The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel
Encyclopedia
Togail Bruidne Dá Derga (The Destruction of Da Derga's Hostel) is an Irish
tale belonging to the Ulster Cycle
of Irish mythology
. It survives in three Old and Middle Irish recensions. It recounts the birth, life, and death of Conaire Mór
son of Eterscél Mór, a legendary High King of Ireland
, who is killed at Da Derga's hostel by his enemies when he breaks his geasa. It is considered one of the finest Irish saga
s of the early period, comparable to the better-known Táin Bó Cúailnge
.
The theme of gathering doom, as the king is forced through circumstances to break one after another of his taboos, is non-Christian in essence, and no Christian interpretations are laid upon the marvels that it relates. In its repetitions and verbal formulas the poem retains the qualities of oral transmission. The tone of the work has been compared with Greek tragedy.
has already broken several of his taboos, he travels south along the coast of Ireland
, he is advised to stay the night at Da Derga's Hostel, but as he approaches it, he sees three men dressed in red riding red horses arriving before him. "Da Derga" means "Red God". He realises that three red men have preceded him into the house of a red man, and another of his geasa has been broken. His three foster-brothers, the three sons of Dond Désa, whom Conaire had exiled to Alba (Britain
) for their crimes, had made alliance with the king of the Britons, Ingcél Cáech, and they were marauding across Ireland with a large band of followers. They attack Da Derga's Hostel. Three times they attempt to burn it down, and three times the fire is put out. Conaire, protected by his champion Mac Cécht
and the Ulster hero Conall Cernach
, kills six hundred before he reaches his weapons, a further six hundred with his weapons. He asks for a drink, but all the water has been used to put out the fires. Mac Cécht travels across Ireland with Conaire's cup, but none of the rivers will give him water. He returns with a cup of water just in time to see two men cutting Conaire's head off. He kills both of them. Conaire's severed head drinks the water and recites a poem praising Mac Cécht. The battle rages for three more days. Mac Cécht is killed, but Conall Cernach escapes.
, in order to keep it distinct from the later recensions.
and further dindsenchas
lore.
The translation by J. Gantz, in Early Irish Myths and Sagas (1986) has an introduction that discusses its probable relationship to a king's ritual death, more fully explored by John Grigsby, Beowulf and Grendel 2005:150-52.
's The House of Fame
borrows features from the Togail Bruidne Da Derga.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
tale belonging to the Ulster Cycle
Ulster Cycle
The Ulster Cycle , formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, one of the four great cycles of Irish mythology, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the traditional heroes of the Ulaid in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly counties Armagh, Down and...
of Irish mythology
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
. It survives in three Old and Middle Irish recensions. It recounts the birth, life, and death of Conaire Mór
Conaire Mor
Conaire Mór , son of Eterscél, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His mother was Mess Búachalla, who was either the daughter of Eochu Feidlech and Étaín, or of Eochu Airem and his daughter by Étaín...
son of Eterscél Mór, a legendary High King of Ireland
High King of Ireland
The High Kings of Ireland were sometimes historical and sometimes legendary figures who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over the whole of Ireland. Medieval and early modern Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings, ruling from Tara over a hierarchy of...
, who is killed at Da Derga's hostel by his enemies when he breaks his geasa. It is considered one of the finest Irish saga
Saga
Sagas, are stories in Old Norse about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, etc.Saga may also refer to:Business*Saga DAB radio, a British radio station*Saga Airlines, a Turkish airline*Saga Falabella, a department store chain in Peru...
s of the early period, comparable to the better-known Táin Bó Cúailnge
Táin Bó Cúailnge
is a legendary tale from early Irish literature, often considered an epic, although it is written primarily in prose rather than verse. It tells of a war against Ulster by the Connacht queen Medb and her husband Ailill, who intend to steal the stud bull Donn Cuailnge, opposed only by the teenage...
.
The theme of gathering doom, as the king is forced through circumstances to break one after another of his taboos, is non-Christian in essence, and no Christian interpretations are laid upon the marvels that it relates. In its repetitions and verbal formulas the poem retains the qualities of oral transmission. The tone of the work has been compared with Greek tragedy.
Summary
After Conaire MórConaire Mor
Conaire Mór , son of Eterscél, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. His mother was Mess Búachalla, who was either the daughter of Eochu Feidlech and Étaín, or of Eochu Airem and his daughter by Étaín...
has already broken several of his taboos, he travels south along the coast of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, he is advised to stay the night at Da Derga's Hostel, but as he approaches it, he sees three men dressed in red riding red horses arriving before him. "Da Derga" means "Red God". He realises that three red men have preceded him into the house of a red man, and another of his geasa has been broken. His three foster-brothers, the three sons of Dond Désa, whom Conaire had exiled to Alba (Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
) for their crimes, had made alliance with the king of the Britons, Ingcél Cáech, and they were marauding across Ireland with a large band of followers. They attack Da Derga's Hostel. Three times they attempt to burn it down, and three times the fire is put out. Conaire, protected by his champion Mac Cécht
Mac Cécht (warrior)
Mac Cécht is the patronymic or cognomen given to one or two warrior champions from Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of early Irish literature...
and the Ulster hero Conall Cernach
Conall Cernach
Conall Cernach is a hero of the Ulaidh in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. He is said to have always slept with the head of a Connachtman under his knee. His epithet is normally translated as "victorious" or "triumphant", although it is an obscure word, and some texts struggle to explain it...
, kills six hundred before he reaches his weapons, a further six hundred with his weapons. He asks for a drink, but all the water has been used to put out the fires. Mac Cécht travels across Ireland with Conaire's cup, but none of the rivers will give him water. He returns with a cup of water just in time to see two men cutting Conaire's head off. He kills both of them. Conaire's severed head drinks the water and recites a poem praising Mac Cécht. The battle rages for three more days. Mac Cécht is killed, but Conall Cernach escapes.
Recension I
Recension I is the earliest version of the saga, which briefly summarizes the main events of the narrative. It is alternatively known as Orgain Bruidne Uí Dergae (The Massacre of Ua Derga's Hostel), the title given in Lebor na hUidreLebor na hUidre
Lebor na hUidre or the Book of the Dun Cow is an Irish vellum manuscript dating to the 12th century. It is the oldest extant manuscript in Irish. It is held in the Royal Irish Academy and is badly damaged: only 67 leaves remain and many of the texts are incomplete...
, in order to keep it distinct from the later recensions.
- 23 N 1023 N 10Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS. 23 N 10, formerly Betham 145, is a Gaelic-Irish medieval manuscript.-Overview:MS 23 N 10 is a late sixteenth-century Irish manuscript currently housed in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin...
(RIARoyal Irish AcademyThe Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...
): p 72. - Egerton 88Egerton 88MS Egerton 88 is a late sixteenth-century Irish manuscript, now housed in the British Library Egerton Collection, London. It is the work of members of the O'Davorens , a distinguished family of lawyers in Corcomroe, Co...
: f 13rb (BLBritish LibraryThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
) - G 7: col. 5 (NLINational Library of IrelandThe National Library of Ireland is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism is the member of the Irish Government responsible for the library....
) - H 3.18: XVIII, p 556a-556b col. 2 (TCD)
- 23 E 25 or Lebor na hUidreLebor na hUidreLebor na hUidre or the Book of the Dun Cow is an Irish vellum manuscript dating to the 12th century. It is the oldest extant manuscript in Irish. It is held in the Royal Irish Academy and is badly damaged: only 67 leaves remain and many of the texts are incomplete...
(LU): p 99a (f 98b-99a). Later version.
Recension II
Recension II, a composite text, is the most famous version of the tale. On the basis of a number of contradictions, inconsistencies and duplicates in the tale, scholars such as Heinrich Zimmer, Max Nettlau and Rudolf Thurneysen suggested, each in his own way, that the recension represents a conflation of two, possibly three, variant sources. However, Máire West has pointed out the weaknesses inherent to their approach and instead favours the more flexible view that the author drew from a greater variety of written and oral sources.- H 2.16 or Yellow Book of LecanYellow Book of LecanThe Yellow Book of Lecan , or TCD MS 1318 , is a medieval Irish manuscript written no later than the dawn of the 15th century. It is currently housed at Trinity College, Dublin and should not be confused with the Great Book of Lecan.-Overview:The manuscript is written on vellum and contains 344...
(YBL): III, col. 716-739 (facs.: p 91a1-104a17). Complete. - H 2.16 or Yellow Book of LecanYellow Book of LecanThe Yellow Book of Lecan , or TCD MS 1318 , is a medieval Irish manuscript written no later than the dawn of the 15th century. It is currently housed at Trinity College, Dublin and should not be confused with the Great Book of Lecan.-Overview:The manuscript is written on vellum and contains 344...
(YBL): p 432-3. Fragment. - RIA MS D IV 2: f 79ra 1 - 92ra 40. Complete.
- 23 E 25 or Lebor na hUidreLebor na hUidreLebor na hUidre or the Book of the Dun Cow is an Irish vellum manuscript dating to the 12th century. It is the oldest extant manuscript in Irish. It is held in the Royal Irish Academy and is badly damaged: only 67 leaves remain and many of the texts are incomplete...
(LU): p 83ra-99ra (+H). Beginning missing - Additional 33993: I, f 4r-5v - or f 2b-5b (?) -(BLBritish LibraryThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
). Beginning only. - Egerton 1782Egerton 1782MS Egerton 1782 is the index title of an early sixteenth-century Irish vellum manuscript housed in the Egerton Collection of the British Library, London.-Overview:The compilation dates from c...
: f 108vb-123vb. Composite text. - Egerton 92: f 18ra-23v. Fragment = Fermoy.
- 23 E 29 or Book of Fermoy: II, p 213a-216b. Fragment.
- H 2.17: p 477a-482b (TCD). Three fragments.
- H 3.18: XVII, p 528-533. Glossed extracts.
Recension III
The youngest and longest version is represented by Recension III, to which further materials have been added, including a king-list, a version of Tochmarc ÉtaineTochmarc Étaíne
Tochmarc Étaíne , meaning "The Wooing of Étaín", is an early text of the Irish Mythological Cycle, and also features characters from the Ulster Cycle and the Cycles of the Kings. It is partially preserved in the manuscript known as the Lebor na hUidre , and completely preserved in the Yellow Book...
and further dindsenchas
Dindsenchas
Dindsenchas or Dindshenchas , meaning "lore of places" is a class of onomastic text in early Irish literature, recounting the origins of place-names and traditions concerning events and characters associates with the places in question...
lore.
- Egerton 1782, f 106r-123vb (ends in hiatus) (BLBritish LibraryThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
) - H.1.14, f 24-52b (TCD). Copy of previous text.
The translation by J. Gantz, in Early Irish Myths and Sagas (1986) has an introduction that discusses its probable relationship to a king's ritual death, more fully explored by John Grigsby, Beowulf and Grendel 2005:150-52.
Related tales
A related tale is De Sil Chonairi Móir.Influence
It has been argued that Geoffrey ChaucerGeoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
's The House of Fame
The House of Fame
The House of Fame is a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer, probably written between 1379 and 1380, making it one of his earlier works.-Overview:The House of Fame is over 2,000 lines long in three books and takes the form of a dream vision composed in octosyllabic couplets. Upon falling asleep the poet finds...
borrows features from the Togail Bruidne Da Derga.
Recension I
- Nettlau, Max (ed.). "On the Irish text Togail Bruidne dá Derga and connected stories [part 4]." Revue Celtique 14 (1893): 151-2 [H 3.18].
- Stokes, Whitley (ed.). "The Destruction of Dá Derga's Hostel." Revue Celtique 22 (1901): 401-3 [LU]. See below for further details on Stokes' edition.
- Best, R.I. and O. Bergin (eds.). Lebor na hUidre. Book of the Dun Cow. Dublin, 1929. Diplomatic edition of LU.
- Mac Mathúna, S. (ed. and tr.). Immram Brain, Bran's Journey to the Land of the Women. Tübingen, 1985. 449-50. Based on H.3.18, 23 N 10 and Egerton 88, with variants from LU.
- Hull, Vernam (ed.). "Togail Bruidne Da Derga. The Cín Dromma Snechta Recension.” Zeitschrift für celtische PhilologieZeitschrift für celtische PhilologieZeitschrift für celtische Philologie ' is an academic journal of Celtic studies, which was founded in 1896 by the German scholars Kuno Meyer and Ludwig Christian Stern and first appeared in 1897. It is the first journal devoted exclusively to Celtic languages and literature and the oldest...
24 (1954): 131-2. Based on G 7. - Thurneysen, Rudolf (ed.). Zu irischen Handschriften und Literaturdenkmälern. Berlin, 1912, pp. 27–8. Based on 23 N 10 and Eg 88 (at the time, Thurneysen was unaware of the existence of the text in G 7). On date of the text, see p. 30 and Thurneysen, Heldensage 15-8.
Recension II
- Knott, Eleanor (ed.). Togail Bruidne Da Derga. Dublin, 1936. YBL and variants from D IV 2. Edition available from CELT.
- Stokes, Whitley (ed. and tr.). "The Destruction of Dá Derga's Hostel." Revue Celtique 22 (1901): 9-61, 165-215, 282-329, 390-437; 23 (1902): 88. LU, supplemented by YBL and variants. Translation available in html from CELT and Online Medieval Source Book.
- Stokes, Whitley (ed.). The Destruction of Dá Derga's Hostel. Paris, 1902. Reprint of publication in Revue Celtique 22 and 23.
- Best, R.I. and O. Bergin (eds.). Lebor na hUidre. Book of the Dun Cow. Dublin, 1929. Diplomatic edition of LU.
- Draak, Maartje and Frida de Jong (trs.). "De verwoesting van Da Derga's Hal." In Van helden, elfen en dichters. De oudste verhalen uit Ierland. Amsterdam, 1979. 148-201. Dutch translation.
Secondary literature
- Byrne, Francis JohnFrancis John ByrneFrancis John Byrne is an Irish historian.Born in Shanghai where his father, a Dundalk man, captained a ship on the Yellow River, Byrne was evacuated with his mother to Australia on the outbreak of World War II...
, Irish Kings and High-Kings. Batsford, London, 1973. ISBN 0-7134-5882-8 - Carney, James Patrick, "Language and Literature to 1169" in Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (ed.), A New History of Ireland, volume 1: Prehistoric and Early Ireland. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005. ISBN 0-19-821737-4
- Thomas Charles-EdwardsThomas Charles-EdwardsThomas Mowbray Charles-Edwards FRHistS FLSW FBA is an academic at Oxford University. He holds the post of Jesus Professor of Celtic and is a Professorial Fellow at Jesus College....
. "Geis, Prophecy, Omen, and Oath", in Celtica 23: Essays in honour of James Patrick Carney (1999): 38-59. PDF - Gantz, J. Early Irish Myths and Sagas (Harmondsworth: Penguin) 1986
- McTurk, Rory W., Chaucer and the Norse and Celtic Worlds. Ashgate, Aldershot, 2005. ISBN 0-7546-0391-1
- West, Máire. "The genesis of Togail Bruidne da Derga: a reappraisal of the `two-source' theory." Celtica 23 (Essays in honour of James Patrick Carney) (1999): 413-35. ISBN 1-85500-190-X. Available as PDF from DIAS.
- West, Máire. "Leabhar na hUidhre's Position in the Manuscript History of Togail Bruidne Da Derga and Orgain Brudne Uí Dergae." Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 20 (Winter 1990): 61-98.
External links
- Translation (by Whitley Stokes) at WikisourceWikisourceWikisource is an online digital library of free content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Its aims are to host all forms of free text, in many languages, and translations. Originally conceived as an archive to store useful or important historical texts, it has...
. - Old Irish edition at University College Cork's CELT project.
- Selection from James MacKillop's Dictionary of Celtic Mythology