the song of amergin - the white goddess

8/17/2019 The Song of Amergin - The White Goddess

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The Song of Amergin

The White Goddess

Robert Graves provided several different interpretations of the Song of Amergin, partly because "...Unfortunately, the version which survives is only a translation into colloquial rish from !ldGoidelic ...", and partly because of the calendar symbolism within the poem, to which Graves applied

considerable analysis. ere are the main Graves interpretations, within which you will see severalthemes closely matching the ones found in #$o not Stand at %y Grave and &eep'(

Graves e)plained that the Song of Amergin is also *nown as the Song of Amorgen, and that the poemis "... said to have been chanted by the chief bard of the %ilesian invaders, as he set foot on the soil of reland, in the year of the world +- /0+1 234 ..."

Graves also refers to the observations of historian, $r R S %acalister, that the same piece /i.e., theSong of Amergin4 is 5in garbled form5 put into the mouth of the 3hild6bard 7aliesin in telling of histransformational prior e)istence. 7his gives rise to a further variation of Graves interpretation of thepoem.

ncidentally the %ilesians were, according to rish mythology, the last invaders of reland, arriving inreland in the 0st or +nd century 23, descended from %il 8spaine or %ilesius, meaning 5soldier of

ispania5, because that5s what he was. ispania equates to the Spanish9:ortuguese peninsula territoryof the Roman 8mpire. %ilesius was said have dreamed that his descendents would colonise reland,and legend tells that some of his sons did so. Goidelic equates to Gaelic in referring to the family oflanguages including rish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, and %an) /sle of %an4. 7aliesin /also *nown as7aliessin4 was a &elsh poet of the th century, who according to legend entertained 3eltic ;ings of thetime, including ;ing Arthur. 7aliesin used the 2rythonic language, an old native 2ritish language familyincluding 2reton, 3ornish and &elsh of that period. 7he 3eltic language families Goidelic9Gaelic and2rythonic predated the imported Germanic and Graves uses 5gloss5 to refer tothe meaning of each line.?

am a wind of the sea, for depth am a wave of the sea, for weight

am an o) of seven fights, /or4 am a stag of seven tines, for strength am a griffon on a cliff, /or4 am a haw* on a cliff, for deftness am a tear of the sun, a dew6drop 6 for clearness am fair among flowers, >no note? am a boar, for valour am a salmon in a pool, 5the pools of *nowledge5 am a la*e on a a plain, for e)tent am a hill of poetry, 5and *nowledge5 am a battle6waging spear, >no note? am a god who forms fire for a head. /i.e. 5gives inspiration5( %acalister4


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or am a god who forms sacred fire for a head.

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0. &ho ma*es clear the ruggedness of the mountains 5&ho but myself will resolve everyquestion5

or &ho but myself *nows the assemblies of the

dolmen6house on the mountain of Slieve %is+. &ho but myself *nows where the sun shall set-. &ho fortells the ages of the moonB. &ho brings the cattle from the ouse of 7ethra and

segragates them/i.e. 5the fish, %acalister, i.e. 5the stars5,%acCeill4

D. !n whom do the cattle of 7hethra smileor


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7he ancient history of the 2oyne ma*es the 0FH 2attle of the 2oyne seem comparatively very recent.2oyne is in the county of %eath, north of $ublin, on the north6east coast of reland. 2oyne is the siteof 2rI na 2Jinne, also *nown as 2rugh na 2Jinne, meaning 5palace or dwelling place of the 2oyne5.2rI na 2Jinne is a settlement and ceremonial area more than D,HHH years old, which to put inperspective e)isted at least -,HHH years before the baby Kesus was an an eye in God5s twin*le, if youwill forgive the blasphemy.

Slieve %is is a mountain range in ;erry. n rish 6 Sliabh %ish 6 is named after a mythological 3elticprincess noted for her cruelty.

A 5tine5 is an antler. Graves suggests that seven tines might refer to seven points on an antler, on thebasis that a stag having si) or more points on each antler and being at least seven years old, wasregarded as a 5royal stag5, although he does not e)plain further the meaning of a 5royal stag5.

%ore interestingly, Graves then e)plains that the poem in its original form /or as close to the originalform as Graves was able to determine4 would most li*ely have been 5pied5 6 that is to say, its 5esoteric5/subtle, purist4 meaning would have been disguised. n other words, the meaning was intentionallymade difficult to decipher, 5for reasons of security5.

7he weaving of hidden meanings into poetry is widely practised, although in more modern times this is

for artistic or sensual or subliminal appreciation purposes. Graves suggests that the hidden meaningsin the old 3eltic poetry, of which the Song of Amergin is an e)ample, held more strategic, perhapseven sinister, implications( as if the poetry were an instrument of leadership or control, and its hiddenmeanings empowered the chosen few who *new the code.

Graves decoded the Song of Amergin as follows, rearranging the statements of the first main verseaccording to the thirteen6month calendar and his ideas about the $ruid system of lettering, which /forreasons too comple) to e)plain here4 lin*ed trees with letters and months of the year(

The Song of Amergin (transitionary rearranged version - Graves)

Graves says, "7here can be little doubt as to the appropriateness of this arrangement ..." on whichbasis we might regard this to be Graves5 definitive version.

God spea*s and says( 7rees of the month

am a stag of seven tines,/or4 am an o) of seven fights,

2 $ec +B6Kan +H2irch 2eth

am a wide flood on a plain, Kan +06


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The Song of Amergin (popular modernised version - Graves)

Graves says that the poem can be e)panded as follows, according to further analysis and overlay ofthe alphabetical coding within the writings.

God spea*s and says(

am a stag of seven tines,!ver the flooded world, am borne by the wind, descend in tears li*e dew, lie glittering. fly aloft li*e a griffon to my nest on the cliff, bloom among the loveliest flowers, am both the oa* and the lightning that blasts it,

embolden the spearsman, teach the councillors their wisdom, inspire the poets, rove the hills li*e a conquering boar, roar li*e the winter sea, return li*e the receding wave,

&ho but can unfold the secrets of the unhewendolmen

am the womb of every holt, A Graves suggested this five6line pendant, am the blaMe on every hill, O which features in copies of the wor*. am the queen of every hive, U am the shield to every head, E am the tomb to every hope. I

E Robert Graves 3opyright 7rust, 0FB1, 0FD+, 0FF. Reproduced from 7he &hite Goddess /0FB1, byRobert Graves, edited by Grevel indop4, under licensed permission from A : &att td on behalf of the7rustees of the Robert Graves 3opyright 7rust. :ublication of the Song of Amergin is not allowedwithout permission from A : &att td.

3entral to Graves rationale is thedolmen arch, which in ancient rishhistory was symbolic of the seasons,the calendar, letters lin*ed with trees,and at least one legendary =ourney oflovers who bedded each night beside afresh dolmen. 7he 5alphabet5 dolmenarch was arranged thus, says Graves,the posts representing Spring andAutumn, the lintel Summer and thethreshold Cew Oear5s $ay. $on5t as*me what happened to &inter. t5se)tremely complicated, and if youwant to e)plore it further recommend

you get the &hite Goddess boo*.

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the song of amergin - the white goddess

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