{"id":36073,"date":"2024-08-08T11:14:26","date_gmt":"2024-08-08T09:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/7658ee98-7164-49c9-a3a7-75cba0ed85a3"},"modified":"2024-08-08T11:53:13","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T09:53:13","slug":"does-this-forgotten-saucy-poem-reveal-a-16th-century-scottish-noblewomans-affair-with-her-priest","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/wdytya\/rss_feed\/does-this-forgotten-saucy-poem-reveal-a-16th-century-scottish-noblewomans-affair-with-her-priest\/","title":{"rendered":"Does this forgotten saucy poem reveal a 16th century Scottish noblewoman\u2019s affair with her priest?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 08 August 2024 at 09:14 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Please note that this article contains language that some readers may find offensive<\/em><\/p>

Researchers at the National Library of Scotland<\/a> (NLS) have discovered a Gaelic poem by a 16^{th<\/sup> century Scottish noblewoman that contains a startling ode to her priest\u2019s genitals.<\/p>}

The poem is attributed to Iseabail N\u00ed Mheic Cail\u00e9in, Countess of Argyll.<\/p>

It was found in The Book of the Dean of Lismore<\/em>, held in the NLS\u2019 collections, when a BBC Alba television crew was researching the documentary Feise ann an G\u00e0idhlig<\/em> (Sex in Gaelic<\/em>).<\/p>

The Book of the Dean of Lismore <\/em>was compiled by James MacGregor (1480-1551), otherwise known as the Dean of Lismore. The volume contains mostly Gaelic poetry, as well some miscellaneous items in Scots, Latin and English. It is one of NLS\u2019 most treasured literary Gaelic manuscripts and is inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World register.<\/p>

Chris Cassells\u2019, NLS\u2019 Head of Manuscripts, said: \u201cIn 16th century Scotland, when staying with a friend it was common courtesy to regale your host with your best songs, stories, and poems. We estimate that around the year 1500, Iseabail N\u00ed Mheic Cail\u00e9in visited James MacGregor in Perthshire.<\/p>

\u201cWhen Iseabail recited her poetry to MacGregor, she may or may not have been aware that he was in the habit of copying down his favourites. Subsequently, Iseabail N\u00ed Mheic Cail\u00e9in has become known in niche circles as a writer of erotic poetry during the Middle Ages \u2013 not exactly a time we associate with sexual liberation.\u201d<\/p>

The volume contains three poems by Iseabail, \u2018At\u00e1 fleasgach ar mo th\u00ed\u2019, \u2018\u00c9istibh a luchd an tighe-se\u2019 and \u2018Is mairg d\u00e1 ngalar an gr\u00e1dh\u2019.<\/p>

While the other poems have religious themes, \u2018\u00c9istibh a luchd an tighe-se\u2019, has been described by Thomas Clancy, Professor of Celtic at the University of Glasgow, as a \u201cfairly obscene boast to the court circle on the size and potency of her household priest’s penis\u201d.<\/p>

While Iseabail\u2019s relationship to the priest is not known, the poem reads:<\/p>

\u00c9istibh a luchd an tighe-se<\/em>re sc\u00e9l na mbod brioghmhar<\/em>do shanntaich mo chridhe-sa<\/em>cuid dana sc\u00e9alaibh do sgriobhadh.<\/em>C\u00e9 l\u00edonmhor bod br\u00e9agh-bhileach<\/em>do bh\u00ed san aimsir romhainn<\/em>t\u00e1 aig fear an \u00faird chr\u00e1bhaidh seo<\/em>bod as cho m\u00f3r righinn.<\/em>Bod mo shagairt thuarasdail<\/em>c\u00e9 t\u00e1 cho fada seasmhach<\/em>o tha c\u00e9in n\u00ed chualabhair<\/em>an reabh at\u00e1 ina mhacan.<\/em>At\u00e1 a riabh ro-reamhar<\/em>an sin \u2019s n\u00ed h-\u00e9 sc\u00e9al br\u00e9agach<\/em>nocha chuala cho-reamhar<\/em>mhotha bhod ar\u00eds.<\/em>\u00c9istibh!<\/em><\/p>

Which translates as:<\/p>

Listen, everyone in the house,<\/em>to the tales that have been written<\/em>of the energetic cocks<\/em>with which my heart is smitten.<\/em>Forget the fine-lipped cocks<\/em>so plentiful in the past:<\/em>this man of holy orders<\/em>has a cock at least as vast.<\/em>The cock of my salaried priest<\/em>is not only lasting and long;<\/em>you won\u2019t have heard, in ages,<\/em>of such a wide dong.<\/em>It has always been this thick \u2013<\/em>I promise these aren\u2019t lies \u2013<\/em>you\u2019ll never again hear of a cock<\/em>comparable in size.<\/em>Listen!<\/em><\/p>

Chris Cassells added: \u201cFrom Father Peter in Lisa McGee’s Derry Girls<\/em> to Fleabag<\/em> to the burgeoning sub-genre of priest romance novels, the ‘hot priest’ archetype continues to resonate 500 years later. Iseabail\u2019s poem shows this is not a modern invention.\u201d<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n