{"collection":"Northern European Mythology","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/neu/celt/vob/vob02.htm","path":"neu/celt/vob/vob02.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/vob/vob02.htm","text":"| p. 2 1. \u2019TWAS fifty quatrains the woman from unknown lands sang on the floor of the house to Bran son of Febal, when the royal house was full of kings, who knew not whence the woman had come, since the ramparts were closed. 2. This is the beginning of the story. One day, in the neighbourhood of his stronghold, Bran went about alone, when he heard music behind him. As often as he looked back, \u2019twas still behind him the music was. At last he fell asleep at the music, such was its sweetness. When he awoke from his sleep, he saw close by him a branch 3 of | | p. 3 Imram Brain maic Febail, ocus a Echtra andso s\u00eds 1. C\u00d3ICA rand rogab in ben a t\u00edrib ingnath for l\u00e1ur in tige do Bran mac Febail, arrob\u00f3i a r\u00edgthech l\u00e1n de r\u00edgaib, annadfetatar can dolluid in ben, \u00f3robatar ind liss d\u00fantai. 2. Is ed tossach in sce\u00f3il. Imluid Bran laa n-and a \u00f3inur i comocus dia d\u00fan, coc\u00faala, a ce\u00f3l far \u00edarna ch\u00fal. A n-don\u00e9cad tar a \u00e9issi, ba \u00edarna ch\u00fal beus nob\u00edth a ce\u00f3l. Contuil asendath frissa ce\u00f3l ar a bindi. A n-dof\u00fasig asa chotlud, conacca in cr\u00f3ib n-arggait fua bl\u00e1th find ina farruth, na bu hasse etarscarath a bl\u00e1the frissin cr\u00f3ib \u00edsin. Dobert \u00edarum Bran in cr\u00f3ib ina l\u00e1im dia | \n| p. 4 silver with white blossoms, nor was it easy to distinguish its bloom from that branch. Then Bran took the branch in his hand to his royal house. When the hosts were in the royal house, they saw a woman in strange raiment on the floor of the house. \u2019Twas then she sang the fifty 1 quatrains to Bran, while the host heard her, and all beheld the woman. And she said: 3. 'A branch of the apple-tree\u00a02 from Emain\u00a03 I bring, like those one knows; Twigs of white silver are on it, Crystal brows with blossoms. 4. 'There is a distant isle, Around which sea-horses\u00a04 glisten: A fair course against the white-swelling surge,\u00a05-- Four feet uphold it.\u00a06 5. 'A delight of the eyes, a glorious range, Is the plain on which the hosts hold games: Coracle contends against chariot In southern Mag Findargat.\u00a07 | | p. 5 r\u00edgthig. \u00d3robatar inna sochuidi isind r\u00edgthig conaccatar in mn\u00e1i i n-\u00e9tuch ingnuth for l\u00e1ur in tige. Is and cachain in c\u00f3icait rand so do Braun arranch\u00faale in sl\u00f3g, ocus adchondarcatar uili in mn\u00e1i. Onus asbert: 3. 'Cr\u00f3ib dind abaill a hEmain dofed samail do gn\u00e1thaib, g\u00e9sci findarggait fora, abrait glano co m-bl\u00e1thaib. 4. 'Fil inis i n-eterch\u00e9in immataitnet gabra r\u00e9in, rith find fris\u2019 t\u00f3ibgel tondat, cethe\u00f3\u00edr cossa foslongat. 5. 'Is l\u00ed s\u00fala, sreth \u00edar m-b\u00faaid, am-mag forclechtat ins sl\u00faaig: consna curach fri carpat isin maig tess Findarggat. | \n| p. 6 6. 'Feet of white bronze under it Glittering through beautiful ages.\u00a01 Lovely land throughout the world's age, On which the many blossoms drop. 7. 'An ancient tree there is with blossoms, On which birds call\u00a02 to the Hours.\u00a03 \u2019Tis in harmony it is their wont To call together every Hour. 8. 'Splendours of every colour glisten Throughout the gentle-voiced plains. Joy is known, ranked around music, In southern Mag Argatn\u00e9l.\u00a04 9. 'Unknown is wailing or treachery\u00a05 In the familiar cultivated land, There is nothing rough or harsh,\u00a06 But sweet music striking on the ear. 10. 'Without grief, without sorrow, without death, Without any sickness, without debility,\u00a07 That is the sign of Emain\u00a08-- Uncommon is an equal marvel. | | p. 7 6. 'Cossa findrune f\u00f3e, taitni tr\u00e9 bithu gn\u00f3e: c\u00e1in t\u00edr tr\u00eda bithu b\u00e1tha, forsnig inna hilbl\u00e1tha. 7. 'Fil and bile co m-bl\u00e1thaib fors\u1e45gairet e\u00f3in do thr\u00e1thaib: is tr\u00e9 cocetul is gn\u00e1th congairet uili cech tr\u00e1th. 8. 'Taitnet l\u00edga cech datho tr\u00e9sna maige m\u00f3ithgretho, is gn\u00e1th sube, sreth imm ch\u00e9ul, isin maig tess Arggatn\u00e9ul. 9. 'N\u00ed gn\u00e1th \u00e9c\u00f3iniud na mrath hi mruig d\u00e9nta etargnath, n\u00ed b\u00edi nach gargg fri cr\u00faais, acht mad c\u00e9ul m-bind frismben cl\u00faais. 10. 'Cen br\u00f3n, cen duba, cen b\u00e1s, cen nach n-galar cen indg\u00e1s, is ed etargne n-Emne, n\u00ed comtig a comamre. | \n| p. 8 11. 'A beauty of a wondrous land, Whose aspects are lovely, Whose view is a fair country, Incomparable is its haze. 12. 'Then if Aircthech\u00a01 is seen, On which dragonstones\u00a02 and crystals drop The sea washes the wave against the land, Hair of crystal drops from its mane.\u00a03 13. 'Wealth, treasures of every hue, Are in Ciuin,\u00a04 a beauty of freshness, Listening to sweet music, Drinking the best of wine.\u00a05 14. 'Golden chariots in Mag R\u00e9in,\u00a06 Rising with the tide to the sun, Chariots of silver in Mag Mon,\u00a07 And of bronze without blemish. 15. 'Yellow golden steeds are on the sward there, Other steeds with crimson hue, Others with wool upon their backs Of the hue of heaven all-blue. | | p. 9 11. 'C\u00e1ine t\u00edre adamri, ata comgn\u00fasi cadli, asa rodarc find fia, n\u00ed fr\u00edthid b\u00edd a cia. 12. 'M\u00e1 adcetha Aircthech \u00edar tain forsnig dracoin ocus glain, dosnig am-mu\u00edr fri t\u00edr toind, trilsi glano asa moing. 13. 'M\u00f3ini, d\u00fassi cach datho hi Ci\u00fain, c\u00e1ine \u00e9tdtho, \u00e9tsecht fri c\u00e9ul co m-bindi, \u00f3ol f\u00edno \u00f3ingrindi. 14. 'Carpait \u00f3rdi hi Maig R\u00e9in, taircet la tule don gr\u00e9in, carpait arggait i Maig Mon ocus cr\u00e9dumi cen on. 15. 'Graig \u00f3ir budi and fri srath graig aile co corcardath, graig aile ualann tar ais co n-dath nime huleglais. | \n| p. 10 16. At sunrise there will come A fair man illumining level lands; He rides upon the fair sea-washed\u00a01 plain, He stirs the ocean till it is blood. 17. 'A host will come across the clear sea, To the land they show their rowing; Then they row to the conspicuous stone, From which arise a hundred strains. 18. 'It sings a strain unto the host Through long ages, it is not sad, Its music swells\u00a02 with choruses of hundreds-- They look for neither decay nor death. 19. 'Many-shaped Emne\u00a03 by the sea, Whether it be near, whether it be far, In which are many thousands of motley\u00a04 women, Which the clear sea encircles. 20. 'If he has heard the voice of the music, The chorus of the little birds from Imchiuin,\u00a05 A small band of women will come from a height To the plain of sport in which he is. | | p. 11 16. 'Dofeith la turcb\u00e1il n-gr\u00e9ne fer find forosna r\u00e9de, r\u00e9did mag find frismbein muir, mescid fairggi co m-b\u00ed fu\u00edl. 17. 'Dofeith in sl\u00faag tar muir glan, don t\u00edr donaidbri imram, imr\u00e1id \u00edarum dond licc l\u00e9ur asa com\u00e9rig c\u00e9t c\u00e9ul. 18. 'Canid airbitiud dont \u1e61l\u00f3g tr\u00e9 bithu s\u00edr, nat b\u00ed tr\u00f3g, tormaig c\u00e9ul co c\u00f3rib c\u00e9t, n\u00ed frescet aithbe n\u00e1 \u00e9c. 19. 'Emne ildelbach fri r\u00edan, b\u00e9su ocus, b\u00e9su ch\u00edan, i fil ilm\u00edli m-brec m-ban, immustimerchel muir glan. 20. 'M\u00e1 ruch\u00faala l\u00faad in chi\u00fail, esnach \u00e9n\u00e1n a hImchi\u00fain, dofeith banchor\u00e9n di haa cusa cluchemag itaa. | \n| p. 12 21. 'There will come happiness with health To the land against which laughter peals, Into Imchiuin at every season Will come everlasting joy. 22. 'It is a day of lasting weather That showers silver on the lands,\u00a01 A pure-white cliff on the range of the sea, Which from the sun receives its heat 23. 'The host race along Mag Mon,\u00a02 A beautiful game, not feeble, In the variegated land over a mass of beauty They look for neither decay nor death. 24. 'Listening to music at night, And going into Ildathach,\u00a03 A variegated land. splendour on a diadem of beauty, Whence the white cloud glistens. 25. 'There are thrice fifty distant isles In the ocean to the west of us; Larger than Erin twice Is each of them, or thrice.\u00a04 | | p. 13 21. 'Dofeith s\u00f3ire la sl\u00e1ini don ti\u00edr frisferat g\u00e1iri, is i n-Imchi\u00fain cach \u00e1gi dofeith b\u00faaine la h\u00e1ni. 22. 'Is l\u00e1 suthaine s\u00edne dosnig arggat i t\u00edre, aill erfind for idna r\u00e9in foafeid a gr\u00edss a gr\u00e9in. 23. 'Graibnid in sl\u00f3g \u00edar Maig Mon, cluche n-\u00e1laind, nad indron, i mruig mrecht \u00faas maisse m\u00e9t, n\u00ed frescat aithbe n\u00e1 \u00e9c. 24. '\u00c9tsecht fri c\u00e9ul i n-adig, ocus techt i n-Ildath\u00edg, mruig mrecht, l\u00edg \u00faas maisse m\u00e9t, asa taitni in n\u00e9l find. 25. 'Fil tr\u00ed c\u00f3ictea inse c\u00edan isind oceon frinn an\u00edar; is m\u00f3 \u00c9rinn co fa d\u00ed cach \u00e1i d\u00edib n\u00f3 fa thr\u00ed. | \n| p. 14 26. 'A great birth\u00a01 will come after ages, That will not be in a lofty place,\u00a02 The son of a woman whose mate will not be known, He will seize the rule of the many thousands. 27. 'A rule without beginning, without end,\u00a03 He has created the world so that it is perfect, Whose are earth and sea, Woe to him that shall be under His unwill!\u00a04 28. '\u2019Tis He that made the heavens, Happy he that has a white heart, He will purify hosts under pure water,\u00a05 \u2019Tis He that will heal your sicknesses. 29. 'Not to all of you is my speech, Though its great marvel has been made known: Let Bran hear from the crowd of the world What of wisdom has been told to him. 30. 'Do not fall on a bed of sloth, Let not thy intoxication overcome thee, Begin a voyage across the clear sea, If perchance thou mayst reach the land of women.' | | p. 15 26. 'Ticfa m\u00e1r-gein \u00edar m-bethaib nad b\u00eda for a forclethaib, mac mn\u00e1 nad festar c\u00e9le, g\u00e9bid flaith na n-ilm\u00edle. 27. 'Flaith cen tossach cen forcenn dor\u00faasat bith co forban, isai talam ocus muir, is mairgg b\u00edas fua \u00e9tuil. 28. 'Is h\u00e9 dorigni nime, c\u00e9inmair dia m-ba findchride, glanfid sl\u00faagu fua linn glan, is h\u00e9 \u00edcfes for tedman. 29. 'Ni d\u00faib uili mo labre, cia atfess a m\u00f3ramre: \u00e9tsed Bran de betho br\u00f3u a n-di ecn\u00e6 adf\u00e9t d\u00f3u. 30. 'N\u00e1 tuit fri lige lesce, nachit-tr\u00f3ithad do mesce, tinscan imram tar muir glan, d\u00fas in rista t\u00edr na m-ban.' | \n| p. 16 31. Thereupon the woman went from them, while they knew not whither she went. 1 And she took her branch with her. The branch sprang from Bran's hand into the hand of the woman, nor was there strength in Bran's hand to hold the branch. 32. Then on the morrow Bran went upon the sea. The number of his men was three companies of nine. One of his foster-brothers and mates 2 was set over each of the three companies of nine. When he had been at sea two days and two nights, he saw a man in a chariot coming towards him over the sea. That man also sang thirty 3 other quatrains to him, and made himself known to him, 4 and said that he was Manannan the son of Ler, and said that it was upon him to go to Ireland after long ages, and that a son would be born to him, even Mongan son of Fiachna--that was the name which would be upon him. So he sang these thirty quatrains to him: 33. 'Bran deems it a marvellous beauty In his coracle across the clear sea: While to me in my chariot from afar It is a flowery plain on which he rides about. | | p. 17 31. Luid in ben \u00faadib \u00edarom annadfetatar cia luid, ocus birt a cr\u00f3ib lee. Leblaing in chr\u00f3ib di l\u00e1\u00edm Brain co m-b\u00f3i for l\u00e1im inna mn\u00e1, ocus n\u00ed b\u00f3i nert i l\u00e1im Brain do gab\u00e1il inna cr\u00f3ibe. 32. Luid Bran \u00edarom arab\u00e1rach for muir. Tr\u00ed nonbuir a l\u00edn. \u00d3in\u1e1fer forsnaib tr\u00edb nonburaib dia chomaltaib ocus com\u00e1isib. \u00d3 rob\u00f3i d\u00e1 l\u00e1 ocus d\u00ed aidchi forsin muir, conacci a dochum in fer isin charput \u00edarsin muir. Canaid in fer h\u00edsin dano trichait rand n-aile d\u00f3u, ocus sloindsi d\u00f3u ocus asbert ba h\u00e9 Manann\u00e1n mac Lir, ocus asbert b\u00f3i aire tu\u00eddecht i n-\u00c9rinn \u00edar n-aimseraib c\u00edanaib, ocus nogigned mac \u00faad .i. Mong\u00e1n mac F\u00edachnai, ised foridmb\u00edad. Cachain \u00edarom in trichait rand sa d\u00f3u:-- 33. 'Caine amre lasin m-Bran ina church\u00e1n tar muir glan; os m\u00e9 im\u2019 charput di ch\u00e9in, is mag scothach immar\u00e9id. | \n| p. 18 34. 'What is a clear sea For the prowed skiff in which Bran is, That is a happy plain\u00a01 with profusion of flowers To me from the chariot of two wheels. 15. 'Bran sees The number of waves beating\u00a02 across the clear sea: I myself see in Mag Mon\u00a03 Red-headed flowers without fault. 36. 'Sea-horses glisten in summer As far as Bran has stretched his glance: Rivers pour forth a stream of honey In the land of Manannan son of Ler. 37. 'The sheen of the main, on which thou art, The white hue of the sea on which thou rowest about, Yellow and azure are spread out, It is land, and is not rough.\u00a04 38. 'Speckled salmon leap from the womb Of the white sea, on which thou lookest: They are calves, they are coloured lambs With friendliness, without mutual slaughter.\u00a05 | | p. 19 34. 'A n-as muir glan don n\u00f3i broinig it\u00e1 Bran, is mag meld co n-immut scoth dam-sa a carput d\u00e1 roth. 35. 'Atch\u00ed Bran l\u00edn tond tibri tar muir glan: atch\u00edu cad\u00e9in i Maig Mon scotha cennderga cen on. 36. 'Taitnet gabra lir i sam sella roisc ro\u1e61\u00edri Bran, bruindit srotha sr\u00faaim de mil, i cr\u00edch Manann\u00e1in maic Lir. 17. 'L\u00ed na fairgge forat\u00e1i, geldod mora immer\u00e1i, rasert bude ocus glass, is talam, nad \u00e9comrass. 38. 'Lingit ich bricc ass de br\u00fa a muir find forsnaicci-siu it l\u00f3ig, it \u00faain co n-dath, co cairddi, cen immarbad. | \n| p. 20 39. 'Though (but) one chariot-rider is seen In Mag Mell\u00a01 of many flowers, There are many steeds on its surface,\u00a02 Though them thou seest not. 40. 'The size of the plain, the number of the host, Colours glisten with pure glory, A fair stream of silver, cloths\u00a03 of gold, Afford a welcome with all abundance. 41. 'A beautiful game, most delightful, They play (sitting) at the luxurious\u00a04 wine, Men and gentle women under a bush, Without sin, without crime. 42. 'Along the top of a wood has swum Thy coracle across ridges, There is a wood of beautiful fruit\u00a05 Under the prow of thy little skiff. 43. 'A wood with blossom and fruit, On which is the vine's veritable fragrance, A wood without decay, without defect, On which are leaves of golden hue. | | p. 21 39. 'C\u00e9 atchetha \u00f3inchairptech i Maig Meld co n-immut scoth, fil m\u00f3r d\u2019echaib for a br\u00fa, cen suidi nad aicci-siu. 40. 'Met in maige, l\u00edn int \u1e61l\u00faaig, taitnet l\u00edga co n-glanb\u00faaid, finn\u1e61ruth arggait, drepa \u00f3ir, taircet f\u00e1ilti cech imr\u00f3ill. 41. 'Cluche n-\u00f3imin n-inmeldag aigdit fri f\u00edn n-imborbag fir is mn\u00e1 m\u00edne fo doss, cen peccad, cen immorboss. 42. 'Is \u00edar m-barr \u1e1fedo rosn\u00e1 do church\u00e1n tar indrada. fil fid fo mess i m-b\u00ed gn\u00f3e foa braini do beccn\u00f3e. 43. 'Fid co m-bl\u00e1th ocus torud, forsmb\u00ed f\u00edne f\u00edrbolud, fid cen erchre, cen esbad, forsfil duilli co n-\u00f3rdath. | \n| p. 22 44. 'We are from the beginning of creation Without old age, without consummation\u00a01 of earth,\u00a02 Hence we expect not that\u00a03 there should be frailty, The sin has not come to us. 45. 'An evil day when the Serpent went To the father to his city!\u00a04 She has perverted the times\u00a05 in this world, So that there came decay which was not original. 46. 'By greed and lust he\u00a06 has slain us, Through which he has ruined his noble race: The withered body has gone to the fold of torment, And everlasting abode of torture.\u00a07 47. 'It is a law of pride in this world To believe in the creatures, to forget God,\u00a08 Overthrow by diseases, and old age, Destruction of the soul through deception. 48. 'A noble salvation\u00a09 will come From the King who has created,us, A white law will come over seas, Besides being God, He will be man. | | p. 23 44. 'Fil d\u00fan \u00f3 thossuch d\u00fale cen \u00e1iss, cen fo\u00edrbthe n-\u00fare, n\u00ed frescam de mbeth anguss, n\u00edntaraill int immorbus. 45. 'Olc l\u00edth dolluid ind nathir cosin n-athir dia chathir, s\u00e1ib s\u00ed c\u00e9ni i m-bith ch\u00e9 co m-bu haithbe nad b\u00fae. 46. 'Ronort a cr\u00f3is ocus saint, tr\u00e9sa n-derbaid a \u1e61\u00f3irrhiaind, ethais corp cr\u00edn cr\u00f3 p\u00e9ne ocus bithaittreb r\u00e9ge. 47. 'Is recht \u00faabuir i m-bith ch\u00e9 cretem d\u00fale, dermat n-D\u00e9, tr\u00f3ithad n-galar, ocus \u00e1iss, apthu anma tr\u00eda tog\u00e1is. 48. 'Ticfa tessarcon \u00faasal \u00f3nd r\u00edg dorear\u00faasat, recht find fugl\u00f3isfe muire, sech b\u00edd D\u00eda, b\u00edd duine. | \n| p. 24 49. 'This shape, he on whom thou lookest, Will come to thy parts;\u00a01 \u2019Tis mine to journey to her house,\u00a02 To the woman in Line-mag.\u00a03 50. 'For it is Moninnan, the son of Ler, From the chariot in the shape of a man, Of his progeny will be a very short while A fair man in a body of white clay.\u00a04 51. 'Monann, the descendant of Ler, will be A vigorous bed-fellow\u00a05 to Caintigern:\u00a06 He shall be called to his son in the beautiful world, Fiachna will aclmowledge him as his son. 52. 'He will delight\u00a07 the company of every fairy-knoll, He will be the darling of every goodly land, He will make known secrets--a course of wisdom-- In the world, without being feared. 53. 'He will be in the shape of every beast, Both on the azure sea and on land, He will be a dragon before hosts at the onset,\u00a08 He will be a wolf of every great forest. | | p. 25 49. 'In delb h\u00e9 nofethi-su rothicfa it\u2019 lethe-su, arumth\u00e1 echtre dia tig cosin mn\u00e1i i Linemaig. 50. 'Sech is Moninn\u00e1n mac Lir asin charput cruth ind \u1e1fir, b\u00edaid dia chlaind densa angair fer c\u00e1in i curp cr\u00edad gil. 51. 'Conlee Monann maccu Lirn l\u00fathlige la C\u00e1intigirn, g\u00e9rthair dia mac i m-bith gn\u00f3u, adndidma F\u00edachna mac n-d\u00f3u. 52. 'M\u00f3ithfe sogn\u00e1iss cach s\u00edde, b\u00edd tretel cach dagth\u00edre, adfii r\u00fana, rith ecni, isin bith cen a ecli. 53. 'Biaid i fethol cech m\u00edl itir glasmuir ocus t\u00edr, b\u00edd drauc r\u00e9 m-buidnib i froiss, b\u00edd c\u00fa allaid cech \u00edndroiss. | \n| p. 26 54. 'He will be a stag with horns of silver In the land where chariots are driven, He will be a speckled salmon in a full pool, He will be a seal, he will be a fair-white swan. 55. 'He will be throughout long ages\u00a01 An hundred years in fair kingship,\u00a02 He will cut down battalions,\u00a03--a lasting grave-- He will redden fields, a wheel around the track. 56. 'It\u00a04 will be about kings with a champion That he will be known as a valiant hero, Into the strongholds of a land on a height I shall send an appointed end\u00a05 from Islay.\u00a06 57. 'High shall I place him with princes, He will be overcome by a son of error;\u00a07 Moninnan, the son of Ler, Will be his father, his tutor. | | p. 27 54 'B\u00edd dam co m-bendaib arggait i mruig i n-agar carpait, b\u00edd \u00e9cne brecc il-lind l\u00e1n, b\u00edd r\u00f3n, b\u00edd ela findb\u00e1n. 55. 'B\u00edaid tr\u00e9 bithu s\u00edri c\u00e9t m-bl\u00e9dne hi findr\u00edgi, silis lergga, lecht imch\u00edan, dercfid r\u00f3i roth imm r\u00edan. 56. 'B\u00edd imm r\u00edgu la f\u00e9nnid b\u00edd l\u00e1th gaile fri aicni, i n-dindach mroga for aa fochicher airchend a \u00cdli. 57. 'Art arung\u00e9n la flaithi, g\u00e9bthir fa mac n-imraichni, sech b\u00edd Moninn\u00e1n mac Lir a athir, a \u1e1fithithir. | \n| p. 28 58. 'He will be--his time will be short--\u00a01 Fifty years in this world: A dragonstone from the sea will kill him\u00a02 In the fight at Senlabor.\u00a03 59. 'He will ask a drink from Loch L\u00f3,\u00a04 While he looks at the stream of blood, The white host\u00a05 will take him under a wheel\u00a06 of clouds To the gathering where there is no sorrow. 60 . 'Steadily then Iet Bran row, Not far to the Land of Women, Emne\u00a07 with many hues\u00a08 of hospitality Thou wilt reach before the setting of the sun.' 61. Thereupon Bran went from him. And he saw an island. He rows round about it, and a large host was gaping and laughing. They were all looking at Bran and his people, but would not stay to converse with them. They continued to give forth gusts 9 of laughter at them. Bran sent one of his people on the island. He ranged himself with the others, and was gaping at them like the other men of the island. He 10 kept rowing round | | p. 29 58. 'B\u00eded, bes n-gairit a ree, c\u00f3icait m-bl\u00e9dne i m-bith chee, oircthi ail dracoin din muir isind n\u00edth i Seniabuir. 59. 'Timg\u00e9ra dig al-Loch L\u00e2u intan frisseill sidan cr\u00e1u, g\u00e9btha in drong find fu roth n\u00e9l dund nassad, nad etarl\u00e9n. 60. 'Fossad airsin imraad Bran, n\u00ed ch\u00edan co t\u00edr inna m-ban, Emne co n-ildath f\u00e9le ricfe r\u00e9 fuiniud gr\u00e9ne.' 61. Luidi Bran \u00faad \u00edarum co n-acci in n-insi. Immeraad immec\u00faairt, ocus sl\u00f3g m\u00e1r oc ginig ocus g\u00e1irechta\u00edg. Doecit\u00eds uili Bran ocus a muintir, ocus n\u00ed ant\u00eds fria n-accaldaim. Adaigt\u00eds treftecha g\u00e1ire impu. F\u00f3idis Bran fer dia muintir isin n-insi. \u1e58eris lia c\u00e9liu ocus adaiged ginig f\u00f3u amal d\u00f3ini inna hinse | \n| p. 30 about the island. Whenever his man came past Bran, his comrades would address him. But he would not converse with them, but would only look at them 1 and gape at them. The name of this island is the Island of Joy. Thereupon they left him there. 62. It was not long thereafter when they reached the Land of Women. They saw the leader of the women at the port. Said the chief of the women: 'Come hither on land; O Bran son of Febal! Welcome is thy advent!' Bran did not venture to go on shore. The woman throws a ball of thread to Bran straight over his face. Bran put his hand on the ball, which clave to his palm. The thread of the ball was in the woman's hand, and she pulled the coracle towards the port. Thereupon they went into a large house, in which was a bed for every couple, 2 even thrice nine beds. The food that was put on every dish vanished not from them. It seemed a year to them that they were there,--it chanced 3 to be many years. No savour was wanting to them. 4 | | p. 31 olchene. Immeraad in n-inis immec\u00faairt. Intan doth\u00e9ged a \u1e1fer muintire sech Bran, adgiait\u00eds a choc\u00e9li. N\u00edsnaiccilled san immorru, acht dusn\u00e9ced namm\u00e1 ocus adaiged ginig f\u00f3u. Is ed ainm inna hinse so Inis Subai. Funacabsat and \u00edarum. 62. N\u00ed bu ch\u00edan \u00edarsin cor\u00e1ncatar t\u00edr inna m-ban, co n-accatar braine inna m-ban isin phurt. Ashert t\u00f3isech inna m-ban: 'Tair ille isa t\u00edr, a Brain made Febail! Is fochen do thichtu.' N\u00ed lamir Bran techt isa tir. Dochuirethar in ben certli do Braun tar a gn\u00fais cach n-d\u00edrech. Focheird Bran a l\u00e1im for in certli. Lil in chertle dia dernainn. B\u00f3i sn\u00e1the inna certle hil-l\u00e1im inna mn\u00e1, consreng in curach dochum puirt. Lotir \u00edarum hi tegdais m\u00e1ir. Arr\u00e1nic imde ceche l\u00e1namne and .i. tr\u00ed n\u00f3i n-imd\u00e6. In praind dobreth for cech m\u00e9is n\u00edr\u2019irchran d\u00f3ib. Ba bl\u00e9din donarf\u00e1s d\u00f3ib buith and. Ecmaing b\u00e1tir ilbl\u00e9dni. N\u00edstesbi nach mlass. | \n| p. 32 63. Home-sickness seized one of them, even Nechtan the son of Collbran. 1 His kindred kept praying Bran that he should go to Ireland with him. The woman said to them their going would make them rue. However, they went, and the woman said that none of them should touch the land, and that they should visit and take with them the man whom they had left in the Island of Joy. 64. Then they went until they arrived at a gathering at Srub Brain. 2 The men asked of them who it was came over the sea. Said Bran: 'I am Bran the son of Febal,' saith he. However, the other saith: 'We do not know such a one. though the Voyage of Bran is in our ancient stories.' 65. The man 3 leaps from them out of the coracle. As soon as he touched the earth of Ireland, forthwith he was a heap of ashes, as though he had been in the earth for many hundred years. \u2019Twas then that Bran sang this quatrain: | | p. 33 63. Gabais \u00e9ulchaire fer n-d\u00edib .i. Necht\u00e1n mac Collbrain. Aitched a chen\u00e9l fri Bran arat\u00edasad leis dochom n-\u00c9renn. Asbert in ben robad aithrech ind \u1e1f\u00e1boll. Dolotar camm\u00e6, ocus asbert in ben arn\u00e1tuinsed nech d\u00edib a t\u00edr ocus arataidlit\u00eds le\u00fa in fer fodn\u00e1caibset i n-Inis Subai tar \u00e9ssi a ch\u00e9li. 64. Dollotar \u00edarum condatornachtatar in d\u00e1il i Sruib Brain. Iarmif\u00f3chtatar side d\u00f3ib c\u00eda dolluide a muir. Asbert in fer: 'Messe,' ar s\u00e9, 'Bran mac Febail.' 'N\u00ed beram aichni inn\u00ed sin,' ol a ch\u00e9le didiu. 'At\u00e1 hi senchasaib linni chene Imram Brain.' 65. Dochurethar \u00faadib in fer assin churuch. Amal conr\u00e1nic side fri talmain inna H\u00e9renn, b\u00e1 l\u00faaithred foch\u00e9t\u00f3ir amal b\u00edd i talmain nobeth triasna hilch\u00e9ta bl\u00ededne. Is and cachain Bran in rand so: | \n| p. 34 'For Collbran's son great was the folly To lift his hand against age, Without any one casting a wave of pure water\u00a01 Over Nechtan, Collbran's son.' 66. Thereupon, to the people of the gathering Bran told all his wanderings from the beginning until that time. And he wrote these quatrains in Ogam, and then bade them farewell. And from that hour his wanderings are not known. THE END | | p. 35 'Do macc Chollbrain ba m\u00f3r b\u00e1iss turcb\u00e1il a l\u00e1me fri \u00e1iss, cen nech dobir toind usci glain for Necht\u00e1n for mac Collbrain. 66. Adf\u00e9t \u00edarsin Bran a imthechta ul\u00ed \u00f3 thossuch cotici sin do lucht ind airechtais, ocus scr\u00edbais inna rundu so tr\u00e9 ogum. Ocus celebrais d\u00f3ib \u00edarsin, ocus n\u00ed fessa a imthechta \u00f3nd \u00faair sin. FINIT | \n2:1 Imram, lit. 'rowing about,' denotes a voyage voluntarily undertaken, as distinguished from longes, 'a voyage of exile.'\n2:2 Echtre, f. (a derivative of echtar = Lat. extra), lit. 'outing,' specially denotes expeditions and sojourns in Fairy-land, as in Echtra Bresail Bricc maic Briuin (LL. p. 170 b, 25), who stayed fifty years under Loch L\u00e1eg; Echtra Cormaic i T\u00edr Tairngiri, Ir. Texte iii. p. 202; Echtra Nerai (Rev. Celt. x. p. 212), Echtra Nectain maic Alfroinn (LL. p. 189 b, 59) = Necht\u00e1n mac Collbrain, infra \u00a7 63, etc.\n2:3 That it was the branch that produced the music, when shaken, appears from a similar incident in Echtra Cormaic, Ir. Texte iii. p. 212.\n4:1 All the MSS. contain only twenty-eight quatrains.\n4:2 aball, f., which glosses Lat. malus in Sg. 61 b, has come to denote any fruit-tree, as in fic-abull m\u00f3r arsata, 'a large ancient fig-tree,' LBr. 158 a, 55. CL Stokes, Rev. Celt. x. p. 71, n. 3.\n4:3 i.e. nomen regionis (gloss).\n4:4 A kenning for 'crested sea-waves.' Cf. groig maic Lir, 'the Son of Ler's horses,' Rev. Celt. p. 104. Zimmer misrenders: 'um welche die rosse des meeres spielend auftauchen.'\n4:5 Lit. 'white-sided wave-swelling.'\n4:6 Zimmer, following the corrupt reading of R (cethror instead of cetheoir), renders: 'dem wohnsitz auf fussen von vier mann'!\n4:7 i.e. nomen regionis (gloss), 'White-Silver Plain.'\n6:1 i.e. here below (gloss).\n6:2 gairim is often used of the notes of birds, e.g.: int \u00e9n gaires isint \u1e61ail, 'the bird that sings in the willow,' Ir. Texte iii. p. 19.\n6:3 tr\u00e1tha, the canonical hours, an allusion to church music. Zimmer, wrongly, 'zu den zeiten.'\n6:4 i.e. nomen regionis (gloss), 'Silver-Cloud Plain.'\n6:5 Zimmer, wrongly, 'vor den gerichten.'\n6:6 Lit. 'with harshness.' Zimmer, 'fur die kehle'?\n6:7 Cf. i lobrai ocus i n-ing\u00e1s, Sergl. Conc. 10.\n6:8 i.e. nomen regionis (gloss).\n8:1 i.e. regio (gloss), 'Bountiful Land.'\n8:2 dracoin = Lai. dracontiae.\n8:3 'Mane' and 'hair' are frequent kennings in Irish poetry for the crest and spray of a wave, e.g.: in n-ed maras mong for muir, 'while a 'ested wave remains on the sea,' Ir. Texte iii. p. 16. Cf. also the adj. tibrech, 'hairy' (from tibre .i. finda na gr\u00faaide flacbas in altan dia h\u00e9se, Harl. 5280, fo. 41 a) in \u00faas tuind tibrig, LL. 17 b, 2 = fri tuinn tibhrigh, wrongly explained by O'Clery, s.v. tibhrigh.\n8:4 i.e. insola (gloss), i.e. nomen regionis (gloss), 'Gentle Land.'\n8:5 Cf. Sg. 122 b, where c\u00e9itegrinne f\u00edno glosses 'nectar.'\n8:6 'Plain of the Sea.'\n8:7 i.e. regio (gloss), 'Plain of Sports.'\n10:1 Lit. 'against which the sea beats.'\n10:2 Lit. 'it increases music.'\n10:3 Here and in \u00a7 60 the nominative Emne is used instead of Emain (\u00a7\u00a7 3, 10).\n10:4 Ir. brec, 'variegated,' probably referring to their dress. Cf. c\u00f3\u00edca ingen ildathach, Sergl. Conc. 45.\n10:5 i.e. nomen regionis (gloss), 'Very Gentle Land.'\n12:1 Or, perhaps, if we read la suthaini s\u00edne, 'It is through lasting weather (lit. lastingness of weather) that silver drops on the lands.'\n12:2 i.e. mare, 'Plain of Sports.'\n12:3 i.e. nomen regions, 'Many-coloured Land.'\n12:4 This quatrain reappears in a somewhat modified form in a poem (Laud 615, p. 18) addressed to Colum Cille by Mongan, who had come from the Land of Promise (T\u00edr Tairngiri) to meet the saint at Carraic Eolairg on Lough Foyle. See Appendix, p. 88.\n14:1 i.e. Christ (gloss).\n14:2 Lit. 'upon its ridge-poles or roof-trees,' alluding probably to the lowly birth of Christ.\n14:3 Cf. ar att\u00fa cen tosach cen forcenn gl. qui ante creatur\u00e6 exordia idem esse non desinas, Ml. 110 d, is.\n14:4 Cf. Stokes, Goid. p. 182: beith fo \u00e9toil mac Maire, 'to he under the unwill of Mary's Son.'\n14:5 An allusion to baptism.\n16:1 Zimmer renders 'ob sin gegangen.' But c\u00eda here means 'whither' (=Doric \u03c0\u03b5\u1fd6, Strachan). Cf. nocon\u1e1fess c\u00eda deochatar, LL. 290 a, 27. ni fetatar cia deochaid n\u00f3 can donluid, Sergl. Conc. 12, etc. In the sense of 'whether,' c\u00eda occurs only in the phrase c\u00eda . . . cenco, 'whether . . . or not,' e.g.: f\u00f3 leiss c\u00eda nothiasta ass, f\u00f3 leiss cenco tiasta, LL. 109a, 30; c\u00eda fogabad cenco fagbad, rabeindse ar a chind, LL. 51 b, 17.\n16:2 Lit. 'men of the same age.'\n16:3 The MSS. again contain only twenty-eight quatrains.\n16:4 Ir. slonnud means to make known one's name, or patronymic, as in Rawl. B. 502, fo. 73 a, 2: Buchet a ainm, mac hui Inbl\u00e6 a slonnud, or one's native place, as in LU. 15 b, 5: ro \u00edarfaig Finnan a slonniud de. Asbert friu: de Ultaib dam-sa.\n18:1 Or Mag Mell may here be a place-name. Cf. \u00a7 39. It is the most frequent designation of the Irish elysium.\n18:2 This seems to be the meaning of the verb tibrim, another example of which occurs in Rev. Celt. xi. p. 130: ni \u1e1fuil tr\u00e1ich nach tiprai tonn, which I ought to have rendered 'there is no strand that a wave does not beat'\n18:3 'Plain of Sports,' glossed by 'mare' above, \u00a7 23.\n18:4 This I take to be the meaning of \u00e9comras, the negative of comras, 'smooth,' which occurs in cornaib sruachaib comrasaib (LL. 276 a, 6), 'with hooped smooth horns.' Stokes conjectures -ras to be cognate with W. rhathu, 'to file.'\n18:5 i.e. The salmon which Bran sees are calves and are lambs (gloss).\n20:1 'Pleasant, or Happy Plain.' See note on \u00a7 34.\n20:2 i.e. There were many hosts near him, and Bran did not see them (gloss).\n20:3 This rendering rests on the very doubtful connection of drepa with Lat. drappus, from which it might be a loan. Should we compare the obscure line drengaitir (sic legendem?) dreppa daena, Goid. p. 176?\n20:4 A mere guess at the meaning of imrborbach.\n20:5 Lit. 'a wood under mast (acorns) in which is beauty.'\n22:1 I take foirbthe to be the neuter form of the passive participle of forbenim used as a substantive.\n22:2 i.e. of the grave.\n22:3 I take mbeth to be the 3rd sing. injunctive of biu, with the relative n prefixed.\n22:4 i.e. to Adam in Paradise.\n22:5 This rendering of saibse (saibsi) ceni is not much better than a guess. Perhaps s\u00e1ibse is a noun derived from s\u00e1ib, 'false.'\n22:6 viz. Adam.\n22:7 Cf. LU. 17 b; 26: do bithaitreb p\u00e9ne ocus r\u00e9ge cen nach cr\u00edch etir = LL. 281 a, 38: do bithaittreb p\u00e9ne ocus r\u00e9gc cen nach n-d\u00edl etir.\n22:8 i.e. worshipping idols (gloss).\n22:9 i.e. Christ (gloss).\n24:1 i.e. to Ireland.\n24:2 i.e. to the wife of Fiachna, king of the Ulster Dalriada, whose royal seat was Rathmore, in Moylinny (Linemag), co. Antrim.\n24:3 i.e. 'the Conception of Mongan' (gloss).\n24:4 i.e. Mangan son of Fiachna (gloss).\n24:5 Lit. 'will lie a vigorous lying.'\n24:6 'Fair Lady,' the name of Fiachne's wife. Gilla Modutn, in his poem Senchas Ban (LL. 140 a, 37), written in 1147 A.D., makes her the daughter of Demm\u00e1n Dublacha's son.\n24:7 This is a guess at the meaning of moithfe. I take it to stand for m\u00f3ithfe, from m\u00f3ithaim, mod. maothaim, 'I soften.'\n24:8 i froiss may mean 'in a shower'; but fross is also used metaphorically in the sense of 'attack, onset.' Cf.\n26:1 i.e. post mortem (gloss).\n26:2 i.e. famous, without end (anforcnedach? cf. LU. 26 b, 27), i.e. in futuro corpore (gloss).\n26:3 Cf nosilis r\u00f3i, LU. 66 b, 26.\n26:4 The translation of this quatrain is very uncertain, as the Irish text is hopelessly corrupt in several places.\n26:5 As to this meaning of airchend see Windisch, Bea. d. s\u00e4chs. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, 19.7. 1890.\n26:6 i.e. proprinm iloch (gloss). Here iloch is obscure to me. One expects a word for 'island.' Islay is also referred to in Boirche's poem on the death of Mongan (Four Masters, A.D. 620). According to Cinaed ua Hartaca\u00edn (+975), Mongan was killed by a host from Cantire (la f\u00e9in Cindt\u00edre, LL. 31 b, 42).\n26:7 This refers to Mongan's death at the hands of Artur mac Bicoir.\n28:1 i.e. in corpora (gloss).\n28:2 i.e. this is the 'Death of Mongan,' a stone from a sling was thrown at him (gloss); i.e. a stone at the fight in Mongan's stronghold (gloss).\n28:3 i.e. a stronghold (gloss). Senlabor has not been identified.\n28:4 Not identified.\n28:5 i.e. the angels.\n28:6 i.e. in a chariot\n28:7 Cf. note on \u00a7 19.\n28:8 The Irish dath, 'colour,' is often used in the sense of 'kind, sort.'\n28:9 treftech, a derivative from trefet, 'blowing.' Cf. trefet i. s\u00e9itedh, ut est: for trefet a t\u00f3na H. 3, 18, p. 51, and see O\u2019Dav. p. 122, s.v. treifet. In Laws i. p. 126, 5 (cf. p. 144, 1) it means 'bellows.'\n28:10 viz. Bran.\n30:1 Zimmer, adopting the corrupt reading of R (na mn\u00e1 instead of namm\u00e1) renders: 'sondern blickte die frauen an.' No women have been mentioned.\n30:2 Zimmer renders 'ehepaar.' But there is no reason for being so particular.\n30:3 For this use of \u00e9cmaing = 'it really was,' cf. Ir. Texte iii. p. 17:\n'Methought it was a hosting of men,\n Gaels in numbers after fierce prowess;\n But it was the king of great Meath,\n Going to the company of a noble gathering.'\n30:4 i.e. every man found in his food and drink the taste that he especially desired, a common incident in Irish story-telling.\n32:1 He was the hero of a tale, the title of which figures in the list of sagas in LL. p. 170 b as Echtra Nectain maic Alfroinn. This tale is not now known to exist; it probably contained the incidents here narrated.\n32:2 O\u2019Curry, MS. Mat. p. 477, note 15, says that there are two places of this name--one in the west of Kerry, the other, now called Staoove or Shruve Brin, at the entrance to Lough Foyle, a little to the south of Inishowen Head. As the ancient Irish imagined Mag Mell to be in the south or south-west of Ireland (see Stokes, Rev. Celt. xv. p. 438), it seems natural that Bran coming from there should arrive at a place in Kerry. Otherwise, from Bran's connection with Lough Foyle, so called from his father Febal, the latter place might seem to be meant. See its dindsenches in Rev. Celt xv. p. 450, where Srub Brain is said to mean 'Raven's Stream.' Stokes thinks that this Srub Brain is the place in Donegal; but, considering that numbers 50 to 53 of the Rennes Dindsenchas all refer to places in Kerry, I believe the West Kerry place is meant.\n32:3 viz. Nechtan mac Collbrain.\n34:1 i.e. holy water.","title":"The Voyage of Bran: The Voyage of Bran","type":"page"}