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Bás Chearbhaill agus Fhearbhlaidhe ‘The death of Cearbhall and Fearbhlaidh’

  • Early Modern Irish
  • prose
Early Modern Irish romance about the tragic love relationship between poet-harper Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh from Corcomroe and Fearbhlaidh, daughter of the king of Scotland, who falls in love with the poet after he is revealed to her in a dream-vision. This Cearbhall, though clearly a creation of narrative fiction, might have been based on an historical poet of this name who was ollamh of Corcomroe and died in 1404. In the tale, Cearbhall is buried at the monastic site.
Title
Bás Chearbhaill agus Fhearbhlaidhe
‘The death of Cearbhall and Fearbhlaidh’
Also known as Tochmharc Fhearbhlaidhe (‘The wooing of Fearbhlaidh’).
Manuscripts

James E. Doan lists a total of 20 manuscripts dating between the 17th and 19th centuries. Twelve of these are of Ulster provenance, while the remaining eight were produced in Cork or elsewhere in Munster:

Ulster
A1 =
Dublin, University College, MS Franciscan A 25
pp. 217–230
H1 =
Dublin, Trinity College, MS 1366 (H 4. 25) [c.1630]
P1 =
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 24 P 12 (90) [s. xvii]
R1 =
Dublin, National Library of Ireland, MS G 448
pp. 1–25
Formerly Rossmore (Monaghan) MS 2, now in NLI.
G1 =
Dublin, National Library of Ireland, MS G 130 [s. xviii]
G2 =
Dublin, National Library of Ireland, MS G 144
H2 =
Dublin, Trinity College, MS 1412 (H 6. 8) [s. xviii]
B1 =
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 24 B 13
P3 =
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 24 P 21 (97) [s. xviii/xix]
P4 =
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 24 P 31
G3 =
Dublin, National Library of Ireland, MS G 433
pp. 241–253
Not mentioned by Doan.
B2 =
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 3 B 39 (250) [s. xix]
B3 =
Belfast, Central Library, MS Gaelic 15
Munster
M1 =
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 23 M 25 (15) [s. xvii/xviii]
K1 =
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 23 K 7 (658) [s. xviii1]
P2 =
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 24 P 6 (94) [s. xviii]
E1 =
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 23 E 16 (491) [1797-1808]
M2 =
Maynooth, Russell Library, MS M 19
E2 =
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS E v 2
D1 =
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 23 D 26 (196) [s. xix]
A2 =
Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 24 A 23
Language
  • Early Modern Irish
Date
15th or 16th century.
Form
prose (primary)

Classification

Subjects

FearbhlaidhFearbhlaidh
Entry reserved for but not yet available from the subject index.
See more Ó Dálaigh (Cearbhall) [ollamh of Corcomroe]Ó Dálaigh (Cearbhall) ... ollamh of Corcomroe
Entry reserved for but not yet available from the subject index.
See more Ó Dálaigh (Cearbhall) [literary figure]Ó Dálaigh (Cearbhall) ... literary figure
Entry reserved for but not yet available from the subject index.
See more
Munster
Munster/Cúige Mumhan
No short description available
See more Scotland
Scotland
No short description available
See more

Keywords

WooingsWooings
...
RomancesRomances
...

Sources

Primary sources Text editions and/or modern translations – in whole or in part – along with publications containing additions and corrections, if known. Diplomatic editions, facsimiles and digital image reproductions of the manuscripts are not always listed here but may be found in entries for the relevant manuscripts. For historical purposes, early editions, transcriptions and translations are not excluded, even if their reliability does not meet modern standards.

[ed.] Ní Laoire, Siobhán, Bás Cearbhaill agus Farbhlaidhe, Leabhair thaighde, 48, Dublin: An Clóchomhar, 1986.
Uses Franciscan MS A 25 as the base text of the edition.
[ed.] Walsh, Paul, “Bás Cearbhaill agus Farbhlaidhe”, Irisleabhar Muighe Nuadhad (1928): 26–45.
Based on Franciscan MS A 25, with variants from TCD 1366.
[ed.] Fáinne Fionn, “Pósadh Chearbhaill Uí Dhálaigh”, The Irish Rosary 17 (1913): 25–28, 127–128, 176–177, 310–311, 389–390, 553.
Based on the Maynooth MS.
[ed.] Ó Neachtain, Eoghan, “Tochmarc Fearbhlaide”, Ériu 4 (1908–1910): 47–67.
Based on RIA MS 24 P 12, with variant readings from TCD MS 1366 where the former is lacunose.
[tr.] Doan, James E., The romance of Cearbhall and Fearbhlaidh, Dolmen Texts, 7, Mountrath, Atlantic Highlands: Dolmen Press, Humanities Press, 1985.
[tr.] Ó Neachtain, Eoghan, Tochmarc Fhearbhlaidhe, Dublin: M.H. Gill, 1916.
Corpas.ria.ie: <link> Internet Archive: <link>
Translation into modern Irish.
An unpublished English translation by Edward O'Reilly can be found in RIA MSS 23 D 15 and 24 D 6.

Secondary sources (select)

Theuerkauf, Marie-Luise, “Tristan and early modern Irish romances: James Carney’s Ur-Tristan revisited”, in: John Carey (ed.), The matter of Britain in medieval Ireland: reassessments, 29, London: Irish Texts Society, 2017. 92–121.
Toner, Gregory, “An file in Bás Cearbhaill agus Farbhlaidhe”, Seanchas Ardmhacha 14:2 (1991): 109–115.
Doan, James E., Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh: an Irish poet in romance and oral tradition, New York: Garland, 1990.
Doan, James E., “The poetic tradition of Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh”, Éigse 18:1 (1980, 1980–1981): 1–24.
web page identifiers
Contributors
C. A., Dennis Groenewegen
Page created
May 2020, last updated: June 2023
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