"Bean Torrach, fa Tuar Broide", also known as "A Child Born in Prison", is a 14th-century

Early Modern Irish Early Modern Irish ( ga, Gaeilge Chlasaiceach, , Classical Irish) represented a transition between Middle Irish and Modern Irish. Its literary form, Classical Gaelic, was used in Ireland and Scotland from the 13th to the 18th century. External ...

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

Gofraidh Fionn Ó Dálaigh Gofraidh Fionn Ó Dálaigh (died 1387), of Duhallow, Country Cork, was an Irish poet and Chief Ollamh of Ireland. He is known to be one of the most important professional poets of fourteen-century Ireland.''The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writin ...

The Text (extract)

The following are the first three verses of the poem, followed by an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

translation.

''Bean torrach, fa tuar broide,'' ''do bhí i bpríosún pheannaide,'' ''berar dho chead Dé na ndúl,'' ''lé leanabh beag sa bhríosún.'' ''Ar n-a bhreith do bhí an macámh'' ''ag fás mar gach bhfochlocán,'' ''dá fhiadhnaibh mar budh each dhún,'' ''seal do bhliadhnaibh sa bhríosun.'' ''An inghean d’fhagháil bhroise —'' ''meanma an leinbh níor lughaide,'' ''sí dhá réir gé dho bhaoi i mbroid,'' ''mar mhnaoi gan phéin gan pheannaid''

;Translation

A
pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...
woman (sorrow’s sign) once there was, in painful
prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
. The God of Elements let her bear in prison there a little child. The little boy, when he was born, grew up like any other child (plain as we could see him there) for a space of years, in prison. That the woman was a prisoner did not lower the baby’s spirits. She minded him, though in prison, like one without punishment or pain.

On the subject

Review: Athnuachan an traidisiúin

External links

* http://www.leabharmor.net/leabharmor/Bean%20Torrach,%20fa%20Tuar%20Broide.aspx 14th-century poems Irish literature Irish poems Irish texts Early Irish literature Irish-language literature {{Ireland-hist-stub