n io, n. g
s.
ind
ḟochlai
,
AU 913 (i 428)
.
ind fochli
,
821
.
ind ḟochla
,
LL 134b31
.
ind Fochla
,
AU 865.
d
s. usually
fochla or
fochlai
, see exx. below;
fochlu,
LL 124b40
.
BDD
74
Y (ḟocluí LU).
Laws iv 338.15
. A compd. of fo + clé
`left'
Pedersen Vgl. Gr. i 68
, hence
I The North
(cf. faitse, and W.
gogledd `North,'
ZCP xiv 323
), esp. the North of Ireland:
f.¤ an tuascert,
Corm. Y 654
. a fochlai Erend ō Tuaig Inbir
RC xiii 222.33
(= a tuaiscert lethe Erenn, O'Curry,
MS. Mat. 473
). Níal ind ḟ.¤
N. of the North
Todd Nenn. 252
(
LL 134b31
). ri Ulad ... hi cetlud rig Fochla (i.e. the king
of Ailech),
Ériu v 232.25
(i c. fri fochlai
v.l.).
roslat uile
longportu Gall (.i. airir ind Fochla) etir cenel nEugain ┐
Dal nAraide,
AU 865
.
sloghedh la Flann ... isa f.¤ cor
innred leis Ardd Macha,
881
(=
isin F.¤
,
AFM 879
).
sloghadh
isin F.¤ la Donnchad,
AU
770
. The name was also given to
territories in N. Meath, see Hog. Onom., and in Clare,
Top. Poems 112.5
(= Carney,
Butler Poems 1377
) and
n
. Cf.
gaibthiut
co firu fochlae i faitse,
Rawl. 132a16
(=
foichle hi foidse,
Ériu iii 137.74
).
II Transf.
(a)
the seat of honour in a king's
or chief's hall; perhaps an earlier use than the follg., pointing to a primitive arrangement like that in the old Icelandic
house, where the seat of honour was in the middle of the
northern bench facing south. Cf.
Laws iv 338.15
(describing arrangement of a king's banqueting-hall): cuslennaigh
... a n-airt[h]iur ḟoitsi. isinn leth eliu a fochlu fénnid
`his champion's seat' (`on the other side, in the north, a man
at arms', MacNeill
PRIA xxxvi C 16. 306
, see
n
. ib.;
Plummer suggests reading: isin leth chliu a fochlu feinnid[a] `on the left is his champion's seat (MS. notes s.v.).
Binchy,
Críth G. 591
, prints: ailiu, i fochlu, which agrees
with MacNeill's rendering, but compare the exx. of f.¤
feinneda below). i nairt[h]iur fochlai
`on the east side of
the champion's seat' ib. (=
Críth G. 597
, `in the north-east'
Vocab. s.v. airther).
f.¤ nomen do suidhe na flatha,
Corm. Y
656
.
f.¤ didiu cach suidiu n-a[i]rechda,
698
.
fochlu ... nomen
primsuidhe ina himda,
O'Dav. 841
(citing
Corm. Y 698
,
see (b) below). ar síul ar belaib fochlu .i. ar crann siu[i]l ┐
i n-airidhiu ib. f.¤ fó .i. suidhe flatha no tighearna, O'Cl.
In older literature, however, the name seems to have been
given not to the king's (or chief's)
seat but to that of his
champion or chief man at arms; hence generally called f.¤
fénneda (possibly in these exx. the word is of different
origin; cf. 2 fochla).
[f]ochla (féinneadh),
IGT, Decl. § 2
(m.; n
p. fochla, -dha). It seems to have been usually opposite the king's seat;
dobrethsat póca do Choin Culainn ┐
rafucsat leo dond ḟochlai ḟennida,
RC xiv 426x
.
ra innis [Cú
Chulainn] do Chonchobur ┐ sé san ḟochlai ḟennida na ḟiadnaisi,
LL 263b12
(
MU² 229
; the pron. sé presumably refers to
Cú Chulainn).
dochonnairc C. raet rob ingnad leis isin
tigh n-ola .i. ingen ... isin [ḟ]ochla ḟéinned,
Acall. 3251
.
isind fhoclúi féinnida in tige fri enech ríg isind leith anall
BDD 74
U (ḟochlu Y). Later heroic romance speaks of
more than one f.¤ fénneda:
tainic Ferccus ┐ do thóccaibh
[sic leg.] a arma os a chionn isin ḟ.¤ ḟeinnidh ┐ tainic M. isin
f.¤ ḟeinnidh oile ar ionchaibh Ferccusa,
ITS v 84.9
(cf. isin
fochla thuaiscertach tige ib.
6
). san f.¤ fheinned a n-imdaid
na hursand ... san fh.¤ fheinned isan iar[sh]lis ar a n-agaid,
Celt. Rev. i 296
. See also cit. from O'Cl. under 2 fochla.
Cf. fuaim iar fochlu (= fame according to precedence in
valour or dignity ? throughout the north ?)
LL 124b40
(chev.). Fig. of a
champion:
fo fer Fergus ... f.¤ do rígaib
mac Rosa,
Celt. Rev. ii 20
. Cf.
flaith .i. fochla,
Thr. Ir. Gl. 19
(
LB 267a12
). This not in Corm. Y or M, and is
perhaps corrupt. In:
fochlu .i. feinnidh,
O'Dav. 841
, the
latter word is probably gen. depending on fochlu.
(b) Incorrectly interpreted by glossators as the warrior's seat in a chariot (
Ériu xxi 94-98)
:
bátar sinde
riadatar a fochlai fria faitsi .i. do suidhiu ind erred isin
charput as nomen a fochlae,
Corm. Y 698
s.v. gaire.
O'Dav.
841
.