the names of the Culture Hero, whose attacks were directed against the avaricious powers of Hades; but the great burial-places of pagan Ireland, near the head-quarters of its princes, brought Hades very near to this world. So it comes about that Cairbre, instead of being made to take a long journey to the nether world, as one might have been led by the story of Gwydion to expect, finds his foes in Erinn itself. But in spite of this shifting of the scene to this upper world, the parallel between Cairbre and Gwydion is preserved, one might say, to a nicety. Gwydion gains his victory over the powers of Hades, a deified man over the gods; so Cairbre differs from those whom he vanquishes by a corresponding inferiority of race, he being of ignoble descent, while they are described as of the noble and princely lineage of Mile.[1]
We must not leave this story without noticing the addition to Cairbre's name of the term Cinnchait, consisting of the genitive of Cenncait, meaning Cat's Head, which also occurs as Caitchenn, 'Cat-headed.'[2] As a rule,
- ↑ According, however, to another account, Cairbre was the son of a king of Lochlann: see O'Curry, p. 264.
- ↑ The Four Masters, A.D. 10, have Cairpre Cinncait, while under A.D. 14 they speak of him as Cairbre Caitcend. The Book of Fenagh (ed. Hennessy) has Cairpre Caitchenn at p. 34, and Cairpre cinn cait (with Cairpre in the nom. case) at p. 56. Cairbre's name happens to occur mostly in the genitive, so that it might be supposed that the genitive Cinnchait was merely in apposition to it; but O'Curry, who was well read in such matters, treats it as Cairbré Cinn-Cait in his Lectures on the MS. Materials; and a passage in the Bk. of Leinster, 129a, has Corpri Chindchaitt, where Corpri is not itself genitive. The verse runs thus:
'Lánrí corpri chindchaitt chrúaid.
osin temraig tailc tondbúain;
cóic bliadan arath asinraind.
éc atbath athair moraind.'
