Heroic Romances of Ireland Part 45

"For your lives," he said, "will ye grant a boon, set forth in three words of speech?"

"At our hands," said she, "shall granted be, whatever thy tongue shall teach; Yet ask not cattle; those kine have we no power to bestow, I fear": "Why, 'tis for the sake of the kine," he said, "that all of us now are here!"

"Who art thou then?" from her faltering broke: "Mani Mingar am I," he replied; I am son to King Ailill and Maev: And to me thou art welcome," the maiden cried; "But why have ye come to this land?" said she: For kine and for brides," he said, Have we come to seek: And 'tis right," said she, such demands in a speech to wed: Yet the boon that you ask will our folk refuse, and hard will your task be found; For a valiant breed shall you meet, I fear, in the men who guard this ground!"

"Give your aid," he said, "then as friends: But time," said she, "we must have for thought; For a plan must be made, e'er thy word be obeyed, and the kine to thy hands be brought: Have ye journeyed here with a force of men? how great is the strength of your band?"

"Seven score are there here for the fight," he said, "the warriors are near at hand!"

"Wait here," said she; "to my sisters four I go of the news to tell: "And with thee we side!" all the maidens cried, "and we trust we shall aid thee well,"

Away from the princes the maidens sped, they came to their sisters four, And thus they spoke: "From the Connaught land come men, who are here at your door; The sons of Ailill and Maev have come; your own true loves are they!"

"And why have they come to this land?" they said; "For kine and for brides, they say, Have they come to seek:" "And with zeal their wish would we joyfully now fulfil If but powers to aid were but ours," they said, "which would match with our right good will:

But I fear the youths in this burg who dwell, the plans that we make may foil; or far from the land may chase that band, and drive them away from their spoil!"

"Will ye follow us now, with the prince to speak?" They willingly gave consent, And together away to the water-springs the seven maidens went.

They greeted Mani; "Now come!" said he, "and bring with you out your herds: And a goodly meed shall reward your deed, if you but obey my words; For our honour with sheltering arms is nigh, and shall all of you safely keep, Ye seven daughters of Regamon!" The cattle, the swine, and sheep Together the maidens drove; none saw them fly, nor to stay them sought, Till safe to the place where the Mani stood, the herd by the maids was brought.

The maidens greeted the sons of Maev, and each by her lover stood; And then Morgor spoke: "Into twain this herd of kine to divide were good, At the Briuin[FN#65] Ford should the hosts unite; too strait hath the path been made For so vast a herd": and to Morgor's word they gave heed, and his speech obeyed.

Now it chanced that Regamon, the king, was far from his home that day, For he to the Corco Baiscinn land had gone, for a while to stay;

[FN#65] p.r.o.nounced Brewin.

With the Firbolg[FN#66] clans, in debate, he sat; and a cry as the raiders rode, Was behind him raised: to the king came men, who the news of that plunder showed: Then the king arose, and behind his foes he rode, and o'ertook their flight, And on Mani Morgor his host pressed hard, and they conquered his men in the fight.

"To unite our band," thus Morgor cried, "fly hence, and our comrades find!

Call the warriors back from the cattle here, and leave the maids behind; Bid the maidens drive to our home the herd as far as the Croghan Fort, And to Ailill and Maev of our perilous plight let the maidens bear report."

The maidens went to the Croghan Fort, to Maev with their news they pressed: "Thy sons, O Maev, at the Briuin Ford are pent, and are sore distressed, And they pray thee to aid them with speed": and Maev her host for the war prepared, With Ailill the warriors of Connaught came; and Fergus beside them fared, And the exiles came, who the Ulster name still bore, and towards that Ford All that host made speed, that their friends in need might escape from the vengeful sword.

[FN#66] p.r.o.nounced Feer-bol.

Now Ailill's sons, in the pa.s.s of that Ford, had hurdles strongly set: And Regamon failed through the ford to win, ere Ailill's troops were met: Of white-thorn and of black-thorn boughs were the hurdles roughly framed, And thence the name of the ford first came, that the Hurdle Ford is named;

For, where the O'Feara[FN#67] Aidne folk now dwell, can ye plainly see In the land of Beara[FN#68] the Less, that Ford, yet called Ath[FN#69]

Clee Maaree, In the north doth it stand; and the Connaught land divideth from Corcomroe; And thither, with Regamon's troops to fight, did Ailill's army go.

[FN#67] p.r.o.nounced O'Fayra Ain-ye.

[FN#68] p.r.o.nounced Bayra.

[FN#69] Spelt Ath Cliath Medraidi. Ath is p.r.o.nounced like Ah.

Then a truce they made; to the youths, that Raid who designed, they gave back their lives; And the maidens fair all pardoned were, who had fled with the youths, as wives, Who had gone with the herd, by the maids conferred on the men who the kine had gained: But the kine, restored to their rightful lord, in Regamon's hands remained; The maiden band in the Connaught land remained with the sons of Maev; And a score of cows to each maiden's spouse the maidens' father gave: As his daughters' dower, did their father's power his right in the cows resign, That the men might be fed of Ireland, led on the Raid for the Cualgne[FN#70] Kine.

This tale, as the Tain bo Regamon, is known in the Irish tongue; And this lay they make, when the harp they wake, ere the Cualgne Raid be sung.

[FN#70] p.r.o.nounced Kell-ny.

THE RAID FOR THE CATTLE OF REGAMON

LITERAL TRANSLATION

In the time of Ailill and Medb, a glorious warrior and holder of land dwelt in the land of Connaught, and his name was Regamon. He had many herds of cattle, all of them fair and well-shaped: he had also seven daughters with him. Now the seven sons of Ailill and Medb loved these (daughters): namely the seven Maine, these were Maine Morgor (Maine with great filial love), Maine Mingar (Maine with less filial love), Maine Aithremail (Maine like his father), Maine Mathremail (Maine like his mother), Maine Milbel (Maine with the mouth of honey),[FN#71] Maine Moepert (Maine too great to be described), Maine Condageb-uile (Maine who combined all qualities): now this one had the form both of father and mother, and had all the glory that belonged to both parents.

[FN#71] The name of Maine Annai, making an eighth son, is given in Y.B.L., but not in the Egerton MS.

The seven daughters of Regamon were the three Dunann, and the four Dunlaith;[FN#72] from the names of these is the estuary of Dunann in western Connaught, and the Ford of Dunlaith in Breffny.

[FN#72] So Egerton, which Windisch follows here; the reading of Y.B.L.

is Dunmed for the daughters, and Dumed for the corresponding ford.

Now at a certain time, Ailill and Medb and Fergus held counsel together. "Some one from us," said Ailill, "should go to Regamon, that a present of cattle may be brought to us from him; to meet the need that there is on us for feeding the men of Ireland, when the kine are raided from Cualgne." "I know," said Medb, "who would be good to go thither, if we ask it of them; even the Maine; on account of their love for the daughters."

His sons were called to Ailill, and he spoke with them. "Grateful is he, and a better journey does he go," said Maev, "who goes for the sake of his filial love." "Truly it shall be that it is owing to filial love that we go," said Mani Morgor. "But the reward should (also) for this be the better," said Mani Mingar; "it stands ill with our heroism, ill with our strength.

It is like going from a house into the fields, (going) into the domains or the land of foes. Too tenderly have we been brought up; none hath let us learn of wars; moreover the warriors are valiant towards whom we go!"

They took leave of Ailill and Medb, and betook themselves to the quest.

They set out, seven times twenty heroes was the number, till they were in the south of Connaught, in the neighbourhood of the domain of Corcomroe[FN#73] in the land of Ninnus, near to the burg. "Some of you," said Mani Morgor, "should go to find out how to enter into the burg; and to test the love of maidens." Mani Mingar, with two others, went until he came upon three of the maidens at the water-springs, and at once he and his comrades drew their swords against them. "Give life for life!" said the maiden. "Grant to me then my three full words!"

said Mani Mingar. "Whatever thy tongue sets forth shall be done," said the maiden, "only let it not be cows,[FN#74] for these have we no power to give thee." "For these indeed," said Mani, "is all that now we do."[FN#75]

[FN#73] Properly "Coremodruad," the descendants of Modh Ruadh, third son of Fergus by Maev; now Corcomroe in County Clare.

[FN#74]"Only let it not be cows" is in the Egerton MS. alone.

[FN#75] "That we do" is Egerton MS. (cich indingnem), Y.B.L. has "cechi m-bem."

"Who art thou?" said she: "Mani Mingar, son of Ailill and Medb," said he: "Welcome then," she said, "but what hath brought with you here?"

"To take with us cattle and maidens," he said: "'Tis right," she said, "to take these together; (but) I fear that what has been demanded will not be granted, the men are valiant to whom you have come." "Let your entreaties be our aid!" he said. "We would desire," she said, "that it should be after that counsel hath been taken that we obey you."

"What is your number?" said she: "Seven times twenty heroes," he said, "are with us." "Remain here," she said, "that we may speak with the other maidens": "We shall a.s.sist you," said the maidens, "as well as we can."

They went from them, and came to the other maidens, and they said to them: "Young heroes from the lands of Connaught are come to you, your own true loves, the seven sons of Ailill and Medb." "Wherefore are they come?" "To take back with them cattle and wives." "That would we gladly have, if only we could; (but) I fear that the warriors will hinder them or drive them away," said she. "Go ye out, that ye may speak with the man." "We will speak with him," they said. The seven maidens went to the well, and they greeted Mani. "Come ye away," he said, "and bring your cattle with you. That will be a good deed. We shall a.s.sist you with our honour and our protection, O ye daughters of Regamon," said he.[FN#76] The maidens drove together their cows and their swine, and their sheep, so that none observed them; and they secretly pa.s.sed on till they came to the camp of their comrades. The maidens greeted the sons of Ailill and Medb, and they remained there standing together. "The herd must be divided in two parts," said Mani Merger, "also the host must divide, for it is too great to travel by the one way; and we shall meet again at Ath Briuin (the Ford of Briuin)." So it was done.

[FN#76] Windisch conjectures this instead of "said the warriors,"