Page:Celtic Fairy Tales.djvu/301

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Notes and References
265

the Gesta, came from the East, for it is found in some versions of "The Forty Viziers," and in the Turkish Tales (see Oesterley's parallels and Gesta, ed. Swan and Hooper, note 9).

XXIII. ANDREW COFFEY.

Source.—From the late D. W. Logie, written down by Mr. Alfred Nutt.

Parallels.—Dr. Hyde's "Teig O'Kane and the Corpse," and Kennedy's "Cauth Morrisy," Legend. Fict., 158, are practically the same.

Remarks.—No collection of Celtic Folk-Tales would be representative that did not contain some specimen of the gruesome. The most effective ghoul story in existence is Lover's "Brown Man."

XXIV. BATTLE OF BIRDS.

Source.—Campbell (Pop. Tales, W. Highlands, No. ii.), with touches from the seventh variant and others, including the casket and key finish, from Curtin's "Son of the King of Erin" (Myths, &c., 32 seg.). I have also added a specimen of the humorous end pieces added by Gaelic story-tellers; on these tags see an interesting note in MacDougall's Tales, note on p. 112. I have found some difficulty in dealing with Campbell's excessive use of the second person singular, "If thou thouest him some two or three times, 'tis well," but beyond that it is wearisome. Practically, I have reserved thou for the speech of giants, who may be supposed to be somewhat old-fashioned. I fear, however, I have not been quite consistent, though the you's addressed to the apple-pips are grammatically correct as applied to the pair of lovers.

Parallels.—Besides the eight versions given or abstracted by Campbell and Mr. Curtin's, there is Carleton's "Three Tasks," Dr. Hyde's "Son of Branduf" (MS.); there is the First Tale of MacInnes (where see Mr. Nutt's elaborate notes, 431–43), two in the Celtic Magazine, vol. xii., "Grey Norris from Warland" (Folk-Lore Journl i. 316), and Mr. Lang's Morayshire Tale, "Nicht Nought Nothing" (see Eng. Fairy Tales, No. vii.), no less than sixteen variants found among the Celts. It must have occurred early among them. Mr. Nutt found the feather-thatch incident in the Agallamh na Senoraib ("Discourse of Elders"), which is at least as old as the fifteenth century. Yet the story is to be found throughout the Indo-European world, as is shown by Prof. Köhler's elaborate list of parallels attached to