What meaneth this sad, this fearful change,That withers my heart with woe?The house of my father all joyless and lone,Its halls and its gardens with weeds overgrown,—A dreadful and strange overthrow!No conquering heroes, no hounds for the chase,No shields in array on its walls,No bright silver goblets, no gay cavalcades,No youthful assemblies or high-born maids,To brighten its desolate halls!An omen of sadness—the home of our youthAll ruined, deserted, and bare.Alas for the chieftain, the gentle and brave;His glories and sorrows are stilled in the grave,And we left to live in despair!From ocean to ocean, from age unto age,We have lived to the fulness of time;Through a life such as men never heard of we've passed,In suffering and sorrow our doom has been cast,By our stepmother's pitiless crime!
What meaneth this sad, this fearful change,That withers my heart with woe?The house of my father all joyless and lone,Its halls and its gardens with weeds overgrown,—A dreadful and strange overthrow!
No conquering heroes, no hounds for the chase,No shields in array on its walls,No bright silver goblets, no gay cavalcades,No youthful assemblies or high-born maids,To brighten its desolate halls!
An omen of sadness—the home of our youthAll ruined, deserted, and bare.Alas for the chieftain, the gentle and brave;His glories and sorrows are stilled in the grave,And we left to live in despair!
From ocean to ocean, from age unto age,We have lived to the fulness of time;Through a life such as men never heard of we've passed,In suffering and sorrow our doom has been cast,By our stepmother's pitiless crime!
The children of Lir remained that night in the ruins of the palace—the home of their forefathers, where they themselves had been nursed; and several times during the night they chanted their sad, sweet, fairy music.
Early next morning they left Shee Finnaha, and flew west to Inis Glora, where they alighted on a small lake. There they began to sing so sweetly that all the birds of the district gathered in flocks round them on the lake, and on its shore, to listen to them; so that the little lake came to be called the Lake of the Bird-flocks.
During the day the birds used to fly to distant points of the coast to feed, now to Iniskea of the lonely crane,[XXIV.]now to Achill, and sometimes southwards to Donn's Sea Rocks,[XXV.]and to many other islandsand headlands along the shore of the Western Sea, but they returned to Inis Glora every night.
They lived in this manner till holy Patrick came to Erin with the pure faith; and until Saint Kemoc came to Inis Glora.
The first night Kemoc came to the island, the children of Lir heard his bell at early matin time, ringing faintly in the distance. And they trembled greatly, and started, and ran wildly about; for the sound of the bell was strange and dreadful to them, and its tones filled them with great fear. The three brothers were more affrighted than Finola, so that she was left quite alone; but after a time they came to her, and she asked them—
"Do you know, my brothers, what sound is this?"
And they answered, "We have heard a faint, fearful voice, but we know not what it is."
"This is the voice of the Christian bell," said Finola; "and now the end of our suffering is near; for this bell is the signal that we shall soon be freed from our spell, and released from our life of suffering; for God has willed it."
And she chanted this lay—
Listen, ye swans, to the voice of the bell,The sweet bell we've dreamed of for many a year;Its tones floating by on the night breezes, tellThat the end of our long life of sorrow is near!Listen, ye swans, to the heavenly strain;'Tis the anchoret tolling his soft matin bell:He has come to release us from sorrow, from pain,From the cold and tempestuous shores where we dwell!Trust in the glorious Lord of the sky;He will free us from Eva's druidical spell:Be thankful and glad, for our freedom is nigh,And listen with joy to the voice of the bell!
Listen, ye swans, to the voice of the bell,The sweet bell we've dreamed of for many a year;Its tones floating by on the night breezes, tellThat the end of our long life of sorrow is near!
Listen, ye swans, to the heavenly strain;'Tis the anchoret tolling his soft matin bell:He has come to release us from sorrow, from pain,From the cold and tempestuous shores where we dwell!
Trust in the glorious Lord of the sky;He will free us from Eva's druidical spell:Be thankful and glad, for our freedom is nigh,And listen with joy to the voice of the bell!
Then her brothers became calm; and the four swans remained listening to the music of the bell, till the cleric had finished his matins.
"Let us sing our music now," said Finola.
And they chanted a low, sweet, plaintive strain of fairy music, to praise and thank the great high King of heaven and earth.
Kemoc heard the music from where he stood; and he listened with great astonishment. But after a time it was revealed to him that it was the children of Lir who sang that music; and he was glad, for it was to seek them he had come.
When morning dawned he came to the shore of the lake, and he saw the four white swans swimming on the water. He spoke to them, and asked them were they the children of Lir.
They replied, "We are indeed the children of Lir, who were changed long ago into swans by our wicked stepmother."
"I give God thanks that I have found you," said Kemoc; "for it is on your account I have come to this little island in preference to all the other islands of Erin. Come ye now to land, and trust in me; for it isin this place that you are destined to be freed from your enchantment."
So they, filled with joy on hearing the words of the cleric, came to the shore, and placed themselves under his care. He brought them to his own house, and, sending for a skilful workman, he caused him to make two bright, slender chains of silver; and he put a chain between Finola and Aed, and the other chain he put between Ficra and Conn.
So they lived with him, listening to his instructions day by day, and joining in his devotions. They were the delight and joy of the cleric, and he loved them with his whole heart; and the swans were so happy that the memory of all the misery they had suffered during their long life on the waters caused them neither distress nor sorrow now.
THE CHILDREN OF LIR REGAIN THEIR HUMAN SHAPE AND DIE.
The king who ruled over Connaught at this time was Largnen, the son of Colman; and his queen was Decca, the daughter of Finnin,[XXVI.]king of Munster,—the same king and queen whom Eva had spoken of in her prophecy long ages before.
Now word was brought to queen Decca regarding these wonderful speaking swans, and their whole history was related to her; so that even before she saw them, she could not help loving them, and she was seized with a strong desire to have them herself. So she went to the king, and besought him that he would go to Kemoc and get her the swans. But Largnen said that he did not wish to ask them from Kemoc. Whereupon Decca grew indignant; and she declared that she would not sleep another night in the palace till he had obtained the swans for her. So she left the palace that very hour, and fled southwards towards her father's home.
Largnen, when he found she had gone, sent in haste after her, with word that he would try to procure the swans; but the messengers did not overtake her till she had reached Killaloe. However, she returned with them to the palace; and as soon as she had arrived, the king sent to Kemoc to request that he would send the birds to the queen; but Kemoc refused to give them.
Largnen became very angry at this; and he set out at once for the cleric's house. As soon as he had come, he asked the cleric whether it was true that he had refused to give the swans to the queen. And when Kemoc answered that it was quite true, the king, being very wroth, went up to where the swans stood, and seizing the two silver chains, one in each hand, he drew the birds from the altar, and turned towards the door of the church, intending to bringthem by force to the queen; while Kemoc followed him, much alarmed lest they should be injured.
The king had proceeded only a little way, when suddenly the white feathery robes faded and disappeared; and the swans regained their human shape, Finola being transformed into an extremely old woman, and the three sons into three feeble old men, white-haired and bony and wrinkled.
When the king saw this, he started with affright, and instantly left the place without speaking one word; while Kemoc reproached and denounced him very bitterly.
As to the children of Lir, they turned towards Kemoc; and Finola spoke—
"Come, holy cleric, and baptise us without delay, for our death is near. You will grieve after us, O Kemoc; but in truth you are not more sorrowful at parting from us than we are at parting from you. Make our grave here and bury us together; and as I often sheltered my brothers when we were swans, so let us be placed in the grave—Conn standing near me at my right side, Ficra at my left, and Aed before my face."[XXVII.]
Come, holy priest, with book and prayer;Baptise and shrive us here:Haste, cleric, haste, for the hour has come,And death at last is near!Dig our grave—a deep, deep grave,Near the church we loved so well;This little church, where first we heardThe voice of the Christian bell.As oft in life my brothers dearWere sooth'd by me to rest—Ficra and Conn beneath my wings,And Aed before my breast;So place the two on either hand—Close, like the love that bound me;Place Aed as close before my face,And twine their arms around me.Thus shall we rest for evermore,My brothers dear and I:Haste, cleric, haste, baptise and shrive,For death at last is nigh!
Come, holy priest, with book and prayer;Baptise and shrive us here:Haste, cleric, haste, for the hour has come,And death at last is near!
Dig our grave—a deep, deep grave,Near the church we loved so well;This little church, where first we heardThe voice of the Christian bell.
As oft in life my brothers dearWere sooth'd by me to rest—Ficra and Conn beneath my wings,And Aed before my breast;
So place the two on either hand—Close, like the love that bound me;Place Aed as close before my face,And twine their arms around me.
Thus shall we rest for evermore,My brothers dear and I:Haste, cleric, haste, baptise and shrive,For death at last is nigh!
Then the children of Lir were baptised, and they died immediately. And when they died, Kemoc looked up; and lo, he saw a vision of four lovely children, with light, silvery wings, and faces all radiant with joy. They gazed on him for a moment; but even as they gazed, they vanished upwards, and he saw them no more. And he was filled with gladness, for he knew they had gone to heaven; but when he looked down on the four bodies lying before him, he became sad and wept.
And Kemoc caused a wide grave to be dug near the little church; and the children of Lir were buried together, as Finola had directed—Conn at her right hand, Ficra at her left, and Aed standing before her face. And he raised a grave-mound over them, placinga tombstone on it, with their names graved in Ogam;[XXVIII.]after which he uttered a lament for them, and their funeral rites were performed.
So far we have related the sorrowful story of the Fate of the Children of Lir.
For the blood that we spilled,For the hero we killed,Toil and woe, toil and woe, till the doom is fulfilled!
For the blood that we spilled,For the hero we killed,Toil and woe, toil and woe, till the doom is fulfilled!
THE LOCHLANNS INVADE ERIN.
When the Dedannans[1]held sway in Erin, a prosperous free-born king ruled over them, whose name was Nuada of the Silver Hand.[4]
In the time of this king, the Fomorians,[5]from Lochlann,[6]in the north, oppressed the Dedannans, and forced them to pay heavy tributes; namely, a tax on kneading-troughs, a tax on querns, and a tax on baking flags; and besides all this, an ounce of gold for each man of the Dedannans. These tributes had to be paid every year at the Hill of Usna;[XXIX.]and if any one refused or neglected to pay his part, his nose was cut off by the Fomorian tyrants.
At this time a great fair-meeting was held by the king of Ireland, Nuada of the Silver Hand, on the Hill of Usna. Not long had the people been assembled, when they saw a stately band of warriors, all mounted on white steeds, coming towards them from the east; and at their head, high in command over all, rode a young champion, tall and comely, with a countenance as bright and glorious as the setting sun.
This young warrior was Luga of the Long Arms.[7]He was accompanied by his foster brothers, namely, the sons of Mannanan Mac Lir; and the troop he led was the Fairy Host from the Land of Promise.[8]
Now in this manner was he arrayed. He rode the steed of Mannanan Mac Lir,[8]namely, Enbarr of the Flowing Mane: no warrior was ever killed on the back of this steed, for she was as swift as the clear, cold wind of spring, and she travelled with equal ease on land and on sea. He wore Mannanan's coat of mail: no one could be wounded through it, or above it, or below it. He had on his breast Mannanan's breast-plate, which no weapon could pierce. His helmet had two glittering precious stones set in front, and one behind; and whenever he took it off, his face shone like the sun on a dry day in summer. Mannanan's sword, The Answerer, hung at his left side: no one ever recovered from its wound; and those who were opposed to it in the battle-field were so terrified by looking at it, that their strength left them till they became weaker than a woman in deadly sickness.
This troop came forward to where the king ofErin sat surrounded by the Dedannans, and both parties exchanged friendly greetings.
A short time after this they saw another company approaching, quite unlike the first, for they were grim and fierce and surly looking; namely, the tax-gatherers of the Fomorians, to the number of nine nines, who were coming to demand their yearly tribute from the men of Erin. When they reached the place where the king sat, the entire assembly—the king himself among the rest—rose up before them. For the whole Dedannan race stood in great dread of these Fomorian tax-collectors; so much so that no man dared even to chastise his own son without first seeking their consent.
Then Luga of the Long Arms spoke to the king and said, "Why have ye stood up before this hateful-looking company, when ye did not stand up for us?"
"We durst not do otherwise," replied the king; "for if even an infant of a month old remained seated before them, they would deem it cause enough for killing us all."
When Luga heard this he brooded in silence for a little while, and then he said, "Of a truth, I feel a great desire to kill all these men!"
Then he mused again, and after a time, said, "I am strongly urged to kill these men!"
"That deed would doubtless bring great evil on us," said the king, "for then the Fomorians would be sure to send an army to destroy us all."
But Luga, after another pause, started up, exclaiming,"Long have ye been oppressed in this manner!" and so saying, he attacked the Fomorians, dealing red slaughter among them. Neither did he hold his hand till he had slain them all except nine. These he spared, because they ran with all speed and sat nigh the king, that he might protect them from Luga's wrath.
Then Luga put his sword back into its scabbard, and said, "I would slay you also, only that I wish you to go and tell your king, and the foreigners in general, what you have seen."
These nine men accordingly returned to their own country, and they told their tale to the Fomorian people from beginning to end—how the strange, noble-faced youth had slain all the tax-collectors except nine, whom he spared that they might bring home the story.
When they had ended speaking, the king, Balor[9]of the Mighty Blows and of the Evil Eye, asked the chiefs, "Do ye know who this youth is?"
And when they answered, "No," Kethlenda,[9]Balor's queen, said—
"I know well who the youth is: he is the Ildana,[XXX.]Luga of the Long Arms, the son of your daughter and mine; and it has been long foretold that when he should appear in Erin, our sway over the Dedannans should come to an end."
Then the chief people of the Fomorians heldcouncil; namely, Balor of the Mighty Blows, and his twelve sons, and his queen Kethlenda of the Crooked Teeth; Ebb and Sencab, the grandsons of Neid; Sotal of the Large Heels; Luath the Long-bodied; Luath the Story-teller; Tinna the Mighty, of Triscadal; Loskenn of the Bare Knees; Lobas, the druid; besides the nine prophetic poets and philosophers of the Fomorians.
After they had debated the matter for some time, Bres, the son of Balor, arose and said, "I will go to Erin with seven great battalions of the Fomorian army, and I will give battle to the Ildana, and I will bring his head to you to our palace of Berva."[6]
The Fomorian chiefs thought well of this proposal, and it was agreed to.
So the ships were got ready for Bres; abundant food and drink and war stores were put into them, their seams were calked with pitch, and they were filled with sweet-smelling frankincense. Meantime the two Luaths, that is to say, Luath the Story-teller and Luath of the Long Body, were sent all over Lochlann to summon the army. And when all the fighting men were gathered together, they arrayed themselves in their battle-dresses, prepared their arms, and set out for Erin.
Balor went with them to the harbour where they were to embark, and when they were about to go on board, he said to them—
"Give battle to the Ildana, and cut off his head. And after ye have overcome him and his people, put your cables round this island of Erin, which gives usso much trouble, and tie it at the sterns of your ships: then sail home, bringing the island with you, and place it on the north side of Lochlann, whither none of the Dedannans will ever follow it."
Then, having hoisted their many-coloured sails and loosed their moorings, they sailed forth from the harbour into the great sea, and never slackened speed or turned aside from their course till they reached the harbour of Eas-Dara.[XXXI.]And as soon as they landed, they sent forth an army through West Connaught, which wasted and spoiled the whole province.
THE MURDER OF KIAN.
Now the king of Connaught at that time was Bove Derg, the son of the Dagda,[XXXII.]a friend to Luga of the Long Arms. It chanced that Luga was then at Tara,[XXXIII.]and news was brought to him that the Fomorians had landed at Eas-Dara, and were spoiling and wasting the province. He immediately got ready his steed, Enbarr of the Flowing Mane; and early in the morning, when the point of night met the day, he went to the king and told him that the foreigners had landed, andthat they had wasted and plundered the province of Bove Derg.
"I shall give them battle," said Luga; "and I wish to get from thee some help of men and arms."
"I will give no help," said the king; "for I do not wish to avenge a deed that has not been done against myself."
When Luga heard this reply he was wroth, and departing straightway from Tara, he rode westward. He had not travelled long when he saw at a distance three warriors, fully armed, riding towards him. Now these were three brothers, the sons of Canta; namely, Kian and Cu and Kethen; and Kian was Luga's father. And they saluted each other, and conversed together for a time.
"Why art thou abroad so early?" said they.
"Cause enough have I," replied Luga; "for the Fomorians have landed in Erin, and have wasted the province of Bove Derg, the son of the Dagda. It is well indeed that I have met you, for I am about to give them battle, and I wish now to know what aid I shall get from you."
"We will go into the battle with you," said they; "and each of us will ward off from you a hundred of the Fomorian warriors."
"That, indeed, is good help," said Luga; "but, for the present, I wish you to go to the several places throughout Erin where the Fairy Host[XXXIV.]are abiding, and summon them all to me."
The three brothers accordingly separated, Cu and Kethen going south, while Luga's father, Kian, turned his face northwards, and rode on till he came to Moy Murthemna.[XXXV.]He had not been long travelling over the plain when he saw three warriors, clad in armour and fully armed, coming towards him. These were three Dedannan chiefs, the sons of Turenn, and their names were Brian, Ur, and Urcar. Now these three and the three sons of Canta were at deadly feud with each other, on account of an old quarrel, and whenever they met there was sure to be a fight for life or death.
As soon as Kian saw these three, he said, "If my two brothers were now with me, we should have a brave fight; but as they are not, and as I am only one against three, it is better to avoid the combat." So saying, he looked round, and seeing near him a herd of swine he struck himself with a golden druidical[3]wand, and changed himself into a pig; and he quickly joined the herd.
No sooner had he done so than Brian, the eldest of the sons of Turenn, said to his brothers, "Tell me, my brothers, do you know what has become of the warrior that we saw just now approaching us on the plain?"
"We saw him," said they, "but we know not whither he has gone."
"You deserve great blame," said he, "that you are not more watchful while traversing the country during this time of war. Now I know what has happenedto this warrior; he has changed himself, by a druidical spell, into a pig; and he is now among yonder herd. And whoever he may be, of this be sure—he is no friend of ours."
"This is an unlucky matter," said they; "for as these pigs belong to one of the Dedannans, it would be wrong for us to kill them; and even if we should do so, the enchanted pig might escape after all."
"But," answered Brian, "I think I can manage to distinguish any druidical beast from a natural one; and if you had attended well to your learning, you would be able to do the same."
Saying this, he struck his brothers one after the other with his golden druidical wand, and turned them into two fleet, slender, sharp-nosed hounds. The moment he had done so they put their noses to the earth, and, yelping eagerly, set off towards the herd on the trail of their enemy. When they had come near, the druidical pig fell out from the herd, and made towards a thick grove that grew hard by; but Brian was there before him, and drove his spear through his chest.
The pig screamed and said, "You have done an ill deed to cast your spear at me, for you know well who I am."
"Your voice, methinks, is the voice of a man," said Brian; "but I know not who you are."
And the pig answered, "I am Kian, the son of Canta; and now I ask you to give me quarter."
Ur and Urcar, who had regained their shape andcome up, said, "We will give you quarter indeed, and we are sorry for what has happened to you."
But Brian, on the other hand, said, "I swear by the gods of the air, that if your life returned to you seven times, I would take it from you seven times."
"Then," said Kian, "as you will not grant me quarter, allow me first to return to my own shape."
"That we will grant you," said Brian; "for I often feel it easier to kill a man than to kill a pig."
Kian accordingly took his own shape; and then he said, "You indeed, ye sons of Turenn, are now about to slay me; but even so, I have outwitted you. For if you had slain me in the shape of a pig, you would have to pay only the eric-fine[10]for a pig; whereas, now that I am in my own shape, you shall pay the full fine for a man. And there never yet was killed, and there never shall be killed, a man for whom a greater fine shall be paid, than you will have to pay for me. The weapons with which I am slain shall tell the deed to my son; and he will exact the fine from you."
"You shall not be slain with the weapons of a warrior," said Brian; and so saying, he and his brothers laid aside their arms, and smote him fiercely and rudely with the round stones of the earth, till they had reduced his body to a disfigured mass; and in this manner they slew him.
They then buried him a man's height in the earth; but the earth, being angry at the fratricide,[XXXVI.]refusedto receive the body, and cast it up on the surface. They buried him a second time, and again the body was thrown up from beneath the clay. Six times the sons of Turenn buried the body of Kian a man's height in the earth, and six times did the earth cast it up, refusing to receive it. But when they had buried him the seventh time, the earth refused no longer, and the body remained in the grave.
Then the sons of Turenn prepared to go forward after Luga of the Long Arms to the battle. But as they were leaving the grave, they thought they heard a faint, muffled voice coming up from the ground beneath their feet—
The blood you have spilled,The hero you've killed,Shall follow your steps till your doom be fulfilled!
The blood you have spilled,The hero you've killed,Shall follow your steps till your doom be fulfilled!
DEFEAT AND FLIGHT OF THE LOCHLANNS.
Now as to Luga. After parting from his father, he journeyed westward till he reached Ath-Luan,[XXXVII.]thenceto Ros-Coman, and over Moy-Lurg to the Curlieu Hills, and to the mountain of Kesh-Corran, till he reached the "Great Plain of the Assembly," where the foreigners were encamped, with the spoils of Connaught around them.
As he drew nigh to the Fomorian encampment, Bres, the son of Balor, arose and said—
"A wonderful thing has come to pass this day; for the sun, it seems to me, has risen in the west."
"It would be better that it were so," said the druids,[3]"than that matters should be as they are."
"What else can it be, then?" asked Bres.
"The light you see," replied the druids, "is the brightness of the face, and the flashing of the weapons of Luga of the Long Arms, our deadly enemy, he who slew our tax-gatherers, and who now approaches."
Then Luga came up peacefully and saluted them.
"How does it come to pass that you salute us," said they, "since you are, as we know well, our enemy?"
"I have good cause for saluting you," answered Luga; "for only one half of my blood is Dedannan; the other half comes from you; for I am the son of the daughter of Balor of the Mighty Blows, your king.[7]And now I come in peace, to ask you to give back to the men of Connaught all the milch cows you have taken from them."
"May ill luck follow thee," said one of the Fomorian leaders, in a voice loud and wrathful, "until thou get one of them, either a milch cow or a dry cow!"
And the others spoke in a like strain.
Then Luga put a druidical spell upon the plundered cattle; and he sent all the milch cows home, each to the door of her owner's house, throughout all that part of Connaught that had been plundered. But the dry cows he left, so that the Fomorians might be cumbered, and that they might not leave their encampment till the Fairy Host should arrive to give them battle.
Luga tarried three days and three nights near them, and at the end of that time the Fairy Host arrived, and placed themselves under his command. They encamped near the Fomorians, and in a little time Bove Derg, son of the Dagda, joined them with twenty-nine hundred men.
Then they made ready for the fight. The Ildana put on Mannanan's coat of mail and his breast-plate; he took also his helmet, which was called Cannbarr, and it glittered in the sun with dazzling brightness; he slung his broad, dark-blue shield from his shoulder at one side; his long, keen-edged sword hung at his thigh; and lastly, he took his two long, heavy-handled spears, which had been tempered in the poisonous blood of adders. The other kings and chiefs of the men of Erin arrayed their men in battle ranks; hedges of glittering spears rose high above their heads; and their shields, placed edge to edge, formed a firm fence around them.
Then at the signal they attacked the Fomorians, and the Fomorians, in no degree dismayed, answered their onset. At first a cloud of whizzing javelins flewfrom rank to rank across the open space, and as the warriors rushed together in closer conflict, their spears were shivered in their hands. Then they drew their gold-hilted swords, and fought foot to foot and shield to shield, so that a forest of bright flashes rose high above their helmets, from the clashing of their keen-tempered weapons.
In the midst of the fight, Luga looked round, and seeing at some distance, Bres, surrounded by his Fomorian warriors, dealing havoc and death among the Dedannans, he rushed through the press of battle, and attacked first Bres's guards so fiercely that in a few moments twenty of them fell beneath his blows.
Then he struck at Bres himself, who, unable to withstand his furious onset, cried aloud—
"Why should we be enemies, since thou art of my kin? Let there be peace between us, for nothing can withstand thy blows. Let there be peace, and I will undertake to bring my Fomorians to assist thee at Moytura,[11]and I will promise never again to come to fight against thee."
And Bres swore by the sun and the moon, by the sea and land, and by all the elements,[XXXVIII.]to fulfil his engagement; and on these conditions Luga granted him his life.
Then the Fomorians, seeing their chief overcome, dropped their arms, and sued for quarter. The Fomoriandruids and men of learning next came to Luga to ask him to spare their lives; and Luga answered them—
"So far am I from wishing to slay you, that in truth, if you had taken the whole Fomorian race under your protection, I would have spared them."
And after this, Bres, the son of Balor, returned to his own country with his druids, and with those of his army who had escaped from the battle.
THE ERIC-FINE ON THE SONS OF TURENN FOR THE SLAYING OF KIAN.
Towards the close of the day, when the battle was ended, Luga espied two of his near friends; and he asked them if they had seen his father, Kian, in the fight. And when they answered, "No," Luga said—
"My father is not alive; for if he lived he would surely have come to help me in the battle. And now I swear that neither food nor drink will I take till I have found out who has slain him, and the manner of his death."
Then Luga set out with a small chosen band of the Fairy Host, and he halted not till he reached the place where he had parted from his father. And from that he travelled on to the plain of Murthemna, whereKian had been forced to take the shape of a pig to avoid the sons of Turenn, and where they had slain him.
When he had come near to the very spot, he walked some little way before his companions, and the stones of the earth spoke beneath his feet, and said—
"Here thy father lies, O Luga. Grievous was Kian's strait when he was forced to take the shape of a pig on seeing the three sons of Turenn; and here they slew him in his own shape!"
The blood that they spilled,The hero they killed,Shall darken their lives till their doom be fulfilled!
The blood that they spilled,The hero they killed,Shall darken their lives till their doom be fulfilled!
Luga stood for a while silent, pondering on these words. But as his companions came up, he told them what had happened; and having pointed out the spot from which the voice came, he caused the ground to be dug up. There they found the body, and raised it to the surface; and when they had examined it, they saw that it was covered all over with gory wounds and bruises.
Then Luga spoke after a long silence, "A cruel and merciless death has my beloved father suffered at the hands of the sons of Turenn!"
He kissed his father's face three times, and again spoke, grieving, "Ill fare the day on which my father was slain! Woful is this deed to me, for my eyes see not, my ears hear not, and my heart's pulse has ceased to beat, for grief. Why, O ye gods whom I worship,why was I not present when this deed was done? Alas! an evil thing has happened, for the Dedannans have slain their brother Dedannan. Ill shall they fare of this fratricide, for its consequences shall follow them, and long shall the crime of brother against brother continue to be committed in Erin!"
And he spoke this speech—
A dreadful doom my father foundOn that ill-omened even-tide;And here I mourn beside the mound,Where, whelmed by numbers, Kian died,—This lonely mound of evil fame,That long shall bear the hero's name!Alas! an evil deed is done,And long shall Erin rue the day:There shall be strife 'twixt sire and son,And brothers shall their brothers slay;Vengeance shall smite the murderers too,And vengeance all their race pursue!The light has faded from mine eyes;My youthful strength and power have fledWeary my heart with ceaseless sighs;Ambition, hope, and joy are dead;And all the world is draped in gloom—The shadow of my father's tomb!
A dreadful doom my father foundOn that ill-omened even-tide;And here I mourn beside the mound,Where, whelmed by numbers, Kian died,—This lonely mound of evil fame,That long shall bear the hero's name!
Alas! an evil deed is done,And long shall Erin rue the day:There shall be strife 'twixt sire and son,And brothers shall their brothers slay;Vengeance shall smite the murderers too,And vengeance all their race pursue!
The light has faded from mine eyes;My youthful strength and power have fledWeary my heart with ceaseless sighs;Ambition, hope, and joy are dead;And all the world is draped in gloom—The shadow of my father's tomb!
Then they placed the hero again in the grave, and they raised a tomb over him with his name graved in Ogam;[XXXIX.]after which his lamentation lays were sung, and his funeral games were performed.
When these rites were ended, Luga said to his people, "Go ye now to Tara, where the king of Erinsits on his throne with the Dedannans around him; but do not make these things known till I myself have told them."
So Luga's people went straightway to Tara, as he had bade them; but of the murder of Kian they said naught. Luga himself arrived some time after, and was received with great honour, being put to sit high over the others, at the king's side; for the fame of his mighty deeds at the battle of the Assembly Plain had been noised over the whole country, and had come to the ears of the king.
After he was seated, he looked round the hall, and saw the sons of Turenn in the assembly. Now these three sons of Turenn exceeded all the champions in Tara, in comeliness of person, in swiftness of foot, and in feats of arms; and, next to Luga himself, they were the best and bravest in the battles against the Fomorians; wherefore they were honoured by the king beyond most others.
Luga asked the king that the chain of silence[XL.]should be shaken; and when it was shaken, and when all were listening in silence, he stood up and spoke—
"I perceive, ye nobles of the Dedannan race, that you have given me your attention, and now I have a question to put to each man here present: What vengeance would you take of the man who should knowingly and of design kill your father?"
They were all struck with amazement on hearing this, and the king of Erin said—
"What does this mean? For that your father has not been killed, this we all know well!"
"My father has indeed been killed," answered Luga; "and I see now here in this hall those who slew him. And furthermore, I know the manner in which they put him to death, even as they know it themselves."
The sons of Turenn, hearing all this, said nothing; but the king spoke aloud and said—
"If any man should wilfully slay my father, it is not in one hour or in one day I would have him put to death; but I would lop off one of his members each day, till I saw him die in torment under my hands!"
All the nobles said the same, and the sons of Turenn in like manner.
"The persons who slew my father are here present, and are joining with the rest in this judgment," said Luga; "and as the Dedannans are all now here to witness, I claim that the three who have done this evil deed shall pay me a fitting eric-fine for my father. Should they refuse, I shall not indeed transgress the king's law nor violate his protection; but of a certainty they shall not leave this hall of Micorta[XLI.]till the matter is settled."
And the king of Erin said, "If I had killed yourfather, I should be well content if you were willing to accept an eric-fine from me."
Now the sons of Turenn spoke among themselves; and Ur and Urcar said, "It is of us Luga speaks this speech. He has doubtless found out that we slew his father; and it is better that we now acknowledge the deed, for it will avail us naught to hide it."
Brian, however, at first set his face against this, saying that he feared Luga only wanted an acknowledgment from them in presence of the other Dedannans, and that afterwards he might not accept a fine. But the other two were earnest in pressing him, so that he consented, and then he spoke to Luga—
"It is of us thou speakest all these things, Luga; for it has been said that we three have been at enmity with the three sons of Canta. Now, as to the slaying of thy father Kian, let that matter rest; but we are willing to pay an eric-fine for him, even as if we had killed him."
"I shall accept an eric-fine from you," said Luga, "though ye indeed fear I shall not. I shall now name before this assembly the fine I ask, and if you think it too much, I shall take off a part of it.
"The first part of my eric-fine is three apples; the second part is the skin of a pig; the third is a spear; the fourth, two steeds and a chariot; the fifth, seven pigs; the sixth, a hound-whelp; the seventh, a cooking-spit; and the eighth, three shouts on a hill. That is my eric," said Luga; "and if ye think it too much, say so now, that I may remit a part; but if not, then it will be well that ye set about paying it."
"So far," said Brian, "we do not deem it too great. It seems, indeed, so small that we fear there is some hidden snare in what you ask, which may work us mischief."
"I do not deem my eric too small," said Luga; "and now I engage here, before the assembled Dedannans, that I will ask no more, and that I will seek no further vengeance for my father's death. But, as I have made myself answerable to them for the faithful fulfilment of my promise, I demand the same guarantee from you, that you also be faithful to me."
"Alas that you should doubt our plighted word!" said the sons of Turenn. "Are we not ourselves sufficient guarantee for the payment of an eric-fine greater even than this?"
"I do not deem your word sufficient guarantee," answered Luga; "for often have we known great warriors like you to promise a fine before all the people, and afterwards to go back of their promise."
And the sons of Turenn consented, though unwillingly, for they grieved that their word should be doubted. So they bound themselves on either side—Luga not to increase his claims; and the sons of Turenn, on their part, to pay him the full fine. And the king of Erin and Bove Derg, son of the Dagda, and the nobles of the Dedannans in general, were witnesses and sureties of this bond.
Then Luga stood up and said, "It is now time that I give you a full knowledge of this eric-fine.
"The three apples I ask are the apples of theGarden of Hisberna,[XLII.]in the east of the world, and none others will I have. There are no apples in the rest of the world like them, for their beauty and for the secret virtues they possess. Their colour is the colour of burnished gold; they have the taste of honey; and if a wounded warrior or a man in deadly sickness eat of them, he is cured immediately. And they are never lessened by being eaten, being as large and perfect at the end as at the beginning. Moreover any champion that possesses one of them may perform with it whatsoever feat he pleases, by casting it from his hand, and the apple will return to him of itself. And though you are three brave warriors, ye sons of Turenn, methinks you will not find it easy to bring away these apples; for it has been long foretold that three young champions from the Island of the West would come to take them by force, so that the king has set guards to watch for your coming.
"The pig's skin I seek from you belongs to Tuis, the king of Greece. When the pig was alive, every stream of water through which she walked was turned into wine for nine days, and all sick and wounded people that touched her skin were at once cured, if only the breath of life remained. Now the king's druids told him that the virtue lay, not in the pig herself, but in her skin; so the king had her killed and skinned, and he has her skin now. This, too, ye valiant champions, is a part of my eric-fine which you will find it hard to get, either by force or by friendship.
"The spear I demand from you is the venomed spear of Pezar, king of Persia. Its name is Slaughterer. In time of peace, its blazing, fiery head is always kept in a great caldron of water, to prevent it from burning down the king's palace; and in time of war, the champion who bears it to the battle-field can perform any deed he pleases with it. And it will be no easy matter to get this spear from the king of Persia.
"The two steeds and the chariot belong to Dobar, king of Sigar.[XLIII.]The chariot exceeds all the chariots in the world for beauty of shape and goodliness of workmanship. The two noble steeds have no equal for strength and fleetness, and they travel with as much ease on sea as on land.
"The seven pigs I demand are the pigs of Asal, the king of the Golden Pillars. Whoever eats a part of them shall not suffer from ill health or disease; and even though they should be killed and eaten to-day, they will be alive and well to-morrow.
"The hound-whelp belongs to the king of Iroda,[XLIV.]and his name is Failinis. He shines as brightly as the sun in a summer sky; and every wild beast of the forest that sees him falls down to the earth powerless before him.
"The cooking-spit belongs to the warlike women of the island of Fincara. They are thrice fifty in number, and woe to the champion who approachestheir house; for each of them is a match for three good warriors in single combat; and they never yet gave a cooking-spit to any one without being overcome in battle.
"The hill on which I require you to give three shouts is the Hill of Midkena, in the north of Lochlann.[6]Midkena and his sons are always guarding this hill, for they are under gesa[12]not to allow any one to shout on it. Moreover, it was they that instructed my father in championship and feats of arms, and they loved him very much; so that even if I should forgive you his death they would not. And, though you should be able to procure all the rest of the eric-fine, you will not, I think, succeed in this, for they will be sure to avenge on you my father's death.
"And this, ye sons of Turenn, is the eric-fine I demand from you!"
THE SONS OF TURENN OBTAIN MANNANAN'S CANOE, "THE WAVE-SWEEPER."
The sons of Turenn were so astounded on hearing this eric-fine that they spoke not one word; but rising up, they left the meeting, and repaired to the house of their father Turenn.
He heard their story to the end, and then said, "Your tidings are bad, my sons, and I fear me you are doomed to meet your death in seeking what the Ildana asks. But the doom is a just one, for it was an evil thing to kill Kian. Now as to this eric-fine: it cannot be obtained by any living man without the help of either Luga himself or of Mannanan Mac Lir;[8]but if Luga wishes to aid you, ye shall be able to get it. Go ye now, therefore, and ask him to lend you Mannanan's steed, Enbarr of the Flowing Mane. If he wishes you to get the full eric-fine, he will lend you the steed; otherwise he will refuse, saying that she does not belong to him, and that he cannot lend what he himself has got on loan. Then, if ye obtain not the steed, ask him for the loan of Mannanan's canoe, the Wave-sweeper, which would be better for you than the steed; and he will lend you that, for he is forbidden to refuse a second request."
So the sons of Turenn returned to Luga, and having saluted him, they said—
"It is not in the power of any man to obtain this eric-fine without thy own aid, O Luga; we ask thee, therefore, to lend us Mannanan's steed, Enbarr of the Flowing Mane."
"That steed is not my own," said Luga; "and I cannot lend that which I have myself obtained on loan."
"If that be so," said Brian, "then I pray thee lend us Mannanan's canoe, the Wave-sweeper."
"I shall lend you that," replied Luga; "it lies atBruga of the Boyne;[XLV.]and ye have my consent to take it."
So they came again to their father, and this time Ethnea, their sister, was with him; and they told them that Luga had given them the canoe.
"I have much fear," said Turenn, "that it will avail you little against the dangers of your quest. Nevertheless, Luga desires to obtain that part of the eric that will be useful to him at the battle of Moytura,[11]and so far he will help you. But in seeking that which is of no advantage to him, namely, the cooking-spit, and the three shouts on Midkena's Hill, therein he will give you no aid, and he will be glad if ye perish in your attempts to obtain it."
They then set out for Bruga of the Boyne, accompanied by their sister Ethnea, leaving Turenn lamenting after them. The canoe they found lying in the river; and Brian went into it and said—
"It seems to me that only one other person can sit here along with me;" and he began to complain very bitterly of its smallness. He ceased, however, at the bidding of Ethnea, who told him that the canoe would turn out large enough when they came to try it, and that it was under strict command not to let any one grumble at its smallness. And she went on to say—
"Alas, my beloved brothers, it was an evil deedto slay the father of Luga of the Long Arms! and I fear you will suffer much woe and hardship on account of it."