The Three Most Common Bardic Metres
For poems to be considered properly within dán díreach, all the rules of versification for each particular metre had to be followed, otherwise it was lochtach (substandard/faulty, i.e. garbage in the eyes of the filidh).
A note on reading & pronunciation from Eleanor Knott, Irish Syllabic Poetry 1200-1600:
The Classical Dialect: In reading syllabic poetry, words are to be pronounced as spelt. The literary language used by the poets is a literary dialect, adhering to a traditional pronunciation, and thus differing a good deal from the ordinary spoken tongue. We may lose nothing by reading Keating’s [Classical Gaelic] prose with modern pronunciation; but if we read a piece of dán díreach in the same way, we shall find that syllabic regularity, rime, and other ornaments are very often wanting. In the classical pronunciation the lenited consonants have in intervocalic [i.e. between vowels] and final position the same value as in initial position. One result of this is that many words are longer than in ordinary speech, e.g.: aghaidh ‘face,’ croidhe ‘heart,’ nighe ‘washing,’ are each dissyllabic; fiodhbhaidhe ‘woods,’ fleadhughadh ‘feasting’ are trisyllabic. Not only is the initial value of the consonant preserved, but the natural quality of the preceding vowel is consequently retained, so that the following pairs rime exactly, aghaidh & anaidh | croidhe & goile | cumha & dula | fiodhbhuidhe & ionmhuine | fleadhughadh & seanUladh | éinionadh | réidhioghadh.
In addition to the rules for each metre below, the ornament of dúnadh (literally “closing”) was also a requirement for good dán díreach. This involved either ending the poem by repeating the very first line of the poem, or at the minimum ending the poem with the same word that it started with. Ellision is also a required feature where syllable count requires it.
I Deibhidhe
7x rinn
7x+1 airdrinn
7y rinn
7y+1 airdrinn
Example (poem 23):
Tugtha d’Albain na sreabh seang 71
a cóir féin d’inis Éirinn, 72
críoch aimhréidh na n-eas mbanna, 72
suil bheas aimhréidh eatarra. 73
(Scotland of the shallow streams/should deliver her dues to the isle of Éire,/rolling land of sparkling cascades, lest there be discord between them.)
II a) Rannaigheacht Mhór II b) Rannaigheacht Bheag
71 72
71 72
71 aicill 72 aicill
71 aicill 72 aicill
Example (poem 6):
Éistidh riomsa, a Mhuire mhór, 71
do ghuidhe is liomsa badh lúdh, 71
do dhruim réd bhráthair na bíodh, 71
a Mháthair Ríogh duinn na ndúl. 71
(O great Mary, listen to me,/praying to you should be my zeal;/on your brother turn not your back,/Mother of the great King of all.)
III Séadna
82
71
82
71
Example (poem 16):
Ní fhuil a nÉirinn ná a nAlbain
Aonghas mar thusa, a thaobh seang:
Aonghais fháid bhraonghlais an Bhrogha,
láid, a Aonghais, comha ad cheann.
(There is no Aonghas in Ireland or Scotland/to compare with you, O slender form,/Aonghases of the sod of the Brugh, dew-dappled,/send goods, Aonghas, to you.)
There are 6 classes of consonants – a consonant rhymes only with another in its own class:
1. Class “b”: b, g, & d rhyme
For example: gad & lag | foda & coda| géag & séad | leanab & sealad
2. Class “c”: c, p, & t rhyme
For example: cnoc & sop | maca & slata
3. Class “ch”: ch, ph, & th rhyme
For example: sgeach & cleath | Life & ithe | eich & beith
4. Class “bh”: bh, gh, dh, l, mh, n, & r rhyme
For example: neamh & feadh | taraidh & adhaigh | ionadh & iodhan | teagh & treabh | eibhe & meile
5. Class “ll”: ll, m(m), ng, nn, & rr rhyme
For example: mall & barr & crann & am | long & fonn & corr | druim & tuill | cluineam & fuigheall
When consonants of this class come in between vowels (in the middle of a word), or are preceded by a long vowel, they may rhyme with the “bh” class (for example: cruinne & buille | cruinne & uile | ciall & iarr | ciall & rian | féin & céim).
6. Class “s”: s only rhymes with itself
Colour Key:
Ellision
Rhyme
Rinn
Airdrinn
Aicill
Consonant rhyme (see above)
Alliteration