An Tuairisgeul Mòr.
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1969.60.A+61.A1; SA1969.61.A2
Original Tape ID
Summary
How the king's son found out what happened to the Tuairisgeul Mòr.
A king's son was hunting one day and he met a horseman and a woman. The men played cards and the king's son won the woman. When he played against the stranger again the next day, he won the palfrey. On the third day, the stranger won every game, and the king's son was put under a spell to get the story of how the Tuairisgeul Mòr died. He, in turn, put the stranger under a spell to stand with his feet on different hills until his return. The woman wrote three letters, and told the king's son what to do with them.
He set off on the palfrey, which could make a year's journey in a day, and went to see three knights, who happened to be the father and uncles of the woman. Though the first two knights had no information about the Tuairisgeul Mòr, the third told the king's son about an old man who might help.
The old man was so old and frail that he was in a cradle. The king's son made a deal with his grandson's grandson to exchange the palfrey for the old man, but he kept the reins. The old man directed him to a place where a sword was buried under a cauldron and he began to write the story of the Tuairisgeul Mòr on the sword. The old man was also the son of a king. He had been turned into a dog by his stepmother and had been chased onto a sea rock. He was rescued by a boat and was adopted by the skipper. He was then left with a newly-married shipowner. The couple eventually had three children, but each time a huge hand came through the wall and stole the child. The dog was blamed, but was not killed. The third time, the dog bit off the hand, but another hand stole the child. The hand was covered with diamond rings. The shipowner realised the dog was not guilty. He and the dog followed the trail to the shore, before sailing to an island cave. The shipowner's three children were there, and the wounded Tuairisgeul Mòr. The dog killed him with his own sword.
The skipper returned, and refused to be parted from the dog. His ship was later wrecked on the coast of Ireland. He and the dog and the other survivors were taken to a house nearby. It was the house of the man's father, and though his father was now dead, his stepmother was still alive. He pestered her until she struck him with a magic wand. In doing so, she turned him back into a man.
The old man warned the king's son to be careful when dealing with the Tuairisgeul Òg, whom he had left standing on the hills, or he would be killed. He asked to be left under the cauldron. When this was done, he turned into bones. The king's son shook the reins and the palfrey returned. He and the three knights returned home and he went to read the story of the Tuairisgeul Mòr in the glen between the hills where the Tuairisgeul Òg had been left standing. As the story began, he began to come back to life. The king's son cut off his head, but it kept returning to his body, until the king's son finally split it in two. The king's son married the daughter of the Knight of the Red Shield.
Item Notes
Cf. 'Sgialachdan Dhunnchaidh' (K. C. Craig ed., 1944) p. 59
The contributor heard the story of An Tuairisgeul Mòr from his father, Iain, who was from Eriskay. He was of the opinion that he learned it in Eriskay, or at sea. His father heard many stories from other sailors. He used to tell this story during ceilidhs. Their house was a great ceilidh place in winter.
Item Subject/Person
An Tuairisgeul Mòr; Mac Rìgh Èireann
Language
Gaelic
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good