I'm writing a wee essay on this lovely poem, a poem I've spent many years with, that I've put to music, memorized, used in ritual, etc. However, I've never delved into it academically so this should be an interesting experience. I have translations by Kuno Meyer, James Carney, Gerard Murphy, Barbara Hughes Fowler, Seán o’Faoláin, and Donncha Ó hAodha. Am I missing any essentials? I've read there are translations by Eleanor Hull and David Greene & Frank O'Connor, but I haven't come across them yet. As secondary sources, I'm looking at or tracking down:
John Carey, “Transmutations of Immortality In 'The Lament of the Old Woman of Beare'”, Celtica 23
James Carney, “The so-called Lament of Creidhe”, Eigse 13
B.K. Martin, “The Lament of the Old Woman of Beare: a critical evaluation”, Medium Aevum 38
Rosalind Clark, The Great Queens
Gearóid Ó Crualaoich, The Book of the Cailleach
If anyone has any recommendations for other sources to consult on this poem, please let me know!
~ Abhaill
Lament of the Old Woman of Beare
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Lament of the Old Woman of Beare
by Abhaill » 12 Nov 2006, 18:34
The basis of druid tradition:
To honour the gods,
To do no evil, and
To practice bravery.
~ attributed to Diogenes Laertius (fl. CE 225/250)
from Peter Berresford Ellis' A Brief History of the Druids
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by Megli » 12 Nov 2006, 19:24
That looks pretty exhaustive to me! It is a wonderful, wonderful poem. So strange and eerie. And I love how there are little flashes of an inundation myth in it (one of those obviously pre-Christian ideas that people rarely pick up on). I honestly can't think of anything else to add to your list of resources!Good luck with the essay. I'm having a horrible time translating Gruffudd Llwyd ab Dafydd ab Einion's poem about the comet that appeared in 1402, using a unedited text. It's VILE.
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by Beith » 13 Nov 2006, 12:38
HI Abhaill,
I can't offer anything at present but you could check with your university to see if there is a microfiche copy of some of the Irish National Folklore Archives available and search for cailleach Beara references. I havent read any of those books but came across the one by Gearóid O C recently and it looked interesting. I'd go with Meyer and if you can get Greene, I think that would be an excellent reference point too.
Good luck!
Beith
I can't offer anything at present but you could check with your university to see if there is a microfiche copy of some of the Irish National Folklore Archives available and search for cailleach Beara references. I havent read any of those books but came across the one by Gearóid O C recently and it looked interesting. I'd go with Meyer and if you can get Greene, I think that would be an excellent reference point too.
Good luck!
Beith
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by Abhaill » 13 Nov 2006, 14:34
Thank you both. Apparently Murphy's translation is the only one to rely on all 5 MS versions of the text, whereas Meyer went first and only used 2. Meyer's version is the one that I memorized and put to music, so I have a soft spot for that one, but Ann Dooley pointed out quite a few errors in the translation as we were going through it last class, and she's fairly happy with Donncha Ó hAodha's work which is the most recent of the bunch. Ó hAodha follows the verse order of one particular MS - the one with the prose introduction - that he believes to be the oldest of the 5 MSS containing the poem. His work is nice to follow because he has all this hindsight and can look at every translator's work before his own, including Meyer and Murphy. I've also found the John Carey article quite useful in that it provides an overview of the thematic emphases placed upon the poem by all of its various translators. I'm off to the libraries today to track down most of what I listed above but don't yet have, and hopefully I'll find everything I need. I'll keep you posted!
~ Abhaill
~ Abhaill
The basis of druid tradition:
To honour the gods,
To do no evil, and
To practice bravery.
~ attributed to Diogenes Laertius (fl. CE 225/250)
from Peter Berresford Ellis' A Brief History of the Druids
My avatar is a print called, 'Screech Owl in Apple Tree,' by Robert Bateman
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Abhaill - OBOD Ovate
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by Abhaill » 14 Nov 2006, 20:46
Ok, I've added Kim McCone's Pagan Past and Christian Present, and Georges Dumezil's The Destiny of a King, but I'm having trouble tracking down Murphy's translation in PRIA 55 C vol. 4. Can anyone help me locate this somewhere online possibly? I'm not even sure what the "55 C" means. It's the most complete of the translations from the MSS available so I'd really like to get a look at it! Thanks for any help! 
~ Abhaill
~ Abhaill
The basis of druid tradition:
To honour the gods,
To do no evil, and
To practice bravery.
~ attributed to Diogenes Laertius (fl. CE 225/250)
from Peter Berresford Ellis' A Brief History of the Druids
My avatar is a print called, 'Screech Owl in Apple Tree,' by Robert Bateman
-
Abhaill - OBOD Ovate
- Posts: 488
- Age: 35
- Joined: 03 Oct 2006, 15:43
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by Beith » 14 Nov 2006, 20:52
Hi there
I guess the reference is to the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy Vol 4, I guess 55 is an issue number and C is probably for Celtic studies (as B is for Biology)...hang on a sec....
back again...here's the link
http://www.ria.ie/publications/journals/procci/
Note: this only lists (from what I could see on a quick overview) recent editions. 55 will be a while back. You can mail them directly at their "library &Catalogue" link i think - address is
Contact
Librarian on duty
E-Mail: libraryria.ie
Ph: 01-6762570 (that's your international dial out code + 353 for Ireland, 1 for Dublin and 676... for the librarian)
They're very nice and helpful in there. Why not give them a call and see if they have it, otherwise let me know by Thursday/Fri this week and I'll drop in to them and see if they have a backissue of the article. It's on my way. You have to buy the publications of course but maybe your college library can do that if you can get them to muster up the euros for the edition!!
Beith
I guess the reference is to the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy Vol 4, I guess 55 is an issue number and C is probably for Celtic studies (as B is for Biology)...hang on a sec....
back again...here's the link
http://www.ria.ie/publications/journals/procci/
Note: this only lists (from what I could see on a quick overview) recent editions. 55 will be a while back. You can mail them directly at their "library &Catalogue" link i think - address is
Contact
Librarian on duty
E-Mail: libraryria.ie
Ph: 01-6762570 (that's your international dial out code + 353 for Ireland, 1 for Dublin and 676... for the librarian)
They're very nice and helpful in there. Why not give them a call and see if they have it, otherwise let me know by Thursday/Fri this week and I'll drop in to them and see if they have a backissue of the article. It's on my way. You have to buy the publications of course but maybe your college library can do that if you can get them to muster up the euros for the edition!!
Beith
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Beith - Posts: 3557
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