Texts
Verba Scáthaigeverse beg. A mbé eirr óengaile
- Old Irish
- verse
- Early Irish poetry, Ulster Cycle
Poem in the form of a prophecy delivered by Scáthach to Cú Chulainn.
First words (verse)
- A mbé eirr óengaile
“When you are a peerless champion”
First words
A mbe<ë> eirr ōengaile (initial line of verse, as reconstructed in the edition by P. L. Henry).
Context(s)The (textual) context(s) to which the present text belongs or in which it is cited in part or in whole.
independent, Tochmarc Emire
Manuscripts
Two versions:
- Version A:
- Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson B 512 I, (a) ff. 101-122, (b) ff. 1-36, (c) ff. 45-52 [s. xv / s. xvi]f. 118b2
- Version B (expanded, part of Tochmarc Emire):
- Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 23 E 25 (1229) = Lebor na hUidre [s. xi/xii]ff. 125b–126a context: Tochmarc Emire
- Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 23 E 29 pp. 17-216 = Book of Fermoy ‘proper’ [s. xiv / s. xv]p. 212 context: Tochmarc Emire
- Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 23 N 10 (967) = Book of Ballycummin [s. xvi]pp. 26, 125 context: Tochmarc Emire
Language
- Old Irish
Date
7th-8th century
Form
verse (primary)
prose (secondary)
Verse, with prose introduction.
Metre
dactyllic (trisyllabic), except in verses 8, 20 and 29 (Henry)
Number of lines
32
Textual relationships
Refers to various combats at the ford undertaken by Cú Chulainn in the course of the story told in Táin bó Cúailnge
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.] Henry, P. L. [ed. and tr.], “Verba Scáthaige”, Celtica 21 (1990): 191–207.
Celtica – eprint (PDF): <link>
[ed.] Thurneysen, Rudolf [ed.], “Verba Scáthaige nach 23 N 10”, Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 9 (1913): 487–488.
Internet Archive: <link>
[ed.] Meyer, Kuno [ed.], “Verba Scāthaige fri CoinCulaind”, in: Osborn Bergin, R. I. Best, Kuno Meyer, and J. G. OʼKeeffe (eds), Anecdota from Irish manuscripts, vol. 5, Halle and Dublin, 1913. 28–30.
Secondary sources (select)
Thurneysen, Rudolf, Die irische Helden- und Königsage bis zum siebzehnten Jahrhundert, Halle: Niemeyer, 1921.
comments: Part 1 (chapters 1-23): Allgemeines; Part 2 (chapters 1-85): Die Ulter Sage
Internet Archive: <link>
376–377
web page identifiers
page name: Verba Scáthaige
page url: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/Verba_Sc%C3%A1thaige
redirect: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/Special:Redirect/page/120
numerical alternative: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/index.php?curid=120
page ID: 120
page ID tracker: https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/index.php?title=Show:ID&id=120
Contributors
Dennis Groenewegen, Patrick Brown
Page created
October 2010, last updated: September 2022