la THE BATTLE OF VENTRY. 



maelsuili morlialha malachghairbha 7 do comhdranntaigheadar na clarfiacla 

 craebghlasa cnaimreamra cogantacha craesfairsinga 7 do chasadar na cromsrona 

 cuasleathna comtharrthacha craebhsilteacha 7 ro innsaidedar na laich sin a cheU 7 



505 ro iadhadar na dodlamha dublaidire doleonta daingeangreamacha doscalti tar na 

 dromannaibh 7 tucadar trodchuir trena thulganacha d' aroiH. Is ann sin imoro 

 tuc trenfer righ an domhain fascadh fortill firchalma ar Thaistellach cor theilg 

 braen fola forruaidhi ar barr gach meoir da meraibh 7 Hath dubhfhola tar a bhel 

 7 cuiris 'na easclainn aird adhbhail ar a ghualazww d 7 cuiris ina rith e co hairm 



210 a raibhe ri an domhain 7 adbert Taistellach : ' A anam, a Choimhleathain, cr^d dob' 

 ail leat do denamh rim?' ' Do breith co righ an domain,' ar se '7 do cheann 

 do tharraing as do cholainn 7 a cur ar cuaille a fiadhnaise fer an domhain.' ' Olc 

 an comairle sin,' ar Taistellach ' uair is ferr duit mo leigean sis co slechtainn duit 

 a fiadnaisi sluag an domhain, oq.us do slechtadar [fo. 3 a. 2.] treinfer Eirenn uili 



215 dam-sa 7 doghenaid duit-si mar sin 7 is maith duit fos a beith rena innisin isin 

 domhan mor thoir agad gurabh taesca do ghabhais fein geill treinfer Eirenn 'na do 

 ghabh ri in domhain a n-gheill.' ' Is cubhais dam-sa,' ar Coimleathan ' co n-din- 

 gean sin rit ' 7 leigis sis ar lar he. Cromais Taistellach a cheann do-sum. Doigh 

 leisum fa slechtain e do fefn sin. Sinis Taistellach ana thimcheall 7 ro faisc co 



220 fortill fearglaidir co rafnic ar ard a ghuala?W2 7 an lig chloichi do bhi a comfoccus 



strong-tailed .... that were stout below, and let flash the great grey blunt eyes 

 with their shaggy eyebrows, and they gnashed the grey-branched, strong-boned, chewing, 

 wide-jawed board-hke teeth, and they turned up the broad-caved, horrid, thin-branched, 

 crooked noses, and those two warriors attacked each other, and closed the black and 

 strong, never-sprained, firm-clenching, indissoluble hands across their backs, and gave 

 each other mighty unequal (?) twists. Then the champion of the king of the world gave 

 Taistellach a powerful right-valiant squeezing, so that he drew a drop of very red blood 

 from the top of each of his fingers and a stream of dark blood over his lip, and he put him 

 as a high wonderful load on his shoulder and carried him running to where the king of 

 the world was, and Taistellach said : ' O soul, O Coimlethan, what wouldst thou do to me ?' 

 * To carry thee to the king of the world,' said he,' and to tear thy head off thy body, and 

 to put it on a stake in the presence of the men of the world.' ' That is a bad plan,' said 

 Taistellach, ' for it is better for thee to let me down, that I may kneel before thee in the 

 presence of the hosts of the world, and all the champions of Erinn have knelt before me, 

 and wili do so before thee, and moreover, it is pleasant for thee to be able to say in the 

 great world in the east, that thou thyself didst sooner obtain the homage of the cham- 

 pions of Erinn than the king of the world obtained their homage.' ' I pledge my faith,' 

 said Coimlethan, 'that I will do so to thee,' and he let him down on the ground. 

 Taistellach bent his head before him. He thought this was bowing to him. Taistellach 

 stretched (his arms) around him and squeezed him mightily, angrily, strongly, till he 



202. cliarjiada MS). 21^^. /iadjiaszMS. 



