems to me as if I had been near to you." "I think +that we have been very near to one another, though we have not seen +each other face to face!" "In what place do ye dwell?" said Eocho. +"Yonder in Sid Cuillne (the fairy mound of Cuillne)," said she. "And, +wherefore have ye come?" "In order to give thee counsel," said she. +For what purpose is the counsel," said he, "that thou givest me?" + +"Something," she said, "that will bring thee honour and renown on thy +journey at home and abroad. A stately troop shall be round thee, and +goodly foreign horses shall be under thee."[FN#54] "With how many +shall I go?" said Eocho. "Fifty horsemen is the number that is +suitable for thee," she answered. + + +[FN#54] Y.B.L. adds a passage that Windisch does not translate: it +seems to run thus: "Unknown to thee is the half of what thou hast met: +it seems to us that foreign may be thy splendour"(?) + + +"To-morrow in the morning fifty black horses, furnished with bridles of +gold and silver, shall come to thee from me; and with them fifty sets +of equipment of the equipment of the Side; and all of thy +foster-children shall go with thee; well it becomes us to help thee, +because thou art valiant in the defence of our country and our soil." +Then the woman left him. + +Early in the morning they arise, there they see something: the fifty +black horses, furnished with bridles of gold and silver tied fast to +the gate of the castle, also fifty breeches of silver with +embellishment of gold; and fifty youths' garments with their edges of +spun gold, and fifty white horses with red ears and long tails, +purple-red were all their tails and their manes, with silver bits +(?)[FN#55] and foot-chains of brass upon each horse; there were also +fifty whips of white bronze (findruine), with end pieces of gold that +thereby they might be taken into hands.[FN#56] + + +[FN#55] co m-belgib (?) Windisch translates "bridles," the same as +cona srianaib above. + +[FN#56] Y.B.L. adds, "Through wizardry was all that thing: it was +recited (?) how great a thing had appeared, and he told his dream to +his people." + + +Then King Eocho arises, and prepares himself (for the journey): they +depart with this equipment to Cruachan Ai:[FN#57] and the people were +well-nigh overcome with their consequence and appearance: their troop +was great, goodly, splendid, compact: [fifty heroes, all with that +appearance that has just been related. + +"How is that man named?" said Ailill. "Not hard, Eocho Bec, the king +of Cliu." They entered the Liss (outer court), and the royal house; +welcome was given to them, he remained there three days and three +nights at the feasting.] + + +[FN#57] Egerton here gives "Ailill and Medb made them welcome;" it +omits the long passage in square brackets. + + +"Wherefore have I have been invited to come?" said Eocho to Ailill: "To +learn if I can obtain a gift from thee," said Ailill; "for a heavy need +weighs upon me, even the sustenance of the men of Ireland for the +bringing of the cattle from Cualgne." + +"What manner of gift is it that thou desirest?" said Eocho. "Nothing +less than a gift of milking-kine," said Ailill. "There is no +superfluity of these in my land," said Eocho; "I have forty +fosterlings, sons of the kings of Munster, to bring them up (to +manhood); they are here in my company, there are forty cows to supply +the needs of these, to supply my own needs are seven times twenty +milch-cows [there are fifty men for this cause watching over them]. + +"Let me have from thee," said Ailill, "one cow from each farmer who is +under thy lordship as my share; moreover I will yield thee assistance +if at any time thou art oppressed by superior might." "Thus let it be +as thou sayest," said Eocho; "moreover, they shall come to thee this +very day." + +For three days and three nights they were hospitably entertained by +Ailill and Medb, and then they departed homewards, till they met the +sons of Glaschu, who came from Irross Donnan (the peninsula of Donnan, +now Mayo); the number of those who met them was seven times twenty men, +and they set themselves to attack each other, and to strive with each +other in combat, and [at the island of O'Conchada (Inse Ua Conchada)] +they fought together. In that place fell the forty sons of kings round +Eocho Bec, and that news was spread abroad over all the land of +Ireland, so that four times twenty kings' sons, of the youths of +Munster, died, sorrowing for the deaths of these princes. + +On another night, as Ailill lay in his sleep, upon his bed, he saw some +thing, a young man and a woman, the fairest that could be found in +Ireland. "Who are ye?" said Ailill. "Victory and Defeat are our +names," she said. "Victory indeed is welcome to me, but not so +Defeat," said Ailill. "Victory shall be thine in each form!" said she. + ["What is the next thing after this that awaits us?" said Ailill. +"Not hard to tell thee," said she] "let men march out from thy palace +in the morning, that thou mayest win for thyself the cattle of Dartaid, +the daughter of Eocho. Forty is the number of her milch-cows, it is +thine own son, Orlam mac Ailill, whom she loves. Let Orlam prepare for +his journey with a stately troop of valiant men, also forty sons of +those kings who dwell in the land of Connaught; and by me shall be +given to them the same equipment that the other youths had who fell in +yon fight, bridles and garments and brooches; [early in the morning +shall count of the treasure be made, and now we go to our own land," +said she]. + +Then they depart from him, and forthwith they go to [Corp[FN#58] Liath +(the Gray),] who was the son of Tassach. His castle was on the bank of +the river Nemain, upon the northern side, he was a champion of renown +for the guarding of the men of Munster; longer than his hand is the +evil he hath wrought. To this man also they appeared, and "What are +your names?" said he: "Tecmall and Coscrad (Gathering of Hosts, and +Destruction)," said they. "Gathering of Hosts is indeed good," said +Corp Liath, "an evil thing is destruction": "There will be no +destruction for thee, and thou shalt destroy the sons of kings and +nobles": "And what," said Corp Liath, "is the next thing to be done?" + + +[FN#58] The Egerton MS. gives the name, Corb Cliach. + + +"That is easy to say," they said;[FN#59] "each son of a king and a +queen, and each heir of a king that is in Connaught, is now coming upon +you to bear off cows from your country, for that the sons of your kings +and queens have fallen by the hand of the men of Connaught. To-morrow +morning, at the ninth hour they will come, and small is their troop; so +if valiant warriors go thither to meet them, the honour of Munster +shall be preserved; if indeed thine adventure shall meet with success." + + +[FN#59] Y.B.L. gives the passage thus: "Assemble with you the sons of +kings, and heirs of kings, that you may destroy the sons of kings and +heirs of kings." "Who are they?" said Corp Liath. "A noble youth it +is from Connaught: he comes to yon to drive your cows before him, after +that your young men were yesterday destroyed by him, at the ninth hour +of the morning they will come to take away the cows of Darta, the +daughter of Eocho." + + +"With what number should I go?" he said. "Seven times twenty heroes +thou shouldest take with thee," she replied, ["and seven times twenty +warriors besides"]: "And now" said the woman, "we depart to meet thee +to-morrow at the ninth hour." + +At the time (appointed), when morning had come, the men of Connaught +saw the horses and the raiment of which we have spoken, at the gate of +the fort of Croghan, [even as she (the fairy) had foretold, and as we +have told, so that at that gate was all she had promised, and all that +had been seen on the sons of kings aforetime], and there was a doubt +among the people whether they should go on that quest or not. "It is +shame," said Ailill, "to refuse a thing that is good"; and upon that +Orlam departed [till[FN#60] he came to the house of Dartaid, the +daughter of Eocho, in Cliu Classach (Cliu the Moated), on the Shannon +upon the south (bank). + + +[FN#60] Egerton Version has only "towards Chu till he came to the home +of Dartaid, the daughter of Eocho: the maiden rejoiced," &c. From this +point to the end the version in the Yellow Book is much fuller. + + +[There they halted], and the maiden rejoiced at their coming: "Three of +the kine are missing." "We cannot wait for these; let the men take +provision on their horses, [for rightly should we be afraid in the +midst of Munster. Wilt thou depart with me, O maiden?" said he. "I +will indeed go with thee," said she]. "Come then thou," said he, "and +with thee all of thy cows." + +[Then the young men go away with the cows in the midst, and the maiden +was with them; but Corp Liath, the son of Tassach, met them with seven +times twenty warriors to oppose their march. A battle was fought], and +in that place fell the sons of the kings of Connaught, together with +the warriors who had gone with them, all except Orlam and eight +others,[FN#61] who carried away with them the kine, even the forty +milch-cows, and fifty heifers, [so that they came into the land of +Connaught]; but the maiden fell at the beginning of the fight. + + +[FN#61] Y.B.L. inserts Dartaid's death at this point: "and Dartaid +fell at the beginning of the fight, together with the stately sons of +Connaught." + + +Hence is that place called Imlech Dartaid, (the Lake Shore of Darta), +in the land of Cliu, [where Dartaid, the daughter of Eocho, the son of +Corpre, fell: and for this reason this story is called the Tain bo +Dartae, it is one of the preludes to the Tain bo Cualnge]. + + + + +THE RAID FOR THE CATTLE OF REGAMON + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The two versions of this tale, given by Windisch in the Irische Texte, +II. pp. 224-238, are from the same manuscripts as the two versions of +the Raid of the Cattle of Dartaid; namely the Yellow Book of Lecan, and +the Egerton MS. 1782. In the case of this tale, the Yellow Book +version is more legible, and, being not only the older, but a little +more full than the other version, Windisch has translated this text +alone: the prose version, as given here, follows this manuscript, +nearly as given by Windisch, with only one addition from the Egerton +MS.; the omissions in the Egerton MS. are not mentioned, but one or two +changes in words adopted from this MS. are mentioned in the foot-notes +to the prose rendering. + +The whole tone of the tale is very unlike the tragic character of those +romances, which have been sometimes supposed to represent the general +character of old Irish literature: there is not even a hint of the +super-natural; the story contains no slaughter; the youthful raiders +seem to be regarded as quite irresponsible persons, and the whole is an +excellent example of an old Celtic: romance with what is to-day called +a "good ending." + + + + +THE RAID FOR THE CATTLE OF REGAMON + + + +FROM THE YELLOW BOOK OF LECAN + +(A MANUSCRIPT OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY) + + +When Ailill and Maev in the Connaught land abode, and the lordship held, +A chief who many a field possessed in the land of Connaught dwelled: +A great, and a fair, and a goodly herd of kine had the chieftain won: +And his fame in the fight was in all men's word; his name was Regamon. +Now seven daughters had Regamon; they dwelt at home with their sire: +Yet the seven sons of King Ailill and Maev their beauty with love could +fire: +All those seven sons were as Mani[FN#62] known; the first was as Morgor +hailed, +For his love was great: it was Mingar's fate that in filial love he +failed: +The face was seen of the mother-queen on the third; and his father's +face +Did the fourth son show: they the fifth who know cannot speak all his +strength and grace: +The sixth son spoke, from his lips the words like drops of honey fell: +And last came one who all gifts possessed that the tongue of a man can +tell; +For his father's face that Mani had, in him was his mother seen; +And in him abode every grace bestowed on the king of the land or the +queen. + + +[FN#62] Pronounced Mah-nee. + + +Of the daughters of Regamon now we speak: two names those maidens bore: +For as Dunnan three ever known shall be; Dunlaith[FN#63] was the name +for four: +And in Breffny's land is the Ford Dunlaith, and the fame of the four +recalls; +The three ye know where the Dunnan's flow in western Connaught falls. +With Fergus, Ailill and Maev were met: as at council all conferred; +"It were well for our folk," thus Ailill spoke, "if the lord of that +cattle-herd, +That strays in the fields of Regamon, would tribute to us pay: +And to gain that end, let us heralds send, to his burg who may make +their way, +And bear to our court that tribute back; for greatly we soon shall need +Such kine when we in the time of war our hosts shall have to feed; +And all who share in our counsels know that a burden will soon be mine, +When the men must be fed of Ireland, led on the Raid for the +Cuailgne[FN#64] Kine!" +Thus Ailill spoke; and Queen Maev replied, "The men to perform that task +Right well I know; for our sons will go, if we for their aid but ask! +The seven daughters of Regamon do the Mani in love now seek: +If those maidens' hands they can gain by the deed, they will heed the +words we speak." +To his side King Ailill has called his sons, his mind to the youth he +shows. +"Best son," says Maev, "and grateful he, from filial love who goes!" +And Morgor said, "For the love that we owe, we go at our sire's behest:" +"Yet a greater reward," thus Mingar spake, "must be ours, if we go on +this quest! +For naught have we of hero-craft; and small shall be found our might; +And of valiant breed are the men," said he, "with whom we shall have to +fight. + + +[FN#63] Pronounced Dun-lay. + +[FN#64] Pronounced Kell-ny. + + +As men from the shelter of roof who go, and must rest in the open field, +So thy sons shall stand, if they come to a land where a foe might be +found concealed! +We have dwelt till now in our father's halls, too tenderly cared for +far: +Nor hath any yet thought, that to us should be taught the arts that +belong to war!" + +Queen Maev and Ailill their sons have sped, away on the quest they went, +With seven score men for the fight, whom the queen for help of her sons +had sent: +To the south of the Connaught realm they reached, the burg that they +sought was plain +For to Ninnus land they had come, and were nigh to the Corcomroe domain. +"From our band," said Mani Morgor, "some must go, of that burg to learn +How entrance we may attain to win, and back with the news return +We must test the strength of the maidens' love!" On Mingar the task was +set, +And with two beside him, he searched the land, till three of the maids +they met: +By springs of water they found the maids, drew swords, and against them +leapt! +"O grant our lives!" was the maiden's cry, "and your lives shall be +safely kept!" +"For your lives," he said, "will ye grant a boon, set forth in three +words of speech?" +"At our hands," said she, "shall granted be, whatever thy tongue shall +teach; +Yet ask not cattle; those kine have we no power to bestow, I fear": +"Why, 'tis for the sake of the kine," he said, "that all of us now are +here!" + +"Who art thou then?" from her faltering broke: "Mani Mingar am I," he +replied; +I am son to King Ailill and Maev: And to me thou art welcome," the +maiden cried; +"But why have ye come to this land?" said she: For kine and for +brides," he said, +Have we come to seek: And 'tis right," said she, such demands in a +speech to wed: +Yet the boon that you ask will our folk refuse, and hard will your task +be found; +For a valiant breed shall you meet, I fear, in the men who guard this +ground!" +"Give your aid," he said, "then as friends: But time," said she, "we +must have for thought; +For a plan must be made, e'er thy word be obeyed, and the kine to thy +hands be brought: +Have ye journeyed here with a force of men? how great is the strength +of your band?" +"Seven score are there here for the fight," he said, "the warriors are +near at hand!" +"Wait here," said she; "to my sisters four I go of the news to tell: +"And with thee we side!" all the maidens cried, "and we trust we shall +aid thee well," + +Away from the princes the maidens sped, they came to their sisters four, +And thus they spoke: "From the Connaught land come men, who are here at +your door; +The sons of Ailill and Maev have come; your own true loves are they!" +"And why have they come to this land?" they said; "For kine and for +brides, they say, +Have they come to seek:" "And with zeal their wish would we joyfully +now fulfil +If but powers to aid were but ours," they said, "which would match with +our right good will: + +But I fear the youths in this burg who dwell, the plans that we make +may foil; +or far from the land may chase that band, and drive them away from +their spoil!" +"Will ye follow us now, with the prince to speak?" They willingly gave +consent, +And together away to the water-springs the seven maidens went. +They greeted Mani; "Now come!" said he, "and bring with you out your +herds: +And a goodly meed shall reward your deed, if you but obey my words; +For our honour with sheltering arms is nigh, and shall all of you +safely keep, +Ye seven daughters of Regamon!" The cattle, the swine, and sheep +Together the maidens drove; none saw them fly, nor to stay them sought, +Till safe to the place where the Mani stood, the herd by the maids was +brought. + +The maidens greeted the sons of Maev, and each by her lover stood; +And then Morgor spoke: "Into twain this herd of kine to divide were +good, +At the Briuin[FN#65] Ford should the hosts unite; too strait hath the +path been made +For so vast a herd": and to Morgor's word they gave heed, and his +speech obeyed. +Now it chanced that Regamon, the king, was far from his home that day, +For he to the Corco Baiscinn land had gone, for a while to stay; + + +[FN#65] Pronounced Brewin. + + +With the Firbolg[FN#66] clans, in debate, he sat; and a cry as the +raiders rode, +Was behind him raised: to the king came men, who the news of that +plunder showed: +Then the king arose, and behind his foes he rode, and o'ertook their +flight, +And on Mani Morgor his host pressed hard, and they conquered his men in +the fight. +"To unite our band," thus Morgor cried, "fly hence, and our comrades +find! +Call the warriors back from the cattle here, and leave the maids behind; +Bid the maidens drive to our home the herd as far as the Croghan Fort, +And to Ailill and Maev of our perilous plight let the maidens bear +report." +The maidens went to the Croghan Fort, to Maev with their news they +pressed: +"Thy sons, O Maev, at the Briuin Ford are pent, and are sore distressed, +And they pray thee to aid them with speed": and Maev her host for the +war prepared, +With Ailill the warriors of Connaught came; and Fergus beside them +fared, +And the exiles came, who the Ulster name still bore, and towards that +Ford +All that host made speed, that their friends in need might escape from +the vengeful sword. + + +[FN#66] Pronounced Feer-bol. + + +Now Ailill's sons, in the pass of that Ford, had hurdles strongly set: +And Regamon failed through the ford to win, ere Ailill's troops were +met: +Of white-thorn and of black-thorn boughs were the hurdles roughly +framed, +And thence the name of the ford first came, that the Hurdle Ford is +named; + +For, where the O'Feara[FN#67] Aidne folk now dwell, can ye plainly see +In the land of Beara[FN#68] the Less, that Ford, yet called Ath[FN#69] +Clee Maaree, +In the north doth it stand; and the Connaught land divideth from +Corcomroe; +And thither, with Regamon's troops to fight, did Ailill's army go. + + +[FN#67] Pronounced O'Fayra Ain-ye. + +[FN#68] Pronounced Bayra. + +[FN#69] Spelt Ath Cliath Medraidi. Ath is pronounced like Ah. + + +Then a truce they made; to the youths, that Raid who designed, they +gave back their lives; +And the maidens fair all pardoned were, who had fled with the youths, +as wives, +Who had gone with the herd, by the maids conferred on the men who the +kine had gained: +But the kine, restored to their rightful lord, in Regamon's hands +remained; +The maiden band in the Connaught land remained with the sons of Maev; +And a score of cows to each maiden's spouse the maidens' father gave: +As his daughters' dower, did their father's power his right in the cows +resign, +That the men might be fed of Ireland, led on the Raid for the +Cualgne[FN#70] Kine. +This tale, as the Tain bo Regamon, is known in the Irish tongue; +And this lay they make, when the harp they wake, ere the Cualgne Raid +be sung. + + +[FN#70] Pronounced Kell-ny. + + + + +THE RAID FOR THE CATTLE OF REGAMON + + + +LITERAL TRANSLATION + + +In the time of Ailill and Medb, a glorious warrior and holder of land +dwelt in the land of Connaught, and his name was Regamon. He had many +herds of cattle, all of them fair and well-shaped: he had also seven +daughters with him. Now the seven sons of Ailill and Medb loved these +(daughters): namely the seven Maine, these were Maine Morgor (Maine +with great filial love), Maine Mingar (Maine with less filial love), +Maine Aithremail (Maine like his father), Maine Mathremail (Maine like +his mother), Maine Milbel (Maine with the mouth of honey),[FN#71] Maine +Moepert (Maine too great to be described), Maine Condageb-uile (Maine +who combined all qualities): now this one had the form both of father +and mother, and had all the glory that belonged to both parents. + + +[FN#71] The name of Maine Annai, making an eighth son, is given in +Y.B.L., but not in the Egerton MS. + + +The seven daughters of Regamon were the three Dunann, and the four +Dunlaith;[FN#72] from the names of these is the estuary of Dunann in +western Connaught, and the Ford of Dunlaith in Breffny. + + +[FN#72] So Egerton, which Windisch follows here; the reading of Y.B.L. +is Dunmed for the daughters, and Dumed for the corresponding ford. + + +Now at a certain time, Ailill and Medb and Fergus held counsel +together. "Some one from us," said Ailill, "should go to Regamon, that +a present of cattle may be brought to us from him; to meet the need +that there is on us for feeding the men of Ireland, when the kine are +raided from Cualgne." "I know," said Medb, "who would be good to go +thither, if we ask it of them; even the Maine; on account of their love +for the daughters." + +His sons were called to Ailill, and he spoke with them. "Grateful is +he, and a better journey does he go," said Maev, "who goes for the sake +of his filial love." "Truly it shall be that it is owing to filial +love that we go," said Mani Morgor. "But the reward should (also) for +this be the better," said Mani Mingar; "it stands ill with our heroism, +ill with our strength. + +It is like going from a house into the fields, (going) into the domains +or the land of foes. Too tenderly have we been brought up; none hath +let us learn of wars; moreover the warriors are valiant towards whom we +go!" + +They took leave of Ailill and Medb, and betook themselves to the quest. + They set out, seven times twenty heroes was the number, till they were +in the south of Connaught, in the neighbourhood of the domain of +Corcomroe[FN#73] in the land of Ninnus, near to the burg. "Some of +you," said Mani Morgor, "should go to find out how to enter into the +burg; and to test the love of maidens." Mani Mingar, with two others, +went until he came upon three of the maidens at the water-springs, and +at once he and his comrades drew their swords against them. "Give life +for life!" said the maiden. "Grant to me then my three full words!" +said Mani Mingar. "Whatever thy tongue sets forth shall be done," said +the maiden, "only let it not be cows,[FN#74] for these have we no power +to give thee." "For these indeed," said Mani, "is all that now we +do."[FN#75] + + +[FN#73] Properly "Coremodruad," the descendants of Modh Ruadh, third +son of Fergus by Maev; now Corcomroe in County Clare. + +[FN#74]"Only let it not be cows" is in the Egerton MS. alone. + +[FN#75] "That we do" is Egerton MS. (cich indingnem), Y.B.L. has +"cechi m-bem." + + +"Who art thou?" said she: "Mani Mingar, son of Ailill and Medb," said +he: "Welcome then," she said, "but what hath brought with you here?" +"To take with us cattle and maidens," he said: "'Tis right," she said, +"to take these together; (but) I fear that what has been demanded will +not be granted, the men are valiant to whom you have come." "Let your +entreaties be our aid!" he said. "We would desire," she said, "that it +should be after that counsel hath been taken that we obey you." + +"What is your number?" said she: "Seven times twenty heroes," he said, +"are with us." "Remain here," she said, "that we may speak with the +other maidens": "We shall assist you," said the maidens, "as well as we +can." + +They went from them, and came to the other maidens, and they said to +them: "Young heroes from the lands of Connaught are come to you, your +own true loves, the seven sons of Ailill and Medb." "Wherefore are +they come?" "To take back with them cattle and wives." "That would we +gladly have, if only we could; (but) I fear that the warriors will +hinder them or drive them away," said she. "Go ye out, that ye may +speak with the man." "We will speak with him," they said. The seven +maidens went to the well, and they greeted Mani. "Come ye away," he +said, "and bring your cattle with you. That will be a good deed. We +shall assist you with our honour and our protection, O ye daughters of +Regamon," said he.[FN#76] The maidens drove together their cows and +their swine, and their sheep, so that none observed them; and they +secretly passed on till they came to the camp of their comrades. The +maidens greeted the sons of Ailill and Medb, and they remained there +standing together. "The herd must be divided in two parts," said Mani +Merger, "also the host must divide, for it is too great to travel by +the one way; and we shall meet again at Ath Briuin (the Ford of +Briuin)." So it was done. + + +[FN#76] Windisch conjectures this instead of "said the warriors," +which is in the text of Y.B.L. + + +King Regamon was not there on that day. He was in the domain of Corco +Baiscinn,[FN#77] to hold a conference with the Firbolgs. His people +raised a cry behind him, message was brought to Regamon, and he went in +pursuit with his army. The whole of the pursuing host overtook Mani +Morgor, and brought defeat upon him. + + +[FN#77] In the south-west of Clare. + + +"We all," said Mani, "must go to one place, and some of you shall be +sent to the cattle to summon the young men hither, and the maidens +shall drive the cattle over the ford to Cruachan, and shall give Ailill +and Medb tidings of the plight in which we are here." The maidens went +to Cruachan, and told all the tale. "Thy sons are at Ath Briuin in +distress, and have said that help should be brought to them." The men +of Connaught with Ailill, and Medb, and Fergus, and the banished men of +Ulster went to Ath Briuin to help their people. + +The sons of Ailill had for the moment made hurdles of white-thorn and +black-thorn in the gut[FN#78] of the ford, as defence against Regamon +and his people, so that they were unable to pass through the ford ere +Ailill and his army came; so thence cometh the name Ath Cliath +Medraidi[FN#79] (the Hurdle Ford of Medraide), in the country of Little +Bethra in the northern part of the O'Fiachrach Aidne between Connaught +and Corcomroe. There they met together with all their hosts. + + +[FN#78] Literally "mouth." + +[FN#79] Ath Cliath oc Medraige, now Maaree, in Ballycourty parish, Co. +Galway (Stokes, Bodleian Dinnshenchus, 26). It may be mentioned that +in the Dinnshenchus, the cattle are said to have been taken "from +Dartaid, the daughter of Regamon in Munster," thus confusing the Raids +of Regamon and Dartaid, which may account for O'Curry's incorrect +statement in the preface to Leabhar na h-Uidhri, p. xv. + + +A treaty was then made between them on account of the fair young men +who had carried off the cattle, and on account of the fair maidens who +had gone with them, by whose means the herd escaped. Restitution of +the herd was awarded to Regamon, and the maidens abode with the sons of +Ailill and Medb; and seven times twenty milch-cows were given up, as a +dowry for the maidens, and for the maintenance of the men of Ireland on +the occasion of the assembly for the Tain bo Cualnge; so that this tale +is called the Tain bo Regamon, and it is a prelude to the tale of the +Tain bo Cualnge. Finit, amen. + + + + +THE DRIVING OF THE CATTLE OF FLIDAIS + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The Tain bo Flidais, the Driving of the Cows of Flidais, does not, like +the other three Preludes to the Tain bo Cualnge, occur in the Yellow +Book of Lecan; but its manuscript age is far the oldest of the four, as +it occurs in both the two oldest collections of Old Irish romance, the +Leabbar na h-Uidhri (abbreviated to L.U.), and the Book of Leinster +(abbreviated to L.L.), besides the fifteenth century Egerton MS., that +contains the other three preludes. The text of all three, together +with a translation of the L.U. text, is given by Windisch in Irische +Texte, II. pp. 206-223; the first part of the story is missing in L.U. +and is supplied from the Book of Leinster (L.L.) version. The prose +translation given here follows Windisch's translation pretty closely, +with insertions occasionally from L.L. The Egerton version agrees +closely with L.L., and adds little to it beyond variations in spelling, +which have occasionally been taken in the case of proper names. The +Leabhar na h-Uidhri version is not only the oldest, but has the most +details of the three; a few passages have, however, been supplied from +the other manuscripts which agree with L.U. in the main. + +The whole tale is much more like an old Border riding ballad than are +the other three Preludes; it resembles the tone of Regamon, but differs +from it in having a good deal of slaughter to relate, though it can +hardly be called tragic, like Deirdre and Ferb, the killing being taken +as a matter of course. There is nothing at all supernatural about the +story as contained in the old manuscripts, but a quite different' +version of the story given in the Glenn Masain Manuscript, a fifteenth +century manuscript now in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh, gives +another complexion to the tale. + +The translation of this manuscript is at present being made in the +Celtic Review by Professor Mackinnon; the version it gives of the story +is much longer and fuller than that in the Leabhar na h-Uidhri, and its +accompanying manuscripts. The translation as printed in the Celtic +Review is not as yet (July 1905) completed, but, through Professor +Mackinnon's kindness, an abstract of the general features of the end of +the story may be given here. + +The Glenn Masain version makes Bricriu, who is a subordinate character +in the older version, one of the principal actors, and explains many of +the allusions which are difficult to understand in the shorter version; +but it is not possible to regard the older version as an abridgment of +that preserved in the Glenn Masain MS., for the end of the story in +this manuscript is absolutely different from that in the older ones, +and the romance appears to be unique in Irish in that it has versions +which give two quite different endings, like the two versions of +Kipling's The Light that Failed. + +The Glenn Masain version commences with a feast held at Cruachan, when +Fergus and his exiles had joined their forces with Connaught as a +result of the murder of the Sons of Usnach, as told in the earlier part +of the manuscript. At this feast Bricriu. engages in conversation with +Fergus, reproaching him for his broken promises to the Ulstermen who +had joined him, and for his dalliance with Queen Maev. Bricriu, who in +other romances is a mere buffoon, here appears as a distinguished poet, +and a chief ollave; his satire remains bitter, but by no means +scurrilous, and the verses put into his mouth, although far beneath the +standard of the verses given to Deirdre in the earlier part of the +manuscript, show a certain amount of dignity and poetic power. As an +example, the following satire on Fergus's inability to keep his +promises may be cited:-- + + +Fergus, hear thy friend lamenting! +Blunted is thy lofty mind; +Thou, for hire, to Maev consenting, +Hast thy valour's pride resigned. + +Ere another year's arriving, +Should thy comrades, thou didst vow, +Three-score chariots fair be driving, +Shields and weapons have enow! + +When thy ladies, bent on pleasure, +Crowd towards the banquet-hall, +Thou of gold a goodly measure +Promised hast to grant to all! + +Ill to-night thy friends are faring, +Naught hath Fergus to bestow; +He a poor man's look is wearing, +Never yet was greater woe! + + +After the dialogue with Fergus, Bricriu, with the poets that attend +him, undertakes a journey to Ailill the Fair, to obtain from him the +bounty that Fergus had promised but was unable to grant. He makes a +fairly heavy demand upon Ailill's bounty, but is received hospitably, +and gets all he had asked for, as well as honour for his poetic +talents. He then asks about Ailill's wife Flidais, and is told about +her marvellous cow, which was able to supply milk to more than three +hundred men at one night's milking. Flidais returns from a journey, is +welcomed by Bricriu, who produces a poem in honour of her and her cow, +and is suitably recompensed. + +A long conversation is then recorded between Flidais and Bricriu in +which Bricriu extols the great deeds of Fergus, supplying thereby a +commentary on the short statement at the beginning of the older +version, that Flidais' love to Fergus was on account of the great deeds +which had been told her that he had done. Flidais declares to Bricriu +her love for Fergus, and Bricriu, after a vain attempt to dissuade the +queen from her purpose, consents to bring a message to Fergus that +Flidais and her cow will come to him if he comes to her husband's +castle to seek her. He then returns to Connaught laden with gifts. + +The story now proceeds somewhat upon the lines of the older version. +Bricriu approaches Fergus on his return, and induces him to go in the +guise of an ambassador to Ailill the Fair, with the secret intention of +carrying off Flidais. Fergus receives the sanction of Maev and her +husband for his errand, and departs, but not as in the older version +with a few followers; all the Ulster exiles are with him. Dubhtach, by +killing a servant of Maev, embroils Fergus with the queen of Connaught; +and the expedition reaches Ailill the Fair's castle. Fergus sends +Bricriu, who has most unwillingly accompanied him, to ask for +hospitality; he is hospitably received by Ailill, and when under the +influence of wine reveals to Ailill the plot. Ailill does not, as in +the older version, refuse to receive Fergus, but seats him beside +himself at a feast, and after reproaching him with his purpose +challenges him to a duel in the morning. The result of the duel, and +of the subsequent attack on the castle by Fergus' friends, is much as +stated in the older version, but the two stories end quite differently. + The L.U. version makes Flidais assist in the War of Cualgne by feeding +the army of Ailill each seventh day with the produce of her cows; she +dies after the war as wife of Fergus; the Glenn Masain version, in the +"Pursuit of the Cattle of Flidais," makes the Gamanrad clan, the +hero-clan of the West of Ireland, pursue Maev and Fergus, and rescue +Flidais and her cow; Flidais then returns to the west with Muiretach +Menn, the son of her murdered husband, Ailill the Fair. + +The comparison of these two versions, from the literary point of view, +is most interesting. The stress laid on the supernatural cow is +peculiar to the version in the later manuscript, the only analogy in +the eleventh century version is the semi-supernatural feeding of the +army of Ireland, but in this it is a herd (buar), not a single animal, +that is credited with the feat, and there is really nothing +supernatural about the matter; it is only the other version that +enables us to see the true bearing of the incident. The version in the +Glenn Masain Manuscript looks much more ancient in idea than that in +the older texts, and is plainly capable of a mythic interpretation. It +is not of course suggested that the Glenn Masain version is ancient as +it stands: there are indeed enough obvious allusions in the text to +comparatively late works to negative such a supposition, independently +of linguistic evidence, but it does look as if the author of the +eleventh century text had a super natural tale to work upon, some of +whose incidents are preserved in the Glenn Masain version, and that he +succeeded in making out of the traditional account a story that +practically contains no supernatural element at all, so that it +requires a knowledge of the other version to discover the slight trace +of the supernatural that he did keep, viz. the feeding of the army of +Ireland by the herd (not the cow) of Flidais. + +It is possible that the common origin of the two versions is preserved +for us in another place, the Coir Annam, which, though it as it stands +is a Middle Irish work, probably keeps ancient tradition better than +the more finished romances. In this we find, following Stokes' +translation, given in Irische Texte, III. P. 295, the following +entries:-- + +"Adammair Flidaise Foltchain, that is Flidais the Queen, one of the +tribe of the god-folk (the Tuatha de Danaan), she was wife of Adammair, +the son of Fer Cuirp, and from her cometh the name Buar Flidaise, the +Cattle of Flidais. + +"Nia Segamain, that is seg (deer) are a main (his treasure), for in his +time cows and does were milked in the same way every day, so that he +had great wealth in these things beyond that of all other kings. The +Flidais spoken of above was the mother of Nia Segamain, Adammair's son, +for two kinds of cattle, cows and does, were milked in the days of Nia +Segamain, and by his mother was that fairy power given to him." + +It seems, then, not impossible that the original legend was much as +stated in the Coir Annam, viz. that Flidais was a supernatural being, +milking wild deer like cows, and that she was taken into the Ulster +Cycle and made part of the tale of Fergus. + +This adoption was done by an author who made a text which may be +regarded as the common original of the two versions; in his tale the +supernatural character of Flidais was retained. The author of the L.U. +version cut out the supernatural part, and perhaps the original embassy +of Bricriu; it may, however, be noted that the opening of the older +version comes from the L.L. text, which is throughout shorter than that +in L.U., and the lost opening of L.U. may have been fuller. The author +of the Glenn Masain version kept nearer to the old story, adding, +however, more modern touches. Where the new character of Bricriu comes +from is a moot point; I incline to the belief that the idea of Bricriu +as a mere buffoon is a later development. But in neither version is +the story, as we have it, a pre-Christian one. The original +pre-Christian idea of Flidais was, as in the Coir Annam, that of a +being outside the Ulster Cycle altogether. + + + + +THE DRIVING OF THE CATTLE OF FLIDAIS + + +FROM THE LEABHAR NA H-UIDHRI (ELEVENTH-CENTURY MS.), THE BEGINNING AND +A FEW ADDITIONS FROM THE BOOK OF LEINSTER (TWELFTH CENTURY) + + +A land in West Roscommon, as Kerry known of old, +Was ruled by Ailill Fair-haired; of him a tale is told: +How Flidais,[FN#80] Ailill's[FN#81] consort, each week, and near its +end, +To Ro's great son, to Fergus, her herald still would send; +'Twas Fergus' love she sought for; the deeds by Fergus done, +In glorious tales recited, had Flidais' fancy won. + + +[FN#80] Pronounced Flid-das. + +[FN#81] Pronounced Al-ill. + + +When Fergus fled from Ulster, and Connaught's land he sought, +To Ailill, king of Connaught, this tale of love he brought: +"Now give me rede," said Fergus, "how best we here should act, +That Connaught's fame and honour by none may stand attacked; +Say, how can I approach them, and strip thy kingdom bare, +And yet the fame of Ailill, that country's monarch, spare?" +"'Tis hard indeed to teach thee," cried Ailill, sore perplexed; +"Let Maev come nigh with counsel what course to follow next!" + +"Send thou to Ailill Fair-haired to ask for aid!" said Maev, +"He well may meet a herald, who comes his help to crave +Let Fergus go to crave it: no harm can there be seen; +And better gifts from Ailill shall Fergus win, I ween!" + + +So forth to Ailill Fair-haired went Fergus, son of Ro; +And thirty, Dubhtach[FN#82] leading, he chose with him to go; +And yet another Fergus his aid to Fergus brought; +Mac Oonlama[FN#83] men called him; his sire one-handed fought. + + +[FN#82] Pronounced Doov-ta. + +[FN#83] Spelt Mac Oenlama, son of the one-handed one. + + +Beside the Ford of Fenna, in Kerry's north they came, +They neared the hold, and from it rang welcome's loud acclaim: +"What quest," said Ailill Fair-haired, "hath brought these warriors +here?" +"Of Ailill, son of Magach, we stand," they said, "in fear; +A feud we hold against him; with thee would fain abide!" +"For each of these," said Ailill, "who Fergus march beside, +If they were foes to Connaught, for long they here might stay, +And ne'er till peace was granted, I'd drive these men away: +For Fergus, naught I grant him a tale of him men tell +That Fergus 'tis whom Flidais, my wife, doth love too well!" + +"It is kine that I ask for," said Fergus, "and hard is the task on me +set: +For the men who have marched here beside me, the means to win life I +must get." +"I will give no such present," said Ailill," thou comest not here as my +guest: +Men will say, 'twas from fear that I gave it, lest my wife from my arms +thou should'st wrest: +Yet an ox of my herds, and some bacon, if thou wilt, shall my hand to +thee give; +That the men who have marched here beside thee on that meat may be +stayed, and may live!" + +"I eat no bread thus thrown me!" fierce Fergus straight replied: +"I asked a gift of honour; that gift thine hand denied." +"Avoid my house," said Ailill in wrath, "now get thee hence! +"We go indeed," said Fergus; "no siege we now commence: +Yet here," he cried, "for duel beside yon ford I wait, +If thou canst find a champion to meet me at thy gate." + +Then up and answered Ailill: "'Tis mine this strife must be +And none shall hurt mine honour, or take this task from me: +None hold me back from battle!"--the ford for fight he sought: +"Now Dubhtach, say," said Fergus, "to whom this war is brought! +Or thou or I must meet him." And Dubhtach said, "I go; +For I am younger, Fergus, and bolder far with foe." + +To the ford for the battle with Ailill he hies, +And he thrust at him fiercely, and pierced through his thighs; +But a javelin by Ailill at Dubhtach was cast, +And right through his body the shaft of it passed: +And a shield over Dubhtach, laid low in the dust, +Spread Fergus; and Ailill his spear at him thrust; +And through Fergus' shield had the spear made its way, +When Fergus Mae Oonlama joined in the fray, +And his shield he uplifted, his namesake to guard; +But at Fergus Mac Oonlama Ailill thrust hard, +And he brake through the fence of Mac Oonlama's shield; +And he leaped in his pain; as they lay on the field, +On his comrades he fell: Flidais forth to them flew, +And her cloak on the warriors to shield them she threw. + +Then against all the comrades of Fergus turned Ailill the Fair-haired +to fight, +And he chased them away from his castle, and slew as they scattered in +flight; +A twenty he reached, and he slew them: they fell, on that field to +remain; +And but seven there were of that thirty who fled, and their safety +could gain: +They came to the palace of Croghan, they entered the gates of that hold, +And to Maev and to Ailill of Connaught the tale of the slaughter they +told. + +Then roused himself King Ailill, of Connaught's land the king, +With Maev to march to battle, their aid to friends to bring: +And forth from Connaught's kingdom went many a lord of worth, +Beside them marched the exiles who gat from Ulster birth: +So forward went that army, and reached to Kerry's land, +And near the Ford of Fenna they came, and there made stand. + +While this was done, the wounded three +Within the hold lay still, +And Flidais cared for all, for she +To heal their wounds had skill. + +To Ailill Fair-Haired's castle the Connaught host was led, +And toward the foeman's ramparts the Connaught herald sped; +He called on Ailill Fair-haired to come without the gate, +And there to meet King Ailill, and with him hold debate. +"I come to no such meeting," the angry chief replied; +"Yon man is far too haughty: too grossly swells his pride!" + +Yet 'twas peaceful meeting, +So the old men say, +Ailill willed; whose greeting +Heralds bore that day. +Fergus, ere he perished, +First he sought to aid +He that thought who cherished +Friendship's claims obeyed: +Then his foe he vainly +Hoped in truce to bind: +Peace, 'tis said, was plainly +Dear to Connaught's mind! + +The wounded men, on litters laid, +Without the walls they bore +To friendly hands, with skill to aid, +And fainting health restore. + +At the castle of Ailill the Fair-Haired the Connaught-men rushed in +attack, +And to win it they failed: from his ramparts in defeat were his foes +driven back: +For long in that contest they struggled, yet naught in the fight they +prevailed - +For a week were the walls of the castle of Ailill the Fair-Haired +assailed, +Seven score of the nobles of Connaught, and all of them warriors of +might, +For the castle of Ailill contended, and fell as they strove in the +fight. + +"'Tis sure that with omen of evil this castle was sought by our folk!" +Thus Bricroo,[FN#84] the Poisonous Scoffer, in mockery, jeering them, +spoke: +"The taunt," answered Ailill Mae Mata, "is true, and with grief I +confess +That the fame of the heroes of Ulster hereafter is like to be less, +For a three of the Ulstermen's champions in stress of the fight have +been quelled; +And the vengeance we wait for from Ulster hath long been by Ulster +withheld; +As a pillar of warfare each hero, 'twas claimed, could a battle sustain; +Yet by none of the three in this battle hath a foeman been conquered, +or slain! +In the future for all of these champions shall scorn and much mocking +befall: +One man hath come forth from yon castle; alone he hath wounded them +all-- +Such disgrace for such heroes of valour no times that are past ever saw, +For three lords of the battle lie conquered by mannikins, fashioned of +straw!" + + +[FN#84] Spelt Bricriu. The usual epithet of Bricriu, "Bricriu of the +Poison Tongue," is indicated in the verse rendering. + + +"Ah! woe is me," said Bricroo, "how long, thus stretched on ground, +The length of Father Fergus hath here by all been found! +But one he sought to conquer; a single fight essayed, +And here he met his victor, and low on land is laid." + +Then rose the men of Ulster a hardy war to wage, +And forward rushed, though naked, in strong and stubborn rage: +Against the castle gateway in wrathful might they dashed, +And down the shattered portal within the castle crashed. +Then close by Ulster's champions was Connaught's battle formed; +And Connaught's troops with Ulster by might the castle stormed; +But fitly framed for battle were men whom there they met, +Wild war, where none showed pity between the hosts was set: +And well they struck; each hero commenced with mighty blows +To crush and slay, destruction was heaped by foe on foes. + +Of the wounding at length and the slaughter all weary the champions had +grown, +And the men who the castle of Ailill had held were at length over +thrown: +Of those who were found in that castle, and its walls had defended so +well, +Seven hundred by warriors of Ulster were smitten to death, and they +fell: +And there in his castle fell Ailill the Fair-haired, and fighting he +died, +And a thirty of sons stood about him, and all met their death by his +side. + +The chief of those who perished, by Ailill's side who stood +Within his hold, were Noodoo;[FN#85] and Awley[FN#86] named the Good; +And Feeho[FN#87] called the Broad-backed; and Corpre Cromm the Bent; +An Ailill, he from Breffny to help of Ailill went; +A three whose name was Angus-fierce was each warrior's face; +Three Eochaid, sea-girt Donnan[FN#88] had cradled erst their race; +And there fell seven Breslen, from plains of Ay[FN#89] who came; +And fifty fell beside them who all had Donnell's name. + + +[FN#85] Spelt Nuado. + +[FN#86] Spelt Amalgaid. + +[FN#87] Spelt Fiacho. + +[FN#88] Irross Donnan, the promontory of Donnan (now Mayo). + +[FN#89] Mag Ai, a plain in Roscommon. + + +For to Ailill the Fair-Haired for warfare had marched all the +Gamanra[FN#90] clan, +And his friends from the sea-girded Donnan had sent to his aid every +man; +All these had with Ailill been leaguered, their help to him freely they +brought, +And that aid from them Ailill. took gladly, he knew that his hold would +be sought; +He knew that the exiles of Ulster his captives from prison would save, +And would come, their surrender demanding; that Ailill mac Mata and Maev +Would bring all Connaught's troops to the rescue: for Fergus that aid +they would lend, +And Fergus the succour of Connaught could claim, and with right, as a +friend. + + +[FN#90] Spelt Gamanrad. + + +Hero clans in Erin three of old were found; +One in Irross Donnan, oceans Donnan bound, +Thence came Clan Gamanra; Deda's warlike clan +Nursed in Tara Loochra[FN#91] many a fighting man. +Deda sprang from Munster; far in Ulster's north +Oft from Emain Macha Rury's[FN#92] clan went forth: +Vainly all with Rury strove to fight, the twain +Rury's clan hath vanquished; Rury all hath slain! + + +[FN#91] Temair Luachra, an ancient palace near Abbeyfeale, on the +borders of the counties of Limerick and Kerry. "Tara," as is well +known, is a corruption of Temair, but is now established. + +[FN#92] Spelt Rudraige. + + +Then rose up the warriors of Ulster, the hold they had conquered to +sack; +And the folk of Queen Maev and King Ailill followed close on the +Ulstermen's track: +And they took with them captives; for Flidais away from her castle they +tore; +And the women who dwelt in the castle away to captivity bore: + +And all things therein that were precious they seized on as booty; the +gold +And the silver they seized, and the treasures amassed by the men of +that hold: +The horns, and the goblets for drinking, the vats for the ale, and the +keys, +The gay robes with all hues that were glowing lay there for the raiders +to seize: +And much cattle they took; in that castle were one hundred of milk +giving kine; +And beside them a seven score oxen; three thousand of sheep and of +swine. + +Then Flidais went with Fergus, his wedded wife to be; +For thus had Maev and Ailill pronounced their high decree: +They bade that when from Cualgne to drive the kine they went, +From those who then were wedded should aid for war be sent. +And thus it fell thereafter: when Ireland went that Raid, +By milk from cows of Flidais, the lives of all were stayed; +Each seventh day she sent it; and thus fulfilled her vows, +And thus the tale is ended, men tell of Flidais' Cows. + +Then, all that Raid accomplished, with Fergus Flidais dwell +And he of Ulster's kingdom a part in lordship held: +He ruled in Mag I Murthemne[FN#92], yea, more than that, he won +The land where once was ruler Cuchulain, Sualtam's son: +And by the shore of Bali thereafter Flidais died, +And naught of good for Fergus did Flidais' death betide: +For worse was all his household; if Fergus aught desired, +From Flidais' wealth and bounty came all his soul required. + +In the days that followed, when his wife was dead, +Fergus went to Connaught; there his blood was shed: +There with Maev and Ailill he a while would stay; +Men had made a story, he would learn the lay! +There he went to cheer him, hearing converse fair: +Kine beside were promised; home he these would bear: +So he went to Croghan, 'twas a deadly quest, +There he found his slaughter, death within the west: +Slain by jealous Ailill, Fergus low was laid: +Flidais' tale is ended: now comes Cualgne's Raid! + + +[FN#92] Pronounced Maw Moortemmy + + + + +THE DRIVING OF THE CATTLE OF FLIDAIS + + + +LITERAL TRANSLATION + + +Flidais was the wife of Ailill Finn (the Fair-haired) in the district +of Kerry.[FN#93] She loved Fergus the son of Rog on account of the +glorious tales about him; and always there went messengers from her to +him at the end of each week. + + +[FN#93] Kerry is the district now called Castlereagh, in the west of +the present county of Roscommon. + + +So, when he came to Connaught, he brought this matter before[FN#94] +Ailill: "What[FN#95] shall I do next in this matter?" said Fergus: "it +is hard for me to lay bare your land, without there being loss to thee +of honour and renown therewith." "Yes, what shall we do next in the +matter?" said Ailill; "we will consider this in counsel with Maev." +"Let one of us go to Ailill Finn," (said Maev), "that he may help us, +and as this involves a meeting of some one with him, there is no reason +why it should not be thyself who goest to him: the gift will be all the +better for that!" + + +[FN#94] i.e. Ailill of Connaught. + +[FN#95] This sentence to the end is taken from the Egerton version, +which seems the clearer; the Book of Leinster gives: "What shall I do +next, that there be no loss of honour or renown to thee in the matter?" + + +Then Fergus set out thereon, in number thirty men; the two Ferguses +(i.e. Fergus mac Rog, and Fergus mac Oen-lama) and Dubhtach; till they +were at the Ford of Fenna in the north of the land of Kerry. They go +to the burg, and welcome is brought to them.[FN#96] "What brings you +here?" said Ailill Finn. "We had the intention of staying with you on +a visit, for we have a quarrel with Ailill the son of Magach." + + +[FN#96] The Book of the Dun Cow (Leabhar na h-Uidhri) version begins +at this point. + + +"If it were one of thy people who had the quarrel, he should stay with +me until he had made his peace. But thou shalt not stay," said Ailill +Finn, "it has been told me that my wife loves thee!" "We must have a +gift of cows then," said Fergus, "for a great need lies on us, even the +sustenance of the troop who have gone with me into exile." "Thou shalt +carry off no such present from me," he said, "because thou art not +remaining with me on a visit. Men will say that it is to keep my wife +that I gave thee what thou hast required. I[FN#97] will give to your +company one ox and some bacon to help them, if such is your pleasure." +"I will eat not thy bread although offered (lit. however)," said +Fergus, "because I can get no present of honour from thee!" + + +[FN#97] L.L. and Egerton make the end of this speech part of the +story: "There was given to them one ox with bacon, with as much as they +wished of beer, as a feast for them." + + +"Out of my house with you all, then!" said Ailill. + +"That shall be," said Fergus; "we shall not begin to lay siege to thee +and they betake themselves outside. + +"Let a man come at once to fight me beside a ford at the gate of this +castle!" said Fergus. + +"That[FN#98] will not for the sake of my honour be refused," said +Ailill; "I will not hand it (the strife) over to another: I will go +myself," said he. He went to a ford against him. "Which of us," said +Fergus, "O Dubhtach, shall encounter this man?" "I will go," said +Dubhtach; "I am younger and keener than thou art!" Dubhtach went +against Ailill. Dubhtach thrust a spear through Ailill so that it went +through his two thighs. He (Ailill) hurled a javelin at Dubhtach, so +that he drove the spear right through him, (so that it came out) on the +other side. + + +[FN#98] The end of the speech is from L.L.: the L.U. text gives the +whole speech thus: "For my honour's sake, I could not draw back in this +matter." + + +Fergus threw his shield over Dubhtach. The former (Ailill) thrust his +spear at the shield of Fergus so that he even drove the shaft right +through it. Fergus mac Oen-laimi comes by. Fergus mac Oen-laimi holds +a shield in front of him (the other Fergus). Ailill struck his spear +upon this so that it was forced right through it. He leaped so that he +lay there on the top of his companions. Flidais comes by from the +castle, and throws her cloak over the three. + +Fergus' people took to flight; Ailill pursues them. There remain +(slain) by him twenty men of them. Seven of them escape to Cruachan +Ai, and tell there the whole story to Ailill and Medb. + +Then Ailill and Medb arise, and the nobles of Connaught and the exiles +from Ulster: they march into the district of Kerry Ai with their troops +as far as: the Ford of Fenna. + +Meanwhile the wounded men were being cared for by Flidais in the +castle, and their healing was undertaken by her. + +Then the troops come to the castle. Ailill Finn is summoned to Ailill +mac Mata to come to a conference with him outside the castle. "I will +not go," he said; "the pride and arrogance of that man there is great." + +It was,[FN#99] however, for a peaceful meeting that Ailill mac Mata had +come to Ailill the Fair-haired, both that he might save Fergus, as it +was right he should, and that he might afterwards make peace with him +(Ailill Fair haired), according to the will of the lords of Connaught. + + +[FN#99] This passage is sometimes considered to be an interpolation by +a scribe or narrator whose sympathies were with Connaught. The passage +does not occur in the Book of Leinster, nor in the Egerton MS. + + +Then the wounded men were brought out of the castle, on hand-barrows, +that they might be cared for by their own people. + +Then the men attack him (Ailill Finn): while they are storming the +castle, and they could get no hold on him, a full week long went it +thus with them. Seven times twenty heroes from among the nobles of +Connaught fell during the time that they (endeavoured) to storm the +castle of Ailill the Fair-haired. + +"It was with no good omen that with which you went to this castle," +said Bricriu. "True indeed is the word that is spoken," said Ailill +mac Mata. "The expedition is bad for the honour of the Ulstermen, in +that their three heroes fall, and they take not vengeance for them. +Each one (of the three) was a pillar of war, yet not a single man has +fallen at the hands of one of the three! Truly these heroes are great +to be under such wisps of straw as axe the men of this castle! Most +worthy is it of scorn that one man has wounded you three!" + +"O woe is me," said Bricriu, "long is the length upon the ground of my +Papa Fergus, since one man in single combat laid him low!" + +Then the champions of Ulster arise, naked as they were, and make a +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. + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, HEROIC ROMANCES OF IRELAND COMPLETE *** + +This file should be named 5680.txt or 5680.zip + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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