Chapter III: MANX LITERATURE.--The literary remains written in the Manx language

are much slighter than those of any other Celtic dialect. With one small exception nothing pertaining to the saga literature of Ireland has been preserved. The little we possess naturally falls under two heads--original compositions and translations. With regard to the first category we must give the place of honour to an Ossianic poem contained in a MS. in the British Museum (written in 1789), which relates how Orree, Finn's enemy, was tormented by the women of Finn's household when the latter was away hunting, how he in revenge set fire to the house, and how Finn had him torn in pieces by wild horses. Most of the existing literature of native origin, however, consists of ballads and carols, locally called carvels. These used to be sung on Christmas eve in the churches, the members of the congregation each bringing a candle. Any one who pleased could get up and sing one. These carvels deal largely with the end of the world, the judgment-day and the horrors of hell. About eighty of them were published under the title of _Carvalyn Gailckagh_ (Douglas, 1891). An attempt is being made by _Yn Cheshaght Gailckagh_ to revive the _Oiel Voirrey_ (=Irish _Oidhche Fheile Mhuire_), "the feast of Mary," as the festival used to be called, and gatherings in the old style have been held in Peel for the last two or three years. Apart from the carvels there are other ballads in existence, the most important of which were printed in vol. xvi. of the _Publications of the Manx Society_. The earliest is an 18th-century song of Manannan Mac y Lheir, traditionally supposed to have been written in the 16th century, and which tells of the conversion of the island by St Patrick. Then comes _Baase Ittiam Dhone_ (The Death of Brown William), dealing with the death of William Christian, who was shot as a traitor in 1662. The best-known Manx song is _Mylecharaine_ (=Irish _Maolchiaran_). It is directed against a man of this name who was the first to give a dowry to his daughter, the custom having previously been for the bridegroom to pay money to the father of the bride. Others are _Ny Kirree fo Sniaghtey_ (The Sheep under the Snow), a song about the loss of the Douglas herring fleet in 1787 (reprinted at Douglas, 1872), and _O Vannin Veg Veen_ (Dear little Mona). A further ballad was taken down by J. Strachan and is published in the _Zeitschrift fur celtische Philologie_, i. 79. In 1760 Joseph Bridson wrote a "Short Account of the Isle of Man" in Manx (_Coontey Ghiare jeh Ellan Vannin ayns Gailck_), which was reprinted in vol. xx. of the _Publications of the Manx Society_. The translated literature is almost entirely of a religious character. Jenner prints a list of twenty-three volumes in his article referred to below, but we can only here mention the most important. The first is the translation of the English Prayer-Book by Bishop Phillips, 1610 (published by A.W. Moore, Oxford, 1895). The _Sermons_ of Bishop Wilson in 3 vols. (1783) are a very rare work, highly important for our knowledge of Manx prose, and it is to be hoped that _Yn Cheshaght Gailckagh_ will see their way to reprint it. A translation of parts of Milton's _Paradise Lost_ (_Pargys Caillit_) by Thomas Christian, 1796, is reprinted in vol. xx. of the _Publications of the Manx Society_. The later translation of the Church of England Prayer-Book was printed in 1765 and again in 1777 and 1840. But by far the most important of all is the translation of the Bible. The energetic Bishop Wilson managed to get parts of the Scriptures translated and the Gospel of St Matthew was printed in 1748. Wilson's successor, Bishop Hildesley, completed the work, and in 1775 the whole Bible appeared. The last reprint of the Bible appeared in 1819, that of the New Testament in 1810 (?). As a curiosity it may be mentioned that recently _Aesop's Fables_ have been translated into the vernacular (Douglas, 1901).

AUTHORITIES.--H. Jenner, "The Manx Language: its Grammar, Literature
and Present State," _Transactions of the London Philological Society_
(1875), pp. 172 ff.; _Publications of the Manx Society_, vols. xvi.,
xx., xxi.; L.C. Stern, _Die Kultur d. Gegenwart_, i. xi. 1, pp.
110-11.

Early MSS.