The metre of the poem "Ah that brooch of gold," and of that on page
144, commencing "Hound, of feats so fair," are unique in this
collection, and so far as I know do not occur elsewhere. Both have
been reproduced in the original metre, and the rather complicated
rhyme-system has also been followed in that on page 148. The first
verse of the Irish of this is
Dursan, a eo oir
a Fhirdiad na n-dam
a belc bemnig buain
ba buadach do lamh.
The last syllable of the third line has no rhyme beyond the echo in the
second syllable of the next line; oir, "gold," has no rhyme till the
word is repeated in the third line of the third verse, rhymed in the
second line of the fourth, and finally repeated at the end. The second
verse has two final words echoed, brass and maeth; it runs thus
Do barr bude brass
ba cass, ba cain set;
do chriss duillech maeth
immut taeb gu t-ec.
The rhymes in the last two verses are exactly those of the
reproduction, they are cain sair, main, laim, chain, the other three
end rhymes being oir, choir, and oir.
Line 3 of this poem is "O hero of strong-striking blows."
Line 4. "Triumphant was thine arm."
PAGE 149
Lines 11 and 12 of the poem. "Go ye all to the swift battle that shall
come to you from German the green-terrible" (? of the terrible green
spear).
PAGE 150
Line 12. The Torrian Sea is the Mediterranean.
PAGE 151
Line 15. Literally: "Thou in death, I alive and nimble."
Line 23. "Wars were gay, &c." Cluchi cach, gaine cach, "Each was a
game, each was little," taking gaine as gainne, the known derivative of
gand, "scanty." O'Curry gives the meaning as "sport," and has been
followed by subsequent translators, but there does not seem any
confirmation of this rendering.
PAGE 153
Line 10. Banba is one of the names of Ireland.
END OF VOL. I.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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