"Thou, of our race art the last remnant, That the people, who were his first and last care, were not unworthy of their chief, is shown by their refusal to keep the treasure: they burned it on Beowulf's funeral pyre: They left Earls' treasure for Earth to hold, Beowulf is a great story of strife, greatly told. But that is not all which can be said. It is no small honour to our race that this primitive tale should deal not with the kind of struggle which issues from mankind's meaner motives, but with that age-long, unending war between good and evil, the fight of human courage and uprightness against tremendous and partly unknown, unfathomed powers of darkness, sin and dreadful unearthly strength. It is full, too, of the main characteristics of our racelove of home, of kin; love of wild nature; loyalty, valour and deathless devotion. Its scorn of material goods when set above truth and honour, has been born again in all generations of our history; its loathing of treachery and underhand tricks is reproduced, through the ages, in every man or woman who still deserves the English name. This, then, is our great Epic, coming to us, not originally from English soil, but as it was brought by our forefathers from the Continent, and adopted and written down in our own land. When we turn to Ireland we find an Epic which sprang up from the soil and race of Ireland, the Táin Bó Cúalnge, which is probably older even than Beowulf, older than any other West European Epic. According to Irish tradition King Conchabar of 1 Pronounced as nearly as possible Thawin' bō Cüln'ya. 2 Pronounced Connahóor. Ulster died of sorrow when he heard of our Lord's crucifixion. He was the first consort of Medb,1 Queen of Ulster, who afterwards took as her consort Ailill. The story of the Táin centres round the struggle for a famous bull, for which Medb and Cuchulain strove. Cuchulain was the son of Lug, the Irish Sun-god, and Conchabar's sister, Dechtire. Cuchulain's real name was Setanta; but while he was quite a boy he killed a dog which belonged to Culann, the Smith; and so, in place of the blood-fine, which in Irish law was due from one who had committed murder, he was nicknamed Cuchulain, the Hound of Culann. Traditions about his age are contradictory; the most startling declares that he wore arms from the age of seven, fought Queen Medb when he was seventeen, and died when he was twentyseven. Another story, from a manuscript in Trinity College, Dublin, declares that he lived to be fifty-nine. It seems to be fairly generally agreed that he was only seventeen when he declined to give Queen Medb his famous Brown Bull. If anyone finds it strange that one of the world's oldest Epics, one of the great stories of the world should be woven round a cattle raid, the reason is not difficult to give. Always and still, Ireland, from her geographical position, is a land of pasture. Her soil is far better adapted to cattle-breeding than to crop-raising. Her real wealth is, and in the very earliest times was, in cattle. Briefly told, this is the tale of the Táin. As, in ancient Ireland, married women kept those goods which they possessed when they were single as well as the dowry which, on marriage, they received from their father, Queen Medb naturally kept hers when she married Ailill. One night they disputed about the value of their respective goods. As they could not agree, the two sets of possessions were collected and reckoned up. From the Táin's description it must have been an odd spectacle :1 1 Pronounced Maeve. 2 Pronounced Ayeleel. riches Then were brought to them the least precious of their possessions, that they might know which of them had the more treasures, riches and wealth. Their pails and their cauldrons, and their iron-wrought vessels, their jugs, and their keeves, and their eared pitchers were brought to them. Likewise their rings and their golden treasures were fetched to them, and their apparel, both purple and blue and black and green, yellow, vari-coloured and grey, dun, mottled and brindled. Their numerous flocks of sheep were led in from fields and meads and plains. These were counted and compared, and found to be equal, of like size, of like number: however, there was an uncommonly fine ram over Medb's sheep, and he was of the value of a bondmaid,3 but a corresponding ram was over the ewes of Ailill. Their horses and steeds and studs were brought from pastures and paddocks. There was a noteworthy horse in Medb's herd, and he was of the value of a bondmaid; a horse to match was found among Ailill's. Then were their numerous droves of swine driven from woods and shelving glens and wolds. These were numbered and counted and claimed. There was a noteworthy boar with Medb, and yet another with Ailill. Next they brought before them their droves of cattle, and their herds and their roaming flocks from the brakes and wastes of the province. These were counted and numbered and claimed, and were the same for both, equal in size, equal in number, except only there was an especial bull of the bawn of Ailill, and he was a calf of one of Medb's cows, and Finnbennach ("The White-horned ") was his name. All this motley assemblage of pots, pans, raiment, jewels and stock were all arranged, counted and numbered. It was all equal, save for "The White 1 There are several MSS. of the Tain, which is partly in prose, partly in verse, and partly in what may be called rhythmical prose. All extracts here are taken from a translation into English, from the Irish, by Professor Joseph Dunn, of the Roman Catholic University at Washington. Mr. David Nutt published it in 1914. 2 Big tubs. 3 The Irish used cattle as money, or a measure of value. The worth of this ram is seen to be great when we realise that sometimes the price of a female slave was three head of cattle. 4 An enclosure for cattle. 1 horned," the beautiful Bull of Ailill. Since he was a calf from Medb's herd, all might perhaps have been well but for the reason which brought Finnbennach from Medb's herd to Ailill's: "he, deeming it no honour to be in a woman's possession, had left and gone over to the kine of the King. And it was the same to Medb as if she owned not a pennyworth, forasmuch as she had not a bull of his size amongst her cattle." This story, as old as the beginning of the Christian era, may serve among many other uses and delights, to show us that human nature does not change much with the passing of the ages. Medb, not knowing what to do, summoned her chief messenger, macRoth, who told her that Darè, chieftain of Cualnge, in Ulster, owned a Brown Bull "that is best and better again." So Medb sent macRoth with some companions to bargain with the Ulster chieftain. The messengers prospered; small wonder, for Medb's offer was handsome enough. The Brown Bull was to be but a loan, and his hire fifty heifers: while if Darè would bring, instead of sending, the creature, Medb promised him as much land in her Connacht as he owned in Ulster, a chariot worth thrice seven bondmaids, and her personal friendship. Darè's joy was so great that he leaped " so that the seams of his flock-bed rent in twain beneath him." The Bull was promised. But, unfortunately, instead of starting off at once, they all fell to feasting, and we learn that soon they were noisy and drunken," and the messengers of Medb began to quarrel as to which were the better man, Conchabar or Darè; and they ended up by declaring that had Darè not consented to lend the Bull, it should have been taken from him by force. This rudeness was repeated to Darè, so he came to ask Medb's messengers if it were true, and finding that it was, he straightway refused to send or take the Bull. In vain macRoth pleaded that his companions were drunk with Darè's own ale, and that anyway the chief should pay no heed to them. The Ulster leader would not yield. So macRoth went back, and told Medb what had happened. The Queen wasted few words: "There is no need to polish knots over such affairs as that, macRoth; for it was known that if the Brown Bull of Cualnge would not be given with their will, he would be taken in their despite, and taken he shall be!" Thus the refusal of the Bull was the cause of the great struggle, described in the Táin Bó Cúalnge. Queen Medb assembled not only her own Connacht men, but allies from all parts of Ireland. Cormac, Conchabar's eldest son, brought three troops. The description of these is not only beautiful in itself, but interesting as showing ancient Irish war-gear: Cormac had three companies which came to Cruachan.1 Before all, the first company. A covering of close-shorn black hair upon them. Green mantles and many-coloured cloaks wound about them; therein silvern brooches. Tunics of thread of gold next to their skin, reaching down to their knees, with interweaving of red gold. Bright-handled swords they bore, with guards of silver. Long shields they bore, and there was a broad grey spear-head on a slender shaft in the hand of each man. "Is that Cormac, yonder ?" all and everyone asked. "Not he, indeed," Medb made answer. The second troop. Newly shorn hair they wore and manes on the back of their heads, fair, comely indeed. Dark blue cloaks they all had about them. Next to their skin, gleaming-white tunics, with red ornamentation reaching down to their calves. Swords they had with round hilts of gold and silvern fist-guards, and shining shields upon them, and five-pronged spears in their hands. "Is yonder man Cormac ?" all the people asked. Nay, verily, that is not he," Medb made answer. Then came the last troop. Hair cut broad they wore; fair-yellow, deep-golden, loose-flowing back hair down to their shoulders upon them. Purple cloaks, fairly bedizened about them; golden, embellished brooches over their breasts; and they had curved shields, with sharp, chiselled edges around them and spears as long as the pillars of a king's house in the hand of each man. Fine long silken tunics with hoods they wore to the very instep. Together they raised their feet, and together they set them down again. "Is that Cormac, yonder?" asked all. Ay, it is he, this time," Medb made answer. 1 Pronounced Croohan: it was the ancient capital, and also the burying-place of the Kings of Connacht, in County Roscommon. |