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lii.
Introduction
There are just two quatrains of amhran in the above
sense in this book, that on p. 48 (see below) and the
Ceangal, “ binding,” on p. 234: —
M’unam do Chriosd mar sgriobh na h-ostail gu leir
M’an-am a risd do bhrigh a’ bhoistidh o’n chleir
An t-aran’s am Hon ’s am pios an cdithrichear ead
Is a leithid am iomhaigh go m’anarn a dhion a pein.1
If my restoration of the phonetically spelled text is
correct, the last line is faulty. Other specimens of
genuine amhran in Scottish Gaelic may be seen in T.,
pp. 108, 114 : it is by no means common.
Gaoineadh is satisfied if the same end-rhyme is pre
served. Example:
Amhail rug an t-iolair an t-ionad i neolaibh
’S an mfol muiridhe i gcrioslachaibh bochna
Amhail rug ceannas ar cheathraibh an ledghan
Rug mo laoch-sa ar ghreas an rod leis.2
A four-stress d-rann.
A good example of caoineadh occurs on p. 223, again
in a Geangal:
Thainig plaigh air daimh nan clarsach binn,
Tha gair-bhaite an aite siol Chuinn;
Tha mnai craiteach mu d’fhagail ’sa chill:
’S i mo ghradh do lamh laidir leis am b’abhaist bhith
leinn.
Here the poet goes beyond the requirements of caoin¬
eadh, which would have been satisfied with the final
y-rhyme. The best known examples in Scottish Gaelic
are the two laments connected with the name of Mac-
1 I have tried to amend the second line, which is faulty as it
stands in the Fernaig MS.; also the first line, MS. ostil into
astail.
2 ib., II., 226.