The Irish myth of Diarmuid’s betrayal - Iseult Gillespie

Translator: Anna B

Gráinne, daughter of King Cormac mac Airt, princess of Tara, and bride-to-be,

Gráinne, datter af Kong Cormac mac Airt, prinsesse af Tara og kommende brud

was furious.

var rasende.

Fionn Mac Cumhaill, leader of the Fianna,

Fionn Mac Cumhaill, leder af fiannaerne,

Ireland’s most celebrated band of warriors,

Irlands mest berømte gruppe af krigere

had just arrived at her castle.

var lige ankommet til hendes borg.

Gráinne had believed she was betrothed to a young soldier,

Gráinne troede, at hun var forlovet til en ung soldat.

bold and brilliant enough to be her equal.

En mand, modig og genial nok til at være hendes ligemand.

Yet upon their arrival, it became clear she was expected to marry Fionn himself;

Ved deres ankomst gik det op for hende, at hun skulle giftes med Fionn;

who, while once a legend, was far past his prime.

der, skønt han var en legende, havde lagt sin storhedstid bag sig.

Gráinne would not suffer this insult.

Gráinne ville ikke acceptere denne fornærmelse.

Before the wedding, the King held a great banquet.

Før brylluppet holdt kongen en stor fest.

As the warriors told tales of Fionn’s strength and magical healing hands,

Mens krigerne fortalte historier om Fionns styrke og magiske, helende hænder

Gráinne waited to enact her revenge.

ventede Gráinne på at kunne tage sin hævn.

But while scanning the room, her eyes locked on to one of the guests.

Men mens hun kiggede rundt i lokalet, faldt hendes blik på en af gæsterne.

Diarmuid, one of Fionn’s bravest soldiers

Diarmuid, en af Fionns modigste soldater

and foster child of the God of Love himself,

og plejebarn af kærlighedens gud,

was renowned for his stunning beauty.

var berømt for hans utrolige skønhed.

Perhaps this was the bold warrior the princess had imagined?

Måske var dette den modige kriger, prinsessen havde drømt om?

Only one way to find out.

Det var der kun en måde at finde ud af på.

Gráinne swept into action,

Gráinne gik straks i gang.

slipping a sleeping draught into the partygoers’ goblets.

Hun blandede en soveeliksir i gæsternes glas.

Soon the hall fell silent— save for two unenchanted guests.

Inden længe blev der stille, på nær de to gæster, som ikke var blev fortryllet.

The pair immediately felt a powerful connection.

De følte straks en stærk forbindelse.

But Diarmuid hesitated.

Men Diarmuid tøvede.

He’d never put his interests before the Fianna’s.

Han ønskede ikke at komme sine egne lyster før fiannaernes.

Seeing Diarmuid waver between duty and desire,

Da Gráinne så hvordan Diarmuid sloges med valget mellem pligt og lyst

Gráinne took the decision out of his hands.

tog hun beslutningen ud af hans hænder.

With a light kiss, she placed a geas on his brow—

Med et kys på hans pande fortryllede hun ham.

an ancient spell that bound them together, for better or worse.

En gammel besværgelse der bandt dem sammen i medgang og modgang.

As the pair escaped, Diarmuid’s heart was racing.

Mens de flygtede galopperede Diarmuids hjerte.

Had he really betrayed Fionn for a woman he’d just met?

Havde han virkelig forrådt Fionn for en kvinde han lige havde mødt?

To answer his son’s questions, Angus Óg appeared beside them.

For at svare på hans søns spørgsmål kom Angus Óg til dem.

The God of Love blessed their union and eased his son’s concern.

Kærlighedens gud velsignede parret og lettede hans søns fortvivlelse.

But he also warned that endless difficulties lay ahead.

Men han advarede dem også om de farer, der lå foran dem.

At the palace, Fionn awoke full of wrath.

Tilbage på borgen var Fionn vågnet fyldt af vrede.

He rallied an epic war band that quickly caught up to the lovers.

Han samlede en gruppe af krigere, der hurtigt indhentede parret.

To buy time, Diarmuid and Gráinne conjured a massive enclosure with seven doors.

For at købe tid fremtryllede Diarmuid og Gráinne

en stor fæstning med syv døre frem.

While Gráinne escaped with Angus Óg, Diarmuid went door to door seeking Fionn.

Mens Gráinne flygtede med Angus Óg, gik Diarmuid fra dør til dør

og ledte efter Fionn.

Some of the Fianna sought peaceful surrender, others itched for combat.

Nogle af fiannaerne overgav sig, mens andre hungrede efter kamp.

Diarmuid gave neither.

Diarmuid gav dem ingen af delene.

But when he finally heard his leader’s voice calling for blood,

Men da han hørte sin lederes stemme kalde på blod

he knew there was no turning back.

vidste han, at der ingen vej var tilbage.

Launching himself over the barricade, Diarmuid leapt to Gráinne’s side.

Han hoppede over muren og landede ved Gráinnes side.

The chase was on.

Jagten var i gang.

The pair ventured west, where they soon encountered the giant Modan.

Parret rejste vestpå, hvor de mødte kæmpen Modan.

Eager to help the lovers, he guarded them at night and carried them by day.

Ivrig efter at hjælpe, beskyttede han dem om natten og bar dem om dagen.

And once the pair had crossed countless rivers and hills,

Og efter at have krydset utallige floder og bakker

their fear began to ease.

begyndte deres frygt at aftage sig.

They left the forest’s cover, laughing, flirting, and growing bolder each day.

De forlod skovens beskyttelse og blev mere trygge for hver dag der gik.

But Fionn saw their contentment was an opportunity.

Men Fionn så deres lettelse som en mulighed.

He enlisted three sea chiefs to capture the wandering lovers.

Han fik tre høvdinge til at prøve at fange de to elskere.

Diarmuid scared them off with mystifying sword tricks—

Diarmuid skræmte dem væk med hans utrolige sværd færdigheder.

only for Fionn to send poisonous hounds.

Kun for Fionn til at sende giftige jagthunde.

Diarmuid and Gráinne fled yet again into an even more tangled forest—

Diarmuid og Gráinne flygtede igen. Denne gang ind i en endnu dybere skov.

a sight which filled the Fianna with exhaustion.

Ved dette syn blev fiannaerne overvældet af træthed.

They implored Fionn to give up the hunt, and at this, their leader grew quiet.

De bønfaldte Fionn om at opgive jagten. Deres leder blev stille.

He’d already lost a dear friend—

Han havde allerede mistet en nær ven.

now it seemed his wrath had cost him the respect of his men as well.

Det lod til at hans raseri også havde kostet ham hans mænds respekt.

Swallowing his rage, he called off the chase.

Han slugte sin vrede og stoppede jagten.

For years, Gráinne and Diarmuid lived in peace.

I mange år levede Gráinne og Diarmuid i fred.

In time, Angus Óg even brokered an agreement between the warriors,

Med tiden forsonede Angus Óg de to krigere,

and their conflict faded into memory.

og deres konflikt blev fortid.

But Gráinne never forgot the love god’s warning.

Men Gráinne glemte aldrig advarslen fra kærlighedens gud.

One day, Fionn invited Diarmuid on a boar hunt high in the mountains.

En dag inviterede Fionn Diarmuid på jagt højt oppe i bjergene.

While the two were riding, a venomous boar charged them

Mens de red, angreb et giftigt vildsvin dem.

and mortally wounded Diarmuid.

Diarmuid blev dødeligt såret.

As he bled, the old warrior begged his friend for water,

Den gamle kriger tryglede hans ven om vand,

as all the Fianna knew drinking from the hands of Fionn Mac Cumhaill

for alle fiannaerne vidste at hvis man drak vand

af Fionn Mac Cumhaills hænder kunne det redde ens liv.

could save their lives.

But as Fionn turned to aid Diarmuid, his old resentments came rushing back.

Men da Fionn ville hjælpe Diarmuid, kom hans ulmende vrede farende tilbage.

For just a moment, his fingers parted, letting the water trickle to the ground.

I et øjeblik delte hans fingre sig og vandet faldt til jorden.

And by the time Fionn realized his mistake,

Men da Fionn opdagede sin fejltagelse

it was too late.

var det for sent.

And the embers of rage that long burned inside him were finally quenched by tears.

Vredens gløder, som i lang tid havde ulmet i ham,

blev slukket af hans tårer.