The son of Aoife—pirate true;
I left his trunk without its head,
His people every one I slew.
THE DEIRDRI BALLADS.
The next class is that of the Deirdri Ballads. The story of Deirdri and Clan Uisneach, or the three brothers, [Naos, Ainle], and Ardan, sons of Uisneach, is very affecting and tragic. Mr Campbell says:—“The story of Deirdre is related to Indian Epics, and is an Aryan romance which pervades the whole world. A beautiful girl, shut up to baulk a prophecy, is beloved by an old King. She runs away with a family of brothers, and after adventures of many kinds, the story ends in a tragedy.” Connachar, King of Ireland, whose reign is placed about the middle of the first century, was preparing to marry the beautiful princess, Deirdri, when she ran away with the three sons of his sister, Naos, Ainle, and Ardan. They went to Scotland, where they were well received. The names of places in the ballads indicate that it was in Argyllshire they settled. While the brothers were away on some expedition, to Lochlin, it is supposed, Deirdri was left in charge of a “black-haired lad,” it is said, in an islet north of Jura till they would return. The “lad” began to make love to Deirdri in their absence, but they came back opportunely to save her. By this time Connacher sent them a message of peace from Ireland; and believing that the once wrathful monarch was sincere they returned to Ireland. But they were at once met with the hostile forces of the King; and after a fierce struggle the King slew his nephews. When Deirdri saw her beloved Naos and his brothers fall, she rushed forward, bewailing them, and died upon their bodies. There are six or seven versions of this story, the oldest being in the MS. dated 1208, in the Advocates’ Library. It was written at Glenmasan, in Cowal. The versions vary in length. The longest contains upwards of 400 lines. The ballad is sometimes divided into several parts, and some collectors give only one or two parts. It is the part in which Deirdri laments her departure from Scotland that is here translated. This and the Book of Deer are the earliest specimens that we possess of written Gaelic in Scotland.
The glens and other places mentioned in the following farewell of Deirdri are readily identified. The large number of proper names occurring in the piece renders it difficult to give anything more than a very stiff translation, which is almost absolutely literal:—
“Do dech Deardir ar a hèise ar crichibh Alban, agus ro chan an Laoidh”:—
(Deirdri looked back on the land of Albin, and sang this Lay.)
Beloved land, that eastern land!
Alba with waters wide:
With Naos in those happy glens