This continues my talk featuring my book Celtic Song. You can find Part One here.
This poem is found on page 35 in the book.
The Sacred Three
My fortress be
Encircling me
Come and be round
My hearth and my home.
~From Anam Cara by John O’Donohue
These types of circling prayers did not originate with the Celts but the practice was embraced. Author Esther De Waal said, “Their prayers were songs, and as they crooned or intoned them, they seem close to the continuous prayer the Orthodox describe as a murmur in the heart.” ~Esther De Wall, God Under My Roof, found on page 37.
The Great Collections
The Carmina Gadelica or Song of the Gaels is the collection made by Alexander Carmichael. The longer title includes: Hymns and Incantations collected in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland between the 1860’s and early 1900s. It included both Christian and pagan beliefs. An example found on page 44:
Blessing of the Kindling
I will raise the hearth-fire
As Brigid would.
The encirclement of Brigid and Macha
On the fire, and on the floor,
And on the household all.
The Religious Songs of Connacht, published by Douglas Hyde in 1906. Another gathering of old songs. An example is found on page 47 of the book. Below is just a snippet:
The will of God be done by us,
the law of God be kept by us,
Our evil will controlled by us,
Our tongue in check be held by us
From Wales we have The Black Book of Carmarthan dating to the mid 13th century. It was translated by Oliver Davies and contains one of the earliest mentions of King Arthur. From page 54: “Davies says The Black Book can be divided between two types of poems: praise and penance. He goes on to say, ‘Praise was a fundamental part of the rhythm of life to which the authors of the penance poems aspired, for signing the psalms (the very word means praise) formed an extensive part of the daily monastic office.'”
We also have The Book of Talieson from the 14th century. Samples can also be found in my book.
The Instruments
A brief mention:
The Harp, an 8 string instrument poets carried on their backs.
The fiddle. The oldest discovered dates to the 11th century and may have been a type of adapted harp.
Bagpipes are ancient, found in the Middle East but oldest mention of them in the Celtic regions comes from a British 11th century manuscript. In 2003 wooden pipes were discovered in County Wicklow. They might have been attached to a bag. They date to the late Bronze Age, are of descending size, tapered, and lack finger holes.
For more discussion and more examples of ancient instruments please see chapter 8 in the book.
Old Songs That Live On
In Celtic Song I detail two songs: Auld Lang Syne and Be Thou My Vision. Chances are you are familiar with these. The words are quite ancient. Even though Auld Lang Syne is attributed to the 18th century Scottish poet Robert Burns, the words were probably older. He was the first to write them down. Burns said about the poem, “There was a fire of genius in it.”
Be Thou My Vision was translated in the 19th century and put to an old Irish folk tune. But the words date from about the 8th century.
A Last Word
From page 89:
“It is my hope that this little bit of history has inspired you to look for the music of what happens. To listen carefully to hear the music of the past. To wonder at the beauty of keeping of a rhythm. To produce the music you feel in whatever medium you wish. To remember your ancient roots and the lessons the ancestors have set for you.”
