Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
The Book of Clanranald (Author: [unknown])
section 9
ELEGIES AND EULOGIES OF THE RED BOOK
The Elegy of Allan and Ranald, Mc Vurich composed it.3
- Alba is without protection after Allan,
The heir of Ranald of the blue eyes;
My disposition since the death of these two men is such
That the greatest wealth is not coveted by me.
p.219
- A hero by whom the the board of monks (?) was maintained,
The son of Margaret of the greatest renown;
No loss more lamentable could be told,
Although it is the final lot of every heir to die.
- Allan by whom the plain of the Fingalls was defended,
Of the race of Colla of smooth skin;
Until the death of the heir of O'Eachadh occurred
All that departed from us did not concern us.
- Ranald departed from the same power,
He assumed the leadership of the Gael,
He received, through death, the respect of every man,
He was a branch of that bountiful wood.
- The lamentation for Ranald of the purple blades
Is not an agreeable course for my heart's disposition;
Whatever day he is regretted least,
Our grief for him is a sickness to us.
- I am not better off after Allan,
The heir of Ranald, not a pleasing comparison;
The leaders of our forces, our chieftain clan of warriors.
My sorrow for the family is equal.
- The lament for the two is an equal proportion.
It is a trouble for us to treat of their jewels;
It is not the departure of relatives from her high plains,
But the united branches of the valour of Alba that have died.
- The fame of Ranald has gone to decay
After the death of Allan whose manner was noble;
He spent his time with us in fervor.
Pity it were not we that died first.
- Had Ranald departed after Allan,
But in the death of any man I have no liking;
His fame excelled the deeds of the Gaels,
No man after him is of any concern to them.
- In the judgment of death there is no even decision
Over the Clann Colla who took no refusal;
His death and that of his heir also.
The branch of Moirne is without perfect sight.
- Let me sing of you in silence like the swan,
Thou descendant of Rory of the blue blades,
My affection be with thee of the white coloured teeth,
Though thy death now reproves me for it.
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- Your fame shall ever be in remembrance,
The comparison of thy hospitality shall attend that fame;
Death will be a friend to us since the death of Allan,
Thou art a branch never blamed.
- Thou head tree of the Clann Cobhadh,
My career has terminated, great was the destruction
You inflicted upon them by preying,
But more severe than that to Scotland is thy death.
- The land is without corn in consequence of his death,
The inheritance of Ranald is not a small portion;
Nuts, if on their trees, are without kernels.
The woods are decaying, every tree is bare.
- The sun has indicated thy deep mourning,
It has not put blossom on the tops of branches;
The seasons are stormy without a change,
Superior signs that his death was supremely lamented.
- In his time impressive was the song of the Gaels,
It was not a harsh tone on that account
That thy death is a consequence
Is false, as thou art away from the country.
- In the territory of the Fingall in the time of Allan
Noble to all was the dignity he bore.
He obtained during his time of all its products.
It seems to me that it is not the earth that gave him.
- A little story I have about Cuchullain
And of Cathfadh the Druid, intense the woe.
The like of it everyone has not received,
I give good information by relating their story.
- Cuchullain the beloved of the Ulstermen;
The Ollamh of Tara on whom sorrow fell;
Death separated them both asunder,
It could not subdue the love of Cathfadh.
- The excessive grief of the learned man for Cuchullain,
The end of their sorrow is no trifling question;
It is not remembered, though long it is since he flourished,
That any champion ever excelled him in fame.
- The grief of Cathfadh was not to be wondered at
For the death of the Cu whose skin was like a wave:
But the greatness of my sorrow exceeds it
For the death of the two of this race of Conn.
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- The grief of Cathfadh for Cuchullain,
In comparing it with our case it is no degree of envy;
His deep sorrow for his mighty Fenian hero,
That any man should die is no object to us.
- The like of the grief which was on Cathfadh
Is the extreme of the grief which has fallen on us;
Grief goes beyond settled sense,
And our grief is not less painful.
- Beyond the grief of all persons, that of Cathfadh exceeded
A degree above every sorrow, intense was his love,
It became our lot to bear with such a grief;
His anguish for Cuchullain was excessive.
- Cuchullain was not better towards Cathfadh
Than the friendship of Ranald of the blue eyes was;
Our pleasance from this clan of the blood of Fiachadh,
It has compelled me to be sad.
- Cuchullain who did not refuse a combat —
The learned man of Fodla — 'tis sooth —
Cathfadh died of sad grief for him,
He died as one of the flock of the hill, he did not forsake him.
- Were we to judge by the loss of one man,
The death of two is a painful woe;
The grief of Cathfadh would be exceeded,
It is a fit time to leave off his story.
- There has been no forgetfulness of mourning after them;
The relations of the story are remembered by us.
It is oppressive to us to hear them lamented,
The two brilliant stars of the valour of the Grecial Gaels.
- Cuchullain, the guardian of Fodla,
A noble champion when he lived.
The defence of his tribe against all in fighting
He took upon him every time as his bounden duty.
- This Cu defending Scotland,
The mighty-deeded Allan, prodigious the loss,
Protecting her hospitality and high plains
His death is a melancholy case for Scotland.
- Ranald died after his father;
Dressed in a fine coat of mail,
He protected the territory of the Plain of the Collas,
They could not find a better chieftain.
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- Allan was dexterous like Cuchullain;
The valour of Ranald of the vehement pursuits;
The severest death for every man is that of his heir,
This is the saddest case of all.
- A remembrance of him endureth for everlasting,
He is the grief of his friend, it is a sad affair;
Those two men of the blood of Eimhear died,
On which account we feel not the loss of any other man.
- For now, Ranald, I have lamented
For thy society, thou fair skinned like the blossom;
My grief does not put an end to their loss;
The grief for all others is only feigned.
- There exists a fame after every man,
Allan who wast not harmless in the conflict;
Although thy death is true, thou art not dead,
Behold thy fame shall endure henceforth after thee.
- Many battalions, always attending him, marched
Around Allan of the old arms
A wonder he should be alone in a grave
Since he spent his life as he did.