Part 7

The oldest which has been found in any MSS. preserved in the Highlands is a poem of five quatrains, at the end of a glossary contained in a MS. written prior to the year 1500. It is in old Gaelic, and there is an interlineal gloss, explaining the meaning of the expressions in more familiar language. At the end there is a line stating that Ossian was the author of the poem.

It may be not uninteresting to insert here the text of the poem, with its glosses:--

.i. do chodladar mo shuile Tuilsither mo dherca suain .i. mo sleagh .i. mo sgiath mo ruibhne mum luibhne ar lo .i. mo cladhiomh um dhorn mo ghenam um dhuais ro bhaoi .i. mo dhorn fam chluais agus mo dhuais fam o

.i. aislinge .i. tarla Adhbhul fisi ar mo ta .i. dar leiges .i. mo chu dar cinnius go dian mo chuib .i. ar mhuic ar criobhais a leirg ar art .i. saill go fiacuil a carbui fo cheird bracht go feic a cuil

.i. throigh .i. gun broigh Triocha treathan damh gun naibh .i. go moing a srona iona taoibh go a tul moing tuinn .i. orladh .i. na fiacuil Triocha nena Finn na feic .i. a sa cionn amach asseicsi tuas re fa thuinn

.i. coimed re coire gach sul di Meidis re habhron a dherc meidis re mes afert fo .i. tesgus mo cladhiomh a muineal Sealus mo ghenam a muin .i. mo chu as a cluais agus mo chuibh as a ho

.i. muic Criobais mhara Tallann tair .i. ria cloic ris ambenann tonn benus ria hail tairges tnu .i. mo bhoill as comairce diob nert mo leo uam fhaosamh domniadh .i. ni lag mar tu mar tusa ni triath mar tu

Oisin ro chan ann sin attraigh mara tallann. ar nia na muice.

TRANSLATION.

My eyes slumbered in sleep, My spear was with my shield, My sword was in my hand, And my hand under my ear. A strange dream happened to me, I set swiftly my dogs On a sow in the plain upon flesh. She was fat to the tusk in her jaw, Thirty feet for me with my shoes In her side to the beard of her snout. Thirty inches for Finn in her tusk Fat above on her under her hide. Large as a caldron was each eye, Large as a vessel the hollow beneath. My sword hewed in her neck, And my dogs fixed on her ear. Sow of the sea of eastern Tallann, Which strikes the rock where the wave touches. My limbs were to me a protection to me strong, As thyself not weak like thee.

Ossian sung this at the shore of the sea of Tallann, for the champion of the sow.[38]

[38] The scene of this poem is in Scotland, the sea of Tallann being said to be in the east, and it must have been written in Scotland, as the accent is placed on the first syllable of the name Oisin.

The Highlanders call a whale _muic mhara_, and, from the description, this creature appears to have been a whale.

On communicating this curious poem to Professor O’Curry, he informs me that there is a copy of it in the Book of Leinster, an MS. of the thirteenth century. The text is the same, but the glosses a little different.

I may take this opportunity of calling attention to Professor O’Curry’s admirable Lectures on the MS. literature of Ireland, just published. They are most interesting and instructive, and for the masterly and complete survey taken of the subject, as well as for accurate and minute detail, they are almost unexampled in the annals of literature. They will well repay perusal.

The tales of Cuchullin and Conlaoch, and the tale of the Sons of Uisneach, are good specimens of the second class. The latter is one of three tales, called the Three Woes, the two others relating to families of the Tuatha De Danann; but though these tales may be Irish, and of this period, they contain fragments of poems probably much older, and which may have been derived from another source. One of the poems in the tale of the Children of Uisneach contains such a tender recollection of and touching allusion to Highland scenery, that it is hardly possible to suppose that it was not originally composed by a genuine son of Alban.

It is the lament of Deirdre or Darthula over Alban, and the following is a translation:--

Beloved land that Eastern land, Alba, with its wonders. O that I might not depart from it, But that I go with Naise.

Beloved is Dunfidhgha and Dun Finn; Beloved the Dun above them; Beloved is Innisdraighende, And beloved Dun Suibhne.

Coillchuan! O Coillchuan! Where Ainnle would, alas! resort; Too short, I deem, was then my stay With Ainnle in Oirir Alban.

Glenlaidhe! O Glenlaidhe! I used to sleep by its soothing murmur; Fish, and flesh of wild boar and badger Was my repast in Glenlaidhe.

Glenmasan! O Glenmasan; High its herbs, fair its boughs. Solitary was the place of our repose On grassy Invermasan.

Gleneitche! O Gleneitche! There was raised my earliest home. Beautiful its woods on rising, When the sun struck on Gleneitche.

Glen Urchain! O Glen Urchain! It was the straight glen of smooth ridges. Not more joyful was a man of his age Than Naoise in Glen Urchain.

Glendaruadh! O Glendaruadh! My love each man of its inheritance. Sweet the voice of the cuckoo on bending bough, On the hill above Glendaruadh.

Beloved is Draighen and its sounding shore; Beloved the water o’er pure sand. O that I might not depart from the east, But that I go with my beloved![39]

[39] The oldest copy of this tale, which was the foundation of Macpherson’s Darthula, is in the Glenmasan MS., in the collection in the Advocates’ Library, which bears the date of 1238, and this translation is made from it.

The scenery is all in Argyllshire. Inis Draighen is Inistrynich in Loch-awe; Dun Suibhne, Castle Sween; Glenlaidhe is now called Glenlochy, where is Benlaoidhe; Glenmasan still bears the name; Gleneitche, in another copy called Loch Eitche, is Glenetive and Loch Etive; Glenurchain is Glenurchay; and Glendaruadh is now called Glendaruail.

The third class of Ossianic poems belongs principally to that period when, during the sway of the Lords of the Isles, Irish influence was so much felt on the language and literature of the Highlands, and when the Highland bards and sennachies were trained in bardic schools, presided over by Irish bards of eminence. It was at this period mainly that the Irish poems assumed so much the shape of a dialogue between the Ossianic poets and St. Patrick, the apostle of Ireland; and the Highland bards imitated this form, often adding or prefixing a few sentences of such dialogue to older poems, or composing poems in imitation of Ossian in this form; but the imitation, in this respect, of Irish poems by native bards is apparent from this, that Patrick is in the Irish poems correctly called Mac Calphurn or M’Alphurn, his father, according to his own “Confessio,” having been Calphurnius, but the Highland bards, to whom Patrick’s history was strange, and this epithet unintelligible, have substituted the peculiarly Scotch form of Alpine, and styled him Patrick Mac Alpine.

One of the poems in Macpherson’s fragments has been one of these--the sixth fragment,--which begins and ends with a dialogue between Ossian and the son of Alpin.

It was at the same period that the collection of Gaelic poems was made by the Dean of Lismore, and it includes many poems in which this dialogue occurs, but in most the saint is termed Macalpine, showing its non-Irish source.

The Ossianic poems in this collection attributed to Ossian, Fergus Filidh, and Caoilte, the three Fenian bards, and those which are either anonymous or composed by imitators, as Gillecalum Mac an Olla and Allan Mac Ruadhri, with the other poems which are not Ossianic, afford a fair specimen of the poetic literature current in the Highlands of Scotland at the close of this period, and before the fall of the Lords of the Isles, and the Reformation again severed that country from Ireland, and ushered in a period of reaction and return towards the native dialect and literature.

On the whole, then, we fully admit the claims of Ireland to Fenian legends and tales, and their attendant poems, but not to an exclusive possession of them.

We admit that its Fenian topography is authentic, but it is not the only one.

We admit its claim to an early written and cultivated speech, but not to the only dialect of Gaelic in which such poems once existed.

We hold that Scotland possesses likewise Fenian legends and Ossianic poetry derived from an independent source, and a Fenian topography equally genuine; and we consider her dialect of the common Gaelic tongue not undeserving of the attention of philologers.

W. F. S.

CONTENTS OF THE DEAN OF LISMORE’S MS.

NOTE.--The figures on the left hand refer to the pages in the original MS.; and those added on the right--to the poems selected for publication--refer to the pages in this volume where the translation and the original text will be found.

P. of MS. Eng. Gaelic. The first four pages illegible. 5. Earl Gerald. 6 lines. Indistinct. 6. Author’s name defaced. 38 lines on John, son of Sir Robert Stewart. Illegible. 7. Duncan M’Dougall Maoil. Quatrain on John, son of Colin Campbell. 8. Anonymous. Obscure--apparently on O’Ruark. 34 lines. 10. Duncan Campbell. 12 lines. Satire on Women. 11. Earl Gerald. 6 lines. Indistinct. 11. Duncan O’Daly. 6 lines. Religious. 12. ---- fynn O’Daly. 88 lines. Religious. 15. Anonymous. 20 lines. Indistinct. 16. Cochondach Mac Thearlaich bhuidh. 65 lines. On Irish Chiefs. 19. Muireach Albanach. 14 lines, 157 120 121 19. Do. 8 lines, 158 120 121 20. Muireach Lessin Dall O’Daly. 60 lines. Counsels to Chiefs. 23. Duncan Mor from Lennox. 10 lines, 93 68 69 23. Gilchrist Taylor. 32 lines, 93 68 69 25. Anonymous. Ossianic. 14 lines, 71 50 51 26. Do. 15 lines. Illegible. 27. Six lines in Latin on the Scotch Kings. 27. Scotch. A legal deed. 27. Dean’s Autograph. _Vide_ Fac-simile, inserted at p. xcvi. 27. Anonymous. A Quatrain. 28. Duncan M’Dougall Maoil. 9 lines. 28. Gilliecallum Mac an Ollaimh. On the Macdonalds, 95 70 71 30. Anonymous. 31 lines. An Ursgeul, or Tale. 31. Ossian. 8 lines. The household of Finn, 1 2 3 32. Anonymous. 36 lines. On M’Glass M’Gluaire. 33. Do. 23 lines. Satire on Women. 35. Dougall. Dialogue with his Wedder. 36. Anonymous. 33 lines. Eulogy on a Lady. 37. Duncan M’Cailein. 16 lines. 38. Scotch. The three perilous days in each season. 39. M’Eachag. On John M’Leod, 140 106 107 41. John Mor O’Daly. 84 lines. On Tuathal Teachdmhar. 44. Anonymous. Note on the hanging of Cochrane in 1480. 45. Do. 14 lines. On Conall M’Scanlan, 98 72 73 48. Notes of purchases in Perth, etc., in Scotch. 48. Lines on Marriage, in Scotch. 49. Anonymous. 18 lines. Indistinct. 50. Ossian. A Lament, 3 2 3 51. Maoldonaich M’Aonghuis Mhuilich. 50 lines. To the Virgin Mary. 53. Gorrie Finn O’Daly. 30 lines. In praise of Gormlay. 54. Gilliepatrick M’Lachlan. A Quatrain. 55. John of Knoydart. On O’Cairbar, 99 72 73 55. Gormlay Ni Fhlainn. Lament for Nial Glundubh, 100 74 75 56. Nial M’Eoghain bhig. A Quatrain. 57. Gormlay Ni Fhlainn. Lament for Nial Glundubh, 101 74 75 57. Anonymous. 30 lines. On Tabblisk (Tables). 58. Do. A Quatrain, 104 78 79 59. Do. 8 lines, 102 76 77 59. Phelim M’Dougall. Aphorisms, 102 76 77 60. Anonymous. A Quatrain, 108 82 83 61. John M’Murrich, 108 82 83 62. William M’Lachlan. A Quatrain. 62. Gormlay Ni Fhlainn, 118 90 91 63. Ossian. “Sliabh nam ban fionn,” 4 4 5 64. Duncan M’Dougall Maoil. A Quatrain. 64. Duncan M’Pherson, 110 82 83 64. Anonymous. 65. Gille Thuirse O’Sluabhainn. 57 lines. Indistinct. 68. Anonymous. Aphorisms, 104 78 79 68. Earl Gerald. A Satire, 105 78 79 69. Andrew M’Intosh, 106 80 81 70. The Bard M’Intyre, 107 80 81 71. Allan M’Dougall bain. 32 lines. A Satire on Women. 73. Astronomical Notes. 73. Colin Earl of Argyle. 12 lines. Satire on Women. 74. Notes of purchases in Dunkeld, etc. 75. Anonymous. 49 lines. On Muircheartach, an Ulster Prince. 77. Scotch. Satirical. 13 lines. 77. Two anonymous Quatrains. 78. List of Scottish Kings, from Boece. 84. Eoin M’Dhunchaidh Ruaidh. 12 lines. Indistinct. 85. Anonymous. On Alexander the Great, 110 84 85 87. Song of the Three Brothers. 32 lines. Moral. 88. Gerald. 6 lines. A Satire on Women. 88. Fearchar M’Phadruig Grannd (Grant). 6 lines. Do. 88. John M’Murrich. A Quatrain, 112 84 85 89. Duncan M’Pherson. 4 lines. On Eoin Riabhaich. 91. List of Names. Genealogical. Robert “clarsair Leoid,” “harper of Lude,” among them. No number. Fragments on Astrology, etc. 93. Ossian. “Cath Fionntraigh,” 7 6 7 97. Anonymous. 81 lines. On M’Ricard of Connaught. 101. Duncan Mor O’Daly. 26 lines. On Cathal’s Belt. 103. Finlay, the red-haired bard. M’Gregor’s Horse, 112 84 85 104. Do. do. On M’Gregor, 114 86 87 106. Teague òg O’Huggin. 49 lines. Religious. 106. Sir Duncan M’Kermont. 20 lines. Satire on Women. 109. Duncan M’Cailein. On a Miser, 116 88 89 111. Do. Satire on Donald donn. 14 lines. 112. Dermod O’Heffernan. 36 lines. An Eulogy. 113. Muireach Albanach. A Quatrain. 114. Ossianic. “Am brat,” 72 50 51 115. Eoin Liath M’Aonghuis. 6 lines. 117. Author’s name defaced. 80 lines. Indistinct. On John Lord of the Isles. 120. Gilchrist Taylor. 48 lines. An Ecclesiastical Legend. 122. Duncan Mor O’Daly. 36 lines. Do. 124. Gorry finn O’Daly. 44 lines. On O’Brien. 126. Ossian. “Feeble this Night,” 13 10 11 128. Earl Gerald. On Death. 27 lines. 129. Duncan M’Cabe. On the Macdougalls, 119 90 91 130. John M’Ewen M’Eacharn. Do. 121 92 93 133. Caoilte M’Ronan, 62 42 43 141. Continuation from page 215, 122 123 143. Finlay M’Nab. On the Book of Poems, 125 94 95 144. Earl Gerald. 6 lines. 144. Genealogy of Writer, and date 1512, 161 124 125 145. Fergus the Bard. “Rosg Ghuill,” 43 28 29 147. Allan M’Rory. “Bàs Dhiarmaid,” 30 20 21 148. Eafric M’Corquodale. Elegy on M’Niel, 126 96 97 149. Duncan M’Cailein. 16 lines. 150. Muireach Albanach. 81 lines. Hymn to the Virgin. 153. Gilchrist Bruilingeach, bard an Lymin. 43 lines. 155. Dougall M’Ghille ghlais. 48 lines. On M’Gregor, 128 98 99 157. Duncan Campbell, the good knight. 12 lines. 158. Gillepatrick M’Lachlan. 78 lines. On James, son of John. Indistinct. 161. Anonymous. 14 lines. A Lament. 161. Do. The Clans. 131 100 101 163. Notes on Adam’s Family. 164. Ossianic. The Expedition of Eight, 74 52 53 165. Gorry finn. 21 lines. Moral. 166. Teague Og. 72 lines. Religious. 170. Robert M’Lamont “a Gassgaitr.” 16 lines. Moral. 171. Ossianic. “Binn guth,” 80 58 59 171. Date 12th February 1526. Indiction 15. 4th year of Pope Clement VII. 171. Anonymous. 6 lines. 172. Ossianic. The Banners of the Feinn, 76 54 55 174. Do. “Which is the sweetest Music?” 80 58 59 174. Do. Finn’s Feast, 82 60 61 176. Anonymous. A Quatrain on “Ruaraidh Rodasach.” 177. Do. 20 lines. On a Harp. 179. Baron Ewin M’Comie. On Sickness, 133 102 103 179. Ossian. “Here I saw the Feinn,” 15 10 11 181. Fili fuge ebrietatem. 181. Three Quatrains. The authors of two, Andrew M’Intosh and Gillespick M’Niel. 182. Latin Genealogy of our Lord. 183. Scotch. The divisions of Ireland. 184. Verses in Scotch. 185. Physiological Notes in Latin. 185. Et ego Jacobus Gregorii. 186. Chronicle in Latin, beginning with the death of Malcom Kenmore. 199. Measurements of Noah’s Ark. 199. Domhnull liath M’Dhughaill Mhic Grigoir. 62 lines. Satire. 202. Duncan Campbell, the good knight. 26 lines. On Old Age. 204. Author’s name wanting. To Archibald Earl of Argyle, 134 102 103 208. Dunchadh M’Dhughaill Mhaoil. The M’Gregors, 137 104 105 209. Mac Gille Fhiontaig, the poet. The M’Gregors, 141 108 109 212. Ossianic. Dialogue with St. Patrick, 84 62 63 215. Ossian. “Urnuidh Oisiain,” 17 12 13 216. Finlay, the red-haired bard. On Allan M’Ruarie, 143 110 111 217. Two Quatrains by Finlay M’Nab. 217. Anonymous. On the M’Leods of Lewis, 146 112 113 219. Latin Notes. 220. Ossian. “Fainesoluis,” 20 14 15 223. Dunchadh M’Dhughaill Mhaoil. 29 lines. Satire. 225. Duncan Campbell. 12 lines. Satire on Women. 225. Anonymous. 6 lines. 226. Gillebride beag M’Conmidhe. 85 lines. On M’Eachain. 230. Fergus the bard. “Cath Ghabhra,” 48 32 33 232. Allan M’Rory. “Cath Ghabhra,” 35 24 25 236. Gilliecallum Mac an Ollaimh. “Bàs Chonlaoich,” 50 34 35 239. Duncan Og. The Seven Mortal Sins, 155 128 129 240. Gilliecallum Mac an Ollaimh. On John Lord of the Isles, 148 112 113 242. Genealogy of Malcom Kenmore. 244. Gilchrist Bruilingeach, bard an Lymin. 48 lines. On Irish Chiefs. 246. Turn O’Meilchonor. 84 lines. On Irish Chiefs. 249. Quatrain by Finlay the red. 250. Fragments. Two lines on St. Patrick. 251. Contissa Ergadien, Isabella. 8 lines. 251. Duncan Campbell, the good knight. On Priests. 252. Teague òg O’Huggin. 63 lines. On the Cross. 255. Muireach Albanach. 111 lines. Do. 260. Teague òg O’Huggin. 92 lines. Religious. 263. Arthur dall M’Gurkich. Attack on Castle Sween, 151 116 117 266. The Bard M’Intyre. A Ship on Loch Rannoch. 267. M’Pherson. 28 lines. 269. O’Meilchonor. 51 lines. On Nial frasach. 271. Gilchrist Taylor. 36 lines. Moral. 271. M’Cailein mòr, _id est_, Cailean maith. An Epigram. 273. Duncan òg Albanach. 37 lines. A Dream. 275. Gilchrist Taylor. 62 lines. On the Host. 278. Gille glas Mac an Tàileir. 48 lines. On M’Gregor. 279. Earl Gerald. 10 lines. 280. Ossianic. The Greatness of the Feinn, 87 64 65 281. Finlay the red. 26 lines. On M’Gregor. 282. The Bard M’Intyre. 26 lines. 284. Muireach Albanach. A Prayer, 159 122 123 285. Isabella Ni vic Cailein. 6 lines. 286. Anonymous. 36 lines. Indistinct. 287. Ossianic, 88 64 65 291. Latin. The Ages of the World. 292. Isabella Ni vic Cailein, 155 118 119 293. Teague òg O’Huggin. 26 lines. 294. Ossian. Eulogy on Finn, 26 18 19 296. Duncan mor O’Daly. 54 lines. To the Virgin. 301. An caoch O’Cluain. “Fraoch,” 54 36 37 303. Earl Gerald. 20 lines. 304. Finlay, the red-haired bard. 39 lines. On M’Diarmad. Illegible. 306. Duncan M’Cailein. 8 lines. 307. Anonymous. 15 lines. Indistinct. 307. Muireach Albanach. A Lament. 98 lines. Indistinct.

[Illustration: I. AUTOGRAPH OF DEAN M’GREGOR]

[Illustration: II. PART OF OSSIAN’S ODE TO FINN P. 26.,18-19.]

THE BOOK OF THE DEAN OF LISMORE.

The author of this is Ossian,[40] the son of Finn:[41]

I’ve seen the household of Finn. No men were they of coward race. I saw by my side a vision Of the hero’s household yesterday. I’ve seen the household[42] of Art,[43] He with the brown-haired son of gentle speech; No better man I ever saw. I’ve seen the household of Finn. Who ever saw what I have seen? I’ve seen Finn armed with Luno’s son.[44] How sad the mournful memory. I’ve seen the household of Finn. Never can I recount the ills Which now do crown my head. Do thou free us for ever from pain. I’ve seen the household of Finn. I’ve seen, etc.

[40] The name of this poet has given rise to some controversy between the Scotch and Irish Gael. By the latter it is pronounced _Oisìn_, the accent falling on the last syllable; by the former it is pronounced _Ossian_, the accent falling on the first. Dean M’Gregor spells the word sometimes _Ossan_, but usually _Ossin_. It is manifest from the use of the _ss_ that he intends the accent to fall upon the first syllable, according to the Scottish mode. The Scottish pronunciation would appear to have been the same in his days as now. This form of the word we have retained in our translation. We do not mean to institute any comparison between the Irish and Scottish mode. The difference clearly arises from the peculiarity of each dialect, the Irish almost uniformly, in words of two syllables, laying the accent on the last, and the Scottish upon the first syllable.

[41] The Dean’s Finn is the Fingal of some writers. “Fionn,” pronounced “Fiŭghn,” genitive, “Fhinn,” pronounced “Ighn,” is the present Scottish and Irish form of the word, and we have preserved this in M’Gregor’s own orthography. Scottish writers have, however, been unjustly accused of manufacturing the term “Fingal.” It is not, as some Irish scholars have maintained, a modern corruption of Fin mac Cùil, but a word known and in use for centuries. John Barbour, who wrote his metrical life of King Robert Bruce in 1375, uses it as a familiar term:--

“He said, Methinks Martheoke’s son Right as Gow-mac-Morn was won, To have from Fingal his menzie.”

It would appear, from the analogies of the Gaelic language, to be the complete form of the word. “Fionn” means _fair_, being in reality an adjective noun; “Gal” is a common termination of Celtic proper names. Hence, “Fionn Ghal,” or “Fingal,” means the “fair-haired one.“ In like manner, we have “Dubh,“ _black_, “Ghal,” “Dubhghal,” or “Dugald;” “Donn,” brown, “Ghal,” “Donnghal,” _Dungal_, _Donald_, the brown-haired one. Hence, Fionn is a contraction of the name. It is remarkable as an instance of the changes which take place in the use of words, that in modern times “Fionnghal” is the name of a woman, and is usually translated “Flora.“

[42] In the original the word translated here, “household,“ is “tylych,“ or “teaghlach,“ a _family_. The literal translation would be, “the family of Art.” But this would not convey the idea in the original, the Celtic _family_ in such a case as this implying the military followers of the head or chief. It seems probable that these ancient Celtic chiefs, like chiefs in more recent times, had their armed followers in constant attendance on them.

[43] Art was King of Ireland, according to Irish authorities, in the beginning of the third century. Tradition says that he was the father of Grainne, the wife of Finn, whose defection and escape with Diarmad led to the event so famous in ancient Celtic poetry, the death of Diarmad. A poem relating the event will be found in this collection.

[44] “Mac an Loinn,” or “Luno’s son,“ was the famous sword of Fingal, manufactured by Loinn mac Liobhaidh, the celebrated smith, or “Vulcan,“ of the Celts. The sword was so effective that in no case was it ever required to give a second stroke. The Gaelic words are, “Cha d’ fhàg e fuigheall beuma,”--It left no remnant for its stroke. We have heard of a remarkable instance of the effective use of this phrase in the pulpit by a distinguished Highland minister, Mr. Lachlan M’Kenzie of Lochcarron. In illustrating the completeness of the one sacrifice of our Lord, he said, and to a Highland audience it was electrifying, “Chuala sibh mu ’n chlaidheamh bh’ aig Fionn, nach d’ fhàg riamh fuigheall beuma,”--_You have heard of Fingal’s sword, which never needed to give a second blow._ “Loinn mac Liobhaidh,” the “Vulcan” of the Celts, is in reality _Brightness, the son of polishing_, a fact which would go far to prove the mythical character of this famous artisan.

The author of this is Ossian:[45]