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I do love the Cath Maige Tuired, which is sometimes called The Second Battle of Mag Tuired (or Moytura, etc.) in English. I’ve used it as a way to teach about Irish deities, ideas about kingship, the power of satire, and so many other things. My ears pricked up when I heard that Morgan Daimler was planning to do a new translation, including the poetic passages that Elizabeth A. Gray chose not to include.
Shee Lugh on the Ridge of Moytura, Co. Sligo
English translations of The Cath Maige Tuired have been published twice before: first by Whitley Stokes in 1891, and by Elizabeth A. Gray in 1982. Gray’s version is considered the standard, and better of the two translations. Both are available online, although Gray’s extensive notes make it worth getting the print version.
I’ve heard Morgan say that she decided to learn Sengoidelc (Old Irish) because she was unhappy with Stokes’ translation due to its omissions, so this translation is a nice thing, and an understandable thing, for her to be doing.
I’ve heard Morgan say that she decided to learn Sengoidelc (Old Irish) because she was unhappy with Stokes’ translation due to its omissions, so this translation is a nice thing, and an understandable thing, for her to be doing.
As well as being a translator, Morgan writes fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Her stated reason for doing translations, however, has always been “accuracy”, and sometimes very literal translations fail to achieve what they set out to do, which is to make the original meaning of a text clear. Idioms, for example, require careful handling. They rarely translate well, so either a similar idiom has to be substituted, or there will have to be a footnote. (I love footnotes, but I also love text that flows.) Also, many things other than meaning get lost in translations. Various aspects of style might be captured, poetic devices rarely can be. A sense of the nuance behind why the original says “steed”, instead of “horse” or “mount” is necessary, and the ability to convey that sense of the word to the target audience requires a particular kind of skill that isn’t always covered by “literal”.
Of course, not being a scholar of Sengoidelc, I can’t judge any translator’s work on how well it represents the style of the original, or its accuracy. But translations of Irish texts aren’t really for scholars of the language – they are for those of us who aren’t! We have to trust our translators, and for that reason I hope that this translation will be read and commented on by a few professional Celticists, so that readers who want to can get a sense of the quality of this work, which I suspect is high.
After so much preamble, you’re probably wondering what I think of this book. There are many things I like about it. The fact that it is slim and inexpensive should make it accessible to a wider audience, although this was achieved by keeping the extra material to a minimum. The author’s note is two short pages, there’s no index, introduction, or other interpretive material, which I suspect many of Morgan’s readers would find helpful. However, the footnotes are very good, and I love the fact that they’re placed at the bottom of the page, not in some mysterious location at the back of the book. I don’t mind reading footnotes, but I detest leafing back and forth and losing my place. For me this is a huge bonus.
Let’s talk a bit more about the footnotes. One thing I like is that Morgan has given the meaning of characters’ names. This is something that translators of myths and bardic poetry don’t do often enough, in my opinion. It instantly adds a layer of insight that is otherwise lacking. The footnotes are also very “honest”. Inevitably, there are many problematic words in texts this old, so where there is doubt, or where she has disagreed with other translators, Morgan has simply explained her choice, and often given Gray and/or Stokes’ alternatives. I spoke earlier of “trusting” a translator, and such an open approach to things helps the reader to do just that.
Cath Maige Tuired is a good story. So an edition like this will be really valuable if that aspect is to the fore, which I think it is here. Since I already know the story, and love it, it’s a little hard for me to put myself in the shoes of a first-time reader, but I think they would enjoy it, and feel very supported by the footnotes.
As for the language in the prose sections, Morgan’s focus on accuracy might impede the flow a little, but I respect her clear priorities, and didn’t find it awkward or “clunky”, which is a danger with literal translations. In fact, many passages were a joy to read.
The real surprise, though, was the poetry. Literal translations of poetry often fall flat, but these do not. It’s obvious that translators are wary of these passages with good reason. Medieval poetry in Celtic languages is notoriously obscure, sometimes intentionally so. There is a love of puns and double-meanings which sets traps for translators at every step, and a tendency by either poets, or scribes, to “antique” the language further for effect.
The only other translation of these passages that I’ve seen were done by Isolde Carmody as part of an MA thesis. (Lugh’s poem here, the Morrigan’s poems here.) Since they will have had the oversight of a tutor, I assume that they are reasonably plausible. They are significantly different than Morgan’s, which definitely flow better and make at least as much sense. My big frustration, here, is that Morgan chose not to divide the poetry into lines, in all but one case. Maybe this was done to keep the cost of the book down, as it would have added some pages, but I think it loses a sense of rhythm and space for the reader when it’s dumped into paragraphs this way.
In her presentation of this book, Morgan places quite a bit of emphasis on the fact that she is an amateur translator, which is understandable and very honest. However, it think her efforts deserve a bit of attention from those who are on the academic side, as they are the only ones able to comment on the quality of the translation.
Of course, not being a scholar of Sengoidelc, I can’t judge any translator’s work on how well it represents the style of the original, or its accuracy. But translations of Irish texts aren’t really for scholars of the language – they are for those of us who aren’t! We have to trust our translators, and for that reason I hope that this translation will be read and commented on by a few professional Celticists, so that readers who want to can get a sense of the quality of this work, which I suspect is high.
After so much preamble, you’re probably wondering what I think of this book. There are many things I like about it. The fact that it is slim and inexpensive should make it accessible to a wider audience, although this was achieved by keeping the extra material to a minimum. The author’s note is two short pages, there’s no index, introduction, or other interpretive material, which I suspect many of Morgan’s readers would find helpful. However, the footnotes are very good, and I love the fact that they’re placed at the bottom of the page, not in some mysterious location at the back of the book. I don’t mind reading footnotes, but I detest leafing back and forth and losing my place. For me this is a huge bonus.
Let’s talk a bit more about the footnotes. One thing I like is that Morgan has given the meaning of characters’ names. This is something that translators of myths and bardic poetry don’t do often enough, in my opinion. It instantly adds a layer of insight that is otherwise lacking. The footnotes are also very “honest”. Inevitably, there are many problematic words in texts this old, so where there is doubt, or where she has disagreed with other translators, Morgan has simply explained her choice, and often given Gray and/or Stokes’ alternatives. I spoke earlier of “trusting” a translator, and such an open approach to things helps the reader to do just that.
Cath Maige Tuired is a good story. So an edition like this will be really valuable if that aspect is to the fore, which I think it is here. Since I already know the story, and love it, it’s a little hard for me to put myself in the shoes of a first-time reader, but I think they would enjoy it, and feel very supported by the footnotes.
As for the language in the prose sections, Morgan’s focus on accuracy might impede the flow a little, but I respect her clear priorities, and didn’t find it awkward or “clunky”, which is a danger with literal translations. In fact, many passages were a joy to read.
The real surprise, though, was the poetry. Literal translations of poetry often fall flat, but these do not. It’s obvious that translators are wary of these passages with good reason. Medieval poetry in Celtic languages is notoriously obscure, sometimes intentionally so. There is a love of puns and double-meanings which sets traps for translators at every step, and a tendency by either poets, or scribes, to “antique” the language further for effect.
The only other translation of these passages that I’ve seen were done by Isolde Carmody as part of an MA thesis. (Lugh’s poem here, the Morrigan’s poems here.) Since they will have had the oversight of a tutor, I assume that they are reasonably plausible. They are significantly different than Morgan’s, which definitely flow better and make at least as much sense. My big frustration, here, is that Morgan chose not to divide the poetry into lines, in all but one case. Maybe this was done to keep the cost of the book down, as it would have added some pages, but I think it loses a sense of rhythm and space for the reader when it’s dumped into paragraphs this way.
In her presentation of this book, Morgan places quite a bit of emphasis on the fact that she is an amateur translator, which is understandable and very honest. However, it think her efforts deserve a bit of attention from those who are on the academic side, as they are the only ones able to comment on the quality of the translation.
| Cath Maige Tuired: A Full English Translation by Morgan Daimler is available from Amazon.com ($6.50) and Amazon.uk (£4.50). |  |
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