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Cad a imeartha riomh an Cath Maige Tuired?

Chuir mé inné ina Leabharlann Huntington cur ceiste faoi bhráid údaráis ina obair thagartha caighdeánach fós, "An Stair Fichille" le H. J. R. Murray sa bhliana 1913. Tá sé leabhar is mó ann! Tá clárannaí naoí chéad ann go cruinn. Bhí Murray a tugtha a deánta do teacs Méan Ghaeilge.

Tá "clárannaí ficheall Teamhrach" an "Cath Maige Tuired." Tháinig cath ca. AM 3550 ina gcuntas anallód. Mhín Murray go scríofa cur isteach leis seanfocail scríbhinn ina teacs le scríobhaí níos luath. Chuir scríobhaí léiriú faoi na aireagán fichille in Éirinn ársa ann.

Scríobh mé ar mo h-alt bhlog roimhe faoi dhá ciall idir an focal amháin le "ficheall" as Gaeilge nua-aimseartha. Deirimid féin aon téarma cheann amháin. Caitheann tú ábalta feiceáil go aistriú ár shlite éagsúla síos. Gheobhaidh tú tráchtaí difrúilaí faoi "fidcheall" nó "fidchell" freisin, nuair ag léamh lámhscríbhinní Shean-Ghaeilge. Mar shampla, thug Murray fonóta ó leagan na hImmram Brian le Kuno Meyer agus David Nutt. D'inis Murray orm ag dul go dtí "ii.176." Ach, níor rug mé seo ar an teacs na h-idirlíon inniu.

Rinne Murray dearmad beag. Measaim ní mbeadh an fírinne ina "Na Stair Fichille" aige. Deir sé féin ní raibh ina teanga uile ina Domhain Críostulachta Thiar ach amháin Spáinnis agus Portaingéilis an focal eile le "ficheall" Eorpanach ach dhá focal a thagann ón Laidin. (Tá Breatnais le Laidin leis idirdhealú bídeach.) Mar sin féin, is cuimhne liom faoi a dhearbhú. Cad a tharla leis Gaeilge? Fanann focal "ficheall" leis cruinneas céann anois chomh fadó. Níl Murray ar a lhiosta aimneacha cur san áireamh ann ar chor ar bith.

Thiomsú an "Cath" le Giolla Riabach Ó Cléirigh ca. 1512. Rinne Murray cóip aige de eagran le Whitley Stokes. Fhoilsigh Stokes é sa bhliana 1891 ar "Revue Celtique" 12: 52-130, 306-08. Tabharfaidh mé leagan-- leis mír a cheartaigh na roinnt dó go athscríofa le Murray-- ó CELT sa bhliana 2004 ina hOllscoil na gCorcaigh. (Téigh síos)

What was played before the Battle of Moytura?

I found yesterday at the Huntington Library an authoritative citation about my question in still the standard reference work, "The History of Chess" by H. J. R. Murray from the year 1913. It's a big book! It's nine hundred pages exactly. Murray made mention from a Middle Irish text.

It's the "chessboards of Tara" from "The [Second] Battle of Moytura." The battle came about [AM= anno mundi "after the creation of the world"=5090 BCE by Irish chroniclers, therefore, ca. 2540 BCE] 3550 in counting 'in olden times'. Murray explained that {there was] written an inclusion within the old words inserted into the text by an earlier scribe. The scribe put a clarification in there about the invention of chess in ancient Ireland.

I wrote in my prior blog entry about the two meanings between the same word for "chess" (=ficheall] in present-day Irish. We ourselves use only the single term. You're able to see translated the various meanings below. You'll find different renderings concerning "fidcheall" or "fidchell" as well, when reading Old Irish manuscripts. For example, Murray gave a footnote from the version of The Voyage of Bran by Kuno Meyer and Alfred Nutt. Murray told me [to be] going to [passage] "ii.176." But, I could not retrieve this in the Internet texts today.

Murray made a little error. I reckon that it wouldn't be the truth in his "The History of Chess." He says himself that there was not in any language in "Western Christendom" but only Spanish and Portuguese another word for [European] chess but derived from two words in Latin. (Welsh's from Latin with a tiny distinction.) Nevertheless, I wonder about his assertion. What happened with Irish? The word "ficheall" stays nearly the same (translation) now as long ago. Murray does not include it in his list of names anywhere at all.

The "Battle" was compiled by Giolla Riabach Ó Cléirigh ca. 1512. Murray made his copy [of the passage] from Whitley Stokes' edition. Stokes published it in the year 1891 in "Revue Celtique" 12: 52-130, 306-08. I will give the translation-- with a bit corrected from the section that was transcribed by Murray-- from CELT in 2004 at the University in Cork.

As ed atbert-som go rocurit fidhcelda na Temrach dia saigidh-sium
282] ann sin, & gou rug-som a toichell, conad and sin dorigne an cró
283] Logo. (Acht masa i n-uamas an catha Troíanna rohairged in fidceall
284] ní torracht hÉrinn and sin í. Úair is a n-áonaimsir rogníadh cath Muigi
285] Tuired & togail Traoí. (CELT 2004: Teacs meán-Ghaeilge: Cath Maige Tuired/ Second Battle of Moytura Roinnt/section #69=f.65b)

Tá leagan le Stokes i mBéarla seanaimseartha go beag anseo. Here's a rendering by Stokes into a little old-fashioned English.

This he the king said then, that the chessboards of Tara should be fetched to him Samildánach and he won all the stakes, so that then he made the Cró of Lugh. But if chess was invented at the (epoch) of the Trojan war, it had not reached Ireland then, for the battle of Moytura and the destruction of Troy occurred at the same time.

(Translated by/a chuir i mBéarla le Whitley Stokes sa bhliana 1891.)

Tá leagan eile le Elizabeth Gray i mBéarla níos coitianta ann. There's another version by Elizabeth Gray into more modern English.

Then he said that they should bring him the fidchell-boards of Tara, and he won all the stakes, so that he made the cró [=bóthan/ hut] of Lug. (But if fidchell was invented at the time of the Trojan war, it had not reached Ireland yet, for the battle of Mag Tuired and the destruction of Troy occurred at the same time.)"(CELT 2003, via Irish Texts Society/ bealach Cumainn na Scríbheann nGaedhilge; translated by/ a chuir i Béarla le Elizabeth Gray sa bhliana 1981.)

Griangraf/ Photo: Níl "fidchell" ag feicthe go direach ansin, ach feicfidh tú ag foghlaim faoi "Ficheall Uigingigh" [Hnefatafl] leis eolas ficheallacht Ceilteach. It's not precisely "fidchell" shown there, but you'll be able to learn about "Viking Chess" {Hnefatafl} there, with information about Celtic "arts of chess playing."