Eigse Paged 2004 - National University of Ireland

AILBE’S SPEECH TO CITHRUAD (TOCHMARC AILBE)
INTRODUCTION
Tochmarc Ailbe was edited and translated from its only witness, the
miscellaneous vellum manuscript H. 3.17 (Trinity College Dublin),
pp. 827-831, by Rudolf Thurneysen in his article ‘Tochmarc Ailbe
“Das Werben um Ailbe”’ (1920-21). The story starts after Gráinne,
eldest daughter of Cormac mac Airt, has been divorced from Finn
mac Cumaill (Corthals 1997) and peace has been restored between
the two men. It narrates how Ailbe Grúadbrec, Cormac’s youngest
daughter, wishing to marry, was courted by Finn and, despite the
warnings of her father, agreed to join with him and to lead an adventurous
life among the fíana. Thurneysen’s translation did not include
Ailbe’s address to the druid Cithruad, spoken in difficult rhetorical
speech, concerning her marital future. For this text he gave a transcription
only (1920-21: 254-6, §3).
The text of this speech given below is based on a new collation
with H. 3.17, p 827, ll. 13-23. Its orthography, which agrees with that
of its prose and verse context, combines features of Middle Irish
orthography with reflexes of later spoken language. Thus /γ/ is
mostly written d (e.g. l. 7 sluadtodo for sluagthogu) which indicates
Middle Irish merger of /γ/ and /ð/ (Breatnach 1994: 234-5, and
McManus 1994: 351-2). If I am right in reading l. 21 cuibi as a modern
equivalent of Old Irish cuibde (Mod. Ir. cuí), this would reflect
loss of the resulting approximant (McManus 1994: 351) after /ß/. In
two cases th, which had become voiceless /h/ by the beginning of the
Early Modern Irish Period (McManus 1994: 351), is not written in
postconsonantal position (l. 19 cairpi for cairpthi, l. 27 coslebair
[b = /f/] for coslebthair).
There is no strict metrical structure. The text is based on units of
different length ending mostly, but not always, in a trisyllabic
cadence that alliterates with the preceding word, but not with the
first word of the following line. It ends in an imperfect dúnad (Friscomart
… fri fius). For such a structure compare, among other examples,
a druid’s prophecy cited by Bé Guba (Brónaid banntrochta
díthbath fer fri ferbaib Athairni … bithbrónán ‘Womenfolk grieve at
the destruction of men by the words of Athairne … lasting sorrow’)
in Tochmarc Luaine (Breatnach 1980: 13-14). An early example is to
be found in the rhetorical passages of Echtrae Chonnlai (McCone
2000: 121-2). Some further features are indicative of retoiric- or