The ''Scéla Cano meic Gartnáin'' ( en, The Story of Cano mac Gartnáin) is an
Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...
prose tale of the ninth century or later. It forms part of the
Cycles of the Kings
The Cycles of the Kings or Kings' Cycles, sometimes called the Historical Cycle, are a body of Old and Middle Irish literature. They comprise legends about historical and semi-historical kings of Ireland (such as ''Buile Shuibhne'', "The Madnes ...
.
It deals with the exile and return of Cano mac Gartnáin in sixth century
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. The tale involves historical figures such as Cano himself; Gartnán or Gartnait his father;
Áedán mac Gabráin
Áedán mac Gabráin (pronounced in Old Irish; ga, Aodhán mac Gabhráin, lang), also written as Aedan, was a king of Dál Riata from 574 until c. 609 AD. The kingdom of Dál Riata was situated in modern Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and par ...
, the king of
Dal Riada
In Indian cuisine, ''dal'' (also spelled ''daal'' or ''dhal''; pronunciation: , Hindi: दाल, Urdu: ) are dried, split pulses (e.g., lentils, peas, and beans) that do not require soaking before cooking. India is the largest producer of pu ...
;
Diarmait and
Blathmac
Saint Blathmac ( la, Blathmacus, Florentius) was a distinguished Irish monk, born in Ireland about 750 AD. He is known as "Blathmac, son of Flann", to distinguish him from the poet and monk Blathmac mac Con Brettan.
He was killed and became a ...
, sons of
Áed Sláine
Áed mac Diarmato (died 604), called Áed Sláine (Áed of Slane), was the son of Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Legendary stories exist of Áed's birth. Saint Columba is said to have prophesied his death. His descendants, the Síl nÁedo Sláine—t ...
;
Guaire Aidne of the
Uí Fiachrach
The Uí Fiachrach () were a royal dynasty who originated in, and whose descendants later ruled, the ''coicead'' or ''fifth'' of Connacht (a western province of Ireland) at different times from the mid-first millennium onwards. They claimed descent ...
, the
king of Connacht
The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being named ...
and father of Cano's true love Créd.
The
Irish annals contain a number of entries which may suggest that there is a kernel of truth behind the literary invention in the surviving tale, although Cano Garb mac Gartnáin, Guaire Aidne and the sons of Áed Sláine
flourished more than half a century after Áedán mac Gabráin.
Manuscript sources
*
Yellow Book of Lecan
The Yellow Book of Lecan (YBL; Irish: ''Leabhar Buidhe Leacáin''), or TCD MS 1318 (''olim'' H 2.16), is a late medieval Irish manuscript.
It contains much of the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, besides other material. It is held in the Librar ...
(YBL), pp. 128a-132b.
*B IV 2 (
RIA
A ria (; gl, ría) is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea.
Definitions
Typically rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they ca ...
, Dublin), written by
Michael O'Clery in 1627/8: poem of lines 450–497.
References
*
Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500–1286'', volume 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990.
*
Bannerman, John, ''Studies in the History of Dalriada.'' Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh, 1974.
*
Byrne, Francis John, ''Irish Kings and High-Kings.'' Batsford, London, 1973.
Editions and translations
*
Binchy, Daniel A. (ed.). ''Scéla Cano meic Gartnáin''. Mediaeval and Modern Irish Series 18. Dublin:
DIAS, 1963. Reprinted 1975
Edition available from CELT*
Meyer, Kuno (ed.). "Scéla Cano meic Gartnáin. From Yellow Book of Lecan, col. 786 (p.128a)." ''Anecdota from Irish Manuscripts'' I, ed. O.J. Bergin et al. Halle, 1907. 1-15.
*
Thurneysen, Rudolf (tr.). "Eine irische Parallele zur Tristan-Sage." ''Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie'' 43 (1924): 385–402. Addenda and corrigenda in ''
Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie
The ''Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie'' is an academic journal of Celtic studies, which was established in 1897 by the German scholars Kuno Meyer and Ludwig Christian Stern.Busse, Peter E. "''Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie''." In ''Ce ...
'' 16 (1926): 280–2
German translation available from CELT
External links
by Dan M. Wiley
* Scéla Cano meic Gartnái
translation by Kuno Meyer
Kuno Meyer (20 December 1858 – 11 October 1919) was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of Celtic philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of World War I in the United States was a source of controversy. His brother ...
) at University College Cork
University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork.
The university was founded in 1845 as one ...
's CELT (Corpus of Electronic Texts).
Early Irish literature
Cycles of the Kings
{{Scotland-stub