“GRAVE MARKED WITH OGHAM, A”
(“GRAVE MARKED WITH OGAM, A”)
ANONYMOUS (12th century) The anonymous poem
now called “A Grave Marked with Ogam” was origi-
nally untitled. It has seven four-line STANZAs, with the
second and fourth line of each stanza rhyming. As
OGHAM stones so often mark graves, the stone in the
poem is no exception. Scholars attribute the poem to
Oisín. It focuses on the deaths of Oscar, son of the
author, and Cairbre, or Caipre, who kill each other at
the battle of Gabhra. Finn MacCool (Irish war leader)
and the Fenian clan, of which Oscar and his father are
members, demand tribute from Cairbre when the lat-
ter announces the marriage of his daughter. Cairbre
refuses, and a battle ensues. The poet Oisín fought in
the battle and claims to have killed twice 50 warriors.
The power of Finn and the Fenians was broken follow-
ing their defeat in battle and the death of Oscar. The
poem ends with the claim that the Ogham stone would
be remembered better if Finn had lived. While the
poem comes from the 12th century in Irish, it remains
one of our best insights into Ogham stones and their
use in early Irish culture.
See also EARLY IRISH VERSE.
FURTHER READING
Book of Leinster. Edited by R. I. Best and M. A. O’Brien.
5 vols. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies,
1954–67.
Lehmann, Ruth P. M. “ ‘The Calendar of the Birds’ and ‘A
Grave Marked with Ogam’: Two Problem Poems from the
Book of Leinster.” Etudes Celtiques 17 (1980): 197–203.
Mark DiCicco
GREVILLE, SIR FULKE, BARON BROOKE
(1554–1628) Born on October 3, 1554, Sir Fulke
Greville became friends with SIR PHILIP SIDNEY while at
school in Shrewsbury. He later studied at Jesus Col-
lege, Cambridge University, but left without taking a
degree. Greville’s friendship with Sidney continued at
court, where he also aligned himself with Robert Dud-
ley, Sidney’s uncle, and Robert Devereux, earl of Essex.
In 1597, Queen ELIZABETH I knighted Greville, and the
following year he was named treasurer of the navy.
Though he retired briefl y upon the ascension of JAMES
VI/I, Greville returned to court in 1612, earning the
offi ces of privy counselor and chancellor of the exche-
quer. Named Baron Brooke in 1621, Greville then
served in the House of Lords until his death. Ralph
Haywood, a dissatisfi ed servant, murdered Greville on
September 30, 1628.
Unlike many other Renaissance authors, Greville
did not begin writing early in his life; the majority of
sources indicate that he only began composing after
Sidney’s death. His best-known work is CAELICA, a col-
lection of 109 love poems. Although linked with the
SONNET SEQUENCE tradition, only 41 of the poems are
actually SONNETs. The majority of his other works
refl ect political philosophy (e.g., A Treatise of Monar-
chy, 1609), religious concerns (A Treatise of Religion,
1609), and ethical considerations (A Treatise of Humane
Learning, 1633). He also wrote three plays: The Tragedy
of Mustapha (ca. 1595), Alaham (ca. 1599), and Antony
and Cleopatra (ca. 1601), which Greville destroyed
after Essex’s execution. He also completed a biography
of Sidney entitled The Life of the Renowned Sir Philip
Sydney in 1610, though it remained unpublished until- This work is precocious in its combination of
authorial biography with critical interpretation of Sid-
ney’s poems, as well as its discussions about Sidney’s
infl uence on English poetry and on the current politi-
cal circumstances prevalent in Renaissance England.
FURTHER READING
Hansen, Matthew C., and Matthew Woodcock, eds. “Fulke
Greville: A Special Double Issue.” Sidney Journal 19, nos.
1 & 2 (2001): 1–182.
Steggle, Matthew. “Fulke Greville: Life and Works.” Sidney
Journal 19, nos. 1 & 2 (2001): 1–9.
Wilkes, G. A. “ ‘Left... to Play the Ill Poet in My Own Part’:
The Literary Relationship of Sidney and Fulke Greville.”
Review of English Studies 57, no. 230 (2006): 291–309.
“GUIGEMAR” MARIE DE FRANCE (late 12th
century) MARIE DE FRANCE’s fi rst lai (LAI) is about
Guigemar, son of Oridial, vassal of King Hoel of Bri-
tanny. Guigemar is a typical courtly knight, but he does
not display the customary interest in love that a knight
should. While hunting, he tries to kill a white deer, but
the arrow ricochets and ends up wounding him instead.
The deer places a curse upon him to remain wounded“GUIGEMAR” 211