Dánphostaer: A Poster-Poem about a woman who broke many rules!

From the poem Mis by Biddy Jenkinson, illustrated by Áine Macken
Biddy Jenkinson used the old Irish story of the Romance of Mis and Dubh Rois.




Mis went mad from grief after the death of her father,who had been killed in battle. Her madness drove her into the wilderness where she broke all the rules of the social class to which she belonged. She became a “femme sauvage”, grew her hair long and ran around naked with athletic speed.She grew fur and long hair.

At King Feidhlim’s request the gentle harper Dubh Rois agreed to attempt to tame her. He seduced her with his music, and taught her how to cook and care for herself again. He arranged a dwelling place for them, married her, but after some time he was killed by a band of hostile warriors. This time when faced with a new grief, Mis succeeded in keeping her reason to lament Dubh Rois in passionate verse.

This is an earthy and ribald story as the wild woman who broke all the rules relearns how to function according to the mores and rules of the day.

The poet Biddy Jenkinson has taken the story of Mis and written a long and wonderful poem giving voice to the adventures, feelings and thoughts of Mis.