Читать книгу Literature of the Gaelic Landscape онлайн

45 страница из 54

About a quarter of a mile to the southeast of the crannog in Loch Freuchie there was an old ruin on a hillock, which may have been the seat of Maeve and the storytelling bard (Ross 1939). Curiously, there is a hillock 800m distant called Tom Òrain – Song Hillock (NN865367) from which the island in the loch can be seen, as plainly as in any theatrical backdrop. Does this mark the spot where Laoidh Fhraoich was performed for the multitude of the glen? Just over a mile to the east of the loch there is another hillock called Tom an Dannsaidh (NN918383), where dances may have taken place. These two small mounds suggest that song and dance must have been outdoor entertainments in Gleann Cuaich. The wider landscape may have provided a continuous canvas for the telling and retelling of stories.

The Lay of Diarmaid - Laoidh Dhiarmaid, like the Lay of Fraoch has Irish links. These can be traced to Ben Bulben in Sligo (Irish: Binn Ghulbain – Snoutlike Mountain). The ballad has also been located, and indeed perhaps originated in Scotland (Meek 1991). Ben Gulabin - Beinn Ghulbainn (NO102722) in Perthshire’s Glen Shee - Gleann Sìodh, is as snout-shaped (ssss1) as Ben Bulben. The distinctive profile of these hills is an exaggerated symbol of the long lumpy profile of the wild boar’s proboscis, who plays a key part in the ballad. The story, another love triangle, is as follows.