Line 25. "Curvetting and prancing," tuagmar, foran. These are guesses
by O'Curry: curvetting may be right, but there is little authority for
rendering foran as "prancing "; this word is doubtful. "With a broad
forehead," forlethan, lit. "broad above," O'Curry renders
"broad-rumped."
Line 34. "Upon the shore of the bay," forsin purt. Windisch's
rendering of port is "bank, harbour"; but it is doubtful whether the
word means more than "place."
PAGE 9
The literal rendering adopted for the poem runs thus:
Etain is here thus
at the elf-mound of the Fair-Haired Women west of Alba
among little children to her
on the shore of the Bay of Cichmaine.
It is she who cured the eye of the king
from the Well of Loch da lig,
it is she who was drunk in a draught
by the wife of Etar in a heavy draught.
Through war for her the king will chase
the birds from Tethba,
and will drown his two horses
in the lake da Airbrech.
There shall be abundant and many wars
through the war for thee on Echaid of Meath,
destruction shall be on the elf-mounds,
and war upon many thousands.
It is she who was hurt in the land (?),
it is she who strove to win the king,
it is she as compared to whom men men speak of fair women,
it is she, our Etain afterwards.
Line 2. "West of Alba" is literally "behind Alba," iar n-Albai: iar
is, however, also used in the sense of "west of."
Line 14 is given by Windisch "through the war over Meath rich in
horses"; this is impossible.
The translation of line 17 is not quite certain; the literal
translation of the MS. seems to be "it is she who was hurt and the
land." Da Airbrech in line 12 may mean "of two chariots."
PAGE 10
Literal translation of the quatrain:
Ignorant was Fuamnach, the wife of Mider,
Sigmall and Bri with its trees
in Bri Leth: it was a full trial
were burned by means of Manannan.
PAGE 11
Line 5. "Labraid the Tracker." This is a very doubtful rendering, the
text gives Labradae Luircc.
Line 25. "That he desired full knowledge of." There seems to be
something with the Irish here; the word is co fessta which could only
be third singular subj. pass. "that it might be known," which does not
make grammar. It should be co fessed or co festais, "that he (or they)
might know."
PAGE 12
Line 9. "His officers who had the care of the roads." A very doubtful
rendering; the Irish is tarraluing sligeth.
Line 29. "A bright purple mantle waved round her," lit. "a bright
purple curling (?) mantle," but the sense of caslechta as "curling" is
not certain.
Line 30. "Another mantle." The word for mantle here is folai, in the
former line it was brat.
PAGE 13
Line 3. "As white as the snow." ba gilighuir mechto: not "whiter than
the snow," as Windisch's Dict. gives it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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