Early Irish Poetry
Poetry in Irish represents the oldest vernacular poetry in Europe. The earliest examples date from the 6th century, and are generally short lyrics on themes from religion or the world of nature. They were frequently written by their scribe authors in the margins of the illuminated manuscripts that they were copying. The best known example is Pangur Bán.
It was practical for poems to be short because the Irish recognized that it was necessary to use any means necessary to make the poems lasting in their oral culture. To accomplish such a feat as well as they have, they used complicated rhyme schemes that would render a poem nonsensical if any of the key words were changed from the original version.
In an oral culture, Irish poetry had many uses. A poem could be used to immortalize both the poet and the subject of the poem, as oftentimes wealthy kings would commission poets to create a piece about them. Such poems would be passed on to descendants so they would remember the great deeds of past generations. Kings would also commission poets to write poems of advertisement, speaking of the king's greatness and worthiness, to attract young men to be warriors on behalf of his kingdom. Oral poetry, because it was in the vernacular, was often used for entertainment purposes. Poems that were entertaining could also be informative, teaching people lessons or offering them wisdom of experience for dealing with situations they would encounter in their everyday lives. Finally, poems, especially those featured in the sagas, were thought to be an instrument of the supernatural, that certain poems could enchant people or objects.
Another source of early Irish poetry is the poems in the tales and sagas, such as the Táin Bó Cúailnge. Unlike many other European epic cycles, the Irish sagas were written in prose, with verse interpolations at moments of heightened tension or emotion. Although usually surviving in recensions dating from the later medieval period, these sagas and especially the poetic sections, are linguistically archaic, and afford the reader a glimpse of pre-Christian Ireland.
See also Chief Ollam of Ireland
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