The literary form in which the primitive Gaelic genius chiefly found expression was the sgeul, or ursgeul —the saga or song-story partly in prose, partly in verse, which recited the deeds of gods and demi-gods and heroes in spirited and dramatic fashion. Of drama, strange to say, no trace can be found in ancient Ireland; there is not a record of even a mys tery or a miracle play in the early Christian days. But the romance began early and reached a very advanced stage of development, probably long before the art of writing was known. It took the form of prose narrative, interspersed with flights of spirited and highly imaginative poetry. The 'Book of Leinster,' a MS. of the 12th century, enumerates 187 of these romances and the names of many more are given in the 10th or 12th century tales of Mac Coise. Many of these tales show evidence of accretions dur ing subsequent periods. Some of palpably pa gan origin bear traces of Christian additions, such as the legend of Niul, the ancestor of the Milesians, meeting Moses and the Israelites fleeing from Pharaoh, with the miraculous heal ing of Niul's infant son by the Hebrew law giver; and the tale of the children of Lir, whose enchantment was to be ended by the ringing of the first mass-bell in Ireland. in every in stance it is an easy matter to separate the ac cretions from the original tale and so recon struct the story in its primitive form.
The value to the antiquarian and student of history of the material thus obtained is incal culable. For these old hero-tales give a vivid picture of the social life of the primitive Celts, a history of the early stages of Celtic civiliza tion, that it is impossible to find elsewhere. For although the entire of central Europe, as well as the British Isles, was peopled by Celtic tribes, the records of their civilization have been oblit erated everywhere except in Ireland. The Romans, wherever they planted their standards, introduced their own civilization, wiping out of existence whatever antedated their coming, and their historians, writing of the Roman con quests, measured everything by a Roman stand ard and found nothing worthy of record in the culture of the barbarian. Hence, practically all record of the continental Celt prior to his sub jugation by the Roman has been lost. But the Roman legions never secured a foothold in Ire land, and the Gaelic Celt worked out his own destiny without interference. The record of this development is found in his traditional lit erature and is proving a mine of invaluable material for the investigator of conditions in ancient Celtic Europe. The most important of these sagas resolve themselves into three dis tinct groups, representing three periods of the history of the race: The Mythological Cycle; the Heroic, or Red Branch Cycle; and the Fenian or Ossianic Cycle.
The Mythological Cycle.— In the oldest Gaelic sagas the confusion of gods and men is baffling.. So thoroughly have the ancient deities been euhemerized that later generations came to look upon them simply as earlier races of inhabitants. These romances tell the story of successive settlements of Ireland. They tell of
Partholan and his followers who were the earli est settlers; of Nemedh, who followed and pos sessed himself of the land; of the Fomorians, who conquered the Nemedians and drove them out; of the return some centuries later of the descendants of a part of the Nemedian force, now known as Firbolgs, to dispute with their former conquerors, and the subsequent return of the descendants of another division of the Nemedians, the Tuatha de Danaans, who in turn became masters of the land, holding it until the coming of the conquering Scots, or Gaels, or Milesians as they are variously called. The saga of the 'Battle of North Moytura' tells of the fight between the Tuatha de Dan aans and the Firbolgs, which resulted in the utter defeat of the latter, who were driven into the smaller islands. This story and the story of the 'Battle of South Moytura' between the Tuatha de Danaans and the Fomorians, abound is descriptions of the marvelous achievements of the heroes and ends in the complete defeat of Fomorians. To this period belongs also the pathetic tale of the 'Death of the Children of Tuireann,' included by Hyde in 'The Three Sorrows of Story-Telling.' The Red Branch, or Heroic Cycle.— This group of tales deals with the history of the Milesians, the warlike race which finally con quered the island and held it until the coming of the English. Unlike the earlier tales, which palpably treat of a fabulous age and purely mythical persons and events, these romances deal with a world which has an apparent basis of reality, despite the legendary character of many of the events there recorded, and of the heroes who participate in them. The people of this cycle, Cuchulain, Conall Cearnach, Deirdre, Naoise, Meve, Conor mac Nessa, Fer gus mac Roigh, though of heroic stature, are yet human; their deeds, and the motives for those deeds, are human; and though the mar velous and the preternatural are found there in as marked a proportion as in the 'Iliad' and the 'Odyssey,' they do not dominate as in the tales of the Mythological Cycle. This group of romances is, without question, the finest in all the ancient Irish literature. The period, which is identified by the annalists with the birth of Christ and the beginning of the Christian era, is associated chiefly with the long war between Connaught and Ulster arising out of the mur der of the children of Usnach. This incident is recorded in one of the most beautiful and pathetic tales in the whole range of ancient story-telling, the tale of 'Deirdre, or the Fate of the Children of Usnach.' Cuchulain, the Ultonian champion, is the great hero of this cycle. Conall Cearnach, Ferdiad and Meve, the warrior-queen, are figures hardly less heroic. The most important of the romances of this group is the 'Taira Bo Cuailgne,' or the Spoil of Cooley,' a tale that has proved a val uable source of information fen: the antiquarian from the light it throws on early Celtic life and manners. The 'Death of Conlaoch) is a curi ous parallel of the story of Sohrab and Rustum.