306 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



reason that " everyone thought the voice of his fellow sweet as the strings of 

 a lute, for the abundance of peace in his time." As a description of a time of 

 peace this is expressive enough, and when we read the same phrase in an 

 account of the golden age of the reign of king Conaire 1 we accept it with 

 satisfaction. But when we find it given as an explanation of how a king 

 came to be called " Big-voiced," it seems extremely foolish. It must have 

 been a stock expression ; ana some wiseacre laid hold of it to account for a 

 nickname which lie was unable to understand. 



Of Fiachu we are told a number of interesting facts. Every calf born in 

 his reign had a white head. He invented cistern -digging. He founded 

 Penannus, 1 and for s.iine reason nowhere stated, so far as I am aware, 



•nannus was the name of every place where he set his habitation." And 

 such was the prosperity when he was king. " the stalk could scarce sustain 

 its corn in his reign." 



N" '.withstanding the elationship of the kings of the Ulidian 



dynasty, the last four were slain by their success - cording to the usual 

 rule. 



Let us now turn to the Pv 1 th - ompilation we 



learn that G&depllgothach was a personage of considerably greater importance 

 than the Irish hist" - We are here told 



that Cruidne son _ 1 the Pi _ led for 100 years, and 



that he .- in turn, who between them held the 



throne for J-4 yen-. . viler them came •• Gede Olgudach," who reigned, not 

 the insignifii • hich the Irish annalists limit him, but a 



space of no less than this Gede, next to the eponymous 



Cruidne, _ as the founder of the Pictish monarchy; for 



the sew ne are obviously late interpolations, dating from a 



time when the Pictish law of matrilinear succession ha< lete. By 



■cee'l his father: and the sewn are clearly nothing 



ethane; 3 ".land. Wethl ietethe 



tiach is left to be 

 head and fou -h monarchy. 1 Kremon is the traditional head 



and founder of the Irish Celtic monarchy: it ceases therefore to be surprising 



1 Rtvut ttU\ , . x.xii. l'7. 28. 



- K of Tenuur. tm we learn from a gloss 



printed in I 



Printed in 3 

 1 lu another lis rinted )•;. - m a MS. in the Phillippe library 



his credit, stands at the head of the 

 dynasty, without any predecessors, eponymous or otherwise. This is, however, a different 

 pers<->nage[/ . who \\ ; in the P nicle, after the thirty Brudes 



