Abstract
Within Scottish deathways, the Gaelic lament has long served as a poignant and powerful outlet for loss. In this creative piece, three Canadian-born, Gaelic-speaking poets present their previously unpublished Gaelic laments along with English translations. This collaborative article is designed to demonstrate, in a creative rather than an academic format, that the venerable lament tradition continues to enjoy longevity and vitality in the present day as a literary expression of grief among Gaels. This article further demonstrates that modern Gaelic laments are not constrained by a strict fidelity to literary rules but strive instead to work creatively within tradition while reaching their audiences in a relevant and resonant way. For each poem, the author offers a personal contextualization for his/her lament, which serves to explain the source of inspiration and demonstrates how the work draws upon and reflects its literary roots. In recognition of the strong oral tradition present within Gaelic poetry, this article includes an audio recording of each of the three authors’ laments.
Highlights
MacFhionghain, and LaurieThe lament holds a unique place in Gaelic culture
One of the defining components of this literary tradition, which dates back to the age of professionally trained bards, filidhean, and the “courts of chieftains who lived like kings” (Black 2001, p. xi), is the Panegyric Code: set tropes used to reiterate traditional values and thereby soothe the clan during times of death “...when it was most necessary to reaffirm the traditional values of the community”
(“I Received a Message from the Heavenly Host”), by Brian James MacLeod, is not a traditional lament, inasmuch as the adherence to conventional panegyric tropes has been eschewed in favour of a more personal investment in the poetry
Summary
The lament holds a unique place in Gaelic culture. This genre of praise poetry was once integral to the experience of grief among Gaels and a staple part of the narrative themes in Gaelic oral poetic tradition (Shaw 2007, p. 19). Scholarly studies focus extensively on earlier iterations of the historic Gaelic lament tradition, this genre has had remarkable staying power into the 20th and 21st centuries. It did not lose its relevance as a vehicle for expressing individual and collective grief, paying homage to the deceased, comforting mourners, or linking the living with the dead. The first, Fhuair Mi Sanas Bho Fheachd an Nèimh (“I Received a Message from the Heavenly Host”) (see Video S2), by Brian James MacLeod, is not a traditional lament, inasmuch as the adherence to conventional panegyric tropes has been eschewed in favour of a more personal investment in the poetry. This 21st-century example indicates that they continue to add their voices to this genre
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