Sengoídelc - Verse

A Brigit bennach ar s�t...

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 22:28:57 -0400

A Brigit bennach ar sét
nachar·tair bét ar ar cúairt;
a chaillech a l-Lifi lán
co·rísem slán ar tech úait.

(o * Brigit * bless * our * road /
that may not come to us * calamity * on * our * trip /
o * nun * from * Liffey * full /
may we reach * safe * our * house * from you)

O Brigit, bless our road,
that calamity may not overtake us as we travel;
O veiled one from the laden Liffey
may we reach home safely by your intercession.

This verse, the first in a longer prayer, is found at LL 308a, where it is recited by St. Mo Ling. Elsewhere (Irische Texte iii.53) there is a long incantation containing a mix of pagan and christian elements that begins "Ad·muiniur secht n-ingena trethan" (I invoke the seven daughters of the sea). Two lines in it also call for a safe journey:

Ním·thí bás for fecht,
ro·fírthar mo thecht!

May death not come to me on a journey,
may my return be realized!

See also "Rop soraid in sét-sa" in this collection for another prayer for safe travel.

A r� rind...

Fri, 04 Feb 2005 00:58:49 -0500

A rí rind,
cid dub mo thech nó cid find,
nocho n-íadfaither fri nech
nár' íada Críst a thech frimm.

(O * king * of stars /
though * dark * my * house * or * though * bright /
not * it will be closed * against * anyone /
that not * may close * Christ * his * house * against me)

O King of stars!
Though my house be dark or bright,
it shall not be closed to anyone
so that Christ may not close his house to me.

A verse from the Lebar Brecc, quoted by Kuno Meyer in "A Primar of Early Irish Metrics".

adba r�n

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:14:00 -0400

adba rón

(abode * of seals)

the abode of seals = the sea

This kenning, essentially a two-word poem, is found in a short, finely wrought poem. This is James Carney's edition and translation found in "Medieval Irish Lyrics":

Fégaib úaib
sair fo thúaid
in muir múaid
mílach;
adba rón
rebach, rán,
ro-gab lán
línad.

Look you out
northeastwards
over mighty ocean
teaming with sea-life.
home of seals
sporting, splendid,
its tide has reached
fullness.

�luinn duille an liubhair-si...

Wed, 23 Mar 2005 12:04:18 -0500

Áluinn duille an liubhair-si,
psaltair Cháoimhghin cháidh.
Áille duille mh'iubhair-si
i nGlinn Bolcáin báin.

(beautiful * leaf * of the * book-this /
psalter * of Caoimhín * holy /
more beautiful * leaf * of my yew /
in * Gleann Bolcáin * fair)

Beautiful is the leaf of this book,
the psalter of holy Kevin.
More beautiful the leaf of my yew
in fair Glen Bolcáin.

This stanza is from a poetic exchange between Suibhne Geilt (Mad Sweeney) and Saint Moling, his final protector. The first half stanza is spoken by Moling, the second by Suibhne. The theme of the beauty of the ordered religious life versus the beauties of the wild wood, or untamed nature, is further developed in this poem. This is also a constant theme in the poetic arguments of Oisín and Saint Patrick in the Fiannaíocht, or Fianna Cycle.

Am g�eth i mmuir...

Wed, 02 Feb 2005 20:41:18 -0500

Am gáeth i mmuir,
Am tonn trethan,
Am fuaim mara...

(I am * wind * in * sea / I am * wave * of stormy sea / I am * sound * of sea)

I am a wind on the sea,
I am a wave of the tempest,
I am the sound of the sea...

When the Sons of Míl come from across the sea to take possession of Ireland, they are accompanied by their chief poet and judge, Amairgen. These are the first lines of an incantation that he utters when he first sets foot on their new land.

Ar in bith �n astaither...

Fri, 20 May 2005 19:24:06 -0400

Ar in bith án astaither
A coraib bél bertaigter.

(for * the * world * splendid * is established /
from * contracts * of lips * that are proclaimed)

For the great world is secured
By contracts which are proclaimed.

These two lines of verse are from §36 of "Di Astud Chor". The translation is by Neil McLeod. In traditional Irish law, contracts -- formal agreements between individuals -- were the bedrock on which an ordered society was established. The "social contract" that allowed men to live together without destructive conflict in early Ireland was literally a network of deliberate civil contracts that individuals entered into in public rituals.

At-ch� Bran...

Wed, 02 Feb 2005 20:45:52 -0500

At-chí Bran
lín tonn tibri tar muir glan;
At-chíu cadéin i mMaig Mon
scotha cennderga cen on.

(sees * Bran / number * of waves * that break * across * sea * clean / I see * (my)self * in * Mag Mon / flowers * red-headed * without * blemish)

Bran sees
countless waves breaking across a clear sea;
Myself I see on the Plain of Mon
the red tops of flawless flowers.

This verse is found in the tale "Immram Brain". Manannán, the sea god, contrasts what the mortal Bran sees from his little boat with how he himself views the same scene from his sea-going chariot.

At� ben is t�r...

Wed, 29 Jun 2005 13:31:47 -0400

Atá ben is tír
ní abar a hainm;
maidid esi a deilm
amal chloich a tailm!

(is * woman * in the * country /
not * I say * her * name /
breaks * from her * her * fart /
like * stone * out of * sling)

There's a woman in the country,
I won't say her name;
She lets a fart
like a stone from a sling!

A quatrain found in the commentary on "Amra Choluim Chille" in LU (543-6). A more recent quatrain attributed to Blind Raftery has fun with the same theme:

A bhean úd thall a lig an broim,
is nach mór do shuim sa cheol;
Ní hionadh liom mar a chanas do bhéal,
is a fheabhas is a chanas do thóin.

Bid co h-eistechtach cailli...

Wed, 16 Mar 2005 14:55:24 -0500

Bid co h-eistechtach cailli,
bid co féchsanach muigi,
oir ní fedrais, mór in mod,
nach biad t' escara it fharrad.

(be * hearingful * of forest /
be * watchful * of plain /
for * not * you know - great * the * deed /
that not * would be * your * enemy * in your * presence)

Keep your ears open in the forest
and your eyes open on the plain,
for you don't know -- this is important --
whether your enemy is near.

This is the eleventh stanza in the poem "Fionn's Advice to Mac Lugach" at the beginning of "Acallam na Senórach". See also "Dá trian do mhíne re mnáibh" in this collection.

Bid �icne brecc i llinn l�n...

Thu, 03 Feb 2005 12:08:49 -0500

Bid éicne brecc i llinn lán,
Bid rón, bid ela finnbán.

(he will be * a salmon * speckled * in * pool * full / he will be * a seal * he will be * a swan * fair-white)

He will be a speckled salmon in a brimming pool,
He will be a seal, he will be a fair white swan.

A prediction of Mongán's shape-shifting abilities from "Immram Brain", one of numerous instances in Early Irish literature of characters taking on, or being reborn into, animal forms.

C�ch a bfuil acat i tig...

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 15:29:37 -0400

Cách a bfuil acat i tig
etir ith is blicht is mil,
nocha berair lat ar sét
in tan racha d'éc, a fhir.

(all * that * is * at you * in * house /
between * grain * and * milk * and * honey /
not * is carried * with you * on * road /
the * time * you will go * to death * o * man)

Everything you have at home,
all your honey, milk and grain,
you can't take with you on the road
when, my friend, you go to death.

This is the third and final stanza of a poem on generosity edited by Kuno Meyer from MS Laud 615, p. 101, in ACL III.3.

Ca�ne ailmi...

Wed, 16 Mar 2005 11:26:14 -0500

Caíne ailmi
ardomm-peitet
ní íar n-a creicc.

(beautiful * pines / (that) for me play / not * after * their * purchasing)

Beautiful the pines
that make music for me
unhired.

A haiku-like example of Early Irish nature poetry, although this verse is actually only a half-stanza from the much longer poem "King and Hermit".

C�in mair ail�n mora m�ir...

Wed, 02 Feb 2005 20:54:38 -0500

Céin mair ailén mora máir:
dosn-icc tuile íarna tráig;
os mé, ní frescu dom-í
tuile tar éis n-aithbi.

(long * live * island * of sea * great / comes to it * flood tide * after its * ebbing / as for * me * not * expectation * (that) it may come to me / flood tide * after * ebb)

Lucky the island of the great sea:
flood tide returns to it after ebb;
as for me, I have no hope that
flood will follow ebb for me.

This is the closing stanza of "Aithbe Dam", a poem usually called "The Lament of the Old Woman of Beare" in English. In it an aged woman who was once a great beauty looks back on her life with pride and regret.

Cen �inius

Wed, 02 Feb 2005 12:03:18 -0500

Cen áinius
in gním hí do-rigé
an ro-charus ro-cráidius.

(without * pleasure / the * deed * it * (that) I have done / that * which I have loved * I have tormented)

No pleasure
in the deed I've done:
the one I've loved I've pained.

A verse from the romantic poem "Comrac Líadaine ocus Cuirithir", which tells of the psychologically complicated and eventually thwarted love affair of a woman and a man who were both poets.

Cendaig in mes m�r...

Tue, 01 Mar 2005 00:11:44 -0500

Cendaig in mes mór
ocus tess in gréin;
cendaig ith is blicht
for slicht cech ríg réil.

(buy * the * mast * great/
and * warmth * of the * sun/
buy * grain * and * milk/
on * track * of every * king * shining)

Earn fruits and nuts in plenty
and the heat of the sun;
earn grain and milk
in the way of every famous king.

This stanza is from "Cert cech ríg co réil", a poem in the "advice to princes" tradition. It gives voice to an idea about kingship that was widely accepted in Early Ireland, namely that the rule of a good king was distinguished not just by justice and wisdom, but also by the fruitful cooperation of the forces of nature. A litany of such benefits in "Audacht Morainn" includes high milk yields, tall grain, the absence of plagues and lightning, and so on. One line says "Is tre fhír flathemon ad- manna mármeso márfhedo -mlasetar": "It is through the justice of the ruler that abundances of great tree-fruit of the great wood are tasted." In our stanza, obtaining abundant mast, or forest produce on which pigs feasted and fattened in autumn, is viewed as a straightforward transaction: if the king rules in accordance with "fír" (truth), he will have earned the generosity of nature.