Diarmuid had
finished telling of the defeat of the kings and of the dogs and the three
prepared to move on....
After this,
Diarmuid and Grainne and Muadan came forth out of the cave, and went their way
westward until they reached the moor of Finnlaith. Grainne began to weary then,
and Muadan took her upon his back until they reached the great Silab Luchra.
Then Diarmuid sat him down on the brink of the stream which wound through the
heart of the mountain; and Grainne washing her hands, and she asked Diarmuid for
his dagger to cut her nails.
As for the
strangers, as many of them were alive, they came upon the hill where the three
chiefs were bound and thought to loose them speedily, but those bonds were such
that they only drew the tighter upon them.
They had not
been long thus before they saw the woman messenger of Finn mac Cumaill coming
with the speed of a swallow, or weasel, or like a blast of a sharp pure-swift
wind , over the top of every high hill and bare mountain towards them; and she
inquired of them who it was that had made that great,fearful, destroying
slaughter of them.
"Who art
thou that askest?" said they.
"I am the
female messenger of Finn mac Cumaill," said she; "and Deirdru of Dub
Silab (Black Mountain) is my name, and it is to look for you that Finn has sent
me."
(editor's note-
this hag like female invokes another ancient dimension of the Irish tradition
she is related to the other female multi powered "deities" closely
associated with places and aspects of the environment- woods, and battles. Could
this dimension reflect back to a time before the warriors to a time when control
over dimensions of the environment - of sounds and qualities was more important
than control over men?)
"Well
then, we know not who he was," said they, "but we will inform thee of
his appearance; that is, he was a warrior having curling dusky-black hair, and
two red ruddy cheeks, and he it is that hath made this great slaughter of us;
and we are yet more sorely grieved that our three chiefs are bound, and that we
cannot loose them; he was likewise three days one after the other fighting with
us."
"Which
way went that man from you?" said Deirdru.
"He
parted from us late last night," said they; "therefore we cannot tell."
"I swear,"
said Deirdru, "that it was Diarmuid O'Duibne himself that was there, and do
ye bring your hounds with you and loose them on his track, and I will send Finn
and the fian of Erin to you."
Then they
brought their hounds with them out of their ship, and loosed them upon the track
of Diarmuid; but they left a druid attending upon the three chiefs that were
bound. As for them they followed the hounds upon the track of Diarmuid until
they reached the door of the cave, and they went into the hinder part of the
cave, and found the bed of Diarmuid and Grainne there. Afterwards they went
their way towards the west till they reached Carrthach, and thence to the moor
of Finnliath, and to Garb Alba of the Fian, which is called Leaman now, and to
the fair plain of Concon, and to the vast and high Sliab Luachra.
(editor's note:
note how here again a great attention is placed upon geographic detail- the
tales served in an oral society as maps and ways to remember placenames. The
author also wishes to impress us that these stories are real. They do not have
to be set far far away in a foreign land. The function of the tales is to
address and inform the real world of its political and social order its
precidents of history and its values.)
Howbeit,
Diarmuid did not perceive them coming after him in that pursuit until he beheld
the banners of soft silk, and the threatening standards, and three mighty
warriors in the foreground of the hosts, full fierce, and bold, and dauntless,
having their three hounds by three chains in their hands. When Diarmuid saw them
coming towards him in that manner, he became filled with hatred and great
abhorrence of them. An there was a green well-dyed mantle upon him that was in
the forefront of the company, and he was out far beyond the others: then Grainne
reached the dagger to Diarmuid, and Diarmuid thrust it upon his thigh, and said:"I
suspect thou bearest the youth of the green mantle no love, Grainne."
(editor's note:
a word here on numerology- we have already seen how the number 7- an important
number in the celtic world has been used in the number of hut doors here again
we see the use of the number three another important number in the celtic world.
Numbers used in tales adds emphasis upon the descriptions. The practice focuses
the listener upon the scene-dropping the names of numbers would attract
attention.)
'Truly I do
not," quoth Grainne, "and I would I never to this day had borne love
to any." Diarmuid drew his dagger and thrust it into its sheath and went
his way after that, and then Muadan put Grainne upon his back and carried her a
mile up the length of the mountain.
(editor's note-
Muadan represents perhaps another layer of the celtic legacy derived from earier
times. Unlike Angus Angus who clearly has warrior god characteristics Muadan
possesses many special powers but is simply a bit more skillful and stronger
than the average person. He is a kind helper. It has been proposed that such
super individuals represent protectors of tribal groups multi-valent individuals
who do many things to help out. It may be proposed that such individuals are
derived from a time when rather than defense against people or against the
environment group identity was for the people of primary importance.
They could rely upon their own multi-valent diety to perform a multitude of
skills to help out the group)
It was not
long before one of the three deadly hounds was loosed after Diarmuid, and Muadan
told Diarmuid to follow Grainne, saying that he would ward off the hound from
him. Then Muadan went back and took a hound's welp from beneath his girdle, and
set him upon his palm. When the whelp saw the hound rushing towards him, having
his jaws and throat open, he rose from Murdan's palm and sprang into the gullet
of the hound, so that he reached the heart and rent it out through his side; and
then he sprang back again upon Muadan's palm, leaving the hound dead after him.
(editor's note:
here we have the typical celtic way of dog killing! One always reaches down the
throat of the animal and either turns them inside out or does something else as
here, to kill them. In any case quite the mess!)
Muadan
departed after Diarmuid and Grainne, and took up Grainne again, and bore her
another mile up the mountain. Then was loosed the second hound after them, and
Diarmuid spoke to Muadan, and what he said was:" I indeed hear that there
can no spells be laid upon weapons that wound by magic, nor upon the throat of
any beast whatever, and will ye stand until I put the Gae Derg through the body,
the chest, and the heart of yonder hound?" and Muadan and Grainne stood to
see that cast. Then Diarmuid aimed a cast at the hound, and put the javelin
through his navel, so that he let out his bowels, and having drawn out the
javelin he followed his own companions.
They had not
been long after that before the third hound was loosed upon them; Grainne spoke,
and what she said was:"That is the fiercest of them all, and I greatly fear
him, and keep thyself well against him, O Diarmuid." It was not long before
the hound reached them, and the place where he overtook them was Lic Dubain on
Sliab Luchra. He rose with an airy light bond over Diarmuid, and would fain have
siezed Grainne, but Diarmuid caught his two hind legs, and struck a blow of his
carcass against the nearest rock, so that he let out his brains through the
openings of his head and of his ears. Thereupon Diarmuid took his arms and armor,
and put his tapering finger into the silken string of the Gae Derg, and aimed a
triumphant cast at the youth of the green mantle that was in the forefront of
the host, so that he slew him with that cast; he made also a second cast at the
second man, and slew him; and the third man he slew likewise. Then since it is
not usual for defense to be made after the fall of lords, when the strangers saw
that their chiefs and their lords were fallen they suffered defeat, and betook
themselves to utter flight; and Diarmuid pursued them, violently scattering them
and slaughtering them, so that unless some one fled over the tops of the forests
or under the green earth, or under the water, there escaped not even a messenger
nor a man to tell tidings. The gloom of death and instant destruction was
executed upon every one of them except Deirdriu of Dub Sliab, that is , the
woman messenger of Finn mac Cumaill, who went wheeling and hovering around
whilst Diarmuid was making slaughter of the strangers. As for Finn, when he
heard the tidings of the foreigners being bound by Diarmuid, he loudly summoned
the fian of Erin ; and they went forth by the shortest ways and by the
straightest paths until they reached the hill where the three chiefs were bound,
and that was torment of heart to Finn when he saw them. Then Finn spoke and what
he said was: "O Oisin, loose the three chiefs for me."
"I will
not," said Oisin, "for Diarmuid bound me not to loose any warrior whom
he should bind."
"O Oscar
loose them" said Finn.
"Nay,"
said Oscar, "I vow that I would fain put more bonds upon them." Then
Lugaid and Conan refused likewise to loose them. Howbeit, they had not been long
at this discourse before the three chiefs died of the hard bonds that were on
them. Then Finn caused to be dug three wide-sodded graves for them; and a
tombstone was put over their graves, and their names were written in ogam, and
their burial ceremony was performed, and weary and heavy in heart was Finn after
that.
(editor's note:
Ogham while not the most ancient language was to be seen throughout the country
side and was infact used to mark the sites of important events. It is a language
made up of a series of horizontal lines marked on one side or other of a
vertical line. It was well suited for the edges of large stones.)