The Battle of Ros na Ríg E-Book

anonymous

• Herausgeber: DigiCat
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

The Battle of Ros na Ríg is a masterful tapestry of myth and history, intricately woven with elements of Irish folklore and legend. This epic tale unfolds against the backdrop of a mythical landscape, recounting the valiant struggles and spiritual conflicts that define the Irish cultural identity. The rich prose, fraying the lines between reality and imagination, evokes a powerful sense of place while employing allusions to the heroic sagas of yore. Through its vivid characterization and poetic imagery, the narrative explores themes of honor, fate, and the enduring spirit of resistance, making it a quintessential piece of medieval Irish literature. The enigmatic author, known only as Anonymous, emerges from the rich tradition of oral storytelling that has shaped Ireland's literary heritage. Likely a participant in or deeply influenced by the social and political tumult of their time, the author seeks to preserve the cultural ethos of ancient Ireland, resonating with the values and struggles of their contemporary society. This layering of personal and collective memory suggests a profound engagement with the themes of identity and legacy, inviting readers to ponder the relationship between past and present. The Battle of Ros na Ríg is an essential read for those interested in Irish literature, mythology, and history. Its rich narrative not only captivates the imagination but also prompts deeper reflection on what it means to belong to a place fraught with both beauty and conflict. This timeless epic will enthrall readers, offering insights into the struggles that forge not only a nation but the very fabric of human experience.

Leseprobe

Anonymous

The Battle of Ros na Ríg

 

EAN 8596547317135

DigiCat, 2022 Contact: [email protected]

Table of Contents

Cover

Titlepage

Text

1

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Once upon a time Conchobar was in smooth-bright Emain of Macha,[1] after the giving of the battle of the Táin by him, so that there was not food that pleased him, and that he slept not easily, and that he confessed not to any of the Ulaid what made him so, for the time of three fortnights. And that thing was told to the Ulaid, that is, Conchobar to be in decline and in long-sickness, and that there was not food that pleased him, and that he slept not easily, and that he confessed not to anyone of the Ulaid what made him so.

2

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Then was made a gathering and an assembling of the Ulaid to smooth-bright Emain of Macha. And it was allowed[2] by them ten who would be proper to ascertain the wound that wounded the king of the Ulaid, and the violent sickness that brought him to death,[3] and made him pale for the time of three fortnights, so that there was not food that pleased him, and that he confessed not to anyone of the Ulaid what made him so. It is this that all these said then, that it was the person who reared him and brought him up, namely, Cathbad the famous druid.

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So on went Cathbad, the right-wonderful druid, to the place in which Conchobar was, and he wept floodlike deep-red tears of blood,[4] so that his breast and bosom were wet. Conchobar took pity on the tear of Cathbad. "Good, indeed, then, my master Cathbad," said Conchobar, "what makes thee sad, sorrowful, dispirited?" "I have indeed great-reason for that," replied Cathbad, "that I know not what wound has wounded thee, and what obstinate sickness has deadened thee, and paled thee for the time of three fortnights." "Great-reason indeed have I for it," said Conchobar, "for four great-provinces of Eriu have come to me, and with them were brought their men of music, and of amusement, and of eulogy, that the more conspicuous might be the ravages, and that the greater might be the devastations; and our fortresses and our fine-dwellings[5] were burned, so that no higher (were) they than their rooms, and their outhouses. And Ailill and Medb gained a battle too against me, and the calf of my own cow was taken from me out of a place of safety."[6] And it is thus he was saying it, and he uttered these words thereupon:[7]

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"There is to my mind a cause of grief, if thou wouldst know, just Cathbad, the Ulaid all,—vastness of brave deeds,— it was not a protection for one bull. Medb assembled (them) frm the west— the daughter of Echu,—though it was a woman's raid[8]— and carried off kine and raiment and gold and silver. Medb ravaged easily[9] unto Dáire's fortress in our good land, unto Dún Sescind, what there is of it, unto the long-famous fort of Sobairge.[10] She left not in our fair province wall or stead without ravage, nor fort in which they boasted not triumph, nor wall without fiercely burning it. My bull and the brown bull of Dáire, about which the warriors will give forth much shouting, there was not ever a cow's bull calf[11] about which more of misery is wrought. Not more the want of bull or cow to us in the province of Emain than the loss of a hero that she cut down[12] Having bathed him in his blood." There is.

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"Good now, my life[13] Cathbad," said Conchobar, "what is thy counsel to us?" and it is thus that he was saying it, and he said the words:

"O Cathbad, a counsel for us; faintness[14] has wrought an evil design on us; [that] Medb escaped from the famous battle, it is this truly that has dismayed us. It was not right for Medb from the Plain to muster [an army to come] for my bull: though it were a bull with two horns of gold, that I should have [it] was not too much. Though it were her bull that were the greater, the calf of her cow was not too much for her; the calf of our own cow, a cause of patience,[15] it was not right to ask him from us. Since [?] it is on us for our cow's calf that Echu's[16] daughter has brought hardship, time for us to go and avenge it on Medb, on the great queen."[17]

[Cathbad.]

"Thou hast already avenged it sternly, O red-sworded Conchobar— [by] the winning of a battle—I remember— over the four provinces of Eriu."

[Conor.]