Re: [scots-l] Tempos

[Cynthia Cathcart]

David wrote: <<The early Highland clan chiefs had champions >>

Aha! I just made a connection here. What of this: I've been studying the old Irish Sagas, Cuchulain and the Dagda and all that, and right at the very beginning, when the Tuatha de Danaan arrive in Ireland, the indigenous people, the Firbolgs, respond by sending their champion Sreng to go to meet the strangers.

The Tuatha de Danaan send out Bres, their champion. There follows a long description of how these two champions met, circled each other, realized they spoke the same language, compared arms, discussed some terms (the new people wanted a land grant), and then parted to go back to their respective Kings to decide what to do next. No blood was shed.

There's a lot more, of course, and yes I know this is *Irish* history, but like the Borders, there is plenty of overlap. The Gaelic language, for one. Plus we are told that Cuchulain went to study the art of fighting with Scathach, the "woman-warrior who lived in the east of Alba" (according to the legends).

--Cynthia Cathcart
http://www.cynthiacathcart.net/

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