Preface
romances, such as the story of Deirdre, or The Courtship of Ferb, are notable examples of cante fable;[1] although these tales, preserved for us in manuscripts of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, were certainly composed long before the actual dates of the manuscripts, and are literally centuries older than any other European examples of this style of writing.
Now, although several of these Irish instances of blended story and song have been translated, no attempt has yet been made to reproduce their form in an English version. The literal translations of the poetry found in
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- ↑ This peculiarity of Irish romance has been pointed out by Windisch (Irische Texte, III. 2. p. 447 seqq.) and by Jacobs (Celtic Fairy Tales, pp. 243, 257), who there expresses his view that the cante fable was the original form of the folk-tale. It is, I think, quite possible that the Irish form of cante fable was, in some measure, the direct parent of the French form. If we recall the statement made by Eric of Auxerre, a little more than a thousand years ago, as to the "crowd of Irish learned men" who came "almost in one body to the shores of France, subjecting themselves to a voluntary exile," it will seem not improbable that the Irish plan of using both prose and verse in the same story—doubtless familiar to these learned men—was generally noticed, and that the form of cante fable in France was thus suggested. It is right, however, to mention that Mr. Alfred Nutt (to whom I wish to express my gratitude for several valuable suggestions both in this preface and the main body of the translation) dissents from this view; holding that, if it were true, direct Irish influence on the matter as well as in the form of the French romances would be found, and that of this direct influence there is no trace.
