Pagan Ireland.

by Eleanor Hull

Burial Rites.

Authorities : Old Romances, with O'Curry's " Mans Gusts." Sir William Wilde's " Boyne and Blackwater," and Fergujson'i " Rude Stone Monuments."

Early Writings.

WE must ask, did the people of ancient Ireland know how to read and write, and in what fashion did they do so? We do not know exactly when the knowledge of writing was introduced; probably it came with the early knowledge of Christianity to the country. But from the earliest times there were various systems of writing on wood, stone and other materials. We hear of messages being sent on wands or bars of wood, notched or inscribed in some manner which was understood by the reader. Writing on stone was called Ogam, and was formed of straight or slanting lines cut across and at both sides of the edge of a pillar-stone, each line or set of lines making a letter. Only a few words at a time could be inscribed in this way, and Ogam writing was generally confined to inscribing the name of a noted person or hero, whose grave the pillar stone marked. Several of these Ogam inscriptions have been read. We frequently hear in the romances that when a champion died, "his grave was dug and his name was written in Ogam.

Another very ancient method of writing was on wooden tablets, most likely also carved or engraved with a sharp pointed instrument. I will tell you an old love story about this. There was once a youth called Baile the Sweet spoken of Ulster, who loved a girl named Aileen, of Leinster; and they had agreed to meet each other at Rosnaree on the Boyne, which lay about half way for each. Baile set out and reached the spot, and in great gaiety he and his party unyoked their chariots, and turned the horses out to graze, filling up the time with sports and merry-making.

While they were pleasuring thus, they saw a horrible spectre coming towards them with great speed from the South, "Who is it?" said Baile affrighted. The spectre hardly stopped to answer, but hecned as he fled past : " I come from Leinster, where I saw one Aileen, who was coming to meet a lover of her's, named Baile the Sweet spoken; but as she came, warriors of Leinster overtook her and killed her, for it had been foretold by the Druids that she and Baile should never meet in life, but after death they should meet, never to part again." When Baile heard these woeful tidings, he fell dead on the spot, and they raised his tomb and his rath, and put up his name in Ogam. Now the tale told by the spectre was all a lie, for Aileen was not dead; but he wished to spoil their joy. When he saw the death of Baile he turned South, and went into the bower where Aileen was.

The girl was frightened, and cried out, " Whence cometh this man whom we know not and what is his news?' 1 The spectre replied, " The news I have is not worth lamenting over, but I passed just now by Rosnaree, and there men were digging a grave for a youth named Baile the Sweet spoken, who was coming to meet his lady love and sweetheart; but their fate is not to meet in life, and neither shall see the other alive. When he had spoken his cruel tale, the spectre darted forth, and the heart of Aileen broke, and she fell down dead.

Out of Baile's grave there grew a yew, with a shape like the shape of Baile's head upon the top. Out of Aileen 's grave grew an apple tree, and it seemed as though the shape of Aileen 's head was above it. At the end of seven years the princes and prophets cut down the trees, and of the yew they made a poet's writing tablet, and on it they wrote the tales of the visions and feasts and loves of Ulster; and they cut down the apple tree, and made of it another tablet, and on it they wrote the love tales of Leinster.

Many years after, at the Triennial Feis of Tara, poets and learned men came to Tara as was their custom, and they brought the tablets with them. Now the king had heard the strange and sorrowful story of the tablets, and he was curious to see them. But when he took them in his hands and held them face to face, the two tablets sprang together, and they twined themselves as a woodbine twines itself round a branch, and no one could separate them again.

The king commanded that they should be laid up with the jewels and tie precious things of Tara in the royal treasury. And there they remained until the treasury was burnt down many years afterwards. This is, of course, only a fairy tale, but it is a very beautiful and touching one, and it shows us that in very early times writing on tablets was known. As foreigners came into the country, no doubt the knowledge of writing on parchment became common; the monks were great scribes, and we shall speak of their books later on.

Modes of Burial.

We have learned how the Irish lived and what occupations and games they had. I must now tell you about their modes of burial. There seem to have been two ways of burying; sometimes the dead were burned and the bones collected and put into or beneath urns. We have a great many of these urns remaining, of which some are in the Museum in Dublin. The urns were buried, often under mounds, and have been dug up. But they also buried the bodies just as they were, and the bodies of chiefs and great men were interred with much honour in large mounds called "tumuli." You remember I told you that the graves of the princes of the Tuatha De" Danann are to be seen along the Boyne, near Drogheda. Some of these graves have been opened, and it is possible to go into them, and very interesting they are.

They were, indeed, opened many centuries ago by the Danes, who hoped to find gold ornaments in them, and perhaps did so; but though they entered the graves and may have carried many interesting things away, there is still much to see and learn from them. These great tumuli, like a range of hillocks, extend along the northern bank of the River Boyne, about five miles from the town. It is strange that so few Irish people take the trouble to go and see them, for they are within a day's trip from Dublin, and are some of the most wonderful old structures in the world.

There are about seventeen of them, but the three largest are more important than the rest, and are called New Grange, Dowth, and Knowth. Near them is a smaller one, which is believed to be the tomb of the Dagda M6r, the greatest of the Tuatha Princes. Only two of them, Dowth and New Grange, have been explored. Let us see what they are like. New Grange is a mound about 70 feet high, with some very large stones round it. Formerly these pillar-stones probably encircled the entire mound, but some have been broken or removed. No doubt there were larger ones to mark the entrance, for the Danes seem to have had no difficulty in finding their way in, and the door has always been known. The mound has small trees now growing on it, and it has been so much pulled about, that it is difficult to know exactly how large it originally was, but it appears to have been 310 or 315 feet across and nearly 1,000 feet round the circle of the great stones outside.

The entrance is marked by a large stone on the threshold, with curious carvings on it, and stooping down, you enter a long dark passage formed of upright flags, some of them decorated, which leads to the central chamber. This is a domed room, much loftier than the passage, off which three smaller chambers open in the shape of an irregular cross. It is necessary to take matches and candles, as it is of course quite dark, and it will then be seen that one of the chambers or crypts has in it a shallow stone basin, but it is not known for what purpose this was used. Two skeletons are said to have been found in the chambers.

The tumulus of Dowth is much like that of New Grange outside, but the entrance is not so well marked, and the chambers not so high. There are several passages through the mound leading to different chambers. It has, however, not been thoroughly opened, and the smaller tumuli have not been opened at all, at any time. It is possible that if the tomb of the Dagda M6r were opened, his bones and armour, and possibly other interesting relics, might be discovered, for the Danes did not open the smaller tombs. There were some beads and jet bracelets, pins and rings fountd in Dowth, and some gold ornaments and coins have been found lying in the soil of the mounds outside, but these are probably later, as persons were buried in the mounds after the interments had been made in the central chambers.

The later kings of pagan Ireland were buried in these mounds, which had become sacred as the tombs of the Tuatha, right down to the time of Christianity, after which they were interred in consecrated ground; they may, therefore, be called the Royal Tombs of Ancient Ireland. Only three of the High-Kings of Tara were not buried there, Cormac, because he was a Christian; Art the Solitary, his father, who was killed in battle; and Niall of the Nine Hostages, who was buried at Ochaim, having been killed in Gaul (France) or on the sea between France and Britain. It is said that one of the Tuatha princesses " took with her to her tomb her little dog, Dabilla "; that is, the dog was buried with her. It would be interesting if the bones of the pet dog and his mistress were ever dug up.

Standing Interments.

A few of the kings told their servants that they were to be buried standing up, in full armour, and facing their enemies. They the ught that this would prevent their foes from being successful. There was a king of Connaught named Eoghan or Owen Bel who had often fought with the men of Ulster, and he said, " Bury me with my red javelin in my hand on the side of the hill by which the Northerners pass when fleeing from the army of Connaught, and place me with my face turned towards them in my grave."

This was done, and the Ulster men were routed after that; but at last they removed the body to another grave, in which they placed it mouth downwards, and then they were successful again. The last king of Ireland who was buried standing up was King Laegaire (Laery), who was king when Patrick came to Ireland to preach; he was a determined pagan and resisted all St. Patrick's teaching. He was buried south of Tara in a rath still called " Laegaire's Rath," standing in full armour, facing his old enemies the Leinstermen, against whom he was always fighting during his life-time.

We have thus learned a good deal about the social life of pagan Ireland, and we have now to think of the political history, and learn the old tales relating to the early kings.