[III]

[IV]

PREFACE.

HE public may depend

THE

:

following fragments as genuine
remains of ancient Scottish poetry. The
date of their composition cannot be ex-
actly afcertained. Tradition, in the 5
country where they were written, refers
them to an æra of the most remote anti-
quity and this tradition is supported by
the spirit and strain of the poems them-
selves; which abound with those 10
ideas, and paint those manners, that
belong to the most early state of so-
ciety. The diction too, in the origi-
nal, is very obfolete; and differs wide-
ly from the style of such poems as have 15
been written in the fame language two
or three centuries ago. They were cer-
tainly composed before the establish-
ment of clanship in the northern part 1
of Scotland, which is itself very an-
cient; for had clans been then formed
and known, they must have made a con-
siderable figure in the work of a Highland 5
Bard; whereas there is not the least men-
tion of them in these poems. It is remark-

Die Preface (verfaßt von Blair, s. Einl.) nur in AB; 1762 und 1763 durch je eine ausführlichere,,Dissertation“ ersetzt (T pg. 6 ff., 17 ff.). Blair's ,,Critical Dissertation“ (T pg. 43 ff.), zuerst 1763 selbständig erschienen, wurde 1765 der ersten Gesamtausgabe beigefügt.

[V]

able that there are found in them no allu-
sions to the Christian religion or worship;
indeed, few traces of religion of any kind. 10
One circumstance seems to prove them
to be coeval with the very infancy of
Christianity in Scotland. In a frag-
ment of the fame poems, which the
tranflator has feen, a Culdee or Monk 15
is represented as defirous to take down
in writing from the mouth of Ofcian,
who is the principal personage in several
of the following fragments, his warlike
atchievements and those of his family. 20
But Ofcian treats the monk and his reli-
gion with difdain, telling him, that the
deeds of such great men were subjects too
high to be recorded by him, or by any 1
of his religion: A full proof that
Christianity was not as yet established
in the country.

Though the poems now published 5 appear as detached pieces in this collection, there is ground to believe that most of them were originally episodes of a greater work which related to the wars of Fingal. Concerning this hero 10 innumerable traditions remain, to this day, in the Highlands of Scotland. The story of Ofcian, his fon, is so generally known, that to describe one in whom the race of a great family ends, it has 15

IV 21 monk] Monk B

passed into a proverb; "Ofcian the last 16 "of the heroes."

There can be no doubt that these poems are to be afcribed to the Bards; a race of men well known to have conti- 20 nued throughout many ages in Ireland [VI] and the north of Scotland. Every chief 1 or great man had in his family a Bard or poet, whose office it was to record in verse, the illuftrious actions of that family. By the succession of these Bards, 5 fuch poems were handed down from race to race; some in manuscript, but more by oral tradition. And tradition, in a country so free of intermixture with foreigners, and among a people so strong- 10 ly attached to the memory of their ancestors, has preserved many of them in a great measure incorrupted to this day.

They are not set to music, nor fung. The verfification in the original is 15 fimple; and to fuch as understand the language, very smooth and beautiful. Rhyme is feldom used: but the cadence, and the length of the line varied, so as to fuit the fenfe. The tranflation is ex- 20 tremely literal. Even the arrangement of the words in the original has been [VII] imitated; to which must be imputed 1 fome inversions in the style, that otherwife would not have been chosen.

Of the poetical merit of these fragments nothing shall here be faid. Let 5

the public judge, and pronounce. It
is believed, that, by a careful inquiry,
many more remains of ancient genius,
no less valuable than those now given
to the world, might be found in the 10
fame country where these have been
collected. In particular there is reason
to hope that one work of confiderable
length, and which deserves to be styled
an heroic poem, might be recovered and 15
translated, if encouragement were given
to such an undertaking.

The sub

ject is, an invasion invasion of Ireland by Swarthan King of Lochlyn; which is the name of Denmark in the Erfe lan- 20 guage. Cuchulaid, the General or Chief of the Irish tribes, upon intelligence of the [VIII] invasion, assembles his forces. Councils 1 are held; and battles fought. But after several unsuccessful engagements, the Irish are forced to submit. At length, Fingal King of Scotland, called in this poem, "The Defert of the hills," arrives with his ships to assist Cuchulaid. He expels the Danes from the country; and returns home victorious. This poem is held to be of greater anti- 10 quity than any of the rest that are preserved: And the author fpeaks of himself as present in the expedition of Fingal. The three last poems in the collec

5

VIII i forces.]; B 1 Councils] councils B

tion are fragments which the tranflator 15
obtained of this epic poem; and though
very imperfect, they were judged not
unworthy of being inferted. If the
whole were recovered, it might serve to
throw confiderable light upon the Scot- 20
tish and Irish antiquities.

VIII 16 epic] Epic B 16 though] tho' B Strich am Schluß im Neudruck eingefügt