Then they depart from him, and forthwith they go to [Corp[FN#58] Liath
(the Gray),] who was the son of Tassach. His castle was on the bank of
the river Nemain, upon the northern side, he was a champion of renown
for the guarding of the men of Munster; longer than his hand is the
evil he hath wrought. To this man also they appeared, and "What are
your names?" said he: "Tecmall and Coscrad (Gathering of Hosts, and
Destruction)," said they. "Gathering of Hosts is indeed good," said
Corp Liath, "an evil thing is destruction": "There will be no
destruction for thee, and thou shalt destroy the sons of kings and
nobles": "And what," said Corp Liath, "is the next thing to be done?"
[FN#58] The Egerton MS. gives the name, Corb Cliach.
"That is easy to say," they said;[FN#59] "each son of a king and a
queen, and each heir of a king that is in Connaught, is now coming upon
you to bear off cows from your country, for that the sons of your kings
and queens have fallen by the hand of the men of Connaught. To-morrow
morning, at the ninth hour they will come, and small is their troop; so
if valiant warriors go thither to meet them, the honour of Munster
shall be preserved; if indeed thine adventure shall meet with success."
[FN#59] Y.B.L. gives the passage thus: "Assemble with you the sons of
kings, and heirs of kings, that you may destroy the sons of kings and
heirs of kings." "Who are they?" said Corp Liath. "A noble youth it
is from Connaught: he comes to yon to drive your cows before him, after
that your young men were yesterday destroyed by him, at the ninth hour
of the morning they will come to take away the cows of Darta, the
daughter of Eocho."
"With what number should I go?" he said. "Seven times twenty heroes
thou shouldest take with thee," she replied, ["and seven times twenty
warriors besides"]: "And now" said the woman, "we depart to meet thee
to-morrow at the ninth hour."
At the time (appointed), when morning had come, the men of Connaught
saw the horses and the raiment of which we have spoken, at the gate of
the fort of Croghan, [even as she (the fairy) had foretold, and as we
have told, so that at that gate was all she had promised, and all that
had been seen on the sons of kings aforetime], and there was a doubt
among the people whether they should go on that quest or not. "It is
shame," said Ailill, "to refuse a thing that is good"; and upon that
Orlam departed [till[FN#60] he came to the house of Dartaid, the
daughter of Eocho, in Cliu Classach (Cliu the Moated), on the Shannon
upon the south (bank).
[FN#60] Egerton Version has only "towards Chu till he came to the home
of Dartaid, the daughter of Eocho: the maiden rejoiced," &c. From this
point to the end the version in the Yellow Book is much fuller.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account