the beauties of Gaelic poetry and lives of the Highland bards

530 Pages·2008·27.49 MB·English

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University of Glasgow.
CELTIC CLASS LIBRARY.
No. //^. —7.
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THE BEAUTIES OF GAELIC POETRY , .
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SAR-OBAIR NAM BARD GAELACH
THE BEAUTIES OF GAELIC
POETRY AND LIVES OF THE
HIGHLAND BARDS
EDITED BY
JOHN MACKENZIE
WITH AN HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE
MANNERS, HABITS, ETC., OF THE ANCIENT CALEDONIANS
BY JAMES LOGAN, F.S.A.S.
EDINBURGH: JOHN GRANT
31 GEORGE IV. BRIDGE
1907
INTRODUCTION.
Thosp: who compose the ptjenis and melodies which stimulale or
mollify the passions of mankind, jjossess a much greater inlluence in
society than can be readily C(jnceivcd.
If national airs, in ages of refinement and artificial feeling, are
found to have so strong a power over the mind, as in the "Ran/, dcs
vaches," or "Erin gu hrath,'' how much m(;re forcibly must the bold
chanting of heroic verse- -the plaintive tones of injured innocence —the
impresssive notes of impassioned exhortation, or the keen touch of
satiric spirit, have affected a people like the Gael, indnied with all the
fervour of unaffected nature, and who paid ardent devotion at the
shrine of freedom ? How highly must an order have been venerated
which possessed an influence the effects of which were so deeply and
so universally felt, and how greatly must the general applause have
fanned the flame which burned so ardently in the poet's heart? The
deference paid to the professors of jxjetry and music was prompted by
a sense of the utility of their labours, and l)y enthusiastic approbation.
The retention of the Celtic Language and Manners by the unmi.xed
descendants of the most ancient people of Europe is a singular phe-
nomenon in the histor)' of mankind ; and not the least remarkal)le trait
in the character of the race is their genius for the sister arts of poetry
and music. The patriarchal system, as incompatible with an altered state
of soc:iely, has been broken up, and much indeed of national charac-
teristic has been lost since its abolition. The different condition of the
Highland population has lowered the Bardic [Mofession from its former
high .standing. The powerful stimulus of "the man of song" is no
longer required to animate the clansmen for the battle field, or to pre-
serve by his captivating recitations the memory of the days of old. His
useful services as the Laureat, moral preceptor, and historical instructor,
are not now rewarded by the free i)ossession oC a good farm and other
rights, but the innate Un-e of poetry has still preserved the unbroken
iNTKOblJCTlON.
generation of Bards. The people yet highly appreciate the poet's lays,
and the feelinys of unabated delight with which the Highlander con-
tinues to cherish the Song, show that the ancient spirit has not decayed.
The numerous rollccticjns of Gaelic pieces which have from time
to time appeared evince the national taste and display the poetical
acquirements of the writers, hut how small a proportion these bear to
the stores yet floating in oral record, selections from which are now
submitted to the public ! The following pieces will gives natives a more
extended idea of the value of poetic treasure in their rugged and roman-
tic country, while t(j the reader who is a stranger to the language in
which the immortal Bard of Selma formed his imperishable composi-
tions, the varied lives of so many remarkable and talented individuals
must prove an interesting novelty.
An appro})riate introduction to the licauties of the Gaelic Poets,
appears to he a brief account of thai long descended race, which
so justly demands regard, and of which they ever formed so important a
class. Connected with thi;--. is a demonstration that the language in
which the following poems ajipear is that handed down to their authors
from ancestors the most remote.
The Celtic race were the first known inhabitants of Europe, whicli
was occupied throughout by various tribes or clans, 'lire appropriate
name which this remarkable people gave themselves was Celtic, but
the terms Calat;e, Galat^-e, or Gallatians, and Galli, or Gauls, were
adopted by the Greeks and Romans, and were the appellations by
which in later ages they were usually distinguished.'
Various etymolcjgical conjectures are advanced as explanatory of
these designations. A name descriptive of locality does not appear
reasonably applicable to nations spread over an extensive continent and
its numerous isLuids : they could neither be described as living in woods,
nor on the hills, nor l)eside the waters, with any propriety, either by
themselves or by others.-^ A more probable derivation is from the fair
complexion by which the ancients characterised the race. This is the
etymon given by Greek scholars as if the body was "Galactoi," milky
coloured ; and as G and C are commutable letters, it must be confes.sed
that the Gaelic Gealta or (]ealta, has the closest possible resemblance to
Celta.
The original seat of the human race was undoubtedly the fertile
plains (jf Asia, but when the Celtic stream first rolled from that i)roduc
tive storehouse of nations, is never likely to become known. ^ Succe.s-
.sive waves of migratory hordes must have llowed from the east, impelled
' Appian, l^ausinias.
A host of original writurs, Hrilisii and loreign, have e.\ercised ihinr ingenuity to give
tliis word a satisfactory signilicatioii.
' I'ritchard demonstrates their eastern origin from the language. See many curious
analogies with tlie Hebrew l'v:c. , in Maclean's Ìlist. of the Celtic Language—1840.