Bríatharogam

In Early Irish literature a Bríatharogam ("word ogham", plural Bríatharogaim) is a two word kenning which explains the meanings of the names of the letters of the Ogham alphabet. Three variant lists of bríatharogaim or 'word-oghams' have been preserved, dating to the Old Irish period. They are as follows:

The first two of these are attested from all three surviving copies of the Ogam Tract, while the "Cú Chulainn" version is not in the Book of Ballymote and only known from 16th- and 17th-century manuscripts. The Auraicept na n-Éces or 'Scholars' Primer' reports and interprets the Bríatharogam Morainn mac Moín.

Later Medieval scholars believed that all of the letter names were those of trees, and attempted to explain the bríatharogaim in that light. However, modern scholarship has shown that only eight at most of the letter names are those of trees, and that the word-oghams or kennings themselves support this. The kennings as edited (in normalized Old Irish) and translated by McManus (1988) are as follows:

Letter Meaning Bríatharogam Morainn mac Moín Bríatharogam Maic ind Óc Bríatharogam Con Culainn
B Beithe 'Birch' féochos foltchain
"withered foot with fine hair"
glaisem cnis
"greyest of skin"
maise malach
"beauty of the eyebrow"
L Luis 'Flame' or 'Herb' lí súla
"lustre of the eye"
carae cethrae
"friend of cattle"
lúth cethrae
"sustenance of cattle"
F Fern 'Alder' airenach fían
"vanguard of warriors"
comét lachta
"milk container"
dín cridi
"protection of the heart"
S Sail 'Willow' lí ambi
"pallor of a lifeless one"
lúth bech
"sustenance of bees"
tosach mela
"beginning of honey"
N Nin 'Branch-fork' costud síde
"establishing of peace"
bág ban
"boast of women"
bág maise
"boast of beauty"
H Úath 'Fear' condál cúan
"assembly of packs of hounds"
bánad gnúise
"blanching of faces"
ansam aidche
"most difficult at night"
D Dair 'Oak' ardam dosae
"highest tree"
grés soír
"handicraft of a craftsman"
slechtam soíre
"most carved of craftsmanship"
T Tinne 'Iron Bar' trian roith
"one of three parts of a wheel"
smiur gúaile
"marrow of (char)coal"
trian n-airm
"one of three parts of a weapon"
C Coll 'Hazel' caíniu fedaib
"fairest tree"
carae blóesc
"friend of nutshells"
milsem fedo
"sweetest tree"
Q Cert 'Bush' or 'Rag' clithar baiscill
"shelter of a [lunatic?]"
bríg anduini
"substance of an insignificant person"
dígu fethail
"dregs of clothing"
M Muin 'Neck', 'Ruse/Trick' or 'Love;' How about 'breath?' tressam fedmae
"strongest in exertion"
árusc n-airlig
"proverb of slaughter"
conar gotha
"path of the voice"
G Gort 'Field' milsiu féraib|
"sweetest grass"
ined erc
"suitable place for cows"
sásad ile
"sating of multitudes"
GG Gétal 'Slaying' lúth lego
"sustenance of a leech"
étiud midach
"raiment of physicians"
tosach n-échto
"beginning of slaying"
Z Straif 'Sulphur' tressam rúamnai
"strongest reddening (dye)"
mórad rún
"increase of secrets"
saigid nél
"seeking of clouds"
R Ruis 'Red' tindem rucci
"most intense blushing"
rúamnae drech
"reddening of faces"
bruth fergae
"glow of anger"
A Ailm 'Pine'? ardam íachta
"loudest groan"
tosach frecrai
"beginning of an answer"
tosach garmae
"beginning of calling"
O Onn 'Ash-tree' congnaid ech
"wounder of horses"
féthem soíre
"smoothest of craftsmanship"
lúth fían
"[equipment] of warrior bands"
U Úr 'Earth' úaraib adbaib
"in cold dwellings"
sílad cland
"propagation of plants"
forbbaid ambí
"shroud of a lifeless one"
E Edad Unknown érgnaid fid
"discerning tree"
commaín carat
"exchange of friends"
bráthair bethi (?)
"brother of birch" (?)
I Idad 'Yew-tree'? sinem fedo
"oldest tree"
caínem sen
"fairest of the ancients"
lúth lobair (?)
"energy of an infirm person" (?)
EA Ébad Unknown snámchaín feda
"fair-swimming letter"
cosc lobair
"[admonishing?] of an infirm person"
caínem éco
"fairest fish"
OI Óir 'Gold' sruithem aicde
"most venerable substance"
lí crotha
"splendour of form"
UI Uillenn 'Elbow' túthmar fid
"fragrant tree"
cubat oll
"great elbow/cubit"
IO Iphín 'Spine/thorn'? milsem fedo
"sweetest tree"
amram mlais
"most wonderful taste"
AE Emancholl 'Twin-of-hazel' lúad sáethaig
"groan of a sick person"
mol galraig
"groan of a sick person"
the kenning "for the eye is luis" would support a meaning of "blaze".
cosdad sida nin .i. uinnius, ar is di doniter craind gae triasa "A check on peace is nin (i.e. ash), for of it are made spear-shafts by which the peace is broken"
The original etymology of the name, and the letter's value, are however unclear. McManus (1986) suggested a value [y]. Linguist Peter Schrijver suggested that if úath "fear" is cognate with Latin pavere, a trace of PIE *p might have survived into Primitive Irish, but there is no independent evidence for this. (see McManus 1991:37)
the word is probably cognate to Old Irish tend "strong" or tind "brilliant".

Of the forfeda, four are glossed by the Auraicept, ebhadh with crithach "aspen", oir with feorus no edind "spindle-tree or ivy", uilleand with edleand "honeysuckle", and iphin with spinan no ispin "gooseberry or thorn".

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, April 26, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.