The Irish standard., 1893-02-11
IRISH MINSTRELS.
The Bardic Order of Ancient Ireland
Was Composed of Poets, Mu-
sicians and Sages.
FROM AMERGlN TO O'CAROLAN
The Ba1ds Exercised Great Infu-
once Over the People and
Were Highly Respected.

once Over the People and
Were Highly Respected.
Long ere the sun Of Christianity had
pierced the dark eyes of the grand old
forests, or the hymns of the sanity Pat
rick swelled through the valleys OF Erin;
when the mournful swan crested thu
Moyle's silver ripples, signing for the
sound Of the far distant bell, the harp
strings of our ancient bards were swept
by master hands, says M. j. Murphy in
the New Orleans Picayune. Deep within
the silence Of some mighty grove, made
sacred by the prisons of Druids, the de-
votee of music perfected himself in the
divine art under the direction of some
learned ollamh. Here, far from the
clash OF arms and the seductive wiles of
the charmer, amid surroundings grand
and impressive, the young student en-
riched his mind with all the lore pos
sessed by the sages of that period, end
here, morning after morning, he watched
his sun-god rise, and from the shadows
OF the towering oaks, natures own cathe-
dral, he poured out his hymns of praise
and greeting. Such a life was the very
creation Of poesy among arace possessing
the highest order OF imagination, and
the training afforded by these seats Of
learning served to develop it we'll. All
1.-THE history and traditions of the country
were kept in poetic form, and the young
bard was compelled to memorize them.
The mysteries of the Druids were not al
lowed to be written, but were impaired
orally, and the severest penalty was ia
posed on the transgressor of this law
This precaution was taken lest knowl-
edge Of their ceremonies should pass
into the hands of the unworthy. No
grove of this kind was ever molested
during the many ,civil wars that took
place in those safGy ages, and SO great
was the respect for these bards that
even by the most ruthless their persons
were held sacred
When ohieftain marched into battle,
the white-robed bard was at the head of
the troops, surrounded by attendant
musicians, and stimulating the ardor Of
the soldiers by stirring songs. On the
battlefield the bard's place was at the
side or upon an adjacent mound, from
which he could watch the contest, for it
was his duty to note and record the i'm
portant incidents and prowess of the
chieftain whom he served; the victor's
homeward course was made doubly
sweet by the recital of his valor aud skill,
and at the feast given in honor of the
event the chief bard described the battle
in poetic manner, bestowing the most
aattering praise upon the victor.
When and by whom the bardic order
was founded is and must ever remain a
mystery. Tradition is our only infor-
mant. 1t tells us that on the arrival of
the first Milesian princes, Heremon,
Heber and Amergin (about 1000 B. c.,
the latter was appointed chief bard and
presided over law, poetry, philosophy
and religion. If there is any truth in
this, Amergin may be regarded as the
probable founder of the Irish bardic or
der.
There is another tradition, however,
that when the above princes set out on
their expedition, they were accompanied
by Cir Mac CHS, poet, anc Onna Cean-
finn, a harper. When the Milesian
colony was divided between the two
princes, Mac Cis attached himself to
Heremon, who ruled the northern por-
tion, and Ceanfinn went to Heber, vino
was in the south. The latter afterwards
adopted the harp as design for his ban
ner.
All of these accounts rest only on ira
dition and can hardly be relied upon.
Vallancy and other antiquarians are of
the opinion that the custom, like many
others, is Of Oriental or Semetic origin,
and was introduced by the Milesians,
who practiced it loag before coming to
ireland.
No accurate description of the bardic
costume has been handed down to us
and our only guide in this respect is the
mention OF some of the early poets Of the
white robed bRrds" Irish history says
very little on the Immediate successor OF
Mghearnas,who in Regulating the number
ofcolors to be worn by each class or rank
Of people, allowed tho bards to wear six
oolors in their dress. AS the nobility
wore but five and royalty only seven, it
\ can very readily be seen that the bards
were the intervening rank. One OF the
order, tho illustrious Ollanh Foladh