cenn i mbolg
cenn i mbolg
(head * in * bag)
head in a bag
This proverbial metaphor for ignorance is found in “In Tenga Bithnua” a sermon for the vigil of Easter composed around 1000 A.D, where it is paired with the similar expression “bith i tig dorcha” (being in a dark house). The full context is:
“ar ba cenn i mbolg ⁊ ba bth i tigh dhorcha do sil Adhuimh iarsindi na fes riam cissi dealbh ro bai forsin domun nó cia dhorigne” (for it was “head in a bag” and “being in a dark house” for the seed of Adam, since it had never been known what shape the world had or who made it).