Re: The Chant on the Dog's Grave

On Monday 19th Feb. 2001 Jeff Jones <jeffsjones@...> wrote:

> Re: The Chant on the Dog's Grave
>> Corrections to my previous post in this thread :
>> For "Slaves" read "Slavs" no insult intended, genuine typo -- sorry!
>> (sounds like 1066 And All That, 'for sausages read hostages ...')
> My favorite standard history reference.
I particularly like the description of how Bruce overcame the English
knight at Bannockburn, which isn't in fact too far from the truth!

> [snip]
>> So could the Dog's Grave have begun as a spoof on the sort of poems
>> composed in praise of fallen heros? Someone perhaps who died raiding
>> cattle (meat) from the neighbouring clann?
> You mean a "1066" style version of "Tain Bo' Cuailge" (or however
> it's spelled!)
> Jeff
Nearly right, "Tain Bo Cuailnge" with acutes on the first "a", "o" & "u",
but I was thinking of something a bit shorter than 4920 lines, more
like say, Marwnad Owain ab Urien.

I think nicking the neighbours' cattle was all part of our rich IE
heritage, although I admit that from the great bull Cuailnge Donn to
a string of sausages is a bit of a come-down (but nevertheless the
fate of most domestic bovids). Maybe it should be a string of
hostages :-)

Interesting though, the main protaganist of TBC, Cu Chulainn, has
like many Celtic warriors, a name that literally means "dog"!

Keith

P.S. Is anyone else up for translating these timeless verses?