A  brief  outline  of  the  story  is  necessary  for  the  intelligence
of  the  points  to  be  discussed.  Maelduin  sets  forth  oversea
to  seek  his  father's  murderers,  and,  by  a  wizard's  advice,  he
is  to  take  with  him  seventeen  companions,  neither  more  nor
less.  But  at  the  last  moment  his  three  foster-brothers,  who
have  not  been  included  among  the  seventeen,  clamour  to
accompany  him,  and,  when  refused,  cast  themselves  into  the
sea  and  swim  after  the  vessel.  Maelduin  has  pity  upon  them
and  takes  them  in,  but  this  disregard  of  the  wizard's  injunc-
tion brings  its  punishment,  and  it  is  only  after  long  wander-
ings, the  visit  of  some  thirty  unknown  islands,  and  the  death
or  abandonment  of  the  three  foster-brothers,  that  Maelduin  is
able  to  fulfil  his  quest  and  return  to  Ireland.
1  At  the  same  time  I  would  emphasise  the  fact  that  the  present  version
of  Maelduin  is  composite,  and  has  certainly  been  added  to  and  interpolated,
probably  down  to  the  end  of  the  tenth  century.  All  dates  based  upon  our
text  are  therefore  open  to  doubt.
i64  THE    AMOROUS    QUEEN

There  are  two  main  points  of  contact  between  the  Voyages
of  Bran  and  Maelduin.  Both  describe  a  land  dwelt  in  by  an
amorous  queen  who  welcomes  the  mortal  visitor,  and  who  is
most  reluctant  to  let  him  depart ;  both  also  describe  a  land
which  has  this  peculiarity  that  the  mortal  who  lands  upon  it
is  forced  to  do  exactly  as  its  inhabitants,  and  seems  to  lose
at  once  all  knowledge  of  or  care  for  his  former  companions.
Both  episodes  must  be  fully  discussed.
The  Island  of  the  Amorous  Queen.
