The University of Texas at Austin; College of Liberal Arts

Jonathan Slocum, Interim Director :: PCL 5.112, 1 University Station S5490 :: Austin, TX 78712 :: 512-471-4566

A. Richard Diebold Center for Indo-European Language and Culture

Indo-European Texts

Old Irish

Douglas Simms and Jonathan Slocum

An Anonymous Old Irish Lyric: 'Summer has gone'

From the Finn-Cycle

Text from Gerard Murphy, ed. & trans., Early Irish Lyrics, Eighth to Twelfth Century (Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1956, pp. 160-61). Alliterative translation by Douglas Simms; web page by Jonathan Slocum.

Ut dixit Finn úa Baíscni:    Thus spoke Finn of Baíscni:

Scél lem dúib:    Tales for you:

    dordaid dam;       buck bellows;

snigid gaim;    Winter snows;

    ro fáith sam;       Summer's gone;

Gáeth ard úar;    Wind's high, hoared;

    ísel grían;       Helios sinks;

gair a rrith;    his sweep brief;

    ruirthech rían;       breakers bulged;

Rorúad rath;    Bracken's bronzed;

    ro cleth cruth;       sheltered shapes;

ro gab gnáth    goose has griped

    giugrann guth.       ingrained gales.

Ro gab úacht    Gulls' feathers

    etti én;       fixed by frost;

aigre ré;    freezing's days;

    é mo scél.       these, my tales.

This Old Irish poem is glossed here. We have two other translations:

a literal translation by Gerard Murphy;
a rhyming translation by Ruth P. Lehmann.

Ut dixit Finn úa Baíscni:		Thus spoke Finn of Baíscni:

Scél lem dúib:		Tales for you:
	dordaid dam;	buck bellows;
snigid gaim;		Winter snows;
	ro fáith sam;	Summer's gone;

Gáeth ard úar;		Wind's high, hoared;
	ísel grían;	Helios sinks;
gair a rrith;		his sweep brief;
	ruirthech rían;	breakers bulged;

Rorúad rath;		Bracken's bronzed;
	ro cleth cruth;	sheltered shapes;
ro gab gnáth		goose has griped
	giugrann guth.	ingrained gales.

Ro gab úacht		Gulls' feathers
	etti én;	fixed by frost;
aigre ré;		freezing's days;
	é mo scél.	these, my tales.