Section: / 2

Scél asa mberar combad hé Find mac Cumaill Mongán

p. 133a


Scel asa mberar combad Find mac Cumaill Mongán 7 aní
a fil aided Fothaid Airgdig a scél so sís


[10940]Bai Mongan hi Ráith Móir1 Maigi Lini2 inna rigu. Dolluid
[10941] Forgoll3 file a dochum. Boí leis for cui ilar lánomnae
[10942] n. Infeded in fili scél cacha aidche do Mongán. a
[10943] chomsae a mboth samlaid ó Samuin co Béltaine. Seóit 7 bíad
[10944] ho Mongán. Imcomarchuir Mongán a filid laa n-and cía
[10945] haided Fothaid Airgtig. Asbert Forgoll goíte i nDubthair
[10946] Lagen4. Asbert Mongán ba . Asbert in fili nod n-aírfed dia
[10947] áithgiud 7 no áerfad a athair 7 a máthair 7 a senathair, 7
[10948] docechnad fora n-usciu con gébtha íasc ina inberaib. Do-
[10949] cechnad fora fedaib conna tibertaís torad fora maige, comtis
[10950] ambriti chaidchi cacha clainde. Dofarraid5 Mongán a réir
[10951] di sétaib co tici secht cumala ł da secht cumala ł tri secht cumala.
[10952] Torgid asennad trían ł leth a feraind ł a ferand óg asennad acht
[10953] a soíri a óenur cona mnai Breóthigirnd mani forsulcad co cend
[10954] p. 133btrisse. At | bobuid in fili uile acht mad cussin mnaí. Atdámuir
[10955] Mongan fo bíth a énech. brónach in ben immeressan. Ni
[10956] gattad dér di gruaid. Asbert Mongán fria arnábad brónach;
[10957] bés dosnísed cobair.


[10958]Tánic de co tici a tres laa. Gabais in fili a nadmim.
[10959] Asbert Mongán anad co fescor. Boí Mongan 7 a ben inna
[10960] ngríanan. Ciid in ben in tan nessam a n-idnacul 7 nád
[10961] accai a cobair. Asbert Mongan: 'Nadbad6 brónach, a ben! Ásáe
[10962] fer dotháet indossa diar cobair; adhaim a chossa hi Labrinni7.'
[10963] Anit etir.


[10964]Cích in ben aithiruch. ' cíi, a ben! Ásae fer dotháet diar
[10965] cobair indosso; adhaim a chossa hi Máin.' No antais eter cach
[10966] tráth in tucht sin isind lóo. No chiadsi. Asberadsa beus:
[10967] ' , a ben! Fer dotháet diar cobair indossa, adhaim a chossa hi
[10968] Lemuin, hi Loch Léin, hi Samaír eter Fidgente 7 Aradu, hi
[10969] Siúir ar Femun8 Muman, hi nEchuir, hi mBerbi, hi Rurthig, hi
[10970] mBoind, hi Níth, hi Rig, hi nOlarbi ar bélaib Rátha Móri.'

p. 133b


[10971]In tan dunnánic adaig, boí Mongán inna chétud inna
[10972] rígthaíg 7 a ben fora déserud osí brónach. In fili oca fúacru
[10973] fora nglinne 7 a nadmand. Tráth mbátár and, adfógarar fer
[10974] dun raith andes. A brat hi forcepul immi 7 dícheltir inna láim
[10975] nádbu érbec. Toling frissa crand sin tarna teóra ratha co mboí
[10976] for lár lis; di sudiu co mboí for lár ind rígthaige; di sudiu co
[10977] mboí eter Mongán 7 fraigid forsind adart. In fili i n-íarthur
[10978] in taige fri ríg aníar. Segair in chest isin tig feád ind oclaig
[10979] dudánic. 'Cid dathar sund?' ol sudiu. 'Ro gellsom,' ol Mongán, '7
[10980] in fili ucut im aidid Fothaid Airgtig. Asrubairtsom: "Is i
[10981] nDubthor Lagen"; asrubartsa: "Is ".' Asbert int óclách
[10982] dond ilid. 'Bid aithlig,' ol Forgoll cille, 'dano dumm áithgeód.'
[10983] 'Ni baa són,' ol int óclách. 'Proimfithir. Bámárni latsu, la Find,'
[10984] ol int óclach. 'Adautt!' ol Mongán. ' maith sin.' 'Bámárni la
[10985] Find trá,' ol se. 'Dulodmar di Albae. Immarnacmár fri Fothud
[10986] nAirgtech hi sund accut for Ollorbi. Fichimmir scandal n-and
[10987] Fochartso erchor fair co sech trít co lluid hi talmain friss anall
[10988] 7 co facab a iarnd hi talam. Iss ed a ndíceltar so ro boí isin gai
[10989] p. 134asin. Fugebthar | in máelcloch a rolusa a roud sin 7 fogebthar
[10990] a n-airiarnn isin talam 7 fogebthar a ulad Fothaid Airgtig fris
[10991] anair bic. Ata comrar chloche imbi and hi talam. Ataat a di
[10992] foil airgit 7 a di bunne doat 7 a muintorc argit fora chomrair.
[10993] 7 atá coirthe oca ulaid. 7 atá ogom isin chind fil hi talam din
[10994] corthi. Iss ed fil and: "Eochaid9 Airgtech inso. Ra m Caílte i
[10995] n-imaeriuc fri Find".'


[10996]Éthe10 lasin n-óclaic aricht samlaid ule 7 fofrítha. Ba
[10997] Caílte dalta Find dodánic. Ba Find dano inti Mongán acht
[10998] nad leic a forndisse.


1. Ráith Mór has not been conclusively identified, although from the context of the tale we might assume that it was located on the North bank of the Larne Water (Ollarbe) in Co. Antrim.
2. Moylinny (ModIr Maigh Line) is in Co. Antrim; to view on a map, click here.
3. For the identification of Forgoll with Dallán Forgaill, see White, Compert Mongáin, p. 51; MacKillop, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, p. 114.
4. Although there are a number of Dubthars in Leinster, this is probably intended for Dubthar in the territory of Dál nAraide in Ulster, a more plausible location from the context of the tale (cf. White, Compert Mongáin, p. 121).
5. leg. dofarcaid on the basis of comparison with the other extant manuscripts.
6. leg. na ba: the vocative here requires an imperative 2sg verb. All extant manuscripts display confusion regarding this form.
7. For a discussion of the warrior’s route, and to view on a map, see About the Text.
8. The Plain of Femen in Co. Tipperary is equated with the barony of Iffa and Offa, extending from Cashel to Clonmel.
9. Although we would expect this to be Fothad, all manuscripts (except one) have Eochaid. It has been suggested that this may be an error which dates back to the text’s archetype (cf. White, Compert Mongáin, p. 158).
10. This is glossed with .i. dogníther in the manuscript.


A Story from which it is inferred that Mongán was Find mac Cumaill, and the cause of the death of Fothad Airgdech


Mongán was in Rathmore of Moylinny in his kingship. To him went Forgoll the poet. Through him many a married couple was complaining to Mongán. Every night the poet would recite a story to Mongán. So great was his lore that they were thus from Halloween to May-day. He had gifts and food from Mongán.


One day Mongán asked his poet what was the death of Fothad Airgdech. Forgoll said he was slain at Duffry in Leinster. Mongán said it was false. The poet said he would satirise him with his lampoons, and he would satirise his father and his mother and his grandfather, and he would sing (spells) upon their waters, so that fish should not be caught in their river-mouths. He would sing upon their woods, so that they should not give fruit, upon their plains, so that they should be barren forever of any produce. Mongán promised him his will of precious things as far as (the value of) seven bondmaids, or twice seven bondmaids, or three times seven. At last he offers him one-third, or one-half of his land, or his whole land; at last (anything) save only his own liberty with (that of) his wife Breóthigernd, unless he were redeemed before the end of three days. The poet refused all except as regards the woman. For the sake of his honour Mongán consented. Thereat the woman was sorrowful. The tear was not taken from her cheek. Mongán told her not to be sorrowful, help would certainly come to them.


So it came to the third day. The poet began to enforce his bond. Mongán told him to wait till evening. He and his wife were in their bower. The woman weeps as her surrender drew near and she saw no help. Mongán said: ‘Be not sorrowful, woman. He who is even now coming to our help, I hear his feet in the Labrinne.’ They wait a while.


Again the woman wept. ‘Weep not, woman! He who is now coming to our help, I hear his feet in the Máin.’ Thus they were waiting between every two watches of the day. She would weep, he would still say: ‘Weep not woman! He who is now coming to our help, I hear his feet in the Laune, in Lough Leane, in the Morning-star River between the Úi Fidgente and the Arada, in the Suir on Moy-Fevin in Munster, in the Echuir, in the Barrow, in the Liffey, in the Boyne, in the Dee, in the Newry river, in the Larne Water in front of Rathmore.’

p. NaN


When night came to them, Mongán was on his couch in his palace, and his wife at his right hand, and she sorrowful. The poet was summoning them by their sureties and their bonds. While they were there, a man is announced approaching the rath from the south. His cloak was in a fold around him, and in his hand a headless spear-shaft that was not very small. By that shaft he leapt across the three ramparts, so that he was in the middle of the garth, thence into the middle of the palace, thence between Mongán and the wall at his pillow. The poet was in the back of the house behind the king. The question is argued in the house before the warrior that had come. ‘What is the matter here?’ said he. ‘I and the poet yonder,’ said Mongán, ‘have made a wager about the death of Fothad Airgdech. He said it was at Duffry in Leinster. I said that was false.’ The warrior said the poet was wrong. ‘It will be (the task) of a former warrior,’ said Forgoll of the church, ‘moreover, to contradict me.’ ‘That were not good,’ said the warrior. ‘It shall be proved. We were with thee, with Find,’ said the warrior. ‘Hush!’ said Mongán, ‘that is not fair.’ ‘We were with Find, then,’ said he. ‘We came from Scotland. We met with Fothad Airgdech here yonder on the Larne river. There we fought a battle. I made a cast at him, so that it passed through him and went into the earth beyond him and left its iron head in the earth. This here is the shaft that was in that spear. The bare stone from which I made that cast will be found, and the iron head will be found in the earth, and the tomb of Fothad Airgdech will be found a little to the east of it. A stone chest is about him there in the earth. There, upon the chest, are his two bracelets of silver, and his two arm-rings, and his neck-torque of silver. And by his tomb there is a stone pillar. And on the end of the pillar that is in the earth there is Ogam. This is what it says: “This is Eochaid Airgdech. Cáilte slew him in an encounter against Find.”’


They went with the warrior. Everything was found thus. It was Cáilte, Find’s foster-son, that had come to them. Mongán, however, was Find, though he would not let it be told.

#36385 http://dil.ie/36385 #8 http://dil.ie/8 #6 http://dil.ie/6 #5583 http://dil.ie/5583 #9788 http://dil.ie/9788 #29104 http://dil.ie/29104 #19325 http://dil.ie/19325 #22134 http://dil.ie/22134 #31166 http://dil.ie/31166 #33484 http://dil.ie/33484 #28194 http://dil.ie/28194 #26897 http://dil.ie/26897 #14787 http://dil.ie/14787 #4927 http://dil.ie/4927 #866 http://dil.ie/866 #2022 http://dil.ie/2022 #38191 http://dil.ie/38191 #37699 http://dil.ie/37699 #26891 http://dil.ie/26891 #34837 http://dil.ie/34837 #32548 http://dil.ie/32548 #31274 http://dil.ie/31274 #3 http://dil.ie/3 #35283 http://dil.ie/35283 #18490 http://dil.ie/18490 #22070 http://dil.ie/22070 #17406 http://dil.ie/17406 #29233 http://dil.ie/29233 #23272 http://dil.ie/23272 #7569 http://dil.ie/7569 #27244 http://dil.ie/27244 #29545 http://dil.ie/29545 #17096 http://dil.ie/17096 #28584 http://dil.ie/28584 #7528 http://dil.ie/7528 #256 http://dil.ie/256 #37356 http://dil.ie/37356 #10281 http://dil.ie/10281 #7435 http://dil.ie/7435 #36150 http://dil.ie/36150 #33364 http://dil.ie/33364 #36129 http://dil.ie/36129 #9786 http://dil.ie/9786 #5631 http://dil.ie/5631 #37323 http://dil.ie/37323 #5813 http://dil.ie/5813 #27790 http://dil.ie/27790 #29234 http://dil.ie/29234 #8965 http://dil.ie/8965 #4383 http://dil.ie/4383 #26387 http://dil.ie/26387 #19047 http://dil.ie/19047 #25465 http://dil.ie/25465 #33202 http://dil.ie/33202 #27169 http://dil.ie/27169 #639 http://dil.ie/639 #2576 http://dil.ie/2576 #4625 http://dil.ie/4625 #31678 http://dil.ie/31678 #37117 http://dil.ie/37117 #17282 http://dil.ie/17282 #43063 http://dil.ie/43063 #32901 http://dil.ie/32901 #25119 http://dil.ie/25119 #27105 http://dil.ie/27105 #28243 http://dil.ie/28243 #21999 http://dil.ie/21999 #17216 http://dil.ie/17216 #100000 http://dil.ie/ #1098 http://dil.ie/1098 #7684 http://dil.ie/7684 #9365 http://dil.ie/9365 #17617 http://dil.ie/17617 #35223 http://dil.ie/35223 #17788 http://dil.ie/17788 #36788 http://dil.ie/36788 #13806 http://dil.ie/13806 #33204 http://dil.ie/33204 #14080 http://dil.ie/14080 #41872 http://dil.ie/41872 #4430 http://dil.ie/4430 #41887 http://dil.ie/41887 #30036 http://dil.ie/30036 #21686 http://dil.ie/21686 #33562 http://dil.ie/33562 #200 http://dil.ie/200 #36041 http://dil.ie/36041 #33521 http://dil.ie/33521 #9787 http://dil.ie/9787 #5644 http://dil.ie/5644 #6725 http://dil.ie/6725 #40733 http://dil.ie/40733 #31164 http://dil.ie/31164 #23842 http://dil.ie/23842 #8622 http://dil.ie/8622 #41751 http://dil.ie/41751 #4386 http://dil.ie/4386 #14069 http://dil.ie/14069 #42968 http://dil.ie/42968 #417 http://dil.ie/417 #22333 http://dil.ie/22333 #5973 http://dil.ie/5973 #20066 http://dil.ie/20066 #6966 http://dil.ie/6966 #27854 http://dil.ie/27854 #33147 http://dil.ie/33147 #25452 http://dil.ie/25452 #15536 http://dil.ie/15536 #26709 http://dil.ie/26709 #24329 http://dil.ie/24329 #3913 http://dil.ie/3913 #5756 http://dil.ie/5756 #35819 http://dil.ie/35819 #9802 http://dil.ie/9802 #41835 http://dil.ie/41835 #32930 http://dil.ie/32930 #3265 http://dil.ie/3265 #21785 http://dil.ie/21785 #26633 http://dil.ie/26633 #9072 http://dil.ie/9072 #40004 http://dil.ie/40004 #33131 http://dil.ie/33131 #27209 http://dil.ie/27209 #32914 http://dil.ie/32914 #391 http://dil.ie/391 #32899 http://dil.ie/32899 #2 http://dil.ie/2 #4509 http://dil.ie/4509 #21665 http://dil.ie/21665 #28510 http://dil.ie/28510 #3906 http://dil.ie/3906 #264 http://dil.ie/264 #12566 http://dil.ie/12566 #3302 http://dil.ie/3302 #20865 http://dil.ie/20865 #2630 http://dil.ie/2630 #41602 http://dil.ie/41602 #42269 http://dil.ie/42269 #37567 http://dil.ie/37567 #37352 http://dil.ie/37352 #35825 http://dil.ie/35825 #5807 http://dil.ie/5807 #30427 http://dil.ie/30427 #42573 http://dil.ie/42573 #3902 http://dil.ie/3902 #32829 http://dil.ie/32829 #35749 http://dil.ie/35749 #6206 http://dil.ie/6206 #5607 http://dil.ie/5607 #8875 http://dil.ie/8875 #35266 http://dil.ie/35266 #40265 http://dil.ie/40265 #15282 http://dil.ie/15282 #34045 http://dil.ie/34045 #37356 http://dil.ie/37356 #33397 http://dil.ie/33397 #24589 http://dil.ie/24589 #26098 http://dil.ie/26098 #444 http://dil.ie/444 #3491 http://dil.ie/3491 #6598 http://dil.ie/6598 #23451 http://dil.ie/23451 #27635 http://dil.ie/27635 #16092 http://dil.ie/16092 #29507 http://dil.ie/29507 #20195 http://dil.ie/20195 #5512 http://dil.ie/5512 #18029 http://dil.ie/18029 #12753 http://dil.ie/12753 #40049 http://dil.ie/40049 #29580 http://dil.ie/29580 #29991 http://dil.ie/29991 #39195 http://dil.ie/39195 #24233 http://dil.ie/24233 #314 http://dil.ie/314 #27086 http://dil.ie/27086 #35181 http://dil.ie/35181 #3645 http://dil.ie/3645 #35951 http://dil.ie/35951 #8525 http://dil.ie/8525 #21885 http://dil.ie/21885 #33460 http://dil.ie/33460 #27168 http://dil.ie/27168 #14083 http://dil.ie/14083 #39303 http://dil.ie/39303 #33761 http://dil.ie/33761 #35364 http://dil.ie/35364 #25587 http://dil.ie/25587 #42887 http://dil.ie/42887 #38431 http://dil.ie/38431 #31705 http://dil.ie/31705 #4801 http://dil.ie/4801 #8562 http://dil.ie/8562 #14616 http://dil.ie/14616 #32400 http://dil.ie/32400 #5125 http://dil.ie/5125 #38459 http://dil.ie/38459 #34605 http://dil.ie/34605 #42137 http://dil.ie/42137 #4575 http://dil.ie/4575 #31438 http://dil.ie/31438 #41529 http://dil.ie/41529 #36709 http://dil.ie/36709 #2890 http://dil.ie/2890 #27684 http://dil.ie/27684 #21985 http://dil.ie/21985 #36316 http://dil.ie/36316 #22405 http://dil.ie/22405 #1753 http://dil.ie/1753 #36883 http://dil.ie/36883 #41608 http://dil.ie/41608 #40447 http://dil.ie/40447 #39932 http://dil.ie/39932 #3340 http://dil.ie/3340 #22337 http://dil.ie/22337 #27041 http://dil.ie/27041 #19657 http://dil.ie/19657 #25080 http://dil.ie/25080 #22696 http://dil.ie/22696 #31242 http://dil.ie/31242 #9550 http://dil.ie/9550 #35599 http://dil.ie/35599 #2082 http://dil.ie/2082 #961 http://dil.ie/961 #3314 http://dil.ie/3314 #11652 http://dil.ie/11652 #21086 http://dil.ie/21086 #4140 http://dil.ie/4140 #7399 http://dil.ie/7399 #17513 http://dil.ie/17513 #32713 http://dil.ie/32713 #41453 http://dil.ie/41453 #10414 http://dil.ie/10414 #33582 http://dil.ie/33582 #11 http://dil.ie/11 #5647 http://dil.ie/5647 #27679 http://dil.ie/27679 #20834 http://dil.ie/20834 #4161 http://dil.ie/4161 #14451 http://dil.ie/14451 #14070 http://dil.ie/14070 #32900 http://dil.ie/32900 #29766 http://dil.ie/29766 #23807 http://dil.ie/23807
#260 http://edil.qub.ac.uk/2222