Ancient Irish bards

Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine.
Under the shelter of each other, people survive.
~Gaelic proverb

Bards in ancient Ireland were highly regarded. "The Ollamh Érenn or Chief Ollam of Ireland was a professional title of Gaelic Ireland. An ollam (literally 'most great') was a poet or bard of literature and history... A modern equivalent in government would be a Minister for Education & Culture combined with the post of Poet Laureate. His social status was equal to the High King of Ireland and he had his own palace and a large retinue of about thirty ollamhs together with their servants." [Wikipedia]

John Kelly writes, "Ancient Ireland revered its bards, who commanded status, power, respect, celebrity, and fear. The first-millennial Celts believed their poets could literally kill with magical satire. According to folk tradition, the poets conjured up invectives that blistered the skin of foes and sent rival poets (or stingy patrons) to their graves. Early Irish law even criminalized satirical 'crimes of the tongue' equal in offense to property theft and spousal rape...The bardic tradition persisted in Ireland through the 17th century, and superstitions about their craft lived on with it."

Here's a hymn in Irish and Latin written by Mael Ísu Ua Brolcháin. When his death was recorded in 1086, he was listed as "the chief sage of Ireland." Almost a thousand years later, his song still resonates in the heart.



Note:
I scheduled nearly all of November's posts in October, so that's why there won't be a lot that reflects the catastrophe, I mean, the election. I forgot to add anything for Veteran's Day, but if you're interested in a painless way to help vets, consider donating to a vets organization, such as Team Rubicon, through Amazon Smile. I just passed a hundred donations -- not sure whether I should be pleased about that or concerned about how much I spend on Amazon!

Last call for the Etsy gift card giveaway...

Jama's Alphabet Soup has the round-up. Thanks, Jama!