| The Cycles of the Kings | |
|
Scél na Fír Flatha, Echtra Chormaic i Tír Tairngiri ocus Cert Claidib
Chormaic "The Tale of the Ordeals, Cormac’s Adventure in the Land of Promise, and the Decision as to Cormac’s Sword”
Editions
Second Recension
Third Recension
Manuscripts First Recension:
Second Recension (Echtra Cormaic maic Airt)
Third Recension (Faghbháil Craoibhe Cormaic):
Date
Characters
The following people are mentioned in the text but play no real role in the narrative:
Notes
Summary The Irish Ordeals (§§1-24) Once upon a time, Cormac mac Airt, the king of Ireland, celebrates the feast of Tara. All the Irish kings attend, including Fergus Dubdétach and Eochaid Gunnat, the two kings of Ulster; Dúnlang mac Énna Níad, the king of Leinster; Cormac Cas and Fíachu Muillethan, the two kings of Munster; Nía Mór and Áed mac Echach, the two kings of Connacht; and Feradach mac Asail, the king of Mide. There is a great meeting of the men of Ireland. [The text does not make clear whether this meeting is held during the feast of Tara or on a separate occasion.] At this meeting, the laws of the Irish are revised. Up until this meeting, the poets adjudicated all cases, but because their judgments were so obscure, no one, not even the kings, could understand them. Thus, at this assembly, the poets are deprived of all their judicial powers save those that directly apply to their profession. Cases involving people from other professions are to be judge by people within those professions. Everyone is given certain rights and those rights are laid down in Bretha Nemed (a famous Irish law text). In addition, the nobles of Ireland ask Cormac to ensure that each person receives his due in Tech Midchuarta [i.e. the massive banqueting hall on the hill of Tara]. Cormac does this by placing a coire aisic or ‘cauldron of restitution’ on the fire, which provides each company with the food appropriate to their status—thighs for kings, heads for charioteers, etc. Lastly, the twelve ordeals designed to distinguish truth from falsehood are made known to the public at this assembly. 1) Sín Morainn Meic Maín (Morann mac Maín’s Collar): Morann was the son of Cairpre Cindchait of the aithechthuatha (subject peoples), who killed the nobles of Ireland and became king. Cairpre got his nickname because he had a cat’s snout. Furthermore, every child born to him had a birth defect, and so he had them all killed. When his son Morann was born, the child looked as if he had a hood over his head because he appeared to have no facial features. Cairpre ordered him drown like the others. That night, however, his wife received a visit from an otherworldly man who told her that the boy should be held in the sea until nine waves washed over his head. Cairpre’s wife conveyed this information to the man charged with drowning Morann, and when he held him in the water and the ninth wave washed over him, the membrane covering the child’s head fell down around his shoulders to form a kind of collar (munqui). Then, Morann was given to a cowherd to be reared, and Cairpre said that wealth (máen) would come of him, and so the child came to be known as Morann mac Maín. Furthermore, that collar around his neck was adorned with gold, and it had a special property. Whenever it was put around the neck of a guilty person, it strangled him, but whenever it was put around the neck of an innocent person, it would expand and fall to the ground. (Another account of this collar is appended to Bruiden Maic Dareo.) 2) Morann’s Second Collar: Morand had another collar like a hoop made of wood, which he obtained from Ochamon Drúth at Síd ar Femin. When this collar was put around the hand or foot of a guilty person, it would constrict until the hand or foot fell off. 3) Morann’s Third Collar: This was an epistle (eibistil) that he got from St. Paul and that he wore around his neck. Whenever he wore this around his neck, he would not utter a false judgment. 4) Tál Mochtai (Mochtae’s Adze): this adze, once owned by Mochta Sáer, was heated till it was red hot and place on the tongue of the accused. If he had lied, he was burnt; if he had not, he would not be hurt. 5) Crannchur Senchai (Senchae’s Lots): This method of casting lots was practiced by Sencha mac Ailello. He would put two lots into a fire over which a poet chanted an incantation. Then he would cast the lots. If the accused were guilty, the lot representing him would cling to Sencha’s palm. If the accused were innocent, the lot would fly free. 6) Lestur Baduirn (The Vessel of Badurn): One day, the wife of King Badurn followed two women into the Otherworld, where she found a vessel of crystal that had magical properties. If a person spoke three false words under it, it would separate into three pieces, but if he then uttered three truthful words, it would become whole again. Badurn’s wife asked the denizens of the Otherworld for the vessel, and they gave it to her. 7) Tre Lia Mothair: A white stone, a black stone, and a speckled stone were put into a bucket full of coal and bogstuff. The accused put his hand in the bucket and selected a stone. If the white stone were pulled out, he was telling the truth, if the black stone, he was lying, if the speckled stone, he was telling half-truths. 8) Coire Fír (The Cauldron of Truth): Water was boiled in this cauldron made of gold and silver. The accused put his hand in the water. If he were guilty, he would be burned, but if he were innocent, he would not be harmed. 9) Senchrann Sin (The Old Lot of Sen): This method of casting lots was practiced by Sen mac Aigi. Three lots were cast into water, one of which represented the accused person. If that lot sank, it was a sure indication of his guilt. 10) Iarnn Luchta (The Iron of Luchta): In Brittainy, Luchta obtained a special piece of iron. It was heated until red hot and put in the hand of the accused. If he were guilty, his palm would be burned, but if he were innocent, his palm would not be injured. 11) Airisem oc Altóir (Waiting at an Altar): The accused would walk around an altar nine times and then drink some water that had been enchanted. If the person were guilty, some sign of his sin would appear on him. Caí Caínbrethach, a student of Fenius Farsiad, brought this ordeal from Israel to Ireland. Echtra Chormaic (§§25-54) One year on Mayday, Cormac is standing alone atop the Múr Tea at Tara when he sees a strange man approaching him. The man is dressed in colorful clothing, and he has a silver branch with three golden apples on it slung over his shoulder. When shaken, the branch makes a beautiful music that soothes people in pain. The king asks the stranger where he comes from, and the man replies that he hails from a land where there is nothing but truth. Cormac is pleased to hear this and makes an alliance (caratrad) with the stranger. He then asks if he can have the magic branch, and the man says that he can provided that the king grant him three boons in return. The two make a formal agreement to this effect, Cormac gets the branch, and the stranger disappears. A year later, the stranger returns and asks Cormac for the first of the promised boons, specifically the king’s daughter Ailbe. His request is granted and the girl is taken away, much to the distress of the women at Tara. Cormac, however, shakes the magic branch, and their grief is assuaged, if only for the time being. One month later, the man returns and asks for Cormac’s son, Cairpre Liphechair, as his second boon. Again, the people at Tara are upset, but Cormac shakes the branch, and they are soothed. When the man returns for the third and final time, he asks Cormac for his wife, Eithne Táebfhota. Cormac has no choice but to grant the request. Even so, as soon as the man departs with his wife, the king realizes he cannot bear her loss and decides to pursue them. He and his men do not go far until a great mist falls, but when it clears, Cormac finds himself alone on a great plain facing a massive fortress. Inside the fortress, the king sees a strange site—a host of men attempting to thatch the roof of a silver house with the wings of white birds. However, every time they seem to make some progress, a wind comes and blows their thatching away. Nearby, Cormac sees a man tending a fire. He casts the trunk of a thick oak tree on the fire and hurries off to fetch another. However, by the time he returns, he finds the trunk completely consumed by the fire. Continuing his journey, Cormac comes to a fortress walled in bronze. Inside, he finds a fountain out of which flow five separate streams. In each stream, he sees a salmon eating the hazel nuts of Buan that fall into the streams from the overhanging trees. Standing around is a large host of people drinking water out of the five streams. Unsure what to make of these sights, Cormac enters a nearby palace. Inside, he finds a handsome warrior and a beautiful girl. Their room is equipped with enchanted bathing supplies, and Cormac takes this opportunity to wash himself. When he is finished, he sees a man carrying an ax, a log of wood, and a pig enter the palace. The newcomer takes the axe and kills the pig and splits the log. He puts the pig in a cauldron and sets it atop the wood. He then says that the pig cannot be cooked until a truth is spoken over each of its quarters. The handsome warrior invites the pig’s owner to tell the first truth, and so the man tells a story. He says that one day he returned some lost cattle to their rightful owner, and as a reward, he was given the axe, the log, and the pig. He goes on to say that no matter how many times the pig is killed and eaten, and no matter how many times the log is split and burned, he finds both of them whole again the next day. As soon as he finishes speaking, one quarter of the pig is found to be cooked. The handsome warrior tells the next truth: One year, when he wanted to plough a particular field, he went out to find that it had already been ploughed. Later, when he wanted to reap it, he found that it had already been reaped and that the grain had been put up in his storehouses. He goes on to say that he has been eating that grain ever since, and yet his stores never diminish. When he falls silent, another quarter of the pig is cooked. Then, the beautiful girl tells her truth, namely that she owns seven cows that provide all the milk for the people of the Otherworld and that she owns seven sheep that provide all the wool for their clothes. Finally, Cormac himself is invited to relate a truthful story, and he tells them how his family was taken from him. When he finishes his tale, the pig is fully cooked and ready to eat. Despite the promise of food, Cormac is distressed because he has never eaten a meal up to this point without a company of fifty people around him. At that, the handsome warrior chants a spell, and the king falls asleep. When he awakens, Cormac finds himself surrounded by a company of fifty men together with his family. During the ensuing feast, Cormac marvels at the gold cup placed in the hands of the handsome warrior. The king is told that the cup has a special property. When three falsehoods are spoken under it, it breaks into three pieces. However, when three truths are spoken under it, it becomes whole again. The man demonstrates by speaking three falsehoods under the cup. Then, to make it whole again, he speaks three truths that catch Cormac’s attention, namely that his wife and daughter have not seen the face of a man since coming to the Otherworld and that his son has not seen the face of a woman. The demonstration complete, the handsome warrior identifies himself as Manannán mac Lir. He tells Cormac that he orchestrated this whole affair so that the king could see the Land of Promise. He then says that Cormac may take his family home and that he may keep the golden cup and the silver branch. As a final lesson, the warrior goes on to explain the significance of the scenes Cormac witnessed en route to the palace. The people trying in vain to thatch the silver house represent the men of art, whose work ultimately passes away. The man tending the fire represents a young nobleman who pays for all he consumes. Lastly, the fountain Cormac saw is the Fountain of Knowledge, and its five streams represent the five senses. No one, it seems, can obtain knowledge without drinking from those waters. When Cormac awakens the next morning, he finds himself and his family back at Tara along with the magic cup and silver branch. Years later when he dies, Manannán fetches those magical objects back to the Otherworld. Transitional Material (§§55-58) The story now returns to the great assembly of the men of Ireland under Cormac at which the laws of Irish are ordained. From one feast of Tara to another (a period of seven years according to this text), manslaughter is prohibited except in eight places throughout the country. Soldiers are appointed over the men of Ireland to maintain order, and Finn mac Cumail is named their leader. The Saltair Cormaic, a collection of annals and regnal lists, is compiled with the assistance of two great sages, Fintan mac Bóchra and Fíthel Fili. When all is said and done, Cormac has a firm hold on Ireland and its people. Cert Claidib Chormaic (§§59-80) One of Cormac’s hostages at Tara is an Ulsterman named Socht mac Fíthil, who owns a magical sword that once belonged to Cú Chulainn. Socht is constantly being asked by Duibdrenn mac Uirgrenn, the steward of Tara, to sell him the precious heirloom, but Socht always refuses. One day, though, Duibdrenn gets Socht drunk at a feast and steals his sword. He takes it to the local brazier and has him open up the hilt and write his name inside. Duibdrenn then returns the sword to Socht before the Ulsterman even realizes that it was missing. Duibdrenn lets three months go by and then sues Socht for the sword in court, claiming under oath that it originally belonged to him and that it had been stolen. Socht, however, swears that the weapon is a family heirloom and that it never belonged to the steward. Duibdrenn, however, tells Cormac, who is presiding over the case, that his name can be found written on the inside of the hilt. The king summons the brazier, and when the hilt is opened, the steward’s name is found written inside. At that moment, though, Socht decides to play a trick of his own. He declares Duibdrenn the rightful owner of the weapon together with any and all liabilities which may be attached to it. When Duibdrenn accepts these terms, Socht declares that the disputed sword was found in his murdered grandfather’s neck, and so, if Duibdrenn is truly its owner, he must also be the murderer. Socht then asks Cormac to pass judgment on the steward for this crime. The king considers the matter and then decrees that Duibdrenn must pay the Ulsterman seven cumals in compensation and return the sword. Surprised by this turn of events, Duibdrenn decides to come clean (no doubt in the hopes that he will not have to pay the fine), but Cormac is none too pleased at this revelation either. He fines Duibdrenn a further seven cumals and imposes the same penalty on the dishonest brazier. Then, in what turns out to be the final twist of the story, Cormac takes a good look at the sword and declares that it is indeed the sword of Cú Chulainn and that it was used by the Ulster king Tibraite Tírech to slay his grandfather, Conn Cétchathach. Cormac, then, confiscates the magic sword as compensation for Conn’s murder, and that sword—along with the cup and branch of Manannán—is one of the three greatest treasures in Ireland.
|
| Copyright 2005 Dan M. Wiley. Last updated 09/06/05 | |