The Duan Albanach is a Middle Gaelic

Middle Irish language

Middle Irish is the name given by historical philologists to the Goidelic language spoken in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man from the 10th to 12th centuries; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old English and early Middle English...

  poem found with the Lebor Bretnach, a Gaelic

Gaels

The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....

 version of the Historia Brittonum of Nennius

Nennius

Nennius was a Welsh monk of the 9th century.He has traditionally been attributed with the authorship of the Historia Brittonum, based on the prologue affixed to that work, This attribution is widely considered a secondary tradition....

, with extensive additional material (mostly concerning Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

).

Written during the reign of Mael Coluim III, it is found in a variety of Irish sources, and the usual version comes from the early 15th century Books of Lecan and Ui Maine. It follows on from the Duan Eireannach, which covers the earlier mythological history of the Gael. It is a praise poem of 27 stanzas, probably sung at court to a musical accompaniment by the harp

Harp

The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...

. If performed in a public context, it is possible that the audience would have participated in the performance.

The Duan recounts the kings of the Scots since the eponymous

Eponym

An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...

 Albanus came to Alba

Alba

Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is cognate to Alba in Irish and Nalbin in Manx, the two other Goidelic Insular Celtic languages, as well as similar words in the Brythonic Insular Celtic languages of Cornish and Welsh also meaning Scotland.- Etymology :The term first appears in...

. The poem begins with the following stanzas.

A eolcha Alban uile,	O all ye learned of Alba Alba Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is cognate to Alba in Irish and Nalbin in Manx, the two other Goidelic Insular Celtic languages, as well as similar words in the Brythonic Insular Celtic languages of Cornish and Welsh also meaning Scotland.- Etymology :The term first appears in...  !
a shluagh feuta foltbhuidhe,	Ye well skilled host of yellow hair !
cia ceud ghabhail, an eól duíbh,	What was the first invasion – is it known to you?
ro ghabhasdair Albanruigh ?	Which took the land of Alba ?
Albanus ro ghabh, lia a shlógh,	Albanus Albanactus According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, Albanactus was the founding king of Albania or Albany. He was the youngest of three sons of Brutus, a descendant of Aeneas of Troy. According to legend, upon their father's death, the eldest son Locrinus was given Loegria, Camber was given Cambria and Albanactus...  possessed it, numerous his hosts;
mac sen oirdérc Isicon,	He was the illustrious son of Isacon,
brathair is Briutus gan brath,	He and Brutus Brutus of Troy Brutus or Brute of Troy is a legendary descendant of the Trojan hero Æneas, known in mediæval British legend as the eponymous founder and first king of Britain...  were brothers without deceit,
ó ráitear Alba eathrach.	From him Alba of ships has its name.

In the final stanzas it is seen that the poem dates from the time of Malcolm III

Malcolm III of Scotland

Máel Coluim mac Donnchada , was King of Scots...

, in the second half of the 11th century.

Se bliadhna Donnchaid glain gaoith	The six years of Donnchad the wise,
xuii bliadhna mac Fionnlaoich,	Seventeen years the son of Findláech Findláech of Moray Findláech of Moray was the King or Mormaer of Moray, ruling from some point before 1014 until his death in 1020.... ;
tar és Mec Beathaidh go m-blaidh,	After Mac Bethad Macbeth of Scotland Mac Bethad mac Findlaích was King of the Scots from 1040 until his death... , the renowned,
uii mís i f-flaithios Lughlaigh.	Seven months was Lulach Lulach of Scotland Lulach mac Gille Coemgáin was King of Scots between 15 August 1057 and 17 March 1058.He appears to have been a weak king, as his nicknames suggest...  in the sovereignty.
Maolcholuim anosa as rí Rí Rí, or very commonly ríg , is an ancient Gaelic word meaning "King". It is used in historical texts referring to the Irish and Scottish kings and those of similar rank. While the modern Irish word is exactly the same, in modern Scottish it is Rìgh, apparently derived from the genitive. The word... ,	Máel Coluim is now the king,
mac Donnchaidh dhata dhrechbhi,	Son of Donnchad the florid, of lively visage,
a ré nocha n-fidir neach,	His duration knoweth no man
acht an t-eólach as éolach. A eolcha.	But the Wise One, the Most Wise. O ye learned.

External links

• Duan Albanach at CELT (translated)