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watched, lest the calf should escape. It so happened that in the same house was a well to which the woman resorted for water; on one occasion, whilst so occupied, she heard her child cry, and running to it she unfortunately forgot her duty. Too late she perceived that the calf had escaped, and through the door volumes of water were rushing out. The calf was skipping and leaping from side to side of a then valley, now lake Gowna; the water rose to the height of the calf's track. Onward danced the calf "across and athwart" the valley, now upper Erne, and so northwards to lower Lough Erne, through the vale, now the river Samer, finally leaping into the sea, over a cliff at Ballyshannon, now the cataract known in history as Eas Aodha Ruaidh (pronounced Ass Ay Rua), like Thalassa Erythros, a hero of the same name, having been drowned in Arabia, as Ay Ruadh was here. All the region round this scene of action, and many of the islands in the lakes correspond with this Arkite tale, a term which cannot be withheld from it by any one who has ever perused the erudite writings of Jacob Bryant or the Rev. George Stanley Faber; the latter venerable personage still lives, and if Irish mythology be developed by competent literary research, he may survive to see the most ample corroborations of those portions of his writing, which have have been too much overlooked by Irish archæologists. One theory of the former great writer would closely identify the name of Lakes Erne here and in Scotland with the mysterious worship termed Arkite, as may be seen in his Analysis, vol. ii. p. 251, of the quarto edition.

The story of these Irish Ernains forms a sort of episode in Irish history, and the first incident respecting them is plainly a druidical religious ceremony, dressed up in a not very edifying manner, in the reign of the monarch Aonghus Tuirveach, or the shameful.

In addition to what has been said of the red cow, it may be remembered that when the white cow left her she commenced perambulating on the Bohur-na-Bo-Ruadh, which extended all round the coast of Ireland. This road is said to have been made three casts of a dart from the high-water mark. Some have ascribed the making of this road to the celebrated Brien Boru; it is, however, probable that the king's title and the name of the road have their mutual origin in the source of our oral legends. Brien enjoyed two titles, which are frequently confounded. He was styled Brien Boirmhe, from his numerous tributes; and Boru, from the most remarkable spot adjacent to his palace at Kincora. This place is still called Ball Boru, a name which it probably enjoyed before even Brien's ancestors had landed in Ireland.2

This legend, as we are informed by Dr. O'Donovan, was taken down by that gentleman at the well, and was communicated to Mrs. S. C. Hall by Major Larcom, from one of Dr. O'Donovan's letters.-EDs.

2 History and tradition both assert, according to Dr. O'Donovan, that this is the place where Brien kept the Borumean tribute of Leinster. This would seem to account sufficiently for the name-EDS.

In my paper on Porcine Legends one passage in particular, probably, appeared somewhat more singular than well sustained; that was the allusion to the Hindoo name of Europe, which, according to major Wilford, was "Varaha Dwipa," the region of the boar. The same highly ingenious and equally ingenuous scholar, tells us (Asiatic Researches, vol. viii. p. 361) that the pronunciation of the word is "Warapa," closely resembling the word Europe. Supposing that derivation untenable, let the former section of our folk-lore be deprived of it, and let us, in obedience to classical etymologists, ascribe the origin of the word to Europa, the daughter of Agenor. In that case what is taken from the former paper must be added to the present, for the sentiment of the Phoenician princess finds an apt parallel in that of the Connaught queen, Meadhbh.

Whether all these legends tend to commemorate a once prevailing system of worship, how far the animals mentioned may have been considered sacred, are questions beyond the scope of this paper. Allusions, however, have been made tending to elicit attention to that view of the subject, and, in conclusion, may be offered the passage from the ingenuous, though not over ingenious, Geoffry Keating, in which he says, "that one of the objects of worship of the ancient Irish was a golden calf, as mentioned in the reign of Cormac Mac Art." History of Ireland, vol i. p. 429.

From the neglected state in which our national muniments now exist has arisen a general impression, that to develop the former and early features of Irish Paganism would be a hopeless undertaking. But if a full collection of oral legends were obtained, and that they were collated with corresponding extracts from our manuscripts, doubtless much light would be thrown on the subject. A reference for this purpose to a manuscript in Trinity College, Dublin, entitled Tain Bo Flio-dhaise, would be valuable, as also to that curious work, the Leabhar na Huidhre (pronounced Heera), or book of the Dun Cow.

OLDEN POPULAR PASTIMES IN KILKENNY,

BY JOHN G. A. PRIM.

THE investigation of the popular sports and amusements of a country or a district, at various periods of its history, and the changes in the pastimes of the people as civilization crept slowly forward-marking so well the spirit of each generation-must be a subject of much interest to the antiquary, the historian, and even the political economist; for statesmen have, from the earliest times, recognised the necessity of in some degree providing for and superintending the recreations of the humbler classes. There is no branch, indeed, of the science of

ancient lore that has been made more entertaining or instructive than the study of the popular amusements of our ancestors, and nothing can give us a clearer illustration or more vivid idea of their manners and customs.

To the sojourner amidst the manifold resources of this wonderfully progressive nineteenth century, with its varieties of amusements, both physical and intellectual, what a miserable blank must the middle ages present, and how barbarous must appear the few means for pleasure they afforded. The intellectual world of that period closely resembled the material, and equally rude were the means for recreation of both. Within the precincts of the monastery, and in the demesne of the feudal castle, some taste and cultivation did doubtless exist, but around the cottage of the serf no garden smiled, and his physical and intellectual amusements were rude indeed; even the wealthy burgher of the walled town fared little better; for, before the invention of printing, the precious manuscript did not leave the aristocratic hall of the castle or the blazing hearth of the refectory. These were the only "lyceums" and "institutes" of the day, and from them the people were excluded; whilst, as far as intellectual cultivation was concerned, the "miracle-play," or "mystery" was the only enjoyment of the million. The religious element mixed up largely with their mental, as did the military with their physical recreations.

But, though treating of the times—

When ancient chivalry displayed
The pomp of her heroic games,

it is not the intention of this paper to trace the amusements of the tapestried castle hall, the lordly pleasaunce of the feudal baron, or the tranquil recesses of the scriptorium. Mr. J. P. Prendergast, in a paper on "Hawks and Hounds in Ireland,"1 read at a late meeting of this Society, has sufficiently illustrated the pastimes of the nobles and feudal proprietors of the olden time, and by culling some interesting extracts from the Irish State Papers of the reign of Henry VIII., bearing particular reference to the Ormonde family, he has given us a curious glimpse of the field sports which the landed proprietors in the county of Kilkenny resorted to for their recreation. But the pastimes of the urban populations, at the same period, present an equally interesting subject for inquiry. Having seen the means of amusement for the indulgence of the gentry and their dependants in the neighbouring rural districts, we must be anxious to ascertain the manner in which the burghers and artizans employed those hours devoted to recreation, in towns such as Kilkenny, where they were confined to mercantile pursuits, couped up within the limits of the mural boundary which the state of the times rendered necessary for their protection, and thus could not--even if the exclusive and monopolising spirit of the aristocratic legislators would permit them, which it did

See p. 144, ante.

not-resort to the sports of the field and enjoy the fierce pleasure produced by the chase of the wild boar, the wolf, or deer, or that more refined enjoyment, the peculiar privilege of the royal and noble, the "gentle art of falconry." The sports of the feudal proprietors are easily traceable on the statute book of the country, through the enactments decreeing to them the exclusive right to the pursuit of game, throughout every century; of course the ancient records of the state take comparatively little notice of the peculiar recreations of the dwellers in the town or city, but fortunately another class of public documents exists, generally calculated to give interesting information on the subject-I allude to the archives of the municipal bodies of the day; and it is my present object to seek by the assistance of the records of the corporation of Kilkenny, to throw such light upon the amusements of its citizens in the olden time, as Mr. Prendergast has, from the "State Papers," upon the sports of the aristocracy of the surrounding county.

Kilkenny having been founded and received its charter of incorporation from an English nobleman, of course its English colonists and their descendants must naturally be expected to have had recourse chiefly to such pastimes as prevailed in England. Strutt and Brand have amply described the popular sports in that country, and, therefore, we can hope to find no very novel feature in the amusements of the olden inhabitants of this city; but still the illustrations which its municipal records afford, if they be not esteemed of general importance, must at least possess considerable local interest. The two means of amusement which I find to have been most largely resorted to in Kilkenny, during the middle ages, are in striking contrast to each other, the one being rather of an intellectual nature and calculated to inculcate a devotional spirit-the other of a barbarous and brutalizing character, unredeemed by a single recommendatory feature. I refer to the religious plays, or "mysteries" as they were called, and the ferocious sport of bull-baiting. The former was unquestionably the rude nursery from which our regular drama sprung, and as such it was useful in its time; but it also led to the dissemination of scriptural knowledge, however revolting to our modern notions of treating such subjects the means may have been. Fortunately, it was also a much favoured amusement, and those unadorned dramas were listened to with greedy ears alike by the wealthy burgher, the pains-taking artificer, and the haughty knight. But the other pastime, which unfortunately long outlived the more humanizing "mysteries," was one as well demoralizing as of unmitigated barbarism and brutality; and yet both existed together, exciting equal interest, strangely opposite as they were, through many long generations. The ferocious sport of the bull-ring was once as largely patronized in these countries as at the present day in Spain and Portugal, although it never had amongst our ancestors the poor excuse of the picturesque accessories, and morbid interest caused by the exposure of human life on the part

of the matadores, that makes bull-fighting, in the continental countries which use it, the national amusement and patronized still by nobility and royalty. Fitzstephen,' writing in the reign of king Henry II., mentions the baiting of bulls and bears as a pastime enjoyed, during the winter season, by the inhabitants of London, in his time; and this cruel sport continued there, countenanced by the highest classes of society for many generations, and even patronised on various public occasions by two of our female monarchs, Mary and Elizabeth, the chroniclers telling us that with such amusements "their highnesses were right well content." We may assume that bull-baiting was in use in Kilkenny from the period of the establishment of his English colony here by the earl Marshall, in the thirteenth century, and through subsequent ages it continued to be held in high repute. It was taken under the special patronage and control of the corporation from an early period, and all the arrangements connected with the pastime were confided to a sort of committee of the municipal body, which was styled "The Grand Council of Bull-ring." It must have been esteemed a particular honour to be numbered amongst those privileged persons, for I find it was recorded in the "Red Book" of the corporation, that, in the year 1591, two of the burgesses were admitted to the grand council of bull-ring by payment of a fee of twenty marks-no inconsiderable sum in those days. But there was also an important civic functionary, whose duties were not only largely connected with the sport of bull-baiting, but even the title of his office was taken from it. This official, who was the chief constable of the town, and possessed very large powers, before the erection of Kilkenny into a city by the great charter of James I., was styled "the Lord of Bull-ring," the chief magistrate of the town being then designated "the Sovereign." But when, in the year 1609, James' charter made Kilkenny a city, and raised the chief magistrate to the dignity of a mayor, the municipal body also considered it but proper and decorous to change the designation of his leading official to "Mayor of Bullring," by which style and title he continued to be known till the end of that century. Dr. Ledwich, in his "Essay towards the History and Antiquities of Irishtown and Kilkenny," states that the functions of lord of bull-ring were usually "committed to the care of some reputable bachelor, who was able to contribute to the expenses attendant on it [the sport of bull baiting], the Guild supplied the rest. A certain sum was allowed for his banquet, and he had his sheriffs; his election was annual by the citizens, and during his office he was guardian of the bachelors, and on their marriage was entertained by them, so that he passed his time in festivity and good cheer." From an examination of the records of the corporation I have found this

It is scarcely necessary that I should acknowledge my debt to Strutt's "Sports and Pastimes" as the source of the brief

historical notices of the various games and amusements throughout this paper. I do not quote the passages in detail.

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