Books: Heroic Romances of Ireland Volumes 1 and 2 Combined

A >> A. H. Leahy >> Heroic Romances of Ireland Volumes 1 and 2 Combined

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23

[FN#6] Pronounced Bree Lay.

[FN#7] Pronounced Foom-na.

Now to Fuamnach came tidings of the love and the worship that Etain had
from Mac O'c, and she came to Mider, and "Let thy foster-son," said
she, "be summoned to visit thee, that I may make peace between you two,
and may then go to seek for news of Etain." And the messenger from
Mider went to Mac O'c, and Mac O'c went to Mider to greet him; but
Fuamnach for a long time wandered from land to land till she was in
that very mansion where Etain was; and then she blew beneath her with
the same blast as aforetime, so that the blast carried her out of her
bower, and she was blown before it, as she had been before for seven
years through all the land of Erin, and she was driven by the wind of
that blast to weakness and woe. And the wind carried her over the roof
of a house where the men of Ulster sat at their ale, so that she fell
through the roof into a cup of gold that stood near the wife of Etar
the Warrior, whose dwelling-place was near to the Bay of Cichmany in
the province that was ruled over by Conor. And the woman swallowed
Etain together with the milk that was in the cup, and she bare her in
her womb, till the time came that she was born thereafter as in earthly
maid, and the name of Etain, the daughter of Etar, was given to her.
And it was one thousand and twelve years since the time of the first
begetting of Etain by Ailill to the time when she was born the second
time as the daughter of Etar.

Now Etain was nurtured at Inver Cichmany in the house of Etar, with
fifty maidens about her of the daughters of the chiefs of the land; and
it was Etar himself who still nurtured and clothed them, that they
might be companions to his daughter Etain. And upon a certain day,
when those maidens were all at the river-mouth to bathe there, they saw
a horseman on the plain who came to the water towards them. A horse he
rode that was brown, curvetting, and prancing, with a broad forehead
and a curly mane and tail. Green, long, and flowing was the cloak that
was about him, his shirt was embroidered with embroidery of red gold,
and a great brooch of gold in his cloak reached to his shoulder on
either side. Upon the back of that man was a silver shield with a
golden rim; the handle for the shield was silver, and a golden boss was
in the midst of the shield: he held in his hand a five-pointed spear
with rings of gold about it from the haft to the head. The hair that
was above his forehead was yellow and fair; and upon his brow was a
circlet of gold, which confined the hair so that it fell not about his
face. He stood for a while upon the shore of the bay; and he gazed
upon the maidens, who were all filled with love for him, and then he
sang this song:

West of Alba, near the Mound[FN#8]
Where the Fair-Haired Women play,
There, 'mid little children found,
Etain dwells, by Cichmain's Bay.

She hath healed a monarch's eye
By the well of Loch-da-lee;
Yea, and Etar's wife, when dry,
Drank her: heavy draught was she!

Chased by king for Etain's sake,
Birds their flight from Teffa wing:
'Tis for her Da-Arbre's lake
Drowns the coursers of the king.

Echaid, who in Meath shall reign,
Many a war for thee shall wage;
He shall bring on fairies bane,
Thousands rouse to battle's rage.

Etain here to harm was brought,
Etain's form is Beauty's test;
Etain's king in love she sought:
Etain with our folk shall rest!

[FN#8] The metre of these verses is that of the Irish.

And after that he had spoken thus, the young warrior went away from the
place where the maidens were; and they knew not whence it was that he
had come, nor whither he departed afterwards.
Moreover it is told of Mac O'c, that after the disappearance of Etain
he came to the meeting appointed between him and Mider; and when he
found that Fuamnach was away: "'Tis deceit," said Mider, "that this
woman hath practised upon us; and if Etain shall be seen by her to be
in Ireland, she will work evil upon Etain." "And indeed," said Mac
O'c, "it seemeth to me that thy guess may be true. For Etain hath long
since been in my own house, even in the palace where I dwell; moreover
she is now in that shape into which that woman transformed her; and
'tis most likely that it is upon her that Fuamnach hath rushed." Then
Mac O'c went back to his palace, and he found his bower of glass empty,
for Etain was not there. And Mac O'c turned him, and he went upon the
track of Fuamnach, and he overtook her at Oenach Bodbgnai, in the house
of Bressal Etarlam the Druid. And Mac O'c attacked her, and he struck
off her head, and he carried the head with him till he came to within
his own borders.

Yet a different tale hath been told of the end of Fuamnach, for it hath
been said that by the aid of Manannan both Fuamnach and Mider were
slain in Bri Leith, and it is of that slaying that men have told when
they said:

Think on Sigmall, and Bri with its forest:
Little wit silly Fuamnach had learned;
Mider's wife found her need was the sorest,
When Bri Leith by Manannan was burned.

THE COURTSHIP OF ETAIN

EGERTON VERSION

Once there was a glorious and stately king who held the supreme
lordship over all the land of Ireland. The name of the king was
Eochaid Airemm, and he was the son of Finn, who was the son of Finntan;
who was the son of Rogan the Red; who was the son of Essamain; who was
the son of Blathecht; who was the son of Beothecht; who was the son of
Labraid the Tracker; who was the son of Enna the Swift; who was the son
of Angus of Tara, called the Shamefaced; who was the son of Eochaid the
Broad-jointed; who was the son of Ailill of the Twisted Teeth; who was
the son of Connla the Fair; who was the son of Irer; who was the son of
Melghe the Praiseworthy; who was the son of Cobhtach the Slender from
the plain of Breg; who was the son of Ugaine the Great; who was the son
of Eochaid the Victorious.

Now all the five provinces of Ireland were obedient to the rule of
Eochaid Airemm: for Conor the son of Ness, the king of Ulster, was
vassal to Eochaid; and Messgegra the king of Leinster was his vassal;
and so was Curoi, the son of Dare, king of the land of Munster; and so
were Ailill and Maev, who ruled over the land of Connaught. Two great
strongholds were in the hands of Eochaid: they were the strongholds of
Fremain in Meath, and of Fremain in Tethba; and the stronghold that he
had in Tethba was more pleasing to him than any of those that he
possessed.
Less than a year had passed since Eochaid first assumed the sovereignty
over Erin, when the news was proclaimed at once throughout all the land
that the Festival of Tara should be held, that all the men of Ireland
should come into the presence of their king, and that he desired full
knowledge of the tributes due from, and the customs proper to each.
And the one answer that all of the men of Ireland made to his call was:
"That they would not attend the Festival of Tara during such time,
whether it be long or short, that the king of Ireland remained without
a wife that was worthy of him;" for there is no noble who is a wifeless
man among the men of Ireland; nor can there be any king without a
queen; nor does any man go to the Festival of Tara without his wife;
nor does any wife go thither without her husband.

Thereupon Eochaid sent out from him his horsemen, and his wizards, and
his officers who had the care of the roads, and his couriers of the
boundaries throughout all Ireland; and they searched all Ireland as
they sought for a wife that should be worthy of the king, in her form,
and her grace, and her countenance, and her birth. And in addition to
all this there yet remained one condition: that the king would take as
his wife none who had been before as a wife to any other man before him.

And after that they had received these commands, his horsemen, and his
wizards, and his officers who had the care of the roads, and the
couriers of the boundaries went out; and they searched all Ireland
south and north; and near to the Bay of Cichmany they found a wife
worthy of the king; and her name was Etain the daughter of Etar, who
was the king of Echrad. And his messengers returned to Eochaid, and
they told him of the maiden, of her form, and her grace, and her
countenance. And Eochaid came to that place to take the maiden thence,
and this was the way that he took; for as he crossed over the ground
where men hold the assembly of Bri Leith, he saw the maiden at the
brink of the spring. A clear comb of silver was held in her hand, the
comb was adorned with gold; and near her, as for washing, was a bason
of silver whereon four birds had been chased, and there were little
bright gems of carbuncle on the rims of the bason. A bright purple
mantle waved round her; and beneath it was another mantle, ornamented
with silver fringes: the outer mantle was clasped over her bosom with a
golden brooch. A tunic she wore, with a long hood that might cover her
head attached to it; it was stiff and glossy with green silk beneath
red embroidery of gold, and was clasped over her breasts with
marvellously wrought clasps of silver and gold; so that men saw the
bright gold and the green silk flashing against the sun. On her head
were two tresses of golden hair, and each tress had been plaited into
four strands; at the end of each strand was a little ball of gold. And
there was that maiden, undoing her hair that she might wash it, her two
arms out through the armholes of her smock. Each of her two arms was
as white as the snow of a single night, and each of her cheeks was as
rosy as the foxglove. Even and small were the teeth in her head, and
they shone like pearls. Her eyes were as blue as a hyacinth, her lips
delicate and crimson; very high, soft, and white were her shoulders.
Tender, polished, and white were her wrists; her fingers long, and of
great whiteness; her nails were beautiful and pink. White as the snow,
or as the foam of the wave, was her side; long was it, slender, and as
soft as silk. Smooth and white were her thighs; her knees were round
and firm and white; her ankles were as straight as the rule of a
carpenter. Her feet were slim, and as white as the ocean's foam;
evenly set were her eyes; her eyebrows were of a bluish black, such as
ye see upon the shell of a beetle. Never a maid fairer than she, or
more worthy of love, was till then seen by the eyes of men; and it
seemed to them that she must be one of those who have come from the
fairy mounds: it is of this maiden that men have spoken when it hath
been said: "All that's graceful must be tested by Etain; all that's
lovely by the standard of Etain."

Grace with Etain's grace compare!
Etain's face shall test what's fair!

And desire of her seized upon the king; and he sent a man of his people
in front of him to go to her kindred, in order that she might abide to
await his coming. And afterwards the king came to the maiden, and he
sought speech from her: "Whence art thou sprung, O maiden?" says
Eochaid, "and whence is it that thou hast come?" "It is easy to answer
thee," said the maiden: "Etain is my name, the daughter of the king of
Echrad; 'out of the fairy mound' am I" "Shall an hour of dalliance
with thee be granted to me?" said Eochaid. "'Tis for that I have come
hither under thy safeguard," said she. "And indeed twenty years have I
lived in this place, ever since I was born in the mound where the
fairies dwell, and the men who dwell in the elf-mounds, their kings and
their nobles, have been a-wooing me: yet to never a one of them was
granted sleep with me, for I have loved thee, and have set my love and
affection upon thee; and that ever since I was a little child, and had
first the gift of speech. It was for the high tales of thee, and of
thy splendour, that I have loved thee thus; and though I have never
seen thee before, I knew thee at once by reason of the report of thee
that I had heard; it is thou, I know, to whom we have attained." "It
is no evil-minded lover who now inviteth thee," says Eochaid. "Thou
shalt be welcomed by me, and I will leave all women for thy sake, and
thine alone will I be so long as it is pleasing to thee." "Let the
bride-price that befits me be paid," said the maiden, "and after that
let my desire be fulfilled." "It shall be as thou hast said," the king
answered her; and he gave the value of seven cumals to be her
brideprice; and after that he brought her to Tara, whereon a fair and
hearty welcome was made to her.

Now there were three brothers of the one blood, all sons of Finn,
namely, Eochaid Airem, and Eochaid, and Ailill Anglonnach, or Ailill of
the Single Stain, because the only stain that was upon him was the love
that he had for his brother's wife. And at that time came all the men
of Ireland to hold the festival of Tara; they were there for fourteen
days before Samhain, the day when the summer endeth, and for fourteen
days after that day. It was at the feast of Tara that love for Etain
the daughter of Etar came upon Ailill Anglonnach; and ever so long as
they were at the Tara Feast, so long he gazed upon the maid. And it
was there that the wife of Ailill spoke to him; she who was the
daughter of Luchta of the Red Hand, who came from the province of
Leinster: "Ailill," said she, "why dost thou gaze at her from afar? for
long gazing is a token of love." And Ailill gave blame to himself for
this thing, and after that he looked not upon the maid.

Now it followed that after that the Feast of Tara had been consumed,
the men of Ireland parted from one another, and then it was that Ailill
became filled with the pangs of envy and of desire; and he brought upon
himself the choking misery of a sore sickness, and was borne to the
stronghold of Fremain in Tethba after that he had fallen into that woe.
There also, until a whole year had ended, sickness long brooded over
Ailill, and for long was he in distress, yet he allowed none to know of
his sickness. And there Eochaid came to learn of his brother's state,
and he came near to his brother, and laid his hand upon his chest; and
Ailill heaved a sigh. "Why," said Eochaid, "surely this sickness of
thine is not such as to cause thee to lament; how fares it with thee?"
"By my word," said Ailill, "'tis no easier that I grow; but it is worse
each day, and each night." "Why, what ails thee?" said Eochaid, "By my
word of truth," said Ailill, "I know not." "Bring one of my folk
hither," said Eochaid, "one who can find out the cause of this illness."

Then Fachtna, the chief physician of Eochaid, was summoned to give aid
to Ailill, and he laid his hand upon his chest, and Ailill heaved a
sigh. "Ah," said Fachtna, "there is no need for lament in this matter,
for I know the cause of thy sickness; one or other of these two evils
oppresseth thee, the pangs of envy, or the pangs of love: nor hast thou
been aided to escape from them until now." And Ailill was full of
shame, and he refused to confess to Fachtna the cause of his illness,
and the physician left him.

Now, after all this, king Eochaid went in person to make a royal
progress throughout the realm of Ireland, and he left Etain behind him
in his fortress; and "Lady," said he, "deal thou gently with Ailill so
long as he is yet alive; and, should he die," said he, "do thou see
that his burial mound be heaped for him; and that a standing-stone be
set up in memory of him; and let his name be written upon it in letters
of Ogham." Then the king went away for the space of a year, to make
his royal progress throughout the realm of Ireland, and Ailill was left
behind, in the stronghold of Fremain of Tethba; there to pass away and
to die.

Now upon a certain day that followed, the lady Etain came to the house
where Ailill lay in his sickness, and thus she spoke to him: "What is
it," she said, "that ails thee? thy sickness is great, and if we but
knew anything that would content thee, thou shouldest have it." It was
thus that at that time she spoke, and she sang a verse of a song, and
Ailill in song made answer to her:

Etain

Young man, of the strong step and splendid,
What hath bound thee? what ill dost thou bear?
Thou hast long been on sick-bed extended,
Though around thee the sunshine was fair.

Ailill

There is reason indeed for my sighing,
I joy naught at my harp's pleasant sound;
Milk untasted beside me is lying;
And by this in disease am I bound.

Etain

Tell me all, thou poor man, of thine ailing;
For a maiden am I that is wise;
Is there naught, that to heal thee availing,
Thou couldst win by mine aid, and arise

Ailill

If I told thee, thou beautiful maiden,
My words, as I formed them, would choke,
For with fire can eyes' curtains be laden:
Woman-secrets are evil, if woke.

Etain

It is ill woman-secrets to waken;
Yet with Love, its remembrance is long;
And its part by itself may be taken,
Nor a thought shall remain of the wrong.

Ailill

I adore thee, white lady, as grateful;
Yet thy bounty deserve I but ill:
To my soul is my longing but hateful,
For my body doth strive with me still.

Eocho Fedlech,[FN#9] his bride to him taking,
Made thee queen; and from thence is my woe:
For my head and my body are aching,
And all Ireland my weakness must know.

Etain

If, among the white women who near me abide,
There is one who is vexing, whose love thou dost hide;
To thy side will I bring her, if thus I may please;
And in love thou shalt win her, thy sickness to ease.

Ah lady! said Ailill, "easily could the cure of my sickness be wrought
by the aid of thee, and great gain should there come from the deed, but
thus it is with me until that be accomplished:

Long ago did my passion begin,
A full year it exceeds in its length;
And it holds me, more near than my skin,
And it rules over wrath in its strength.

And the earth into four it can shake,
Can reach up to the heights of the sky
And a neck with its might it can break,
Nor from fight with a spectre would fly.

In vain race up to heaven 'tis urged;
It is chilled, as with water, and drowned:
'Tis a weapon, in ocean submerged;
'Tis desire for an echo, a sound.

'Tis thus my love, my passion seem; 'tis thus I strive in vain
To win the heart of her whose love I long so much to gain.

[FN#9] Pronounced Yeo-ho Fayllya, see note, p. 166.

And the lady stood there in that place, and she looked upon Ailill, and
the sickness in which he lay was perceived by her; and she was grieved
on account of it: so that upon a certain day came the lady to Ailill,
and "Young man," she said, "arouse thyself quickly, for in very truth
thou shalt have all that thou desirest; and thereon did she make this
lay:

Now arouse thyself, Ailill the royal:
Let thy heart, and thy courage rise high;
Every longing thou hast shall be sated,
For before thee, to heal thee, am I.

Is my neck and its beauty so pleasing?
'Tis around it thine arms thou shalt place;
And 'tis known as a courtship's beginning
When a man and a woman embrace.

And if this cometh not to content thee,
O thou man, that art son to a king!
I will dare to do crime for thy healing,
And my body to please thee will bring.

There were steeds, with their bridles, one hundred,
When the price for my wedding was told;
And one hundred of gay-coloured garments,
And of cattle, and ounces of gold.

Of each beast that men know, came one hundred;
And king Eocho to grant them was swift:
When a king gave such dowry to gain me,
Is't not wondrous to win me, as gift?

Now each day the lady came to Ailill to tend him, and to divide for him
the portion of food that was allotted to him; and she wrought a great
healing upon him: for it grieved her that he should perish for her
sake. And one day the lady spoke to Ailill: "Come thou to-morrow,"
said she, "to tryst with me at the break of day, in the house which
lieth outside, and is beyond the fort, and there shalt thou have
granted thy request and thy desire." On that night Ailill lay without
sleep until the coming of the morning; and when the time had come that
was appointed for his tryst, his sleep lay heavily upon him; so that
till the hour of his rising he lay deep in his sleep. And Etain went
to the tryst, nor had she long to wait ere she saw a man coming towards
her in the likeness of Ailill, weary and feeble; but she knew that he
was not Ailill, and she continued there waiting for Ailill. And the
lady came back from her tryst, and Ailill awoke, and thought that he
would rather die than live; and he went in great sadness and grief.
And the lady came to speak with him, and when he told her what had
befallen him: "Thou shalt come," said she, "to the same place, to meet
with me upon the morrow." And upon the morrow it was the same as upon
the first day; each day came that man to her tryst. And she came again
upon the last day that was appointed for the tryst, and the same man
met her. "'Tis not with thee that I trysted," said she, "why dost thou
come to meet me? and for him whom I would have met here; neither from
desire of his love nor for fear of danger from him had I appointed to
meet him, but only to heal him, and to cure him from the sickness which
had come upon him for his love of me." "It were more fitting for thee
to come to tryst with me," says the man, "for when thou wast Etain of
the Horses, and when thou wast the daughter of Ailill, I myself was thy
husband. "Why," said she, "what name hast thou in the land? that is
what I would demand of thee." "It is not hard to answer thee," he
said; "Mider of Bri Leith is my name." "And what made thee to part
from me, if we were as thou sayest?" said Etain. "Easy again is the
answer," said Mider; "it was the sorcery of Fuamnach and the spells of
Bressal Etarlam that put us apart." And Mider said to Etain: "Wilt
thou come with me?"

"Nay," answered Etain, "I will not exchange the king of all Ireland for
thee; for a man whose kindred and whose lineage is unknown." "It was I
myself indeed," said Mider, "who filled all the mind of Ailill with
love for thee: it was I also who prevented his coming to the tryst with
thee, and allowed him not thine honour to spoil it."

After all this the lady went back to her house, and she came to speech
with Ailill, and she greeted him. "It hath happened well for us both,"
said Ailill, "that the man met thee there: for I am cured for ever from
my illness, thou also art unhurt in thine honour, and may a blessing
rest upon thee!" "Thanks be to our gods," said Etain, "that both of us
do indeed deem that all this hath chanced so well." And after that
Eochaid came back from his royal progress, and he asked at once for his
brother; and the tale was told to him from the beginning to the end,
and the king was grateful to Etain, in that she had been gracious to
Ailill; and, "What hath been related in this tale," said Eochaid, "is
well-pleasing to ourselves."

And, for the after history of Eochaid and Etain, it is told that once
when Eochaid was in Fremain, at such time as the people had prepared
for themselves a great gathering and certain horse-races; thither also
to that assembly came Etain, that she might see the sight. Thither
also came Mider, and he searched through that assembly to find out
where Etain might be; and he found Etain, and her women around her, and
he bore her away with him, also one of her handmaidens, called Crochen
the Ruddy: hideous was the form in which Mider approached them. And
the wives of the men of Ireland raised cries of woe, as the queen was
carried off from among them; and the horses of Ireland were loosed to
pursue Mider, for they knew not whether it was into the air or into the
earth he had gone. But, as for Mider, the course that he had taken was
the road to the west, even to the plain of Croghan; and as he came
thither, "How shall it profit us," said Crochen the Ruddy, "this
journey of ours to this plain?" "For evermore," said Mider, "shall thy
name be over all this plain:" and hence cometh the name of the plain of
Croghan, and of the Fort of Croghan. Then Mider came to the Fairy
Mound of Croghan; for the dwellers in that mound were allied to him,
and his friends; and for nine days they lingered there, banqueting and
feasting; so that "Is this the place where thou makest thy home?" said
Crochen to Mider. "Eastwards from this is my dwelling," Mider answered
her; "nearer to the rising-place of the sun;" and Mider, taking Etain
with him, departed, and came to Bri Leith, where the son of Celthar had
his palace.

Now just at the time when they came to this palace, king Eochaid sent
out from him the horsemen of Ireland, also his wizards, and his
officers who had the care of the roads, and the couriers of the
boundaries, that they might search through Ireland, and find out where
his wife might be; and Eochaid himself wandered throughout Ireland to
seek for his wife; and for a year from that day until the same day upon
the year that followed he searched, and he found nothing to profit him.

Then, at the last, king Eochaid sent for his Druid, and he set to him
the task to seek for Etain; now the name of the Druid was Dalan. And
Dalan came before him upon that day; and he went westwards, until he
came to the mountain that was after that known as Slieve Dalan; and he
remained there upon that night. And the Druid deemed it a grievous
thing that Etain should be hidden from him for the space of one year,
and thereupon he made three wands of yew; and upon the wands he wrote
an ogham; and by the keys of wisdom that he had, and by the ogham, it
was revealed to him that Etain was in the fairy mound of Bri Leith, and
that Mider had borne her thither.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23