etain, ocus poc di ol Mider.  Sochtais Echaid la, sodain, ocus asbert,

Etain, and a kiss from her, said Mider.  Was silent Echaid thereon, and said,

tis dia mis on diu, doberthar dait ani sin.  In

thou shalt come in a month from to-day, (and) shall be given to thee that very thing.  The

bliadain ria tuidecht do Mider co Echaid do imbert na fidehille boi oc

year before the coming of Mider to Echaid for playing of the chess was he at

tochmarc etaine, ocus nis n-etad leis.  Is ed ainm dobered Mider

wooing of Etain, and nothing was found by him.  This is the name used to give Mider

di:  befind conide asbert: 

to her:  fair-haired lady, so that thence he said: 

a be find in raga lim

O fair-haired lady, wilt thou come with me

i tir n-ingnad hi fil rind

into a land marvellous, that is music?

Is barr sobarche folt and

(thus) is the top of the head, of primrose the hair there,

is dath snechta corp co ind: 

is colour of snow the body to the head: 

Is and nad bi mui na tai,

It is there not will be ‘mine’ or ‘thine,’

gela det and, dubai brai,

white teeth there, black eyebrows,

Is li sula lin ar sluag,[FN#135]

is colour of eyes number of our hosts,

[FN#135] A conjecture by Windisch.  Text gives sluaig the genitive singular, which does not rhyme.

[FN#136]no is brece is dath sion and cech gruad: 

or is many-coloured is hue of foxglove there each cheek: 

[FN#136] The three glosses are interesting.  It may be noted that the last two certainly follow the word (above the line in which it occurs) that they seem to gloss:  it is therefore probable that the first does so too; the two lines of a couplet are on the same line in the manuscript.  It {footnote p. 156} seems then possible that the gloss “it is many-coloured” refers, not to the foxglove, but to the preceding line, “the colour of eyes is number of our hosts,” and that the writer of this gloss gave the same meaning to the rather hard description of the colour of the eyes as is given in the verse translation (vol. i. p. 26), i.e. that the eyes had changing lights and shapes.  We must hope, for the credit of his taste, that he did not think of the cheeks as many-coloured or freckled, but his gloss of lossa does not seem happy.  The meaning “growth” is taken from O’Reilly’s Dictionary.

no lossa Is corcair maige cach muin,[FN#137]

or growth? is purple of a plain each neck,

[FN#137] A conjecture (Str.), main, treasure, is in the text:  this does not rhyme, nor give good sense; note, however, that muin has no accent-the text gives one.

no is dath is li sula ugai luin: 

or is hue is colour of eyes (that of) eggs of a blackbird: