"Is acher in gaíth in-nocht..." is an anonymous 9th-century poem in Old Irish.

The poem exists uniquely as a marginal entry in the Stiftsbibliothek MS 904 at the Abbey of St. Gallen in Switzerland, which is a copy of Priscian's Institutiones grammaticae, heavily glossed in Old Irish. It was most likely written in Ireland in the (mid-?) 9th century, when Viking attacks on Irish monasteries, schools and churches were a regular occurrence.

Irish singer and academic Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin arranged and recorded the poem in Copenhagen after visiting St. Gallen. It appears on her 2011 Songs of the Scribe studio album.

Text

The text of the poem is as follows:

Old Irish Old Irish pronunciation Modern Irish 1 Modern Irish 2 Modern Scottish Gaelic English
Is acher in gáith in nocht is axʲər͉ in͈ ɣai̯θ iˈn͈oxt Is athghéar an ghaoth anocht, Is géar í an ghaoth anocht Is acar (geur) a' ghaoth a-nochd Bitter is the wind to-night
fu·fúasna fairggae findfholt; fuˈfu͜asn͉a far͈ʲɡʲe fʲin͈d.ol͈t craitear fionnfholt farraige: suaitheann sí an fharraige fhionnfholt a' luasgadh na fairge fionn-fhuilt it tosses the ocean’s white hair
ní·ágor réimm Mora Minn n͈ʲiː aːɣor͉ r͈ʲeːm͈ʲ mor͉a mʲin͈ʲdʲ ní heagal theacht thar muir mhín ní heagal liom cúrsa farraige chiúin chan eagal rèim (seòladh) na mara mìn I fear not the coursing of a clear sea
dond láechraid lainn úa Lothlind don͈d l͉ai̯xr͉ɨðʲ l͉ɑn͈ʲ u͜a l͉ɑθʲl͉ʲin͈ʲdʲ laochra fiáin na Lochlainne ag laochra fiáine Lochlann den laochraidh loinn o Lochlainn by the fierce heroes from Lothlend (Norway).

See also

References

  • Bruno Güterbock (1895), Aus irischen Handschriften in Turin und Rom, Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Sprachforschung, 33.
  • R. Thurneysen (1949), Old Irish Reader 39, tr. D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin.
  • David Dumville (1987), Three men in a boat ... Cambridge Medieval Studies, pp. 23–29.
  • Donnchadh Ó Corráin (1998), Vikings in Ireland and Scotland in the Ninth Century Perita 12, pp. 296–339.
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