Aisling
Encyclopedia
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
poetry
Irish poetry
The history of Irish poetry includes the poetries of two languages, one in Irish and the other in English. The complex interplay between these two traditions, and between both of them and other poetries in English, has produced a body of work that is both rich in variety and difficult to...
. The word may have a number of variations in pronunciation, however, in the Irish language the first syllable always includes a [ʃ] ("sh") sound.
Format
In an aisling, Ireland appears to the poet in a vision in the form of a woman, sometimes young and beautiful, sometimes old and haggard. This female figure is generally referred to in the poems as a Spéirbhean (sky-woman; pronounced 'spare van'). She laments the current state of the Irish people and predicts an imminent revival of their fortunes, usually linked to the return of the Roman Catholic House of StuartHouse of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
to the thrones of Britain and Ireland.
The form developed out of an earlier, non-political genre which was essentially an Irish form of the French
French poetry
French poetry is a category of French literature. It may include Francophone poetry composed outside France and poetry written in other languages of France.-French prosody and poetics:...
reverdie
Reverdie
The reverdie is an old French poetic genre, which celebrates the arrival of spring. Literally, it means "re-greening". Often the poet will encounter Spring, symbolized by a beautiful woman....
, in which the poet meets a beautiful, supernatural woman who symbolises the spring season, the bounty of nature, and love.
The first and greatest of the aisling poets was Aodhagán Ó Rathaille, "athair na haislinge" (i.e. father of the aisling). In his hands, the aisling is a powerful mode of political writing.
Probably the most famous examples of Aisling poetry are Róisín Dubh
Róisín Dubh (song)
"Róisín Dubh" , written in the 16th century, is one of Ireland's most famous political songs. It is based on an older love-lyric which referred to the poet's beloved rather than, as here, being a metaphor for Ireland. The intimate tone of the original carries over into the political song. It is...
an Mo Ghile Mear
Mo Ghile Mear
"Mo Ghile Mear" is an old Irish song, written in the Irish language by Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill in the 18th century. Composed in the convention of Aisling poetry, it is a lament by the Gaelic goddess Éire for Bonnie Prince Charlie, who was then in exile.The song differs from more "conventional"...
.
Satire
During the 18th century, the form became something of an empty formula and became the target of satireSatire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
and parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
.
In 1751, Scottish
Scottish literature
Scottish literature is literature written in Scotland or by Scottish writers. It includes literature written in English, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Brythonic, French, Latin and any other language in which a piece of literature was ever written within the boundaries of modern Scotland.The earliest...
Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
poet Alasdair MacMhaighstir Alasdair
Alasdair MacMhaighstir Alasdair
Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair was a Scottish poet, lexicographer, political writer and memoirist, respected as perhaps the finest Gaelic language poet of the 18th century...
poked fun at the aisling genre in his Anti-Campbell
Clan Campbell
Clan Campbell is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically one of the largest, most powerful and most successful of the Highland clans, their lands were in Argyll and the chief of the clan became the Earl and later Duke of Argyll.-Origins:...
polemic An Airce ("The Ark"). At the poem's beginning, the bard describes a meeting with the ghost of a beheaded Campbell Jacobite who then tells him that the Clan will soon be punished for committing high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
against their lawful King, first being visited by the Ten Plagues of Egypt and then by another Great Flood upon their lands.
The poet is instructed to emulate Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
by building another Ark
Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...
for carefully selected Campbell Jacobites. The moderates will be welcomed aboard the Ark's decks after being purged of their Whiggery by swallowing a dose of seawater. Campbell redcoats are to be tied with millstones and thrown overboard. A female poet of the clan who had mocked Prince Charles and accused him of illegitimacy was to be treated to a fitting punishment before being delivered right into the poet's mercy.
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Oban Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban... ,
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During the 1780s, Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
poet Brian Merriman
Brian Merriman
Brian Merriman or in Irish Brian Mac Giolla Meidhre was an Irish language poet and teacher. His single surviving work of substance, the 1000-line long Cúirt An Mheán Oíche is widely regarded as the greatest comic poem in the history of Irish literature.-Merriman's life:Merriman appears to have...
also parodied the Aisling genre in his comic masterpiece Cúirt An Mheán Oíche ("The Midnight Court"). In the opening section of the poem, a hideous female giant appears to the bard and drags him kicking and screaming to the court of Queen Aoibheal
Aibell
As described by Donal O'Sullivan, Aibell "was the Fairy Queen of Thomond in Irish mythology; and her palace, Carraig Liath or The Grey Rock, is a hill overlooking the Shannon about a mile and a half above Killaloe, on the Clare side of the river."She is the principal fairy goddess of the Dál gCais...
of the Fairies. On the way to the ruined monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
at Moinmoy, the messenger explains that the Queen, disgusted by the twin corruptions of Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
landlords and English Law
English law
English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States except Louisiana...
, has taken the dispensing of justice upon herself. There follows a traditional court case under the Brehon law form of a three-part debate.
In the first part, a young woman calls on Aoibheal
Aibell
As described by Donal O'Sullivan, Aibell "was the Fairy Queen of Thomond in Irish mythology; and her palace, Carraig Liath or The Grey Rock, is a hill overlooking the Shannon about a mile and a half above Killaloe, on the Clare side of the river."She is the principal fairy goddess of the Dál gCais...
declares her case against the young men of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
for their refusal to marry. She complains that, despite increasingly desperate attempts to capture a husband via intensive flirtation at hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
matches, wake
Wake (ceremony)
A wake is a ceremony associated with death. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased, with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home. In the United States and Canada it is synonymous with a viewing...
s, and pattern days
Pattern (devotional)
Pattern is an Irish term meaning either a saint's feast day, or the various devotional activities that take place on the feast day at sites associated with the saint's life. It is thought to derive from the word patron, as in a patron saint....
, the young men insist on ignoring her in favor of late marriages to much older women. The young woman further bewails the contempt with which she is treated by the married women of the village.
She is answered by an old man who first denounces the wanton promiscuity
Promiscuity
In humans, promiscuity refers to less discriminating casual sex with many sexual partners. The term carries a moral or religious judgement and is viewed in the context of the mainstream social ideal for sexual activity to take place within exclusive committed relationships...
of young women in general, suggesting that the young woman who spoke before was conceived by a Tinker
Irish Traveller
Irish Travellers are a traditionally nomadic people of ethnic Irish origin, who maintain a separate language and set of traditions. They live predominantly in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.-Etymology:...
under a cart. He vividly describes the infidelity
Infidelity
In many intimate relationships in many cultures there is usually an express or implied expectation of exclusivity, especially in sexual matters. Infidelity most commonly refers to a breach of the expectation of sexual exclusivity.Infidelity can occur in relation to physical intimacy and/or...
of his own young wife. He declares his humiliation at finding her already pregnant on their wedding night and the gossip which has surrounded the "premature" birth of "his" son ever since. He disgustedly attacks the dissolute lifestyles of young women in general. Then, however, he declares that there is nothing wrong with his illegitimate children and denounces marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
as "out of date." He demands that the Queen outlaw it altogether and replace it with a system of free love
Free love
The term free love has been used to describe a social movement that rejects marriage, which is seen as a form of social bondage. The Free Love movement’s initial goal was to separate the state from sexual matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery...
.
The young woman, however, is infuriated by the old' man's words and is barely restrained from physically attacking him. She mocks his inability to fulfill his marital duties with his young wife, saying that she was a homeless beggar who married him to avoid starvation. She vividly argues that if his wife has taken a lover, she well deserves one. She then calls for the abolition of priestly celibacy, alleging that priests would otherwise make wonderful husbands and fathers. In the meantime, however, she will keep trying to attract an older man in hopes that her unmarried humiliation will finally end.
Finally, in the judgement section Queen Aoibheal rules that all laymen must marry before the age of 21, on pain of corporal punishment
Corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
at the hands of Ireland's women. She advises them to equally target the romantically indifferent, homosexuals, and unmarried skirt chasers who boast of the number of notches on their belts. Aoibheal tells them to be careful, however, not to leave any man unable to father children. She also states that abolishing priestly celibacy is beyond her mandate and counsels patience.
To the poet's horror, the younger woman angrily points him out as a 30-year-old, bachelor
Bachelor
A bachelor is a man above the age of majority who has never been married . Unlike his female counterpart, the spinster, a bachelor may have had children...
and describes her many failed attempts to attract his interest in hopes of becoming his wife. She declares that he must be the first man to suffer the consequences of the new marriage law. As a crowd of infuriated women prepares to flog him into a quivering bowl of jelly, he awakens to find it was all a terrible nightmare.
Other uses
- LÉ Aisling (P23)LÉ Aisling (P23)LÉ Aisling is an Offshore Patrol Vessel in the Irish Naval Service. The ship was named after the poem, Aisling to commemorate the centenary of the birth of the poet and nationalist Patrick Pearse....
is a ship in the Irish Naval service. - Shane MacGowan and the PopesShane MacGowan and The PopesShane MacGowan and The Popes was a band formerly led by Shane MacGowan of the Pogues, who played a blend of rock, and Irish folk, sometimes referred to as Paddy Beat, borrowing from World Beat, a popular genre name in the 1980s. Shane MacGowan and the Popes released two studio and one live album in...
have a song on their album The Snake entitled "Aisling"; Christy MooreChristy MooreChristopher Andrew "Christy" Moore is a popular Irish folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is well known as one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts...
recorded the same song on his album Smoke and Strong WhiskeySmoke and Strong WhiskeySmoke and Strong Whiskey is an album by Irish folk singer Christy Moore, released in 1991.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Christy Moore; except where indicated# "Welcome to the Cabaret" - 3:50... - "Aisling" is a poem by Seamus Heaney from the collection NORTH (1975).
- The acclaimed Irish author Ciaran Carson has said that much of his literature is based around the idea of the aisling, or, dream vision.
- There is an Irish band in Central Ohio who uses the name Aisling.
- In the Oscar nominated film The Secret of Kells, the mysterious girl of the woods is named Aisling.
- In the RPG Aveyond: Ean's Quest, Aisling is the nymph of hope.