#The Destruction of Dind Ríg #### Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition ### Background details and bibliographic information The Destruction of Dind Ríg =========================== Author: [unknown] ----------------- ### File Description Whitley StokesTranslated by Whitley Stokes Electronic edition compiled by Benjamin Hazard, Beatrix Färber Funded by University College, Cork and The Higher Education Authority via the LDT Project 2. Second draft.Extent of text: 3640 words#### Publication CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork College Road, Cork, Ireland—http://www.ucc.ie/celt (2004) (2011) Distributed by CELT online at University College, Cork, Ireland. Text ID Number: T302012AAvailability [RESTRICTED] Available with prior consent of the CELT programme for purposes of academic research and teaching only. [RESTRICTED] Available with prior consent of the CELT programme for purposes of academic research and teaching only. #### Sources **Manuscript sources for the Irish text**- Book of Leinster, 262a.1, 269b.1. See Robert Atkinson (ed.), The Book of Leinster: A collection of pieces, prose and verse, in the Irish language compiled, in part, about the middle of the twelfth century, published from the original manuscript in the library of Trinity College, Dublin by the Royal Irish Academy with an Introduction, Analysis of contents and Index (Dublin, 1880).- Yellow Book of Lecan, 112a.1–113a.47, col. 754–756. See Robert Atkinson (ed.), The Yellow Book of Lecan, a collection of pieces, prose and verse, in the Irish language in part compiled at the end of the fourteenth century, published from the original manuscript in the library of Trinity College, Dublin by the Royal Irish Academy with an Introduction, Analysis of contents and Index (Dublin, 1896), 61. For catalogue details see T. K. Abbott (ed.), Catalogue of the manuscripts in the library of Trinity College, Dublin (Dublin, 1900), MS H.2.16 (1318), pp. 328–37.- Rawlinson B 502, 130b.15. For details see Brian Ó Cuív (ed.), Catalogue of Irish manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford and Oxford College Library, (Dublin: DIAS, 2001–2003), vol. 1, 163–200: 174, vol. 2, plates 15–21.**Edition**2. Whitley Stokes, Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie 3 (1901) 1–14. **Secondary literature**2. Myles Dillon, The Cycles of the Kings (London 1946), 4–11. 3. Thomas F. O'Rahilly, Early Irish History and Mythology (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies 1946) 101–17. 4. Morgan Thomas Davies, 'Protocols of Reading in Early Irish Literature: Notes on some Notes to Orgain Denna Ríg and Amra Coluim Cille.' Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 32 (Winter 1996) 1–23. **The edition used in the digital edition**2. **Whitley Stokes**, The Destruction of Dind Ríg in Zeitschrift für Celtische Philologie. Volume 3, Halle/Saale, Max Niemeyer (1901) page 1–14 ### Encoding #### Project Description CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts #### Sampling Declaration The present text represents pages 1–2 and 9–14 of the volume. #### Editorial Declaration ##### Correction Text has been checked and proofread twice. All corrections and supplied text are tagged. ##### Normalization The electronic text represents the edited text. Text supplied by the editor is tagged sup resp="WS". ##### Quotation Direct speech is tagged q. ##### Hyphenation Soft hyphens are silently removed. When a hyphenated word (hard or soft) crosses a page-break, this break is marked after completion of the hyphenated word. ##### Segmentation div0=the tale; div1=the editor's paragraph; page-breaks are marked. The editor's introduction is contained in an unnumbered div outside the div0. ##### Interpretation Personal names, organisational and place names have been tagged. #### Canonical References This text uses the DIV1 element to represent the paragraph. ### Profile Description Created: Translated by Whitley Stokes (1900) #### Use of language ##### Language: [EN] Introduction and translation are in English. ##### Language: [LA] Some words are in Latin. ### Revision History * (2011-01-26) Beatrix Färber (ed.) * Header updated; new wordcount made. * (2008-10-24) Beatrix Färber (ed.) * Keywords added; file validated. * (2008-07-28) Beatrix Färber (ed.) * Value of div0 "type" attribute modified, title elements streamlined, creation date inserted, content of 'langUsage' revised; minor modifications made to header. * (2005-08-25) Julianne Nyhan (ed.) * Normalised language codes and edited langUsage for XML conversion * (2005-08-04T16:42:56+0100) Peter Flynn (ed.) * Converted to XML * (2004-03-22) Beatrix Färber (ed.) * File proofed (2); quotations and names marked up; header modified. File re-parsed; HTML file created. * (2004-03-22) Benjamin Hazard (ed.) * Header inserted and adapted, file proofed (1), structural markup inserted, additions to the bibliography made; file parsed. * (2004-03-19) Benjamin Hazard (data capture) * Text captured by scanning. --- #### Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition: T302012A ### The Destruction of Dind Ríg: Author: [unknown] --- p.1 ### The Destruction of **Dind Ríg** There are three copies of the following tale of treachery, love, self-devotion, and vengeance, one (LL) in the Book of Leinster, pp. 269, 270 of the lithographic facsimile, another (R) in Rawlinson B. 502; ff. 71, 72, a ms. of the twelfth century in the Bodleian library, and the third (YBL) in the Yellow Book of Lecan, cols. 754-756=pp. 112, 113a of the photolithograph published in 1896. The three copies substantially agree. But LL is slightly fuller than the others, and is therefore made the basis of the following edition. The variae lectiones of R and YBL are given as footnotes. The tale is now for the first time printed. But it has been noticed, more or less fully, by **Keating** in his Forus Feasa air Eirinn, Dublin 1811, p. 350, by **Conall MaGeoghagan** in the Annals of Clonmacnoise, Dublin 1896, pp. 43, 44, by **O'Curry**, in his Lectures 251, and his Manners etc. III, 242-245, by **Prof.Atkinson** in the Contents to the Book of Leinster, p. 61, and by **Prof. d'Arbois de Jubainville**, in his Essai d'un Catalogue de la littérature épique d'Irlande, p. 184. A tale dealing, very differently, with the same subject is preserved as a scholium on the Amra Choluimb chille (YBL. col. 689, Egerton 1782, fo. 9 b), and will be published in the Revue Celtique, tome XX. **Keating** (ubi supra, pp. 352, 353) abridges this version. There seems no ground for doubting the actual occurrence of the final incident of our tale, which is thus chronicled by Tigernach ( Rev. Celt. XVI, 378): ‘Cobthach the Meagre of Bregia, son of Ugaine the Great, was burnt, with thirty kings around him, at Dind Ríg of Magh Ailbe, in the palace of Tuaimm Tenbath precisely, by Labraid the Dumb, the Exile, son of Ailill of Áne, son of Loeguire Lorc, in revenge for his father --- p.2 and grandfather, whom Cobthach the Meagre had killed. Warfare thence between Leinster and Conn's Half’ (i.e. the northern half of Ireland). This warfare is also referred to in the title contained in R. viz. 'Scelshenchas Lagen inso sis. Orguin Denna rig inso: Bruiden Tuamma Tenbad ainm aile do, & is *ed* on cetna scel Lagen & tuus a ngliad. 'A legendary story of Leinster this below. This is the Destruction of **Dind Ríg**.[1](javascript:footNote('T302012A/note001.html')) The Palace of Tuaimm Tenbad is another name for it, and this is the first tale of the Leinstermen and the commencement of their fighting'. --- p.9 Whence is the Destruction of **Dind Ríg**? Easy (to say). **Cobthach the Meagre** of **Bregia**, the son of **Ugaine the Great**, was king of **Bregia**, but **Loegaire Lorc**, son of **Ugaine**, was king of **Erin**. He, too, was a son of **Ugaine the Great**. **Cobthach** was envious towards **Loegaire** concerning the kingship of **Erin**, and wasting and grief assailed him, so that his blood and his flesh wasted away. Wherefore he was surnamed the Meagre of **Bregia**, and **Loegaire**'s murder was brought about. So **Loegaire** was called to **Cobthach** that he might leave him his blessing before he died. Now when **Loegaire** went in to his brother the leg of a hen's chick is broken on the floor of the house. ‘Unlucky was thine illness’, says **Loegaire**. ‘This is fitting’, says **Cobthach**: ‘all has departed, both blood and bone, both life and wealth. Thou hast done me damage, my lad, in breaking the hen's leg. Bring it hither that I may put a bandage round it.’[2](javascript:footNote('T302012A/note002.html')) ‘Woe is me’, says **Loegaire**, ‘the man has decay and destruction: he is delivered into neglect.’ ‘Come, tomorrow’, says **Cobthach**, ‘that my tomb be raised by thee, and that my pillar-stone be planted, my assembly of mourning be held, and my burial-paean be performed; for I shall die swiftly.’ ‘Well’, says **Loegaire**, ‘it shall be done.’ ‘Well, then’, saith **Cobthach** to his queens and his steward, ‘say ye that I am dead, but let none other know it, and let me be put into my chariot with a razor-knife in my (right) hand. My brother will come to me vehemently, to bewail me, and will throw himself upon me. Mayhap he will get somewhat from me.’ This was true. The chariot is brought out. His brother came to bewail him. He comes and flings himself down upon **Cobthach**, who plunges the knife into **Loegaire** at the small of his back, so that its point appeared at the top of his heart, and thus **Loegaire** died, and was buried in **Druim Loegairi**.[3](javascript:footNote('T302012A/note003.html')) --- p.10 **Loegaire** left a son, even **Ailill** of **Ane**. He assumed the kingship of **Leinster**. The first parricide did not seem enough to **Cobthach**, so he gave silver to some one who administered a deadly drink to **Ailill**, and thereof he died. After that, **Cobthach** took the realm of **Leinster**. Now **Ailill** of **Ane** had left a son, even **Móen Ollam**. Now he was dumb until be became a big man. One day, then, in the playground, as he was hurling, a hockey-stick chanced over his shin. ‘This has befallen me!’ says he. ‘**Moen** labraid’, ("speaks") say the lads. From that time **Labraid** was his name. The men of **Erin** are summoned by **Cobthach** to partake of the Feast of **Tara**. **Labraid** went, like everyone, to partake of it. Now when they were most gloriously consuming the banquet, the eulogists were on the floor, lauding the king and the queens, the princes and the nobles. ‘Well then’, says **Cobthach**, ‘know ye who is the most hospitable (man) in **Erin**?’ ‘We know’, says **Craiphtine** (the Harper), ‘it is **Labraid Loingsech**, son of **Ailill**. I went to him in spring, and he killed his only ox for me.’ Says **Ferchertne** the Poet: ‘**Labraid** is the most hospitable man we know. I went to him in winter, and he killed his only cow for me, and he possessed nothing but her.’ ‘Go ye with him then!’ says **Cobthach**, ‘since he is more hospitable than I.’ ‘He will not be the worse of this’, says **Craiphtine**, ‘and thou wilt not be the better.’ ‘Out of **Erin** with you then’, says **Cobthach**, ‘so long as thou art alive!’ ‘Unless we find our place (of refuge) in it’, says the lad. They are then rejected. ‘Whither shall we go?’ says the lad. ‘Westwards’, answered **Ferchertne**. So forth they fare to the king of the Men of **Morca**, the Men of **Morca** that dwelt about **Luachair Dedad** in the west. **Scoríath** is he that was their king. ‘What has brought you?’ asked **Scoríath**. ‘Our rejection by the king of **Erin**.’ ‘Ye are welcome’, says **Scoríath**. ‘Your going or your staying will be the same (to us) so long as I am alive. Ye shall have good comradeship’, says the king. --- p.11 **Scoríath** had a daughter, whose name was **Moríath**. They were guarding her carefully, for no husband fit for her had been found at once. Her mother was keeping her. The mother's two eyes never slept (at the same time), for one of the two was watching her daughter. Howbeit the damsel loved **Labraid**. There was a plan between her and him. **Scoríath** held a great feast for the Men of **Morca**. This is the plan they made — after the drinking, **Craiphtine** should play the slumber-strain, so that her mother should fall asleep and **Labraid** should reach the chamber. Now that came to pass. **Craiphtine** hid not his harp that night, so that the queen fell asleep, and the (loving) couple came together. Not long afterwards the queen awoke. ‘Rise, O **Scoríath**!’ says he. ‘Ill is the sleep in which thou art. Thy daughter has a woman's breath. Hearken to her sigh after her lover has gone from her.’ Then **Scoríath** rose up. ‘Find out who has done this’, quoth he, ‘that he may be put to the sword at once!’ No one knew who had done it. ‘The wizards and the poets shall lose their heads unless they find out who has done it.’ ‘It will be a disgrace to thee’, says **Ferchertne**, ‘to kill thine own household.’ ‘Then thou thyself shalt lose thy head unless thou tellest.’ ‘Tell’, quoth **Labraid**: ‘tis enough that I only should be ruined.’[4](javascript:footNote('T302012A/note004.html')) Then said **Ferchertne**: ‘The lute hid no music from **Craiphtine**'s harp till he cast a deathsleep on the hosts, so that harmony was spread between **Moen** and marriageable **Moríath** [5](javascript:footNote('T302012A/note005.html')) of **Morca**. More to her than any price was **Labraid**.’ ‘**Labraid**’ says he, ‘forgathered with her after ye had been lulled by **Craiphtine**'s harp.’ In this he betrayed his companions. ‘Well then’, says **Scoríath**, ‘until tonight we have not chosen[6](javascript:footNote('T302012A/note006.html')) a husband for our daughter, because of our love for her. (But) if we had been choosing one, 'tis he whom we have found here. Let drinking take place within’ says the king, --- p.12 ‘and let his wife be put at **Labraid**'s hand. And I will never part from him till he be king of **Leinster**.’ Then **Labraid**'s wife came to him and sleeps with him. And thereafter they deliver a hosting of the **Munstermen** till they reached **Dind Ríg** (for) the first destruction. And they were unable to destroy it until the warriors outside made a deceptive plan, namely, that **Craiphtine** should go on the rampart of the fortress to play the slumber-strain to the host within, so that it might be overturned, and that the host outside should put their faces to the ground and their fingers in their ears that they might not hear the playing. So that was done there, and the men inside fell asleep, and the fortress was captured, and the garrison was slaughtered, and the fortress was sacked. Now **Moríath** was on the hosting. She did not deem it honourable to put her fingers into her ears at her own music, so that she lay asleep for three days, no one daring to move her. Whence said **Flann Mac Lónain**:[7](javascript:footNote('T302012A/note007.html')) ‘As great **Moríath** slept before the host of **Morca** — more than any tale — when **Dind Ríg** was sacked — course without a fight — when the hole-headed lute played a melody.’ Thereafter **Labraid** took the realm of **Leinster**, and he and **Cobthach** were at peace, and his seat was at **Dind Ríg**. Once upon a time, however, when he had taken it, and **Cobthach** had the full kingship, he induced this **Cobthach** to do his will and meet his desire. So a house was built by him to receive **Cobthach**. Passing strong was the house: it was made of iron, both wall and floor and doors.[8](javascript:footNote('T302012A/note008.html')) A full year were the **Leinstermen** abuilding it, and father would hide it from son, and mother from daughter, husband from wife, and wife from husband, so that no one heard from another what they were going about, and for whom they were gathering their gear and their fittings. To this refers (the proverb): ‘not more numerous are **Leinstermen** than (their) secrets.’ Where the house was built was in **Dind Ríg**. --- p.13 Then **Cobthach** was invited to the ale and the feast, and with him went thirty kings of the kings of **Erin**. Howbeit **Cobthach** was unable to enter the house until **Labraid**'s mother and his jester went in. This is what the jester chose (as his reward for doing so): the benediction of the **Leinstermen**, and the freedom of his children forever. Out of goodness to her son the woman went. On that night **Labraid** himself was managing household matters. On the morrow he went to play against the lads in the meadow.[9](javascript:footNote('T302012A/note009.html')) His fosterer saw him. He plies a one-stemmed thorn on **Labraid**'s back and head. ‘Apparently’, saith he, ‘the murder thou hast (to do) is a murder by a boy! Ill for thee, my lad, to invite the king of **Erin** with thirty kings, and not to be in their presence, meeting their desire.’ Then **Labraid** dons (his mantle) and goes to them into the house. ‘Ye have fire, and ale and food (brought) into the house.’ ‘Tis meet’, says **Cobthach**. Nine men had **Labraid** on the floor of the house. They drag the chain that was out of the door behind them, and cast it on the pillar-stone in front of the house; and the thrice fifty forge-bellows they had around it, with four warriors at each bellows, were blown till the house became hot for the host.[10](javascript:footNote('T302012A/note010.html')) ‘Thy mother is there, O **Labraid**!’, say the warriors. ‘Nay, my darling son’, says she. ‘Secure thine honour through me, for I shall die at all events.’ So then **Cobthach Coel** is there destroyed, with seven hundred followers and thirty kings around him, on the eve of great Christmas precisely. Hence is said: Three hundred years — victorious reckoning — before Christ's birth, a holy conception, it was not fraternal, it was evil — **(Loegaire) Lorc** was slain by **Cobthach Coel**. **Cobthach Coel** with thirty kings, **Labraid** ... slew him (Lugaid). **Loegaire**'s grandson from the main, in **Dind Ríg** the host was slain.[11](javascript:footNote('T302012A/note011.html')) --- p.14 And 'tis of this that **Ferchertne** the poet said: ‘**Dind Ríg**, which had been Tuaim Tenbath,’ etc. i. e. **Máin Ollam** he was at first, **Labraid Moen** afterwards, but **Labraid the Exile**, since he went into exile, when he gained a realm as far as the **Ictian Sea**, and brought the many foreigners with him (to **Ireland**), to wit, two thousand and two hundred foreigners with broad lances in their hands, from which the **Laigin** (**Leinstermen**) are so called. This is the Destruction of **Dind Ríg**.Whitley Stokes. Cowes, Isle of Wight.