Texts

Cétbriathra Bic meic Dé
verse beg. Ailech cen gíall, Temair hi tráig

  • verse
  • Early Irish poetry
An Irish poem about the downfall of Ireland. The prose introduction explains it as a poem about the end of the world, representing the first words uttered by the prophet Becc mac Dé after his birth.
First words (verse)
  • Ailech cen gíall, Temair hi tráig
Author
Ascribed to: Becc mac Dé
Becc mac Dé
(d. 550s)
legendary seer, best known from literary sources as an Irish prophet associated with Díarmait mac Cerbaill

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Date
“Der Text muss aus der Zeit stammen, wo das Hochkönigtum bei den Mac Néill in Ailech war, da dieser Ort vorangestellt wird” (Thurneysen)
Form
verse (primary)
prose (secondary)

Verse, with prose introduction.

Length
Number of lines: 8

Classification

Early Irish poetryEarly Irish poetry
...

Early Irish poetryEarly Irish poetry
...

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.] Thurneysen, Rudolf, “Allerlei Irisches”, Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 10 (1915): 421–443.
Internet Archive: <link> Internet Archive – originally from Google Books: <link>
421–422 [id. 1. ‘Bec mac Dé’] Edition based on Leabhar Breac and Brussels MS 5100-5104
Contributors
Dennis Groenewegen
Page created
January 2013, last updated: January 2024