Book XV 411

The Writing of the Táin 447

APPENDIX A:

Irish Terms used in the Verse 453

APPENDIX B:

The Place-names occurring in the Verse 460

APPENDIX C:

Names of Persons, Tribes, and Animals occurring in the Verse 479

APPENDIX D:

The Principal Sources from which the Narrative has been drawn 487

APPENDIX E:

Notes on Books VI and VII 491

Abbreviations used in the Appendices 494

THE FINDING OF THE TÁIN

THE FINDING OF THE TÁIN.

Shen´-cawn, the agéd poet, asked the poets Of Erin (for Mar-vawn´, the Swineherd-Saint, Had laid that task on him) whether a poet Amidst them could relate the Táin Bo Cooley Unbroken from its opening; and no poet Amidst them could relate the Táin Bo Cooley Except in broken fragments. And the book, Wherein ’twas written, had been reft away And lost in Latin lands. And Shen´-cawn then (Because Mar-vawn´ had laid that task on him) Said to his band of three times fifty poets, Both to the Ollavs and the humblest learners, “We must go forth throughout the lands of Erin, And must not tarry two nights in one stead Till we get knowledge of the Táin.” Whereon The poets travelled through the lands of Erin, And searched from west to east and north to south; But they obtained no knowledge of the Táin Except in broken fragments; and they all Were weary, gloomy, downcast, and in sorrow. They came to Leinster, then, to Connra Cae, The bounteous one, to whom they said, “O King, Give us a boat to put us o’er the waves To Alba, that we there may seek some poet Who knows the Táin.” A ship was cleared for them And filled; and over the white-blossomed sea Northward they fared, and passed the crags of Manann, And came to Alba; and a year they searched From south to north and west to east through Alba, But got no knowledge of the Táin. Then Shen´-cawn In trouble said, “Return we now to Erin.” And o’er the proud-voiced ocean they returned; And put their prows on shore against Ath Cleea; And they were weary, downcast, and in sorrow. Then they beheld Neev Caillin, who to Shen´-cawn Was mother’s son: and he bestowed on Shen´-cawn Three kisses, and asked tidings, and they told him They yet had got no knowledge of the Táin. Then Caillin said: “I will now go with you To Connaught to Mar-vawn´; for he alone, Who laid this task on Shen´-cawn, can reveal Knowledge by help of which ye may obtain The Táin Bo Cooley whole.” And so the poets Went to Mar-vawn´ in Connaught; and Mar-vawn´, Chief-prophet of the Heaven and the Earth, Gave kisses to Neev Caillin and to Shen´-cawn, And welcomed the thrice fifty weary poets, And said, “O Ollavs, there is not in Erin, Amongst the living or amongst the dead, One who can tell the Táin Bo Cooley wholly With all its deeds and feats—save only Fergus The son of Roy. Ye must send messengers To the chief saints amidst the saints of Erin, Bidding them come, and, by the grave of Fergus, Fast to the Deity three days and nights, That He may send them Fergus to relate The Táin Bo Cooley wholly.” Then Neev Caillin Went forth; and he besought the saints of Erin, And brought them; and they feasted for one night; And on the morrow went with only Shen´-cawn By desert ways to Aenloch on Moy Wee, And found the flag-stone o’er the lying-place And grave of that great Fergus; and they prayed; And they were pleading and were fasting there That that great Fergus might be sent to them.

These were the saints who visited that grave.

Neev Columkillé, who, for splendid radiance Of noble birth, was as a moon in the air, Having a hue of gold on it, and shining Over Iona and the north-east sea. Neev Kieran son of Faylim, who, for radiance Of holy mercy, was as a moon in the air, Having a hue of gold on it, and shining O’er the wide Shannon and the heart of Erin. Neev Brendan, who, that he might find a land, Hidden, delightful, very far from men, Wherein to love the Lord, had voyaged far O’er the intolerable sea, and seen The gate of Hell,—and who once more should voyage For seven years, and at last find a land Hidden, delightful, lofty, lovable, And there abide in love of Christ the Lord. Neev Kieran of green Sayer, who was old, Weighted with years; for he was the first saint E’er born in Erin, and his earliest monks Had been a fox and brock and wolf and doe, Who humbled themselves gently and were righteous, And dwelt with him within vast desert woods. Neev Findian of Clonard, the pious one And scholar, in whose school three thousand saints Had studied wisdom, ere they wandered forth To build their cells and churches through vast Erin. Neev Findian of Movilla, who was bishop And sage in Ulster, and a shining star. Neev Caillin, who had brought these saints together. And they were gathered in that desert place Round the flat flag above the grave of Fergus. Then Shen´-cawn sang a poem to the gravestone, As though he sang to Fergus. “Rise,” he said, “For these have supplicated Jesus Christ That Fergus may appear to us and tell That history, the wondrous Táin Bo Cooley, With its beginning and its deeds and end, Which were enacted in old far-back days, Before the Tal-kend brought the Faith to Erin.” With that, a mighty mist and fog grew round Those holy men and Shen´-cawn, who were there; So that if any man had sought to find them, He had not found them through the mist. And Fergus Came from the grave where five times five score years He had been hidden. And a beautiful And rich appearance was upon that warrior. Brown hair was on him; and a hooded layna With red inweaving of red gold. A bratt Of bright grass-green was round him; and he wore A golden-hilted sword, and round-toed shoes Wrought all of bronze. And when that warrior, Fergus, Perceived the holy men of Erin nigh him, It was his wish to stand, and standing, tell The Táin he had to tell. Howbeit those saints Would not hear aught from him till courteously They gave him seat; and, seated so amidst them, The while they fasted for three days and nights, Folded by mist, that warrior from the grave Taught them this History, the Táin Bo Cooley, With its beginning and its deeds and end, E’en as it had been acted in old days, Before Neev Patrick brought the Faith to Erin.