The most important Old Irish saga after theTáinis beyond doubt theDestruction of Dá Derga’s Hostel, contained in LU. It deals with events in the reign of the High-King Conaire Mór, who is said by the annalists to have been slain in 43b.c.after a reign of seventy years. Conaire, who was a descendant of the Étáin mentioned above, was a just ruler, and had banished among other lawless persons his own five foster brothers. These latter devoted themselves to piracy and made common cause with one Ingcel, a son of the king of Britain, who had been outlawed by his father. The high-king was returning from Co. Clare when he found the whole of Meath in flames. He turned aside into Leinster and made for Dá Derga’s hostel. The pirates perceive this, and Ingcel is sent to spy out the hostel and discover the size of Conaire’s force. This gives the story-teller a chance for one of those lengthy minute descriptions of persons in which his soul delighted. This catalogue occupies one-half of the whole story. The pirates make their attack, and the king and most of his followers are butchered.
We can do no more than enumerate the titles of other historical tales: The “Destruction of the Hostel of MacDareo,” describing the insurrection of the Aithech-Tuatha (1st centurya.d.), “The Expulsion of the Déisi” and the “Battle of Mag Lemna” (2nd centurya.d.), “Battle of Mag Mucrime” (a.d.195 ora.d.218), “Siege of Drom Damgaire” (3rd century), “Adventures of the Sons of Eochaid Muigmedóin, father of Niall Nóigiallach” (4th century), “Death of Crimthann” (reigned 366-378), “Death of Dathi” (d. 428), “Death of Murchertach, son of Erc,” and “Death of Diarmait, son of Cerball” (6th century) “Wooing of Becfola, who became the wife of Diarmait, son of Aed Slane” (reigned 657-664), “Battle of Mag Rath” (637), “Battle of Carn Conaill” (c. 648), “Death of Maelfothartaig MacRonain” (7th century), who was a kind of Irish Hippolytus, “Battle of Allen” (722).
It will be well to deal here with another class of story in its various stages of development. We have seen that in the older romances there is a close connexion between mortals and supernatural beings. The latter are represented as either inhabiting thesídmounds or as dwelling in islands out in the ocean, which are pictured as abodes of bliss and variously calledMag Mell(Plain of Delight),Tír na n-Óc(Land of Youth) andTír Tairngiri(Land of Promise). The visits of mortals to the Irish Elysium form the subject of three romances which we must now examine. The whole question has been exhaustively dealt with by Kuno Meyer and Alfred Nutt in theVoyage of Bran(London, 1895-1897). Condla Caem, son of Conn Cétchathach, was one day seated by his father on the hill of Usnech, when he saw a lady in strange attire approaching invisible to all but himself. She describes herself, as coming from the “land of the living,” a place of eternal delight, and invites the prince to return with her. Conn invokes the assistance of his druid to drive away the strange visitor, who in parting throws an apple to Condla. The young man partakes of no food save his apple, which does not diminish, and he is consumed with longing. At the end of a month the fairy-maiden again makes her appearance. Condla can hold out no longer. He jumps into the damsel’s skiff of glass. They sail away and were seen no more. This is theImramor Adventure of Condla Caem, the oldest text of which is found in LU. A similar story is entitledImram Brain maic Febail, contained in YBL. and Rawlinson B 512 (the end also occurs in LU.), only with this difference that Bran, with twenty-seven companions, puts to sea to discovertir na mban(the land of maidens). After spending some time there, one of his comrades is seized with home-sickness. They return, and the home-sick man, on being set ashore, immediately turns to dust. A later story preserved in BB., YBL. and the Book of Fermoy, tells of the visit of Cormac, grandson of Conn Cétchathach, to Tír Tairngiri. These themes are also worked into tales belonging to the Ossianic cycle, and Finn and Ossian in later times become the typical warriors who achieve the quest of the Land of Youth. The romances we have just mentioned are almost entirely pagan in character, but a kindred class of story shows us how the old ideas were transformed under the influence of Christianity. A typical instance isImram curaig Maelduin, contained in YBL. and in part in LU. Maelduin constructs a boat and sets out on a voyage with a large company to discover the murderer of his father. This forms the framework of the story. Numerous islands in the ocean are visited, each containing some great marvel.Imram ua Corra(Book of Fermoy) andImram Snedgusa ocus Mac Riagla(YBL.) contain the same plan, but in this case the voyage is undertaken as an expiation for crime. In the 11th century an unknown monkish writer compiled theNavigatio S. Brendani, drawing the material for his episodes fromImram curaig Maelduin.This famous work only appears in an Irish dress in a confused and disconnected “Life of St Brendan” in the Book of Lismore. The same MS. contains yet another voyage, the “Adventure of Tadg MacCéin.”
We must now turn our attention to the later heroic cycle, commonly called the Fenian or Ossianic. Unfortunately the origin of the stories and poems connected with Finn and his warriors is obscure, and scholars are by noFenian or Ossianic cycle.means agreed over the question (seeFinn Mac Cool). In the earlier cycle the figures and the age in which they live are sharply drawn, and we can have no hesitation in assuming that theTáinrepresents in the main the state of Ireland at the beginning of the Christian era. Finn and his companions are nebulous personages, and, although it is difficult to discover the actual starting-point of the legend, from the 12th century onwards we are able to trace the development of the saga with some degree of certainty. A remarkably small amount of space is devoted to this cycle in the oldest MSS. Of the 134 pages contained in LU. only half-a-dozen deal with Finn as against 58 with Cúchulinn. In LL. the figures are, Ulster cycle 100 pp., Ossianic 25 pp., the latter being mainly made up of short ballads, whilst in 15th-century MSS., such as the Book of Lismore and Laud 610, the proportion is overwhelmingly in favour of the later group. Again in Urard MacCoisi’s list of tales, which seems to go back to the 10th century, only two appear to deal with subjects taken from the Ossianic cycle. In the first instance Finn seems to have been a poet, and as such he appears in the 12th-century MSS., LU. and LL. Thus the subjects of the Ossianic cycle in the earliest MSS. appear in a new dress. The vehicle of the older epic is prose, but the later cycle is clothed in ballad form. Of these ballads about a dozen, apart from poems in theDindsenchusare preserved in LU., LL. and YBL., and none of these poems are probably much older than the 11th century. In the commentary to theAmraof Columbkille a beautiful poem on winter is attributed to Finn. At the same time we do find a few prose tales,e.g.“Fotha cathaCnucha” in LU., describing the death of Cumall, Finn’s father, and in LL. and Rawlinson B 502, part of which Zimmer assigns to the 7th century, we have the first story in which Finn actually occurs. But it is remarkable that in no case do tales belonging to the Finn cycle contain any of the old rhetorics which occur in the oldest of the Ulster romances. Already in LL., by the side of Finn, Ossian, Cáilte and Fergus Finnbel are represented as poets, and the strain of lament over the glories of the past, so characteristic a feature of the later developments of the legend, is already sounded. Hence by the 12th century the stories of the Fiann and their destruction at the battle of Gabra must have been fully developed, and from this time onward they appear gradually to have supplanted the Cúchulinn cycle in popular favour. Several reasons have been assigned for this. In the first place until the time of Brian Boroime the high-kings of Ireland had almost without exception been drawn from Ulster, and consequently the northern traditions were pre-eminent. This exclusiveness on the part of the north was largely broken down by the Viking invasions, and during the 11th century the leading poets were attached to the court of Brian and his descendants. In this manner an opportunity was afforded to the Leinster-Munster Fenian cycle to develop into a national saga. John MacNeill has pointed out Finn’s connexion with a Firbolg tribe, and maintains that the Fenian cycle was the property of the subject race. Zimmer has attempted to prove with great plausibility that Finn and his warriors were transformed on the model of the Ulster heroes. Thus one text deals with the boyish exploits of Finn in the manner of Cúchulinn’s youthful feats recorded in theTáin. And it is possible that theSiaburcharpat Conchulainngave rise to the idea of connecting Ossian and Cáilte with Patrick. As Cúchulinn was opposed to the whole of Ireland in theTáin, so Finn, representing Ireland, is pitted against the whole world in theBattle of Ventry.
We have already stated that the form assumed by the stories connected with Finn in the earliest MSS. is that of the ballad, and this continued down to the 18th century. But here again the Irish poets showed themselves incapable of rising from the ballad to the true epic in verse, and in the 14th century we find the prose narrative of the older cycle interspersed with verse again appearing. The oldest composition of any length which deals with the Ossianic legends is theAcallam na Senórachor Colloquy of the Old Men, which is mainly preserved in three 15th-century MSS., the Book of Lismore, Laud 610 and Rawlinson 487. In this text we have the framework common to so much of the later Ossianic literature. Ossian and Cáilte are represented as surviving the battle of Gabra and as living on until the time of Patrick. The two warriors get on the best of terms with the saint, and Cáilte is his constant companion on his journey through Ireland. Patrick inquires the significance of the names of the places they visit, and Cáilte recounts his reminiscences. In this manner we are given nearly a hundred stories, the subjects of some of which occur in the short ballads in older MSS., whilst others appear later as independent tales. A careful comparison of theAcallamwith the Cúchulinn stories, whether from the point of view of civilization or language or art, discloses that the first lengthy composition of the Ossianic cycle is but a feeble imitation of the older group. All that had become unintelligible in the Ulster stories, owing to their primitive character, is omitted, and in return for that the reminiscences of the Viking age play a very prominent part.
With the 16th century we reach the later treatment of the legend in theBattle of Ventry. In this tedious story Daire, the king of the whole world, comes to invade Ireland with all his forces, but is repulsed by Finn and his heroes. TheBattle of Ventry, like all later stories, is a regular medley of incidents taken from the writers of antiquity and European medieval romance. The inflated style to which the Irishman is so prone is here seen at its worst, and we are treated to a nauseous heaping up of epithet upon epithet,e.g.we sometimes find as many as twenty-seven adjectives accompanying a substantive running in alliterating sets of three.
Of greater literary interest are the later ballads connected with Finn and Ossian. The latter has become the typical mouthpiece of the departed glory of the Fenian warriors, and Nutt has pointed out that there is a striking difference in spirit between theAcallam na Senórachand the 15th-16th century poems. In the latter Ossian is represented as a “pagan, defiant and reckless, full of contempt and scorn for the howling clerics and their churlish low-bred deity,” whilst Patrick is a sour and stupid fanatic, harping with wearisome monotony on the damnation of Finn and all his comrades. The earliest collection of these later Ossianic poems is that made in Scotland by James Macgregor, dean of Lismore, early in the 16th century. Another miscellany is theDuanaire Finn, a MS. in the Franciscan monastery in Dublin, compiled from earlier MSS. in 1627. This “song-book,” which has been edited for the Irish Texts Society by John MacNeill (part i. 1908), contains no less than sixty-nine Ossianic ballads, amounting in all to some ten thousand lines. Other Ossianic poems of dates varying from the 15th to the 18th century have been published in theTransactions of the Ossianic Society(Dublin, 1854-1861), including amongst others “The Battle of Gabhra,” “Lamentation of Oisin (Ossian) after the Fenians,” “Dialogue between Oisin and Patrick,” “The Battle of Cnoc an Air,” and “The Chase of Sliabh Guilleann.” These ballads still survive amongst the peasants at the present day. We further possess a number of prose romances, which in their present form date from the 16th to the 18th century;e.g.The Pursuit of Diarmaid and Gráinne,Finn and Gráinne,Death of Finn,The Clown in the Drab Coat,Pursuit of the Gilla Decair,The Enchanted Fort of the Quicken-tree,The Enchanted Cave of Ceis Corann,The Feast in the House of Conan.
At the present moment it is impossible to give a complete survey of the other branches of medieval Irish literature. The attention of scholars has been largely devoted to the publication of the sagas to the neglect of other portions of the wide field. An excellent survey of the subject is given by K. Meyer,Die Kultur der Gegenwart, i. xi. 1. pp. 78-95 (Berlin-Leipzig, 1909).
At the present moment it is impossible to give a complete survey of the other branches of medieval Irish literature. The attention of scholars has been largely devoted to the publication of the sagas to the neglect of other portions of the wide field. An excellent survey of the subject is given by K. Meyer,Die Kultur der Gegenwart, i. xi. 1. pp. 78-95 (Berlin-Leipzig, 1909).
We have already pointed out that as early as the Old Irish period nameless Irish poets were singing the praises of nature in a strain which sounds to our ears peculiarly modern. At the present time it is difficult to say how much ofNature poetry.what is really poetic in Irish literature has come down to us. Our MSS. preserve whole reams of the learned productions of thefilidwhich were so much prized in medieval Ireland, but it is, generally speaking, quite an accident if any of the delightful little lyrics entered in the margins or on blank spaces in the MSS. have remained. The prose romances sometimes contain beautiful snatches of verse, such as the descriptions of Mag Mell inSerglige Conculaind,Tochmarc Étáine, and theVoyage of Branor theLament of Cúchulinn over Fer Díad. Mention has also been made of the exquisite nature poems ascribed to Finn, which have been collected into a pamphlet with English renderings by Kuno Meyer (under the title of “Four Old Irish Songs of Summer and Winter,” London, 1903). The same writer points out that the ancient treatise on Irish prosody published by Thurneysen contains no less than 340 quotations from poems, very few of which have been preserved in their entirety. To Meyer we also owe editions of two charming little texts which sufficiently illustrate the lyrical powers of the early poets. The one is a poem referred to the 10th century in the form of a colloquy between Guaire of Aidne and his brother Marban. Guaire inquires of his brother why he prefers to live in a hut in the forest, keeping the herds and swine of the king, to dwelling in the king’s palace. The question calls forth so wonderful a description of the delights of nature as viewed from a shieling that Guaire exclaims, “I would give my glorious kingship to be in thy company, Marban” (King and Hermit, ed. with trans. by K. Meyer, London, 1901). Another text full of passionate emotion and tender regret ascribed to the 9th century tells of the parting of a young poet and poetess, who after plighting their troth are separated for ever (Liadain and Curithir, ed. with trans. by K. Meyer, London, 1902). In theOld Woman of Beare(publ. K. Meyer inOtia Merseiana) an old hetaira laments her departed youth, comparing her life to the ebbing of the tide (10th century).
We must now step aside from pure literature and turn our attention to the various productions of the professional learned classes of Ireland during the middle ages. The range of subjects coming under this heading is a very wide one, comprising history, genealogies, hagiology, topography, grammar, lexicography and metre, law and medicine. It will perhaps be as well first ofProfessional literature.all to deal with the learnedfilidwhose works have been preserved. Irish tradition preserves the names of a number of antiquarian poets of prehistoric or early medieval times, such as Amergin, one of the Milesian band of invaders; Moran Roigne, son of Ugaine Mór, Adna and his successor Ferceirtne, Torna (c. 400), tutor to Niall Nóigiallach, Dallán Forgaill, Senchán Torpéist, and Cennfaelad (d. 678), but the poems attributed to these writers are of much later date. We can only enumerate the chief of those whose works have been preserved. To Maelmura (d. 887) is attributed a poem on the Milesian migrations. About the same time lived Flanagan, son of Cellach, who wrote a long composition on the deaths of the kings of Ireland, preserved in YBL., and Flann MacLonáin (d. 918), called by the Four Masters the Virgil of Ireland, eight of whose poems have survived, containing in all about 1000 lines. Cormacan, son of Maelbrigde (d. 946), composed a vigorous poem on the circuit of Ireland performed by Muirchertach, son of Niall Glúndub. A poet whose poems are most valuable from an antiquarian point of view is Cinaed Ua h-Artacáin (d. 975). Some 800 lines of his have been preserved in LL. and elsewhere. Contemporary with him is Eochaid O’Flainn (d. c. 1003), whose chief work is a long chronological poem giving a list of the kings of Ulster from Cimbaeth down to the destruction of Emain in 331. A little later comes MacLiac (d. 1016), who celebrated in verse the glories of the reign of Brian Boroime. His best-known work is a lament over Kincora, the palace of Brian. Contemporary with MacLiac is MacGilla Coim Urard MacCoisi (d. 1023). To Cúán ua Lothcháin (d. 1024), chief poet in the reign of Maelsheachlainn II., are ascribed poems on the antiquities of Tara. Sixteen hundred lines of his have come down to us. A writer who enjoyed a tremendous reputation in medieval Ireland was Flann Mainstrech (d. 1056), who in spite of his being a layman was head of the monastery school at Monasterboice. He is the author of no fewer than 2000 lines in LL., and many other poems of his are contained in other MSS. His best-known work is aBook of Synchronismsof the kings of Ireland and those of the ancient world. We have also poems from his pen on the monarchs descended from Niall Nóigiallach and on the chronology of the high-kings and provincial kings from the time of Loigaire. Flann’s successor, Gilla Coemgin (d. 1072), gives us a chronological poem dealing with the annals of the world down toa.d.1014. He also is the author of the Irish version of Nennius which contains substantial additions dealing with early Ireland. Minor writers of the same nature whose works have come down to us are Colmán O’Sesnáin (d. 1050), Néide ua Maelchonaire (d. 1136), Gilla na noem ua Duinn (d. 1160), Gilla Moduda O’Cassidy (1143). In the 13th century these historical poems become very rare. In the next century we again find antiquarian poets of whom the best-known is John O’Dugan (d. 1372). His most valuable composition treats of the tribes of the northern half of Ireland at the time of the northern conquest. This work, containing 1660 lines in all in debide metre, was completed by his younger contemporary Gilla na naem O’Huidhrin. From the beginning of the 13th century the official poets began to give way to the hereditary bards and families of scribes. Among the chief bardic families we may mention the O’Dalys, the MacWards, the O’Higinns, the MacBrodys and the MacDaires. We must here content ourselves with glancing at a few of the more prominent names. Muiredach Albanach (c. 1214-1240), whose real name was O’Daly, has left behind in addition to the religious verses a considerable number of poems in praise of various patrons in Ireland and Scotland. He is said by Skene to be the first of the Macvurrichs, bards to Macdonald of Clanranald. A number of his compositions are preserved in the Book of the Dean of Lismore. Gilla Brigde MacConmidhe was a contemporary of the last-mentioned bard. He wrote a number of poems in praise of the O’Neills and O’Donnells. We may next mention the name of an abbot of Boyle, Donnchad Mór O’Dálaig (d. 1244), a writer whose extant poems are usually of a religious character. Many of them are addressed to the Virgin. Most of them appear in late MSS., but some few are preserved in the Book of the Hy Maine. Donnchad Mór is said to be the greatest religious poet that Ireland has produced. Many other members of the O’Daly family belonging to the 14th and 15th centuries have left poems behind them, but we cannot mention them here. Angus O’Daly, who lived in the second half of the 16th century, was employed by the English to satirize the chief Gaelic families in Ireland. Two members of the O’Higinn family deserve mention, Tadg mór O’Higinn (d. 1315). and Tadg Óg O’Higinn (d. 1448), a voluminous writer who eulogized the O’Neills, O’Connors and O’Kellys. Tadg Óg also composed a number of religious poems, which enjoyed enormous popularity in both Ireland and Scotland. Aduanairewas inserted into YBL., which contains some forty poems by him.
Closely connected with the compositions of the official poets are the works of native topography. Most of the sagas contain a number of explanations of the origins of place-names. TheDindsenchusis a compilation of such etymologies. But its chief value consists in the amount of legendary matter it contains, adduced in support of the etymologies given. TheDindsenchushas come down to us in various forms both in prose and in verse. Irish tradition ascribes it to Amergin MacAmalgaid, who lived in the 6th century, but if the kernel of the work goes back as early as this it must have been altered considerably in the course of the centuries. Both prose and verse forms of it are contained in LL. A kindred compilation is theCóir Anmann(Fitness of Names), which does for personal names what theDindsenchusdoes for geographical names. We further possess a versified compendium of geography for educational purposes dealing with the three continents, from the pen of Airbertach MacCosse-dobráin (10th century).
No people on the face of the globe have ever been more keenly interested in the past of their native country than the Irish. This will already have been patent from the compositions of thefilid, and now we may describe brieflyHistory.the historical works in prose which have come down to us. The latter may be divided into two classes, (1) works containing a connected narrative, (2) annals. Closely allied to these are the sagas dealing with the high-kings. Even in the serious historical compositions we often find the manner of the sagas imitated,e.g.the supernatural plays a prominent part, and we are treated to the same exaggerated descriptions. The earliest of these histories is the wars of the Gael and Gall (Cogad Gaedel re Gallaib), which gives an account of the Viking invasions of Ireland, the career of Brian Boroime and the overthrow of the Norsemen at the battle of Clontarf. This composition, a portion of which is contained in LL., is often supposed to be in part the work of MacLiac, and it is plain from internal evidence that it must have been written by an eye-witness of the battle, or from materials supplied by a person actually present. Numerous shorter tracts dealing with the same period exist, but as yet few of them have been published.Caithreim Cellacháin Caisiltreats of the conflicts between the Vikings and the Irish, and theLeabhar Oirisgives an account of Irish history from 979 to 1027. Compilations relating to local history are the Book of Fenagh and the Book of Munster. Another ancient work also partly preserved in LL. is the Book of Invasions (Leabhar Gabhála). This deals with the five prehistoric invasions of Ireland (see IRELAND:Early History) and the legendary history of the Milesians. The most complete copy of theLeabhar Gabhálawhich has been preserved was compiled by Michael O’Clery about 1630. TheBoromaor History of the Leinster Tribute contained in LL. belongs rather to romance. Another history is theTriumphs of Turlough O’Brian, written about the year 1459 by John MacCraith, a Munster historian (edited by S.H. O’Grady, Camb. Press). This inflated composition is an important source of information on Munster history from the landing of the Normans to the middle of the 14th century. We also possessseveral documents in Irish concerning the doings of the O’Neills and O’Donnells at the close of the 16th century. A life of Hugh Roe O’Donnell, by Lughaidh O’Clery, has been published, and a contemporary history of theFlight of the Earls, by Tadhg O’Cianan, was being prepared in 1908. But the most celebrated Irish historian is certainly Geoffrey Keating (c. 1570-1646), who is at the same time the greatest master of Irish prose. Keating was a Munster priest educated in France, who drew down upon himself the displeasure of the English authorities and had to go into hiding. He travelled up and down Ireland examining all the ancient records, and compiled a history of Ireland down to the Norman Conquest. His work, entitledForus Feasa ar Eirinn, was never published, but it circulated from end to end of Ireland in MS. Keating’s history is anything but critical. Its value for the scholar lies in the fact that the author had access to many important sources of information now lost, and has preserved accounts of events independent of and differing from those contained in the Four Masters. In addition to the history and a number of poems, Keating is also the author of two theological works in Irish, the Defence of the Mass (Eochairsgiath an Aifrinn) and a collection of sermons entitled the Three Shafts of Death (Trí biorghaoithe an Bháis), which are models of Irish prose.
From the writers of historical narrative we turn to the annalists, the most important sources of information with regard to Irish history. We have already mentioned theSynchronismsof Flann Mainistrech. Apart from this work the earliest collection of annals which has come down to us is the compilation by Tigernach O’Braein (d. 1088), abbot of Clonmacnoise. Tigernach, whose work is partly in Latin, partly in Irish, states that all Irish history previous to 305b.c.is uncertain. No perfect copy is known of this work, but several fragments are in existence. TheAnnals of Innisfallen(a monastery on an island in the Lower Lake of Killarney), which are also in Latin and Irish, were perhaps compiled about 1215, though they may have begun two centuries earlier. The invaluableAnnals of Ulsterwere compiled on Belle Isle on Upper Lough Erne by Cathal Maguire (d. 1498), and afterwards continued by two different writers down to 1604. This work, which deals with Irish affairs froma.d.431, exists in several copies. TheAnnals of Loch Cé(near Boyle in Roscommon) were copied in 1588 and deal with Irish events from 1014 to 1636. TheAnnals of Connaughtrun from 1224 to 1562. TheChronicon Scotorum, one copy of which was transcribed about 1650 by the famous antiquary Duald MacFirbis, deals with Irish affairs down to 1135. TheAnnals of Boyleextend down to 1253. TheAnnals of Clonmacnoise, which come down to 1408, only exist in an English translation made by Connell MacGeoghegan in 1627. The most important of all these collections is theAnnals of the Four Masters(so christened by Colgan), compiled in the Franciscan monastery of Donegal by Michael, Conary and Cucogry O’Clery and Ferfesa O’Mulconry. The O’Clerys were for a long period the hereditary ollams to the O’Donnells. Michael O’Clery (1575-1643), the greatest of the four, was a lay brother in the order of St Francis, and devoted his whole life to the history of Ireland. He collected all the historical MSS. he could find, and was encouraged in his undertaking by Fergal O’Gara, prince of Coolavin, who paid all expenses. The great work, which was begun in 1632 and finished in 1636, begins with the arrival in Ireland of Ceasair, granddaughter of Noah, and comes down to 1616. Nearly all the materials from which O’Clery drew his statements are now lost. O’Clery is also the author of a catalogue of the kings of Ireland, the genealogies of the Irish saints, and the Martyrology of Donegal and the Book of Invasions.
Of less interest, but every whit as important, are the lists of genealogies which occupy a great deal of space in LL., YBL. and BB., and two Trinity College, Dublin, MSS. (H. 3.18 and H. 2.4). But by far the most important collection of all is that made by the last great shanachie Duald MacFirbis, compiled between 1650 and 1666 in the college of St Nicholas at Galway. The only portions of any considerable length which have as yet been published deal with two Connaught tribes; viz. the Hy Fiachrach from Duald mac Firbis and the Hy Maine (O’Kellys), and a Munster tribe, the Corcalaidhe, both from YBL. Valuable information with regard to early Irish history is often contained in the prophecies or, as they are sometimes termed,Baile(raptures, visions), a notable example of which isBaile in Scáil(Vision of the Phantom).
When we turn from secular to religious themes we find that Ireland is also possessed of a very extensive Christian literature, which is extremely valuable for the comparative study of medieval literature. Apart from the martyrologiesReligious literature.already mentioned in connexion with Oengus the Culdee, a number of lives of saints and other ecclesiastical literature have come down to us. One of the most important documents is the Tripartite Life of St Patrick, which cannot very well have been composed before the 10th or 11th century, as it is full of the extravagant miracles which occur in the later lives of saints. The work consists of three separate homilies, each complete in itself. A later version of the Tripartite Life was printed by Colgan in 1647. TheLeabhar Breaccontains a quantity of religious tracts, most of which have been published. R. Atkinson issued a number of them under the title ofPassions and Homilies from Leabhar Breac(Dublin, 1887). These are not original Irish compilations, but translations from Latin lives of saints. Nor do they deal with the lives of any Irish saints. Stokes has published nine lives of Irish saints from the Book of Lismore, including Patrick, Brigit, Columba, Brendan, Findian (Clonard), Ciaran, Senan, Findchua and Mochua. They are written in the form of homilies preceded by short explanations of a text of scripture. These lives also occur in theLeabhar Breac. Other lives of saints have been published by O’Grady inSilva Gadelica. The longest life of St Columba was compiled in 1536 at the command of Manus O’Donnell. This tedious work is a specimen of hagiology at its worst. TheLeabhar Breacfurther contains a number of legends, such as those on the childhood of Christ, and scattered through many MSS. are short anecdotes of saints which are very instructive.
But the most interesting Irish religious text is theVision of Adamnan(preserved in LU.), which Stokes assigns to the 11th century. The soul of Adamnan is represented as leaving his body for a space to visit heaven and hell under the conduct of an angel. The whole treatment of the theme challenges comparison with Dante’s great poem, but the Irish composition contains many ideas peculiar to the land of its origin. Later specimens of this kind of literature tend to develop into grotesque buffoonery. We may mention theVision of Fursae, theVision of Tundale(Tnugdal), published by V. Friedel and K. Meyer (Paris, 1907), Laisrén’sVision of Helland theVision of Merlino. A further vision attributed to Adamnan contains a stern denunciation of the Irish of the 11th century. Another form of religious composition, which was very popular in medieval Ireland, was the prophecy in verse, but scarcely any specimens have as yet been published. Kuno Meyer edited a tract on the Psalter in hisHibernica Minorafrom a 15th century Oxford MS., but he holds that the text goes back to 750. A number of collections of monastic rules both in prose and verse have been edited inÉriu, and the MSS. contain numerous prayers, litanies and religious poems.
In LU. are preserved two sermons,Scéla na esergi(Tidings of Resurrection) andScéla lái brátha(Tidings of Doomsday); and a number of other homilies have been published, such as the “Two Sorrows of the Kingdom of Heaven,” “The Penance of Adam,” the “Ever-new Tongue,” and one on “Mortals’ Sins.” All the homilies contained in LB. have been published by R. Atkinson in hisLegends and Homilies from Leabhar Breac(Dublin, 1887), and E. Hogan,The Irish Nennius(Dublin, 1895). The popular “Debate of the Body and the Soul” appears in Ireland in the form of a homily. A collection of maxims and a short moral treatise have been published by K. Meyer.
For the religious literature in general the reader may refer to O’Curry,Lectures on the MS. Materials of Ancient Irish History(pp. 339-434), and G. Dottin, “Notes bibliographiques sur l’ancienne littérature chrétienne de l’Irlande,” inRevue d’histoire et de litterature religieuses, v. 162-167. See alsoRevue celtique, xi. 391-404. ib. xv. 79-91.
For the religious literature in general the reader may refer to O’Curry,Lectures on the MS. Materials of Ancient Irish History(pp. 339-434), and G. Dottin, “Notes bibliographiques sur l’ancienne littérature chrétienne de l’Irlande,” inRevue d’histoire et de litterature religieuses, v. 162-167. See alsoRevue celtique, xi. 391-404. ib. xv. 79-91.
Here we may perhaps mention an extraordinary production entitledAisling Meic Conglinne, the Vision of Mac Conglinne, found in LB. and ascribed to the twelfth century (ed. K. Meyer, London, 1892). Cathal MacFinguine, king of Munster (d. 737), was possessed by a demon of gluttony and is cured by the recital of a strange vision by a vagrant scholar named MacConglinne. The composition seems to be intended as a satire on the monks, and in particular as a travesty of medieval hagiology. Another famous satire, entitled the Proceedings of the Great Bardic Institution, holds up the professional bards and their extortionate methods to ridicule. This curious work contains the story of how the great epic, theTáin bó Cualnge, was recovered (seeTransactions of the Ossianic Society, vol. v.).
Collections of pithy sayings in the form of proverbs and maxims must have been made at a very early period. Not the least remarkable are the so-called Triads (publ. K. Meyer, Dublin, 1906), which illustrate every statement withGnomic literature.3 examples. Over 200 such triads were brought together in the 9th century. There are also two documents attributed to 1st-century personages, “The Testament of Morann MacMóin to his son Feradach,” which is quoted as early as the 8th century, and “The Instructions of Cúchulinn to his foster-son Lugaid.” K. Meyer has publishedTecosca Cormaicor the Precepts of Cormac MacAirt to his son Cairpre (Dublin, 1909). Other collections such as theSenbriathra Fithailstill await publication.
With that enthusiasm for the classics which is characteristic of the Irish, it is not strange that we should find medieval versions of some of the better-known authors of antiquity. It is interesting to note that only those works areClassical stories.translated that could be utilized by the professional story-teller. So much so, that in the ancient (10th century) catalogue of sagas enumerated by Urard MacCoisi we find mention ofTogail TroiandScéla Alexandir maic Pilip. We get descriptions of battle weapons and clothing similar to those occurring in the native sagas.Togail Troiis taken from the medieval prose version,Historia de Excidio Troiaeof Dares Phrygius. The oldest Irish copy is found in LL. This version is exceedingly valuable, as it enables us to determine the meaning of words and formulas in the sagas which are otherwise obscure. An Irish abstract of theOdyssey, following an unknown source, and part of the story of Theseus have been published by K. Meyer.Scéla Alexandiris preserved in LB. and BB.Imthechta Aeniusa, taken from theAeneid, is contained in BB. A number of MSS. contain theCath Catharda, a version of books vi. and vii. (?) of Lucan’sPharsalia, which has been published by Wh. Stokes. There is further at least one MS. containing a version of Statius’sThebaidand of Heliodorus’sAethiopica. Somewhat later, the medieval literature of western Europe comes to be represented in translations. Thus we have Irish versions, amongst others of theGesta Romanorum, theHistoria Brittonum, the Wars of Charlemagne, the History of the Lombards, Sir John Maundeville’s Travels (trans. by Fingin O’Mahony in 1475), the Book of Ser Marco Polo (abridged), Guy Earl of Warwick, Bevis of Southampton, the Quest of the Holy Grail, Octavian, the chronicle of Turpin, Barlaam and Josaphat, and the story of Fierabras. The Arthurian cycle is developed in independent fashion in the Adventures of the Eagle Boy and the Adventures of the Crop-eared Dog. For translation literature see M. Nettlau,Revue celtique, x. pp. 184, 460-461.
Hand in hand with the interest of the medieval Irish scholars in the history of their island goes the cultivation of the native tongue. Owing to the profound changes produced by the working of the Irish laws of accent and initialPhilology.mutation, it is doubtful if any other language lends itself so well to wild etymological speculation. By the beginning of the Middle Irish period a good part of the cumbrous Old Irish verb-system had become obsolete, and texts which were at all faithfully copied had to be plentifully supplied with glosses. Moreover, if, as is probable, all the historical and legal lore was in verse, a large part of it must have been unintelligible except to those who knew thebérla féne. But even before this Cormac mac Cuillenáin, the bishop-king of Cashel (d. 903), had compiled a glossary of archaic words which are accompanied by explanations, etymologies, and illustrative passages containing an amount of invaluable information concerning folk-lore and legendary history. This glossary has come down to us in various recensions all considerably later in date than the original work (the oldest copy is in LB.). Later collections of archaic words are O’Mulconry’s Glossary (13th century), the Lecan Glossary (15th century), which draws principally from the glosses in theLiber Hymnorum, O’Davoren’s Glossary (16th century), drawn principally from the Brehon Laws, a 16th century list of Latin and Irish names of plants employed in medicine, and O’Clery’s Glossary (published at Louvain, 1643). BB. contains a curious tract on Ogamic writing. An Irish treatise on grammar, calledUraicept na n-éces, the Poet’s Primer, traditionally ascribed to Cennfaelad and others, is contained in BB. and YBL. It appears to be a kind of medley of Donatus and the notions of the medieval Irish concerning the origin of their language. The St Gall glosses on Priscian contain Irish terms for all the nomenclature of the Latin grammarians, and show how extensive was the use made of Irish even in this department of learning.
Thurneysen had edited from BB., Laud 610 and a TCD. MS. three treatises on metric which give an account of the countless metres practised by thefilid. It is impossible for us here to enter into the question of Irish prosody in anyProsody.great detail. We have seen that there is some reason for believing that the primitive form of Irish verse was a kind of rhythmical alliterative prose as contained in the oldest versions of the sagas. Thefilidearly became acquainted with the metres of the Latin church hymns, whence rhyme was introduced into Ireland. (This is the view of Thurneysen and Windisch. Others like Zeuss have maintained that rhyme was an invention of the Irish.) In any case thefilidevolved an intricate system of rhymes for which it is difficult to find a parallel. The medieval metres are called by the general name ofDán Dírech, “Direct Metre.” Some of the more general principles were as follows. The verses are grouped in stanzas of four lines, each stanza being complete in itself. Each line must contain a fixed number of syllables, whilst the different metres vary as to the employment of internal and end rhyme, assonance and alliteration. The Irish elaborated a peculiar system of consonantal correspondence which counted as rhyme. The consonants were divided with a considerable degree of phonetic accuracy into six groups, so that a voiceless stop (c) rhymes with another voiceless stop (t,p), a voiced stop (b) with another voiced stop (d,g), and so forth. The commonest form of verse is the four-line stanza of seven syllables. Such a verse with rhymesababand monosyllabic or dissyllabic finals belongs to the classrannaigecht. A similar stanza withaabbrhymes is the basis of the so-calleddebide(cut in two) metres. A peculiarity of the latter is that the rhyming word ending the second line must contain at least one syllable more than the rhyming word which ends the first. Another frequently employed metre is therindard, consisting of lines of six syllables with dissyllabic endings. In the metrical treatises examples are given of some 200 odd metres. The result of the complicated technique evolved in Ireland was an inclination to sacrifice sense to musical harmony. See K. Meyer,A Primer of Irish Metrics(Dublin,1909).
We can conclude this survey of medieval Irish literature by mentioning briefly two departments of learning to which much attention was paid in Ireland. These are law and medicine. The so-called Brehon Laws (q.v.) areLaw.represented as having been codified and committed to writing in the time of St Patrick. There is doubtless some grain of truth in this statement, as a fillip may have been given to this codification by the publication of the Theodosian Code, which was speedily followed by the codes of the various Teutonic tribes. The Brehon Laws were no doubt originally transmitted from teacher to pupil in the form of verse, and traces of this are to be found in the texts which have been preserved. But the Laws as we have them do not go back to the 5th century. In our texts isolated phrases or portions of phrases are given with a commentary, and this commentary is further explained by somelater commentators. Kuno Meyer has pointed out that in the commentary to one text,Críth Gablach, there are linguistic forms which must go back to the 8th century, and Arbois de Jubainville, who apart from Sir Henry Maine is the only scholar who has dealt with the subject, has attempted to prove from internal evidence that part of the oldest tract, the one onAthgabáilor Seizure, cannot, in its present form, be later than the close of the 6th century. Cormac’s Glossary contains a number of quotations from the commentary toSenchus Mór, which would therefore seem to have been in existence about 900. The Irish Laws were transcribed by O’Donovan and O’Curry, and have been published with a faulty text and translation in five volumes by the government commissioners originally appointed in 1852. A number of other law tracts must have existed in early times, and several which have been preserved are still unedited. Kuno Meyer has published theCáin Adamnáinor Adamnan’s Law from an Oxford MS. Adamnan succeeded in getting a law passed which forbade women to go into battle. An interesting but little-investigated text in prose and verse calledLeabhar na gCeartor Book of Rights was edited with an English translation by O’Donovan (1847). It deals with the rights to tribute of the high-king and the various provincial kings. The text of the Book of Rights is preserved in YBL. and BB. In its present form it shows distinct traces of the influence of the Viking invasions, and cannot go back much beyond the year 1000. At one time it was incorporated in a larger work now lost, the Psalter of Cashel. We also possess a 9th-century treatise on Sunday observance (Cáin Domnaig).
The medical profession in Ireland was hereditary in a number of families, such as the O’Lees (from Irishliaig, “a leech”), the O’Hickeys (Irishicide, “the healer”), the O’Shiels, the O’Cassidys, and many others. These families eachMedicine.had their own special leech-books, some of which are still preserved. In addition to these there are many others. The medical literature which has come down to us is contained in MSS. ranging from the 13th to the 18th centuries. The Irish MSS. are translations from the Latin with the invariable commentary, and they further contain additions derived from experience. YBL. contains four of these tracts, and amongst others we may mention the Book of the O’Hickeys, a translation of theLilium Medicinaeof Bernard Gordon (written 1303), the Book of the O’Lees (written in 1443), the Book of the O’Shiels, transcribed in 1657, and the Book of MacAnlega, transcribed in 1512. Of these texts only two have been published as yet from MSS. in Edinburgh. O’Curry drew up a MS. catalogue of the medical MSS. in the Royal Irish Academy, and many more are described in O’Grady’s catalogue of Irish MSS. in the British Museum. Some few MSS. deal with the subject of astronomy, but up to the present no description of the texts has been published.
With the steady advance of the English power after 1600 it was only natural that the school of bardic poets should decline. But at the beginning of the 17th century for the last time they gave a great display of their resources.Later Irish literature.Tadhg MacDaire, the ollam of the earl of Thomond, composed a poem in elaborate verse exalting the line of Eber (represented by the reigning families of Munster) at the expense of the line of Eremon (represented by the reigning families of the other provinces). In a body of verse attributed to Torna Éces (c. 400), but obviously of more recent origin, the Eremonian, Niall Noigiallach, is lavishly praised, and Tadhg’s attack takes the form of a refutation of Torna’s pretensions. The challenge was immediately taken up by Lughaidh O’Clery. The recriminations of the two bards extend to nearly 3000 lines of verse, and naturally drew down the attention of the whole Irish world of letters. Soon all the hereditary poets were engaged in the conflict, which raged for many years, and the verses of both parties were collected into a volume of about 7000 lines indebidemetre, known as theContention of the Poets. Amongst the prominent poets of the period may be mentioned Tadhg Dall O’Higinn (d. shortly before 1617) and Eochaidh O’Hussey, who between them have left behind nearly 7000 lines in the classical metres, Bonaventura O’Hussey and Ferfesa O’Cainti. The intricate classical measures gradually broke down. Dr Douglas Hyde gives it as his opinion that the exceedingly numerous metres known in Middle Irish had become restricted to a couple of dozen, and these nearly all heptasyllabic. Nevertheless they continued to be employed till into the 18th century. However, during the 17th century we find a new school arising with new principles and new methods. These consisted in (1) the adoption of vowel rhyme in place of consonantal rhyme, (2) the adoption of a certain number of accents in each line in place of a certain number of syllables. Thus, according to what we have just said, the accented syllables in a line with four accents in one line will fall on, say, the following vowelse, u, u, e,and the line rhyming with it will have the same sounds in the same or a different sequence. (For English imitations see Hyde,A Literary History of Ireland, pp. 548 ff.)
The consequences of the changed political conditions were of the greatest importance. The bards, having lost their patrons in the general upheaval, threw behind them the old classical metres and turned to the general public. At the same time they had to abandon the countless chevilles and other characteristics of the old bardic language, which were only understood by the privileged few. But to compensate for this much more freedom of expression and naturalness were possible for the first time in Irish verse. The new metres made their appearance in Ireland about 1600, and the learned Keating himself was one of the first to discard the ancient prosody. During the latter half of the 17th century and throughout the 18th century the body of verse produced in Ireland voices the sorrows and aspirations of the whole nation, and the literary activity in almost every county was correspondingly great. It is only during the last few years that the works of any of the poets of this period have been published. Pierce Ferriter was the last chieftain who held out against Cromwell’s army, and he was hanged in 1653. His poems have been edited by P.S. Dinneen (Dublin, 1903). The bard of the Williamite wars was David O’Bruadar (d. 1697-1698). From this period date three powerful satires on the state of affairs in Munster, and in particular on the Cromwellian settlers. They are of a coarse and savage nature, for which reason they have never been printed. Their titles are the Parliament of Clan Thomas, the Adventures of Clan Thomas, and the Adventures of Tadhg Dubh (by Egan O’Rahilly). A description of the parliament of Clan Thomas is given by Stern in theZeitschr. f. celt. Phil.v. pp. 541 ff.
A little later we come across a band of Jacobite poets. The gallant figure of Charles Edward was so popular with Irish bards that a conventional stereotyped form arose in which the poet represents himself as wandering in a wood and meeting a beautiful lady. We are treated to a full description of all her charms, and the poet compares her to all the fair heroines of antiquity. But she replies that she is none of these. She is Erin seeking refuge from the insults of foreign suitors and looking for her mate. The idea of such poems is a beautiful one, but they become tedious when one has read a dozen of them only to find that there are scores of others in exactly the same strain. Besides the Visions (Aisling), as they are termed, there are several noteworthy war-songs, whilst other poems are valuable as giving a picture of the state of the country at the time. We can do no more than mention the names of John O’Neaghtan (d. c. 1720; edition of his poems by A. O’Farrelly, Dublin, 1908), Egan O’Rahilly, who flourished between 1700 and 1726; Tadhg O’Naghten, Andrew MacCurtin (d. 1479), Hugh MacCurtin, author of a grammar and part editor of O’Begley’sDictionary; John Clárach MacDonnell (1691-1754), John O’Tuomy (d. 1775); Andrew Magrath, Tadhg Gaolach O’Sullivan (d. c. 1795), author of a well-known volume of religious poems, a valuable source of information for the Munster dialect; and Owen Roe O’Sullivan (d. 1784), the cleverest of the Jacobite poets (his verses andbons motsare still well known in Munster). These poets hailed mostly from the south, and it is chiefly the works of the Munster poets that have been preserved. Ulster and Connaught also produced a number of writers, but very little beyond the mere names has been preserved except in the case of the Connaught poet Raftery(1784-1835), whose compositions have been rescued by Hyde (Abhráin an Reachtúire, Dublin, 1903). Torlough O’Carolan (1670-1738), “the last of the bards,” was really a musician. Having become blind he was educated as a harper and won great fame. His poems, which were composed to suit his music, are mostly addressed to patrons or fair ladies. His celebrated “Ode to Whisky” is one of the finest bacchanalian songs in any language. Michael Comyn (b. c. 1688) is well known as the author of a version based upon older matter of “Ossian in the Land of Youth.” This appears to be the only bit of deliberate creation in the later Ossianic literature. Comyn also wrote a prose story called “The Adventures of Torlogh, son of Starn, and the Adventures of his Three Sons.” Brian MacGiolla Meidhre or Merriman (d. 1808) is the author of perhaps the cleverest sustained poem in the Irish language. His work, which is entitled theMidnight Court, contains about 1000 lines with four rhymes in each line. It describes a vision in which Aoibhill, queen of the Munster fairies, is holding a court. A handsome girl defends herself against an old man, and complains to the queen that in spite of all her charms she is in danger of dying unwed. Merriman’s poem, which was written in 1781, has recently been edited with a German translation by L.C. Stern (Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie, v. 193-415). Donough MacConmara (Macnamara) (d. c. 1814) is best known as the author of a famous lyric “The Fair Hills of Holy Ireland,” but he also wrote a mock epic describing his voyage to America and how the ship was chased by a French cruiser. He is carried off in a dream by the queen of the Munster fairies to Elysium, where, instead of Charon, he finds Conan, the Thersites among the Fenians, acting as ferryman (Eachtra Ghiolla an Amaráin, or The Adventures of a Luckless Fellow, edited by T. Flannery, Dublin, 1901).
During the first half of the 19th century nothing new was produced of a high order, though the peasants retained their love for poetry and continued to copy the MSS. in their possession. Then came the famine and the consequent drain of population which gave Irish the death-blow as a living literary force. The modern movement has been dealt with above in the section on Irish language.
It remains for us to glance briefly at the later religious literature and the collections of folk-tales. The translation of the New Testament made by William O’Donnell and published in 1603 was first undertaken in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who sent over to Dublin the first fount of Irish type. Bishop Bedell, one of the very few Protestant clergymen who undertook to learn Irish, translated the remainder of the Scriptures with the help of a couple of natives, but the whole Bible was not translated and published until 1686. This version naturally never became popular, but it is a valuable source of information with regard to Modern Irish. It is perhaps of interest to note that the earliest specimen of printing in Irish is a ballad on Doomsday (Dublin, 1571). A version of the English Prayer Book was published in 1716.
The scholars of the various Irish colleges on the continent were particularly active in the production of manuals of devotion mainly translated from Latin. We can mention only a few of the more important.Sgathán an chrábhaidh(The Mirror of the Pious), published in 1626 by Florence Conry;Sgathán sacramente na h-Aithrighe(Mirror of the Sacrament of Penance), by Hugh MacCathmhaoil, published at Louvain, 1618;The Book of Christian Doctrine, by Theobald Stapleton (Brussels, 1639);Párrthas an Anma, or The Paradise of the Soul, by Anthony Gernon (Louvain, 1645); a book onMiracles, by Richard MacGilla Cody (1667);Lochrán na gcreidmheach, or Lucerna Fidelium, by Francis O’Mulloy (Louvain, 1676); O’Donlevy’sCatechism(1742). O’Gallagher, bishop of Raphoe, published a collection of sermons which went through twenty editions and are still known at the present day. He is one of the earliest writers in whom the characteristics of the speech of the north are noticeable. The only Catholic version of any considerable portion of the Scriptures up till quite recently was the translation of the Pentateuch by Archbishop MacHale, who also turned six books of theIliadinto Irish. It is only within recent years that attention has been paid to the collection of folk-songs and tales in Irish, although as long ago as 1825 Crofton Croker published three volumes of folk-lore in the south of Ireland which attracted the attention of Sir Walter Scott. Nor do the classic stories of Carleton fall within our province. We may mention among others Patrick O’Leary’sSgeuluidheacht Chuige Mumhan(Dublin, 1895); Hyde’sBeside the Fire(London, 1890) andAn Sgeuluidhe Gaedhealach, reprinted from vol. x. of theAnnales de Bretagne(London, 1901); Daniel O’Fogharta’sSiamsa an Gheimhridh(Dublin, 1892); J. Lloyd’sSgéalaidhe Óirghiall(Dublin, 1905); and Larminie’sWest Irish Folk-Tales(London, 1893). The most important collections of folk-songs areLove-Songs of Connaught(Dublin, 1893) andReligious Songs of Connaught(Dublin, 1906), both published by Hyde. The most extensive collection of proverbs is the one entitledSeanfhocla Uladhby Henry Morris (Dublin, 1907). See also T. O’Donoghue,Sean-fhocail na Mumhan(Dublin, 1902).