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The quarrel about the loaf
verse beg. A bairgen ataí i ngábud

  • Middle Irish
  • verse
  • Early Irish poetry

Middle Irish dialogue poem (18qq) with prose epilogue in the Book of Leinster. The poem is presented as a contentious dialogue between an old woman (callech) of Leinster and a servant (gilla) of the king of Munster (Cerball mac Muirecáin), in which the latter insists on his entitlement to meals and hospitality. The prose epilogue goes on to explain the reasons for the quarrel.

Poetic dialogue (18 quatrains) and a prose epilogue.
First words (verse)
  • A bairgen ataí i ngábud
“Loaf, you are in danger”
Manuscripts
Language
  • Middle Irish
Form
verse (primary)
prose (secondary)
Length
Number of stanzas: 18

Classification

Early Irish poetryEarly Irish poetry
...

Subjects

Cerball mac Muirecáin
Cerball mac Muirecáin
(d. c. 909)
king of Leinster from the Uí Fáeláin sept of the Uí Dúnlainge.
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Munster
Munster/Cúige Mumhan
No short description available
See more Leinster
Leinster/Cúige Laighean
No short description available
See more Mag DálaMag Dála
Entry reserved for but not yet available from the subject index.
See more

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.] [tr.] OʼNowlan, T. P., “The quarrel about the loaf”, Ériu 1 (1904): 128–137.
Internet Archive: <link>
[dipl. ed.] Best, Richard Irvine, Osborn Bergin, and M. A. OʼBrien, The Book of Leinster, formerly Lebar na Núachongbála, vol. 1, Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1954. 260 pp. + 4 pl.
CELT – edition (pp. 1-260): <link>
223–225 Diplomatic edition.

Secondary sources (select)

Mac Cana, Proinsias, “The motif of trivial causes”, in: Alfred P. Smyth (ed.), Seanchas. Studies in early and medieval Irish archaeology, history and literature in honour of Francis J. Byrne, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2000. 205–211.
web page identifiers
Contributors
C. A., Dennis Groenewegen
Page created
April 2012, last updated: January 2024
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