OGAM TRACT
An edition due to GEORGE CALDER, B.D.
31 GEORGE IV. BRIDGE
1917
Commented version due to Yves
Kodratoff
My
commentaries on Calder’s translations are built on five sources:
Rudolf Thurneysen, A Grammar of
Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 2003.
MacBain, An Etymological
Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, on the web at http://www.ceantar.org/Dicts/MB2/index.html.
This is a Scottish Gaelic dictionary which contains as well many definitions
for Irish, Welsh and Brittonic words (and some misspellings obviously due to
the scanning).
Dictionary of the Irish
Language, E. G. Quin (Ed.),
J. Vendryes, Lexique étymologique
de l’Irlandais ancien, CNRS and Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies,
1974-1996 (available from the last one). This is a very rich edition but it is
limited to the letters A, B, C, D, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U. It will be cited as ‘Vendryes’.
I also currently use the definitions provided by the Auraicept itself
and Calder’s glossarial index.
My comments are in font New
Roman and in between [ ].
WHAT are the place, time, person, and cause of
the invention of the Ogham? Not hard. Its place
***Ogma’s Ogam*** [this title
is added by me]
Ogham
from Ogma suo inventore primo [from
his first author] in
respect to its sound, quidem [indeed,
however …]; according
to matter, however, ogum is og-uaim, perfect alliteration, which the
poets applied to poetry by means of it, for by letters Gaelic is measured by
the poets; the father of Ogham is Ogma, the mother of Ogham is the hand or
knife of Ogma.
This
moreover is the first thing that was written by
Ogham, 
,
i.e. (the birch) b was written, and to convey a warning to Lug son of Ethliu it was
written respecting his wife lest she should be carried away from him into
faeryland, to wit, seven b’s in one
switch of birch: Thy wife will be seven times carried away from thee into
faeryland or into another country, unless birch guard
BB. 309 α 15 [manuscript page of the Irish text]
her. On that account, moreover, b, birch, takes precedence, for it is
in birch that Ogham was first written.
How
many divisions of Ogham are there, and what are they? Not hard. Four: b five, h five, m five, a five, besides diphthongs.
How
many groups of Ogham? Not hard. Three [Remember that
Fenius provides four of them – and you will see that Ogma provides explicitly
two only], viz., eight
chieftain trees, eight peasant trees, and eight shrub trees. [Irish :“viii n-airigh fedha, / viii n-athaigh, 7
viii fidlosa”. While
commenting Fenius’ Ogam, I said that fedha was better rendered by
‘tree-letter’, that airigh comes from aire = ‘which has value’, ‘free man’, ‘chief’. Finally, fidlosa
is called lossa fedha by Fenius and Calder then translates it by “herb
tree” since lus = herb, genitive losa. He translates it now by “shrub
tree”] Eight
chieftain trees first: alder, oak, hazel, vine, ivy, sloe, furze, heath. Eight
peasant trees, viz., birch, quicken tree, willow, ash, whitethorn, whin [Irish :
tinne = holly or spindle-tree.
Usually, ‘whin’ means gorse, not holly], apple tree. As to their letters all other shrubs are peasant trees.
Quot sunt genera [How
many are the genres] of
the Ogham? Not hard. CL, et figuras eorum
et potestates secundum ordinem nuntiabimus nuntiabimus [CL (?) and we shall
describe their forms and powers in second]. I shall speak primum [at first]of the woods of the trees whence names have been put for the Ogham
letters, secundum alios et alios
nominantur [from others and they are named by others]. Query, well then, whence are the
Ogham vowels and consonants named? Not hard. Secundum alios quidem [at least from others], it is from the 
and they added other three to them so that
from these are named the other three diphthongs, wherefore 
are
classified apart. Secundum alios it
is from the trees of the forest that names were given to the Ogham letters
metaphorically. Moreover beithe, b, is [named] from the birch of the forest for
the first letter on the path of the Ogham alphabet. Luis, 1, that is, elm in
the forests.
BB. 309 α 38 [manuscript page of the Irish text]
Fern, f, that is, alder in the forest. Sail, s, of the Ogham,
that is, willow, again, in the forest Nin,
n, of the Ogham, to wit, maw of
spear, or nettles in the woods. Uath,
h, of the Ogham, that is, test-tree
or whitethorn, on account of its thorniness. Dur, d, of the Ogham is
oak, again, in the forest. Tinne, t, of the Ogham, to wit, holly or
elderberry in the forest. Coll, c, of the Ogham, to wit, hazel in the
forest. Quert, q, of the Ogham is holly in the forest, or quicken tree, or aspen [Irish:
“cairthend no crithach” that
is : “mountain-ash or aspen,” not ‘quicken-tree’ which is another name of
the aspen.]. Muin, vine, m, to wit, mead [from it]. Gort, cornfield, g, to wit, fir [The
Irish is “gort -i- gius”.
The word gort designates either “a
field of arable or pasture land” or the ivy. Gius is pine-tree. The precise translation therefore is “the arable
field or the ivy, that is to say the pine-tree.” There is here an obvious
allusion we cannot understand.] Getal, ng, to wit, broom. Straif,
str, willowbrake in the forest [The
word willowbrake seems to exist in
Calder only. Straif is a blackthorn.
The word used here in Irish is saildrong.
The word drong means ‘a group of a
variable number of individuals’. In place of ‘willowbrake’ a better translation
is something like “a copse of blackthorn bushes.”] Onn,
o, to wit, furze or ash. 
].
*** Morann
Mac
Word
Ogham of Morann Mac Main here. Feocus
foltchain, faded trunk and fair hair, that is for birch, b, in the Word Ogham, because names
which Morann gave of himself to the Ogham letters, these are they which take
the effect of letters in the Word Ogham. Feocus
foltchain for b, for these are
two aspects of the birch, and it was hence put for the Ogham letter which has
taken a name from it.
Li súla, delight of eye, that is luis, quicken tree, 1, to wit, the flame.
Airinach Fian, i.e., shield [or forefront] of warrior-bands, i.e., shield for fern, f, with him owing to [aigiseom = aigid (it gives honour) seom
(‘with it’) = ‘owing to’]
their redness [ndergi comes
from derge (red, reddish, blood coloured)] in the same respect [aenrian = oen (one, the same) rian (the sea, the way)]: or because the alder, the
material of the shield
BB. 309 β 6 [manuscript page of the Irish text]
was from fernæ
given to the Ogham letter which has taken a name from it. Airenach Fian, i.e., shield, that is fern, f, with him.
Lí n-aimbí, hue of the lifeless, i.e.,
hue of one dead, to wit, am for denial, so that he is not living but is dead. Lí n-aimbí, again, to wit, that is sail, willow, s with him, and hence it was put for the Ogham letter.
Cosdad sida, [costud = ‘action of putting things in
place, to check them’]
checking of peace, that is nin, ash, n: it is the maw of a weaver’s beam as
applied to wood: a sign of peace is that. A checking of peace with him is that
from the ash of the weaver’s beam.
Conal cuan, pack of wolves, to wit, that
is uath, thorn h [Calder translates here ‘uath’ by ‘thorn’ while its meaning is ‘terror’ which fits as well
in the context], for a
terror to any one is a pack of wolves. Conal
cuan said of the Ogham h, owing
to the affinity of the name, for they are a thorn, in the same way.
Ardam dossaibh, [ard = ‘not in contact with the ground’ and,
figuratively: noble, protecting. dos
= lush tree. I’d then rather translate by ‘the lush trees the furthest from the
ground’], highest of
bushes, that is dur, oak, d, with respect to its wood in the
forest.
Trian, t, another thing the meaning of that to-day.
Cainiu fedaib, fairest of trees, that is
hazel, c, owing to its beauty in
woods.
Clithar mbaiscaill, shelter of a hind,
i.e., a fold [the text says: buaili
translated by Calder as ‘fold’. I do
not see any other possible meaning to buaili
than a modification of búal =
healing.]: to wit, boscell [DIL says, boscell = baiscell = bascall = a wild
animal, a hind. Calder’s understanding, ‘lunatic’ (and later by McManus as
well), is not the one explicitly used in Irish. As an extension to this
meaning, it can point at someone who is a bit ‘wild’, thus somewhat unstable], lunatic, that is bas-ceall [bás = death; cíall
= intelligence, meaning],
death sense, it is then his sense comes to him when he goes to his death. Clithar boiscell, again, that is an
apple tree: or boscell, that is,
hinds, to wit, they are light [The text says: edruma
= ed-ruma, and I guess Calder
understood a form of réim = light. The word rúm = ‘inside space’ and a possible function of ed = ‘confirmation of the substantive
that follows’, leads to my own interpretation, viz. ‘they stand in the
appropriate space’. I agree this is a bit airy of me, it is however more
sensible than Calder’s ‘light’]. Clithar boiscell, again,
i.e., lunatics or hinds: quert, an
apple tree, q, with reference to its
letter.
Tresim fedma, strongest of effort, that
is muin, vine, m, with him, i.e., owing to identity of name with muin, back of man or ox, for it is they
that are the strongest in existence as regards effort.
Millsiu feraib, sweeter than grasses,
that is gort, ivy, g, with him owing to the identity of
the name with the corn-field. When it is in the blade [there is here an
obvious pun: fochann is a blade of
young corn; fuach is a stanza], sweeter than any grass is that
grass, to wit, the cornfield. Hence for that letter in Ogham
BB. 309 β 24 [manuscript page of the Irish text]
owing to the complete identity of the name
between them.
Luth legha, a physician’s strength, that
is broom, ng, to wit, because it is
strength with the physicians, and there is an affinity between cath, panacea (?) and getal. [The word cath does not mean ‘panacea’ but
‘fight’], and getal, broom. [The
complete Irish sentence is: “Luth legha getal sen -i- ar is luth lasna leigib,
7 coibnius etir cath 7 getal.” Luth
= power of moving, vitality ; legha (líaigh, genitive leagha)
= ‘physical and spiritual medical doctor’, healer) ; getal = broom or letter ‘ng’; sen
= ancestor, an ancient one; however: sén
= the sign, the soothsayer, the incantation, the success ; ar = a preposition meaning “so says he”;
is = is ; luth (see above) ; lasna
= ‘with the’ ; leigib = ‘of the
healers’ ; coibnius = kinship,
affinity ; etir = ‘generally’,
and étir = strong ; cath & getal (see above). I thus
propose a slightly different translation: “The healer’s vitality, broom and
letter ‘ng’ are a sign of it, they are, it is said, the vitality going with the
healers and there is a strong affinity between the fight and the broom.” I
guess that Calder did not imagine the healer’s work as a fight (against
sickness).]
Tresim ruamna, strongest of red [red
dyeing], to wit, that
is str with him in Ogham. Straif, sloe, according to fact; for in
the sloe red for dyeing the things is stronger, for it is it that makes the
pale silver become azure, making it genuine (?)silver [The ‘?’ is
Calder’s. The exact meaning of decht
is somewhat unclear. It can mean ‘refined or hammered metal’]. It is it which is boiled through
the urine into the white gold so as to make it red. Tresim ruamna is the sloe according to fact. Hence it was put in
the letter named str, owing to
identity of name between them, i.e., straif
is the name of each of them.
Tinnem ruccæ [tinne or tinde
= letter ‘T’ or holly; also: a rod of metal, an ingot, un mass of melted metal,
metal, salted pork, a music instrument], intensest of blushes, that is ruis,
elder-berry, r, to wit, from the reddening or shame according to fact, for by r it is written, and it is a reddening
that grows in a man’s face through the juice of the herb being rubbed under it.
Tinnem ruccæ, an ingot of a blush,
again, said of the ruis, elder-berry,
from shame or from reddening, for it is by r
that it is itself written.
Ardam iachtadh, loudest of groanings, that is wondering, to
wit, that is ailm, fir, a, with him;
for it is ailm or ‘a’ a man says while groaning in disease,
or wondering, that is, marvelling at whatever circumstance.
Congnamaid echraide [Calder’s
translation: helper of
horses. McManus’s translation: wounder of horses. That it might be
possible to oppose so strongly on the meaning of congnamaid
is explained as follows. This word can be understood as coming either
from con-gní (it helps) and congnam (providing help), or from con-goin (it pierces, it wounds) and congnaid (one who pierces, wounds). It
is clear that Calder used the first derivation while McManus reads congnaid. The context obviously supports
McManus. Personal remark: Calder’s translation seems to me a typical example of 19th c.
anthropocentrism. The horse is here to help humans and the wheel helps the
horse to help the humans. To be humorously flattering to McManus, he seems to
be more prejudiced towards the correctness of the Irish grammar than towards
anthropomorphism.], helper of horses, to wit, the onnnaid
of the chariot, i.e. the wheels, to wit, that is onn, furze, with him, for it is by onn, o, that the wheels
of the chariot are written. Aliter, comguinidech, equally wounding, i.e.
whin. Hence it was put for that letter which is named onn, o, owing to
identity between them, for onn is a
name for each of them; and it is from whin that the name onn was put for the Ogham letter secundum alios [from the others].
BB. 309 β 47 [manuscript page of the Irish text]
Etiud midach, robe of physicians, to
wit, cath, panacea (?). Hence it was
put for getal, broom, ng. [The manuscript
comes back to ng for this one
sentence. Remember that the word cath
does not mean ‘panacea’ but ‘fight’].
Uaraib adbaib, in cold dwellings to wit,
that is
Ergnaid fid, distinguished [or
discerning, clever]
wood, to wit, that is aspen with him, for ergnaid
fid is a name for the trembling tree. Hence it was put for the Ogham letter
named edad, aspen, for hence was edad, e, put for it.
Siniu fedaib, oldest of woods, to wit,
that is idad, yew, with him; for siniu fedaib is a name for service-tree.
Hence it was given to that letter in Ogham named idad, yew, i, for hence
the name idad was put for it; for idad, yew, is a name for ibur, service-tree [Calder
calls ‘service tree’ the yew-tree. DIL says that idad is “a tree, probably the yew,” and ibar is “yew-tree, yew-wood, things made in yew-wood.” I thus
propose to reverse Calder’s translation: “Siniu
fedaib, oldest in the forest, to wit, idad
(a tree, probably the yew with it; since siniu
fedaib is name of this tree. Hence it was put for the Ogam letter named idad for hence it was idad since ibar (yew) is a name for idad.”]
Snamchain feda, most buoyant of wood, to
wit, that is ebad, aspen, with him,
for fair swimming is wood: to wit, that is a name for the great raven. Hence it
was put for the letter named the Ogham ebad,
for é is a name for salmon, and it
is written by ea like the alphabet
of the fauna: i.e., by stag (deer), eo
by eonasc (ousel).
Sruitem aicdi, most venerable of
structures, i.e., oir, oi, spindle tree, according to fact.
Hence it was put for the letter owing to the identity of the name that is
between them, to wit, oir is the name
of each of them.
Tutmur fid uilleann, juicy wood is
woodbine [For these who, like me, did not know: woodbine is
honeysuckle or, more generally, any climbing plant], that is woodbine with him, for it is a name
for honeysuckle. Hence it was put for the Ogham named woodbine, ui; for hence was woodbine put for it,
for it is a name for honeysuckle.
Millsem feda, sweetest of wood, that is
gooseberry with him, for a name for the tree called pin is milsem feda.
Gooseberries are hence named. Hence it was put for the letter named pin, for hence pin, or ifin, io, was put for it.
BB-310 α 19 [manuscript page of the Irish text]
Luad sæthaig, expression of a weary one, i.e., ach, ah! uch, alas! that is emancoll,
ae, with him, for emancoll is taken for ach, though it may be taken for
something else.
Finit Word-Ogham of Morann.
*** The Ogam (“briathairogam”) of Mac
Alphabet
of word-oghams of Mac
Glaisium cnis, most silvery of skin, to
wit, that is the birch of the Ogham from birch of the forest, for hence birch, b, was put for it; sic in reliquis sequentibus.
Cara ceathra, friend of cattle, to wit,
elm. Cara, to wit, dear to the cattle
is the elm for its bloom and for down [‘down’? canach = catkin, “for down” -> for its catkins]. Hence it was put for the Ogham luis, quicken tree, 1, for hence was quicken tree, 1,
put for it. [Irish: “Tucad
uad-side for luis in ogaim, ar is uad tuccad luis fair.” As you see, Calder
always translates the letter name, here luis,
by the tree name, instead of leave there the letter name, as the Irish text
allows us to do. This avoids some absurdities such as in Ogma: “elm is a
rowan.” Here are the words you have to know: side reinforces the word it; fóir,
fáir ‘a dwelling place’ (the exact meaning is context dependent; tuccad, tucait, the cause; aí
then aui = poetical inspiration, and
its genitive is written uadh in the
Auraicept. Calder chose to see ‘uadh’
the conjunction aí = because of, but
this meaning is invariant (= no change aí
→ uadh). A word for word
translation would be a slightly ridiculous ‘because of the cause …’ Here is my
translation: “The cause of a proper poetical use of luis in the Ogams is the place of luis in poetical inspiration.”]
Comet lachta, guarding of milk, to wit,
that is the Ogham alder, f, from
alder of the forests, for it is it that guards the milk, for of it are made the
vessels containing the milk.
Luth bech, activity of bees, to wit,
that is willow, s, for its bloom and
for its catkin. Hence it is put for the cognate Ogham letter.
Bag ban, fight of women [bág =
boast, promise, threat ; also: fight, warring qualities; bán
= pure, white. Of a fight: bloodless. I thus propose: ‘bloodless fight’ or
‘just a threat’], to wit, ash, n, of weaver’s
beam, i.e., maw of weaver’s beam. Hence for its cognate letter.
Banadh gnuisi, blanching of face, to
wit, fear, huath, h, for blanched is a man’s face when he
is encompassed with fear or terror. Hence for the Ogham letter owing to
identity of name between the same two, to wit, uath stands for each of them.
Gres sair, carpenter’s work, to wit,
oak, d. Hence it was put for its
cognate Ogham letter.
Smir guaili, fires of coal [smér = ‘the fruit blackberry’ or fire,
embers, a meaning existing in dictionaries only. Hence Calder’s translation
that may mean: ‘embers of coal’. However, smir
= ‘marrow’ (meaning chosen by McManus in his rendering of these two words); gúal = coal ; Hence: “marrow of
coal”], to wit, that is
holly. Hence for its cognate Ogham letter, i.e., tinne, t, secundum alios; for tindi is a name for holly, ut
alii dicunt.
BB. 310 α 36 [manuscript page of the Irish text]
Cara bloisc, friend of cracking [the
noise], to wit, coll, hazel, c. Hence for its cognate Ogham letter.
Brigh an duine, force of the man, to
wit, queirt, q, apple tree. Hence for its cognate letter.
Arusc n-airlig [árosc = way of speech, judicial
restriction; airlech = act of
put down, slaughter]
condition of slaughter, to wit, a man’s back, m. Hence for its synonymous letter.
Med nercc [Calder does not
translate ‘mednercc’. DIL cites this
kenning without translation. med =
balance, weighting measure, nercc =?.
McManus solves this mystery by proposing: med -> ined -> inde -> inne = ‘the most central part’, thus for mental matters: 1.
real value, 2. meaning, and for physical matters : 1. centre, 2. heart, 3.
richness; nercc -> erc = 1. sky, 2. spotted ; 3.
spotted fish (salmon or trout) ; 4. spotted cow; 5. lizard ; 6. bee;
7. deception. McManus proposes the translation “a proper place for the cows.”
Many others are possible, such as ‘heart of the beehive’, ‘middle of the sky’
etc.], to wit, ivy, g. Hence for its synonymous letter.
Morad run, increasing of secrets, to
wit, sloe, str. Hence it was put for its synonymous letter.
Ruamna dreach, redness of faces, to wit,
sap of the rose [sug = juice, sap, vigor; rós
= wooden hill, small seed, water plant, good health, (imported meaning) rose.] which causes the redness of the
faces, so that blushing is in them. Ruamna
dreach, again, said of the Ogham ruis,
elder, r, from the blush or from the
reddening, for it is by elder, r, it
is itself written.
Tosach fregra, beginning of an answer,
to wit, that is ailm, a; for the first expression of every
human being after his birth is a.
Fethim saire, smoothest of work, or fedem, to wit, onn, stone, o.
Silad clann, growing of plants, that is
Coinainm carat, synonym for a friend, to
wit, aspen, e, in the forest. Hence
for its synonymous Ogham letter.
Crinem feda, most withered of wood, or
sword, to wit, service tree [yew-tree], i. Hence for the Ogham
letter, which has taken a name other than it, to wit, idad, yew.
Cosc lobair, corrective of a sick man,
to wit, woodbine [woodbine
normally is any climbing plant, not the aspen] for the Ogham letter, which has taken a name
other than it, to wit, ebad, aspen, ea.
BB. 310 β 1 [manuscript page of the Irish text]
Li crotha, beauty of form, to wit, heath. Hence for its
synonymous letter, to wit, the Ogham oi.
Cubat n-oll, great equal-length, to wit,
woodbine, i.e., honeysuckle. Hence for the Ogham letter which it has taken from
it, to wit, woodbine, ui.
Amram blais, most wonderful of taste, to
wit, pin or ifin, gooseberry. Hence for the letter that has taken its name from
it, to wit, pin or iphin, io.