Eithne, A Medieval Irish Princess

Eithne, A Medieval Irish Princess

Ladie Faire Doll Designs

25th OOAK Design:

Eithne

In a cloak, that bright breast of yours--
it should not be the blackthorn brooch;
for you it is, sweet redmouthed Mór,
the one brooch of gold in Éire.

In your cloak, the proper equipment is
only a brooch of noble finndruinna
or a wondrous brooch made of gold,
sweetworded redmouthed Mór.

Oh, soft hair the color of amber,
oh, furrow in the dapplegold cloak,
oh, resolute arch which may never betray a man,
a brooch of blackthorn is not fitting.

You should sow, my heart's nut,
in [your] many-yellowed checked cloak
(her red cheeks a hard-run prize)
only a hard-to-make brooch by Goibhniu.

Crimson cheek that harrows me,
without a gold pin -- only this hour of mine
for the length of an hour, oh pure hand --
for the green cloak of your soul.

--Fearchar Ó Maoilchiaráin
trans. Maureen O'Brien

Click here for Maureen O'Brien's Medieval Irish Poetry page.

eithne

Eithne (in Old Irish this would be pronounced "Eth-neh"; in modern Irish the -th is silent and makes the modern form of the name "Enya")is dressed in a style popular in the European courts around the turn of the 12th century. In honor of St. Patrick's day I have chosen a "Celtic" theme for this doll. In the Middle Ages, the color associated with St. Patrick during his festival was actually "St. Patrick's blue"; green only became associated with the holiday in the 19th century. However, medieval people, including the Irish, enjoyed bright colors in their clothes, and green was a popular dye for clothing, and it looks especially well with this doll's copper hair and green eyes! The bright and intricate pattern on the material of her mantle reminded me of the interwoven designs popular in Irish manuscripts, such as the Book of Kells. Gold was the metal of choice for jewelry and fittings for the upper classes, brightly burnished gold, which we would today describe as "yellow gold" was often referred to in medieval poetry as "red gold," and was intricately worked in twisting, interwoven designs often based on flora and fauna in the Celtic style. Gold and fine materials were an obvious indication of wealth and social prestige, and marks this young lady as a member of the aristocracy.

Eithne

eithne

Eithne's outfit comes in three separate and removable parts, a gown, mantle and veil. The mantle is a double-thickness (self-lined) of material with a brightly multicolored interwoven design, and trimmed with two styles of twining gold braid. The piéce de resistance is the intricate gold clasp with hold the mantle closed at the shoulders--something like this would have been a show-piece brought out for very special occasions!

The circular veil is of a translucent ivory material sparkling with metallic fibers; it is trimmed with a thin gold braid. It is held on the head by a circlet of twisted gold wire with a green stone in the middle--this coronet can also be worn without the veil, as shown. A unique collar-style necklace of waves of twisted gold wire completes Eithne's royal accessories.

Eithne

Eithne

The doll herself is the collectable Princess of Ireland Barbie (quite appropriately), with her long, coppery hair combed smooth and straight down her back and two plaits twisted with gold ribbon framing her face, which has not been repainted.

Eithne

The style of the gown or "robe" is fitted in the upper body and sleeves with full, gored skirt which sweeps the ground with a bit of a train in back. A beaded, embroidered piece in golds and greens adorns the midsection, and the waist is accentuated with a long, twisted black and gold belt or "girdle" in the style of the time.

Eithne

Here's one of the pictures that inspired this design; it represents a Norman lady from about the 1080's.

A woman from the reign of William the Conqueror

from "Medieval Costume and Fashion" by Herbert Norris