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Animals connected with Hunting and Sport.In Ancient Ireland.
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From
A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland by P W Joyce |
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Wolves.--A common name for a wolf was cu-allaidh [coo-allee], i.e. 'wild-hound.' Another was mactire [macteera], which literally means 'son of the country,' in allusion to the wild places that were the haunts of these animals. Faelchu is now a general name for a wolf. In old times wolves were so numerous in the woods and fastnesses of Ireland as to constitute a formidable danger to the community: so that in Irish writings we meet with frequent notices of their ravages, and of the measures taken to guard against them. In later times, and probably in early ages as well, we know that these animals were hunted down by the great Irish wolf-dog: and they were also caught in traps. As the population and the extent of open cultivated land increased, wolves became less numerous and were held well in check; but during the wars of the reign of Elizabeth, when the country was almost depopulated, they increased enormously and became bolder and fiercer, so that we often find notices of their ravages in the literature of those times. Deer were plentiful in ancient Ireland, and they are noticed everywhere in the literature, both lay and ecclesiastical. By far the most remarkable of the ancient deer of this country was the gigantic Irish elk, the bones of which are now often found buried deep in clay, sometimes with a thick layer of bog over it. It is well established that this stately creature lived in the country for some considerable time contemporaneously with man: but it seems probable that it had disappeared before the time reached by our oldest writings: so that it is lost to history; and those deer so often spoken of in Irish literature are not the great Irish elk, but animals like those of the present day. Skeleton of Irish Elk in National Museum, Dublin. (From plate of Royal Dublin Society). Human skeleton put in for comparison. The skeleton of the elk in the National Museum has antlers extending twelve feet from tip to tip: and, as may be seen from the figure, stands nearly twice the height of a man. The most common word for a deer is fiadh [feea], which originally meant 'wild.' The Hare would appear to be the smallest animal to which the term fiadh ('wild') was applied, if we may judge by the composition of its name gerr-fhiadh [gerree']; i.e. short or small fiadh, from gerr, 'short or deficient.' Sometimes a hare was called mil-maighe [meel-mee], 'beast of the plain.' The Cat.--A cat is called by the same name with slight variations, in nearly all the languages of Europe: in Irish the common name is catt. Wild cats were in old times very plentiful: large, wicked, rough-looking creatures, very strong and active and very dangerous; and the race is not yet quite extinct, for wild cats, nearly twice the size of our domestic animals, are still found in some solitary places. It was these animals that gave origin to the legend, very common in ancient Irish story, of a monstrous enchanted wild cat, dwelling in a cave, and a match for the bravest champion. Stories of demon cats have found their way down to modern Irish legend. Otters.--The otter has several names in Irish, the most usual in old writings being dobor-chu, 'water-hound' (from dobor or dobur, an old word for water). It was also called madad- or madra-uisce, 'water-dog.' Otters abounded in rivers and lakes, and were hunted, partly for sport and partly for their skins. Otter skins formed an important article of commerce, so that they were sometimes given as payment in kind for rent or tribute. Of the badger it will be enough to say here that it was called in Irish broc, and that the chase of the "heavy-sided, low-bellied badger" was a favourite sport among high and low. |
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