Riona (49 page)

bard:
a poet or historian of the druidic order; these good fellas recorded Erin’s history in verse and song. Their
literary license
is what makes the separation of history and legend so difficult for today’s scholars to discern. In the last half of the sixth century, the bards narrowly missed total obliteration and/or exile at the Synod of Drumceatt. Their carefree existence over, they were stripped of their political influence and their right to abuse free hospitality and compensation. The new order had no choice but to become the secular schoolmasters, earning their keep at their assigned tuath.

Interestin’ly enough, the Hebrews had no recorded history either, save in song or verse, until the Holy Scriptures. Not till the arrival of Christianity were Erin’s stories recorded for posterity in cooperation with the poets and scholars. No doubt about it, the Irish of today are nearly as Hebrew as Celtic.

bards, dilemma of the:
A passel o’ these melody-mouthed scholars had become more trouble than they was worth, trottin’ about imposing on good hospitality and payin’ it back with barbed satire and curses. Sure, the nobles wanted ’em exiled, but Columcille saved them (see
Columcille
). Reform the system, says he, but to exile the bard was to exile their
knowledge
, which was sacred to every Celtic heart. It was decided that each tuath would appoint its own bards to educate its children, as well as have a priest for its spiritual education. Aye, the bards became schoolteachers, and knowledge was saved.

batagh
(bah-tah): public victualer to entertain travelers and chief’s soldiers; rent-free land, much like a tavern geared more to entertainment and board than bed.

blefed:
plague with symptoms of yellowish palor, fever.

bóaire
(bo-ayr): a self-sufficient farmer/cattleman.

Bran
(brahn): raven.

brat:
outer cloak or wrap; the more colors, the higher the station of its wearer.

Brehon Law:
the ancient law of the Irish Celts, updated in the fifth century at a convention of druids, priests, and kings.

brewy:
A name for a common inn and the innkeeper. The room and board were free, same as in any Irish home, with the land and food/cattle for travelers supplied by local landowners. This is just another fine example of Celtic hospitality.

Brichriu
(brik’-ree-oo): an ancient historical satirist known for stirring up trouble.

bride price:
the price paid by the groom to the bride’s family for the privilege and duration of his marriage to the lady.

Quite the opposite of the dowry, wouldn’t ye say? And ’twas a custom mainly Irish and connected to Erin’s Hebrew roots. Goin’ back to when the
Milesians
from Iberia settled in Erin, there was a shortage of women. So the
Milesians
asked the Hebrews, who’d been in Ireland since Japeth and Shem’s children landed there after the Flood, if they might marry the
Hebrew
daughters. Yes, says the Hebrew elders, but only if a bride price is paid to the bride’s family for the duration of the marriage. The rest was up to the groom. (Bear in mind, before Patrick, marriage was bindin’ only as long as both parties agreed to it, but the custom o’ payin’ for the bride continued for centuries beyond.)

bruden:
A much larger and higher-class hostelry or brewy, able to lodge not just individual travelers, but nobles and their entourages as well. ’Twas usually found at main crossroads and, like the brewy, ’twas free to all.

Brugaid
(brew-gayd): A female innkeeper or brewy, for many a one was run by me daughters.

bulliken:
a young bull

chieftancy:
A chief or king was elected, no less, by the clan. To qualify, he must be knowledgeable in war, academics, and the like; of fine physical health and stature so’s he can lead warriors into battle; and
usually
related to the last chief, but not necessarily. A son, brother, or paternal cousin is considered first, but should no one in that bloodline qualify, then a man from another of the clan families was picked and the line o’ rule was passed to another family … leastwise till someone bigger and better took it from them.

cloak of invisibility:
a legendary magical cloak, which, when donned, made the wearer invisible; believed to be used by the gods or Sidhe, and sometimes given to a mortal to use.

colt’s tooth:
a strong desire for the opposite gender.

Columcille
(co-lum-kil-li): Patron Saint of the Scots, a.k.a. St. Columba, the Dove. A feisty Northern Niall prince, Columcille could have been a king with his bardic training, but he chose servin’ the Lord instead. His blue blood and bardic tongue and his lifelong effort to remain humble endeared him to the noble, the commoner, and God’s church. The church had to excommunicate the man for taking up the sword at Culdreime’s battle, but he was reinstated later in consideration of his faith, devotion, and genuine contrition. Still, his remorse was such that he imposed exile upon himself from his beloved green Derry to the gray and lifeless island of Iona, off Scotland’s coast.

His is yet another fine example of how the good Lord can use even a proud hothead to save souls, for Columcille took God’s light to the Scots and Picts. Sure, he named and crowned the first Christian king o’ the place. Later, he did come home to save the bards, decide the sovereignty of Scotland, and build the framework for public, secular, and church education in Ireland. (See
Drumceatt, Synod of
, and
to each cow its own calf
for Columcille’s part in the establishment of the first copyright law. Also
Baetan
and
Aidan
for the saint’s persuasion by an angel.)

crannóg:
a fortified lake dwelling, usually on man-made island.

cromlech:
a capstone resting on two upright pillar stones, sometimes forming a passage; usually marks a grave of someone of importance—a hero or royalty.

Cromyn
(krah’-min): crooked or bent.

culcita:
a quilt; also a flocked blanket or bed.

Culdreime, Battle of:
What a fight, the culmination of a feud between the Northern Uí Niall (St. Columcille’s kin) and the High King Diarmait in sixth-century Ireland. Even the church got into this donnybrook of a fight. See, full of himself, Diarmait invaded the sanctuary of saint-to-be Columcille’s church and seized a Niall lad accused of killin’ the high king’s nephew in a hurling match at a fair—a mere accident in a dangerous sport by all accounts. Diarmait was defeated, and three thousand men were killed. (Have a gander at
Columcille
to see what happened to him for his hotheaded involvement. Also see
to each cow its own calf
to discover another bone the young saint-to-be had to pick with
Diarmait
.)

Dalraidi
(pl.)
(dahl’-rah-dee),
Dalraida
(sing.)
(dahl’-rah-dah): this was an early Ulster clan; some migrated to Scotland in the fifth century, and by the sixth century, sure they ruled it and the latter half of that same period chose their first Christian king, Aidan.

cumal:
female slave; a monetary unit equal to one female slave.

Dallan
(dah’-lan): blind-diminutive of
dall
.

DeDana, Tuatha:
See
Tuatha DeDanan
.

death of King of kings:
’Twas recorded in an early druidic historical poem about King Connor MacNessa, a kindly monarch who saw the sun black out on the day o’ Christ’s crucifixion. On finding out the meanin’ of it from his druids, he was so overcome that he attacked the sacred grove of oak, takin’ his passion out upon the trees as it were, and the exertion aggravated an old war wound, killin’ the good-hearted soul. Here was another o’ the legends that paved the way for the comin’ o’ Christianity in the fifth century.

dergud
(dergu): mattress stuffed with feathers, straw, or rush (colcaid; same).

Dhagda’s legendary music:
In the tale of Dhagda (dahg-da), the ancient king of the mythological DeDana, and of Boann (bow-ahn), his wife a goddess of the River Boyne, the significance of music to the lives of me children is plain. The time neared when Boann was to give birth to their sons, and Dhagda was by her side. While she labored, her husband played upon his harp, crying and mourning with her in her agony. When their three boys were born, he plied the strings with notes of laughter and joy, until it was time for her to rest. For that, his fingers brought forth from the instrument lullabies, lulling her to sleep. The new mother was so moved by his music and devotion that she named their sons after it: Goltraighe (crying music), Geantraighe (laughing music), and Suiantraighe (sleeping music).

So was set the precedent of music’s importance to the heart, the mind, and the soul, like hymns of joy and praise, as well as comfort to life’s pain and, o’ course, lullabies to lure wee ones to sleep.

Diarmait
(der-mot): the high king of Ireland during Battle of Culdreime; Aedh Ainmire was the high king in this book’s setting.

dillat:
A cloth draped over a horse in lieu of saddle. Me children didn’t use saddles early on. They bounded up on the horse, no stirrups. Indeed, the Romans marveled at skills of the Irish horsemen and employed them in Roman ranks.

dromin
(dro-min): a long ridge or hill.

druid:
St. Columba wrote, “My druid is Christ.” Substitute
teacher
or
spiritual leader
for
druid
to catch the drift of his meaning. The sixth-century “druid” was mostly a bard, historian, poet, or musician of the highest order. Them what caused all the troubles leading to almost gettin’ exiled were the black sheep o’ the lot, but even God used them to prompt a new law, making the bards into secular teachers in the first public education system in the world history. (See
Drumceatt, Synod of
and
Columcille, Saint
.)

In
Maire
, me previous book o’ the fifth century, the druids were not just the black-robed sacrificers reported by Julius Caesar and other foreign observers of this secretive order, but what I’d call professionals in today’s—a number of an elevated Celtic learned class—spiritual leaders, teachers, lawyers, poets, bards, historians, magicians; often called magi; see
Star of Bethlehem
.

There were some o’ the dark kind then, mind ye, but never was any evidence o’ human sacrifice found on my shores, like across the sea. And again, God used these enlightened people to pave the way for Christianity, as illustrated in the story of Maire and Rowan’s fifth-century Gleannmara.

Drumceatt, Synod of
(Drum-cat): circa 574, this particular synod was perhaps the most significant of the sixth century. Called by the high king,
it addressed many issues, but the most important results were as follows:

Me children established the first national secular and clerical education system for the public—a teacher and a priest to every tuath.

They saved me ancient bardic class (see
bards, dilemma of
).

They decided the major quagmire of just who was in charge o’ Scotia Minor (see
Scotland—Scotia Minor, the problem with
).

Dublin
(dub’-lyn): from
duibh-linn
, black pool—the color of its Liffey River due to its peat bottom.

dun:
a round tower fortification.

eric:
a blood price or fine; its value is based on a man’s social standing.

fialtech:
a privy or outhouse; the predecessor of the modern porta-potty, set apart from the main quarters for obvious reasons.

Fiana:
third century Ireland’s equivalent to special forces; the legendary warrior under Finn MacCool.

fine:
a kindred group, a basic social unit of early Irish society.

Finella
(fi’-nell-ah): fair; feminine derivative of
Fion
.

foolraide
(fool-raid): foolishness; insanity.

fosterage:
custom of placing children of noble families into the care of others in order to form political alliances. Like Kieran as a prince was fostered out to Murtagh, champion of the Dromin and father to Riona, for training and schooling, allying the clans of Gleannmara tuath even more. Many times, these children were closer to their foster families than to their own blood.

Fynn
(fin): fair—from
Fion
.

Gadra
(gier’-ah): clever—o’ mind, at least, but in this story’s case, not o’ spirit. Now how do ye suppose Maille’s sainted mother knew what a conniver he was goin’ to be?

geis
(gish): taboo, something forbidden; to break a geis was to invite certain death.

Gleannmara
(glinn-mah-rah): glen/valley overlooking/near the sea.

gleeman:
these were the entertainers of the common man as opposed to bards, like meself, who stimulate the mind as well as please the senses. They traveled about much like gypsies, often with reputations to match. Sometimes they journeyed alone, sometimes in groups, afoot or in little wagons. Among the likes were jugglers, songsters, musicians, actors, acrobats, animal trainers, and dancers.