iters.

The SALTAIR OF TARA next claims our attention; and we may safely affirm,
merely judging from the fragments which remain, that a nation which
could produce such a work had attained no ordinary pitch of civilization
and literary culture. The Book of Ballymote,[3] and the Yellow Book of
Lecan,[4] attribute this work to Cormac Mac Art: "A noble work was
performed by Cormac at that time, namely, the compilation of Cormac's
Saltair, which was composed by him and the Seanchaidhe [Historians] of
Erinn, including Fintan, son of Bochra, and Fithil, the poet and judge.
And their synchronisms and genealogies, the succession of their kings
and monarchs, their battles, their contests, and their antiquities, from
the world's beginning down to that time, were written; and this is the
Saltair of Temair [pron. "Tara," almost as it is called now], which is
the origin and fountain of the Historians of Erinn from that period down
to this time. This is taken from the Book of the Uachongbhail."[5]

As we shall speak of Cormac's reign and noble qualities in detail at a
later period, it is only necessary to record here that his panegyric, as
king, warrior, judge, and philosopher, has been pronounced by almost
contemporary writers, as well as by those of later date. The name
_Saltair_ has been objected to as more likely to denote a composition of
Christian times. This objection, however, is easily removed: first, the
name was probably applied after the appellation had been introduced in
Christian times; second, we have no reason to suppose that King Cormac
designated his noble work by this name; and third, even could this be
proven, the much maligned Keating removes any difficulty by the simple
and obvious remark, that "it is because of its having been written in
poetic metre, the chief book which was in the custody of the _Ollamh_ of
the King of Erinn, was called the _Saltair of Temair;_ and the Chronicle
of holy Cormac Mac Cullinan, _Saltair of Cashel;_ and the Chronicle of
Aengus _Ceile De_ [the Culdee], _Saltair-na-Rann_ [that is, Saltair of
the Poems or Verses], because a Salm and a Poem are the same, and
therefore a _Salterium_ and a _Duanaire_ [book of poems] are the
same."[6]

[Illustration: SITE OF TARA.]

The oldest reference to this famous compilation is found in a poem on
the site of ancient Tara, by Cuan O'Lochain, a distinguished scholar,
and native of Westmeath, who died in the year 1024. The quotation given
below is t