Heroic Romances of Ireland Part 24

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).

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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).

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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.

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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 sinighe Cruachan; for sinighe read Maighe, "to the sid of Mag C."

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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," rotirma.s.s 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.

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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.

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Line 12. That there should be adjusted)" fri commus, lit. "for valuation," but commus has also the sense of "adjusting."

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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.

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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.

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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.