⇦ Manninyn Beg va Mac yn Lear

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Manx English
Manninyn beg, va mac yn Lear, Little Manninyn, was the son of (the) Lear,
Eh va’n chied er ec rieu ee; He was first who ever had it;
As myr share oddym cur-my-ner, And as best I can observe
Nagh rou eh hene agh an-Chreestee. He was himself was only a heathen.
Foh ghriaght dreill eh’n Ellan sho Under his sorcery he kept this island[1]
[1] Foh ghriaght] seems to be cognate with Scottish Gaelic
[fo a dhraoidheacht] (normalized Manx
[fo e ghruiaght]) ‘under his magic, sorcery, druidism, enchantment, witchcraft, or charm’(pp. Dwelly). Unless;
[fo e ghriagh] ‘under his host’.
Ymmodee bleintyn liour dy chraa ; Many long years of time
As mannagh re son Parick Noo And were it not for Saint Patrick
Myr shen veh’r reeayl ee son dy brar. Like that he would have ruled it[2] for ever.
[2] veh’r reeayl ee] either
[v’eh er reill ee] ‘he had ruled it’ or
[v’eh er reayl ee] ‘he had kept it’.
My hagheragh lhongys cheit mygeart, Before shipping would come around,
Choodagh eh ee mygeatt lesh kea; He would cover it around with mist;
Ec keartyn elley heeagh ad ee At other times they would see it
Lesh ushtey coodit ooilley rea. With water, covered, all flat.
Hoiagh eh dooinney er dagh broogh, He would set a man on each bank,
As chredjagh ad dy beagh ayn keead, And they would believe that there were a hundred,
As myr shen dreill Manninyn kioie And like that wild Manninyn kept
Yn Ellan sheent foh coosney booydje.[3] The blessed Island under him achieving victory.
[3] foh coosney booydje] The first word
[foh] may be a cognate with Scottish Gaelic
[fodha] ‘under him’, (Modern Manx
[fo] ‘under’, or ‘under him’). the second word
[coosney] is likley
[cosney], ‘gaining’, ‘achieving’, ‘earning’. The final word
[booydje] seems to be a cognate of Scottish Gaelic
[buaidh] ‘victory’, ‘sway’, ‘mastery’ or ‘control’. Therefore
[coosney booydje] is likely ‘gaining control’ or ‘achieving victory’.
Yn cheeish v’er dagh cummaltagh da, The tax that was on every resident to him,
Va baart dy leaghyr ghlass dagh blein ; Was a bundle of green rushes each year;
Cha rou airrh ny argit oc sy tra, They didn’t have gold or silver at the time,
As ny aard Reiltagh slane ve hene. And an absolute monarch himself (he) was.
Paart yinnagh lesh yn leaghyr seose[4] Some would bring the rushes up
[4] yinnagh lesh] ‘would bring’. The word
[ynniagh] has the prima facie meaing ‘would do’, but the verb
[jannoo] is sometimes used instead of the verb
[cur], so in this instance
[yinnagh] can be thought of as an alternative to
[verragh] ‘would give’. es
Dys slieu mooar ta heose Barrool; To a big mountain that is up Barrule;
Paart elley aagagh yn leaghyr was Others would leave the rushes down here
Marish Manninyn erskyn Kemmooyl*[5] With Manninyn above Kemmooyl.
[5] * This ancient custom is still followed up at St John’s —the green rushes are brought and spread at the door and in the aisle of the chapel on Midsummer eve every year, and top the Tynwald Hill when new laws are promulgated.
Ny yeih veh eignit dy chur cooyl, Nevertheless, he was forced to retreat,
Son tra whooar Parick Noo aynjee, For when Saint Patrick got in,
Deebyrt eh Manninyn ersooyl, He drove Manninyn away,
Marish dagh ’nane nagh beeagh Chreestee. Together with everyone who wouldn’t be Christian.
Va’n cummey ghow eh eisht er hene, The form he then took upon himself,
Ayns Caslys joarey[6] trooid, dy feer, A picture truly strange throughout,
[6] Joarey]
[joarree]—‘strange’, ‘foreign’.
Three cassyn skeaylt, as kione sy vean, Three spread legs, and a head in the middle,
Myr hee shieu foast er cooiney’n cheer. As you will still on the country’s coinage.
Er son yn traie, sheesh gloyn beg foallit, And for the shore, down a little hidden glen,
’Sy chummey shoh chossyn eh vou, In this form he escaped from them,
As ta’n boayl cheddin ’ve enmysit And said place has been named,
Follaghey Vannin dys’n laa tayn jeu. The Hide of Mannin to this very day.