Unknown author

Anbthine mór ar muig Lir

‍

1. Translation

 p.79

Rumunn, son of Colman, son of King Laegaire, of the race of Niall, royal poet of Ireland, 'tis he that made this song, and láid lúascach (see-saw song) is the name of the measure in which it was made. The reason, however, of his making it is this: — In a time of great famine he came on his pilgrimage to Rathen. The townspeople were the less pleased that he should come to the town, and they said to the master-wright, who was building the great oratory, that he should refuse admittance to the poet. So then the wright said to one of his people: “Go to meet Rumunn and tell him not to enter the town until he make a quatrain which shall contain the number of all the planks that are here for the building of the oratory.” And then it was that he made this quatrain:

Rumunn

O My Lord: what shall I do
About these great materials?
When will these ten hundred planks
Be a structure of compact beauty?

That was the very number of planks there, viz. one thousand planks; and after that he could not be refused, since God had revealed to him, through his poet's craft, the number of planks which the architect had.
 p.80

Immediately afterwards he made a great poem for the Vikings of Dublin, and the Vikings said that they would not give him the price of his poem, whereupon he made the celebrated quatrain, when he said:

Rumunn

To refuse me,
If anyone so wishes, let him do it!
And after that I will carry off
The honour of the man that has done so.

Upon this his own award was given him, and this is the award he made: a penny from every bad Viking, and two pence from every good Viking, so that there was not found among them a Viking who did not give him two pence, for none of them thought it right that he should be called a bad Viking. Then the Vikings told him to praise the sea, that they might know whether he possessed original poetry. Thereupon he praised the sea, he being drunk, and he said:

1. A great tempest on the plain of Ler.

However, he carried that wealth with him to Cell Belaig on the Plain of Constantine, for that church was one of the churches belonging to the Hui Suanaig, as well as the whole of the Plain of Constantine. For every plain and every land which Constantine had cleared belonged to Mochuta, and the plain is named after Constantine. At that time Cell Belaig had seven streets of Vikings in it, and {⬌} ⁶ for its size. And Rumunn gave one-third of his wealth to it, and one-third to the school, and one-third he took with him to Rathen, where he died, and where he was buried in one grave with Hua Suanaig, on account of his great honour with God and men.

‍

2.

1. A great tempest upon the plain of Ler ⁷
   bold across its high borders
   Wind has arisen ⁸
   fierce winter has slain us,
   it has come across the sea
 p.81
2. The work of the plain — the great plain of Ler —
   has brought trouble upon our great host.
   Save something greater than all, no less,
   what is there more marvellous than
   the incomparable great story? ⁹
3. When the wind sets from the east,
   the spirit of the wave is roused,
   So that it desires to go past us westward
   to the land where sets the sun
   To the rough and broad green sea.
4. When the wind sets from the north,
   it urges the dark ¹⁰ fierce waves
   Towards the southern world,
   surging in strife against the white sky,
   Listening to the {⬌} ¹¹ song.
 p.82
5. When the wind sets from the west
   across the salt sea of swift currents,
   It desires to go past us eastward
   to the sun-tree {⬌} ¹²
   Into the broad long distant sea.
6. When the wind sets from the south
   across the land of Saxons of mighty shields,
   The wave strikes the Isle of Scit, ¹³
   it has gone to the point of Caladnet ¹⁴
   And pounds the grey-green mouth of the Shannon.
7. The ocean is in flood, the sea is full,
   delightful is the home of ships,
   The sandy wind has made whirls
   around the River-mouth of the Two Showers, ¹⁵
   Swiftly the rudder cleaves the broad sea. ¹⁶
 p.83
8. This is not cosy, a rough sleep ... ,
   with fierce triumph, with angry strife,
   The swan's colour ¹⁷ covers
   the son of Mil ¹⁸ with his people
   The tresses of Manannan's wife ¹⁹ are tossed about.
9. The wave has tumbled with mighty force
   across each dark broad river-mouth.
   Wind has come, white winter has slain us,
   around Cantire, around the land of Alba ²⁰
   Sliab-Dremon ²¹ pours forth a full stream.
10. Son of God the Father, with vast hosts,
    save me from the horror of fierce tempests!
    Righteous Lord of the Feast, ²²
    only save me from the horrid blast, ²³
    From Hell with high tempest! ²⁴

@article{T400071,
  editor 	 = {Kuno Meyer},
  title 	 = {Song of the sea, ascribed to Ruman mac Colmáin: Stories and songs from Irish manuscripts 4},
  journal 	 = {Otia Merseiana},
  editor 	 = {John Sampson},
  volume 	 = {2},
  address 	 = {London},
  publisher 	 = {Th. Wohlleben},
  date 	 = {1900–01},
  pages 	 = {76–83}
}
 T400071.bib