S

SATIRE
Satire has a long-standing role in Ireland’s history and
literature. Still a modern characteristic feature of its
prose, satire is best attested in the verse literature of
medieval Ireland.
Several Irish terms exist for satire, all deriving from
the basic notion “to cut” or “strike.” Satire was levied
through verse compositions, artfully crafted within a
set of accepted technical rules. As a skill of the trained
poet, the proper composition of satire required lengthy
training, memorization, and study of the traditional
styles, meters, and rhymes. The professional poet, and
in the later period the bard, were the master craftsmen
of satire, paid highly for their art. As expected, the
more skillful the poet, the higher his rank, and the
higher his rank, the more expensive his satire. Inter-
estingly, while female poets were uncommon, female
satirists seem to have been relatively familiar and
accepted.
In the early period, satire seems to have been fairly
short and concise, consisting of blunt sarcasm or
ridicule. Compositions lengthened in the later medi-
eval period, often with a less specific victim or objec-
tive. Satire was believed to cause facial blemishes
and blisters, and in extreme cases, even death. Early
annals relate the deaths of notable figures, deaths brought
on by particularly potent satirical verse. Literature of the
Middle Ages, English and Gaelic, including works by
Shakespeare and Spenser, mention Irish satire
employed to kill men and animals, mainly rats.
Throughout the later period, and up to the present day,
satire developed a less specific and individual nature,
evolving into the general lampooning so characteristic
in modern Irish literature.
Satire was employed for various means, and not
simply public defamation of character. At its basic
level, it was used to threaten and insult a targeted

individual. Common topics of satire included moral

and intellectual faults such as cowardice, stinginess,

inhospitality, ignorance, treachery, and conceit. Every-

day devices of satire included sarcasm, innuendo, and

creating nicknames that stuck.

From the early period, satire was also a sanction

used to enforce and ensure legal remedy. The threat of

satire could prompt payment of claims, fines, and pen-

alties. It could also force a high-ranking member of

society to submit to legal arbitration. The formal pro-

cedure of the latter made it illegal to ignore satire,

ensuring the cooperation of the higher-ranking defen-

dant. Attesting to its pervasive role in society, the

Church itself was not immune from the power of satire

and its poets. Saint Columba (Colum-Cille) himself is

once described in a cold sweat, fearing satire from a

poet he cannot remunerate. Columba is saved when

his sweat turns to gold, which he generously and

immediately offers in compensation.

As a powerful legal tool, Irish law maintained strict

regulation for the proper use of satire. Illegal satire

was anathema to both society and its legal system. The

illegal satirist was punished heavily, usually stripped

of all social rank and standing. Illegal satire included

publicizing a false story, mocking a disability or defor-

mity, wrongful accusations, and technically or metri-

cally imperfect satire. It was also illegal to satirize

someone after his death.

A

NGELA

G

LEASON

References and Further Reading

Kelly, Fergus,

A Guide to Early Irish Law.

Dublin, 1988, 43–44,

137–138

Mercier,

Vivian,

The Irish Comic Tradition.

Oxford, 1962

See also

Brehon Law; Colum-Cille; Poetry, Irish;

Poets/Men of Learning