1052. Es-mic-Eirc. The ‘cataract of Erc’s son.’ Afterwards called Es-ui-Floinn, and now written Assylin. It is situated on the river Boyle, near the town of Boyle, Co. Roscommon.
1053. Druim-cliabh. Drumcliff, Co. Sligo.
1054. Mothoria. This name is written Mothairen, supra, p. 489.
1055. Bachall = Lat. baculus, a crozier or pastoral staff.
1056. Es-Ruaidh. Properly Es-Aedha-Ruaidh, or the ‘cataract of Aedh Ruadh’ (Aedus Rufus), a king of Ireland said to have been drowned therein, A.M. 4518. Now Assaroe, or the Salmon Leap, on the river Erne, at Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal.
1057. Conall. Put for Cinel-Conaill, or the descendants of Conall, who inhabited Tirconnell (or Donegal County, as it is now called).
1058. Eoghan. In this case also, the name of the ancestor is put for the tribe-name of his descendants, the Cinel-Eoghain, whose territory was subsequently called Tir-Eoghain (Tyrone).
1059. Torach. Tory (or Torry) Island, off the N. coast of Donegal.
1061. Into. For; lit. ‘upon,’ MSS.
1062. He then meditated going. The orig. of this clause is not in A. L.
1063. That went with him. The orig. is do cuaid; lit. ‘he went.’
1064. Youths. Macc; lit. ‘sons.’ This quatrain is undoubtedly ancient, for it appears as a marginal note in the hand of the scribe of Lebor na hUidre (copied circa 1104), in the top marg. of that MS., p. 5.
1065. In good spirits. Fo somenmain (lit. ‘under good spirits’), A. L. and L. B. Fo seol soinmech, ‘under prosperous sail,’ Lismore.
1066. Place. Tir = terra, MSS.
1067. Submission. Do gabail aláma; lit. ‘to take his hand.’
1068. To him. Lais; lit. ‘with him.’
1069. Exposed. Roindis forru; lit. ‘told on them.’
1070. Obediently. The texts have erlattad, which is a substantive, signifying obedience, or readiness to obey.
1071. Grave. Lige (glossed ‘torus,’ Zeuss, 45); but frequently used in old Irish to signify ‘a grave,’ or ‘tomb;’. i.e. the last ‘bed’ (lectus) or resting-place.
1072. From thee. Fortsa; lit. ‘on thee.’
1073. In it. Inti, A. L. and L. B.; in hi (in Hi), Lismore.
1074. For meditation. Ri teoir. The word teoir is explained in an old MS. thus:—ón ni is teorica vita .i. beta theoir imcisnech .i. nech is in eclais og urnaithi no a menma an Dia do grés; ‘from the thing that is theorica vita, viz., a life of watchful contemplation; i.e. a person who is wont to be in a church praying, or his mind always intent on God.’ MS. Egerton, 88, Brit. Mus.
1075. Under monastic rule. Im manchaine; lit. ‘in monkship.’ Manchaine (deriv. from manach = monachus) also means the duties or services rendered by monks.
1076. As the poet said. Amal adubairt in file, Lismore. A. L. and L. B. have merely ut dixit.
1077. Soldiery. Ocbad, properly youths.
1078. Filled the Demon with envy. The orig., literally translated, would be ‘this thing was envy with the Demon.’ (Ba format la demun inni sin.)
1079. Afflicted. Cor ben; lit. ‘and he struck.’
1080. Attacked. Tanic da; lit. ‘came to.’
1081. Prayed for him. Condernasom ernaigti leis; lit. ‘and he made prayers with him.’
1082. In the east. Tair. As this is the reading in A. L., it would seem that the narrative in that MS. was compiled in Ireland.
1083. Hither. Ille, L. B. and L. Anair, ‘from the east,’ A. L.
1084. Rechull. Thus in A. L. and L. B. Lismore has rachall, which is explained ‘winding-sheet’ in O’Reilly’s Irish Dictionary. The word rechull is of rare occurrence, and seems here used to express ‘bequest.’ In an old Irish Glossary compiled in the year 1653, the nom. form recholl occurs, and is explained dligeadh easbuic, or ‘bishop’s dues.’
1085. Affected him. Tanic dosum; lit. ‘came (or happened) to him.’ ‘Miro superfusam rubore’ are Adamnan’s words. (Lib. i. cap. 28.)
1086. Port. The Irish word port has many meanings. It signifies not only a port or harbour, but also a bank, shore, house, place of safety, or fortified place. The reason it has been translated ‘port’ above, is because of its occurrence in connection with the preposition i (in).
1087. Rustic. The actual meaning of the word bachlach is shown in a marg. entry in the Book of Fenagh (ed. Kelly, Dublin, p. 102), where meic na m-bachlach is translated ‘rusticorum proles.’
1088. Bend down. Toirnfid, first fut. sg. indic. of toirned, ‘to lower.’ Cf. intan no toirned a laimh, ‘when she would lower her hand,’ used in contrast to in tan no tógbad a laimh, ‘when she would raise her hand.’—Bruidhen Da Choga, MS. H. 3, 18, Trin. Coll. Dublin.
1089. Ex-warrior. Athlaech, or athlaech; ath being here used as a particle to express privation, and laech signifying warrior. In the word athgabail, ‘re-taking,’ ath has a different sense.
1090. Of his appetite. Loingthe, gen. sg. of longad, ‘eating.’
1091. Fill. Sáith, lit. ‘satiety.’
1092. When. The narrative from this down to the bracket on p. 502 is taken from the copy of the Amra Choluim Chille, or Elegy of Colum Cille, contained in the MS. so often quoted as A. L. in the notes to this translation. The text of this MS. is not as full as that of the preface to the copy of the Amra, in the Leabar Breac, or of that in the Yellow Book of Lecan, in both of which an account of the Convention of Druim-ceta is contained. But as far as it goes, A. L. agrees pretty closely with the other texts. The preface to the copy of the Amra, contained in Lebor na hUidre, the oldest text of the composition we possess, differs in arrangement from the three mentioned; but the facts related in it are substantially the same as those given in the others.
1093. Before he died. Re n-dola ar cel; lit. ‘before going to heaven.’
1094. Messengers went. The orig. is do cuas; lit. ‘there went.’
1096. Ollamh (pron. ollave) was the title of a chief poet.
1097. Anradh, or anrúth, is explained in Cormac’s Glossary as ‘nomen secundi gradus poetarum.’
1098. There was. Ro bai. The translation is literal; but the real meaning is, ‘there would have been.’
1099. Them; i.e. the Dal-Riada of Scotland.
1100. To pacify them; i.e. to make peace between the men of Eriu and the men of Alba.
1101. Cennfaeladh. Adamnan calls the father ‘Colman’ (lib. i. cap. 11). But the Irish Annals, with which agree the Irish Pedigrees, say ‘Cennfaeladh.’ The death of a Scannlan Mór, son of Cennfaeladh, chief of Ossory, is recorded by the annalist Tighernach under A.D. 643. But the learned editor of Adamnan thinks the interval between the Convention of Druim-ceta (circa 580) and that date too long to harmonise with the statements regarding Scannlan, ‘son of Colman,’ in Adamnan’s account. (Reeves’s Adamnan, p. 39, note.) Scannlan was a young man, however, when detained in prison by King Aedh (580), and might have really lived down to 640.
1102. Aedh. This Aedh is stated to have reigned as monarch of Ireland from A.D. 568 to 594.
1103. Building. Cro; lit. a ‘sty,’ ‘pen,’ or ‘hut.’
1104. Small allowance. Teirci; lit. ‘scarcity.’
1105. Collar. Culpait. The etymology of this word is given in Cormac’s Glossary, as cail-fuit; cail, ‘a defence;’ and fuit, ‘cold.’ Duald mac Firbis explains it by coiléir, ‘collar.’ See Stokes’s Cormac, p. 33.
1106. Hood. Att; properly at, from Engl. ‘hat,’ as hood is from Anglo-Sax. hod, Germ. hut. Comp. atcluig (glossed ‘galea’); lit. ‘skull-hat,’ or helmet, and at anach, (gl. ‘caputiatus’) Stokes’s Irish Glosses, p. 40.
1107. Henceforth. Iarmotha; lit. afterwards. In the preface to the Amra in Leabar Breac (p. 238 c), the corresponding expression is re la, ‘during its day.’
1108. The poet. Keating says that the poet was St. Molaisse, the person by whose award Colum Cille was sent into exile. History of Ireland; reign of Domhnall, son of Aedh.
1109. In a boat. In ethar. In eirinn, ‘to Eriu,’ Leabar Breac and Yellow Book of Lecan.
1110. Avenged. Gu n-aithfed fair; lit. ‘that he would avenge it on him.’ In the Leabar Breac and Yellow Book of Lecan, the corresponding expression is, go mairfed é, ‘that he (Aedh) would kill him.’
1111. Assembly. Airecht. The general meaning of the word airecht (deriv. from aire, a ‘chief,’ or ‘leader’) is an assembly, or conference; but as used here, it might, perhaps, be more properly translated in the narrower sense of a ‘party.’
1112. Them; i.e. Colum Cille and his company. In the preface to the Amra in Leabar Breac and the Yellow Book of Lecan, the words used are na clerig, ‘the clerics.’
1113. Men. m̄ (for mac), lit. ‘sons,’ or ‘youths.’
1114. Wounded. Briste; lit. ‘broken.’
1115. Bells. Ceolán. Ceolán, the dim. of ceol, ‘music,’ is a very general name for a bell of any size, although glossographers usually describe it as ‘a small bell.’ But the word ceolán is often met in connection with the adj. bec, ‘little,’ as ceolán bec, ‘a little bell.’—Book of Lismore, 117.
1116. Against him. Fair; lit. ‘upon him.’
1117. Conall Clogach. ‘Conall of the bells.’ In Irish history he is generally called the righ-oinmhid, or ‘royal simpleton.’
1118. Kingship. This means that Colum Cille declared him disqualified from succeeding to the kingship.
1119. Bade him welcome. Do fer failti fris; lit. ‘gave welcome to him.’
1120. Blessings. Briathra; lit. ‘words,’ or ‘promises.’
1121. Fifty. Domhnall only reigned from 628 to 642.
1122. The queen. A. L. has do Aed, ‘to Aedh’ (the king). But the copies of the preface to the Amra in the Leabar Breac, and Yellow Book of Lecan, have don rigain, ‘to the queen.’
1123. Her son. Conall was the queen’s son, and Domhnall her step-son.
1124. Crane-cleric. Corr-chlerech. This contemptuous expression was probably used in allusion to St. Colum Cille’s tall stature, alta proceritas, as Oswald describes his shade (Adamnan, lib. i. cap. 1).
1125. Granted. Do cedaig; lit. ‘he allowed,’ ‘consented.’
1126. Cranes, or rather herons. Cuirr, pl. of corr, a heron.
1127. Druim-ceta (pron. ‘Drum-Ketta’). Dr. Reeves identifies this place with the mound called the Mullagh (lit. summit) in Roe Park, near Newtownlimavady, Co. Londonderry.
1128. Crane-work. Corrsuidhe, A. L. But the preface in Lebor na hUidre has (better) Corraigecht. This word has two meanings. It means, firstly, the action of a crane (corr), and might be rendered ‘crane-ing,’ or screaming like a crane; and in the next place, it signifies incessant movement, from corra, to move. The author evidently intended to be facetious.
1129. Herons. Cuirr-lena; lit. ‘marsh-herons.’
1130. Live still. For many centuries after the date to which the convention of Druim-Ceta is referred, as tradition states, these two herons frequented the part of the river Roe, near the place supposed to be the site of Druim-ceta, or Dorsum-cete.
1131. On seeing the cleric. Oc facsin in clerig, L. B. Omitted in A. L.
1132. The corresponding Irish words are wanting in A. L.
1133. Will sing. Do genat; lit. ‘they will make.’
1134. Cormac. Cormac, son of Art, son of Conn, king of Ireland in the third century.
1135. Rhetoric. Rithorig. In the Yellow Book of Lecan, preface, the word is rithlerg, i.e. an extemporaneous rhapsody.
1136. Scannlan. See p. 495.
1137. Take off my shoes. Frithailas m’assa; lit. ‘will attend my shoes.’
1138. Dubh-regles. Black church, or Black abbey-church. See Colton’s Visitation (ed. Reeves), pp. 20, 56.
1139. They ... went. Do imigh siat, A. L.; ro imdigset, L. B. The Yellow Book of Lecan has ro imthig, ‘he went,’ which seems the more correct, as the subsequent part of the narrative makes no reference to the angel’s journey to Derry.
1140. Westwards. Siar. This is probably an error for sair, ‘eastwards,’ as the chancel was doubtless in the eastern part of the church.
1141. Successors. Fer thinaid; lit. ‘thy locum-tenens.’ The tradition of this imprecation is not yet extinct in Scannlan’s country of Ossory; and some Ossorians even go so far as to say that stuttering is a characteristic of Scannlan’s descendants.
1142. Enough for three. Dabach trir; lit. ‘a vat of three.’
1143. Great bachall. Mor bachall. This celebrated crozier, sent with Scannlan for his protection, is stated to have been subsequently preserved in the monastery of Durrow, in the King’s County. (Reeves’s Adamnan, p. 324.)
1144. Died. Ba marb; lit. ‘was dead.’
1145. Cause; i.e. of Colum Cille’s coming to Ireland.
1146. In place of. Fri laim; lit. ‘to the hand;’ but idiomatically signifying ‘instead of,’ or ‘with the approval of.’
1147. Two young boys. In the Leabar Breac and other copies of the Amra Preface the words are teora mná ocus maccoem óc; ‘three women and a young boy.’
1148. Arms. Na uchd; lit. ‘into his bosom.’
1149. Rent. Cain. This word anciently meant a penal tax, or fine. But in later times it was used in the sense of ‘tribute.’
1150. Preface. The Preface to the Amra (or Eulogy) he had composed for Colum Cille.
1151. It; the Amra itself.
1153. Consoling. Ca comdidnd; lit. ‘protecting’ or ‘sheltering.’
1154. Toads. Loscaind. This word is used to signify toads, frogs, and other such reptiles. In a tract on the History of the Children of Israel, in the Leabar Breac, the ‘ranæ’ of Exodus, cap. viii., is rendered by loscind, so that we should probably translate ‘frogs’ instead of ‘toads.’
1155. Those brethren; viz. the brethren who were beside Colum Cille in the recles, or church.
1156. Sabhall. The word Sabhall is in Irish employed to denote a ‘barn.’ The church of Saul, in the Co. Down, Ireland, has taken its name from it.
1157. Attendant. Foss; which, though used here as a noun, is more usually employed as an adj., with the meaning ‘resident.’ See O’Donovan’s Supplt. to O’Reilly’s Irish Dict., v. fos.
1158. Garran, a work-horse or hack. The corresponding word used by Adamnan is ‘caballus,’ from which comes the mod. Irish capall. The old Irish for ‘garran’ is gerrán, which seems derived from gerrad, ‘to cut,’ the ‘garran’ being always a ‘cut’ horse.
1159. Colum. This statement, taken from A. L., is not in L. B. or L. It is found, however, in the Book of Fenagh. See Kelly’s edit. (Dublin, 1875), p. 209.
1160. Certain. The orig. of this paragraph and the following one occurs only in A. L.
1161. Inish-bo-finne: ‘the island of the white cow.’ Now Bophin Island, off the coast of Mayo. The Annals of Ulster give Bishop Colman’s ‘pausat’ under A.D. 676.
1162. Paganism. Geinntlighecht; lit. ‘gentilism.’
1163. Names. Ainm; lit. ‘name.’
1164. Would not have. Nis gebed; lit. ‘would not take.’
1165. Protégé. The word dalta, ordinarily used to signify ‘foster-child,’ is also employed as a term of endearment. Adamnan calls Diarmait ‘minister’ and ‘ministrator.’
1166. [Immediately.] Fo cedoir. Om. in L. B. and L.
1167. Utter. Do gnid; lit. ‘would make.’
1168. ‘Three fifties.’ The Psalms.
1169. In the sea. Isin liur. Liur is the abl. of ler, ‘the sea.’ But we should probably understand ‘seashore.’
1170. When. The orig. of this sentence is only found in A. L.
1171. Blow it away. Conidsetad gaeth; i.e. the mark of his ribs was imprinted, through his clothing, in the sand, until defaced by the action of the wind blowing the loose sand over the mark. This stanza is somewhat different in the Preface to the Amra in Lebor na hUidre.
1172. And. From this down to the bracket on p. 507 is translated from A. L., the corresponding Irish being omitted in L. B. and L.
1173. Savoury things. Ionmar; the Irish for ‘dripping,’ or ‘seasoning.’ Colgan translates it ‘obsonium’ (Acta SS., p. 734).
1174. Kept vigil. Figlis; a verb from figil, ‘vigil.’ It is the third sg. pres. indic., but is here used in the pret. sense.
1175. Him. The person here alluded to was probably Judas Iscariot.
1177. Church. Neimedh = nemed (gl. Sacellum.—Zeuss, Gram. Celt. 11).
1178. Which the wave frequents. Gus ataithig tonn; ‘to which a wave frequents.’ The allusion in this expression is rather obscure.
1179. Fulness. Comlantas; lit. ‘completeness,’ from comlan, ‘complete,’ ‘perfect.’
1180. Explains. The explanation is not very explanatory, and seems to have no reference to Colum Cille, unless we may assume that it was intended to describe the chalices as made of the same materials as the party (foirend) of Crimthann’s chessmen.
1181. Could take it. Nosberaidh, A. L. The reading in the Amra Lebor na hUidre is nisbeir, ‘carries it not.’