Note 113 — THE BOOK OF THE DEAN OF LISMORE.

This is the composition of a Poet of whom we know nothing save what we find in this volume. From a poem of his in praise of the M’Gregors, he would appear to have been a Scotchman. The name signifies Malcom, the son of the chief bard or the physician. It is found still in the form of M’Inally. This poem is the Celtic edition of the Persian tale of Zohrab and Rustum. The incidents are so similar, that the two tales must have had a common origin. Whether the Persians received the tale from the Celts, or the Celts from the Persians, or both from some other and older source, it is hard to say. The composition is in Gaelic, usually called, “Bàs Chonlaoich,” or The death of Conlach.