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190 Gae/ic Society of /nuerness
went charging against a rock there thinking it was his rival, and
thus clashed out his own brains.
Such is the story of tlie epic of the "Bo Ohualgne." This
does no justice to the spirit and vigour of tlie original, its
wealth of description of men, arms, and colours, its curious customs,
its minutiio, its wordlists of descrii)tive epithets, all which
arc charactci'istic of the Celtic imagination— profuse, minute, and
boldly original. As a repertory of manners and customs, it is
invaluable. These are in their general form
Homeric ; but there are ditlerences—there is
Jrlomeric, literally
always the Celtic
smack in the facts seized on and made prominent, and, in other
matters, though for instance we have chariots and liorses and
bronze arms enough, we meet with
helmet.
no body armour, not even a
In Scotland, Tain Bo Chualgne is little known ; the Cucliulinn
Cycle altogether, indeeil, belongs to the literary rather than
the popular e[)os. But this Society has l)een lucky enough to get
almost the only popular account of the Tain
Highlands. In the Second Volume of our
that exists in the
Transactions, Mr
Carmichael gives an excellent version of it, much degraded though
it be in the shape of a mere popular tale. Yet it practically repeats
every feature of the tale we have told. Macpherson, too, got a copy
the tale, and it appeal's as that inveterate episode, in Book II. of
Fingal, but sadly shorn of its dignity, and changed to suit liis
theme. Cuchulinn, after his defeat by Swaraii, attributes his
ill-luck to his having killed his dearest friend, Ferda, the son of
Damman. Ferda was a chief of Albion, who was educated with
Cuchulinn in " Muri's hall " (sic), an academy of arms in Ulster.
Deugala, spouse of Cairbar, who was " covered with the light
of Ijeauty, but liei heart was the house of pride," loved Ferda, and
asked Cairbar to give her half of his herd and let her join her
lover. Cairbar called in Cuchulinn to divide the herd. " I
went," he said, " and divided the herd. One bull of snow remained.
I gave that bull to Cairbar. The wrath of Deugala
rose." She induced Ferda most unwillingly to challenge Cuchulinn
to mortal combat. " I will fight my friend, Deugala, but
may I fall by his sword! Could 1 wander on the hills and behold
the grave of Cuchulinn?" They fought and Ferda fell.
The eighteeneth century sentimentality of Macpherson's Ferda
is very different from the robust grief and practical sense shown
by Ferdia in his relations with Meave in both the Irish and Highland
v(!rsion of the tale. Ferdia there consents under the influence
of wine and female ])landishment, Imt nevertheless takes heavy