Middle Irish


Middle Irish, sometimes called Middle Gaelic, is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, most of Scotland and the Isle of Man from circa 900–1200 AD; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old English and early Middle English. The modern Goidelic languages—Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx—are all descendants of Middle Irish.
The Lebor Bretnach, the "Irish Nennius", survives only from manuscripts preserved in Ireland; however, Thomas Owen Clancy has argued that it was written in Scotland, at the monastery in Abernethy.

Grammar

Middle Irish is a fusional, VSO, nominative-accusative language.
Nouns decline for two genders: masculine, feminine, though traces of neuter declension persist; three numbers: singular, dual, plural; and five cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, prepositional, vocative. Adjectives agree with nouns in gender, number, and case.
Verbs conjugate for three tenses: past, present, future; four moods: indicative, subjunctive, conditional, imperative; independent and dependent forms. Verbs conjugate for three persons and an impersonal, agentless form. There are a number of preverbal particles marking the negative, interrogative, subjunctive, relative clauses, etc.
Prepositions inflect for person and number. Different prepositions govern different cases, depending on intended semantics.

Example

The following is a poem in Middle Irish about Eógan Bél, King of Connacht.
Dún Eogain Bél forsind loch forsrala ilar tréntroch,
ní mair Eogan forsind múr ocus maraid in sendún.
Maraid inad a thige irraibe ’na chrólige,
ní mair in rígan re cair nobíd ina chomlepaid.
Cairptech in rí robúi and, innsaigthech oirgnech Érenn,
ní dechaid coll cána ar goil, rocroch tríchait im óenboin.
Roloisc Life co ba shecht, rooirg Mumain tríchait fecht,
nír dál do Leith Núadat nair co nár dámair immarbáig.
Doluid fecht im-Mumain móir do chuinchid argait is óir,
d’iaraid sét ocus móine do gabail gíall dagdóine.
Trían a shlúaig dar Lúachair síar co Cnoc mBrénainn isin slíab,
a trían aile úad fo dess co Carn Húi Néit na n-éces.
Sé fodéin oc Druimm Abrat co trían a shlúaig, nísdermat,
oc loscud Muman maisse, ba subach don degaisse.
Atchím a chomarba ind ríg a mét dorigne d’anfhír,
nenaid ocus tromm ’malle, conid é fonn a dúine.
Dún Eogain.