Duibithir dath a berrtha...

Duibithir dath a berrtha
bruinde brain, brollach n-aidchi,
édgad luin, lúaithe ngaimche,
caera finchi, fúan fuinche.

(as black as * color * of his haircut /
as breast * of raven * bosom * of night /
clothing * of blackbird * ashes * of winter night (?) /
berries * of vine (?) / tunic * of scaldcrow)

The color of his hair is as black
as a raven’s breast, as the bosom of night,
as a blackbird’s garment, as the ashes of a winter night,
as the berries of the vine, as a scaldcrow’s tunic.

This stanza, a bit of a tour de force which manages to fit the archaic alliterative rosc style into the common seven-syllable lines of the classical dán díreach, was edited by Kuno Meyer in ZCP vol. 9, but not translated. A couple of the words are problematical, but the overall sense is clear.


Topics: Verse Similes, Metaphors & Kennings