Sul-Malla of Lumon by James Macpherson
Sul-malla of Lumon, by James Macpherson, follows Ossian and Oscar as they are invited by Sul-malla, daughter of the king of Inis-huna, to a feast in Cluba's echoing hall. She plays the harp, and her thoughts drift to Cathmor, king of Atha, who is away in battle for her green land. She asks about their course through the seas, and Ossian answers that Fingal, father of their race, is known even at Cluba. Sul-malla replies that Fingal's shield hangs high in her father's hall. She recalls how he once came to Cluba and killed the boar of Culdarnu after the youths of Inis-huna had failed. Her father Conmor and her brother Lormar are away at war, and she names Cathmor as the friend of strangers in Atha, who rolls ten thousand before him in the field. Ossian then tells of I-thorno, where the kings Culgorm and Suran-dronlo fought after quarreling over which of them had pierced a boar. Cathmor came to aid Culgorm, and Ossian aided Suran-dronlo. The two armies met on either side of a stream near the circles of Loda. In the fighting Ossian crossed spears with an armored chief, saw his helmet fall, and recognized Cathmor. He threw his spear to the ground, and the two passed on in silence to fight other foes. The two kings killed each other with spears and died half-reclined against a rock, each holding the other's lock of hair. Afterward Cathmor and Ossian met in peace and buried the dead. By Runar's bay a boat approached carrying Suran-dronlo's daughter, wild-eyed and armed with a spear. She called on the spirits of Loda to receive the foes of her father. Sul-malla listened to Cathmor's praise with a hidden fire in her soul, then withdrew from the song. That night the shadow of Trenmor appeared to Ossian in a dream, striking the dim shield on Selma's rock. Ossian knew that war was near, and he spread his sails before the winds as Lumon showed its streams to the morning.
By James Macpherson · First published 1765 · Genre: Epic poetry, Romantic poetry, Heroic poetry · 1,689 words
First lines
Argument. This poem, which, properly speaking, is a continuation of the last, opens with an address to Sul-malla, the daughter of the king of Inis-huna, whom Ossian met at the chase, as he returned from the battle of Rath-col. Sul-malla invites Ossian and Oscar to a feast, at the residence of her father, who was then absent on the wars. Upon hearing their names and family, she relates an expedition of Fingal into Inis-huna. She casually mentioning Cathmor, chief of Atha, (who then assisted her father against his enemies,) Ossian introduces the episode of Culgorm and Suran-dronlo, two Scandinavian kings, in whose wars Ossian himself and Cathmor were engaged on opposite sides. The story is imperfect, a part of the original being lost. Ossian, warned in a dream by the ghost of Trenmor, sets sail from Inis-huna.
Similar titles
- Sonnets Of The Great Peace by Helen Gray Cone
- Greencastle Jenny by Helen Gray Cone
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Genres
- Epic poetry — The passage belongs to the Ossianic cycle, a heroic epic tradition of elevated verse that recounts the deeds of warriors such as Fingal, Ossian and Cathmor, their feasts, voyages and battles, and the lineage of kings.
- Romantic poetry — Emphasis on sensibility, melancholy, nature and the sublime, together with the lyrical elegiac tone of the 18th century revival, places the work within the Romantic movement that Macpherson's Ossian helped shape.
- Heroic poetry — The narrative centres on warrior prowess, single combat such as the duel of Ossian and Cathmor, and the glorification of martial honour, typical of heroic verse.
- Bardic poetry — The speaker is a bard who sings the songs of the past at a feast, and the text repeatedly foregrounds song, harps and the transmission of tales within a bardic oral framework.
Tags
Epic poetry · Ossianic poetry · Heroic verse · Ossian · Sul-malla · Cathmor · Harp song · Cluba's feast · Boar hunt · Single combat · Warfare · Kingly rivalry
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Sul-Malla of Lumon is listed on Textopian as a poem by James Macpherson, dated 1765 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: James Macpherson
- Date: 1765 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Epic poetry, Romantic poetry, Heroic poetry, Bardic poetry, Lyric poetry
- Length: 1,689 words
- Structure: 1 section, 17 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for Sul-Malla of Lumon by James Macpherson
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