Literary historians generally have concluded that the ancient Irish far inferior in the art of old Irish traditional media and that it generally in any way does not meet modern. Naively believing in criteria, some historians of Irish literature even argue, of this kind (i.e. the oldest personal poetry) never to be poetry, and not valued as such. But this is clearly they themselves have numerous facts. Many authors such poetry was used in ancient Ireland, a huge, author of topographical and other factual poems, high esteem that after his death reigned then king rulers of Ireland. Flann mac, the author of such poems was subsequently known as "Virgil Scott, chief poet of all and the best Irish poet". That such poetry had high rating shows, finally, the mere fact that the names of its authors was kept often in the continuation of magistrate, apparently still in the oral tradition.
Thing, certainly not that this poetry was not "poetry", because its authors alleged were insufficiently endowed, and too professional, or that its authors consciously wrote poetry that should not "poetry", and that at this stage of the development of the personal poetry, and it can be different.
Dominant genres in the old Irish personal poetry was laudatory its opposite julienne poems. Published in Kuno Meyer in 1919 year "Fragments of ancient lyric poetry of Ireland" of the 167 rooms (which "eventual anonymous") to these genres (including funerary eulogies) clearly applies 131. Genre affiliation of the others is unclear. The term "lyrics" is in this case completely arbitrary value. Apparently he that these verses do not refer to traditional epic poetry. Lyrics, in the proper sense, in the poetry of this kind usually fails to detect, just as, despite the huge number of author's names, not this poetry to discover the identity of the authors.
Praise and blaspheme was, apparently, the main function of the poet in ancient times. In Could, the ancient Irish book of laws, says: "Before the arrival of Patrick (i.e. to Christianity), only three categories of people publicly in Erin, the historian is to narrate the events and, poet praise and blaspheme and the judge to pronounce the sentence." Even testimony of ancient authors about Celtic poets. So, "lyric poets, called bards. Accompanied by instruments like Lyra, they sing the praises of one, a satire on the other".
It is hardly necessary to assume the influence, as did, last to explain the dominance of these ancestral genres not only the skalds, but also personal Irish poets. As shown above, in such panegyric poetry was supposed to develop the author's identity, i.e. personal poetry. A song of praise and its sister genres and was the oldest personal poetry.
In the ancient Irish personal poetry, very strong remnants of the magical. Irish tradition ascribes the most ancient poets of the ability poems that caused physical damage, caused disasters, etc. Works attributed to semi-mythical first Irish poet more like a spell than of the poem. In published treatises on prosody explains that during from years long study, which was to go poet, the last social satire aimed at the detection of the thief, ensuring longevity, kind of unhappiness the Irish were surrounded by the aura of a sage, prophet, wizard. It caused fear and respect. In view was being superhuman. Its function is hardly even possible to in terms of modern language, as poetry at this stage, it is characterized by functional syncretism, fuzzy functions. Hence, the high position, who was not only a poet, but a magician, a prophet, Royal, a judge, a sage, a Keeper of tradition. All this has an analogy and the ancient skalds. All this inevitably on the development of personal poetry.
Finally, like the poetry of skalds, the old Irish work of poets the hypertrophy of forms. "The form of Celtic poetry, the founder of Celtic Philology, Johann Caspar, Zeus apparently than the poetic form of any other people, and even more pretentious poems than in the more modern".
"The sophistication of the system they (i.e. Irish) have developed, rules, and intricacy of their poetical code are amazing," says Hyde, comparing it to the archaic art of English poetry and wondering what English poets in the sixteenth century, showed poetic technique "in which not guilty would be the last Irish the rundown Irish chieftain".
But because he is not guilty in this, one could argue Hyde that much more primitive level of cultural development.
Old Irish poetry is characterized by an unusual abundance of external ornament. It and end rhyme, and alliteration, and of course the middle rhyme (rhyme the end of one verse with the middle of another). Not identical rhyme sounds, and sounds identical type (the deaf a voiced occlusive, fluid, etc.). Alliteration was used and according to strict rules (although, in contrast to organizing role in the rhythmic structure of a verse she played).
Was different, for example, setting the same words in stanza and at the beginning of the next or rhyme of with two syllables etc. there was a lot of completely original terms of poetics. But characteristically, obvious overall similarity of the old Irish poetics with the fanciful poetry of the skalds, there were no matches in the particulars and details, in the same way as in terms.
Formal hypertrophy had undoubtedly place in the Irish technologies in ancient times, apparently before the introduction of writing in Ireland (which defies precise Dating). There is, however, reason to assume that after the script was used in Ireland, poetry in the oral tradition, just as it took place, according to Caesar, in relation to the poems that were studied in druid's circle in Gaul, schools, which is an obvious analogy to the Irish schools bards.
How far hypertrophy of the old Irish poets, and is best evidenced by the fact that poetic art had special school in the continuation of a long period (7 or 12 years or even more), and in order to achieve the highest poetic title, it was necessary, among other things, to know more than fifty meters. Examples of sizes really are in old Irish texts. Formal hypertrophy is the fact that certain dimensions military plane for certain grades of poets, who had no right of the wrong size. Studied in schools and a special "poetic language", incomprehensible to the uninitiated. According to tradition, the deprivation of the poet as a judge (i.e. separation of functions) precisely because there was (almost before) that the language poets were so intricate that the uninitiated did not understand him.
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