Religion^ Lea?'7ting, and A7't; 7'i'ades, Industries^ and Commerce; Manners^ Customs^ and Do7nestic Life,nbsp;of the Ancient Iidsh People

P. JOYCE,

M, H. Gill (S' Son, :: :: Lid. :: ::nbsp;JO Upper O�Connellnbsp;Street :: :: Dublin

The Place, Time, Author, and Cause of Writing, of this book, are:�Its place is Lyre-na-Grena, Leinster-road,nbsp;Rathmines, Dublin; its time is the year of our Lordnbsp;one thousand nine hundred and three; the author isnbsp;Patrick Weston foyce. Doctor of Laws; and the causenbsp;of writing the same book is to give glory to God, honournbsp;to Ireland, and knowledge to those who desire - to learnnbsp;all about the Old Irish People.

PREFACE

An important function of History is to depict social and domestic life. If we wish to obtain anbsp;clear view of the general state of any particularnbsp;country in past times, we shall need to have anbsp;good knowledge of the people, high and low, richnbsp;and poor; their standards of civilisation, religion,nbsp;and learning; their virtues and failings; theirnbsp;industries, occupations, and amusements; theirnbsp;manners and customs ; and the sort of life theynbsp;led day by day in their homes.

The social condition of most of those ancient nations that have made any figure in the worldnbsp;has been investigated and set forth in books ; andnbsp;perhaps it will be acknowledged that Irelandnbsp;deserves to be similarly commemorated. For,nbsp;besides the general importance of all such studiesnbsp;in elucidating the history of the human race,nbsp;the ancient Irish were a highly intellectual andnbsp;interesting people; and the world owes themnbsp;something, as I hope to be able to show. In thisnbsp;book an attempt is made to picture society, innbsp;all its phases, as it existed in Ireland before the

Anglo-Norman Invasion; and to accomplish this work�to bring together in one Essay all that isnbsp;known on the subject�every authentic source ofnbsp;information within my reach has been turned tonbsp;account. I have collected the scattered Sibyllinenbsp;leaves with much loving labour, and sorted andnbsp;pieced them together slowly and patiently, so as tonbsp;form a connected and intelligible statement; butnbsp;in my case there were a hundred times morenbsp;inscribed leaves to deal with than ever any votarynbsp;picked up in the Sibyl�s cave. Or perhaps somenbsp;of my readers, putting aside this metaphor, maynbsp;rather see in the book the likeness of some spaciousnbsp;edifice, with symmetrical wings and numerousnbsp;bright apartments, all differently furnished andnbsp;ornamented. The visitor who wishes to enter herenbsp;and explore the interior will find the way plainlynbsp;pointed out at the opening of every corridor, andnbsp;each apartment labelled to indicate, in a generalnbsp;way, what is to be seen inside.

The society depicted here�as the reader will soon discover for himself�^was of slow and methodical growth and development; duly subordinatednbsp;from the highest grades of people to the lowest;nbsp;with clearly defined ranks, professions, trades, andnbsp;industries ; and in general with those various pursuits and institutions found in every well-orderednbsp;community : a society compacted and held togethernbsp;by an all-embracing system of laws and customs,nbsp;long established and universally recognised.

by other writers, notably by Ware, O�Curry, and Sullivan ; and I have taken full advantage of theirnbsp;learned labours. But they deal with portions only,nbsp;and of course give only partial views : my Essaynbsp;aims at opening up the entire field. I am fullynbsp;sensible of the shortcomings of this first attempt tonbsp;bring the whole social life of the ancient Irishnbsp;people under one broad view; for besides thenbsp;liability to error and imperfection incident tonbsp;every new undertaking, the sources of informationnbsp;on the state of ancient Ireland are not yet fullynbsp;available. But it is better to make the attemptnbsp;now, even under some disadvantages, than tonbsp;postpone it indefinitely.

This book does not deal with pre-historic times, except by occasional reference, or to illustrate thenbsp;historic period. My survey generally goes backnbsp;only so far as there is light from living record�nbsp;history or tradition. I am content to stand nearnbsp;the outer margin of the fog, and observe andnbsp;delineate the people as they emerge from darknessnbsp;and twilight. At first indeed there is often only anbsp;faint glimmer, and the figures and their surroundings are shadowy and indistinct: but subsequentnbsp;observation, made in broad historical daylight,nbsp;generally enables us to clear up the uncertaintynbsp;or correct the error of the first dim view.

Where such a vast variety of subjects had to be treated of within the compass of two mediumsized volumes, it would be manifestly impossiblenbsp;to pursue inquiries exhaustively, or to go quite to

the bottoin of things. But so far as the Essay is intended to reach, I have done my very best tonbsp;secure accuracy�accuracy of statement, of inference, of quotation, and of reference ; and whoevernbsp;discovers an error may be assured that it is notnbsp;the result of haste or carelessness.*

I have been very particular to give exact references for all statements of any importance.nbsp;Quotations from other languages are always givennbsp;in English : but wherever it seemed necessary ornbsp;desirable the originals also are quoted. Wherenbsp;there are two or more editions or versions of worksnbsp;consulted, references are given as far as possible tonbsp;those that are most easily accessible to the generalnbsp;reader. I have utilised without stint the labours ofnbsp;others, both of the past and of the present, butnbsp;never, I think, without acknowledgment.

Attention has been given to the forms and meanings of words and names so far as it tendednbsp;to elucidate the general subject : but it must benbsp;remembered that the main intention of this booknbsp;is to deal, not with words, but with things. Whennbsp;an Irish word or name varies in spelling, thenbsp;several forms are generally given, either in the textnbsp;or in the Index. Animals, plants, minerals, andnbsp;external nature in general, are treated of only sonbsp;far as they come directly into touch with the Socialnbsp;Life of the people : and they are brought in undernbsp;the several chapters wherever they fit best.

* Those who wish to study particular portions of the subject further will be aided by the references all through the book, and by the List ofnbsp;Authorities at the end.

The numerous illustrations relate to the several current parts of the text; and I hope they will benbsp;found an instructive and pleasing feature of thenbsp;book.

I have taken occasion all along to compare Irish Social Life with that of other ancient nations,nbsp;especially pointing out correspondences that arenbsp;the natural consequence of common Aryan origin :nbsp;but want of space precluded much indulgence innbsp;this very desirable direction.

The writer who endeavours to set forth his subject�whatever it may be�in � words of truthnbsp;and soberness,� is sure to encounter the disapprovalnbsp;or hostility of those who hold extreme opinions onnbsp;either side. In regard to my subject, we have,nbsp;on the one hand, those English and Anglo-Irishnbsp;people�and they are not few�who think, merelynbsp;from ignorance, that Ireland was a barbarousnbsp;and half-savage country before the English camenbsp;among the people and civilised them ; and, onnbsp;the other hand, there are those of my countrymennbsp;who have an exaggerated idea of the greatnessnbsp;and splendour of the ancient Irish nation.* Inbsp;have not been in the least influenced by writersnbsp;belonging to either class. Following trustworthynbsp;authorities, I have tried to present here a truenbsp;picture of ancient Irish life, neither over-praisingnbsp;nor depreciating. I have not magnified whatnbsp;Was worthy of commendation, nor suppressed, nornbsp;unwarrantably toned down, features that told

unfavourably for the people : for though I love the honour of Ireland well, I love truth better.

The Irish race, after a long-protracted struggle, went down before a stronger people ; and in addition to this, from causes which it would be out ofnbsp;place to discuss here, they suffered almost a totalnbsp;eclipse at home during a period nearly coincidentnbsp;with the eighteenth century. Chiefly for thesenbsp;reasons the old Irish people have never, in modernnbsp;times, received the full measure of credit due tonbsp;them for their early and striking advance in thenbsp;arts of civilised life, for their very comprehensivenbsp;system of laws, and for their noble and successfulnbsp;efforts, both at home and abroad, in the cause ofnbsp;religion and learning. Oi late indeed we cannbsp;perceive, among Continental and British writers,nbsp;something like a spontaneous movement showing anbsp;tendency to do them justice; but the essays innbsp;this direction, though just, and often even generous,nbsp;as far as they go, are fragmentary, scattered, andnbsp;fitful. Those who are interested in this aspect ofnbsp;the subject will perhaps be pleased to have thenbsp;whole case presented to them in one Essay.

I now submit to the judgment of the public this book, the outcome of eight years� congenialnbsp;and pleasant work, hoping that it will provenbsp;acceptable, not only to those who desire information on the Institutions and Social Life of thenbsp;ancient Irish, and of the Celtic people in general,nbsp;but also to that wider circle who are interested innbsp;the early History of Mankind.

I have now to discharge the pleasant duty of recording my thanks for help towards illustrating this book.

The Councils of the Royal Irish Academy, and of the Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland, gave me the use of the blocksnbsp;lt;3f great numbers of the illustrations in their respective publica-tions, and where the blocks were not available, permitted me tonbsp;copy any of their illustrations I wanted. That the book is sonbsp;well illustrated is mainly owing to the liberality of these twonbsp;distinguished Societies. There is no need to enter into detailnbsp;here, as under every illustration in the book is mentioned thenbsp;source from which it is derived : but I wish to direct attentionnbsp;to the number of valuable and accurate figures I have borrowednbsp;from Wilde�s � Catalogue of Irish Antiquities,� belonging tonbsp;the Royal Irish Academy.

Messrs. Hodges, Figgis amp; Co., of Dublin, placed at my disposal the blocks of as many of Petrie�s and Wakeman�s beautiful drawings as I chose to ask for.

Colonel Wood-Martin lent me the blocks of many of the illustrations in his � Pagan Ireland � and � Traces of thenbsp;Elder Faiths of Ireland.�

From the Board of Education, South Kensington, I have received permission to use electrotypes from the original blocksnbsp;of nearly a dozen of the admirable illustrations in Miss Stokes�snbsp;� Early Christian Art in Ireland.�

The Controller of Flis Majesty�s Stationery Office, London, allowed me to reproduce some of the illustrationsnbsp;in Sir John T. Gilbert�s �Facsimiles of Irish Nationalnbsp;Manuscripts.�

I am indebted to the late Mr. Bernard Quaritch of London for leave to reproduce the beautiful illuminated page of thenbsp;Look of Mac Durnan, from Westwood�s � Facsimiles of Anglo-Saxon and Irish Manuscripts.�

iEessrs. George Bell amp; Sons lent me the blocks of some of the illustrations in Miss Stokes�s � Three Months in the Forestsnbsp;of France,� and � Six months in the Apennines.�

I had the permission of the Rev. Dr. Abbott, s.F.T.C.D., to copy some of the figures in his � Reproductions of Portions ofnbsp;the Book of Kells.�

illustrations in the � Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society.�

The Editor of the � Revue Celtique � has given me permission to reproduce two of the figures in that periodical.

Besides the above, a number of illustrations have been taken from books having no copyright, and others have beennbsp;purchased from the proprietors of copyright works ; all ofnbsp;which are acknowledged in the proper places. And therenbsp;are a good many original sketches appearing here now for thenbsp;first time.

Dr. Petrie and Miss Margaret Stokes have been the chief illustrators of the Scenery and Antiquities of Ireland ; andnbsp;even a casual glance will show to what an extent I have beennbsp;enabled to enrich this book with their beautiful and accuratenbsp;drawings.

In preparing this Edition I have had the advantage of a number of valuable remarks from Dr. Kunonbsp;Meyer, now our greatest and most accomplishednbsp;Irish scholar. He read the book as soon as it camenbsp;out, and as he went along took notes, which henbsp;sent to me unasked, and which I now thankfullynbsp;acknowledge.

On my own part I have carefully re-read and re-considered every sentence in the book.

CONTENTS OF VOL. I

PART I

GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER II

CHAPTER IV

CHAPTER V

CHAPTER VI

CHAPTER VII

CHAPTER VIII

PART II

5. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Third Order : Anchorites ornbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Hermits,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;and

CHAPTER XVI

art,

2. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Gold, Silver, and Enamel, as Working Materials,nbsp;Artistic Metal Work, ..

CHAPTER XVII

Section

CHAPTER XVI ri

medicine and medical doctors.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. I

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL I

FIG. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;PACE

99. St, Senan�s Holy Well, Clare, . nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;. 367

100. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Well of Help, Inishmurray, ,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;, 368

101. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;St. Kieran�s Trout Well, Meath, . 369

102. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Altar-Stone,.....371

103. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ancient stone Chalice, .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;372

104. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;St. Patrick�s Bell, ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;373

105. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Bell of Mac Ailello, .... 375

106. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ancient Iron Bell,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;377

107. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Bronze Crotal, or closed Bell, ,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;377

108. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Gold Amulet..... 385

109. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do., do., .....385

no. Stone Amulet,.....385

111. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Slane Monastery ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;387

112. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Mellifont Abbey........

113. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Portion of Bell-shrine, .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;396

114. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ogham Alphabet, ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;397

115. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Bilingual Stone, Killeen Cormac, ,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;399

116. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ogham Stone...... 400

117. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Two ancient Irish Alphabets, .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;406

118. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;John Scotus Erigena, ,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;411

iig. Tomb of the Seven Romans, Aran, 413

120. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Clonmacnoise, .....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;415

121. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ancient Alphabet on Stone,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;439

122. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� The CoUedge,� Youghal,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;463

123. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Ancient Irish Astronomical Dia

gram, ......465

124. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Scribe writing,.....481

125. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Cover of Book of Armagh, .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;488

126. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Facsimile from Book of the Dun

Cow,......494

127. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Sculpture on Capital, Glenda

lough, ......500

128. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Movilla Monastery, ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;502

129. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Dysert-Aengus, ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;508

130. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Noah�s Ark,.....5n

131. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Sculpture on Capital Glenda

lough, ......512

132. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Kilbarron Castle, ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;524

133. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Tubbrid Church........

134. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Sculpture on Column, .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;531

135. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Irish Ornament, .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;...nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;*543

136. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Sculpture on Arch, ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;544

137. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Illuminated Page, .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;iacin^ 547

138. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Outlines of same, ....nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;548

139. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Rock Scorings, .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;�nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.550

. .;-gt;,v.*;�i-r -

lil

^,HE Institutions, Arts, and Customs of Ancient Ireland, with few exceptions,nbsp;grew up from within, almost whollynbsp;unaffected by external influence. Thenbsp;exceptions will be noticed in the propernbsp;places in this book. The Romans nevernbsp;set foot in Ireland ; though their influence was felt to somenbsp;slight extent, either by direct communication or indirectlynbsp;through the Britons. The first foreigners to appear asnbsp;invaders were the Danes, who began their raids about thenbsp;beginning of the ninth century. Though they harassednbsp;the country for about two centuries, and established themselves in many parts of it, especially on the coasts, theynbsp;never brought it under subjection : and they effected nonbsp;changes of any consequence in the customs or modes ofnbsp;life of the people. Next came the Anglo-Normans near thenbsp;end of the twelfth century. But though this was a muchnbsp;more serious invasion than that of the Danes, and thoughnbsp;these newcomers continued to make settlements in variousnbsp;parts of the country, the Irish people still adhered everywhere to their native customs. Indeed it is well known

that, except in a small district round Dublin, the settlers generally intermarried and became incorporated with thenbsp;natives, adopting their language, laws, dress, and usages, sonbsp;as to be quite undistinguishable from them, and becomingnbsp;� more Irish than the Irish themselves.� Accordingly, fornbsp;several centuries the Anglo-Norman colonisation had nonbsp;more effect in altering the general state of society than thenbsp;Danish invasions : and matters went on very much as ofnbsp;old, till the time of the Tudors, when English influence atnbsp;last made itself felt. Then the old system of tribal landnbsp;tenure began to be changed for the English custom : andnbsp;with the abolition of the Brehon Law and the substitutionnbsp;of English Law, in the beginning of the seventeenth century, it may be said that the old order of things in Irelandnbsp;was broken up. But even after this most of the ancientnbsp;native customs remained, and indeed many remain to thisnbsp;day.

In the long lapse of ages there were of course changes and developments from time to time : many new modes,nbsp;fashions, and usages gradually grew up, while others fellnbsp;into disuse : but the main institutions and customs of thenbsp;country retained their hold with astonishing tenacity : sonbsp;that in some aspects of society, a description of the state ofnbsp;things as they existed in, suppose, the fifteenth century,nbsp;would apply equally well to that in the sixth or seventh.nbsp;Many illustrations of this might be given ; but one will benbsp;sufficient here. It was customary with the ancient Irishnbsp;poets�as will be described farther on�to make circuitsnbsp;through the country, visiting the houses of the principalnbsp;people, and receiving payment for their poetry, besidesnbsp;welcome and entertainment: composing laudatory poemsnbsp;for those who received them well, and lampooning thosenbsp;who refused them. This remarkable custom is mentionednbsp;in innumerable passages in both the lay and ecclesiasticalnbsp;literature as existing in the most remote pagan times ;nbsp;it was not in the least affected by war or invasion, but

continued uninterruptedly from age to age down to our own time, as may be seen by reference to pp. 450, 451 below.

But one momentous effect of the Danish and Anglo-Norman invasions must here be noted : they arrested the progress of native learning and art, which, though disturbednbsp;by the Danes, still lingered on for several centuries afternbsp;the first English settlements, but gradually declined, andnbsp;finally died out. Ireland presents the spectacle of annbsp;arrested civilisation. What that civilisation would havenbsp;come to if allowed to follow out uninterruptedly its naturalnbsp;course of development it is now impossible to tell, andnbsp;useless to conjecture ; but there is no reason to think thatnbsp;in this respect Irishmen would not have kept well abreastnbsp;with the rest of the world. One object of this book is tonbsp;present the intellectual and artistic state of the countrynbsp;when at its best�though still imperfect�namely, fromnbsp;the seventh or eighth to the eleventh or twelfth century.

The evidences relied on throughout this book are derived from two main sources :�Literary Records, andnbsp;Material Remains.

The literary works used as authorities are referred to in the book as occasion arises, and they are all named in onenbsp;general list at the end ; but as they vary greatly, both in thenbsp;value to be attached to their testimony, and in point ofnbsp;antiquity, it may be well, at the outset, to give some ideanbsp;of the kind of evidence we obtain from them, and to indicate, in a general way, how far they are to be trusted asnbsp;guides in our present inquiry. Two main points I wish tonbsp;bring out clearly in this short chapter First, the authenticity and general trustworthiness of the evidence ; Second,nbsp;the period or periods of the country�s history to which thisnbsp;evidence applies.

The Literary Records may be classed as follows :� Lives of Saints, Martyrologies, and other religious writings ;

Romantic Literature : the Brehon Laws : Glosses and Glossaries: Annals, Genealogies, and Local Historicalnbsp;Memoirs: and the works of English, Anglo-Irish, andnbsp;foreign writers. These several classes will be now brieflynbsp;examined.

Lives of Saints.�The lives and other written memorials of the Irish saints, most in Irish, some in Latin, of whichnbsp;great numbers are still preserved in our manuscripts, andnbsp;of which many have been published, form a very importantnbsp;source of information. The oldest documents of this kindnbsp;are the original memoirs of St. Patrick. � The principal ofnbsp;these are :�The two documents now generally admitted tonbsp;have been written by Patrick himself�the � Confession,�nbsp;and the � Epistle to Coroticus,� both fifth century ; andnbsp;two others, the Memoir of the saint by Muirchu Maccunbsp;Machteni, and the Notes by Tirechan, both written in thenbsp;seventh century, but embodying traditions of a muchnbsp;earlier date. These are of the highest authority, but theynbsp;do not give us much information regarding the social lifenbsp;of the people. Next in point of antiquity, but more detailed and more valuable for our purposes, is the Latin Lifenbsp;of St. Columkille, written in or about a.d. 695, by Adamnan.nbsp;Columkille was the founder and first abbot of Iona, andnbsp;Adamnan was the ninth abbot: both were Irishmen ; andnbsp;the illustrious establishment over which they presided wasnbsp;an Irish ecclesiastical colony. Adamnan was a writer ofnbsp;great dignity and integrity : and his pictures of the dailynbsp;life of the people of Ireland, Scotland, and Iona, both laynbsp;and clerical, in the sixth and seventh centuries, though notnbsp;very full, are absolutely trustworthy so far as they go, andnbsp;most valuable as being the earliest detailed accounts wenbsp;possess.

The Celtic people who inhabited the western coasts and islands of Scotland were descended from Irish colonists, asnbsp;is shown below (pp. 81 to 83), and intimate intercoursenbsp;was kept up from the beginning between the two countries.

The two peoples were in fact identical, having the same customs, language, and modes of life ; so that Adamnan�snbsp;descriptions of the Scottish Gaelic people apply equally tonbsp;Ireland. His remarks also about the daily life of thenbsp;Northern Piets, whom he converted, may be applied, withnbsp;little or no reservation, to the Scots or Irish : for we knownbsp;that the Piets lived much the same sort of life as theirnbsp;neighbours, the Gaels, both of Ireland and Scotland. Thenbsp;Britons are often mentioned in Irish writings, for there wasnbsp;much intercourse between them and the Irish in early ages,nbsp;so that they often intermarried (pp. 74 to 79 below).nbsp;Tacitus, writing in the end of the first century, states thatnbsp;there was little difference between them in disposition,nbsp;manners, and customs : and, as corroborating this, wenbsp;find that the British customs incidentally noticed bynbsp;Irish writers are found to be generally identical with thosenbsp;of the Irish themselves.

Here it may be proper to remark that many ancient Gaelic customs that have died out, or are only faintlynbsp;remembered, in Ireland, are still preserved, with most ofnbsp;their antique features, in the Islands and Highlands of Scotland, of which several examples will be given in this book,nbsp;from Martin, Pennant, Scott, Carmichael, and other delineators of Scottish manners. The desolating wars in Ireland, especially those of the time of Elizabeth, in which thenbsp;country was almost cleared of inhabitants, broke, as itnbsp;were, the continuity of the race, so that many old customsnbsp;and traditions were neglected and forgotten in Ireland,nbsp;which in Scotland have been preserved without a breaknbsp;from the time of the earliest colonists to the present day.

The great majority of the saints whose biographies have been preserved flourished in the period from the fifth to thenbsp;eighth or ninth century. But it is well known that in thenbsp;case of most of them�though not of all�long intervalsnbsp;elapsed after their death, intervals often of centuries, before the memoirs of their Lives and Acts�that is, those

memoirs that are now extant�were committed to writing. A vast proportion of the ancient books of Ireland werenbsp;destroyed by the Danes in the ninth and tenth centuries,nbsp;and among them, no doubt, numerous original Memoirs ofnbsp;saints : so that the later biographers had to depend verynbsp;much on verbal tradition. These compilers constructednbsp;their narratives as best they could, under great difficulties,nbsp;collecting their materials from remnants of written recordsnbsp;in the several monasteries, from the scanty entries in oldnbsp;Annals, Genealogies, and other such documents, and largelynbsp;from oral tradition, the most uncertain source of all.

Though constructed round a framework of truth, these Lives, as they have reached us, are much mixed withnbsp;legend and fable, a circumstance which detracts from theirnbsp;value as mere historical records ; though it does not at allnbsp;affect our researches. The long intervals account in greatnbsp;part for the marvellous element : for oral tradition tends,nbsp;in the slow lapse of ages, to magnify everything, and tonbsp;attribute all unusual occurrences of past times to preternatural agency.

LAYING THE FOUNDATION

There is good reason to believe that the biographers committed to writing faithfully the accounts they received,nbsp;whether from tradition or written record�truth and fictionnbsp;alike�without adding or distorting. But taking these oldnbsp;Lives as they stand, we are generally enabled, by an examination of internal evidence, and by careful comparisonnbsp;with other authorities, to distinguish fact from fiction : at

least in the case of the matters dealt with in this book� the main thing that concerns us. Interspersed throughnbsp;the narratives there are frequent references to dwellings,nbsp;furniture, dress, ornaments, occupations, customs, pastimes,nbsp;food, and many other concomitants of the everyday life ofnbsp;the people, which are incidentally mentioned with all the

10 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART 1 marks of truth and reality. The fact that these briefnbsp;records are incidental, casual, and unintentional, is whatnbsp;stamps them with authenticity and gives them their value.nbsp;When we follow the guidance of these side lights, usingnbsp;ordinary circumspection, we are pretty sure to keep on safenbsp;ground, even though many of the main incidents relatednbsp;directly are fabulous or doubtful.

I will illustrate these remarks by an example. In the Irish Life of St. Brigit, it is related that on one occasion,nbsp;soon after she had settled in Kildare, Ailill, king of Leinster, passed near her establishment, with a hundred horseloads of peeled rods ; whereupon Brigit sent two of hernbsp;girls to ask him for some of the rods ; but he refused them.nbsp;Forthwith all the horses fell down helpless under theirnbsp;loads : and there they remained unable to rise, till Ailillnbsp;granted Brigit�s request: on which she released them. Thenbsp;Irish narrative adds incidentally that it was from these rodsnbsp;St. Brigit�s house in Kildare was built.'^ Passing by, asnbsp;foreign to our purpose, the miraculous part of this story,nbsp;which was the thing mainly in the mind of the writer, wenbsp;may infer from the rest that in those times it was thenbsp;custom to build houses of rods or wattles, cleaned up andnbsp;peeled before being used : and there is abundant evidencenbsp;elsewhere to show that this would be a correct conclusion.

Bearing in mind that the customs and habits of a people change slowly, that the original biographers must have hadnbsp;written authority of a much earlier age for some portion ofnbsp;their statements, and that the dates of the composition ofnbsp;the Lives or other Memoirs range from the fifth to thenbsp;fourteenth or fifteenth century, we shall be safe in assumingnbsp;that these incidental allusions generally represent the statenbsp;of society existing in Ireland from the time of the commemorated saints down at least to the periods of the writers.

This incidental testimony is specially noticed here in connexion with the Lives of the Saints ; but in reality itnbsp;* Stokes, Three Irish Homilies, page 77.

pervades all classes of Irish writings, as will be seen as we go on. Along with the Lives of the Saints, we may classnbsp;Martyrologies and Calendars, Hymns, Sermons, and othernbsp;religious writings, which will be specified and referred tonbsp;whenever necessary.

Romantic Literature.�The ancient Irish Tales, Historical and Romantic, which are described in some detail in chap. XV., furnish our next group of authorities. A largenbsp;proportion of the stories are contained in the Book of thenbsp;Dun Cow, which was transcribed about the year iioo, andnbsp;in the Book of Leinster, transcribed in or before 116o;nbsp;and others are found in later manuscripts. All thesenbsp;books were copied from much older volumes ; and there

is good reason to believe that the principal stories were committed to writing at various periods from the seventhnbsp;to the tenth century, having been handed down orally fornbsp;nges previously by the professional poets and shanachies.nbsp;Though the stories are partly or wholly fictitious, theynbsp;abound, like the Lives of the Saints, in incidental picturesnbsp;of real life, which, speaking generally, are as true, andnbsp;consequently as valuable for our purposes, as if the mainnbsp;narratives were strictly historical.

It is, however, necessary to observe that when we have to deal with the direct descriptions of men and theirnbsp;surroundings found in many of the heroic romances�

direct and intentional descriptions as distinguished from casual or incidental�we must be cautious in acceptingnbsp;statements, and careful in drawing conclusions from them.nbsp;The heroes and the events which are the subjects of thesenbsp;Tales, belong for the most part to the first three or fournbsp;centuries of our era, and some are assigned to a muchnbsp;earlier period. The old romancers, who committed thenbsp;stories to writing many centuries later, magnified andnbsp;glorified everything pertaining to their favourite heroes ;nbsp;and have left us gorgeous descriptions of houses, furniture,nbsp;arms, dress, and ornaments, of which a great number maynbsp;be seen translated into English in 0�Curry�s � Lectures onnbsp;the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish.� In thenbsp;case of most of these, no one would seriously think ofnbsp;accepting them as literal sober truth: they merelynbsp;embody the shanachies� exaggerated conceptions of thenbsp;great champions of the heroic ages ; like the Homericnbsp;descriptions of Greek and Trojan heroes. Moreover thesenbsp;direct descriptions, so far as they are to be credited, asnbsp;well indeed as the incidental references, must be takennbsp;generally as applying to the time of the original writersnbsp;�or a little earlier in the case of each individual writer�nbsp;namely from the seventh to the tenth century, though,nbsp;as we shall see, a good proportion of them apply to anbsp;much earlier period.

But we may err on the side of excessive scepticism as well as by undue credulity. The most exaggeratednbsp;description, if read in the right way, and checked andnbsp;tested and toned down by other authorities, may yieldnbsp;solid information. And in regard to ornaments andnbsp;equipments : that the Shanachies did not often invent,nbsp;but merely magnified, is proved by the fact, that in ournbsp;museums we have weapons and ornaments answering tonbsp;most of those described in the stories, though generally onnbsp;a scale less magnificent. Mere creations of imaginationnbsp;as well as gross exaggeration can be eliminated or brought

down to the solid level of reality, by rigorously adhering to the rule of accepting nothing that does not of itselfnbsp;appear reasonable, or that is not corroborated by othernbsp;authorit}^

All the old Tales have been transmitted to u.s�as remarked elsewhere (chap, xv., sect, i)�by Christiannbsp;copyists, who have in most of them�though not in all �

added on, as it were from the outside, Christian allusions, leaving the general pagan framework almost unchanged.nbsp;Accordingly, even those of the Tales that show Christiannbsp;influence, are full of pagan ideas, and of references to pagannbsp;customs, while some are thoroughly pagan in character,nbsp;without a trace of Christianity : so that we may safely apply

�with due discrimination�many of the features of social life in the oldest tales to a period much earlier than thenbsp;seventh century.

Many of the Tales will be referred to as we go along : but as exemplifying how much may be learned from them,nbsp;I will here mention one piece contained in the Lebar Brecc,nbsp;The Vision of Mac Conglinne, which was evidently writtennbsp;by a skilled epicure, and which, though purely fictitious,nbsp;has afforded a vast amount of information, undoubtedlynbsp;authentic, especially on food and drink, and on the variousnbsp;modes of preparing, cooking, and presenting them at table.nbsp;Professor Kuno Meyer, the editor, believes that this talenbsp;began to assume its present form about the end of thenbsp;twelfth century : but that the original and shorter narrativenbsp;was written at a much earlier period.

The Brehon Laws.�In the ancient Laws of Ireland we have another rich mine of materials. These Laws ornbsp;Customs grew up among the people from the very beginning of society and took cognisance of them from almostnbsp;every conceivable point of view, following them as it werenbsp;into their very houses and laying bare to view the detailsnbsp;of their home life. They professed to regulate social andnbsp;domestic relations of every kind, as well as professions,nbsp;trades, industries, occupations, and wages. As laws theynbsp;err in being too minute ; but this very defect renders themnbsp;all the more valuable for our purposes,

The two most important of the Brehon Law tracts are the Senchus M�r [Shanahus More] and the Book of Acaillnbsp;[Ackill]. In Cor mac�s Glossary, a document of the ninthnbsp;or tenth century, the Senchus Mor is quoted and referrednbsp;to several times as a well-known work, even at that earlynbsp;time ; and as further showing the great antiquity of thenbsp;text, it may be mentioned that many of the terms occurring in it had, when the Glossary was compiled, fallen sonbsp;much out of use, that they are included among the obsoletenbsp;and forgotten old words needing explanation. As to the

Book of Acaill, it is generally admitted that it is at least as old as the Senchus M�r ; probably older. Other portions of the written law, including the Commentaries andnbsp;Glosses, are, however, much less ancient than these : andnbsp;some are not older than the fifteenth or sixteenth century :nbsp;though no doubt they transmit traditional interpretationsnbsp;of a much earlier time.

But this important fact must be remembered :�At whatever times the several tracts of the Laws were firstnbsp;written down, it was merely transferring to parchmentnbsp;usages that had been in existence for centuries : for thenbsp;customs of a people take long to grow, and still longer tonbsp;establish themselves as laws. It seems evident thereforenbsp;that the information regarding social life supplied by thenbsp;Laws taken as a whole, applies to a period coinciding innbsp;great part with that covered by the Lives of the Saintsnbsp;and the Romantic Literature�a period reaching in somenbsp;instances as far back as the date assigned by tradition tonbsp;the original compilation of the Senchus M�r : namely, thenbsp;time of St. Patrick, i.e. the fifth century. (See on this, pp.nbsp;172 to 178, below.)

A few of the legal rules and decisions laid down in the Laws are obviously unreal and fictitious and hardlynbsp;intended to have any application to practical life. Somenbsp;seem to be mere intellectual problems, invented to shownbsp;the cleverness of the writers, or to test the ingenuity ofnbsp;the learners in solving theoretical difficulties : a practicenbsp;by the way, not peculiar to the ancient Irish ; for onenbsp;may find examples of it elsewhere, even at the presentnbsp;day. But such cases form only a very small portion ofnbsp;the whole body of the Laws, and they are easily detected.nbsp;The Laws moreover are sometimes perplexingly inconsistent, which probably arises from the fact that manynbsp;of the tracts transmit to us local customs of differentnbsp;periods, or from different parts of the country, or perhapsnbsp;the decisions of different jurists. But these unrealities

l6 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I and inconsistencies chiefly concern those persons whonbsp;study the Laws as legal documents : they hardly touchnbsp;our inquiry : and so far as the objects of this book arenbsp;concerned, the Laws, as a whole, may be taken asnbsp;representing faithfully the actual state of society.

Glosses and Glossaries.�The Ancient Irish Glosses and Glossaries, which are described at pp. 473 to 476, below,nbsp;have been all turned to account, especially the Glossesnbsp;in Zeuss�s quot; Grammatica Celtica,� and the Glossaries ofnbsp;Cormac Mac Cullenan, 0�Clery, and 0�Davoren. Zeuss�snbsp;Glosses, with the corresponding Latin phrases, are givennbsp;fully by Zimmer in his book � Glossae Hibernicse � ; andnbsp;the whole of the Irish Glosses, wherever found all overnbsp;Europe, including those of Zeuss, are brought together,nbsp;with English translations of the old Irish passages, innbsp;quot; Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus,� by Doctors Stokes andnbsp;Strachan. Cormac�s Glossary contains a great deal ofnbsp;authentic and most valuable information. Many of thenbsp;words explained in it had then�that is in the ninth ornbsp;tenth century�become so antiquated as to be unintelligible to the generality of readers ; and the numerousnbsp;customs mentioned must have taken many generationsnbsp;to grow up. The notices of manners and customs foundnbsp;in this Glossary may accordingly be taken to apply tonbsp;a period extending backwards for several centuries�i.e.nbsp;a period generally coincident with that covered by thenbsp;preceding three classes of authorities. Cormac�s Glossarynbsp;is, for my purposes, somewhat like a cake of highlynbsp;concentrated food�pemmican or desiccated soup�drynbsp;and unattractive looking, but yielding under proper treatment plenty of intellectual nutriment. It abounds innbsp;references, illustrations, indirect allusions, and quotationsnbsp;from archaic lore�all very brief�relating to history, law,nbsp;romance, druidism, mythology, handicrafts, domestic life ;nbsp;showing the writer to have been a man of exceptionalnbsp;powers of observation and illustration ; and I think that,

for its size, I have obtained more information from this book than from any other. To about the same period,nbsp;or earlier, and for much the same reasons, may be ascribednbsp;the information derived from the Glosses, most of which,nbsp;according to Zeuss, were written in the eighth century,nbsp;and others in the beginning of the ninth : while some ofnbsp;the oldest of them have been assigned by other Continentalnbsp;scholars to the seventh.

Annals, Histories, Genealogies, amp;c.�Besides the classes of writings already noticed, there are Annals, Genealogies,nbsp;Local Memoirs, Historical Poems, and such like, all helping to accumulate evidence. Among the later writings innbsp;the Irish language are three local memoirs, translated andnbsp;edited by O�Donovan : one on the district and people ofnbsp;Hy Fiachrach in Sligo ; another on Hy Many or thenbsp;0�Kelly�s country in Galway ; and the third on Corca-luidhe [Corkalee] or the O�Driscoll�s territory in Southnbsp;Cork. These describe the people of the three severalnbsp;districts, their government, and modes of life, in thenbsp;thirteenth, fourt�enth, and fifteenth centuries. One greatnbsp;value of these three comparatively late tracts consists innbsp;this :�that they fully corroborate the evidences of muchnbsp;earlier writings ; and show that the habits and customsnbsp;of the older times were preserved almost unchanged downnbsp;to the period of the writers.

Although this book professedly deals with Ireland before the Anglo-Norman Invasion (1171), it will be observed that I sometimes notice matters belonging to much laternbsp;periods, and later authorities referring to them are oftennbsp;quoted. But the object of this is clear enough�to illustratenbsp;the earlier history. A statement in a late book assertingnbsp;or implying the prevalence of a certain custom at the timenbsp;of the writer, though it could not be accepted of itself asnbsp;evidence of the existence of the same custom at a periodnbsp;several centuries earlier, might corroborate a similar recordnbsp;or incidental reference in an ancient document, which, if

l8 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I unsupported would be too weak or uncertain to warrant anbsp;conclusion. The late authority in such a case is somethingnbsp;like a flying buttress erected to sustain a weak or yieldingnbsp;old wall: both will stand by mutual support, where either,nbsp;if left to itself, might fall. A good example of this sort ofnbsp;corroboration is Froissart�s account of the custom of knighting boys at seven. (See pp. 518, 519, farther on.)

There is yet another source of information existing in the Irish language�the loan-words from other languages.nbsp;But this branch of the subject has not yet been sufficientlynbsp;investigated by philologists to be turned to much account;nbsp;and accordingly I have made little use of it.

English and Foreign Writers.�The authorities hitherto referred to are all native. In early Greek and Romannbsp;writings there is not much reliable information about Ireland, which was in those times very remote and hard tonbsp;reach. The stories regarding Ireland in those days arenbsp;mere hearsay reports, and often remind one of the Greeknbsp;accounts of the Cimmerians, the Cyclops, Scylla andnbsp;Charybdis, the Harpies, and so forth. For example, Solinusnbsp;a Latin writer of about the third century, states that therenbsp;were few birds in Ireland, that there are no such thingsnbsp;as bees in it, that dust or small pebbles from Irish soil,nbsp;if taken to other countries and scattered among hives, willnbsp;frighten away and banish all the bees. In like mannernbsp;Strabo has a numbei' of odd fables about Ireland.* But asnbsp;I make little use of the writings of these authors, there isnbsp;no need to notice them further here. Sometimes, however, passages in the works of foreign writers, when theynbsp;had opportunities of coming at facts, and leave records ofnbsp;what thej^ knew, afford valuable corroboration of Irishnbsp;records, of which Bede�s account of the students fromnbsp;Britain residing in Ireland, and Ethicus�s mention ol

* A brief but useful collection of Greek and Roman writers� stories about Ireland, compiled by John O�Donovan, will be found in the Ulst.nbsp;Journ. ArchacoL, viii. 239.

books existing in Ireland in the fourth century, are good examples. (See pp. 414 and 403 to 405, farther on.ynbsp;When we come to the literature of later times, we have,nbsp;in addition to the native writings in Irish or Latin, manynbsp;other works, chiefly in English, written by English andnbsp;foreign writers, and some by Irishmen belonging to thenbsp;English colony.

Giraldus Cambrensis was the first foreigner who wrote 3- detailed description of Ireland. He spared no pains tonbsp;collect materials for his work, during his visit in 1185 : andnbsp;bis � Topography of Ireland,� written in Latin, contains anbsp;great amount of most interesting and valuable matter -Valuable partly as an independent authority, and partly asnbsp;a confirmation of the native accounts. But he was bitterlynbsp;prejudiced against the Irish people, whom he misrepresentsnbsp;to their disadvantage whenever he finds an opportunity,nbsp;and he often breaks out into blind, passionate abuse ofnbsp;them. He was very narrow-minded too, and everythingnbsp;not exactly squaring in with his own experience of fashionnbsp;and custom he pronounced barbarous. Yet, when he wasnbsp;able to conquer his prejudices, he bestowed praise wherenbsp;he thought it was deserved. He describes in enthusiasticnbsp;terms of laudation the ornamentation of Irish books andnbsp;the skill of the Irish harpers ; and he praises the Irishnbsp;clergy for the purity of their lives. He was excessivelynbsp;credulous, and his book abounds in marvellous stories,nbsp;some of them very silly, for which Lynch and other Irishnbsp;Writers censure him. But in justice to him it should benbsp;naentioned that many of his stories are versions�occasionally distorted�of Irish legends, which must have beennbsp;related to him or translated from Irish books by natives :nbsp;and he transferred them all to his book with undiscriminat-ing credulity as if they were sober history. However, innbsp;perusing the � Topography,� it is not difficult to separatenbsp;the wheat from the chaff.

number of English and Anglo-Irish writers described Ireland and its people ; but though the works of several of these are very solid and valuable, many are disfigured bynbsp;prejudice and misrepresentation, and their testimony hasnbsp;to be carefully sifted.

Hitherto we have treated of the evidences afforded by written Literature. Material Remains constitute the other

main source of information. They consist of antiquarian objects of various kinds, found underground from time tonbsp;time, and now preserved in museums; and of numerousnbsp;monuments and ruins of buildings scattered over the facenbsp;of the country. These, so far as they go, and so far as wenbsp;are able to ascertain their uses, give us perhaps the most

certain and satisfactory evidence of all. Besides affording, of themselves, independent testimony, they serve to confirm, and in many cases to correct and tone down thenbsp;written accounts.

Here a very important function of the inquirer is tonbsp;bring the existing remains intonbsp;connexion with the records,nbsp;by identifying the several objects with those mentioned innbsp;the ancient writings. In casenbsp;of the great majority of museum articles the chain of connexion is complete : that is tonbsp;say, we are able to pronouncenbsp;with certainty that such and

Fig. 12.�Ancient Irish brooch (pin cut short here to save space: see � Brooch quot; in Index). Fig. 13.�Ancient Irish bronze caldron for boiling meat, 12J4 inches deep, formed of platesnbsp;beautifully riveted together. It shows marks and signs of long use over a fire.nbsp;(See � Caldron quot; in Index.)

Fig. 14.�Light hollow gold ball, worn on the end of the hair, 3^ inches in diameter. (See � Golden Balls for the Hair,quot; at end of chap, xxii.)

All three objects now in National Museum, Dublin, and all three exactly answering the descriptions in the records. (From Wilde�s Catalogue.)

such an object is the very one mentioned in the writings or belongs to the same class, and with the same use.nbsp;Thus, we find brooches of various kinds, sizes, and materialsnbsp;spoken of everywhere in the ancient tales and biographies :nbsp;and there before our eyes in the museums are numerous

brooches answering in every respect to those described. In many such cases the existence of the objects affordsnbsp;valuable corroboration of the accuracy of the records, whichnbsp;otherwise we might be often inclined to doubt as merenbsp;bardic inventions. Thus, to continue the above illustration :�We often find mentioned in the Tales that a chiefnbsp;had his cloak fastened in front by a brooch of such anbsp;length as to extend across his breast from shoulder tonbsp;shoulder, a record which, if unsupported by other testimony, would probably be considerednbsp;an exaggeration. But when we findnbsp;among the collection of brooches innbsp;the National Museum in Dublin, two

In 1781 six bronze articles, all thin and flat, were dug up near Slane in Meath, of shape like those seen in the figures (of which the originals are in the Nationalnbsp;Museum, Dublin), and from 3 to 5 inches long. The spiral wire seen on one isnbsp;also on another, now in Trinity College, Dublin, and it is probable was originallynbsp;on all. Name and use unknown. Wilde (Catalogue, 566, 590) thinks they werenbsp;brooches, and calls them � Spectacle brooches � from their shape. (Fromnbsp;Wilde�.s Catalogue.)

specimens 22 and 20 inches long, respectively, we can no longer doubt the old romancer�s truthfulness. And as anbsp;further confirmation, we find that the Brehon Law prescribes penalties for personal injuries caused by broochesnbsp;whose points project beyond the shoulders.

But in some cases we are unable to connect the remains with the literature : in other words, some articles are mentioned and named in the ancient writings which we cannotnbsp;identify with any existing objects: and on the other handnbsp;we have several antique articles in the museums (some

pictured here : pp. 20, 22) whose names and uses are unknown, and which we are unable to identify with anynbsp;of those occurring in the records. These remarks applynbsp;to the ancient buildings and structures of various kindsnbsp;scattered over the country : while a large proportion arenbsp;identified and their uses known, numerous others are stillnbsp;a puzzle to antiquarians.

Other classes of ancient remains, such as pictures, coloured or plain, inscriptions on stone or brick, sculpturednbsp;representations of scenes of real life, all which are so abundant elsewhere�for example in Egypt�and which havenbsp;led to such wonderful discoveries, are scanty in Ireland.nbsp;Costumes, arms, and active life are represented in thenbsp;sculptures of the High Crosses, and in some of thenbsp;illustrations in the illuminated manuscripts, which go tonbsp;confirm the written accounts of dress and ornaments ;nbsp;but, on the whole, we do not obtain much informationnbsp;on the social and domestic life of the people from thisnbsp;class of remains.

It is most important to bear in mind that the validity of our conclusions regarding ancient customs and mannersnbsp;does not depend on any one authority or class of authorities, but in nearly all cases on the concurrence of several.nbsp;For example : In one of the ancient tales we come, suppose, across a statement or an allusion relating to somenbsp;long-forgotten custom, which looks so strange and oddnbsp;that we might at first be inclined to pass it by as a randomnbsp;expression of no significance. But we find it repeated innbsp;other tales ; and something to the same effect is alluded tonbsp;in one or more of the Lives of the Saints, documents of anbsp;totally different origin ; while perhaps these are confirmednbsp;by an incidental reference or explanation in a Glossary ornbsp;in the Brehon Laws ; or a corroborative passage occurs innbsp;a foreign writer ; and it may happen that some monument

24 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART 1 or some article in a museum supports the written accountsnbsp;by its mute but unquestionable testimony. Thus all doubtnbsp;is removed and the matter becomes a certainty. It is thisnbsp;undesigned concurrence of several independent authoritiesnbsp;that constitutes the main strength of the evidence for thenbsp;statements and conclusions all through this book.

From all that has been said here, then, it will, I think, be conceded that we have materials that will enable usnbsp;to construct a Social History of Ireland for the intervalnbsp;between the introduction of Christianity and the Anglo-Norman Invasion, i.e. from the fifth to the twelfth century.nbsp;And while, on the one hand, we know that the state ofnbsp;society in the time of the Anglo-Normans continued without extensive or violent changes to the sixteenth or seventeenth century, we may be pretty certain, on the othernbsp;hand, though we have little direct historical evidence tonbsp;prove it, that the institutions and ways of life found innbsp;the country by the early missionaries were in most casesnbsp;identical with those existing far back towards the beginningnbsp;of the Christian Era, or before it.

The ancient Irish were a branch of the continental Celts : and they brought with them the language, mythology, and customs of their original home, all of which,nbsp;however, became modified in course of ages after thenbsp;separation. But the main characteristics were maintained,nbsp;and a comparison of the native accounts of the ancientnbsp;Irish people with the classical writers� descriptions of thenbsp;Continental Celts shows close resemblances in many important particulars. Each class of writings throws light onnbsp;the other, so as often to clear up obscure passages in both :nbsp;and in many cases statements in the ancient Irish Tales,nbsp;which, if unsupported, might be regarded as doubtful, arenbsp;corroborated by passages concerning the Gaulish Celts innbsp;Caesar, Solinus, Posidonius, and other classical writers.nbsp;These observations will be found illustrated in many partsnbsp;of this book.

It is important that we should have some general idea of the population of Ireland during the period treated ofnbsp;in this book. According to the best Anglo-Irish authoritiesnbsp;the population at the time of the Restoration�1660�^wasnbsp;something over a million. But for a whole century beforenbsp;that time the country had been devastated by continuousnbsp;war, probably the most destructive ever experienced by anynbsp;nation within historic times ; so that the people of three ofnbsp;the provinces, Ulster, Munster, and Connaught, as well asnbsp;of a considerable part of Leinster, were almost exterminated. At the beginning of these wars there must havenbsp;been two or three times more people than in 1660.

There are various considerations leading to the belief that Ireland was well populated in the early ages of Christianity. All over the country�in Connaught as well as innbsp;the other provinces�there are many districts in which wenbsp;find multitudes of small church ruins : districts which arenbsp;now half waste and solitary, and have been so for centuries :nbsp;these churches, of course, were not erected without havingnbsp;people to fill them.¹ Then again, many parts of the country are now studded over with raths or residential forts�nbsp;the ancient homesteads�quite as thickly as with modernnbsp;residences, notwithstanding that a large proportion of thenbsp;original structures have been obliterated by cultivation.!nbsp;Observe also that round every good-sized rath a number ofnbsp;workpeople and other followers lived with their families innbsp;wicker houses without any special fortifications, so that nonbsp;traces of their dwellings remain.

It has been observed by many modern writers that plain traces of tillage, such as ridges- formed by digging

t On the multitude of raths or forts, see Brash, Ogams, pp. 99, loi ; Westropp�s papers on � Prehistoric Forts in the Co. Clare,� in Journ. R.nbsp;Soc. Antiqq., Irel., for 1896 and 1897 ; and Wilde�s Boyne and Black-water, p. 138. See also Kilk. Arch. Journ. for 1879-82, p. 259.

26 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I and ploughing, are found all over Ireland in places nownbsp;waste and uninhabited ; such as the tops and sides ofnbsp;mountains, and even under deep bogs ; and several ofnbsp;those writers, on this score alone, are of the opinion expressed by one of their number that � for certain Irelandnbsp;has been better inhabited than it is at present.�*

Other circumstances point independently to the same conclusion; such as the outflow of the population in thenbsp;early centuries to Scotland, Wales, and Man, as mentionednbsp;below (pp. 72 to 83) ; the numerous schools and colleges innbsp;the sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries�of which a partialnbsp;list may be seen at the opening of chap. xi. (p. 408),�allnbsp;with crowds of students ; and the vast assemblages at thenbsp;periodical fairs, described in Vol. II., pp. 434 to 449, ofnbsp;which we may instance, as one example out of many, thatnbsp;of Tailltenn in 1169, when the chariots and horse alonenbsp;extended along a distance of six miles. In this connexion we must not overlook the ancient tradition citednbsp;farther on (chap, vii., p. 185), that in the reign of the sonsnbsp;of Aed Slaine (joint kings, a.d. 656-664) the people grewnbsp;so numerous that for the first time the use of fences becamenbsp;general.

We should remember, too, Caesar�s statement regarding Britain in his time�the first century B.C.�� the number ofnbsp;people is countless and their buildings are exceedinglynbsp;numerous � (Gallic War, v., xii.) ; and there seems nonbsp;reason why Ireland should have been behindhand in thisnbsp;respect at that time and subsequently.

Besides all that has been said, there is another most important observation to be made. It seems inconceivablenbsp;that such a complete, close, and symmetrical network ofnbsp;laws and institutions as will be found described in the following pages, embracing every member of the community,nbsp;from the highest to the lowest, could have grown up and

* Boate, Nat. Hist., p. 47; Smith, Hist, of Cork, i., 198; Joyce, Irish Names of Places, i., 228.

held the people together for so many centuries, without having a good solid population to work upon.

From all these considerations, then, we may conclude that Ireland was well peopled during the period passingnbsp;under review in this book.

RELAND, from the sixth to the twelfth century of the Christian Era, presented an interesting spectacle, which, viewed through the medium ofnbsp;history, may be sketched in broad outline asnbsp;follows.

In those early times the physical aspect of Ireland was very different from what it is atnbsp;present. All over the country there were vastnbsp;forests, and great and dangerous marshes, quagmires, andnbsp;bogs, covered with reeds, moss, and grass. But thoughnbsp;bogs existed from the beginning, many districts, where wenbsp;now find them lying broad and deep, were once forestnbsp;land ; and the bog grew up after the surface had, in somenbsp;manner, become denuded of trees. Buried down at a depthnbsp;of many feet in some of our present bogs great tree trunksnbsp;are often found, the relics of the primeval forest.

But outside forest and bog, there were open plains, valleys, and hillsides, under cultivation and pasturage, andnbsp;all well populated. The woods and waste places werenbsp;alive with birds and wild animals of all kinds, and thenbsp;people were very fond of hunting and fishing; for therenbsp;was plenty of game, both large and small, and the riversnbsp;and lakes teemed with fish. Sometimes they hunted hares

and foxes for mere sport. But they had much grander game : wild boars with long and dangerous tusks, deer innbsp;great herds, and wolves that lurked in caves and thicknbsp;woods. There were the same broad lakes, like inland seas,nbsp;that still remain: but they were generally larger then thannbsp;they are now; and they were surrounded with miles ofnbsp;reedy morasses: lakes and marshes tenanted everywherenbsp;by vast flocks of cranes, wild geese, wild swans, and othernbsp;fowl. Kites and golden eagles skimmed over the plainsnbsp;peering down for prey; and the goshawks, or falcons,nbsp;used in the old game of hawking, were found in greatnbsp;abundance.

A person traversing those parts of the country that were inhabited found no difficulty in getting from place tonbsp;place ; for there were roads and bridle-paths everywhere,nbsp;rough indeed, and not to be compared with the roads of

Ferryboat, 21 feet long by i foot broad: now in National Museum, Dublin. (From Wilde�s Catalogue.)

our day, but good enough for the travel and traffic of the time. If the wayfarer did not choose to walk, there werenbsp;plenty of ox-waggons ; and among the higher classesnbsp;rough springless chariots, drawn by one or two horses _nbsp;Horse-riding, though sometimes adopted, was not in thosenbsp;times a very general mode �f travelling. What with roughnbsp;conveyances, and with roads and paths often full of ruts,nbsp;pools, and mire, a journey, whether by walking, driving, ornbsp;horse-riding, was a slow, laborious, and disagreeable business, and not always free from danger. Rivers were crossednbsp;by means of wooden bridges, or by wading at broadnbsp;shallow fords, or by little ferry-boats, or, as a lastnbsp;resource, by swimming : for in those days of open-air lifenbsp;everyone could swim. Fords were, however, generally verynbsp;easy to find, as the roads and paths usually impinged on

In the inhabited districts the. traveller experienced little difficulty on the score of lodging : for there were opennbsp;houses of hospitality for the reception of strangers, wherenbsp;bed and food were always ready. If one of these happenednbsp;not to be within reach, he had only to make his way tonbsp;the nearest monastery, where he was sure of a warmnbsp;welcome : and, whether in monastery or hostel, he wasnbsp;entertained free of charge. Failing both, there was smallnbsp;chance of his having to sleep out; for hospitality wasnbsp;everywhere enjoined and practised as a virtue, and therenbsp;was always a welcome from the family of the first privatenbsp;house he turned into.

The people were divided into tribes and clans, each group, whether small or large, governed by a king or chief ;nbsp;and at the head of all was the high king of Ireland. Butnbsp;these kings could not do as they pleased ; for they had tonbsp;govern the country or the district in accordance with oldnbsp;customs, and had to seek the advice of the chief men on allnbsp;important occasions�much the same as the limited mon-archs of our own day. There were courts of justice presided over by magistrates and judges, with lawyers tonbsp;explain the law and plead for their clients.

The houses were nearly all of wood, and oftener round than quadrangular, the dwelling of every comfortablenbsp;family being surrounded by a high rampart of earth with anbsp;thorn hedge or strong palisade on top, to keep out wildnbsp;animals and robbers. Beside almost every homesteadnbsp;was a kitchen garden for table vegetables, and one ornbsp;more enclosed spaces for various purposes, such as outdoor games, shutting in cattle at night, or as haggardsnbsp;for corn-stacks. In some places the dwellings werenbsp;clustered in groups or hamlets, not huddled close as thenbsp;houses in most of our present villages, but with opennbsp;spaces between. The large towns�which, however, were

30 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I very few�lay open all round, without any attempt atnbsp;fortification.

The people were bright and intelligent and much given to intellectual entertainments and amusements. Theynbsp;loved music and singing, and took delight in listeningnbsp;to poetry, history, and romantic stories, recited by professional poets and shanachies; or, in the absence ofnbsp;these, by good non-professional storytellers, who werenbsp;everywhere to be found among the peasantry. Theynbsp;were close observers of external nature, too, and had annbsp;intense admiration for natural beauty, a peculiaritynbsp;everywhere reflected in their literature, as well as in theirnbsp;place-names.

In most parts of the country open-air meetings or fairs were held periodically, where the people congregated innbsp;thousands, and, forgetting all the cares of the world for thenbsp;time, gave themselves over to unrestrained enjoyment�nbsp;athletic games and exercises, racing, music, recitationsnbsp;by skilled poets and storytellers, jugglers� and showmen�snbsp;representations, eating and drinking, marrying and givingnbsp;in marriage. So determined were they to ward off allnbsp;unpleasantness on these occasions, that no one, at thenbsp;risk of his life, durst pick a quarrel or strike a blow: fornbsp;this was one of the rules laid down to govern all publicnbsp;assemblies. An Irish fair in those times was a lively andnbsp;picturesque sight. The people were dressed in their best,nbsp;and in great variety, for all, both men and women, lovednbsp;bright colours, and from head to foot every individualnbsp;wore articles of varied hues. Here you see a tall gentleman walking along with a scarlet cloak flowing looselynbsp;over a short jacket of purple, with perhaps a blue trousersnbsp;and yellow headgear, while the next showed a colournbsp;arrangement wholly different; and the women vied withnbsp;the men in variety of hues. Nay, single garments werenbsp;often parti-coloured ; and it was quite common to see thenbsp;long outside mantle, whether worn by men or women,

But outside such social gatherings, and in ordinary life, both chiefs and people were quarrelsome and easily provoked to fight. Indeed they loved fighting for its ownnbsp;sake ; and a stranger to the native character would benbsp;astonished to see the very people who only a few daysnbsp;before vied with each other in good-natured enjoyment,nbsp;now fighting to the death on some flimsy cause of variance,nbsp;which in all likelihood he would fail to understand if he

made inquiry. These everlasting jars and conflicts� though not more common in Ireland than in Englandnbsp;and Scotland�brought untold miseries on the people, andnbsp;were the greatest obstacle to progress. Sometimes greatnbsp;battles were fought, on which hung the fate of the nation,nbsp;like those we have seen contested in Ireland within thenbsp;last two or three hundred years. But the martial instinctsnbsp;of the people were not always confined within the shoresnbsp;of Ireland; for Irish leaders often carried war into the

In all parts of the country were monasteries, most of them with schools attached, where an excellent educationnbsp;was to be had by all who desired it, for small pa3/ment, ornbsp;for nothing at all if the student was poor : and besidesnbsp;these there were numerous lay schools where youngnbsp;persons might be educated in general learning and for

the professions. The teaching and lecturing were carried on with life and spirit, and very much in the open airnbsp;when the weather permitted. In the monasteries andnbsp;schools, as well as in some private houses, there werenbsp;libraries of manuscript books containing all the learning

then known: but when you walked into the library room you saw no books on shelves : but numbers of neatnbsp;satchels hanging on hooks round the walls, each containing one or more precious volumes and labelled on thenbsp;outside.

Learning of every kind was held in the highest estimation ; and learned men were well rewarded, not only in the

universal respect paid to them, but also in the solid worldly advantages of wealth and influence. Professional men�nbsp;physicians, lawyers, builders, amp;c.�went on their visits,nbsp;each attended by a group of scholars who lived in hisnbsp;hou.se and accompanied him to learn their profession bynbsp;actual practice.

Some gave themselves up to the study and practice of art in its various forms, and became highly accomplished :nbsp;and specimens of their artistic work remain to this day,nbsp;which are admitted to be the most perfect and beautiful ofnbsp;the kind existing in any part of the world (see fig, 20, p. 32).

In numerous districts there were minerals which, though not nearly so abundant as in the neighbouring island ofnbsp;Great Britain, were yet in sufficient quantity to give rise tonbsp;many industries. The mines were worked too, as we knownbsp;from ancient documents ; and the remains of old mines ofnbsp;copper, coal, and other minerals, with many antique miningnbsp;tools, have been discovered in recent times in some partsnbsp;of Ireland. Gold was found in many places, especially innbsp;the district which is now called the county Wicklow ; andnbsp;the rich people wore a variety of gold ornaments, whichnbsp;they took great pride in (fig. 21). Many rivers producednbsp;the pearl mussel, so that Ireland was well known for itsnbsp;pearls, which were unusually large and of very fine quality :nbsp;and in some of the same rivers pearls are found to this day.

Though there were no big factories there were plenty of industries and trades in the homes of the people, likenbsp;what we now call cottage industries. Coined money wasnbsp;hardly known, so that all transactions of buying and sellingnbsp;were carried on by a sort of barter, values being estimatednbsp;by certain well-known standards, such as cows, sacks ofnbsp;corn of a fixed size, ounces of gold and silver, and such like.nbsp;To facilitate these interchanges the people had balancesnbsp;and weights not very different from those now used.

The men of the several professions, such as medical doctors, lawyers, judges, builders, poets, historians : andnbsp;the tradesmen of various crafts�carpenters, smiths,nbsp;workers in gold, silver, and brass, ship and boat builders,nbsp;masons, shoemakers, dyers, tailors, brewers, and so forth�nbsp;all worked and earned their bread under the old Irish laws,nbsp;which were everywhere acknowledged. Then there was anbsp;good deal of commerce with Britain and with Continental

countries, especially France ; and the home commodities, such as hides, salt, wool, etc., were exchanged for wine,nbsp;silk, satin, and other goods not produced in Ireland.

From what has been said here, we may see that the ancient Irish were as well advanced in civilisation, asnbsp;orderly, and as regular, as the people of those other European countries of the same period that�like Ireland�hadnbsp;a proper settled government; and it will be shown farthernbsp;on in this book that they were famed throughout allnbsp;Europe for Religion and Learning.

As the population of the country increased, the cultivated land increased in proportion. But until a late time there were few inhabited districts that were not within view,nbsp;or within easy reach, of unreclaimed lands�forest, or bog,nbsp;or moorland : so that the people had much ado to protectnbsp;their crops and flocks from the inroads of wild animals.

All round near the coast ran, then as now, the principal mountain ranges, with a great plain in the middle. Thenbsp;air was soft and moist, perhaps even more moist than atnbsp;present, on account of the great extent of forest. Thenbsp;cleared land was exceedingly fertile, and was well waterednbsp;with springs, streamlets, and rivers, not only among thenbsp;mountainous districts, but all over the central plain. Pasture lands were luxuriant and evergreen, inviting flocks andnbsp;herds without limit. There was more pasture than tillage,nbsp;and the grass land was, for the most part, not fenced in,nbsp;but was grazed in common.

Some of the pleasing features of the country have been well pictured by Denis Florence M'Carthy in his poem ofnbsp;� The Bell Founder � ;�

' O Erin ! thou broad-spreading valley, thou well-watered land of fresh streams.

When I gaze on thy hills greenly sloping, where the light of such loveliness beams.

Then I think that the fairies have brought me to dwell in the bright Tirnanogue.�

Ireland, so far as it was brought under cultivation and pasture in those early days, was�as the Venerable Bede calls it�� a land flowing with milk and honey � ; a pleasant,nbsp;healthful, and fruitful land, well fitted to maintain anbsp;prosperous and contented people.

Though the period from the sixth to the twelfth century has been specified at the opening of this chapter, the state of things depicted here continued, with no verynbsp;decided changes, for several hundred years afterwards ;nbsp;and many of the customs and institutions, so far fromnbsp;being limited backwards by the sixth century, existed fromnbsp;prehistoric times.

All these features, and many others not noticed in this brief sketch, will now' be examined by turning on them,nbsp;one by one, the field of a big telescope, which will bringnbsp;out the details ; and the resulting enlarged views will benbsp;photographed in the following chapters of this book.

'EFORE entering on the subject of Government, it will be useful to sketch the main featuresnbsp;of the ancient territorial divisions of thenbsp;country. It was parcelled out into five provinces from the earliest times of which wenbsp;have any record :�Leinster ; East Munster ;nbsp;West Munster ; Connaught; and Ulster : anbsp;partition which, according to the legend, was made bynbsp;the five Firbolg brothers, the sons of Dela.* Laigin or

Leinster originally extended�in coast line�from Inber Colptha (the mouth of the Boyne at Drogheda) to thenbsp;river Suir : East Human or Munster from the Suir tonbsp;the Lee at Cork : West Munster from the Lee round tonbsp;the Shannon ; Olnegmacht or Connaught from Limericknbsp;and the Shannon to the little river Drowes, which issuesnbsp;from Lough Melvin and flows between the counties ofnbsp;Leitrim and Donegal: and Ulaid or Ulster from thisnbsp;round northwards to the Boyne.

This division became modified in course of time. The two Munsters, East and West, gradually ceased to be distinguished, and Munster was regarded as a single province.nbsp;A new province, that of Hide [Mee] or Meath, was formednbsp;in the second century of the Christian Era by Tuathalnbsp;the Acceptable, king of Ireland.* Down to his time thenbsp;provinces met at a point on the hill of Ushnagh (in the

present county Westmeath) marked by a great stone called Aill-na-Mirenn [Aill-na-Meeran], the ' Stone of thenbsp;Divisions,� which stands there a conspicuous object still.nbsp;Round this point Tuathal formed the new province bynbsp;cutting off a portion of each of the others. It was designednbsp;to be the mensal land or personal estate of the Ard-ri ornbsp;supreme king of Ireland, that he might be the better ablenbsp;to maintain his court with due state and dignity. Previousnbsp;to his time the king of Ireland had only a small tract�nbsp;a single tuath (see next page)�for his own use. This newnbsp;province was about half the size of Ulster, extending fromnbsp;the Shannon eastwards to the sea, and from the confinesnbsp;of the present county Kildare and King�s County on thenbsp;south to the confines of Armagh and Monaghan on thenbsp;north. The present counties of Meath and Westmeathnbsp;retain the name, but comprise only about half the originalnbsp;province.

At the time of Tuathal�s accession�a.d. 130�there were four places belonging severally to the four provinces,nbsp;situated not far from each other, which for centuries previously�as will be shown farther on�had been celebratednbsp;as residences and as centres for great periodical meetingsnbsp;for various purposes :�Tara in Leinster ; Tailltenn innbsp;Ulster (now Teltown on the Blackwater, midway betweennbsp;Navan and Kells) ; Tlachtga in Munster (now the Hill ofnbsp;Ward near Athboy in Meath) ; and Ushnagh in Connaught,nbsp;nine miles west of Mullingar in the present county Westmeath. All these were included in the new province ; andnbsp;Tuathal built a palace in each, of which some of the moundsnbsp;and fortifications remain to this day. After his time thenbsp;five provinces generally recognised and best known in Irishnbsp;History were Leinster, Munster, Connaught, Ulster, Meath.

Besides the formation of a new province there were several minor changes. Murthemne and Cuailnge [Quelna],nbsp;both forming the present county Louth, were transferrednbsp;from Ulster to Leinster ; the present county Cavan, which

originally belonged to Connaught, was given to Ulster ; and the territory now known as the county Clare, wasnbsp;wrested from Connaught and annexed to Munster. Downnbsp;to the time of Tuathal, Connaught included a large tractnbsp;east of the Shannon, a part of the present county Westmeath ; but in accordance with his arrangements, thenbsp;Shannon in this part of its course, became the easternnbsp;boundary of that province. The most ancient division ofnbsp;Munster, as has been said, was into East and West; but anbsp;later and better known partition was into Thomond ornbsp;North Munster, which broadly speaking included Tipperary, Clare, and the northern part of Limerick ; andnbsp;Desmond or South Munster, comprising Kerry, Cork,nbsp;Waterford, and the southern part of Limerick. In latternbsp;ages, however, the name Thomond has been chiefly confined to the county Clare, the patrimony of the O'Briens.nbsp;Recently Meath has disappeared as a province : and thenbsp;original provinces now remain�Leinster, Munster,nbsp;Connaught, and Ulster.

The provinces were subdivided into territories of various sizes. The political unit, i.e. the smallest division havingnbsp;a complete political and legal administration, was thenbsp;Tuath. The original meaning of tuath was f of ulus (Zeuss,nbsp;34, 32), a tribe of people; but in accordance with a well-known custom in Ireland, the term came to be applied tonbsp;the land occupied by the tribe. In its original applicationnbsp;a tuath must have represented roughly a definite population ; for we are told that its king had 700 fighting men :*nbsp;and as the term had reference to a tribe rather than to thenbsp;district they occupied, the several tuath-districts must havenbsp;varied in size. But when once the term began to benbsp;applied to the land, it came in course of time to be usednbsp;as designating�in theory, at least�a territory of fixednbsp;area. In this sense a tuath was usually considered asnbsp;equivalent to what was called a tricha-c�d, containing 30

hallys or ballyhetaghs (Irish baile-biataigh) ¹ Each bally-betagh contained 12 sesreachs or ploughlands, and each ploughland 120 large Irish acres. A bally or townlandnbsp;was of a size sufficient to sustain four herds of cows of 75nbsp;each, i.e. 300 cows in all, � without one cow touchingnbsp;another � : and a ploughland was as much as a singlenbsp;plough could turn up in a year. In tabular form thisnbsp;subdivision is :�

This is in accordance with what is laid down in an ancient poem, quoted by O�Curry in Moylena (p. 108),nbsp;which is followed by Keating (p. 86) : but other authorities, as followed by O�Donovan and 0�Flaherty,f whilenbsp;agreeing in the first item (i tricha=3o ballys), give thenbsp;ballybetagh as containing 4 sesreachs or quarter'^ ; andnbsp;each quarter 120 Irish acres.

The province of Meath contained 18 tricha-c�ds ; Leinster, 31 ; Ulster, 35 ; Connaught, 30 ; the two Munsters, 70 : 184 tricha-c�ds, cantreds, or tuaths, in all Ireland, containing collectively 5,520 ballybetaghs. A tuath containednbsp;about 177 English square miles, and might be representednbsp;in area by an oblong district, sixteen miles by eleven.nbsp;Sometimes three, four, or more tuaths were united to formnbsp;one large territory under a king ; this was called a Mor-tuath, or great tuath.% The present subdivision intonbsp;baronies is partly of English origin : but the old divisionsnbsp;were very often followed : so that many of the ancientnbsp;tuaths or tricha-c�ds are represented, more or less nearly,

Br. Laws, v. 51,5; Sullivan, Introd., p, 229, note ; O�Curry, Man. and Cust., ii. 503, note

t O�Donovan, HyF, p. 149, and O�Flaherty, Ogyg., Part I, For more on this subject, and for the smaller measures of land, see Vol. II.,nbsp;pp. 372 and 373.

by the modern baronies, most of which retain their old names. Hence, tricha-c�d (which literally signifies � thirty-hundreds � : a c�d, or � hundred,� being equivalent tonbsp;a � bally,� or � ballybetagh �), is often translated � cantred,�nbsp;or � barony.�

The government of the whole country, as well as that of each division and subdivision, was in the hands of anbsp;constitutional king or chief, who had to carrj' on his government in accordance with the immemorial customs of thenbsp;country or sub-kingdom : and his authority was furthernbsp;limited by the counsels of his chief men. The usual namenbsp;for a king in the ancient as well as in the modern languagenbsp;is ri [ree], genitive rig or righ [ree], Other less usualnbsp;terms were fdl, mal, and triath [trih], all given in Cor-mac�s Glossary ; and tore, which is glossed by rl in LUnbsp;(49, a, i). A queen was, and is, rigan or rioghan [reean],nbsp;genitive rigna or rioghana [reena]. Sometimes a queen wasnbsp;called banrigan [banreean]. Over all Ireland there wasnbsp;one king, who, to distinguish him from others, was designated the Ard-ri, or over-king (drd. high). The over-kingsnbsp;lived at Tara till the sixth century a.d. ; after that, elsewhere ; hence the Ard-ri was often called � King of Tara,�nbsp;even after its abandonment. Within historic times nonbsp;woman was sovereign of Ireland. But in the half-legendary history w�e have one, and only one, queen, who howevernbsp;succeeded to the sovereignty, not by election, but by force :nbsp;�Macha Mongruad the founder of Emain�about 370 yearsnbsp;B.C., who seized the throne after the death of her father,nbsp;a previous monarch. At the end of this chapter will benbsp;found a List of the Supreme Kings of Ireland. The lastnbsp;over-king was Roderick O�Conor. Wearied with the turmoil of the Anglo-Norman Invasion, which he was unablenbsp;to repel, and with domestic discord, he retired from thenbsp;world to the monastery of Cong, where he ended his troubled

career in 1198. After his death there were no more supreme monarchs :* but the provinces and the smaller kingdomsnbsp;continued to be ruled by their native kings in successionnbsp;down to a much later period.

There was a king over each of the five provinces�an arrangement commonly known as the Pentarchy. If anbsp;provincial king was elected monarch of Ireland a new kingnbsp;had to be elected over his province ; for it was the rule thatnbsp;the same person could not be king of Ireland and of anbsp;province at the same time. The provinces, again, included

many sub-kingdoms, some consisting of a single tuath^ and some of more, as has been said. The tuath was the smallestnbsp;territory whose ruler could claim the title of rf, or king; butnbsp;all the 184 tuaths had not kings.

From this it will be seen that, speaking in a general sense, there were four classes of kings ;�the king of thenbsp;tuath ; the king of the m�r~tuath; the king of a province ;nbsp;and the king of all Ireland : forming a regular gradation,nbsp;kingdom within kingdom. This agrees generally with the

curious classification given in the Laws (iv. 329) :�i, the � king of hills or peaks/� �.c., of a iuath; 2, the � king ofnbsp;companies,� i.e. of a m�r-tuaih ; and 3, the � king who isnbsp;the source of ever}^ chief,� that is, the king of kings, whichnbsp;includes the Ard-ri, and the provincial kings.

The kings of the provinces were subject to the overking, and owed him tribute and war service. A similar law extended to all the sub-kingdoms : in other words, thenbsp;king of each territory, from the tuath upwards to the province, was�at all events nominally�subject to the king ofnbsp;the larger territory in which it was included. Some of thenbsp;sub-kingdoms were very large, such as Tyrone, Tirconnel,nbsp;Thomond, Desmond, Ossory, Hy Many, amp;c., each of whichnbsp;comprised several tuaths and several tribes. A minor kingnbsp;under a king of one of these large territories was oftennbsp;called an ur-ri, or oir-ri, or � under-king,� called an ur-riagh by English writers.¹

Election,�The king, or ruling chief, was always elected from members of one fine or family, bearing the same surname (when surnames came into use) ; but the successionnbsp;was not hereditary in the present sense of the word : it wasnbsp;elective, with the above limitation of being confined to onenbsp;family. Any freeborn member of the family was eligible :nbsp;the successor might be son, brother, nephew, cousin, amp;c., ofnbsp;the chief. That member was chosen who was considerednbsp;best able to lead in war and govern in peace ; and ofnbsp;course he should be of full age. Two essential conditionsnbsp;are expressly laid down :�that he should be free from allnbsp;personal deformities or blemishes likely to impair his efficiency as a leader, or to lessen the respect of the people fornbsp;him :t and that both his father and grandfather had been

O'Donovan, Moyrath, 103, note g. Ur-ri is to be distinguished from ur-rad (p. 161, below).

flaiihs or nobles. For the election of a ruling chief or minor king, the proceedings, which were carried on withnbsp;much ceremony and deliberation, are described in the Law.nbsp;Every freeman of the rank of aire (chap, v. p. 156, infra) hadnbsp;a vote. If there were several candidates, a court was heldnbsp;for the election in the house ot the chief brewy or hostellernbsp;of the district, to which all the chiefs about to take part innbsp;the election proceeded, each with his full retinue ; andnbsp;there they remained in council for three days and threenbsp;nights, at the end of which time the successful candidatenbsp;was declared elected. The electors�says the Law (v. 441)nbsp;�were bound to see � that the person they select is thenbsp;� man to whom the chieftainship is due ; viz, that he is thenbsp;� son of a flaith or noble and the grandson of another, thatnbsp;quot; he has the three chief residences (p. 58, infra), and thatnbsp;� he is pure, without stain of stealth or [unlawful] wound-� ing, � For the higher classes of kings, such as the supremenbsp;monarch or the king of a province, the proceedings werenbsp;much more formal, solemn, and imposing ; and the courtnbsp;for the election was probably held in one of the palaces.

With the object of avoiding the evils of a disputed succession, the person to succeed a king or ruling chiefnbsp;was often elected by the chiefs convened in formal meeting during the lifetime of the king himself : when electednbsp;he was called the tanist�Irish tdnaiste�a word meaningnbsp;second, i.e. second in authority. Proper provision wasnbsp;made for the support of the tanist by a separate establishment and an allowance of mensal land (see p. 50,nbsp;infra), a custom which continued, in case of the tanistsnbsp;of provincial and minor kings, till the time of Elizabeth,nbsp;and even later ; � the tanist,� says Spenser (p. 12), � hathnbsp;also a share of the countr}/ allotted to him, and certainnbsp;cuttings and spendings [i.e. tribute of several kinds] uponnbsp;all the inhabitants under the lord.� He was subordinate tonbsp;the king or chief, but was above all the other dignitaries ofnbsp;the state. The other persons who were eligible to succeed

in the case of the tanist�s failure were termed Roydamna (Ir. rig-domna, i.e. � king-material.�).*

A curious arrangement sometimes adopted was the election of two joint kings of Ireland, who reigned simultaneously. By reference to the table at the end of thisnbsp;chapter it will be seen that there were five joint reignsnbsp;between a.d. 565 and 664. Sometimes the joint kingsnbsp;were brothers, sometimes not. We have no details as tonbsp;the arrangements adopted to define the authority of each,nbsp;or of the measures taken to avoid friction or quarrels.

The Inauguration or making of a king, after his election, was an impressive ceremony. Of the mode of inaugurating the pagan kings we know hardly anything, further than this, that the kings of Ireland had to stand onnbsp;an inauguration stone at Tara called Lia Fail which ntierednbsp;a roay when a king of the Milesian race stood on it.

But we possess full information of the ceremonies used in Christian times. The mode of inaugurating was muchnbsp;the same in its general features all over the country ; andnbsp;was strongly marked by a religious character. But therenbsp;were differences in detail; for some tribes had traditionalnbsp;customs not practised by others. There was a definitenbsp;formula, every portion of which should be scrupulouslynbsp;carried out in order to render the ceremony legal. Some ofnbsp;the observances that have come within the ken of history,nbsp;as described below, descended from pagan times. Eachnbsp;tribe, or aggregation of tribes, with a king at their head,nbsp;had a special place of inauguration, which was held in muchnbsp;respect�invested indeed with a half sacred character. Itnbsp;was on the top of a hill, or on an ancestral earn (thenbsp;sepulchre of the founder of the race), or on a large lisnbsp;or fort, and sometimes under a venerable tree, called innbsp;Irish a bile [billa]. Each tribe used an inauguration stonenbsp;�a custom common also among the Celts of Scotland.

* For tanist and election of, see also Lynch, Cambr. Ev. iii. 325 ; O�Flaherty, Ogyg., Part I. ; and O�Curry�s Moylena, Introd., viii., ix.

Some of the inauguration stones had the impression of two feet, popularly believed to be the exact size of the feet ofnbsp;the first chief of the tribe who took possession of thenbsp;territory. Sometimes there was a stone chair, on whichnbsp;the king sat during part of the ceremony. On the daynbsp;of the inauguration the sub-chiefs of the territory, andnbsp;all the great officers of state, with the brehons, poets,

and historians, were present, as also thenbsp;bishops, abbots, andnbsp;other leading ecclesiastics.

The hereditary historian of the tribenbsp;read for the electednbsp;chief the laws thatnbsp;were to regulate hisnbsp;conduct; after whichnbsp;the chief swore tonbsp;observe them, tonbsp;maintain the ancientnbsp;customs of the tribe,nbsp;and to rule his people with strict j ustice.nbsp;Then, while he stoodnbsp;on the stone, an officer � whose specialnbsp;duty it was�handednbsp;him a straight whitenbsp;wand, a symbol ofnbsp;authority, and also annbsp;emblem of what his conduct and judicial decisions shouldnbsp;be�straight and without stain. Having put aside hisnbsp;sword and other weapons, and holding the rod in his hand,nbsp;he turned thrice round from left to right, and thrice fromnbsp;right to left, in honour of the Holy Trinity, and to view

his territory in every direction. In some cases one of the sub-chiefs put on his sandal or shoe, in token ofnbsp;submission,* or threw a slipper over his head for goodnbsp;luck and prosperity. Then one of the sub-chiefs appointed for this purpose pronounced in a loud voice hisnbsp;surname�the surname only, without the Christian name�nbsp;which was afterwards pronounced aloud by each of thenbsp;clergy, one after another, according to dignity, and thennbsp;by the sub-chiefs. He was then the lawful chief; andnbsp;ever after, when spoken to, he was addressed �O�Neill��nbsp;� MacCarthy More �� O�Conor,� amp;c.; and when spoken ofnbsp;in English he was designated � The O�Neill,� amp;c., a customnbsp;existing to this day, as we see in � The O�Conor Don,�nbsp;� The Mac Dermot,� and in Scotland � The Mac Callumnbsp;More.�

The main parts of the inauguration ceremony were performed by one or more sub-chiefs: this office wasnbsp;highly honourable, and was hereditar}/. The inauguratornbsp;had a tract of land and a residence free, which remainednbsp;in the family. The O�Neills of Tyrone were inauguratednbsp;by O�Hagan and 0�Cahan at Tullaghoge, near Dungannon�nbsp;where the fine old inauguration moat still remains; thenbsp;O�Donnells of Tirconnell by 0�Freel, at the Rock of Doonnbsp;near Kilmacrenan. The fort of Ma^-A Adhair [Mah-ire]

near the village of Quin in Clare, on which the Dalcassian kings were made, has been described by Mr. Westropp ;*nbsp;and Carnfree, the mound on which the O�Connors, kings ofnbsp;Connaught, were inaugurated, is to be seen in the town-land of Cams, near Tulsk, in Roscommon.f The richnbsp;dress and robes worn by the king, for the first and onlynbsp;time, on the day of inauguration, and commonly the horsenbsp;he rode to the place, with all trappings, became the property of the chief officer or officers who performed thenbsp;ceremony ; but in this respect customs varied in differentnbsp;places.

The oldest record in our ancient writings of the inauguration of a king�probably the oldest reference tonbsp;Christian inauguration anywhere to be foundj�is givennbsp;by Adamnan (iii. v.) where he mentions the ordination,nbsp;by St. Columba, of Aedan as king of the Dahiadic Scots,nbsp;A.D. 574. He calls the ceremony � Ordinatio,� and statesnbsp;that Columba blessed (benedixit) the new king as part ofnbsp;the ceremony ; but he gives no further details.

Giraldus Cambrensis, in a chapter of his Topography,^ has an account of a disgusting ceremony which he saysnbsp;was observed by the Kinel-Connell at the inauguration ofnbsp;their chiefs �that at the inauguration meeting, whichnbsp;was attended by the whole people of the territory, a whitenbsp;mare was brought forward, towards which the chief aboutnbsp;to be elected crept all fours�on hands and knees. Thennbsp;the animal was killed, its flesh boiled, and a bath madenbsp;of the broth. Into this the elected chief plunged, andnbsp;while sitting in it he ate and drank his fill of flesh andnbsp;broth, helping himself by dipping down his mouth ; andnbsp;what he left, his subjects finished ; whereupon he becamenbsp;chief. Here it will be observed that Giraldus reports the

� III., XXV., headed � Of a New and Monstrous Way of inaugurating their Kings.�

ceremony of one particular tribe, not the general custom all over Ireland ; and the story is obviously one of thenbsp;many silly fables which we find in his book�like thosenbsp;of the sorcerers who used to turn stones into red pigs atnbsp;fairs, of a lion that fell in love with a young woman, andnbsp;many others of a like kind. Then we must remember thatnbsp;he does not record from personal experience, for he wasnbsp;never in Tirconnell, nor within a hundred miles of it : andnbsp;the whole story is so absurd that many are convinced itnbsp;was told to him in a joke by some person who was awarenbsp;of his unlimited credulity : for no one believes he deliberately invented it. Irish and other writers have leftnbsp;us detailed descriptions of the installation ceremonies, innbsp;none of which do we find anything like what Giraldusnbsp;mentions, and some have directly refuted him. His statement is absolutely unsupported. Harris, the editor ofnbsp;Ware�s Works, sa3/s (Antiqq. 65) : �quot;The falsity of thisnbsp;filthy fable will best appear by giving a candid relationnbsp;of the true ceremonies used at the initiation of the kingsnbsp;of Tirconnell � ; and he then goes on to detail the ceremony,nbsp;which agrees with the description given at p. 45, above.

Harris�s account, and also those by the native writers, have been corroborated in all leading particulars by anbsp;writer whom many will perhaps consider the best authoritynbsp;of all�Edmund Spenser. Spenser knew what he wasnbsp;writing about; and his description, though brief, is verynbsp;correct, and agrees, so far as it goes, with the Irish accounts ; while he has not a word about the Tirconnellnbsp;ceremony described by Giraldus :�� They use to place him,

� that shall be their Captain, upon a stone alwayes reserved � for that purpose, and placed commonly upon a hill: Innbsp;� some of which I have seen formed and ingraven a foot,

� which they say was the measure of their first Captain�s � foot, whereon hee standing, receives an oath to preservenbsp;� all the ancient former customes of the countrey inviolable,nbsp;quot; and to deliver up the succession peaceably' to his Tanist,

� and then hath a wand delivered unto him by some whose � proper office that is : after which, descending from thenbsp;� stone, he turneth himself round, thrice forward, andnbsp;� thrice backward.�*

As the tribe elected their king through the votes of their representative men, so they might at any time deposenbsp;him if he proved unsatisfactory. The O�Kelly, king ofnbsp;Hy Many, was inaugurated by the two families of Clannnbsp;Diarmada and Hy-Cormaic and by the family of Mithighennbsp;or Meehan ; which families had also the function of deposing him � at the instance [and by the authority of the wholenbsp;tribe] of Hy Many.� The Senchus M�rf mentions thenbsp;liability of a king to deposition :�There are four dignitaries of a territory who may be degraded ;�A false-judging king, a stumbling bishop, a fraudulent poet, annbsp;unworthy chieftain who does not fulfil his duties.� It isnbsp;probable that there was a formal ceremony for deposition ;nbsp;but I do not find it anywhere described.

In case of an interregnum some eminent man�often an ecclesiastic or an ollave�was appointed regent : fornbsp;which see p. 462, infra.

The revenue of the king or ruling chief, of whatever grade, which enabled him to support his court and household was derived from three main sources. First: he wasnbsp;allowed for life, or for as long as he continued chief, a tractnbsp;of land called Ferann hiiird, � land of the bord or table,�

* Spenser�s View, p. ii. For an exhaustive account by O�Donovan of the inauguration of Irish kings, see his Hy Fiachrach, pp, 425 to 432.nbsp;See also Paper on the Inauguration of Irish Chiefs, by Herbert J. Hore,nbsp;in Ulster Journ. Archaeol., v. 216. In both O�Donovan�s and Hore�snbsp;papers Giraldus�s calumny is effectively exposed. Other references andnbsp;descriptions will be found in Lynch, Cambr. Ev., in. 325 et seq. :nbsp;O'Flaherty, Ogyg., Part i. : Kilk. Archasol. Journ., 1852-3, p. 335 :nbsp;Harris�s Ware, Antiqq., n. x. : also FM, a.d. 1315, 1461, 1488, 1589.nbsp;t Br. Laws, I. 55.

mensal land, some of which he cultivated by his own bondsmen, and some he let to tenants. Second : subsidiesnbsp;of various kinds mentioned in chap, vii., sect. 3, paid himnbsp;by his free tenant farmers and other free members of thenbsp;tribe, by the unfree families and tribes, and also by hisnbsp;subject kings or chiefs.* Third : payment for the loan ofnbsp;stock as described at p. 189 farther on. But in additionnbsp;to all this he might have land as his own personal property :nbsp;and other minor sources of income will be noticed in nextnbsp;Section.

The king or chief was the military leader in war, the governor in peace ; and he and his people lived in mutualnbsp;dependence. He was bound to protect the tribesmen fromnbsp;violence and wrong, and they maintained him in duenbsp;dignity (Br. Laws, ii, 345). It was both a danger and anbsp;disgrace not to have a chief to look up to : hence thenbsp;popular saying, quot; Spend me and defend me.� Craftsmennbsp;of the various trades, like tenant farmers, had to placenbsp;themselves under the protection of the chief, and paynbsp;tribute�often in kind�i.e., articles made by themselves :nbsp;which formed an important item in the chief�s revenue.

While the inferior chief, of whatever grade, paid tribute (called in Irish cis : pron. keece) to his superior, the latter,nbsp;by a curious custom, was bound to give his dependent anbsp;stipend of some kind, called taurcrec or tuarastal; muchnbsp;smaller, however, than what he received. The tribute-paid to the superior�whether by a subordinate chief ornbsp;by an individual tribesman�consisted mainly of cattlenbsp;and provisions of various kinds, plough-oxen, hogs, sheep,nbsp;with mantles and other articles of dress : and it oftennbsp;included such things as dyestuffs, woollen sewing-thread,nbsp;firewood, wood for carpentry work: and sometimes goldnbsp;and silver reckoned in ounces. In all cases the quantitynbsp;or amount, whatever the commodity, was defined by law

*For various kinds of cess and tribute in the sixteenth century, see article on Ancient Irish Income, Ulst. Journ. Archasol., iv. 241.

and custom. The tributary king made up part of his payments by levying tribute, according to well-definednbsp;custom, on his own inferiors.

On the other hand the taurcrec given by the superior to his sub-king or chief consisted mainly of such articlesnbsp;as arms, steeds, drinking-horns, brooches, amp;c. For example, while the king of Dal Riada, in north-east Ulster,nbsp;gave 300 oxen every year to his superior, the king ofnbsp;Ulaid or Ulster (worth say �5,000 or �6,000 of our money),nbsp;the latter gave the king of Dal Riada a tuarastal ofnbsp;three steeds, three bondmen, three bondwomen, and threenbsp;[small] ships, all which might now represent �600 ornbsp;�700.^

The acceptance of taurcrec or tuarastal, or stipend, by the inferior was an acknowledgment of submission andnbsp;allegiancef ; a refusal to accept it was equivalent to renouncing, or refusing to acknowledge, allegiance. Whennbsp;Malachi II, came to Brian Boru�s tent in 1002 with anbsp;retinue of twelve score men to offer him submission,nbsp;Brian gave him a taurcrec of twelve score steeds, whichnbsp;he accepted ; but the retinue felt so mortified at theirnbsp;own king�s submission that to a man they refused to takenbsp;charge of them, so Malachi presented them in token ofnbsp;friendship to Brian�s son Murrogh.J Sometimes�in casenbsp;of the lower order of dependents�this subsidy was callednbsp;raith [ra] or wages. The tributes and stipends for thenbsp;various ranks are set forth in detail in the Book ofnbsp;Rights.

The Book of Rights � gives an account of the rights oi the monarchs of all Ireland, and the revenues payable tonbsp;them by the principal kings of the several provinces, and

* Book of Rights, 155, last two lines, and 169, The special articles given as cis or tribute and as taurcrec, respectively, may be seen by glancing through this Book of Rights,nbsp;t O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i. i6o.

of the stipends paid by the monarchs to the inferior kings for their services. It also treats of the rights of each of thenbsp;provincial kings, and the revenues payable to them fromnbsp;the inferior kings of the districts or tribes subsidiary tonbsp;them, and of the stipends paid by the superior to thenbsp;inferior provincial kings for their services. These accountsnbsp;are authoritatively delivered in verse, each poem beingnbsp;introduced by a prose statement.�*

According to the old authorities, St. Benen or Benignus was the author of the original Book of Rights. The present transcripts of it, which were we know copied fromnbsp;more ancient versions, are not older than the end of thenbsp;fourteenth century. This, however, refers to the mere penmanship ; the language is much older ; and it is 0�Dono-van�s opinion that the prose Introductions, which are muchnbsp;less ancient than the text, were written in their presentnbsp;form at a time not far removed from the period of Briannbsp;Boru. The Book of Rights has been published, with translation and most valuable Introduction and Notes, by Johnnbsp;O�Donovan, LL.D.f

A king usually secured the allegiance of his sub-kings and chiefs by taking hostages from them {giall, a hostage) ;nbsp;so that every king had hostages residing in his palace : anbsp;custom noticed by Adamnan (p. 167). quot; He is not a king,�nbsp;says the Brehon Law (iv. 51), � who has not hostages innbsp;fetters.� Notwithstanding the expression used in this quotation�which probably is in a great measure figurative�nbsp;hostages appear in fact to have been generally treatednbsp;with consideration. They were seldom kept in fetters ;nbsp;they were permitted to have their own retinue ; and werenbsp;admitted to the court society, so long as they conducted

t This Introduction was written by O�Donovan himself�as I have the best reason to know�and not by William Elliot Hudson, as someone hasnbsp;erroneously stated (but I cannot lay my hand on the passage). Andnbsp;more than that, it may be asserted that O�Donovan was the only mannbsp;living at the time (1846-7) who was capable of writing it.

themselves with propriety. But sometimes, either on account of misconduct, or where there was special reasonnbsp;for unfriendly feeling, they were treated with great harshness or cruelty : heavily fettered and closely confined.nbsp;Except in very few cases they were not permitted tonbsp;carry arms. Hostages must have been very numerousnbsp;in every king�s palace : for we are told in the Life ofnbsp;St. Patrick that in his time Laeghaire, king of Ireland,nbsp;had in Tara nine hostages from one chief alone, namely,nbsp;Dicho, prince of Lecale.¹ ^{2 3 4}

In every palace there was a special house for lodging hostages. In Tara one of the mounds was called Duma-nan-giall, the � Mound of the hostages,� which still remains ;nbsp;and on it stood the hostage house. � King Cormacnbsp;made a visitation of Ireland thrice, and brought a hostagenbsp;from every fortress, . . . and to these he gave Dumha nannbsp;giall �f [with a house on it to reside in]. In the � Feast ofnbsp;Dun-nan-ged � we are told that Domnall, king of Ireland,nbsp;built his palace at Dun-nan-ged in imitation of that at Tara,nbsp;and among other buildings he erected the Carcair-nan-giall,nbsp;the � prison-house of the hostages.�]: In a poem in the Booknbsp;of Lecan, describing the building of Aileach, it is statednbsp;that � one stone closed the top of the house of the groaningnbsp;hostages � : from which words we may infer that this wasnbsp;a beehive-shaped house, like those pictured and describednbsp;elsewhere in this book, of which numberless specimens stillnbsp;remain.� The Crith Gabhlach, in describing the residencenbsp;of a king, speaks of a � moat or trench of servitude �nbsp;[drecht gialnai) for hostages, and states that its length isnbsp;thirty feet.||

On the above points about hostages : see O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust,, ir. 145 : Stokes, Lives of the SS., 157, 158 : Keating, 456 : Sullivan,nbsp;Introd., 355, note, 5,4.

5. Privileges.

A king enjoyed many privileges, and was bound by many restrictions. It will be shown farther on that he wasnbsp;subject to the ordinary law like his free subjects. But ifnbsp;a distress lay against him he was not to be distrainednbsp;directly : one of his officers, called a � steward-bailiff �nbsp;[aithech-forthd)�a sort of deputy�was to be distrainednbsp;in his place :�� this is an original steward who alwaysnbsp;sustains the liability of a king : it is what saves him [thenbsp;king] from being distrained � like the prerogative of thenbsp;crown in British law, by which the monarch sues and isnbsp;sued through the attorney-general.

According to the Senchus M�r a king�s evidence in a brehon�s court against all of a rank below him was acceptednbsp;without question, as they had not the right to be heard innbsp;evidence against him : but this privilege did not holdnbsp;against a bishop, a doctor of learning, or a pilgrim, all ofnbsp;whom were regarded as of equal rank with himself�so farnbsp;as giving evidence was concerned :�� The king excels allnbsp;in testimony ��says the Senchus M�r�� for he can [bynbsp;his mere word] decide against every class of personsnbsp;except those of two orders, namely, of religion andnbsp;learning, who are of equal rank with himself, as thenbsp;doctor \su{\, or the bishop, or the pilgrim.�! Whatevernbsp;was found on a highroad, if the owner was not forthcoming, belonged to the king, except the finder�s reward ;nbsp;also a certain proportion of everything cast ashore by thenbsp;sea ; a third of every treasure found within his territory ;nbsp;and one-ninth of the reward paid by the owner to thenbsp;finder of a thing in a waste place. These rights continuednbsp;to be enjoyed by the provincial kings down to the fifteenthnbsp;century.!

When a king of any grade ascended the throne he usually made a visitation or royal progress through his

50 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I kingdom, to receive allegiance and hostages from his sub-kings ; and this was sometimes repeated during his reign.*nbsp;Visitations of this kind were called saerchuairt [saircoort],nbsp;� free circuit,� intimating that the king was to be entertained, with all his retinue, free of charge. The king ofnbsp;Ireland, when on free circuit, always brought a numerousnbsp;escort, or even an army if opposition was anticipated : andnbsp;he was received by the provincial kings with much statenbsp;and formality. He always proceeded in the same directionnbsp;�sunwise (see p. 301, infra). Brian Boru, when makingnbsp;his visitation, a.d. 1005, proceeded with an army from hisnbsp;palace of Kincora (at the present town of Killaloe) tonbsp;Connaught, thence by Assaroe, and all around�� keepingnbsp;his left hand to the sea ��till he reached Kincora again.nbsp;In these visitations the Ard-ri proceeded very leisurely :nbsp;and oh his march, each provincial king, and each king ofnbsp;a m�r-tuath, escorted him in state as far as the residencenbsp;of the neighbour king.j. A king of any lower gradenbsp;followed the same course on his visitations, and wasnbsp;received and escorted similarly.

It was the belief of the ancient Irish that when a good and just king ruled�one who faithfully observed innbsp;his government the royal customs and wise precepts followed by his ancestors�the whole country was prosperous ;nbsp;the seasons were mild, crops were plentiful, cattle werenbsp;fruitful, the waters abounded with fish, and the fruit treesnbsp;had to be propped owing to the weight of their produce.nbsp;Under bad kings it was all the reverse. In the reign ofnbsp;the plebeian usurping king Carbery Kinncat, � evil was thenbsp;state of Ireland : fruitless her corn, for there used to benbsp;only one grain on the stalk ; fruitless her rivers ; milklessnbsp;her cattle : plentiless her fruit, for there used to be but onenbsp;acorn on the stalk� (FM, a.d. 14). �There are sevennbsp;proofs which attest the falsehood of every king [i.e. sevennbsp;proofs or testimonies of the king�s badness] :�to turn a

church synod out of their Us : to be without truth, without law : defeat in battle : dearth in his reign ; dryness ofnbsp;cows : blight of fruit: scarcity of corn. These are thenbsp;seven live candles that expose the falsehood of every [bad]nbsp;king.�* This belief is referred to everywhere in Irishnbsp;literature (see, for example. Da Derga, p. 167) and evennbsp;found its way into Christianity : in an ancient canonnbsp;attributed to St. Patrick, among other blessings attendingnbsp;the reign of a just king, are enumerated � fine weather,nbsp;calm seas, crops abundant, and trees laden with fruit.�fnbsp;The belief in the beneficent influence of a just king prevailed among the Greeks and Romans. Ulysses (in disguise) says to Penelope�speaking of a good king�� Thenbsp;dark earth bears wheat and barley, and the trees are ladennbsp;with fruit, and the sheep bring forth without fail, and thenbsp;sea yields plenty of fish, and all from his wise rule, and thenbsp;people prosper under him � (Odyss. xix.). Similar testimonynbsp;might be adduced from Roman writers about their rulers.

The ancient Irish had a very high ideal of what a king should be : and we meet with many statements throughoutnbsp;our literature of the noble qualities expected from him.nbsp;He should be � free from falsehood, from the betrayal ofnbsp;his nobles, from unworthy conduct towards his people.�]:

� For what is a prince selected over a country ? � asks Car-bery of King Cormac, who replies ; �For the goodness of his form and race, and sense, and learning, and dignity,nbsp;and utterance : he is selected for his goodness and for hisnbsp;wisdom, and strength, and forces, and valour in fighting. ��nbsp;A just sovereign � exercises not falsehood, nor [unnecessary] force, nor oppressive might. He is perfectly recog-nisant and righteous to his people, both weak and strong.�nbsp;A king � must be a man of full lawfulness in all respects :nbsp;he must be a man that is consulted for knowledge : henbsp;must be learned and calm.�||

t Br. Laws, iv. 51. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� Ibid. 377.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;)) Ibid. 335.

A king was also to be hospitable, and keep an open house. � A prince,� says Cormac Mac Art, � should lightnbsp;his lamps on Samain day (ist November, the beginning ofnbsp;winter), and welcome his guests with clapping of handsnbsp;and comfortable seats, and the cup-bearers should be activenbsp;in distributing meat and drink.� A good idea of what wasnbsp;expected in this way from a king is obtained from a statement, in the story of the second battle of Moytura, aboutnbsp;King Bres. The people complained bitterly of his churlishness and inhospitality :�� The knives of his people werenbsp;� not greased at his table, nor did their breath smell of ale,nbsp;� at the banquet. Neither their poets, nor their bards,nbsp;� nor their satirists, nor their harpers, nor their pipers, nornbsp;� their trumpeters, nor their jugglers, nor their buffoons,nbsp;� were ever seen engaged in amusing them in the assemblynbsp;� at his court � : so that in the end they rose up, for thisnbsp;and other reasons, and drove him from the throne. Thenbsp;native Gaelic ideal of what a king should be is set forth innbsp;several descriptions of individual monarchs, to whichnbsp;references are given below.* Similar maxims are inculcated in the ecclesiastical legislation of St. Patrick. Thenbsp;duties of a king are fully set forth in one of the Patriciannbsp;canons,! which, as might be expected, lays great stress onnbsp;what was to be expected from him in regard to his moralnbsp;and religious obligations.

A king should have three chief residences. � Every king is a pauper,� says the Law, as quoted by Sullivan,!nbsp;� who hath not three chief residences ; that is, it is threenbsp;chief residences each king is entitled to have, i.e. threenbsp;houses or three duns.� A similar statement is made in thenbsp;Law tract, called the � Small Primer � (v. 53, 21, 25) : andnbsp;also in vol. iv. 377, 13; but in this last the translation does

*0'Curry, Sick Bed, Atlantis, i. 387-9 : Dub, Pen. Journ., i. 215 : Hyde, Lit. Hist., 247-8-9 : O�Curry, MS. Mat, 45 : Da Derga, p. 211.

t Published by Stokes in Trip. Life, p. 507 : see also Dr. Healy, Irel. Anc. Sch., 61.

not show it. [See Atkinson�s Glossary to Brehon Laws, vol. vi., p. i8o, � Conntairisem,� a residence ; and alsonbsp;V. 441, 25] A king wore a crown or diadem called mindnbsp;or minn, for which see vol. II., pp. 251'to 259. Kings hadnbsp;certain heirlooms which descended to their successors.nbsp;The roth croi, or � royal wheel-brooch,� which the poetsnbsp;insolently demanded from Aed Mac Ainmirech, king ofnbsp;Ireland (a.d. 572-598), was, according to a passage translated by Stokes,* � a brooch which each king would leavenbsp;to another.� A king�s throne, was called righshuidhenbsp;[reehee], � royal seat.�

From the quaint language of a passage in the Brehon Law we may infer that kings made some sort of distribution of duty and amusement according to the days ofnbsp;the week. Thus we find it stated�evidently in view ofnbsp;the king of some particular territory�that on Sunday henbsp;indulged in festivity, and exercised lavish hospitality�nbsp;otherwise he could not be a true king : Monday andnbsp;Saturday he devoted to the administration of justice :nbsp;Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday he engaged in sportsnbsp;of various kinds, such as chess, horseracing, coursing :nbsp;and on Thursday he and his wife devoted themselves to

* Rev. Celt., xx. 422. Keating (446) tells the whole story ol the poets� demand and its punishment: and he says that � each king was wontnbsp;to leave this brooch as an heirloom and precious relic to his successor.�

Irish Kings were not despotic : they were all, from the supreme monarch down to the king of the tuath, in everynbsp;sense, limited monarchs ; they were subject to law likenbsp;their own free subjects. We have seen (p. 46, supra) thatnbsp;at their inauguration they had to swear that they wouldnbsp;govern their people with strict justice, and in accordancenbsp;with the ancient customs of the kingdom ; and theirnbsp;duties, restrictions, and privileges were strictly laid downnbsp;in the Brehon code. This idea pervades all our literature,nbsp;from the earliest time ; of which examples may be seennbsp;in the passages referred to at bottom.*

We shall see at p. 311, farther on, that kings, like many others, were subject to geasa�prohibitions from doingnbsp;certain things. But besides these there were many lines ofnbsp;action forbidden to them, as either dangerous or unbecoming�prohibitions which could hardly be called geasa in thenbsp;usual sense of the word. A king was neither to do anynbsp;work nor concern himself about servile work of any kind,nbsp;on penalty of being ranked as a plebeian ; or, as the lawnbsp;expresses it, he should not employ himself with � thenbsp;handle of a shovel, a spade, or a clod-mallet.��f On anbsp;certain occasion Fiachna, the father of the over-kingnbsp;Sweny Menn (a.d. 614 to 627), went out to view his mennbsp;ploughing : and the annalist who relates the circumstancenbsp;is careful to add, by way of explanation or apology, � fornbsp;Fiachna was not at all a king.�j; It was not lawful for anbsp;king to slaughter and cook an animal�such as an ox�nbsp;for food.� It was not permitted to a king or flaiih (noble)

* O�Donovan, Moyrath, I2i ; Joyce, Short Hist., 201 : Dub. Pen. Journ., I. 102 (Charter of Newry) ; Henderson, Fled. Bricrenn, � 5 ;nbsp;Stokes, Trip. Life, 285 : Br. Laws, ii. 121 : O�Grady, Silva Gad., 357nbsp;(The lawsuit).

t Br. Laws, iv. 335. J Three Fragm., 17. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� Silva Gad., 351. bot.

to keep pigs :¹ that is to have them managed for him round or near his house by any of his immediate dependents. But swineherds living in their own homes at anbsp;distance from the palace, fed great herds of swine in thenbsp;woods for the king (Keat. 91 : Da Derga, p. 289) : andnbsp;the king�s chief swineherd was held in honour. So thenbsp;swineherd of Ulysses lived in a fine house on a farm at anbsp;distance from the palace (Odyss. xiv.). If a king gotnbsp;wounded in the back during battle he was subject to thenbsp;disabilities of a plebeian.

Under the king, of whatever grade, and forming part of his household, persons held various offices of trust, withnbsp;special duties, all tending to support the dignity or ensurenbsp;the safety of the king ; just as we find in royal householdsnbsp;of modern times. The persons appointed to each officenbsp;always belonged to some particular family, in whom thenbsp;office was hereditary ; and all were paid liberal allowancesnbsp;for their services.

The higher the king�s status the more numerous were the offices and the more important the positions of the personsnbsp;holding them. Some of these were in constant attendance,nbsp;and lived in or about the palace : others attended only onnbsp;special great occasions : and these commonly lived at anbsp;distance in their own territories�for they were themselvesnbsp;generally sub-chiefs, or sub-kings. Most of the higher classnbsp;of officers, such as professional men (who will be treated ofnbsp;farther on), who were supposed to give their whole�nbsp;or nearly their whole�time to the service, had land andnbsp;houses for their support, not far from the royal residence.nbsp;On state occasions, all these officers attended in personnbsp;on the monarch, and were assigned their proper places innbsp;the great hall. The disposition of the whole company

on such occasions will be found described in the Crith Gabhlach,¹ and also in Petrie�s Tara (p. 205 et seq.). Butnbsp;in accordance with an ordinance made by king Cormacnbsp;Mac Art, the Ard-ri, or king of Ireland, was at all times�nbsp;and not merely on state occasions�to be accompanied by anbsp;retinue of at least ten persons :�a flaith or noble ; a brehonnbsp;or judge ; a druid ; a sat or doctor ; a poet; a historian ;nbsp;a musician ; and three servants�all to exercise theirnbsp;several professional functions when required, f Thisnbsp;arrangement continued in force till the death of Briannbsp;Boru in 1014, except that in Christian times a bishop tooknbsp;the place of a druid.

A few picked men commonly accompanied the king as personal and immediate guards, and stood beside himnbsp;when he sat down, with swords or battleaxes in theirnbsp;hands : for Irish kings were not less liable to assassinationnbsp;than others, from ancient times to the present day. Sometimes, as the Law states, there were four such men, onenbsp;standing in front of the king, one behind, and one on eachnbsp;side. A Brehon Law tract tells us that, in selecting these,nbsp;the king often gave preference to men whom he had savednbsp;from execution or redeemed from slavery ; for such personsnbsp;would naturally be expected to be faithful from a feelingnbsp;of gratitude. But he is enjoined not to have among themnbsp;a man of an opposing party whom he has saved on thenbsp;battlefield, lest feelings of attachment to a former lordnbsp;might tempt to treachery. | This custom continued downnbsp;to the sixteenth century ; for the Four Masters have left nsnbsp;a description of Shane O�Neill�s bodyguard, which has allnbsp;the antique flavour of the period of the Red Branchnbsp;Knights. In front of Shane�s tent burned a great fire, � andnbsp;� a huge torch, thicker than a man�s body, was constantly

� flaring at a short distance from the fire, and sixty grim � and redoubtable galloglasses, with sharp keen axes,nbsp;� terrible and ready for action, and sixty stern and terrificnbsp;� Scots [hired soldiers from Scotland], with massive broadnbsp;� and heavy-striking swords in their hands [ready] tonbsp;� strike and parry, were watching and guarding O�Neill.�¹

The king commonly kept in his retinue a tr�n-fher [trainar], a � strong man,� or cath milid, � battle soldier,�nbsp;his champion or chief fighting man, to answer challengesnbsp;to single combat. Concobar Mac Nessa�s champion Tris-catal, who lived in the palace of Emain, is described in annbsp;ancient tale in the Book of Leinster in terms that remindnbsp;us of the English writer�s description of a much laternbsp;tr�n-jher, John de Courcy, whose very look�on the daynbsp;of single combat before King John of England and Kingnbsp;Philip of France�so frightened the French champion thatnbsp;he � turned round and ranne awaie off the fielde.�t Tris-catal was a mighty, broadfronted, shaggy-haired man,nbsp;with thighs as thick as an ordinary man�s body, wearing anbsp;thick leathern apron from his armpits down : his limbsnbsp;were bare, and his aspect was so fierce that he killed mennbsp;by his very look.]; The tr�n-fher of the romances wasnbsp;probably the same as the aire-echta, or avenger of insults-,nbsp;described more quietly in the Laws (see p. 92, infra).

We know that St. Patrick kept a household in imitation of the ancient Irish custom : and one of his attendants was his tr�n-fher or � strong man,� St. Mac Carthen, afterwards first bishop of Clogher, whose peaceful functionnbsp;was to carry the aged saint on his back across fords andnbsp;other difficult places, on their missionary journeys.

At the entrance to the royal palace or council chamber stood the doorkeepers {d�rsid) to scan and interrogate all

See FM, a.d. 1557, p. 1555 : Joyce, Short Hist., 403. fThis whole story about John de Courcy and the French champion isnbsp;told in my book � The Wonders oi Ireland.�nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;;

visitors. The nine guardsmen {com�taide) of Conari the Great, king of Ireland in the first century, stood threateningly at the door of the royal apartment, with shields andnbsp;ivory-hilted swords ; and they allowed no one to enternbsp;who did not give a satisfactory account of himself.¹

There was a Rechtaire or house-steward, also called Taisech-teglaig, i.e. � chief of the house � ; sometimes alsonbsp;called Fer-thaigis, � man of the household �� major-domo,� whose office was a very dignified one. Thenbsp;house-steward of King Conari�s household is described innbsp;the Bruden Da Derga as wearing a fleecy mantle, andnbsp;holding in his hand his � wand of office,� which was nonbsp;small ornamental rod, but a huge black beam � like anbsp;mill-shaft.� He arranged the guests in their proper placesnbsp;at table, assigned them their sleeping apartments, andnbsp;determined each morning the supplies of food for the day.nbsp;If a dispute arose on any matter connected with thenbsp;arrangements for receiving, placing, or entertaining thenbsp;guests, he decided it; and his decision was final. Whennbsp;he stood up ic speak all were silent, so that a needlenbsp;might be heard if it dropped on the floor.y From thisnbsp;description it will be seen that the rechtaire. correspondednbsp;closely with the Anglo-Norman seneschal of later times.

A particular officer had charge of the king�s (or queen�s) s�ds, � jewels,� or personal treasures. That the post wasnbsp;considered of importance is shown by the fact that thenbsp;lad}.� Erni who had charge of the caskets and combs andnbsp;golden ornaments of Maive, queen of Connaught, in thenbsp;time of the Red Branch Knights, is described as mistressnbsp;of all the maidens who waited on the queen in the palacenbsp;of Croghan.j; The s�ds were generally kept in a corrbolg,nbsp;or large round ornamental satchel, or in a number of such

t Stokes�s Da Derga, 185. Other references to the rechtaire in Trip. I.ife, 185, bot. : and in Moyrath, i8.

receptacles. One man, and sometimes two, had charge of the chessboard and chessmen. The board was enclosed innbsp;some sort of case, and the men were often kept in a bag ofnbsp;wire netting.¹

There was a tdisech scuir or master of the horse; who had charge of the king�s stables and horses, and there wasnbsp;an echere or groom. Three outriders or esquires (mar',aignbsp;or ritiri : � horsemen � or � knights �) attended king Conari,nbsp;each of them�even when off duty�holding a whip ornbsp;scourge (sraigell) in his hand, symbolical of office, f Wenbsp;find mentioned, among the other officials, chief swineherdsnbsp;and chief cooks, whose positions were obviously considerednbsp;of importance. J Runners, i.e. messengers or couriers, werenbsp;always kept in the king�s or chief�s employment: and notnbsp;unfrequently we find women employed in this offiQS. Finnnbsp;Mac Cumail had a female runner who figures in the storynbsp;of Dermot and Grania.

A king kept in his court an ollave of each profession ;� poet, historian, storyteller (or most commonly one ollavenbsp;combining these three professions), physician, brehon,nbsp;builder, amp;c. Each of these gave his services to the king, fornbsp;'vhich an ample stipend was allowed, including a separatenbsp;dwelling-house and free land. But besides this the professional man had private practice, and the law set forthnbsp;the exact remuneration for each kind of work.� Thenbsp;whole institution flourished in the time of Camden, whonbsp;correctly describes it;�quot; These lords \i.e. the Irish kingsnbsp;and chiefs] have their historians about them, who writenbsp;their acts and deeds ; they have their physicians, theirnbsp;rymers whom they call bards, and their harpers ; all ofnbsp;whom have their several livelihoods^ and have lands setnbsp;out for them.� Fools, jugglers, and jesters were alwaysnbsp;kept in the king�s court for the amusement of the house-

� See O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., ti. 52, 53 : see also vol. ii., pp 292 to 294.

hold and guests. They and their functions will be described in chapter xxix. (vol. ii. p. 481). Those immediate retainers and officers of the king who lived in ornbsp;near the palace, and took their meals in their own apartments�a very numerous company�were supplied withnbsp;food each day from the royal stores.¹

That the above details of the king�s household are not fictitious is shown by several statements in Irish autho-riti�s setting forth the households of Irish kings and chiefsnbsp;in comparatively late times, from the eleventh to thenbsp;thirteenth or fourteenth century, written by persons whonbsp;described things as they actually saw them, and whosenbsp;descriptions are still extant. These set forth the variousnbsp;hereditary offices, similar to those stated above, for thenbsp;older kings, though with differences in detail, as might benbsp;expected. For example�the following were the chiefnbsp;officers of the household of O�Kelly, king of Hy Many,nbsp;in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries :�Marshal ofnbsp;the forces, 0�Connaill; master of the horse, Hy Fiachrachnbsp;Finn ; door-keeper, Hy Fiachrach Finn ; butler, 0�hUroin ;nbsp;superintendent of banquets {i.e. rechtaire), 0�Lomain;nbsp;king�s immediate guard, Clann Indrechtaigh ; keeper ofnbsp;cattle, treasures, and chessboard, 0�Flahilly; keeper ofnbsp;arms and dresses, Clann Bresail; answerer of challengesnbsp;to single combat from outside territories, Clann Bresail;nbsp;avenger of insults, Clann Egan ; steward, Aes Brengair;nbsp;keepers of hounds, the Cruffanns; inaugurators andnbsp;deposers, Clann Diarmada, Hy Cormaic, and O�Meehan ;nbsp;rearers of horses, Kinel-Aeda; rearers of hounds, thenbsp;people of Slieve Aughty; carriers of wine from thenbsp;harbours to the king�s residence. Dal Druithne ; buildersnbsp;or erectors of edifices, Hy Docomlann ; stewards of rentsnbsp;and tributes, the chiefs of the Cantred of Cala.t Each

See, for example, Stokes, Lives of SS., i6t, top line, t O�Donovan, HyM, 87. For other similar householiis see O�Flaherty,nbsp;lar C., 139, and 368 to 373,

chief, of whatever grade, kept a household after the manner of a king, but on a smaller scale, with the severalnbsp;offices in charge of the members of certain families. Innbsp;the Ulster Journal of Archaeology, iii. 117, will be found anbsp;valuable paper on � Gaelic Domestics,� compiled chieflynbsp;from Anglo-Irish sources, in which this custom, as itnbsp;existed in the sixteenth century, is very fully described.

From the description given at page 43 it will be seen that there was a regular gradation of authority. The kingnbsp;of the tuath owed allegiance to the king of the mor-tuath :nbsp;the king of the m�y-tuath to the provincial king ; the provincial king to the ard-rl of all Ireland. But this wasnbsp;merely the theoretical arrangement: in the higher gradesnbsp;it was very imperfectly carried out. The authority of thenbsp;supreme monarch over the provincial kings was in mostnbsp;cases only nominal, like that of the early Bretwaldas overnbsp;the minor kings of the Heptarchy. He was seldom ablenbsp;to enforce obedience, so that they were often almost ornbsp;altogether independent of him. There never was a kingnbsp;of Ireland who really ruled the whole country ; the kingnbsp;who came nearest to it was Brian Boru. In like mannernbsp;the urrees or under-kings often defied the authority of theirnbsp;superiors. The people, grouped into families, clans, tribes,nbsp;and kinels, with only slight bonds of union, and withnbsp;their leaders ever ready to quarrel, were like shifting sand.nbsp;If the country had been left to work out its own destinies,nbsp;this loose system would no doubt in the end have developednbsp;into one strong central monarchy, as in England andnbsp;France. As matters stood it was the weak point in thenbsp;government. It left the country a prey to internal strife,nbsp;which the supreme king was not strong enough to quell;nbsp;and the absence of union rendered it impossible to meetnbsp;foreign invasion by effectual resistance.

According to the ancient bardic legends, five successive colonies arrived in Ireland many centuries before the Christian era :�the Parthalonians, the Nemedians,nbsp;the Firbolgs, the Dedannans, and the Milesians.* Thenbsp;bards say that government by monarchy began with thenbsp;Firbolgs ; whose first king�and the first king of Ireland�nbsp;was Slainge [two-syll.]. From the time of his accessionnbsp;down to the birth of Christ, they allow 107 monarchs, ofnbsp;whom 9 were Firbolgs ; 9 Dedannans ; and 89 Milesians.nbsp;The last king of the period before the Christian era wasnbsp;Nuada Necht or Nuada the White : and his successor,nbsp;Conari the First, or Conari the Great, was the first kingnbsp;belonging to the Christian era. The Milesian kingsnbsp;continued to reign till the time of Roderick O�Conor,nbsp;the last over-king of Ireland, who died in 1198 (p. 42,nbsp;supra) ; and who, according to the bardic accounts, wasnbsp;the 193rd monarch of Ireland. A full list of the monarchsnbsp;who reigned from the beginning of the Christian era isnbsp;given below. A few of those before the Christian era�nbsp;viz. those that figure most prominently in ancient Irishnbsp;literature�are also given, with their approximate dates.nbsp;The dates down to the time of Laegaire (a.d. 428) arenbsp;given chiefly on the authority of O�Flaherty, who, in hisnbsp;Ogygia, has corrected the chronology of the bards andnbsp;shanachies.

As to the records of the very early kings, they cannot, of course, be received as history : but neither should theynbsp;be rejected altogether : it is as much of a fault to be toonbsp;sceptical as to be too credulous. On this subject of thenbsp;Irish records of the early kings. Dr. Petrie (� Tara,� p. 31),nbsp;who was himself rather over-cautious than otherwise, makesnbsp;the following judicious observations, quoting the distinguished Scotch historian Pinkerton, who was a determined

opponent of Ireland�s early claims to distinction. Writing of the reign of Tuathal the Legitimate, king of Ireland innbsp;the second century, Dr. Petrie observes: �

� It is true, indeed, that the learned and judicious Sir James Ware has rejected, as of no certainty, the whole list of Irish kingsnbsp;arvterior to the establishment of Christianity; but this over-cautiousnbsp;rejection will have little weight now, even with the most judiciousnbsp;investigators, and in the opinion of Pinkerton, one of the mostnbsp;sceptical of modern antiquaries �was at best rash.� �Mr. O�Conornbsp;remarks��says this writer [Pinkerton]��that Tuathal�s reignnbsp;[a.d. 130-160] forms a new and certain epoch in the progress ofnbsp;Irish history. Foreigners may imagine that it is granting toonbsp;much to the Irish to allow them lists of kings more ancient thannbsp;those of any other country in modern Europe ; but the singularlynbsp;compact and remote situation of that island, and its freedom fromnbsp;Roman conquest, and from the concussions of the fail of the Romannbsp;ernpire, may infer this allowance not too much. But all contendednbsp;for, is the list of kings, so easily preserved by the repetition of thenbsp;bards at high solemnities ; and some grand events of history. Fornbsp;to expect a certain detail, and regular order, in the pagan historynbsp;of Ireland, were extravagant.� �

So far Pinkerton as quoted by Petrie.

Heremon, the 19th Monarch, was the first of the Milesian kings, Tigernmas, the 26th king, was the first to smelt gold; he and hisnbsp;succe.ssor arranged the colours to be worn by the different classes,nbsp;oilamh Fodla [Ollave F�la], the 40th, founded the triennial /�/s or

Macha Mongruadh, or Macha of the Golden Hair, the 76th monarch, daughter of Aed Ruadh: the only female monarch. She founded

Rudruighe, king of Ulster, who became king of Ireland; the 97th, Eochaid Feidlech, the 104th, ........

70 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I

In the early part of this list there is some uncertainty as to the exact dates: but after the time of Colla Huasnbsp;(327 to 331) the dates may be taken as generally correct.nbsp;In the latter part of the list �S.� means Southern Hy Neill;nbsp;� N.� Northern Hy Neill; for which, and for � Kings withnbsp;Opposition,� see Joyce, � Short History of Ireland,� pp. 134nbsp;and 228.

S. Finachta Fledach (the Festive)

N. Long.sech .

N. Congal N. Fergal

S. Fogartach Mac Neill S. Cionetli (or Kenneth), sornbsp;of Irgalach ...

N. Flathbei tach or P'laliertagh N. Aed (or Hugh) Allan, sornbsp;of King Fergal .

S. Domnall or Donall, son of Murchadnbsp;N. Niall Frassach {i.e. of thenbsp;Showers),

S. Donnchad or Donogh .

N. Aed (or Hugh) Ordnee, soi of Niall Frassachnbsp;S. Concobhar or Conor .

N. Niall Caillne S. Mailsechlann or Malachi I.nbsp;N. Aed (or Hugh) Finnliath .nbsp;S Flann Sinna (of the Shannonnbsp;N. Niall Glunduff .

S. Donnchad or Donogh S. Congalach .

674

694

704

711

722

724

727

734

743

763

770

797

819

833

846

863

879

916

919

944

IKE their ancestors the Continental Celts, the Irish, from the earliestnbsp;ages, had a genius for war and anbsp;love of fighting. The Roman geographer Solinus, writing in the thirdnbsp;century a.d., says that Irish mothersnbsp;were wont to present the first foodnbsp;on the point of a sword to theirnbsp;newly-born male infants, as it werenbsp;to dedicate them to War. There isnbsp;no mention of this custom in thenbsp;native records,nbsp;so that we maynbsp;safely set downnbsp;the account as anbsp;fable, like somenbsp;other statementsnbsp;of his about Ireland alreadynbsp;noticed at p. i8,nbsp;supra. But thenbsp;story may benbsp;taken as indicating the warlikenbsp;character the ancient Irish had earned for themselves

among foreign nations. They were not contented with fighting at home, but made themselves formidable in othernbsp;lands. Their chief foreign conquests were in Wales andnbsp;Scotland; but they not unfrequently found their way tonbsp;the Continent. In those times the Scots, as the Irish werenbsp;then called, seem to have been almost as much dreaded asnbsp;the Norsemen were in later ages. Irish literature of everynbsp;kind abounds in records of foreign invasions and alliances ;nbsp;and it will be seen that the native accounts are corroborated by Roman writers, so far as they touch on thesenbsp;matters.¹

In the bardic legends there is an account of an expedition � beyond the sea ��probably to Britain�in the first century, by Crimlhann Nia Ndir [Criffan-nee-nawr], kingnbsp;of Ireland (a.d. 74 to 90), and of his return with muchnbsp;treasure to his palace of Dun-Criffan on Ben-Edar ornbsp;Howth (FM, A.D. 9). At a still earlier time the oldnbsp;shanachies celebrate the foreign expeditions of two othernbsp;kings�Aengus Ollmucad and Hugony the Great.t

All who have read the histories of England and Rome know how prominently the � Piets and Scots � figure duringnbsp;the first four centuries of our era, and how much troublenbsp;they gave to both Romans and Britons. The Piets werenbsp;the people of Scotland : the Scots were the Irish Gaels ;�nbsp;The Scots, who afterwards settled in what is now knownnbsp;as Scotland, at that time dwelt in Ireland.�! The invasionsnbsp;of the Piets and Scots are celebrated by many ancientnbsp;Writers, among others by Gildas in his History. As anbsp;protection against these two tribes the Romans, at differentnbsp;intervals in the second and third centuries, built those greatnbsp;Walls or ramparts from sea to sea between Britain andnbsp;Alban, so well known in the history of those times, of which

For a good abstract of Irish foreign expeditions and conquests, see Sullivan�s Introd. to O�Curry, Lect,, pp. 22 to 48.nbsp;t O�Flaherty, Ogyg., in. xxvi. and xxxviii.

there are still considerable remains. For three or four centuries the Irish continued their incursions to Britain andnbsp;Scotland, sometimes fighting as invaders against the Piets,nbsp;sometimes combining with them against the Romans andnbsp;Britons : and as a consequence there were several settlements of colonies from Ireland in Wales and Scotland. Annbsp;ancient Irish historical tale entitled quot; The Banishment ofnbsp;the Desii � gives an account of one of these migrations. Itnbsp;is a well-known historical fact, noticed in the Irish annals ofnbsp;those times, that a numerous and powerful tribe called thenbsp;Desii, who dwelt near Tara, were expelled for a breach ofnbsp;law from their district (which retains the name of Deece tonbsp;this day) by Cormac Mac Art in the third century (see pagesnbsp;92, 93, below). Part of these went to Munster and settled innbsp;a territory which still retains their name�the two baroniesnbsp;of Decies in the Co. Waterford. Another part, crossingnbsp;over to Wales under a leader named Eochaid [Ochy],nbsp;settled down in a district called Dyfed, and preserved theirnbsp;individuality as an immigrant tribe for many generations.nbsp;This migration and settlement is related in detail in onenbsp;of the Irish historical stories�a relation that receives sonbsp;much collateral and incidental confirmation from Welshnbsp;records totally independent of the Irish authorities, thatnbsp;we cannot doubt its substantial accuracy.

The account of the conquests of the Irish in West Britain given in Cormac�s Glossary (written in the ninthnbsp;or tenth century from older authorities) may be regardednbsp;as generally reliable : for it is corroborated by other recordsnbsp;and indications from independent sources. In this Glossarynbsp;we are told a story about a lapdog which was � broughtnbsp;from the east from Britain � by Carbery Muse, a well-known historical Irish personage, from whom certain districts in Ireland, still called Muscraidhe or Muskerry, tooknbsp;their name. He was the son of Conari IT, king of Irelandnbsp;from A.D. 212 to 220 : and was brother of that Reuda mentioned by Bede as the leader of a colony from Ireland to

Scotland (see p. 82, infra). Cormac�s Glossary (p. iii) says ;�� For when great was the power of the Gael innbsp;� Britain, they divided Alban between them into districts,

� and each knew the residence of his friend, and not less � did the Gael dwell on the east side of the sea than innbsp;Scotia (Ireland), and their habitations and royal fortsnbsp;were built there. Whence is named Dinn Tradui, i.e. thenbsp;triple-fossed fort of Crimthann [Criffan] the Great (son ofnbsp;Fidach), king of Ireland and of Alban to the Ictian Seanbsp;(the English Channel), and hence also is Glasimfere ornbsp;Glastonbury of the Gael, i.e. a church on the border of thenbsp;Ictian Sea. . . . Thus every [Irish] tribe divided [the land]nbsp;on that side ; for its [i.e. the tribe�s] property on that sidenbsp;Was equal [to that on the west] ; and they continued innbsp;� this power till long after the coming of Patrick. Hencenbsp;Cairbre Muse was visiting his family and friends in thenbsp;east � [when the episode of the lapdog occurred]. Thisnbsp;Criffan the Great, quot; king of Ireland and of Alban to thenbsp;Ictian Sea,� who is to be distinguished from the Criffannbsp;mentioned at p. 33, reigned in Ireland from A.D. 366 to 379 :nbsp;Fe is celebrated for his conquests in Britain, not only in Cor-mac s Glossary as quoted above, but in all the Irish historiesnbsp;and traditions dealing with that time. His reign is almostnbsp;exactly coincident with the command of the Romannbsp;general Theodosius (father of the emperor Theodosius thenbsp;Great), who, according to the Roman historians, checkednbsp;Ihe career of the Gaels and their allies. The Irish accountsnbsp;*^1 Criffan�s invasion of Britain are in the main corroborated by the Roman poet Claudian, in those passages ofnbsp;Fis poem that celebrate the victories of Theodosius. Whilenbsp;Criffan and his allies the Piets were vigorously pushingnbsp;IFeir conquests in Britain, the Saxons, who were at thisnbsp;bnae beginning their inroads, made themselves equallynbsp;formidable. The continual attacks of the three tribes became at last so intolerable that the Roman government wasnbsp;forced to take defensive measures. In 367, the year after

Criffan�s accession, Theodosius was appointed to the military command of Britain, and, after two active campaigns, he succeeded in delivering Britain for the time from thenbsp;invaders. The following short passage, translated fromnbsp;Claudian�s poem, pictures vividly the triumph achieved bynbsp;Theodosius over the three hostile tribes :�� The Orcadesnbsp;flowed with Saxon gore; Thule became warm with the bloodnbsp;of the Piets; and icy lerne [i.e. Ireland) wept for her heaps ofnbsp;[slaughtered] Scots.� In another passage of the same poemnbsp;Claudian boasts that Theodosius chased the Irish from thenbsp;British shores and pursued them out to sea.¹ Though all thisnbsp;no doubt is in the main true history, we must make somenbsp;allowance for the poet�s natural tendency to exaggeration innbsp;his laudatory record of the great Roman general�s exploits.

Criffan was succeeded as king of Ireland by Niall of the Nine Hostages (a.d. 379 to 405), who was still morenbsp;distinguished for foreign conquests than his predecessor.nbsp;Moore (Hist. i. 150) thus speaks of his incursions intonbsp;Wales ;�� An invasion of Britain, on a far more extensivenbsp;and formidable scale than had yet been attempted fromnbsp;Ireland, took place towards the close of the fourth centurynbsp;under Niall of the Nine Hostages, one of the most gallantnbsp;of all the princes of the Milesian race.� Observing thatnbsp;the Romans had retired to the eastern shore of Britain,nbsp;Niall collected a great fleet, and, landing in Wales, carriednbsp;off immense plunder. He was forced to retreat by thenbsp;valiant Roman general Stilicho, but � left marks of depredation and ruin wherever he passed.� On this occasionnbsp;Claudian, when praising Stilicho, says of him�speaking innbsp;the person of Britannia :�� By him was I protected whennbsp;the Scot \i.e. Niall] moved all Ireland against me, and thenbsp;ocean foamed with their hostile oars.�

Niall�s invasion is mentioned by several Irish authorities, as, for instance, an ancient Latin Life of St. Patrick,

from which the following extract is quoted by Ussher in his Primordia, p. 587 :�� The Scoti of Hibernia, undernbsp;their king Niall of the Nine Hostages, devastated severalnbsp;of the Roman provinces of Britain during the reign ofnbsp;Constantius, the son of Constantine. They began theirnbsp;incursions on the north of Britain, from which, after a time,nbsp;by their armies and fleets, they expelled the inhabitantsnbsp;and took possession of the country.�¹ This old writer,nbsp;however, is in error as to the time of Niall�s invasion.nbsp;Constantius had, indeed, as we know from other sources,nbsp;to proceed against the Piets and Scots ; but he died innbsp;361 ; and Niall�s expedition did not take place in his reign,nbsp;but in that of Theodosius the Great. The extensive scalenbsp;of these terrible raids is strikingly indicated by no lessnbsp;an authority than St.. Patrick, who,'fhi his � Confession,�nbsp;speaking of the expedition�probably led by Niall�innbsp;which he himself was captured, says ;�� I was then aboutnbsp;sixteen years of age, being ignorant of the true God ; I wasnbsp;brought captive into Ireland, with so many thousand men,nbsp;according as we had deserved.��f

The Irish narratives of Niall�s life and actions add that he invaded Gaul, which was his last exploit; for he wasnbsp;assassinated (a.d. 405) on the shore of the river Loire bynbsp;one of his own chiefs, the king of Leinster, who shot himnbsp;dead with an arrow. The Irish legendary account of thenbsp;origin of Niall�s cognomen runs parallel with the historynbsp;of his foreign conquests. 0�Clery gives it in his Glossarynbsp;from some old authority :�� because he took hostagesnbsp;from the five provinces of Ireland; and also French,nbsp;Saxon, British, and Alban hostages.

Welsh scholars, from Lhuyd of two centuries ago, to Principal Rhys of the present day,� as well as historical

O�Donovan, HyF, 318, and note p ; Petrie�s Tara, 93. f quot;^rip. Life, 357, J Rev. Celt., v. 2, 3 ; also Otia Mers. ii. 90.

� See Rhys�s valuable article, The Early Irish Conquests of Wales and 'unnonia, in Proc. Roy. Soc. Antiqq. of Irel. for 1890-91, p. 642. See

inquirers of other nationalities, have investigated this question of the Irish conquests in Wales, quite independently of Irish records : and they have come to thenbsp;conclusion that, at some early time, extensive districts ofnbsp;Wales were occupied by the Irish ; that is to say, Goidelsnbsp;or Gaels direct from Ireland, as distinct from an earlier andnbsp;far more extensive occupation by Goidels from continentalnbsp;Gaul. As a consequence of the later occupation by Irishnbsp;Gaels, numerous places in Wales have to this day namesnbsp;commemorating the invaders : as, for instance, the Welshnbsp;name of Holyhead, Cerrig y Gwyddcll, the � Rocks of thenbsp;Goidels or Gaels � ; and the Welsh language containsnbsp;many Irish words, or words evidently derived from Irish.nbsp;There are still in Anglesey, says Dr. Jones, in his book onnbsp;this subject,* � oval and circular trenches which we seenbsp;in great plenty . . . called Cyttie r� Gwyddelod, � the Irishmen�s cottages.� � These, of course, are what we know innbsp;Ireland as lisses or '��-aths, which the Irish built up in theirnbsp;newly-adopted country according to the fashion of theirnbsp;own. After careful examination of all the evidence.nbsp;Dr. Jones comes to the conclusion that the Gaels fromnbsp;Ireland once occupied the whole of Anglesey, Carnarvon,nbsp;Merioneth, and Cardiganshire, and parts of Denbighshire,nbsp;Montgomery, and Radnor. Still another trace of the footsteps of the Irish Gael in Britain is the existence of anbsp;number of Oghams in Wales ; for, so far as we know.nbsp;Ogham was peculiar to the Irish.f But besides all this.

also Stokes, On the Linguistic Value of the Irish Annals, p. 25 ; O�Donovan, HyF, 318 ; and Todd, St. Patrick, 352, note i.

* Vestiges of the Gael in Gwynedd (North Wales), 1851, by Dr. Jones, Bishop of St. David�s, in which this whole question is fully discussed.nbsp;In the Revue Celtique, xvii. 102, Principal John Rhys gives a long listnbsp;of Welsh words borrowed from Irish. It is to be observed that thenbsp;Britons often made reprisals by incursions into Ireland, as we see in thenbsp;case of Coroticus {Lanigan, Eccl. Hist., i. 296). See also on this � Bretonsnbsp;Insulaires en Irlande,� by J. Loth, in Revue Celtique, xviii. 304, in whichnbsp;M. Loth gives many examples of British plundering incursions to Ireland.

ancient Welsh literature�history, annals, tales, legends-like that of Ireland, abounds in references to invasions of Wales and other parts of Britain by Irishmen.

The continual intimate relationship by intermarriage between the Irish kings and chiefs on the one side, andnbsp;the ruling families of western and northern Britain on thenbsp;other, are fully set forth in a series of valuable genealogicalnbsp;articles by the Rev. John Francis Shearman in the Kilkenny Archieological Journal for 1879 to 1884 � which arenbsp;reprinted in his quot; Loca Patriciana.�

We have seen the record in Cormac�s Glossary (p. 75, supra) that the Irish retained their sway in Britain longnbsp;after the arrival of St. Patrick (in 432). Of this therenbsp;is a curious incidental corroboration in a passage in thenbsp;story of the Boroma. When Branduff, the powerful kingnbsp;of Leinster, in the end of the sixth century, heard thatnbsp;prince Cummuscach was coming to Leinster on � a youthfulnbsp;free circuit ��about a.d. 597�he did not wish to receivenbsp;him personally, knowing his licentious character. � Let anbsp;messenger,� said he, � be sent to them [prince and retinue],nbsp;and let them be told that I have gone into Britain {i m-Breinaib) to levy rent and tribute.�*

About the period of the series of expeditions to Wales, fhe Irish also mastered the Isle of Man ; and Irish literature abounds with references to the constant intercoursenbsp;kept up by the parent people with those of their littlenbsp;insular colony. Though the Norsemen wrested the sove-�^rignty of the island from them in the ninth century, theynbsp;did not succeed in displacing either the Gaelic peoplenbsp;their language. The best possible proof of the Irishnbsp;Colonisation and complete and continued occupation ofnbsp;file island is the fact that the Manx language is merely anbsp;dialect of Irish, spelled phonetically, but otherwise verynbsp;little altered. There are also still to be seen, all over thenbsp;island, Irish buildings and monuments, mixed up, however,

with many ot Norse origin : and the great majority of both the place names and the native family names arenbsp;Gaelic.¹

It is curious that the idea of having a sort of claim to the Isle of Man still lingered among the Irish at the endnbsp;of the eleventh century, when the Danes held it: for thenbsp;annalist Tigernach records an expedition to the islandnbsp;from Leinster in 1060, which occurred during his ownnbsp;lifetime ; a record also given by the Four Masters, as wellnbsp;as by other annalists. Tigernach�s words are:�[a.d.nbsp;1060] � Murchad, king of Leinster, son of [king] Dermaitnbsp;Mac Mailnamo, invaded Mann and took tribute out of it,nbsp;and defeated Ragnall�s son � [the Danish ruler].f

Niall�s successor Dathi [Dauhy], king of Ireland, a.d. 405 to 428, followed in the footsteps of his predecessors,nbsp;and according to Irish authorities invaded Gaul: but wasnbsp;killed by a flash of lightning at the foot of the Alps, afternbsp;his followers had destroyed the hermitage of a reclusenbsp;named Formenius or Parmenius. Although this legendnbsp;looks wild and improbable, it is in some respects corroborated by continental authorities, and by present existingnbsp;names of places at the head of Lake Zurich : so that therenbsp;is very likely some foundation for the story. |

The record of the death of Laegaire, Dathi�s successor, and king of Irealnd when St. Patrick arrived, which isnbsp;mainly historical, though somewhat mixed with legend,nbsp;tends to confirm the preceding accounts of the foreignnbsp;expeditions of the Irish kings. It had been prophesied fornbsp;this king by some old druid that he was destined to benbsp;killed between Erin and Alban ; and accordingly, in ordernbsp;to circumvent the prophecy, he remained at home, andnbsp;never attempted to imitate the foreign expeditions of hisnbsp;predecessors. But on one occasion he invaded Leinster

in violation of a solemn oath sworn by the elements : whereupon, says the legend, he was killed by the sun andnbsp;wind, at the side of a little river named Cass, at a marshynbsp;spot situated between two hills named Erin and Alhan :nbsp;so that the prophecy was fulfilled.

We will now go back in point of time to sketch the Irish colonisation of north Britain, the accounts of which,nbsp;however, are a good deal mixed with those of the Welshnbsp;settlements. From very early ages, the Irish of Ulsternbsp;Were in the habit of crossing the narrow sea to Alban ornbsp;Scotland, where colonies were settled from time to time :nbsp;and constant intercourse was kept up between the twonbsp;countries down to a late period. The authentic historynbsp;of these expeditions and settlements begins in the earlynbsp;part of the third century, during the reign of Conari IInbsp;(a.d. 212-220). This king had three sons, Carbery Musfnbsp;(who has been already mentioned in connection withnbsp;Wales, p. 74), Carbery Baskin, and Carbery Riada. Atnbsp;this time a great famine devastated Munster ; and Carberjnbsp;Riada led a number of his people to the north of Irelandnbsp;tod to the south-west of Scotland, in both which placesnbsp;fhey settled down permanently. A brief statement of thisnbsp;toigration, and of its cause, is given in Lebar Brecc ; partnbsp;of the Irish text may be seen in Stokes�s Lives of SS.*nbsp;The following is a translation of that portion of thenbsp;passage immediately bearing on our subject:�quot; Dal-Riatanbsp;and the Fir Alban [men of Scotland]. They are both of thenbsp;seed of Coirpre Rigfota [i.e. Carbery Riada], son of Conairenbsp;son of Mog of Munster. Great famine came on Munster,nbsp;so that the seed of Coirpre Rigfota departed from it, andnbsp;one division of them reached Scotland, while the othernbsp;� division remained in Erin [in the present county Antrim] :nbsp;� whence the Dal Riata [of both Scotland and Ireland] tonbsp;� this day. They afterwards increased and multiplied innbsp;� these [two] districts, till the time of Aedan Mac Gabrain,nbsp;* Lebar Brecc, 238^, 2nd col., line 15 ; Lives of SS., Pref. cxiv, note 1.

quot;king of Alban (Scotland), and of Aed Mac Ainmirech, � king of Ireland.� The Lebar Brecc then goes on to givenbsp;an account of the dispute between these two kings, whichnbsp;was subsequently settled at Drumketta.¹ Adamnan morenbsp;than once mentions both Aedan and Aed Mac Ainmirech,nbsp;as well as the Convention at Drumketta, and so far corroborates the accounts in the native Irish authorities, fnbsp;These Irish narratives are confirmed by the Venerablenbsp;Bede in his Ecclesiastical History (i. i.), where he says :�nbsp;� In course of time, besides the Britons and Piets, Britainnbsp;quot; received a third nation, the Scots, who, migrating fromnbsp;� Ireland under their leader Reuda, obtained for themselvesnbsp;quot; either by friendly agreement or by force of arms, thosenbsp;quot; settlements among the Piets which they still hold. Fromnbsp;quot; the name of their commander they are to this day callednbsp;quot; Dalreudini: for in their tongue dal signifies a part.� Thenbsp;quot; Dalreudini � of Bede is the Dalriada of Irish history. Henbsp;correctly interprets ddl: for Ddl-Riada signifies Riada�snbsp;or Reuda�s portion : and the word ddl or ddil is in use atnbsp;the present day. These primitive settlers increased andnbsp;multiplied, as the Lebar Brecc says ; and, supported fromnbsp;time to time by contingents from the mother country,nbsp;they held their ground against the Piets. But the settlement was weak and struggling till the reign of Lewy,nbsp;king of Ireland (a.d. 483 to 512), about three centuriesnbsp;after the time of Carbery Riada. In the year 503 threenbsp;brothers named Fergus, Angus, and Lome, sons of a chiefnbsp;named Ere, a direct descendant of Carbery Riada, led anbsp;colony to Scotland from their own district in the Irishnbsp;Dalriada ; descendants of the Munster settlers of threenbsp;centuries before. They appear to have met with littlenbsp;or no opposition, and being joined by the previous settlers.

For the Convention at Druim-Cete or Drumketta, and for this celebrated dispute and its settlement, see Joyce, Short Hist, of IreL, 151.

they took possession of a large territory, of which Fergus, commonly called Fergus Mac Ere, and also known asnbsp;Fergus More (the Great), was the first king. The.descendants of these colonists ultimately mastered the wholenbsp;country, and from them its name was changed fromnbsp;Alban to Scotia or Scotland. Fergus was the ancestor of the subsequent kings of Scotland ; and from him,nbsp;in one of their lines of genealogy, descend, throughnbsp;the Stuarts, our present royal family. The memory ofnbsp;these three princes is deeply graven on the history ofnbsp;Scotland; and many Scottish persons and places havenbsp;been named from them, of which examples will occurnbsp;to anyone moderately acquainted with the history andnbsp;topography of Scotland.

At different periods of our early history the kings had in their service bodies of militia, who underwent a yearlynbsp;course of training, and who were at call like a standingnbsp;army whenever the monarch required them. The mostnbsp;celebrated of these were the � Red Branch Knights � ofnbsp;about the time of the Incarnation, and the � Fianna ornbsp;Fena of Erin,� who flourished in the third century.nbsp;Though the accounts that have come down to us of thesenbsp;two military organisations are - much mixed up withnbsp;romance and fable, there is sufficient evidence, bothnbsp;literary and material, to show that they really existednbsp;and exercised great influence in their day.

The Red Branch Knights belonged wholly to Ulster, and in the ancient Tales they are represented as in thenbsp;service of Concobar Mac Nessa, king of that province, butnbsp;not king of Ireland. The king�s palace was Emain, ornbsp;Emania near Armagh, of which a description will be foundnbsp;In vol. II. p. 8g

Every year during the summer months, various companies of the Knights came to Emain under their several

commanders, to be drilled and trained in military science and feats of arms. The greatest Red Branch commandernbsp;was Cuculainn, a demigod, the mightiest of the heroes ofnbsp;Irish romance. The other chief heroes were Conall Ker-nach ; Laegaire (or Laery) the Victorious ; Keltar of thenbsp;Battles ; Fergus Mac Roy ; the poet Bricriu Nemthenganbsp;(� Venom tongue �), who lived at Loughbrickland, wherenbsp;his fort still remains near the little lake ; and the threenbsp;sons of Usna�^Naisi, Ainnle, and Ardan.

The Red Branch Knights had a passion for building great duns or forts, many of which remain to this day, andnbsp;excite the wonder and awe of visitors. Besides Emain

itself, there is the majestic fort of Dun-Dalgan, Cuculainn�s residence, a mile west of the present town of Dundalk.nbsp;This dun consists of a high mound surrounded by annbsp;earthen rampart and trench, all of immense size, even innbsp;their ruined state ; but it has lost its old name, and is nownbsp;called the moat of Castletown, while the original namenbsp;Dundalgan, slightly altered, has been transferred to Dundalk. Another of these Red Branch Knights� residencesnbsp;stands beside Downpatrick ; viz, the great fort ancientlynbsp;called (among other names) Dun-Keltair, or Rath-Keltair,

Rath'Keltair at Downpatrick. From Col. Wood-Martin's Traces of the Elder Faiths of Ireland, I., 318.

or Aras- Keltair, where lived the hero, Keltar of the Battles. It consists of a huge embankment of earth, nearly circular,nbsp;with the usual deep trench outside it, covering a space ofnbsp;about ten acres. Still another, which figures much in thenbsp;old romances under its ancient name Dun-da-henn�butnbsp;now called Mountsandall�crowns the high bank over thenbsp;Cutts waterfall on the Bann, near Coleraine. Four milesnbsp;west of this is a similar fortress, now known by the namenbsp;of the quot; Giant�s Sconce,� which is the ancient Dun-Cethernnbsp;[Doon-Kehern], so called from � Cethern of the Brilliantnbsp;Deeds,� a famous Red Branch Knight.¹ John De Courcy�snbsp;original Castle of Dundrum, in Down, was built on the sitenbsp;of one of the most formidable of all�Dun-Rury, the immense earthworks of which still remain round the presentnbsp;castle, at the base of the rock, though the original dun-mound on the top was levelled by the castle-builders.

Contemporary with the Red Branch Knights were the Degadst of Munster�but of Ulster extraction�whosenbsp;chief was Curoi Mac Dair�, king of South Munster; andnbsp;the Gamanradii (Ir. gamhanraide) of Connaught, commanded by Keth Mac Magach and by the renowned heronbsp;Ferdiad. Curoi Mac Dair� lived in a caher or stone fort on anbsp;rocky shelf 2050 feet over the sea, on the mountain ofnbsp;Caherconree, near Tralee, whose ruins have been lately, andnbsp;for the first time, described correctly and in detail by Mr.nbsp;P. J. Lynch.I As a still further evidence that the oldnbsp;legends and romances about Curoi rest on a foundation ofnbsp;fact, not only is the old stone fortress there to witness, but,nbsp;like Emain and Craebh-Ruadh in the north, it retains itsnbsp;ancient name, which has been extended to the whole mountain, and which commemorates the mighty hero himself:nbsp;for � Caherconree � correctly represents the sound of the

Irish name Cathair-Chonroi, the caher or stone fortress of Curoi (nom. Curoi, gen. Conroi).

The Red Branch Knights, as well as those of Munster and Connaught, used chariots both in battle and in privatenbsp;life. Chariot-racing too was one of their favourite amusements : and the great heroes are constantly described innbsp;the tales as fighting from their chariots.

The Fianna or Fena of Erin,* so far as we can trace their history with any certainty, lasted for about a century, viz.nbsp;from the reign of Conn the Hundred-fighter (a.d. 177-212)nbsp;to that of Carbery of the Liffey (279-297). They attainednbsp;their greatest power in the reign of Cormac Mac Art (254-277) under their most renowned commander Finn, the sonnbsp;of Cumal, or Finn Mac Coole as he is commonly called, kingnbsp;Co .'mac�s son-in-law, who is recorded in the Annals to havenbsp;hem killed beside the Boyne, when an old man (a.d. 283).nbsp;Their ordinary strength in time of peace was three cathanbsp;[caha] or battalions, each cath [cahl 3000 : 9000 in all:nbsp;but in war they were brought up to seven catha or 21,000.nbsp;Before admission to the ranks, candidates were subjectednbsp;to certain severe tests, both physical and mental, whichnbsp;may be seen in Keating, page 349. One of these testsnbsp;is worthy of special mention here. No candidate wasnbsp;allowed to join unless he had mastered a certain specifiednbsp;and large amount of poetry and tales : that is to say, henbsp;had to prove that he was a well-educated man, accordingnbsp;to the standard of the tfmes ; a provision that anticipatednbsp;by seventeen centuries the condition of admission to thenbsp;higher posts of our present military service, designed tonbsp;ensure that every commissioned officer of the army shall benbsp;a man of good general education. This�whether historynbsp;or legend�shows what was regarded as the general standard of education in Ireland in those times. The Fena

?This word Fianna [Feena], though commonly restricted to the � Fianna of Erin,� is a generic term, meaning � champions, soldiers,nbsp;\varriors.' In the Da Derga (p. 169) it is applied to the Red Branch Knights.

of Erin, and Finn himself, are frequently mentioned in our earliest writings, among others in Cor mac�s Glossary.

Of all the heroes of ancient Ireland Finn is most vividly remembered in popular tradition. Pinkerton, the Scotchnbsp;historian, who was anything but favourable to Ireland�snbsp;claims to early civilisation or importance, thus speaks ofnbsp;him :�� He seems to have been a man of great talents fornbsp;� the age, and of celebrity in arms. His formation of a regu-quot; lar standing army, trained to war, in which all the Irishnbsp;� accounts agree, seems to have been a rude imitation ofnbsp;� the Roman legions in Britain. The idea, though simplenbsp;� enough, shows prudence, for such a force alone couldnbsp;quot; have coped with the Romans, had they invaded Ireland.�*nbsp;Finn had his chief residence on the summit of the Hill ofnbsp;Allen, a remarkable flat-topped hill, lying about four milesnbsp;to the right of the railway as you pass Newbridge andnbsp;approach Kildare, rendered more conspicuous of late yearsnbsp;by a tall pillar erected on the top, on the very site ofnbsp;Finn�s house. Its ancient nam.e was Almu, gen. Alman,nbsp;dat. Ahnain, which is pretty correctly represented innbsp;sound by the present name Allen. � Almu ��says thenbsp;old tale of the � Cause of the Battle of Cnucha � in thenbsp;Book of the Dun Cow�� was Finn�s principal residencenbsp;while he lived.��f The house was not, hoveever, built bynbsp;Finn, but by his maternal ancestor Nuada, king Cahir-more�s chief druid. So far as we can judge from thenbsp;accounts of its construction given in the above-namednbsp;tale, it was built altogether of wood�like the � Rednbsp;Branch ��without any earthern rampart round it: andnbsp;accordingly no trace of a rampart or earthern dun remains.nbsp;At this day the whole neighbourhood round the hill teemsnbsp;with living traditions of Finn and the Fena.

When not employed in training or fighting, the Fena spent the six months of summer�from ist of May to the

31st of October�hunting, and lived on the produce of the chase, camping out all the time : during the remaining sixnbsp;months they were billeted on the well-to-do people allnbsp;over the country�fed and lodged free. But they were atnbsp;all times�summer and winter�liable to be re-embodiednbsp;at a central station by the king when he found it necessary to wage war. They were divided into distinct tribesnbsp;or clanns, belonging to the several provinces, each undernbsp;its own commander. Of these, the Clann Baskin ofnbsp;Leinster, under the immediate command of Finn, andnbsp;the Clann Morna of Connaught, commanded by Gollnbsp;Mac Morna, were rival tribes ; and ever since the timenbsp;when Goll slew Finn�s father Cumal in the battle ofnbsp;Cnucha, now Castleknock, near Dublin, regarded eachnbsp;other with hatred and distrust.

Those Fena and their leaders, though supposed to be in the service of the monarch, were very uncertain in theirnbsp;allegiance : sometimes they fought on his side ; sometimesnbsp;against him. After king Cormac�s death they becamenbsp;openly rebellious, and attempted to impose a militarynbsp;despotism on the country, claiming in some respects tonbsp;rule even the monarch of Ireland. At last the kingnbsp;Carbery of the Liffey, Cormac Mac Art�s son, who camenbsp;to the throne a.d. 279-�marched against them, and annihilated them in the bloody battle of Gavra, near Skreennbsp;in Meath (a.d. 297) : but was himself slain in the battle.

We have seen that the Red Branch Knights, and their Contemporary heroes of Munster and Connaught, fought,nbsp;rode, and raced in chariots ; and that they erected immensenbsp;duns or forts. In both these respects the Fena of Erinnbsp;stand in complete contrast. In none of the tales or othernbsp;literature of the Fena is it mentioned that they usednbsp;chariots in battle, and they scarcely ever used them innbsp;any way. Their rejection of chariots as a feature of theirnbsp;organisation must have been by deliberate choice . for, asnbsp;Will be shown in chap, xxviii. (vol. ii. 401). chariots were

used all over Ireland, both in civil and military life, not only before and after the time of the Fena, but during thenbsp;whole period of their existence. For instance, they figurenbsp;in the battle of Crinna, a.d. 254, at the very time when thenbsp;Fena were in all their glory. Moreover, there is evidencenbsp;to show that the Fena knew the use of chariots, thoughnbsp;they did not adopt them.* Then as to duns : while wenbsp;have still remaining the majestic ruins of many of thenbsp;forts erected by the Red Branch Knights, as shown atnbsp;page 84, there are, so far as I can find out, no corresponding forts in any part of Ireland attributed to the Fena innbsp;the ancient tales. Even on the Hill of Allen, where if anywhere we might expect to find a mighty fortification likenbsp;that at Downpatrick, there is no vestige of a rath. Finnnbsp;had another residence in Magh Ele, now Moyally ornbsp;Moyelly, near Clara in King�s County, where there arenbsp;vivid traditions about him ; and a cave is still pointed outnbsp;which the people say belonged to him. But there is nonbsp;dun or rath in the place, and no tradition that such anbsp;fort ever existed there. No forts, large or small, that Inbsp;know of, commemorate any others of the great leaders�nbsp;Ossian, Oscar, Dermot 0�Dyna, Goll Mac Morna, Cailtenbsp;Mac Ronain, or Conan Mail, such as we have for Cuculainn,nbsp;Keltar of the Battles, Cethern of the Brilliant Deeds,nbsp;Curoi Mac Daire, and others.

Why the Fena neither used chariots nor built great forts appears, however, to be sufficiently explained by theirnbsp;organisation, and by the sort of life they led. Theynbsp;rejected chariots because they were organised purely asnbsp;an infantry force, and an infantry force they remainednbsp;to the last. For the same reason they made little usenbsp;of horses, except in racing, though on long journeysnbsp;their leaders sometimes travelled on horseback. One ofnbsp;the main objects of their lives was to perfect their activity,nbsp;strength, and health, by physical training ; and accordinglynbsp;* O�Grady, Silva Gad., 107,

they constantly practised athletic exercises on foot� running, leaping, wrestling, and hunting. Then they builtnbsp;no enduring forts, for they did not need them, inasmuch asnbsp;they always�when not on campaign�hunted and campednbsp;out during the six months of summer, constantly changingnbsp;their residence : while during the winter half-year theynbsp;^ore billeted in the houses of the chiefs and farmersnbsp;et we know that during all this time, kings and chiefsnbsp;rrho needed permanent homesteads continued to buildnbsp;raths, lisses, and duns for their residences all throughnbsp;Ireland.

Ordinary War Service was of several kinds. Every man who held land in any sort of tenancy was obliged to bear anbsp;part in the wars of the tribe and in the defence of theirnbsp;common territory : or, as the law expresses it, every landnbsp;occupier owed to the chief � service of attack and defence.�*nbsp;The number of days in the year that each should serve wasnbsp;strictly defined by law : and when the time was ended, henbsp;ruight return to his home�unless some very special neednbsp;urose. A chief or king, if required, was bound to sendnbsp;^ certain number of men, fully armed, for a fixed timenbsp;periodically, to serve his superior in war. The men of thenbsp;superior king�s own immediate territory, with the contingents supplied to him from the several subordinate tribesnbsp;by their chiefs, went to form his army. The tributary chiefnbsp;^gain made up the contingent to be sent to his superior,nbsp;partly from his own household troops, and partly by smallnbsp;contingents from his sub-chiefs.

These were the usual conditions. But sometimes tribes had certain privileges, commonly conceded as a reward fornbsp;special services in the past. For example, the Oirghiallanbsp;[Ore-yeela] or the people of the kingdom of Oriell, in Ulster,nbsp;Were one of these favoured tribes. They were bound tonbsp;send 700 men to attend the king of Ireland in his hostingnbsp;lor � three fortnights � every third year ; but they were notnbsp;? Br. Laws, iii. 23.

to be called upon in spring or autumn, when the men had to attend to their crops. Moreover, the monarch was boundnbsp;to pay each man of them who attended him during thenbsp;hosting or campaign a s�d or cow, or the equivalent value,nbsp;and had to make compensation to the tribe to the value ofnbsp;twenty-one cows for every man of them lost during thenbsp;war :¹ whereas in case of other tribes, neither pay fornbsp;service nor compensation for death was due.

The king had in his service a champion or chief fighting man, called Air�-echta�always a fiaith or noble (for noblesnbsp;see p. 156, below)�whose duty it was to avenge all insultsnbsp;or offences offered to the families of the king and tribe,nbsp;particularly murder : like the � Avenger of blood � of thenbsp;Jews and other ancient nations. In any expected dangernbsp;from without he had to keep watch at the most dangerousnbsp;ford or pass�called betna haoghaill [barna beel] or � gapnbsp;of danger ��on that part of the border where invasionnbsp;was expected, and prevent the entrance of any enemy, fnbsp;He had five men-at-arms to attend on him constantly,nbsp;and he enjoyed several valuable privileges ; but a largenbsp;number was at his command when he needed them for thenbsp;discharge of his dangerous duties. It would appear thatnbsp;each tribe had a special Aire-echta, who was in the immediate service of the chief or king. King Cormac Mac Art�snbsp;son once insulted a woman belonging to the D�ise or Desiinbsp;of Meath : whereupon Aengus of the Terrible Spear, thenbsp;Aire-echta of the tribe, made his way to Tara, and seizing anbsp;spear from a rack, he killed the prince with one thrust of itnbsp;in open court in revenge for the insult. In the resultingnbsp;scuffle the king�s eye was destroyed by the handle of the

On all these points, see Book of Rights, 135 and 139. f See Br. Laws, iv. 323 ; O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i. 365 ; and O�Donovan, HyF, 211, In some old documents the name aire-echta is derivednbsp;from echt, murder : so that A ire-echta means � Chief of [the avenging of]nbsp;murder.� (See Windisch, W�rterbuch, Ir. Texte, i., � Echt �) : elsewhere echt is given as meaning � a deed � : Aire-echta, � Chief of thenbsp;[daring] deed.� (See Br. Laws, iv. 322, line 6 from bottom.)

spear, which ultimately resulted in his abdication, and in the expulsion of the Desii from their territory (see p. 74,nbsp;supra). We find this institution existing in comparativelynbsp;late times ; for in the fourteenth century quot; the headship ofnbsp;every people who revenged the insults of [the O�Kellys of]nbsp;Hy Many� belonged by right to the Mac Egans (HyM. 89).

Kings and great chiefs almost always kept bodies of mercenary soldiers�commonly small in number and oftennbsp;as a mere bodyguard�under regular pay, something likenbsp;the soldiers of our present standing army, except that thenbsp;Irish mercenaries were not bound so strictly to their service,nbsp;and might apparently leave at any time for another master.nbsp;They hired themselves wherever they could get the bestnbsp;pay. These characteristics are alluded to in tlie derivationnbsp;given in Cormac�s Glossary (p. 2) for amos (pi. amuis),nbsp;which is the Irish name for a hired soldier :�� Amos, i.e.nbsp;am-fhos [pron. amos^, non-resting : he moves from place tonbsp;place, from one lord to another.� The temporary characternbsp;of their engagement is also clearly indicated in the Brehonnbsp;Law, where, in setting forth the compensation due to a chiefnbsp;for injuring persons he had taken under protection, it isnbsp;laid down that no compensation is due for an amos ornbsp;hired soldier, quot; because it is likely that he will go awaynbsp;from him [the hirer] without necessity.�¹ These hirednbsp;soldiers are constantly mentioned in our ancient records.nbsp;Queen Maive in the Tain boasts that she has 1500 royalnbsp;mercenaries [rig-amuis) of the sons of adventurers, f Bodiesnbsp;of Scotchmen, and of Welshmen, were very often in thenbsp;service of Irish kings : and we also find companies of Irishnbsp;under similar conditions serving in Wales and Scotlandnbsp;(Keating, 364).

The maintenance and pay of such soldiers was called in Irish huannacht, whence men serving for pay and supportnbsp;were often called � bonnaghts � by English writers of the

time of Elizabeth. The practice of hiring foreign mercenaries, which was commenced at a very early period, was continued down to the sixteenth century : and we havenbsp;already seen (p. 62, supra) that Shane O�Neill had anbsp;number of fierce soldiers from Scotland as a bodyguard.

The king kept a company of household troops, supported from his own revenues, who commonly resided in the neighbourhood of the palace, so as to be always withinnbsp;reach as a personal guard, and who fought with biTn in hisnbsp;wars. Such a body of men was commonly called Luchi-tighe [lucht-tee], i.e. ' house-company.�* Sometimes anbsp;tract of land was specially set apart for the residence ofnbsp;themselves and their families, which they tilled when notnbsp;on actual service : and a district in the present countynbsp;Cavan, once devoted to this purpose, still retains the namenbsp;of � Loughtee,� now applied to a double barony. Thenbsp;number, arms, and exact duties of the lucht-tighe dependednbsp;on the circumstances of the particular king ; so that wenbsp;find them variously described in different authorities.nbsp;They consisted of men of the tribe : whereas those constituting the amuis or hired companies might be, andnbsp;commonly were, from a distance, or from another country.

These several bodies constituted a small standing army. But where large armies had to be brought into the field,nbsp;the men of the tribe or tribes owing allegiance and servicenbsp;were called upon to serve. It was understood, however,nbsp;that this was only for the single campaign, or for somenbsp;specified time, as already stated (p. 91), at the end ofnbsp;which they were free to return to their homes. An armynbsp;of men on campaign usually consisted of individuals of allnbsp;the different kinds of service.

A Professional Warrior or fighting man, as distinguished from a tribesman who served temporarily, was callednbsp;feinnid, a word allied to Fianna (p. 87, supra). A cham-

* O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i, 391-2 : FM, a.d. 1226, note h, and 1306 : Ware, Antiqq., 70.

pion was also often called a tr�in-fher [trainar] � strong ^�ian � (p. 63, supra). But a more usual word for a champion or warrior is gaiscidheach [goshkeeagh], from gaisce,nbsp;bravery or valour ' : in 0�Clery�s Glossary feindid is explained by gaiscidheach. Very often a warrior was callednbsp;og or �glach, which simply means � young,� a young person.nbsp;Laech or laoch is another term for a hero or warrior.

In very ancient times there were in Ireland, as in Germany, Russia, and other countries, professional femalenbsp;Warriors or championesses�a sort of Irish amazons�whonbsp;figure much in the tales. The principal Teacher ofnbsp;Cuculainn in the use of his weapons was the lady Scathach-Buanand (the daughter of Ard-Geimne in Letha), whonbsp;had a military academy in Scotland, where a great manynbsp;of the chief heroes of Ireland received their military education.* In the Rennes Dinnsenchus several female warriorsnbsp;are celebrated : one named Etsine : and another namednbsp;Brefne, who gave name to the old district of Brefney.fnbsp;Ness, the mother of Concobar Mac Nessa, was a cham-pioness. All will remember a historic and still more celebrated championess belonging to another Celtic nation,nbsp;Boadicea, whose Celtic name Buadac has the same meaning as a still better known queenly name�Victoria : buad,

� victory,� Buadac or Buadach, � victorious.� These warlike Irish ladies sometimes fought with each other, using thenbsp;same weapons as men. Occasionally too they foughtnbsp;against men, and proved tough antagonists. A successfulnbsp;rival of Scathagh was Aife [Eefa], who was so strong andnbsp;brave that no man save Cuculainn was able to subdue her.nbsp;The warlike Medb or Maive, queen of Connaught, was notnbsp;only a great commander, but was personally expert in thenbsp;use of her weapons. In one of the battles of the Tain shenbsp;was engaged in the fight and wounded the hero Cethernnbsp;with a cast of a slegh or light spear. J

In the Life of St. Mochua of Balia there is a curious account of two highway-wowew {da ban-gaisgedhach, � twonbsp;woman-champions �) named Bee and Lithben. They tooknbsp;up their abode beside a perpendicular cliff near whichnbsp;travellers were wont to pass, and provided themselves withnbsp;a big basket having two long ropes tied to the handles.nbsp;When a traveller came up they laid hold of him andnbsp;demanded all his valuables : and if he made any demur,nbsp;they trundled him into the basket and swung him over thenbsp;edge of the cliff, which commonly brought him to reason,nbsp;in which case they pulled him up and sent him awaynbsp;unharmed, but much the poorer. On one occasion theynbsp;swung over St. Mochua�s gillie or servant. Mochua himself came up at the moment and demanded that they shouldnbsp;release him : but they, in no way cowed, refused to do anynbsp;such thing till the saint had to give them his cowl offnbsp;his shoulders : when they drew the man up and set him atnbsp;liberty.*

Clergy and Women exempted from War.�In very early times both clergy and women accompanied the army onnbsp;campaign, and sometimes�though not often�took part innbsp;the fighting. But in a.d. 697 a meeting of clergy and laymen was held at Tara, where, at the instance of Adamnan,nbsp;a resolution was adopted forbidding women to take part innbsp;war : this was known as the Cain Adamnain, or Adamnan�snbsp;Law.f A little more than a century later�in 803�Aednbsp;Ordnidhe [Ornee], king of Ireland, forced Conmach,nbsp;primate of Armagh, and his clergy to attend him on anbsp;hostile expedition against Leinster. On arriving at Dun-Cuair, now Rathcore in Meath, the primate expostulatednbsp;with him on the impropriety of bringing the clergy on suchnbsp;expeditions. The king referred the matter to his tutor andnbsp;p. 257, in Rev. Celt., xv. ; O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., ii. 98 : K. Meyer,nbsp;Ventry, 76, 77 : and Rev. Celt., xi., p. 45r (Courtship of Emer).

chief adviser, Fothad, who, after due deliberation, pronounced judgment in the form of a short canon or rule in Verse, exempting the clergy for ever from attending armiesnbsp;in war.*

Instruction in Military Science.�O�Flaherty, in his Ogygia, states that Cormac Mac Art founded three colleges at Tara, one of which was for teaching militarynbsp;science. O�Flaherty quotes no authority for this statement:nbsp;and the passage is too shadowy to found any conclusionnbsp;on it. On the other hand. O�Curry f writes ;�� It does notnbsp;appear from any original authority that I know of, thatnbsp;there was [in ancient Ireland] any such institution as anbsp;special military school, with regular professors and anbsp;regular system, as in the schools of literature and law.�nbsp;But though we cannot say that there were special militarynbsp;colleges, we know that the youths were carefully trainednbsp;in the use of their weapons ; for each was placed undernbsp;the instruction of some warrior who acted as his militarynbsp;tutor ; of which many instances might be quoted fromnbsp;the tales.]: Besides, instruction of this kind formed anbsp;part of the general education of the higher classes: andnbsp;when the sons of chiefs were in fosterage, the foster-fathers were bound by law to teach them, among othernbsp;things, the use of their weapons.�

Military Asylums.�^According to the Battle of Ross-naree,� in the Book of Leinster, there was an asylum for the old warriors of the Red Branch�in some mannernbsp;corresponding with the present Chelsea Hospital, andnbsp;with the Royal Hospital in Dublin�where those whonbsp;were too old to fight were kept in ease and comfort; andnbsp;it was under the direction of one governor or commander.nbsp;It was probably supported partly at the public expense,

* Hyde, Lit. Hist,, 234 : K. Meyer, Mac Congl., 54 : Stokes, Feil., 3: O�Curry, MS. Mat., 363 : Joyce, Short Hist, of Ireland, 190.

and partly by payments from the inmates : but on this point there is no information. This house was called anbsp;figthech or � royal house,� or palace, and also a Bruiden :nbsp;and it is described as very large. When Concobarnbsp;Mac Nessa, king of Ulaid, was about to raise an armynbsp;to oppose the southern forces under Ailill and Maive, henbsp;went � to the three fifties of elders and old championsnbsp;that are in their repose of age under [the command of]nbsp;Irgalach son of Macc-Lach, having laid aside theirnbsp;exercise of arms and their weapons,� and askednbsp;them to accompany the expedition ; not to fight but tonbsp;give advice as to the conduct of the campaign. Andnbsp;they replied, � Let our old steeds be caught, and let ournbsp;old chariots be yoked, till we go on this expedition withnbsp;thee.�¹

Knighthood.�As far back as our oldest traditions reach there existed in Ireland an institution of knighthood. Thenbsp;Red Branch Knights have already been mentioned : and itnbsp;appears that admission to their ranks was attended withnbsp;much formality. It was usual to knight boys at an earlynbsp;age, commonly at seven years. This was the age, according to the statement of Tigernach�and also of the Tales�nbsp;at which the young hero Cuculainn was admitted : and hisnbsp;example as to age was often followed in subsequent times.nbsp;The old Tale in which this episode of Cuculainn occurs,nbsp;states that King Concobar had a number of suits of armsnbsp;ready to present to boys whom he admitted to knighthood.nbsp;He gave them on this occasion, one after another, tonbsp;Cuculainn, who broke them all: till at last the king gavenbsp;him his own royal shield, sword, and spears, which the boynbsp;kept, as they withstood his efforts to break them.j A confirmation of the existence of this custom is found in thenbsp;Idfe of St. Carrthach or Mochuda of Lismore, where we arenbsp;fold that when he was yet a boy he was brought forward to

receive knighthood from Maeltuile, chief of Corco Luachra, in Kerry. The king began�after the ancient fashion�bynbsp;presenting him with a sword and shield, which howevernbsp;Carrthach rejected, being resolved to follow a religiousnbsp;life.¹ ^{2 3 4} The remarkable confirmation of the Irish accountsnbsp;by Froissart will be found mentioned in chapter xiv.,nbsp;PP- 518, 519, infra. This historian moreover states thatnbsp;the custom of knighting boys at seven, with ceremoniesnbsp;like those of the Irish, existed among the Anglo-Saxonnbsp;kings, f

The usual Irish words for a knight are curad [curra] and ridire [riddera], of which the last is of course the samenbsp;as the German ritter, and is probably borrowed. � Assuming knighthood � is commonly expressed in Irish bynbsp;� taking valour � : thus Tigernach�s record about thenbsp;knighting of Cuculainn is, � Seven years was his age whennbsp;he took valour quot; {do gab gaisged).]. But the rule of the sevennbsp;years was not universally, or even generally, followed�nbsp;except perhaps in case of the sons of kings or great nobles.nbsp;The ceremony was commonly put off till the candidate wasnbsp;able to fight, as appears from the following entry in thenbsp;Coir Anmann ;�� This was a custom of the Ulaid. Everynbsp;young son of theirs who first took arms [i.e. took valour]nbsp;used to enter the province of Connaught on a foray or tonbsp;seek to slay a human being. ��

There was an order of chivalry, the distinguishing mark of which was what was called nasc-niad (' champion�s ringnbsp;or collar�: nia, gen. niad, a tr�n-fer or �champion�).nbsp;Neither the order�nor of course the decoration�wasnbsp;conferred except it was won on the field of battle : andnbsp;the person who won the nasc-niad was called nia-naisc,

garter �), and also ridire gaisge or � knight of valour � : This collar, according to Keating, was worn round thenbsp;neck.¹

Handstone.�Among the missive weapons of the ancient Irish was the handstone, which was kept ready for use innbsp;the hollow of the shield, and flung from the hand whennbsp;the occasion came for using it. The handstone is verynbsp;often mentioned in the ancient tales, but so mixed up withnbsp;pure fable that we can be certain of little more than this:�nbsp;Some such stone was in use, which was not a mere pebblenbsp;picked up by accident, but was specially made ; sometimes round (cruinn), and sometimes oblong and shapednbsp;with blunt angles and edges. To stones so prepared andnbsp;kept for use on special occasions, some sort of malignnbsp;mystical quality was often attributed, which renderednbsp;them very dangerous to the enemy. The handstone wasnbsp;called by various names : clock, and its diminutive clochen,nbsp;which mean � stone � simply ; lia, lec, lecan, which conveynbsp;the idea of a stone somewhat flattened in shape ; lianbsp;Idimhe, ' hand-stone ' (Idmh, gen. Idimhe, the hand : pron.nbsp;lauv, lauve) : lia Idimhe Idich, � handstone of the laech ornbsp;champion � ; lia curad, a � hero�s flat stone.�f

The use of ordinary stones in battle�^not specially made�is often noticed in the ancient tales. Giraldusnbsp;Cambrensis says that the Irish of his time�the twelfthnbsp;century�when other weapons failed them, flung stonesnbsp;with more force and precision than any other nation, sonbsp;as to do great execution on the enemy ; a statementnbsp;curiously exemplified at the siege of Limerick, five hundrednbsp;years after his time, when a band of 400 of the defenders

Book of Rights, 7 : Keating, 391. f See O'Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i., 263 to 287.

flung stones in the faces of the Williamite assailants, having no better weapons.

Sling and Sling-stones.�much more effective instrument for stone-throwing was the sling, which is constantly mentioned in the Tales of the Tain as well as in Cormac�snbsp;Glossary and other authorities, in such a way as to shownbsp;that it formed an important item in the offensive armsnbsp;of a warrior. The accounts, in the old writings, of thenbsp;dexterity and fatal precision with which Cuculainn andnbsp;other heroes flung their sling-stones, remind us of thenbsp;Scriptural record of the 700 chosen warriors of Gibeahnbsp;who could fight with left and right hand alike, and whonbsp;flung their sling-stones with such aim � that they cduldnbsp;hit even a hair, and not miss by the stone�s going on eithernbsp;side � (Judges xx. 16).

One of the Irish names for a sling was iailm or teilm [tellim], which is fancifully explained in Cormac�s Glossarynbsp;(158) as a contraction of tell-fhuaim [tell-ooim], from tell,nbsp;' a stroke,� and fuaim, � sound,� i.e. ' the stroke and thenbsp;sound of the ialls or thongs � : from which we see that thenbsp;teilm had two thongs. Another name for this sort of slingnbsp;was tahall: for we find teilm and tahall used in a passage ofnbsp;the Tain for the same individual sling.*

There was another form of sling called crann-tabaill, i.e. � wood-sling � or � staff-sling,� from aann, � a tree, anbsp;staff, a piece of wood of any kind � ; which indicates thatnbsp;the sling so designated was formed of a long staff of woodnbsp;with one or two thongs�like the slings we read of as usednbsp;by many other ancient nations. David killed Goliath withnbsp;a staff-sling. As this was called crann-tabhaill on accountnbsp;of having a crann or staff, perhaps we may infer that thenbsp;simple taball or teilm had no staff, and that it consistednbsp;of two thongs attached to a piece of leather at bottom tonbsp;hold the stone or other missile ; a form of sling which wasnbsp;common all over the world, and which continues to be

102 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I used by boys to this day. There was a kind of staff-slingnbsp;called a deil-clis, literally � feat-rod,� from deil, � a rod,� andnbsp;clis, genitive of cles, � a feat �: and this it would appear wasnbsp;in some way different from the crann-tabaill. Still anothernbsp;name for a sling is trochal, whence comes the verb troch-laim, � I sling.�

Those who carried a sling kept a supply of round stones, sometimes artificially formed. In the Battle ofnbsp;Mucrim�, as we are told, the shields resounded with thenbsp;hammering of swords and of stones {buirnibii), the stonesnbsp;slings. Numerous sling-stones have beennbsp;found from time to time�manynbsp;perfectly round�in raths andnbsp;crannoges, some the size of anbsp;small plum, some as large as annbsp;orange, of which many specimens are preserved in museums.*nbsp;A stone for a sling is oftennbsp;called lie tailme, i.e. the �stonenbsp;of the tailml

Some sling - missiles were specially made and kept for usenbsp;on important occasions ; and tonbsp;these were attributed mysticnbsp;virtues similar to those of thenbsp;specially made handstones. Some were composition ballsnbsp;made of various materials and hardened. A ball of thisnbsp;kind was often called caer-cHs [kair-clish], � feat-ball,� fromnbsp;caer, �a mass or ball�: as if it was expected to perform somenbsp;special wonderful feats: and it was also called uball-clisnbsp;or �feat-apple� {uball, �an apple�: any small globular mass).nbsp;If we are to believe the Romantic Tales some of thesenbsp;sling-balls were made up in an extraordinary and elaborate way, which imparted to them a malign destructivenbsp;quality. One called the tatJilum, made by the Dedannans,nbsp;A' See Kill;. Archsol. Journ., 1885-6, p. 378 : and Wilde, Boyne, 209.

was composed of the blood of toads, bears, and vipers, mixed up with sea-sand and hardened : and it is .statednbsp;that with a ball of this kind Luga of the Long Arms slewnbsp;Balor of the Mighty Blows, flinging it from his sling .withnbsp;such force that it went clean through Balor�s eye andnbsp;brain.*

According to the Tales, the Knights of the Red Branch sometimes made their sling-missiles in a barbarous andnbsp;revolting manner. In the historic tale of the death ofnbsp;King Concobar Mac Nessa in the Book of Leinster wenbsp;read :�quot; It was a custom with the Ultonians at thatnbsp;time :�every champion they killed in single combat, tonbsp;take the brains out of their heads and mix lime with themnbsp;until they were formed into hard balls �t ; and these ball?nbsp;they kept both as trophies and as dangerous weapons, tonbsp;be used on special occasions. This custom is noticed innbsp;connexion with the Red Branch Knights : but, so far asnbsp;I am aware, in no other part of Irish history or tradition.nbsp;It was a brain-ball of this kind that Keth Mac Magachnbsp;flung at King Concobar, so that it sank into his skull,nbsp;of which he died seven years afterwards. It would benbsp;hazardous and unphilosophical to � brush aside thesenbsp;legends bodily as pure and simple fable. It seems prettynbsp;certain that hardened composition balls were made fornbsp;slings, and kept for important occasions : and we havenbsp;such a ball in the National Museum in Dublin, perfectlynbsp;globular, and curiously streaked ; not on the. surfacenbsp;merely, but also through its mass.

Bow and Arrow.�One of the Irish names of a bow was fidbac (or fidbocc, Z. 854, 12), a native word signifying-� wood-bend,� from fd, � wood,� and bac, � a bend.� Anothernbsp;name was hogha [bo-a], which however is a Teutonicnbsp;loan-word, the same as the English how. The Irish usednbsp;only the long-bow ; in a late authority�the picture of

f O�Curry, MS. Mat., .640 ; De JubainviUe, L�Epop�e Celtique en Irl., 368.

Irish soldiers by Albert Durer in 1521¹�one of the soldiers has a long-bow four feet in length : but no crossbow appears in the group. The general length of thenbsp;Irish bow, as we find it represented on the High Crosses,nbsp;was from four to five feet. An arrow was called saigetnbsp;[now pron. sy'-et or sy'-ed], probably a loan-word from Latin

sagitta. In the story of the Battle of Rossnaree (first century) in thenbsp;Book of Leinster, the use of thenbsp;bow and arrow is noticed more thannbsp;once. But it is curious that in thenbsp;historical tale of the Battle ofnbsp;Moyrath (fought A.D. 637), bowsnbsp;and arrows are not mentioned atnbsp;all, though the details of the battlenbsp;are given, and other weapons arenbsp;named. A quiver was saiget-bolg,nbsp;i.e �arrow-bag.� In the story ofnbsp;the Tain in the Book of the Dunnbsp;Cow, the saiget-bolg is mentionednbsp;as among Cuculainn�s armsf: andnbsp;in the second Battle of Moy-tura one of the noises was � thenbsp;rattling and the jingling of thenbsp;saicet-bolcs or quivers � (cairchiunbsp;ocus grindegur na saicitbolc). |nbsp;O�Curry translates saicitbolc in thisnbsp;passage by � belly-dart� � : and hisnbsp;editor, Dr. W. K. Sullivan (Introd.,nbsp;452), thinks it means �a bow�: but it evidently means �anbsp;quiver,� and so Dr. Stokes translates it. That this is thenbsp;meaning appears plain from many passages. For instance,nbsp;in the Irish version of part of the Aeneid, it is stated that

on one occasion Aeneas, seeing a herd of deer, took his bow and his saigid-bolg and killed anbsp;number of them.* In later documents.

Flint arrow-heads. The makers of flint implements shaped them by chipping wjtli stone hammers, in which they were very skilful and expert. (From Wilde�s Catalogue.)

especially the Annals, there are plenty of contemporary notices of bows and arrows, to which it will be sufficientnbsp;here to give some references.!

Flint and bronze arrow-heads are constantly found in all parts of Ireland, and may be seen in vast numbers in the Nationalnbsp;Museum : which points to the use of thenbsp;bow in prehistoric times. In the samenbsp;Museum are numerous arrow-heads ofnbsp;bronze, also very ancient, but probably lessnbsp;so in general than fhose of flint. Those ofnbsp;bronze are usually made with a hollow cro ornbsp;socket, into which the wood was inserted.

One general assertion may be made with regard to the sling, the bow-and-arrow, and the axe ;-a careful study of thenbsp;Tales would lead to the conclusion that,nbsp;though these arms were pretty generally used, it was rathernbsp;by individuals than by armies : in other words, though

t Annals L. Ce, vol. i,, a.d. 1221 (p. 263); 1223 (p. 267); 1230 (p. 303); 1345 (p. 647) ; vol. n., 1401 (p. 97) : Last quotation undernbsp;Diubhracadh in O�Donovau�s Supplem. to O'Reilly�s Diet.

106 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I individuals and sometimes small bodies of men used onenbsp;or all, probably according to taste or inclination, neither ofnbsp;the three was used collectively and under general ordersnbsp;by large bodies of men in battle.* In the first Battle ofnbsp;Moytura there is no mention of slings, bows-and-arrows, ornbsp;battle-axes (Man. amp; Cust., I. 244). In Irish military literature swords and spears are the arms mentioned as in mostnbsp;general use, not only by individuals but by armies.

The Mace.�The club or mace�known by two names mdtan andnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;though pretty often mentioned, does not

appear to have been very generally used. Each of the thrice fifty attendants of the hospitaller Da Derganbsp;held in his hand a great club ofnbsp;blackthorn with a band of iron.f Innbsp;the Tales, a giant, or an unusuallynbsp;strong and mighty champion, isnbsp;sometimes represented as armednbsp;with a mace. The giant encounterednbsp;in the meadow by the three greatnbsp;Red Branch Knights in the storynbsp;of the Feast of Bricriu wielded anbsp;mdtan like the mol or shaft of anbsp;mill-wheel. There can be no doubtnbsp;that the mace was used ; for in thenbsp;National Museum in Dublin therenbsp;several specimens of bronze

mace-heads with projecting spikes. One of them is here represented, which, fixed firmly on

See O�Curry, Man. and Cust., i 318, 348, 350. A small body using slings, O�Grady, Silva Gad., 522, bot.

t Bruden Da Derga, 57. More than eighteen centuries later, that is to say, towards the middle of last century, I often saw the men of tlie rivalnbsp;factions��Three-year-old,� and �Four-year-old��fighting at the �big fairnbsp;of Kildonery,� Co. Cork, with precisely the same kind of weapons�heavynbsp;sticks�blackthorn, or oak, or ash�with iron or lead ferrules on the end.nbsp;f Henderson�s Fled Bricrenn, 46, 7.

the top of a strong lorg or handle, and wielded by a powerful arm, must have been a formidable weapon.*nbsp;Spear.�The Irish battle-spears were used both fornbsp;thrusting and for casting. They were of various shapesnbsp;and sizes ; but all consisted of a bronze or iron head, fixednbsp;on a wooden handle by means of a hollownbsp;cro or socket, into which the end of thenbsp;handle was thrust and kept in place bynbsp;rivets. The manufacture of spear-heads wasnbsp;carried to great perfection at a very earlynbsp;age � long before the Christian era � andnbsp;many of those preserved in museums arenbsp;extremely graceful and beautiful in designnbsp;and perfect in finish : evidentlynbsp;the work of trained and highlynbsp;skilled artists. The iron spearsnbsp;were hammered into shapenbsp;those of bronze were cast innbsp;moulds, and several specimensnbsp;of these moulds may be seen innbsp;the Museum (see chapter xxiv.,nbsp;sect. 3, infra).

Both bronze and iron spearheads are mentioned in our oldest literature. In the storynbsp;of the Tain, in the Book of thenbsp;Dun Cow, it is related thatnbsp;Cuculainn came to a certainnbsp;ford with his cletine or spear,nbsp;with which he had slain manynbsp;of Queen Maive�s best champions: whereupon she sentnbsp;her poet to ask him for the spear, knowing that he darednbsp;not refuse a poet. Cuculainn gave him the spear, butnbsp;being infuriated, instead of handing it to him, he flung itnbsp;towards him with such force that it pierced his skull.

I08 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART 1 and with the force of the blow the uma (i.e. the bronze)nbsp;of the cletin� broke off and fell into the stream, which fromnbsp;that was called uman-smth, i.e. � bronze-stream.�¹ In thenbsp;same old book Cailte [Keelta] relates how he slew Kingnbsp;Eochaid Airgthech with a cast of a spear which � wentnbsp;through him and into the earth beyond him, and left itsnbsp;iron [head] in the earth : and this here is the shaft, andnbsp;the iron \iarnd] will be found in the earth.�t In Cormac�snbsp;Glossary (p. 47, � Carr �), the word diceltair is explainednbsp;as the � shaft of a gai or spear without the iron head on it.��

In the National Museum in Dublin there is a collection of several hundred spear-heads of all shapes and sizes, thenbsp;greater number of bronze, but some of iron, and some ofnbsp;copper; and every other museum in the country has itsnbsp;own collection. They vary in length from 36 inches down.nbsp;Some of the Irish names for spear-heads designated specialnbsp;shapes, while others were applied to spears of whatevernbsp;shape or size. The words gm, ga, or gai ; faga or joga ;nbsp;and sleg (now written sleagh : pron. sla) were sometimesnbsp;used as terms for a spear or javelin in general: thoughnbsp;more commonly they were specialised. The last, in thenbsp;diminutive form sleaghdn [pron. sImz, the a sounded as innbsp;star] is used at present in Ireland as an English word tonbsp;denote a sort of sharp slender spade for cutting peat ornbsp;turf. O�Curry always translates sleg or sleagh, � a lightnbsp;spear � ; ioga, � a short spear � ; and gae, �a heavy spear.�nbsp;The gae was probably the jaculum or dart mentioned bynbsp;Giraldus in the passage where he says that the Irish had,nbsp;in his time, three sorts of weapons :�a battle-axe, a shortnbsp;lance, and two darts {jacula).X

Among the spears of the Firbolgs was one called fiar-lann [feerlann], � curved blade � {fiar, � curved � ; lann, � a

blade �), of which many specimens are to be seen in the National Museum. The fiarlann was rather a shortnbsp;sword than a spear, in which case it would answer to thenbsp;� curved sword � [claideamh cram) so often mentioned innbsp;the Book of Rights.¹ At any rate, there is only onenbsp;type of curved blade preserved in the Museum ; of whichnbsp;two specimens are figured here.

The heads of those spears designated by the terms manais and laigen (or laighen) were broad, flat, and sharp-pointed ; for we find them constantlynbsp;described in the Tales by thenbsp;epithet lethan-glas, i.e. ' broadnbsp;and grey-green.' O�Curry callsnbsp;the manais a � trowel-spear � ;nbsp;for this word manais is one ofnbsp;the names of a trowel. Thenbsp;duillen (Corm., 61) must havenbsp;been something of a like shape,nbsp;for its name means ' like a tree-leaf �� leaf-shaped.� There arenbsp;numerous spear-heads in thenbsp;National Museum answeringnbsp;these descriptive indications.

Laighen is a diminutive form of the root laigh [lay or loy] ;nbsp;and this root-word is still represented in the modern Anglo-Irish word loy, which isnbsp;applied to a spade in some parts of Ireland.

In the ancient Irish battle-tales a sharp distinction is made between the spears of the Firbolgs and of thenbsp;Dedannans respectively: to which O�Curry first drewnbsp;attention. The Firbolg spears are sometimes callednbsp;manais and sometimes craisech [creeshagh] ; and thenbsp;craisech is described as broad and thick, with tlie top

For examples see Book of Rights, 75, last verse, For the fiarlann see O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i. 255, 295.

I lO GOVERNMENT, MILITA.RY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I rounded and sharp-edged, and having a cfann-reniur, i.e.nbsp;a � thick crann or handle� : a description that appliesnbsp;generally also to the manais. The spear used by thenbsp;Dedannans was very different, being long, narrow, andnbsp;graceful, with a very sharp point. Whether these twonbsp;colonies are fictitious or not, a large number of spear-headsnbsp;in the Museum answer to those descriptions (figs. 43, 44).

Other terms for a spear less usual than the preceding are:�astol, which in Cormac�s Glossary (p. 3) is derivednbsp;from Lat. hastula, � a little spear � ; aigenbsp;(Corm. 24, � Braga �) : rincne (Keat. 322) :nbsp;and muirend^ derived by Cormac (p. 111)nbsp;from mi-rind, i.e. droch-rind, �evil point,� anbsp;� point which causes death.� So also carr,nbsp;which is defined as gai, � a spear,� in Cormacnbsp;(p. 47). That celtair, pi. celtra, was appliednbsp;to a spear may be seen from this Glossarynbsp;under the word gaire (p. 87), where celtranbsp;catha (� spears of battle �) is defined gae ornbsp;spears: from which again the Glossarynbsp;derives diceltair, � a shaft or handle of anbsp;spear without the iron thereon or without anbsp;weapon��di, a negative : dt-celtair, withoutnbsp;a celtair (see also Glossary, p. 47, undernbsp;� Carr,� and see Voyage of Bran, I. 48, 9).nbsp;Bir, which properly means � a spit,� was alsonbsp;applied to a spear. In a poem on Cuchorbnbsp;in LL, it is said that he fed many wolvesnbsp;with his bir; and the Dalcassians in thenbsp;Battle of Clontarf had great sharp-pointed birs or lances-Another word for spear was cnairrsech, which 0�Davorennbsp;defines as a � diminutive of cnarr, spear.� Cletine has beennbsp;already quoted as a name for Cuculainn�s javelin.

The word gabalorgabhal\goWi\ and its derivative^�i^/^rc^ were applied to a javelin of some kind : one of the noisesnbsp;heard in the din of the second Battle of Moytura was � the

sound and winging of the darts and gablachs or javelins� [na foghaid oms na n-gabluch)¹ This word is met with innbsp;other forms as applied to a spear, such as foga fo-gablaigi ;nbsp;which often occurs.f Gabal means � a fork,� and gabal ornbsp;gablach apparently means � a forked spear �; while foganbsp;fo-gablaigi is a foga or spear with a fork�� a forked foga!nbsp;That the old Irish writers understood the word in thisnbsp;sense is proved by a fanciful description of a spear in thenbsp;AgaUamhX in which we are told that the foga fogablaiginbsp;was so called because on either side of it were five forksnbsp;or prongs {cmc gabla), eachnbsp;having sharp sickle-shapednbsp;barbs on both its edges.

Spears vivth.points (rinn, � a point �) are also often mentioned in the Tain and othernbsp;old tales, apparently meaningnbsp;barbed spears : five being thenbsp;usual number of points : thenbsp;term for this sort of spearnbsp;oftenest used being sleg coic-rinn, a � sleg or spear of fivenbsp;points.�^ An incidental reference in the story of Fingalnbsp;Ronain, in the Book ofnbsp;Leinster, would seem to shownbsp;that some such spears werenbsp;used ;�Aedan plunged a spear (^az) into Mael Fothartaig,nbsp;� so that he put its points through him � {corruc ar-rindtnbsp;triit).\\ The foga fo-gablatgi and the sleg c�ic-rinn were

tMaii. amp; Cust., II. 98. In this place O�Curry translates faegaUaige, �down-headed � : but at p. 145 he makes gabulgici, �forked spears.�

�For instance, Stokes, Lives of SS., xxxiv. : Silva Gad., 290, with Irish Text, 256.

II2 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I different : lor we find them plainly distinguished in anbsp;passage in the Tain, where a tall warrior is described asnbsp;coming towards Cuculainn, having in his hand two spears,nbsp;one a sUg coic-rinn and the other a foga jo-gablaigi¹

But though there are hundreds of spear-heads in the National Museum, not one of them is either five-pointed,nbsp;forked, or barbed : whereas if such spears were commonnbsp;in old times, some specimens would certainly have beennbsp;found, as in the case of all the other spears. Sullivan, atnbsp;page 447 of his Introduction to 0�Curry�s Lectures, givesnbsp;figures of two forked spears�one with three points, the

other with eight, which he considers specimens of thenbsp;forked battle-spears of thenbsp;tales. But these are two outnbsp;of a collection of what arenbsp;obviously fishing-spears nownbsp;in the National Museum.nbsp;They have various numbersnbsp;of points up to fifteen, generally ranged in a straight rownbsp;across. They are all of iron,nbsp;and of rude workmanship�nbsp;any good blacksmith of thenbsp;present day could make one equal to the best of them.nbsp;They do not show a trace of artistic taste or finish�suchnbsp;as we find in perfection in the bronze spear-heads : theynbsp;all seem comparatively modern ; and what is more to thenbsp;point, they are small, light, flimsy things that would go tonbsp;pieces in five minutes� fighting. One of the two given bynbsp;Sullivan is represented here, so that the reader can judgenbsp;for himself. �t is five inches broad at the points, and the

LL, 76, a, 25 : see the English in Hull, Cuch. Saga, 170. Distinguished also in another passage of the Tain : O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., II. 98, note. Here O�Curry translates cuicrind, quot; flesh-seehing,quot; I do notnbsp;know on what grounds,

prongs are inches long. The socket is 2^ inches long, and just large enough to receive a slight wooden handlenbsp;half an inch thick.

Perhaps gahal or gablach in its application to a spear does not mean � forked � ; and this seems to be Stokes�snbsp;opinion when proposing a derivation of the words.¹ Butnbsp;this does not touch the difficulty of Coic-rinn, Whosenbsp;meaning seems beyond doubt. The whole question isnbsp;obscure, and for the present it must be left unsettled�nbsp;at least by me.

Spearheads had a cro or socket, in which the handle was generally fastened by rivets. The shaft or handle hadnbsp;generally a ferule or ring of horn {adharc, pron. ey-ark) onnbsp;its upper end to keep it from splitting. In the Brehon Lawnbsp;(iv. 227) we read of a cnairsech or spear measuring twelvenbsp;fists � between its iron head and the place where the tornnbsp;is put upon its end �: which entry also shows the lengthnbsp;of the handle as between five and six feet.

The Irish casting-spear was usually furnished with a loop of string called suanem or suaineamh [soonev] attachednbsp;to the handle, near the middle, and made of silk of flax.nbsp;The Greeks and Romans had a loop of a similar kind onnbsp;their spears�called amentum by the Latins : but hownbsp;exactly the loop was used by Greeks, Romans, or Irish, ornbsp;what its effect was, is not well understood.! We onlynbsp;know that, like the Roman soldier, the Irish warrior putnbsp;his forefinger {corrm�r) in the loop in the act of casting.nbsp;Such entries as the following are constantly found in thenbsp;Tales �In the Battle of Moyrath (p. 285), Cuanna, � pressing his foot on the solid earth [to balance himself and takenbsp;good aim], put his finger in the string of his broad-headednbsp;spear and made a cast at Congal � : Cailte � put his valorous

nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In Rev. Celt. xii. Ii8 ; see also gdbol l�rg (� gabol-clnh �) in LU,nbsp;84, a, 23 : and in the Irish Text of Silva Gad., 148, 3�. What was thisnbsp;gabol-ldrg, which is often mentioned as a recognised weapon ?

forefinger into the thong of the spear � {tuc a chorrm�r gaiscid i suainem na �eighe).*

The use of poison on spears and arrows was known to the ancient Irish : for we find individual poisoned weapons,nbsp;especially spears, often mentioned in the Tales. Butnbsp;poisoned weapons formed no part of the Irish militarynbsp;system, and they were not used in battle.|

Some of the spears of the heroes of the Red Branch and other great champions are described in the old legendsnbsp;as terrible and mysterious weapons. The spear of Keltarnbsp;of the Battles, which was called Lon or Luin, twistednbsp;and writhed in the hand of the warrior who bore it,nbsp;striving to make for the victim whose blood was readynbsp;for spilling. This, according to the legend, was originallynbsp;the spear of a Dedannan chief, which he left on the battlefield of Moytura, where it was picked up, and ultimatelynbsp;reached Keltar. Some spears were regularly seized withnbsp;a rage for massacre; and then the bronze head grew red-hot, so that it had to be kept near a caldron of coldnbsp;water, or, more commonly, of black poisonous liquid, intonbsp;which it was plunged whenever it blazed up with thenbsp;murder fit.]: This reminds us of the spear of Achilles,nbsp;which, when flung at Lycaon, missed the intended victim,nbsp;and, plunging into the earth, � stood in the ground, hungering for the flesh of men � (Iliad xxi.). So also Iliad viii.nbsp;�� My spear rageth in my hands.�

Sword.�^The ancient Irish swords were, in their general shape, much like those used by most other people of bothnbsp;ancient and modern times. The Irish were fond of adorning their swords elaborately. Those who could affordnbsp;it had the hilt ornamented with gold and gems. In the

t In many or most of the passages where poisoned weapons are mentioned, the expressions are obviously figurative, meaning nothingnbsp;more than bitter or deadly in wounding : just as we say a person has anbsp;venomous tongue, like nemthenga, � poison-tongue,� the term applied tonbsp;the poet Bricriu (p, 84, supra).

I See Hennessy, Mesca Ulad, Introd., xiv, xv, and xvi: Hogan, Eossnaree, 79 : and Stokes, Da Derga, 299, 301.

Book of Rights (p. 147) we are told that the hostages delivered up to the king of Ireland by the people callednbsp;Oirghialla [oar-yeela] should wear�as a distinction�nbsp;swords with studs of gold on the hilts : and swords ofnbsp;this kind are often mentioned in the old writings.* Butnbsp;the most common practice was to set the hilts round withnbsp;the teeth of large sea-animals, especially those of the seahorse�a custom also common among the Welsh. Thisnbsp;practice was noticed by the Roman geographer Solinusnbsp;in the third century a.d. � Those [of the Irish] whonbsp;cultivate elegance adorn the hilts of their swords with thenbsp;teeth of great sea-animals � {dentibus marinarum helluarumnbsp;insigniunt ensitim capulod).'\ The native records, bothnbsp;lay and ecclesiastical, are equally explicit on this point.nbsp;Adamnan (page 158) relates that a certain native ofnbsp;Connaught, who had been reduced to a state of slavery,nbsp;came to St. Columba at Iona, who, to enable him tonbsp;purchase his freedom, presented him with � a swordnbsp;ornamented with the carved teeth of animals � {macheramnbsp;belluinis ornatam dolatis dentibus). The native term usednbsp;for a sword ornamented in this fashion is claideb d�t,nbsp;literally � sword of teeth,� or some such expression, ofnbsp;which examples are found everywhere in the Tales, asnbsp;well as in ecclesiastical literature.| Warriors sometimesnbsp;ornamented the handles of their javelins in the samenbsp;manner, as we know from a statement in the Tain, that onnbsp;one occasion during the fight between Cuculainn andnbsp;Ferdiad they � took up their eight spears, called gothanbsp;n-d�t,� i.e. � darts [with ornaments] of teeth.��

That the Irish used swords from the earliest times is obvious from all the preceding : and it is not a little

* As in Moyrath, 67 ; and in LL, 55, h, first line (swords comuleltib lt;Hr ocus con imdmnib argit, � with knobs of gold and with guards of silver �).

t As in Stokes, Three Homilies, 65 : Moyrath, 67 : O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., vol. I. 253 (note ,5,), 297 (note ,30) ; and vol. ii. 138.

curious that Giraldus (Top. Hib., iii. x), in the twelfth century, makes no mention of the sword as among theirnbsp;weapons. He says they had three kinds of weapons :�nbsp;a short spear, two darts, and a heavy iron battle-axe. The omission of the sword makes onenbsp;suspect that he is inaccurate or had not fullnbsp;information; or perhaps, as O�Donovan remarks,nbsp;that the battle-axe was generally used whennbsp;Giraldus visited Ireland (Moyr.,nbsp;193, note s). The sword figurednbsp;prominently in the Battle ofnbsp;Clontarf, a century and a halfnbsp;before his time, andnbsp;it is constantly mentioned in the periodnbsp;immediately succeeding his visit.

The two commonest Irish terms for a sword werenbsp;cloidem or claidebnbsp;[cleev]* and cole (ornbsp;colg or calc): another,nbsp;but much rarer name,nbsp;was cloinn (Corm.nbsp;40). The cloidemnbsp;was different fromnbsp;the cole, for theynbsp;are evidently distinguished in the Battlenbsp;of Moytura, whichnbsp;speaks of the flashing and clashing ofnbsp;The cole was a � small

* De Jubaiiiville thinks this Celtic word is the origin of the Latin gladius : Civilisation des Celtes, 378.

Straight sword�: so O�Curry always translates the word. It would seem that cloidem was a generic name for anbsp;sword, the cole being a sort of cloidem. Anbsp;claideb-m�r�� great sword ��a sword of thenbsp;largest size, is often mentioned.¹ The Scotchnbsp;have retained this name to the present daynbsp;in the form of � claymore,� which nearly represents the proper sound. A short sword ornbsp;dagger was much in use among the Irish;nbsp;called a sclan [skean], literally a � knife �: butnbsp;the sword and the daggernbsp;merge into each other.fnbsp;The blade {lanti) was keptnbsp;in a sheath or scabbard whichnbsp;was called by several names :

Tind faighin.X Sometimes the sheath was made of bronze:nbsp;and several of these arenbsp;preserved in museums. Thenbsp;beautiful specimen figurednbsp;here was found in the cran-noge of Lisnacroghera nearnbsp;Broughshane, Co. Antrim. �

That part of the hilt grasped by the hand was callednbsp;dorn or durn (i.e. �fist�),nbsp;round which was a guardnbsp;called ividurn (im, �round�:

For instance, Rev. Celt., xm. 459, and xiv. 405. t See Wilde�s useful article on swords and daggers ; Catalogue, 439-467.nbsp; For these terms see Rev. Celt., xiv. 426, par. 47 : LU, 91, a, 28 :nbsp;Coim., 77 and 161.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f Rilk- Arch. Journ. for 1889, p. 96.

118 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I sword, with which he killed the sea-monster, was called thenbsp;(�hard-blade�),* Finn Mac Cumail�s sword wasnbsp;called Mac-an-Luin, � the son of the Luin or L�n', whichnbsp;was made � the son of Luno � by Macpherson throughoutnbsp;his � Poems of Ossian.�f

The sharper a sword was the more it was prized. A common expression in the Tales is that a sword was sonbsp;sharp that it would cut a hair floating onnbsp;water ; or cut hairs blown against its edgenbsp;by the wind. Socht�s sword would cut anbsp;hair off a man�s head without touching thenbsp;head ; and would cut a man in two � sonbsp;that neither half knew what had befallennbsp;the other.�!

The battle-axe {tuag or tuagh, pron. tooa) has been in use from prehistoricnbsp;times in Ireland, as is evident from thenbsp;fact that numerous axe-heads (or � celts �)nbsp;of stone, as well as of bronze, copper, andnbsp;iron, have been found from time to time,nbsp;and are to be seen in hundreds in thenbsp;National Museum and elsewhere. Thesenbsp;are now commonly called celts, of which thenbsp;illustrations on pp. ii8 and 119 will give anbsp;good idea. But many of what are nownbsp;called celts were probably used as cutting-tools, as noticed in chapter xxiv., section 5.nbsp;Battle-axes are often mentioned in ancient Irish literature. Cuculainn, on one occasion, when making ready fornbsp;a fight, says to his attendant: �Take out the axesnbsp;quickly ��Oslate go troU hiaga.W So also the battle-axe is

t About Luin and Mac an Luin, see Hennessy, Mesca, Introd., xv: Kilk. Arch. Journ., 1895, 228 : O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., t. 324-5.nbsp;t As in O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., Ii. 148 : Fled Brier., 117.

mentioned under the curious name cuach-snaidm in a description of the reception of Concobar and his peoplenbsp;by Conall, the brewy of Dun Colptha in Cuailnge -� Conall had apart for each warrior thenbsp;hero-vvar-axe � {Cuach-snaidm-curad).*

Cuach-snaidm^ literally � cup-knot,� is sometimes applied to a spiral sort ofnbsp;knot or wreath on the hair of the head :tnbsp;but it is not easy to see how it came tonbsp;be applied to a battle-axe. All thesenbsp;facts and records show that Giraldusnbsp;is wrong in his assertion that the Irishnbsp;borrowed the use of the axe from thenbsp;Norsemen: though it is true that they often used Scandinavian axes, as well as those of native make.

In later times the Irish were noted for their fatal dexterity with the battle-axe. Giraldus (Top. Hib., III. x.)

* Stokes, Rev. Celt., xtv. 417, and LL, 109, 5, lines 5 and 4 from bottom : also Corm., Gloss., 47.

t Silva Gad., 139; Irish version, 128, s: Stokes, Acallamli, 393 : see also Rossnaree, 68, 13.

mentions that among other weapons they had a heavy axe excellently well wrought and tempered; and he goes on tonbsp;say :�� They make use of but one hand to the axe whennbsp;� they strike, and extend the thumb along the handle tonbsp;� guide the blow ; from which neither the crested helmetnbsp;�can defend the head, nor the iron folds of the armour thenbsp;�rest of the body.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;From whence it has happened, even in

� our tiriies, that the whole thigh of a soldier, though cased � in well-tempered armour, hath been lopped off by a singlenbsp;�blow of the axe, the whole limbnbsp;� falling on one side of the horse, andnbsp;� the expiring body'on the other.�

To sliow )iow the metallic celts or axe-heads were fastened on handles. Fig. 57 shows one found in its original handlCf as seen in the illustration. It has a loop underneath, which isnbsp;partly eaten away by rust. Fig. 58 is a conjecthral restoration of the fastening of this kindnbsp;of celt. (From quot;Wilde's Catalogue, pp. 370, 367.)

In Giraldus�s time almost everyone carried an axe in his hand, as people wore swords at a later period : a customnbsp;which he denounces in the bitter style usual with him whennbsp;he had a fault to find ;�� From an ancient and evil customnbsp;� they [the Irish] always carry an axe in their hands,nbsp;� instead of a walking-stick, that they may be ready tonbsp;� execute on the spot whatever villainy comes into theirnbsp;�minds.: wherever they go they carry this weapon.� (Top.nbsp;Hib., III. xxi.)

generally used by galloglasses, and a long, narrow one, called a spana or sparth : examples of both are illustratednbsp;in figures 59 and 60, pp. 121 and 123. The narrow axenbsp;seems to have been the earlier form.

Sharpening edged Weapons.�There were various means of sharpening arms. Sometimes the warriors used ordinarynbsp;whetstones. 0�Clery, in his Glossary, explains the wordnbsp;airtnemh [artnev] as meaning � a whetstone on which anbsp;hero�s or a soldier�s arms are sharpened.� In several of thenbsp;ancient tales we find mention of a smooth block of stone,nbsp;usually set up on the faithche ornbsp;green of a king�s fort, on whichnbsp;the warriors used to sharpennbsp;their weapons. In the story ofnbsp;the Agallamh, Cailte, St. Patricknbsp;and others come to a pillar stonenbsp;which was named Cloch-nan-arm, the � Stone of the armsnbsp;or weapons � ; and when askednbsp;why it had that name, Cailtenbsp;replied that the Fena of Erinnbsp;used to come to it every Samain-tide to sharpen their weapons.¹

Beside the house of Pichan, a Munster chief, � there was anbsp;� huge block and warriors� stonenbsp;� of strength�very smooth�onnbsp;� which spears and rivets were wont to be fastened [whennbsp;� they got loose], and against which points and edges werenbsp;� wont to be ground : and a warrior�s pillar-stone {Corthinbsp;� curacV) was that flag (/ecc).�t

It is worthy of remark that, at the Battle of Moytura, a woman was employed to grind the weapons {fri bleth arm)nbsp;of the Dedannans.t

Armour.�We know from the best authorities that at the time of the Invasion�i.e. in the twelfth century�nbsp;the Irish used no metallic armour. Giraldus (Top. Hib.,nbsp;III. X.) says :�They go to battle without armour, considering it a burden, and deeming it brave and honourablenbsp;to fight without it.� The Irish poet Mac Conmee, in hisnbsp;poem on the Battle of Down, in which the Irish were defeated by the English in 1260, has this passage :�

This is sufficient to prove that the ancient Irish did not use armour ; for, as O�Donovan remarks, it is not to benbsp;supposed that they used it at one time and left it off afterwards. The Danes wore armour : and it is not unlikelynbsp;that the Irish may have begun to imitate them before thenbsp;twelfth century : but, if so, it was only in rare cases. Theynbsp;never took to armour till after the twelfth century, and thennbsp;only in imitation of the English.f It is true that in some ofnbsp;the tales giving accounts of battles fought before the timenbsp;of the Danish incursions, we read that the Irish used ironnbsp;coats of mail [luirech iairn) as for instance in the Battle ofnbsp;Moyrath (p. 193) ; but the only inference to be drawn fromnbsp;this is that the versions that have come down to us werenbsp;written at a comparatively late time, when the writers werenbsp;acquainted with the use of armour and introduced it tonbsp;embellish their stories. J But though the Irish did not usenbsp;armour before the Danish invasions, they knew well whatnbsp;it was�as we might expect from their intercourse with thenbsp;Continent; and the borrowed word luirech (Lat. lorica) hadnbsp;become well naturalised : for we find a luirech�corselet ornbsp;coat of mail�mentioned in Fiacc�s Hymn, sixth or seventhnbsp;century (Trip. Life, p. 411, verse 26).

The tales describe another kind of armour as worn by Cuculainn and by others ; namely, a primitive corseletnbsp;made of bull-hide leather stitched with thongs, � for repel-� ling lances and sword-points, andnbsp;�spears, so that they used to fly offnbsp;� from him as if they struck against anbsp;� stone � �* and as we know that thenbsp;material for this was produced atnbsp;home (chap, xxvi., sect. 5), the recordnbsp;is pretty certainly a true one. But thenbsp;general body of Irish soldiers foughtnbsp;in linen tunics dyed saffron, and thenbsp;chiefs sometimes in satin or silk, whichnbsp;lost them many a battle against thenbsp;Anglo-Normans.f

Greaves to protect the legs from the knee down were used, and callednbsp;by the name asdn (pi. asdifi), whichnbsp;is a diminutive of as or ass, �a sandal.�

P. O�Connell, in his Dictionary, has asdin phrdis ara luirgnihh, �greavesnbsp;of brass on his shins �: but, no doubt,nbsp;the greaves of early times were madenbsp;of leather, like Cuculainn�s corselet.|

Occasionally greaves were called asst simply : se duh-assi, � six blacknbsp;greaves � (Da Derga, 288,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;289).

Sometimes, as a safeguard against assassination, a king wore a slab ofnbsp;tough yew on his breast under hisnbsp;silken robes : and we read in thenbsp;Annals that this precaution once savednbsp;the life of Congal, king of Ireland (a.d. 704 to 7li).|

Helmet.�That the Irish wore a helmet of some kind in battle is certain : but it is not an easy matter to determinenbsp;the exact shape and material. It was called cathbharrnbsp;[caflar], i.7. � battle-top,� or battle-cap, from caih [cah], � anbsp;battle,� and barr, � the top.� In the Battle of Moyrath (141),nbsp;the Irish army proceeded to array their forces � and harnessed their arch-princes in protecting helmets � : on whichnbsp;O�Donovan remarks in a note : quot; Nothing has yet beennbsp;� discovered to prove what kind of helmet the ancient Irishnbsp;� cathbharr was, whether it were a cap of strong leather,nbsp;� checkered with bars of iron, or a helmet wholly of ironnbsp;� or brass, such as was used in later ages. One fact isnbsp;� established, that no ancient Irish helmet made of thenbsp;� latter materials [iron and brass] has been as yet discovered.� In the Battle of Mucrime (fought a.d. 250) thenbsp;two Lugaids each wore a � crested helmet ��cathbharrnbsp;ciorach.'* From the � Book of Rights � (p. 263), we learnnbsp;that helmets were sometimes coloured. Part of the stipendnbsp;of the king of Gaela was � four helmets of equal colour �nbsp;{c�mhdhatha : i.e. all similarly coloured). De Jubainvillenbsp;(vi. 343) says that the helmet is not mentioned at all in thenbsp;most ancient Irish texts, and that wherever it is mentionednbsp;the passage indicates a relatively recent composition. Itnbsp;occurs, however, as we have seen, in the � Battle ofnbsp;Mucrime � in the Book of Leinster : and the cennbarr ornbsp;helmet is mentioned in one of the Prefaces to the Tain.tnbsp;Shield.�From the earliest period of history and tradition, and doubtless from times beyond the reach of both,nbsp;the Irish used shields in battle. The most ancient shieldsnbsp;were made of wicker-work, covered with hides : they werenbsp;oval-shaped, often large enough to cover the whole body,nbsp;and convex on the outside. It was to this primitive shieldnbsp;that the Irish first applied the word sciath [skee'-a], whichnbsp;afterwards came to be the most general name for a shield,nbsp;of whatever size or material. It is curious that this word

sciath is still common in Munster, even among speakers of English, and is applied to a shallow oblong osier basket�nbsp;similar in shape and material to the ancient wicker shield :¹ ^{2 3 4}nbsp;and this is probably its original application. This wickernbsp;shield continued in use in Ulster even so late as the sixteenth century, as Spenser testifies ;�� Their long broadnbsp;quot; shields, made but with wicker roddes, which are commonlynbsp;*' used amongst the said Northern Irish.� Elsewhere he saysnbsp;they were large enough to cover their whole bodies.f Butnbsp;wicker shields were often made much smaller and lighter.nbsp;Such shields continued to be used in the Highlands ofnbsp;Scotland so late as 200 years ago (Rob Roy, xxxi).

Smaller shields, commonly round, made either of yew or of bronze, were also used. It was so usual to make themnbsp;of yew that the word iuhhrach (� made of iuhhar or yew �),nbsp;came to be applied to them.! In the National Museumnbsp;there is a fine specimen of a yew shield. Specimens ofnbsp;bronze Celtic shields have also been found ; but they arenbsp;rare in Ireland, though common enough in Britain and Scotland. A very fine one, figured next page, was found in anbsp;bog in County Limerick. It is of thin bronze 275^ inches innbsp;diameter, ornamented with bosses, hammered into shapenbsp;on solid moulds or blocks. This shield was first describednbsp;by Mr. Maurice Lenihan, of Limerick, in a Paper in Proc.nbsp;R. 1. Acad., vol. for 1870-76, p. 155.

Shields were ornamented with devices or figures, the design on each being a sort of cognisance of the owner tonbsp;distinguish him from all others. � There was a law made bynbsp;� the Ultonian knights ��says the ancient story quoted bynbsp;0�Curry�� that they should have silver shields {i.e. shieldsnbsp;� ornamented with silver] made for them, and that thenbsp;� carved device of each should be different from those of

� all the others.� These designs would appear to have generally consisted of concentric circles, often ornamentednbsp;with circular rows of projecting studs or bosses, andnbsp;variously spaced and coloured for different shields. Thenbsp;same old tale goes on to describe how the devices onnbsp;Cuculainn�s shield were made ; namely, by a luathrinn ornbsp;moulding compass, with which the artist struck out anbsp;number of circles on a smooth layer of ashes to serve asnbsp;a pattern.¹ In the Bruden Da Derga (p. 174) we read thatnbsp;Cormac Condlingas had a shield with five golden circles onnbsp;it. As generally confirming the truth of these accounts,nbsp;the wooden shields in the Museum have a number of beautifully wrought concentric circles standing out in relief.

There were ornaments or ornamental fittings called tuag-mila, the exact nature of which has not been determined : commonly made of, or ornamented with, gold or silver.nbsp;The name, according to some, indicates that they consistednbsp;of animal forms, curved or mixed up with curved designs ;nbsp;for tuag means � a curve or loop,� and mil [meel],� an animal,�nbsp;plural mila : � loop-animals.� By O�Curry, Stokes, O�Grad}^nbsp;Crowe, Henderson, Windisch, the word tuag-mila has beennbsp;variously translated, � clasps,� � fastenings,� � hooks,�nbsp;� loop-animals,� � animal figures chased,� � interlaced creatures,� � buckles,� � trappings.� Perhaps after all, Stokes�snbsp;proposed explanation of mil is the true one ; namely, thatnbsp;in this connexion it does not mean � animal,� but a pin ornbsp;tongue of some kind. For we know that mil, in one of itsnbsp;applications, means � a probe or pin,� and that milech meansnbsp;a kind of dealg or brooch (see Vol. ii., p. 248). If this is so,nbsp;the hiaga were most probably little bands, straps, or braces,nbsp;varied in material and shape according to use, ornamentally chased or embroidered, and fastened with bucklesnbsp;and hooks. The tuag-mila were, in this case, the littlenbsp;buckle-pins or tongues, from which the whole buckle-strap

See also vol. ii. p. 299, infra: where this incident, with the story referred to by O�Curry, will be found.

took its name. All this is rendered the more likely by the fact that, though tuag-mlla are most commonly mentionednbsp;in connexion with shields, they were also used on ladies�nbsp;kirtles, and on the yokes of chariot-horses.¹ ^{2 3 4}

Shields were often coloured according to the fancy of the wearer. We read of one warrior having a shield designatednbsp;craeh-corcra, i.e. showing the colour of the quickenberry : thenbsp;shield of another was brown {donn).\ Part of the tuarastalnbsp;due from the king of Tara to the king of Offaly was fournbsp;coloured shields [ceithre sciith datha) ; in another part of thenbsp;same book a tribute of four red shields is mentioned andnbsp;in the story of Mesca Ulad (p. 29) King Concobar is describednbsp;as having a purple-brown {dond-chorcra) shield. Conall Cer-nach had � a blood-red shield which has been speckled withnbsp;rivets [semmannaih] of findruine between plates of gold �nbsp;(Da Derga, 199). This fashion of painting shields in variousnbsp;colours continued in use to the time of Elizabeth, as we seenbsp;by Spenser�s statement (View, 102)nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� In Ireland they use

� also in many places [round leather targets] coloured after � their rude fashion.� Shields were very often pure white.nbsp;Thus Bodb Derg and his cavalcade had all of them whitefaced shields {sceith thulgeala).^ The Book of Leinsternbsp;describes the Ulstermen as having, on a certain occasion,nbsp;� beautiful all-white shields.�

We know from many passages that the wicker shields were covered with hides, either tanned or untanned. Thusnbsp;in the story of the deaths of Goll and Garb in the Book ofnbsp;Leinster, a certain warrior�s shield is described as coverednbsp;with black leather {dub-lethar) .\\ Shields were covered bynbsp;a special tradesman called a tmthait, who fitted the leather

128,7; Fled. Brier., 65, 3 (with note i, beginning on p. 62). On Lenes or kirtles�Ir. Texte, i. 119, ,2: Da Derga, 13, 14; Man. amp; Gust,, ii.nbsp;igo, note; Tain B� Fr. 136, ,6. On a chariot yoke�Man. amp; Gust.,nbsp;II. 160, note : Bee Fola, p. 174, tt.

t O�Grady, Silva Gad., 240, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;; 324,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;{ Book of Rights, 253, 263.

very accurately, and sewed it at the seams. The tuathaits, as the glossator in the Brehon Laws (v., 107, 16) explains,nbsp;� sew the hides round the shields.� But in another part ofnbsp;the Laws (li. 118, 25), this word tuathait or tuithait is usednbsp;for a wooden-shield-maker in general, as is seen from thenbsp;expression classifying the tuithait with a carpenter asnbsp;� using the adze and hatchet � ; and accordingly O�Donovan here translates tuithait by � shield-maker.�

Hide-covered shields were often whitened with lime or chalk, which was allowed to dry and harden, as soldiersnbsp;now pipeclay their belts. This explains such expressionsnbsp;as the following, which we often meet with in descriptionsnbsp;of battles :�[During the Battle of Mucrime] � a white cloudnbsp;� of chalk and a cloud of lime rose towards the clouds [ofnbsp;� the sky] from the shields and bucklers when struck bynbsp;� swords and spears and darts.�* And in the Fled Bricrennnbsp;the heroes fall to fighting in the palace, so that quot; there wasnbsp;� an atmosphere of fire from [the clashing of| sword andnbsp;� spear-edge, and a cloud of white dust from the cailc ornbsp;� lime of the shields.�!

Another name for a shield was Imnain or lumman, which, in a passage in the Yellow Book of Lecan, is fancifully derived from leoman, � a lion �; from the practice ofnbsp;painting a lion on the shield, quot; in order that its hatefulnessnbsp;and its terror might be the greater.�! This passage isnbsp;valuable in another way, as pointing to the practice ofnbsp;painting animals on shields. A small, light shield ornbsp;buckler was often called hocoit, which literally means anbsp;� spot.� In the above extract from the Battle of Mucrime,nbsp;the shield is called sciath, and the buckler bocoit.

The shields in most general use were circular, small, and light�from 13 to 20 inches in diameter�as we see bynbsp;numerous figures of armed men on the high crosses and innbsp;manuscripts, all of whom are represented with shields of this

Shields were cleaned up and brightened before battle. Those that required it were newly coloured, or whitenednbsp;with a fresh coating of chalk or lime : and the metallicnbsp;ones were burnished. This was generally done by gilliesnbsp;or pages. On a certain occasion when there was annbsp;assembly of kings and chiefs at Kincora, we are told thatnbsp;the gillies were assembled in one room brightening up thenbsp;shields of their masters.f

It was usual to give special descriptive names to the shields of distinguished chiefs. In the Battle of Moyrathnbsp;(p. 153), we read that the javelin of Conall, which was aimednbsp;at King Domnall, passed through three shields interposednbsp;by his followers to shelter him, and struck Derg-druimnechnbsp;(i.e. � red-backed '), the golden shield of the monarch himself. The shield of King Concobar Mac Nessa was callednbsp;Ac�in [ak'kane], that is, � ocean.�

The shield, when in use, was held in the left hand by a looped handle or crossbar, or by a strong leather strap, innbsp;the centre of the inside, as seen in fig, 62 at page 126.nbsp;But as an additional precaution it was secured by a longnbsp;strap, called sciathrach, that went loosely round the neck.nbsp;In the � Battle of Rossnaree � (p. 25) Queen Maive says :�nbsp;� So long as there shall be amongst us one who will be ablenbsp;quot; to take the hilt of a sword [in his hand] and the shield-� strap {sciathrach) of a shield about his neck.� Anothernbsp;word for this sling-strap was iris : Conan Mail on onenbsp;occasion escapes from a battle, ocus iris a sceith immanbsp;braigit, quot; and the sling of his shield round his neck,�]; inti-timating that he had dropped it from his hand in his flight,nbsp;but that it remained suspended from his neck by the strap.nbsp;In the Brehon Laws (v. 310, line 4 from bot.), the strap on

See for three examples, this vol. at pp. 102 and 143 ; and the figure of the king in vol ii., p. 257.

the inside of the shield by which it was held in the hand is called sciathlach, which, like sciathrach, is formed fromnbsp;sciath, only with a different termination.* The shield,nbsp;when not in use, was slung over the shoulder by the strapnbsp;from the neck.

It was usual for a champion to hurl a challenge to single combat by standing in front of the hostile camp or fort andnbsp;striking a few resounding blows on his shield, f or on a shieldnbsp;hung up for this purpose at the gate outside. This oldnbsp;custom is remembered to this day in the speech of thenbsp;people of the South and West of Ireland ; for whethernbsp;speaking English or Irish, they call a man who is quarrelsome and given to fighting�a swaggering bully�by thenbsp;name of Buailim-sciath [boolim-skee], meaning literallynbsp;� I strike the shield,� and equivalent to the English swashbuckler, which may possibly commemorate a similarnbsp;custom among the old English.

In pagan times it was believed that the shield of a king or of any great commander, when its bearer was dangerouslynbsp;pressed in battle, uttered a loud, melancholy moan whichnbsp;was heard all over Ireland, and which the shields of othernbsp;heroes took up and continued. In the battle of Rossnareenbsp;(pp. 43, 51), the king of Tara attacked Concobar furiouslynbsp;and struck his shield, which moaned ; and the shields of allnbsp;the Ulstermen took up the moan, by which the chiefs knewnbsp;that their king was in danger and rushed to his aid. Whennbsp;the lady Crede, lamenting her dead husband Gael, praisednbsp;him for his valour, she said, among other things, that � hisnbsp;shield never uttered a moan in time of battle ��a certainnbsp;proof of strength and bravery. | The shield-moan wasnbsp;further prolonged, for as soon as it was heard, the � Threenbsp;Waves of Erin � uttered their loud, melancholy roar innbsp;response.�

* See � Sciathlach � in Atkinson�s Glossary to Br. Laws, t For a late example of this, see Hyde, Two Irish Tales, 153,

Subordination of Ranks.�Though the discipline of the Irish in time of war and on the field of battle was verynbsp;inferior to that of the Anglo-Normans, we are not to conclude that they were ignorant or careless of the Science andnbsp;Art of War. On the contrary, military science was studiednbsp;with much care, as the following examination of theirnbsp;strategic and tactical arrangements will show.

The whole army was divided into catha [caha] or battalions, each cath consisting of 3000 men ; and thesenbsp;again were parcelled into smaller companies. Over eachnbsp;battalion was a cath-mhilidh [cah-veelal or � knight ofnbsp;a battalion '; each band of 100 was headed by a captainnbsp;called cenn-feadhna [can-fana] ; and there were leadersnbsp;of fifty and leaders of nine (Keat., 348). Any body ofnbsp;soldiers was called huidhean. Old Irish buden : an armynbsp;on march was sluagh, � host � ; hence the word sluaghadh,nbsp;slauigheadh, or slogad, a military expedition, � a hosting.�

Encampment.�During marches the leaders were very particular about their encampments. Even when the haltnbsp;was only for a night or two, careful arrangements werenbsp;made as to tents, sitting-places, sleeping accommodation,nbsp;bathing, cooking, etc. ; and everything was done to makenbsp;the encampment comfortable and enjoyable. In all casesnbsp;the camp was fortified, so far as the time permitted : andnbsp;of course sentinels [dercaid, � a sentinel,� literally �a watchman � : from derc, � to see �) were set while the army slept.nbsp;Where the sojourn was likely to be pretty long, morenbsp;elaborate arrangements were made. In the � Battle ofnbsp;Moylena � (p. 75), the longphort or encampment of Owen-More, king of Munster�the opponent of Conn the Hundred Fighter�is described : and this description may benbsp;taken as a type of all, where the army sat down for anynbsp;length of time :�A well-ordered, wide-extending encamp-

ment, a resting-place of many streets in the centre of Magh Lena. The pupall or pavilion of the king was pitched onnbsp;a smooth hill. Men were despatched into the surroundingnbsp;woods to bring trunks, and poles, and branches, whilenbsp;others went to the adjacent marsh, from which theynbsp;brought bundles of sedge-grass. With the wattles andnbsp;branches they constructed huts and tents with sleeping-places and beds, with posts and racks on which to hang upnbsp;their helmets and arms. All were arranged in an orderlynbsp;fashion, in streets, with roads and jraths in every direction.nbsp;And they made special enclosures for markets, wherenbsp;provisions and other commodities could be bought andnbsp;sold ; they made cooking-places, and large halls for feasting, music, and amusements ; after which they surroundednbsp;the whole encampment with three defensive circumvalla-tions, having trenches and strong palisades.

The commanders in all cases took good care to bring their poets, story-tellers, musicians, jugglers, jesters, andnbsp;so forth, so that, whether the encampment was for a longnbsp;or a short halt, they might amuse and enjoy themselvesnbsp;as if they were at home.*

Sentinels and Watchmen.�In the early stages of society, when wars were frequent, look-out points were verynbsp;important: sometimes they were on the seashore. In thenbsp;ancient tales, Ben-Edair or Howth, near Dublin, a rockynbsp;projecting headland 600 feet over the sea, is celebrated asnbsp;the great look-out point of the middle eastern coast; andnbsp;the Fena of Erin constantly kept a sentinel there to sweepnbsp;the horizon for invaders. This plan was adopted with goodnbsp;reason ; for in early days British marauding parties oftennbsp;landed there, of which several instances are recorded in thenbsp;old tales and other documents. We know that Howth wasnbsp;until lately a usual port for vessels from Britain.

Near every palace there was a look-out point, or more than one, at which guards always kept watch. The main

road, called Midluachra, leading from Tara to Ulster, ran by the Fews mountains ; and in a pass on the southernnbsp;slope of Slieve Fuaid, their highest summit, by whichnbsp;invaders from the south would have to pass,^ was Ath-na-joraire [furrera], the ' ford of watching,� a nam� which isnbsp;explained in the Tain :�quot; Because there is an Ultoniannbsp;quot; champion constantly watching and guarding there, innbsp;� order that no warriors or strangers should come unper-� ceived into Ulster.� The very summit of the mountainnbsp;was also used as a watch-station : it was called Finncharnnbsp;na ioraire (the � white earn of the watching �), where,nbsp;during the war of the Tain, a champion constantly keptnbsp;watch to safeguard Ulster.*

The practice of signalling at night by beacon-fires in time of war, invasion, or disturbance of any kind, wasnbsp;general: and in the story of Bruden Da Derga, a legendarynbsp;origin is assigned for it. When the army of marauders wasnbsp;approaching the hostel of Da Derga, in which Conari, kingnbsp;of Ireland, was staying with his retinue, the sons of Dondnbsp;Desa, who were unwilling partners in the expedition, wentnbsp;aside and made a tendal or beacon-fire to warn the king ofnbsp;the intended attack on the hostel : � So that is the firstnbsp;� warning beacon that has been made in Erin ��says thenbsp;story (p. 170)�� and from it every warning beacon isnbsp;� kindled to this day.�

Immediately beside the palace, or the temporary residence, of every king or great chief a sentinel or watchman (dercaid) kept watch and ward day and night. In time ofnbsp;battle or campaign warriors slept at night with a singlenbsp;weapon by their side for use in any sudden alarm, theirnbsp;principal arms hanging on the racks in the proper place. |

* See O'Curry, Moylena, 59, note I: Man. amp; Cust., i. 365 : Stokes, CAir Anm,, 403 ; LL, 65, a, last lines. How far the customs of placingnbsp;sentinels on look-out points, and of signalling at night by beacon-fires,nbsp;have impressed themselves on the local nomenclature of the country,nbsp;may be seen from the sections bearing on the subject in Joyce�s Irishnbsp;Names of Places: vol. i., p. 214.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;t Moylena, p. 127.

Heralds.�In the course of warfare, heralds or envoys were often employed, as among all other nations. A heraldnbsp;was denoted by the words techtaire and eachlach. Heralds,nbsp;when on their mission, were regarded as sacred and inviolable, and were treated with the utmost respect, even by thenbsp;bitterest enemies : exactly as Homer describes the heraldsnbsp;of the Greeks. When it was proposed to send Fergusnbsp;Mac Roy as an envoy from Queen Maive to the hostilenbsp;Ulster army, he naturally shrank from the mission ; for henbsp;was himself one of the Ulstermen who had entered Maive�snbsp;service, and was one of the chief authors of all the ravagesnbsp;the Connaught forces had committed in Ulster. But Maivenbsp;told him not to fear, � for,� said she, �it is not ever anbsp;� custom of the Ulstermen to offer reproach to envoys. Fornbsp;� if a man should kill the father or brother of every one ofnbsp;� them, he need not fear them, going to meet them as anbsp;� herald.�¹ At a much later time Cummuscach, son ofnbsp;King Aed Mac Ainmirech, was slain, a.d. 598, by Branduff,nbsp;king of Leinster, who sent envoys north to announce thenbsp;news to the father. The envoys when asked for theirnbsp;message refused to tell till they had first got a guarantee ofnbsp;safety. King Aed gave them his drinking-horn as a pledge :nbsp;whereupon they said, � We have killed thy son and slainnbsp;his people.� Aed answers, � We had heard these tidingsnbsp;� already : yet ye [being envoys] shall depart unhurt; butnbsp;� nevertheless we will go after you � [to avenge by opennbsp;war in Leinster the death of the prince].f Heralds had anbsp;special dress by which they were at once recognised ; andnbsp;they commonly carried in one hand a white wand or hand-staff, and in the other a sword,]; symbolical of thenbsp;alternative to be accepted�peace or war.

Banners, Flags, and Standards.�From the earliest period of their history the Irish used banners or standards, which

t Boroma in Rev. Celt., xiii. 65 ; Silva Gad., 411, top. i Hogan, Rossnaree, 69 : O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., 1. 297.

were borne before the army when going into battle, or on ordinary marches ; a custom, as De Jubainville points out,*nbsp;common to the Celts and Romans, but unknown to thenbsp;Homeric Greeks. In Ireland the office of standard-bearernbsp;to each king or chief was hereditary, like all other important functions, t

A banner is denoted by the word m�irge [mairya : 2 syll.]. In the accounts of many of the ancient Irishnbsp;battles, there are descriptions of the standards borne bynbsp;each chief or clan. The commander-in-chief had his ownnbsp;banner, and so had each captain under his command : andnbsp;each banner usually bore some device or figure, commonlynbsp;called suaicheantas [soohantas] or samlach, so that thenbsp;several captains and companies could be distinguishednbsp;from a distance. � Every captain,� says Keating (p. 472),nbsp;writing from old authorities, � bore upon his standard hisnbsp;� peculiar device or ensign, so that each distinct body ofnbsp;� men could be easily distinguished from all others bynbsp;� those shanachies whose duty it was to attend on thenbsp;� nobles when about to contend in battle, and thatnbsp;� these shanachies might thus have a full view ofnbsp;� the achievements of the combatants, so as to benbsp;� able to give a true account of their particular deedsnbsp;of valour.� The attendant shanachies of those old timesnbsp;answered in some sort to the war correspondents of ournbsp;own day.

In the Battle of Moyrath, a.d. 637, banners of various patterns and devices are mentioned. That of Congal, princenbsp;of Ulster, the leader of the rebel host, was a yellow lionnbsp;on green satin, which, we are told, was the proper royalnbsp;standard of Ulster, and had been, since the time of thenbsp;Red Branch Knights, six centuries before, and which wasnbsp;now displayed by the rebel prince. In this battle thenbsp;banner of the king of Aileach (one of the Hy Neill) was

black and red ; of Sweeny, king of Dalaradia, yellow satin ; of the king of the Ards, white satin.¹

Many other banners and devices are described in other authorities. The suaicheantas of O�Doherty was a swordnbsp;and a golden cross, with a lion and blood-red eagle on whitenbsp;satin : of O�Sullivan, a spear with an adder entwined on it:nbsp;of 0�Loghlin of Burren (in Clare), an oak with a championnbsp;defending it, together with a blue anchor and a goldennbsp;cable, f The mountain ash or rowan-tree in full bloom,nbsp;the yew-tree, a piper with his bagpipes, hounds, deer, etc.,nbsp;were also adopted as banner devices by various other kingsnbsp;and chiefs. I

How numerous these banners were in an army prepared for battle may be judged from the words of Branduff, kingnbsp;of Leinster, before the Battle of Dunbolg, when, lookingnbsp;down from a height on the encampment of his adversarynbsp;the king of Ireland, he said it seemed like a greatnbsp;stationary bird-flock of mixed colours, such was the number of banners floating on tall poles over the booths.�

Cathach or � Battler.��In Christian times it was usual for the ruler of a clan, tribe, or sub-kingdom, to have anbsp;relic, commonly consecrated b}^ the patron saint of thenbsp;district, which the chief brought to battle with him, in thenbsp;hope that it would ensure victory : somewhat as the Jewsnbsp;used the Ark of the Covenant. Such a relic was callednbsp;a cathach [caha], i.e. prceliator or � battler.� The usualnbsp;formula for the use of the cathach was to cause it to benbsp;carried desiol or sunwise�commonly by an ecclesiastic�nbsp;three times round the army before the battle began.nbsp;When the king of Ulster invaded Munster, St. Findchuanbsp;of Brigown marched at the head of the king of Munster�s

� O'Grady, Silva Gad. 413. In addition to the preceding authorities, see O�Donovan�s valuable note on the armorial bearings and banners ofnbsp;the ancient Irish, Moyrath, 343.

forces against him from Bruree, with the cenncathach, i.e. his crozier in his hand : and before the battle began, henbsp;walked thrice deisiull with it round the Munster host. Innbsp;the ensuing battle the Ulster forces were routed.*

The most celebrated of these battle-relics was the cathach or battle-book of the O�Donnells of Tirconnell,nbsp;which may now be seen in the National Museum innbsp;Dublin.t The cathach of the 0�Kellys of Hy Many wasnbsp;the crozier of their patron, St. Grellan. This was for agesnbsp;kept by the family of 0�Cronelly, and it was in existencenbsp;in 1836 : but it is now not to be found (HyM, 81).nbsp;St. Caillin of Fenagh blessed a cathach for his tribe, thenbsp;Conmaicne, namely, a cross made of a hazel rod that hadnbsp;been cut with one blow, the top of the upright to pierce thenbsp;horizontal bar in the middle. It appears from the wordsnbsp;of the old record that no one relic was kept permanentlynbsp;here, as in other cases, but that on each occasion, whennbsp;going to a battle, a new cross was to be made in thenbsp;manner pointed out above. | The condition of striking offnbsp;the branch or rod with a single blow was evidently a perpetuation of the corresponding pagan formula described atnbsp;pp. 241, bot. and 242, top; now turned to Christiannbsp;uses.

The permanent cathach or battle relic of each tribe was placed in the keeping of some particular family. This wasnbsp;considered a great honour, and the family had usually anbsp;tract of land free of rent, as well as other perquisites, asnbsp;payment for the faithful discharge of their duty as custodians. The Mac Robhartaighs or Mac Ravertys were thenbsp;official keepers of the cathach of the O�Donnells, and continued in the office till the seventeenth century; and tonbsp;this day the land they held in virtue of their office is callednbsp;Ballymagroarty.�

t Adamn., 249, 319 : Todd, St. Patk., I25 ; O'Donovan, Moyrath, 147, note /. See also Joyce, Short Hist, of Irel., 19 ; and p. 501, infra.

I Hennessy, Bk. of Fenagh, 195-7. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� Reeves, Adamn., 38, 284, 401.

Chivalry.�In Ireland, in ancient times, people as a general rule declined to take advantage of surprises ornbsp;stratagems in war. They had a sort of chivalrous feelingnbsp;in the matter, and did not seek to conceal�and sometimesnbsp;even gave open notice of�intended attacks, or came tonbsp;an agreement with their adversaries as to the time andnbsp;place to fight the matter out.¹ In later ages, and at thenbsp;present day, such plain, unsophisticated dealing would benbsp;looked upon as very bad generalship. Concobar, havingnbsp;arrived at Dundalk on his march south to overrun thenbsp;southern provinces, is met by an envoy to propose terms :nbsp;but he rejects the terms and prepares to resume march.nbsp;Then the envoy asks him where he proposes to encampnbsp;the first night:�� In Rossnaree above the clear-brightnbsp;� Boyne,� said Concobar. � For Concobar ��the story goesnbsp;on to say�� never concealed from his enemy the placenbsp;� in which he was to take station or camp, that they mightnbsp;� not say that it was fear or dread that caused him not tonbsp;� announce it.� The result was, when he arrived at Rossnaree, he found the Leinstermen fully prepared for him.fnbsp;Before the first Battle of Moytura, the Dedannans, whonbsp;were the invaders, demanded battle each day, with equalnbsp;numbers on both sides : to which the Firbolg king had tonbsp;agree, though greatly against his will, for he had muchnbsp;the larger army.f Before the Battle of Moylena (end ofnbsp;second century A.D.), Owen-More, being closely pressednbsp;by his great opponent Conn the Hundred Fighter, sentnbsp;to ask him for a truce of three days to consider his position,nbsp;which Conn at once granted.�

The same spirit is found much later on. In the year 1002, when Brian Boru marched with an army to Tara,nbsp;and demanded from King Malachi submission or battle,nbsp;Malachi asked for a delay of a month to muster his forcesnbsp;for battle ; which Brian granted, and remained in his camp

t O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i. 238. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� O�Curry, Moylena, 23.

till the month was expired. And Malachi employed the interval�with Brian�s full knowledge�in preparing for thenbsp;struggle : but failing to raise sufficient forces, he proceedednbsp;to Brian�s camp, with merely a small guard of honour, andnbsp;submitted without imposing any conditions, trusting tonbsp;his opponent�s honour for proper treatment, but tellingnbsp;him plainly that if he had been strong enough, he wouldnbsp;fight. And his confidence was not misplaced ; for Brian,nbsp;while receiving his submission, treated him with the utmostnbsp;respect and honour.*

A similar chivalrous sense of fair play is exemplified in individuals. An episode in the story of the Tain describesnbsp;how Cuculainn and Ferdiad, two old friends and affectionatenbsp;comrades were forced by circumstances to fight to the deathnbsp;in single combat; and the fight was continued for severalnbsp;days. Each evening when word was given for the combat tonbsp;cease,they laid aside their weapons, and each threw his armsnbsp;round the neck of the other, and thrice kissed his cheek.nbsp;Cuculainn, on this occasion, had better medical appliancesnbsp;than Ferdiad, but Ferdiad had a more varied supply ofnbsp;food and drink : and each evening Cuculainn sent his bestnbsp;doctor with half of his balms and healing herbs to soothenbsp;Ferdiad�s wounds : while Ferdiad on his part sent half ofnbsp;all his choice food and drink to his friend. At last Ferdiadnbsp;is slain, and Cuculainn falls on his body in a paroxysm ofnbsp;uncontrollable grief, from which he is with difficultynbsp;roused up by his attendant Loeg. This may be fiction :nbsp;but all the same it embodies the high chivalric idealsnbsp;of war and battle prevalent in the time of the originalnbsp;writer, f

Stratagem: Ambush.�But not unfrequently a general rose up with unusual military genius and with less scrupulous notions of chivalry, who did not hesitate to employ am-

? Todd, Wars of GG, iig : Joyce, Short Hist., 208. t See the full episode of the fight of Cuculainn and Ferdiad in O�Curry,nbsp;Man. amp; Cust., il. 415. Well retold in Lady Gregory�s Cuch., 221-244.

bush (Ir. etarnaid) and other stratagems. In a.d. 598, Aed Mac Ainmirech, king of Ireland, marched southwards fromnbsp;his palace of Ailech with a great army to avenge the deathnbsp;of his son (p. 135, supra), and to exact the Boruma tributenbsp;from Leinster : but he was met at Dunbolg by Branduff,nbsp;the astute and powerful king of Leinster, with a muchnbsp;smaller army. Now Branduff, seeing no hope of successnbsp;in open battle, had recourse to stratagem. He collectednbsp;3600 oxen carrying great hampers, in each of which wasnbsp;concealed an armed man covered over with provisions :nbsp;and he set out by night with these and with a herd ofnbsp;150 untamed horses towards the monarch�s encampment.nbsp;When they approached the camp, the advance guard, hearing the trampling and the din, started to arms, and questioned the party. They replied that they were a friendlynbsp;contingent bringing a stock of provisions for the king of Ireland : and when the guard, on examining the sacks, saw thenbsp;provisions, they let them pass. The party passed on tillnbsp;they entered the royal enclosure, and tying bags filled withnbsp;pebbles to the tails of the wild horses, they let them loosenbsp;among the tents, which caused terrible confusion. In thenbsp;midst of the uproar the men in the sacks, cutting themselvesnbsp;loose at a signal, and forming in ranks, attacked the camp.nbsp;The royal forces were completely surprised; and after anbsp;dreadful fight in the darkness, they were routed ; and thenbsp;king, fleeing from the field, was overtaken and slain.* Twonbsp;thousand years before the time of Branduff, the Egyptiannbsp;general Tahutia�as we read in Flinders Petrie�s translationnbsp;of the ancient papyrus record�took Joppa by smugglingnbsp;into the city armed men hidden in great sacks under horsenbsp;provender. When Lewy Mac Con invaded Ireland, a.d.nbsp;250, he won the Battle of Mucrime and the throne ofnbsp;Ireland by the stratagem of concealing a large partynbsp;of his men in pits and recesses covered over with strongnbsp;hurdles and bushes, who remained quietly till the others

Medical Attendance in Battle.�A number of physicians or surgeons always accompanied an army going to battle tonbsp;attend to the wounded, who were brought to them at thenbsp;rear during the fight. This was quite an established institution from the most remote times�a fact of which therenbsp;can be no doubt, notwithstanding the number of fables an dnbsp;exaggerations that are mixed up with the accounts of theirnbsp;cures. We are now familiar with the humane practice innbsp;war of giving medical aid after the battle to the wounded,nbsp;without distinction of friend or enemy : and it is interestingnbsp;to observe that the same idea was equally familiar to thenbsp;writers of the Tain Bo Quelna. When Cethern, a famousnbsp;Ulster warrior, returned from a fight against the Connaughtnbsp;forces, all covered with wounds, a request was sent to thenbsp;Connaught camp�the enemy�s�for physicians for him, asnbsp;it happened that none of the Ulster physicians were at thenbsp;moment available : and physicians were at once despatchednbsp;with the messenger.!

Military Formation and Marching.�In going to battle the Irish often rushed pell-mell in a crowd without any order.nbsp;But they sometimes adopted a more scientific plan, advancing in regular formation, shoulder to shoulder, formingnbsp;a solid front with shields and spears. When the southernnbsp;army was about to engage the forces of Ulster, who hadnbsp;marched south to invade Munster, St. Findchua called outnbsp;to the Munstermen :�� When you have closed in togethernbsp;at one place, make ye a strong palisade of battle � {Ciffenbsp;Catha) : and in that fashion, led by Findchua, they advanced to the attack, and routed the Ulstermen.! Innbsp;another battle, the Ulstermen, just as they were aboutnbsp;to engage, � set themselves in battle array, and there was a

�forest of their weapons, and a bulwark of their shields � {leibheann da sciathaibh, literally a platform or floor ofnbsp;� their shields) around them.�* The word cro, which meansnbsp;� a pen or fold,� is often applied to a formation of this kind.nbsp;In the story of the Boroma we read that when the men ofnbsp;the royal army saw their king in danger in the Battle ofnbsp;Dunbolg, they formed a cro of spears and shields aboutnbsp;him.f The Leth Conn made a cro bodba^ � a warlikenbsp;fold,� around Moiling and his company to take themnbsp;prisoners.]; On one occasionnbsp;Queen Maive hid her face undernbsp;a dani dabaich, i. e. an � ox-vat,�nbsp;of her guards� shields, for protection against Cuculainn�s terriblenbsp;sling. �

There is at least one passage that mentions stepping in timenbsp;while marching, where the mennbsp;of one of Queen Maive�s threenbsp;corps are spoken of as liftingnbsp;and bringing down the feetnbsp;exactly together {innoenfhechtnbsp;dostorbaitis a cossal\), showingnbsp;careful drill. But this does notnbsp;seem to have been general : indeed it is noticed as a specialitynbsp;in this one corps. On the morning of the day of battlenbsp;each man usually put as much food in a wallet that hungnbsp;by his side as was sufficient for the day.11

Tying in Pairs.�When a commander had reason to suspect the loyalty or courage of any of his men in anbsp;coming battle, he sometimes adopted a curious plan to

* Stokes, Lives of SS., 244 ; with Irish Text, 3250. For another leimn sciatli seeLL, 79, a, IS-

t O�Grady, Silva Gad., 418, le. t Rev. Celt., xili, 115 : O�Grady, Silva Gad., 423.

5 LL, 79, a, 12. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;II LL, 55, lgt;, 8.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;H Silva Gad., 418.

prevent desertion or flight off the held. He fettered them securely in pairs, leg to leg, leaving them free in all othernbsp;respects.

Just before the Battle of Moyrath (a,.d. 637), Congal, the leader of the rebel army, consisting partly of Irishmen andnbsp;partly of foreigners, sends a confidential scout to reconnoitre the king�s army � if they had locks or fetters betweennbsp;every two of their fighting soldiers.� Then follows a statement in verse that the royal commanders had � put a fetternbsp;� between every two men, so that neither young nor old,nbsp;� even though hard pressed, should flee.� Congal, on hisnbsp;part, on receiving the report of his scout, fettered those ofnbsp;his men in pairs who appeared to him deficient in courage :nbsp;in some cases an Irishman being coupled with a Briton ornbsp;with an Albanach. At the close of the battle, when thenbsp;rebels were defeated and took to flight, nearly all those whonbsp;were fettered, being unable to escape, were slaughtered.*nbsp;Four centuries before Moyrath�a.d. 250�Lugaidh Macnbsp;Con invaded Ireland with an army of Britons and othernbsp;foreigners, to wrest the throne from Art the Lonely, kingnbsp;of Ireland : which he succeeded in doing at the Battlenbsp;of Mucrime in Galway (see p. 141, supra). On landing fromnbsp;Britain, he was joined by a considerable contingent ofnbsp;Irishmen. Just before the battle, fearing the Irish soldiersnbsp;might not remain faithful to him, inasmuch as they werenbsp;about to fight against their lawful king Art, he had mostnbsp;of them tied, the leg of each man to the leg of a Briton :nbsp;and each of those who were not so tied he placed betweennbsp;two Britons.t In the second Battle of Moytura there isnbsp;no direct mention of men being tied together : but anbsp;curious expression occurs in one part of the descriptionnbsp;which seems to indicate that some were fettered in pairs.nbsp;Among those who fell in the battle we are told there werenbsp;some l�th-d�ine, literally � half-men.� Now this is the verynbsp;idiom used in Irish to denote one of a pair : leth-shuilnbsp;* Moyrath, 87, 177, 179, 282, 319.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;t Silva Gad., 355.

(literally � half-eye �), meaning one eye of the pair : and similarly leth-duine is one man of a pair. The meaning ofnbsp;this expression is otherwise inexplicable ; or rather it hasnbsp;no meaning at all.

I find one instance of this custom as practised by the Welsh, in a battle fought by them against the Irish duringnbsp;the time of the Irish invasions in Wales. It is mentionednbsp;in one of the ancient Welsh Triads � The tribe of Cas-� wallawn Law Hir put the fetters of their horses on theirnbsp;� feet by two and two in fighting with Serigi Wyddil�nbsp;� the Irish commander�at Cerrig u Gwyddel or Holyheadnbsp;� [see p. 78, supra] in Mon, i.e. in Anglesey.�¹

Horse and Foot.�Cavalry did not form an important feature of the ancient Irish military system : we do not find

cavalry mentioned at all in the Battle of Clontarf, either as used by the Irish or Danes. But kings kept in their servicenbsp;small bodies of horse-soldiers, commonly called marc-shluaghnbsp;[morkloo], � horse-host.� For example, in the Senchus M�rnbsp;(Br. Laws, i. 5) it is stated that King Laegaire, in the timenbsp;of St. Patrick, appointed his nephew, Nuada Derg, chief of

146 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I his marc-shluagh or cavalry ; and when King Dermot wasnbsp;preparing for the Battle of Culdremne, he collected � horse,nbsp;foot, and chariots.� The chief men too rode in battle, asnbsp;at the battle of Ballaghmoon, where the leaders fought onnbsp;horseback.* After the Norman Invasion cavalry came intonbsp;general use. Each horseman had at least one footman tonbsp;attend him�called a gilla or dalteen (Irish, dailtin, a diminutive of dalta, q.v.)�armed only with a javelin. In later

times each horseman had two and sometimes threenbsp;attendants (fig. 64).fnbsp;Two kinds of foot-soldiers are often mentioned in Irish records,nbsp;the kern and gallo-glasses. The kern werenbsp;light - armed soldiers :nbsp;they wore headpieces,nbsp;and fought with a skeannbsp;(a dagger or short sword)nbsp;and with a javelin. Thenbsp;Irish name is ceithernnbsp;[kehern], which primarily means a body ofnbsp;men of any kind, thoughnbsp;commonly restricted tonbsp;a body of soldiers. Itnbsp;is a collective noun, like the English � horse,� � foot,�

' infantry,� amp;c. The word for a single soldier of the body is ceithernach [keherna]. The kern are a verynbsp;ancient institution, as we find them noticed in thenbsp;accounts of the early battles ; for instance, in that of thenbsp;Battle of Moyrath, fought a.d. 637, they are mentionednbsp;more than once (pp. 141, 267, 350) ; and they continued in

The galloglasses, or gallogtach, as they are called in Irish, appear only in later times�after the Anglo-Normannbsp;Invasion. They are not met with in ancient Irish writings.nbsp;They were heavy-armed infantry, wearing a coat of mailnbsp;and an iron helmet, with a long sword by the side, andnbsp;carrying in the hand a broad, heavy, keen-edged axe.nbsp;They are usually described as large-limbed, tall, and fierce-looking. It is almost certain that the galloglasses, and thenbsp;mode of equipping them, were imitated from the English.nbsp;So Spenser says�and O�Donovan agrees with him�� Fornbsp;gall-ogla signifies an English servitour or yeoman,� innbsp;which Spenser is quite correct. Irish, gall, � an Englishman � ; �glach, � a youth or warrior.�¹ ^{2 3 4}

Commanders.�In ancient times the commanders commonly fought side by side with their men. But sometimes the wiser plan was adopted, of placing the general aside innbsp;some commanding station to direct the tactics.| It wasnbsp;customary for the commanders, just before the battle, tonbsp;go from battalion to battalion and address their men in anbsp;few inspiring words, of which there are many examplesnbsp;in the histories and tales. J

Trumpets.�The Irish constantly used bronze war-trumpets in battle, as will be found mentioned in the chapter on Music. At the Battle of Ballaghmoon, a.d.nbsp;908, in which Cormac Mac Cullenan was killed, � trumpetsnbsp;were blown, and signals were given for battle by the mennbsp;of Munster. �� There is a curious notice of the use ofnbsp;battle-trumpets in Ireland in a gloss or commentary on

Spenser�s View, 117 to 119. See Ware, Antiqq., 161 : and Sent-leger�s account of kern and galloglasses in Moyrath, 350.

t Of which examples may be seen in Keat,, 272, 364 : Rev. Celt., xn. �9, 93; 97 � Silva Gad., 541.

f See Stokes, Lives of SS., 238 : Joyce, Short Hist., 217 (Brian Born at Clontarf) : Three Fragm., rpx.

St. Paul�s First Epistle to the Corinthians, xiv. 8�written on the Continent in the eighth century by an Irishman innbsp;his native language, from which it appears that the trumpeters had different notes or musical phrases to directnbsp;different movements. The following is Dr. Stokes�s translation of this note :�� This is another similitude which henbsp;� has�even a similitude of a trumpet ; for it hath manynbsp;� sounds, and different is each of them ; to wit, it isnbsp;� different for battle, different for unyoking, or for march-� ing, or for sleep, or for council. Unless the man whonbsp;� sounds it distinguish�that is, if he make but one notenbsp;� �what it is sounded for is not understood.�*

War-Cries.�The armies charged with a great shout called barran-glaed, � warrior-shout,� a custom which continued until late times. The different tribes and clansnbsp;had also special war-cries, which are noticed by Warenbsp;(� Antiqq.,� 163), and by Spenser (95). The Anglo-Normans fell in with this custom, as they did with manynbsp;others. The war-cry of the O�Neills was Lamh-derg ahoo,nbsp;i.e. � the Red-hand to victory � {lamh, pron. lauv, � a hand �),nbsp;from the figure of a bloody hand on their crest or cognisance : that of the O�Briens and Mac Carthys, Lamh-laidir ahoo, � the Strong-hand to victory � {laidir, pron.nbsp;lauder, �strong�). The Kildare Fitz Geralds took as theirnbsp;cry Crom ahoo, from the great Geraldine castle of Grom ornbsp;Groom in Limerick ; the Earl of Desmond, Shanit ahoo,nbsp;from the castle of Shanid in Limerick. The Butlers� crynbsp;was Butler ahoo. Most of the other chiefs, both native andnbsp;Anglo-Irish, had their several cries. Martin found thisnbsp;custom among the people of the Hebrides in 1703 (p. 104) :nbsp;and in Ireland war-cries continued in use to our own day :nbsp;I heard them scores of times in the faction fights ofnbsp;Limerick sixty years ago. Though our knowledge ofnbsp;these cries is derived mostly from late Anglo-Irish

* Stokes and Strachan, Thesaurus, i. 577. See also Dr, Wm. Stokes�s Life of Petrie, 330 ; and Zimmer, Gloss. Hib., 78, ,g.

Counting the Slain.-�In the story of Bruden Da Derga (p. 169) we get a curious glimpse of the way of estimatingnbsp;the number of men who fell in a battle. When the armynbsp;of marauders under Ingcel, with the sons of Dond Desa,nbsp;were marching to attack the hostel (see chapter xxi.,nbsp;vol. II., p. 171), knowing well that they would encounternbsp;formidable resistance, each man brought a large stone ;nbsp;and they threw them all in one heap on the plain. Onnbsp;returning after the fight each brought away a stone fromnbsp;the earn ; and the stones that were left showed the numbernbsp;killed, and served as a memorial of the destruction of thenbsp;mansion with the slaughter of the king and his people.nbsp;But though earns were sometimes erected with the objectnbsp;stated here, they were generally�as shown in vol. ii.,nbsp;P- 563�simple memorials of the dead.f

Sir Samuel Ferguson (� Poems,� 1880, p. 61) remarks that, perhaps, the latest instance of this practice was thenbsp;earn erected by the Farquharsons, in 1745, when marchingnbsp;to the Battle of Culloden. He also points out that anbsp;similar means of estimating the slain was in use by thenbsp;ancient Persians, as recorded by Procopius : but here eachnbsp;man, instead of bringing a stone for a earn, threw annbsp;arrow into a common basket.

Decapitation.�After a battle the victors often decapitated the bodies of their dead enemies. Sometimes they placed the heads in a heap as a sort of triumph�anbsp;barbarous custom common among other ancient nations.nbsp;For instance, when the Norsemen fought a battle in

* See an article on War-Cries of Irish Septs, in Ulster Journal Arch., 111., 203, in which will be found a long list of them.

t On the formation of a earn in this manner, and for these objects, see Rev. Celt., xv. 331 : LU, 86, h, and 87, a : Atkinson, Introd. to LL,nbsp;50, a, bot. : Gwynn, Dind., 63, For a similar formation of Cam Mail,nbsp;see Rennes Dind. in Rev. Celt., xvi. 48 ; and Miscellany Celt. Soc.,nbsp;p. 67: also LL. 170, h, 17, and 210, a, 31, 30. See also Mac Carthy,nbsp;Codex-Pal.-Vat., 198, note ; and Sullivan, Introd., 335.

Ireland among themselves, a.d. 851, the victors piled np a great earn of Danish heads on the field.¹ This practicenbsp;by the Irish is so often mentioned that it is needless tonbsp;give instances. Hence also the carnage in battle is oftennbsp;designated dr-cenn [awr-cann], � a slaughter of heads.�f Itnbsp;should be remarked that the Irish did not kill the wounded,nbsp;but brought them from the field of battle as prisoners. Annbsp;instance may be seen in the Four Masters under a.d. 864,nbsp;when Aed Finnliath, king of Ireland, having defeated thenbsp;Danes, made a heap of the heads of the slain, and had thenbsp;wounded conveyed away to a place of safety.

Whenever a king or chief was defeated and slain in battle, he was usually decapitated : and it was a custom for thenbsp;victorious king to sit upon the head or place it under hisnbsp;thigh by way of triumph. When Archbishop Cormacnbsp;Mac Cullenan, king of Munster, was slain in the Battle ofnbsp;Ballaghmoon, a.d. 908, some persons brought his head, afternbsp;the battle, to the victorious King Flann Sinna, thinking itnbsp;would be an acceptable presentation : and they said :�nbsp;� Life and health, O victorious king : here is the head ofnbsp;� Cormac for thee : and now, as is customary with kings,nbsp;� raise thy thigh and place this head under it and press itnbsp;� down.� But the king was very angry with them : andnbsp;instead of showing disrespect to the head, took it upnbsp;tenderly, and kissing it three times, sent it back to benbsp;interred honourably with the body..j This atrocious custom,nbsp;as Keating�s translator, 0�Mahony, calls it, existed in anbsp;still more savage form in early times. Conall Cernach,nbsp;the inveterate enemy of Connaught, killed at least onenbsp;Connaughtman every day, and never slept without thenbsp;head of a Connaught enemy under his knee (/0 a glun).^

O�Donovan, Three Fragm., 117. On Decapitation: see D�Arbois lie Jubainville, La Civil, des Celtes, pp. 374-377.

t In Zeitschr. f�r Celt. Phil., iii. 207, Stokes interprets dr tend, as ' a slaughter of chiefs,� which the context here favours. But I think itnbsp;generally carries the sense of decapitation, j O�Donov., Three Fragm.,nbsp;213 : Keat., 530.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� LL, 107, a, 22 ; and Atkinson, Introd., 27, a.

Treatment of Prisoners.�It was the custom, except under circumstances that rendered it improper, inconvenient, or undesirable, to fetter or manacle prisoners ornbsp;captives taken in war, slaves, and occasionally hostages.nbsp;We know that a person might be taken in bondage in distraint for a debt ;¹ and such a person was often secured bynbsp;a gyve and lock. The law permitted this ; but if the chainnbsp;was tightened so as to cause pain, there was a penalty.fnbsp;In another part of the Senchus Mor a lock to secure thenbsp;gyves of an imported slave is mentioned. :j; A captivenbsp;taken in battle was almost always secured by a fetternbsp;{cuibhrech) ; and such a person was commonly given overnbsp;to a keeper, whose business it was to guard against escape.nbsp;Some fetters were recognised by law, and some not : andnbsp;when the Book of Aicill lays down rules as to how far thenbsp;keeper was responsible in law for damages, in case thenbsp;captive should make his escape, or for crimes committednbsp;by him after escaping, the sort of fetters used was takennbsp;into account.�

When Murkertagh of the Leather Cloaks made his circuit round Ireland, a.d. 941, he brought away manynbsp;kings and chiefs as captives, several of whom were fettered.nbsp;Cormacan Ecces, the writer of the poetical account ofnbsp;the expedition, says :�� We carried off with us Lorcan,nbsp;� descendant of Bresal of the Cows : a rough bright fetternbsp;� {geimiul or geimheal) was fastened on that arch-king ofnbsp;� populous Leinster.�II In the case of some kings, fettersnbsp;were not considered necessary on this occasion ; and thisnbsp;is mentioned as a mark of distinction or consideration :nbsp;�� Concobhar, the arch-king of Connaught,��saysnbsp;Cormacan�� exceeding brave, came with us without anbsp;� bright fetter.�

whether used on prisoners of war or otherwise, we get various glimpses in the old narratives. When Callaghan,nbsp;king of Cashel, was brought away captive by Murkertagh,nbsp;there was put quot; a ring of fifteen ounces on his hand, andnbsp;� a chain {idh) of iron on his stout leg.�* When Dichlethenbsp;0�Triallaigh attempted to go away on a dangerous pilgrimage, his brothers � took him and fettered him, placing [anbsp;quot; chain secured by] a lock of iron between his head and his

� feet.�t

Modes of Submission.�A king who was about to submit to another usually came to the superior king�s residence,nbsp;and, after the formalities of reception, indicated his submission by placing his hand in the hand of his host.]:nbsp;But when the submission was brought on directly by defeatnbsp;in battle, it was usually of a more humiliating kind. Innbsp;the seventh century, Dermot, one of the two joint kingsnbsp;of Ireland, and Guaire, king of Connaught, quarrelled.nbsp;Guaire was defeated, and made � submission at the pointnbsp;of the sword.� This was usually done in the followingnbsp;manner :�The person submitting lay supine, while hisnbsp;conqueror inserted the point of a sword or spear betweennbsp;his teeth, and held it there as long as it pleased him�nbsp;sometimes for an hour or more�when he released himnbsp;from the degrading position.� It was sometimes callednbsp;giallad fri claideh, � submission by sword,�|| or giallad donbsp;rinn gai, � submission at the spear�s point.� This samenbsp;ceremony was sometimes used, nine centuries later, bynbsp;the English deputies of the time of Elizabeth, when theynbsp;forced Irish chiefs to submit.

Single Combat.�Among the Irish, as well as among the Gaulsif and other ancient peoples, men often challenged

� Silva Gad., 424, line 5, bottom, and 434 : Keat., 436. How the Irish kings submitted to Henry II. may be seen in Ware, Antiqq., 186 :nbsp;but this was not a humiliating ceremony.

|1 LU, 116, 6, 28. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;^ See De Jubainville, La Civil, des Celtes, p. 6 ef seq.

each other to single combat, called in Irish Fir c�mlainn, the � truth of combat,� and Comrac aen fhir, � combat of onenbsp;man.� Sometimes the duel was resorted to, as among thenbsp;early English, as a form of ordeal to determine cases,nbsp;though it is not included in the list of Irish Ordeals.*nbsp;Sometimes the pair fought man to man as the result ofnbsp;quarrel and challenge, merely as an affair of valour, onnbsp;which nothing depended except life.f

If a man who was fully armed and prepared to fight declined to meet an adversary who came up and offerednbsp;battle, he incurred disgrace and some loss of status. | Itnbsp;appears that in very old times, when a hostile force invadednbsp;a territory, it was a recognised customi that a champion ofnbsp;the invaded people might offer single combat, which wasnbsp;always accepted ; and the invading army were bound tonbsp;halt till they had found someone to subdue the defendingnbsp;champion. It was by taking advantage of this customnbsp;that Cuculainn barred for some time the advance intonbsp;Ulster of the Connaught army under Ailill and Maive : fornbsp;he sent challenge after challenge, and killed every mannbsp;that came to meet him. ' These combats were always foughtnbsp;at fords, and the combatants most commonly foughtnbsp;standing in the water.� A deliberate agreement to refernbsp;the settlement of any cause or dispute to the issue of singlenbsp;combat was called cdirde chlaidih, � agreement of sword,�

The Brehpn Law took careful cognisance of single combats, and laid down stringent rules regarding them. Some combats for deciding causes were designated as legal, somenbsp;as illegal. If a looker-on reasonably interfered to preventnbsp;the fight and got injured, one or both were liable to him

t See Silva Gad., 414, for a historical example of a challenge and combat. For others, Gwynn, Dind., 19, 59.

� O�Curry, MS. Mat, 37 ; Man. amp; Cust., i. 296 ; De Jubainville, La Civil., 31 : Faraday, passim.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ll LU, 70, b, 33 ; 71, a, 3 ; 72, h, 16,

154 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I for damages : if both were fighting legally or both illegally,nbsp;they paid equal shares ; if one was fighting legally and thenbsp;other illegally, the illegal combatant paid the larger share.nbsp;So far as I can make sense of this part of the Book ofnbsp;Aicill, a man fought legally if he had no other mode ofnbsp;settling the case, and illegally if he had.* The correctnessnbsp;of this interpretation is rendered pretty certain by anbsp;passage in another Brehon Law tract (v. 477, 31), whichnbsp;mentions as a proceeding liable to penalty, � to proclaim anbsp;quot; combat [i.e. to send a challenge] without offering tonbsp;� submit to law.�

Certain formalities, both before and during a single combat, had to be complied with. There should be atnbsp;least one witness, who, in some respects, corresponded withnbsp;the seconds in the duel of later times : and an interval ofnbsp;five days should elapse between the challenge and the fight :nbsp;two wise arrangements. If the combat was to decide a case,nbsp;it was necessary that each combatant should give verbalnbsp;security, before the witness or witnesses, that he wouldnbsp;abide by the result of the fight in the settlement.!

A typical case of single combat is quoted in the Senchus M�r. Two great Red Branch champions, Conallnbsp;Cernach and Laegaire the Victorious, on one occasion met,nbsp;quarrelled, and were ready to fight on the spot, in all exceptnbsp;the presence of a witness, for whom they were waiting. Anbsp;woman happened to come up, and, seeing them likely tonbsp;fall on each other, demanded that the fight should be putnbsp;off till a witness (a man) was procured. To this bothnbsp;agreed ; but as the length of postponement was not fixed,nbsp;they had to refer the case to Concobar and his brehonnbsp;Sencha, who fixed on five days. It would appear that thisnbsp;case regulated all other single combats ; so that when twonbsp;men challenged each other, they had to wait for five daysnbsp;before fighting. |

CHAPTER V

^ HE lay people were divided into classes, from the king down to the slave, andnbsp;the Brehon law took cognizance ofnbsp;all�setting forth their rights, duties,nbsp;and privileges. The leading, though notnbsp;the sole, qualification to confer rank wasnbsp;property ; the rank being, roughly speaking, in proportionnbsp;to the amount.* These classes were not castes ; for, undernbsp;certain conditions, persons could pass from one to the nextnbsp;above, always provided his character was unimpeachable.

The social subdivision of the people as given in some of the law tracts is very minute and artificial: we maynbsp;adopt here the broad classification outlined by O�Curry,nbsp;which has been followed by Dr. Richey, the editor of thenbsp;third and fourth volumes of the Brehon Laws :f namely.nbsp;Five main classes:�i. Kings of several grades, from thenbsp;king of the tuatli or cantred up to the king of Ireland :nbsp;2. Nobles, which class indeed included kings : 3. Non-

* As to rank depending on property, see the Crith Gabhlach and its Sequel in Br. Laws, vol. iv. : and in the same vol., p. 377, lines 32, 33 ;nbsp;p. 381, 1. 20 ; 383, 1. 18 ; 387, 1. 21 : vol. i., 43, 34, 33. and O'Curry,nbsp;Man. amp; Cust., i. 34.

noble Freemen with property: 4. Non-noble Freemen without property, or with some, but not sufficient to placenbsp;them among the class next above:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;5. The non-free

classes. The first three�Kings, Nobles, non-noble Freemen with property�were the privileged classes ; a person belonging to these was an aire [arra] or chief. Kingsnbsp;have been treated of in chapter iii.

The Nobles were those who had land as their own property, for which they did not pay rent ; they were thenbsp;owners of the soil�the aristocracy. Part of this land theynbsp;held in their own hands and tilled by the labour of thenbsp;non-free classes ; part they let to tenants, as will benbsp;explained in chapter vii. An aire of this class was callednbsp;a Flaith [flah], i.e. a noble, a chief, a prince. The flaithsnbsp;or nobles were sharply distinguished from the non-noblenbsp;class next under them.

There were several ranks of nobles, the rank depending chiefly on the amount of landed property. The tuath, asnbsp;already explained, was under the government of the headnbsp;noble, who was the ri or king ; and to him all the othernbsp;nobles of the tuath owed allegiance and tribute. Thenbsp;highest rank of noble, next to the tanist of the king,nbsp;was the Aire-forgaill: he should have at least twenty saernbsp;tenants and twenty daer tenants (see p. 189 below) ;nbsp;and he had to answer to the king for the character ofnbsp;the nobles and others under him. He was a high-classnbsp;magistrate, and presided at the making of covenants, andnbsp;saw them carried out, in which capacity he was termednbsp;Mac-Nascaire [Mac Naskera], i.e. � Surety-Man � ; and henbsp;had TOO armed men to attend on him on all state occasions. One of his functions was to determine the status,nbsp;privileges, and duties of the several nobles and functionariesnbsp;about the king�s court.

Ranking under the Aire-forgaill was the Airc-tuisi� � front aire ��and next under him the Aire-ard�� highnbsp;aire ��each so called in relation to the next rank below,nbsp;each with a defined amount of property, and with severalnbsp;privileges.

The lowest of the noble classes was the Aire-desa, so called from the des or fee-simple land for which henbsp;received rent. He ranked as an aire-desa, provided henbsp;possessed the necessary land, and that his father andnbsp;grandfather had been each an aire (Br. Laws, iv. 321).nbsp;Certain houses, horses, and equipments were prescribednbsp;for him as necessary for his rank, and he should have atnbsp;least five saer tenants and five daer or giallna tenants.

One order of nobles, the Aire-echta, who held a military position, has been already treated of (p. 92).*

A person belonging to the other class of aire�a nonnoble rent-paying freeman with property (No. 3, above)� had no land of his own, his property consisting of cattlenbsp;and other movable goods ; hence he was called a Bo-aire,nbsp;i.e. a � cow-chief � {bo, � a cow �). He should rent a certainnbsp;amount of land, and possess a certain amount of propertynbsp;in cattle and other goods, to entitle him to rank as an aire.nbsp;A ho-aire, having no land of his own, rented land from anbsp;iiaith or noble, thus taking rank as a saer-c�ile or freenbsp;tenant (see p. 189, farther on) ; and he grazed his cattlenbsp;partly on this and partly on the � commons � grazing land.nbsp;He might sublet his rented land to under-tenants. The

* From the above, and from chap, iii., it will be seen that there were seven grades of Plaiths or Nobles :�i, the king : 2, tanist of the king :nbsp;3, aire-forgaill:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;4, aire-tuisi: 5, aire-ard :nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;6, aire-echta ; and 7, aire-

desa. This is in accordance with what is stated in Br. Laws, iv. 321, lines II, 12, and with what follows in same vol. on pp. 321, 323, 325,nbsp;327 : but there appears some discrepancy in one place between it and thenbsp;statement in another tract, at p. 347, s,, where the Aire-forgail) is madenbsp;the same as the Aire-urd. See also Br. Laws, v. 25.

ho-aires were magistrates, and as such presided in court or at the aibinn meetings (see vol. ii. pp. 449, 450) in the dis-charge of some legal functions : and for this they had certain allowances and privileges according to rank (Br. Laws,nbsp;iv. 309). Among their perquisites were a share in thenbsp;mill and in the kiln of the district, and fees for witnessingnbsp;contracts and for other legal functions. There were severalnbsp;ranks of ho-aires according to the amount of property.

The Aire-coisring or � binding-chief � was the highest of the bo-aires. He was the leader, and representative of allnbsp;his fine or kindred, and was expected to be able to give annbsp;account of their conduct and obedience to the laws whennbsp;occasion arose. In case of complaint or accusation henbsp;answered for them to the king of the tuath, having previously investigated the case (Br. Laws, iv. 317). Hencenbsp;he was also called the Aire-fine [arra-finna] or � family-chief.�* This custom continued down to the sixteenthnbsp;century, and came under the notice of Spenser (View, 54),nbsp;who calls it kin-cogish : and according to him it was transferred to the Anglo-Irish statute book in his own time�nbsp;during the reign of Elizabeth :�

� Another statute I remember, which having been an auncient Irish custome, is now upon advisement made a law, and that is callednbsp;the custome of kin-cogish, which is, that every head of every sept,nbsp;and every chiefe of every kindred or family, should be answereablenbsp;and bound to bring foorth every one of that sept and kindred undernbsp;it at all times to be justified, when he should be required or chargednbsp;with any treason, felony, or other haynous crime.�

Spenser�s anglicised form kin-cogish represents correctly the sound of the Irish name of this custom, cenn-comhfhoguis,nbsp;the � head of kindred,� from cenn, � head,� and comhfhogusnbsp;[cogus], consanguinity or relationship, gen. comhfhoguis,nbsp;pron. cogish.j

The Fer-fothla was a rich ho-aire who, having more stock than he was able to graze, hired them out as taurcrec

to others {daer-c�iles : see p. 189, farther on), who thus became his dependents. He held a very high position asnbsp;a member of society and as a magistrate, almost equal tonbsp;the Aire-coisring. If a Fer-fothla or an Aire-coisring couldnbsp;prove that he had twice as much property as was requirednbsp;for the lowest rank of noble (the Aire-desa), and compliednbsp;with certain other conditions and formalities, and alsonbsp;provided his father and grandfather had been aires whonbsp;owned land, he was himself entitled to take rank as annbsp;Aire-desa noble.* The Brugh-fer, Brugaid, or Briuga wasnbsp;an interesting official of the ho-aire class : he was a publicnbsp;Hospitaller as well as a magistrate : he and his office willnbsp;be treated of in chapter xxi. (vol. ii. p. 168). The lowest innbsp;rank of the non-noble aires was the �gaire, i.e. junior-afre,

� from the youngness of his aireship.� Many of these were men who had belonged to the next lower rank of freemen,nbsp;and who had accumulated sufficient property to qualifynbsp;them as og-aires.

The three preceding main classes�kings, nobles, and bo-aires�were all aires, chiefs, or privileged people : thenbsp;first two being flaiths or noble aires, the third, non-noblenbsp;aires, i.e. free tenants, with property sufficient to entitlenbsp;them to the position of aire. All three had some partnbsp;in the government of the country and in the administration of the law, as kings, tanists, nobles, military chiefs,nbsp;magistrates, and persons otherwise in authority ; and theynbsp;commonly wore a flesc or bracelet on the arm as a mark ofnbsp;their dignity, f

That the classification of chiefs into these various grades was a reality, and that the several ranks werenbsp;separate and distinct, and universally recognised�asnbsp;clearly as quot; Justices of the Peace,� � Resident Magistrates,�nbsp;� Deputy Lieutenants,� � Lord Lieutenants of counties,�nbsp;amp;c., are now�is proved by the fact that we often findnbsp;them incidentally referred to, both in the laws and innbsp;* Br. Laws, iv. 315, 317.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;t Keating, 162.

general literature, as being well known and understood. For instance, in the ancient description of Tara and itsnbsp;F�is, quoted by Petrie (Tara, 199, 205) from the Book ofnbsp;Leinster, six of the chieftain classes�namely, Aire-forgaill,nbsp;Aire-ard, Aire-tuisi, Aire-echta, Aire-desa, and Brugaid�nbsp;are included in the list in which are named the numerousnbsp;officials in the great banqueting hall.

The next class�the fourth�the freemen with little or with no property, were c�iles or free tenants. Theynbsp;differed from the bo-aires only in not being rich enough tonbsp;rank as aires or chiefs ; for the bo-aires were themselvesnbsp;c�iles or rent-payers ; and accordingly, a man of the fourthnbsp;class could become a bo-aire if he accumulated propertynbsp;enough : the amount being laid down in the Brehon Law.nbsp;These c�iles or tenants, or free rent-payers�correspondingnbsp;with the old English ceorls or churls�formed the greatnbsp;body of the farming class. They were called aithech, i.e.nbsp;� plebeian,� � farmer,� � peasant,� to distinguish them fromnbsp;the aires or chieftain grades : and the term f�ini or f�nenbsp;[fain�], which means much the same as aithech, was alsonbsp;applied to them. Some few members of the f�ine werenbsp;selected by the king to look after the affairs of their immediate district, or what we should now call a townland.nbsp;� These f�ine ��says the Gloss on the Law (v. 15, 17)�nbsp;are brugaid-i^ccmers, and the stewards of kings.� Thesenbsp;are evidently the officers referred to in the record aboutnbsp;Ollamh Fodla, king of Ireland (FM, a.m. 3922 ; see p. 69,nbsp;supra), that he appointed a chief over every tricha-ch�dnbsp;and a brugaid over every baile or townland. These brugaid-stewards or /eme-stewards continued to be appointed andnbsp;to exercise their functions down to a late time�the timenbsp;of the glossator of the Laws ; but the exact nature of theirnbsp;functions is not known.

The land held by the f�ine or free tenants was either a part of the tribe-land, or was the private property of somenbsp;flaitk or noble, from whom they rented it. Everywhere innbsp;the literature, especially in the Laws, the f�ine or farmingnbsp;classes are spoken of as a most important part of thenbsp;community�as the foundation of society, and as thenbsp;ultimate source of law and authority. The very name ofnbsp;what we now call the Brehon Law was derived from themnbsp;� F�nechas � or � F�inechas � ; so that the several partsnbsp;of the Brehon Code are constantly referred to as Dlighthenbsp;F�ine [dleeha-fain�], the � Laws of the F�ine � : and thenbsp;ancient language in which the F�nechas was written isnbsp;called B�rla-F�ine, i.e. � the language of the F�ine.�¹

The position of the c�iles, the terms on which they held their farms, and their rights, duties, and obligations, willnbsp;be explained in some detail in the chapter (vii.) dealingnbsp;with land. For the land and the c�ile tenants were sonbsp;intimately mixed up that it would be scarcely possible tonbsp;treat of them separately.

Any freeborn native was called an urrad [urra], a term having much the same meaning as the old English wordnbsp;� yeoman � (see quot; Urrad � in Atkinson�s Glossary to Br.nbsp;Laws). Tradesmen formed another very important classnbsp;of freemen. The greater number belonged to the fourthnbsp;class � freemen without property. Some crafts werenbsp;� noble � or privileged, of which the members enjoyednbsp;advantages and privileges beyond those of other trades ;nbsp;and some high-class craftsmen belonged to the class airenbsp;or chief. But the law is not near so detailed in its statement of the position and rights of tradesmen, as of thosenbsp;of tillers of the soil: showing again the great importancenbsp;attached to land.

Br, Laws, i. 117, -4; ii9gt; par, ; iii. 225, 25. Glossary to Br. Laws, Feine and Feinechas.

So far we have treated of freemen, that is, those who enjoyed all the rights of the tribe, of which the mostnbsp;important was the right to the use of a portion of thenbsp;tribe-land and commons. We now come to treat of thenbsp;non-free classes. The term � non-free � does not necessarilynbsp;mean servile. The non-free people were those who hadnbsp;not the lull rights of the free people of the tribe. Theynbsp;had no claim to any part of the tribe-land, though they werenbsp;permitted, under strict conditions, to till little plots for merenbsp;subsistence. This was by far the most serious of their disabilities. Except under very exceptional circumstancesnbsp;they could not enter into contracts. Yet some justicenbsp;was done to them ; for if a freeman made a forbiddennbsp;contract with a non-free person, the former was punished,nbsp;while the non-free man had to be compensated for anynbsp;loss he incurred by the transaction.* Their standingnbsp;varied, some being absolute slaves, some little removednbsp;from slavery, and others far above it.

The non-free people were of three classes, who are distinguished in the law and called by different names :��nbsp;the Bothach, the Sencleithe, and the Fudir. The personsnbsp;belonging to the first two were herdsmen, labourers,nbsp;squatters on waste lands, horse-boys, hangers-on, andnbsp;jobbers of various kinds�all poor and dependent. Butnbsp;they enjoyed one great advantage : they were part of thenbsp;tribe, though debarred from most of its rights ; and consequently they could claim to live within the territory and tonbsp;support themselves by their labour.

The third class�the Fudirs�were the lowest of the three. They were not members of the tribe, and consequently had no right of residence, though they werenbsp;permitted by the chief to live within the territory, fromnbsp;which, however, they might be expelled at any moment.

A fudir was commonly a stranger, a fugitive from some other territory, who had by some misdeed, or for any othernbsp;reason, broken with his tribe�who had become � kin-wrecked,� as they expressed it in Wales�and fled fromnbsp;his own chief to another who permitted him to settle onnbsp;a portion of the unappropriated commons land. But mennbsp;became fudirs in other ways, as we shall see. Any freemannbsp;might give evidence against a fudir : but the fudir couldnbsp;not give evidence in reply.¹ When a fudir obtained anbsp;settlement from a flaith or lord, he�or his family afternbsp;him�^might leave during the life of that lord and of hisnbsp;two successors, but could take nothing away. But if henbsp;or they remained on voluntarily till they came under anbsp;fourth lord, they were no longer free to leave ; they werenbsp;bound to the soil�� adscript! glebge.��j'

The fudirs were of two classes, a higher and a lower, called saer-fudir, or free fudir, and daer-fudir, or bond fudir.nbsp;The saer-fiidirs were so called, not because they were freemen, which they were not, but to indicate that they werenbsp;not under the heavy bondage of the lower class. Theynbsp;were those who were free from crime, and who, comingnbsp;voluntarily into the district, were able to get moderatelynbsp;favourable terms when taking land from the chief. Thenbsp;lord was responsible for his fudirs. If a fudir or anynbsp;member of his family committed a crime, the lord had tonbsp;pay the damage ; and, on the other hand, if anyone injurednbsp;a fudir, the compensation was paid to the lord.J

Some of the saer-fudir tenants who accumulated wealth were much better circumstanced than the general body.nbsp;If there were five of them under one chief, each possessingnbsp;at least 100 head of cattle, they might enter into partnership so as to answer for each other�s liabilities. In this casenbsp;they enjoyed privileges that put them almost on a level

164 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I with the c�iles or free tenants. They had a share in thenbsp;tribe-land and in the commons : they took stock from thenbsp;chief, and paid hiatad or food-rent (for which see p. 191,nbsp;mjra). They paid their part of any fines that fell on thenbsp;sept on account of the crimes of individuals ; they tooknbsp;their share of any property left to the fine or sept like thenbsp;ordinary tenants ;* and their chief, or representative man,nbsp;was qualified to be of the rank of ho-aire. But thesenbsp;must have been rare exceptions.

The daer-judirs�the lowest and most dependent of all�were escaped criminals, captives taken in battle ornbsp;raids from other districts or other countries, convictsnbsp;respited from death, persons sentenced to fine and unablenbsp;to pay, purchased slaves, amp;c. Some daer-judirs were merenbsp;slaves : and those who were not were little better. Yetnbsp;their lot was not hopeless : the law favoured their emancipation : a daer-fudir could become a saer-fudir in coursenbsp;of time under certain conditions. The settlement of fudirsnbsp;was disliked by the community and discouraged by thenbsp;Brehon law ; f for it curtailed the commons land ; andnbsp;while it tended to lower the status of the tribe, it raisednbsp;the power of the chief, who in cases of dispute could bringnbsp;all his fudirs into the field. Any social disturbance, suchnbsp;as rebellion, invasion, civil war, amp;c., in which many werenbsp;driven from their homes and beggared, tended to increasenbsp;the number of the fudirs. The terms on which the fudirsnbsp;were permitted to till the soil will be told in chapter vii.,nbsp;section 4 (p. 194).

It has been said that some of the lowest of the fudirs were downright slaves. That slavery pure and simplenbsp;existed in Ireland in early times we know from the lawbooks as well as from history ; and that it continued to anbsp;comparatively late period is proved by the testimony ofnbsp;Giraldus Cambrensis, who relates that it was a common

custom among the English to sell their children and other relatives to the Irish for slaves�Bristol being the greatnbsp;mart for the trade. They must have been very numerousnbsp;in the twelfth century : for at the Synod held in Armaghnbsp;in 1171, the clergy came to the conclusion that the Anglo-Norman invasion was a curse from heaven as a punishmentnbsp;for the inhuman traffic in slaves : and they anathematisednbsp;the whole system as � contrary to the right of Christiannbsp;freedom,� and decreed that all English slaves were free tonbsp;return to their own country.¹ Considering the periodnbsp;and the ideas then prevalent all over the world, thisnbsp;resolution reflects much credit on the Irish ecclesiasticalnbsp;authorities, anticipating by many centuries the action ofnbsp;the various European and American States in decreeingnbsp;the emancipation of slaves. How far the Irish decree tooknbsp;effect we are not told.

Our own records show that slaves were imported. Thus the Book of Rights (p. 87) states that the king ofnbsp;Ireland paid to the king of Bruree, as part of his tuarastal,nbsp;ten foreign slaves without Gaelic, i.e. not able to speaknbsp;the Gaelic language : a similar entry is found at p. 181 ;nbsp;and in several other parts of the same book we findnbsp;mention of dues paid in bondsmen and bondswomen,nbsp;� brought over the sea � : but whether from other countriesnbsp;besides Britain is doubtful. Some canons of the ancientnbsp;Irish Church�much earlier than the time of the Armaghnbsp;Synod�notice the redemption of slaves.f It appears fromnbsp;a passage in Adamnan (158, 159), as well as from othernbsp;authorities, that a man whom another ransomed from thenbsp;penalty of death was to be the ransomer�s slave ; and anbsp;slave thus ransomed had to wear a special girdle. Butnbsp;persons might become slaves in many other ways. Whennbsp;a pregnant bondswoman was sold, the unborn child wasnbsp;commonly exempted : i.e., while the woman became the

property of the purchaser, the child, when born, belonged to the seller.* The usual word for a slave was Mog,nbsp;Mogh, or Mug.

The people were formed into groups of various sizes, from the family upwards. The Family was the group consisting of the living parents and all their descendants. Thenbsp;Sept was a larger group, descended from common parentsnbsp;long since dead : but this is an imported word, brought intonbsp;use in comparatively late times. All the members of anbsp;sept were nearly related, and in later times bore the samenbsp;surname. The Clan or house was still larger. Clannnbsp;means � children,� and the word therefore implied descentnbsp;from one ancestor. The Tribe [tuath) was made up ofnbsp;several septs, clans, or houses, and usually claimed, likenbsp;the subordinate groups, to be descended from a commonnbsp;ancestor. The adoption of strangers into the family ornbsp;clan was common ; but it required the consent of the fm�nbsp;or circle of near relations�formally given at a courtnbsp;meeting and the persons adopted had not the full rightsnbsp;of ordinary freemen members, especially as regarded land.nbsp;An adopted person was called Mac Faosma, literally � sonnbsp;of protection.� Sometimes not only individuals, but smallernbsp;tribes, who for any reason had migrated from their originalnbsp;home, were adopted; who were then known as hn�-taccuir, i.e. � a family taken under protection.�! From allnbsp;this it will be seen that in every tribe there was muchnbsp;admixture ; and the theory of common descent became anbsp;fiction, except for the leading families, who preserved theirnbsp;descent pure and kept a careful record of their genealogy.

I Br. Laws, iv. 61, ,9; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;63, top ;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;285, 25 ; 287,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;; 289, last par.

For Faosam, see Fc-essam in Windisch, W�rterbuch; Faosamh in O�Donovan, Supplem. to O�R.; Stokes, Rev. Celt., in. 97 ; see Tacar innbsp;O�Donovan, Supplem. : and Fine-tacctiir in Atkinson�s Gloss. Br. Laws.

Thus the tribe became a mere local association of people, occupying a definite district and bound together bynbsp;common customs, by common interests, by living undernbsp;one ruler, and in some degree by the fiction of descentnbsp;from one common ancestor. Each member had to bearnbsp;his part of the obligations and liabilities of the tribe : fornbsp;instance, he had to contribute to the support of old peoplenbsp;who had no children to take care of them, and the wholenbsp;sept or fin� were liable for the fines or debts of any individuals who absconded or were unable to pay. Nonbsp;individual was free to enter into any contracts affectingnbsp;the tribe ; for example, he was restricted by certain conditions when he wished to sell his land.*

The word fin� [finna] is loosely applied to almost any subdivision of society, from the tribe in its largest sensenbsp;down to a small group consisting of members of the samenbsp;family. In its most usual application it meant a group ofnbsp;persons, related by blood within certain recognised degreesnbsp;of consanguinity, all residing in the same neighbourhood.nbsp;The members of a fm� in this sense had certain rights innbsp;common, and were subject to certain liabilities�all according to well-established customs.

When the tribal community comprised a large population occupying an extensive district, it often got the designation Cinel [Kinel], still implying�like clan�descentnbsp;from a common ancestor. Thus the Kinel-Owen, whonbsp;possessed the principality of Tir-Owen, and were supposednbsp;to be descended from Owen, son of Niall of the Ninenbsp;Hostages, were ruled by one of the O�Neills, and includednbsp;the septs of 0�Cahan, Mac Quillan, O�Flynn, and manynbsp;others, each governed by a flaith or chief who was tributarynbsp;to O�Neill. The tribe organisation was not peculiar tonbsp;Ireland ; it existed among all the Aryan nations in theirnbsp;early stages.

* Br. Laws, ii. 283; ill. 55 ; w. 129. On the Mutual Obligations of tribe and individuals, see also Br. Laws, i, 69, 4; 71, ,5^

Fig 67.�Ornament on leather case of Book of Armagh. From Petrie�s Kound Towers.

AW formed a most important factor both in public and private life in ancient Ireland. The nativenbsp;legal system, as briefly outlined in this and thenbsp;next two chapters, existed in its fulness beforenbsp;the ninth century. It was somewhat disturbednbsp;the Danish and Anglo-Norman invasions, andnbsp;still more by the English settlement; but it continued innbsp;use till finally abolished in the beginning of the seventeenthnbsp;century. In these three chapters I merely attempt to givenbsp;a popular sketch of the main features of the Brehon Laws,nbsp;devoid of technical legal terms.

In Ireland a judge was called a brehon,¹ whence the native Irish law is commonly known as the � Brehonnbsp;Law � : but its proper designation is F�nechas, i.e. thenbsp;law of the F�ine or Fine, or free land-tillers (p. 161, supra).nbsp;According to Cormac�s Glossary (p. 12), aisrere [3-syll.]nbsp;is another name for a brehon.

The brehons had absolutely in their hands the interpretation of the laws and the application of them to individual

Irish hrethem, modern breitheamh [brehev] : this takes an n in the genitive and dative�bretheman., brethemain, pron. bvehoon, from whichnbsp;comes the Anglo-Irish brehon.

cases. They were therefore a very influential class of men ; and those attached to chiefs had free lands for their maintenance, which, like the profession itself, remained in thenbsp;same family for generations. Those not so attached livednbsp;simply on the fees of their profession, and many eminentnbsp;brehons became wealthy. The legal rules as set forth innbsp;the Law Books, were commonly very complicated andnbsp;mixed up with a variety of technical terms ; and manynbsp;forms had to be gone through and many circumstancesnbsp;taken into account, all legally essential: so that no outsider could hope to master their intricacies. The brehon'snbsp;fee {fola) was one-twelfth, i.e. presumably one-twelfth ofnbsp;the property in dispute, or of the fine in case of an actionnbsp;for damages.¹ He had to be very careful; for he wasnbsp;himself liable for damages, besides forfeiting his fee, if henbsp;delivered a false or an unjust judgment ;�quot; Every judge �nbsp;�says the Book of Acaill�� is punishable for his neglect :nbsp;he is to pay eric-fine for his false judgment.�! There is nonbsp;record how the brehons acquired the exclusive right tonbsp;interpret the laws and to arbitrate between litigants; itnbsp;grew up gradually and came down as a custom from timesnbsp;beyond the reach of history. The institution of the brehons,nbsp;the gradual increase of their authority, the legal processcanbsp;in which they took part, and the forms of trial for decidingnbsp;cases between man and man, were in all essential featuresnbsp;much the same as those that grew up in the early stages ofnbsp;all the Aryan societies, Germanic, Anglo-Saxon, Danish,nbsp;Indian, Hellenic, amp;c., and strongly resembled the procedures followed in archaic Roman law.J

To become a brehon a person had to go through a regular, well-defined course of study and training. Itnbsp;would appear that the same course qualified for any branchnbsp;of the legal profession, and that once a man had mastered

Brehou�s fee : Br. Laws, I. 232, , ; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;235,-,; m. 305, u ;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;3^9,

the course, he might set up as a brehon or judge proper, a consulting lawyer, an advocate, or a law-agent. Besidesnbsp;this special study in technical law, a brehon should qualifynbsp;as a shanachie or historian ; just as in our day professionalnbsp;students have to qualify in certain literary or scientific subjects not immediately connected with their special lines.nbsp;In later ages the legal profession tended to become hereditary in certain families, some of whom were attached tonbsp;kings or chiefs, though all, or at least the high-class members of the profession, had to comply with the conditionsnbsp;as to time and study .��No person,� says the Senchusnbsp;Mor, � is qualified to plead a cause at the high court unlessnbsp;he is skilled in every department of legal science.�¹

In very early times the brehon was regarded as a mysterious, half-inspired person, and a divine power kept watch over his pronouncements to punish him for unjust judgments .�� When the brehons deviated from the truth ofnbsp;nature, there appeared blotches upon their cheeks. �t Thenbsp;great brehon, Morann, son of Carbery Kinncat (king ofnbsp;Ireland in the first century), wore a sin [sheen] or collarnbsp;round his neck, which tightened when he delivered a falsenbsp;judgment, and expanded again when he delivered the truenbsp;one. All this agrees with the whole tenor of Irish Literature, whether legendary, legal, or historical, which showsnbsp;the great respect the Irish entertained for justice pure andnbsp;simple according to law, and their horror of unjust decisions.]: It was the same at the most ancient period as itnbsp;was in the beginning of the seventeenth century, when Sirnbsp;John Davies, the Irish attorney-general of James I., testified .�� For there is no nation of people under the sunnenbsp;� that doth love equall and indifferent \i.e. impartial]nbsp;� justice better then the Irish ; or will rest better satisfied

I In illustration of this see also Br. Laws, iv. 53 : and Claenfearta in O�Grady, Silva Gad., 288 : see also 357, 358, same book.

� with the execution thereof, although it bee against them-� selves ; so as they ma}- have the protection and benefit � of the law, when uppou just cause they do desire it.�¹ Butnbsp;later on the Penal Laws changed all that, and turned thenbsp;Irish natural love of justice into hatred and distrust of law,nbsp;which in many ways continues to manifest itself to this day.

The brehons evidently took great pleasure in the study and practice of their profession ; and we frequentlynbsp;find the law designated as � pleasant and delightful knowledge,�! such like. There are indications everywherenbsp;in the law tracts that they applied themselves diligently tonbsp;master details and clear up doubtful points : and taking anbsp;broad view of the whole subject, as it is presented to us innbsp;the. books, we cannot avoid concluding that�in the wordsnbsp;of Sullivan (Introd., 273)�� the pi'ofession of law appearsnbsp;� to have been in a singularly advanced stage of organisa-quot; tion for so early a period.�

In the beginning every f�� or poet was also a brehon or judge : � for, from the time that Amergin of the white knee,nbsp;the poet, delivered the first judgment in Erin, it was to thenbsp;files or poets alone that belonged the right of pronouncingnbsp;judgments, until the disputation of the tvio \ioets Fercertnenbsp;and Neidhe.�X It happened during the reign of Concobarnbsp;Mac Nessa that these two sages had to argue a point innbsp;public, while Concobar himself was present listening ; andnbsp;their language was so highly technical that neither the kingnbsp;nor the chiefs could understand them ; whereupon thenbsp;privilege of judicature was taken from the poets and committed to the hands of special judges ; and the legal profession, instead of being confined to the poets, was thrownnbsp;open to all who could qualify. This tradition probablynbsp;commemorates a reform at some very early time, by whichnbsp;legal pronouncements came to be expressed in language

This is the concluding sentence of Davies� thoughtful and valuable essay, � A discoverie of the True Causes.� amp;c. Davies was an Englishman.

much less technical than before, so that all intelligent persons might understand them.¹ Several great lawyers are commemorated in the traditions, among whom, it is worthynbsp;of remark, some women are included.

The Brehon Law that applied to all Ireland was called Cain Law, to distinguish it from Urradus Law [urra-us],nbsp;which was a special local law or custom applying only tonbsp;the province or district where it was in force. It was thenbsp;business of the brehon to know when to bring a case undernbsp;the one, and when under the other, and to apply the propernbsp;rules in each case.

The brehons had collections of laws in volumes cr tracts, all in the Irish language, by which they regulatednbsp;their judgments, and which those of them who kept law-schools expounded to their scholars ; each tract treating ofnbsp;one subject or one group of subjects. Many of these havenbsp;been preserved, and of late years the most important havenbsp;been published, with translations, forming five printednbsp;volumes (with a sixth consisting of a valuable Glossarynbsp;to the preceding five, by Dr. Atkinson, the editor of thenbsp;fifth volume). Of the tracts contained in these volumes,nbsp;the two largest and most important are the Senchus Mornbsp;[Shanahus More] and the Book of Acaill [Ack'ill]. In anbsp;popular sense, it may be said that the Senchus M�r isnbsp;chiefly concerned with the Irish civil law, and the Booknbsp;of Acaill with what is now known as the criminal law andnbsp;the law relating to personal injuries.

In the ancient Introduction to the Senchus M�rf the following account is given of its original compilation. Innbsp;the year 438 a.d. a collection of the pagan laws was madenbsp;at the request of St. Patrick, and the whole F�nechas Code

For an example of the legal hard language see Cormac�s Glossary, 102, under � Lethcch.�nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;I Br. Laws, I. 3 et seq.

was expounded to him by Dubthach, the king�s chief poet, a zealous Christian convert. Laegaire [Leary], king ofnbsp;Ireland, appointed a committee of nine persons to revisenbsp;them, viz. three kings�Laegaire himself. Core, king ofnbsp;Munster, and Daire [Dara] king of Ulster ; three ecclesiastics�Patrick, Benen, and Cairnech ; and three poets andnbsp;antiquarians�Rossa, Dubthach, and Fergus. These ninenbsp;produced at the end of three years a revised code, whichnbsp;was called Senchus M�r�also called Cain Patrick ornbsp;Patrick�s Law This account, with the names of thenbsp;� nine props of the Senchus M�r,� as they are designated,nbsp;is also given briefly in Cormac�s Glossary, as well as in thenbsp;Book of the Dun Cow (Trip Life, 565, 571). The Introduction to the Senchus M�r goes on to say ; � What didnbsp;� not clash with the word of God in the written Law andnbsp;� in the New Testament, and with the consciences of thenbsp;� believers, was confirmed in the laws of the Brehons bynbsp;� Patrick and by the ecclesiastics and the chieftains of Erinnbsp;[z.e. by the committee of nine] : and this is the Senchusnbsp;� M�r.�* Though there are historical difflculties in thisnbsp;account, there seems no good reason to doubt that therenbsp;was some such revision.

The code produced by the committee contained no new , laws : it was merely a digest of those already in use, withnbsp;the addition of the Scriptural and Canon laws. The statement in the old Introduction is, that before St. Patrick�snbsp;time the law of nature prevailed, t.e. the ancient pagan lawnbsp;as expounded by Dubthach to Patrick : after his time thenbsp;law of nature and the law of the letter : this latter fths

* Br. Law, i. 17. Of all the missionaries that ever preached to the heathen, I suppose that St. Patrick was about the most broad-mindednbsp;and tolerant; as is evidenced in the whole story of his life-work. Henbsp;made allowance for all the prejudices of the native Irish, and nevernbsp;interfered with any of their customs so long as they did not infringe onnbsp;the tenets of Christianity. He himself indeed followed the native customsnbsp;wherever he could ; yet when he encountered dowmright pagan beliefs,nbsp;idolatrous rites, or wickedness in any form, he was determined and fearless, as when' he destroyed the idol Cromm Cruach (see pages 275, 276),nbsp;below.

� Law of the Letter �) being � The Patriarchal Law [the Old Testament] and the New Testament.� But the quot; Lawnbsp;of the Letter � evidently included the numerous Canonicalnbsp;rules laid down by Patrick and his successors, which adjusted the relations of the Church to the lay community,nbsp;all of which were new.* The commentator of the Senchusnbsp;M�r adds that � the over-severity of the law was takennbsp;� from it, namely, the old law of retaliation, � an eye for annbsp;� eye,� amp;c.,� which existed in the Mosaic Law (Lev. xxiv.nbsp;19, 20) and in the Irish Law before Patrick�s time : allnbsp;which was expunged, and the milder law of compensation substituted. But it is probable that this last reformnbsp;had been gradually coming into use, and was formallynbsp;confirmed in the Senchus M�r.

The very book left by St. Patrick and the others has been long lost. Successive copies were made from time tonbsp;time, with commentaries and explanations appended, tillnbsp;the manuscripts we now possess were produced. Thenbsp;existing manuscript copies of the Senchus M�r consistnbsp;of :�I. The original text, written in a large hand withnbsp;wide spaces between the lines : 2. An introduction to thenbsp;text : 3. Commentaries on the text, in a smaller hand ;nbsp;4. Glosses or explanations on words and phrases of thenbsp;text, in a hand still smaller; commentaries and glossesnbsp;commonly written in the spaces between the lines of thenbsp;text, but often in the margins. Of these the text, asnbsp;might be expected, is the most ancient. The languagenbsp;is extremely archaic, indicating a very remote antiquity,nbsp;though probably not the very language left by the revisingnbsp;committee, but a modified version of a later time.

The Senchus M�r is referred to, as a well-known work, in Cormac�s Glossary, written in the end of the ninth ornbsp;the beginning of the tenth century ; and many of its lawnbsp;terms had then become obsolete, and are explained in thenbsp;Glossary. As showing the substantial identity of the worknbsp;* See also Br. Laws, iii. 27 bot., and 29 top.

referred to in this Glossary with the present existing copy of the Senchus M�r, it may be mentioned that most ofnbsp;the cases, passages, and terms cited in the Glossary arenbsp;found in the lately printed text. Another law tract, thenbsp;Bretha Nemed (the � Laws of the Privileged Classes � : fromnbsp;hreth, judgment, pi. hretha ; and nemed, a person of thenbsp;higher or chieftain classes), is repeatedly referred to andnbsp;quoted in the same old Glossary.

The Introduction comes next in point of antiquity ; and the Commentaries and Glosses are the least ancient ofnbsp;all. Introduction, Commentaries, and Glosses (such as wenbsp;have them) were written or copied by different learnednbsp;lawyers at various times from the beginning of the fourteenth down to the sixteenth century � the language beingnbsp;often much older than the writing. The manuscript copiesnbsp;of the Book of Acaill and of some other law tracts resemblenbsp;those of the Senchus M�r, the original texts being accompanied by Introduction, Commentaries, and Glosses. Innbsp;the printed volumes all these are translated, and thenbsp;different sizes of the penmanship are marked by differentnbsp;sizes of type, both in the Irish and in the translation. �

It is probable that in very ancient times all laws were in verse.* This was evidently the case with the originalnbsp;Senchus M�r, for we are told by the commentators that atnbsp;the compilation � Dubthach put a thread of poetry round itnbsp;for Patrick quot;if and we know that the archaic pagan codenbsp;expounded by Dubthach was itself in verse.t The old

The laws were written in the oldest dialect of the Irish language, called B�rla F�ini, which even at the time wasnbsp;so difficult that persons about to become brehons had tonbsp;be specially instructed in it. Even the authors of the

Commentaries and Glosses who wrote hundreds of years ago, and were themselves learned brehons, were often quitenbsp;at fault in their attempts to explain the archaic text; andnbsp;their words show that they were fully conscious of thenbsp;difficulty. It will then be readily understood that the tasknbsp;of translating these Laws was a very difficult one, renderednbsp;all the more so by the number of technical terms andnbsp;phrases, many of which are to this day obscure, as well as

�n

�ixims�pt^ t'^aiwoipirirectuipt-T:lt;miriMbir'lt;��----

reocca nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ruA^snf^

icoiji opeuit

Facsimile specimen of the Senchus Mdr. The four lines ot large text are a part of the Senchus M�r proper; and they are to be read In the order, second, first, third, fourth. Thenbsp;commentary {z.e. the small text) consists of .seventeen lines: and, supposing them to benbsp;numbered from top to bottom, they are to be read in this way :�Begin at line 8 (whichnbsp;comments on the line of larger text right under it); then 7, 6, 5 ; part of 4 and part of 3 (bothnbsp;as far as the curve) 5 the rest of 4, the rest of 3; then 2, i. Resume at 9 and go on in likenbsp;manner�sometimes upwards, sometimes downwards�to the end: the reader being guidednbsp;all through by the context.

The whole page of the MS. of which this is a part is given in photographic facsimile in Vol. II. of the Brehon Laws (Plate i.); and the above passage will be found printed innbsp;proper consecutive order on page 50 ofBr. Laws, 1. (beginning at line 9), with the translationnbsp;on page 51 (beginning at line ii). No Glosses occur on this Facsimile.

by the peculiar style, which is very elliptical and abrupt� often incomplete sentences, or mere catch-words of rulesnbsp;not written down in full, but held in memory by the experts of the time.

Another circumstance that greatly adds to the difficulty of deciphering these MSS. is the confused way in which

the Commentaries are written in, mainly with the object of economising the expensive vellum. The lines and pnrasesnbsp;generally follow each other downwards, but sometimes upwards ; and often a part of a line belongs to one sentence,nbsp;while the other part has to be picked up after some timenbsp;from another sentence lower down : and the whole aboundsnbsp;in contractions. The explanatory note under fig. 68 willnbsp;give some idea of all this.

The two great Irish scholars�O�Donovan and O�Curr}^ -�who translated the Laws included in the five printednbsp;volumes, were able to do so only after a life-long study ;nbsp;and in numerous instances were, to the last, not quite surenbsp;of the meaning. As they had to retain the legal terms andnbsp;the elliptical style, even the translation is hard enough tonbsp;understand, and is often unintelligible. It is, moreover,nbsp;imperfect for another reason : they did not live to revisenbsp;it. How the case stands will be understood from thenbsp;following extract from the last Report (1902) of the Brehonnbsp;Law Commissioners :�

quot; The transcripts [made in the first instance by O�Donovan and O�Curry] occupied seventeen volumes, and employed those engagednbsp;on them for several years. A preliminary translation of almost allnbsp;the MS. tracts which the Commissioners selected for publication wasnbsp;made either by Dr. O�Donovan or by Professor O�Curry ; but unhappily those scholars did not live to complete and revise their translations, which were, in fact, in a great degree, provisional only, imperfections and errors being unavoidable in a first attempt to accomplishnbsp;what had been regarded by many previous experts as a hopelessnbsp;task.�

In criticising the work of these eminent men, therefore, scholars will do well to deal with their imperfections andnbsp;errors tenderly and reverently.

Why the Laws were so often written in this disjointed elliptical style admits of a natural explanation, which maynbsp;be given in the words of Dr. Atkinson, in his short Prefacenbsp;to the sixth volume of the Laws ;�� The conclusion ha=

� been forced upon me by the prolonged study of these quot; documents, that there was a very definite teaching of annbsp;�' oral kind (of which the present documents only give usnbsp;� the notes), based upon old traditions of the time whennbsp;quot; the present extant mss. were committed to writing.�nbsp;So that the existing texts of the Senchus M�r and othernbsp;law tracts are in great part what would now be callednbsp;headings or notes of lectures, a description which anyonenbsp;who examines them carefully will recognise as correct.

In all countries a part at least of the law consists of customs that have grown up from the immemorial beginnings of society, corresponding with what is now callednbsp;� common law,� never formalty enacted, but submitted tonbsp;by the general body of the people from hereditary habitnbsp;and under pressure of public opinion. But in countriesnbsp;where the central government has attained sufficient powernbsp;to take the law into its own hands, there are superaddednbsp;to these a body of laws specially enacted�statute law asnbsp;it is now called.

Ireland never arrived at, or at least never seriously entered on, the legislative stage : in other words, no distinctnbsp;legislative machinery existed : that is to say, a bodynbsp;convened for the purpose of making laws, with authoritynbsp;conferred by the state, and with special officers to enforcenbsp;obedience�a body like our present parliament. Thenbsp;resistance of the subordinate kings to their nominal superiors, and the resulting constant internecine wars, renderednbsp;it impossible for any supreme king to command sufficientnbsp;power, so that the central government was never strongnbsp;enough to have much influence either in the making ofnbsp;laws or in causing the existing laws to be carried out. Allnbsp;this prevented the idea of the state from taking root, andnbsp;the people could not look to it for supreme authority or fornbsp;protection : much the same as matters stood in England

in the time of the Heptarchy. A central state authority would have been ultimately developed in Ireland if thenbsp;development had not been at first retarded by civil strife,nbsp;and finally arrested by the Danish wars and by the Anglo-Norman invasion.

It has been asserted indeed that one of the objects for which the F�is of Tara was convened was to enact laws;nbsp;but for this assertion�which is often enough repeated�nbsp;there is no ancient authority. We have very full descriptions of this F�is, and also of the proceedings at some ofnbsp;the Aenachs or Fair-meetings held elsewhere (chap. xxix.).nbsp;But though we find it stated over and over again that atnbsp;these assemblies the laws were publicly � proclaimed,�nbsp;or � promulgated,� or � rehearsed ��to make the peoplenbsp;familiar with them�that they were quot; revised,� or � rearranged,� or � re affirmed ��these several functions beingnbsp;always performed by properly qualified lawyers�there isnbsp;nowhere any open or plain statement that laws were madenbsp;or enacted and sent forth with authority either at the F�isnbsp;or at any of the Aenachs. As a matter of fact, O�Curry,nbsp;though he believed the F�is of Tara exercised legislativenbsp;functions in their widest sense, acknowledges that he wasnbsp;unable to find any record of the enactment of any particular law at these Tara conventions.*

From the earliest times, however, assemblies were convened to deliberate on public questions. Matters of local and general interest were discussed and arranged, such as taxes,nbsp;the making and repairing of roads, bridges, causeways,nbsp;boundaries, the rights of classes or tribes, and such like : butnbsp;this was not legislation. Yet some of these meetings madenbsp;an approach to legislative functions ; as, for instance, thenbsp;synod convened at Tara in 697, where, under the influencenbsp;of St. Adamnan, the law exempting women from takingnbsp;part in war was agreed on and promulgated. It is notnbsp;necessary to quote other examples here ; but those whonbsp;* Man, amp; Cust., i. 29.

wish to study the matter further will find in the footnote* many other references to records of such assemblies. Meetings of this kind at best bore only a faint resemblance tonbsp;legislative assemblies ; for there existed no authoritativenbsp;machinery to have the laws carried out, and anyone whonbsp;chose might refuse to obey them, without subjecting himself to any danger of direct punishment by the state.

But these historical considerations do not go to the bottom of the subject; the real way to determine thenbsp;question is to examine the Laws themselves. When wenbsp;do this, we find scarce a trace of any result of legislativenbsp;action : nothing at all, in fact, resembling statute law. Thenbsp;entire Book of Acaill, which occupies nearly one largenbsp;volume of the Brehon Laws, and which to some extentnbsp;corresponds�as has been said�to the present Britishnbsp;criminal law, consists, as the book itself states, of Precedents�the legal pronouncements of two learned lawyers,nbsp;Cormac Mac Art and Cennfaela the learned. As to thenbsp;Senchus M�r, the most important part of the whole Brehonnbsp;Code, it claims to be merely a revised edition, as alreadynbsp;stated, of the old pagan law in use before the time of St.nbsp;Patrick, of which there is no record, and no indication, thatnbsp;any part was ever enacted by a legislative assembly. Tonbsp;what an extent the judgments of the brehons were regulated by mere precedent or case law is very clearly expressednbsp;in Cormac�s Glossary (p. 76) under the word Fasach :�nbsp;� Fasach [a precedent or maxim] ; i.c. the brehon producesnbsp;� a precedent {cosmailes : literally a � likeness �) for everynbsp;� case in which he adjudicates, i.e. a case similar {cosmail)nbsp;� to another : and he afterwards repeats the sentence whichnbsp;� wise brehons had passed upon it [i.e. upon a case similarnbsp;� to the case in hands]. Or he follows a good old judgmentnbsp;quot; for the present case.� So also the Commentary on the

* Br. Laws, i. 37 (ajudgment) ; yy amp; 81 (a judgment) ; 159, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;: iii.

21, last par. ; 150, note 2 ; iv. 227 ; FM, a.d. 1050 (meeting at Killaloe) : O�Curry, MS. Mat,, 45, 23: Man. amp; Cust,, i. 30, mid. ; and 32, top.

Senchus M�r says that the brehon delivered judgment in public from � the precedents and commentaries.�*

The Brehon Laws, then, are not a legislative structure, but merely a collection of customs attaining the force ofnbsp;law by long usage, by hereditary habit, and by publicnbsp;opinion : customs which were thrown into shape and committed to writing by a class of professional lawyers ornbsp;brehons. And a similar growth and development ofnbsp;custom-law took place in the early stages of all the Aryannbsp;nations.t It is to be observed that after the time of St.nbsp;Patrick, in the fifth century, Christianity exerted an ever-increasing influence in law as in other institutions ; and itnbsp;is evident from the law-books that, while custom was thenbsp;main guide of the Brehon lawyers, moral right and wrongnbsp;obtained more and more consideration in the settlement ofnbsp;cases as time went on.

The Brehon Code forms a great body of civil, military, and criminal law. It regulates the various ranks of society,nbsp;from the king down to the slave, and enumerates theirnbsp;several rights and privileges. There are minute rules fornbsp;the m,anagement of property, for the several industries�nbsp;building, brewing, mills, water-courses, fishing-weirs, beesnbsp;and honey�for distress or seizure of goods, for tithes,nbsp;trespass, and evidence. The relations of landlord andnbsp;tenant, the fees of professional men�doctors, judges,nbsp;teachers, builders, artificers�the mutual duties of fathernbsp;and son, of foster-parents and foster-children, of masternbsp;and servant, are all carefully regulated. In that portionnbsp;corresponding to what is now known as criminal law, thenbsp;various offences are minutely distinguished:�murder,nbsp;manslaughter, assaults, wounding, thefts, and all sorts ofnbsp;wilful damage ; and accidental injuries from flails, sledge-

hammers, machines, and weapons of all kinds ; and the amount of compensation is laid down in detail for almostnbsp;every possible variety of injury.

Contracts or covenants are regarded as peculiarly sacred, and are treated in great detail. � There are threenbsp;� periods of evil for the world ��says the Senchus M�r�nbsp;� the period of a plague, of a general war, and of the dissolu-� tion of verbal contracts � ; and again � � The world wouldnbsp;� be evilly situated if express contracts were not binding.�*nbsp;But they should be contracts in which both parties werenbsp;perfectly free : a condition always very clearly kept in view.nbsp;There were several ways of striking a contract or ratifyingnbsp;a covenant�all very simple. One was by the two partiesnbsp;joining their right hands, which should be first unglovednbsp;if gloves were worn. I Sometimes one of the parties putnbsp;his drinking horn into the hand of the other :j: a practicenbsp;anciently common in England, especially in the transfer ofnbsp;lands. Certain legal formulae were commonly used :�thenbsp;conditions were to be observed � while the sea surroundsnbsp;Erin,� � so long as the sun and wind remain,� amp;c.� Important contracts were always witnessed ; and it was usual tonbsp;give, on each side, persons of standing as securities andnbsp;guarantees for the fulfilment of contracts or conditions.nbsp;These persons became liable in case of default. A contractnbsp;was denoted by the words cor, cofach, and ernaidm.

The Brehon Law was vehemently condemned by English writers ; and in several acts of parliament it wasnbsp;made treason for the English settlers to use it. But thesenbsp;testimonies are to be received with much reserve as comingnbsp;from prejudiced and inter�sted parties. The laws laidnbsp;down in the Brehon Code were not, in fact, peculiarly Irish.nbsp;They were, as has been remarked (p. i8i), similar to thenbsp;ancient laws of all other Aryan tribes, a survival-modified

by time and circumstance�of what was once universal.* We have good reason to believe that the Brehon Law wasnbsp;very well suited to the society in which, and from which, itnbsp;grew up. This view is confirmed by the well-known factnbsp;that when the English settlers living outside the Palenbsp;adopted the Irish manners and customs, they all, both highnbsp;and low, abandoned their own law and adopted the Brehonnbsp;Code, to which they became quite as much attached as thenbsp;Irish themselves. The Anglo-Irish lords of those timesnbsp;commonly kept brehons in their service after the mannernbsp;of the native Irish chiefs : although it was treason fornbsp;them to do so :t and even the Butlers, who of all the greatnbsp;Anglo-Irish families were least inclined to imitate the Irish,nbsp;adopted the custom. Many authorities might be cited innbsp;proof of all this ; but the following passage from an Anglo-Irish State paper of 1537 sets forth the facts as clearly andnbsp;strongly as could be desired :�

� Mem.�The statutes of Kilcas [i.e. the local Brehon Law of Kilcash in Tipperary, near Clommel] be commonly used in the Country by thenbsp;lord of Ossory [one of the Butlers], and by his Irish judge called a brehon,nbsp;and by all other freeholders of the Countrey, and they have none othernbsp;lawe but the same ; and divers of the bookes of the same statutes \i.e.nbsp;MS. books of those parts of the Brehon Law] are in the safe keeping ofnbsp;the shiref of the shire of Kilkenny [the principality of the earls of Ormond,nbsp;chiefs of the Butlers], and the bishop of Waterford : and one book isnbsp;in possession of Rory Mac Loughire, being judge [or brehon] of thenbsp;country.quot;!

FiG. 70.�Sculpture on Window : Cathedral Church, Glendalough : Beraujcr, 1799. {From Petre�s Round Towers.)

i^HE following account of the ancient land laws of Ireland, which has been compiled chiefly from the Brehon Laws,nbsp;is corroborated in some of its mainnbsp;features by those early English writersnbsp;who described the native Irish customsnbsp;from personal observation. It throws much light on thenbsp;Irish land question of modern times.

In theory the land belonged not to individuals, but to the tribe. The king or chief had a portion assignednbsp;to him as mensal land. The rest was occupied by thenbsp;tribesmen in the several ways mentioned below. Thenbsp;chief, though exercising a sort of supervision over thenbsp;whole of the territory, had no right of ownership exceptnbsp;over his own property, if he had any, and for the timenbsp;being over his mensal land. It would appear thatnbsp;originally�in prehistoric times�the land was all cornmonnbsp;property, and chief and people were liable to be callednbsp;on to give up their portions for a new distribution. Butnbsp;as time went on, this custom was gradually broken in upon ;nbsp;and the lands held by some, after long possession, came

to be looked upon as private property. As tar back as our records go, there was some private ownership in land ;nbsp;and it is plainly recognised all through the Brehon Laws.¹nbsp;� All the Brehon writers seem to have a bias towardsnbsp;private, as distinguished from collective, property. �t Yetnbsp;the original idea of collective ownership was never quitenbsp;lost: for although men owned land, the ownership wasnbsp;� not so absolute as at present. A man, for instance, couldnbsp;not alienate his land outside the tribe ; and he had tonbsp;comply with certain other tribal obligations in the management and disposal of it, I all which restrictions were vestigesnbsp;of the old tribe ownership. But within these limits, whichnbsp;were not very stringent, a man might dispose of his landnbsp;just as he pleased.

Outside of the Brehon Laws, we do not find much reference to the former common occupation of land. Butnbsp;there are at least two passages which have been noticed bynbsp;Sir Henry Maine (Anc. Inst., 114) as preserving a dimnbsp;memory of the old state of things : interesting passagesnbsp;supplied to him by Dr. Whitley Stokes. One is an ancientnbsp;scholiast�s preface in the Book of Hymns (Todd, 132) ;�nbsp;� For the people were very numerous in Erin at that timenbsp;� [namely, during the reign of the sons of Aed Slaine, a.d.nbsp;� 656 to 664] : and so great were their numbers that thenbsp;� land could afford but thrice nine ridges \tri not immaire :nbsp;� meaning here long narrow plots�not hill-ridges] to eachnbsp;� man in Erin ; viz., nine of bog, nine of field, and nine ofnbsp;� wood.� The other passage is in one of the ancient tales�nbsp;� The Birth of Cuculainn ��in the Book of the Dun Cownbsp;(and copied into that, a.d. iioo, from an earlier ms.).nbsp;This story relates how, on one occasion, a party of thenbsp;Red Branch Knights set out southwards from Emain innbsp;chariots in pursuit of a flock of enchanted birds : and they

Br. Laws. III. 53 ; iv. 69 to 150 : these references given as specimens ; many other passages might be referred to.

proceeded across country without difficulty, because, says the story :�� There was neither trench, nor fence, nornbsp;quot; stone wall round land in those days, until there camenbsp;� the time of the sons of Aed Slaine, but only smoothnbsp;� fields. Because of the abundance of households in theirnbsp;� time, therefore, it came to pass that they made boundariesnbsp;quot; in Ireland.�* Maine remarks it as instructive that, innbsp;both passages, the change is referred to an increase ofnbsp;population : and he goes on to express his opinion thatnbsp;this unquestionably represents true history. The commonnbsp;occupation of land is also alluded to in the early Memoirsnbsp;of St. Patrick.!

Within historic times the following were the rules of land tenure, as set forth chiefly in the Brehon Laws, andnbsp;also in some important points by early English writers.Jnbsp;The tribe (or aggregate of tribes), under the rule of onenbsp;king or chief, held permanently a definite district of thenbsp;country. The tribe was divided, as already describednbsp;(p. i66), into smaller groups�clans or septs�each of which,nbsp;being governed by a sub-chief under the chief of the tribe,nbsp;was a sort of miniature of the whole tribe ; and each clannbsp;was permanently settled down on a separate portion of thenbsp;land which was considered as their separate property, andnbsp;which was not interfered with by any other clans or septsnbsp;of the tribe. The land was held by individuals in somenbsp;one of five different ways.

First.�The chief, whether of the tribe or of the sept, had a portion as mensal land, for life or for as long asnbsp;he remained chief (for which, see p. 50,, supra).

X For Irish land tenures, see SuU., In trod., 185 et seq. ; and for the correspondences between Irish and Teutonic land laws, the same voL.nbsp;131 et seq.

bj� persons who had come, in various ways, to own the land. Most of these were flaith^, or nobles, of the several ranks ;nbsp;and some were professional men, such as physicians, judges,nbsp;poets, historians, artificers, amp;c., who had got their lands asnbsp;stipends for their professional services to the chief, andnbsp;in whose families it often remained for generations. Undernbsp;this second heading may be included the plot on whichnbsp;stood the homestead of every free member of the tribe,nbsp;with the homestead itself.

Third.�Persons held, as tenants, portions of the lands belonging to those who owned it as private property, ornbsp;portions of the mensal land of the chief�much like tenantsnbsp;of the present day : these paid what was equivalent tonbsp;rent�always in kind. The term was commonly sevennbsp;57ears, and they might sublet to under-tenants.

Fourth.�The rest of the arable land, which was called the Tribe-land�equivalent to the folc or folk land ofnbsp;England�forming by far the largest part of the territory,nbsp;belonged to the people in general�the several subdivisionsnbsp;of it to the several septs�no part being private property.*nbsp;This was occupied by the free members of the sept, whonbsp;were owners for the time being, each of his own farm.nbsp;Every free man had a right to his share, a right nevernbsp;questioned. Those who occupied the tribe-land did notnbsp;hold for any fixed term, for the land of the sept was liablenbsp;to gavelkind (p. 197, belowl or redistribution from time tonbsp;time�once every three or four years, t Yet they were notnbsp;tenants at will, for they could not be disturbed till the timenbsp;of gavelling ; even then each man kept his crops and gotnbsp;compensation for unexhausted improvements ; and thoughnbsp;he gave up one farm, he always got another.

Fifth.�The non-arable or waste land�mountain, forest, bog, amp;c.�was Commons-land. This was not appropriated by individuals ; but every free man had a right

* Br. Laws, ni. 17, 53 ; Ware, Antiqq., 72, top. f Davies, Disf. : Letter to Lord Salisbury, ed. 1787, p. 279.

to use it for grazing,* for procuring fuel, or for the chaser There was no need of subdividing the commons by fences,nbsp;for the cattle grazed over it without distinction. The portion of territory occupied by each clan or sept commonlynbsp;included land held in all the five ways here described.

Between common clan ownership on the one hand, and private ownership by individuals on the other, there wasnbsp;an intermediate link; for in some cases land was ownednbsp;by a family, though not by any individual member, andnbsp;remained in the same family for generations. This wasnbsp;often the case with land granted for professional services.nbsp;A very remarkable and peculiar development of familynbsp;ownership was what was known as the Gelfine system,nbsp;under which four groups of persons, all nearly related tonbsp;each other, held four adjacent tracts of land as a sort ofnbsp;common property, subject to regulations, then well recognised, but now hard enough to understand.!

It should be observed that the individuals and families w'ho owned land as private property were comparativelynbsp;few, and their possessions were not extensive : the greatnbsp;bulk of both people and land fell under the conditions ofnbsp;tenure described under the fourth and fifth headings.

Every tribesman had to pay to his chief certain subsidies according to his means. Those who held portion of the tribe-land, and who used the commons land for grazingnbsp;or other purposes, paid these subsidies of course ; butnbsp;beyond this they had no rent to pay to any individual fornbsp;land held or used under the categories four and five describednbsp;above. The usual subsidy for commons pasturage was in

* How commons land was used for grazing will be described in chap, xxiii., vol. II,, (p. 282).

t On the Gelfine system : see Br. Laws, iv., Introd. i-. ; 41, last par. and note 2 ; 43; 63,3; 249,20; 269,13: 287, note 4 ; 289, notesnbsp;T and 2 ; 293,,: Joyce, Short Hist, of Irel., 6g : and Seebohng Tribalnbsp;Custom, p. 76.

the proportion of one animal yearly for every seven,* which was considerably less than a reasonable rent of the presentnbsp;day. Probably the subsidy for tillage-land was in muchnbsp;the same proportion. Every person who held land sharednbsp;the liabilities of the tribe ; for instance, he was liable tonbsp;military service, f and he was bound to contribute to thenbsp;support of old people who had no children. J

The tribesman who placed himself under the protection of a chief, and who held land, whether it was the privatenbsp;property of the lessor or a part of the general tribe-land,nbsp;was, as already e.xplained, a C�ile [cail'eh] or tenant; alsonbsp;called f�in� and aithech, i.e. a plebeian, farmer, or rent-payer. But a man who takes land must have stock-cows and sheep for the pasture-land, horses or oxen tonbsp;carry on the work of tillage. A small proportion of thenbsp;c�iles had stock of their own, but the great majority hadnbsp;not. Where the tenant needed stock it was the custom fornbsp;the chief to lend him as much as he wanted at certainnbsp;rates of payment. A man might hire stock from the kingnbsp;or a chief, or from a noble, or from some rich bo-aire. Itnbsp;often happened that an intermediate chief who gave stocknbsp;to tenants took stock himself from the king of the territory.nbsp;This custom of giving and taking stock on hire wasnbsp;universal in Ireland ; and it gave rise to a peculiar setnbsp;of social relations which were regulated in great detail bynbsp;the Brehon Law.

The c�iles or tenants were of two kinds, according to the manner of taking stock :�Saer-c�iles, or free tenants,nbsp;and Daer-c�iles, or bond tenants�the latter also callednbsp;giallna [geelna ; g hard] tenants. A sac/ [sare] tenant wasnbsp;one who took stock without giving security�nothing butnbsp;a mere acknowledgment (Br. Laws, ii. 195). Stock givennbsp;in this manner was saer-stock, and the tenant held by saernbsp;tenure. A daer tenant was one who gave security for his

stock : his stock was daer stock; and he held by daer tenure. The saer tenants were comparatively independent,nbsp;and many of them were rich : as, for instance, the ho-aires,nbsp;who were all saet tenants to kings, chiefs, or nobles. Thenbsp;pa3mients saer tenants had to make were reasonable. Notnbsp;so the daer tenants : they had to pay heavily, and werenbsp;generally in a state of dependence. Their position wasnbsp;much the same as that of needy persons of our own day,nbsp;who are forced to borrow at usurious interest. More stocknbsp;was given to a man in daer tenancy than in saer tenancy.nbsp;It was of more advantage to the chief to give daer stocknbsp;than saer stock (Br. Laws, ii. 211, 213).

When a man took daer stock, he had to do so openly, without any concealment; and his Fine [tinna]�i.e. hisnbsp;family, including all his sept or kindred within certainnbsp;degrees of relationship�might if they pleased veto thenbsp;whole transaction (Br. Laws, ii. 217). From this it wouldnbsp;appear that daer tenancy was viewed with disfavour by thenbsp;community, for the reason, no doubt, that it tended tonbsp;lower the status of the tribe.* There was a sharp distinction between the two orders of tenants, the daer tenantsnbsp;being very much the lower in public estimation. Whennbsp;the chief gave evidence in a court of law against his tenants,nbsp;the saer tenants were privileged to give evidence in reply,nbsp;but the daer tenants were not (Br. Laws, ii. 345). A daernbsp;or bond tenant was so called, not that he was a slave or annbsp;unfree person, but because by taking daer stock he forfeitednbsp;some of his rights as a freeman, and his heavy paymentsnbsp;always kept him down.

The ordinary subsidy owed by a saer tenant to his chief was called Bes-tigi [bess-tee] or house tribute, varyingnbsp;in amount according to his means or the extent of hisnbsp;land : it consisted of cows, pigs, bacon, malt, corn, amp;c. Henbsp;was also bound to give the chief either a certain number ofnbsp;days� work, or service in war.j For whatever saer stock

he took he had to pay one-third of its value yearly for seven years, at the end of which time the stock became hisnbsp;own property without further payment.* This was equivalent to thirty-three per cent, per annum for seven yearsnbsp;to repay a loan with its interes I�a sufficiently exorbitantnbsp;charge. He also had to send a man at stated times to paynbsp;full homage to the chief. The labour and the homage arenbsp;designated in the laws as the worst or most irksome of thenbsp;saer tenant�s obligations (Br. Laws, ii. 195).

A daer tenant had to give war-service (Br. Laws, iii. 495) and work. But his chief payment was a food-supplynbsp;called Biatad [bee'ha] or food-rent�cows, pigs, corn, bacon,nbsp;butter, honey, amp;c.�paid twice a year. The amount depended chiefly on the amount of daer stock he tooknbsp;(ii. 229), and probably varied according to local custom.nbsp;At the end of his term he had, under ordinary circumstances, to return all the stock or its equivalent (ii. 223).nbsp;But if the chief died at the end of seven years, the tenant,nbsp;provided he had paid his food-rent regularly, kept thenbsp;stock (ii. 269). The daer tenants were the principalnbsp;purveyors of the chief, who could be sure of a supply ofnbsp;provisions all the year round for his household andnbsp;numerous followers, by properly regulating the periods ofnbsp;payment of his several tenants. This custom is describednbsp;by several English writers as existing in their own time,nbsp;so late as the time of Elizabeth.

The daer tenants were bound to give coinmed [coiney], or refection, on visitation�that is to say, the chief wasnbsp;entitled to go with a company to the daer tenant�s house,nbsp;and remain there for a time varying from one day to anbsp;month, the tenant supplying food, drink, and sanctuary ornbsp;protection from danger, f The number of followers andnbsp;the time, with the quantity and quality of food and thenbsp;extent of protection, were regulated by law according to

the tenant�s amount of daer stock (Br. Laws, iil. 21), and according to the rank of the guest; the higher the rank thenbsp;longer the time (ii. 20, note 2). The protection might benbsp;relinquished either wholly or partly for an increase of foodnbsp;and drink or vice versa (ii. 21). Sometimes soldiers, innbsp;lieu of regular pay, were sent among the tenants, fromnbsp;whom they were entitled to receive buannacht or bonaght,nbsp;i.e. money, food, and entertainment: an eminently evilnbsp;custom. The refection and bonaght, wLich were by farnbsp;the most oppressive of the daer tenant�s liabilities, seem tonbsp;have been imposts peculiar to Ireland. The daer tenantsnbsp;were subject to several other duties, which came at irregularnbsp;intervals ; and in time of war the chief usually imposednbsp;much heavier tributes than at other times upon all thenbsp;tenants. Sometimes saer tenants were liable to coiney :nbsp;and occasionally a church was under an obligation tonbsp;supply a night�s coiney to the chief at certain intervals,nbsp;such as once a quarter.¹ But besides this, the superiornbsp;chief, when on his visitations, was to be entertained freenbsp;by his subordinate chiefs, t Kings, bishops, and certainnbsp;classes of chiefs and professional men were also entitled tonbsp;free entertainment when passing through territories, withnbsp;the proper number of attendants.!nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;appears that

when certain officials met to transact public business, the tenants, both saer and daer, had to lodge and feed themnbsp;(ill. 21). If either the chief or the tenant fell into poverty,nbsp;provision was made that he 'should not suffer by unjustnbsp;pressure from the other party : �No one,�� says the lawbook, � should be oppressed in his difficulty �� (ii. 339).

The daer tenants were by far the most numerous ; and accordingly this system of the chief stocking the farms wasnbsp;very general. It has often been compared to the metayernbsp;system, still found in some parts of France and Italy,

according to which the landlord supplies land, stock, and utensils, and receives half the produce.

The text of the Laws gives no information regarding the circumstances that led some to become saer tenantsnbsp;and others daer tenants ; and the whole subject is involvednbsp;in considerable obscurity. But a careful study of the textnbsp;will enable one to gather that this is probably how mattersnbsp;stood. All who took land had to pay the chief certainnbsp;subsidies�as we have said�independently of what theynbsp;had to pay for stock. Those who chose to become saernbsp;tenants did so because they had stock of their own, eithernbsp;quite or nearly sufhcient; and they took stock in smallnbsp;quantity to make up the amount they needed. The daernbsp;tenants, on the other hand, were poor men who had to takenbsp;all their stock�or nearly all�on hire ; and they had tonbsp;give security because they were poor, and because theynbsp;took such a large quantity. In their case, the subsidies fornbsp;land and the payments for stock are in the Laws commonlynbsp;mixed up so as to be undistinguishable.

The power, wealth, and influence of a chief depended very much on the amount of stock he possessed for lendingnbsp;out: for besides enriching him, it gave him all the greatnbsp;advantage over his tenants which the lender has everywhere over the borrower. This practice was so liable tonbsp;abuse that the compilers of the Brehon Code attemptednbsp;to protect borrowing tenants by a multitude of precisenbsp;detailed rules. Sir Henry Maine considers that the payments made by the Irish tenants for stock developed innbsp;time into a rent payment in respect of land.

Very careful provisions�penalties in the shape of heavy compensation payments�^are laid down in the Laws to prevent either the chief or the tenant�whether in saer or daernbsp;tenancy�from terminating the agreement in an arbitrarynbsp;fashion, as well as to protect each against any neglect ornbsp;misconduct on the part of the other.* The tenure of

Though the custom of visiting tenants� houses for coiney or refection was carefully safeguarded in thenbsp;Brehon Law, it was obviously liable to great abuse. Innbsp;imitation of the Irish, the Anglo-Irish lords adopted thenbsp;custom of Coyne and Livery,¹ which they commonly leviednbsp;from the English settlers, and committed such excesses�nbsp;far beyond any abuses of the native chiefs�that theynbsp;almost ruined the settlement by it.f

The social position of fudirs, saer and daer, has been already explained (p. 162). The saer-tudirs were permittednbsp;to take land from year to year ; and they could not benbsp;disturbed till the end of their term. Allowance had tonbsp;be made to them for unexhausted improvements, such asnbsp;manure. As they were permitted a settlement by thenbsp;grace of the chief, they were reckoned a part of thenbsp;chief�s fine or family (Br. Laws, iv. 283), though theynbsp;were not members of the tribe. Outside these small privileges, however, they were tenants at will. It would seemnbsp;indeed that the chief might demand almost anything henbsp;pleased from a fudir tenant, and if refused might turn himnbsp;off (ill. 131). But the daer-fudirs were in a still worsenbsp;position. If a daer-fudir took land, it did not belong tonbsp;him during occupation (in. 131) ; he was merely permittednbsp;to till it � he was a tenant at will, having no right whatevernbsp;in his holding. He was completely at the mercy of thenbsp;chief, who generally rackrented him so as to leave barelynbsp;enough for subsistence. The daer-fudirs, after a certainnbsp;period of residence (p. 163, supra), belonged to the land

Coyne and livery�food for man and horse. Coyne is the Irish coinmed or coiney ; livery is French�' food for horse.�

�f For coyne and livery and its abuses, see Ware, Antiqq., chap. xii. and Joyce, Short Hist, of Irel., 78.

on which they were settled, and could not leave it. The land kept by a flaith or lioble in his own hands was commonly worked by daer-fudirs ; and none but a noble couldnbsp;keep them on his estate.

Spenser, Davies, and other early English writers speak of the Irish tenants as in a condition worse than that ofnbsp;bondslaves, and as taking land only from j^ear to year.nbsp;No doubt, the tenants they had in view were the fudirs,nbsp;who must have been particularly numerous during thenbsp;Irish wars of Elizabeth (p. 164, supra). It is evident fromnbsp;the Brehon Law that the fudirs were a most importantnbsp;class on account of their numbers ; for as they tended tonbsp;increase in the disturbed state of the country from thenbsp;ninth century down, they must ultimately have formednbsp;a very large proportion of the population.

Sometimes a whole tribe, for one reason or another, came to be in such a state of dependence or serfdom asnbsp;to approach slavery. They were commonly a tribe whonbsp;had been expelled from their homes by stronger settlersnbsp;or invaders, and who, seeking a place of settlement from anbsp;strange chief, were received by him under hard conditions.nbsp;Such a tribe was usually designated daer-thuath [dair-hooa],nbsp;i.e. � bond-tribe,� corresponding with � daer-ch��e � as appliednbsp;to an individual (p. 189, supra) ; often called in Englishnbsp;� enslaved tribe,� but the people were really not slaves.nbsp;They were subject to heavy tributes, and had to executenbsp;certain works, such as building, road-repairing, amp;c., withoutnbsp;payment, for the chief of the district, and they were lookednbsp;upon as inferiors by the people among whom they settled.

The ancient rights of the tenants, i.e. of the c�iles or freemen, as may be gathered from the preceding part ofnbsp;this chapter, were chiefly three :�A right to some portionnbsp;of the arable or tribe-land, and to the use of the commons ;nbsp;a right to pay no more than a fair rent, which, in thenbsp;absence of express agreement, was adjusted by law ;* anbsp;* Br. Laws, i. 159 ; U- 317 ; ur. 127.

right to own a house and homestead, and (with certain equitable exceptions) all unexhausted improvements.¹ ^{2 3 4}nbsp;Unless under special contract, in individual cases, thenbsp;fudirs had no claim to these�with this exception, however, that the saer-fudiys had a right to their unexhaustednbsp;improvements. Among the freemen who held the tribe-land there was no such thing as eviction from house ornbsp;land, for there was a universal conviction that the landlordnbsp;was not the absolute owner, so that all free tenants hadnbsp;what was equivalent to fixity of tenure. If a man failed tonbsp;pay the subsidy to his chief, or the rent of land held in anynbsp;way, or the debt due for stock, it was recovered like anynbsp;other debt, by the processes described in next chapter,nbsp;never by process of eviction, f

First, as private property.�When a man had land understood to be his own, it would naturally pass to hisnbsp;heirst�i.e. his heirs in the sense then understood, notnbsp;necessarily in our sense of the word ; or he might if henbsp;wished divide it among them during his life�a thing thatnbsp;was sometimes done. In the Tripartite Life of St. Patricknbsp;(109, III), we find cases of the sons inheriting the land ofnbsp;their father. There appears in the Brehon Law a tendencynbsp;to favour descent of land by private ownership : � Thenbsp;� Brehon Law writers seem to me distinctly biassed innbsp;� favour of the descent of property in individual families.�'�nbsp;It should be remarked that those who inherited the propertynbsp;inherited also the liabilities.||

Second.�The land held by the chief as mensal estate descended, not to his heir, but to the person who succeeded

Third, by Gavelkind.�When a tenant who held a part of the tribe-land died, his farm did not go to hisnbsp;children : but the whole of the land belonging to the finenbsp;or sept was redivided or gavelled among all the male adultnbsp;members of the sept � including the dead man�s adultnbsp;sons�those members of the sept who were illegitimatenbsp;getting their share like the rest.¹ The domain of the chief,nbsp;and all land that was private property, were exempt. Thenbsp;redistribution by gavelkind on each occasion extendednbsp;to the clan or sept�not beyond. Davies complains, withnbsp;justice, that this custom prevented the tenants from makingnbsp;permanent improvements.f

Davies asserts that land went by only two modes� Tanistry and Gavelkind : but both the Laws and thenbsp;Annals show that descent by private ownership was wellnbsp;recognised.

The two customs of Tanistry and Gavelkind formerly prevailed all over Europe, and continued in Russia till anbsp;very recent period; and Gavelkind, in a modified form,nbsp;still exists in Kent. They were abolished and made illegalnbsp;in Ireland in the reign of James I. ; after which landnbsp;descended to the next heir according to English law.

Davies, Discoverie, ed. 1747, p. i6g ; Br. Laws, iv. 7, 9. t Letter to Lord Salisbury, ed. 1787, p. 280.

ANCIENT Ireland, as has been already explained, the state had not attainednbsp;sufficient strength and authority to makenbsp;laws and to see them carried out. Therenbsp;was accordingly no offence against thenbsp;state, and the state did not prosecute.

Every offence was against the individual �what lawyers call a � tort,� as distinguished from annbsp;offence against the state, which is technically called anbsp;� crime,� and on the injured party or his friends devolvednbsp;the duty of seeking redress. If a man is assaulted ornbsp;murdered nowadays, it is the duty of the magistratesnbsp;and police�whether friends intervene or not�to bringnbsp;the offender to justice. But in Ireland in those timesnbsp;there were no police, and a man might waylay or killnbsp;another, or set fire to a house, or steal a horse, andnbsp;still go scot-free, unless the injured person or his friendsnbsp;took the matter in hand. But we must not supposenbsp;from this that a lawless state of things existed, or thatnbsp;evil-disposed persons could do as they pleased. Thenbsp;laws suited the times, and aggrieved persons and their

friends, as we may well suppose, were always sharp enough to exact compensation or punishment for injuries, just asnbsp;they are at the present day in cases where the state will not,nbsp;or cannot, move ; so that injustice and evil deeds of everynbsp;kind were in fact kept in check, to all intents and purposes,nbsp;as well as they are now. A state of things similar to allnbsp;this existed among the Anglo-Saxons, as well as amongnbsp;all early Aryan communities.*

In very early times, beyond the reach of history, the law of retaliation prevailed�quot;an eye for an eye, a tooth fornbsp;a tooth ��in other words, every man or every family thatnbsp;was injured might take direct revenge on the offender.nbsp;But this, being found inconsistent with the peace and wellbeing of the community�especially in cases of homicide,nbsp;which were frequent enough in those days�gradually gavenbsp;place to the law of compensation, which applied to everynbsp;form of injury. That this general system of compensationnbsp;for wrongful acts was at least reasonably effectual is evidentnbsp;from the fact that it was the custom among all the earlynbsp;Aryan tribes.]quot; � In most early codes with which we arenbsp;� acquainted the idea of compensation predominates overnbsp;� that of the duty of revenge.�! In Ireland the process wasnbsp;this :�The injured party, having no civil authority tonbsp;appeal to, might at once, if he chose, take the law into hisnbsp;own hands. But though this was sometimes done, publicnbsp;sentiment was decidedly against it, and the long-establishednbsp;custom was to refer all such matters to the arbitration of anbsp;brehon. Accordingly, the person injured sued the offendernbsp;in proper form, and if the latter responded, the case was'nbsp;referred to the local brehon, who decided according to law.nbsp;The penalty always took the form of a fine�to be paid tonbsp;the family injured�no other punishment was prescribednbsp;by a brehon (see below, p. 213, 9)�and the brehon�s feenbsp;was usually paid out of this fine (p. 169, supra).

If the offender refused to submit the case to the usual tribunal, or if he withheld payment after the case had beennbsp;decided against him, or if a man refused to pay a just debtnbsp;of any kind�in any one of these cases the plaintiff or thenbsp;creditor proceeded by Distress (Irish Athgabdil) ; that is tonbsp;say, he distrained or seized the cattle or other effects of thenbsp;defendant. Due notice had to be given, but no other legalnbsp;preliminary�^no permission from, or reference to, any courtnbsp;or other higher authority�was necessary : the plaintiffnbsp;resorted to distress on his own responsibility. We willnbsp;suppose the effects to be cattle. There was generally annbsp;anad or stay of one or more days on the distress ; that is,nbsp;the plaintiff went through the form of seizing the cattle, butnbsp;did not remove them (Br. Laws, iii. 327). The defendantnbsp;had, however, to give a pledge�usually valuable goods, butnbsp;sometimes his son or other family member�to the plaintiff,nbsp;who took it away and retained it till the end of the stay,nbsp;when he returned it on the distrained cattle being formallynbsp;handed over to him. If the defendant refused to give anbsp;pledge, then- there was no stay ; it was an immediatenbsp;distress, and the cattle were taken on the spot. Duringnbsp;the stay the cattle remained in the possession of the defendant or debtor, no doubt to give him time to make up hisnbsp;mind as to what course to take, viz. either to pay the debtnbsp;or to have the case tried before the brehon : but the plaintiff had all the time a claim on them.

If at the end of the stay the defendant did not give up the cattle or pay the debt, the plaintiff kept the pledge,nbsp;which he then might dispose of as he would the distress ;*nbsp;he might keep the goods or sell the person into slavery.nbsp;If the debt was not paid at the end of the lawful stay, thenbsp;plaintiff, in the presence of certain witnesses, removed the

animals and put them in a pound.* If a chief took cattle in distress, he might legally keep them during detentionnbsp;time in the faithche or green of his own homestead, whichnbsp;in such a case constituted a pound, instead of sending themnbsp;to the public pound. Animals might be impounded onnbsp;other occasions besides distress, such as for trespass. Fornbsp;the reception and detention of cattle impounded for anynbsp;cause, there were in every tuath or district seven differentnbsp;pounds, each attached to the residence of a chief or of annbsp;ollave of some class, f who of course received a compensation fee for sheltering and feeding the animals. To benbsp;permitted to keep a pound was accordingly a valuablenbsp;privilege. Some pounds are designated as lawful [dlig-thigh), and some as unlawful (indligfMgh). �Lawful�nbsp;pounds were those recognised bj^ law, i.e. having some sortnbsp;of registration : an � unlawful � pound meant one that hadnbsp;no such recognition�probably kept by persons on theirnbsp;own account. J � Unlawful,� here does not mean contrarynbsp;to law, but simply unrecognised or unregistered. The distinction was important; for if an accident occurred, as, fornbsp;example, if a cow broke her leg in a pound, the personnbsp;taking the distress was liable for the damage if it happenednbsp;to be an unlawful pound : but he was free from liability ifnbsp;the pound was lawful. Some lawful pounds were callednbsp;mainner and some form {Br. Laws, ii. ii), which were stillnbsp;further classified : and gobhang appears to have been anbsp;general name for a cattle-pound. The animals were notnbsp;to be mixed : each species should have a separate compartment or pound ; and diseased animals were to be separatednbsp;from those that were sound. Proper provision had to benbsp;made for feeding and sheltering impounded cattle.�

In all cases of impending distress the following � three quot; things are to be announced at the residence of the defen-� dant, i.c. the debt for which it [the distress] was taken,

* Br. Laws, i. 289, 291. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f Ibid., 1. 293, top ; n. ii, 13.

t Ibid., II. 5, last par. ; ii, top line. � Ibid., 1. 269, 305 ; ii. ii.

202 government, military SYSTEM, AN� LAW [PART 1 � the pound in which it was put, the law agent by whom itnbsp;� was taken � (i. 269). The animals remained in the poundnbsp;for a period called a dithim, during which the expense ofnbsp;feeding and tending was paid out of the value of the cattle.¹nbsp;At the end of the dithim they began to be forfeited to thenbsp;plaintiff at a certain rate per day, till such a number becamenbsp;forfeited as paid both the debt and the expenses, f Thenbsp;length of the anad and of the dithim was regulated by lawnbsp;according to circumstances. There was no stay�i.c. thenbsp;distress was immediate�when it was taken by a chief fromnbsp;one of a lower grade, and also in certain other obvious casesnbsp;(as when the creditor was likely to abscond) ; in some cases,nbsp;also, notice was not necessary. In immediate distress thenbsp;cattle were removed at once to the pound. If after thenbsp;plaintiff had given due notice the defendant absconded, hisnbsp;fin'e [finnal or kindred were liable.|

The defendant or debtor might prevent the removal of the cattle at the beginning, or might get them back up tonbsp;the end of the dithim, by either paying the debt and expenses, or giving a pledge that he would submit the casenbsp;for trial, if it had not been tried already. Goods of anynbsp;kind might be taken in distress, or a man himself, if therenbsp;were no goods ;� but the distress, was most generally innbsp;cattle. Much formality was observed in all these proceedings ; and the distrainer had to be accompanied by hisnbsp;law-agent and seven witnesses (Br. Laws, i. 291), whonbsp;should be able to testify that there was a distress, and thatnbsp;it was carried out in exact accordance with legal rules.

We know that fictions form an important part of all laws both ancient and modern : and many are to be foundnbsp;in the Brehon Law : all, however, like those in other codes,nbsp;being traces or representations of what had once been realnbsp;transactions. In the cases of some distresses with stay,nbsp;the fictitious observances � without which the distress

would not be legally complete�were very curious. Thus, when barren cattle were distrained, a stone was thrownnbsp;over them thrice before witnesses (like the legal fictionnbsp;mentioned by Gibbon¹ as practised by the ancientnbsp;Romans ;�� a work was prohibited by casting a stone �).nbsp;If hens were distrained, a little bit of withe was tied onnbsp;their feet, and their wings were clipped ; if a dog, a sticknbsp;was placed across his trough to prohibit feeding ; if annbsp;anvil, a little withe was tied on it to prohibit its use ; ifnbsp;carpenters� or shield-makers� tools, a little withe-tie wasnbsp;put on them ; if distress was on religious orders, a withe-tie was put on their bell-house or at the foot of the altar�nbsp;a sign that they were not to be used ; and so forth, f Afternbsp;these formalities it was understood that, though the defendant was allowed to keep the things, he was not to makenbsp;use of them meantime.

The object of a distress was either to recover a debt or to force a reference to a brehon ; it appears to have beennbsp;the almost universal way of bringing about the redress ofnbsp;wrong (Br. Laws, i. 257). Heavy penalties were incurrednbsp;by those who distrained unjustly or contrary to law.!nbsp;Distress should be taken � between sunrise and sunset � :nbsp;except in cases of urgent necessity, it should not be takennbsp;at night (Br. Laws, i. 105). The Irish proceedings bynbsp;distress were almost identical with the corresponding provisions of the ancient Roman Law, as well as of those ofnbsp;all the early Aryan nations.� The law of distress is givennbsp;in great detail, and occupies a large part�186 pages ofnbsp;Irish type�of the Senchus M�r.

Suppose now the defendant defied all the proceedings of the plaintiff�a course, however, which very fewnbsp;ventured on, partly on account of the danger, and partlynbsp;for the reasons stated below (p. 204) ; but if he did, since

there was no state intervention to enforce obedience, the injured person might take the law into his own hands, andnbsp;fall back on the old rule of direct retaliation.¹ All this, asnbsp;already observed, resembled the procedure that grew upnbsp;among the early Aryan people of all nationalities.

This brings us to make an observation on an important point. Three principles, which have been already separately enunciated, were long and deeply embedded in thenbsp;Brehon Law, viz. :�That every free man had a right tonbsp;a portion of the land to enable him to subsist, the deprivalnbsp;of which constituted a grievous injustice : that if a freenbsp;tenant failed to pay his rent or subsidy, it was recoverednbsp;like any other debt�never by process of eviction (p. 196,nbsp;supra) : and that the duty of inflicting punishment fornbsp;wrong devolved by right on the injured person where allnbsp;means of obtaining redress from the culprit failed. Customsnbsp;that have grown up slowly among a people during morenbsp;than a thousand years take long to eradicate. They subsist as living forces for generations after their formal abolition ; and the unconscious instinctive hereditary memorynbsp;of these three principles will go far to explain the tendencynbsp;to personal acts of vengeance witnessed in Ireland downnbsp;to recent times in cases of eviction from houses and lands.

In some cases before distress was resorted to, a curious custom came into play :�the plaintiff � fasted on � thenbsp;defendant; and this process, called troscad, � fasting,� wasnbsp;always necessary before distress when the defendant wasnbsp;of chieftain grade and the plaintiff of an inferior gradenbsp;(Br. Laws, i. 113). It was done in this way. The plaintiff, having served due notice, went to the house of the

Maine, Anc. Inst., in. For more information on the subject of Procedure by Distress, the reader is referred to this last-mentioned work ;nbsp;to Sir S. Ferguson's Paper in Trans. R. I. Acad., xxiv. 83 ; and to M.nbsp;D�Arbois de Jubainville, Rev. Celt., vii., pp. 20-31.

defendant, and, sitting before the door, remained there without food. It may be inferred that the debtor generallynbsp;yielded before the fast was ended, i.e. either paid the debtnbsp;or gave a pledge that he would settle the case. If thenbsp;creditor continued to fast after an offer of payment, henbsp;forfeited all the debt due to him.¹ Fasting, as a mode ofnbsp;enforcing a right, is mentioned in the � Tripartite � andnbsp;other Lives of St. Patrick ; and Patrick himself�as relatednbsp;in these�fasted against several persons to compel themnbsp;to do justice.! From some passages it would appear thatnbsp;the debtor was bound to remain fasting as long as thenbsp;creditor or complainant fasted. This fasting process wasnbsp;regarded with a sort of superstitious awe ; and it wasnbsp;considered outrageously disgraceful for a defendant not tonbsp;submit to it:�� He that does not give a pledge to fastingnbsp;�is an evader of all; he who disregards all things shallnbsp;� not be paid by God or man (Br. Laws, i. 113). Moreover, if the case went against him, he had to pay doublenbsp;the original claim.

In this country fasting appears to have been resorted to for three purposes :�

Secondly : to bring some evil on a person. Thus, we are told that, on the eve of a battle, St. Caimin of Inishcaltranbsp;fasted against King Guaire of Aidhne, one of the two contending kings, who, in consequence, was defeated in thenbsp;battle.! It appears that if the fasting was unjust, thenbsp;intended victim might fast in opposition ;� and it wasnbsp;thought that thereby�having the righteous cause�henbsp;might either mitigate or wholly avert the evil, somethingnbsp;like vaccination against small-pox. Sometimes it happened

t Trip. Life, cLxxvii. 219, 419, 557. and 560 note. t Silva Gad., 433 : see also Adamn., liv. note w.

that the two kept fasting against each other, till one fell into the mistaken belief�or was trapped into it�that thenbsp;other was eating, and took to eating also, giving an advantage to his opponent, who thus gained his point.

Thirdly ; fasting was used as a sort of compulsion�like a geis (for which see p. 312, infra)�^to obtain a request fromnbsp;another (F�ilire, 75, note 20). The Leinstermen on one occasion fasted on St. Columkille till they obtained from him thenbsp;privilege that an extern king should never prevail againstnbsp;them (Silva, 417) : Amergin Mac Aulay fasted on the oldnbsp;sage Fintan till he forced him to relate the ancient historynbsp;of Ireland :* and Conall Derg 0�Corra and his wife, havingnbsp;failed to obtain children from God, turned to the devil andnbsp;fasted on him to give them children, and obtained theirnbsp;request.! Nay, a legend relates that a certain man thinking himself hardly used by Providence, grumbled, andnbsp;fasted against God for relief : and the tale goes on to say,nbsp;that God was angry, but nevertheless dealt mercifully withnbsp;him.! For the last two applications of fasting�to injurenbsp;an enemy and to obtain a request�I can find no betternbsp;authority than the romantic tales and religious legends :nbsp;but the twofold custom is mentioned too often to permitnbsp;us to doubt its existence.

This institution of fasting on a debtor is still widely diffused in the east, and is called by the Hindoos � sittingnbsp;dharna.� They believe that if the plaintiff dies of starvation, the defendant is sure to be visited by fearful supernatural penalties. Our books do not give us much information about the Irish institution, and it is not easy to understand it in all its forms : but it is evidently identical with

J Stokes� Lives of SS., ix. See for another instance of this, Saltair na Rann, Preface iii., last line ; and for still another, Mac Congl., 60.nbsp;Other examples of fasting for the several purposes may be seen in Rev.nbsp;Celt., XV. 480 : Trip. Life, 219, bottom, 221, 419, top, 557 ; Hyde. Lit,nbsp;Hist., 233, 417 -. P�ilire, 171, ,9

the eastern custom, and no doubt it was believed in pagan times to be attended by similar supernatural effects.*

As there was no state authority to enforce legal decisions, it will occur to anyone to ask why should defendants submit to distress and fasting when the proceedings went against them ; why, for instance, should notnbsp;a man resist the removal of his goods in distress ? Thenbsp;reply to this is that hereditary custom, backed by publicnbsp;opinion, was so overwhelmingly strong that resistance wasnbsp;hardly ever resorted to. It is pretty evident that the mannbsp;who refused to abide by the custom, not only incurrednbsp;personal danger, but lost all character, and was subject tonbsp;something like what we now call a universal boycott, whichnbsp;in those days no man could bear. He had in fact to flynbsp;and become a sort of outlaw. So Caesar tells us (Gall.nbsp;War, vi. 13) that those who refused to abide by thenbsp;decisions of the Gaulish druids (corresponding in thisnbsp;procedure with our brehons) were excommunicated ; and innbsp;Ireland he who disregards fasting � shall not be paid bynbsp;God or man � (p. 205, supra). So also Martin records, innbsp;1703, that in the western islands of Scotland, the man whonbsp;violated the blood-covenant (for which see vol. ii., p. 510)nbsp;utterly lost character, so that all people avoided him : innbsp;other words he was boycotted.

Homicide or bodily injury of any kind was atoned for by a fine called Eric [errick], corresponding with thenbsp;Teutonic weregild. But though this was the usual sensenbsp;of eric, the word was often applied to a fine for injury ofnbsp;any sort.

For homicide, and for most injuries to person, property, or dignity, the eric or fine consisted of two parts ^first, thenbsp;payment for the mere injury, which was determined by thenbsp;severity of the injury and by other circumstances ; second

a sum called Log-enech or Eneclann, � honour-price,� which varied according to the rank of the parties : the higher thenbsp;rank the greater the honour-price. The honour-price ofnbsp;an og-aire (see p. 159, supra) was 3 cows : of a fer-fothla,nbsp;cows. A man�s honour-price was diminished�whichnbsp;of course was a punishment�if he was guilty of anynbsp;misconduct. Dire, which is a term constantly used in thenbsp;Brehon Laws, seems to mean much the same as eneclann,nbsp;a fine for personal injury of any kind�^bodily harm, anbsp;slight on character, an insult, amp;c.�the amount dependingnbsp;on the nature of the offence and on the position andnbsp;dignity of the persons. Indeed, in some parts of thenbsp;Brehon Laws (as in v. 56, le) dire is made equivalent tonbsp;eneclann. The law of compensation would tend to favournbsp;the rich, as they could afford to pay better than the poor :nbsp;and it was evidently with a view to remedy this that thenbsp;arrangement of honour-price was introduced. The consideration of honour-price entered into a great number ofnbsp;the provisions of the Brehon Law ; and this principle alsonbsp;existed in the early Teutonic Codes.*

The principles on which these awards should be made are laid down in great detail in the Book of Acaill. Thenbsp;eric for murder was double that for simple manslaughternbsp;(or homicide without intent), � for fines are doubled bynbsp;malice aforethought.�t The exact amount of the eric wasnbsp;adjudged by a brehon. Many modifying circumstancesnbsp;had to be taken into account�the actual injury, the ranknbsp;of the parties (for the honour-price), the intention of thenbsp;wrong-doer, the provocation, the amount of set-off claims,nbsp;amp;c.�so that the settlement called for much legal knowledge, tact, and technical skill on the part of the brehon�nbsp;quite as much as we expect in a lawyer of the presentnbsp;day.

* The honour-prices of the several grades (which were equal in amounts to their gifts to a church) may be seen in Br. Laws, iii. 43 :nbsp;see also for several points connected with honour-price, vol. iv. 48, 49,nbsp;53, 59, and 307.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;t Br. Laws, in. 99.

The man who killed a native freeman paid the amount of his own honour-price, and 21 cows (or double if ofnbsp;malice) : so that, suppose an Og-aifs killed a freeman bynbsp;misadventure, he had to pay altogether 24 cows (3 -i- 21),nbsp;or if of malice, 45 cows (3 -f 42), to the family of the victim.nbsp;This will give some idea of the general standard adopted,nbsp;it being understood that the total fine was higher or lowernbsp;according to the rank of the parties. Eric for homicidenbsp;continued to be exacted in Ireland by the Anglo-Irish asnbsp;well as by the old native Irish, till the middle of the seventeenth century, that is, long after the Brehon Law had beennbsp;legally abolished in the reign of James I.

In case of homicide the family of the victim were entitled to the eric. If the culprit did not pay, or absconded, leaving no property, his fine or family werenbsp;liable ; the guiding principle here, as in other parts of thenbsp;Brehon Law, being, that those who would be entitled tonbsp;inherit the property of the offender should, next afternbsp;himself�in their several proportions�be liable for thenbsp;fine for homicide incurred by him.¹ If they wished tonbsp;avoid this, they were required to give up the offender tonbsp;the family of the victim, t who might then, if they pleased,nbsp;kill him, or use him or sell him as a slave. Failing this,nbsp;his family had to expel him, and to lodge a sum to freenbsp;themselves from the consequences of his subsequent misconduct.| The expelled person had to leave the tribe ; henbsp;was then a sort of outlaw, and would likely become a daer-judir (p. 163, supra) in some other tribe. If neither thenbsp;slayer nor his friends paid the murder-eric, then he mightnbsp;be lawfully killed by the friends of the victim. In the Booknbsp;of Acaill (in. 349-355). there is a minute enumeration ofnbsp;bodily injuries, whether by design or accident, with thenbsp;compensation for each, taking into account the position of

t Ihid., in. 69 : see also Corm, Gloss., gS (quot; Imbleogan quot;). t Ihld., III. 382 note ; 383.

In Cormac�s Glossary (p. 124, � Nes �), we are told that the eric for bodily injury depended on the � dignity � of thenbsp;part injured : if it was the forehead, or chin, or any othernbsp;part of the face, the eric was greater than if the injurednbsp;part was covered by raiment. Half the eric for homicidenbsp;was due for the loss of a leg, a hand, an eye, or an ear ;nbsp;but in no case was the collective eric for such injuriesnbsp;to exceed the body-fine�f.e. the eric for homicide (Br.nbsp;Laws, III. 349).

Spenser, Davies, and other early English writers bitterly denounce the law of eric-fine for homicide, as quot; contrary tonbsp;God�s law and man�s.� It was indeed a rude and inadequate sort of justice, and favoured the rich, as they couldnbsp;afford to pay fines better than the poor, notwithstandingnbsp;the precautionary introduction of honour-price. But itnbsp;was, no doubt, very useful in its day, and was a greatnbsp;advance on the barbarous law of retaliation, which wasnbsp;nothing more than private vengeance.! The principle ofnbsp;compensation for murder was, moreover, not peculiar tonbsp;Ireland�a fact that these writers appear to have beennbsp;ignorant of. It existed among the Anglo-Saxons, as wellnbsp;as among the ancient Greeks, Franks, and Germans ; and,nbsp;as a German institution, it is mentioned with approval bynbsp;Tacitus. In the Laws of King Athelstan, there is laid downnbsp;a detailed scale of prices to be paid in compensation fornbsp;killing persons of various ranks of society, from an archbishop or duke down to a churl or farmer ; and traces ofnbsp;the custom remained in English law till the early part ofnbsp;the last century. I

In another part, Br. Laws, in. 357 to 381, is a detailed enumeration of injuries to living animals, with the compensations for them,nbsp;t Maine, Anc. Inst., 23.

Ogyg., Part in., chapter Ivii. : Ware, n. 71 ' Richey, Br. Laws, iti. cxi. et seq.

Homicide, whether by intent or by misadventure, was atoned for like other injuries, by a money-fine. That mennbsp;who killed others were themselves often killed in revengenbsp;by the friends of the victim^�as in all other countries�wenbsp;know from our annals. But the idea of awarding death as anbsp;judicial punishment for homicide, even when it amounted tonbsp;murder, does not seem to have ever taken hold of the publicnbsp;mind in Ireland ; � At this day \i.e. in the time of thenbsp;� writer of the Commentary on the Senchus M�r] no one isnbsp;� put to death [by judicial sentence] for his intentionalnbsp;� crimes, as long as eric-fine is obtained.�* Capital punishment was known well enough, however, and practised outside the courts of law. The above passage is immediatelynbsp;followed by the statement that if, for any cause, the crimenbsp;is not atoned for by eric, then the criminal�s life is forfeit :nbsp;and kings claimed the right to put persons to death fornbsp;certain crimes. Thus we are told, in the Tripartite Life ofnbsp;St. Patrick (p. 43), that neither gold nor silver would benbsp;accepted from him who lighted a fire before the lighting ofnbsp;the festival fire of Tara, but he should be put to death ;nbsp;and the death-penalty was inflicted on anyone who, at anbsp;fair-meeting, killed another or raised a serious quarrel.f Itnbsp;would seem, both from the ancient Introduction to thenbsp;Senchus M�r and from the Lives of St. Patrick, that thenbsp;early Christian missionaries attempted to introduce capitalnbsp;punishment�as the result of a judicial process�fornbsp;murder, but without success.];

Various modes of putting criminals to death were in use in ancient Ireland. Sometimes the culprit was drownednbsp;by being flung into water, either tied up in a sack or with anbsp;heavy stone round his neck. In this manner the Danish

tyrant Turgesius was put to death by King Malachi, a.d. 845 : and the reader may be reminded of Scott�s strikingnbsp;description in Rob Roy (chap, xxxi.) of the drowning ofnbsp;Morris in the Highland river by the chief�s wife.

Sometimes hanging was adopted�a mode of execution generally called riagad [ree-a], from nag [reea], � a gibbet,�nbsp;which glosses fatihulum in Zeuss. Hanging was also callednbsp;crochad, from crock, � a cross � or � gallows � : crochad, � cruci-fixio � (Zeuss, 74, 7) ; but in Ireland it meant, and stillnbsp;means, � hanging by the neck till dead.� In 0�Clery�snbsp;Glossary riaghadh is explained by crochadh.

It was a very ancient Irish custom to burn women for adultery. That such a custom existed is rendered certainnbsp;by its frequent mention in old writings. Perhaps the mostnbsp;authoritative of these is Cormac�s Glossary (p. 59), whichnbsp;gives the derivation of druth, ' a harlot,� from the two wordsnbsp;dir, � right,� and aod, � fire � (the idea being that druth wasnbsp;contracted from dir-aod, �right-fire�), �As much as saying��nbsp;the Glossary continues�quot; to burn her were right.� Whennbsp;Murni of the Fair Neck married Cumal, after eloping withnbsp;him ; and when, soon afterwards, Cumal was killed in thenbsp;Battle of Cnucha (Castleknock), and Murni was found to benbsp;pregnant; her father, not acknowledging lawful marriage,nbsp;urged his people to burn her : � but he dared not compassnbsp;it for fear of Conn the Hundred-fighter,� with whom thenbsp;lady had taken refuge.* The son that was born to her wasnbsp;the celebrated hero Finn Mac Cumail. On this story Hen-nessy, the editor, quotes a statement from the story of Corenbsp;Mac Lugdach in the Book of Leinster�� It was the customnbsp;� at first to burn any woman who committed lust [dognidnbsp;� bais) in violation of her compact.� In the story of thenbsp;Greek princess (in the Book of Leinster), she says�� Mynbsp;� crime [of unchastity] will now be found out, and I shallnbsp;� be burned immediately.�! Many other such records might

be instanced, both from the lay literature and the Lives of the Saints.* In nearly all the cases I have found, however,nbsp;something intervened to prevent the actual burning ; whichnbsp;would indicate that, at the time the records were written,nbsp;the custom was dying out. Indeed, this is also implied innbsp;one of the above quotations�� It was the custom at first.�

Where the death penalty was not inflicted for a crime, various other modes of punishment were resorted to, thoughnbsp;never as the result of a judicial process before a brehon ;nbsp;for the brehon�s business was to award compensation�nbsp;never a penalty of any other kind (p. igg, supra). Blindingnbsp;as a punishment was very common ; we meet with recordsnbsp;of it everywhere in the annals ; so that there is no need tonbsp;quote individual instances here. Whenever we find such anbsp;record, it is commonly the sequel of a battle ; for it oftennbsp;happened that the victorious king or chief, if he capturednbsp;his defeated opponent, blinded him. It was usually donenbsp;by thrusting a needle into the eye. Sometimes blindingnbsp;was an act of vengeance merely ; sometimes it was innbsp;punishment of rebellion ; and not unfrequently when twonbsp;opponents fought for the chiefship or kingship, the defeatednbsp;leader was blinded to prevent the possibility of his electionnbsp;at any time : for a disfigured person could not be elected asnbsp;king or chief (p. 43, supra). Occasionally a hostage wasnbsp;blinded when the treaty was broken by his party. Thenbsp;custom of blinding as a punishment prevailed among othernbsp;nations as well as among the Irish.

A very singular punishment was to send the culprit adrift on the open sea in a boat, without sail, oar, or rudder.nbsp;In the Commentary on the Senchus M�r (Br. Laws, 1.15,10),nbsp;it is stated that in case eric was not obtained for homicide,nbsp;the guilty person was put to death if the crime was intentional ; but he was placed on the sea if it was unintentional.nbsp;The men of Ross (in the north of Tirconnell) killed their

* AsinKilk. Arch. Journ., 1868, p, 333, top : Sull., Introd., 322 and note, 334, top ; Dr. Healy, Ireland�s Anc. Schools, 227, and .^76 ;nbsp;F�ilire, 63, a, 7 hot.

tyrannical chief Fiacha ; whereupon Fiacha�s brother Donn-chad, king of Tirconnell, punished them by putting sixty in small boats and sending them adrift on the sea, � that Godnbsp;might deal with them.�* Macc-Cuill or Maccaldus, a powerful Ulster chief, was an abandoned reprobate : but he wasnbsp;converted by St. Patrick, became very repentant, and submitted himself to the saint�s penance, who directed him tonbsp;put off to sea in a curragh of one hide. After much wearynbsp;drifting about, the curragh was thrown on the Isle of Man,nbsp;where Mac Cuill safely landed. He preached the Gospelnbsp;there, and converted the Manxmen : so that he is to thisnbsp;day venerated as the patron saint, with the name Maugholdnbsp;(Trip. Life, 223). The great Anglo-Norman baron, Hughnbsp;de Lacy, followed the old native custom when he sent thenbsp;betrayers of John de Courcy adrift in a ship, � with victualsnbsp;and furniture, but without mariners or seamen. �f A personnbsp;of this kind cast on shore belonged to the owner of thenbsp;shore until a cumal was paid for his release. J

A court held for the trial of legal cases was commonly called ddl [dawl], but sometimes oirecht or air echt, whichnbsp;was also the name of a meeting of representative people tonbsp;settle local affairs. � Courts were often held in the opennbsp;air, and sometimes in buildings. There was a gradation ofnbsp;courts from the lowest�something like our petty sessionsnbsp;�to the highest, the great national assembly�whether atnbsp;Tara or elsewhere�representing all Ireland. || Over eachnbsp;court a member of the chieftain or privileged classes presided ; the rank of the president corresponded to the rank

f other references to sending adrift:�Br. Laws, I. 205, bot. : O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i. 29 ; MS. Mat., 333 ; SulL, Introd., 120, 334 :nbsp;Todd, Book of Fermoy, 38.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f Br. Laws, i. 205, bot.

� For various meetings and courts for the transaction of legal business, see Sullivan, Introd., 252 ; and for further information on the administration of justice, p. 262 of the same vol.

of the court: and his legal status, duties, powers, and privileges were very strictly defined. The over-king presided over the National F�is or assembly. If a man whose dutynbsp;it was, to attend a court for any function, and who wasnbsp;duly summoned, failed to appear, he was heavily fined ;nbsp;and in such a case an ecclesiastic was fined twice as muchnbsp;as a layman.*

In each court�besides the brehon who sat in judgment �there were one or more professional lawyers, advocates, ornbsp;pleaders, called, in Cormac�s Glossary,f ddlaighe [dawlee]nbsp;and dai, who conducted the cases for their clients ; andnbsp;the brehon-judge had to hear the pleadings for both sidesnbsp;before coming to a decision (Br. Laws, v. 355). A nonprofessional man who conducted a case�which he might,nbsp;as at the present day, if he wished to take the risk�wasnbsp;called a �tongueless person� (Br. Laws, iv. 303, 16).nbsp;Whether the court was held in a building or in the opennbsp;air, there was a platform of some kind on which the pleadernbsp;stood while addressing the court. This appears from thenbsp;explanation of Cuisnit (� legal disputation �) in Cormac�snbsp;Glossary (p. 41) :�� Cuisnit, derived from cos-na-ddla, thenbsp;� foot, or bar, or tribune on which the pleader stands : andnbsp;� it is at it or from it he pleads, and it is on it he stands.�nbsp;According to a Preface to the Amt a, one of the causesnbsp;for the meeting at Drumkettai was � to make rules as tonbsp;pleaders and suitors in Erin.��^

With regard to evidence, various rules w'ere in force, which may be gathered from detached passages in thenbsp;laws and general literature. In order to prove home anbsp;matter of fact in a court of justice, at least two witnessesnbsp;were required : a usage that is mentioned more than oncenbsp;by Adamnan. If a man gave evidence against his wife,nbsp;the wife was entitled to give evidence in reply ; but a man�snbsp;daughter would not be heard against him in like circumstances. A chief could give evidence against a daer tenant,

or any freeman against a judir ; but neither the daer tenant nor ihamp;fudir could give rebutting evidence : and a king�snbsp;evidence was good against all other people, with three exceptions (for which, see p. 55, sufra). The period at whichnbsp;a young man could give legal evidence was when he wasnbsp;seventeen years of age, or when he began to grow a beard.

The Irish delighted in judgments delivered in the form of a sententious maxim, or an apt illustration�some illustration bearing a striking resemblance to the case in question. The jurist who decided a case by the aid of such anbsp;parallel was recognised as gifted with great judicial wisdom,nbsp;and his judgment often passed into a proverb. Severalnbsp;judgments of this kind are recorded. When Cormac Macnbsp;Art, the rightful heir to the throne of Ireland, was a boy,nbsp;he lived at Tara in disguise ; for the throne was held bynbsp;the usurper Mac Con, so that Cormac dared not reveal hisnbsp;identity. There was at this time living near Tara a femalenbsp;hrewy, named Bennaid, whose sheep trespassed on thenbsp;royal domain, and ate up the queen�s crop of glaisin ornbsp;woad for dyeing. The queen instituted proceedings fornbsp;damages ; and the question came up for decision before thenbsp;king, who, after hearing the evidence, decided that thenbsp;sheep should be forfeit in payment for the glaisin. � Notnbsp;so,� exclaimed the boy Cormac, who was present, and whonbsp;could not restrain his judicial instincts : � the cropping ofnbsp;� the sheep should be sufficient for the cropping of thenbsp;� glaisin�the wool for the woad�for both will grow again.�nbsp;� That is true judgment,� exclaimed all; � and he whonbsp;has pronounced it is surely the son of a king ��for kingsnbsp;were supposed to possess a kind of inspiration in givingnbsp;their decisions. And so they discovered who Cormac was,nbsp;and in a short time placed him on the throne, after deposing the usurper.* Another example of this sort ofnbsp;judgment will be seen in the notice of the Cathach, atnbsp;p. 501, infra.

PART II

Fig. 72.�Sculpture on Window : Cathedral Church, Glendalough : Beranger, 1779. (From Petrie�s Round Towers,)

ruidism.�No trustworthy information regarding the religion of the pagan Irish comes tonbsp;us from outside; whatever knowledge ofnbsp;it we possess is derived exclusively from thenbsp;native literature. Moreover, all of this literature that has come down to us was written�nbsp;mostly copied from older documents � innbsp;Christian times by Christians, chiefly monks ; no booksnbsp;penned in pre-Christian ages have been preserved. Thenbsp;Christian copyists, too, modified their originals in manynbsp;ways, especially by introducing Christian allusions, and,nbsp;no doubt, by softening down many pagan features thatnbsp;were particularly repellent to them. Yet many passages,nbsp;and some complete tales, remain thoroughly pagan innbsp;character.*

So far as we can judge from the materials at our command, which are sufficiently abundant, though scatterednbsp;and somewhat vague, the pagan Irish appear to have hadnbsp;no well-defined connected system of religion. There werenbsp;many gods, but no supreme god, like Zeus or Jupiternbsp;* On this point see the remarks at page 534, infra.

among the Greeks and Romans. There was little or no prayer, and no settled general form of worship. Therenbsp;were no temples : but it appears from a passage in Cormac�snbsp;Glossary (as quoted below) that there were altars of somenbsp;kind erected to idols or to elemental gods, which mustnbsp;have been in the. open air. We find mention of thingsnbsp;offered to gods or idols. Thus, for instance, in the oldestnbsp;version of � The Wooing of Emer,� we are informed that, atnbsp;Bron-Trogin (the beginning of autumn), the young of everynbsp;kind of animal used to be � assigned to the possession ofnbsp;the idol, Bel � ;* and other such examples might be cited.nbsp;But in all these cases it appears to have been a merenbsp;nominal offer or dedication�a matter of words only�nbsp;and it is doubtful if there was any sacrifice properly sonbsp;called. We have a few examples where breaches of whatnbsp;were laid down as moral rules were punished. Whennbsp;King Laegaire broke his solemn oath sworn by the sunnbsp;and wind, which were regarded as gods, he was, as we arenbsp;told, killed by these two elements (p. 292, infra) : fromnbsp;which we can see that there were some rules of conductnbsp;which it was dangerous to violate. But, on the whole, thenbsp;pagan Irish religion seems to have had very little influencenbsp;in regulating moral conduct. At the same time, it mustnbsp;be borne in mind, that all our very early books have beennbsp;lost, so that, in great probability, the whole of the evidencenbsp;is not before us ; had we complete information, it mightnbsp;modify our judgment on Irish paganism.

The religion of the pagan Irish is commonly designated as Druidism : and as the druids were a numerous andnbsp;important class, and as they were mixed up with mostnbsp;of the religious or superstitious rites and observances,nbsp;it will be best to begin by giving a sketch of their positionnbsp;and functions, which will bring under review a large partnbsp;of the religious beliefs of the pagan Irish. In the oldestnbsp;Irish traditions the druids figure conspicuously. All the

early colonists had their druids, who are mentioned as holding high rank among kings and chiefs.

Gaulish and Irish Druids.�Of the Gaulish druids, their doctrines and worship, detailed accounts have been givennbsp;by Caesar* and other classical writers : and these descriptions are generally supposed to apply to the druids ofnbsp;Britain�a supposition, however, open to doubt. Butnbsp;these writers knew nothing of the druids of Ireland, andnbsp;of course give no information regarding them. It is prettynbsp;certain, indeed, that the druidic systems of Gaul, Britain,nbsp;and Ireland were orginally one and the same. But thenbsp;Gaels of Ireland and Scotland were separated and isolatednbsp;for many centuries from the Celtic races of Gaul; andnbsp;thus, their religious system, like their language, naturallynbsp;diverged, so that the druidism of Ireland, as pictured forthnbsp;in the native records, differed in many respects from thatnbsp;of Gaul. Yet, with one exception, all those writers whonbsp;have hitherto treated of Irish druids have unhesitatinglynbsp;applied to them Caesar's and other classical writers� descriptions of those of Gaul.f O�Curry was the first, so farnbsp;as I know, to describe in detail (in Lectures ix. and x. of hisnbsp;Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish) the Irish druidsnbsp;from the native authorities. Certain speculative writers ofnbsp;the last two or three generations, backing up Csesar�snbsp;description with baseless suppositions of their own, havenbsp;built lip a great pagan religious system for Ireland, withnbsp;druidic temples, druid�s altars, human sacrifices, divinationnbsp;from the manner in which the blood of victims flowed downnbsp;the sloping altars, and such like ; all in great detail andnbsp;all quite visionary, being based on insufficient evidence,nbsp;or rather on no evidence at all. The following account of

t In Harris's Ware (Antiqq., p. 117) is an excellent essay on Druids, setting forth the testimonies of the principal classical authorities regarding them. It professes to treat of druids in connexion with Ireland :nbsp;but it is nearly all about Gaulish druids, with merely a few sentencesnbsp;about those of Britain and Ireland.

the Irish druids is derived from the native literature, the only authentic source of information. It will be shown innbsp;the next section that, while there are many differencesnbsp;between the Irish and the Gaulish druids, there are alsonbsp;many resemblances and correspondences, and these innbsp;some of their most important functions.

Name.�The old form of the Irish name for a druid is dmi, modern drai or draoi [all pron. dree] ; but in thenbsp;oblique cases it takes a d ; gen. dniad, dative druid, corresponding with the modern word druid. Drui is uniformlynbsp;translated � wizard � by some of the best modern authorities:nbsp;and wizards the druids unquestionably were, and are sonbsp;presented by our earliest traditions, though always callednbsp;drui. The druids of Gaul and Ireland were undoubtedlynbsp;identical as a class, though differing in many particulars,nbsp;and they were all wizards ; but those of Gaul are alwaysnbsp;called � druids � : and to apply the term � druid � to the onenbsp;class and � wizard � to the other, might lead to a misconception, as if they were essentially different. That the ancientnbsp;Irish considered their own druids in a general way identicalnbsp;with those of the Continent appears from this�that theynbsp;apply the word drui to both : and while Latin writersnbsp;commonly translate druid by � magus,� this same wordnbsp;� magus � is retranslated drui by Irish writers. Thus,nbsp;Simon Magus is called in Irish writings � Simon Drui.�nbsp;For these reasons it will be more convenient to retain herenbsp;the familiar word � druid.�

Druids, the Sole Men of Learning.�In pagan times the druids were the exclusive possessors of whatever learningnbsp;was then known. They combined in themselves all thenbsp;learned professions : they were not only druids, but judges,nbsp;prophets, historians, poets, and even physicians.¹ But asnbsp;time went on there was a gradual tendency towards specialisation, as we see in some of the learned professions of our

own day. � Until Patrick came,��says the Brehon Law (i. 19)�� only three classes of persons were permitted tonbsp;� speak in public in Erin \i.e. their pronouncements receivednbsp;� some sort of official recognition], viz. a chronicler to relatenbsp;� events and tell stories ; a poet to eulogise and satirise;nbsp;� a brehon or judge to pass sentence from the precedentsnbsp;� and commentaries.� Here there is a clear intimationnbsp;that there were three separate persons concerned. Nevertheless, down to the latest period of the prevalence ofnbsp;the Irish customs, two or more professions were oftennbsp;centred in one man, especially those of Poetry, History,nbsp;and Literature in general.

There were druids in every part of Ireland, but, as we might expect, Tara, the residence of the over-kings ofnbsp;Ireland, was�as the Tripartite Life (p. 41] expresses it�nbsp;� the chief [seat] of the idolatry and druidism of Erin.�nbsp;The druids had the reputation of being great magicians :nbsp;and in this character they figure more frequently andnbsp;conspicuously than in any other, both in ecclesiastical andnbsp;lay literature. So true is this, that the most general Irishnbsp;word for sorcery, magic, or necromancy, is druidecht, whichnbsp;simply means � druidism ��a word still in use. In some ofnbsp;the old historical romances we find the issues of battlesnbsp;sometimes determined, not so much by the valour of thenbsp;combatants, as by the magical powers of the druids attachednbsp;to the armies. They could�as the legends tell�^raisenbsp;druidical clouds and mists, and bring down showers of firenbsp;and blood ; they could drive a man insane or into idiocynbsp;by flinging a magic wisp of straw in his face. In the hymnnbsp;that St. Patrick chanted on his way to Tara on Easternbsp;Sunday morning, he asks God to protect him against thenbsp;spells of women, of smiths, and of druids. Broichan thenbsp;druid threatens St. Columba :�� Thou wilt not be ablenbsp;� to [voyage on Loch Ness,] for I will make the wind con-� trary to thee, and I will bring a great darkness over thee.�nbsp;And he did so, as Adamnan�s narrative (150) tells us : but

Insanity.�Perhaps the most dreaded of all the necromantic powers attributed to the druids was that of producing madness. In the pagan ages, and down far into Christian times, madness�Irish ddsacht�was believed tonbsp;be often brought on by malignant magical agency, usuallynbsp;the work .of some druid. For this purpose the druid prepared a � madman�s wisp � or � fluttering wisp � [ilui fulla :nbsp;dlui or dluigh, � a wisp �), that is, a little wisp ot straw ornbsp;grass, into which he pronounced some horrible incantations,nbsp;and, watching his opportunity, flung it into the face of hisnbsp;victim, who at once became insane or idiotic. So generallynbsp;was insanity attributed to this, that in the Glosses to thenbsp;Senchus M�r, a madman (Irish ddsachtach or fulla) isnbsp;repeatedly described as one � upon whom the dlui fullanbsp;or magic wisp has been thrown.�*

The legend of Comgan illustrates this fell necromantic power. Maelochtair, king of the Decies in Munster, earlynbsp;in the seventh century, had a son named Comgan, remarkable for his manly beauty and accomplishments, who wasnbsp;half-brother by the same mother to St. Cummain Fota.nbsp;One day, at a great fair held in Tipperary, Comgan carriednbsp;off all the prizes in the athletic sports : and the spectatorsnbsp;were delighted with him, especially the king�s druid. Butnbsp;a certain woman, who had before that vainly sought Com-gan�s love, now revenged herself on him by whispering anbsp;false accusation into the druid�s ear : whereupon his admiration for the youth was instantly changed to furious jealousy;nbsp;and when Comgan and his friends retired to a neighbouringnbsp;river to wash themselves and their horses after the sports,nbsp;he followed them, and watching his opportunity, flung anbsp;magic wisp over him, at the same time pronouncing somenbsp;fiendish words. When the young man came forth from

* Br. Laws, i. 84, line 29 ; 85, 90 (and note) ; 124 and 126; and Gloss, 143 ; II. 47 : iii. 13, 3.

the water, his whole body burst out into boils and ulcers, so that his attendants had to bring him to his father�snbsp;house, all diseased and helpless as he was. There henbsp;wasted away in body, his mind decayed, his hair fell off:nbsp;and ever afterwards he wandered about the palace, a bald,nbsp;drivelling idiot. But he had lucid intervals, and then henbsp;became an inspired poet, and uttered prophecies ; so thatnbsp;he is known in the legendary literature as Mac-da-cerda,nbsp;the � youth of the two arts,� that is to say, poetry andnbsp;foolishness.*

The invention of the madman�s wisp is assigned, by a legend in the Coir Anmann (p. 367), to a celebrated Leinsternbsp;druid named Fullon, who lived centuries before the Christiannbsp;era :��Fullon was the first druid who cast a spell {hricht) onnbsp;� a wisp, so as to send [by means of it] a human being a-� flying (for joluamhain.) Hence, dlui fulla, or � madman�snbsp;� wisp,� is a saying among the Scots from that day to this.��

As I am on the subject of madness, it will be better to finish here what is to be said about it. A fit of insanitynbsp;was often called baile or buile [balie, bullel : and there wasnbsp;a most curious belief that during the paroxysm a madman�snbsp;body became as light as air, so that, as he ran distractedly,nbsp;he scarcely touched the ground, or he rose into the air,nbsp;still speeding on with a sort of fluttering motion. Thisnbsp;was especially the case when madness was produced by thenbsp;rage of battle. For, during a bloody battle, it sometimesnbsp;happened that an excitable combatant ran mad with furynbsp;and horror; and occurrences of this kind are recorded innbsp;the romantic accounts of nearly all the great battles foughtnbsp;in Ireland. We are told, in the historic story of the Battlenbsp;of Moyrath (175, note v ; and 235), fought a.d. 637, thatnbsp;towards the close of the day, a brave young warrior, Suibncnbsp;or Sweeny, became distracted with the horrors he witnessed;nbsp;and imagining he saw battle-demons hovering and shriekingnbsp;overhead, he suddenly bounded off the earth, and alighted.

on the boss of another warrior�s shield, from which, after a moment, he leaped up again ; and so he continued flittingnbsp;and bounding on the shields and helmet-crests of the combatants and on the tops of the neighbouring trees, till henbsp;finally fled from the field ; after which he wandered rormdnbsp;Ireland, a gelt [g hard] or madman. His adventures fromnbsp;the day of battle till his death are told in a romantic tale,nbsp;still extant in ms., called Buile Shuibne, � Sweeney�s frenzynbsp;or madness.�

The belief that men were driven mad in battle, and ran and fluttered away in this manner, found its way into thenbsp;sober records of the Annalists, who relate that at thenbsp;Battle of Allen in Kildare, fought a.d. 722, nine personsnbsp;went crazy with terror, or, as Tigernach expresses it, � Etnbsp;ix volatiles, i.e. geltai � : � and nine persons [went] flying,nbsp;i.e. madmen.�¹

Even the Norse visitors to this country took up the legend ; and we find it recorded as one of the � Wondersnbsp;of Ireland,� in an old Norse Book called � Kongs Skuggsjo �nbsp;or � Speculum Regale,� written about a.d. 1250; �� Therenbsp;is also one thing which will seem very wonderful, aboutnbsp;men who are called geli � ; and the writer goes on to tellnbsp;about men running mad out of battle, and living in woodsnbsp;for twenty years, so that feathers grew on their bodies .-and that though they were not quite able to fly, they werenbsp;incredibly swift, and � run along the [tops of the] treesnbsp;almost as swiftly as monkeys or squirrels.�! Of thisnbsp;superstition�that frenzied madmen were as light as air, andnbsp;could climb up precipices�there are many other examplesnbsp;in the ancient tales ; we see by the above quotation thatnbsp;it retained its hold till the thirteenth century ; and it stillnbsp;lingers among the peasantry in some remote districts.];

Rev. Celt., xvii. 229 ; and xxiv. 55 ; see also FM, vol. 1., p. 319, top. t Folklore, v. 311.

I Moyrath, 231, 233 ; see also Sir Samuel Ferguson�s Congal, 227, 233, 234, 235.

There is a valley in Kerry called Glannagalt, � the glen of the gaits or lunatics � (Irish, gleann-na-ngealt) � and it isnbsp;believed that all lunatics, if left to themselves, would findnbsp;their way to it, no matter from what part of Ireland.nbsp;When they have lived in its solitude for a time, drinkingnbsp;of the water of Tobernagalt ('the lunatics' well�), andnbsp;eating of the cresses that grow along the little stream, thenbsp;poor wanderers get restored to sanity. It appears by thenbsp;story of the Battle of Ventry that this glen was first discovered by a youth named Goll, who fled frenzied from thatnbsp;battle, as Sweeny from Moyrath, and plunged into thenbsp;seclusion of Glannagalt.¹ There is a well in Donegalnbsp;which was believed to possess the same virtue as Tobernagalt, and to which all the deranged people in the surrounding district were wont to resort. It is situated on thenbsp;strand, near high-water mark, a third of a mile south ofnbsp;Inishowen Head, near the entrance to Lough Foyle. Itnbsp;still retains its old name Srubh Brain, ' Bran�s sruv ornbsp;stream,� which is represented in the name of the adjacentnbsp;hamlet of Stroove.f

Various Powers.�In the Lives of the Saints, the druids^ and their magical arts figure conspicuously ; as, for instance,,nbsp;in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, and in the earliernbsp;memoir of the saint, by Muirchu, as well as in Adamnan�snbsp;Life of Saint Columba : and not less so in the historicalnbsp;tales. Before the Battle of Cul-Dremne, fought in 561nbsp;between the Northern and the Southern Hy Neill, Dermot,nbsp;king of Ireland, who headed the southern Hy Neill�anbsp;Christian king�called in the aid of the druid Fraechannbsp;[Freehan], who, just as the armies were about to engage,nbsp;made an airbe druad [arva drooa] round the southernnbsp;army to protect it.t It is not easy to say what this airbe

I MS. Mat., 477 : O�Donovan, Suppl. to O�Reilly, � Sraobh.� t For the airbe druad see Stokes, Lives, xxviii. : FM, a.d. 555 ; Todd,nbsp;St. Path., 119-122 : Silva Gad., 85, and 516, 2. See also p. 234, below.

druad was. Stokes translates it ' druid�s fence � ; and, no doubt, it was a magic fence of some kind ; for this is thenbsp;usual sense of airbe in old Irish writings. One man of thenbsp;northern army, named Mag Laim, sprang across the airbe,nbsp;by which he broke the charm, but sacrificed his own life,nbsp;for he was at once slain : after which the battle was fought,nbsp;and Dermot was defeated with a loss of 3000, while Magnbsp;Laim alone fell on the other side. All this is related bynbsp;Tigernach and the other Annalists. In the Agallamh nanbsp;Sen�rach, a chief�s dun is mentioned as sometimes surrounded by a snaidm druad [snime drooa], a � druid�snbsp;knot � : is this the same as the airbe druad, or have thenbsp;two any connexion ?

The druid could pronounce a malign incantation�no doubt a sort of glam dichenn (see p. 240, inlra)�not onlynbsp;on an individual, but on a whole army, so as to producenbsp;a withering or enervating effect on the men. Before thenbsp;Battle of Mticrime (a.d. 250), Aillil Olum�s son Eoghan,nbsp;one of the contending princes, came to Dil, the blind oldnbsp;druid of Ossory, to ask him to maledict the hostile army,nbsp;as Balak employed Balaam ; but on their way towards thenbsp;place, Dil came somehow to know by Eoghan�s voice thatnbsp;he was doomed to defeat and death, and refused to proceednbsp;farther (Silva Gad., 354).

The druids could give a drink of forgetfulness [deog dermaid), so as to efface the memory of any particularnbsp;transaction. Cuculainn had fallen in love with the fairynbsp;lady Fand, so that his wife Emer was jealous : but Conco-bar�s druids gave each of them�Cuculainn and Emer�nbsp;a drink of forgetfulness, so that he quite forgot Fand andnbsp;she her jealousy ; and they were reconciled (Sick Bed;nbsp;Atl., II. 124). The druids were the intermediaries with thenbsp;fairies, and with the invisible world in general, which theynbsp;could influence for good or evil; and they could protectnbsp;people from the malice of evil-disposed spirits of every kind;nbsp;which explains much of their influence wdth the people.

DiYination.�An important function of the druid was divination�forecasting future events�which was practised by the pagan Irish in connexion with almost allnbsp;important affairs, such as military expeditions. Laegaire�snbsp;druids foretold the coming of St. Patrick (Trip. Life, 33) ;nbsp;and the druid Dubdiad foretells the defeat and death ofnbsp;Congal in the Battle of Moyrath (p. 171). Queen Maive,nbsp;oefore setting out on the Tain expedition, confers with hernbsp;druid to get from him knowledge and prophecy ; so henbsp;prophesies :�quot; Whosoever they be that will not return,nbsp;thou thyself shalt certainly return.� The druids forecasted,nbsp;partly by observation of natural objects or occurrences, andnbsp;partly by certain artificial rites : and in the exercise of thisnbsp;function the druid was a faith [faw] or prophet.

They drew auguries from observation of the clouds. On the eve of a certain Samain (first of November), Dathi,nbsp;king of Ireland (a.d. 405 to 428), who happened at thenbsp;time to be at Cnoc-nan-druad (� the druids� hill � ; now Mul-laroe, and often incorrectly called Red Hill), in the parishnbsp;of Skreen, Sligo, west of Ballysadare Bay, where there wasnbsp;then a roj�al residence, ordered his druid to forecast fornbsp;him the events of his reign from that till next Samain.nbsp;The druid went to the summit of the hill, where he remained all night, and, returning at sunrise, addressed thenbsp;king somewhat as the witches addressed Macbeth :�� Artnbsp;� thou asleep, O King of Erin and Alban (Scotland) ? �nbsp;� Why the addition to my title ? � asked the king ; �I amnbsp;not king of Alban.� And the druid answered that he hadnbsp;consulted � the clouds of the men of Erin,� by which henbsp;found out that the king would make a conquering expedition to Alban, Britain, and Gaul; which accordingly henbsp;did soon afterwards.*

This account of cloud divination is corroborated by the existence in Irish of the word n�lad�ir [nailadorelnbsp;for an astrologer or diviner; and nelad�rachi glossesnbsp;* MS. Mat., 285 ; HyF, gg.

�pyromantia � (� divination by fire �), in an old Irish treatise on Latin declension.* But the primary meaning of n�lad�irnbsp;is � cloud-diviner � ; and of n�lad�racht, � divination bynbsp;clouds � ; for n�l, n�ul, n�ll, means � a cloud,� even to thisnbsp;day, and not star or fire.

Astrology, in the proper sense of the word�divination from the stars�appears, nevertheless, to have beennbsp;practised by the Irish. Forecasting the proper time fornbsp;beginning to build a house is alluded to in a short Irishnbsp;poem contained in an eighth-century manuscript, now in anbsp;monastery in Carinthia, having been brought thither bynbsp;some early Irish missionary :�� There is no house morenbsp;� auspicious, with its stars last night, with its sun, with itsnbsp;� moon.�t This reference to astrology is in a purelynbsp;Christian connexion, as it appears from the poem that thenbsp;house in question was built by the great Christian architectnbsp;the Gobban Saer. In the legends of the saints we findnbsp;divination by the heavenly bodies. When St. Columkillenbsp;was a child, his foster-father went to a certain prophetnbsp;{faith) to ask him when the child was to begin to learn hisnbsp;letters ; and the prophet, having first scanned the heavens,nbsp;decided that the lessons were to begin at once.|

For purposes of divination the druids often used a rod of yew with Ogham words cut on it. When Etain,nbsp;King Ochy Airem�s queen, was carried off by the fairy Kingnbsp;Midir, the druid Dalian was commissioned by King Ochynbsp;to find out where she was. After much searching he atnbsp;last � made four rods of yew, and writes an Ogham onnbsp;quot; them ; and by his keys of knowledge and by his Ogham,nbsp;quot; it [the fairy palace where the queen was] is revealed tonbsp;quot; him.�� Dr. Stokes points out that similarly at Praen-este the oracles were derived from lots consisting of oaknbsp;with ancient characters engraved on them.

* Stokes, Irish. Glosses, ia Treatise on Latin Declension, 63, 5,,, t O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., II. 46, and note f. But see Append., infra.nbsp;f Stokes, Three Homilies, 103.

In several of the tales we find mention of a druidic � wheel divination,� i.e. made by means of a wheel. Thenbsp;celebrated druid Mogh Ruith [Mow-rihl of Dairbre, nownbsp;Valentia Island, in Kerry, was so called on account of hisnbsp;skill in this sort of divination ; for, in the Coir Anmannnbsp;(409), we read of him :�� Mogh Ruith signifies Magusnbsp;� fotarum, the wizard for rather the devotee] of the wheels,

� for it is by wheels he used to make his taisc�ladh druidh-� echta or � magical observation.� � In another place* we read that his daughter, who went with him to the East tonbsp;learn magic, made a roth ramhach or rowing-wheel,�nbsp;probably for the purpose of divination. But the rotknbsp;ramhach figured in other functions, as may be seen innbsp;0'Curry�s MS. Materials (Index). I have not the leastnbsp;notion of how the druidical divination-wheel was made ornbsp;how it was used ; but it may be of interest to observe herenbsp;that�as Rhys remarks�the old Gaulish sun-god is represented with a wheel in his hand. 7

Finn Mac Cumail, besides his other accomplishments, had the gift of divination, for which he used a rite peculiarnbsp;to himself. A basin of clear water was brought to him, innbsp;which, having washed his hands, and having complied withnbsp;some other formalities, he put his thumb in his mouthnbsp;under his � tooth of knowledge,� on which the future eventnbsp;he looked for was revealed to him. This is repeatedlynbsp;mentioned in the tales of The Fena ; and the legend isnbsp;prevalent everywhere in Ireland at the present day. In thenbsp;story of � The Praise of Cormac and the Death of Finn �nbsp;(Silva Gad., 98), this rite is said to be a sort of Teinmnbsp;Laegda or part of it (see p. 243, below).

In the Irish Nennius (p. 145) we are told that certain druids taught druidism, idolatry, sorcery, [the compositionnbsp;of] bright poems, divination from sneezing, from the voicesnbsp;of birds, and from other omens ; and how to find out bynbsp;these means suitable weather and lucky days for any

enterprise. Before the Battle of Moyrath (p. 9) the druid interprets King Domnall�s dream, and advises precautionar3�nbsp;measures. Divination by the voices of birds was verj¹nbsp;generally practised, especially from the croaking of thenbsp;raven and the chirping of the wren : and the very syllablesnbsp;they utter and their interpretation are given in the oldnbsp;books.¹ The wren in particular was considered so great anbsp;prophet, that in an old Life of St. Moling one of its Irishnbsp;names, drean, is fancifully derived from dmi-�n, meaningnbsp;the ' druid of birds.� When St. Kellach, Bishop of Killala,nbsp;was about to be murdered, the raven croaked, and thenbsp;grey-coated scallcrow called, the wise little wren twitterednbsp;ominously, and the kite of Cloon-0 sat on his yew-treenbsp;waiting patiently to carry off his talons-full of the victim�snbsp;flesh. But when, after the deed had been perpetrated, thenbsp;birds of prey came scrambling for their shares, every onenbsp;that ate the least morsel of the saint�s flesh dropped downnbsp;dead.f The Welsh birds of prey knew better when theynbsp;saw the bodies of the slaughtered druids ;�

Just before the attack by Ingcel and his band of pirates on Da Derga�s Hostel, the howl of Ossar, King Conari�s messannbsp;or lapdog, portended the coming of battle and slaughternbsp;(Da Derga, 208). The clapping of hands was used in somenbsp;way as an omen ; and also an examination of the shapenbsp;of a crooked knotted tree-root.|

Sometimes animals were sacrificed as part of the ceremony of divination. When King Conari and his retinue were in Da Derga�s Hostel, several unusual and ominousnbsp;circumstances occurred which foreboded disaster to thenbsp;hostel: whereupon the king�s chief juggler (who had just

failed, for the first time in his life, to perform his juggling feat�one of the omens) said to the druid Fer-Caill�,nbsp;� Sacrifice thy pig now, and find out who is about to attacknbsp;the hostel.� Fer-Cailie did so, and foretold the impendingnbsp;destruction of the hostel by pirates (Da Derga 287).

Lucky and unlucky Days.�There were certain cross days in every month of the year which were unlucky fornbsp;undertaking any enterprise, of which a list is g�ven bynbsp;O�Curry (Moylena, 73, t) from an Irish medical ms. But onnbsp;individual occasions the druids determined the days to benbsp;avoided, often by calculations of the moon�s age. A druidnbsp;predicted that his daughter�s baby, if born on a certain day,nbsp;would turn out just an ordinary person : but if born on thenbsp;next day, he was to be a king and the ancestor of kings.nbsp;Accordingly, the poor mother so managed that the birthnbsp;was delayed till next day, but sacrificed her own life bynbsp;doing so : and her baby was subsequently Fiacha Muille-than, an illustrious king of Munster.* Many examplesnbsp;might be cited where disaster attended an undertaking onnbsp;account of beginning it on an unlucky day. It is hardlynbsp;necessary to remark that the superstition of lucky andnbsp;unlucky days was common amongst most ancient nations,nbsp;and that it still lives vigorously among ourselves in allnbsp;grades of society.

Tonsure.�^The druids had a tonsure. The two druids Mael and Caplait, brothers, the tutors of King Laegaire�snbsp;daughters Ethnea and Fedelma, had their hair cut innbsp;a magical figure�� Norma Magica ��called in Irishnbsp;Airbacc Giunnae ; about the meaning of which there hasnbsp;been some doubt. Dr. Toddj asserts that it means � asnbsp;the bond of Gehenna or hell � ; but the Rev. Dr. HoganJnbsp;questions this, and thinks it may mean simply � cut of thenbsp;hair,� making airbacc equal caesura, from bacc, � tonsio � ornbsp;� ligo,� with the prep. air. That he is right in making

giunnae, � of the hair,� is plain from a passage in the Coir Anmann (395) which explains giunnach as meaning foil,nbsp;i.e. � hair.� But it seems to me that airbacc is merely airhenbsp;(as in Airbe-druad: p. 227, supra) with the common termination -ach ; as we write sm�lach (thrush) for sm�l, andnbsp;as giunnach from giunnae, above. For airbacc is the way ofnbsp;writing airbeach or airbach used by Latin writers, as theynbsp;wrote Fiacc for Fiach. If this is so, airbacc giunnae meansnbsp;merely the ' fence-cut of the hair,� implying that in thisnbsp;tonsure the hair was cut in such a way as to leave a sortnbsp;of eave or fence along some part of the head. St. Patricknbsp;considered the Norma Magica a diabolical mark ; for whennbsp;these two druids were converted, he had their hair cut so asnbsp;to obliterate it. The very name of one of these brothers,nbsp;Mael, signifying bald, conveys the sense of tonsured : fornbsp;we see from the narrative that he was not naturally bald.nbsp;Moreover one of Laegaire�s druids at Tara was callednbsp;Lucet Mael, which name is made by the old Latin writersnbsp;Lucet calvus, i.e. the bald or tonsured.

In connexion with this it will be interesting to mention that in Muirchu�s Memoir of St. Patrick we read of anbsp;certain Ulster chief named Maccuill (for whom see p. 214,nbsp;supra), very tyrannical and wicked, a notorious robber andnbsp;murderer. This man openly proclaimed his own characternbsp;by adopting, as an indication of his villainous career,nbsp;certain marks, usually exhibited by persons of his sort,nbsp;which are elsewhere explained as signa diaholica supernbsp;capita, � diabolical marks on the head � : no doubt, somenbsp;special cut of the hair.* The adoption of this mark wasnbsp;an indication that the persons devoted themselves to thenbsp;service of the devil, and became diberga, i.e. people whonbsp;practised violence, robbery, and murder, as a sort ofnbsp;profession.

Heathen Baptism.�The. druids had a � heathen baptism � [haisteadh geinntUdhe). The three sons of Conall

Derg 0�Corra were baptised according to this rite, with the direct intention of devoting them to the service of thenbsp;devil, though they afterwards became three very holy men.*nbsp;So also the celebrated Red Branch hero Conall Kernach.nbsp;When he was born, � druids came to baptise the child intonbsp;� heathenism ; and they sang the heathen baptism {baithisnbsp;� geintlidhc] over the little child ; and they said ;�� Nevernbsp;� will be born a boy who will be more impious than thisnbsp;� boy towards the Connacians.� When Ailill Olum, kingnbsp;of Munster in the beginning of the third century, was anbsp;child, � he was baptised [pagan fashion] in druidic streams �nbsp;(Moylena, 165). In the Gaelic version of the Travels ofnbsp;Sir John Mandeville, where the Scripture account of Isaacnbsp;and Ishmael is given, the term � heathen baptism � {baistedhnbsp;Genntlidhi) is applied to circumcision but this is annbsp;exceptional application: and the Irish ceremony wasnbsp;altogether different. The ancient Welsh people had also anbsp;heathen baptism : the Welsh hero Gwri of the Goldennbsp;Hair, when an infant was � baptised with the baptism thatnbsp;was usual at that time.�� Possibly the heathen baptismnbsp;of the Irish and Welsh was adopted by the druids ofnbsp;both nations in imitation of the Christian rite, by way ofnbsp;opposition to the new doctrines, devoting the child to thenbsp;service of their own gods, which in the eyes of the Christiannbsp;redactors of the tales, was equivalent to devoting him tonbsp;the devil.

Druids� Robes.�The druids wore a white robe. We read in Tirechan�s Notes that Amalgaid�s druid, Rechrad, andnbsp;his eight companions, on the occasion when they attemptednbsp;to kill St. Patrick, were clad in white tunics ;|| like thenbsp;Gaulish druid, who, as Pliny states, wore a white robe whennbsp;cutting the mistletoe from the oak with a knife of gold.^

I nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Zeitschr. f�r Celt. Phil., n. 52.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� Rhys, Hibbert Lect., 499.

Trees reverenced.�We know that the Gaulish druids regarded the oak, especially when mistletoe grew on it,nbsp;with much religious veneration ; but I cannot find thatnbsp;the Irish druids had any special veneration for the oak :nbsp;although, like other trees, it occasionally figures in curiousnbsp;pagan rites. The mistletoe is not a native Irish plant : itnbsp;was introduced some time in the last century. The statement we so often see put forward that the Irish druidsnbsp;held their religious meetings, and performed their solemnnbsp;rites, under the sacred shade of the oak, is pure invention.nbsp;But they attributed certain druidical or fairy virtues to thenbsp;yew,' the hazel, and the quicken or rowan-tree�especiallynbsp;the last�and emplo3^ed them in many of their superstitious ceremonials. We have already seen (p. 230) thatnbsp;yew-rods were used in divination.

In the historic Tale of the Forbais Di'oma Damhghaire, or Siege of Knocklong, in the County Limerick, we readnbsp;that when the northern and southern armies confrontednbsp;each other, the druids on both sides made immense fires ofnbsp;quicken boughs. These were all cut by the soldiers withnbsp;mysterious formalities, and the fires were lighted withnbsp;great incantations. Each fire was intended to exercise anbsp;sinister influence on the opposing army ; and from thenbsp;movements of the smoke and flames the druids drewnbsp;forecasts of the issue of the war.* On some occasions,nbsp;as we read, witches or druids, or malignant phantoms,nbsp;cooked flesh�sometimes the flesh of dogs or horses�onnbsp;quicken-tree spits, as part of a diabolical rite for thenbsp;destruction of some person obnoxious to them.f Man\�nbsp;of these superstitions have survived to our own day.nbsp;The quicken is a terror to fairies, and counteracts theirnbsp;evil devices. Bring a quicken-tree walking-stick out atnbsp;night, and the fairies will take care to give you a widenbsp;berth.t When a housewife is churning, if she puts a ring

made of a twig from this tree on the handle of the churn-dash, no evil-minded neighbour can rob her of her butter through any fishoges or other malign fairy influence.

Druids as Teachers and Counsellors.�A most important function of the druids was that of teaching ; they werenbsp;employed to educate the children of kings and chiefs�nbsp;they were indeed the only educators ; which greatty addednbsp;to their influence. King Laegaire�s two daughters werenbsp;sent to live at Cruachan in Connaught in the house of thenbsp;two druids who had charge of their education : and evennbsp;St. Columba, when a child, began his education under anbsp;druid.

The chief druid of a king held a very influential position ; he was the king�s confidential adviser on important affairs. When King Concobar Mac Nessa contemplatednbsp;avenging the foray of Queen Maive, he sought and followednbsp;the advice of his � right illustrious � druid Cathbad as tonbsp;the time and manner of the projected expedition (Ross-naree, p. 9). And on St. Patrick�s visit to Tara, Kingnbsp;Laegaire�s proceedings were entirely regulated by the advice of his two chief druids Lucetmail and Lochru.* Thenbsp;great respect in which druids were held is illustrated bynbsp;a passage in the Mesca Ulad in the Book of the Dun Cow,nbsp;which tells us that at an assembly it was geis (i.e. it wasnbsp;forbidden) to the Ultonians to speak till their King Concobar had spoken first, and it was in like manner one ofnbsp;Concobar�s geasa to speak before his druids. Accordingly,nbsp;on a certain occasion at a feast, Concobar stood up fromnbsp;where he sat on his � hero-seat � or throne, and there wasnbsp;instant silence, so that a needle falling from roof to floornbsp;would be heard : yet he too remained silent till his druidnbsp;Cathbad asked .�� What is this, O illustrious king ? ��nbsp;after which, the king, taking this question as an invitation to speak, said what he had to say to the assemblynbsp;(Mesca, 13).

Druidesses.�The ancient Irish had druidesses also, like their relatives the Gauls. In the Rennes Dinnsenchus* anbsp;druidess is called a ban-dnd, i.e. a � woman-druid ' ; andnbsp;many individual druidesses figure in the ancient writings.nbsp;According to the same Dinnsenchus, f Brigit was a han-filinbsp;(poetess) and han-drui. These druidesses are also noticednbsp;in the ecclesiastical writings ; as, for instance, in one ofnbsp;St. Patrick�s canons, where kings are warned to give nonbsp;countenance to magi {i.e. � druids �), or pythonesses, ornbsp;augurers, in which it is abvious from the connexion thatnbsp;the pythonesses were druidesses. J Amongst the dangersnbsp;that St. Patrick (in his Hymn) asks God to protect himnbsp;from are � the spells of women,� evidently druidesses. Manynbsp;potent witches, called ban-tuatha and also ban-sithe, � fairy-women,� figure in the tales, who were probably regarded asnbsp;druidesses. Before the second Battle of Moytura the twonbsp;Ban-tuathaig of the Dedannans promise to enchant {Dolb-famid, � we will enchant �) � the trees and stones and sodsnbsp;quot; of the earth, so that they shall become a host [of men]nbsp;� against them [the Fomorian enemies], and rout them.��

Chief Points of Agreement.�i. They had the same Celtic name in both countries : �Druid.� 2. They were allnbsp;wizards�magicians and diviners. 3. They were the onlynbsp;learned men of the time: they were judges, poets, professorsnbsp;of learning in general. 4. They were teachers, especially ofnbsp;the children of kings and chiefs. 5. Their disciples underwent a long course of training, during which they got bynbsp;heart great numbers of verses. 6. They were the king�snbsp;chief advisers : they were very influential, and held innbsp;great respect, often taking precedence even of the kings.

� Rev. Celt., xii. 93. On druidesses see also O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., t. 187 ; and De Jnbainville, vi. 92.

8. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;They had a number of gods. Caesar gives the Gaulishnbsp;gods the Roman names, Mercury, Jupiter, amp;c. ; but thesenbsp;Roman names do not fit ; for the Gaulish gods were quitenbsp;different from those of Rome and Greece, and had differentnbsp;names, and different functions. Many of the Irish gods,nbsp;as will be shown farther on, were identical, both in namenbsp;and chief functions, with those of Gaul.

Chief Points of Difference.�i. The Gaulish druids were under one head druid, with supreme authority ; and theynbsp;held periodical councils or synods. There was no suchnbsp;institution in Ireland : though there were eminent druidsnbsp;in various districts, with the influence usually accorded tonbsp;eminence. 2. The Gaulish druids held the doctrine of thenbsp;immortality of the soul, as applying to all mankind � thenbsp;soul of every human being passing, after death, into othernbsp;bodies, i.e. of men, not of the lower animals. There is nonbsp;evidence, as will be shown at page 296, that the Irish druidsnbsp;held the souls of all men to be immortal. But in case ofnbsp;a few individuals�palpably exceptional�it is related thatnbsp;they lived on after death, some reappearing as other men,nbsp;some as animals of various kinds, and a few lived on innbsp;Fairyland, without the intervention of death. 3. Humannbsp;sacrifice was part of the rite of the Gaulish druids, sometimes an individual being sacrificed and slain : sometimesnbsp;great numbers together. There is no record of any humannbsp;sacrifice in connexion with the Irish druids : and there arenbsp;good grounds for believing that direct human sacrifice wasnbsp;not practised at all in Ireland, as will be shown farther on innbsp;this chapter (p. 281).nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;4. The Gaulish druids prohibited

their disciples from committing to writing any part of their lore, regarding this as an unhallowed practice.nbsp;There is no mention of any such prohibition among Irishnbsp;druids. 5. The Gaulish druids revered the oak, and thenbsp;mistletoe when growing on it; the Irish druids reverednbsp;the yew, the hazel, and the quicken-tree or rowan-tree :

but not the oak. 6. The Gaulish druids, as we are informed, were priests : the Irish druids were not: they were merely wizards and learned men. 7. A point ofnbsp;difference regarding druidic literature that ought to benbsp;noticed is this :�That while all our knowledge regardingnbsp;the Gaulish and British druids is derived from Latin andnbsp;Greek writers, there being no native accounts�or next tonbsp;none�our information about Irish druids comes fromnbsp;native Irish sources, and none from foreign writers.*

� One foot, one hand, one eye.��Spells of several kinds are often mentioned in our ancient writings, as practised bynbsp;various people, not specially or solely by druids. But allnbsp;such rites and incantations, by whomsoever performed�nbsp;magical practices of every kind�are known by the generalnbsp;name of druidecM, i.e. � druidism,� indicating that all proceeded from the druids. Some of the most important ofnbsp;them will be described here.

A common name for a sorcerer of any kind, whether druid or not, was corrguinech, and the art he practised�nbsp;the art of sorcery�was corrguinecht. The explanation ofnbsp;these corrguinechs as ' folks of might,� given in the story ofnbsp;the Battle of Moytura (Rev. Celt., xii., p. 77), shows thenbsp;popular estimation in which they were held. Usuallynbsp;while practising his spell, the corrguinech was quot; on one foot,nbsp;one hand, and one eye,� which, I suppose, means standingnbsp;on one foot, with one arm outstretched, and with one eyenbsp;shut. While in this posture, he uttered a kind of incantation or curse, called glam dichenn, commonly extempore,nbsp;which was intended to inflict injury on the maledictednbsp;person or persons. It was chanted in a loud voice, as thenbsp;word glam indicates, meaning, according to Cormac�s

* On the question of the Celtic druids see De Jubainville, La Civilis. des Celtes, p. 147 : and for Irish druids read O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust.,nbsp;Lects. ix. and x. See also Harris�s Ware, Antiqq., chapter xvi.

Glossary (p. 87), � clamour � or � outcry.� 0�Davoren, in his Glossary, defines conguinecht as � to be on one foot, on onenbsp;hand, and on one eye, making the glam dichenn.��^ The termnbsp;� glam dichenn � was often applied to the aer or satire ofnbsp;a poet; and in this sense it will be again noticed (p. 452).

There are many notices of the exercise, by druids or others, of this necromantic function. Just before thenbsp;second battle of Moytura, Lug of the long arms�thenbsp;Ildana or � master of many arts,� as he was called�thenbsp;commander of the Dedannans, having made an encouragingnbsp;speech to his men, went round the army, using one footnbsp;and one eye, {one hand not mentioned here) chanting, atnbsp;the same time, some sort of incantation, f The � Brudennbsp;Da Derga,� relates how, when King Conari was on his waynbsp;to the Bruden, he was overtaken by two rough monstrousnbsp;big-mouthed misshapen goblins, man and wife, the man�nbsp;whose name was Fer-Caille (� Man of the wood �)�quot; withnbsp;his one hand, and one eye, and one foot,� carrying a greatnbsp;black, squealing hog on his back. And just before thenbsp;tragedy in which this king was slain, a horrible spectral-looking woman came, and, standing at the door of thenbsp;house, she croaked out some sort of incantation � on onenbsp;foot, one hand, and one breath.When the Fomoriannbsp;chief Cicul and his mother arrived in Ireland with threenbsp;hundred men to contend with the Parthalonians, they camenbsp;� on one of the legs, on one of the hands, and one of thenbsp;eyes � (/or oencosaib ocus for oenlamaih ocus oensuilib), innbsp;pursuance of some malign magical intentions.�

This posture was often adopted in other ceremonies besides the glam dichenn. Cuculainn, on one occasion,nbsp;wishing to send a mystic message to Maive�s opposingnbsp;army, cut an oak sapling while using one foot, one hand,

� Rev. Celt., xv. 432. For an instance in a late ms., see Oss. Soc. Trans., ii. 140, where, however, the editor misunderstands andnbsp;mistranslates the passage.

and one eye ; and bending the sapling into a ring, he cut an ogham on it, and left it tightly fitted on the top of a pillar-stone. It was a necessary part of this rite that the saplingnbsp;should be severed and its top sheared off with a singlenbsp;sweep of the sword. One of Maive�s people found it andnbsp;read the ogham, which placed an injunction on them not tonbsp;move the army from camp, till one of them, going throughnbsp;the same process, placed a twig-ring with a reply in oghamnbsp;on the same pillar-stone.*

Some obscure allusions in old writings show that sorcerers threw themselves into other strange attitudesnbsp;in the practice of their diabolical art. When the druidsnbsp;came against St. Caillin, they advanced on all fours, andnbsp;cuirid a tona suas, �� they turn up their backsides � (ponentnbsp;podices eorum sursum) ; and their jaws quot; move angrily, andnbsp;they unjustly revile the clerics � (probably with a glamnbsp;dichenn) : and the legend goes on to say that for thisnbsp;profanity the saint turned them into standing stones, fnbsp;Perhaps a circumstance related in the � Wars of the Gaelsnbsp;with the Galls � has some connexion with this rite. Whennbsp;King Mahon, after the Battle of Sulcoit (a.d. 968), tooknbsp;the Danes of Limerick captive, the victorious Irish celebrated some sort of races or games by placing � a great linenbsp;� of the women of the foreigners on the little hills of Sing-quot; land in a circle, and they were stooped with their handsnbsp;� on the ground ; and the gillies of the army, standingnbsp;behind them, marshalled them, for the good of the soulsnbsp;� of the foreigners who were killed in the battle.�! Butnbsp;the whole entry, which seems an odd mixture of paganismnbsp;and Christianity, is quite obscure, so that Todd professesnbsp;himself unable to explain it.

Imbas Forosnai; Teinm Laegda; and Dichetal do chen-naib.�In Cormac�s Glossary and other authorities, the three rites with these names are mentioned as rendering

a poet {fili) prophetical. Imhas Forosnai, ' illumination between the hands,� or � palm-knowledge of enlightening,�nbsp;was so called, says the Glossary (p. 94), because � itnbsp;� discovers everything which the poet wishes and whichnbsp;� he desires to manifest.� The Glossary goes on to describenbsp;the manner of performing the rite ;�� The poet chewednbsp;� a piece of the flesh of a red pig, or of a dog, or of a cat,

� and then placing it on a flagstone, pronounced an incan-� tation over it, and offered it to idol-gods : then he calls � his idol-gods to him, but finds them not on the morrownbsp;� \i.e. he takes them to himself, and they disappear duringnbsp;�his sleep]; and he pronounces incantations on hisnbsp;� two palms, and calls again unto him his idol-gods, thatnbsp;� his sleep may not be disturbed ; and he lays his twonbsp;� palms on his two cheeks and [in this position] fallsnbsp;� asleep : and he is watched in order that no one maynbsp;quot; disturb him.� During his sleep the future events werenbsp;revealed to him ; and he awakened up with a full knowledgenbsp;of them. According to the Glossary, the rite was callednbsp;imhas, from has, � the palm of the hand.� The Teinmnbsp;Laegda was used for a like purpose ; � but the two ritesnbsp;were performed after a different manner ; i.e. a differentnbsp;kind of offering was made at each � (Br. Laws, i. 45).nbsp;De Jubainville (vi. 89-91) shows that a similar, thoughnbsp;somewhat less complicated, rite was practised by thenbsp;Greeks and Romans, and by some eastern people.

Cormac�s Glossary and other old authorities state that St. Patrick abolished the Imhas Forosnai and the Teinmnbsp;Laegda, because they required offerings to be made tonbsp;idols or demons ; but he permitted the Dichetal do chennaih,nbsp;� because it is not necessary in it to make any offeringsnbsp;to demons.� This Dichetal do chennaih was simply thenbsp;utterance of an extempore prophecy or poem withoutnbsp;any previous rite. It seems to have been accomplishednbsp;with the aid of a harmless mnerrionic contrivance of somenbsp;kind, in which the fingers played a principal part, and

by which the poet was enabled to pour forth his verses extemporaneously. That this was the case appears bothnbsp;from its name and from the descriptions given in the oldnbsp;authorities. Dichetal do chennaib signifies � recital from thenbsp;ends,� i.e. the ends of the fingers, as is evident from Cormac�snbsp;Glossary (p. 95) ;�� There is a revelation at once from thenbsp;ends of the bones ��do chennaib cndime. So also, in thenbsp;Small Primer, it is said that the poet repeats his versesnbsp;� without having meditated, or even thought of themnbsp;before � (Br. Laws, v. 59, 4). Again, in the Senchus M�r,nbsp;we read that the poet � composes from the enlighteningnbsp;[finger-] ends � {forcan di cendaih forosna) : on which thenbsp;Commentator says :�� At this day \i.e. in the time of thenbsp;� Commentator] it is by the ends of his [finger-] bones henbsp;quot; effects it ; . . . and the way in which it is done is this :�nbsp;� When the poet sees the person or thing before him, henbsp;� makes a verse at once with the ends of his fingers, or innbsp;� his mind without studying, and he composes and repeatsnbsp;� at the same time.�* All this agrees with the statementnbsp;in Cormac�s Glossary ;�quot; Dichetal do chennaib was left [bynbsp;� Patrick], for it is science [i.e. mere intellectual effort�nbsp;� not necromancy] that effects it.�t

Notwithstanding St. Patrick�s prohibition, the whole three rites continued to be practised down to a comparatively late period, as the forms of many other pagan ritesnbsp;lived on in spite of the efforts of the Christian clergy.nbsp;The Book of Ollaves lays down as one of the requirementsnbsp;of an Anruth poet in his eighth year that he must masternbsp;the Imbas Forosnai, the Teinm Laegda, and the Dichetalnbsp;do chennaib (see chap, xi., p. 433, farther on). In confii'-mation of this, we find it stated in a late historical record

t Stokes, Trip, Life, 571. Mrs. Hall, who knew nothing of the Dichetal do Chennaib. describes (in the year 1841) how the illiterate oldnbsp;market-woman Moll Miskellagh, when sent to town to purchase andnbsp;bring home numerous articles, fixed them all in her memory by meansnbsp;of her fingers (Irish Penny Journal, p. 410, 2nd column).

that a council was called by Donall O�Neill, king of Ulster, in the eleventh century, to make reparation for an injurynbsp;inflicted on the poet Erard Mac Cosse by some Ulsternbsp;chiefs : and another great scholar, Flann of Monasterboice,nbsp;as the mouthpiece of the council, assessed certain damagesnbsp;to be paid to Mac Cosse, and, in future, to all other poetsnbsp;lor similar injury, provided they were able to compose thenbsp;Imbas Forosnai, the Teinm Laegda, and the Dichetal donbsp;chennaib¹ Here, however, these functions seem to havenbsp;been mere literary performances, without any invocationnbsp;to idols or demons, or any touch of necromancy ; so that,nbsp;like many other heathen practices continued into Christiannbsp;times, they lost their pagan taint, and became harmless.

Bull Feast.�The ancient Irish practised a rite called the � Bull feast � to discover who their future king was tonbsp;be, not much unlike the Imbas Forosnai. This is describednbsp;more than once in the Book of the Dun Cow :�� A whitenbsp;� bull was killed, and one man ate enough of its flesh, andnbsp;� drank of the broth ; and he slept under that meal; andnbsp;quot; a spell of truth w'as chanted over him [as he slept in hisnbsp;� bed] by four druids : and he saw in a dream the shapenbsp;� and description of the man who should be made king,nbsp;� and the sort of work he was [at the moment] engagednbsp;� in.�f Another account says � the sleeper would perish ifnbsp;he uttered a falsehood.�]: Dr. Stokes points out that, irnbsp;Achaia, the priestess of the earth drank the fresh blood ofnbsp;a bull before descending into the cave to prophesy.

Dioheltair: Fe-fiada.�The druids and other � men of might � could make a magic mantle that rendered itsnbsp;wearer invisible : called a cellar [keltar] or dicheltair (something that covers or conceals, from cel or ceil, � conceal �),nbsp;and often cellar contga, � mantle of concealment.� Cuculainnnbsp;once, going into battle, put on his cellar comga, which was

O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., I. 135. t Sick Bed, Atlantis, i. 385 : Ir. Texte, i. 213.nbsp;} Stokes, Da Derga, 23.

part of the raiment of Tir Tairngire or Fairyland, and which had been given him by his tutor of druidism {aitinbsp;druidechia).¹ ^{2 3 4} In an Irish version of the Aeneid, the writer,nbsp;having in his mind the native Irish legend, tells us thatnbsp;when Venus was guiding Aeneas and his companions tonbsp;Dido�s city, she put a dichealtair round them, so thatnbsp;they went unseen till they arrived within the city :t justnbsp;as Athene threw a mist of invisibility round Ulysses as henbsp;entered the city of the Phaeaceans (Odyss. vii.).

Druids and others could raise or produce a Fe-fiada or Feth-fiada,% which rendered people invisible. Thenbsp;accounts that have reached us of this Fe-fiada are verynbsp;confused and obscure. Sometimes it appears to be anbsp;poetical incantation, or even a Christian hymn, whichnbsp;rendered the person that repeated it invisible. Often itnbsp;is a mantle ; occasionally a magic fog or spell that hidnbsp;natural objects�such an object as a well�^and that mightnbsp;be removed by Christian influences. Every shee or fairynbsp;palace had a Fe-fiada round it, which shut it out fromnbsp;mortal vision.� The Fe-fiada and the dicheltair held theirnbsp;ground far into Christian times, and even found their waynbsp;into the legends of the saints. St. Patrick�s well-knownnbsp;hymn was a Fe-fiada, and it is openly called so in oldnbsp;authorities : for it made Patrick and his company, as theynbsp;went towards Tara, appear as a herd of deer to those whonbsp;lay in wait to slay them. At the Battle of Clontarf (1014),nbsp;the banshee Eevin�according to a modern manuscriptnbsp;account�gave the Dalcassian hero Dunlang 0�Hartigan anbsp;mantle, called a feadh Fia, which, so long as he wore it,nbsp;made him invisible, and protected him from harm during

J This charm, with its name Feth-fiada�as will be mentioned farther on (p. 386, note)�is still prevalent in Scotland, though the name hasnbsp;been long forgotten in Ireland. See Fe Fiada in Index.

See Todd, . Book of Fermoy, 46, 48 : O'Curry, Sons of Usna�Atlantis, III. 386 ; Trip. Life, 47 : Silva Gad., 228.

the battle ; but when he threw it off he was slain.¹ When the king of Fermoy pursued St. Finnchua�s mother to killnbsp;her�as we read in the Life of this saint�a � cloak ofnbsp;darkness� (celtchair dhichlethi) was put round her bynbsp;miraculous Christian intervention, so that she escaped, fnbsp;It would appear from many passages that anything producing invisibility; whether mantle, fog, incantation, ornbsp;hymn, was called by the general name Fe-fiada.

When the Fe-fiada was a fog, it was more commonly called ce� druidechia [dreeghta : ce�, pron. kyo, one syll.],nbsp;the � druidical or magic fog � ; which very often figures innbsp;Irish romances and songs, both ancient and modern. Innbsp;the Fled Bricrenn we read that a ce� druidechia oncenbsp;overtook Laegaire the Victorious, and on the same occasion another came upon Conall Cernach, � so that he wasnbsp;unable to see heaven or earth.�]; When the Dedannansnbsp;invaded Ireland, they marched inland till they reachednbsp;Slieve-an-Ierin, covering themselves with a magic fog,nbsp;so that the Firbolgs never perceived them till they hadnbsp;taken up a strong position. This concealing fog is alsonbsp;found in Christian legends. In the story of the Boromanbsp;in the Book of Leinster, it is related that on one occasion,nbsp;when St. Moiling and his companions were pursued by anbsp;hostile party, his friend Mothair�n, who was far away fromnbsp;him at the time, having, in some preternatural way, beennbsp;made aware of his danger, prayed that a fog (ce� simply :nbsp;not called a ce� druidechia) might be sent round them;nbsp;and straightway a fog came and enveloped them, thoughnbsp;they themselves did not perceive it, so that they werenbsp;quite hidden from the view of their enemies, and succeedednbsp;in escaping.�

Various Spells.�Spells and charms of various other kinds were practised. A general name for a charm was

Oss. Soc. Trans., 11. loi ; see Joyce, Short Hist, of Ireland, p. 219, note, for the story of Dunlang.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f Stokes, Lives of SS., 232.

sen [shain] : s�naire [three syllables], a � charmer.� Among the offences mentioned in the Senchus M�r for which anbsp;penalty was due is � carrying love-charms � : which arenbsp;there called au-ptha : other forms of the word are uptha,nbsp;eptha, and ipfha. In the Gloss on this passage arenbsp;given two other names for a charm�felmas and pis�c.nbsp;This last is still in use, even among English-speakingnbsp;people, in the modern form pise�g (pron. pishoge), andnbsp;familiarly applied to witchcraft or spells. Fidlann, whichnbsp;occurs in the � Second Vision of Adamnan,� denoted somenbsp;kind of necromantic divination, which was, perhaps, donenbsp;by lot-casting, as the first syllable, fid, means � wood,� ornbsp;� anything made of wood � ; or, as Stokes suggests,* bynbsp;cutting ogham on a yew-rod, as described at p. 230, sup-^a.nbsp;In Cuimmin�s poem on the Irish saints �ile [aila] is givennbsp;to denote a spell-chant or charm. The Dedannan godnbsp;Lug, already mentioned (p. 241) as singing an incantationnbsp;before the Battle of Moytura, is brought forward in thenbsp;Tain as in conversation with Cuculainn, and utters anothernbsp;incantation, which is called, on the margin of the pagenbsp;(78, a) of the Book of the Dun Cow, �li Loga, � Lug�s �linbsp;or chant.�t

Names for God.�In the Irish language there are several names for God in general, without reference to any particular god : and it will be convenient to bring them allnbsp;together here, whether in Christian or pagan connexion.nbsp;The most general is dia (gen. d�), which, with somenbsp;variations in spelling, is common to many of the Aryannbsp;languages. It was used in pagan as well as in Christiannbsp;times, and is the Irish word in universal use at the presentnbsp;day for God. The word fiadn (gen. fiadat) is sometimes

f For other examples of �li, see Stokes in Zeitschr. f�r Celt. Phil., I. 72 : and for a horrible pagan rite with dead men�s marrow, practisednbsp;even in Christian times, apparently with the sanction of the Brehonnbsp;Law, see Br. Laws, i. 20j.

used for ' Lord � or ' God,� for which see Windisch, Worterbuch, and Stokes�s Lives, cv. Art is explainednbsp;in Cormac�s Glossary (p. 3) as meaning � God.� Anothernbsp;name was Dess : the lady Emer, as we read in � Thenbsp;Courtship of Emer,� in the Book of the Dun Cow, onnbsp;seeing Cuculainn, saluted him with the words, �May Dessnbsp;make smooth the path before thee � ; and in the old textnbsp;(LU, 122, h, 33), Dess is explained by Dia, � God,� writtennbsp;in between the lines. This word Dess must have beennbsp;old and obscure when the book was copied (a.d. iioo),nbsp;inasmuch as the writer thought it necessary to explainnbsp;it; and he considered that it was obscure even at thenbsp;supposed time of the meeting, for Cuculainn and Emernbsp;carried on their conversation in intentionally obscurenbsp;words�of which Dess was one�that the hearers mightnbsp;not understand them. In an old Glossary (the Duilnbsp;Laithne) in the handwriting of Duald Mac Firbis, asnbsp;quoted by Stokes,* three other ancient Irish names for Godnbsp;are given, and all explained by Dia :�Teo, Tiamud, andnbsp;Daur. The word Comdiu, or Coimdiu (gen. Comded) isnbsp;often used in old writings for � Master,� � God,� the � Godhead,� the � Lord,� and I think always in connexion withnbsp;Christianity ; but it has long fallen into disuse. Lastlynbsp;Tigerna [teerna] means � Lord.� It was originally, and isnbsp;still, applied to an earthly lord ; but, like the English wordnbsp;� Lord,� was often used to designate God, as it is to thisnbsp;day. There was a Gaulish god, Esus, whose worship,nbsp;though at one time pretty widely spread, appears nevernbsp;to have reached Ireland, as his name does not appear innbsp;Irish writings.

Gods in General.�In Irish literature, both lay and ecclesiastical, we sometimes find vague references to thenbsp;pagan gods in general terms, without any hint as to theirnbsp;identity or functions. The � gods � are often referred to

in oaths and asseverations : and such expressions as the following are constantly put into the mouths of the heroesnbsp;of the Red Branch :�� I swear by the gods that my peoplenbsp;swear by � {Tonga na dea thungus mo thuatJi) : � I swearnbsp;to god what my tribe swears � {Tongu do dia tonges monbsp;thuath) ; � I swear by my gods whom I adore � {Do thungnbsp;mo deo dan adraim). Muirchu, in his short Latin Life ofnbsp;St. Patrick, written near the end of the seventh century,nbsp;informs us that when King Laegaire [Leary] was settingnbsp;out for Slane, on Easter Eve, a.d. 433, to arrest St. Patrick,nbsp;he ordered nine chariots to be joined together, quot; accordingnbsp;to the tradition of the gods.�¹ All this would seem tonbsp;imply that�as already remarked (p. 220)�^we are not innbsp;possession of full information regarding pagan Irish worship : that there is something behind those observancesnbsp;which we know nothing of.

Individual Gods.�But we have a number of individual gods of very distinct personality, who figure in thenbsp;romantic literature, some beneficent and some evil. Thenbsp;names of many of them have been identified with those ofnbsp;ancient Gaulish gods,t a thing that might be anticipated,nbsp;inasmuch as the Gaelic people of Ireland and Scotlandnbsp;are a branch of the Celts or Gauls of the Continent, andnbsp;brought with them, at their separation from the main stock,nbsp;the language, the traditions, and the mythology of theirnbsp;original home.

Shee or Fairies.�^The pagan Irish worshipped the side [shee,] i.e. the earth-gods, or fairies, or elves. In proof ofnbsp;this, many passages might be cited from both the lay andnbsp;the ecclesiastical literature ; but perhaps the most precisenbsp;statement, as well as the oldest, occurs in Fiacc�s Hymnnbsp;to St. Patrick ;�� Till the apostle [Patrick] came to them,nbsp;darkness lay on Ireland�s folk : the tribes worshipped the

�f For examples, see Kilk. Arch. Journ., 1868, p. 319 ; Stokes, Three Irish Glossaries, xxxiii : and Rhys, Hibb. Lectures (Lects. i. and ll.)

side �¹ A part of this worship was intended for the fairies collectively, and a part was often meant for individuals,nbsp;who will be named as we go along. These side are closelynbsp;mixed up with the mythical race called Tuatha [Tooha]nbsp;dea Danann, or, more shortly, Dedannans, to whom thenbsp;great majority of the fairy gods belonged : and it will benbsp;proper to give here some information regarding bothnbsp;combined.!

The name Tuatha Dea Danann signifies the tuatha, or people of the goddess Danu or Danann, who was thenbsp;quot; mother of the gods,� and who will be found mentionednbsp;farther on. According to our bardic chroniclers thenbsp;Dedannans were the fourth of the prehistoric coloniesnbsp;that arrived in Ireland many centuries before the Christiannbsp;era.J They were great magicians, and were highly skillednbsp;in science and metal-working. After inhabiting Irelandnbsp;for about two hundred years, they were conquered by thenbsp;people of the fifth and last colony�the Milesians. Whennbsp;they had been finally defeated in two decisive battles, theynbsp;held secret council, and arranged that the several chiefs,nbsp;with their followers, were to take up their residence in thenbsp;pleasant hills all over the country�the side [shee] or elf-mounds�where they could live free from observation ornbsp;molestation. A detailed account of their final dispersionnbsp;is given in the Book of Fermoy, a manuscript copied fromnbsp;older books in 1463, where it is related that the Dedannans,nbsp;after two disastrous battles, held a meeting at Brugh, onnbsp;the Boyne, under the presidency of Mannanan Mac Lirnbsp;(p. 258, infra) ; and by his advice they distributed andnbsp;quartered them.selves on the pleasant hills and plainsnbsp;of Erin. Bodb Derg [Bove Derg,] son of the Dagda

t For further information, see Comyn�s Keat., 204 : Hyde, Lit. Hist., 51 ; Joyce,. Old Celtic Romances, .427 ; Ogyg., iir. xxii; and Joyce,nbsp;Short Hist, of Irel., 125.

t For the legend of their arrival and rule in Ireland, see Joyce�s Keating, 109 to end.

(p. 260, infra), was chosen king ; and Mannanan arranged the different dwelling-places among the hills for thenbsp;nobles. Deep under ground in these abodes they builinbsp;themselves glorious palaces, all ablaze with light, andnbsp;glittering with gems and gold. Sometimes their palacesnbsp;were situated under wells or lakes, or under the sea.*

A different account is given in a much more ancient authority, the eighth or ninth century tale called Mescanbsp;Ulad (p. 3), in the Book of Leinster, which recounts thatnbsp;after the battles, Amergin, the Milesian brehon, was callednbsp;on to divide Erin between the conquering and the conquered races ; � and he gave the part of Erin that wasnbsp;� underground to the \spiritual\ Dedannans, and the othernbsp;quot; part to his own corporeal people, the sons of Miled ; afternbsp;� which the Dedannans went into hills and fairy-palaces,�nbsp;and became gods. But it is to be observed that individuals belonging to other races�as, for instance, some ofnbsp;the Milesian chiefs�became fairy-gods, and dwelt in thenbsp;side (for which see p. 261, infra). In a passage in onenbsp;tale even the Fomorians are said to be dwellers in the side.]nbsp;The side seem, indeed, to have been looked upon as thenbsp;home of many classes of supernatural beings, as in thenbsp;case of the Morrigu mentioned below, who is stated tonbsp;have come out of the elf-mounds {a sidaih).

In one of the stories of the Tdin, as well as in other tales, we meet with a statement in connexion with thenbsp;Dedannans which is somewhat obscure. On one occasionnbsp;Cuculainn, being tired and thirsty after a fight, comes tonbsp;an old woman (who was the morrigu in disguise, and hadnbsp;come out of the side), milking a cow, and asked her fornbsp;a drink. And when she had given it to him, he said :�nbsp;� The blessing of the dee and of the an-dee be upon thee �nbsp;(dee, � gods � ; an-dee, � non-gods �) : and this explanatorynbsp;note is added in the LL text :�� The dee were the

* Under a well; see Ir. Texte, iii. 209. t Rev, Celt., xii. 73 : Hyde, Lit. Hist., 287.

� magicians [aes-cumachta, � folk of power �], and the � an-dee were the husbandmen [aes-trebaire, � folk ofnbsp;� ploughingnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The same incident is related in the Coir

Anmann :�]� and here the dee or gods are in one place said to be the magicians, and a little farther on they are givennbsp;as the poets {aes-ddna) : thus identifying the poets withnbsp;the magicians. Probably dee in this and other like passagesnbsp;meant simply the druids or magicians, who were also poets,nbsp;and the an-dee, the ordinary people or laity.

Many passages from old Irish authorities might be cited to show that the Dedannans were identified withnbsp;the side or fairies. In the Story of the Children of Lir,nbsp;the two sons of the Dedannan King Bodb [Bove] Dergnbsp;are represented as riding forward at the head of a partynbsp;of their own people, who are called Marcra Side, thenbsp;' cavalcade of the side or fairies.' And in an ancientnbsp;manuscript copy of Senchus na Relec, or � History of thenbsp;Cemeteries,� the following statement occurs relating to thenbsp;death of King Cormac Mac Art :�� Or it was the siabranbsp;� [sheevra, ' a kind of fairies �] that killed him, i.e. thenbsp;� Tuatha De Dannans, for they were called siabra.��X Innbsp;a poem in the Book of the Dun Cow, Midir, a noted fairynbsp;chief, who had his side or palace under the hill now callednbsp;Slieve Golry, near Ardagh, in Longford, is called � Midirnbsp;of the Tuatha De Dannan race.��

But an older race of side or earth-gods, the local gods of the aboriginal inhabitants, whoever they may havenbsp;been, existed in the country before the deification of thenbsp;Dedannans : and with these the Dedannans became mixednbsp;up and confounded. This fact did not escape the noticenbsp;of O�Curry, who puts it very clearly in an Appendix tonbsp;one of his Lectures ;11 and there is a plain recognition of

* LL, 75, b, 3,; Hull, Cuch. Saga, i6g : Hyde, Lit. Hist., 286. t Ir. Texte, in. 355.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f Petrie, Round Towers, 98, note d.

the existence of older gods in many passages of the ancient authorities. One of the oldest, the Mesca Ulad,¹nbsp;after describing the arrangement already noticed, by whichnbsp;the Dedannans were assigned the underground dwellings,nbsp;goes on to say:�� The Tuatha De Danann [then] wentnbsp;� into hills and fairy-palaces {sidhrugaih), so that theynbsp;� spoke with side under ground � : implying the previousnbsp;existence of the side. And in another very old authority,nbsp;the Story of the Sick-bed of Cuculainn, the Dedannansnbsp;are represented as on several occasions visiting the palacesnbsp;of the previous existing fairies. But in course of timenbsp;the distinction between the Dedannans and their predecessors became lost, so that it will not be necessary tonbsp;refer to it again, and the side or fairies will be treated asnbsp;if all of one race.

Dwellings of Fairies.�In accordance with all these ancient accounts it was universally believed that the fairiesnbsp;dwelt in habitations in the interior of pleasant hills, whichnbsp;were called by the name of side [shee]. Colgan�s explanation of this term gives an admirable epitome of thenbsp;superstition respecting the side and its inhabitants :�nbsp;� Fantastical spirits are by the Irish called men of thenbsp;� side, because they are seen, as it were, to come out ofnbsp;� beautiful hills to infest people ; and hence the vulgarnbsp;� belief that they reside in certain subterraneous habita-quot; tions within these hills ; and these habitations, andnbsp;� sometimes the hills themselves, are called by the Irishnbsp;� side.�^ Here it will be observed that the word side isnbsp;applied to the fairies themselves as well as to their abodes.nbsp;And shee, as meaning a fairy, is perfectly understood still.nbsp;When you see a little whirl of dust moving along thenbsp;road on a fine calm day, that is called a shee-geehanbsp;(Ir. side gaeithe), ' wind fairies,� travelling from one Us

t This superstition about tairy hills also prevails in Scotland : Rob Roy, chap, xxviii. and note H.

In Colgan�s time the fairy superstition had descended to the common people�the vulgus ; for the spread of thenbsp;faith, and the influence of education, had disenthralled thenbsp;minds of the higher classes. But in the fifth century,nbsp;the existence of the Daoine side [deena-shee, � people ofnbsp;the fairy mansions �1 was an article of belief with the highnbsp;as well as with the low ; as may be inferred from thenbsp;following curious passage in the Book of Armagh (eighthnbsp;century), where we find the two daughters of Laegaire

[Leary], king of Ireland, participating in this superstition :�� Then St. Patrick came to the well which is called � Cleiach, on the side of Cruachan, towards the east; andnbsp;� before sunrise they [Patrick and his companions] satnbsp;� down near the well. And lo, the two daughters ofnbsp;quot; King Laegaire, Ethnea the fair and Fedelma the ruddy,nbsp;quot; came early to the well to wash their hands, as was theirnbsp;� custom : and they found near the well a synod of holynbsp;� bishops with Patrick. And they knew not whence theynbsp;quot; came, or from what people, or from what country : butnbsp;quot; supposed them to be fir side, or gods of the earth, or anbsp;� phantasm.�*

The ideas prevalent in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries as to what the people�s beliefs were regardingnbsp;the fairies before the time of St. Patrick, are well setnbsp;forth in the concluding paragraph of the tale of � Thenbsp;Sick Bed of Cuculainn � in the Book of the Dun Cow ;�nbsp;� For the demoniac power was great before the faith : andnbsp;� such was its greatness that the demons used to corpo-� really tempt the people, and they used to shew themnbsp;� delights and secrets, such as how they might becomenbsp;quot; immortal. And it was to these phantoms the ignorantnbsp;� used to apply the name side.�*

Numbers of fairy hills and sepulchral cairns, not only those enumerated in the Book of Fermoy, but many others,

are scattered over the country, each with anbsp;bright palace deepnbsp;underneath, ruled bynbsp;its own chief, the tutelary deity. They arenbsp;still regarded as fairynbsp;haunts, and are heldnbsp;in much superstitiousnbsp;awe by the peasantry.nbsp;Nature and Powers of the Fairies.�Fairies, as they arenbsp;depicted for us in the old writings, occupied an intermediatenbsp;position between spiritual and corporeal beings. In somenbsp;passages of the tales, especially those relating to the pagannbsp;heaven which they inhabited, they are spoken of asnbsp;immortal: and they drank of Manannan Mac Lir�s ale,nbsp;and ate of the flesh of his swine, which preserved themnbsp;from old age, decay, and death. But in other passagesnbsp;they are made subject to death, after living an immenselynbsp;long time. They are often presented to us like mennbsp;and women, and they are sometimes married to mortals.nbsp;Men fought battles against fairies, and hacked and killednbsp;* Sick Bed : Atlantis, li. 124.

them, and occasionally attacked their palaces ; the shee or fairy-palace of Croghan was on one occasion attacked andnbsp;plundered by Ailill and Maive.¹ Sometimes the fairiesnbsp;fought among themselves. In the Rennes Dinnsenchus itnbsp;is related that two opposing parties of fir-side [fir-shee:nbsp;� fairy-men �] quarrelled, and fought it out in the shapes ofnbsp;deer on the plain of Moenmagh ; and mounds were madenbsp;of the hoofs and antlers that had been knocked off.fnbsp;Occasionally one party of fairies engaged mortal chiefsnbsp;to aid them in their wars against fairy adversaries.

The fairies possessed great preternatural powers. They could make themselves invisible to some persons standingnbsp;by, while visible to others ; as Pallas showed herself tonbsp;Achilles, while remaining invisible to the other Greeksnbsp;(Iliad, i). But their powers were exercised much oftenernbsp;for evil than for good. They were consequently dreadednbsp;rather than loved; and the respect paid to them wasnbsp;mainly intended to avert mischief. In this same spiritnbsp;too they are now commonly called � the good people.�nbsp;They could wither up the crops over a whole district, ornbsp;strike cattle with disease. J The belief that the illness ofnbsp;cattle was sometimes due to fairy malignity found its waynbsp;even into the Senchus M�r, in which is mentioned cattlenbsp;as killed by fairy plague, which the gloss explains as anbsp;broken or diseased kidney. � The women from the fairynbsp;hills struck Cuculainn with little rods which brought on annbsp;illness that nearly killed him ;|] and many other examplesnbsp;of similar infliction occur in the tales. To this day the

For various mortal qualities attributed to fairio.s, see Todd, Book Fermoy, 46, 47 . O�Curry, Usna, 388, note 16 : Voyage of Bran, ii.

195, 196: Ventry, xiv. : Stokes, Lives of SS., xxxiv. ! O�Grady, Silva Gad., 280, 290.

t Rev. Celt., XVI. 274. The fights of fairies among themselves have given names to places ; as Lisnascragh, � the fairy-fort of the shrieking � :nbsp;for which, and for the prevalence of the superstition at the present day,nbsp;see Joyce�s Names of Places, t. 192.

peasantry have a lurking belief that cattle and human beings who interfere with the haunted old lisses or forts,nbsp;are often fairy-struck, which brings on paralysis or othernbsp;dangerous illness, or death. I knew one noted case.

A brief account of a few of the leading Dedannan and other fairy gods will now be given. Sometimes they arenbsp;spoken of as gods : sometimes they are regarded as greatnbsp;men, who ultimately came to be looked upon as gods.nbsp;But this same uncertainty�whether pantheon deities arenbsp;gods or men, or the tendency to regard them as great mennbsp;who became deified�is found in the mythology of Greece,nbsp;and, indeed, in that of all other ancient nations.*

Manannan Mac Lir, whose epithet Mac Lir signifies � Son of the Sea � {ler, � sea � ; gen. lir), was the Irish sea-god. He is usually represented in the old tales as ridingnbsp;on the sea, in a chariot, at the head of his followers.nbsp;When Bran the son of Febal had been at sea two daysnbsp;and two nights, � he saw a man in a chariot comingnbsp;towards him over the sea,� who turns out to be Manannan Mac Lir, and who, as he passed, spoke in verse, andnbsp;said that the sea to him was a beautiful flowery plain :�

This latter part of the old account has been adopted in the legends of the Saints. St. Scuithin, or Scotinus, usednbsp;to walk over the sea to Rome in a day, and return thenbsp;next day. Once, when he was thus skimming along likenbsp;the wind, he met St. Finnbarr, of Cork, who was in a ship :nbsp;and Finnbarr asked him why he was travelling over thenbsp;sea in that manner. Scuithin promptly replied that it was

* For a full account of the Dedannan gods, and a comparison of their correspondence with the deified heroes of the Greeks and other ancientnbsp;nations; see Le Cycle Mythologique ; De Jubainville, Cours, Litt. Celt., ii.

not the sea at all, � but a flowery shamrock-bearing plain : and here is a proof of it,� said he�extending his handnbsp;into the sea�quot; and he took up therefrom a bunch ofnbsp;purple flowers and cast it to Finnbarr into the ship.�nbsp;But quot; Finnbarr [to disprove Scuithin�s statement] alsonbsp;quot; stretched his hand into the water, from which he tooknbsp;� up a salmon, and cast it to Scuithin.�* And so thenbsp;dispute between the two good saints remained undecided.

Manannan is still vividly remembered in some parts of Ireland. He is in his glory on a stormy night: and onnbsp;such a night, when you look over the sea, there beforenbsp;your eyes, in the dim gloom, are thousands of Manannan�snbsp;white-maned steeds, careering along after the great chief�snbsp;chariot. One of the islands of the pagan heaven is described in the Voyage of Bran (i. 4) as � an isle roundnbsp;which sea-horses glisten.� According to an oral tradition,nbsp;prevalent in the Isle of Man and in the eastern countiesnbsp;of Leinster (brought from Leinster to Man by the earlynbsp;emigrants ; p. 79, supra) Manannan had three legs, onnbsp;which he rolled along on land, wheel-like, always surrounded by a ceo-draoidheachta, or � magic mist � (p. 247,nbsp;supra) : and this is the origin of the three-legged figure onnbsp;the Manx halfpenny. In Cormac�s Glossary (p. 114) henbsp;is brought down to the level of a mere man�a successfulnbsp;merchant�who afterwards became deified :�� Manannannbsp;Mac Lir, a celebrated merchant, who was \i.e. took upnbsp;his abode] in the Isle of Mann. He was the best pilotnbsp;that was in the west of Europe. He used to know, bynbsp;studying the sky, the period which would be the finenbsp;weather and the bad weather, and when each of thesenbsp;two times would change. Hence the Irish and thenbsp;Britons call him the � God of the Sea,� and also Mac Lir,nbsp;i.e. the � Son of the Sea.� And from the name ofnbsp;Manannan the Isle of Mann is so called.� But the Coirnbsp;Anmann (p. 357), which, however, is scarcely so old an

authority, says the reverse :�quot; He was called Manannan from [the Isle of] Mann.�

The Dagda was a powerful and beneficent god, who ruled as king over Ireland for eighty years. He wasnbsp;sometimes called Ruad-Rofhessa [Roo-ro-essa], the � lordnbsp;{ruad) of great knowledge � {ro, � great � ; Jiss, gen. fessa,nbsp;� knowledge �), for � �tis he that had the perfection ofnbsp;the heathen science � ; and also Mac na n-ule n-ddna,nbsp;� the Son of all the Sciences � {uh or uile, � all � ; dan,nbsp;�science�).* He seems to have made an ill-assortednbsp;marriage ; for, according to Cormac�s Glossary (p. 90),nbsp;his wife was known by three names�Breg, Meng, andnbsp;Meahal, i.e. � Lie,� � Guile,� and � Disgrace.�

Bodb Derg [Bove-Derg], son of the Dagda, had his residence�called Side Buidb [Shee Boov]�on the shorenbsp;of Lough Derg, somewhere near Portumna. Several hillsnbsp;in Ireland, noted as fairy-haunts, took their names fromnbsp;him, and others from his daughter Bugh [Boo].

Aengus Mac-in-Og [Oge], another son of the Dagda, was a mighty magician�in the Wooing of Emer he is called anbsp;god�whose splendid palace at � Brugh of the Boyne � wasnbsp;within the great sepulchral mound of Newgrange, nearnbsp;Drogheda, f

Brigit, daughter of the Dagda, was the goddess of Poets, of Poetry, and of Wisdom. � This,� says Cormac�s Glossarynbsp;{23), � is Brigit the female sage, or woman of wisdom�nbsp;� that is, Brigit the goddess, whom poets adored, becausenbsp;quot; her protecting care [over them] was very great and verynbsp;� famous.� Cormac fancifully interprets her name asnbsp;meaning �fiery arrow� (Irish, Breo-Shaiget). She hadnbsp;two sisters, also called Brigit: one was the goddess ofnbsp;Medicine and medical doctors ; the other the goddess of

? Corm. Gloss., 144 : Ir. Texte, iil. 357 : LL, 188, a, Pronounce this long epithet Mac-nan-ulla-nauna.

smiths and smithwork. The hrst recorded Christian who bore this old pagan name was the great St. Brigit ofnbsp;Kildare ; and through veneration for her, it has beennbsp;perpetuated in Christian Ireland for 1400 years as anbsp;favourite name for women.

Diancecht, the mighty physician and god of Medicine, and his three brothers, Goibniu, or Goibnenn, the smithnbsp;(whose wife is interred under the great mound besidenbsp;Drogheda, now called the Millmount), Credne the cairdnbsp;or ' brazier,' and Luchtine the saer or � carpenter,� will benbsp;found noticed elsewhere in this book.

Buanann and Ana, two beneficent Dedannan goddesses, are mentioned in Cormac�s Glossary as resembling eachnbsp;other : i.e. in their functions. Buan-ann means � goodnbsp;mother � : so called because she was the ann, or � mother,'nbsp;of the heroes, reared them, and taught them feats of arms.*nbsp;Ana, also called Danu or Danann, gave name to thenbsp;Tiiatha Dea Danann (� tribes of the goddess Danu �). Shenbsp;was the mother of the gods of the Irish,! that is to say,nbsp;of the � three gods of Danu � {Tri deo Danonn), Brian,nbsp;lucharba, and luchar�whose father was Bres Mac Elathan,nbsp;and who were killed by Lugh in Mana :l and she sucklednbsp;and nursed these three so well that her name � Ana �nbsp;came to signify � plenty � {ana, � wealth, treasure,� Mart, ofnbsp;O�Gorman). The Coir Anmann (p. 289) adds that shenbsp;was worshipped in Munster as the goddess of plenty:nbsp;and the name and nutritive function of this goddess arenbsp;prominently commemorated in Da Chich Danainne, � thenbsp;Two Paps of Danann,' a name given to two beautifulnbsp;adjacent conical mountains near Killarney, which to thisnbsp;day are well known by the name of � The Paps.'��

But there were other fairy chiefs besides those of the D'edannans ; and some renowned shees belonged tonbsp;�lilesian princes, who became deified in imitation of their

fairy predecessors. For instance, the Shee of Aed-Ruad [Ai-Roo] at Ballyshannon, in Donegal. Our ancient booksnbsp;relate that this Aed-Ruad, or Red Hugh, a Milesian chief,nbsp;the father of Macha, founder of Emain, was drowned innbsp;the cataract at Ballyshannon, which was thence callednbsp;after him Eas-Aeda-Ruaid [Ass-ai-roo], � Aed-Ruad�snbsp;Waterfall,� now shortened to � Assaroe.� He was buriednbsp;over the cataract, in the mound which was called fromnbsp;him Sid-Aeda�a name partly preserved in Mullaghshee,nbsp;often called Mullinashee, both names meaning � the hill ofnbsp;the sid or fairy-palace.�

This hill has recently been found to contain subterranean chambers, which confirms our ancient legendary accounts, and shows that it is a great sepulchral moundnbsp;like those on the Boyne. How few of the people ofnbsp;Ballyshannon know that the familiar name Mullaghsheenbsp;is a living memorial of those dim ages when Aed Ruadnbsp;held sway, and that the great king himself has slept herenbsp;in his dome-roofed dwelling for two thousand years !

Another Milesian chief, Donn, son of Milesius, was drowned in the magic storm raised by the spells of thenbsp;Dedannans when the eight brothers came to invadenbsp;Ireland.* But for him it was only changing an earthlynbsp;mode of existence for a much pleasanter one in his airynbsp;palace on the top of Knockfierna, as the renowned king ofnbsp;the fairies : and here he ruled over all the great Limericknbsp;plain around the mountain, where many legends of himnbsp;still linger among the peasantry.

A male fairy was a fer-side (fer, � a man �) : a female fairy, a hen-side or banshee, i.e. � a woman from the fairy-hills.� Several fairy-hills were ruled by banshees as fairynbsp;queens. The banshee who presided as queen of thenbsp;palace on the summit of Knockainy hill, in county Limerick,nbsp;was Aine [Aun� (2-syll.)], daughter of the Dedannannbsp;chief Eogabail, who gave her name to the hill, and to the

existing village of Knockainy. This was the fairy lady who, in a personal struggle with Olioll, or Aillil, king ofnbsp;Munster in the second century, cut his ear clean off,nbsp;whence he was, and is, known as Ailill Olom, i.e. � Ailillnbsp;Bare-ear � (0, � an ear � ; lorn, ' bare � : see vol ii. p. 102).*nbsp;Two other banshees, still more renowned, were CUdnanbsp;[Cleena] of Carrigcleena, and Aebinn or Aibell of Craglea.nbsp;Cleena is the potent banshee that rules as queen over thenbsp;fairies of South Munster. In the Dinnsenchus there isnbsp;an ancient and pathetic story about her, wherein it isnbsp;related that she was a foreigner from Fairy-land, who,nbsp;coming to Ireland, was drowned while sleeping on thenbsp;strand at the harbour of Glandore in South Cork, in thenbsp;absence of her husband. In this harbour the sea, atnbsp;certain times, utters a very peculiar, deep, hollow, andnbsp;melancholy roar, among the caverns of the cliffs, whichnbsp;was formerly believed to foretell the death of a king of thenbsp;south of Ireland, and which Dean Swift has described in hisnbsp;Latin poem � Carberiae Rupes � ; Carbery being the namenbsp;of the district.! This surge has been from time immemorial called Tonn-Cleena, � Cleena�s wave.� Cleena lived on,nbsp;however, as a fairjG She had her palace in the heart of anbsp;pile of rocks, five miles from Mallow, which is still wellnbsp;known by the name of Carrig-Cleena ; and numerousnbsp;legends about her are still told among the Munsternbsp;peasantry. Aebinn or Aibell [Kevin, Eevil], whose namenbsp;signifies � beautiful,� presided over North Munster, andnbsp;was in an especial manner the guardian spirit of thenbsp;Dalcassians or O�Briens. She had her palace two milesnbsp;north of Killaloe, in a rock called Crageevil, but betternbsp;known by the name of Craglea, � grey rock.� The rock isnbsp;situated in a silent glen, under the face of a mountain ;nbsp;and the people affirm that she forsook her retreat whennbsp;the woods which once covered the place were cut down.

There is a spring in the face of the mountain, still called Tobereevil, � Aibell�s well.� The part she played in thenbsp;Battle of Clontarf is briefly referred to at p. 246, supra ;nbsp;but it is related in full in my Short History of Ireland,nbsp;pp. 219, and 223-4.

The old fort under which the banshee Grian of the Bright Cheeks had her dwelling still remains on the topnbsp;of Pallas Grean hill in the county Limerick.¹ One ofnbsp;the most noted of the fairy-palaces is on the top ofnbsp;Slievenamon in Tipperary. But to enumerate all thenbsp;fairy-hills of Ireland, and relate fully the history of theirnbsp;presiding gods and goddesses, and the superstitious beliefsnbsp;among the people regarding them, would occupy a good-sized volume.

In modern times the word � banshee � has become narrowed in its meaning, and signifies a female spirit thatnbsp;attends certain families, and is heard keening or crying atnbsp;night round the house when some member is about to die. Inbsp;At the present day almost all raths, cashels, and moundsnbsp;�the dwellings, forts, and sepulchres of the Firbolgs andnbsp;Milesians, as well as those of the Dedannans�are considered as fairy haunts.

Shees open at Samain.�On Samain Eve, the night before the ist of November, or, as it is now called. Allnbsp;Hallows Night, or Hallowe�en, all the fairy hills werenbsp;thrown wide open ; for the Fe-fiada was taken off:�� Thenbsp;shees of Erin were always open at Samain,� says thenbsp;ancient tale of � The Boyish Exploits of Finn � ; � for onnbsp;quot; [the eve of] that day it was impossible to keep them innbsp;� concealment � : and we read in the story of � Echtranbsp;Nerai� :�� They [the fairy host] will come on Samain next;nbsp;for the shees of Erin are always open at Samain.�]: While

t For the Banshee, see Kilk. Arch. Journ., 1856, pp. 122 ei seq. : and Crofton Croker's Fairy Legends.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;J Rev. Celt., x. 225.

the slices remained open that night, any mortals who were bold enough to venture near might get a peep into them :nbsp;�� On one Samain Night \i.e. Samain Eve] Finn wasnbsp;� near two shees : and he saw both of them open, after thenbsp;� Fe-fiada had been taken off them ; and he saw a greatnbsp;� fire in each of the duns, and heard persons talking innbsp;quot; them.�¹ ^{2 3 4}

No sooner was the Fe-fmda lifted off, and the doors thrown open, than the inmates issued forth, and roamednbsp;where they pleased all over the country : so that, as wenbsp;are told in the story of Echtra Nerai, people usually keptnbsp;within doors, naturally enough afraid to go forth ; fornbsp;� demons would always appear on that night.�t Fromnbsp;the cave of Cruachan or Croghan in Connaught, issuednbsp;probably the most terrific of all those spectre hosts ; fornbsp;immediately that darkness had closed in on Samain Eve,nbsp;a crowd of horrible goblins rushed out, and among themnbsp;a flock of copper-red birds, led by one monstrous threeheaded vulture ; and their poisonous breath withered upnbsp;everything it touched ; so that this cave came to be callednbsp;the � Hell-gate of Ireland.�! That same hell-gate cave isnbsp;there still, but the demons are all gone�scared away, nonbsp;doubt, by the voices of the Christian bells. The superstition that the fairies are abroad on Samain Night exists atnbsp;the present day, both in Ireland and in Scotland.

Fairies�sometimes banshees or females, sometimes fershees or males�often kept company with mortals, andnbsp;became greatly attached to them. Every Samain anbsp;banshee used to visit Fingin Mac Luchta, king of Southnbsp;Munster in the second century, and bring him on anbsp;round of visits to the shees, to see all the precious thingsnbsp;therein.� A banshee follower of a mortal was usuallj?

called a lennan-shee (� fairy-lover �), and instances of such attachments are innumerable. Fiachna, king of Ulster,nbsp;had a familiar fer-side, or � fairy-man,� who used to tellnbsp;him future events.*

Anann or Ana (not the beneficent Ana, p. 261), Bodb or Badb [Bove, Bauv], and Macha, three weird sisters, f werenbsp;war-goddesses or battle-furies�all malignant beings.nbsp;They delighted in battle and slaughter. In an ancientnbsp;Glossary quoted by Stokes, J Macha�s mast-food is saidnbsp;to be the heads of men slain in battle. The old accountsnbsp;of them are somewhat confused ; but it appears that thenbsp;terms M�rrigan and Badb were applied to all. M�rrigannbsp;(or M�rrigu, as it is often written), means � great queen.�nbsp;from m�r, � great,� and rigan [reean], � a queen � : but Badbnbsp;is the name generally applied to a war-fury. The Badbnbsp;often showed herself in battle in the form of a fenn�g,nbsp;i.e. a scallcrow, or royston crow, or carrion crow, flutteringnbsp;over the heads of the combatants. The word, which isnbsp;now pronounced bibe, is still in use as applied to the bird :nbsp;and sometimes it is used as a reproachful name for anbsp;scolding woman�a good illustration of the commemoration of ancient beliefs in modern everyday speech. Thisnbsp;bird is regarded by the peasantry all through Ireland�nbsp;and to some extent in Scotland and Wales�with feelingsnbsp;of dread and dislike, a dim, popular memory of the terriblenbsp;part it played in the battles of the olden time.

The Badb or M�rrigan, sometimes as a bird, and sometimes as a loathsome-looking hag, figures in all thenbsp;ancient battles, down even to the Battle of Clontarf (a.d.nbsp;1014). In the midst of the din and horror she was oftennbsp;seen busily flitting about through the battle-cloud overhead : and sometimes she appeared before battle in anticipation of slaughter. � Aed, king of Oriell in the sixthnbsp;century, had a shield called dub-giUa (' black-fellow �) :

* Silva Gad., 428 : Irish, 393, bottom. J Three Irish Glossaries, xxxv. t Rev. Celt., xii. 128.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� Three Fragm., 191, last line.

� It was the feeder of ravens, and the Badb perched on � its rim [during battle] and shrieked.�* Just before thenbsp;Battle of Moyrath (a.d. 637), the grey-haired M�rrigan,nbsp;in the form of a lean, nimble hag, was seen hovering andnbsp;hopping about on the points of the spears and shields ofnbsp;the royal army who were victorious in the great battlenbsp;that followed. ! In the account of the slaughter of thenbsp;nobles by the Plebeian races in the second century A.D.,nbsp;given in the Book of Fermoy, we read that, after thenbsp;massacre, � gory Badb was joyfulnbsp;�� and women were sorrowful fornbsp;� that event.quot;]; Just before thenbsp;Destruction of Bruiden�Da Choca,nbsp;the Badb showed herself as � a big-quot; mouthed, swarthy, swift, sootynbsp;� woman, lame, and squintingnbsp;� with her left eye. �5

The Bodb was a war-goddess among the ancient Gaulish nationsnbsp;of the Continent, from whom, ofnbsp;course, as in many other cases, hernbsp;legend was brought to Ireland bynbsp;the Celtic emigrants. Some yearsnbsp;ago a small pillar-stone, aboutnbsp;thirty inches high, was found innbsp;France, with an interesting votivenbsp;inscription to this goddess undernbsp;the name of Cathubodvae (of whichnbsp;only athubodvae now remains, thenbsp;C having disappeared with a corner of the stone that wasnbsp;broken off), compounded of Cathu, Irish, cath, � battle,�

* Tromdamh, in Oss. Soc. Trans., v., pp. i6, 17, verse. But the editor mistranslates the expression.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;t Moyrath, 199.

� Stokes, in Rev. Celt, -xxi. ats. For more examples see O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust, r. 301 : and Moyrath, 231. See also De jubainville. Lanbsp;Civil, des Ccltes, 197, 198, 21Z.

and Bodvae, the Irish Bodh. Though this goddess figures in the ancient literature of the Celtic nations in general,nbsp;including the Welsh, there are fuller and more frequentnbsp;accounts of her in Irish writings than in all the othersnbsp;put together.

� Neit,� says Cormac�s Glossary (p. 122), � was the god quot; of battle with the pagans of the Gael: Nemon was hisnbsp;� wife.� In another part of the Glossary it is stated thatnbsp;Nemon was otherwise called Be-Neit, and that she was anbsp;Badb ] and in O�Clery�s Glossary she is called � Badh ofnbsp;battle, or a fenn�g � : but as being Neit�s wife she wasnbsp;probably the chief Badb or war-goddess of all. Neitnbsp;and Nemon were malignant beings :�� Both are bad � :nbsp;� a venomous couple, truly, were they,� says Cormac ;nbsp;and � hence is said [as a maledictive wish among thenbsp;� Irish] Be-Neit [attend! on thee ! �*

The Badbs were not the only war-goblins. There was a class of phantoms that sometimes appeared before battles,nbsp;bent on mischief. Just before the Battle of Moylena (2ndnbsp;cent.), three repulsive-looking witch-hags with blue beardsnbsp;appeared before the armies, hoarsely shrieking victory fornbsp;Conn the Hundred Fighter, and defeat and death for thenbsp;rival King Eoghan.f We read of malignant beings of thisnbsp;kind in connexion with Christianity also. At the Battle ofnbsp;Mucrime (a.d. 250) the air over the heads of the combatantsnbsp;was black with demons waiting to snap up and carry offnbsp;the souls of sinners : while only two angels attended tonbsp;bear away in the other direction the few souls they couldnbsp;claim.]; Just before the Banquet of Dun-nan-ged (Moyrath,nbsp;23), two horrible black spectral beings, a man and anbsp;woman, both belonging to helly came to the assembly,nbsp;and having devoured an enormous quantity of food, cursednbsp;the banquet, after which they rushed out and vanished.nbsp;But they left their baleful trail; for at that feast there

Even so late as the fourteenth century, some of the historical tales record apparitions of this kind : but thisnbsp;may possibly be nothing more than an imitation of thenbsp;older tales. In Mac Craith�s account of the Wars ofnbsp;Thomond we read that when the Clan Brian Roe werenbsp;marching to their destruction at the impending Battle ofnbsp;Doolin in Clare (a.d. 1317), they saw in the middle of anbsp;ford a hideous-looking gigantic hag

And when they asked who she was, she told them in a loud, croaking voice that she was the Washer of the Ford, andnbsp;that the bloody human remains she was washing were theirnbsp;own heads and limbs which should be lopped off andnbsp;mangled in the coming battle ; on which she vanishednbsp;before the terrified eyes of the soldiers.*

In many remote, lonely glens there dwelt certain fierce apparitions�females�called Geniti-glinni, � genii or spritesnbsp;of the valley � (sing, genii: pi. geniti),^ and others callednbsp;Bocanachs (male goblins), and Bananachs (females) : oftennbsp;in company with Demna aeir or demons of the air. Atnbsp;any terrible battle-crisis, many or all of these, with thenbsp;other war-furies described above, were heard shrieking andnbsp;howling with delight, some in the midst of the carnage,nbsp;some far off in their lonely haunts. Just before one ofnbsp;Cuculainn�s fierce onslaughts, the quot; Bocanachs and thenbsp;� Bananachs, and the Geniti-glinni, and the demons of thenbsp;� air, responded to his shout of defiance : and the nemon,

* Sir Samuel Ferguson�s Congal, pp. 57, 206 : quoting from the Wars of Thomond.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;t Moylena, 121, note r.

The Ferguson at p. 278 is another Ferguson : different from Sir Samuel. He was an Englishman.

� i.e. the hadh, confounded the army [of Maive, Cuculainn�s � enemy], so that the men dashed themselves against thenbsp;quot; points of each other�s spears and weapons, and onenbsp;� hundred warriors dropped dead with terror.�*

In the story of the Feast of Bricriu (p. 85), we are told how the three great Red Branch Champions, Laegaire thenbsp;Victorious, Conall Cernach, and Cuculainn, contended onenbsp;time for the Curathmir, or � champion�s bit � (vol. ii.nbsp;p. 109, infra), which was always awarded to the bravestnbsp;and mightiest hero ; and in order to determine this matter,nbsp;they were subjected to various severe tests. On one ofnbsp;these occasions the stern-minded old chief, Samera, whonbsp;acted as judge for the occasion, decided that the threenbsp;heroes separately should attack a colony of Geniti-glinninbsp;that had their abode in a neighbouring valley. Laegairenbsp;went first; but they instantly fell on him with suchnbsp;demoniac ferocity that he was glad to escape, half-naked,nbsp;leaving them his arms and battle-dress. Conall Cernachnbsp;went next, and he, too, had soon to run for it; but henbsp;fared somewhat better, for, though leaving his spear, henbsp;bore away his sword. Lastly, Cuculainn : and they fillednbsp;his ears with their hoarse shrieks, and falling on him toothnbsp;and nail, they broke his shield and spear, and tore hisnbsp;clothes to tatters. At last he could bear it no longer, andnbsp;showed plain signs of running away. His faithful charioteer,nbsp;Loeg, was looking on. Now, one of Loeg�s duties was,nbsp;whenever he saw his master about yielding in a fight, tonbsp;shower reproaches on him, so as to enrage him the more.nbsp;On this occasion he reviled him so vehemently and bitterlynbsp;for his weakness, and poured out such contemptuous nicknames on him, that the hero became infuriated ; and,nbsp;turning on the goblins once more, sword in hand, henbsp;crushed and hacked them to pieces, so that the valley rannbsp;all red with their blood.

* Hennessy, in Rev. Celt,, 1. 43 : see also Wars of GG, 174, 175 ; and Ventry, xi.

The class of fairies called siabra [sheevra,] who were also Dedannans�a sort of disreputable poor relations ofnbsp;Manannan and the Dagda�were powerful, demoniac, andnbsp;dangerous elves. They are mentioned in our earliestnbsp;literature. In the eighth or tenth century story of thenbsp;quot; Siahar-Chaxiot (i.e. � sheevra or demon chariot �) ofnbsp;Cuculainn,� in the Book of the Dun Cow, St. Patrick tellsnbsp;King Laegaire that the apparition he sees is not a siabrae,nbsp;but Cuculainn himself. To this day the name is quitenbsp;familiar among the people, even those who speak onlynbsp;English ; and they often call a crabbed little boy�smallnbsp;for his age�a � little sheevra � ; exactly as Concobarnbsp;Mac Nessa, nineteen centuries ago, when he was displeased with the boy Cuculainn, calls him a siritenbsp;siabairthi, a � little imp of a sheevra.�* The sheevrasnbsp;were often incited by druids and others to do mischief tonbsp;mortals. In revenge for King Cormac Mac Art�s leaningnbsp;towards Christianity, the druids let loose sheevras againstnbsp;him, who choked him with the bone of a salmon, while henbsp;was eating his dinner : and certain persons, being jealousnbsp;of a beautiful girl named Ai(;e, set sheevras on her, whonbsp;transformed her into a fawn.f

The Leprechdn, as we now have him, is a little fellow whose occupation is making shoes for the fairies andnbsp;on moonlight nights you may sometimes hear the tap-tap of his little hammer from where he sits, working innbsp;some lonely nook among bushes. If you can catch him,nbsp;and keep your gaze fixed on him, he will tell you, afternbsp;some threatening, where to find a crock of gold ; but if younbsp;take your eyes off him for an instant, he is gone. Thenbsp;Leprechauns are an ancient race in Ireland, for we findnbsp;them mentioned in some of our oldest tales. The originalnbsp;name was Luchorfdn, from lu, � little,� and corpdn, anbsp;* LL, 64, last line : Miss Hull, Cuch. Saga, 143, where the Englishnbsp;word � brat does not well carry the sense of the original,nbsp;t Dinnsenchus of Fafaind, Rev. Celt., xv. 307.nbsp;t See Silva Gad., 199, 270.

diminutive of cor-p, a � body � (Lat. corpus' : � a wee little body.� A passage in the Book of the Dun Cow�inserted,nbsp;of course by the Christian redactor�informs us that theynbsp;were descended from Ham, the son of Noah :�� It is fromnbsp;�him [Ham] descend Luchrupans, and Fomorians, andnbsp;� goat-heads, and every other ill-shaped sort of men.��*nbsp;They could do mischief to mortals, such as withering thenbsp;corn, setting fire to houses, snipping the hair of women�snbsp;heads clean off, and so forth ;t but were not prone tonbsp;inflict evil except under provocation. From the beginning,nbsp;as their name implies, they were of diminutive size ; fornbsp;example, as they are presented to us in the ancient talenbsp;of the Death of Fergus Mac Leide, their stature mightnbsp;be about six inches. In the same tale the king of thenbsp;Leprechauns was taken captive by Fergus, and ransomednbsp;himself by giving him a pair of magic shoes, which enablednbsp;him to go under the water whenever, and for as long as, henbsp;pleased :l just as at the present day a leprechaun, whennbsp;you catch him�which is the difficulty�will give younbsp;heaps of money for letting him go. No doubt, the episodenbsp;of the ransom by the magic shoes in the old story is thenbsp;original version of the present superstition that thenbsp;leprechaun is the fairies� shoemaker. The leprechaunsnbsp;of this particular story live in a beautiful country undernbsp;Loch Rury, now Dundrum Bay, off the coast of countynbsp;Down.

In modern times the Pooka has come to the front as a leading Irish goblin : but I fear he is not native Irish, asnbsp;I do not find him mentioned in any ancient Irish documents. He appears to have been an immigrant fairy,nbsp;brought hither by the Danish settlers : for we find in thenbsp;old Norse language the word puki, meaning an � imp,�nbsp;which is, no doubt, the origin of our puca or pooka, and

* Kille. Arch. Journ., 1872-3, p. 182 ; LU, p. 2, a, bottom, t Silva Gad., 279, 280.

of file English Puck.* But, like the Anglo-Norman settlers, he had not long lived in this country till he became quot; morenbsp;Irish than the Irish themselves.� For an account of hisnbsp;shape, character, and exploits, I must refer the reader tonbsp;Crofton Croker�s � Fairy Legends,� and to the firstnbsp;volume of my � Origin and History of Irish Names ofnbsp;Places � (p. 188).

When the Milesians landed in Ireland, they were encountered by mysterious sights and sounds wherevernbsp;they went, through the subtle spells of the Dedannans.nbsp;As they climbed over the mountains of Kerry, half-formednbsp;spectres flitted dimly before their eyes : for Banba, thenbsp;queen of one of the three Dedannan princes who ruled thenbsp;land, sent a swarm of meisi [misha], or � phantoms,� whichnbsp;froze the blood of the invaders with terror ; and thenbsp;mountain range of Slieve Mish, near Tralee, still retainsnbsp;the name of those apparitions.f 0�Clery�s Glossary explains meisi as meaning � sheevra, or phantom forms,nbsp;� such as might be [spectral] bodies that rise from thenbsp;� ground.� The Dedannans could also command thenbsp;services of whole clouds of urtrochta (� malignant sprites �),nbsp;and guidemain, which last name, according to Cormac�snbsp;Glossary (p. 87), was applied to spectres and fairy queens.

The early biographers of the Irish saints fully believed that in the pagan times Ireland was infested by numberless demons and evil spirits, just as they believed in thenbsp;necromantic powers of the druids : which we can hardlynbsp;wonder at, seeing that the belief in witches and witchcraftnbsp;was universal all over Europe down to a late period. Ofnbsp;those evil beings, and of the early Christian notionsnbsp;regarding them, Jocelin, a monk of Furness in Lancashire,nbsp;who wrote a Life of St. Patrick in the twelfth century,nbsp;gives a very vivid and highly-coloured picture. He tellsnbsp;us that before the time of St. Patrick Ireland was troubled

� These venomous and monstrous creatures used to rise out of the earth and sea, and so prevailed over the whole island, that theynbsp;wounded both men and animals with their deadly stings, often slewnbsp;them with their cruel bitings, nad not seldom rent and devourednbsp;tlieir members.� � The demons used to show themselves unto theirnbsp;worshippers in visible forms : they often attacked the people,nbsp;inflicting much hurt; and only ceased from their baleful doingsnbsp;when they were appeased by foul, heathenish prayers and offerings.nbsp;After this they were seen flying in the air and walking on the earth,nbsp;loathsome and horrible to behold, in such multitudes that it seemednbsp;as if the whole island were too small to give them .standing andnbsp;flying room. Whence Ireland was deemed the special home ofnbsp;demons. And lastly, the magicians, evil-doers, and soothsayersnbsp;abounded beyond what history records of any other country on thenbsp;face of the earth.�

What with Dedannan gods, with war-gods and goddesses, apparitions, demons, sprites of the valley,nbsp;ordinary ghosts, spectres, and goblins, fairies of variousnbsp;kinds�sheevras, leprechauns, banshees, and so forth�nbsp;there appears to have been quite as numerous a populationnbsp;belonging to the spiritual world as of human beings. Innbsp;those old pagan days, Ireland was an eerie place to livenbsp;in : and it was high time for St. Patrick to come.

5- Worship of Idols.

Idols were very generally worshipped. The earliest authentic document that mentions idols is St. Patrick�snbsp;� Confession,� in which the great apostle himself speaksnbsp;of some of the Scots {i.e. Irish) who, up to that time, � hadnbsp;worshipped only idols and abominationsquot; :¹ and elsewherenbsp;in the same document he speaks of the practice of idol-worship as a thing well known among the Irish. Thenbsp;Tripartite Life (p. 41) informs us that Tara was, in the

time of the saint, the chief abode of � idolatry and druidism � {idlacht ocus druidechi). In the same worknbsp;the destruction of many idols is mentioned as part ofnbsp;Patrick�s life-work ; and a story is told (at p. 225) of twonbsp;maidens�Christian converts�who were persecuted, andnbsp;finally drowned, by a tyrannical petty king, for refusingnbsp;to worship idols.

There was a great idol called Cromm Cruach, covered all over with gold and silver, in Magh Slecht (the � Plainnbsp;of Prostrations �), near the present village of Ballymagaurannbsp;in the County Cavan, surrounded by twelve lesser idols,nbsp;covered with brass or bronze. In our most ancient booksnbsp;there are descriptions of this idol. Cromm Cruach is thenbsp;name given to it (with some slight variations in differentnbsp;passages) in the Book of Leinster. It is called Cennnbsp;Cruaich in the Tripartite Life : Jocelin (chap. Ivi.) calls itnbsp;Cean Croithi : and in Colgan�s Third Life of St. Patricknbsp;it is Cennerbhe, which, however, Todd thinks is likely annbsp;error of transcription. In a very old legend, found in thenbsp;Dinnsenchus in the Book of Leinster, it is i-elated that,nbsp;many centuries before the Christian era. King Tigernmasnbsp;and crowds of his people were destroyed in somenbsp;mysterious way, as they were worshipping it on Samainnbsp;eve�the eve of the ist November.* Crom Cruach isnbsp;in this book (LL. 16, b, 30) called the chief idol of Irelandnbsp;[rlg-idal h-Erenn, � king idol of Erin �) : and in the Rennesnbsp;Dinnsenchus (p. 35) we are told that, � until Patrick�snbsp;� advent, he was the god of every folk that colonisednbsp;quot; Ireland.� In the main facts regarding Cromm Cruach,nbsp;the secular literature is corroborated by the Lives ofnbsp;St. Patrick. In the Tripartite Life (pp. gi and 93) it isnbsp;stated that this idol was adored by King Laegaire, and bynbsp;many others ; and that Patrick, setting out from Granard,nbsp;went straight to Magh Slecht, and overthrew the wholenbsp;thirteen.

In the same authority (p. 217) we read that a chief named Foilge Berraide had adopted Cenn Cruaich as his specialnbsp;god, and that he attempted to kill Patrick in revenge fornbsp;destroying it. Cromm Cruach and its twelve attendantnbsp;idols were pillar-stones, covered with gold and bronze ;nbsp;and the Dinnsenchus in the Book of Leinster,¹ ^{2 3 4} afternbsp;speaking of them, remarks that from the time of Heremonnbsp;to the coming of the good Patrick of Armagh, there wasnbsp;adoration of stones in Ireland. The remains of thesenbsp;thirteen idols were in Magh Slecht at the time of thenbsp;compilation of the Tripartite Life (eighth to tenth century):nbsp;for it states (pp. 91. 93) :�� The mark of the staff [f.s. thenbsp;quot; � staff of Jesus,� St. Patrick�s crosier] still remains on itsnbsp;� left side � : and it goes on to say that the other twelvenbsp;were also to be seen, buried up to their heads in the earth,nbsp;as Patrick had left them.

In the western parts of Connaught there was another remarkable idol called Cromm Dubh : and the first Sundaynbsp;in August, as the anniversary of its destruction, is stillnbsp;called, in Munster and Connaught, Donmach Cruimmnbsp;Duibh � Cromm Dubh�s Sunday.� O�Flahertyf identifiesnbsp;Cromm Dubh with Cromm Cruach. Todd asserts thatnbsp;Domnach Cruimm Duibh was the Sunday next beforenbsp;Samain, or the ist November.! But this cannot be ; fornbsp;to this day the first Sunday in August is, in Clare, and innbsp;Munster generally, called Domnach Cruimm Duibh, andnbsp;also � Garland Sunday,� which the people, down to ournbsp;own time, celebrated there as a sort of festival.�

As Cromm Cruach was the � king-idol � of all Ireland, there was a special idol-god, named Kermand Kelstach,nbsp;that presided over Ulster. This stone-idol was still

LL, 214, (t, first two lines : Hyde, Lit. Hist., 86 : Voyage of Bran. II. 305, verse 13.

O�Curry, MS. Mat, 632 ; O�Looney, in Proc. R. I. Acad., 1870-76. p. 268. O�Curry and O�Looney were both natives of Clare.

preserved in the porch of the cathedral of Clogher down to the time of the annalist Cathal Maguire (died 1498), as henbsp;himself tells us.*

Pillar-stones were worshipped in other parts of Ireland as well as at Moy-Slecht and Clogher. In the Brehonnbsp;Laws (iv. 143) one of the objects used for marking thenbsp;boundaries of land is stated to be �a stone of worship �nbsp;{lia adtada [pron. lee-ira], from lia, a � stone,� and adrainbsp;� worship �). This interesting record at once connects thenbsp;Irish custom with the Roman worship of the god Terminus,nbsp;which god�as in Ireland�was merely a pillar-stonenbsp;placed standing in the ground to mark the boundary ofnbsp;two adjacent properties. Even to this day some of thesenbsp;old idol or oracle-stones are known; and the memory ofnbsp;the rites performed at them is preserved in popular legend.nbsp;Two miles from Stradbally in Waterford, just beside anbsp;bridge over a little stream falling into the river Tay,nbsp;is a remarkable rock, still called Clogh-lowrish (Ir. cloch-lahhrais, the � speaking-stone �), which has given its namenbsp;to the bridge. There is a very vivid tradition in thenbsp;County Waterford, and indeed all over Munster�I heardnbsp;it in Limerick�that in pagan times it gave responses, andnbsp;decided causes. But on one occasion a wicked womannbsp;perjured herself in its presence, appealing to it to witnessnbsp;her truthfulness when she was really lying, whereupon itnbsp;split in two, and never spoke again, f There were speaking-stones in other parts of Ireland : and one of them hasnbsp;given name to the present townland of Clolourish, nearnbsp;Enniscorthy, in Wexford.

The Welsh, too, had their speaking-stone, and called it by the same Celtic name, only using lec, or lech, anbsp;� stone,� instead of clock. This is mentioned by Giraldusnbsp;Cambrensis, who calls it by its Welsh name Lech-lawar,nbsp;correctly rendered by him the � speaking-stone.� In his

time it formed a bridge across a small stream : and he relates a legend how it once spoke, and also how, on anbsp;certain occasion, it cracked in the middle, like our Clogh-lowvish�� which crack �he says�� is still to be seen.�¹nbsp;The word lech (Irish, lec) is used here, as it is the propernbsp;word, both in Irish and Welsh, for a flat flagstone. Thenbsp;fact that the speaking-stone superstition is common tonbsp;both Irish and Welsh, shows that they must have had itnbsp;from a period before the separation of these two Celticnbsp;branches, centuries before the Christian era.

Stones that uttered musical and other sounds are sometimes mentioned in Irish tales.f The most remarkable of these was the Lia Fail, or inauguration stone, atnbsp;Tara, which roared when a king of the true Scotic ornbsp;Milesian race stood on it: like the Egyptian Vocalnbsp;Memnon, which uttered musical sounds when it receivednbsp;the rays of the rising sun. We are not told that any ofnbsp;these Irish vocal stones were worshipped : but they werenbsp;probably connected�by a sort of distant cousinship�nbsp;with the acknowledged stone idols. Stones, as well asnbsp;fountains and trees, were worshipped on the Continent, asnbsp;well as in Britain, even so late as the tenth or eleventhnbsp;century: and the three are often mentioned in thenbsp;ecclesiastical canons as objects of worship.j; In Ireland,nbsp;as we see in this section and section 8, stones and wellsnbsp;were worshipped : but though certain kinds of trees werenbsp;in some degree venerated, I cannot find that any treesnbsp;were actually worshipped.

The Irish had an idol, called in Cormac�s Glossary (p. 23) Bial, and named Bel in an ancient manuscriptnbsp;quoted by Petrie in his Tara (p. 84), which also statesnbsp;that, on a certain festival day, � two of the young of everynbsp;kind of cattle were exhibited as in the possession of B�l �

t See Voyage of Bran, I., p. lo, verse 17 ; and note 17 at p. 39. J L'ergusson, Rude Stone Monuments,, 24, 25.

{i.e. presented ot offered to him). Stokes (Corm. GI., 23) quotes a statement from another ancient manuscript, thatnbsp;� a fire was always kindled in Biel's or Bial's name at thenbsp;� beginning of summer [i.e. on May Day), and cattle werenbsp;� driven between the two fires.� Keating also (p. 300),nbsp;who had authority for all his statements, tells us thatnbsp;during the yearly May meeting at Ushnagh, they offerednbsp;sacrifice to the chief god whom they adored, whose namenbsp;was Bel, and repeats the statement about offering thenbsp;young of the cattle. A similar statement is made innbsp;another ancient authority ;* but here the offering is madenbsp;at a different season ; we are informed that at Bron-Trogin,nbsp;i.e. the beginning of autumn, the young of every kind ofnbsp;animal used to be � assigned to the possession of the idolnbsp;B�l.� In none of these cases does there appear to havenbsp;been a sacrifice ; it was a mere nominal offer. Down tonbsp;two hundred years ago the memory of this Irish god wasnbsp;preserved in the western islands of Scotland; for Martinnbsp;(p. 105) tells us that the people there had a god whomnbsp;they called Bel.

So much nonsense has been written about the connexion of the Phoenicians with Ireland that one almost hesitates to touch on the subject at all. Yet when wenbsp;bear in mind the well-known historical facts that thenbsp;Phoenicians introduced the worship of their sun-god Baalnbsp;into the neighbouring countries, and into all their colonies,nbsp;including Spain, with which last-named country Irelandnbsp;had early close comm.unication: that the Phoeniciansnbsp;themselves were well acquainted with Ireland : that thisnbsp;worship was widely spread, each country having its ownnbsp;god Baal or Bel; that the Irish Bil [pron. Bail], or Bid,nbsp;or Bial, was worshipped with fire ceremonies, as wenbsp;know Baal himself was ; and, lastly, the identity of th(nbsp;Phoenician and Irish names for their respective gods : i(nbsp;seems impossible to resist the belief that the name andnbsp;? The Wooing o� Emer, in Rev. Celt., xi. 443.

worship of the Irish B�l was derived�directly or indirectly �from the Phoenicians.

One of the Irish words for an idol was idal, which, of course, was borrowed into the Irish language from Greeknbsp;through Latin. But there are native terms also. Arrachtnbsp;is a shape, a likeness, a spectre, an idol: when St. Patricknbsp;went to Cashel, all the arrachts in King Aengus�s palacenbsp;fell on their faces, like Dagon before the Ark.* A morenbsp;common word is lam-dia, � hand-god,� a small portablenbsp;idol, a houshold god, like the terafhim of the Hebrews,nbsp;and the penates of the Romans. When Rachel departednbsp;from her father�s house, as the Saltair na Rann (line 3016)nbsp;tells the story, she brought away with her her father�snbsp;Idm-deo, which is the Irish rendering of the teraphim.nbsp;In like manner, in the Irish version of a portion of thenbsp;.iEneid, in the Book of Ballymote, we are told that whennbsp;iRneas was about to fly from Troy, he said :�� Letnbsp;� Anchises take the Idim-deo {pmates, � household gods �)nbsp;� with him.�t Just as the Deluge was about to come on,nbsp;Bith and his daughter Ceasar asked Noah for a place innbsp;the Ark: and being refused, they consulted a Idimh-dhia,nbsp;who advised them to make a ship for themselves and gonbsp;to sea, which they did, and set sail for Ireland. J It was,nbsp;no doubt, hand-gods of this kind that the poet broughtnbsp;into his bed when he was about to go to sleep for revelations under the influence of Imbas Forosnai (p. 243, supra).nbsp;Such handy little gods, corresponding with the Romannbsp;penates and lares, are probably the household godsnbsp;referred to under the name Tromdhe in the followingnbsp;short article, quoted in a note by O�Donovan in Cormac�snbsp;Glossary (p. 163), from some old Irish Glossary;�nbsp;� Tromdhe, i.e. tutelary gods, i.e. floor-gods, or gods ofnbsp;protection.�

In connexion with idol-worship it will be convenient to examine the question whether human beings werenbsp;sacrificed in ancient Ireland. There is only a singlenbsp;document in old Irish literature stating that humannbsp;sacrifice was practised as part of a religious rite, namely,nbsp;the Dinnsenchus. In this it is mentioned twice ; once innbsp;the account of Tailltenn ; the other in that of Magh Slecht.nbsp;The first, as we know, was penned by a Christian scribenbsp;for it mentions the preaching of St. Patrick ; and thenbsp;other was obviously produced by the same hand, or undernbsp;the same influence. Indeed, throughout the whole ofnbsp;the Dinnsenchus there are many Christian allusions andnbsp;remarks indicating that the writer was a monk. Innbsp;accounting for the name of Tailltenn (now Teltown, innbsp;Meath), he takes occasion to state that St. Patrick, whennbsp;addressing the multitudes at the great fair there, � preachednbsp;quot; against [the slaying ofl yoke oxen and the slaying ofnbsp;� milch cows, and [against] the burning of the first-bornnbsp;� progeny.�¹ In the second passage, in giving the originnbsp;of the name of Magh Slecht (� Plain of Prostrations '),nbsp;where the idol Cromm Cruach stood, the writer tells usnbsp;that the worshippers sacrificed their children to this idolnbsp;in order to obtain plenty of corn, honey, and milk. Thenbsp;account of the idol, and of the destruction of Kingnbsp;Tigernmas and his people while worshipping it, is givennbsp;in the form of a short poem, of which a shorter prosenbsp;version is found in other copies of the Dinnsenchus. Thenbsp;following is the translation, by Professor Kuno Meyer, | ofnbsp;that part of the poem that concerns us :�

' To him [Cromm Cruach] without glory they would kill their �piteous wretched ofispring with much wailing and peril, to pour their

t In the Voyage of Bran, 11. 304. The original Irish poem is in LL, 213, b: and a transcript, in Roman type, will be found in thenbsp;Voyage of Bran, II. 301.

Wood around Cromm Cruach. Milk and honey they would ask from him speedily, in return for one-third of their healthy issue. Greatnbsp;was the horror and the scare of him. To him noble Gaels would prostratenbsp;themselves. From the worship of him with many manslaughters, thenbsp;plain is called Magh Slecht.�

The abridged prose version in the Rennes copy of the Dinnsenchus merely varies the expression :�� To himnbsp;quot; [Cromm Cruach) they used to offer the firstlings of everynbsp;� issue, and the chief scions of every clan.�*

These two passages are the only direct statements known to me in all our old native literature that thenbsp;ancient Irish practised human sacrifice : and being in thenbsp;same document, they amount to a single statement�sonbsp;far as concerns the value of their testimony. Thoughnbsp;Keating, O�Flaherty, the Four Masters, and other nativenbsp;writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, who allnbsp;wrote from old authorities, tell us about the worship ofnbsp;Cromm Cruach and the death of Tigernmas, they makenbsp;no mention of human sacrifice ; a plain indication thatnbsp;they did not consider the unsupported Dinnsenchus anbsp;sufficient authority on so important a point. Still morenbsp;significant is the circumstance that in a preceding partnbsp;of the same Book of Leinster (p. 16, b) there is a prosenbsp;account of this idol, and of the death of Tigernmasnbsp;with a multitude of his people while worshipping it,nbsp;in which there is not a word about sacrificing humannbsp;beings.

But there is still stronger evidence, though of a negative character. Scattered everywhere through our ancientnbsp;literature, both secular and ecclesiastical�as this chapternbsp;shows�we find abundant descriptions and details of thenbsp;rites and superstitions of the pagan Irish ; and in no placenbsp;�with this single exception�do we find a word or hintnbsp;pointing to human sacrifice to pagan gods or idols.nbsp;According to the accounts in the Dinnsenchus, the

worship and ritual of this idol, and the practice of sacrificing the first-born progeny, continued till the time of St. Patrick. But neither in the Confession of St. Patrick-written by himself�in which he mentions and inveighsnbsp;against several of the worst pagan practices, nor in thenbsp;seventh-century Life of him by Muirchu, nor in the annotations of Tirechan�also of the seventh century�nor in thenbsp;Tripartite Life, nor in Colgan�s Seventh Life�which twonbsp;last narratives give details of the worship of Cromm Cruachnbsp;�in none of these�all of them older than the Dinn-senchus (which is comparatively modern)�is there anynbsp;mention of human sacrifice. Patrick, in his progressnbsp;through the country, heard all about this famous idol, andnbsp;turned his steps from Granard to Magh Slecht for thenbsp;express purpose of destro3dng it. If human beings hadnbsp;been sacrificed, he would have known of it, and hisnbsp;biographers would have recorded it. The writers of thenbsp;Lives of the Saint were very naturally on the look-out fornbsp;occasions to glorify his memory. They were ready enough,nbsp;as we see by many examples, to show up the evil practicesnbsp;of the pagan Irish, and to point out the change for thenbsp;better after their conversion ; and it seems wholly incredible that they should withhold from St. Patrick thenbsp;credit of putting a stop to this, the greatest abominationnbsp;of all, which�if the Dinnsenchus is telling truth�mustnbsp;have been notorious at that time, since�according tonbsp;this authority�the saint himself preached against it atnbsp;Tailltenn.

There is still another most important consideration affecting the credit of the record in question ; that nearlynbsp;all the stories of the Dinnsenchus accounting for names��nbsp;of which this is one�are mere fables, invented to suit thenbsp;several occasions. The Dinnsenchus is, from many pointsnbsp;of view, a highly instructive and interesting document:nbsp;but its importance fortunately does not depend on thenbsp;credibilitv of the stories. As a typical example of these

etymological narratives, take the story accounting for the origin and name of the river Boyne. There was a sacred wellnbsp;at the foot of Side Nechtain (now Car bury Hill in Countynbsp;Kildare) on which none were to look save four privilegednbsp;persons, on pain of some dreadful personal injury. Butnbsp;the lady Bound ridiculed the prohibition, and, going to thenbsp;well, walked contemptuously thrice round it left-hand-wisenbsp;(see p. 302, inffu) : whereupon the well burst up roundnbsp;her, and broke her thigh-bone, one hand, and one eye.nbsp;She fled in terror eastward : but the water pursued her tillnbsp;she arrived at the seashore, where she was drowned. Evennbsp;after that the water continued to flow so as to form thenbsp;river Boand or Boyne, which took its name from her.* Itnbsp;is in company of such stories as this�for nearly all thenbsp;Dinnsenchus stories are of a similar kind�we find thenbsp;account of the sacrifice of human beings to Crommnbsp;Cruach.

Giving due weight to all these considerations, we need have no hesitation in pronouncing this Dinnsenchusnbsp;record an invention pure and simple : and I venture tonbsp;express my belief that no human beings were evernbsp;sacrificed in Ireland to Cromm Cruach or to any othernbsp;idol or to any pagan god. Where and by whom the stor}^nbsp;was originated, it is now impossible to tell: but it seemsnbsp;probable that the poem was inserted�as Dr. Hyde remarksnbsp;(Lit. Hist., 92)�� by a Christian chronicler familiar withnbsp;the accounts of Moloch and Ashtaroth.� It is just such anbsp;statement as we might expect would be invented in ordernbsp;to add human sacrifice as a heightening touch to thenbsp;abominations of Magh Slecht.

Stability of Building secured by Blood.�But it is not unlikely that at some very remote period, long before thenbsp;time of St. Patrick, human beings were immolated innbsp;another way. There was an ancient superstition thatnbsp;when an important building was about to be erected, its

safety and stability were ensured by sprinkling the foundations with the blood of some human victim, who was to be slain for the purpose. The memory of this archaic beliefnbsp;is preserved in the fanciful etymology of � Emain � (thenbsp;name of the great Ulster palace) given in Cormac�snbsp;Glossary (p. 63), from em or ema, � blood,� and ain or uin,nbsp;� one,� � because ��saj^s the Glossary�� the blood of onenbsp;man was shed at the time of its erection.� In a note onnbsp;this passage Dr. Stokes, the editor, says :�� The supersti-� tion here referred to, as to the need of immolating anbsp;� human being to ensure the stability of a building, is stillnbsp;� current in India.� It appears that a similar superstitionnbsp;existed among the Danes, Greeks, and Servians. Nenniusnbsp;has preserved the old British tradition that when Dinasnbsp;Emris in Wales was founded by Gortigern, his druids toldnbsp;him that, in order that the structure should last for ever, itnbsp;was necessary to sacrifice a child who had no father, andnbsp;to sprinkle his blood on the foundation. Such a child wasnbsp;found�a little boy�who was gifted with preternaturalnbsp;wisdom, and who, when he was brought forth to be killed,nbsp;argued the matter with the druids so successfully that thenbsp;king let him off.¹ This boy was subsequently the Welshnbsp;bard and prophet Merlin.

In some of the Irish Lives of St. Columkille there is a legend that after the settlement of the saint in Iona, onenbsp;of his disciples, a Briton, named Odran, offered to die, sonbsp;that his burial, with the usual Christian rites, might scarenbsp;away the demons that infested the island. So he diednbsp;and was buried, and the demons fled. According to laternbsp;oral versions of this legend, Odran was sacrificed by hisnbsp;own consent, and buried under the foundations, tonbsp;counteract the malign influences of evil spirits, who werenbsp;breaking down Columkille�s churches as fast as he erected

Nennius, �5 40-42 : Irish Nennius, 93, and Additional Notes, p. XXIV : Stokes, Three Irish Glossaries, x!i., note � Stokes, Lives oi SS.,nbsp;309: Wood-Martin, Pagan Ireland, 212 : and O'Curry, Man. amp; Cust. i. 222.

them. The tradition that persons were formerly buried alive�or first killed and then buried�under the foundations of newly erected buildings, to ensure their stability,nbsp;is prevalent to-day all over the Hebrides, according tonbsp;Mr. Carmichael, who gives several traditional instances.*nbsp;Although this evidence is all legendary, yet, seeing thatnbsp;the legend is so widely spread, it is to be feared that, innbsp;some prehistoric time, the horrible rite was really practised,nbsp;in Ireland as elsewhere.

There is a trace�though purely legendary�of the immolation of human beings in Ireland, for a differentnbsp;purpose, in an ancient tale referred to by Dr. W. K.nbsp;Sullivan (Introd., 333), � The Courtship of Becuma,� copiednbsp;into the Book of Fermoy from some older book. Here anbsp;blight comes on the corn and milk all over the countrynbsp;on account of a great crime committed by a woman ; onnbsp;which the druids declared that in order to remove thenbsp;blight it was necessary to slay the son of a couple characterised by certain marks and tokens, and to sprinkle thenbsp;blood on the doorposts of Tara. The boy was found :nbsp;but just as he was about to be killed, a wonderfullynbsp;formed cow appeared, which was slain instead of him :nbsp;and the doorposts were sprinkled with her blood, whichnbsp;removed the blight. This story, it will be observed,nbsp;curiously corresponds with the Greek legend of Iphigenia ;nbsp;and in some respects with the narrative of the intendednbsp;sacrifice of Isaac.

According to an ancient tradition given in the story of the second Battle of Moytura, some of the pagan Irishnbsp;worshipped their weapons. This story relates that afternbsp;the battle, Ogma the Dedannan, whose party had gainednbsp;the victory, found on the field Orna, the sword of Tethra,nbsp;a Fomorian king : and he unsheathed and cleaned it.

� Then the sword ��the story goes on to say�� related � whatsoever had been done by it: for it was the customnbsp;� of swords at that time, when unsheathed, to set forth thenbsp;� deeds that had been done by them. Hence also charmsnbsp;�� are preserved in swords. Now the reason why demonsnbsp;� used to speak from w'eapons at that time was, becausenbsp;quot; weapons were then worshipped by human beings.�¹nbsp;A remnant of this superstition survived to the sixteenthnbsp;century :�� The Irish at this day ��says Spenser (View,nbsp;97)�� when they go to battaile, say certain prayers ornbsp;� charms to their swords, making a crosse therewith uponnbsp;quot; the earth, and thrusting the points of their blades intonbsp;� the ground, thinking thereby to have the better successenbsp;� in fight.�t

The veneration for arms, amounting sometimes to downright worship, accounts for the custom of swearingnbsp;by them. This oath, which was very usual, was quite asnbsp;binding as that by the elements. The reason is given innbsp;the Sick Bed of Cuculainn �� Because demons werenbsp;� accustomed to speak to them from their arms ; andnbsp;� hence it was that an oath by their arms was inviolable.�nbsp;Once on a time Cormac Gaileng wanted some badgersnbsp;for a feast : and going to a warren, where lived certainnbsp;badgers with human reason, he called on them to comenbsp;forth, promising that no evil should be done to them.nbsp;But they, distrusting him, refused : whereupon he sworenbsp;upon his own father�s spear, which he held in his hand,nbsp;not to harm them. So they�believing that he would notnbsp;dare to violate the spear�foolishly came forth : andnbsp;Cormac fell on them instantly and killed them all. Fornbsp;this crime�violating the spear�his father banished him ;nbsp;and this son was ever after called Cormac Gaileng, that is

t For the reverence paid to swords by Continental nations in the middle ages, see Sir Frederick Pollok's Oxford Lectures, p. 269.nbsp;t Atlantis, i. 371.

to say, � Of the dishonoured spear.� We have a witness of his infamy to this day in the barony of Gallen in Mayo,nbsp;which takes its name from him.* The custom of sw'earingnbsp;by weapons took long to die out�like the worship ofnbsp;them�for Spenser (View, 98) informs us that in his daynbsp;the Irish commonly swore by their swords.

Elemental Worship in General.�In the Lives of the Saints and other ecclesiastical writings, as well as in thenbsp;lay literature, we have ample evidence that various naturalnbsp;objects were worshipped by the ancient Irish. A verynbsp;clear example of a direct appeal to the powers of naturenbsp;occurs in the story of the Tain in the Book of the Dun Cow.nbsp;Cuculainn�^who was a demigod�fighting alone againstnbsp;Maive�s forces, and finding himself hard pressed, invokesnbsp;the heavens and the earth, the sea and the river Cronn,nbsp;to help him : and his prayer was answered, for the rivernbsp;surged up and overwhelmed numbers of his enemies, fnbsp;That there existed in the ninth and tenth centuries a vividnbsp;tradition of elemental worship is shown by the words ofnbsp;Cormac�s Glossary quoted below (p. 290). But this worshipnbsp;was only partial, confined to individuals or to the peoplenbsp;of certain districts, each individual, or family, or group,nbsp;having some special favourite object. We have no recordnbsp;of the universal worship of any element. There is reasoEnbsp;to believe that it was not the mere material object theynbsp;worshipped, but a spirit or genius supposed to dwell in it ;nbsp;for the Celts of Ireland peopled almost all remarkablenbsp;natural objects with preternatural beings.

Wells.�The worship of water, as represented in wells, is often mentioned. The Tripartite Life, and Tirechan, innbsp;the Book of Armagh, relate that St. Patrick, in his journeynbsp;through Connaught, came to a well called Sian [slaun:

i.e. � healing �] which the heathens worshipped as a god ; believing that a certain � prophet � {faith in the Irishnbsp;Tripartite : profeta in Tirechan�s Latin) had caused himself to be buried under it in a stone cofhn, to keep hisnbsp;bones cool from fire that he dreaded ; for quot; he adored waternbsp;as a god, but hated fire as an evil being.�* This prophetnbsp;was of course a druid. More than a century later, in thenbsp;time of St. Columba, as will be found mentioned farther on,nbsp;there was a well in Scotland which the people quot; worshippednbsp;as a divinity.� In the account of St. Patrick�s contest withnbsp;the druids at Tara, given in Muirchu�s Life, and also innbsp;the Tripartite, we are told that the king�s druid Lucetnbsp;Mael declined Patrick�s challenge to put the Christian andnbsp;the pagan books in water to ascertain which would comenbsp;out unharmed ; for, having heard of baptism, he declarednbsp;that Patrick worshipped water as a god. And when thenbsp;ordeal by fire was proposed, he also objected, on the groundnbsp;that the saint worshipped water and fire alternately:nbsp;all which shows that the worship of these two elementsnbsp;was quite familiar at the time. It is to be observed thatnbsp;well-worship was not peculiar to Ireland : at one time itnbsp;prevailed all over Europe.

The Sun.�That the sun was worshipped in Ireland� at least partially, like some other natural objects�isnbsp;made certain by several passages in our ancient literature.nbsp;St. Patrick plainly intimates this when he says in hisnbsp;Confession�speaking of the Irish�that all who adore thenbsp;sun shall perish eternally. This is a contemporary statement : for the saint is evidently denouncing a practicenbsp;existing in his own time.j We have a more specific accountnbsp;in Cormac�s Glossary (p. 54) ; but this entry is four centuriesnbsp;later, and records, not contemporary custom, but onenbsp;existing long before the time of the compilation of thenbsp;Glossary. It states that Indelha (� Images �) was the namenbsp;applied to the altars of certain idols : and that these altarsnbsp;* Trip. Lite, 123 and note 2 ; 323. f See also Ware, Antiqq., ii. 122.

were so called because � they [the pagans] were wont to � carve on them the forms (Irish, delha) of the elementsnbsp;� they adored : for example, the figure of the sun.� Asnbsp;curiously corroborative of this, Keating (p. 462) has anbsp;legend, from some old authority not now known, that innbsp;the time of St. Columkille there was in Tirconnell anbsp;certain Christian priest (sacatt)�but he must have beennbsp;half a pagan�^who had built a church, in which he placednbsp;an altar of glass with an image {delb) of the sun, and anothernbsp;of the moon, carved on it; for which�as the legend has itnbsp;�^he was being carried off by demons, but was rescued bynbsp;St. Columkille. In another part of his work, Keatingnbsp;quotes an ancient poem which states that the three lastnbsp;Dedannan kings of Ireland derived their cognomens fromnbsp;the objects of their worship, one of whom was Mac Greinenbsp;(� son or devotee of the sun �), because his god was the sunnbsp;{grian, gen. gr�ine).

Fire.�That fire was worshipped by some of the Irish appears from the statement in the Tripartite Life thatnbsp;Laegaire�s druid accused St. Patrick of having fire for anbsp;god. We know that certain pagan festivals were celebratednbsp;in Ireland, in which fire played a prominent part. Thusnbsp;in A.D. 433 a great fire was kindled at Tara, as part ofnbsp;some festival, and while it was burning no other should benbsp;kindled in the country all round, on pain of death.*nbsp;Cormac�s Glossary (p. 19) tells us that fires were lightednbsp;by the druids on May Day, with great incantations, andnbsp;that cattle used to be driven through or between them as anbsp;preservative against disease for the coming year. He saysnbsp;also that from this ceremony, Belltaine or May Day tooknbsp;its name, i.e., bel-tene, lucky fire.t A very ancient poem,nbsp;printed by Kuno Meyer in � Hibernia Minora � (p. 49),nbsp;enumerating the May Day celebrations, mentions amongnbsp;them a bonfire on a hill {tendal ar cnuc). Another authority

states that these fires were kindled in the name of the idol-god Bel (Cormac, p. 23). Keating (p. 300) tells us thatnbsp;it was at Ushnagh, during the great May Day meetingnbsp;there, that this fire was lighted in honour of B�l ; and henbsp;goes on to say that at this same time it was the custom tonbsp;light two fires to B�l in every district in Ireland, and tonbsp;drive the cattle between them to protect them from thenbsp;diseases of the year. He states also that during thenbsp;meeting held on Samain or ist November at Tlachtga, anbsp;fire was kindled in which we are told that the druidsnbsp;burned sacrifices : and while it lasted, all other fires innbsp;Ireland were to be extinguished or covered.

These fire-ceremonies have descended to our time. From an interesting communication in the Kilkennynbsp;Archaeological Journal, 1883-4, P- ^4, we learn that, aboutnbsp;the beginning of the last century, people used a firenbsp;ceremonial for the cure of diseased cattle. When thenbsp;disease broke out in one of the farms, all the fires in thenbsp;townland were at a given time put out; and a number ofnbsp;men, having assembled at the farm, produced fire�callednbsp;in Irish ieine-�igin, i.e., � forced fire ��by the friction of twonbsp;dry pieces of wood, the men taking their turn at the work.nbsp;With this they kindled a great smoky fire of scraws (grassynbsp;sods from the surface of a bog) mixed with soot, and heldnbsp;the cattle over the smoke. This they said stamped out thenbsp;disease. Martin (p. 113) found a similar custom in thenbsp;Scottish Western Isles in 1703 : but here water was boilednbsp;over the tin-egin, as he calls it, and sprinkled over thenbsp;infected cattle. The custom of driving cattle through firesnbsp;against disease on the eve of the ist of May, and on the evenbsp;of the 24th June (St. John�s Day), continued in Ireland, asnbsp;well as in the Scottish Highlands, to a period within livingnbsp;memory.* Many curious fire-customs are still, or were uptilnbsp;very lately, prevalent in some parts of the country on May

Day, and the evening before : and on the eve of the 24th June�St. John�s Day�they light open air fires when dusknbsp;comes on, so that the whole country is illuminated. Thisnbsp;custom is of great antiquity in Ireland ; for the Uinc f�ilenbsp;Eoin, the ' fire of John�s festival,� is mentioned in the Booknbsp;of Hymns (a MS. of the ninth or tenth century) as wellnbsp;known at the time of the writer.¹ The information givennbsp;here regarding the worship of the elements has been drawnnbsp;from authentic sources. But the detailed descriptions ofnbsp;sun and fire worship in Ireland, given by some writers ofnbsp;the last century, and their speculations about � bovinenbsp;cultus,� quot; porcine cultus,� � Crom the god of fire or of thenbsp;winds,� and such like, as well as the pictures of divinationnbsp;by Irish druids from the blood of victims, are all the dreamsnbsp;of persons who never undertook the labour of investigatingnbsp;the matter by reference to the ancient authentic literaturenbsp;of the country.

Elemental Oath.�No doubt this ancient elemental worship was the origin of the very general pagan Irish custom of swearing by the elements, or, in other words, giving thenbsp;elements as guarantee : an oath which it was very dangerousnbsp;to violate, as is shown by the fate of Laegaire, king of Ireland in the time of St. Patrick. In an attempt to exact thenbsp;Boruma tribute from Leinster, he was defeated and takennbsp;prisoner by the Leinstermen : but was released on takingnbsp;the usual oath, giving as guarantee�i.e., swearing by�thenbsp;quot; sun and moon, water and air, day and night, sea and land,�nbsp;that he would never again demand it. But in open violation of his oath he invaded Leinster for this same Tribute innbsp;less than two years : whereupon � the elements passed anbsp;� doom of death on Laegaire, to wit, the earth to swallownbsp;� him up, the sun to burn him, and the wind to depart fromnbsp;� him,� � so that ��as the Four Masters (a.d. 458) express

The custom of lighting fires on the 23rd June, St. John�s Eve, was at one time general over Europe, and has been kept up in Paris. Denbsp;Jubainville : La Civil, des Celtes, p. 243.

it�� the sun and wind killed him because he had violated them � : � for ��says an older authority, the Book of thenbsp;Dun Cow�� no one durst violate them at that time.�¹

How long the worship of idols and of the elements remained in the country it is now impossible to say. Butnbsp;it is probable that the practices lurked in remote places farnbsp;into Christian times. We need not be surprised at this whennbsp;we know that�according to the testimony of the Venerablenbsp;Bede (Eccl. Hist., iii., xxx.)�^idolatry was openly practisednbsp;in England, even by some of the kings of the Heptarchy,nbsp;in spite of the exertions of the clergy, in the latter part ofnbsp;the seventh century. And it has been already more thannbsp;once remarked in this book, that traces of pagan worshipnbsp;have remained in Ireland to the present day.

Names and Situations.�There was a belief in a land of everlasting youth and peace, beautiful beyond conception, always inhabited by fairies, and called by variousnbsp;names :�Th-nan-�g [Teernanogue], i.e., the � Land of thenbsp;[ever-] youthful people � : I-Bresail, or 1-Brazil, the � Landnbsp;of Bresal � : Tir-nam-he� [Teer-nam-yo], the � Land of thenbsp;[ever-] living' : Mag Mell [Moy-Mell], the � Plain ofnbsp;pleasures � (for which Ten-mhagh Tr�gaighi, pron. Tenvah-tr�gee, was another namej) : Mag-Mon, � Plain of Sports � :nbsp;Tir-Tairngiri, the � Land of Promise � : and Tir-na-Sorcha,nbsp;the � Land of Light.� Sometimes it is described as situatednbsp;far out in the Western Ocean : sometimes it was deepnbsp;down under the sea or under a lake or well; sometimes itnbsp;was in a hollow shee or fairy-hill. Perhaps it would benbsp;more correct to say that there were many such happy

See Rev. Celt., xin. 53 : Silva Gad., 407 : Trip. Life, 567 LL, 299, b, last twelve lines ; LU, n8, h, last eleven lines,nbsp;t Ir. Texte, i. 214, note 2^.

lands, situated in those various places. The inhabitants were the side [shee] or fairies, who were immortal, andnbsp;who lived in perfect peace and in a perpetual round ofnbsp;sensuous, but harmless and sinless pleasures.

In nearly all the old accounts of this happy land, the absence of wickedness is expresssly mentioned. The mannbsp;from Tir Tairngiri tells Cormac that it was quot; a landnbsp;� wherein there is nought save truth, and there is neithernbsp;� age, nor decay, nor gloom, nor sadness, nor envy, nornbsp;� jealousy, nor hatred, nor haughtiness.�¹ The absence ofnbsp;sin, and such like characteristics, are of course additionsnbsp;by Christian scribes.

In ancient Irish romantic tales we find many descriptions of this pagan heaven, bearing a general resemblance to each other. One which pictures Mag Mon (� Plain ofnbsp;Sports �) situated far out in the Western Ocean�the landnbsp;that is called elsewhere Moy Mell, or I-Brazil�may benbsp;read, translated by Prof. Kuno Meyer, in Mr. Alfred Nutt�snbsp;work, � The Voyage of Bran,� i. 4. This composition,nbsp;which is in poetry, is ascribed by scholars to the seventhnbsp;century. The following poetical description of the Fairynbsp;King Midir�s heavenly country, under the shee of Brinbsp;Leith, the hill now called Slieve Golry near Ardagh innbsp;the county Longford, will give the reader an excellentnbsp;idea of these happy abodes : it has been translated bynbsp;O�Curry from the Book of the Dun Cow:�

Though pleasant to behold are the plains of Inisfail [Irelandquot;!, Rarely wouldst thou think of them after frequenting thenbsp;Great Plain.

Flesh of swine, all fresh, banquets of new milk and ale, Shalt thou have with me there, O Befind.*

The name Tir Tairngiri is often found, not only in the Tales, but in the Christian legends of the saints. St.nbsp;Brendan had been praying for some secure, delightful land,nbsp;remote from the haunts of men. And an angel said tonbsp;him ;�� Arise, O Brendan, for God hath given to theenbsp;what thou hast sought�Th-Tairngire.��] After this thenbsp;angel directs him how to find it: and it was in searchnbsp;of this promised happy land that Brendan went on hisnbsp;celebrated voyage out on the Western Ocean. The namenbsp;Tiy-Tairngire is a translation of the Scriptural name ofnbsp;the � Land of Promise '; it is of great antiquity, for it isnbsp;found in the eighth and ninth-century glosses of Zeuss ;

* The original, with rigidly literal translation, may be seen in O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., II. p. 191 '� and Dr. Douglas Hyde has given a metrical translation in his literary History of Ireland, p. 103. For the Irish Pagan Elysium, see Mr. Alfred Nutt, Voyage of Bran, vol. i.: Hyde, Lit. Hist., p. 94:nbsp;and for a short composite poetical description, Joyce, Old Celtic Romances,

but the idea of the land itself is derived from the pagan legend of the happy fairyland.

This pagan heaven legend did not escape the notice of Giraldus Cambrensis, He tells the story of thenbsp;Phantom Island, as he calls it, off the western coast,nbsp;and how, on one occasion when it appeared, some mennbsp;rowed out towards it, and shot a fiery arrow against it,nbsp;which fixed it.* To this day the legend remains as vividnbsp;as ever : and the people believe that if they could succeednbsp;in throwing fire on it from their boat, it would becomenbsp;fixed, as happened before the time of Giraldus.f

The happy land then was the abode of the spiritual and immortal fairy people ; but it was not for humannbsp;beings, except a few individuals who were brought thithernbsp;by the fairies, as will be told below.

Immortality of the Soul.�Weknow from Caesar, Diodorus Siculus, and other classical writers, that the ancient Gaulsnbsp;or Celts taught, as one of their tenets, that the soul wasnbsp;immortal; and that after death it passed from one humannbsp;body to another ; and this it appears, applied to all humannbsp;beings. But in Irish literature I cannot find anything tonbsp;warrant the conclusion that the pagan Irish believed thatnbsp;the souls of all men were immortal, or that the spirits ofnbsp;those who died were rewarded or punished in the othernbsp;world for their conduct in this, or in fact that their spiritsnbsp;existed at all after death.J A few individuals becamenbsp;immortal in Fairyland, and some other few lived on afternbsp;death, appearing as other men, or in the shapes of animals,

t For the present ideas regarding the western phantom land, see Hardiman, Ir. Minstr., i. 367, and Westropp, Proc. R. I. Acad., 1912.

t This statement is, I believe, a correct inference from the evidence in tho.se ancient native documents that have come down to us, and havenbsp;been rendered available. But it is made with this reservation, that, innbsp;consequence of the wholesale destruction of our books, the full evidencenbsp;may not be before us. In this connexion it is necessary to notice onenbsp;Christian record, a remarkable expression of Tirechau�s Annotations onnbsp;the Life of St. Patrick, written in the seventh century. The pagan King

as will be presently related. But these are all palpable exceptions, and are put forward as such in the legends.*nbsp;A few individuals were brought by fairies to the happynbsp;other world, and became immortal: and the time passednbsp;there so obscurely and pleasantly that a whole centurynbsp;appeared only the length of a year or so. Prince Connla,nbsp;son of Conn the Hundred-Fighter (king of Ireland in thenbsp;second century) was carried off in a crystal boat bj? a fairynbsp;maiden before the eyes of his father and friends, and wasnbsp;never seen on earth again.f Once a person got to Fairyland he could never return, except, indeed, on a short visit,nbsp;always in a boat or on horseback, merely to take a look atnbsp;his native land : but if once he touched his mother earth,nbsp;the spell of youth and immortality was broken, and henbsp;immediately felt the consequences. Bran, the son ofnbsp;Febal, had been sailing with his crew among the happynbsp;islands for hundreds of years, though they thought itnbsp;was only the length of an ordinary voyage. When theynbsp;returned to the coast of Kerry, one man jumped ashore,nbsp;against solemn warning, but fell down instantly, andnbsp;became a heap of ashes.t Ossian, the son of Finn, didnbsp;not fare quite so badly when he returned to Ireland ridingnbsp;an enchanted steed, after his 300 years sojourn in Tir-nanoge, which he thought only three years. Traversing

Laegaire, rejecting the teaching of St. Patrick, and expressing a determination to be buried, pagan fashion, standing up, armed, in his grave, is made to say to the saint : � For the pagans are accustomed to be buried,nbsp;armed, with their weapons ready, face to face to the day of Erdathenbsp;among the magi (druids), i.e., the day of judgment of the Lord � (Petrie,nbsp;Tara, 170). This would seem to imply that the druids had a day ofnbsp;judgment, called by them Erdathe, corresponding with the Christian daynbsp;of judgment; which, again, would indirectly imply that they held thenbsp;doctrine of the immortality of the soul. But this, besides being an isolatednbsp;statement, has so decided a Christian complexion, that it would be unsafe to draw any conclusion from it.

* See all this question (of Immortality and Metempsychosis) discussed in M. De Jubainville�s Cycle Mythologique, chap. xv.

his old haunts, the wonder of all the strange people he met, for his size and beauty, he on one occasion, in tryingnbsp;to lift a great stone, overbalanced himself, and had to leapnbsp;to the ground, when he instantly became a withered, bony,nbsp;feeble old man, while his fairy steed galloped off and nevernbsp;returned.¹ Laegaire, son of Crimthann, king of Connaught,nbsp;went with fifty followers to Moy Mell to aid the fairy kingnbsp;Fiachna Mac Retach against a rival fairy king who hadnbsp;made war on him. Fiachna led them to the shore of anbsp;lake called Enloch, and all dived down, and soon camenbsp;to Moy Mell. After defeating the enemy, Laegaire andnbsp;his fifty men were permitted to visit their native place onnbsp;horseback : but Fiachna warned then not to dismount.nbsp;On their arrival their friends were overjoyed and besoughtnbsp;them to stay : but Laegaire cried out:�� Do not approachnbsp;or touch us : we have come only to bid you all farewell! �nbsp;So saying they returned to the ^hamp;e, where Laegaire nownbsp;rules as fairy king jointly with Fiachna.f

In some tales, however, mortals who are detained in the shee are represented as thoroughly miserable. Dian,nbsp;who had been a young noble on earth among the Fena,nbsp;comes to see Cailte out of the fairy mound of Mullaghsheenbsp;at Assaroe, beside Ballyshannon. Cailte asks how itnbsp;fares with him : on which Dian replies that though ofnbsp;food and raiment there was abundance, yet he wouldnbsp;rather be the lowest and most despised drudge amongnbsp;the servants of the Fena, than be the prince that he wasnbsp;in Fairyland. (Silva Gad., 139 bottom.) This is almostnbsp;exactly what the shade of the mighty hero Achilles says:nbsp;to Ulysses:�� Talk not to me of being a leader here innbsp;� Hades ; I had rather be on earth the servant of somenbsp;� poor landless man than bear sway as a prince here amongnbsp;� the ghosts of the dead.� (Odyssey, xi.) In modern

t O'Grady, Silva Gad., 290 : LL Contents, 63, a, middle. See also Mr. Nntt, in the Voyage of Bran, vol. i., chap. iii. (pp. 144-160).

Irish fairy legends, those that have been carried off by fairies are always pining in misery in Fairyland.

Metempsychosis.�The foregoing observations regarding the pagan Irish notions of immortality after death apply in a great measure to their ideas of metempsychosis.nbsp;In our romantic literature there are legends of the re-birthnbsp;of human beings : i.e. certain persons, commonly heroes ornbsp;demigods, were re-born, and figured in the world, withnbsp;new personality, name, and character. Thus Cuculainnnbsp;was a re-incarnation of the Dedannan hero-god. Lug ofnbsp;the Long Arms. In other cases human beings, afternbsp;death, took the shapes of various animals in succession,nbsp;and re-appeared as human beings. Mongan of Rath-more Moylinny, king of Dalriada, in Ulster, in the seventhnbsp;century�a historical personage�was fabled to be a reincarnation of the great Finn Mac Cumail of the thirdnbsp;century.* This same Mongan went, after death, intonbsp;various shapes, a wolf, a stag, a salmon, a seal, a swan ;nbsp;like the Welsh Taliessin. Fintan, the nephew of Parthalon,nbsp;survived the deluge, and lived in the shapes of variousnbsp;animals successively for many ages, after which he wasnbsp;re-incarnated in the sixth century as a man named Tuannbsp;Mac Cairill.t This Tuan was a celebrated sage, and nonbsp;wonder, for he witnessed all the remarkable things thatnbsp;happened in Ireland from the time of Parthalon, a lapsenbsp;of some thousands of years, and related everything tonbsp;St. Finnen of Magh Bile.

The Irish, too, had their were-wolf legends. It seems that there were certain persons among the inhabitants ofnbsp;OssoryJ who, whenever they pleased, took the shape ofnbsp;wolves, and then ravaged and devoured cattle like realnbsp;wolves, returning to their human shape when they thoughtnbsp;they had enough of their pastime. Giraldus Cambrensisnbsp;(Top. Hib., II., xix.) relates this great wonder in detail, asnbsp;in operation in his own time, and believed every word ofnbsp;* Voyage of Bran, i. lt;19-52. f Ogyg., Part. I f Irish Nennius, 305.

it: and the legend is mentioned in the Norse Speculum Regale (p. 226, supra), as applying to all the Ossorians innbsp;turn (Folk Lore, v. 310). The wolf-transformation isnbsp;mentioned in a sermon on the Resurrection in LUnbsp;(p. 36, h), the oldest reference to it that we know.nbsp;Stokes quotes from an old glossary the word conoel, asnbsp;meaning � a woman that goes into wolf-shape � {conrecht),nbsp;and another old word, pointing to a different transformation ;�conel, a woman that goes into the form of a littlenbsp;hound {cudnrecht).�* In the eighth or ninth-century storynbsp;of the � Feast of Bricriu,� figures a character named � Uathnbsp;of the Lake,� who was a sort of Irish Proteus ; � A man ofnbsp;� great power indeed was that same Uath Mac Immomuinnbsp;� (� horror son of terror �). He used to transform himselfnbsp;'� into any shape pleasing to him, and he used to practisenbsp;� enchantment {druidecht, � druidismnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;and he was

� called the sirit� (� elf-man �) from the great number of � his transformations.�t Numerous stories of this kind arenbsp;found in Irish romance ; but I think the examples givennbsp;here represent all the types of transformation believed innbsp;by the ancient Irish. These stories are scattered, andnbsp;have no thread of connexion ; they do not coalesce, intonbsp;a system : they are told of individuals, in palpable exception to the general run of people, and many of them arenbsp;stated to be the result of magical skill. There is nonbsp;statement anywhere that all persons were re-born asnbsp;human beings, or underwent transformations after death.nbsp;Stories of a similar kind are current among mostnbsp;early nations. There are accordingly no grounds whatever for asserting that the ancient Irish believed in thenbsp;doctrine of general metempsychosis; and this is alsonbsp;O�Curry�s conclusion.J

t Ir. Texte, i. 293, and Fled Brier., 97. For more information on these and such like transformations, see Voyage of Bran, 1. 24 amp; 330; ii. wholenbsp;vol. ; Rev. Celt., xv. 466 ; Ir. Texte, iii. 373 ; iv. 228.

The Celtic people were, and still are, accustomed to turn sunwise�i.e. from left to right�in performing certainnbsp;rites ; and the word deisiol [deshil] was used to designatenbsp;this way of turning: from dess, now deas � the rightnbsp;hand � : dessel, or deisiol, � right-hand-wise.� This customnbsp;is very ancient, and, like many others, has descendednbsp;from pagan to Christian times. It was, indeed, quite asnbsp;common among the Christian people as among the pagans :nbsp;but all that is necessary to say about it I will say here.nbsp;It was not confined to the Celts ; for, in classical writers,nbsp;we find numerous allusions to it as it was carried out bynbsp;the Latins and the Greeks. Martin (p. 117, amp;c.) describesnbsp;it as practised in his day by the Scotic people of thenbsp;Hebrides: and readers of Waverley will remember hownbsp;the old leech made the deasil by walking three times innbsp;the direction of the sun round the wounded Edward,nbsp;before beginning his examination of the wound. Even atnbsp;this day, the Irish people, when burying their dead, walknbsp;at least once, sometimes three times, round the graveyard,nbsp;sunwise, with the coffin.

No wonder that the custom was generally adopted by our Christian ancestors ; for their great apostle Patricknbsp;showed them the example. After he had been presentednbsp;with the site of his future cathedral at Armagh by Dare,nbsp;on which then stood that chief�s residence, the saintnbsp;solemnly consecrated the whole place to the service ofnbsp;God by walking dessil round the rath, holding in his handnbsp;his crozier�the staff of Jesus�and followed in procession by all his attendant ecclesiastics.¹ A century laternbsp;St. Senan consecrated Scattery Island, in like manner, bynbsp;walking right-hand-wise round it.j Another half centurynbsp;later still, St. Findchua, the warlike patron saint of

Brigown, happened once to be in Tara, when a powerful force of British pirates landed on the coast, and marchednbsp;towards the palace, plundering all before them. Findchuanbsp;rapidly organised a defence party, and, directing them tonbsp;march dessil to meet the invaders, i.e. to make a roundabout right-hand-wise circuit, probably with the doublenbsp;object of complying with the old custom and of skilfullynbsp;coming down on the enemy�s flank�for Findchua was anbsp;born soldier�he accompanied them with martial ardournbsp;in his face�-or as the old Life vividly puts it. � so thatnbsp;sparkles of fire flew forth from his teeth ��and fallingnbsp;unexpectedly on the marauders, made short work ofnbsp;them.¹ The celebrated Cathach, the � Battle-book,� ornbsp;Praeliator of the O�Donnells (p. 137, supra), was alwaysnbsp;borne three times right-hand-wise round their army beforenbsp;battle, to assure victory : it was so employed as late as thenbsp;fifteenth century.

These are a few illustrations of the exercise of this dessil custom by the ancient Irish : but they might benbsp;multiplied indefinitely.

Sometimes persons went left-hand-wise {tuathbel) with a sinister intention, as the lady Boand went round Trinitynbsp;well (p. 284, supra). In Scotland this left-hand turn is nownbsp;called wither shins, which is a Teutonic word.^

The use of the ordeal for determining truth or falsehood, guilt or innocence, was developed from prehistoric times in Ireland: but the germs were, no doubt, broughtnbsp;hither by the earliest colonists. The Irish had their ownnbsp;ordeals, in which were some peculiarities not found amongnbsp;other nations of Europe. Most originated in pagan times.

t For more about the Deisiul Turn, see Ferguson, in Proc. R. I. A., 1870-76, p. 355 : and Joyce, Irish Names of Places, ii. 455.

but, as in other countries, the ordeal continued in use for many centuries after the general adoption of Christianity.*nbsp;In the Book of Ballymote there is a list and descriptionnbsp;of twelve different kinds of ordeal used by the ancient Irish,nbsp;which has been referred to by Mr. William Hennessy innbsp;an interesting paper on Irish Ordeals :f and more latelynbsp;published and translated in full with the Irish text bynbsp;Dr. Whitley Stokes.]: In this it is stated that the twelvenbsp;ordeals were arranged and proclaimed by King Cormacnbsp;Mac Art in the third century at the F�is or Convention ofnbsp;Tara. All through this tract an ordeal is called Fir-UMhanbsp;[feer-flaha], i.e., � Truth of sovereignty or kingdom.� Thenbsp;following is the Ballymote list:�i, 2, 3. � Morann�s threenbsp;Collars � : 4. � Mochta�s Adze � : 5. The � Lot-casting ofnbsp;Sencha � : 6. The � Vessel of Badurn � : 7. The � Threenbsp;Dark Stones� : 8. The �Caldron of Truth�: g. The � Old Lotnbsp;of Sen, son of Aige � : 10. � Luchta�s Iron � ; ii. � Waitingnbsp;at an Altar � : 12. � Cormac�s Cup.� Some of these arenbsp;obviously legendary and fanciful: but that the greaternbsp;number were in actual use is plain from the numerousnbsp;references to them in the Brehon Laws, and other ancientnbsp;Irish writings. Morann�s three collars were not muchnbsp;different from each other in their functions : and if theynbsp;be regarded as one, which it is pretty certain they originallynbsp;were, and if the two lot-castings (Nos. 5 and 9 above) arenbsp;looked upon as modifications of a single one, this bringsnbsp;down the twelve Irish ordeals to nine, which was the usualnbsp;number that prevailed all over Europe in the middle ages.nbsp;It is curious that single combat or the duel is not includednbsp;in the Irish technical list, though it prevailed as much innbsp;Ireland as elsewhere, as is shown at page 152, supra.

Numbers i, 2, and 3. The common version of the legend of Morann�s collar is this :�that the great brehon

X In Ir. Texte, iii. Another list, sofflewhat different, with descriptions, is given in Br. Laws, v. 471, 473.

or judge, Morann, had a collar, which, if placed round the neck of a judge, contracted on his throat if he deliverednbsp;a false or unjust judgment, and continued to press morenbsp;tightly, ever till he delivered a righteous one. Placed onnbsp;the neck of a witness, if he bore false testimony it actednbsp;similarly, until it forced him to acknowledge the truth.nbsp;In the Ballymote List it is stated that Morann had threenbsp;collars ; but as all were used for purposes similar to thosenbsp;just stated, they need not be described here.*

4. The Tal [tawl] or adze of Mochta (a legendar}? carpenterl � was wont to be put into a fire made of black-� thorn, or of quicken-tree [till it was red-hot], and thenbsp;� [tongue of the accused] was passed over it: it would burnnbsp;� the person who had falsehood : but would not burn thenbsp;� person who was innocent.� A case of the applicationnbsp;of this ordeal is mentioned by 0�Curry,t taken from annbsp;ancient manuscript, where it is called a � druidical � ornbsp;pagan test.

7. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Tre-Ua Mothair, � Three Dark Stones � : a bucketnbsp;was filled with bog-dust, charcoal, and other kinds ofnbsp;black stuff, and three little stones, white, black, andnbsp;speckled, were put into it, buried deep in the black mass,nbsp;into which the accused thrust down his hand : if he drewnbsp;the white stone, he was innocent; if the black one, he wasnbsp;guilty : and if he drew the speckled one, he was � halfnbsp;guilty.�

8. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Coire-fir [curra-feer], � caldron of truth,� was anbsp;vessel of silver and gold. � Water was heated in it till itnbsp;quot; was boiling, into which the accused plunged his hand :nbsp;quot; if he was guilty, the hand was burned: if not, it wasnbsp;� uninjured.� This ordeal seems to have been often used :nbsp;it is noticed in the Senchus M�r ; and elsewhere in thenbsp;Brehon Laws it is mentioned as a means of determiningnbsp;certain cases of doubtful family relationship, t

t Man. amp; Cust., i. 216. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;J Br. Laws, i., 195, 199 ; iv. 285, 295.

9. Crannchur, or lot-casting [crann, � wood � ; tur, � casting �), of which two kinds (5 and 9) are mentioned:nbsp;but it will be sufficient to describe the last one here.nbsp;Three lots : one for the flaith or local lord, one for thenbsp;ollave (who conducted the trial), and the third for thenbsp;accused, were thrown into water. If the accused wasnbsp;guilty, his lot went to the bottom ; if innocent, it floated.nbsp;Ordeal by lot appears to have been oftenest used of any;nbsp;but other forms, differing from the one described here,nbsp;were more usual. It is very often mentioned in thenbsp;Brehon Laws. If a man was accused of wrong by another,nbsp;and if either demanded trial by lot, then lot was resortednbsp;to : and the plan adopted, as described in the book ofnbsp;Acaill,* shows that here the ordeal was under the auspicesnbsp;of Christianity. Three lots were put into a vessel or bag,nbsp;one for guilt, one for innocence, and one for the Trinity.nbsp;If the accused first draws forth the lot for the Trinity, itnbsp;is to be put back ; and he is to draw again, till he bringsnbsp;forth either of the others, which determines the case. Thenbsp;lot for the Trinity must have been used as a sort of invocation to God for justice, and to add solemnity to thenbsp;proceeding : otherwise it was useless.

If an animal out of some one of several herds did mischief, lots were first cast, as described in another partnbsp;of the Book of Acaill, to find out the particular herd ; afternbsp;which the process was repeated, if necessary, till the lotnbsp;fell on a particular animal, the owner of which had then tonbsp;pay damages, assessed by a Brehon, who had to take intonbsp;account several circumstances :�the actual amount of thenbsp;damage ; whether it was a first offence ; whether the animalnbsp;was known to be mischievous, implying carelessness in thenbsp;owner, amp;c.t Similar proceedings were taken to discovernbsp;the owners of bees that did damage. Lot-casting as annbsp;ordeal was quite as common among the ancient Irish as itnbsp;was among the Homeric Greeks.

10. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;larn Luchta, � Luchta�s iron, [the use of] which thenbsp;quot; druid Luchta learned in Leika (either Brittany or Italy)nbsp;� when he went there to improve his knowledge.� Thenbsp;druids having first uttered an incantation over a piece ofnbsp;iron, put it in a fire till it was red-hot. It was then placednbsp;in the hand of the accused : and � it would burn him if henbsp;had guilt: but would not injure him if innocent.�

11. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Airisem ic alt�ir, � waiting at an altar.� The personnbsp;was to go nine times round the altar, and afterwards tonbsp;drink water over which a druid�s incantations had beennbsp;uttered. � If the man was guilty, the sign of his transgres-� sion was made manifest in him [by some bodily disfigure-� ment] : if innocent, he remained unharmed.� Notwithstanding the mention of the word � altar,� this ordeal hadnbsp;nothing to do with Christianity: the legend states thatnbsp;it was borrowed from the Israelites by Cai Cainbrethachnbsp;(�Cai of the fair judgments�), the original brehon whonbsp;introduced it into Ireland : and Mr. Hennessy thinks itnbsp;probable that this pagan circuit was made round a earn,nbsp;to which the borrowed word alt�ir was applied ; as Cormacnbsp;uses the same word alt�ir for a pagan altar. This is renderednbsp;all the more likely from the fact that, before the battlenbsp;of Cul Dremne, St. Columkille denounces the half-pagannbsp;forces arrayed against his people as � the host that marchnbsp;round earns ��alluding, no doubt, to the practice of thisnbsp;pagan ordeal, or to some form of pagan worship. Probablynbsp;the altar of the ordeal was one of those mentioned bynbsp;Cormac (p. 289, supra), and was usually erected on anbsp;earn : this would fully reconcile all the statements. Asnbsp;corroborating the tradition that this rite was borrowednbsp;from the Jews, remark its striking similarity to the Jewishnbsp;ordeal for a woman suspected of adultery (Numb, v.) : thatnbsp;she was to drink bitter water over which the priest hadnbsp;heaped curses ; if she was guilty, her flesh rotted : ifnbsp;innocent, she remained unharmed.

St. Patrick. But the saint himself, according to the seventh-century narrative of Muirchu, made use of the ordeal in his contest with King Laegaire�s druid.¹ Here, however, sonbsp;far as Patrick was concerned, the proceeding was purelynbsp;Christian : he called .God to his aid; and there was nonbsp;taint of paganism. The king proposed that the booksnbsp;belonging to each should be thrown into water : � Putnbsp;� your books into water, and we will worship him whosenbsp;� book escapes nnharmed.� Patrick agreed, but the druidnbsp;declined on the grounds stated at page 289, sufra. Thenbsp;king then proposed fire, but the druid again refused. Atnbsp;last Patrick himself challenged the druid to another test, tonbsp;which he agreed�in an evil hour for himself. The druidnbsp;and young Benen, one of Patrick�s followers, exchangednbsp;mantles ; and a house was hastily built up, one half of drynbsp;wood, and the other half of green. Into this house bothnbsp;were put. Benen at the dry side, the druid at the other,nbsp;according to arrangement, and locked securely in. It wasnbsp;set on fire in presence of all, and while it was burning,nbsp;Patrick remained praying. When the house had beennbsp;burned down, and the fire had ceased, the spectators madenbsp;a search, and found at the green side the druid reduced tonbsp;ashes, with Benen�s mantle untouched; and at the othernbsp;side, Benen all joyful and quite safe, with the druid�snbsp;mantle entirely consumed.

The Irish, like most other ancient nations, had a decided preference for certain numbers and their combinations, which were mixed up with many of their religiousnbsp;and superstitious ceremonies, as well as with the affairsnbsp;of ordinary life. We may see from the incident relatednbsp;by the seventh-century writer Muirchu, already noticed,nbsp;fhat the number nine was regarded by the Irish pagans

with a sort of religious veneration, as bringing good luck :�That when King Laegaire, with his druids andnbsp;pagan followers, was setting out from Tara for Slane tonbsp;arrest St. Patrick, � he had nine chariots joined togethernbsp;according to the tradition of thlt;� gods � (p. 250, supra), innbsp;which he and the others rode. This is a corroboration�sonbsp;far as that circumstance is concerned�by an unquestionable authority, of the accuracy of the tales, in which wenbsp;find the combination of nine chariots often mentioned.nbsp;In the story of the birth of Cuculainn, the Red Branchnbsp;Knights yoke nine chariots to pursue a flock of enchantednbsp;birds.* Lug the Ildana had nine chariots in the Battlenbsp;of Moytura ;t and when Queen Maive rode at the headnbsp;of her arm}^ to invade Ulster, she had a personal equipagenbsp;of nine chariots�two in front of her, two behind, and twonbsp;on each side, with her own in the middle (see ii., 255, infra).

Still more frequently and prominently we find nine waves mentioned, and with similar mysterious virtuesnbsp;attributed to them. Morann, the celebrated judge, sonnbsp;of Carbery Cat-head, was born with a blemish so disfiguring that his father ordered him to be taken away andnbsp;put to death. By the advice of an inhabitant of thenbsp;fairy-hills he was taken to the sea and held on the surfacenbsp;till nine waves rolled over him ; the moment the ninthnbsp;wave had passed, the blemish disappeared.J When thenbsp;Milesians invaded Ireland, the cunning Dedannans inducednbsp;them to re-embark and go out nine waves from the shore :nbsp;as soon as the ninth wave had been crossed, the magicalnbsp;power of the Dedannans was set free to act, so that theynbsp;raised a tempest that destroyed nearly all the Milesiannbsp;fleet. The belief about nine waves descended to Christiannbsp;times. During the prevalence of the terrible yellow plaguenbsp;in Ireland, Colman 0�Cluasaige [0�Cloosy], Ferleginn ornbsp;head professor of St. Finnbarr�s School in Cork, fled over-

sea, A.D. 664, with fifty of his pupils, to a certain island, so as to place nine waves between him and the mainland :nbsp;� for the learned say ��the old document goes on�� thatnbsp;pestilence does not make its way farther than nine waves.�*nbsp;Just before embarking he composed, as an invocation fornbsp;protection against the terrible mortality, a hymn which isnbsp;still extant and has been published by the Rev. Dr. Toddnbsp;in the � Book of Hymns.� The numbers three and sevennbsp;are also much in evidence in Irish writings : but the fullnbsp;discussion of this subject would demand more space thannbsp;I can afford.t

From various passages in some very old documents, it may be inferred that the belief in the evil eye was very prevalent in Ireland in old times. Thus Cormac�s Glossarynbsp;(p. 107) gives a fanciful derivation of the common verbnbsp;milled (� injuring �), making it a shortened form of mi-shilled [mee-hilleh], which is the same as a � malign glance �nbsp;of the eye. And in the Vision of Mac Conglinne (p. 92),nbsp;the jdithliaig or wizard-doctor says to his patient, whonbsp;was looking very ill, quot; RoUdraill suil ndt-atbendach,� � annbsp;eye that sains not has regarded thee � {i.e. � an unwholesome or evil eye has looked on thee �).

The great Foniorian champion, Balor of the Mighty Blows, had a tremendous evil eye called Birach-dercnbsp;(�speary-eye � : hir, �a spear�).J It was never openednbsp;except on the field of battle ; and it always took four mennbsp;with hooks to raise the lid. One baleful glance was enoughnbsp;to enfeeble a whole army of his enemies, so as that a fewnbsp;brave men could put them to flight. The Tale of thenbsp;second Battle of Moytura (p. loi) relates how he came by

f See on this whole subject, De Jubainville, La Civil, des Celtes, pp. 256-284 : and for a full discussion on the Celtic preference for thenbsp;number nine, see Rhys, Hibb. Lect., Lecture iv.

his evil eye. When he M'as a boy, his father�s druids used to concoct their spells in a room carefully closed, oc-fulachtnbsp;draidechta, i.e., � cooking sorcery � over a fire in a caldron,nbsp;from some horrible ingredients, like Shakespeare�s witches.nbsp;The boy, curious to know what the druids were at,nbsp;climbed up and peeped through an opening, when a whiffnbsp;of foul steam from the caldron blew into his eye, andnbsp;communicated to it all the baleful influence of the hellishnbsp;mixture. But this eye, powerful .as it was, was not proofnbsp;against the tathlum or sling-ball of his grandson Lug of thenbsp;Long arms. At the second Battle of Moytura, Balor wasnbsp;present, prepared to use his eye on the Dedannan army.nbsp;But Lug, who was on the side of the Dedannans, kept onnbsp;the watch ; and the moment the lid of the Cyclopean eye wasnbsp;raised, and before the glare had time to work bale, he let flynbsp;the hard ball from his sling, which struck the open eye withnbsp;such force as to go clean through eye, brain, and skull.

These observations may be brought to a close by the remark that the superstition of the evil eye has remainednbsp;among our people�as among others�down to this day.

There were certain acts which people were prohibited from doing under penalty of misfortune or ill luck of somenbsp;kind. Such a prohibition was called geis or geas [gesh,nbsp;gass ; g hard as in get, gap] : plural geasa [gassa]. A geisnbsp;was something forbidden : somewhat resembling a taboo.nbsp;Another term for a geis was urgarai, pi. urgarta. It wasnbsp;very dangerous to disregard these prohibitions. Becausenbsp;Conari the Great, king of Ireland in the first century of thenbsp;Christian era, violated some of his geasa�most of themnbsp;unwittingly�the peace of his reign was broken by plundernbsp;and rapine ; and he himself was finally slain in the sack ofnbsp;Da Derga.* Some geasa were binding on people in general.

* See Stokes�s Introd. to the Bruden Da Derga, and the story itself, in Rev. Celt,, xxii. See also the note on Geasa, in Tromdamh, p, 107.

Thus, on the day of King Laegaire�s festival, it was geis for the people to light a fire anywhere round Tara till thenbsp;king�s festival fire had first been lighted.* It was geis fornbsp;anyone to bring arms into the palace of Tara after sunset.nbsp;(Br. Laws, iii. 83.)

The most interesting of the geasa were those imposed on kings : of which the object of some was obviously tonbsp;avoid unnecessary personal danger or loss of dignity. Fornbsp;example, it was a geis to the king of Emain [i.e. of Ulster)nbsp;to attack alone a wild boar in his den (Bk. of Rights, 249) :nbsp;a sensible restriction. According to the Book of Acaillnbsp;and many other authorities, it was geis for a king with anbsp;personal blemish to reign at Tara (p. 43, supra) : so thatnbsp;when the Great King Cormac Mac Art lost one eye by annbsp;accident, he at once abdicated. The reason of these twonbsp;geasa is plain enough. But there were others which it isnbsp;not so easy to explain. They appear to be mere superstitions�obviously from pagan times�^meant to avoid unlucky days, evil omens, amp;c. Some kings were subject tonbsp;geasa from which others were free. The king of Emain, i.e.nbsp;of JJlaid or Ulster, was forbidden to listen to the singing ofnbsp;the birds of Lough S willy, or to bathe in Lough Foyle on anbsp;May Day (Bk. of Rights, 249) : and the law tract continues,nbsp;that if he breaks through these, he shall not become king ofnbsp;Tara [i.e., over-king) even though it should come to hisnbsp;turn to be ard-ri.

The king of Ireland and the provincial kings had each a series of geasa or urgarta. To the king of Ireland itnbsp;was forbidden that the sun should rise on him while lyingnbsp;in bed in Tara, i.e., he should be up before sunrise ; he wasnbsp;not to alight from his chariot or horse on Moy Breagh onnbsp;a Wednesday; he should not traverse Moy-Callainn afternbsp;sunset, or incite his horse at Fan-Comair; he was not tonbsp;enter North Teffia on a Tuesday, or go on board ship onnbsp;the Monday after May Day, or lead his army across Athnbsp;* Three Irish Homilies, 21.

Maighne (a ford on the river Inny) on the Tuesday after the ist November, or go round North Leinster left-hand-wise under any circumstances.¹ We cannot assign a reasonnbsp;for any one of these strange geasa.

Some of them�perhaps most�arose from the horror of some former catastrophe ; the memory of which has beennbsp;lost. For example, when Maive�s champion. Loch, electsnbsp;to meet Cuculainn in single combat, he refuses to fight at anbsp;certain ford, because his brother had been killed there :nbsp;and the combat goes on at the next ford above, j Individuals were often under geasa to follow or refrain fromnbsp;certain lines of conduct, the prohibitions being either takennbsp;on themselves voluntarily, or imposed on them, with theirnbsp;consent, by others. Fergus Mac Roy, ex-king of Ulster,nbsp;was under geasa not to accept an invitation to a banquet�nbsp;i.e., he was obliged to accept it: it was a gets of Finn Macnbsp;Cumail to sleep more than nine nights running at Allen.nbsp;There were many geasa on Cuculainn, one of which forbadenbsp;him to pass by a cooking fire without turning aside to visitnbsp;it and tasting the food ; and another to refuse any man�snbsp;challenge to combat.

Sometimes persons used geasa to obtain a request: and when the request was reasonable, just, and necessary, thenbsp;abjured person could not refuse without loss of honour andnbsp;reputation. Hence, the demand was often put in somenbsp;such form as � I place you under heavy geasa, which nonbsp;true champion will break through, to do so and so.� Innbsp;this manner, the witch-lady�in the Story of the Chase ofnbsp;Slieve Culainn�forces Finn to search for the ring she hadnbsp;dropped into the lake :i and Marbhan put the arch-poet,nbsp;Senchan Torpest, under geasa to obtain a copy of the lostnbsp;story the Tain bo Quelna.�

For all these and others, see Book of Rights, pp. 3-15. t Miss Hull, Cuch, Saga, 166. J Joyce, Old Celtic Romances, 354.nbsp;� Oss. Soc. Trans., v. 103.

are still, common among all people, whether savage or civilised. They flourish at this day among ourselves.nbsp;People will not dine in a company of thirteen, or removenbsp;to a new house on a Saturday, or get married in May:nbsp;what are these but geasa, and quite as irrational as anynbsp;of those enumerated above ?

T will not be expected that this short chapter should contain anything like a comprehensivenbsp;essay on the ancient Irish Church. I willnbsp;merely touch on some religious points characteristic of Ireland, and on some others which,nbsp;though not peculiar to our country, are notnbsp;very generally known.

That there were Christians in Ireland long before the time of St. Patrick we know from the wordsnbsp;of St. Prosper of Aquitaine, who lived at the time of thenbsp;event he records. He tells us that, in the year 431, Popenbsp;Celestine sent Palladius � to the Scots believing in Christ,nbsp;to be their first bishop � : and Bede repeats the same statement. Palladius landed on the coast of the present Countynbsp;Wicklow, and after a short and troubled sojourn he converted a few people, and founded three little churches innbsp;that part of the country, namely, Cill Fine, Tech-na-Romannbsp;(� House of the Romans �), and Domnach Arte. The Rev.nbsp;John Francis Shearman has undertaken to identify these.

and his identifications are probably correct.¹ It may be considered certain that Cill Fine, or, as it was also called,nbsp;Cill-Fine-Cormaic [pron. Killeena-Cormac,] is the venerable little cemetery, now called Killeen Cormac, in thenbsp;townland of Colbinstown in Wicklow, three miles southwest from Dunlavin, and nearly midway between thatnbsp;village and Ballitore. It is believed that this was thenbsp;burial-place of the poet Dubthach, converted by St.nbsp;Patrick, and of his three sons ; and here stands the bilingual ogham stone mentioned in next chapter, whichnbsp;was their monument.t

Besides these direct records, the existence in Ireland of pre-Patrician Christianity is alluded to'in some verynbsp;old native traditions, preserved in the Lives of St. Patrick.|nbsp;There must have been Christians in considerable numbersnbsp;when the Pope thought a bishop necessary; and suchnbsp;numbers could not have grown up in a short time. It isnbsp;highly probable that the knowledge of Christianity thatnbsp;existed in Ireland before the arrival of Palladius andnbsp;Patrick (in 431 and 432, respectively) came from Britain,nbsp;where it is pretty certain there was a well-establishednbsp;Christian Church in the third or fourth century, � or at an}?nbsp;rate where there were large numbers of Christians from anbsp;very early time. When we consider the constant intercommunication that existed in those ages between Irelandnbsp;and Britain (p. 75, stipra), it would be strange indeed ifnbsp;the faith did not find its way to Ireland. However, thenbsp;great body of the Irish were pagans when St. Patrick arrivednbsp;in 432 ; and to him belongs the glory of converting them.

See Father Shearman�s Essays in Kilk. Arch. Journ., vol. for 1872-3 (especially p. 359), and succeeding volumes. Also his Loca Patriciananbsp;(especially from p. i to p.. no).

t See Loca Patriciana, p. 46 ; and the references in Macalister�s Studies in Irish Epigraphy, Part i., p. 78.

t See Trip. I.-ife, 313,5; 325, .1 : 329, ^ \ 493, first extract : and Todd, St. Patk., 270. There is also the legend that King Cormac Macnbsp;Art was a Christian.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� See Todd, St. Patk., 265.

As St. Patrick and his companion missionaries found few terms in the Irish language that could be used to designate the offices and ceremonies of Christianity, they hadnbsp;to borrow numerous words for the purpose from Latin, ornbsp;from Greek through Latin, which became changed in formnbsp;to suit the Irish laws of pronunciation. Hence, Irishnbsp;sacari, or sagart, � a priest,� from sacerdos (originally pronounced sakerdos) ; epscop, or espoc, or easpog, � a bishop,�nbsp;from episcopus ; cill [kill], or cell, or ceall, � a church,� fromnbsp;cella [originally pron. kella] ; eclas, or eaglas [agglas], � anbsp;church,� from ecclesia ; regies, � a church,� a compound ofnbsp;the same word ; tempull, � a church,� from templum ; dom-nach, � Sunday,� and also � a church,� from [Dies] dominica ;nbsp;haisleac, � a church,� from basilica ; clerech, � a clergyman,�nbsp;� a scholar,� from clericus ; ah, or abb, � an abbot,� fromnbsp;abbas ; monach. � a monk,� from monachus : affrend, oiffrend,nbsp;or aiffrionn. � the Mass,� from offereuda. Another Irishnbsp;word for a priest, far less common than sacart, is cruimthernbsp;[criffer]. According to Cormac�s Glossary (p. 30), the Irishnbsp;borrowed cruimther from the Welsh premier, for quot; prem, innbsp;the Welsh ��as he says�� is cruim in the Gaelic � (by thenbsp;usual change of ^ to c) ; while the Welsh borrowed theirnbsp;premier from presbyter. Also Notlac, or Notlaic (modernnbsp;Nodlog, or Nodlaig), � Christmas,� from Lat. Natalicia, � anbsp;birthday feast � : and Cdisc, Easter, from Pascha. Innbsp;Ireland the same person was usually door-keeper and bellringer* : hence the word aistre�ir, or aistire [ashtrore,nbsp;ashtir�l, derived from Lat. ostiarim, � a janitor,� was thenbsp;usual Irish term for a bell-ringer.f Caillcch, � a nun,� isnbsp;one of the few Irish ecclesiastical terms not derived fromnbsp;Latin : in an old Life of St. Brigit, it is stated to benbsp;derived from caille, ' a veil � :�caillech, the � veiled one.�nbsp;Caillech, � a nun,� is to be distinguished from caillech, � annbsp;old woman,� � a hag.�

* See the passage quoted further on (p. 376) about aistre�ir. t See Petrie, Round Towers, p. 382.

In an old Catalogue, written in Latin by some unknown author, not later than a.d. 750,* published by Ussher, andnbsp;recently by the Marquis of Bute, from an independentnbsp;authority, the ancient Irish saints are distinguished intonbsp;three � Orders � ; and much information is given regardingnbsp;them. The following are the main points of this valuablenbsp;old document; the very words being given (in translationnbsp;with quotation marks) as far as may be found convenient.

� The First Order of Catholic Saints � were all bishops, beginning with St. Patrick: they were � most holy �nbsp;(Sanctissimus Ordo), � shining like the sun.� They werenbsp;350 in number, all founders of churches ; and they freelynbsp;employed both laymen and women in the service of thenbsp;houses of residence; because, as they themselves werenbsp;� founded on the rock of Christ, they feared not thenbsp;blast of temptation.� � All these bishops ��the Cataloguenbsp;goes on to say�� were sprung from the Romans, andnbsp;Franks, and Britons, and Scots � ; that is, they consistednbsp;of St. Patrick, with the numerous foreign missionaries whonbsp;accompanied or followed him, and of the Britons andnbsp;native Scots, or Irish, ordained by him and his successors.nbsp;This order continued for � four reigns,� namely, � duringnbsp;� the time of Laegaire, and Olioll Molt, and Lugaid, sonnbsp;� of Laegaire, and Tuathal Maelgarbh � : i.e., for something more than a century.

� The Second Order was of Catholic Priests,� numbering 300, of whom a few were bishops. They did not allow women to serve in the monasteries. These were � verynbsp;holy � [sanctior), and � they shone like the moon.� Theynbsp;lasted for � four reigns ; that is, from the latter years of

* Stokes, Mart, of O�Gorman, xlvi. The whole document is given in English translation, from Ussher�s copy, in Todd�s St. Patk., p. 88. Toddnbsp;fixes the approximate date as 750. Prof. J. B. Bury, in his scholarly articlenbsp;on Tirechan�s Memoir, expresses the opinion that it may possibly belongnbsp;to the end of the seventh cent. (Eng. Hist. Review, 1902, p. 253, note

� Tuathal Maelgarbh, and during the whole of King � Dermot�s reign, that of [Domnall and Fergus] the twonbsp;� grandsons of Muredach, and of Aed, son of Ainmire � :nbsp;a little more than half a century.

The Third Order consisted of priests and a few bishops : these were �holy � [sanctus), and � shone like the stars.�

They numbered 100, all of whom lived in desert-places, refusing to possess private property, and subsisting onnbsp;herbs and water, and on the alms of the faithful. � Thesenbsp;� lived during four reigns ;* that is, the reigns of Aed

* There are discrepancies between the statement of kings and reigns in this List and the lists of kings given in the oldest and best-established

quot; Allain (who, in consequence of his evil devices, reigned quot; but three years), and of Domnall, and during the jointnbsp;quot; reigns of [Kellach and Conall] the sons of Maelcoba, andnbsp;� of Aed Slaine : and they continued to the great mortality �nbsp;(a.d. 664) : i.e., for a little less than three-quarters of anbsp;century.

This old catalogue, though a little highly coloured, after the fashion of the times, and too precise to be acceptednbsp;literally in all particulars, describes, with general correctness, three phases in the development of the early Churchnbsp;in Ireland. Put into matter-of-fact language, the historicalnbsp;statement is briefly this :�

1. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;For a little more than a century after St. Patrick�snbsp;arrival, the work of conversion was carried on by thenbsp;Patrician clergy and their successors, who were nearly allnbsp;active missionary priests. Many belonging to this ordernbsp;were foreigners.

2. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;During the latter half of the sixth century, monasteries spread rapidly over the country, and monastic clergynbsp;then and for long afterwards greatly predominated. Nearlynbsp;all belonging to this order and the third were natives.

3. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;From the end of the sixth century, for seventy ornbsp;eighty years, eremitical communities, settled in remotenbsp;and lonely places, became very general. It will be worthnbsp;while to describe these three religious developments innbsp;some detail.

During the century and a quarter following St. Patrick�s arrival, i.e., from A.D. 432 to about 559, the clergy whonbsp;laboured to spread the faith among the people appear tonbsp;have been for the most part unconnected with monasteries :nbsp;in other words, they corresponded to the present secularnbsp;authorities. On this point see Lanigan�s observations, Eccl. Hist., ii.nbsp;331, note III. A correct list of Irish kings, with dates, is given at thenbsp;end of chapter iii., supra.

or parochial clergy. But though they commonly remained in the several districts where they settled and built theirnbsp;churches, and though there was a sort of understandingnbsp;that each had charge of the people who inhabited a districtnbsp;extending some distance round his church, which the othersnbsp;took care not to encroach on, nevertheless the district overnbsp;which each exercised jurisdiction was not well defined.nbsp;Bishops, as we shall see, were appointed, not to districts,

but to tribes and monasteries. Still, as a tribe occupied anbsp;portion of the country moderately well defined, the jurisdiction of the bishop of thenbsp;tribe extended over that district, so that this tribalnbsp;arrangement contained thenbsp;germs of diocesan distribution. The exact topographical limits of the severalnbsp;dioceses were laid down fornbsp;the first time at the synod ofnbsp;Rathbrassil about the year

The Patrician clergy, as they may be called, were thenbsp;First Order of Saints. Amongnbsp;them were many distinguishednbsp;bishops, some of whom are named in the catalogue. Therenbsp;were monasteries and schools f also during the whole ofnbsp;this period, and many of the abbots were bishops : butnbsp;monasteries did not constitute the main feature of thenbsp;ecclesiastical system : for the life of St. Patrick, and, it maynbsp;be added, the life of the First Order of saints in general,nbsp;was, as Dr. Healy (p. 146) remarks, � too full of missionary

* See Lanigan, iv. 42 ; Todd, St. Patk,, 38 : Reeves, Eccl. Ant,, 126, 127 : and Adamn., 63, notes a and h. f See Dr. Healy, 66, gi, g.s, 122.

labours to be given to the government or foundation of monasteries.� During this period, therefore, the clergynbsp;devoted themselves entirely to the home mission�thenbsp;conversion of the Irish people�which gave them quitenbsp;enough to do. For more than thirty years they were lednbsp;by their great master, with all his fiery and tireless energy.nbsp;After his death, his disciples and their successors con-

tinued the work. But the struggle became a hard one : for the druids seem to have somewhat recovered thenbsp;influence they had lost during St. Patrick�s life, andnbsp;exerted themselves to the utmost to retard and limit thenbsp;spread of the faith ; and besides this, many unconvertednbsp;pagans still remained in most parts of the country.¹

Rise of Monasticism.�About the middle of the sixth century a great monastic religious movement took itsnbsp;rise, mainly from the monastery and college of Clonard,nbsp;founded by St. Finnen about the year 527.* He hadnbsp;spent many years in Wales ; and soon after his settlementnbsp;at Clonard, great numbers of disciples, attracted by hisnbsp;learning and holiness, gathered round him. Under him

were educated and trained for monastic,nbsp;and missionary worknbsp;many of the mostnbsp;illustrious fathers ofnbsp;the Irish Church, including the quot; Twelvenbsp;Apostles of Erin � rfnbsp;so that St. Finnen,nbsp;who was a bishop, isnbsp;called � a doctor ofnbsp;wisdom, and thenbsp;tutor of the saints ofnbsp;Ireland in his time �nbsp;(0�Clery, Cal., 333).nbsp;Most of his disciplesnbsp;spent some time alsonbsp;under the spiritual instruction of the holy and venerablenbsp;St. Enda in his monastery in Aranmore, who had alsonbsp;studied for a time in Wales. These men, going forthnbsp;from Clonard in all directions, founded, in imitation of

* For a full account of the foundation and work of this great college see Dr. Healy, Irel. Anc. Schools, 199.

f The � Twelve Apostles of Erin ��were :�Kieran of Saighir or Seir-kieran ; Kieran of Clonmacnoise; Columba or Columkille of Iona; Brendan of Clonfert; Brendan of Birr; Columba of Terryglass in Tipperary; Molaisse or Laserian of Devenish ; Can ice of Aghaboe; Ruadan or Eodannbsp;of Lorrha in Tipperary ; Mobi of Glasnevin ; Sinnell of Cleenish in Lough

their master Finnen, numerous monasteries, schools, and colleges, which subsequently became famous throughoutnbsp;all Europe. And now new life and vigour were infusednbsp;into the Irish missionary Church ; and the work of Patricknbsp;and his companions was carried on with renewed zeal andnbsp;wonderful success. The influence of the druids was finallynbsp;broken down, though they still lingered on, but obscurelynbsp;and feebly, for many generations. Then also arose thenbsp;zeal for preaching the Gospel in foreign lands, that gavenbsp;rise to that vast emigration of Irish missionaries andnbsp;scholars spoken of farther on. By far the greatest partnbsp;of the ecclesiastical literature of Ireland relating to thosenbsp;ages is concerned with monastic clergy, both priests andnbsp;bishops, and with their labours as missionaries, scholars,nbsp;and teachers.

Monastic Life.�The religious houses of this second class of Irish saints constituted the vast majority of thenbsp;monasteries that flourished in Ireland down to the timenbsp;of their suppression by Henry VIII. These are thenbsp;monasteries that figure so prominently in the ecclesiasticalnbsp;history of Ireland : and it will be interesting to look intonbsp;them somewhat closely and see how they were managed,nbsp;and how the monks spent their time.

The organisation of the Irish Church, and especially of monasteries, was modelled on that of society in general;nbsp;it was tribal; and the tribal customs pervaded all thenbsp;arrangements of the monastery. Bishops and priests werenbsp;attached to tribes and monasteries, having, as alreadynbsp;remarked, no well defined territorial jurisdiction. In a

Erne ; and Nenni or Nennius of Tnishmacsaint in Lough Erne. This list is given bv Todd (St. Patk., 99, note i), from the La tin Life of St. Finnen.nbsp;But the List of the Twelve Irish Apostles given in the notes on the Feilirenbsp;of Oengus in LB (Stokes, Feilire, 118), is somewhat different. The Feilirenbsp;L.ist has Finnen of Clonard, Finnen of Magh Bhile (Movilla), and Comgallnbsp;of Bangor, instead of Kieran of Seirkieran, Molaisse of Devenish, andnbsp;Sinnell of Cleenish, who are in Todd�s List. In the remaining nine thenbsp;two Lists agree.

passage in the Lebar Brecc it is stated ;�quot; In Patrick�s � Testament [it is decreed] that there be a chief bishopnbsp;� for every tribe in Ireland, to ordain ecclesiastics, tonbsp;� consecrate churches, and for the spiritual direction ofnbsp;� princes, superiors, and ordained persons.�* The headnbsp;of a monastery was both abbot and chief over the community. For spiritual direction, and for the highernbsp;spiritual functions, such as that of ordination, confirmation, consecration of churches, amp;c., a bishop was commonlynbsp;attached to every large monastery and nunnery. In allnbsp;matters concerned with discipline and with the generalnbsp;arrangements of the monastery, the abbot, in his temporalnbsp;capacity of chief, had jurisdiction over the bishop, as overnbsp;all the others : but in the spiritual capacity he was undernbsp;the authority of the bishop, who also commanded thenbsp;personal respect due to his high office. We have onenbsp;instance related by Adamnan, where St. Columkille, innbsp;Iona, humbled himself reverentially in presence of anbsp;bishop�a visitor�whom he treats as his spiritual superior, f Bede, speaking of Iona in his time, says :�� Thatnbsp;� island is governed by an abbot, who is a priest, to whosenbsp;� authority [in disciplinal matters] all the province, andnbsp;� even the bishops, are subject, after the example of theirnbsp;� first teacher [Columba], who was not a bishop, but anbsp;� priest and monk.�J But the abbot of a monastery mightnbsp;be, and often was, a bishop ; in which case no other bishopnbsp;was necessary.�

The mode of electing a successor to an abbot strongly resembled that for the election of chief. He should benbsp;chosen from the fine or family of the patron saint; if fornbsp;any reason this was impossible, then from the tribe in

I See Innes, Hist, of Scotl,, Book ii., xxxiii. ; Adamn,, i. 44 ; and Keat., 450, 451.

� The custom of having a bishop in a monastery under the authority of the abbot was not peculiar to Ireland �. see Todd, St. Path., p. 54

general; and if none were found fit in these two, one of the monks was to be elected.* One consequence of thenbsp;tribal organisation was a tendency to family successionnbsp;in ecclesiastical or semi-ecclesiastical offices, as in thenbsp;lay professions. The office of erenach, for instance, wasnbsp;hereditary in a family ; and in times of confusion�duringnbsp;the Danish disturbances�when many disciplinal abusesnbsp;crept in�the offices of bishop and abbot were kept innbsp;the same family for generations. Nay, even laymen often

succeeded to both ; but this was in the capacity of chief; and they sometimes had the tonsure of the minor orders,nbsp;so that they got the name of clerics, which they reallynbsp;were not.t But such men had properly ordained personsnbsp;to discharge the spiritual functions.

* Stokes, Trip. Life, 339 (Feth Fio) ; Br. Laws, m, 73. 75. t Cambrensis, Top. Hib,, in. xxvi.

The monastic discipline* was very strict, turning on the one cardinal principle ot instant and unquestioningnbsp;obedience. Each of the most distinguished founders drewnbsp;up a � Rule � for his own monastery and for all thosenbsp;founded by him, or under his authority as head :�a setnbsp;of regulations as to devotions, food, time for retiring andnbsp;rising, occupations, and so forth, which were strictlynbsp;followed in daily life. Every monastery followed somenbsp;Rule, whether drawn up by its own head or adopted.nbsp;Several of these Rules have come down to us, and givenbsp;an excellent idea of the austere conditions under whichnbsp;those old monks lived. In some monasteries the Rulenbsp;prohibited them from going beyond the outer Hss ornbsp;enclosing wall udthout special leave, t

There was to be no idleness: everyone was to be engaged, at all available times, in some useful work ; anbsp;regulation which appears everywhere in our ecclesiasticalnbsp;history ; and concerning which numerous references mightnbsp;be given. This love of work is well illustrated in the legendnbsp;that St. Mailman of Tallaght never heard the confessionnbsp;of any man who did not support himself by labour. J Thenbsp;great anxiety of the communities was to support themselves by the work of their hands, so as to depend as littlenbsp;as possible on the charity of others :� and this laudablenbsp;custom was followed not only at home, but also on thenbsp;Continent by those emigrant Irish monks who foundednbsp;monasteries there. We read in the Bollandists|l aboutnbsp;seven brothers who went from Ireland to Gaul in the sixthnbsp;century � on a pilgrimage for the love of Christ.� Theynbsp;settled near the river Marne : and the old biographer goesnbsp;on to state :�� They did not live merely on the charity of

* On discipline see Adamn., 343 : Dr. Healy, 150 : and Lanigan, IV. 348, 349, 354, 357, 360.

t For Monastic Rules see O�Curry, MS. Mat., 373 : and for a particular one. Reeves, Culdees.

are commonly known as ceno-bitical establishments : i. e. thenbsp;inmates lived,nbsp;studied, andnbsp;worked in society and companionship, andnbsp;had all things innbsp;common : andnbsp;they attendednbsp;Mass and othernbsp;devotions as anbsp;congregation innbsp;the church of thenbsp;monastery. Innbsp;sleeping accom-m odation therenbsp;was muchnbsp;variety; in somenbsp;monasteries each monk having a sleeping-cell for himself;nbsp;in others three or four in one cell. In some they slept onnbsp;the bare earth : in others they used a skin, laid perhapsnbsp;on a little straw or rushes. Their food was prepared innbsp;one large kitchen by some of their own members speciallynbsp;skilled in cookery; and they took their meals in one

On this see also Dr. Healy, 155: Reeves, Eccl. Ant., 130-195: arnl Adamn., 363, top.

common refectory. The fare, both eating and drinking, was always simple, and generally scanty, poor and uninviting ; and the fasts were frequent and severe ; but onnbsp;Sundays and festival days, and on occasions when distinguished persons visited, whom the abbot wished tonbsp;honour, more generous food and drink were allowed.

When the founder of a monastery had determined on the neighbourhood in which to settle, and had fixed on thenbsp;site for his establishment, he brought together those whonbsp;had agreed to become his disciples and companions, andnbsp;they set about preparing the place for residence. Theynbsp;did all the work with their own hands, seeking no helpnbsp;from outside. While some levelled and fenced-in thenbsp;ground, others cut down, in the surrounding woods, timbernbsp;for the houses or for the church, dragging the great logsnbsp;along, or bringing home on their backs bundles of wattlesnbsp;and twigs for the wickerwork walls. Even the leadersnbsp;claimed no exemption, but often worked manfully with axenbsp;and spade like the rest. When St. Patrick was journeyingnbsp;through Connaught, one of his disciples, Bishop Olcan,nbsp;wishing to found a church for himself, and having obtainednbsp;his master�s sanction, � went forth with his axe on hisnbsp;shoulder,� ready to begin his work with his own hands.*

Every important function of the monastery was in charge of some particular monk, who superintended ifnbsp;several persons were required for the duty, or did thenbsp;work himself if only one was needed. These personsnbsp;were nominated by the abbot, and held their positionsnbsp;permanently for the time.. In an ancient ms., quoted bynbsp;Stokes we read ;�� For Enda�s honourable school [in thenbsp;� island of Aran] Mochuda did the fishing, Ciaran had thenbsp;quot; drying of corn, and Ailbe the bell-ringing and door-� keeping.�! Over the general daily arrangements presided an officer, called in Irish fer-tighis (� man of thenbsp;house �), and in Latin commonly known as the oeconomus.

He was a sort of house-steward, quot; whose duty was to look � after the domestic or internal affairs of the monastery, tonbsp;� see that the house was supplied with fuel and all othernbsp;� necessaries.�* This arrangement, it will be observed,nbsp;was nearly identical with the institution of rechiaire innbsp;great lay houses (p. 64, supra).

There was a tract of land attached to almost every monastery, granted to the original founder by the kingnbsp;or local lord, and usually increased by subsequent grants :nbsp;so that agriculture formed one of the chief employments.nbsp;This industry was introduced with Christianity, even bynbsp;St. Patrick himself. We read in the Tripartite Life (p. 237)nbsp;that on one occasion, Patrick�s Munter, or household, werenbsp;reaping corn on a farm they had made, i.e. fenced in andnbsp;reclaimed, at a place called Trian Conchobair, near Armagh;nbsp;and that they became very thirsty; whereupon the saintnbsp;sent them a vat {drolmach) of whey-water. We gather too,nbsp;from the same passage, that they worked on this farmnbsp;from tierce to vespers, i.e. from about 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., andnbsp;taking this along with the suffering from thirst, and thenbsp;various other duties they had to perform, we see that theynbsp;were at real work�not mere recreation.

When returning from work in the evening, the monks brought home on their backs whatever things were needednbsp;in the household for that night and next day. Milk wasnbsp;often brought in this manner in a vessel specially made fornbsp;the purpose ; and it was the custom�a very pleasing one�nbsp;to bring the vessel straight to the abbot, that he mightnbsp;bless the milk before use.f In this field-work the abbotnbsp;bore a part in several monasteries : and we sometimes readnbsp;of men, now famous in Irish Church history�abbots andnbsp;bishops in their time�putting in a hard day�s work atnbsp;the plough. The younger monks worked more than thenbsp;others ; and hence the word scol�g [skulloge], which literally

signifies a � scholar,� or learner (from scol, � a school �), has come down to our time to denote a small farmer whonbsp;works his own land.¹ The effects of the monks� superiornbsp;tillage are seen in many places to this day, where roundnbsp;the monastic ruins there is an extent of rich land, muchnbsp;superior to that lying beyond.f Those who had beennbsp;tradesmen before entering were put to their own specialnbsp;work for the use of community and guests. Some groundnbsp;the corn with a quern or in the mill; some made andnbsp;mended clothes ; some worked in the smith�s forge or innbsp;the carpenter�s workshop ; while others baked the breadnbsp;or cooked the meals.|

Attached to every cenobitical monastery was a tech-�iged, � guest-house,� or hospice {tech, � a house � ; �igi, � a guest � ; modern form aoidheadh�pron. ee-a) for thenbsp;reception of travellers, generally placed a little apart fromnbsp;the monks� cells ; an institution as old as the time of St.nbsp;Patrick. Some of the inmates were told off for this dutjgnbsp;whose business it was to receive the stranger, take off hisnbsp;shoes, wash his feet in warm water, � and prepare suppernbsp;and bed for him. Hospitality was enjoined, not only asnbsp;a social virtue, but as a religious obligation. � Receptionnbsp;of strangers ��says the Brehon Law (v. 121, 27)�� isnbsp;incumbent on every servant of the church � ; and in annbsp;ancient Irish sermon on Doomsday, we read ;�� The Lordnbsp;� will say to the just, � I was in need of a guest-house {tech-�� aiged) and ye gave me hospitality.� �|| Adamnan (p. 27)nbsp;records that once, when St. Columba expected a guest atnbsp;Iona, he told the brethren to prepare the hospitium (thenbsp;Latin equivalent of iech-�iged), and to have water readynbsp;to wash the stranger�s feet. St. Ciaran of Clonmacnoisenbsp;visits Saigir (now Seirkieran, in King�s County), onnbsp;whose arrival the other Ciaran, abbot of Saigir, says to

t See Kilk. Arch. Journ., 1899, p. 229 nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� Stokes, Lives of SS., 150, par. 52.

him apologetically (the fire having been unexpectedly put out):��The first thing ye [i.e. the guest and hisnbsp;�companions] need*is water to wash your feet, but justnbsp;� now we have no means of heating water for you.�*nbsp;Mac Conglinne (p. to), grumbling at the inhospitable

treatment he received in Cork monastery, complains, as a great grievance, that on his arrival no one came to thenbsp;guest-house to wash his feet, so that he had to wash themnbsp;himself

Three days and three nights seem to have been the regular time for which guests were to be entertained free,

beyond which there was no further obligation, and the hosts were free to entertain or not: just as we find amongnbsp;the Jews :�� Now in those places were possessions of thenbsp;chief man of the island [Melita], named Publius, whonbsp;receiving us, for three days entertained us courteously �nbsp;(Acts xxviii. 7). This custom obtained in lay as well asnbsp;in monastic life ; and both in the Irish Tales and in thenbsp;Lives of the Saints, entertainment for three days andnbsp;three nights is so constantly mentioned as to rendernbsp;reference to instances unnecessary.

There was a guest-house also attached to the principal nunneries, with a man-servant to attend. .A chief namednbsp;Coirpre, or Carbery, arriving at St. Brigit�s Convent innbsp;Kildare, was brought to the guest-house [tech-�iged).nbsp;Brigit asked the timthirig (� man-servant �) who it wasnbsp;that had arrived. � Just one young man,� said the servant.nbsp;� Look again,� said Brigit. Then he went and lookednbsp;more closely; and he now saw that the stranger had anbsp;little babe clasped in his bosom. Brigit baptised thenbsp;child, who afterwards became the illustrious St. Tigernachnbsp;of Clones.* In the houses of chiefs and other lay personsnbsp;who could afford it there was also a tech-�iged, generallynbsp;one large apartment, kept specially for the reception ofnbsp;travellers, as we find mentioned in many passages of ournbsp;old writings : and here also the custom was followed ofnbsp;washing the stranger�s feet; which was ofi'en done by anbsp;handmaid, t

In those early times there were in every part of the country monasteries, convents, and hostels or houses ofnbsp;public hospitality (for which last see vol. ii. p. 166) : sonbsp;that travellers were very well off in the matter of shelternbsp;and entertainment: much better off indeed in one respectnbsp;than we are now : for we have to pay pretty smartly fornbsp;the hospitality shown us, while they had everything free.nbsp;After the time of the Anglo-Norman Invasion, however.

the hostels became fewer and gradually disappeared ; and then the monasteries were the only houses of hospitality,nbsp;with the exception of the dwellings of those chiefs whonbsp;kept up the old custom. That the monasteries continuednbsp;to discharge this most excellent function, as well as that ofnbsp;education, as zealously as ever, down to the time of theirnbsp;suppression, we have many evidences both in nativenbsp;writing and in the government state papers ; of which onenbsp;will be sufficient. When Henry VIII.�s order for suppression was issued, the Irish lord deputy (Lord Leonard Gray)nbsp;and the Dublin council petitioned the king in 1539 tonbsp;exempt six from the order;�St. Mary�s Abbey and Christnbsp;Church, both in Dublin ; the Nunnery of Grace Dieu nearnbsp;Swords ; Great Connell in Kildare (near Kilcullen) ; andnbsp;Kells and Jerpoint, both in the County Kilkenny. Andnbsp;they give their reasons, which show the almost incrediblenbsp;sacrifices made by the monasteries and nunneries tonbsp;entertain their guests ��

� For in those houses commonly, and othev such like, in defaute of comen innes, which are not in this land, the King�s Deputie, andnbsp;all other his Grace�s Counsaell and Officers, also Irishmen, and othersnbsp;resorting to the Kinge�s Deputie in ther quarters, is and hath beennbsp;most coinenlie loged at the costes of the said houses. Also in themnbsp;yonge men and childer, both gentlemen childer and others, both mannbsp;kynd and women kynd, be brought up in vertue, lernyng, and in thenbsp;English tongue and behavior, to the great charges of said houses; thatnbsp;is to say, the women kynd of the hole Englishrie of this land, for thenbsp;more part in the said Nunrie [Grace Dieu], and the man kynd in thenbsp;other said houses. Also at every hosting, rode, and jorney, the saidnbsp;houses in ther [own] propre costes fyndethe [entertainment for] asnbsp;many men of warr, as they are apoynted by the Kinge�s Deputie andnbsp;Counsaell for the same.�

In the educational establishments, teaching afforded abundant employment to the scholarly members of thenbsp;community. Others again worked at copying and multiplying books for the library, or for presentation outside ;nbsp;and to the industry of these scribes we owe the chief partnbsp;of the ancient Irish lore, and other learning, that has beennbsp;preserved to us. St. Columkille devoted every momentnbsp;of his spare time to this work, writing in a little woodennbsp;hut that he had erected for his use at Iona, of whichnbsp;there are many incidental notices by Adamnan and othernbsp;biographers. It is recorded that he wrote with his ownnbsp;hand three hundred copies of the New Testament, whichnbsp;he presented to the various churches he had founded.nbsp;Some spent their time in ornamenting and illuminatingnbsp;books�generally of a religious character, such as copiesnbsp;of portions of Scripture : and these men produced thenbsp;wonderful penwork of the Book of Kells and other suchnbsp;manuscripts.* Others were skilled metal-workers, andnbsp;made crosiers, crosses, bells, brooches, and other articles,nbsp;of which many are preserved to this day, that show thenbsp;surpassing taste and skill of the artists. But this wasnbsp;not peculiar to Irish monks, for those of other countriesnbsp;worked similarly. The great St. Dunstan, we know, wasnbsp;an excellent artist in metal-work. Some of the Irishnbsp;monks too were skilled in simple herb remedies, and thenbsp;poor people around often came to them for advice andnbsp;medicine in sickness. When a monastery was situatednbsp;on the bank of a large river where there was no bridge,nbsp;the monks kept a curragh ready to ferry travellers across,nbsp;free of charge.|

Giraldus Cambrensis, in his Topography of Ireland (II. xxxiv.), gives us an account of St. Brigit�s perpetualnbsp;tire at Kildare � Among those [wonderful things], the

* For an interesting account by Dr. Reeves of the work of one Irish scribe, Muiredach Mac Robhartaigh, who died 1088, see Proc. Roy. Ir.nbsp;Acad., VII. 293.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;t Dr. Hcaly, Irel. Anc. Schools, 427.

� first to be noticed is the fire of St. Brigit, which i.s � called the inextinguishable fire. Not that it cannot benbsp;� extinguished, but the nuns and holy women watch itnbsp;� and supply fuel so carefully that from the time of thatnbsp;� virgin it has continued to burn through a long course of

� years � [more than six centuries and a half]. After the time of Giraldus it was kept up till Henry de Londres,nbsp;the English Archbishop of Dublin, disregarding the localnbsp;devotional feeling, put it out in 1220: but it was soonnbsp;after relighted, and continued to burn till the final suppression of the monasteries by Henry VIII.** This custom

was not peculiar to Kildare, but was pretty general in Ireland : for we find in the native records accounts ofnbsp;perpetual fires kept up in several monasteries, in each ofnbsp;which a small church or oratory was set apart for thenbsp;purpose : as, for instance, at Seirkieran, Kilmainham, andnbsp;Inishmurray.*

Besides the various employments noticed in the preceding pages, the inmates had their devotions to attend to, which were frequent, and often long: and in mostnbsp;monasteries they had to rise at the sound of the bell innbsp;the middle of the night, and go to the adjacent church tonbsp;prayers. Going to bed and rising were, however, verynbsp;simple matters : the monks merely lay down in their daynbsp;clothes�except the outer coat�on their hard and comfortless sleeping-places, so as to be prepared to rise thenbsp;moment the bell struck, as some orders of the regularnbsp;clergy do at the present day.

Conversion of England and Northern Scotland.� Towards the end of the sixth century the great body ofnbsp;the Irish were Christians, so that the holy men of Irelandnbsp;turned their attention to the conversion of other people.nbsp;Then arose�almost suddenly�an extraordinary zeal fornbsp;spreading the Gospel in foreign lands : and hundreds ofnbsp;devoted and determined missionaries left our shores. Bynbsp;a curious custom, not found elsewhere, each chief missionary going abroad brought with him twelve companions,nbsp;probably in imitation of the twelve apostles, of which thenbsp;reader may see many examples in Lynch�s Cambrensisnbsp;Eversus, chap, xxv., and in Reeves�s Adamnan, 299. Butnbsp;sometimes they went in much larger bodies.

On every side we meet with evidences of the activity of the Irish in Great Britain. Northern and western Scotland were evangelised by St. Columba and his monks fromnbsp;Iona, and the whole western coasts of England and Wales

* See Stokes�s Lives of SS., 277, 358 : Kilk. Arch. Journ., 1879, p. 51, and 1885, pp- -^5-229 ; O�Grady, Silva Gad., 15, 16, 41.

abound in memorials of Irish missionaries.¹ ^{2 3 4} Numbers of the most illustrious of the Irish saints studied and taughtnbsp;in the monastery of St. David in Wales ; St. Dunstan wasnbsp;educated by Irish monks in Glastonbury, as his biographer,nbsp;William of Malmesbury, testifies ; and there is good reasonnbsp;to believe that Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, one of the mostnbsp;illustrious of the saints of Britain, was a native of Ireland.nbsp;Lanigan, in his Ecclesiastical History (ii. 17.^1), writes ;�

� Those [early Saxon] converts were not indebted for their faith to Augustine, or the other Roman missionaries, who had not yet \i.e.nbsp;at the time mentioned] arrived in Great Britain, nor to British preachers;nbsp;whereas the Britons, as Gildas and Bede have complained, added tonbsp;their other crimes the horrid sin of neglecting to announce the Gospelnbsp;to the Anglo-Saxons, f On the contrary, the Irish clergy and monksnbsp;undertook the duty as soon as a fit opportunity occurred, and havenbsp;been on that account praised by Bede. It can scarcely be doubtednbsp;that they were the instruments used by the Almighty for the conversion of those early Anglo-Saxon Christians in Columba�s time ; andnbsp;that, with regard to a part of that nation, thej^ got the start of the Romannbsp;missionaries in the blessed work of bringing them over to the Christiannbsp;faith.�

It is now admitted that England owes its conversion to Irish missionaries�partly from Iona and partly fromnbsp;the mother country�more than to Augustine and thenbsp;Roman monks. � St. Augustine arrived in England innbsp;507 ��writes Bishop Reeves];�� and Paulinus was ornbsp;quot; dained archbishop of the Northumbrians in 625 : butnbsp;� Christianity made little way in the province till Aidannbsp;� began his labours in Lindisfarne in 634.� St. Aidan wasnbsp;an Irishman, descended from the same kingly race as St.nbsp;Brigit ;� he was educated at home, and. like so many ofnbsp;his countrymen, entered the monastery of Iona. Afternbsp;some time, he was commissioned by the abbot and monks

to preach to the Northumbrian Saxons, at the request of their good king Oswald that a missionary might be sent,nbsp;this king being himself a zealous Christian who had

spent some years in exile in Ireland, where he had been converted and received his education. Aidan, who hadnbsp;been consecrated a bishop, chose as his place of residence

the little island of Lindisfarne, where he founded the monastery that became so illustrious in after-ages. Fornbsp;thirty years�634 to 664�this monastery was governednbsp;by him and by two other Irish bishops, Finan and Colman,nbsp;in succession. Aidan, assisted by a number of his fellow-coimtrymen, laboured zealously, and with wonderful success, among the rugged Northumbrian pagans. � Manynbsp;of the Scots ��writes Bede¹ ^{2 3 4}�� came daily into Britain,nbsp;quot; and with great devotion preached the Word to thosenbsp;� provinces of the English over which King Oswaldnbsp;� reigned.� These earnest men had the hearty cooperation and support of the king, of which Bede hasnbsp;given an interesting illustration in a passage where henbsp;tells us that as Aidan, on his arrival in Northumbria, wasnbsp;only imperfectly acquainted with the language. Kingnbsp;Oswald, who had learned the Irish tongue while in Ireland, often acted as his interpreter to the people, f

quot; Forty-eight years after Augustine and his Roman monks landed on the shores of pagan England, an Anglo-Saxon prince [Oswald] invoked the aid of the monks of Iona in the conversion of the Saxons ofnbsp;the north, . . . The spiritual conquest of the island [Britain], abandonednbsp;for a time by the Roman missionaries, was now about to be taken upnbsp;by the Celtic monks. The Italians [under Augustine] bad made thenbsp;first step,]; and the Irish now appeared to resume the uncompletednbsp;work. What the sons of St. Benedict could only begin, was to be completed by the sons of St, Columba.��

A recent distinguished writer belonging to the Anglican Church, Dr. Lightfoot, bishop of Durham, is even morenbsp;explicit on this point. Having remarked that Iona wasnbsp;the cradle of English Christianity, he quotes Montalembert

X But see Lanigan�s observations, p. 337, supra : the monks from Ireland were beforehand with St. Augustine.

as saying :�� Of the eight kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon quot; Confederation, that of Kent alone was exclusively wonnbsp;� and retained by the Roman monks.� The following arenbsp;the words of Dr. Lightfoot himself, speaking of Aidan ;�

� Though nearly forty years had elapsed since Augustine�s first landing in England, Christianity was still confined to its first conquest,nbsp;the south-east corner of the island, the kingdom of Kent. . . . Thennbsp;commenced those thirty years of earnest energetic labour, carried onnbsp;by those Celtic missionaries and their disciples, from Lindisfarne as theirnbsp;spiritual citadel, which ended in the submission of England to the gentlenbsp;yoke of Christ � (Lightfoot, quot; Leaders in the Northern Church,� 1890,nbsp;p. q). Again (p. ii) he claims � for Aidan the first place in the evangelisation of our race. Augustine was the apostle of Kent, but Aidannbsp;was the apostle of England.�¹

In the early Christian ages, communication with Rome from Ireland was always difficult and tedious : for generations indeed it was almost impossible, on account of thenbsp;disturbed state of the intervening countries, caused by thenbsp;irruptions of the northern hordes, who formed'an impassable barrier between the western islands and Italy.nbsp;Accordingly, information regarding alterations in dis-ciplinal matters made from time to time by the authorities in Rome took long to reach these islands: andnbsp;when tidings of them did come, their genuineness, or thenbsp;duty of complying with them, was often open to question.nbsp;Yet during all this time, it is interesting to observe withnbsp;what unfailing, and, as it were, instinctive reverence, thenbsp;Irish�as well indeed as the British�Christians lookednbsp;to Rome as the centre of authority. During the sixth,nbsp;seventh, and succeeding centuries, Irish pilgrims�bothnbsp;lay and clerical�were constantly going to Rome, as wenbsp;know by the testimony, not only of native records, but

Bede (Eccl. Hist., Book in., chap, v.) gives an interesting and sympathetic sketch of Aidan : and in several parts of his History mentions him in terms of the utmost admiration and reverence. See Cardinalnbsp;Moran�s sketch of Aidan in Trans. Ossory Arch. Soc., i. 455 : and Lanigannbsp;n. 416, 424.

also of many foreign writers. Ricemarsh, bishop of St. David�s in the tenth century, in his Life of St. David,nbsp;speaks of quot; the inextinguishable desire of the Irish [of thenbsp;� early centuries] to visit the relics of the apostles St. Peternbsp;� and St. Paul � [at Rome].* In one of the canonical decreesnbsp;attributed to St. Patrick, or, if not by him, issued by thenbsp;Irish bishops soon after his time, a direction is given thatnbsp;when any difficult religious question arose in Ireland,nbsp;which could not be settled at home, it should be referrednbsp;to the chair of St. Peter.f There is at least one interesting instance where this was actually done : namely,nbsp;during the time of the dispute about celebrating Easter,nbsp;when the Irish method differed from that of Rome (pp. 387,nbsp;388, infra). About the year 630 some wise and learnednbsp;men were sent by the Irish ecclesiastical authorities tonbsp;Rome � as children to their mother ��says the oldnbsp;record�to ascertain for a certainty what the practicenbsp;was there. After an absence of three years they returnednbsp;and declared that the Roman custom was followed bynbsp;the whole world, and that the Irish custom was wrong.nbsp;On this the people of the southern half of Ireland adoptednbsp;the Roman method ; but those of Iona and the north ofnbsp;Ireland clung for some time longer to their old custom,nbsp;having received no authoritative decree in the matter.

Missions to Foreign Lands.�Whole crowds of ardent and learned Irishmen travelled to the Continent, in thenbsp;sixth, seventh, and succeeding centuries, spreadingnbsp;Christianity and secular knowledge everywhere amongnbsp;the people. � What,� says Eric of Auxerre (ninthnbsp;century), in a letter to Charles the Bald, � what shall I

* On Irish pilgrimages to Rome, see Wattenbach in Ulst. Journ, Archaeol., vii., 238 and 242. This stream of pilgrims to Rome continuednbsp;uninterruptedly for many centuries. In the year 1064, Brian Boru�s sonnbsp;Donogh, king of Munster, and quot; king of Ireland with opposition.quot; wasnbsp;deposed ; and, taking a pilgrim's staff, he fared to Rome, where henbsp;laid'his crown at the feet of the pope. Here he died very penitently innbsp;the monastery of St. Stephen the Martyr (FM, a.d. 1064).

� say of Ireland, who, despising the dangers of the deep, � is migrating with almost her whole train of philosophersnbsp;� to our coasts ? �* �A characteristic still more distinctivenbsp;� of the Irish monks ��writes Montalembertf�quot; as of allnbsp;� their nation, was the imperious necessity of spreadingnbsp;� themselves without, of seeking or carrying knowledgenbsp;� and faith afar, and of penetrating into the more distant

� regions to watch or combat paganism � ; and a little further on he speaks of their � passion for pilgrimage andnbsp;preaching.� � Not England or Scotland only ��writesnbsp;Dr. Lightfoot (p. 7)�� but large parts of the Continentnbsp;� also were Christianised by those Irish missionaries,nbsp;� either from their adopted home in Iona, or from theirnbsp;� mother country.�

For our knowledge of those noble and devoted missionaries, we are indebted almost wholly to foreignnbsp;sources : for once they left their own country, the nativenbsp;Irish annalists made no record of them, except in a verynbsp;few cases.* These men, on their first appearance on thenbsp;Continent, caused much surprise, they were so startlinglynbsp;different from those preachers the people had beennbsp;accustomed to. They generally�as we have said�wentnbsp;in companies. They wore a coarse outer woollen garment, in colour as it came from the fleece, and undernbsp;this a white tunic of finer stuff. They were tonsurednbsp;bare on the front of the head, while the long hair behindnbsp;flowed down on the back ; and the eyelids were paintednbsp;or stained black. Each had a long, stout cambutta, ornbsp;walking-stick ; and slung from the shoulder a leathernnbsp;bottle for water, and a wallet containing his greatestnbsp;treasure�a book or two and some relics. They spoke anbsp;strange language among themselves, used Latin to thosenbsp;who understood it, and made use of an interpreter whennbsp;preaching. But when they settled down for any lengthnbsp;of time, they learned and used the native dialect; as,nbsp;for instance, St. Gallus, the patron saint of St. Gall innbsp;Switzerland. For writing purposes, they used pugillare';,nbsp;or waxed tablets (Irish polaire, for which see p. 482,nbsp;below).

Few people have any idea of the trials and dangers they encountered. Most of them were persons in goodnbsp;position, who might have lived in plenty and comfort atnbsp;home. They knew well, when setting out, that they werenbsp;leaving country and friends probably for ever ; for of thosenbsp;that went, very few returned. Once on the Continent,nbsp;they had to make their way, poor and friendless, throughnbsp;people whose langauge they did not understand, and whonbsp;were in many places ten times more rude and dangerous

* The reasons for this will be found fully set forth by Dr. Reeves in Proc. Roy. Ir. Acad., vil., p. 290.

in those ages than the inhabitants of these islands : and we know, as a matter of history, that many were killednbsp;on the way. Yet these stout-hearted pilgrims, lookingnbsp;only to the service of their Master, never flinched. Theynbsp;were confident, cheerful, and self-helpful, faced privationnbsp;with indifference, caring nothing for luxuries ; and whennbsp;other provisions failed them, they gathered wild fruit,nbsp;trapped animals, and fished, with great dexterity andnbsp;with any sort of next-to-hand rude appliances. Theynbsp;were rough and somewhat uncouth in outward appearance : but beneath all that they had solid sense andnbsp;much learning. Their simple ways, their unmistakablenbsp;piety, and their intense earnestness in the cause of religionnbsp;caught the people everywhere, so that they made converts in crowds.¹

Irish professors and teachers were in those times held in such estimation that they were employed in most ofnbsp;the schools and colleges of Great Britain, France,nbsp;Germany, and Italy. The revival of learning on thenbsp;Continent was indeed due in no small degree to thosenbsp;Irish missionaries; and the investigations of scholarsnbsp;among the continental libraries are every year bringingnbsp;to light new proofs of their industry and zeal for thenbsp;advancement of religion and learning. To this day, innbsp;many towns of France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy,nbsp;Irishmen are venerated as patron saints. Nay, theynbsp;found their way even to Iceland ; for we have the bestnbsp;authority for the statement that when the Norwegians firstnbsp;arrived at that island, they found there Irish books, bells,nbsp;crosiers, and other traces of Irish missionaries, whom thenbsp;Norwegians called Pafas.'\ But the most interesting andnbsp;decisive notice of the connexion of the Irish with Iceland

Much of this is condensed from the Essays of two learned Germans, Dr. Wattenbach and Dr. Ferdinand Keller, translated and annotated bynbsp;Dr. Reeves in, Ulst. Journ. Arch,, vii. and viii. See also Miss Stokes,nbsp;Early Christian Art, 34, 35,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f Moore, Hist, of Ireland, ii. pp. 3, 4.

is by the Irish geographer Dicuil, in his work De mensura provinciarum orbis terra;, where�vmting in 825�he statesnbsp;that about thirty years previously {i.e. in 795) he was toldnbsp;by some Irish ecclesiastics who had sojourned in Icelandnbsp;from February to August, that in midsummer the sunnbsp;hardly sets there, so that people have sufficient light tonbsp;transact their ordinary business all night through.¹nbsp;Europe was too small for their missionary enterprise.nbsp;We find a distinguished Irish monk named Augustin innbsp;Carthage in Africa, in the seventh century ; and a learnednbsp;treatise by him, written in very elegant. Latin, on thenbsp;� Wonderful things of the Sacred Scripture,� is still extant,nbsp;and has been published. During his time, also, two othernbsp;Irish monks named Baetan and Mainchine laboured innbsp;Carthage. There were settlements of Irish monks also innbsp;the Faroe and Shetland Islands.f

All over the Continent we find evidences of the zeal and activity of Irish missionaries. Twelve centuries after thisnbsp;host of good men had received the reward they earned sonbsp;well, an Irish pilgrim of our own day�Miss Margaretnbsp;Stokes�traversed a large part of the scene of their laboursnbsp;in Southern Europe, in a loving and reverential searchnbsp;for relics and memorials of them : and how well shenbsp;succeeded, how numerous were the vestiges she found�nbsp;abbeys, churches, oratories, hermitages, caves, crosses,nbsp;altars, tombs, holy wells, baptismal fonts, bells, shrines,nbsp;and crosiers, beautiful illuminated manuscripts in their verynbsp;handwriting, place-names, passages in the literatures ofnbsp;many languages�all with their living memories, legendsnbsp;and traditions still clustering round them � she hasnbsp;recorded in her two charming books, � Six Months innbsp;the Apennines,� and � Three Months in the Eorests of

For Dicuil see Reeves, Ulst. Journ. Arch, vii., 231, note y; Lanigan, iii. 225 to 228 : Ware, Irish Writers at Dicuil: Hyde, Lit.nbsp;Hist., 222 ; Johnston, Landnama Boc, cited by Lanigan, ni. 27.6.nbsp;f Reeves, on Augustin, Proc. Roy. Ir. Acad., vii. 514.

� The Irish passion for pilgrimage and preaching � never died out: it is characteristic of the race. This greatnbsp;missionary emigration to foreign lands has continued in anbsp;measure down to our own day : for it may be safely

asserted that no other missionaries are playing so general and successful a part in the conversion of the pagan peoplenbsp;all over the world, and in keeping alight the lamp ofnbsp;religion among Christians, as those of Ireland. Take upnbsp;any foreign ecclesiastical directory, or glance through anynbsp;newspaper account of religious meetings or ceremonies, or

See also Paper by Miss Stokes in Kilk. Arch. Journ., 1870-71, p, 352, for specimens of Irish art now in Bavaria, taken from a Paper by Watten-bach.

bold missionary enterprises in foreign lands; or look through the names of the governing bodies of Universities, Colleges, and Monasteries, in America, Asia,nbsp;Australia, New Zealand�all over the world�and yournbsp;eye is sure to light on cardinals, archbishops, bishops,nbsp;priests, principals, professors, teachers, with such names asnbsp;Moran, O�Reilly, O�Donnell, MacCarthy, Murphy, Walsh,nbsp;Fleming, Fitzgerald, Corrigan, O�Gorman, Byrne, and

scores of such-like, telling unmistakably of their Irish origin, and proving that the Irish race of the present daynbsp;may compare not unfavourably in missionary zeal withnbsp;those of the times of old. As the sons of Patrick, Finnen,nbsp;and Columkille took a leading part in converting thenbsp;people of Britain and the Continent, so it would seem tonbsp;be destined that the ultimate universal adoption ofnbsp;Christianity should be mainly due to the agency ofnbsp;Irish missionaries.

Although the monasteries of the second order were, as W'e have seen, cenobitical (p. 327, supra), nevertheless, duringnbsp;the whole of this period, and indeed from the time of St.nbsp;Patrick, individuals often chose a solitary life, withdrawingnbsp;themselves from all companionship with their fellows, andnbsp;passing their time, as hermits, in prayer and contemplation.nbsp;For it was considered that a life of solitude afforded annbsp;opportunity of more perfect union with God. A characteristic example was St. Domangart or Donard, one of St.nbsp;Patrick�s disciples, who built his little hermitage of stonenbsp;on the very summit of Slieve Donard, the highest peak ofnbsp;the Mourne Mountains ; and in this awful solitude he livednbsp;and communed with God for many years. And the namenbsp;of the mountain keeps his memory fresh to this day.

Sometimes an individual took up his abode near the monastery, still retaining his connexion with it : othersnbsp;left it for good, and went to some out-of-the-way place at anbsp;distance. Each had a little cel], commonly put up by hisnbsp;own hands, in which he spent his life, meditating andnbsp;praying, sleeping on the bare earthen floor, and living onnbsp;herbs and water, or on an occasional alms from somenbsp;visitor. These cells were sometimes of stone�what wenbsp;now call a clochan, a beehive-shaped hut, of which manynbsp;examples still remain. We have numerous notices ofnbsp;individual hermits during the period of the Second Ordernbsp;of Saints. Adamnan tells us that, in the time of St.nbsp;Columba, who was himself one of the Second Order, anbsp;certain monk named Finan � led the life of an anchoritenbsp;blamelessly for many years near the monastery ofnbsp;Durrow.�*

The spot where an anchorite lived was often called by the Irish name Disert, meaning an unfrequented place,

a hermitage, a word borrowed from Latin desertum. So general was this custom that there are more than a scorenbsp;places in Ireland still called, either wholly or partly, by thisnbsp;name Disert or Desert. And these represent only a smallnbsp;proportion of the hermitages of those times. It oftennbsp;happened that a disert was kept up near a monastery,nbsp;either for the use of those of the community who wishednbsp;to retire for a time into solitude, or for any devotee whonbsp;chose to take up his temporary abode in it. Sometimes

the abbot himself, when he could be spared from the monastery, retired to the disert to commune more closelynbsp;with God.*

Not unfrequently those bent on hermit life embarked in a currach to find some desert island where they mightnbsp;stay for ever unknown. Adamnan (ll. xlii) tells us that,nbsp;in the time of Columba, Cormac Ua Liathain sailed outnbsp;on the western ocean three several times to find a desertnbsp;island on which to settle, but failed each time : and onnbsp;one of these occasions he reached the Orkneys. Adamnan

(i. xx) mentions another voyage for a similar purpose, undertaken by a monk named Baithen. As an examplenbsp;of the all but inaccessible places these men ventured onnbsp;and lived in, may be mentioned Bishop�s Island nearnbsp;Kilkee, a sea-rock, surrounded by sheer cliffs 200 feetnbsp;high, where, to this day, can be plainly seen from thenbsp;adjacent mainland the remains of two primitive clochans,nbsp;in which one or more of those hermits lived in the oldennbsp;time. But the history of the settlement on this island isnbsp;totally lost.*

�While, as we have seen, there were individual hermits from the very beginning, the desire for eremitical lifenbsp;became very general about the end of the sixth century.nbsp;Then not only individuals, but whole communities ofnbsp;monks, sought a solitary life. The leader of a colony ofnbsp;intended recluses went with his followers to some remotenbsp;place, in a deep valley surrounded by mountains, forests,nbsp;and bogs, or on some almost inaccessible little island,nbsp;where they took up their abode. Each man built a cellnbsp;for himself : and these cells, with a little church in thenbsp;midst, all surrounded by a low cashel, rath, or wall, formednbsp;an eremitical monastery : a monastic group like thosenbsp;known in the east by the name of � Laura.quot; Each monknbsp;passed the greater part of his life in his own cell, holdingnbsp;little or no communication with his fellows, except onlynbsp;at stated times in the day or night, when all assembled innbsp;the church for common worship, or in the refectory fornbsp;meals. They cultivated a vegetable garden for food : andnbsp;it must often have gone hard with them to support life.nbsp;The remains of these little monasteries are still to be seennbsp;in several parts of Ireland, both on the mainland and onnbsp;islands ; as, for instance, at Gougane Barra lake, the sourcenbsp;of the Lee in Cork ; on Inishmurray, off the Sligo coast; onnbsp;Ardoilen, a little ocean-rock off the coast of Galway, wherenbsp;a iMira was founded by St. Fechin in the seventh century ;

and on the Great Skellig off the Kerry coast, where there still remains an interesting group of clochans that maynbsp;be seen figured in the Kilkenny Archaeological Journal,nbsp;1890-gi, p. 662.

There is a graphic description of one of these hermit monasteries in the � Voyage of St. Brendan.� Barinthus,nbsp;giving St. Brendan an account of a visit to Mernoc�s

island monastery, says :�� As we sailed to the island, the quot; brethren came forth from their cells towards us like anbsp;� swarm of bees, for they dwelt apart from each other,nbsp;� having one refectory, one church for all, wherein to dis-quot; charge the divine offices. No food was served out butnbsp;� fruits and nuts, roots, and other vegetables. Afternbsp;� complin [the last prayer at night] they slept in their

� respective cells till the cock crew or the bell sounded for � morning prayer.�¹

These hermit-communities were the Third Order of Saints, who are very correctly described in the old Catalogue. It is stated that they lasted till the time of thenbsp;Yellow Plague in 664 ; from which we may infer that thenbsp;plague made such havoc among them as to break up thenbsp;system of eremitical monasteries. During this time thenbsp;cenobitical or ordinary monasteries must have been considerably disturbed and repressed by the departure ofnbsp;whole bodies of their inmates : but after 664 they resumednbsp;their sway. Long after this however we find numerousnbsp;records of individual hermits.!

Culdees.�There is good reason to believe that the Third Order of Irish Saints includes the class of monksnbsp;designated by the Irish term C�ile-D� [Cail�-D�], or, as itnbsp;is usually Anglicised, Culdee. Who were the Culdees ?nbsp;On this question there has been much uncertainty andnbsp;much speculation. It has been investigated by Dr.nbsp;Reeves in an exhaustive essay : and Mr. Skene, in hisnbsp;quot; Celtic Scotland,� has thrown much additional light onnbsp;it. Many other writers on Irish ecclesiastical history havenbsp;more or less dwelt on the subject.

The term C�ile-D� has been variously translated � servant � or � spouse,� or � companion � of God : fornbsp;C�ile has all these meanings. As applied to monks it doesnbsp;not appear in the Irish I'ecords till towards the close ofnbsp;the seventh century ; and it seems to have been generallynbsp;applied to a cleric or monk who either actually was, or hadnbsp;been, a recluse or anchorite. It was not applied to allnbsp;anchorites, but only to those ascetics, whether individualsnbsp;or communities, who were distinguished for unusual

Card. Moran, Acta S. Brend, 86, 87 : O�Donohue, Brendaniana, 112. For more about these island monasteries, see the Rev. Georgenbsp;Stokes�s Paper in Kilk. Arch. Journ,, 1890-91, p. 658.nbsp;t For examples, see Reeves, Adamn., 366.

austerity and holiness of life. C�ile-D� appears to be the equivalent of the Latin Deicola (God-worshipper), in thenbsp;sense of a person having a very close companionship withnbsp;God, rather than of Servus-Dei, which was applied tonbsp;monks in general. It will be seen then that at best thenbsp;term � Culdee � is somewhat vague, and in course of timenbsp;it came to be used with much latitude. Besides individualnbsp;Culdees, there were many Culdee communities, both in

Ireland and Scotland : Dr. Reeves, in his essay describes eighteen altogether, nine in each of the two countries.

From all that has been said, it will be obvious that the three orders overlapped as regards time ; so that nonbsp;hard and fast line can be drawn between them ; thoughnbsp;this is done in the Catalogue.

There were nuns and convents in Ireland from the time of St. Patrick, as we know from his quot; Confession,� andnbsp;from his � Epi.stle to Coroticus � : nevertheless it may

almost be said that St. Brigit of Kildare was the founder of the Irish conventual system. With the space at disposalnbsp;here, however, it would be impossible to enter on a historynbsp;and description of convent life in Ireland : and I mustnbsp;content myself with referring to Lanigan�s � Ecclesiasticalnbsp;History,� passim, or indeed to any good � Ecclesiasticalnbsp;History of Ireland ; and to the Most Rev. Dr. Healy�snbsp;� Ireland�s Ancient Schools and Scholars,� pp. 106-121.

Churches and Monastic Buildings.�The custom of building in wood, which was characteristic of the ancientnbsp;Irish people, will be noticed in chap, xx, vol. ii. pp. 21-27.nbsp;Nearly all the churches in the time of St. Patrick, and fornbsp;several centuries afterwards, were of wood, as we know fromnbsp;numerous passages in the ancient ecclesiastical literature.nbsp;St. Finan, an Irish monk from Iona, on becoming bishop ofnbsp;Lindisfarne, a.d. 652, built a church there, which, in thenbsp;words of the Venerable Bede, � was not, however, of stone,nbsp;� but altogether of sawn oak, and covered with reeds afternbsp;� the manner of the Scots.�* The custom continued long,nbsp;not only among the native Irish, but among the Englishnbsp;settlers. St. Malachy 0�Morgair, archbishop of Armagh,nbsp;who died in 1148, began to build a large church of stonenbsp;at Bangor, like those he had seen on the Continent, whichnbsp;was even at that period considered so unusual a thing thatnbsp;the natives were all astonished ; and one, bolder than thenbsp;rest, said to him :�� What has come over you, good man,nbsp;� to introduce such a building ? We are Scots, not Gauls,nbsp;� and want no such novelties. How do you think younbsp;� can find the means, or live long enough, to finish it ? ��fnbsp;But the ancient churches were not universally of wood:nbsp;for little stone churches were erected from the earliestnbsp;Christian times.

The early churches, built on the model of those introduced by St. Patrick, were small and plain, seldom more than sixty feet long, sometimes not more than fifteen,nbsp;always a simple oblong in shape, never cruciform. Somenbsp;of the very small ones were oratories for private or familynbsp;devotions. Oratories were common, both in monasteriesnbsp;and elsewhere. At first they were nearly always of wood,nbsp;as their Irish name, derthech, or duirthech (�oak-house�),nbsp;denotes. But at an early period they began to be built of

stone: and the ruins of these little .structures still remain in many places. As Christianity spread, the churchesnbsp;became gradually larger and more ornamental, and anbsp;chancel was often added at the east end, which wasnbsp;another oblong, merely a continuation of the largernbsp;building, with an arch between (see fig. 85, p. 338, supra).nbsp;The jambs of both doors and windows inclined, so that thenbsp;bottom of the opening was wider than the top : this shapenbsp;of door or window is a sure mark of 'antiquity (see fornbsp;examples, figs. 77, 82, 93). The doorways were commonly

constructed of very large stones, with almost always a horizontal lintel: the windows were often semicircularlynbsp;arched at top, but sometimes triangular-headed. Thenbsp;remains of little stone churches, of these antique patterns,nbsp;of ages from the fifth century to the tenth or eleventh,nbsp;are still to be found all over Ireland.* The small earlynbsp;churches, without chancels, were often or generally roofed

with flat stones, of w'hich Cormac�s chapel at Cashel (vol. II., Title-page), St. Doulogh�s Church near Dublin (p. 331,nbsp;supra), St. Columb�s house at Kells (p. 325, supra), andnbsp;St. Mac Dara�s Church (p. 355, supra), are examplesnbsp;(Petrie, �Round Towers,� 186). In early ages churchesnbsp;were often in groups of seven�or intended to be so�a

* Some even of the early cliurclies were highly ornamented, such as the great church of Kildare, as described by Cogitosus, for which see Lanigan,nbsp;IV. 342; Dr. Healy, 114: Petrie, Round Towers, 197, 198, 199.

custom still commemorated in popular phraseology, as in quot; The Seven Churches of Glendalough � (Trip. Life, clvii).

In the beginning of the eleventh century, what is called the Romanesque style of architecture, distinguished by anbsp;profusion of ornamentation�a style that had previouslynbsp;been spreading over Europe�was introduced into Ireland. Then the churches, though still small and simplenbsp;in plan, began to be richly decorated. We have remainingnbsp;numerous churches in this style ; a beautiful example isnbsp;Cormac�s chapel on the Rock of Cashel, erected in 1134nbsp;by Cormac Mac Carthy, king of Munster (figured on Title-page of second volume).

The general�almost universal�practice was to build the churches east and west, with the entrance at the westnbsp;end, and the altar at the east. This is mentioned in manynbsp;passages of our ecclesiastical literature, of which the oldestnbsp;is the prophecy of King Laegaire's druids regarding thenbsp;coming of the Taillkenn, i.e. St. Patrick, which is quotednbsp;and translated into Latin by Muirchu in his seventh-century memoir of St. Patrick :�

His mantle \i.e. the chasuble] head-holed, his staff crook-headed. His dish {i.e. the paten] in the east of his house.

Very likely this was a real prophecy, though having nothing supernatural about it: for as there was muchnbsp;communication in the fifth century between Ireland andnbsp;foreign countries�Britain as well as the Continent�thenbsp;druids had probably heard of the advance of Christianitynbsp;and of its main ceremonials. But be this as it may, thenbsp;passage proves that Patrick adopted the east and westnbsp;position for his churches. A few were placed north anonbsp;south ; in fact the very first building that St. Patrick

Stokes. Trip. Life, 35. See also Petrie, Tara, 77 ; Todd, St. Patk., 411 : O'Curry, MS. Mat, 397 : Reeves, Eccl. Antiqq., 221,

celebrated Mass in, viz. the sdball [saul] or barn given him by Dicho at Saul, happened to be in this direction : butnbsp;here there was no choice.* After this time a few churchesnbsp;were deliberately placed north and south, though not bynbsp;Patrick : apparently in veneration for the little barn-churchnbsp;at Saul: and sometimes even long afterwards a chapel ornbsp;small church was called sahall.

The word daimhlaig [dav-leeg, � stone-house �] was at first applied to any church built of stone : but its use wasnbsp;subsequently confined to an important church. The termnbsp;airecol, or in modern Irish aireagal, which meant primarilynbsp;� a house of prayer, an orator}^� is a loan-word from thenbsp;Latin oraculum ; and we know that in the Latin Lives ofnbsp;those Irish saints who flourished on the Continent, thenbsp;oratories they founded are often called oraculum.^ Butnbsp;this term came to signify any small detached house ; andnbsp;in Irish writings it is often used in this sense. Thenbsp;residential buildings of a monastery, such as the dormitories, small cells for various purposes, the abbot�s house,nbsp;the guest-house, the library, amp;c., were mostly of wood, afternbsp;the manner of the houses of the people of the country.

Nemed or Sanctuary.�The land belonging to and around a church�the glebe-land�was a sanctuary, and asnbsp;such was known by the names of Nemed, now neimheadhnbsp;[neveh], and Termann. Nemed, meaning literally � heavenly � or � sacred,� is a native word ; Termann, or as it isnbsp;usually anglicised, Termon, is a loan-word from the Latinnbsp;Terminm : for the sanctuary was generally marked off atnbsp;the corners by crosses or pillar-stones. Miss Stokes hasnbsp;shown that, in Ireland, the � high-crosses � (which will benbsp;noticed at p. 567, below) were used for this purpose :�nbsp;� That the ancient sanctuaries were marked by highnbsp;crosses outside the ramparts [of the church or monastery],nbsp;and that they were under the invocation of certain saints.

and offered protection to the fugitive who sought shelter under their arms.�¹ Dr. Petrie (�Round Towers,� 59) refersnbsp;to an ancient canon of the church directing crosses to benbsp;erected to mark the limits of the neimhedh or sanctuary.

It was usual for the founders of churches to plant trees�oftenest yew, but sometimes oak or ash�for ornament and shelter, round the church and cemetery, andnbsp;generally within the sanctuary. These little plantationsnbsp;were subsequently held in great veneration, and were

called Fidnemed [finneveh], 'sacred grove,� or grove of the nemed or sanctuary : from fid (fih), � a wood or grove.�¹nbsp;They are often mentioned in the Annals and in thenbsp;ecclesiastical writings; and Giraldus Cambrensis noticesnbsp;them in several passages. He relates how a party ofnbsp;Anglo-Norman soldiers, who were stationed at Finglasnbsp;near Dublin, during the time of Henry H.�s visit to Irelandnbsp;(in 1171), sacrilegiousl3^ cut down the grove of the church,nbsp;which, as well as the grove itself, was dedicated to St.nbsp;Canice: for which�as he goes on to say�they allnbsp;perished in a few days by plague and shipwreck, f Thenbsp;ruins of St. Canice�s Church, where this desecration wasnbsp;perpetrated, are still to be seen; but this structure wasnbsp;erected at a period long after the time of St. Canice, onnbsp;the site of his primitive church.

The most general term for a church was, and is still, cill, cell, or ceall. Other terms were eclais ; regies ; tempull;nbsp;haisleac ; domnach ; for all of which see p. 316, supra.

Later Churches.�Until about the period of the Anglo-Norman invasion all the churches, including those in the Romanesque style, were small, because the congregationsnbsp;were small: this, again, chiefly resulted from the tribalnbsp;organisation, which had a tendency to split up all society,nbsp;whether lay or ecclesiastical, into small sections. But thenbsp;territorial system of Church organisation, which tended tonbsp;large congregations, was introduced about the time of thenbsp;Invasion. The Anglo-Normans were, as we know, greatnbsp;builders ; and about the middle of the twelfth century thenbsp;old Irish style of church architecture began, through theirnbsp;influence, to be abandoned. Towards the close of thenbsp;century, when many of the great English lords had settlednbsp;in Ireland, they began to indulge their taste for architectural magnificence, and the native Irish chiefs imitated

This word Fidnemed is very fully discussed by Dr. Petrie, Round Towers, 49-64 : see also FM, a. 7�. 995.

and emulated them ; large cruciform churches in the pointed style began to prevail; and all over the countrynbsp;splendid buildings of every kind sprang up. Then werenbsp;erected�some by the English, some by the Irish�thosenbsp;stately abbeys and churches of which the ruins are stillnbsp;to be seen ; such as those of Kilmallock (of which seenbsp;illustration, p. 364, farther on) and Monasteranenagh innbsp;Limerick ; Jerpoint in Kilkenny ; Grey Abbey in Down ;nbsp;Bective and Newtown in Meath ; Sligo ; Quin, Corcomroe,nbsp;and Ennis (fig. 95) in Clare; Ballintober in Mayo;nbsp;Knockmoy in Galway ; Dunbrody in Wexford ; Buttevant;nbsp;Cashel; and many others.

Round Towers.�In connexion with many of the ancient churches there were round towers of stone fromnbsp;60 to 150 feet high, and from 13 to 20 feet in externalnbsp;diameter at the base : the top was conical. The interiornbsp;was divided into six or seven stories reached by laddersnbsp;from one to another, and each story was lighted by onenbsp;window : the top story had usually four windows. Thenbsp;door was placed 10 or more feet from the ground outside,nbsp;and was reached by a ladder ; both doors and windowsnbsp;had sloping jambs like those of the churches. Aboutnbsp;eighty round towers still remain, of which about twentynbsp;are perfect: the rest are more or less imperfect.

Formerly there was much speculation as to the uses of these round towers; but Dr. George Petrie, afternbsp;examining the towers themselves, and�with the help ofnbsp;O�Donovan and O�Curry�searching through all the Irishnbsp;literature within his reach for allusions to them, set thenbsp;question at rest in his Essay on � The Origin and Uses ofnbsp;the Round Towers.� It is now known that they are ofnbsp;Christian origin, and that they were always built in connexion with ecclesiastical establishments. They werenbsp;erected at various times from about the beginning of thenbsp;ninth to the thirteenth century. They had at least a twofold use : as belfries, and as keeps to which the inmates of

the monastery retired with their valuables�such as books, shrines, crosiers, relics, and vestments�in case of suddennbsp;attack. They were probably used also�when occasionnbsp;required�as beacons and watch-towers. These are Dr.nbsp;Petrie�s conclusions, except only that he fixed the date ofnbsp;some few in the fifth century, which recent investigationsnbsp;have shown to be too early. It would appear that it wasnbsp;the frequency of the Danish incursions that gave rise tonbsp;the erection of the round towers, which began to be built

early in the ninth century simultaneously all over the country. They were admirably suited to the purpose ofnbsp;affording refuge from the sudden murderous raids of thenbsp;Norsemen : for the inmates could retire with their valuables on a few minutes� warning, with a good supply ofnbsp;large stones to drop on the robbers from the windows;nbsp;and once they had drawn up the outside ladder andnbsp;barred the door, the tower was, for a short attack, practically impregnable. Round towers are not quite peculiar to

Ireland; about twenty-two are found elsewhere�in Bavaria, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Scotland, and other countries.

The Irish round towers are called in the native language doictheach, modern form doigtheach, meaning � bell-house � :nbsp;doc, or dog, � a bell,� and teach, � a house.�¹

Monastic Lis or Bampart.�^An Irish monastery, including the whole group of monastic buildings, was generally enclosed by a strong rampart, commonly circular or oval,nbsp;according to the fashion of the country in the lay home-

steads. The rampart was designated by one of the usual Irish names, rath, or lios [liss], or if of stone, caisealnbsp;[cashel], and sometimes cathair [caher]. We are told innbsp;the Tripartite Life that St. Patrick marked out thenbsp;enclosure of his group of buildings at Armagh with hisnbsp;crosier, � the Staff of Jesus.� That this very rampart, ornbsp;one like it, was retained for many centuries, is proved

Some persons have thought that the first syllable in this name might mean a stone [doch] : so that doictheach might be � stone-house,�nbsp;not � bell-house.� But this is impossible; for the middle c of cloicihecKhnbsp;is never aspirated�it is c, not ch�as it would be if the word werenbsp;intended to mean ' stone-house.�

by the fact that the Four Masters notice the � rath of Ardmacha � at the years 1020, 1091, and 1092.

The vallum monasterii, � lios, or rath, or enclosure of the monastery,� is mentioned by Adamnan (pp. 24, 143).nbsp;Within the circumference of the vallum were one or morenbsp;smaller lisses, enclosing individual houses�such as thenbsp;abbot�s- residence, the library, the guest-house, amp;c.�justnbsp;as we find in the large lay homesteads. For instance, thenbsp;Four Masters record, at a.d. 918, that there was a greatnbsp;flood in the Shannon, � so that the water reached the lissnbsp;of the abbot of Clonmacnoise.�

The actual erection of a monastic lios surrounding the whole settlement is recorded in an interesting passage innbsp;the Life of St. Carthach, of Lismore, published by thenbsp;Bollandists at the 14th May. In this we are told thatnbsp;when the saint and his followers, after his expulsion fromnbsp;Rahan, arrived at this place, which had previously beennbsp;called Maghsoiath (Ma-skee), the ' plain of the shields,� theynbsp;began to erect a circular entrenchment. Then a certainnbsp;virgin, who had a cell in the same field, came up andnbsp;inquired what they were doing ; and St. Carthach answerednbsp;her that they were preparing to construct a little enclosurenbsp;or lios around their houses and goods for the service ofnbsp;God. And the holy virgin said ; � It will not be little,nbsp;but great.� � The holy father, Mochuda [i.e. Carthach]nbsp;� answered ; � Truly it will be as thou sayest, thou hand-� maid of Christ; for from this name the place will benbsp;� alwa5^s called in Scotic, Liass-m�r, or in Latin Atrium-� magmim,� � i.e., ' great lios or enclosure.� It is highlynbsp;probable that the large fort still called � Lismore,� besidenbsp;the Blackwater, a mile below the present town of Lismore,nbsp;is the very one erected by Carthach. There are manynbsp;other records of the erection of these monastic lissesnbsp;and cashels; and the enclosures of several ancientnbsp;monasteries, some of earth, some of stone, may still benbsp;seen in different parts o.^ the country. The whole group

of buildings, constituting a monastery including the surrounding Us, was sometimes called conpbhail [congwilll and cathair, which are native Irish words, and sometimesnbsp;mainistir, which is borrowed from monasterium. It oftennbsp;happened that a chief presented his dim, or lios, to thenbsp;missionary who converted him, and then the church andnbsp;other buildings were usually erected within the enclosure :nbsp;of which Petrie gives many instances.¹

Wells.�Weils have at all times been venerated in Ireland by both pagans and Christians ; and we have seennbsp;(p. 288) that many of the pagan Irish worshipped wells asnbsp;gods. Some of these were blessed and consecrated tonbsp;Christain uses by the early saints, of which a verynbsp;interesting instance is related in Adamnan�s Life of St.

� days in the country of the Piets, the holy man [Columba] � heard of a fountain famous amongst this heathen people,nbsp;� which foolish men, blinded by the devil, worshipped as anbsp;� divinity. . . . The pagans, seduced by these things, paidnbsp;� divine honour to the fountain.� Adamnan goes on tonbsp;say that after Columba had rescued it from heathenism,nbsp;he blessed it, so that it was ever after revered as a holynbsp;well that healed many diseases. In this manner hundredsnbsp;of the heathen wells were taken over to Christianity andnbsp;sanctified by the early saints, so that they came to be evennbsp;more venerated by the Christians than they had been bynbsp;the pagans. Yet the heathen practices never quite diednbsp;out, but have continued to be mixed up with Christiannbsp;devotions even down to our own day, though now devoidnbsp;of their original heathen spirit, and quite harmless. Thenbsp;most conspicuous of the existing practices are offeringsnbsp;of various kinds, rags, pins, cups, amp;c., which maynbsp;now be seen, as the devotees left them, at almost

Round Towers, 445 to 452 : see also Miss Stokes, Three Months in France, xxxii. ; and Wilde, Boyne, 155.

every holy well. This practice prevails still in many parts of Europe, and even in Persia (see fig. 8, p. 9, supra).

Those early Irish missionaries did not confine their line of action in this direction to wells; they took over innbsp;like manner forts, buildings, festivals, and observances ofnbsp;various kinds, and consecrated them to Christian uses:nbsp;so that those pagans who became converted had the way

made smooth for them, and suffered no violent wrench, so far as external custom was concerned. It is interestingnbsp;to remark that in adopting this judicious line of action,nbsp;the Irish missionaries only anticipated the instructionsnbsp;given A.D. 601 by Pope Gregory to the British abbotnbsp;Mellitus for his guidance under similar circumstances.nbsp;The Pope�s words are : � The temples of the idols in thatnbsp;� nation [Britain] ought not to be destroyed ; but let thenbsp;� idols that are in them be destroyed ; let holy water be

� made and sprinkled in the said temples; let altars be � erected, and relics placed. For if those temples are wellnbsp;� built, it is requisite that they be converted from thenbsp;� worship of devils to the service of the true God ; thatnbsp;� the nation, seeing that their temples are not destroyed,nbsp;� may remove error from their hearts, and knowing andnbsp;�adoring the true God, may the more familiarly resort tonbsp;� places to which they have been accustomed.�*

Most of the early preachers of the Gospel established their humble foundations � many of them destined to

grow in after-years into great religious and educational institutions�beside fountains, whose waters at the samenbsp;time supplied the daily wants of the little communities,nbsp;and served for the baptism of converts. When St. Mochuanbsp;of Balia went to found a monastery at Tech Telle, nownbsp;Tehelly near Durrow in King�s County, he was obligednbsp;to give it ujJ, as there was no well in the place. Afterwards when he was about to settle in his final place, Balianbsp;in Mayo, his people, in the first instance, by Mochua�snbsp;directions, looked out for a well, but could find none :nbsp;till at last a farmer of the place showed them one, in which

Mochua decided to remain there.* In this manner most of our early saints became associated with wells, hundredsnbsp;of which still retain the names of these holy men, who

St. Kieran's Trout Well�a noted station for pilgrims�under a venerable asli-tree of great size, near the ancient church of St. Ciaran or Kieran on the southern bank of the Blackwater, nearly lournbsp;miles above Kells in Meath. (From Colonel Wood-Martin�s Traces of the Elder Faiths, ii. no.nbsp;Drawn by Wakeman.} Another view is given in Wilde�s Boyne and Blackwater, p. 141. � Withinnbsp;the well��says Wilde in his account of it��are several large trouts, each about half a poundnbsp;weight. They have been there as long as the oldest inhabitant can recollect. These fish are heldnbsp;in the highest veneration by the people.�

converted and baptised the pagan multitudes on their margins. The practice began with St. Patrick, as wenbsp;see by a circumstance related in the Tripartite Life

(p. 93) :�that the saint founded a church at Magh Slecht, in the present County Cavan ; quot; and there [to this day isnbsp;reverenced] Patrick�s Well, in which he baptised many.�

A well is sometimes met with containing one lone inhabitant�a single trout or salmon, which is always tonbsp;be seen swimming about in its tiny dominion ; and sometimes there are two. They are usually tame ; and thenbsp;people hold them in great respect, and tell many wonderfulnbsp;legends about them. This pretty custom is of old standing,nbsp;for it originated with the early Irish saints�even withnbsp;St. Patrick himself. In the Tripartite Life (p. 113) we arenbsp;told, regarding the well of Achadh-fobhair, now Aghagowernbsp;in Mayo, that � Patrick left two salmon alive in the well.�nbsp;The same custom prevailed in the Scottish westernnbsp;islands when Martin visited them in 1703 (p. 141 of hisnbsp;book).

To kill or injure these little fish was considered an outrage bordering on sacrilege : and if they were destroyednbsp;by an enemy of the tribe, it was looked upon as annbsp;intolerable insult. Even the annalists think it worthnbsp;while to record an occurrence of this kind. We read innbsp;Tigernach ;�[a.d. 1061 : i.e. during this annalist�s lifetime]nbsp;� The O�Connors invaded Munster and demolished the weirnbsp;� of Kincora, and they ate up the salmons that lived in thenbsp;� well of Kincora.�* Many holy wells have the reputationnbsp;of curing diseases : one for blindness,, another for headache,nbsp;another for jaundice, and so on through a great number ofnbsp;ailments.f

f As to Holy Wells; see Miss Stokes, Three Months in France, � Holy Wells � in Index ; Wilde, Boyne, quot; Holy Wells,� Index : Stokes, Livesnbsp;of SS., 360, and �Wells � in Index of Matters ; Kilk. Archaeol. Journ.,nbsp;the several indexes: HyF, 239, note i: Petrie�s article in The Irishnbsp;Penny Journal, p. 401: Joyce, Irish Names of Places, i. 449 ; Dr. Williamnbsp;Stokes, Life of Petrie, 17: Wood-Martin, Pagan Ireland, chap. v. Annbsp;interesting book could be written on the Holy Wells of Ireland, providednbsp;the writer united an attractive style with sufficient knowledge, andnbsp;approached his subject in a reverential spirit.

In Cormac�s Glossary (p. 7), under the explanation of the word ana, � cups,� sing, an, there is an interesting statement about wells, but not in connexion with religion. Wenbsp;are told that in former times it was customary for kingsnbsp;to have small cups, generally of silver, beside wells, fornbsp;two purposes :�To enable wayfarers to drink, and to test

if the laws were observed�the inference being that they were if the cups were not stolen. It mentions Cnoc-Rafann, now Knockgraffon near Caher, the palace ofnbsp;Fiacha Muillethan, king of Munster in the third century,nbsp;as one of the places where this custom was kept up.

Altar-Stone.�From a very early period it was a general rule of the church that the altar on which Mass was offered

should be of stone. But in case of missionary priests, it was decided that it would be sufficient to have a smallnbsp;altar-flag�duly consecrated�laid upon the altar, of sufficient size to hold a chalice and one or more crosses, whilenbsp;the altar itself might be of wood, or might consist merelynbsp;of a table or such like.¹ St. Patrick himself, as well asnbsp;every missionary priest after his time, had one of these

was brought about by a gillie or servant with the othernbsp;things necessary for thenbsp;celebration of the Divinenbsp;mysteries, t The Irish wordnbsp;for an altar-flag was lecc,nbsp;which was, and is, the namenbsp;for any flat stone. Many ofnbsp;these ancient little -BlV-ax-leccsnbsp;are still to be seen innbsp;museums, of which one isnbsp;represented on previous page.nbsp;Along with the altar-stone

there is also given here the figure of a stone chalice ofnbsp;a very antique type,nbsp;a bell is cloc, clocc, or clog.nbsp;The diminutive form cluccenenbsp;[cluckene] is used to denote a small bell, called alsonbsp;Idm-chlog [lauv-clug], � hand-bell � (see p. 376, infra). St.nbsp;Patrick and his disciples constantly used consecratednbsp;bells in their ministrations.]: How numerous they werenbsp;in Patrick�s time we may understand from the fact, thatnbsp;whenever he left one of his disciples in charge of a church,nbsp;he gave him a bell: and it is recorded that on the churchesnbsp;of one province alone�Connaught�he bestowed fifty.|

To supply these he had in his household three smiths, whose chief occupation was to make bells. The mostnbsp;ancient Irish bells were quadrangular in shape, withnbsp;rounded corners, and made of iron : facts which we knownbsp;both from the ecclesiastical literature, and from the specimens that are still preserved. In the Tripartite Life wenbsp;are told that a certain bell called Bethechan, belongingnbsp;to St. Patrick, was � a little bell of iron � {cliiccene heccnbsp;iairnd')* An Irish saintnbsp;named Lugaid, ornbsp;Mohiog, founded thenbsp;church of Lismore innbsp;Scotland, in the middlenbsp;of the sixth century.

His bell is described in the Breviary of Aberdeen (written in 1509,nbsp;from some much morenbsp;ancient authority), asnbsp;ferrea7n campanam etnbsp;quadratavi, � a quadrangular iron bell � :f andnbsp;this very bell, datingnbsp;from about A.D. 560,nbsp;is still preserved andnbsp;exactly answers the description, attesting the truthfulnessnbsp;of the old record. The little quadrangular bell thatnbsp;belonged to St. Gall, the Irishman who founded the churchnbsp;of St. Gall in Switzerland, about the year 613, remains tonbsp;this day in the monastery of that city.:[:

The bell of St. Patrick, which is more than fourteen hundred years old, is now in the National Museum innbsp;Dublin : it is the oldest of all ; and it may be taken as a

type of the hammered-iron bells. Its height is 6^ inches : but projecting from the top is a little handle inch high,nbsp;which gives it a total height of 7^ inches. At the mouthnbsp;the two dimensions are 4^ by 3 ^ inches. It is made ofnbsp;two iron plates, bent into shape by hammering, andnbsp;slightly overlapped at the edges for riveting. After thenbsp;joints had been riveted, the bell was consolidated by thenbsp;fusion of bronze into the joints and over the surface�nbsp;probably by dipping into melted bronze�which alsonbsp;increased its resonance. This is the bell known as Clog-an-udhachta, or the � Bell of the Will � (so called becausenbsp;it was willed by the saint to one of his disciples), which isnbsp;much celebrated in the Lives of St. Patrick. A beautifulnbsp;and costly shrine was made to cover and protect thisnbsp;venerable relic, by order of Donall 0�Loghlin, king ofnbsp;Ireland (died 1121) : and this gorgeous piece of ancientnbsp;Irish art, with 0�Loghlin�s name and three others inscribednbsp;on it, is also preserved in the National Museum. A beautiful drawing of it by Miss Stokes forms the frontispiece ofnbsp;the second volume of this book. Many others of thesenbsp;venerable iron bronzed bells, belonging to the primitivenbsp;Irish saints, are preserved in the National and othernbsp;Museums, several covered with ornamental shrines. Somenbsp;are called ce�ldn, � little musical � [bell], from ceol, music :nbsp;and some herndn, � little gapped � [bell ], from hern, ornbsp;beam, � a gap,� on account of a splinter knocked out ofnbsp;the edge : like Berndn EimJiin, � St. Evin�s little gappednbsp;bell.�

About the ninth century the Irish artificers began to make bells wholly of cast bronze. A beautiful quadrangular bell of this class, made some short time beforenbsp;A.D. 900, is to be seen in the National Museum, which tellsnbsp;its own history in an Irish inscription, of which this is anbsp;translation :�� A prayer for Cummascach Mac Ailello.�nbsp;This Cummascach, the son of Ailill, for whom the bell

The very ancient Irish bells, whether of iron or of bronze, were small, and were sounded by a clapper ornbsp;tongue. All those in the National Museum are furnishednbsp;in the inside, at top, with a ring, from which the clappernbsp;was hung, and in some the clapper still remains. Thenbsp;interior ring of St. Patrick�s bell seems to be modern, nonbsp;doubt replacing the original one which had worn away.fnbsp;Occasionally we readnbsp;of little bells beingnbsp;sounded by strikingnbsp;on the outside: andnbsp;these probably had nonbsp;tongues. Concobar�snbsp;royal jester, R�imid,nbsp;had, hanging at hisnbsp;side, a melodiousnbsp;little bell, which henbsp;often struck with anbsp;bronze wand he heldnbsp;in his hand, to procure attention. Itnbsp;appears, too, that thenbsp;ancient Irish saintsnbsp;sometimes cursednbsp;offending chieftains while sounding their bells with the topsnbsp;of their crosiers,� but these were obviously the ordinarynbsp;tongued hand-bells.

4' See Miss Stokes, Art, p. 65 ; Inscriptions, il. 108 ; and Early Christian Architecture, 83.

fThat the ancient bells had tongues, see Proc. Roy. Ir. Acad., vill. 445; Mac Conglinne, 152: Kilk. Arch. Journ., 1852, p. 60; 1862, p. 345 ;nbsp;1868, p. 284, 346; 1872, p. 73.

round towers or other structures�those intended for this use were made large, and the distinction appears in thenbsp;literature. An ancient Brehon Law Commentary (v. 23)nbsp;says :�� Aistre�ir [door-keeper], changeable his work innbsp;� ringing the bell and opening the church [two officesnbsp;� usually combined in one person : see p. 316, supra\ ; highnbsp;� his work when it is the bell of a cloictheach [� bell-house �] ;nbsp;� low his work when it is a IdmcUog or handbell.� Thisnbsp;entry shows moreover that the large bell was not rung bynbsp;pulling at a rope or chain as at present; but the bellringer went up and rang it by striking it directly with anbsp;hammer or mallet of some kind.

Bells were sometimes put�like that of R�imid�to other uses besides ecclesiastical. It was the custom innbsp;very early times in Ireland, as it is everywhere at thenbsp;present day, to suspend little tongued bells from thenbsp;necks of horses and lapdogs, which kept up a perpetualnbsp;tinkle. In the story of the Tain Bo Fraich (p. 137) wenbsp;read that the horses of the young prince Fraech had eachnbsp;a band of silver round his neck, with a cluccene �ir or ' littlenbsp;bell of gold � hanging from it. In the � Courtship of Ferb,�nbsp;the horses of the young chief Mani had little bells suspended from their necks, which, as they chimed with thenbsp;horses� tread, made music as sweet as the strings of anbsp;harp struck by a master-hand.* And in the Vision ofnbsp;Mac Conglinne (p. 88) a little bell [clucin] with a metalnbsp;tongue is suspended from the munci or neckband of anbsp;certain horse. So also with lapdogs. In the tale of Compertnbsp;Mongain in LU, we read of a young lady who had anbsp;diminutive white lapdog (mesdn) with a silver chain roundnbsp;its neck, from which hung a little bell of gold {cluigin �ir).]nbsp;Bells were also often hung round the necks of cattle, asnbsp;we shall see in vol. ii. p. 282.

open. But crotals or small closed bells, spherical or pear-shaped, were also much in use; they were sounded by a loose little metal ball or pea, and had a small aperture innbsp;the side to let out the sound. These were probably sometimes used for horses, dogs, andnbsp;cattle, as well as on the �Musicalnbsp;Branch� noticed farther on: but onnbsp;those points there is no certainty

Many very small bronze bells�both open and closed �have been found from time to time�one, for instance, in a rath,nbsp;and another in the bed of a river �* and a number are tonbsp;be seen in the National Museum, among which are two

diminutive open bells, each about one inch in height. These are in all probability specimens of horse- and dog-bells.* Several of the passages and facts given here, asnbsp;well as others that might be quoted or referred to, go tonbsp;show that little bells were used in Ireland in pagan times.nbsp;On this point, see Stokes�s Life of Petrie, p. 277.

Fees and Dues.�The clergy derived their support from several sources. One of the chief of these consisted ofnbsp;dues paid for the performance of various religious functions, in regard to which the Brehon Law lays down thenbsp;reciprocal obligations of clergy and laity in this manner :�nbsp;The right of a church from the people is : i. Tithes;nbsp;2. First Fruits, i.e. the first of the gathering of every newnbsp;produce, and every first calf and every first lamb that isnbsp;brought forth in the year; 3. Firstlings, i.e. the first sonnbsp;born after marriage [who, accordingly, was to enternbsp;religion], and the first-born male of all milk-givingnbsp;animals. On the other hand, the rights of the peoplenbsp;from the clergy were � baptism, and Communion, andnbsp;requiem of soul � : that is to say, spiritual ministration innbsp;general.! Fees are not mentioned here : but they werenbsp;always paid for the performance of religious rites by thosenbsp;who were able to pay ; of which many examples mightnbsp;be cited from ecclesiastical literature.

Certain fixed payments were expected from every householder of the tribe to the abbot of the local monastery, or to the bishop of the tribe. This payment was

* For further information about bells, see Reeves on Bell of St. Path., Trans. Roy. Ir. Acad., vol. xxvii.; Cooke on An.;ient Irish Bells, in Kilk.nbsp;Arch. Journ., 1852-3, p. 47 ; i883-.(, p. 126 : Reeves on Eccl. Bells innbsp;Eccl. Antiqq., p. 369 : Miss Stokes, Early Christian Art (� Bell � innbsp;Index) : Petrie, Round Towers {'' Bell � and � Bells � in Index) ; Joyce,nbsp;Irish Names of Places, ii. 183 : and Mr. S. F. Milligan�s Paper on Anc.nbsp;Eccl. Bells in Ulster, in Journ. Roy. Soc. Antiqq., Ireland, 1903.

called cis or cam [keece, cawn], i.e. rent or tribute ; and the bishop or abbot often collected it by making a cuaiitnbsp;[coort], i.e. a � circuit � or visitation through the tribe ornbsp;district over which he had spiritual jurisdiction. Thesenbsp;cuairts were the forerunners of the ecclesiastical visitationsnbsp;of the archbishops and bishops of later times.* Theynbsp;were practised from very early times ; for the eighth-century Irish commentator on the Epistle of St. Paulnbsp;to the Ephesians (i. 20) speaks of a cuairt parche, anbsp;� diocesan visitation,� an illustration which, under the circumstances, the writer must have taken from his home innbsp;Ireland, for there is no mention of it in the Epistle. |

In the � Tribes and Customs of Hy Many,� edited by O�Donovan, is a very interesting statement of the arrangements for church fees and tributes in the ancient territorynbsp;of Hy Many�the 0�Kelly�s country�in Galway, as theynbsp;existed in the. fourteenth century ; which we may concludenbsp;were handed down with little change from much oldernbsp;times. To the church of Gamma, west of the Shannon,nbsp;near Athlone, which was dedicated to St. Brigit, belongednbsp;the baptismal fees of the whole of the O�Kellys; so thatnbsp;whether the child was brought to that church or to anj'nbsp;other to be baptized, or whoever performed the actualnbsp;baptism, the comarha or successor of St. Brigit, i.e. thenbsp;abbess of Gamma nunnery and church, � has the powernbsp;� of collecting the baptismal penny \pinginn bdisdi] fromnbsp;� these tribes � [the 0�Ke]l3i's]; of which she kept one-third for her own establishment, and gave the othernbsp;two-thirds to two churches in the neighbourhood, alsonbsp;dedicated to St. Brigit.

Another church of the district got, in like manner, the sgreaball ongtha, the � screpall of anointing,� i.e. administering Extreme Unction. The burial fees belongednbsp;to the great monastery of Glonmacnoise, where the chiefs

of the 0'Kellys were buried : and so of other fees. In the same document certain tributes are assigned to churches,nbsp;irrespective of the performance of any religious rites. Fornbsp;example, the church of St. Grellan received the firstlingnbsp;pig, lamb, and foal, all over Hy Many : a very importantnbsp;addition to the resources of the monastery and church.nbsp;Many cases of such tributes to other churches, both herenbsp;and elsewhere through Ireland, might be cited. Sometimes exceptional dues were granted to a church ornbsp;monastery under special circumstances, or for specialnbsp;spiritual services. In the Life of vSt. Maignenn, thenbsp;founder of Kilmainham near Dublin, it is told how thatnbsp;saint once preached a sermon on the Day of Judgmentnbsp;before Dermot, king of Ireland (reigned a.d. 544 to 563),nbsp;which so powerfully impressed the king that he grantednbsp;to Maignenn and his successors in the abbotship, for thenbsp;support of the inonastery, � a screpall on every nose*nbsp;� from each head of a household] ; an ounce of goldnbsp;� for every chieftain�s daughter that took a husband, or innbsp;� place of that the bride�s wedding dress, if the chief�snbsp;� steward so chose ; and the materials for [the ornamentalnbsp;� parts of] a crosier from the tribute received by the kingnbsp;� from over sea � (Silva Gad., 36).

The mention of the offering of the bride�s wedding dress in this record points to another occasional, thoughnbsp;important, source of income The state dress worn fornbsp;the first and last time by a king at great ceremonials was,nbsp;in some cases, handed over to the bishop or abbot whonbsp;officiated. Thus the horse and robes used by O�Conor,nbsp;on the occasion of his inauguration as king of Connaught,nbsp;� became the property of the coarb or successor of St.nbsp;Dachonna,� i.c. the abbot for the time being of thenbsp;monastery of Eas-mac-nEirc, now Assylin near Boylenbsp;in Roscommon, who officiated at the ceremony (larC,

139 : but see p. 48, supra). Many other examples of the presentation by Irish kings and chiefs of ornamentalnbsp;dresses to ecclesiastics might be cited : and the samenbsp;practice prevailed, and still to some extent prevails, innbsp;England and other countries. These robes were probablynbsp;taken to pieces and converted into vestments or altarnbsp;decorations.

Land.�The land attached to monasteries, which, as we have seen, was tilled by the monks, formed the staplenbsp;support of the establishment. The monastic lands werenbsp;sometimes increased by special grants from kings ornbsp;chiefs, in addition to that given at the foundation. Innbsp;the year 645 Dermot (son of Aed Slaine), subsequentlynbsp;king of Ireland, having won a victory which he attributednbsp;to the prayers of the monks of Clonmacnoise, made anbsp;grant, to the monastery, of the land of Tuaim nEirc, nownbsp;called Lemanaghan, King�s County, as f�d-for-alt�ir, ornbsp;' altar sod � (FM, a.d. 645). Sometimes part of the landnbsp;belonging to a monastery was let to tenants : and accordingly we find, from the Brehon Law,¹ that it wasnbsp;quite usual for monasteries to have both saer-stock andnbsp;daer-stock tenants, like the lay chiefs (see p. 189, supra).

Tithes.�In the memorable council held at Kells, under the presidency of Cardinal Paparo, in 1152, it was decreednbsp;that tithes should be paid: and again, in the Council ofnbsp;Cashel, held twenty years later, one of the canons wasnbsp;� that all good Christians do pay the tithes of beasts,nbsp;� corn, and other produce to the church of the parish innbsp;� which they live.� But the custom had existed in Ireland,nbsp;at least nominally, long before this time : for, in severalnbsp;parts of the Senchus MoV,t we find it pi'escribed as a dutynbsp;to pay tithes, as well as alms and first-fruits to the church.nbsp;But notwithstanding these decrees, it is certain that tithes

Br. Laws, in. 43 : and in several other -places in same vol. f Br. Laws, III. 13, 25, 39 : see also Mac Congl., Pref., x. ; and Hynbsp;Many, 13.

were not paid very generally or very regularly till after the Anglo-Norman invasion in 1172.

Yolnntary Offerings.�Besides all the preceding sources of income there were voluntary offerings. Almost all persons who could afford it, when they visited a monastery,nbsp;left something of value. In early times the offerings, likenbsp;all other payments, were in ounces of gold and silver, or innbsp;kind: and we find a great variety of articles mentionednbsp;in the Tripartite Life and other Lives of the Saints :�anbsp;caldron, ladies� ornaments, chariot-horses, the grazing ofnbsp;so many cows, rich ornamental dresses, amp;c.* The offeringsnbsp;were often large and generous. When King Brian Borunbsp;visited Armagh, as he made his royal circuit through Ireland in 1004, he laid an offering of twenty ounces of goldnbsp;on the great altar, equivalent to �1000 or ^^1500 of ournbsp;money.

Relics and Loricas.�It was the custom for the most distinguished of the Irish saints and heads of the greatnbsp;universities to present to their disciples tokens of friendship and esteem, which the disciples reverently preservednbsp;by depositing them in churches founded by themselves.nbsp;This custom is well set forth in a passage in the Irish Lifenbsp;of St. Finnen of Clonard:�quot; The saints of Ireland camenbsp;� from every point to learn wisdom with him, so thatnbsp;� there were three thousand saints along with him : and ofnbsp;� them, as the learned know, he chose the twelve highnbsp;� bishops of Ireland (see p. 322, supra). And ... no onenbsp;� of these three thousand went from him without a crosier,nbsp;� or a gospel, or some other well-known token : and roundnbsp;� these reliquaries they built their churches and theirnbsp;� monasteries afterwards.� In the Tripartite Life we arenbsp;told that St. Patrick spent seven years preaching in

Connaught, quot; and he left in the land of Connaught, fifty � bells and fifty chalices, and fifty altar-cloths, each ofnbsp;quot; them in his church.� Many individual examples of thisnbsp;custom might be cited in connexion with St. Patrick andnbsp;other saints.¹ In like manner the stone beds on whichnbsp;the saints slept, and on which they died, were preservednbsp;with the utmost veneration : and sometimes churches werenbsp;built over them. One of the churches in Clonmacnoisenbsp;enshrining St. Ciaran�s stone bed was long known by thenbsp;name of Imdaigh Chiarain, St. Ciaran�s bed.

In the Tripartite Life and elsewhere, we often find it stated that St. Patrick wrote an Aipgitir, or � Alphabet �nbsp;for those disciples whom he left in charge of churches.nbsp;The Irish phrase is ro scrib aipgitir, and the Latin equivalent (often found in the Latin memoirs) scripsit elementa.nbsp;This aipgitir was a simple compendium�the � Elements,�nbsp;as the Latin gives it�of the Christian Doctrine, to benbsp;used in teaching the people. A good example of thenbsp;application of the word appears in the name of a littlenbsp;devotional book attributed to Coeman, or Kevan, the sonnbsp;of Beogna Airide, which is called Aibgitir in Crabaid, thenbsp;� Alphabet of Piety.� The eighth-century Irish Glossatornbsp;on Paul to the Hebrews, v. 12, explains Ahgitir Crabaithnbsp;as quot; ruda documenta fidei,� i.e. simple or rough-and-ready lessons of the faith, f These little books were preserved with the utmost reverence : but not one of themnbsp;has survived to our time.

Giraldus Cambrensis notices the reverence paid in Ireland, as well as in Scotland and Wales, to articles thatnbsp;had belonged to saints of the times of old, instancingnbsp;specially bells and crosiers. He mentions also the customnbsp;of swearing on them, and says that the people had much

See Stokes�s Lives of SS., 226 ; Trip. Life, 147 : Kilk. Archaeol. Journ., 1872-3, pp. 104-106: and Dr. Healy, 64.

f Stokes and Strachan, Thesaurus, 1. 711. See also Trip. Life, xvii. 113, 639 : Dr. Healy, 64 : and Hyde, Lit, Hist., 135 et seq.

more regard for oaths sworn on these than on the Gospels. He says also that those who had sworn falsely on themnbsp;were often chastised severely by some great calamity.nbsp;His statement about the custom of swearing on relics isnbsp;fully corroborated by the native records ; a custom whichnbsp;we know prevailed in other countries, and continued tonbsp;prevail in Ireland to a period within living memory.¹nbsp;Articles or relics of any kind that had belonged to thenbsp;Irish saints were often used as loricas, � protectors � ornbsp;preservatives against danger of every kind. St. Columkillenbsp;once presented his cowl [cochall) to Aed Mac Ainmirech,nbsp;king of Ireland, with a promise that as long as he wore itnbsp;he would not be slain ; and accordingly the king constantly brought it with him on his warlike expeditions.nbsp;In the year 598, when St. Columkille was dead, Aednbsp;marched southwards and encountered Branduff, king ofnbsp;Leinster, at Dunbolg, in Wicklow. Just as the battlenbsp;was beginning, he ordered his gilla or attendant to bringnbsp;him the cowl. � That cowl,� replied the gilla, � we havenbsp;left behind us in the palace of Ailech in the north.�nbsp;� Alas,� said the king, � then it is all the more likely I shallnbsp;be slain by the Leinstermen � : and he was slain, and hisnbsp;army routed by Branduff, in the battle that ensued, fnbsp;In like manner the hymns composed by, or in honournbsp;of, the ancient saints were used as loricas in times ofnbsp;danger : chief among which may be mentioned the Faednbsp;Fiada, or � deer�s cry,� which was the hymn St. Patricknbsp;and his companions chanted on their way to Tara, Easternbsp;Eve, A.D. 433 : and the Amra Choluimcille, the Panegyricnbsp;composed in praise of Columkille during his lifetime bynbsp;the poet Dalian Forgaill or Eochaid Egeas. Both o-f thesenbsp;hymns, which are in Irish, are still extant, and have been

Giraldus, Top. Hib., ii. Hi, liii, liv; and iii. xxxiii, xxxiv: see also Silva Gad., 3 : and Hardiman, Ir. Minstr., i. 338. The reader will here benbsp;reminded of the oath on the relics extorted by William of Normandy fromnbsp;Harold of England by a trick.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;t O'Grady, Silva Gad , 4151 415^

published. The Latin hymn composed by St. Sechnall or Secundinus in honour of Patrick is preserved in the Booknbsp;of Hymns. The legend is that Patrick promised Sechnallnbsp;that anyone singing the last three stanzas of it at lying andnbsp;rising would go to heaven. Fiach�s Hymn, in Irish, innbsp;honour of Patrick is also a lorica.¹

Several others of those Christian hymns used as � road-safeguards � are preserved in our ancient books.nbsp;St. Columkille�s Irish protecting hymn, which it is saidnbsp;he composed while travelling alone northwards over thenbsp;hills, after escaping from Tara, where he had been insulted,nbsp;may be seen in the Irish Miscellany, I. (1846), p. i. The

Amulets or Loricas, probably Christian. Figquot;. 108 is half the size of the original, tvhich is covered over with a thin plate of gold, beautifully ornamented: the interior is of lead. Fig. 109nbsp;is of gold, full size. Fig. no is of stone, full size. All have holes for .strings. All are innbsp;National Museum. (From Wilde's Catalogue, p, 127; and Gold Part, p. 86.)

ancient Irish introductory notice to this (p. 6) says :�� It � will be a protection to any person who will repeat itnbsp;� going on a journey.� Sometimes persons setting out onnbsp;a journey wore a � Gospel,� t.e. a copy of the whole or partnbsp;of one of the Four Gospels, folded up tightly in a little casenbsp;of leather or cloth. When Mac Conglinne was goingnbsp;away from Armagh, his tutor hung a Gospel round his

For all these hymns and their use as loricas or protectors, see Trip. Life. 47 to 53 ; 381 ; 382 to 401; 402 to 427 ; and 411, lines 5 and 6 : Todd,nbsp;St. Patrick, 138, 139, 426, 430: Petrie�s Tara, 55 to 69: Books of Hymnsnbsp;by Todd, and by Bernard and Atkinson: and Adainnan, 17, note �. Seenbsp;also the names of the several hymns and persons in the Index to this book.

neck (p. lo). This pious and pleasing practice has come down to our time. Thomas Moore, in affectionate words,nbsp;recalls how his mother once, on occasion of his leavingnbsp;home, hung a Gospel round his neck; and many Romannbsp;Catholics now wear a Gospel or scapular round the neck,nbsp;not only when on a journey but constantly. A � path-protector ��-Irish coimdhe condire, � protection of the condirnbsp;or road ��often called s�n-uaire, the � blessing of an hour ��nbsp;was also used in Ireland in pagan times, of which examplesnbsp;will be found in some of the works referred to at bottom.*

Sunday.�-The Yellow Book of Lecan and the Lebar Brecc contain copies of a tract called Cain Bomnaig, ornbsp;the � Law of Sunday,� which it is said was originallynbsp;brought from Rome in the sixth century by St. Conallnbsp;of Inishkeel off the coast of Donegal. In this are laidnbsp;down rules for the observance of the Sunday, which arenbsp;very strict. It sets forth a long list of works not to benbsp;done on Sunday, among which are games of all kinds,nbsp;buying and selling and compacts in general, the use ofnbsp;the bath, sewing, fishing, boating, grinding corn, cooking,nbsp;splitting firewood, clearing up the house. Travelling,nbsp;especially horse-riding, was prohibited, with some necessary exceptions, such as going for a physician for a sicknbsp;person, going to save a house from fire, or the journey ofnbsp;a priest to attend a sick person who was in danger of

* Charms or ordinary prayers of all these various kinds, are, according to Mr. Carmichael, still practised in the Highlands and Western Islandsnbsp;of Scotland. Specimens of Christian � road-safeguards,� in Gaelic verse,nbsp;may be seen in his � Carmina Gadelica,� i, 320, and pp. 326 to 339. Nay,nbsp;they have preserved the very name faed fiada in the forms fath-fith andnbsp;jith-fath, which they apply to a charm for rendering a person invisible,nbsp;or making him appear in the shape of some other animal; iust as thenbsp;original jaed-fiada, according to the legend, made St. Patrick and hisnbsp;disciples appear as deer, on their way to Tara, fifteen hundred yearsnbsp;ago. A description of the Highland fath-fdh, with a specimen, is givennbsp;in vol. II., pp. 22 to 25 of the same work. All memory of the faed-fiadanbsp;has been lost in Ireland for centuries. On all this subject, see alsonbsp;Moylena, 37 : Rev. Celt., ix. 459 : Trip. Life, xiv, : Moyrath, 75 :nbsp;Cambr. Evers., i. 135, note 'v ; O�Curry, M.S. Mat., 469.

dying before Monday morning. According to the same tract, Sunday was regarded as extending from vespers onnbsp;Saturday to sunrise on Monday morning: and in thisnbsp;particular it is corroborated by several other authorities.¹nbsp;Easter.�St. Patrick began the celebration of Easter,nbsp;A.D. 433, by lighting a great fire on the hill of Slane, onnbsp;the eve of the festival, which was seen for miles all round :nbsp;from which we may infer that this custom of lighting a firenbsp;in the open was followed generally during and after his time.nbsp;From very early times there was a difference between the

East and the West as to the mode of calculating the time for Easter, so that it often happened that it wasnbsp;celebrated at different times at Rome and at Alexandria.nbsp;The Roman method of computation, which was subsequently found not to be quite correct, was brought tonbsp;Ireland by St. Patrick in 432, and was carried to Britainnbsp;and Scotland by the Irish missionaries. Many years afternbsp;St. Patrick�s arrival in Ireland, Pope Hilary caused anbsp;more correct method to be adopted at Rome, which itnbsp;was intended should be followed by all other Christian

O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i. 32 ; O�Looney, in Proc. Roy. Ir. Acad., MSS. Series, p, 195 : LB, 204, h, 34,

countries. But from the difficulty of communicating with Rome in those disturbed times�or as Bede (Eccl. Hist.,nbsp;nr. iv) expresses it �on account of their being so remotenbsp;from the rest of the world ��the Christians of Greatnbsp;Britain and Ireland knew nothing of this reformation,nbsp;and continued to follow their own old custom as handednbsp;down to them from the great and venerated apostles St.nbsp;Patrick, St. Columba, and others, which they steadfastlynbsp;refused to change notwithstanding the exhortations of St.nbsp;Augustine and his successors in Canterbury. Irish monksnbsp;including the great missionary St. Columbanus�then innbsp;France�maintained their side with learning and spirit:nbsp;but the adherents of the old custom grew fewer yearnbsp;by year. The monks of Iona were the last to yield,nbsp;which they did about the year 716, and thus terminatednbsp;a dispute that had lasted more than a century and anbsp;half, and which, though the question was comparativelynbsp;unimportant, had given rise to more earnest controversynbsp;than any other during the early ages of the church innbsp;these countries.¹

Bishops.�As the episcopate was not limited, and more especially as the dioceses were not territorially defined,nbsp;bishops were much more numerous in those early timesnbsp;than subsequently. This was the case from the very firstnbsp;introduction of Christianity into Ireland. Nennius tellsnbsp;us that St. Patrick consecrated 365 bishops : and the Firstnbsp;Order of Saints, including St. Patrick himself, was said tonbsp;have consisted of 350 bishops. Both statements arenbsp;probably exaggerated : but even so, they sufficiently indicate the general tendency. But it appears that thisnbsp;practice of consecrating a bishop without a diocese alsonbsp;existed in early ages on the continent, though it prevailed

For fuller accounts of this celebrated dispute, see Dr. Healy, pp. 527-531 : Reeves, Adamn.. Index, � Easter � : and Joyce, Short Hist, of Irl., 160. The time of celebrating Easter is learnedly discussed by the Rev. Dr.nbsp;B. Mac Carthv in his � Introduction quot; in vol. iv. of the Annals of Ulster.

Comorba or Coarb.�The Irish word comorba, commonly Englished coarb, means an heir or successor in general ;nbsp;from the Irish prefix com (equal to the English co or con),nbsp;and orba, land or any inheritance. In connexion with anbsp;church, this word comorba or coarb was usually applied tonbsp;the inheritor of a bishopric, abbacy, or other ecclesiasticalnbsp;dignity. Thus the archbishop of Armagh is the coarb ofnbsp;St. Patrick ; the archbishop of Dublin the coarb of St.nbsp;Laurence O�Toole ; the abbot of Glendalough was thenbsp;coarb of St. Kevin ; and the pope is often called the coarbnbsp;of St. Peter.

Erenach.�The lands belonging to a church or monastery were usually managed by an officer called an erenach or herenach (Irish airchinnech), who, after deducting hisnbsp;own stipend, gave up the residue for the purposes intendednbsp;�the support of the church or the relief of the poor. Itnbsp;was generally understood to be the duty of the erenach tonbsp;keep the church clean and in proper repair, and the groundsnbsp;in order. There were erenachs in connexion with nearlynbsp;all the monasteries and churches ; mostly laymen. Thenbsp;lay erenachs were usually tonsured.f This word airchin-nech, like comorba, was originally a lay term, applied to anbsp;chief or leader : in Zeuss, 868, 34, it glosses frinceps ; andnbsp;in Cormac�s Glossary it is correctly derived from air,

Tonsure.�^The tonsure introduced by St. Patrick, and used by the First Order of Saints, was ab aure ad aurem, i.e.nbsp;the hair was cut off the whole front of the head from earnbsp;to ear, while the back part was left untouched, and flowednbsp;down long: which fashion was also adopted by St.

* Lanigan, iv. 35 � Reeves, Eccl. Antiqq., p. 123, note A, t Br. Laws, v. 123, 13-

I See TJssher�s Essay on � Corbes, Herenaches, and Termon Lands � : Works by Elrington, XT. 421. It wUl be seen from the above that thosenbsp;are wrong who say that airchennach is a corruption of archidiaconus.

Columkille and by the Second Order of Saints in general. This we learn from several authorities, among them thenbsp;Catalogue mentioned at page 317, supra, which says thatnbsp;the First and Second Orders of Irish Saints had � onenbsp;tonsure from ear to ear � : but that those of the Thirdnbsp;Order had a variety of tonsures. Many attempts werenbsp;made to induce the early Irish ecclesiastics to changenbsp;their custom for the tonsura corona, or � coronal tonsure,�nbsp;also called � Saint Peter�s,� in which the hair was cut onlynbsp;from a circular space on the crown of the head. It wasnbsp;alleged as a reproach against the Irish that they had thenbsp;tonsure of Simon Magus ; but they held on to the customnbsp;taught them by their venerated apostles, as they retainednbsp;their own time of celebrating Easter: and althoughnbsp;Adamnan wished to introduce the coronal tonsure to Iona,nbsp;the monks refused to make a change.* At length, in 718,nbsp;according to Tigernach�s Annals�two years after thenbsp;adoption of the Roman time of celebrating Easter�andnbsp;fifteen after the death of Adamnan�the Roman tonsurenbsp;was adopted in Iona: by which time, it is to be presumed, the tonsure from ear to ear had been abandonednbsp;everywhere in Ireland. (For Druidic tonsure, see p. 233,nbsp;supra.)

Cros-Figill.�Sometimes people prayed while holding the arms extended in front, so as to form a cross. Thisnbsp;was so well recognised a practice that it had a specialnbsp;name, Cros-figill. The word figill, which is the Latinnbsp;-cigil, is commonly used in Irish in the sense of prayer :nbsp;so that cros-ftgill means � cross-prayer.� 0�Clery, in hisnbsp;Glossary, defines it as � a prayer or vigil which one makesnbsp;on his knees with his hands stretched out in [the form of]nbsp;a cross.� In the Irish Life of St. Fechin, it is stated thatnbsp;Moses routed the Amalekites by praying with his handsnbsp;extended in cros-figill. This practice is mentioned everywhere in the old ecclesiastical literature ; and how early itnbsp;* See Bede, Ecc�. Hi.st., v. xxi.

began we may see from an Irish writer�s remark on one of the Psalms in the Milan Glosses�eighth century�^that innbsp;prayer, the eyes speak to God by being raised up to Him,nbsp;the knees and legs by kneeling, the body by prostration,nbsp;and the hands by cros-figill*

Aentaid or Union.�The ancient Irish saints were in the habit of making a Union (Irish aenfaid, pron. aintee) withnbsp;each other as a mark of close friendship and affection.nbsp;This union is very often mentioned in the Lives of thenbsp;Saints, but what it consisted in is not clear. No doubt itnbsp;was a spiritual union of some kind : probably a solemnnbsp;engagement that each should pray or celebrate Mass fornbsp;the other or others at certain appointed times. When anbsp;saint had great reputation for holiness, many others of lessnbsp;eminence sought to bring about a � union � with him.

Kings retiring to Monasteries.�No circumstance is more indicative of the wide-spread, deep religious feelingnbsp;among the ancient Irish people than the number of kingsnbsp;who late in life abdicated, and either retired to monasteries,nbsp;or went on pilgrimage, generally to Rome (see p. 341,nbsp;supra). The practice began early, and became verynbsp;general: of which there are so many records all overnbsp;our literature, especially the annals, that it is unnecessarynbsp;to refer to individual instances.

Hell.�The popular notions on various religious points as reflected in the tales and in the legends of the saints,nbsp;are many of them very curious ; but they are not ofnbsp;course given here as the settled doctrines emanating fromnbsp;any ecclesiastical authority.

Hell was deep under the earth, and is represented in some passages as fiery hot: in others as intolerably cold ;nbsp;and often both, i.e. hot in one part and cold in another :

reminding one of Milton's description of the damned as passing � o�er many a frozen, many a fiery Alp.� In thenbsp;� Demon Chariot of Cuculainn � (p. 375), a tale in the boohnbsp;of the Dun Cow, the gate of hell is opened to let out CucU�nbsp;lainn, and there was instantly a furious wind-rush outwards ; when, says Laegaire, � I saw the cold, piercingnbsp;� wind like a double-edged spear : little that it swept notnbsp;� our hair from our heads, and that it went not through usnbsp;� to the earth.� But another part was of a different temperature ; tor Cuculainn, relating (p. 391) how he wasnbsp;brought to hell, saysquot; My body was scarred, andnbsp;demons carried off my soul into the red-hot charcoal.� Innbsp;an Irish poem of equal antiquity, quoted by Stokes,* anbsp;person prays to be saved from � frozen hell � [iffernnnbsp;sectha) : and another ancient poem quoted by one of thenbsp;scholiasts on the Amra, has the expression � the chillynbsp;abode of hell.�t A much later document, a fourteenth-century poem in the Book of Fenagh (p. 103), says of certainnbsp;bad persons, � Their dark fast abode shall be the coldnbsp;flagged floor of lowermost hell � : but a few lines farthernbsp;on in the same poem, it is said that other persons, � fornbsp;the evils they have done, shall be put into hell fire.� In anbsp;still later poem Oisin asks St. Patrick how is it possiblenbsp;that Finn, the ever generous, should now have cold hell fornbsp;his house.J A poem in the Irish Life of St. Brendan statesnbsp;that anyone buried in Tuam-da-ghualann shall not � suffernbsp;the torments of cold hell � {ithfern uar').%

There are many detailed descriptions of hell in old Irish writings, of which the following items from a sermonnbsp;on the Day of Judgment in the Book of the Dun Cow|] maynbsp;be taken as a sample :�� A merciless seat of dark firesnbsp;� ever burning, of glowing coals, of smothering fogs, innbsp;� presence of the king of evil in the valley of tortures ;nbsp;� life all woeful, sad, foul, unclean ; numerous gluttonous

� long-clawed dogs [worrying the damned] ; cats tearing � and furrowing the flesh ; fiends torturing ; fierce rendingnbsp;quot; lions ; toads and poisonous adders ; hideous iron birdsnbsp;� with long talons; stinking stormy loughs, cold andnbsp;� hellish ; red-hot flags under the feet; strangling ofnbsp;� throats and torturing of heads ; existence in hunger andnbsp;� thirst, in great heat, in great cold, in company of thenbsp;� fiends and of the household of hell; wailing, groaning,nbsp;� screaming.� Another description, at least equallynbsp;dismal, has been left us by St. Brendan, who got a peepnbsp;into hell, through the gate, by the civility of the bestnbsp;possible guide�^the devil.¹

The punishment in hell had often some relation to the crime, and sometimes the very instruments followed thenbsp;wretch to hell, and were now turned to his own punishment. The sons of 0�Corra saw a man digging in anbsp;garden on one of the islands of hell, while both spade andnbsp;handle were red-hot: which punishment he was doomednbsp;to because while on earth he worked every Sunday diggingnbsp;in his garden, t

In some cases the damned were freed from their tortures every Sunday, or their punishment was mitigated : a notion found also in ancient Welsh and othernbsp;ecclesiastical legends. The sons of 0�Corra hear a numbernbsp;of birds singing on a Sunday; and are informed thatnbsp;quot; these are the souls that are permitted to come out ofnbsp;hell every Sunday.�]; The same idea is found in thenbsp;Vision of Adamnan. Even in the case of Judas, he wasnbsp;permitted to come to a place on Sundays where hisnbsp;sufferings were lightened. On one of these days St.nbsp;Brendan saw him sitting on a rugged and slimy rock,nbsp;over which the waves dashed alternately from east and

Stokes, Lives of SS., 254. The reader may compare these with Milton�s descriptions of hell in the opening and towards the end of thenbsp;second book of Paradise Lost.

west and drenched him ; the waves from the east were of fire, and those from the west were icy cold.* We maynbsp;imagine his condition on week-days.

The devil could take a variety of shapes as it suited his purpose; but when in his own natural form andnbsp;character, the legends represent him much as he appearsnbsp;in the popular notions of the present day. He once paidnbsp;a visit in disguise to St. Moiling, who soon discovered whonbsp;he was, and recommended him to go on his knees andnbsp;pray :�� Ah,� said he, � I am not able to kneel down, fornbsp;my knees are at the back of my legs.�f A legend in thenbsp;Irish Life of St. Brigit relates that the devil once venturednbsp;into the refectory where the saint and her nuns were atnbsp;dinner. But Brigit miraculously rendered him visible ;nbsp;when he appeared beside the table � with his head downnbsp;� and his feet up, while smoke and flames issued from hisnbsp;� gullet and nostrils ��to the great terror of those nunsnbsp;who saw him (Stokes, Lives, 190).

Four Visits after Death.�We are told in a legend in the Second Vision of Adamnan, that the soul, on parting fromnbsp;the body, visits four places before setting out for its finalnbsp;destination�the place of its birth, the place of its death,nbsp;the place of its baptism, and the place of its burial. |nbsp;According to this, the pathetic wish of the poor old Irishwoman who recently lay dying in Liverpool was granted.nbsp;Just with her last breath she begged to know from thenbsp;Irish priest who shrived her whether God would permitnbsp;her to pass through Ireland on her way to heaven.

Spirits in the Shape of Birds.�Human souls, as well as angels and demons, often took the shape of birds �nbsp;those of the good were white and beautiful; while wicked

f Feilire, 105. Notwithstanding this ludicrous expression, there is something pathetic in Satan�s replies during this interview, betraying innbsp;the heart of the good old monk who wrote the account a lurking feelingnbsp;of commiseration like that exhibited in the last verse of Burns�s � Addressnbsp;to the Deil.�nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;t Stokes, Rev. Celt., xjt. 425.

souls and demons often appeared as ravens or other sooty-looking birds of ill omen.¹

Ceuturies appear as hours.�A very common ecclesiastical legend is this:�A man, generally a monk, walks out into the woods. Suddenly he hears a bird singingnbsp;with heavenly sweetness over his head in a tree. He sitsnbsp;or lies down and listens entranced, forgetful of everythingnbsp;for the time. At last when he has remained for perhaps

three hours, as he deems it, the bird ceases and flies away, and he returns to the monastery. But there he is amazednbsp;to find strangers everywhere, and all things changed.nbsp;Finally, it is discovered that he has been away listening tonbsp;the music for 300 years. Then seeing the real state ofnbsp;things, he receives the last sacraments, dies, and goes tonbsp;heaven. Similar legends, as we have seen (p. 297, supra),nbsp;existed among the Irish pagans, and indeed are found innbsp;the ancient popular literature of other countries, f

For instances, see Joyce, Old Celtic Romances. 144, 405, 410, 410, ] For an instance, see Feilire. 107, and O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., ii. 386.

Ornament, with Inscription, on the cover of the � Misach,� an ancient reliquary belonging to Inishowen. From Mi.-.s Stokes�s � Christian luscripfons,� ii. 102.

;,ANY passages in our old native literature, both sacred and profane, state that the pagan Irishnbsp;had books before the introduction of Christianity. In the memoir of St. Patrick, writtennbsp;by Muirchu Maccu Machteni in the seventh century, nownbsp;contained in the Book of Armagh, he relates how, duringnbsp;the contest of the saint with the druids at Tara, Kingnbsp;Laegaire [Laery] proposed that one of Patrick�s books andnbsp;one belonging to the druids should be thrown into water,nbsp;to see which would come out uninjured : a sort of ordealnbsp;(p. 307, supra). Here it will be observed that Muirchu�snbsp;statement that the druids had books embodies a traditionnbsp;that was ancient in the seventh century, when he wrote ;nbsp;and it derives additional force from the fact that it isnbsp;brought in incidentally (see p. 10, supra). The samenbsp;story is told in the Tripartite Life.

The lay traditions, many of them as old as Muirchu�s Life, which are found everywhere in the Historical andnbsp;Romantic Tales, and in other documents, state that thenbsp;pagan Irish used Ogham writing : and we find Oghamnbsp;inscriptions constantly referred to as engraved on thenbsp;tombs of pagan kings and chiefs, each usually containing

merely the name of the person buried, but often also his father�s name, and occasionally one or two other circumstances very briefly stated.¹ A typical example occurs innbsp;the Book of the Dun Cow, where Cdilte [Keelta] givesnbsp;an account of the death and burial of Ochy Airgthechnbsp;(a temporary usurping king of Ireland�third century),nbsp;ending with this expression :�� And by his tomb therenbsp;� is a pillar-stone : and on the end of the pillar that is innbsp;� the earth there is an ogom : this is what it says ;�nbsp;� � Eochaid Airgthech here : Cailte slew me in an encounternbsp;� against Finn.� �f Whenever the death and burial of anbsp;person is recorded in the old tales, whether relating tonbsp;pagan or Christian times, there is almost always a statement like the above :�that a stone was placed over thenbsp;grave, on which the name was inscribed in Ogham.

... / // III //// ///// /nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;//nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;///nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;////nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Hill

Ogham Alphabet. (From Journ. Roy. Soc. Aiitiqq. Ire. for 1902, p. 3.) There were a few other characters which were occasionally used¹

Ogham was a species of writing, the letters of which were formed by combinations of short lines and points, onnbsp;and at both sides of a middle or stem line called a flesc.nbsp;Scraps of Ogham are sometimes found in manuscripts.nbsp;Sir James Ware (Antiqq. 19) says he had an old vellumnbsp;book filled with Ogham characters. But so far as we cannbsp;judge from the specimens remaining to us, its use wasnbsp;mostly confined to stone inscriptions, the groups of lines andnbsp;points generally running along two adjacent Sides of thenbsp;stone, with the angle for a flesc. In the ancient tales wenbsp;find it often stated that Oghams were also cut on rods of

yew or oak.¹ According to the Brehon Law Books, pillar-stones with Ogham inscriptions were sometimes set up to mark the boundaries between two adjacent properties ;nbsp;and these were often covered up with mounds of earth.nbsp;But nearly all the Oghams hitherto found are sepulchralnbsp;inscriptions ; which answer exactly to the descriptionsnbsp;given in the old records ; as they contain little morenbsp;than the names of the persons interred and of theirnbsp;fathers. The Ogham alphabet is called the Beth-luis-nion,nbsp;from the names of the three first letters, representingnbsp;B, L, N. The letters are nearly all named from trees:nbsp;hence they are called collectively feada [faa], or � woods � �.nbsp;and what is very remarkable, the order of the letters isnbsp;totally different from that of the Latin or any othernbsp;alphabet, f

Between two and three hundred Ogham monuments have been found in various parts of the four provinces ofnbsp;Ireland ; but they are far more numerous in the south andnbsp;south-west than elsewhere. Most of them stand in theirnbsp;original situations ; but many have been brought to Dublin,nbsp;where they may be seen in the National Museum ; and anbsp;few have been sent to the British Museum. About fiftynbsp;have been found in Wales, England, Scotland, and thenbsp;Isle of Man; but more in South Wales and Scotlandnbsp;then elsewherej ; all probably inscribed by or under thenbsp;influence of Irishmen.

In the Book of Ballymote is an ancient treatise on Ogham, which there is reason to believe was originallynbsp;written in the beginning of the ninth century, and copiednbsp;into this book from some older volume ; and there is anbsp;second and less important treatise in another Irish manuscript. These tracts give a key to the reading of Ogham,

LI., 58, a, 4. � 59, 04; Miss Hull, Cuch. Saga, 128 : Sull., Introd., 343. note 5,5.

Independently of them, the key has been got from bilingual stone-inscriptions�one at least in Ireland and several innbsp;Wales�in which the same words and names are given innbsp;both Ogham and Latin letters�something like the Rosettanbsp;stone.¹ The key thus found corresponds with that givennbsp;in the manuscripts. Where inscriptions have not beennbsp;injured or defaced, they can in general be deciphered, sonbsp;that many have been made out beyond all question. Butnbsp;as the greatest number of Ogham stones are more or lessnbsp;worn or chipped or broken, there is in the interpretationnbsp;of the majority of the inscriptions some conjecture andnbsp;uncertainty.

As to the antiquity of Ogham writing, some contend that all Oghams are purely pagan, dating from a timenbsp;before the introduction of Christianity ; and they willnbsp;not admit the correctness of any reading that bringsnbsp;an inscription within Christian times. The late Bishopnbsp;Graves of Limerick, a most eminent scholar, endeavourednbsp;to prove, on the other hand, that they are all purelynbsp;Christian. Others again, while admitting the use ofnbsp;Ogham in Christian times, maintain that this writing is

a survival from the far distant ages of paganism, and that it was developed before Christianity was heard of in Ireland. There are the best reasons for believing that thisnbsp;opinion is correct; and to support it we have the universal agreement of the old ms. traditions, with stillnbsp;stronger linguistic evidence. Ogham inscriptions containnbsp;numerous forms of the Irish language which are identicalnbsp;with those in Gaulish inscriptions older than the fifthnbsp;century�forms which had fallen outnbsp;of use in the Irish branch of Celticnbsp;ages before the earliest of the Irishnbsp;Glosses were written, though manynbsp;of these date from the seventh ornbsp;eighth century. These considerationsnbsp;�linguistic and historical�^have lednbsp;Dr. Whitley Stokes to the conclusionnbsp;� that some of the Celts of thesenbsp;� islands wrote their language beforenbsp;� the fifth century, the time at whichnbsp;� Christianity^ is supposed to havenbsp;� been introduced into Ireland. Withnbsp;� this conclusion Cormac Mac Cul-� lenan�s statements agree.�* (Fornbsp;Cormac see below.) On this pointnbsp;also the Rev. Dr. B. Mac Carthynbsp;truly remarks :�� In substance thenbsp;� same as the present language, thenbsp;� Ogham script belongs to a stagenbsp;� centuries older than that to whichnbsp;� � according to the progress of linguistic development,nbsp;� the most archaic of our other literary remains can benbsp;� assigned.� This fact alone, according to Dr. Mac Carthy,nbsp;is sufficient to prove � that the Irish possessed lettersnbsp;before the introduction of Christianity.� j

* Stokes, Three Irish Glossaries, Iv, Ivi: see also Hyde, Lit. Hist., no, and note i.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;t Codex. Pal.-Vat., 244.

The necessary conclusion from all this is that Ogham stones, containing such archaic forms of the language, werenbsp;engraved and erected by the pagan Irish long before thenbsp;advent of St. Patrick. Zeuss, who saw Ogham only innbsp;books, even with his imperfect sources of information,nbsp;came to the same conclusion. He found fragments ofnbsp;Ogham among the glosses of the St. Gall copy of Prisciannbsp;(glosses written in the seventh or eighth centuryquot;), and wasnbsp;profoundly impressed with their great antiquity; so thatnbsp;elsewhere he states his opinion that the Celtic peoplenbsp;wrote in Ogham before they received the Latin letters fromnbsp;the Romans. On this, Stokes (having stated his conclusion that some of the Celts of these islands wrote theirnbsp;language before the fifth century) says :�quot; It is withnbsp;quot; sincere pleasure that I put these notes together [innbsp;� � Three Irish Glossaries,' pp. Iv and Ivij, as justifyingnbsp;� the idea thrown out by Zeuss in his preface.�

Let us now see what the written records have to say. In Cormac�s Glossary (p. 75)�compiled in the ninth ornbsp;tenth century, but embodying records and traditionsnbsp;centuries older�it is stated that the heathen Irish kept innbsp;their cemeteries a rod called f�, for measuring bodies andnbsp;graves, on which Ogham was inscribed : and that they werenbsp;accustomed to mark with Ogham everything that wasnbsp;odious to them [like the fe]. Elsewhere (p. 130) he statesnbsp;that a person named Lomna cut an Ogham on a fournbsp;square rod for Finn to give him certain information.nbsp;Besides this we find everywhere in the Tales�many ofnbsp;them so old as to be quite pagan in character�statementsnbsp;that Ogham was used from the most remote times as anbsp;mode of communication between individuals, and, asnbsp;already remarked, that the names of persons interrednbsp;were often engraved on their tombstones.

There are many other considerations all tending to show that there was some form of written literature beforenbsp;the advent of Christianity. Our oldest records testify to

the existence ol a long succession of poets and historians from the earliest times : and several circumstances indicate a state of literary activity at the time of the arrivalnbsp;of St. Patrick.' Both the native bardic literature and thenbsp;ancient Lives of Patrick himself and of his contemporarynbsp;saints concur in stating that he found in the countrynbsp;literary and professional men�all pagans�druids, poets,nbsp;and antiquarians, and an elaborate code of laws. And, itnbsp;is certain that immediately after the general establishmentnbsp;of Christianity, in the fifth century, the Irish committednbsp;to writing in their native language � not only the laws,nbsp;� bardic historical poems, amp;c., of their own time, but thosenbsp;� which had been preserved from times preceding, whethernbsp;� traditionally or otherwise.�* The use of writing couldnbsp;hardly have come into general use so suddenly withoutnbsp;a pretty widespread previous knowledge of letters. Tonbsp;take another view of the case. The earliest .of the glossesnbsp;published by ZeusS, which he states were written in thenbsp;eighth century, but, according to other scholars, innbsp;the seventh, show that at that period Irish as anbsp;written language was fully developed and cultivated,nbsp;with a polished phraseology and an elaborate systematic grammar, and ^ having fixed and well-establishednbsp;zvritten forms for its words, and for all their rich inflections. It is hardly conceivable how such a regular andnbsp;complete system of written language could have beennbsp;developed in the period that elapsed from the fifth centurynbsp;to the general spread of Christian learning�a period whichnbsp;will appear much too short when w^e recollect that.earlynbsp;Irish secular literature had its roots, not in Christianity,nbsp;but inmative learning, which was the main, and almostnbsp;the sole, influence in developing it.

Again : Irish poetry was developed altogether in the lay schools. It had, as will be mentioned (see vol. ii. pp.nbsp;497 and 498), a very complicated prosody, with numerous

technical terms�fifty or more�all native Irish, some of which may be seen in the article on Prosody in 0�Donovan�snbsp;grammar. It exhibits no trace of Latin or ecclesiasticalnbsp;influence, though the Christian Irish writers continued tonbsp;use it when writing in the native language. All this showsnbsp;that Irish prosodial rules and technical terms, and of coursenbsp;Irish poetry in general, were brought to their state ofnbsp;completeness before the introduction of Christianity. Ifnbsp;the prosodial system had grown up under the influencenbsp;or during the prevalence of Christian learning, it wouldnbsp;certainly have a mixture of Latin terms, like Christianity.nbsp;So also with the lay scholastic nomenclature (p. 430, infra).

The last witness to be brought forward is a foreigner, whose testimony is direct and decisive, and quite sufficientnbsp;of itself to set at rest the question of the existence ofnbsp;writing among the pagan Irish, though it has hithertonbsp;been scarcely noticed by writers on ancient Ireland. Anbsp;Christian philosopher of the fourth century of our era*nbsp;named � Aethicus or Ethicus of Istria,� well known innbsp;ancient literature, wrote a Cosmography of the Worldnbsp;(� Cosmographia Aethici Istrii �), of which many editionsnbsp;have been published. One part of it has been insertednbsp;by Orosius (about a.d. 420) in his � History,� of whichnbsp;it forms the second chapter of the first book. Ethicusnbsp;travelled through the three Continents and described whatnbsp;he saw, in an Itinerary, of which a sort of descriptivenbsp;summary was made soon after his time by a priest namednbsp;Hieronymus or Jerome. This abridgment, which wasnbsp;published at Leipsic by Wuttke in ilt;S54, is a well-knownnbsp;work : and it is the edition referred to and quoted here.

From Spain Ethicus came direct to Ireland, whence he crossed over to Britain, and thence to the Orkneynbsp;Islands. He was something of a pedant, with a highnbsp;opinion of his own learning, eccentric, fond of philosophic

* Some place him as early as the second or third century ; but he could not have been later than the fourth

puzzles, hard to please, and very censorious : and he deliberately adopted an obscure and often a corrupt Latinnbsp;phraseology, merely to puzzle his readers. While innbsp;Spain he propounded some knotty questions to thenbsp;philosophers there, who. he says, were not able tonbsp;answer them. In a few very obscure sentences he seemsnbsp;to commend the Britons for their natural abilities and fornbsp;their skill in mining and metallic arts : but, almost in thenbsp;same breath, he says they were so unlearned [in booknbsp;knowledge ?] as to be quite a horror [imperitissimamnbsp;gentem, horror cm nimium). All the rest of what he hasnbsp;to say about Britain is devoted to minerals, which werenbsp;found there in great abundance.

The words about Ireland, in the passage bearing on our present subject, are however perfectly plain (p. 14,nbsp;Leipsic Ed.) :�Leaving Spain

quot; Hiberniam properavit et in ea aliquandiu commoratus est eoruin volumina volvens. Appellavitque eos ideomochos, vel ideo histas, idnbsp;est, imperitos laboratores vel incultos doctores.�

quot; He hastened to Ireland and remained there some time examining their volumes ; and he called them [i.e. the Irish sages] ideomochos or ideo-histas, that is to say, unskilled toilers or uncultivated teachers.�¹

The rest of the short passage about Ireland is corrupt and obscure, consisting of a general grumble about thenbsp;labour he underwent in coming hither and the smallnbsp;reward he had for his trouble ; and it does not concernnbsp;us here. It will be observed that he hits off what henbsp;obviously considered the main characteristics of the twonbsp;countries�Ireland for books, Britain for minerals. But

The writer of the article on Ethicus in the Nouvelle Biographic O�n�rale renders the first sentence :�� II part pour I'Hibernie, ou ilnbsp;reste quelque temps A examiner les livres des sages irlandais.� Thisnbsp;writer thinks�erroneously, as I believe�that the Jerome above mentioned, who made an abstract of the Cosmography, was the great Christian father St Jerome.

the fact that he does not mention books in connexion with the people of Britain does not imply that there werenbsp;none. The Britons had books, but of the ordinary typenbsp;common among Christians at that time all over thenbsp;Roman empire, consisting chiefly of ecclesiastical literaturenbsp;in the Latin language : so that there was nothing in themnbsp;specially requiring notice from him, or more probablynbsp;those people he happened to come across had no books.

But in Ireland the case was different. Here he found native Irish books, of which both the language and thenbsp;literature w�ere quite new and strange to him. If therenbsp;were any Christians in the country .at the time�and it isnbsp;pretty certain there were�their books were few and ofnbsp;the same general character as those in Britain�totallynbsp;different from the native books. Ethicus speaks of thenbsp;volumina of the Irish as a noteworthy feature of thenbsp;country ; and as to his depreciatory tone, we need not benbsp;surprised at that ; for besides his natural fault-findingnbsp;bent of mind, we know that all learning outside that ofnbsp;Rome and Greece was in those times looked upon asnbsp;barbarous and almost beneath notice. In a similar strainnbsp;he speaks slightingly of the Spanish sages. Moreover henbsp;could not understand the Irish language, and never got tonbsp;the bottom of the native learning, such as it was. But hisnbsp;opening statement proves that when he visited�whichnbsp;was at least a century before the time of St. Patrick�henbsp;found books among the Irish ; and it implies that he foundnbsp;them in abundance, for he remained some time examiningnbsp;them. The fact that there were numerous books in Ireland in the fourth century implies a knowledge of writingnbsp;for a long time previously. Mr. James Fergusson, a cool-headed English investigator, thinks that the Irish hadnbsp;books in the time of Cormac Mac Art (a.d. 254-277)*-and he came to this conclusion on the strength of Irishnbsp;records alone, knowing nothing of Ethicus.

1. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;That native learning was actively cultivated andnbsp;systematically developed in Ireland before the introduction of Christianity : and

2. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;That the pagan Irish had a knowledge of letters, andnbsp;that they wrote their lore, or part of it, in books, and cutnbsp;Ogham inscriptions on stone and wood. But when ornbsp;how they obtained their knowledge of writing, we have asnbsp;yet no means of determining with certainty.

It is true indeed that no books or writings of any kind, either pagan or Christian, of the time before St.nbsp;Patrick, remain�with the exception of Ogham inscriptions.nbsp;But this proves nothing ; for in this respect Ireland isnbsp;circumstanced like most other countries. A similarnbsp;state of things exists, for instance, in Britain, where,nbsp;notwithstanding that writing was generally known andnbsp;practised from the Roman occupation down, no manuscriptnbsp;has been preserved of an earlier date than the eighthnbsp;century.

On this question the authority of Edmund Spenser the poet cannot be considered of much value : but jt isnbsp;worth while to quote his words as representing the convictions of thoughtful men of his time�the sixteenthnbsp;century�regarding the ancient civilisation of Ireland. '

� It is certaine that Ireland hath had the use of letters very anciently, and long before England. Whence they had those letters it is hardnbsp;to say ; for whether they at their first comming into the land, or afterwards by trading with other nations which had letters, learned themnbsp;of them, or devised them among themselves, is very doubtful; butnbsp;that they had letters aunciently, is nothing doubtfull, for the Saxonsnbsp;of England are said to have their letters, and learning, and learnednbsp;them from the Irish, and that also appeareth by the likenesse of thenbsp;character, for the Saxon character is the same with the Irish.�

� It seemeth that they [the Irish] had them [the letters] from the nation that came out of Spaine.quot; (View, 65.^

Spenser here mixes up the original letters of the pagan Irish with those brought over by St. Patrick andnbsp;his fellow-missionaries : but the passage is none the lessnbsp;instructive for that.

There is nothing, either in the memoirs of St. Patrick, or in Irish secular literature, or in Jerome's abridgmentnbsp;of Ethicus, giving the least hint as to the characters ornbsp;the sort of writing used in the books of the pagan Irish.nbsp;But whatever characters they may have used in times ofnbsp;paganism, they adopted the Roman letters in writing theirnbsp;oivn language after the time of St. Patrick : which are st�lnbsp;retained in modern Irish. These same letters, moreover,nbsp;were brought to Great Britain by the early Irish missionariesnbsp;already spoken of (p. 336, supra), from whom the Anglo-Saxons learned them (as Spenser says above) : so thatnbsp;England received her first knowledge of letters�as shenbsp;received most of her Christianity�from Ireland. Formerlynbsp;it was the fashion among the learned all over Europe to callnbsp;those letters Anglo-Saxon ; but now people know better.

2. Monastic Schools.

Two Classes of Schools.�^The schools and colleges of ancient Ireland were of two classes. Ecclesiastical and Lay.nbsp;The ecclesiastical or monastic schools were introducednbsp;with Christianity, and were conducted by monks. Thenbsp;lay or secular schools existed from a period of unknownnbsp;antiquity, and in pagan times they were taught by druids.nbsp;The Irish monastic schools u'ere celebrated all overnbsp;Europe in the middle ages : the lay schools, thoughnbsp;playing an important part in spreading learning at home,nbsp;were not so well known. These two classes of schoolsnbsp;are well distinguished all through the literar}^ histor}� ofnbsp;Ireland, and, without interfering with each other, workednbsp;contemporaneously from the fifth to the nineteenthnbsp;century.*

General features of monastic schools.�Even from the time of St. Patrick there were schools in connexion withnbsp;several of the monasteries he founded, chiefly for thenbsp;education of young men intended for the church. Butnbsp;when the great monastic movement already spoken ofnbsp;(p. 322) began, in the sixth century, then there was a rapid

* A full and most interesting account of the ancient Irish monastic schools and colleges has been given by the Most Rev. Dr. Healy, Archbishop of Tuam, in his book �'Irelands�s Ancient Schools and Scholars.�nbsp;A mere list of the schools treated of in this book, and in Lanigan�s Ecclesiastical History, will give some idea of the spread of education in Irelandnbsp;in those early times, especially when it is remembered that this list includes none of the lay schools :�Armagh; Kildare ; Nendrum (in Strang-ford Lough, County Down) ; Louth; Emly (in Tipperary) ; Begerin (annbsp;island in Wexford Harbour); Cluain-fois (near Tuam in Galway); Elphinnbsp;(in Roscommon); Aran Island (in Galway Bay); Clonard (on the Boynenbsp;in Meath)) Clonfert (in Galway); Movilla (near the present Newtown-'nbsp;aids) ; Clonmacnoise ; Glasnevin (near Dublin) ; Derry ; Durrow (innbsp;King�s County); Kells (in Meath); Bangor (in County Down); Clonenaghnbsp;(in Queen�s County) ; Glendalough ; Lismore; Cork ; Ross Ailither (nownbsp;Rosscarbery in Cork); Innisfallen (in the Lower Lake of Killarney);nbsp;Mungret (near Limerick city); Inishcaltra (now Holy Island in Loughnbsp;Derg on the Shannon) ; Birr ; Roscrea ; Mayo ; Downpatrick; Tuam;nbsp;Slane (on the Boyne above Drogheda). Most of these were carriednbsp;on simultaneously from the sixth century downwards.

growth of schools and colleges all over the country : for almost every large monastery had a school attached : andnbsp;it often happened that a school rose up round some scholarnbsp;of exceptional eminence where it was not intended. Manynbsp;of these contained great numbers of students. Undernbsp;each of the three fathers of the Irish Church, St. Finnen innbsp;Clonard, St. Comgall in Bangor, and St. Brendan in Clon-fert, there were 3000, including no doubt monks as well asnbsp;students ; St. Molaise had 1500 ; St. Gobban 1000 ; andnbsp;so on down to the school of Glasnevin, where St. Mobi hadnbsp;50. This last�fifty�was a very usual number in thenbsp;smaller monastic schools. How such large numbers asnbsp;those in Clonard, Bangor, and Clonfert obtained livingnbsp;and sleeping accommodation will be found describednbsp;farther on. That there is not necessarily any or muchnbsp;exaggeration in these statements as to numbers appearsnbsp;from the record of the Venerable Bede, that the monasterynbsp;of Bangor in Wales was divided into seven parts, eachnbsp;with a leader, and that none of these divisions containednbsp;less than 300 men, all suppoiting themselves by the labournbsp;of their hands : which would bring up the whole population of this Bangor school near or altogether to 3000.*

In these schools secular as well as ecclesiastical learning was carefully attended to ; for besides divinity, the study of the Scriptures, and classics, for those intendednbsp;for the church, the students wer^ instructed�as we shallnbsp;see�in general literature and science. Accordingly, anbsp;large proportion of the students in these monastic schoolsnbsp;were young men�amongst them sons of kings and chiefsnbsp;�intended, not for the church, but for ordinary civil ornbsp;military life, who attended to get a good general education. To quote one example where such students arenbsp;mentioned incidentally :�We read in the Four Masters,nbsp;under a.d. 643 {rcdc, 648), that Ragallach, king of Connaught, was assassinated. At this time his second sonnbsp;* Bede, Eccl. Hist., ii. ii. See Lynch, Cambr. Ev. 277.

Cathal was a student in the College of Clonard ; and when he heard of his father�s murder, he and a party ofnbsp;twenty-seven of his fellow-students, all young laymen fromnbsp;Connaught, sallied forth from the college, and coming tonbsp;the house of the assassin, beheaded him.* In case ofnbsp;kings of high rank, however, the young princes werenbsp;generally educated at home, the teachers residing at courtnbsp;and taking rank with the highest. In those great seminaries, every branch of knowledge then known was taught:nbsp;they were in fact the prototypes of our modern universities.nbsp;� We must ��writes Dr. Richey�� neither overestimatenbsp;� nor depreciate these establishments. They undoubtedlynbsp;� were in advance of any schools existing on the Con-� tinent; and the lists of books possessed by some ofnbsp;� the teachers prove that their institutions embraced anbsp;� considerable course of classical learning.��'�f

Learning was not confined to men. In the sixth century King Branduff�s mother had a writing st5denbsp;{delg geaiph), so that she must have practised writingnbsp;on waxed tablets ; and this is spoken of in the old recordnbsp;as a matter of common occurrence among ladies.t Thenbsp;daughter of the king of Cualann was sent to Clonard tonbsp;St. Finnen to learn to read her Psalms [in Latin].� Onenbsp;of the First Order of Irish saints named Mugint founded anbsp;school in Scotland, to which girls as well as boys werenbsp;admitted to study ;|| and St. Ita enjoins her foster-sonnbsp;St. Brendan, when a young man, not to study with womennbsp;lest some evil-disposed person might revile him.^

Extent of Learning in Monastic Schools.�We have ample evidence that both the Latin and Greek languagesnbsp;and literatures were studied with success in Ireland from

the sixth to the tenth century; and that the learned men from the Irish schools were quite on a par with the mostnbsp;eminent of the Continental scholars of the time, and not anbsp;few at the head of all. Columbanus, Aileran the Wise,nbsp;Cum-mian, Sedulius, Fergil the Geometer, Duns Scotus,nbsp;and many others, all Irishmen and educated in Irishnbsp;schools, were celebratednbsp;throughout Europe fornbsp;their learning. The mostnbsp;distinguished scholar ofnbsp;his day was John Scotusnbsp;Erigena (� John the Irishnbsp;Scot �), celebrated for hisnbsp;knowledge of Greek, andnbsp;for his philosophicalnbsp;speculations He taughtnbsp;philosophy in Paris, andnbsp;died about the yearnbsp;870*

When the dispute about the time of celebratingnbsp;Easter was at its height, St.

Cummian wrote a Latin letter to Segienus, abbot ofnbsp;Iona, in defence of thenbsp;Roman custom, and urgingnbsp;him to adopt it in Iona,nbsp;which is published innbsp;Ussher�s works, and occupies twelve pages of vol. iv. � Cummian�s letter regarding the Easter festival,quot; writes Skene in his Celtic Scotland. � shows a perfect mastery of his subject, and maynbsp;compare with any ecclesiastical document of the time.�

* For John Scotus Erigena, see Lanigan, in. 288- 319 ; and for the others see the works named in note, next page.

� This long letter,� observes Professor George T. Stokes, � proves to demonstration that in the first half of thenbsp;� seventh century there was a wide range of Greek learning,nbsp;� not ecclesiastical merely, but chronological, astronomical,nbsp;� and philosophical, away in Burrow in the very centrenbsp;� of the Bog of Allen.�* The Irish monks were equallynbsp;famed for their theological learning. It is worthy ofnbsp;remark that, so far as theology and sacred learning innbsp;general were concerned, the University of Armagh seemsnbsp;to have been regarded as the head of all the other schoolsnbsp;and colleges ; for in the synod held at Clane (Countvnbsp;Kildare) in the year 1162, where twenty-five bishops andnbsp;many other ecclesiastics of high rank attended, it wasnbsp;decreed that no person should thenceforward be permitted to give public lectures in the sacred Scriptures ornbsp;in theology in any part of Ireland unless he had studiednbsp;for some time at Armagh, f It seems probable that thisnbsp;was merely rendering compulsory what had long beennbsp;the custom.

Foreign Students.�In all the more important schools there were students from foreign lands, from the Continentnbsp;as well as from Great Britain, attracted by the eminence ofnbsp;the masters and by the facilities for quiet, uninterruptednbsp;study. In the Lives of distinguished Englishmen wenbsp;constantly find such statements as � he was sent to Irelandnbsp;to finish his education.�^ The illustrious scholar Alcuin,nbsp;who was a native of York, was educated at Clonmacnoise.nbsp;Among the foreign visitors were many princes : Oswaldnbsp;and Aldfrid, kings of Northumbria, and Dagobert IT,

* See the Most Rev. Dr. Healy�s Ireland�s Ancient Schools and Scholars, passim : Dr. Hyde�s Literary History of Ireland, chap. xvii. :nbsp;the Rev. Dr. George T. Stokes�s article on The Knowledge of Greek innbsp;Ireland between a.d. 500 and a.d. 900, in Proc. Roy. Ir. Acad, for 1891-1892, p. 187 : Skene�s Celtic Scotland, ii. 419 : and Lanigan, Eccl. Hist.,nbsp;I. 58. In these works will be found an account of all those eminent mennbsp;named in last page.

t Lanigan, IV. 178; Lynch, Cambr. Ev., il. 383, 427: and FM, A.D. n62.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;X O�Flaherty, Ogyg., iii, xxx.

king of France, were all educated in Ireland.* It appears that Aldfrid while in Ireland was called Flann Fina (fromnbsp;his mother Fina, an Irish princess) ; and there is still extantnbsp;a very ancient Irish poem in praise of Ireland, said tonbsp;have been composed by him ; it has been translated bynbsp;O�Donovan in the � Dublin Penny Journal,� vol. i., p. 94,nbsp;and metrically by J. Clarence Mangan. We get some ideanbsp;of the numbers of foreigners from the ancient Litany ofnbsp;Aengus the Culdee, in whichnbsp;we find invoked many Romans,

To this day there is to be seen, on Great Aran island, anbsp;tomb-stone, with the inscription � VII Romani,� Sevennbsp;Romans. It is known that innbsp;times of persecution Egyptiannbsp;monks fled to Ireland; andnbsp;they have left in the countrynbsp;many traces of their influence.

In the same Litany of Aengus mention is made of sevennbsp;Egyptian monks buried innbsp;one place.t

Scattered over the Lives of the Irish Saints are innumerable passages�many ofnbsp;them legendary, or mixed upnbsp;with legend, but none the less presenting a true picturenbsp;of what really took place�recording the arrival in Irelandnbsp;of foreign pilgrims and students, or notifying their residence or death. Here is one characteristic legend from

the Irish Life of St. Senan Then came a ship�s crew from the lands of Latium on a pilgrimage into Ireland :nbsp;five decades were their number.� The old document goesnbsp;on to say that each decade took one of the Irish saints asnbsp;patron and protector during the voyage, namely Saintsnbsp;Finnen, Senan, Brendan, Ciaran, Finnbarr; and theynbsp;arranged that each saint was to be asked by his votariesnbsp;to protect the ship for a night and a day in turn. Allnbsp;went well till it came to the turn of Senan�s ten, whennbsp;there arose a dangerous storm, and the pilot called out tonbsp;them for help : whereupon one of them, a bishop, rose upnbsp;from his dinner with a thigh-bone in his hand, and blessingnbsp;the air with the bone, he called on Senan for help, onnbsp;which the storm was instantly lulled, and they soon afternbsp;landed safely in Cork.¹

The greatest number of foreign students came from Great Britain � they came in fleet-loads as Aldhelm,nbsp;Bishop of Sherborne (a.d. 705 to 709), expresses it in hisnbsp;letter to his friend Eadfrid, Bishop of Lindisfarne, whonbsp;had himself been educated in Ireland.! Many also werenbsp;from the Continent. There is a remarkable passage innbsp;Venerable Bede�s quot; Ecclesiastical History � which corroborates Aldhelm�s statement, as well as what is said in thenbsp;native records, and indeed in some particulars goes rathernbsp;beyond them. Describing the ravages of the yellownbsp;plague in 664 he says :�� This pestilence did no less harmnbsp;�in the island of Ireland. Many of the nobility and ofnbsp;� the lower ranks of the English nation were there at thatnbsp;quot; time, who, in the days of Bishops Finan and Colmannbsp;� [Irish'abbots of Lindisfarne, p. 339, supra] forsaking theirnbsp;� native island, retired thither, either for the sake of divinenbsp;� studies,, or of a more continent life : and some of them

t Aldhelm was an unwilling witness, for he shows himself -jealous of the literary attractions of Ireland. See Reeves in Ulst. Journ. of ArchseoLnbsp;VII. 231, note V.

� presently devoted themselves to a monastic life ; others � chose rather to apply themselves to study, going aboutnbsp;� from one master�s cell to another. The Scots willinglynbsp;� received them all, and took care to supply them withnbsp;quot; food, as also to furnish them with books to read, andnbsp;quot; their teaching, all gratis,�* We know that one of thenbsp;three divisions of the city of Aimagh was called Trian-Saxon, the Saxon�s third, from the great number of Saxonnbsp;students inhabiting it; and we learn incidentally also that

in the eighth century seven streets of a town called Kilbally, near Rahan in King�s County, were whollynbsp;occupied hyGalh or foreigners.!

The genuine respect entertained all over Europe for the scholars of Ireland at this period is exemplified in anbsp;correspondence of the end of the eighth century betweennbsp;the illustrious scholar Alcuin and Colcu the Fer-legtnn, ornbsp;chief professor of Clonmacnoise, commonly known as

* EccI.'Hist,, III. chap, xxrvii: Bohn�s translation, t Petrie; Round Towers 355, top.; 0�Cu'rry, Man! amp; Cust,,: ir.,

Colcu the Wise. He was the most learned Irishman of his time, and we have extant a beautiful Irish prayer composed by him (See Otia Mers. ii. 92). Alcuin was educatednbsp;by him at Clonmacnoise, and in his letters he expressesnbsp;extraordinary respect for him, styles him � Most holynbsp;father,� calls himself his son, and sends him presents fornbsp;charitable purposes, some from himself and some from hisnbsp;great master Charlemagne.¹ In the course of three ornbsp;four centuries from the time of St. Patrick, Ireland wasnbsp;the most learned country in Europe : and it came to benbsp;known by the name now so familiar to us-�Insula sanenbsp;torum et doctorum, the Island of Saints and Scholars.tnbsp;Fer-leginn.�-In early times, when a school or collegenbsp;was attached to a monastery, it would appear that thenbsp;abbot had the charge of both monastery and schools,nbsp;deputing his authority in special directions, so as tonbsp;divide the labour, as he found it necessary. But this wasnbsp;found at last to be an inconvenient arrangement; so thatnbsp;towards the end of the eighth century, it became thenbsp;custom to appoint a special head professor to preside over,nbsp;and be responsible for, the educational functions of thenbsp;college, while the abbot had the care of the whole institution. None but a DruimeU � a man who hadnbsp;mastered the entire course of learning (see p. 436, below)�nbsp;could be appointed to this important post, and as head ofnbsp;the college�under the abbot�he was called Fer-leginn,nbsp;� man of learning ��i.e. Chief Lector, Scholasticus, ornbsp;Principal,� having all the other professors and teachers�nbsp;with their several subjects�under his authority. The firstnbsp;of these officers, of whom we have any record, was Colcu,nbsp;Fer-leginn of Clonmacnoise, already noticed, who died innbsp;794. The Fer-leginn was generally an ecclesiastic, but

f This name was applied to Ireland by the chronicler Marianus Scotus, �who lived in the eleventh century ; but whether it had been previouslynbsp;used or not is not known. See Reeves, Ulst. Journ. of Archaeol., vii. 228.

occasionally a layman. In Monasterboice, Flann the Annalist, a layman, the most distinguished scholar innbsp;Ireland of his time, was appointed Fer-leginn. Thisnbsp;man, who died A.D. 1056, has left behind him somenbsp;learned works in the Irish language ; and he has evernbsp;since been known as Flann Mainisf^ech, or � Flann ofnbsp;the Monastery.� About a century earlier the lay ollavenbsp;or doctor-poet Mac Coss� held a similar position in thenbsp;great school of Ros-Aiiithir, now Ross Carbery, in Cork.nbsp;It is worthy of remark that many of the learned mennbsp;commemorated in our annals were teachers in collegesnbsp;for life or for some time, either as Fer-leginn, or in somenbsp;other capacity.

It has been sometimes asserted that, in early times in Ireland, learning was confined within the walls of thenbsp;monasteries ; but this view is quite erroneous. Thoughnbsp;the majority of the men of learning in Christian timesnbsp;were ecclesiastics, secular learning was by no means confined to the clergy. We have seen that the monasticnbsp;schools had many lay pupils, and that there were numerousnbsp;lay schools ; so that a considerable body of the lay community must have been more or less educated�able tonbsp;read and write. Nearly all the professional physicians,nbsp;lawyers (or brehons), poets, builders, and historians, werenbsp;laymen ; a large proportion of the men chronicled in ournbsp;annals, during the whole period of Ireland�s literary preeminence, as distinguished in art and general literature,nbsp;were also laymen ; lay tutors were often employed tonbsp;teach princes ; and, in fact, laymen played a very important part in the diffusion of knowledge and in buildingnbsp;up that character for learning that rendered Ireland sonbsp;famous in former times. One has only to glance throughnbsp;Ware�s or O�Reilly�s � Irish Writers,� or Dr. Hyde�snbsp;quot; Literary History of Ireland,� to see the truth of this.

It is right to remark, too, that the ecclesiastical authorities were by no means jealous or intolerant otnbsp;literary distinction among the lay community. On thenbsp;contrary, they encouraged learning wherever they foundnbsp;it, making no distinction between monk and layman. Wenbsp;have seen that in Monasterboice and Ros-Ailithir, where,nbsp;as in all other monastic colleges, the entire authority wasnbsp;in the hands of ecclesiastics, they appointed la5mien to thenbsp;position of Fer-leginn, or Principal; and they did this,nbsp;knowing well that, as far as secular scholarship was concerned, these two distinguished laymen were sure tonbsp;throw them all into the shade. In various other monasticnbsp;colleges also the minor positions were often held by laynbsp;teachers.

But the education for the lay community�in the sense in which the word � education � is used in the precedingnbsp;observations�was mainly for the higher classes, and fornbsp;those of the lower who had an irrepressible passion fornbsp;book-learning. The great body of the people couldnbsp;neither read nor write. Yet they were not uneducated ;nbsp;they had an education of another kind�^reciting poetr}^,nbsp;historic tales, and legends�or listening to recitation�innbsp;which all people, high and low, took delight, as mentionednbsp;elsewhere. This was true education, a real exercise fornbsp;the intellect, and a real and refined enjoyment.* In everynbsp;hamlet there were one or more amateur reciters : and thisnbsp;amusement was then more general than newspaper- andnbsp;story-reading is now. So that, taking education, as wenbsp;ought, in this broad sense, and not restricting it to thenbsp;narrow domain of reading and writing, we see that thenbsp;great body of the Irish people of those times were reallynbsp;educated.

There seems no reason to doubt that there were schools of some kind in Ireland before the introduction

** On the educational function of the Tales, see pages 426, 427, 540, 541 farther on.

of Christianity, which were carried on by druids. After the general spread of Christianity, while monastic schoolsnbsp;were growing up everywhere through the country, the oldnbsp;schools still held their ground, taught now by Christiannbsp;ollaves or doctors�laymen�who were the representativesnbsp;of the druid teachers of old times.¹

There were several classes of these schools. Some were known as quot; Bardic schools,� in which were taughtnbsp;j Detry, history, and general Irish literature. Some werenbsp;for law, and some for other special professions. In thenbsp;year 1571, hundreds of years subsequent to the period wenbsp;are here treating of, Campion found schools for law andnbsp;medicine in operation quot; They speake Latine like! anbsp;quot; vulgar tongue, learned in their common schools ofnbsp;� leach-craft and law, whereat they begin [as] children,nbsp;quot; and hold on sixteene or twenty yeares, conning bynbsp;quot; roate the Aphorismes otHypocratea and the Civill Insti-� tutions, and a few other parings of these two faculties.�tnbsp;The � sixteene or twenty years � is certainly an exaggeration. The Bardic schools were the least technical of any :nbsp;and young laymen not intended for professions attendednbsp;them�as many others in greater numbers attended thenbsp;monastic schools�to get a good general education. Somenbsp;of these lay schools�perhaps most�were self-supporting,nbsp;and the teachers made their living by them ; while somenbsp;w'ere aided with grants of land by the chiefs of thenbsp;Districts.

At the convention of Drum-Ketta, a.d. 574, the system of public secular education, so far as it was represented innbsp;the bardic schools or those for general education, wasnbsp;reorganised. The scheme, which is described in somenbsp;detail by Keating (p. 455) from old authorities no longernbsp;in existence, was devised by the ard-ollave or chief poet ofnbsp;all Ireland, Dalian Forgaill, the author of the Amra or

Elegy on St. Columkille. There was to be a chief school or college for each of the five provinces ; and under thesenbsp;a number of minor colleges, one in each tuath or cantred.nbsp;They were all endowed with lands ; and those persons whonbsp;needed it should get free education in them. The headsnbsp;of these schools were the ollaves of poetry and literature,nbsp;all laymen.¹ Many of them, as time went on, becamenbsp;noted for the excellence of their teaching in subjects morenbsp;or less special, according to the individual tastes or bentnbsp;of mind of the teachers or the traditions of the severalnbsp;schools. These subjects, whether Law, History, Antiquities, Poetry, etc., were commonly taught by members ofnbsp;the same family for generations, f In later times�^towardsnbsp;the sixteenth century�many such schools flourished undernbsp;the families of 0�Mulconry, O�Coffey, 0�Clery, and others.nbsp;A lay college generally comprised three distinct schools,nbsp;held in three different houses near each other ; a customnbsp;that came down from pagan times. We are told thatnbsp;Cormac Mac Art, king of Ireland from a.d. 254 to 277,nbsp;founded three schools at Tara, one for the study of militarynbsp;science, one for law, and one for general literature. St.nbsp;Bricin�s College at Tomregan near Ballyconnell in Cavan,nbsp;founded in the seventh century, which, though conductednbsp;by an ecclesiastic, was of the type of the lay schools,nbsp;comprised one school for law, one for classics, and one fornbsp;poetry and general Gaelic learning, each school under anbsp;special druimcli or head professor. J And coming down tonbsp;a much later period, we know that in the fifteenth centurynbsp;the 0�Clery�s of Donegal kept three schools�namely, fornbsp;literature, for history, and for poetry.

Towards the end of the sixteenth century the public schools of all classes began to feel the effects of penalnbsp;legislation. In the time of James I., among many other

See also O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i. 78. t See, for examples, Hy Fiachrach, 79, and 167, bottom.nbsp;X O�Curvy, MS. Mat., 50 ; Man. amp; Cust., i. 92.

schools, there was in Galway a flourishing academy for classics and general education, kept by the celebratednbsp;John Lynch, afterwards bishop of Killala, author ofnbsp;� Cambrensis Eversus.� In 1615 the Commissionersnbsp;appointed by King James to inquire into the state ofnbsp;education in Ireland, visited this school, which they foundnbsp;full of scholars, who came not only from Connaught, butnbsp;from all parts of Ireland, attracted by the fame of schoolnbsp;and teacher. The Commissioners in their report praisenbsp;the school as highly efficient; but they gave orders thatnbsp;it should be closed, as Dr. Lynch refused to become anbsp;Protestant. It is humiliating to have to record thatnbsp;a leading member of the commission that issued thisnbsp;barbarous order was the great scholar James Ussher,nbsp;afterwards archbishop of Armagh.*

Through the dark time of the Penal Laws, which forbade all education to Catholics, the schools struggled on despite of Acts of Parliament. In some places the secularnbsp;seminaries became narrowed to schools for poetry alone�nbsp;or rather what then went by the name of poetry. Innbsp;the Preliminary Dissertation to the � Memoirs of thenbsp;Marquis of Clanrickarde � (Ed. 1744, p. cxiii) is a curiousnbsp;description of the manner in which these degeneratenbsp;schools were carried on, which it is not necessary tcvnbsp;quote here : the reader will find the substance of it in anbsp;more accessible book. Dr. Hyde�s � Literary History ofnbsp;Ireland � (p. 528). A grotesque survival of the old methodnbsp;of stud)^ to some extent confirming this writer�s account,nbsp;was found by Martin in one of the western islands ofnbsp;Scotland in 1703 (Martin, p. 116).

But through all this time there were schools with a broader culture�seminaries for general education. Duringnbsp;the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth,nbsp;when the Penal Laws against Catholic education werenbsp;in great part or altogether removed, schools conducted

by private individuals were found all over the southern half of Ireland, especially in Munster. Some were fornbsp;classics, some for science, and not a few for both;nbsp;nearly all conducted by men of learning and ability; andnbsp;they were everywhere eagerly attended. Many of thenbsp;students had professions in view, some intended for thenbsp;priesthood, for which the classical schools afforded annbsp;admirable preparation ; some seeking to become medicalnbsp;doctors, teachers, surveyors, amp;c. But a large proportionnbsp;were the sons of farmers, tradesmen, shopkeepers, ornbsp;others, who had no particular end in view, but, with thenbsp;instincts of the days of old, studied classics or mathematicsnbsp;for the pure love of learning. These schools continued tonbsp;exist down to our own time, till they were finally broken upnbsp;by the famine of 1847. In my own immediate neighbourhood were some of them, in which I received a part ofnbsp;my early education ; and I remember with pleasure severalnbsp;of my old teachers : rough and unpolished men most ofnbsp;them, but excellent solid scholars and full of enthusiasmnbsp;for learning. All the students were adults or grown boys ;nbsp;and there was no instruction in the elementary subjects�nbsp;reading, writing, and arithmetic�as no scholar attendednbsp;who had not sufficiently mastered these.* Among thenbsp;students were always a do?.en of more � poor scholars �nbsp;from distant parts of Ireland, who lived free in the hospitable farmers� houses all round: just as the scholars fromnbsp;Britain and elsewhere were supported in the time of Bedenbsp;�twelve centuries before.f

� The Seven Degrees of Wisdom.��To return to the ancient schools. The Brehon Law took cognisance ofnbsp;the schools, both lay and clerical, in many important

t For �Poor Scholars,� see O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust.,. i. 79, 8o : Dr. Healy, Ireland�s Anc, Sch., 475 : and, for a modern instance, Carleton�snbsp;story, � The Poor Scholar.�

particulars. So much was this the case that it is in fact in the Brehon Law tracts we get the fullest informationnbsp;about the school arrangements. The law sets forth thenbsp;studies for the several degrees. It lays down what seemsnbsp;a very necessary provision for the protection of the masters,nbsp;that they should not be answerable for the misdeeds ofnbsp;their scholars except in one case only, namely, when thenbsp;scholar was a foreigner and paid for his food and education.* The masters had a claim on their literary foster-children for support in old age, if poverty rendered itnbsp;necessaryt ; and in accordance with this provision, we findnbsp;it recorded that St. Mailman of Tallaght was tenderlynbsp;nursed in his old age by his pupil Aengus the Culdee.|

In both the ecclesiastical and the secular schools there were seven degrees for the students or graduates, like thenbsp;modern University stages of freshmen, sophisters, bachelorsnbsp;amp;c. The degrees in the lay schools corresponded withnbsp;those in the ecclesiastical schools; but except in the twonbsp;last grades the names differed. Both schemes are setnbsp;forth�in a scattered sort of wa}'�in a law tract knownnbsp;as the � Sequel to the Crith Gabhlach � (Br. Laws, iv.) ;nbsp;and the grades in the lay schools are also named andnbsp;briefly described in another law tract, the � Small Primer �nbsp;(Br. Laws, v. 27). The writer of the quot; Sequel � gives firstnbsp;the seven-fold arrangement for the ecclesiastical schools�nbsp;the quot; Seven Degrees of Wisdom � � [secht n-grdidh �cna).nbsp;He then makes the following remark to point out thenbsp;correspondence in substance between these and the sevennbsp;stages of the lay schools ;�quot; The degrees of wisdom andnbsp;� of the church [i.e. in the monastic or ecclesiastical schools]nbsp;� correspond with the degrees of the poets and of the f�in�nbsp;� or story-t�llers [i.e. of the lay or bardic schools]; butnbsp;� wisdom is the mother of each profession of them [whether

� Learning in general u as in those times often designated by the word � Wisdom.��

� clerical or lay], and it is from her hand they all drink.� He next proceeds to enumerate the seven degrees of thenbsp;poets, i.e. of the bardic schools, and to describe them,* asnbsp;set forth in this book, p. 430, farther on.

But regarding some of the lay schools, we obtain much additional information from a curious tract called thenbsp;� Book of the Ollaves � (or � Doctors �), in the Book ofnbsp;Ballymote, first noticed by O�Curry where the arrangements for one particular class of schools are described innbsp;some detail. The schools in view here were the bardicnbsp;schools, i.e. those for general learning : but in those fornbsp;special professions, such as Law, there were probablynbsp;similar arrangements. This tract gives the length of thenbsp;whole course for the seven lay degrees as twelve years,nbsp;which includes one year for preliminary, or elementary, ornbsp;preparatory work, and sets forth the study for each year.nbsp;A careful comparison and combination of the statementsnbsp;in the four law authorities�the Book of the Ollaves, thenbsp;Sequel to the Crith Gabhlach, the Small Primer, and thenbsp;Commentaries on the Senchus M�r�will enable us to knitnbsp;together the information scattered through them, and tonbsp;set forth in tabulated form (p. 430, infra) the schemes ofnbsp;both classes of schools. I have not found any statementnbsp;giving the length of the course and the subjects of thenbsp;several stages, or of the several years, for students ofnbsp;the ecclesiastical schools, such as is given in the Booknbsp;of the Ollaves for the Lay schools, though it may benbsp;taken for granted that systematic and carefully-plannednbsp;arrangements existed. On the other hand, we have, innbsp;still another law authority, a statement of the qualifications of the professors in the ecclesiastical schools,nbsp;which is given at page 435 farther on.

Before setting forth the two tabulated schemes, it ��-'ill be useful to make a few remarks on certain pointsnbsp;in connexion with them. In the bardic schools�so farnbsp;* Br. Laws, iv. 357, last seven lines, and 359. t Man. amp; Gust., i. 171.

as they are reflected in the authorities from which our tabulated scheme was constructed�no foreign languagesnbsp;were taught : and the instruction was confined to nativenbsp;learning�the learning that had grown up in the countrynbsp;from immemorial ages. Under the influence of ecclesiastics, however, schools for classics were sometimes joinednbsp;with these, as we see in the case of the college ofnbsp;Tomregan (p. 420, supra). In later times many of thenbsp;lay schools admitted classics among their subjects.¹

In the ecclesiastical schools the case was quite different. We have not, as has been already remarked, a detailed andnbsp;systematic statement of the subjects in the several stagesnbsp;of the course in these schools. But from many scatterednbsp;independent authorities we know that Latin was taughtnbsp;from the very beginning of the course, and w^as continuednbsp;to the end, with all the Latin classics then available.nbsp;Latin was indeed written and spoken quite familiarly innbsp;the schools�at least among the students of the highernbsp;stages : and as a matter of fact much of the Irish historicalnbsp;literature that remains to us is a mixture of Gaelic andnbsp;Latin, both languages being used with equal facility.nbsp;At a more advanced stage of the course Greek was introduced, and, as we have seen, was studied and taught withnbsp;success. Along with the classics, philosophy, divinity,nbsp;the Holy Scriptures, and science�so far as it was thennbsp;known�were taught; so that the education in thesenbsp;schools was of a much higher order, wider, and morenbsp;cultured than in the lay schools.

One part of the teaching, in both lay and ecclesiastical schools, consisted in explaining ancient Gaelic writings.nbsp;For the Gaelic used by very early writers became in anbsp;great measure obsolete as centuries rolled on, as happensnbsp;with all living languages. Accordingly, successivenbsp;scholars wrote commentaries explaining most of the

Within the last century or so, special schools for classics were numerous, especially in Munster ; in which Latin was spoken quite familiarly.

obscure old texts ; and after long lapse of time, when even the commentaries themselves became old and hardnbsp;to understand, it was customary with many teachers tonbsp;lecture on both texts and commentaries, and to expoundnbsp;the general meaning. For instance, the Senchus M�r wasnbsp;lectured and commented on in this manner in the lawnbsp;schools ; and the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, Daliannbsp;Forgaill�s Amra, and Aengus�s F�ilire, were expounded bynbsp;the divinity and literary lecturers in the monastic colleges.*nbsp;This custom prevailed down to the time of Campion, andnbsp;doubtless later. He says in his History (p. 17)�writtennbsp;towards the end of the sixteenth century ;�quot; But the truenbsp;� Irish [L�. the ancient classical Irish] indeede differethnbsp;� so much from that they commonly speake, that scarcenbsp;� one among five score can either write, read, or under-� stand it. Therefore it is prescribed among certaine theirnbsp;� Poets, and other Students of Antiquities.�

The successful study of the Tales�shown in the tabulated scheme�meant that the student should knownbsp;them perfectly by heart, so as to be able to recite any onenbsp;or more of them at a moment�s notice, for the instructionnbsp;and amusement of a company. The knowledge of historicnbsp;and romantic tales, and of poetry, was looked upon as annbsp;important branch of education : and with good reason;nbsp;for they inculcated truthfulness, manliness, and�according to the standard of the times�all that was noble andnbsp;dignified in thought, word, and action. Along with this,nbsp;the greater part of the history, tradition, biography, andnbsp;topography of the country, as well as history andnbsp;geography in general, was thrown into the form of versenbsp;and tales. Stories and poetry therefore formed a leadingnbsp;item, not only among professional men, but in generalnbsp;education ; and every intelligent layman was expected tonbsp;know some tales and poems, so as to be able to takenbsp;his part in amusing and instructing in mixed companies

when the occasion arose.* This fashion continued down to recent times : and some of the brightest and mostnbsp;intelligent Irish peasants I ever met were men who werenbsp;illiterate, so far as book-learning was concerned, but whonbsp;were full of the living traditions and poetry of the past,nbsp;and recited them with intense feeling and enthusiasticnbsp;admiration. But the race is now well-nigh extinct. Wenbsp;have already seen (p. 87) that in old times candidates fornbsp;admission to certain ranks of military service had to provenbsp;that they had mastered a specified and very considerablenbsp;amount of poetry and tales : a provision which exhibitsnbsp;clearly what was considered the standard of educationnbsp;in those times, and shows also the universal love fornbsp;intellectual enjoyments.

The learning and teaching functions were combined in some of the middle grades, as they were in thenbsp;professor�s programme at p. 435. Students who hadnbsp;attained to certain degrees in both cases were entrustednbsp;with the duty of teaching the beginners, if their taste ornbsp;inclination lay in that way ; which was one of the meansnbsp;of getting through the heavy school-work ; a plan, as wenbsp;all know, often adopted in modern schools.

In the tables at p. 430, the first word (which is printed in heavy type) in the description of each part of the coursenbsp;is the designation of the graduate of that particular stage :nbsp;and these quaint designations are followed by the equallynbsp;quaint descriptions. If at first sight they look fanciful, letnbsp;us remember that most of our modern university terms�nbsp;sizar, sophister, respondent, bachelor, wrangler, amp;c., whennbsp;we look into their meanings, will appear equally so tillnbsp;we know their histor}^ The three steps, Ollaire, Taman,nbsp;Drisac, at the head of the Lay School scheme, are givennbsp;by the commentator on the Senchus M�r, though not bynbsp;the other authorities named above : but they were merelynbsp;preparatory, and not recognised as quot; degrees of wisdom.�

I do not know what the � Oghams � were, in the first three years� course of the lay schools. O�Curry translatesnbsp;the word � Alphabets,� which is as obscure as the original.nbsp;Perhaps the � Ogham � of the lay schools correspondednbsp;with the aibgitir or � alphabet � of the ecclesiasticalnbsp;schools (p. 383, su-pra) : if this is so, the quot; Oghams � herenbsp;were brief literary or scientific maxims conveying usefulnbsp;and important information. 'Ihat there were collectionsnbsp;of such terse maxims we know from Cormac�s andnbsp;O�Clery�s Glossaries, in which they are designatednbsp;Minarba, or Mionairhhe, a term which 0�Clery explains :nbsp;quot; Mionaifbhe ceard, that is to say, short scientific rulesnbsp;which are in poetry.� On account of their concentrationnbsp;and shortness, Cormac derives the word from Lat. minus ;nbsp;but it comes rather from the cognate Irish word min ornbsp;mion. � small.� �

Dr. Richey, the legal editor of the Brehon Law volume containing the � Crith Gabhlach � and the � Sequel,�nbsp;judging from the single text before him, in which moreovernbsp;there is nothing to warrant his conclusion, undertakes tonbsp;pronounce the seven-fold classification of the degrees innbsp;the lay schools�Fochluc, Mac Fuirmid, Dos, Cana, Cli,nbsp;Anruth, Ollave�as given in the table�to be � plainlynbsp;merely ah exercise of the imagination � (Br. Laws, iv.nbsp;ccvii). But when he delivered this judgment, it was verynbsp;lucky for him that he had not Morann�s Collar round hisnbsp;neck.* These poetical grades are enumerated in thenbsp;� Small Primer � (Br. Laws, v. 27), a law tract totallynbsp;independent of the � Sequel to the Crith GabUach,quot; andnbsp;they are referred to elsewhere in the Laws (vol. i. 45 ;nbsp;v. 57 to 71 : O�Curry, MS. Mat. 220) ; as well as innbsp;many independent authorities outside the law-books,nbsp;always as matters quite familiar and generally understood. Cormac�s Glossary mentions and explains thenbsp;whole seven, using the very names given by the

authorities already referred to ; not all in one place, but in a disconnected way in various parts of the Glossary,*nbsp;as an actually existing and well-recognised arrangement in his own time, and evidently corning under hisnbsp;immediate observation. In the Book or Leinster, wherenbsp;is given the mode of pronouncing a glam-dichsnn (seenbsp;p. 240, supra), the whole seven are named�with thenbsp;same designations, and in the same order, as givennbsp;above�as taking part in the ceremony, f Keatingnbsp;(pp. 446, 454), in his account of the convention of Drum-Ketta, mentions two of them (Ollave and Anruth) innbsp;two different places�having no occasion to notice thenbsp;others ; and several of them are named as among thenbsp;guests at the banquets of Tara.| As showing not onlynbsp;the reality of this classification, but how long it heldnbsp;its ground, it is referred to in another document morenbsp;than four centuries later than Cormac�s Glossary, a poemnbsp;written, in 1351 in praise of William 0�KeUy, who gavenbsp;the banquet to the poets, mentioned at page 461 below,nbsp;of which this is a translation of one verse ;��

�' Here [to the banquet] will come the seven orders {seacht n-sradha) Who put good poetry into shape :

There is, then, no reason whatever to doubt that this old gradation wns a real one, and was actually carriednbsp;out for hundreds of years in the schools : and that thenbsp;graduate-poets were universally recognised, with theirnbsp;several special privileges, just as sizars, freshmen,nbsp;sophisters, bachelors, moderators, masters, and doctorsnbsp;are nowu

* They will be found mentioned and discussed in the Glossary : Anruth, pp. 5 and 6 : Cana, 34: Cli, 34 : Doss, 53, 58 : Fochlocon, 72 :nbsp;Mac Fuirmid or Mucairbe, 107 : 011am, 127. See also under � Anair,�nbsp;p. 6, same Glossary.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;t O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i. 217.

The Students with these designationsnbsp;were engaged innbsp;elementary work,nbsp;corresponding tonbsp;what we find innbsp;our Elementarynbsp;Schools, or in thenbsp;junior classes ofnbsp;Intermedi atenbsp;Schools.

Co.UESE OF Study *.�50 Oghams or Alphabets: Elementary ^raf-cecht or Grammar; 20 Tales, ofnbsp;which the Ollaire had 7 ; thenbsp;Taman 3 more, = 10 : the Drisacnbsp;10 additional = 20.

Second Year :�

I.�Fochluc. quot; His art is slender because of his youth � :nbsp;like a sprig of fochlocan ornbsp;brook-lime:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;hence the

name.

Course of Study :�50 Oghams along with the 50 of the Drisac :nbsp;6 easy lessons in Philosophy ;nbsp;certain specified poems :nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;30

Tales, i.e. 10 in addition to the 20 of the Drisac. [N.B.�It isnbsp;the same all through : i.e. thenbsp;number of Tales required fornbsp;each grade includes those of thenbsp;preceding grade.]

Eighth Year: Prosody (a very complicated study) : Glosses, i.e.nbsp;the meaning of obsolete and obscure Gaelic words: Teinmnbsp;Laeghdha, Imbas Forosnai, andnbsp;Dichetal do Chennibh (see p. 242,nbsp;supra) : Dinnsenchus or Historical Topography [of Ireland].

Ninth Year : A certain specified number of each of those compositions called Sennat, Luasca,nbsp;Nena, Eochraid, Sruith, andnbsp;Duili Feda. To master 175nbsp;Tales during the three j^ears �nbsp;i.e. 105, or 95, in addition tonbsp;those of the Cli.

VII.�Ollamh [ollav]. He has three designations :�Ecesnbsp;[aikas] or man of learning ;nbsp;File [filla], a poet: andnbsp;Ollamh, or doctor. Thenbsp;Ollamh of wisdom or learning teaches the four departments of Filidecht or knowledge, without ignorance innbsp;them.

Course of Study :�Tenth Year : a further number of those compositions .studied in the ninthnbsp;year.

Eleventh Year : loo of the kind of composition called Anamuin,nbsp;which was composed only b}' annbsp;Ollave.

N.B.�During the three years, he had to master 175 Tales alongnbsp;with the 175 of the Anruth = 35onbsp;Tales altogether.

At the end of the twelfth year, if the candidate acquitted himself satisfactorily, he became annbsp;Ollamh or Ollave.

In the ecclesiastical schools there was another classification of seven grades, or quot; Seven Orders of wisdom,� as they are here also called, which is so different from thatnbsp;already given�corresponding in no particular except innbsp;the number of grades�that the two were obviously quitenbsp;independent of each other. The scheme already given

had chiefly the students in view. But this one is evidently a classification having reference mainly to professors ornbsp;teachers, of whom three of the lower grades were themselves learners. So that here, as in the preceding scheme,nbsp;the functions of teaching and learning were mixed; andnbsp;it often happened that the same person was at one timenbsp;under instruction from the professors of the grades abovenbsp;him, and at another time employed in teaching the juniornbsp;scholars. This document�quoted by O�Curry�occursnbsp;under the word caogdach in a Law Glossary compiled bynbsp;Duald Mac Firbis, from old authorities, explaining thenbsp;� Seven Orders of wisdom.�*

I.�The Caogdach or � Fifty-Man � (from caogad, � fifty �), so caTed because he is able to chant [in Latin] three times fifty Psalmsnbsp;from memory.

II. �The Foghlaintidhe [Fowlantee], i.e. a � student � or � learner � :

V. The Foirceadla dhe [Forkailee], i.e. ' Lecturer � of Profanenbsp;Literature, who knows Grammar, Crosan or Criticism,nbsp;Syllabification or Orthography, Enumeration or Arithmetic,nbsp;and the courses of the Sun and Moon, i.e. Astronomy.

VI. The Saoi Canoine [Pron. See Connona] � Professor of Canon,nbsp;i.e. Divinity Professor, who has ful' knowledge of the Canon,�nbsp;and of the History of Jesus in the sacred place in which it isnbsp;to be found [namely, the Bible], that is to say, the mannbsp;learned in � Catholic Canonica Wisdom.�nbsp;' O�Curry, MS. Mat., 31, 494 : Man. amp; Cust i. 84.

VII.�The Druimcli¹ [Drumclee], a man who has a perfect knowledge of wisdom quot; from the greatest book, which is called thenbsp;Cuilmen, to the smallest book, which is called the � Tennbsp;Words,�! which are well arranged in the good Testamentnbsp;which God made unto Moses.�

0�Curry (MS. Mat., 495) quotes a curious note� characteristically Irish�from another old authority^ (aboutnbsp;A.D. 1450), which corroborates the above in the form ofnbsp;a quaint pedigree of learning ;�� Schoolboy [i.e. a merenbsp;� beginner] the son of Lesson [i.e. a learner beginning tonbsp;� read], the son of Caogdach, the son of Foghlaintidhe, thenbsp;�son of Descibal, [the son of Staruidhe], the son of Saoinbsp;� Litre, the son of Saoi Can�ine, the son of Druimcli, thenbsp;� son of the Living God.�

The two preceding classifications had special reference to collegiate life and collegiate arrangements. There wasnbsp;a third classification�seven ecclesiastical grades�havingnbsp;reference solely to the church. In each of the two former,nbsp;as we have seen, there were � seven grades of wisdom ornbsp;learning � ; these last are called simply � seven grades ofnbsp;the church � [seacht ngraid eacalsa) : namely. Lector ornbsp;Reader [Liachtreoir) ; Janitor [and bell-ringer] (Aistreoir) ;nbsp;Exorcist [Exarcistid) ; Sub-deacon {Suibdeochain) ; Deaconnbsp;{Deochain) ; Priest {Sacart) ; and Bishop {Eascob). Thesenbsp;are all named, and their functions briefly set forth, in thenbsp;law tract called the � Small Primer � (Br. Laws, v. 23).nbsp;The � Seven Orders of the church � and the � Seven Ordersnbsp;of wisdom � are expressly distinguished in the � Heptads �nbsp;(Br. Laws, v. 237, 5).

School Life and School Methods.�Reading through the ecclesiastical and other literature, we often light on

Druimcli, lit. � ridge-pole,� i.e. of a house : from druim, ' ridge,' and cli, a short form of cliath, a � pole.�

f The Cuilmen seems to have been a great book or collection of profane literature. The � Ten Words,� or Ten Commandments, O�Curry says, was the usual designation of the Pentateuch.

incidental passages that give us many an occasional glimpse into the Irish colleges, so as to enable us to judgenbsp;how professors and students lived, and, as it were, to seenbsp;them at their work. Some students lived in the housesnbsp;of the people of the neighbourhood : � poor scholars ��nbsp;the precursors of those mentioned at page 422, supra.nbsp;A few resided in the college itself�those, for instance,nbsp;who were literary foster-children of the masters.* Butnbsp;the body of the scholars lived in little houses builtnbsp;mostly by themselves around and near the school. Ofnbsp;this custom, we have manj/ notices in our old writings.nbsp;In the Irish Life of St. Columkille we are told that whennbsp;he went as a student to the college of St. Finnen atnbsp;Clonard, his first step was to ask Finnen :�� In whatnbsp;place shall I build my hut ? � (Irish both, � a hut � : pron.nbsp;boh). � Build it just beside the church,� replied Finnen.fnbsp;In the same Life (p. 174), we read that St. Mobi had fiftynbsp;students in his school at Glasnevin, near Dublin, who hadnbsp;their huts {hotha) ranged along one bank of the river (thenbsp;Tolka), while their little church was on the opposite bank.nbsp;Sometimes several lived together in one large house.nbsp;In the leading colleges, whole streets of these housesnbsp;surrounded the monastery, forming a collegiate town.

The poorer scholars sometimes lived in the same houses with the rich ones, whom they waited on andnbsp;served, receiving in return food, clothing, and othernbsp;necessaries; like the American custom of the presentnbsp;day. But some chose to live in this humble capacity,nbsp;not through poverty, but as a self-imposed discipline andnbsp;mortification, like Adamnan, mentioned here. As illustrating this phase of school life, an interesting story isnbsp;told in the Life of King Finaghta the Festive. A littlenbsp;before his accession, he was riding one day towardsnbsp;Clonard with his retinue, when they overtook a boy withnbsp;a jar of milk on his back. The youth, attempting to get

out of the way, stumbled and fell, and the jar was broken and the milk spilled. The cavalcade passed on withoutnbsp;noticing him ; but he ran after them in great trouble withnbsp;a piece of the jar on his back, till at last he attracted thenbsp;notice of the prince, who halted and questioned him in anbsp;good-humoured way. The boy, not knowing whom he,nbsp;was addressing, told his story with amusing plainness :�nbsp;� Indeed, good man, I have much cause to be troubled.nbsp;� There are living in one house near the college threenbsp;� noble students, and three others that wait on them, ofnbsp;� whom I am one ; and we three attendants have to collectnbsp;� provisions in the neighbourhood in turn for the wholenbsp;quot; six. It was my turn to-day; and lo, what I havenbsp;quot; obtained has been lost; and this vessel which I borrowednbsp;quot; has been broken, and I have not the means to pay for it.�

The prince soothed him, told him his loss should be made good, and promised to look after him in the future.nbsp;That boy was Adamnan, a descendant and relative ofnbsp;pi'inces, subsequently a most distinguished man, ninthnbsp;abbot of Iona, and the writer of the Life of St. Columba.nbsp;The prince was as good as his word, and after he becamenbsp;king invited Adamnan to his court, where the rising youngnbsp;ecclesiastic became his trusted friend and spiritual adviser.*

There were no spacious lecture halls such as w^e have : the masters taught and lectured, and the scholars studied,nbsp;very much in the open air, when the weather permitted, fnbsp;There v'ere no prizes and no cramming for competitivenbsp;examinations, for learning was pursued for its own sake.nbsp;In all the schools, whether public or private, a large proportion of the students got both books and education free ;nbsp;but those who could afford it paid for everything. Innbsp;those days there were no detailed Latin Grammars, nonbsp;�� First Latin Books � : and the learners had to face thenbsp;language in a rough-and-ready way, by beginning right

* O�Curry, Man. amp; Gust., i. 79; Three Fragm., 75 : Reeves, Adamn,, xlii. t T)r. Healy, Irel. Anc. Sch., 435 : O�Curry, Man. amp; Gust., i. 149 (twice).

off at the author. While the students held their manuscript copies in their hands, the teacher read, translated, and explained the text; and in this rugged and difficultnbsp;way these young people acquired a knowledge of thenbsp;language. In order to aid the learners, the professors andnbsp;teachers often wrote between the lines or on the margin ofnbsp;the copies of the Latin classical texts, literal translationsnbsp;of the most difficult words, or free renderings of the sensenbsp;into Gaelic phrases : and in this manner were producednbsp;the glosses described in chap, xii., sect. 3, infra.

In teaching a child book-learning, the first thing was, of course, the alphabet. St. Columkille�s first alphabetnbsp;was written or impressed on a cake, which he afterwards

ate.* This points to a practice, which we sometimes see at the present day, of writing the alphabet, or shaping itnbsp;in some way, on sweetmeats, as an encouragement andnbsp;help to what has been, and always will be, a difficult tasknbsp;for a child. Sometimes they engraved the alphabet fornbsp;beginners on a large stone, of which an example is shownnbsp;in fig. 121.

It was the practice of many eminent teachers to compose educational poems embodying the leading facts of history or of other branches of instruction ; and a considerable proportion of the metrical compositions preservednbsp;�� Stokes, Lives of SS., 172.

in our ancient books belong to this class. These poems having been committed to memory by the scholars, werenbsp;commented on and explained by their authors. Flann ofnbsp;Monasterboice followed this plan ; and we have still copiesnbsp;of several of his educational poems, chiefly historical. Henbsp;also used his Synchronisms for the same purpose. In thenbsp;Book of Leinster there is a curious geographical poemnbsp;forming a sort of class-book of general geography, whichnbsp;was used in the great school of Ros-Ailithir in Cork,nbsp;written in the tenth century by Mac Cosse the ferleginn,nbsp;containing all that was then known of the principalnbsp;countries of the world.¹ The reader need scarcely benbsp;reminded that teachers of the present day sometimesnbsp;adopt the same plan, especially in teaching history.

Sometimes boys were sent to be taught at the colleges at a very early age�mere children. When St. Findchuanbsp;of Brigown was only seven years of age, he was broughtnbsp;by St. Comgall to his college at Bangor, � and studiesnbsp;there with him like every other pupil.�t St. Mochua ofnbsp;Balia, when he was only � a little lame child,� employednbsp;by his parents to herd sheep, was brought also to Bangornbsp;by Comgall, where he began his studies. There werenbsp;probably many other cases of this kind, so that somenbsp;special provision must have been made by the collegenbsp;authorities for the accommodation of such young children.

There was a very early appreciation of good methods in teaching. For instance, the maxim which all experiencednbsp;teachers follow, that pupils are encouraged to exert themselves by getting moderate praise for their work, is noticednbsp;in one of the eighth-century glosses referred to by Zeuss :�nbsp;� It is the custom of good teachers {dagforcitUdib) to praisenbsp;� the understanding of the hearers \i.e. of their pupils].

Published, with translation, by the Rev. Thomas Olden, in Proc. Roy, Ir. Acad, for 1879-1886, p. 219. For many other poems of thisnbsp;class see O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., Lectures, vii. and viii.nbsp;t Stokes, Lives of SS., 232.

� that they may love what they hear.�¹ There is a similar reminder in another eighth-century Irish gloss.f

So far the education given in schools and colleges, that is to say, literary education, has been dealt with. Butnbsp;there was a home education also, a simple sort of technicalnbsp;instruction in certain handicrafts and accomplishmentsnbsp;that all must master to a greater or less extent in order tonbsp;discharge the ordinary duties of everyday life. It wouldnbsp;appear that fathers and mothers were left to their ownnbsp;discretion as to the training of their children in thisnbsp;direction. But in case of fosterage the law stepped innbsp;and laid down stringent rules for the home educationnbsp;of foster-children : from which we may infer that suchnbsp;instruction was supposed to be�and generally was�givennbsp;by parents to their own children. The home educationnbsp;prescribed was very sensible, aiming directly at preparingnbsp;for the future life of the child. The sons of the humblernbsp;ranks were to be taught how to herd kids, calves, lambs,nbsp;and young pigs ; how to kiln-dry corn, to prepare malt,nbsp;to comb wool, and to cut and split wood : the girls how tonbsp;use the needle according to their station in life, to grindnbsp;corn with a quern, to knead dough, and to use a sieve.nbsp;The sons of chiefs were to be instructed in archery,nbsp;swimming, and chess-playing, in the use of the swordnbsp;and spear, and horsemanship : the horse to be suppliednbsp;by the father. But the law expressly states that nonbsp;horses were to be given with boys of the F�ine or farmernbsp;grade, for they were not taught horsemanship. Thenbsp;daughters of the chieftain grades given in fosterage werenbsp;to be instructed in sewing, cutting-out, and embroidery.nbsp;For the neglect of any of these branches of instructionnbsp;there was a fine of two-thirds of the fosterage fee.J

Given in full in Zimmer�s Gloss. Hib., 69, 7. and in Stokes and Strachan, Thesaurus, i., p. 567.

t Stokes and Strachan, Thesaurus, p. 516. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;| Br. Laws, 11. 153, 161.

Professions Hereditary. � In ancient Ireland, the professions almost invariably ran in families, so thatnbsp;members of the same household devoted themselves tonbsp;one particular science or art�Poetry, History, Medicine,nbsp;Building, Law, as the case might be�for generations.nbsp;This is well expressed by Camden :�� And of thesenbsp;� professions there be in each territory several professors ;nbsp;� and those within some certain families ; that is to sarLnbsp;� the Brehons [Judges] be of one flock and name ; thenbsp;� historians of another ; and so of the rest, who instructnbsp;� their own children, and kinsmen, and have some of themnbsp;� always to be their successors.�*

Ollams or Doctors and their Requirements.�Ollam or ollanih [ollav] was the title of the highest degree in anynbsp;art or profession : thus w'e read of an ollave poet, annbsp;ollave builder, an ollave goldsmith, an ollave physician,nbsp;an ollave lawyer, and so forth, just as we have in modernnbsp;times doctors of law, of music, of literature, of philosophy,nbsp;of medicine, amp;c.t In order to attain the degree of ollave,nbsp;a candidate had to graduate through all the lower steps:nbsp;and for this final degree he had to submit his work�nbsp;whether literary compositions or any other performance�nbsp;to some eminent ollave who was selected as judge. Thisnbsp;ollave made a report to the � king of territories � {i.e. ofnbsp;a m�r-tuath, see p. 43, supra), not only on the candidate�snbsp;work, but also on his general character, whether he wasnbsp;upright, free from unjust dealings, and pure in conductnbsp;and word, i.e. free from immorality, bloodshed, and abusenbsp;of others. If the report was favourable, the king formallynbsp;conferred the degree ; a ceremony which the commentatoinbsp;on the Senchus M�r calls uirdned ag rig tuath, literallynbsp;� ordination by the king of territories.�!

t See MS. Mat., 480 ; Man. amp; Cust., ii. 53 ; and Stokes, Lives of SS., line 2931 (ollave smiths). I MS. Mat., 462 ; Br. Laws, i. 43, last line.

Almost every ollave, of whatever profession, kept apprentices, who lived in his house, and who learned theirnbsp;business by the teaching and lectures of the master, bynbsp;reading, and by actual practice, or seeing the masternbsp;practise ; for they accompanied him on his professionalnbsp;visits. The number under some ollaves was so large asnbsp;to constitute a little school. There was, of course, a fee ;nbsp;in return for which, as the Brehon Law (v. 97) expressesnbsp;it;�� Instruction without reseiwation, and correctionnbsp;� without harshness, are due from the master to thenbsp;� pupil, and to feed and clothe him during the time henbsp;�is at his learning.� Moreover, as in the case of thenbsp;literary teacher (p. 423, supra),, the pupil was bound tonbsp;help the master in old age if poverty came on him. Thenbsp;same passage in the Brehon Law continues :�� To helpnbsp;� him against poverty, and to support him in old age [ifnbsp;� necessary], these are due from the pupil to the tutor.�

Although there were ollaves of the various professions and crafts, this word � ollave � was commonly understoodnbsp;to mean a doctor of Poetry, or of History, or of bothnbsp;combined. These two professions�poetry and history��nbsp;overlap a good deal, and the same individual generallynbsp;professed both; as is put very clearly by Dualdnbsp;Mac Firbis in the following words :�� The historians ofnbsp;� Erin in the ancient times will scarcely be distinguishednbsp;� from the feinidh [or story-tellers ; pron. fainee], andnbsp;� from those who are now called aes-ddna [' poets '], fornbsp;� it was often at one school they were all educated.�*

A literary ollave, as a fdi or poet, was expected to be able to compose a quatrain, or some ver}^ short poem,nbsp;extemporaneously, on any subject proposed on thenbsp;moment: and he was always called upon to do so whennbsp;the degree was conferred on him, this being annbsp;essential part of the ceremony :�� The ollave ��-�saysnbsp;the gloss on the Senchus M�i�� did this \j.e. composed

� an extempore quatrain] after his ordination [i.e. after � the degree was conferred on him] by the king of thenbsp;quot; territories.�*

As a Shanachie or Historian, the ollave was understood to be specially learned in the History, Chronological Synchronisms, Antiquities, and Genealogies of Ireland.nbsp;We have already seen (p. 434) that he should know bynbsp;heart 350 Historical and Romantic Stories (namely 250nbsp;of what were called prime or principal stories and 100nbsp;minor ; for which see p. 533, infra), so as to be able tonbsp;recite any one or more of them when called upon at anbsp;moment�s notice.

He was also supposed to know the prerogatives, rights, duties, restrictions, tributes, amp;c., of the king of Ireland,nbsp;and of the provincial kings. � The poet or the learnednbsp;� historian ��says the Book of Rights�� who does notnbsp;� know the prerogatives and the prohibitions of thesenbsp;� kings is not entitled to visitation or to sale � [of hisnbsp;compositions]. Farther on in the same authority anbsp;similar statement is made in a more amplified andnbsp;emphatic form : and here it is added that the ollavenbsp;was expected, if asked, to repeat the whole statementnbsp;from memory, � so that he can recite them all at eachnbsp;noble meeting. �t As a learned man he was expected tonbsp;answer reasonable questions, and explain difficulties :�nbsp;quot; He is great to expound, and he expounds and solvesnbsp;questions ��says Cormac�s Glossary (127, � Ollamh �).

These were large requirements; but then he spent many years of preparation : and once admitted to thenbsp;coveted rank, the guerdon was splendid; for he wasnbsp;highly honoured, had many privileges, and receivednbsp;princeh)' rewards and presents. Elsewhere it is shownnbsp;that a king kept in his household an ollave of eachnbsp;profession, who was well paid for his services. The

literary ollave never condescended to exercise his profession�indeed he was forbidden to do so�for an}^ but the most distinguished company�kings and chiefs andnbsp;such like, with their guests. He left the poets of thenbsp;lower grades to attend a lower class of people. Thenbsp;prices for the compositions of the several grades ofnbsp;poets may be seen in the quot; Small Primer,� Br. Laws, v.,nbsp;PP- 57-71-

The poets sang their poems when reciting; and commonly accompanied themselves with the music of a small harp. This we know from many passages in old literature.nbsp;Adamnan relates how on one occasion a poet came up tonbsp;St. Columba beside Lough Key near Boyle in Roscommon.nbsp;And when, after some conversation, he had gone away,nbsp;the saint�s companions said to him ;�� Why did you notnbsp;� ask Cronan the poet for a song to be sung musicallynbsp;� after the manner of his art ? �¹ And again in anothernbsp;authority :�� On a certain day in the season of autumn,nbsp;� as Felim Mac Criffan, monarch of Erin, was in Cashel ofnbsp;� the kings, there came to him the abbot of a church . . .nbsp;quot; who took his little eight-stringed harp from his girdle,nbsp;� and played sweet music, and sang a poem to it.�t

The Irish Helicon.�If we are to believe the legends, there was a royal road to the ollave�s great learning : fornbsp;the ancient Irish had their Helicon as well as the Greeks.nbsp;King Cormac Mac Art was on one occasion wanderingnbsp;through Tir Tairngire or Fairyland (see p. 293, supra),nbsp;when he saw beside the rampart of a royal dun or palacenbsp;a shining fountain with five streams issuing from it.

�f O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., ii. 262, quoting from the Book of Lecan. Felim was king of Munster in the ninth century, and claimed to be kingnbsp;of Ireland : see Joyce, Short Hist, of- Ireland, 192. On this subject ofnbsp;musical accompaniment to singing, see De Jubainville, La Civil, desnbsp;Celtes, 134 ; he remarks that the Homeric Greeks had the same custom.nbsp;In all cases, -nmether Greek or Irish, the music was probably nothingnbsp;more than a very simple chant.

making a murmur more melodious than any mortal music. There were five salmon swimming about in the well: andnbsp;on the margin grew nine hazels which often droppednbsp;purple nuts into the water. The moment a nut fell, onenbsp;of the salmon caught it, and rejecting the husk, ate thenbsp;kernel. As Cormac looked on, he saw many peoplenbsp;coming to the well in turn, and drinking. And whennbsp;he inquired the meaning of these strange sights, he wasnbsp;told that this was the � Fountain of Knowledge � ; thatnbsp;the five streams were the five senses through whichnbsp;knowledge is obtained ; and that those who drank werenbsp;at once endowed with great knowledge, so that they werenbsp;thenceforward called quot; People of many arts and sciences �nbsp;(Lucht na n-ildan).*

The five salmon in this fountain were the same as the � Salmon of Knowledge quot; of another and better form ofnbsp;this legend. In the north of the present County Tipperarynbsp;there was a beautiful fountain called Connla�s Well, innbsp;which there were a number of salmon swimming about,nbsp;and from which flowed a stream to the Shannon. Overnbsp;this well there grew nine beautiful hazel trees, whichnbsp;produced blossoms and crimson nuts simultaneously.nbsp;Whenever a nut dropped into the well, a salmon dartednbsp;up and ate it; and whatever number of nuts any one ofnbsp;them swallowed, so many bright red spots appeared on itsnbsp;belly. All the knowledge of the arts and sciences was innbsp;some mysterious way concentrated into these nuts ; andnbsp;the salmon that ate of them became � a salmon of knowledge � (E�-fessa), and swam down the stream to thenbsp;Shannon. Whoever could succeed in catching and eatingnbsp;one of these salmon, his student drudgery was ended : fornbsp;he became at once a great poet, and was, besides, enduednbsp;with knowledge of all the arts and sciences. Hence poetsnbsp;and story-tellers, speaking of any subject difficult to dealnbsp;with, often say;��Unless I had eaten the salmon ofnbsp;* Ir. Texte, iii. 213-216.

knowledge I could not describe it.�¹ In Cormac�s Glossary (P- 35) these hazels are mentioned, showing the antiquitynbsp;of the legend : here they are called by the name ofnbsp;Caiil Crinmon, i.e. � hazels of scientific composition � [ofnbsp;poetry] : from coll, � hazel � : pi. coill or caill; and they arenbsp;defined as � hazels from which come a new composition.�nbsp;According to other accounts there was a fountain of thisnbsp;kind at the source of every chief river of Ireland.

Chief Poet�s Mantle.�On state occasions the chief poet of all Ireland wore a precious mantle elaborately ornamented, called tugen or taiden, and sometimes stuigen. Innbsp;the Book of Rights (p. 33), it is stated that a knowledgenbsp;of the privileges of the king of Cashel will always benbsp;found � with the chief poet of the Gael,� together with thenbsp;taiden. Cormac�s Glossary (p. 160) derives tugen fromnbsp;toga ; but it gives an alternative derivation which explainsnbsp;how this mantle was made :�� Otherwise tuigen is derivednbsp;� from tuige-en. the � tuige or covering [of the feathers] ofnbsp;� birds � [�n] : for it is of skins of birds white and many-� coloured that the poets� mantle from their girdle down-quot; wards is made, and of the necks of drakes and of theirnbsp;� crests [it is made] from their girdle upwards to theirnbsp;� neck.�

Poet�s Musical Branch.�All classes of poets were accustomed to carry a little musical branchf over theirnbsp;head which tinkled as they went along. That carried bynbsp;an ollave was of gold ; that by an anruth of silver ; whilenbsp;all lower classes had a branch of bronze. |

Poet on Horseback.�An ollave or �ces rode on horseback on his journeys, so that a horsewhip {echlaisc) was lookednbsp;upon as an essential for him, just as a gipne or cupping-horn was for a doctor. A man who had an action againstnbsp;a poet might distrain his horsewhip, leaving it with him

still, but with an injunction that he was not to use it (see p. 203, supra), which was understood to reduce himnbsp;to helplessness, inasmuch as he could not ride withoutnbsp;a whip.¹

Fili and Bard.�The word fili or file was applied to the highest orders of poets : also often called �cesnbsp;[aikas]. Both words signily � a poet � : but are generallynbsp;understood to mean much more : not only a poet but anbsp;learned man in general�a philosopher. In Ireland therenbsp;was in ancient times a marked distinction between a filenbsp;and a bard. The word bard does not occur as thenbsp;designation of any one of the ancient leading poeticalnbsp;degrees : but it was in common use to denote an inferiornbsp;sort of poet. A bard was considered a mere rhymer,nbsp;having neither the training nor the knowledge of a file.nbsp;The distinction is noticed by the writer of the Book ofnbsp;Rights [The rights and privileges of the kings] � arenbsp;not known to every prattling bard {hard h�lghach) : it isnbsp;� not the right of a bard, but the right of a file, to knownbsp;� each king and his right.��f The position of a bard isnbsp;clearly stated in the Sequel to the Crith Gabhlach :�nbsp;quot; A bard is one without lawful learning but his ownnbsp;intellect � ; % that is to say, one who had no regularnbsp;training�such as was recognized by law�but became anbsp;rhymer by his native talent, like Robert Burns or Owen.nbsp;Roe O�Sullivan, who, if they had lived in Ireland anbsp;thousand years ago, would no doubt have been lookednbsp;down upon as mere bards by the highly-trained fles ornbsp;ollave poets. In the statement of the twelve years�nbsp;course in the Book of Ollaves, the bard is recognisednbsp;officially; for it is laid down that in the seventh yearnbsp;was taught the quot; bardism of the bards � (see p. 433), sonbsp;that a man who had mastered the seventh year�s course

was a bard. The distinction between a -pie-poet and a bard was kept up so late as 1551, when William O�Kellynbsp;gave the banquet to men of learning in general (seenbsp;page 461 below), and among those invited were � poetts,nbsp;brehons, bardes, harpers, amp;c.�* Ultimately, however, thenbsp;distinction was lost : and the word bard came to benbsp;applied to a poet of any kind. The poets who formnbsp;the main subject of this chapter were the pies. Amongnbsp;the continental Celts, all of whom had their poets likenbsp;those of Ireland, and held them in equal veneration, theynbsp;were all without distinction called bards.f

Poets� Yisitations and Sale of Poems.�In Ireland the position of the poets constituted perhaps the most singularnbsp;feature of society. It had its origin in the intensenbsp;and universal veneration for learning, which, however, asnbsp;we shall see, sometimes gave rise to unhealthful developments that affected the daily life of all classes, butnbsp;particularly of the higher. Every ollave file was entitlednbsp;to expect and receive presents from those people of thenbsp;upper classes to whom he presented his poetical compositions : a transaction which the records openly callnbsp;� selling his poetry.� But unless he had the propernbsp;qualifications of the pie of some grade�namely thosenbsp;set forth in the table (p. 430), as well as some others�nbsp;he had no claim to anything. In the Book of Rightsnbsp;(p. 237), we are told that the pU who does not knownbsp;certain specified things is not entitled to � visitation � ornbsp;to � sale for his compositions.�

The ollave poet was entitled to go on cuairt [coort]� � circuit � or visitation ; i.e. he went through the countrynbsp;at certain intervals with a retinue of twenty-four of hisnbsp;disciples or pupils,! and visited the kings and chiefs onenbsp;after another, who were expected to lodge and entertain

t As to the Celtic file and bard, see De Jubainville, La Civil, des Celtes 74 el seq. f Corm. Gloss., 127 (quot; Ollamh �): Br. Laws, iv. 335, bottom.

them all for some time with lavish hospitality, and on their departure to preyent the ollave with some valuablenbsp;present for his poetiy ; especially one particular preparednbsp;poem eulogising the chief himself, which was to be recitednbsp;and presented immediately on the poet�s arrival.*

The poet had also a right to entertainment in the houses of public hospitality, f Sometimes an ollave poet,nbsp;instead of going in person, sent round one of his principalnbsp;pupils as deputy, with his poetry, who brought home tonbsp;him the rewards; as in the case of Dubthach and Fiaccnbsp;mentioned below. When a poet of one of the six inferiornbsp;grades went on visitation, he was allowed a retinue according to his rank, who were to be entertained with him. Fornbsp;example, an anruth, being next to the ollave, had a company of twelve: a doss had four; and a fochluc, thenbsp;lowest qualified poet, had two.| This remarkable custom,nbsp;which is constantly mentioned in Irish writings of allnbsp;kinds, existed from the most remote pagan times.

The right of poets to be entertained and paid for their poems on these occasions was universally acknowledged ;nbsp;and few persons had the courage to break through thenbsp;custom ; for it was considered disgraceful to refuse a poetnbsp;his guerdon. Even the early Christian missionaries, andnbsp;the Danes, and still later the Anglo-Normans, fell in withnbsp;the custom. A well-marked example, occurring in thenbsp;first half of the fifth century, is recorded incidentally innbsp;the ancient Lives of St. Patrick. The saint having converted the chief poet, Dubthach, asked him to recommendnbsp;a man whom he might consecrate to religion. Dubthachnbsp;replied that the only man he knew that was likely tonbsp;answer was one of his own disciples named Fiacc ; butnbsp;that he was just then absent in Connaught, whither he

* For instances of cuairts, or � circuits,� and payments, see O�Curry,. Man. amp; Cust., i. 99, 100, 103, 129 : Petrie, Round Towers, 354 : Trom-damli, in Trans. Oss. Soc., v. ii, 15, 113 ; Silva Gad., 420, 421.

had been sent by Dubthach with poetry for the kings of that province. Fiacc, having returned soon after, wasnbsp;baptised by St. Patrick ; and he became a distinguishednbsp;Irish saint, well known in ecclesiastical history as St.nbsp;Fiacc, bishop of Sleaty. The same Lives record anothernbsp;example of payment for poetry�legendary, but of equalnbsp;antiquity�as occurring among the saints themselves. St.nbsp;Sechnall of Dunshaughlin in Meath made a hymn innbsp;honour of his uncle St. Patrick, and on presenting it tonbsp;him, demanded paj^ment for it according to custom.nbsp;There was a little huckstering between the two saints :nbsp;but in the end Sechnall accepted as payment this favour ;�nbsp;that whoever recited the last three verses of the hymn withnbsp;proper dispositions, morning and evening each day, wouldnbsp;gain heaven in the end.* And numerous examples mightnbsp;be cited where Irish poets went on visitation among thenbsp;Galls or Danes, and got well paid for their poetry, j

From the fifth century�and indeed from a much earlier time�down through all periods of our history,nbsp;instances could be quoted. The last poetical cuairt thatnbsp;I can find any record of, occurred in the year 1808, whennbsp;a poet named O�Kelly�quot; The Bard O�Kelly,� as he st5dednbsp;himself�made a circuit of Connaught, visiting the houses,nbsp;of the leading gentlemen to extort subscriptions, and, atnbsp;the end of it, wrote a doggerel poem in English�not without vigour�of which I have a printed copy. All thenbsp;families he visited are mentioned, most with praise as theynbsp;gave him money, but some with scurrilous abuse becausenbsp;they had the spirit to refuse him.J

The Satire.�The grand weapon of the poets, by which the}^ enforced their demands, was the der or satire�nbsp;sometimes called groma (Corm. 86). A satire or lampoonnbsp;is unpleasant enough under any circumstances. But an

t For instances, see Petrie, Round Towers, 353 ; Atkinson, Introduction to LL, 40, 6, verse at top.

Irish satirical verse was, I suppose, the most venomous ever invented ; for it had�as the people believed�somenbsp;baleful preternatural influence for inflicting mischief,nbsp;phj^sical or mental; so that it was very much dreaded,nbsp;A poet could compose an der that would blight crops,nbsp;dry up milch-cows, raise a ferb or bolg, i.e. an ulcerousnbsp;blister, on the face,¹ and what was perhaps worst of all,nbsp;ruin character and bring disgrace. The dread of thesenbsp;poetical lampoons was as intense in the time of Spensernbsp;as it was eight centuries before, as is shown by his wordsnbsp;(View, i2o) :�� None dare displease them [the poets] fornbsp;� feare to runne into reproach thorough their offence, andnbsp;� to be made infamous in the mouthes of all men.�

We have already seen (p. 240) the use of the male-dictoiy incantation called a gldm-dichenn by sorcerers ; this term was also applied to some at least of the extempore satires pronounced by poets�as poets and not asnbsp;sorcerers. Before the second Battle of Moytura, whennbsp;the various leading professional Dedannans were askednbsp;what help they could give in the battle, the file or poetnbsp;(as distinguished from the sorcerer, who is also named)nbsp;promised, on behalf of his class, to make a gldm-dichennnbsp;on the Fomorian enemies, which would satirise andnbsp;shame them, and take away their power of resistance, fnbsp;This application also appears from the following instances, in which the terms der and gldm-dichenn arenbsp;used to denote the self-same satire. The two sons ofnbsp;Aithirne, the venomous Ulster poet, who were themselvesnbsp;poets, made improper proposals to Luaine, Concobarnbsp;Mac Nessa�s young queen, and threatened if she did notnbsp;yield to make a gldm-dichenn on her : and the legendnbsp;goes on to say that on her refusal they made three dersX

I In YBL, 178, b, line 19, their compositions are called glam-dichenn ; and, in line 23, tri hoera, ' three aers.� See also Atkinson�s Contents tonbsp;same voL, p. ii. Whole story translated by Stokes, Rev. Celt. xxiv.

which raised three bolga, or � blisters/ on her face ; a black blister which was called on, or � stain � ; a red one callednbsp;ainim, or � blemish ' ; and a white one called aithis, ornbsp;� defect � : on which the poor young queen died of griefnbsp;for the disgrace. This was the crowning and last iniquitynbsp;of Aithirne and his family; for the Ulstermen, urged onnbsp;bj^ Concobar, rose up in a rage and slew the wholenbsp;three, and destroyed their dun. So also the satirenbsp;made by Mac Adnai on his uncle Caeir is called in onenbsp;place der, in another gldm-dichenn, and in a different copynbsp;glam simply.*

Sometimes the pronouncement by a poet of a gldm-dichenn against a king or chief who refused to pay him the just reward of his poetry was attended with curiousnbsp;and elaborate formalities: different indeed from thosenbsp;used by professed sorcerers, but hardly less pagan. Itnbsp;was a solemn excommunication, or rather curse, pronounced from the top of a hill by a company of seven,nbsp;namely, one of each of the seven orders of poets (asnbsp;named at p. 428, supra), of whom the aggrieved poetnbsp;was one. The whole wicked process, as described innbsp;the Book of Ballymote, may be seen in 0�Curry�snbsp;Lectures, and a literal translation by Stokes in Revuenbsp;Celtique.f According to a statement in an ancient MS.nbsp;quoted by Stokes,]; � the blisters would grow on thenbsp;� poet {file) himself, and he would straightway perish ifnbsp;� he satirised the guiltless.� The poets who pronouncednbsp;the two villainous and undeserved satires on Luaine andnbsp;Caeir escaped the blisters; but they perished immediately after. A poetical gldm-dichenn was always annbsp;extempore composition ; and its name shows that thenbsp;fingers were used as a mnemonic aid as in the pagan

? Three Ir. Glossaries, Preface, xxxvi to xl: also Corm. Glossary, 57 (quot; Doiduine �) ; and 87 (� Gaire �).

t O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i. 216, 217 : Rev. Celt., xii. iig. t In Rev Celt., xx. 422.

dichetal do chennib (p. 243, supra) ; for the word dichenn is the same in sense as do-chennib, meaning � from thenbsp;[finger-] ends.�

A poet could kill the lower animals by an der. A story is told of Senchan Torpest, chief poet of Ireland,nbsp;who lived in the seventh century, that once when hisnbsp;dinner was eaten in his absence by rats he uttered an dernbsp;on them in his ill-humour, beginning ,� Rats, though sharpnbsp;their snouts, are not powerful in battle,� which killed tennbsp;of them on the spot.¹ ^{2 3 4} Hence it was believed, even downnbsp;to late times, that the Irish bards could rhyme rats tonbsp;death which is often alluded to by Shakespeare and othernbsp;English writers of the time of Elizabeth.!

A poet praised or satirised as the occasion required : and all poets could do both. This double function wasnbsp;universally understood from the earliest to the latest time,nbsp;and is clearly set forth by the commentator on the Senchusnbsp;M�r,! when he states that one of the persons permitted tonbsp;speak in public before Patrick�s time was � a poet tqnbsp;eulogise and to satirise.� And Cormac�s Glossary (p. 74)nbsp;is quite as clear when it derives fili, � a poet,� from � fi,nbsp;poison in satire, and li, splendour in praise.� Butnbsp;some poets devoted themselves almost exclusively to thenbsp;composition of the der, and these came to be recognisednbsp;as professional satirists. A satirist was commonly callednbsp;cdinte ; but sometimes dul and nnntaidh.% We occasionally meet with female satirists, who were called ban-cdintenbsp;(ban, as an adjective prefix, meaning � female �).

The Brehon Law laid down a penalty for an unjust satire : the Crith Gabhlach repeatedly speaks of fines ofnbsp;so many s�ds for this offence || : but apparently these provisions had not much effect in restraining the violence of

Corm. Gloss., pp. 31, 58, 141. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;|| Br. Laws, i. 59 ; iv. 307, 345, 347.

the satirical poets. Cormac, in several passages of his Glossary, gives vivid expression to the hateful characternbsp;the satirist bore in his time (ninth or tenth century). Innbsp;one place (p. 58), the satirist is �unendurable for his harshness � : in another (p. 141), � he wounds each face � [bynbsp;raising blisters] : and in yet another (p. 31), cdinte isnbsp;derived from canis, � a dog,� � because the satirist has anbsp;quot; dog�s head in barking, and alike is the profession theynbsp;� follow �� [snarling, barking, biting]. In a passage of thenbsp;Brehon Laws (iii. 25, g), the cdinte or satirist is classednbsp;among people of disreputable character. In the time ofnbsp;Elizabeth, an Irish satirical.poet named Aengus O�Daly�nbsp;commonly known as Aengus-nan-aer, � Aengus of thenbsp;Satires,� lampooned the Irish chiefs with the intentionnbsp;of turning them into ridicule�hired for his vile function,nbsp;as was universally believed, by Lord Mount] oy and Sirnbsp;George Carew. He traversed the four provinces, and hadnbsp;a scurrilous verse for every chief he visited. All wentnbsp;well with him till he came to North Tipperary. Here,nbsp;at a banquet, he uttered some scurvy remarks aboutnbsp;O�Meagher, the chief of Ikerrin, on which one of the clannbsp;became so infuriated that he drew a skian or dagger andnbsp;brought Aengus and his scurrility to a sudden end. Thennbsp;there was a deathbed repentance ; for when d3dng, the poetnbsp;uttered one more stanza, revoking all his villainous sayingsnbsp;about the Irish chiefs. This poem has been translated andnbsp;edited by O�Donovan,* whose introduction gives a vastnbsp;amount of information regarding Irish satires and satirists.

General Character of Poets.�Many authorities, among them Colgan, believe that the poets of the Christian timesnbsp;were the direct representatives of the druids of the oldnbsp;pagan ages. As bearing out this opinion, it is certainnbsp;that�notwithstanding Columkille�s action as related nextnbsp;page�the poets and the Christian ecclesiastics are oftennbsp;represented in our records as hostile to one another : andnbsp;* In The Tribes of Ireland.

the ceremonies at the pronouncement�in Christian times� of a gldm-dichenn by a poet were very pagan in character.

All people, high and low, had a sincere admiration and respect for these poets, and, so far as their meansnbsp;permitted, willingly entertained them and gave themnbsp;presents, of which we find instances everywhere in thenbsp;literature : and the law made careful provision for dulynbsp;rewarding them and protecting them from injuries. But,nbsp;as might be expected, they often abused their positionnbsp;and privileges by unreasonable demands, so that many ofnbsp;them, while admired for their learning, came to be fearednbsp;and hated for their arrogance. Their rapacity gave risenbsp;to a well-known legend�if legend it is�recorded innbsp;Cormac�s Glossary (p. 21) and elsehwere,¹ that they hadnbsp;a � caldron of greed,� called a b�g�, made of gold ornbsp;silver, weighing twelve ounces, which they carried aboutnbsp;suspended by little chains of fmdyuine from the tops ofnbsp;their spears. Into this every person who gave them anything put the donation.

Their oppression became so intolerable that on three several occasions in ancient times�at long intervals�thenbsp;people of all classes rose up against them and insisted onnbsp;their suppression. But they were saved each time by thenbsp;intervention of the men of Ulster. The last occasion ofnbsp;these was at the convention of Drum-Ketta in the yearnbsp;574, during the reign of Aed Mac Ainmirech,t when thenbsp;king himself and the greater part of the kings and chiefsnbsp;of Ireland determined to have the whole order suppressed,nbsp;and the worst among them banished the country. Butnbsp;St. Columkille interposed with a more moderate and anbsp;better proposal, w'hich was agreed to through his greatnbsp;influence. The poets and their followers were greatlynbsp;reduced in number : strict rules were laid down for the

See Three Ir. Gloss., Pref. Iviii: and Rev. Celt., xx. 423. t One of the circumstances that brought on this crisis was their insolent demand of the royal wheel-brooch, for which see p. 59, supra.

regulation of their conduct in the future ; and those who were fit for it, especially the ollaves, were set to work tonbsp;teach schools, with land for their maintenance, so as tonbsp;relieve the people from their exactions. It should benbsp;remarked that at this Drum-Ketta Council, as on the twonbsp;previous occasions, it was the fil�-^oets alone who were innbsp;question, not the bards.

Much has been said here about the poets that abused their privileges. These were chiefly the satirists, whonbsp;were mostly men of sinister tendencies. But we shouldnbsp;glance at the other side. At all periods of our historynbsp;poets are found, of noble and dignified character, highlynbsp;learned, and ever ready to exert their great influence innbsp;favour of manliness, truthfulness, and justice. To thesenbsp;we owe a great number of poems containing invaluablenbsp;information on the history and antiquities of the country :nbsp;and such men were at all times respected, loved, andnbsp;honoured, as will be shown in the next section. Thenbsp;poets played a noble part during the Elizabethan andnbsp;Williamite wars, as well as during the time of the Penalnbsp;Laws. They threw themselves passionately on the sidenbsp;of their country ; and many of their fine patriotic poemsnbsp;are still extant�^fiery or sad as the occasions called themnbsp;forth. They exerted considerable influence in stirring upnbsp;resistance : and hence they were pursued with unrelentingnbsp;hostility by the Anglo-Irish Government authorities.

It should be remarked that there were poetesses also, of whom many are noticed in the literature. A historicalnbsp;instance occurs in the Annals of the Four Masters, who, undernbsp;the date a.d. 932, record the death of � Uallach (daughternbsp;of Muimhnechan), chief poetess {bain�cces) of Ireland.�

Contests of Wit.�The Irish poets were much given to contests of wit, usually carried on in the following way.nbsp;When two of them met, one repeated the first half of anbsp;verse or very short poem, which was a challenge to thenbsp;other to complete it. Sometimes it was a quotation from

some obscure, half-forgotten old poem, sometimes an effusion composed on the spot, in which case the secondnbsp;poet was expected to give, extemporaneously, a secondnbsp;half of the same length, prosody, and rhyme, and makingnbsp;continuous sense. This practice was common amongnbsp;other ancient nations as well as among the Irish ;* andnbsp;according to Stokes (Acallamh, p. 304) it still prevails innbsp;Portugal and India. In Ireland it was believed that anbsp;true poet never failed to respond correctly, so that thisnbsp;was a test often applied to expose a poetical pretender.

On one occasion St. Cummian repeated two lines of poetry to his half-brother Comgan (see p. 224, supra) ;nbsp;on which Comgan, without a moment�s hesitation, composed and repeated two lines which completed thenbsp;quatrain and carried on the sense in perfect rhythmnbsp;and rhyme. This is a translation of the completenbsp;quatrain, which is on the subject of smith-work.f

So generally cultivated, and so universally admired, was this talent for impromptu reply, that in thenbsp;ecclesiastical legends some of the Irish saints are

f Todd�s Book of Hymns, 90. For other instances, see Tromdamh, 117, 119 : and Rev. Celt., xii. 460.

J In the original Irish, the second two lines correspond with the first two in rhyme and rhythm, something like the English rendering above,nbsp;so that in view of the contest, a literal translation appears pointless :�

credited with as much proficiency as the best of the poets. According to a legend in an ancient MS.nbsp;referred to by O�Donovan, St. Columkille, walking oncenbsp;with some companions, met the devil disguised asnbsp;a respectable-looking gentleman; and not knowing atnbsp;first who he was, fell into conversation with him. Afternbsp;an agreeable chat, the gentleman challenged the saintnbsp;to a trial of poetical skill, and propounded the firstnbsp;lines of several hard old ranns, or verses, whichnbsp;Columkille correctly completed in every case. It wasnbsp;now the saint�s turn, and he recited some devotionalnbsp;half verses which puzzled and silenced Satan�who wasnbsp;not well versed in that sort of literature�and what wasnbsp;worse, showed up who he was plainly in sight of all;nbsp;so that he became quite ashamed of himself, and sneakednbsp;off with his tail between his legs.¹

This practice held its ground among the Irish-speaking poets till recent times. Two poets hardly ever met withoutnbsp;a playful contest of wit�always in Irish: and thesenbsp;encounters were listened to with the utmost delight bynbsp;the peasantr}^ who to this day, in the southern counties,nbsp;retain in memory many of the brilliant repartees of Owennbsp;Roe O�Sullivan, Andrew Magrath, and other witty poetsnbsp;of the eighteenth century.

In many other ways besides those indicated in the preceding part of this chapter the people, both high andnbsp;low, manifested their admiration for learning, and theirnbsp;readiness to reward its professors. From the period o^nbsp;myth and romance down to recent times, we trace 3nbsp;succession of learned men in all the professions, to whomnbsp;the Irish annals accord as honoured places as they donbsp;to kings and warriors. An ollave sat next the king at

table: he was privileged to wear the same number of colours in his clothes as the king and queen, namely six,nbsp;while all other ranks had fewer. The same iire, ornbsp;dignity-fine (p. 208, supra), was allowed for a king, anbsp;bishop, and an ollave poet: and they had the same jointnbsp;at dinner, namely, the larac or haunch.* The severalnbsp;grades of learned and professional men were on a level,nbsp;in body-fine and social rank, with the chieftain grades.nbsp;The fer-leginn (or druimcli, p. 416, supra), or, as he wasnbsp;often called, the sai- litre, � doctor of literature,� ranked withnbsp;the chief or king of a tuath: his tanist or intendednbsp;successor with an aire-ard : the forcetlaid, � professor,� ornbsp;� teacher,� with the lowest rank of aire-forgaill: and thenbsp;staraidh or � historian,� with the aire-dessa.\ We have seennbsp;that a king kept at his court an ollave of each profession,nbsp;who held a very high position, and had ample stipendsnbsp;and once a family was selected to supply ollaves to thenbsp;king they were freed from the customary tribute.�

The general tendency to honour learning is shown also by the recognised practice of kings to promote to positionsnbsp;of honour and trust those who had been their tutors innbsp;early life. For example, when Aed Ordnidhe [Ordnee]nbsp;became king of Ireland, A.D. 797, he made his tutor�nbsp;Fothad of the Canon�not only his chief poet but hisnbsp;trusted adviser in state affairs. And when Brian Borunbsp;came to the throne of Munster, a.d. 976, he appointednbsp;as his secretary and confidential adviser, Maelsuthainnbsp;O�Carroll, a distinguished lay scholar, � chief sage ofnbsp;Ireland,� who had been his tutor at the College of Innis-fallen.ll This veneration for poets and other learned men

t Petrie, Tara, 208, note 3 ; Br. Laws, v. 103. For the above chieftain designations see pp. 156-159, supra.

J For a particular example of the emoluments of a court ollave, see vol. 11., p, 292.

II O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i. 177. See this Maelsuthain mentioned at page 504 farther on.

remained down to a late period, unaffected by wars and troubles. We read of great banquets got up on severalnbsp;occasions to honour the whole body of men of learning,nbsp;to which all the professional men within reach�both ofnbsp;Ireland and Scotland�were invited. Several such banquets are commemorated in our records, and some werenbsp;on a vast scale, and lasted for many days. In 1351 Williamnbsp;Boy O�Kelly, king of Hy Many in Connaught, invited thenbsp;learned men of every profession to his castle of Gallaghnbsp;near Castleblayney in Galway. They came in vastnbsp;numbers and were lodged in long streets of tents round thenbsp;castle. Each street was set apart for one particular profession�one for poets, one for bards, one for brehons ornbsp;law3^ers, amp;c. This banquet was celebrated, and O�Kellynbsp;himself was glorified, in a poem, by his ollave file Geoffreynbsp;Finn O�Daly, in which the rows of tents are aptly comparednbsp;to the lines of letters in a manuscript, and the castle to anbsp;large illuminated capital.*

The Four Mas ers and other annalists relate another banquet of this kind�or rather two successive banquets�nbsp;given a short time before 1451 by Margaret, wife ofnbsp;O�Conor of Offaly and daughter of O�Carroll of Ely, anbsp;lady who is greatly praised by the Irish for her unboundednbsp;benevolence and love of learning. � The learned men ofnbsp;� Ireland and Scotland! were invited�poets, musicians,nbsp;� brehons, antiquaries, amp;c. The first meeting was held innbsp;� Killeigh near Tullamore, when 2700 were present: andnbsp;� the second at Rathangan in Kildare, to which werenbsp;� invited all who were absent from the first. Ladynbsp;� Margaret herself was present: and she sat high up innbsp;� the gallery of the church in view of the assembly, cladnbsp;� in robes of gold, surrounded by her friends and by thenbsp;� clergy and brehons. All were feasted in royal style,

* See Hy Many, 104 ; and Annals of Clonmacn., a.d. 1351. Thi poem is published, with translation, in Proc. Roy. Ir. Acad., vi. 51.

t Mark the implication here of the close connexion between Ireland and Scotland. See pp. 7, 81, supra.

� seated according to rank : after which each learned man � was presented with a valuable gift : and the namesnbsp;� of all present were entered in a roll by Gilla-na-Neevenbsp;� Mac Egan, chief brehon to O�Conor, the lady�s husband.�*nbsp;Perhaps the most signal instance in the Irish recordsnbsp;of the respect for learned men of high character, and ofnbsp;the confidence reposed in them, is the fact that on thenbsp;death of the high king Malachi in 1022, as there happenednbsp;to be then no claimant for the throne of Ireland, thenbsp;government of the country, pending the election of a king,nbsp;was placed in the hands of two eminent men, who actednbsp;as joint regents, Cuan 0�Lochain, a la3'-man, the mostnbsp;distinguished poet and scholar of his day, and � Corcrannbsp;the cleric � of Lismore, � the head of the west of Europenbsp;for piety and wisdom,� as the Four Masters style him.nbsp;This event is recorded in the Book of Leinster, which wasnbsp;transcribed a little more than a century after the death ofnbsp;Corcran, in the annals of Clonmacnoise, as well as in manynbsp;later authorities.! This, however, is the only recordednbsp;instance of such a devolution. But among the minornbsp;kingdoms the appointment of a regent during an interregnum must have been a usual occurrence, as we learnnbsp;form the words of Cormac�s Glossary (p. 22) :�� Everynbsp;� time there is no king in the tuaths [or smaller kingdoms :nbsp;� p. 42, supra], it is a hrdthchaei [braukee] that serves onnbsp;� them for administering local law.� From this we learnnbsp;that a regent was called a brdthchaei ; and the words seemnbsp;to imply that a brehon or judge was usually appointed tonbsp;the post.

But all this respect for the poet was conditional on his observance of the rules of his order, one of whichnbsp;was to maintain a high personal character for dignity andnbsp;integrity. The Senchus M�r lays down that a fraudulent

* From Joyce�s Short Hist, of Ireland, p. 338 ; see Ir. Archaeol. Misc., vol. 1., p. 227 : and FM, a.d. r45i.

t LL, 26, a, ,20: Trip. Life, 525; O'Curry, Man. amp; Cust., 1. 137: Ogyg., Ill, xciv.

poet may be degraded, i.e. a poet who mixes up falsehood with his compositions, or who composes an unlawful satire, or who demands more than his due reward.¹ Anbsp;poet, i.e. one belonging to the recognised grades, wasnbsp;obliged, according to an ancient rann or verse quoted bynbsp;Duald Mac Firbis, to have

The Anglo-Norman lords, after they had settled down in Ireland, became as zealous encouragers of Gaelic learning as the native nobility, � so that the Geraldines, thenbsp;quot; Butlers, the Burkes, the Keatings, and others, spoke,nbsp;� thought, and wrote in the Gaedhlic, and stored theirnbsp;� libraries with choice and expensive volumes in thatnbsp;� language.�! They kept moreover in their service ollavesnbsp;of every profession, brehons, physicians, amp;c., and remunerated them in princely style like the native chiefs ; andnbsp;they often founded or endowed colleges.

The pure and physical sciences, so far as they were known in the middle ages, were taught in the schoolsnbsp;and colleges of Ireland. We have seen (p. 435) that thenbsp;professors of the fifth grade had to master arithmetic andnbsp;astronomy, which in fact meant the whole circle of science.nbsp;These, of course, they taught to their pupils ; and morenbsp;advanced scientific studies were followed up by the twonbsp;grades above them. The success of the home teachingnbsp;appears plain from the distinction gained by severalnbsp;Irishmen on the Continent for their knowledge ofnbsp;astronomy, as will be pointed out farther on : knowledgenbsp;not acquired abroad, but brought from their nativenbsp;schools.

The Irish scholars understood astronomy according to the Ptolemaic system, which they universally adopted.nbsp;Of this knowledge many indications appear in the ancientnbsp;literature ; and we have still several ancient treatises innbsp;the Irish language, well illustrated with astronomicalnbsp;diagrams; though they appear to have been in considerable measure copied or translated from foreignnbsp;treatises. In the first poem of the Saltair-na-Rann,nbsp;written probably about a.d. 1000, is an account of thenbsp;creation of the world, with a short description of thenbsp;universe, showing a knowledge of the theories�somenbsp;right, some wrong�then prevalent. The earth is statednbsp;to be � like an apple, goodly, truly round.� The namesnbsp;of the seven planets are given (� Saturn, Joib, Mercuir,nbsp;Mars, Sol, Uemr, Luna �) ; the distances of the moon,nbsp;the sun, and the firmament, from the earth : the firmament is round the earth as the shell is round the egg :nbsp;the signs of the zodiac with their names in order, andnbsp;the correct month and day when the sun enters each ;nbsp;the sun is 30 days 10J hours in each sign; the fivenbsp;zones�north and south frigid, and two temperate, with

the torrid zone between. Then follows a statement of five things which every intelligent person should know�nbsp;the day of the solar month, the age of the moon, thenbsp;[time of the] flow of the tide, the day of the week, andnbsp;the chief saints� festival days. In the commentary onnbsp;the Senchus M�r is a similar description of the universe.*

Facsimile (by hand) of a diagfrara in an astronomical tract (about A.D. 2400} in the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. (The same diagram is given in coloured photograph in 0'Curry�s MS. Mat,:nbsp;Facsimile GG at the end.) The following are the explanatory notes on the diagram, beginningnbsp;at the left, with the Irish contracted words lengthened out

Mr hairdrennaigh ar na jidoratgadh 0 scdile na talman, ' the high stars, on being darkened by the shadow of the earth.�

S^dir na grtine, � the sphere of the sun.� nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;SpHrna gr�int, 'the sphere of the sun.�

Scdile na talman ac dorchngadh tta rehe, ' the shadow of the earth darkening the moon.'

The various astronomical cycles were perfectly understood and were familiarly applied to calculations in connexion with chronology and the calendar. Amongnbsp;many ancient Irish writers who have dealt with thesenbsp;matters may be mentioned Augustin, already referred to

(P- 345). who wrote his Essay on the wonders of the Bible, while residing at Carthage. Treating of Joshua�snbsp;miracle of the sun and moon, he brings in the lunar cycle,nbsp;19, the solar cycle, 28, and the great cycle combiningnbsp;both, 28 X 19 = 532. He says that the tenth greatnbsp;cycle ended A.D. 120, and the eleventh in his own time :nbsp;120 532 = 652. He remarks incidentally that in thisnbsp;year, 652, Manichaeus the Wise � a well-known andnbsp;distinguished Irish ecclesiastic�died in Ireland : a statement that agrees exactly with the Irish home records, onenbsp;of the remarkable testimonies to their truthfulness (seenbsp;p. 516, infra). He adds that the year in which he wasnbsp;writing was the third year of the twelfth great cycle;nbsp;which enables us to hx the correct date, a.d. 655.¹

The Irish writers were well acquainted with the solstices, which they called by the descriptive native Irishnbsp;name grien-tairisem�so given in the eighth or ninthnbsp;century gloss in Zeuss (10,16)�^meaning �sun-standing.�nbsp;In the annotations to the Feilire of Aengus (p. 106, n),nbsp;it is correctly stated that one grian-tairisem occursnbsp;on the 2ist June. They had a native name for thenbsp;autumnal equinox (21st September) which was descriptivenbsp;and scientifically correct: Deiseahhair na grene [Deshoor-na-grena], literally the � southing or going south by thenbsp;sun � [i.e. going south of the equinoctial), from deis,nbsp;� south.� In the Life of St. Senan in the Book of Lismore,nbsp;we read that at the time of his birth, his mother happenednbsp;to be alone in the garden fria deiseahhair na grene fnbsp;(� about the autumnal equinox �), or, as Colgan translatesnbsp;it, quot; tempore authumnali � : and as making the meaningnbsp;still clearer, it is said, a few lines farther on in the Life,nbsp;that Senan was born i tus fhoghamhair, � in the beginningnbsp;of Foghamhar� ; Foghamhar here meaning, not � autumn,�^nbsp;its usual signification, but � the last month of autumn,' i.e^

October (Conn. 74) : so that the two entries agree. I do not know if there was a corresponding term for the vernalnbsp;equinox. All this shows that they understood the apparent annual motion of the sun along the ecliptic, halfnbsp;the year north, and the other half south of the equinoctial,nbsp;and that at the autumnal equinox it enters on the southnbsp;part of its course. So also, the real movement of thenbsp;moon, and the apparent motion of the sun, round thenbsp;earth�both from west to east�were well understood, asnbsp;appears from a remark of one of the scholiasts on Dalian�snbsp;� Amra on Columkille,� that � the moon is before the sunnbsp;from the first to the fifteenth [of the moon�s age], andnbsp;after the sun from the fifteenth to the first,�¹ a perfectlynbsp;correct statement.!

A small collection of Irish glosses, first published by M. D�Arbois de Jubainville�found by him on a singlenbsp;leaf inside the cover of a manuscript in the library ofnbsp;Nancy�and interpreted by M. Henri Gaidoz,! shows hownbsp;carefully the ancient Irish studied chronology and thenbsp;astronomical phenomena that determined the severalnbsp;cycles and dates. This collection has been assigned bynbsp;De Jubainville to the ninth century. The following arenbsp;the interpretations of M. Gaidoz, from which it appearsnbsp;that the entries formed a sort of Table of Contents to anbsp;Treatise on the Calendar :�

quot; To ascertain what is the day of the week on which are the calends of January.�

quot; To ascertain the age of the moon on the nth day of the calends of April, through the year of the Incarnation.quot;

There are two others, which are imperfect, and need not be quoted. See also, Stokes and Strachan, Thes. ii. 41.

t Old Irish, re esca, and luan, the moon : modern, gealach, meaning � whitish.'nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;I In Proc. Roy. Ir. Acad., x. 70.

Irish scholars understood the use and construction of the sundial, for which two words were used, solam, whichnbsp;is a native term, and soiler, which is borrowed andnbsp;shortened from the Latin solarium, � a sundial.� Soilernbsp;explains solarium in the Glosses on Latin Declension,nbsp;edited by Stokes (p. 91, No. 740) ; while in Zeuss (771, 15)nbsp;the same word solarium is glossed by solam. Besides thisnbsp;there is a small Irish ms. book in the monastery of St.nbsp;Gall in Switzerland, written by some scholarly Irish monknbsp;residing there in the eighth century, containing remaiksnbsp;on various scientific subjects, such as the Oriental Cycle,nbsp;the age of the world ; and among others on the sundial.¹nbsp;All this shows that with these old Irish writers the sundial was a familiar object.

Virgil or Virgilius, abbot of Aghaboe in the present Queen�s County, who went to the Continent a.d. 745, andnbsp;became bishop of Salzburg, was one of the most advancednbsp;scholars of his day. Pepin, Mayor of the Palace, subsequently king of France, became greatly attached to him,nbsp;and kept him in the palace for two years. Virgil taughtnbsp;publicly�and was probably the first to teach�that thenbsp;earth was round, and that people lived at the oppositenbsp;side�at the Antipodes. His Irish name was Fergil, which,nbsp;in a modified form, is common in Ireland to this daynbsp;(O�Farrell) : and he is commonly known in history asnbsp;Fergil the Geometer.f

We have a remarkable testimony to the reputation of Irishmen on the Continent for secular and other learningnbsp;in those early ages, in the well-known letter written tonbsp;Charlemagne by the Irish monk Dungal, which camenbsp;about in this way. It having been stated that two solarnbsp;eclipses had occurred in one year, a.d. 810, the emperornbsp;selected Dungal, who happened to be then in France,

t For an account of this great scholar, see Lanigan, Eccl. Hist., �� Virgilius,� in Index.

living a recluse life, as the scholar considered best able to explain such an unusual occurrence, and requested himnbsp;to do so. Dungal�s reply (quot; The Epistle of Dungal thenbsp;� recluse to Charlemagne, regarding two solar eclipses,nbsp;quot; A.D. 810 �) is still extant, about which we may quote thenbsp;appropriate words of Thomas Moore¹ :�� Hou^ever super-� ficial the astronomical knowledge displayed in this shortnbsp;� tract, the writer has proved himself to have been wellnbsp;� acquainted with all that the ancients had said on thenbsp;quot; subject; while both in his admission that two solarnbsp;� eclipses might take place within the year, and his doubtnbsp;quot; that such a rare incident had occurred in 810, he isnbsp;� equally correct.� The letter also shows that he knewnbsp;of the inclination of the plane of the moon�s orbit to thatnbsp;of the ecliptic ; and he sets forth the astronomical principlenbsp;that for an eclipse�whether of sun or moon�to occur, itnbsp;is necessary that the moon should be in the plane of thenbsp;ecliptic. This Dungal subsequently resided in Italy, wherenbsp;he became a celebrated teacher, drawing pupils from allnbsp;the surrounding cities ; and he also wrote learnedly onnbsp;ecclesiastical subjects.t

The remarkable work on geography, � De Mensura Orbis Terrarum,� written by the Irish scholar and travellernbsp;Dicuil, of which several editions were published in thenbsp;eighteenth century by German and French editors, hasnbsp;been already mentioned (p. 345, supra).

When learning had declined in England in the ninth and tenth centuries, | owing to the devastations of thenbsp;Danes, it was chiefly by Irish teachers it was kept alivenbsp;and restored. In Glastonbury especially, they taught withnbsp;great success; and we are told by many English writers�

I See Lanigan, ui. 256 to 262 : and Dr. Healy, Irel. Anc. Schools, 383 } We are told by several English authorities that at this time (tenthnbsp;century) a priest could not be found there who could translate or writenbsp;a letter in Latin (Lanigan, iii. 395).

among them Osbern, the author of a Life of St. Dunstan� that � they were skilled in every department of learning,nbsp;sacred and profane � ; and that under them were educatednbsp;many young English nobles, sent to Glastonbury withnbsp;that object. Among these students the most distinguishednbsp;was St. Dunstan, who, according to all his biographers,nbsp;received his education, both scriptural and secular, fromnbsp;Irish masters there. One writer of his Life, Williamnbsp;of Malmesbury, states that Dunstan studied diligentlynbsp;arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music, under Irishnbsp;teachers, and adds that these sciences were held in greatnbsp;esteem and were much cultivated by them.*

The age of the moon {aes e'sca) is mentioned in Cormac's Glossary, as well as in many other ancientnbsp;authorities, as a matter quite familiar ; so much so that�nbsp;as already remarked (p. 465)�every well-informed personnbsp;was supposed to know the moon�s age for each day, andnbsp;of course the method of calculating it. Even the generalnbsp;mass of intelligent people made use of simple astronomicalnbsp;observations in daily life. Cuculainn, sitting at a feastnbsp;says to his attendant;�quot; Go out, my friend Loeg, observenbsp;the stars of the air, and ascertain when midnight comes �nbsp;[when Cuculainn would have to leave]. And Loeg didnbsp;so, and came back at the proper moment to announce thatnbsp;it was midnight, t This record shows that all intelligentnbsp;people of those times could roughly estimate the hour ofnbsp;night throughout the year by the position of the stars�asnbsp;indeed I have known intelligent peasants of my own timenbsp;able to do ; a sort of observation not at all simple, inasmuch as the positions of the stars at given hours changenbsp;from month to month.

These are a few illustrations�scattered and fragmentary indeed�of the eminence of ancient Irish scholars-in science. But the materials for final judgment are not

yet available : they are still hidden away in manuscripts among libraries all over Europe. When they are fullynbsp;brought to light, then, and not till then, we shall be ablenbsp;to accord something approaching the full meed of justicenbsp;to the learned men of ancient Ireland.

[ilx Dialects.�There are two main branches of the ancient Celtic language ;�^The Goidelic,nbsp;or Gaelic, or Irish ; and the British; corresponding with the two main divisions of thenbsp;Celtic people of the British Islands. Eachnbsp;of these has branched into three dialects.

Those of Gaelic are:�The Irish proper, spoken in Ireland ; the Gaelic of Scotland, differing onlynbsp;slightly from Irish ; and the Manx, which may be saidnbsp;to be Irish written phonetically with some dialecticalnbsp;variations. The dialects of British are :�Welsh, spokennbsp;in Wales ; Cornish, spoken till lately in Cornwall; andnbsp;Breton or Armoric, spoken in Brittany. The dialects ofnbsp;British differ among themselves much more than donbsp;those of Goidelic: they should indeed be reckonednbsp;rather distinct languages than dialects, though Zeussnbsp;includes all three under the designation quot; Britannic.�nbsp;Their wide divergence as compared with the dialects ofnbsp;Goidelic is explained by the fact that Welsh, Cornish,nbsp;and Armoric flowed independently from the commonnbsp;source very far back in time, while both the Manx and

the Scotch Gaelic branched off from Irish Gaelic at a comparatively late period. Of the whole six dialects,nbsp;five are still spoken ; the Cornish became extinct in thenbsp;eighteenth century ; and Manx is nearly extinct. Fournbsp;have an ancient written literature :�Irish, Welsh, Cornish,nbsp;and Armoric. Neither the Gaelic of Scotland nor thenbsp;Manx has an ancient literature distinct from that ofnbsp;Ireland :¹ but Scotland has a living modern literature-fnbsp;All these are derived from the Gaulish or Continentalnbsp;Celtic, which in the course of ages, since the separationnbsp;of the original Gaulish emigrant tribes, has diverged intonbsp;the two branches and the six dialects named here.

Three Divisions of Irish.�Irish, like all other living languages, has undergone great changes in lapse of time :nbsp;so that in fact the written language of eleven or twelvenbsp;hundred years ago, of which many specimens have beennbsp;preserved, is now all but unintelligible to those who cannbsp;read only modern Irish. The changes are;�In vocabulary ; in spelling; and in inflections. Numberless words ^nbsp;have dropped out of use, while others have been introduced, chiefly from other languages ; many of the wordsnbsp;have changed their spelling : and some of the old inflections have been dropped and their places supplied, eithernbsp;by other inflectional forms or more commonly by prepositions and auxiliaries, so as to render the languagenbsp;more analytic, as in the case of English.

As illustrating this statement;�^The countless Gaelic passages and words quoted by Zeuss throughout his Grammatica Celtica from manuscripts written in the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries, are all, withoutnbsp;exception, marked by him�what they really are�� Hibernian.quot;

f For modern Scottish Gaelic literature, see Maclean�s Literature of the Celts, chap. xiv. seq. Modern Irish Gaelic literature is very fullynbsp;treated of in Dr. Hyde�s Literary Hist, of Irel. In Ireland a vigorousnbsp;attempt is just now being made to re-create a living written Gaelic litera- �nbsp;ture, and to extend the use of the spoken Irish language. There is a movement also�following the example of Ireland�to revive Manx andnbsp;Cornish.

three stages. I. Old Irish, from the seventh or eighth to the eleventh or twelfth century. This is the language ofnbsp;the Glosses, of the Irish found in the Book of Armagh,nbsp;and of some passages in the Book of the Dun Cow; butnbsp;we have very little Old Irish preserved in Ireland. Thenbsp;classical age of the language was while the Old Irishnbsp;prevailed. According to Zeuss the written languagenbsp;gradually changed from the eleventh century onwards.nbsp;The oldest, purest, and most cultivated form, as found innbsp;the St. Gall and other seventh or eighth century glosses,nbsp;was called the B�rla f�ne [bairla faina], i.e. the languagenbsp;of the Feini or main body of the free original inhabitantsnbsp;(for whom see p. i6o, supra).* After the Anglo-Norman invasion, the native language, like the nativenbsp;arts, degenerated ; and it gradualb/ lost its pure grammatical forms and its classical precision and simplicity.nbsp;II, Middle Irish, from the twelfth to the fifteenth century,nbsp;marked by many departures from the Old Irish forms.nbsp;This is the language of most of our present importantnbsp;manuscripts�described farther on (p. 492)�such as thenbsp;Book of the Dun Cow, the Book of Leinster, the Lebarnbsp;Brecc, and the Book of Ballymote. III. Modern Irish,nbsp;from the fifteenth century to the present day. This isnbsp;the language of most of the Ossianic tales. The purestnbsp;specimens are the writings of Keating, both historicalnbsp;and religious. There is a vast amount of manuscriptnbsp;literature in Modern Irish.

Glosses.�When transcribing or using the classics, or the Latin version of the Scriptures, Irish professors andnbsp;teachers of the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries, innbsp;order to aid the Irish learners, or for their own convenience, often wrote between the lines or on the margin,nbsp;literal Irish translations of the unusual or most difficultnbsp;words of the text, or general renderings of the sensenbsp;into Gaelic phrases. These are what are called Glosses.

Numbers of these interesting manuscripts, their pages all crowded with glosses, are preserved to this day innbsp;many Continental libraries, mostly written in Ireland,nbsp;and brought away to save them from destruction (seenbsp;p. 489, infra)�but some written on the Continent; andnbsp;in them are found older forms of Irish than any we havenbsp;m Ireland. Many have been recently published, withnbsp;the Latin words and passages, and the correspondingnbsp;Gaelic. Similar glosses in Welsh, Breton, and Cornishnbsp;are also found ; but I am concerned here with Irish only.nbsp;It is chiefly by means of these glosses that the ancientnbsp;grammatical forms of the language have been recovered;nbsp;and the meanings of numbers of Irish words, long obsolete,nbsp;have been ascertained from their Latin equivalents.

It is interesting to observe that here the original intention is reversed. The scribe wrote the Gaelic, whichnbsp;was the language of his everyday life, to explain thenbsp;Latin text. But while the Latin, being then, as now, anbsp;dead language, has remained unchanged, the Gaelic hasnbsp;suffered all those changes spoken of in page 472, so thatnbsp;the Gaelic of the glosses is now in many cases difficultnbsp;and obscure. Accordingly, instead of the Gaelic explaining the Latin, we now use the Latin to explain thenbsp;Gaelic.

Zeuss. The first to make extensive use of the glosses for these purposes was Johann Kaspar Zeuss, a Bavarian ; bornnbsp;1806 ; died 1856. He had a great talent for languages, andnbsp;began the study of the Celtic dialects about 1840. Thenceforward he laboured incessantly, visiting the librariesnbsp;of St. Gall, Wurzburg, Milan, Carlsruhe, Cambrai, andnbsp;several other cities, in all of which there are manuscriptnbsp;books with glosses in the Celtic dialects ; and he copiednbsp;everything that suited his purpose. He found the Irishnbsp;glosses by far the most ancient, extensive, and importantnbsp;of all. Most of them belonged to the seventh or eighthnbsp;centur}?; some few to the beginning of the ninth. At the

end of thirteen years he produced the great work of his life, � Grammatica Celtica,� a complete Grammar of thenbsp;four ancient Celtic dialects�Irish or Gaelic, and the threenbsp;British dialects, Welsh, Cornish, and Armoric : publishednbsp;1853. It is a closely printed book of over 1000 pages ;nbsp;and it is all written in Latin, except of course the Celticnbsp;examples and quotations. Each of the four dialects isnbsp;treated of separately. In this work he proves that thenbsp;Celtic people of the British Islands are the same with thenbsp;Celtic of the Continent; and that Celtic is one of the,nbsp;branches of the Aryan or Indo-European languages,nbsp;abreast with Latin, Greek, the Teutonic languages, Sanscrit, amp;c. After his death a second edition, with muchnbsp;valuable additional matter, was brought out by anothernbsp;eminent German Celtic scholar, H. Ebel.

Zeuss was the founder of Celtic philology. The � Grammacita Celtica � was a revelation to scholars,nbsp;wholly unexpected ; and it gave an impetus to the study,nbsp;which has been rather increasing than diminishing sincenbsp;his time. He made it plain that a knowledge of thenbsp;Celtic languages is necessary in order to unravel the earlynbsp;history of the peoples of Western Europe. Since the timenbsp;of Zeuss, many scholarly works have been written on Celticnbsp;philology : but the � Grammatica Celtica � still stands atnbsp;the head of all.

Ancient Glossaries and Grammars.�In consequence of the gradual change of the Irish language it becamenbsp;customary for native scholars of past times, skilled innbsp;the ancient language, to write glossaries of obsolete wordsnbsp;to aid students in reading very ancient manuscripts.nbsp;Many of these are preserved in our old books. Thenbsp;most noted is � Cormac�s Glossary,� ascribed to Archbishop Cormac Mac Cullenan, king of Cashel, who diednbsp;A.D. 908. It was translated and annotated by Johnnbsp;O�Donovan ; and this translation and the Irish text, withnbsp;most valuable additional notes, have been published by

Dr. Whitley Stokes.* Michael 0�Clery, the chief of the Four Masters, printed and published at Louvain, in 1643,nbsp;a Glossary of ancient and difficult Irish words, whichnbsp;has been edited and re-published by Mr. W. K. MiUernbsp;in vols. iv. and v. of the Revue Celtique. quot; Three Irishnbsp;Glossaries,� edited by Dr. Stokes, with learned andnbsp;instructive introduction, contains those of Cormac andnbsp;0�Davoren, and a third, namely, a Glossary to the Feilirenbsp;of Oengus, all without translation (but Cormac�s Glossary,nbsp;as stated above, has been translated in a separate volume).nbsp;Mac Firbis and his master O�Davoren compiled Glossariesnbsp;of the Brehon laws, which are still extant; and there are,nbsp;in Trinity College, copies made by Mac Firbis of severalnbsp;other glossaries. There is a very ancient treatise on Irishnbsp;Grammar, divided into four books, ascribed severall}' tonbsp;four learned Irishmen. Of these the latest was Kennfaelanbsp;the Learned, who lived in the seventh century, and who isnbsp;set down as the author of the fourth book (see pp. 483 andnbsp;620, below). Copies of this tract are found in the Books ofnbsp;Bal'lymote and Lecan ; but it has never been translated.

But with all the aids at our command�glossaries, glosses, translations, and commentaries�there are manynbsp;Irish pieces in the books named below (p. 492) that havenbsp;up to the present defied the attempts of the best Irish

* Note on Cormac�s Glossary.-^In the Book of Leinster, and by universal tradition, this Glossary is attributed to Archbishop Cormac Macnbsp;Cullenan, king of Munster, who died a.d. go8. Dr. Whitley Stokes considers the evidence insufficient to prove him the author : but says :��Thenbsp;proofs adduced . . . sufficiently show that the greater part of what isnbsp;commonly called Cormac�s Glossary was written, if not in the time ofnbsp;Cormac, at least within a century or so after his death �� (Three Irishnbsp;Glossaries, Pref. xviii). On this point we must bear in mind that the entrynbsp;in the Book of Leinster transmits a tradition that was old in 1160, whennbsp;the book was written : and, coupling this with the universal belief expressed in our oldest writings�independently of the Book of Leinster�nbsp;it seems to me that we may accept the testimony in favour of Cormac�snbsp;authorship. It will, I think, be found that many ancient classical and .nbsp;other texts are attributed to certain authors on evidence not more satis-,nbsp;factory. I give these observations for what they are worth. I naturallynbsp;feel that one ought to be cautious in questioning the opinion of Dr. Stokesnbsp;in such a matter as this.

scholars to translate them satisfactorily, so many old words, phrases, and allusions do they contain whosenbsp;meanings have been lost. This state of things has beennbsp;caused chiefly by the wholesale destruction of mss.nbsp;mentioned at page 489, infra, which left great gaps, andnbsp;broke the continuity of the Irish language and literature.nbsp;The poetry is much more intractable than the prose, fornbsp;reasons that will be explained farther on. But the subjectnbsp;is attracting more and more attention as years go by ; sonbsp;that now it may be said that the language, literature,nbsp;and antiquities of Ireland�and of the Celtic nations innbsp;general�excite almost as keen an interest throughoutnbsp;Europe as those of Egypt and Assyria. Great numbersnbsp;of Continental scholars as well as those of the British Islesnbsp;are eagerly engaged in studying ancient Irish texts ; yearnbsp;by year the difficulties are being overcome ; and there isnbsp;every hope that before long we shall have translations ofnbsp;most or all of these obscure old pieces.*

Scribes.�After the time of St. Patrick, as everything seems to have been written down that was considerednbsp;worth preserving, manuscripts accumulated in the coursenbsp;of time, which were kept in monasteries and in the housesnbsp;of hereditary professors of learning : many also in thenbsp;libraries of private persons. As there were no printednbsp;books, readers had to depend for a supply entirely onnbsp;manuscript copies. To copy a book was justly considerednbsp;a very meritorious work, and in the highest degree so if itnbsp;was a part of the Holy Scriptures, or of any other book on

* A very useful epitome of the present state of knowledge regarding ancient Irish literature is given by M. Dottin in his article � La Litt�ra-ture Ga�lique de ITrlande,� in the Revue de Synthese Historique for 1901,nbsp;p. 60. Dr. Maclean has given, in the last chap, of his Literature of thenbsp;Celts, a good account of the most distinguished modern workers in Celtic

German, French, Italian, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, American, English, Welsh, Manx, Scotch, Irish ; and of the various periodicals devoted to Celtic studies.

sacred or devotional subjects. Scribes or copyists v^ere therefore much honoured; and the annalists, after mentioning a man otherwise learned and eminent�whethernbsp;bishop, priest, or lay professor�considered it an enhancement to his dignity if they were able to add that he was anbsp;scribe. In the decrees of some of the Irish synods thenbsp;same punishments are ordained for those who kill or injurenbsp;a bishop, an abbot, or a scribe.¹ One of the merits ofnbsp;St. Columkille was his diligence in writing. The Fournbsp;Masters mention sixty-one eminent scribes before the yearnbsp;900, forty of whom lived between the years 700 and 800 f�nbsp;one of the indications that show the importance attachednbsp;to their office and how highly they were esteemed.

There was at least one special scribe in every important monastery, who was selected partly for his scholarship andnbsp;partly for his skill in penmanship. These men, outsidenbsp;their necessary religious duties and functions, devoted theirnbsp;whole time to copying and multiplying books. But besidesnbsp;those specially appointed to this work, the other monksnbsp;often employed themselves�like Columkille�in copying,nbsp;when they could withdraw from their own duties. Scribes,nbsp;were very careful to test the correctness of their transcript,nbsp;especially if it was Scripture. Adamnan (p. 53) relatesnbsp;that Baithen, one of the monks of Iona, when he hadnbsp;finished copying a psaltery, asked Columba to let one ofnbsp;the brethren look over it with him, to discover errors ifnbsp;any: and accordingly the whole copy was read through ;nbsp;but only one single letter was found to be wrong.

Yellum.�Two chief materials were used in Ireland for writing on Long, thin, smooth rectangular boards ornbsp;tablets ; and vellum or parchment, made from the skins ofnbsp;sheep, goats or calves,^ which was the most usual and thenbsp;most important material. Inscriptions were also carved

on stone, both in ordinary Irish letters and in Ogham. The scribes had to make all their own materials�tablets,nbsp;vellum, ink, and pens; or rather perhaps certain individuals devoted themselves to this special work, whonbsp;thereb}/ became skilful and expert.

Ink (Irish dub or duhh, i.e. � black � : pron. dhuv). The ink was made from carbon, without iron or any othernbsp;mineral, as is shown by delicate chemical analysis. Innbsp;the more ancient mss., a thick kind of ink was usednbsp;remarkable for its intense blackness and durability : andnbsp;its excellence is proved by the fact that in most of thenbsp;very old books the writing is almost or altogether as blacknbsp;as it was when written, more than a thousand years ago.nbsp;� The writing in the Book of Armagh ��says Reevesnbsp;(Adamn. 359, note 1)�� after 1050 years, is as black as ifnbsp;executed but yesterday.�

The ink was kept in a little vessel commonly made of part of a cow�s horn, and therefore called adarcinnbsp;or adircin [ey-arkeen], meaning � little horn,� from adarcnbsp;[ey-ark], ' a horn.� Once, as we read in an Irish Life ofnbsp;St. Columkille,¹ an awkward fellow came into the saint�snbsp;little hut, and knocked over the adircin and spilled thenbsp;ink. The same incident is told in Adamnan�s Latin Life,nbsp;in which the ink-vessel is called corniculum, � little horn,�nbsp;the exact equivalent of adircin.^

Pen.�The beauty, neatness, and perfect uniformity of the handwriting in old Irish mss., have led some Englishnbsp;antiquaries to express an opinion that the scribes usednbsp;metallic pens : but this opinion is quite untenable. Kellernbsp;holds, and indeed shows, that their pens were made fromnbsp;the quills of geese, swans, crows, and other birds : and innbsp;this he is followed by Miss Stokes.J The correctness

t For ink and inkhorn, see Keller, in XJlst. Journ. of Archasol., viii. 221 : Miss Stokes, Early Christian Art, p. 8 : and Adamn., 359, note 1.nbsp;t Ulst. Journ. of Archseol., vni. 222 ; Miss Stokes, Early Christian Art, 9.

of this contention is proved by some pictures in Irish manuscripts, as, for instance, in the representation of St.nbsp;John in the Book of Kells,* where the evangelist engagednbsp;in writing his Gospel holds in his hand a pen, the feathernbsp;of which can be clearly perceived. The inkstand is alsonbsp;represented as a simple slender conical cup [adarcin'\nbsp;fastened either to the arm of the chair, or upon a smallnbsp;stick on the ground. There is a legend in the Irish Lifenbsp;of St. Molaise of Devenish which goes to confirm all this:nbsp;it is in a late manuscript (sixteenth century), which wasnbsp;no doubt compiled from much earlier authorities. Herenbsp;we read that on one occasion the saint was desirous ofnbsp;copying something out of a book, but at the moment hadnbsp;no pen : just then a flock of birds flew over his head,nbsp;and one of them dropped a quill {eite, pron. etta), whichnbsp;Molaise made into a pen and wrote out his copy.f Thenbsp;knife with which they cut the quill pens is shown in onenbsp;of the eighth-century glossed mss. from which Zeuss drewnbsp;the materials for his � Grammatica Celtica,� where is seennbsp;a figure of St. Matthew the Evangelist writing in a booknbsp;which lies in front of him, and holding in his left hand anbsp;sort of penknife. J

Support for MS.�The old scribes sometimes wrote with the book resting on the knees, having a smooth boardnbsp;for support. Duald Mac Firbis, writing in the yearnbsp;1650, says of the history written by the ancient Irishnbsp;scribes that it � was written on their knees in books,�nbsp;which were preserved in his time in libraries.� But whennbsp;the writing was to be elaborate or ornamental, a desknbsp;was used, and if necessary a maulstick to support thenbsp;wrist, as shown in fig. 124.

Wooden Tablets.�The other materials for wxiting on are called by various names :�Taibhli filidh [tavila-filla],nbsp;� tablets of the poets � ; tahhall lorga, ' tablet staves � ^org.

� a staff �} ; tamlorga filidh, � staves of the poets � ; and flesc filidh, the � poets� rod.� Of the first two names, thenbsp;first part in each case is derived from the Latin tabula ornbsp;tabella, a � table,� or � tablet � ; but the other two, tamlorganbsp;filidh and flesc filidh, are pure Irish. These tablets werenbsp;generally made of beech or birch : but sometimes other

timber was used.¹ In the tale of Bade and Aillinn, it is related that when the two trees, a yew and an appletree,nbsp;that grew over the lovers� graves were cut down, theynbsp;were made into taibhli filidh, on which the poets wrote

See O�Flaherty, Ogyg., Part ni,, chap. xxx. : and Adamn., 358, 441 (quot; Ceraculum �), and 454 (quot; Tabula �).

the sad history of the youth and maiden. In the story of the Colloquy of the Ancients, King Dermot directsnbsp;that the lore told by the old man Cailte should benbsp;� written on tabhlorga fdidh in the language of the ollave � :nbsp;which was done. Several of these were commonly boundnbsp;up together : and O�Curry conjectures they were kept innbsp;the form of a fan, held together by a pivot at one end,nbsp;so that they could be opened out or closed up conveniently.¹ ^{2 3 4} The characters were either written in ink ornbsp;cut in with a knife. Ogham, which consists of lines ornbsp;notches, was often cut in. The use of tablets for writingnbsp;on was not peculiar to the Irish : for it is well known that,nbsp;before parchment came into general use, the Romans, thenbsp;Jews, and other ancient nations inscribed their laws, poems,nbsp;amp;c., on wooden tablets, f

The writing-tablets used by ecclesiastics, which must have been similar to the taihhli fdidh, were commonlynbsp;known by the name of -polaire (3-syll.), a term usednbsp;collectively to denote a number of single staves. Thisnbsp;word is derived from the Latin pugillaris (the g beingnbsp;aspirated), wLich means much the same thing�a writing-tablet. J These tablets, when not in use, were kept in anbsp;bundle tied up with leather straps. During Palladius�snbsp;brief visit to the east coast of Ireland, he founded threenbsp;churches, in one of which, Cell-Fine (now Killeen Cormac,nbsp;for which see p. 315, supra), he left several relics, amongnbsp;them his pattere or � tablets on which he used to write.�nbsp;Several of the old writers derive this word�no doubtnbsp;wrongly�from his name ; for they say it means � Palladius�s burden � (Irish ere, � a burden �) ; as if shortenednbsp;from Pallad-ere.%

commonly the surface was covered with wax, which was written on with a metallic style; hence these tablets arenbsp;called ceraculum (from cera, � wax �) in the Latin Lives ofnbsp;the Irish saints. This custom of writing on waxed tabletsnbsp;with a style is often mentioned in the Lives of the Saints,nbsp;both Latin and Irish, as well as in the lay literature. Ininbsp;the copy of the Uraicept in the Book of Lecan, thenbsp;following derivation of the Irish word littera (' letters �) isnbsp;given � Littera, from litura, i.e. from the smoothing ornbsp;� rubbing the ancients used to put on old waxed tablets [tonbsp;� make them again smooth and fit for writing on]: for it isnbsp;� on these they first wrote.�* In a story about St. Ciarannbsp;in his Irish Life, he is represented as writing on his waxednbsp;tablets, which are called in one place f�laire-Chiarainnbsp;(Ciaran�s tablets), while in two other places the wholenbsp;collection of tablets is called leabhar, i.e. a book.f

We may conclude that waxed tablets were used for temporary purposes, such as taking notes of a sermon, ornbsp;other such memorandums. They were employed also bynbsp;schoolmasters in old times for teaching their scholars thenbsp;elements of reading. Adamnan, in the seventh century,nbsp;mentions that he inscribed certain writings at first (temporarily) on waxed tablets, and afterwards on vellum. Jnbsp;This temporary use is also implied in the full storynbsp;referred to above about St. Ciaran�s polaire. For shortnbsp;temporary notes, a slate and pencil were also used, asnbsp;they are at the present day, of which we have an examplenbsp;in the story of Cinnfaela the Learned. When he was atnbsp;the College of Tuaim Drecain (now Tomregan in Cavan),nbsp;what he heard by day he wrote down roughly on slatesnbsp;and tablets {a leacaib ocus i taiblih) ; but at night henbsp;transcribed the entries into a vellum book.� All literarynbsp;matter intended to be permanent was written on vellumnbsp;or parchment.

I am not aware that any of the poets� staves�the taihhle fdidh�have been preserved ; though Duald Macnbsp;Firbis had a number of them in the seventeenth century.*nbsp;But a � book � of waxed tablets, with the writing stillnbsp;quite plain, was found under the surface near Magheranbsp;and presented to the Royal Irish Academy in 1845.nbsp;Dr. Todd, who wrote a paper on this book, proves thatnbsp;the use of waxed tablets continued till the seventeenthnbsp;century.f

The records show that the tablet-staves, of whatever kind, were long and narrow : hence they are called in thenbsp;� Fair of Carman � by the appropriate name of slisnigenbsp;[slishnee], the plural form of slisnech, a long narrow slit ornbsp;boardj (derived from the simple word slis, a narrow slitnbsp;or thin board, cognate with Eng. slice). This is furthernbsp;borne out by a circumstance related in Muirchu�s Memoirnbsp;of St. Patrick.� Once the saint and his companions,nbsp;with their writing-tablets in their hands {cum tahulis innbsp;manibus scriptis), approached a group of the pagans ofnbsp;Connaught, who mistook, or pretended to mistake, thenbsp;tablets for swords, so that they cried out that the visitorsnbsp;should be killed, as they came with swords in their handsnbsp;to shed people�s blood. This circumstance proves thatnbsp;they were of considerable length ; which is also shown,nbsp;for the poets� staves, by a regulation laid down in thenbsp;Brehon Law, that a poet might use his tabhall-lorg tonbsp;defend himself against wicked dogs-H

Petrie (� R. Towers,� 336, 337) has shown that the word polaire�^to use his own words�� was applied, at least innbsp;later times, to a satchel {tiag) for books � ; and he quotesnbsp;a passage from an old Trinity College manuscript, innbsp;which polaire is explained tiag liubair, that is, � a booknbsp;satchel.� But the general meaning of the word was

unquestionably ' tablets � : and that the polaire and tia were ordinarily different things is clearly shown by thenbsp;following passage from the Irish Life of St. Columkille,nbsp;in which they are distinguished: �For it was hisnbsp;� [Columba�s] wont to make crosses and tablets andnbsp;� satchels {polaire ocus tiaga) for books, and all churchnbsp;� gear � : and again it is stated in the same place that henbsp;blessed quot; a hundred polaire with a hundred crosiers andnbsp;a hundred tiaga or satchels.�¹ For more about book-satchels, see next page.

Style .�When writing on a waxed tablet, they used a graih or graif, i.e. graphium, a sharp-pointed style of metal,nbsp;which, when not in use, was commonly kept fastened in anbsp;loop or flap fixed on the sleeve or on the front of the cloak.nbsp;One day, while St. Columkille was writing in his hut, henbsp;heard the noise of battle in the air : it was St. Maidocnbsp;fighting with some demons to rescue the soul of Kingnbsp;Branduff which they were carrying off. Sticking thenbsp;graib into his cloak, he rushed out to help Maidoc : andnbsp;it is pleasant to record that the two saints overcame thenbsp;demons, and sent the poor soul straight up to heaven.fnbsp;When St. Patrick was in the act of destroying the idol,nbsp;Cromm Cruach, his graif fell out of his mantle into thenbsp;heather, where he had some difficulty in finding itnbsp;afterwards. J

�� House of Manuscripts.��Considering the fame of the Irish universities for learning, and the need of books fornbsp;students, it is plain that in all the important Irishnbsp;monasteries there must have been good general libraries,nbsp;including not only copies of native Irish books, but alsonbsp;works in Irish and Latin on the various b: anches of

Stokes, Three Ir. Homilies, 115 : Petrie, Round Towers, 339. t Adamn., 205, note a.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;J Trip. Life, 92, 3,

learning then known, and copies of the Latin and Greek classics. The Annals of Tigernach, who was abbot ofnbsp;Clonmacnoise, and died in 1088, show that there was anbsp;well-furnished library in that great monastery; for�tonbsp;use the words of Dr. Charles O�Conor :�� The quotationsnbsp;� from Latin and Greek authors in Tigernach are verynbsp;� numerous : and his balancing their authorities againstnbsp;�each other shows a degree of criticism uncommon innbsp;� the age in which he lived.�� We often find mention ofnbsp;the Tech-screptra (�house of manuscripts�), which wasnbsp;the Irish name of the library. The Four Masters recordnbsp;at A.D. 1020 the burning of Armagh, � with all the fort,nbsp;� without the saving of any house in it except the librarynbsp;� {teach screftra) only, . . . and [also were burned] theirnbsp;� books in the houses of the students.�� The schoolnbsp;libraries are noticed in a passage in the Book of Leinster,nbsp;which represents Dalian Forgaill (sixth century) asnbsp;saying, � Among the schools with libraries {etir scoluibnbsp;screptra) thou hast read the mysteries of the Ro-sualt �*nbsp;(a monstrous sea-fish, for which see vol. ii. page 515).nbsp;Where the library was extensive there was a special leahharnbsp;coimedach, �book-keeper� or �librarian� (Adamn., 359,nbsp;note nt).

Book-Satchels.�The books in a library were usually kept, not on shelves, but in leather satchels, hung on pegsnbsp;or racks round the walls : each satchel containing one ornbsp;more manuscript volumes and labelled on the outside.nbsp;When Longarad of Slieve Margy, a most eminent scholarnbsp;of the sixth century, died, � the book-satchels of Irelandnbsp;� [tiaga lehar Erenn) fell down [from their racks] on thatnbsp;� night. Or [according to another account] it is thenbsp;� satchels wherein were books of every dan or science innbsp;� the cell where Columkille was that fell then: andnbsp;� Columkille and everyone in that house marvelled, andnbsp;� all are silent at the noisy shaking of the books.��f Thenbsp;* LL, 168, a, 5 : Silva Gad., 480, � ; 527,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f Feilire, 141

falling of the books typified the loss learning sustained by the death of Longarad.

Satchels were very generally employed to carry books about from place to place. It was necessary for anbsp;missionary priest to have always at hand books containing copies of the Gospels, offices, special prayers, amp;c.,nbsp;which he brought with him on his journeys : and studentsnbsp;generally brought the few books necessary for theirnbsp;studies. Such books were almost always carried in anbsp;satchel, which is everywhere called tiag, or tiag liubhairnbsp;(� a book satchel �). It was made of leather, and wasnbsp;commonly slung from the shoulder, by one or more straps.nbsp;Adamann, who notices this way of carrying books, callsnbsp;the bag peUicens sacculus, a � little leather satchel.�¹

Persons sometimes brought their books about in a large pocket in the outer mantle above the waist-girdle.nbsp;In the Tripartite Life (p. 75), we read that St. Patrick, onenbsp;time, met six young clerics and six gillies with them, withnbsp;their books in their girdles� [a llibair in a criss). Butnbsp;he offered them the cushion-hide that he had sat and sleptnbsp;on for twenty years to make a tiag or satchel for theirnbsp;books : which they gladly accepted.

Manuscripts that were greatly valued were usually kept in elaborately wrought and beautifully ornamented leathernbsp;covers : of which two are still preserved in Ireland, namely,nbsp;the cover of the Book of Armagh, described and figured innbsp;Petrie�s � Round Towers � (p. 332)�from which it has beennbsp;copied here�and that of the shrine of St. Maidoc figurednbsp;in the same book (p. 335), and fully described by Missnbsp;Stokes in � Archaeologia.�t According to Mr. Warrennbsp;(� Corpus Missal,� p. 20), this custom of keeping booksnbsp;in leather cases was peculiar to Ireland among western

For books carried in satchels see Stokes, Lives of SS., 230 : Mac Congl., 10 : Adamn., 115, 116 : and Miss Stokes, Ancient Art, 50 to 52.

t The design of this has been reproduced on the covers of the published Annals of the Four Masters.

countries; but was common in the East. For instance, at the present day in the Abyssinian monastery of Souriariinbsp;in Egypt, the books of the library are enclosed in sacksnbsp;furnished with straps, and hung on pegs, exactly asnbsp;described above for Ireland.*

Sometimes books were kept in a small case called lebor-chomet (� book-holder �), which appears to have beennbsp;a box made partly or wholly of metals: for in thenbsp;^Reeves, Adamn., 115, 116.

Tripartite Life it is stated that Bishop Assicns, who was Patrick�s coppersmith {faher-ereus, a Latin term,nbsp;is used here, though the narrative is in Irish), madenbsp;quadrangular book-covers {leborchometa chethrochori) andnbsp;other things in honour of Patrick.¹

Destruction and Exportation of Books. � Books abounded in Ireland when the Danes first made theirnbsp;appearance, about the beginning of the ninth century : sonbsp;that the old Irish writers often speak with pride of � thenbsp;hosts of the books of Erin.� But with the first Danishnbsp;arrivals began the woful destruction of manuscripts, thenbsp;records of ancient learning. The animosity of the barbarians was specially directed against books, monasteries,nbsp;and monuments of religion : and ail the manuscripts theynbsp;could lay hold on they either burned or � drowned ��i.e.nbsp;flung them into the nearest lake or river.

For two centuries the destruction of manuscripts went on : and it ceased only when the Danes were finallynbsp;crushed at Clontarf in 1014. During all this time thenbsp;Irish missionaries and scholars who went abroad broughtnbsp;aw'ay great numbers of manuscripts merely to save themnbsp;from destruction. In many of them are found to this daynbsp;casual remarks, which, though trifling in themselves, bringnbsp;vividly before us the solitary scribe as he sat workingnbsp;industriously in his cell twelve hundred years ago : and notnbsp;unfrequently they name the home monasteries of the writersnbsp;or indicate the dates. For example, in one of the eighth-century MSS. of Zeiiss, now in St. Gall, these remarksnbsp;are written on the margin ;�Do Inis Maiddoc dun, edon,nbsp;meisse ocus Choirhhre:nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;quot; We belong to Inis Maiddoc,

namely, myself and Carbery � : Is gann membrum, is tana an dub : � the vellum is scanty, the ink is thin.�|

f Zeuss, Preface, xil. xiii. Inis Maiddoc, now St. Mogue�s Island in Templeport Lake, near Ballyconnell in Cavan ; so called from St. Maidocnbsp;or Mogue of Ferns, who was born near that lake.

Three or four hundred years later (a.d. iioo), Mailmuri, the compiler and writer of the Book of the Dun Cow,nbsp;wrote on the top margin (LU, p. 55) this remark, partlynbsp;in Latin, as was usual with the old scribes :�Probationbsp;fennae Mailmuri mic mic Cuind na mBocht: � A trial ofnbsp;the pen of Mailmuri, son of the son of Conn na mBocht �;nbsp;and still later (fourteenth century), the scribe of the Lebarnbsp;Brecc wrote this marginal remark (on p. 60) :�Promhanbsp;find 0 Fergal Mac Uilliam far in cuilmend oil: �A testingnbsp;of a pen by Fergal Mac William on the large volume.�

Scores of these venerable volumes are now found in Continental libraries : some no doubt written by Irishmennbsp;on the spot, but most brought from Ireland. Michaelnbsp;0�Clery, the chief of the Four Masters, writes, in 1631, innbsp;the Preface to his Book of Invasions ;�� Alas, short wasnbsp;� the time until dispersion and decay overtook the churchesnbsp;� of the saints, their relics, and their books ; for there is notnbsp;� to be found of them [the books] now but a small remnantnbsp;quot; that has not been carried away into foreign countries�nbsp;� carried away so that their fate is unknown from that

time to this.�* Books were also often sent as presentations from the monasteries at home to Continental monasteries founded by Irishmen! � ^^ut of such volumesnbsp;it is pretty certain that there were always duplicates atnbsp;home. The consequence of this long-continued exportation of Irish books is that there is now a vastly greaternbsp;quantity of Irish of the ninth and earlier centuries on thenbsp;Continent than we have in Ireland.

After the Battle of Clontarf there was a breathing time ; and scholars like Mac Kelleher, Mac Gorman, andnbsp;Mac Criffan.! (pp. 493, 495, infra) set to work to rescue what

f We may, I suppose, count these three men the first gleaners of scattered Gaelic lore whose work has come down to us. From their day tonbsp;the present there has been a succession of zealous scholars who have madenbsp;it their business to collect and write down the fugitive and decaying fragments of Celtic literature. An interesting sketch of those of Scotland will

was left of the old literature, collecting the scattered fragments and copying into new volumes everything that they could find worth preserving. Numbers of such books werenbsp;compiled, and much of the learning and romance of oldnbsp;days was reproduced in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.nbsp;Notwithstanding the Danish devastations, many of thenbsp;original volumes also�written long before the time ofnbsp;Mac Kelleher�still remained. But next came the Anglo-Norman invasion, which was quite as destructive of nativenbsp;learning and art as the Danish inroads, or more so ; andnbsp;most of the new transcripts, as well as of the old volumesnbsp;that survived, were scattered and lost. The destructionnbsp;of manuscripts continued during the perpetual wars thatnbsp;distracted the country, down to comparatively recentnbsp;times ; and many which existed even so late as 200 yearsnbsp;ago are now gone. O�Curry, in the first Lecture of hisnbsp;quot; Manuscript Materials,� gives a long list of the � Lostnbsp;Books of Erin.� The great gaps in Irish literature arenbsp;painfully indicated everywhere in the fragments thatnbsp;remain. Prof. Kuno Meyer, in the Preface to his � Kingnbsp;and Hermit,� mentions, among � the great mass of materialnbsp;that has been irretrievably lost,� quot; whole legendary cyclesnbsp;� revealed by casual references only, tales of which nothingnbsp;� but the titles, poems of which the intitial lines only, havenbsp;� been preserved.�

Books continued to be brought away to the Continent long after the time of Michael 0�Clery ; for those Catholic

be found in Maclean�s Literature of the Celts (chap, xviii.). Dr. Maclean winds up his chapter with a sketch and a well-deserved appreciation of thenbsp;latest Scottish collector, Mr. Alexander Carmichael. May I add my tributenbsp;of admiration for Mr. Carmichael's work? By the publication of his Car-mina Gadelica, he has placed, not only Scotland, but Ireland, under annbsp;everlasting debt of gratitude, for the book reflects Ireland as well asnbsp;Scotland.

Our latest and most successful collector of Irish popular lore is Dr. Douglas Hyde, who has, during many years, taken down from the lipsnbsp;of the Irish-speaking Connaught peasantry a great collection of stories,nbsp;songs, and rhymes, of which he has already published several volumesnbsp;very valuable to students of modern Irish language and folklore.

priests and others who fled from Ireland during the penal times commonly brought their precious manuscripts withnbsp;them ; and many other volumes were hidden away innbsp;remote places ; foi in those evil days, the mere fact ofnbsp;finding an Irish book in a man�s possession put the ownernbsp;in danger of his life.* Even in our own day Irish manuscripts have been brought to America by emigrants whonbsp;loved them too well to part with them.

Volumes of Miscellaneous Matter.�Of the eleventh-and twelfth-century transcript volumes, portions, and onlynbsp;portions, of just two remain�Lebar-na-hUidhre [Lowr-na-Heera] or the Book of the Dun Cow, and Debarnbsp;Laigen [Lowr-Lyen] or the Book of Leinster. Thatnbsp;these two books are copies from older manuscripts, andnbsp;not themselves original compositions of the time, therenbsp;is ample and unquestionable internal evidence. Fornbsp;example, on page 37 of the Book of the Dun Cownbsp;(copied a.d. iioo) is a remark in Irish, of which this isnbsp;a translation :�quot; Pray for Moelmhuiri Mac Ceileachairnbsp;�who wrote and collected this book from a variety ofnbsp;� books.� And as fully bearing this out, the samenbsp;Moelmhuiri, when transcribing the story of the Destruction of Da Derga�s Hostel, says in one place towardsnbsp;the end of the Tale (Stokes�s Da Derga p. 325) :�� Thisnbsp;� is what some books relate, viz., that but a few fell aroundnbsp;� Conari, namely, nine only � : and a little farther on henbsp;goes on to say ;�� This however is the account given innbsp;� other books�which is probably truer�that of the peoplenbsp;� of the hostel forty or fifty fell; and of the assailantsnbsp;� three-fourths of them.�t But it must be borne in mind

t See for more illustrations. Rev. Celt., xi. 453 (where the copyist of the oldest version of the Wooing of Emer breaks off with this remark ;�nbsp;� And the remainder which is in the Book �) : and Nutt�s remarks in thenbsp;Voyage of Bran, i. 125 and 126.

that we have many other books like the two above mentioned, copied after iioo from very ancient volumes since lost. The Yellow Book of Lecan, for example, containsnbsp;pieces as old as those in the Book of the Dun Cow�ornbsp;older�though copied at a much later period,

Most of the books alluded to here and named below consist of miscellaneous matter:�stales, poems,nbsp;biographies, genealogies, histories, annals, and so forth�nbsp;all mixed up, with scarcely any attempt at orderly arrangement, and almost always copied from older books. Thisnbsp;practice of copying miscellaneous pieces into one greatnbsp;volume was very common. Some of these books werenbsp;large and important literary monuments, which were keptnbsp;with affectionate care by their owners, and were celebratednbsp;among scholars as great depositories of Celtic learning,nbsp;and commonly known by special names, such as thenbsp;Cuilmen, the Saltair of Cashel, the Book of Guana. Nonbsp;one was permitted to make entries in such precious booksnbsp;except practised and scholarly scribes ; and the value setnbsp;on them may be estimated from the fact that one of themnbsp;was sometimes given as ransom for a captive chief.* Inbsp;will here notice a few of the most important of those wenbsp;possess�all vellum ; but there are also many importantnbsp;paper manuscripts.

The oldest of all these books of miscellaneous literature is the Lebar-na-Heera, or the Book of the Dun Gowf nownbsp;in the Royal Irish Academy. By � the oldest � is meantnbsp;that it was transcribed at an earlier time than any othernbsp;remaining : but some books of later transcription containnbsp;pieces quite as old, or older. This book was written bynbsp;Mailmuri Mac Kelleher, a learned scribe who died innbsp;Clonmacnoise in the year iio6. The entry in his own

f Irish name Lebar-na-hUidhre so called because the original manuscript of that name (which no longer exists) was written on vellum made from the skin of St. Ciaran�s pet cow at Clonmacnoise. Irish, odharnbsp;[o-ar], � a brown � [cow] ; gen. uidhre or h-uidhre.

handwriting quoted on page 492 shows that the book was copied from older books. It is all through heavily glossednbsp;between the lines, proving the great antiquity of thenbsp;pieces ; as Mac Kelleher, even in 1100, found it necessar}^nbsp;to explain in this manner numerous old words and phrases.nbsp;About the year 1340 it was given by the O�Donnells of

A.lt;K^itiCiCvo2 tjrf'^^-0dgc4rni'n4i 1 fete lt;4tinbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;iqtJ T14-OOGnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;'y�U. Cn

fn titgt;f hur-noipecc^x� ti a? , o^tgt;^.'00'meld-|iteput^^U. cSfticpieCttT

Facsimile ot part of the Book of the Dun Cow, p. 120, col. 1. (Slightly smaller than the original.) The beginning of the story of Connla the Comely, or Connlanbsp;of the Golden Hair. (This story will be found fully translated in Joyce�s Old Celticnbsp;Romances.)

Translation of the above passage:�quot; The adventures of Connla the Comely, son of Conn the Hundred-Fighter, here. Whence the name of Art the Lone one ? [Artnbsp;the son of Conn, who was called ' Art the Lone One � after his brother Connla badnbsp;been taken away by the fairy.] Not difficult to answer. On a certain day as Connlanbsp;of the Golden Hair, son of Conn the Hundred-Fighter, stood beside his father onnbsp;the Hill of Ushnagh, he saw a lady in strange attire coming towards him. Comilanbsp;spoke : � Whence hast thou come, O lady ?' he says � I have come,� replied the ladynbsp;* from the land of the ever-living, a place where there is neither death, nor sin, nornbsp;transgression. We have continual feasts: we practice every benevolent work withoutnbsp;contention. We dwell in a large S/tee ; and hence we are called the people of thenbsp;Fairy-Mound.� �To whom art thou speaking, my boyj� .says Conn to his son; fornbsp;no-one saw the lady save Connla only.�

Tirconnell to O�Conor of Connaught as a ransom for their cllave of history who had been taken captive by thenbsp;O�Conors some time before ; but in 1470 the O�Donnellsnbsp;recovered it by force and brought it back td Tirconnell.

As it now stands it consists of only 134 folio pages� a mere fragment of the original work. It contains sixty-

five pieces of various kinds, several of which are imperfect on account of missing leaves. There are a number ofnbsp;romantic tales in prose; a copy of the celebrated Amranbsp;or elegy on St. Columkille composed by Dalian Forgaillnbsp;about the year 592 ; an imperfect copy of the Voyage ofnbsp;Maildune ; and an imperfect copy of the Tdin-bo-Quelna,nbsp;with several of the minor tales connected with it. Amongnbsp;the historical and romantic tales are the Courtship ofnbsp;Emer ; the Feast of Bricriu ; the Abduction of Princenbsp;Connla the Comely by the shee or fairies ; part of thenbsp;Destruction of the palace of Da Derga and the Death ofnbsp;Conari king of Ireland.* The language of this book isnbsp;nearer to the pure language of the Zeussian glosses thannbsp;that of any other old book of general literature wenbsp;possess.

The Book of Leinster, the next in order of age, now in Trinity College, Dublin, was written not later thannbsp;the year 1160. There is good reason to believe that itnbsp;was compiled wholly, or partly, by Finn Mac Gorman,nbsp;who was bishop of Kildare from 1148 to 1160, and bynbsp;Aed Mac Criffan, tutor of Dermot Mac Murrogh kingnbsp;of Leinster, and that it belonged to this king or to somenbsp;person of rank among his followers. The part of thenbsp;original book remaining�for it is only a part�consistsnbsp;of 410 folio pages, and contains nearly 1000 pieces ofnbsp;various kinds, prose and poetry�historical sketches,nbsp;romantic tales, topographical tracts, genealogies, amp;c.�nbsp;a vast collection of ancient Irish lore. The followingnbsp;entry occurs at the foot of page 313 :�� Aed [or Hugh]nbsp;Mac Mic Criffan wrote this book and collected it fromnbsp;many books.� Among its contents are a very fine perfectnbsp;copy of the Tain-bo-Quelna, a History of the origin ofnbsp;the Boru Tribute, a description of Tara, a full copy ofnbsp;the Dinnsenchus or description of the celebrated places

? Most of the pieces mentioned through this chapter will be described in the next three chapters.

of Erin. The Book of Leinster is an immense volume, containing about as much matter as six of Scott�s prosenbsp;novels.

The Lebar Breco, or Speckled Book of Mac Egan, also called the Great Book of Duniry, is in the Royal Irishnbsp;Academy. It is a large folio volume, now consisting ofnbsp;280 pages, but originally containing many more, writtennbsp;in a small, uniform, beautiful hand. The text containsnbsp;226 pieces, with numbers of marginal and interlinednbsp;entries, generally explanatory or illustrative of the text.nbsp;The book was copied from various older books, most ofnbsp;them now lost. All, both text and notes, with a fewnbsp;exceptions, are on religious subjects ; there is a good dealnbsp;of Latin mixed with the Irish. Among the pieces arenbsp;the Feilire of Aengus the Culdee, Lives of SS. Patrick,nbsp;Brigit, and Columkille, and a Life of Alexander the Great.nbsp;From the traditional titles of the book it is probable thatnbsp;it was written towards the end of the fourteenth centurynbsp;by one or more of the Mac Egans, a literary family whonbsp;for many generations kept schools of Law, Poetry, andnbsp;Literature at Duniry, near Portumna, in the county Galway,nbsp;and also at Bally-mac-Egan, in the north of Tipperary.

The Book of Ballymote, in the Royal Irish Academy, is a large folio volume of 501 pages. It was written bynbsp;several scribes about the year 1391, at Ballymote in Sligo,nbsp;from older books, and contains a great number of pieces innbsp;prose and verse. Among them is a copy of the ancientnbsp;Book of Invasions, i.e. a history of the Conquests ofnbsp;Ireland by the several ancient colonists. There arenbsp;genealogies of almost all the principal Irish families;nbsp;several historical and romantic tales of the early Irishnbsp;kings ; a history of the most remarkable women of Irelandnbsp;down to the English invasion ; an Irish translation ofnbsp;Nennius�s History of the Britons ; a copy of the Dinn-senchus ; a translation of the Argonautic Expedition, andnbsp;of the War of Troy.

The Yellow Book of Lecan [Leckan] in Trinity College is a large quarto volume of about 500 pages. It wasnbsp;written at Lecan in the county Sligo in or about thenbsp;year 1390 by two of the scholarly family of Mac Firbis�nbsp;Donogh and Gilla Isa. It contains a great number ofnbsp;pieces in prose and verse, historical, biographical, topographical, amp;c. ; among them the Battle of Moyrath, thenbsp;Destruction of Bruden Da Derga, an imperfect copy ofnbsp;the Tain-bo Quelna, and the Voyage of Maildune.

The five books above described have been published in facsimile without translations by the Royal Irish Academy,nbsp;page for page, line for line, letter for letter. The facsimile of the Book of the Dun Cow was edited by Sirnbsp;John T. Gilbert, ll.d., f.s.a., the others by Dr. Robertnbsp;Atkinson ; and all five have valuable Introductions andnbsp;full descriptions of contents. Next to the publication ofnbsp;the Grammatica Celtica, the issue of these facsimiles wasnbsp;the greatest stimulus in modern times to the elucidation ofnbsp;ancient Gaelic lore : for scholars in all parts of the worldnbsp;can now study those five old books without coming tonbsp;Dublin.

The Book of Lecan in the Royal Irish Academy, about 600 vellum pages, was written in 1416, chiefly by Gilla Isanbsp;M�r Mac Firbis. The contents resemble in a generalnbsp;way those of the Book of Ballymote.

There are many other books of miscellaneous Gaelic literature in the Royal Irish Academy and in Trinitynbsp;College, such as the Book of Lismore, the Book ofnbsp;Fermoy, the Book of Hy Many; besides numbers ofnbsp;books without special names. There are also numerousnbsp;MS. volumes devoted to special subjects, such as Law,nbsp;Medicine, Astronomy, and so forth, as will be foundnbsp;mentioned elsewhere in this book.

The vast mass of Irish literature sketched in this chapter is to be found in manuscripts, not in any onenbsp;library, but scattered over almost all the libraries of

Europe. The two most important collections are those in Trinity College and in the Royal Irish Academy,nbsp;Dublin, where there are manuscripts of various ages, fromnbsp;the sixth or seventh down to the present century. In thenbsp;Franciscan monastery of Adam and Eve in Dublin are anbsp;number of valuable manuscripts which were sent fromnbsp;the Franciscan monastery of St. Isidore�s in Rome, a fewnbsp;years ago�a portion of the great Collection made by thenbsp;Franciscans at Louvain in the seventeenth century; andnbsp;another fine collection is preserved in Maynooth College.nbsp;There are also many important manuscripts in the Britishnbsp;Museum in London ; in the Bodleian Library at Oxford;nbsp;and in the Advocate�s Library¹ in Edinburgh ; besides thenbsp;numerous MSS. in Continental libraries.

Classification of Subject-Matter.�Irish literature, so far as it has been preserved, may be classed as follows ;�

V. Translations or versions from other language.^,nbsp;Latin, Greek, French, amp;c.

Translations.�^As to this last class : I will dismiss the subject of translations here with a few brief observations.nbsp;Among the translations�remarks O�Curry�� We find annbsp;� extensive range of subjects in ancient Mythology, Poetry,nbsp;� History, [Romance], and the Classical Literature of thenbsp;� Greeks and Romans, as well as many copious illustra-� tions of the most remarkable events of the middle ages.�tnbsp;We have Irish versions of the Argonautic Expedition ;

A good and interesting account of the collection of Gaelic manuscripts in the Advocate�s Library�some native Scotch, some Irish�may be read in the seventh chapter of Dr. Magnus Maclean�s lately publishednbsp;work. The Literature of the Celts (1902).nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f MS. Mat., 24.

the Destruction of Troy ; portions of the Aeneid; the Destruction of Jerusalem ; the Wars of Charlemagne,nbsp;including the Histor}^ of Roland the Brave ; the Historynbsp;of the Lombards; the almost contemporaneous translation of the Travels of Marco Polo ; the Adventures ofnbsp;Hercules ; Guy Earl of Warwick ; Bevis of Southampton ;nbsp;the Quest of the Holy Grail; the Theban War; Mande-ville�s Travels ; and many other pieces. That such a massnbsp;of translation exists in Irish manuscripts shows�if therenbsp;was need to show�the livel}^ literary curiosity and thenbsp;intense love of knowledge of every kind of the ancientnbsp;Irish scholars. Apart from their literary aspect, thesenbsp;translations are of the highest value to students of the Irishnbsp;language, as enabling them to determine the meaning ofnbsp;many obsolete Gaelic words and phrases.

Though many of the Irish tales are highly dramatic, the Irish never developed Drama in the proper sense of thenbsp;word. There was no Irish theatre, and no open-air acting.nbsp;But on this point it will be sufficient to refer the reader tonbsp;Dr. Hyde�s � Literary History of Ireland,� p. 276 ; and tonbsp;Sir Samuel Ferguson�s � Poems � (1880), p. 62.

The ancient Irish writers commonly began their books or treatises with a statement of the � Place, Time, Personnbsp;[or author], and cause.� For example, Duald Mac Firbis,nbsp;in the beginning of his great manuscript work onnbsp;Genealogies, writes:�� The place, time, author, andnbsp;� cause of writing this book are :�Its place is the Collegenbsp;� of St. Nicholas in Galway; its time is the year of thenbsp;� age of Christ 1650 ; the author of it is Dubhaltach thenbsp;� son of Gilla Isa M�r Mac Firbisigh, historian, amp;c., ofnbsp;� Lecain Mic Firbisigh in Tireragh of the Moy; and thenbsp;� cause of writing the same book is to magnify the glorynbsp;� of God, and to give knowledge to all men in general.�¹

O�Curry, MS. Mat., 216. For other examples, see Stokes, F�ilire, p. 3 : and Hyde, Lit. Hist., 245.

Fig. 127 �Sculpture on a Capital: Priest's House, Glendalough : Beranger, 1779. (From Petrie�s Round Towers.)

^OPIES of the Gospels or of other portions of Scripture, that were either written or ownednbsp;by eminent saints of the early Irish Church,nbsp;were treasured with great veneration bynbsp;succeeding generations ; and it became anbsp;common practice to enclose them, for better preservation, in ornamental boxes or shrines. Manynbsp;shrines with their precious contents are still preserved:nbsp;they are generally of exquisite workmanship in gold,nbsp;silver, or other metals, precious stones, and enamel.nbsp;Books of this kind are the oldest we possess.

The Domnach Airgid, or � Silver Shrine,� which is in the National Museum, Dublin, is a box containing a Latinnbsp;copy of the Gospels written on vellum. � This box,� saysnbsp;Dr. Petrie, � is composed of three distinct covers, of whichnbsp;the first or inner one is of wood�apparently yew; thenbsp;� second or middle one of copper plated with silver ; andnbsp;� the third or outer one of silver plated with gold. Innbsp;� the comparative ages of these several covers there isnbsp;� obviously a great difference. The first may probably benbsp;� coeval with the manuscript which it was intended tonbsp;� preserve ; the second, in the style of its scroll or inter-laced ornaments, indicates a period between the sixth

� and the twelfth centuries ; while the figures in relief, the � ornaments, and the letters, in the third, leave no doubtnbsp;� of its being the work of the fourteenth century.�¹ Thenbsp;Domnach Airgid was until lately preserved near Clonesnbsp;in Monaghan. It was once thought that the enclosednbsp;book was the identical copy of the Gospels presented bynbsp;St. Patrick to his disciple St. Mac Carthenn, the founder ofnbsp;the see of Clogher ; but recent investigations go to shownbsp;that it is not so old as the time of the great apostle, t

The Book of Kells is the most remarkable book of this class, though not the oldest. At the present day this isnbsp;the best known of all the old Irish books, on account ofnbsp;its elaborate and beautiful ornamentation. A description of it will be found farther on, in the chapter on Irishnbsp;Art (p. 546).

The Gathach [Caha] or Battle-Book of the O�Donnells. The following is the legend of the origin of this book. Onnbsp;one occasion St. Columkille was on a visit with St. Finnennbsp;of Movilla at a place called Drumfinn in Ulster, and whilenbsp;there, borrowed from him a copy of the Psalms. Wishingnbsp;to have a copy of his own, and fearing refusal if he askednbsp;permission to make one, he secretly transcribed the booknbsp;day by day in the church. St. Finnen found out what henbsp;was doing, but took no notice of the matter till the copynbsp;was finished, when he sent to Columkille for it, claimingnbsp;that it belonged to him, as it was made from his booknbsp;without permission. St. Columba refused to give it up, butnbsp;offered to refer the dispute to the king of Ireland, Dermotnbsp;the son of Fergus Kervall; to which Finnen agreed. Theynbsp;both proceeded to Tara, obtained an audience, and laidnbsp;the case before the king, who pronounced a judgmentnbsp;that long continued to be remembered as a proverb in

f See the Rev. Dr. Bernard on the Domnach Airgid : Trans. Roy. Ir. Acad., XXX. 303, where he gives the result of his investigation to thenbsp;above effect.

Ireland ;�quot; To every cow belongeth her little offspring-cow : so to every book belongeth its little offspring-book : the book thou hast copied without permission, O Columba,nbsp;I award to Finnen � : a decision which may be said tonbsp;contain the germ of the law of copyright.¹ The booknbsp;was afterwards however given up to St. Columkifle;nbsp;and it remained thenceforward�a precious heirloom�^innbsp;possession of his kindred the O�Donnells. The beautifullynbsp;wrought case of gilt silver, enamel, and precious stones.

subsequent!}^ made to cover this venerable relic, may be seen in the National Museum, Dublin, where it has beennbsp;deposited by the head of the O�Donnell family. Onlynbsp;fifty-eight of the vellum leaves of the enclosed booknbsp;remain ; and the writing is a small uniform hand : but

This j udgment, which is clear and terse in the original {Le gach boin a boinin, le gach leabhar a leabhairin), will appear equally clear in Englishnbsp;�though losing much in force�in the following paraphrase ;�quot; Thenbsp;calf, being the offspring of the cow, belongs to the cow ; so the copy,nbsp;being the offspring of the book, belongs to the book.�

there is reason to doubt that this is the very manuscript written by St. Columkille.¹

In Trinity College, Dublin, are two beautiful shrines enclosing two illuminated Gospel manuscripts, the Booknbsp;of Dimma, and the Book of St. Moling, both written in thenbsp;seventh or eighth century.

The Book of Armagh, now in Trinity College, for beauty of execution stands only second to the Book of Kells, andnbsp;occasionally exceeds it in fineness and richness of ornamentation. The learned and accomplished scribe of thisnbsp;book was Fetdomnach of Armagh, who finished it in 807,tnbsp;and died in 845. In several different places�at thenbsp;end of certain portions�he wrote in Latin : � Pray fornbsp;Ferdomnach � ; and two of these entries are still perfectlynbsp;legible. He no doubt wrote many other books�for writingnbsp;was the business of his life�but they are all lost.

The book originally consisted of 442 pages, of which ten are lost: with this exception it is as perfect as whennbsp;it was written. It is chiefly in Latin, with a good deal ofnbsp;old Irish interspersed. It opens with a Life of St. Patrick.nbsp;Following this are a number of Notes of the Life andnbsp;acts of the saint, compiled by Bishop Tirechan, whonbsp;himself received them from his master Bishop Ultan, ofnbsp;the seventh century. These notes are not in the form ofnbsp;a connected narrative. The book contains a completenbsp;copy of the New Testament, and a Life of St. Martin ofnbsp;Tours. Perhaps the most interesting part of the wholenbsp;manuscript is what is now commonly known as St.nbsp;Patrick�s Confession, in which the saint gives a brief

See Reeves in Adanm., 319. For a fuller account of the whole transaction�the trial before King Dermot and its consequences�seenbsp;Joyce, Short Hist, of Ireland, pp. 19, 20. For the use of the Cathach innbsp;battle by the O�Donnells, see p. 302, supra.

f The date has been determined by the late Dr. Graves, bishop of Limerick, after a very ingenious investigation : Proc. Roy. Ir. Acad.,nbsp;in. 316-324, and 358. See also Dr. Reeves�s Paper in Proc. for 1891-2,nbsp;P- 77-

account, in simple unaffected Latin, of his captivity, his escape from slavery, his return to Ireland, the hardshipsnbsp;and dangers he encountered, and the final success of hisnbsp;mission. At the end of the Confession, Ferdomnachnbsp;writes this colophon in Latin :�� Thus far the volumenbsp;which Patrick wrote with his own hand. The seventeenthnbsp;day of March Patrick was translated to heaven.� Thisnbsp;entry was written about 300 years after the death ofnbsp;St. Patrick ; and it appears from it that Ferdomnach hadnbsp;before him a book in the very handwriting of the greatnbsp;apostle, from which he copied the Confession. The oldnbsp;volume had become in many places illegible, or nearl}^nbsp;so, from age : for in one part of his copy Ferdomnachnbsp;makes this remark ;�� Incertus liber hie � : � the book isnbsp;uncertain here � : and in several other places he inserts anbsp;note of interrogation to show that he was in doubt aboutnbsp;the reading. This � Confession � may be said to be thenbsp;oldest piece of Irish literature we possess.

In 1004 an entry was made in a blank space of this book which almost transcends in interest the entries ofnbsp;Ferdomnach himself. In that year the great king Briannbsp;Boru made a triumphal circuit round Ireland, and arrivingnbsp;at Armagh, he made an offering of twenty ounces of goldnbsp;on the altar of St. Patrick. He confirmed the ancientnbsp;ecclesiastical supremacy of Armagh, and caused hisnbsp;secretary Mailsuthain to enter the decree in the Booknbsp;of Armagh. The entry, which is as plain now as thenbsp;day it was written, is in Latin, and stands in English :�nbsp;�St. Patrick, when going to heaven, decreed that thenbsp;� entire fruit of his labour, as well of baptism and causesnbsp;�as of alms, should be rendered to the apostolic cit}^nbsp;� which in the Scotic tongue is called Arddmacha. Thusnbsp;� I found it in the records of the Scots {i.e. the Irish].nbsp;� This I have written, namely, Mailsuthain, in the presencenbsp;� of Brian, supreme ruler of the Scots, and what I havenbsp;� written he decreed for all the kings of Cashel.�

Of all the old books of Ireland this was for many ages the most celebrated and the most deeply venerated. Thenbsp;popular belief was that it was written by St. Patricknbsp;himself, from which it got the name of Canoin Patrick,nbsp;Patrick�s Testament. It was entrusted to the safe keepingnbsp;of the members of a particular family, the Mac Moyres,nbsp;who for generations enjoyed a liberal land-endowment innbsp;consideration of the importance of their trust. From thisnbsp;circumstance they got the name of Mac Moyre�i.e. thenbsp;descendants of the maev or keeper.

This venerable book was about being published ; and the task of editing it was entrusted to the man who knewnbsp;most about it, the Right Rev. Dr. Willian Reeves, latenbsp;bishop of Down and Connor : but death intervened beforenbsp;he had time to finish the crowning literary work of his life.nbsp;The book is in competent hands, however, and it will benbsp;published. Meantime every expression in Irish that occursnbsp;in the book has been edited and published, with greatnbsp;learning and skill, by the Rev. Dr. Edmund Hogan, s.j.,nbsp;in his � Documenta de S. Patricio.�

Other Latin-Irish books of this class still preserved are the Book of Durrow, written by a scribe namednbsp;Columba, not the great St. Columba, but a subsequentnbsp;namesake : the Book of Mac Durnan : the Stowe Missal,nbsp;now in the Royal Irish Academy : and the Garland ofnbsp;Howth, now in Trinity College, Dublin : all belonging tonbsp;the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries, and all elaboratelynbsp;ornamented ; some little inferior indeed to the Book ofnbsp;Kells.

We have a vast body of original ecclesiastical and religious writings. Among them are the Lives of a greatnbsp;many of the most distinguished Irish saints, mostly innbsp;Irish, some few in Latin, some on vellum, some on paper,nbsp;of various ages, from the seventh century down to thenbsp;eighteenth. Of these manuscripts the great majority arenbsp;in Dublin ; but there are many also in the British Museum,

as well as in Brussels and elsewhere on the Continent. The Lives of the three patrons of Ireland�Patrick,nbsp;Brigit, and Columkille�are, as might be expected, morenbsp;numerous than those of the others. Of these the best-known is the quot; Tripartite Life of St. Patrick,� so callednbsp;because it is divided into three parts. There is a manuscript copy of this in the British Museum, and anothernbsp;in the library of the University of Oxford. It is in Irish,nbsp;mixed here and there with words and sentences in Latin.nbsp;Colgan and others after him have given their opinion thatnbsp;it was originally written in the sixth century by St. Evinnbsp;of Monasterevin : but it certainly is not so early. Dr.nbsp;Petrie (Tara, 55), and Dr. Todd (St. Patk. 124, note 3),nbsp;both a.�sign it to the � ninth or tenth century � ; whilenbsp;Dr. Stokes (Trip. Life, Ixii) gives the tenth century asnbsp;the superior limit. The compiler, whoever he was, hadnbsp;older books lying before him.¹ This has been latelynbsp;printed in two volumes, with translations and elaboratenbsp;and valuable introduction and notes by Dr. Stokes.

Besides the Irish Lives of St. Columkille, there is one in Latin, written by Adamnan, who died in the year 703nbsp;He was a native of Donegal, and ninth abbot of Iona;nbsp;and his memoir has been pronounced by the learnednbsp;Scotch writer Pinkerton�who is not given to praise Irishnbsp;things�to be � one of the most curious monuments of thenbsp;� literature of that age. It is certainly the most completenbsp;� piece of such biography that all Europe can boast of, notnbsp;� only at so early a period, but even through the wholenbsp;� middle ages.�| It has been published for the Archaeological and Celtic Society by the Rev. Dr. William Reeves,nbsp;who, in his Introduction and Notes, supplies historical, local,nbsp;and biographical information drawn from every conceivablenbsp;source, t

Trip. Life, 127, last paragraph, and 139, t Pinkerton, Inquiry, Ed. 1814, xlviii. See also p. 6, supra.

In the year 1645 the Rev. John Colgan, a Franciscan friar, a native of Donegal, published at Louvain, where henbsp;then resided in the Irish monastery of that city, a largenbsp;volume entitled � Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae,� the � Livesnbsp;of the Saints of Ireland,� all in Latin, translated by himself from ancient Irish manuscripts. They are arrangednbsp;according to the festival days of the saints ; and the volumenbsp;contains the Lives of those whose days fall in the threenbsp;first months of the year. His intention was no doubt tonbsp;finish the work to the 31st December ; but he stopped atnbsp;the 31st March, and never published any more of thatnbsp;work. In 1647 he published another volume, also in Latin,nbsp;which he calls � Acta Triadis Thaumaturgae,� the � Livesnbsp;of the Wonder-working Triad.� It is devoted to Saintsnbsp;Patrick, Brigit, and Columkille, and consists almost entireh�nbsp;of translations of all the old Irish Lives of these threenbsp;saints that he could find ; there are seven Lives of St.nbsp;Patrick, including the Tripartite. Both volumes arenbsp;elaborately annotated by the learned editor ; and text andnbsp;notes�all in Latin�contain a vast amount of biographical,nbsp;historical, topographical, and legendary information. (Fornbsp;the Lives of the Saints, see also p. 6, supra.)

Another class of Irish ecclesiastical writings are the Calendars, or Martyrologies, or Pestilogies�Irish, F�ilirenbsp;[fail'ira], a festival list. The F�ilire is a catalogue of saints,nbsp;arranged according to their festival days, with usually anbsp;few facts about each, briefly stated, but with no detailednbsp;memoirs. There are several of these Martyrologies. Inbsp;mention one in the next chapter, the Calendar of Michaelnbsp;0�Clery ; and the only other one I will notice is the F�ilirenbsp;of Aengus the Culdee, which is in verse. The circumstancenbsp;that gave rise to this metrical catalogue is related in annbsp;ancient legend. One time while Aengus (who died aboutnbsp;the year 820) was at the church of Coolbanagher, in the

it is preserved, is given in Dr. Reeves�s Preface, of which an abstract will be found in Mr. Maclean�s Literature of the Celts, chap. iv.

. present Queen�s County, he saw a host of angels alighting one after another on a grave and immediately reascending.nbsp;He asked the priest of the church who it was that wasnbsp;buried there, and what he had done to merit such honour.nbsp;The priest replied that it was a poor old man who lived innbsp;the place, and who did not seem to be distinguished fornbsp;any unusual piety : but that he had made it a practice tonbsp;invoke a number of the saints of the world�as many asnbsp;he could remember�going to bed at night and getting up

in the morning. � Ah, my God ! � exclaimed Aengus � when this poor old man is so honoured for what henbsp;� did, how great should be the reward of him who shouldnbsp;� make a poetical composition in praise of all the saintsnbsp;� of the year.� Whereupon he began his poem. Henbsp;continued to work at it during his subsequent residencenbsp;at Clonenagh in Queen�s County, and finished it whilenbsp;living in St. Mailman�s Monastery at Tallaght nearnbsp;Dublin.

The body of the poem consists of 365 quatrain stanzas, one for each day in the year, each stanza commemoratingnbsp;one or more saints�chiefly but not exclusively Irish�nbsp;whose festivals occur on the particular day. But there arenbsp;also poetical prologues and epilogues and prose prefaces,nbsp;besides a great collection of glosses and explanatory commentaries, all in Irish, interspersed with the text; and allnbsp;written by various persons who lived after the time ofnbsp;Aengus. There are several manuscript copies, one beingnbsp;in the Lehar Brecc. The whole F�ilire, with Prefaces,nbsp;Glosses, and Commentaries, has been translated and edited,nbsp;with learned notes, by Dr. Whitley Stokes for the Royalnbsp;Irish Academy.*

To Aengus is also commonly attributed�but it seems erroneously�-Saltair na Rann, i.e. the � Psalter of thenbsp;Quatrains,� of which the only complete copy lies in thenbsp;Bodleian Library at Oxford. It consists of 162 shortnbsp;Irish poems on sacred subjects. The whole collectionnbsp;has been published by Dr. Whitley Stokes, with glossarynbsp;of words, but without translation. How ancient andnbsp;difficult is the language of these pieces may be judgednbsp;from the fact that Dr. Stokes was obliged to leave a largenbsp;number of words in the glossary unexplained.

There is a class of ecclesiastical writings devoted exclusively to the pedigrees or genealogies of the Irishnbsp;saints, all of which, besides the direct knowledge theynbsp;convey, contain a large amount of Irish topographical andnbsp;antiquarian information. Of these there are several, thenbsp;oldest being that ascribed to Aengus the Culdee. Copiesnbsp;of this tract are found in the Books of Leinster and Bally-mote, and in Mac Firbis�s Book of Genealogies. Not onenbsp;of these genealogies has been published.

* From an examination of the grammatical forms, the well-known Celtic grammarian. Dr. J. Strachan, and an equally well-known Continental scholar, R. Thurneysen, both believe the F�ilire was composednbsp;about A.D. 800. Rev. Celt., xx. 191. This, for so far, goes to confirmnbsp;the universal tradition ascribing it to Aengus, who was living in that year.

The Book of Hymns is one of the manuscripts in Trinity College, Dublin, copied at some time not laternbsp;than the ninth or tenth century. It consists of a numbernbsp;of hymns�some in Latin, some in Irish�composed bynbsp;the primitive saints of Ireland�St. Sechnall, St. Ultan,nbsp;St. Cummain Fada, St. Columba, and others�with Prefaces, Glosses, and Commentaries, mostly in Irish, bynbsp;ancient copyists and editors. It has been published bynbsp;the Irish Archaeological and Celtic Society, edited, withnbsp;annotations and with translations of the Irish hymns andnbsp;Irish Commentaries, by the Rev. Dr. James Henthornnbsp;Todd. Another edition�quot; The Irish Liber Hymnorumnbsp;or Book of Hymns ��with some additional hymns, hasnbsp;been lately edited by the Rev. Dr. Bernard, f.t.c.d., andnbsp;Robert Atkinson, ll.d.

There are manuscripts on various other ecclesiastical subjects scattered through libraries�canons and rules ofnbsp;monastic life, prayers and litanies, hymns, sermons, explanations of the Christian mysteries, commentaries on thenbsp;Scriptures, amp;c.�^many very ancient. Of the numerousnbsp;modern writings of this class, I will specify only two,nbsp;written in classical modern Irish about the year 1630 bynbsp;the Rev. Geoffrey Keating ; the � Key-shield of the Mass �nbsp;and the � Three Shafts of Death.� This last has beennbsp;published for the Royal Irish Academy without translation,nbsp;but with an excellent Glossary, by Dr. Robert Atkinson.

There was an Irish treatise on the Psalter, of which the fragment that remains has been translated by Professornbsp;Kuno Meyer in quot; Hibernia Minora,� and which, accordingnbsp;to him, was originally written about a.d. 750, showingnbsp;a careful study of the subject, and an intimate acquaintancenbsp;with the ancient ecclesiastical writers of the world.

Another ecclesiastical relic belonging to Ireland should be mentioned�the Antiphonary, or Hymn Book, of St.nbsp;Comgall�s Monastery of Bangor in the County Down ;nbsp;written in this monastery about a.d. 680. In order to

save it from certain destruction by the Danes it was brought to the Continent by�as is generally believed�Dungal,nbsp;a famous Irish monk, who settled in Pavia in 811 (Fornbsp;Dungal, see also p. 468, supra). After lying hidden andnbsp;neglected for a thousand years among heaps of old mss.,nbsp;it was found at last in Bobbin by Muratori, who pub-

lished it early in the eighteenth century. It has been edited several times since; for which see Stokes andnbsp;Strachan�s Thes., il., xxxi., xxxii. This venerable ms. isnbsp;now in the Ambrosian Library in Milan.

Writers of sacred history sometimes illustrated their narratives with rude pen-and-ink sketches of Biblicalnbsp;subjects, of which an example is given above�a quaintnbsp;figure of Noah�s Ark drawn on a blank fly-leaf of thenbsp;Book of Ballymote in the fourteenth century.

Fig. 131.�Sculpture on a Capital: Priest�s House, Glendalouffh: Beranger, 1779. (From Petrie�s Round Towers.?

|MONG the various classes of persons who devoted themselves to Literature in ancient Ireland,nbsp;there were special Annalists, who made it theirnbsp;business to record, with the utmost accuracy, allnbsp;remarkable events simply and briefly, withoutnbsp;any ornament of language, without exaggeration, and without fictitious embellishment. The extreme care they tooknbsp;that their statements should be truthful is shown by thenbsp;manner in which they compiled their books. As a generalnbsp;rule they admitted nothing into their records except eithernbsp;what occurred during their lifetime, and which may benbsp;said to have come under their own personal knowledge, ornbsp;what they found recorded in the compilations of previousnbsp;annalists, who had themselves followed the same plan.nbsp;These men took nothing on hearsay : and in this mannernbsp;successive Annalists carried on a continued chronicle fromnbsp;age to age, thus giving the whole series the force of contemporary testimony.* We have still preserved to usnbsp;many books of native Annals, the most important of whichnbsp;will be briefly described in this chapter.

* Of course it is not claimed for the Irish Annals that they are absolutely free from error. In the early parts there is much legendary matter ; and some errors have crept in among the records belonging tonbsp;the historical period.

Most of the ancient manuscripts whose entries are copied into the books of Annals we now possess havenbsp;been lost; but that the entries were so copied is renderednbsp;quite certain by various expressions found in the presentnbsp;existing Annals, as well as by the known history of severalnbsp;of the compilations. The compiler of the Annals ofnbsp;Ulster, for instance, Cathal Maguire, an eminent divine,nbsp;philosopher, and historian, who died of smallpox, a.d.nbsp;1498, often refers to the authorities that lay before him innbsp;such terms as these �� So I have found it in the Book ofnbsp;Guana �nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;1 state this according to the Book of Mochod � ;

� This is given as it is related in the Book of Dubhdaleith,� and such like ; and we know that the Four Masters compiled their Annals from the collection of old mss. theynbsp;had brought together in Donegal. But nearly all thenbsp;authorities referred to, or used, in both books of Annalsnbsp;have disappeared.

As an example of what manner of men the Annalists were I will instance one of the earliest of those whosenbsp;books are still extant:�Tigernach O�Breen, who died innbsp;1088. He was abbot of the monasteries of Clonmacnoisenbsp;and Roscommon, and was one of the greatest scholars ofnbsp;his age. He was acquainted with the chief historicalnbsp;writers of the world known in his day ; and it is clear thatnbsp;h� had�as already remarked�the use of an excellentnbsp;library in Clonmacnoise. He quotes the Venerable Bede,nbsp;Josephus, St. Jerome, Orosius, and many other ancientnbsp;authorities, and with great judgment compares andnbsp;balances their authorities one against another. Of coursenbsp;he made use of the works of all previous Irish historiansnbsp;and annalists. See also p. 486, supra.

Physical Phenomena.�There are many tests of the accuracy of our records, of which I will here notice threenbsp;classes:�Physical phenomena, such as eclipses and

comets ; the testimony of foreign writers ; and the consistency of the records among themselves. Whenever it happens that we are enabled to apply tests belongingnbsp;to any one of these three classes�and it happens verynbsp;frequently�the result is almost invariably a vindicationnbsp;of the accuracy of the records.* A few instances will benbsp;given ; but the subject is too extensive, and the proofsnbsp;too numerous to be fully dealt with here. The examplesnbsp;are not selected with a view to a foregone conclusion ;nbsp;that is to say, the favourable cases are not broughtnbsp;forward, and those that tell unfavourably held back ; theynbsp;are taken as they come ; and those given may be considered types of all.

Let us first instance the records of physical phenomena ; and of these I will set out with one very instructive andnbsp;impressive example�the solar eclipse of a.d. 664, a yearnbsp;rendered memorable by the ravages of the terrible yellownbsp;plague, which swept over all Europe. The Venerablenbsp;Bede, writing fifty or sixty years after this eclipse,nbsp;records it as he found it mentioned�-vaguely mentionednbsp;as to time�in some record, or perhaps from the reportsnbsp;of some old persons who had seen it. At any rate, notnbsp;knowing the exact day and hour, he calculated backwards, using the only means then known for suchnbsp;calculations�the Dionysian Cycle�which was a littlenbsp;incorrect. This led him to the 3rd May, 664, as the datenbsp;of the eclipse�two days wrong. The Annals of Ulster,nbsp;in its brief and simple record, give the correct date,nbsp;1st May, and even the very hour ; a striking proof thatnbsp;the event had been originally recorded by some Irishnbsp;chronicler who actually saw it, from whose record�ornbsp;perhaps from a copy�or a copy of a copy�the writernbsp;of the Annals of Ulster transcribed it.

* Another class, the evidence of ancient monuments, is noticed in various parts of this book, especially chap. i.

comets at the severaJ years from a.d. 496 to 1066, which are collected from various books by Cathal Maguire innbsp;the Annals of Ulster, and which will be found set forthnbsp;in one list by O�Donovan in his Introductory Remarks tonbsp;the Annals of the Four Masters. The dates of all thesenbsp;as entered in the Annals of Ulster, are found, accordingnbsp;to modern scientific calculation and the records of othernbsp;countries, to be correct. This shows conclusively that thenbsp;original records were made by eye-witnesses, and not bynbsp;calculation in subsequent times : for any such calculationnbsp;�resting on incorrect methods�would be sure to give annbsp;incorrect result, as in the case of Bede.

A well-known entry in the Irish account of the Battle of Clontarf, fought a.d. 1014, comes under the tests ofnbsp;natural phenomena. The author of Cogadh Gaedhel renbsp;Gallaibh, the �War of the Gaels with the Galls,� writingnbsp;early in the eleventh century, soon after the battle, states,nbsp;in his detailed account, that it was fought on Good Friday,nbsp;the 23rd April; that the battle commenced in the morningnbsp;at sunrise when the tide was full in; and that it continued the whole day till the tide was again at flood innbsp;the evening, when the foreigners were routed :�� Theynbsp;quot; \i.e. the two armies] continued in battle array, fightingnbsp;� from sunrise till evening. This is the same length ofnbsp;quot; time as that which the tide takes to go and to fall and tonbsp;� flood again. For it was at the full tide the foreignersnbsp;� came out to fight the battle in the morning, and the tidenbsp;� had come to the same place again at the close of thenbsp;� day, when the foreigners were defeated.� So the Irishnbsp;record.

The time of high water, it is to be observed, is noticed incidentally here in order to account for the great slaughternbsp;of the Danes in the evening during the rout; for as thenbsp;tide was at height at the time, they were not able to reachnbsp;their ships or boats, which were anchored in the bay,nbsp;and which they might wade to at low water. Their only

other means of escape�the single bridge that led to their fortress in Dublin at the other side of the Liffey�was cutnbsp;off, partly by the tide and partly by a detachment of Irish :nbsp;so that the chronicler goes on to say :�� An awful rout wasnbsp;� made of the foreigners, so that they fled simultaneously,nbsp;� and they shouted their cries for mercy ; but they couldnbsp;� only fly to the sea, as they had no other place to retreatnbsp;� to, seeing they were cut off from the head of Dubgall�snbsp;� Bridge,quot;¹

As soon as Dr. Todd, the translator and editor of the �War of the Gaels with the Galls,� came across thisnbsp;passage, in the year 1867, it struck him at once that herenbsp;was an obvious means of testing�so far�the truth of thenbsp;old narrative ; and he asked the Rev. Dr. Haughton, a well-known eminent scientific man, a Fellow of Trinity College,nbsp;Dublin, to calculate for him the time of high water innbsp;Dublin Bay on the 23rd April, 1014. After a laboriousnbsp;calculation. Dr. Haughton found that the tide was at itsnbsp;height that morning at half-past five o�clock, just as thenbsp;sun was coming over the horizon, and that the eveningnbsp;tide was at fifty-five minutes past five : a striking confirmation of the truth of this part of the narrative. Itnbsp;shows, too, that the account was written by, or takennbsp;down from, an eye-witness of the battle, f

Testimony of Foreign Writers.�Events occurring in Ireland in the middle ages are not often mentioned bynbsp;British or Continental writers : they knew little of thenbsp;country, which was in those times�as regarded the Continent�a very remote place. But in the few cases wherenbsp;they do notice Irish affairs, they are always�or nearlynbsp;always�in agreement with the native records. A few ofnbsp;these corroborations, moreover, may serve as a warningnbsp;to us not to be too ready to reject ancient narratives as

Dr. Todd�s translation in his edition of the War of the Gaels with the Galls, p. 191,

unworthy of notice because they happen to have about them an air of romance or fiction. The great body of thenbsp;early history of all countries is compiled from narrativesnbsp;much mixed up with romance and fiction, from whichnbsp;modern historical writers have to select the truth as bestnbsp;they can.

Irish bardic history relates in much detail how the Piets, coming from Thrace, landed on the coast of Leinsternbsp;in the reign of Eremon, the first Milesian king of Ireland,nbsp;many centuries before the Christian era : that they aidednbsp;the king of Leinster to defeat certain British tribes whonbsp;had given great trouble ; that when, after some time, theynbsp;proposed to settle in the province, Eremon refused tonbsp;permit them, advising them to cross the sea once more,nbsp;and make conquests for themselves in a country lying tonbsp;the north-east, i.e. in Alban or Scotland, and promisingnbsp;them aid in case they needed it. To this they agreed ;nbsp;and they requested Eremon to give them some marriageable women for wives, which he did, but only on thisnbsp;condition, that the right of succession to the kingshipnbsp;should be vested in the female progeny rather than in thenbsp;male. And so the Piets settled in Scotland with theirnbsp;wives.* Now all this is confirmed by the Venerable Bede,nbsp;but with some differences in detail. His account is thatnbsp;the Piets, coming from Scythia, were driven by wind onnbsp;the northern coast of Ireland. The Irish refused themnbsp;land on which to settle, but advised them to sail to anbsp;country lying eastward, which could be seen from Ireland,nbsp;and offered them help to conquer it. The Piets obtainednbsp;wives from the Scots [i.e. the Irish), on condition thatnbsp;when any difficulty arose they should choose a king fromnbsp;the female royal line rather than from the male ; � whichnbsp;custom,� continues Bede, � has been observed among themnbsp;to this day.�t

* See Irish version of Nennius (Ir. Arch. Soc.), pp. 121 et seq. : and O�Mahony's Keating, pp, 213 el seq., and p. 382. f Bede, Eccl. Hist,, i. i.

Coming down to more historic times. We have already seen (p. 82, supra) that the Irish accounts of the colonynbsp;led by Carbery Riada to Scotland in the third century ofnbsp;the Christian era have been confirmed by the Venerablenbsp;Bede.

All the Irish annals, as well as the �War of the Gaels with the Galls � (pp. 5, 222), record a great defeat of thenbsp;Danes near Killarney in the year 812, which so deterrednbsp;them that many years elapsed before they attempted tonbsp;renew their attacks. This account is fully borne out bynbsp;an authority totally unconnected with Ireland, the well-known book of Annals, written by Eginhard (the tutor ofnbsp;Charlemagne), who was living at this very time. Undernbsp;A.D. 812 he writes :�� The fleet of the Northmen, havingnbsp;� invaded Hibernia, the island of the Scots, after a battlenbsp;� had been fought with the Scots, and after no smallnbsp;� number of the Norsemen had been slain, they baselynbsp;quot; took to flight and returned home.�¹

Sometimes confirmation comes from the most unexpected quarters. In one of the historical Tales of the Tain, or Cattle-spoil of Quelna, which took place in thenbsp;first century of the Christian era, we are told that Kingnbsp;Concobar Mac Nessa conferred knighthood on the greatnbsp;hero Cuculainn at seven years of age, who, during thenbsp;ceremony, broke many weapons by sheer strength. Wenbsp;find this event also mentioned in the Annals of Tigernach,nbsp;in the simple record that Cuculainn � took valour � atnbsp;seven years of age. This appears to have established anbsp;precedent, so that the fashion became pretty common ofnbsp;knighting the sons of kings and great chiefs at the agenbsp;of seven years (see p. 98, supra).

Now all this looks shadowy, romantic, and mythical; yet we find it recorded in the pages of Froissart that the

L^^nch, Cambr. Ev., i. 165, 167 ; iii. 273 : Joyce, Short Hist, of Irel., 190 : Miss Stokes, Early Ir. Architecture, 149.

custom of knighting kings� sons at seven years of age existed in Ireland in the end of the fourteenth century,nbsp;having held its place, like many ancient Irish customs,nbsp;for at least fourteen hundred years. When Richard II.nbsp;visited Ireland in 1494, he.entertained the Irish kings andnbsp;chiefs in a magnificent manner, and proposed to confernbsp;knighthood on the four provincial kings, O�Neill, O�Conor,nbsp;Mac Murrogh, and O�Brien. But they told him they didnbsp;not need it, as they had been knighted already ; for theynbsp;said it was the custom for every Irish king to knight hisnbsp;son at seven years of age. The account of all thesenbsp;proceedings were given to Froissart by a French gentleman named Castide, who had lived seven years amongnbsp;the Irish. The narrative goes on to describe the Irishnbsp;manner of conferring knighthood at the time ;�that anbsp;shield was set up on a stake in a level field ; that anbsp;number of little spears were given to the youthfulnbsp;aspirant; that he thereupon hurled them against thenbsp;shield; and that the more spears he broke the morenbsp;honour he received : all corresponding with the ancientnbsp;Irish romantic narrative. (Johnes�s � Froissart,� ii. 577.)

To return to the Battle of Clontarf : we must not omit a corroboration of the truthfulness of the Irish accountnbsp;coming from an unimpeachable source. All the Irishnbsp;chroniclers state that a general rout of the Danes tooknbsp;place in the evening: which is fully corroborated in thenbsp;Norse records. There is a brief description of � Brian�snbsp;Battle,� as the Danes called it, in the Danish saga, � Burntnbsp;Nial,� in which this final rout is recorded by the Norsenbsp;writer�the best possible authority on the point undernbsp;the circumstances�in language much more simple andnbsp;terse than that of the Irish chronicler ; it is merely thisnbsp;short sentence :�� Then flight broke out throughout allnbsp;the [Danish] host.�*

* See for a full account of the Battle of Clontarf, Joyce, Short Hist, of Ireland, p. 210.

Consistency of the Records among themselves.�Testimonies under this heading might be almost indefinitely multiplied, but I will here instance only a few. Thenbsp;names of fifteen abbots of Bangor, who died before 691,nbsp;are given in the Irish Annals, not all together, but at thenbsp;respective years of their death. In the ancient Servicenbsp;Book, known as the � Antiphonary of Bangor � (for whichnbsp;see p. 510, supra), there is a hymn in which, as Dr. Reevesnbsp;says,* � these fifteen abbots are recited [in one list] in thenbsp;quot; same order as in the Annals; and this undesignednbsp;� coincidence is the more interesting because the testi-� monies are perfectly independent, the one being affordednbsp;� by Irish records which never left the kingdom, and thenbsp;� other by a Latin composition which has been a thousandnbsp;� years absent from the country where it was written.�

References by Irishmen to Irish affairs are found in numerous volumes scattered over all Europe ;�Annalisticnbsp;entries, direct statements in tales and biographies, marginalnbsp;notes, incidental references to persons, places, and customs,nbsp;and so forth, written by various men at various times ;nbsp;which, when compared one with another, and with thenbsp;home records, hardly ever exhibit a disagreement. Thenbsp;best illustration of this is Adamnan�s quot; Life of Columba.�nbsp;Adamnan�s main object was to set forth the spiritual lifenbsp;of St. Columba, who lived about a century before him, tonbsp;describe, as he tells us, the Miracles, the Prophecies, andnbsp;the Angelic Visions of the saint. But in carrying out thisnbsp;ideal, he has everywhere in his narrative to refer to personsnbsp;living in Ireland and Scotland, mostly contemporaries ofnbsp;Columba, as well as to the events and customs of thenbsp;time�references which are mostly incidental, brought innbsp;merely to fix the surroundings of the saint and his proceedings. Beyond this Adamnan was not at all concernednbsp;with Irish history, genealogy, or social life. But when wenbsp;come to test and compare these incidental references withnbsp;* Eccl. Antiqq., 153.

the direct and deliberate statements in Irish annals, biographies, tales, and genealogies, which is, perhaps, the severest of all tests in the circumstances, we find annbsp;amazing consensus of agreement, and never, so far as Inbsp;can call to mind, a contradiction.

The more the ancient historical records of Ireland are examined and tested, the more their truthfulness is madenbsp;manifest. Their uniform agreement among themselves,nbsp;and their accuracy, as tried by the ordeals of astronomicalnbsp;calculation and of foreign writers� testimony, have drawnnbsp;forth the acknowledgments of the greatest Irish scholarsnbsp;and archaeologists that ever lived, from Ussher and Warenbsp;to those of our own day, and especially of Dr. Reeves, thenbsp;learned editor of Adamnan�s � Life of Columba.� Thesenbsp;men knew what they were writing about; and it isnbsp;instructive, and indeed something of a warning to us,nbsp;to mark the sober and respectful tone in which theynbsp;speak of Irish records, occasionally varied by an outburstnbsp;of admiration as some unexpected proof turns up of thenbsp;faithfulness of the old Irish writers and the triumphantnbsp;manner in which they come through all ordeals ofnbsp;criticism.

The following are the principal books of Irish Annals remaining.* The Synchronisms of Flann. This Flann wasnbsp;a layman, Ferleginn or Principal of the school of Mon-asterboice : died in 1056 (see p. 417, supra). He comparesnbsp;the chronology of Ireland with that of other countries, andnbsp;gives the names of the monarchs that reigned in Assyria,nbsp;Persia, Greece, and Rome, from the most remote period,nbsp;together with most careful lists of the Irish kings whonbsp;reigned contemporaneously with them. Copies of thisnbsp;tract, but imperfect, are preserved in the Books of Lecannbsp;and Ballymote.

* For further information, see O�Curry, MS. Mat., and Dr. Hyde�s Literary History, under the proper headings.

The Annals of Tigernach [Teerna]. Tigemach O�Breen, the compiler of these Annals, has been already mentionednbsp;(p. 513). Like most of the other books of annals, his worknbsp;is written in Irish, mixed with a good deal of Latin. Innbsp;the beginning he treats of the general history of the world,nbsp;with some brief notices of Ireland�the usual practice ofnbsp;Irish annalists ; but the history of Ireland is the chiefnbsp;subject of the body of the work. One most importantnbsp;pronouncement he makes, which has been the subject ofnbsp;much discussion, that all the Irish accounts before thenbsp;time of Cimhaeth [Kimbay], b.c. 370, are uncertain.nbsp;Several copies of his Annals are in existence in London,nbsp;Oxford, and Dublin, but all imperfect. The fragmentsnbsp;that remain have been edited and the Irish portionsnbsp;translated by Dr. Whitley Stokes in the Revue Celtique,nbsp;vols. xvi. and xvii.

The Annals of Innisfallen were compiled by some scholars of the monastery of Innisfallen, the ruins ofnbsp;which still stand on the well-known island of that namenbsp;in the Lower Lake of Killarney. They are written innbsp;Irish mixed with Latin. In the beginning they give anbsp;short history of the world to the time of St. Patrick, afternbsp;which they treat chiefly of Ireland. Their composition isnbsp;generally ascribed to the year 1215 ; but there is goodnbsp;reason to believe that they were commenced two centuriesnbsp;earlier. They were subsequently continued to 1318.

The Annals of Ulster, also called the Annals of Senait Mac Manus, were written in the little island of Senaitnbsp;Mac Manus, now called Belle Isle, in Upper Lough Erne.nbsp;They treat almost exclusively of Ireland from a.d. 444.nbsp;The original compiler was Cathal [Cahal] Maguire, alreadynbsp;mentioned (p. 513), who died in 1498 ; and they were continued to the year 1541 by Rory O�Cassidy, and by anbsp;nameless third writer to 1604. There are several copiesnbsp;of these annals, one in a beautiful hand in a vellumnbsp;manuscript of Trinity College, Dublin. One volume has

been issued, translated and annotated by the late William M. Hennessy ; the rest by the Rev. B. McCarthy, d.d.

The Annals of Loch Ce [Key] were copied in 1588 for Brian Mac Dermot, who had his residence on an island innbsp;Lough Key, near Boyle in Roscommon. They are in thenbsp;Irish language, and treat chiefly of Ireland from 1014 tonbsp;1636, but have many entries of English, Scottish, andnbsp;Continental events. The only copy of these annals knownnbsp;to exist is a small-sized vellum manuscript in Trinitynbsp;College, Dublin. They have been translated and editednbsp;in two volumes by Mr. William M. Hennessy.

The Annals of Connaught from 1224 to 1562. There is a copy in Trinity College, Dublin, and another in thenbsp;Royal Irish Academy.

The Chronioon Scotorum (Chronicle of the Scots or Irish) down to a.d. 1135. This was compiled about 1650nbsp;by the great Irish antiquary Duald Mac Firbis. Hisnbsp;autograph copy is in Trinity College, and two othernbsp;copies are in the Royal Irish Academy. These annalsnbsp;have been printed, edited with translation and notes bynbsp;William M. Hennessy.

The Annals of Boyle, from the earliest time to 1253, are contained in a vellum manuscript in the librarynbsp;of the British Museum. They are written in Irish mixednbsp;with Latin; and the entries throughout are verynbsp;meagre.

The Annals of Clonmacnoise, from the earliest period to 1408. The original Irish of these is lost; but wenbsp;have an English translation by Connell Mac Geoghegannbsp;of Lismoyny in Westmeath, which he completed in 1627.nbsp;Of this translation several copies are preserved, of whichnbsp;one is in Trinity College and another in the Britishnbsp;Museum. O�Donovan printed many extracts from thisnbsp;compilation in his Notes to the Annals of the Fournbsp;Masters ; and the whole collection has been lately editednbsp;by the Rev. Denis Murphy, s.j.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;^

The Annals of the Four Masters, also called the Annals of Donegal, are the most important of all. They werenbsp;compiled in the Franciscan monastery of Donegal, bynbsp;three of the 0�Clerys, Michael, Conary, and Cucogry, andnbsp;by Ferfesa 0�Mulconry; who are now commonly knownnbsp;as the Four Masters. The 0�Clerys were, for manynbsp;generations, hereditar}^ ollaves or professors of history to

the O�Donnells, princes of Tirconnell, and held free lands, and lived in the castle of Kilbarron, on the sea-coast northwest of Ballyshannon. Here Michael 0�Clery, who hadnbsp;the chief hand in compiling the Annals, was born in 1575.nbsp;He was a lay brother of the order of St. Francis, andnbsp;devoted himself during his whole life to the history ofnbsp;Ireland. Besides his share in the Annals of the Four

Masters, he wrote a book containing (i) a Catalogue of the kings of Ireland ; (2) the Genealogies of the Irishnbsp;saints ; and (3) an Account of the saints of Ireland, withnbsp;their festival days, now known as the Martyrology ofnbsp;Donegal. This last has been printed by the Irish Archieo-logical and Celtic Society, with translation by Johnnbsp;O�Donovan, edited by the Rev. James Henthorn Todd,nbsp;D.D., and the Rev. William Reeves, d.d. Brother Michaelnbsp;also wrote the Book of Invasions, of which there is anbsp;beautiful copy in the Royal Irish Academy. It is a sort ofnbsp;chronological history, giving an account of the conquestsnbsp;of Ireland by the several colonists, down to the Englishnbsp;Invasion, with many valuable quotations from ancient Irishnbsp;poems. There is an older Book of Invasions of which thenbsp;Book of Ballymote contains a copy.

Conary 0�Clery, a layman, acted as scribe and general assistant to his brother Michael. His descendants werenbsp;for long afterwards scholars and historians, and preservednbsp;his manuscripts. Cucogry or Peregrine 0�Clery was anbsp;cousin of the two former, and was chief of the Tirconnellnbsp;sept of the 0�Clerys. He was a layman, and devotednbsp;himself to history and literature. He wrote in Irish anbsp;Life of Red Hugh O�Donnell, of which his autographnbsp;copy is in the Royal Irish Academy. This has beennbsp;translated, annotated, and published�text and translation�by the Rev. Denis Murphy, s.j. The fourth Master,nbsp;Ferfesa 0�Mulconry, was a historian from Kilronan innbsp;Roscommon.

The materials for this great work were collected after many years� labour by Brother Michael 0�Clery, whonbsp;brought every important historical Irish manuscript henbsp;could find in Ireland to the monastery of Donegal; fornbsp;he expressed his fears that if the work were not thennbsp;done the materials might never be brought together again.nbsp;His fears seemed prophetic ; for the great rebellion ofnbsp;1641 soon followed ; all the manuscripts he had used

were scattered, and only one or two of them now survive. Even the Four Masters� great compilation was lost fornbsp;many generations, and was recovered in a manner almostnbsp;miraculous, and placed in the Royal Irish Academy bynbsp;Dr. George Petrie. The work was undertaken under thenbsp;encouragement and patronage of Fergall 0�Gara, princenbsp;of Coolavin, who paid all the necessary expenses ; andnbsp;the community of Donegal supplied the historians withnbsp;food and lodging. They began their labours in 1632, andnbsp;completed the work in 1636.¹ The Annals of the Fournbsp;Masters was translated with most elaborate and learnednbsp;annotations by Dr. John O�Donovan ; and it was publishednbsp;�Irish text, translation, and notes�in seven largenbsp;volumes, by Hodges and Smith of Dublin (now Hodges,nbsp;Figgis, and Company)�the greatest and most importantnbsp;work on Ireland ever issued by any Irish publisher.

A book of annals called the Psalter of Cashel was compiled by Cormac Mac Cullenan ; but this has beennbsp;lost. Besides annals in the Irish language, there arenbsp;also Annals of Ireland in Latin, such as those of Clyn,nbsp;Dowling, Pembridge, Multifarnham, amp;c., most of whichnbsp;have been published by the Archaeological and Celticnbsp;Society.

Histories.�None of the writers of old times conceived the plan of writing a general History of Ireland: it wasnbsp;only in the seventeenth century that anything like thisnbsp;was attempted. But the old Irish writers left many verynbsp;good Histories of particular transactions, districts, persons,nbsp;or periods, all in the form of Historic Tales and mixednbsp;up with fabulous relations. Of these the following maynbsp;be mentioned as examples�others will be noticed innbsp;next chapter. The History of the War of the Gaels with

See Petrie�s account of all this in O�Donovan�s Introduction to the Four Masters, vol. i;

the Galls or Danes ; the History of the Bornmean Tribute; the Wars of Thomond, written in 1459 hy Rory MacGrath,nbsp;a historian of Thomond or Clare. Of these the first hasnbsp;been published, with translation, introduction, and annotations, by Dr. James Henthorn Todd. The � Tribute �nbsp;has been translated and edited by Dr. Stokes in thenbsp;Revue Celtique (vol. xiii.), and by Dr. Standish Hayesnbsp;O�Grady in his � Silva Gadelica.�

The first History of the whole country was the Forus Feasa ar Erinn, or History of Ireland�from the mostnbsp;ancient times to the Anglo-Norman invasion, written bynbsp;Dr. Geoffrey Keating, a learned Roman Catholic priest ofnbsp;Tubbrid in Tipperary, who died in 1644. Keating wasnbsp;deeply versed in the ancient language and literature ofnbsp;Ireland ; and his History, though uncritical and containingnbsp;much that is fabulous and legendary, is very interesting

and valuable for its quaint descriptions of ancient Irish life and manners, and because it contains many quotationsnbsp;and condensations from authorities now lost. The worknbsp;was translated in 1726 by Dermod O�Connor; but henbsp;wilfully departed from his text, and his translation isnbsp;utterly wrong and misleading ; � Keating�s History ��nbsp;writes Dr. Todd�quot; is a work which has been greatlynbsp;� underrated in consequence of the very ignorant andnbsp;� absurd translation by Mr. Dermot O�Connor.�* A complete and faithful translation by John 0�Mahony wasnbsp;published, without the Irish text, in New York in 1866.nbsp;Complete text and translation, with notes, are now being-issued by the Irish texts Society of London, under thenbsp;editorship of Mr. David Comyn, M.R.i.A., of Dublin, ofnbsp;which one volume has already appeared.

Genealogies.�The genealogies of the principal families were most faithfully preserved in ancient Ireland. Therenbsp;were several reasons for their anxiety to preserve theirnbsp;pedigrees, one very important motive being that in thenbsp;case of dispute about property or about election to anbsp;chiefship, the decision often hinged on the descent of thenbsp;disputants ; and the written records, certified by a properlynbsp;qualified historian, were accepted as evidence in the Brehonnbsp;Law courts. Each king and chief had in his householdnbsp;a Shanachie or historian, an officer held in high esteem,nbsp;whose duty it was to keep a written record of all thenbsp;ancestors and of the several branches of the family. Thenbsp;king�s Shanachie should be an ollave (p. 65, supra).^nbsp;Sometimes in writing down these genealogies the directionnbsp;was downward from some distinguished progenitor, ofnbsp;whom all the most important descendants are given, withnbsp;intermarriages and other incidents of the family. Sometimes again the pedigree is given upwards, the person�s

t O�Curry, MS. Mat., 204. A list of the shanachies of several noble families may be seen in the same work, p. 219.

CHAP. XIV] ANNALS, HISTORIES, GENEALOGIES father, grandfather, amp;c., being named, till the chief fromnbsp;whom the family derived their surname is arrived at, ornbsp;some ancestor whose position in the genealogical tree isnbsp;well known, when it becomes unnecessary to proceednbsp;farther. In the time of the Plantations and during thenbsp;operation of the penal laws, the vast majority of the Irishnbsp;chiefs and of the higher classes in general were driven fromnbsp;their lands and homes; and they and their descendantsnbsp;falling into poverty, lost their pedigrees, so that nownbsp;only very few families in Ireland are able to trace theirnbsp;descent.

Many of the ancient genealogies are preserved in the Books of Leinster, Lecan, Ballymote, amp;c. But the mostnbsp;important collection of all is the Book of Genealogiesnbsp;compiled in the years 1650 to 1666 in the College ofnbsp;St. Nicholas in Galway, by Duald Mac Firbis, the last andnbsp;most accomplished native master of the history, laws, andnbsp;language of Ireland.

The confidence of the learned public in the ancient Irish genealogies is somewhat weakened by the fact that they�nbsp;like those of the Britons and some other nations�professnbsp;to trace the descent of the several noble families fromnbsp;Adam�joining the Irish pedigrees on to the Scripturalnbsp;genealogy of Magog the son of Japhet, from whom Irishnbsp;historians claim that all the ancient colonists of Irelandnbsp;were descended. But passing this by as of little consequence, and coming down to historic times, the severalnbsp;genealogies, as well as those scattered portions of themnbsp;found incidentally in various authors, exhibit marvellousnbsp;consistency and have all the marks of truthfulness. Moreover they receive striking confirmation from incidentalnbsp;references in English writers�as for instance the Venerablenbsp;Bede. Whenever Bede mentions a Scot or Irishman andnbsp;says he was the son of so-and-so, it is invariably foundnbsp;that he agrees with the Irish genealogies if they mentionnbsp;the man�s name at all.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;\

The following three tracts (already mentioned, p. 17), from the manuscript genealogical books, have been printed,nbsp;with translations and most copious and valuable notesnbsp;and illustrations by Dr. John O�Donovan, for the Irishnbsp;Archaeological and Celtic Society :�An account of � Thenbsp;Tribes and Customs of Hy Fiachrach � in Connaught, fromnbsp;Duald Mac Firbis�s Book of Genealogies ; a similar accountnbsp;of �The Tribes and Customs of Hy Maine� [Mainy], fromnbsp;the Book of Lecan ; and from the same book the Genealogynbsp;of a Munster tribe named Corcalee. And the genealogiesnbsp;of numerous Irish and Scottish families have been printednbsp;in various Irish publications, all from the Irish manuscriptnbsp;books. A large number of them will be found in thenbsp;Rev. John Shearman�s � Loca Patriciana.��

Dinnsenchus.�In this place may be mentioned the Dinnsenchus, a topographical tract in Middle Irish,nbsp;prose and verse, giving the legendary history and thenbsp;etymology of the names of remarkable hills, mounds,nbsp;caves, cams, cromlechs, raths, duns, plains, lakes, rivers,nbsp;fords, estuaries, islands, and so forth. It takes its namenbsp;from dind or dinn, � a fortified hill,� and senchus, � a history.�nbsp;The stories are mostly fictitious�invented to suit thenbsp;several really existing names ; nevertheless this tract isnbsp;of the utmost value for elucidating the topography andnbsp;antiquities of the country. Copies of it are found innbsp;several of the old Irish books of miscellaneous literature,nbsp;of which the Book of Leinster contains the oldest version.nbsp;Various portions of it have been published by Petrie in hisnbsp;Essay on Tara, by Crowe in the Kilk. Arch. Journ., 1872-3 ;nbsp;by Stokes in Rev. Celt., xv. and xvi., and in Folklore, iii.nbsp;and iv. ; and by Gwynn, in the Todd Lecture Series,nbsp;Royal Irish Academy. Another very important tract aboutnbsp;the names of remarkable Irish persons, called Cnir Anmannnbsp;{' Fitness of Names �), corresponding with the Dinnsenchusnbsp;for place-names, has been published with translation bynbsp;Dr. Stokes in Irische Texte, iii.

CHAPTER XV

YEN from the most remote times, beyond the ken of history, the Irish people, like thosenbsp;of other countries, had stories, which, beforenbsp;the introduction of the art of writing, werenbsp;transmitted orally, and modified, improved,nbsp;and enlarged as time went on, by successivenbsp;seanchuide [shanachie], or � storytellers.� They began tonbsp;be written down when writing became general: and anbsp;careful examination¹ of their structure, and of the language in which they are written, has led to the conclusionnbsp;that the main tales assumed their present forms in thenbsp;seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries ; while the originalsnbsp;from which they sprang are much older. � It is probable �nbsp;�writes M. Dottinf�� that the most ancient pieces of thenbsp;quot; epic literature of Ireland were written before the middle ofnbsp;quot; the seventh century : but how long previously they hadnbsp;� been preserved by oral tradition�this is a point that it is

By Zimmer and De Jubainville : see Nutt, Cuchulainn, the Irish Achilles, pp. 3gt; 29, 31 : De Jubainville, La Civil, des Celtes, 137. Seenbsp;also Voyage of Bran, 1., Introd. xvi: and Rev. Celt., vm. 47.nbsp;f La Litt. Gael. deTTrlande, p. 68.

� difficult to determine.� Once they began to be written down, a great body of romantic and historical writtennbsp;literature rapidly accumulated, consisting chiefly of prosenbsp;tales.

But of these original transcripts not a line remains : the manuscript books that contained them were allnbsp;destroyed by the Danes, or in the disturbed times of thenbsp;Anglo-Norman invasion, as already stated (p. 489). Ofnbsp;many of the tales, however, we have, in the Book of thenbsp;Dun Cow, and the Book of Leinster, copies made in thenbsp;eleventh and twelfth centuries ; and there are numerousnbsp;others in manuscripts copied by various scribes from thatnbsp;period to the present century, many of them from originalnbsp;volumes older than the Book of the Dun Cow, and existingnbsp;when the several copyists wrote, but since lost.

Another point bearing on the antiquity of our Irish tales is this :�that many of them correspond with talesnbsp;in the ancient Romantic Literature of Greece and thenbsp;East. Thus, to mention one out of many : our legend ofnbsp;Dermot 0�Dyna* corresponds with the Greek story ofnbsp;Adonis, both heroes being distinguished for beauty, andnbsp;both being killed by a boar. Even their names 0�Dynanbsp;(Irish O�Duibne) and Adonis look as if they had come fromnbsp;the same original. Those of the tales that correspond innbsp;this manner must have had their origin prior to the separation of the races centuries before the Christian era.f

In the Book of Leinster there is a very interesting List of the classes to which the ancient historical tales belong,nbsp;with a number of individual tales named under each classnbsp;as examples, numbering altogether 187, which has beennbsp;printed by O�Curry in his Lectures on the Manuscriptnbsp;Materials of Irish History, p. 584. Another similar Class-

? For which see Old Celtic Romances (p. 274) : The Pursuit of Dermot and Grainne.

t See the paper on Remarkable Correspondence of Irish, Greek, and Oriental Legends, by the Rev. James O�Laverty, in Ulst. Journ. of Arch.,nbsp;VII. 334. See also Dr. Whitley Stokes ; Rev. Celt., v. 232.

List has been published in the Proc. R. I. Academy (for 1870-76), p. 215, by Mr. Brian O�Looney, from a Trinitynbsp;College MS. : and a third short one appears in the firstnbsp;volume of the Rrehron Laws, p. 47.¹ Many classes andnbsp;tales are common to the whole of these Lists; but eachnbsp;contains some not found in the others. The followingnbsp;Class-List is made up from a comparison and combinationnbsp;of all.

The stories belonging to some of the classes were called Prime or Chief Stories {Prini-sc�il), and those of thenbsp;rest Minor Stories (Fose�il). It is stated in all the Listsnbsp;that only the four highest grades of poets (Ollave, Anruth,nbsp;Cli, Cana ; pp. 430-4, sufra) were permitted to tell bothnbsp;the prime and the minor stories : the lower grades werenbsp;confined to the chief stories.

Classes of Prime Stories :�i. Battles : 2. Imrama, Navigations, or Voyagesf : 3. Tragedies : 4. Adventures : 5. Cattle-raids (or Preyings) ;nbsp;6. Hostings or Military Expeditions : 7. Courtships : 8. Elopements :nbsp;9. Caves or Hidings [i.e. adventures of persons hiding for some reason innbsp;caves or other remote places) : 10. Destructions (of palaces, amp;c.) : xi.nbsp;Sieges or Encampments ; 12. Feasts : 13. Slaughters.

Classes of Minor Stories : 14. Pursuits : 15. Visions : 16. Exiles, or Banishments ; 17. l^ake Eruptions.

We have in our old books stories belonging to every one of these classes : but of the individual tales named innbsp;the detailed Lists, at least one-half have been lost. The

Still another will be found in M. De Jubainville�s Catalogue de la Litt. Epique de ITrlande, pp. 259-264.

�f Of all the various classes the Imrama or Voyages were the most celebrated, and had most influence on European literature : and next to these the Visions. Latin versions of the Voyage of St. Brendan, as well as versions in several European living languages, were common in every countrynbsp;in Europe all through the Middle Ages : and there is scarcely a Continental library that does not now contain one or more of these versions.nbsp;The reader may consult Father O�Donohue�s Brendaniana for a full account of this quot; Voyage � and its literature. The Imrama have been examined with great learning and research by Zimmer and De Jubainville :nbsp;of whose labours a good account will be found in Mr. Nutt�s Voyage ofnbsp;BraUj I. 161, with full documentary references. See also p. 230, same vol.

original List from which all our present Lists were drawn, was, in the opinion of M. D�Arbois de Jubainville,¹ writtennbsp;in the seventh century. In the same author�s � Cataloguenbsp;de la Litterature Epique de I�lrlande � (mentioned farthernbsp;on), he has published the titles of about 550 separate talesnbsp;in prose or poetry or both, of which, according to thenbsp;estimate of Professor Kuno Meyer, in the Preface to hisnbsp;quot; Liadain and Curithir,� about 400 are still preserved innbsp;MSS. These might be supplemented�Dr. Meyer continuesnbsp;in the same Preface�by at least 100 others that have comenbsp;to light since the publication of the Catalogue, and by anbsp;further number in mss. still unexplored, thus bringing upnbsp;the number still existing to between 500 and �oo.f

As to the language of the Tales. The old scribes, when copying a tale, often modernised the phraseologynbsp;of the antique prose to that of their own time : but thenbsp;poetry, being constructed in accordance with complicatednbsp;prosodial rules (for which see vol. ii., p. 497, injra) couldnbsp;not be altered without disarranging the delicate structure. Jnbsp;Accordingly the scribes generally let it alone, copying itnbsp;as they found it; and for this reason the verse passagesnbsp;are generally more archaic and difficult to understandnbsp;than the prose. Most of the tales, as already remarked,nbsp;have fallen under Christian influences, and contain allusionsnbsp;to Christian doctrines and practices, inserted by the Christian copyists, mostly monks : but some have escaped thisnbsp;and are thoroughly pagan in character, without the leastnbsp;trace of Christianity. For those monks were liberal andnbsp;broadminded, and whenever they could�consistently withnbsp;what they considered their duty�they retained the oldnbsp;pagan allusions untouched. (See also p. 13, supra.)

Cours de Litt. Celt., vi. 35 ; see also Voyage of Bran, i. 130 : and Hyde, Lit. Hist., chapters xxii.-xxxi.

t As to the total number of individual Tales, see also Miss Hull, Saga, Introd., xxxviii-ix.

The copyists modernised in other ways. They often altered the descriptions of antique customs and equipments so as to bring them into conformity with their ownnbsp;times. A notable example of this is the influence of thenbsp;Danish wars of the ninth and tenth centuries. It is nownbsp;generally admitted that before the arrival of the Danes,nbsp;the Irish did not use coats of mail or metallic helmets,nbsp;despising such things as unmanly. But they were forcednbsp;to adopt them�at least partially�when they found themselves pitted against the Danes ; and to some small extentnbsp;they kept to the usage afterwards, so that, though theynbsp;never took heartily to armour and helmets, they werenbsp;quite familiar with their use (see p. 122, supra). Accordingly in many or most of the copies of the Red Branchnbsp;Knights Tales made in the ninth and succeeding centuriesnbsp;(i.e. after the arrival of the Danes), Cuculainn and othernbsp;heroes are represented as wearing metallic helmets andnbsp;mail, though in a few versions we find no mention ofnbsp;these defensive arms. A distinguished Continental scholar,nbsp;Prof. Zimmer,* has made use of this as a means to distinguish between pre-Danish and post-Danish versions of thenbsp;same story : assuming that those recensions that make nonbsp;mention of armour are unaltered copies of versions writtennbsp;before the ninth century.

Most of the Irish Tales fall under four main cycles of History and Legend, which, in all the Irish poetical andnbsp;romantic literature, were kept quite distinct;�

I. The Mythological Cycle, the stories of which are concerned with the mythical colonies preceding thenbsp;Milesians, especially the Dedannans. The heroes of thenbsp;Tales belonging to this cycle, who are assigned to periodsnbsp;long before the Christian era, are gods, namely the gods

that chiefly constitute the mythology of the pagan Irish. These tales are much less numerous and less consecutivenbsp;than those of the next two cycles.

2. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Cycle of Concobar Mac Nessa and his Rednbsp;Branch Knights, who flourished in the first century.

3. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Cycle of the Fena of Erin, belonging to a periodnbsp;two centuries later than those of the Red Branch. Thenbsp;Red Branch Knights and the Fena of Erin have beennbsp;already fully described.

4. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Stories founded on events that happened after thenbsp;dispersal of the Fena (in the end of the third century,nbsp;p. 89, supra), such as the Battle of Moyrath (a.d. 637),nbsp;most of the Visions, amp;c. There are some tales howevernbsp;that do not come under any of these categories.

The stories of the Red Branch Knights form the finest part of our ancient Romantic Literature. The mostnbsp;celebrated of all these is the Tain-bo-Cuailnge [Queln�],nbsp;the epic of Ireland. Medb [Maive] queen of Connaught,nbsp;who resided in her palace of Croghan�still remaining innbsp;ruins near the village of Rathcroghan in the north ofnbsp;Roscommon�having cause of quarrel with an Ulster chief,nbsp;set out with her army for Ulster on a plundering expedition, attended by all the great heroes of Connaught, andnbsp;by an Ulster contingent who had enlisted in her service.nbsp;She was accompanied by her husband King Ailill, whonbsp;however plays a very subordinate part; the strong-mindednbsp;queen is the leading character all through. The invadingnbsp;army entered that part of Ulster called Cuailnge ornbsp;Queln�, the principality of the hero Cuculainn, the northnbsp;part of the present county Louth. At this time thenbsp;Ulstermen were under a spell of feebleness, all butnbsp;Cuculainn, who had to defend single-handed the severalnbsp;fords and passes, in a series of single combats, againstnbsp;Maive�s best champions, in all of which he was victorious.nbsp;She succeeded in this first raid, and brought away a greatnbsp;brown bull�which was the chief motive of the expedi^

tion�with flocks and herds beyond number. At length the Ulstermen, having been freed from the spell, attackednbsp;and routed the Connaught army. The battles, singlenbsp;combats, and other incidents of this war, which lasted fornbsp;several years, form the subject of the Tain, which consistsnbsp;of one main epic story with about thirty shorter talesnbsp;grouped round it.

Mr. Alfred Nutt (in his � Cuchulainn, the Irish Achilles,� p, 2) estimates that the whole of the literature of the Rednbsp;Branch Knights that we possess�^never counting onenbsp;piece twice�would occupy about 2000 8vo printed pages.nbsp;Some of the chief Red Branch Knights that figure in thesenbsp;tales have been already named (p. 84, supra).

Of the Cycle of Finn and the Fena of Erin we have a vast collection of stories. The chief heroes under Finn,nbsp;who figure in the tales, were ;�Oisin or Ossian, his son,nbsp;the renowned hero-poet to whom the bards attribute�butnbsp;we know erroneously�many poems still extant; Oscarnbsp;the brave and gentle, the son of Ossian ; Dermot 0�Dyna,nbsp;unconquerably brave, of untarnished honour, generous andnbsp;self-denying, the finest character in all Irish literature,nbsp;perhaps the finest in any literature ; Goll Mac Morna, thenbsp;mighty leader of the Connaught Fena ; Cailte Mac Ronannbsp;the swift-footed ; Conan Mail or Conan the Bald, largebodied, fouTtongued, boastful, cowardly, and gluttonous.nbsp;The characters of all these are maintained with greatnbsp;spirit and consistency throughout the stories.

The Tales of the Fena, though not so old as those of the Red Branch Knights, are still of great antiquity: fornbsp;some of them are found in the Book of the Dun Cow andnbsp;in the Book of Leinster, copied from older volumes ; andnbsp;they are often mentioned in Cormac�s Glossary�ninth ornbsp;tenth century. The quantity of this literature containednbsp;in these old books is however small. According to Mr.nbsp;Nutt, in his � Ossian and the Ossianic Literature � (p. 8),nbsp;it might fill a hundred pages such as this now under the

reader�s eye�for the stories are scrappy and very briefly told. Mr. Nutt believes, however, that before the eleventhnbsp;century there must have existed a large body of completenbsp;tales, all of which have perished. But a vast amount ofnbsp;Ossianic stories, both in prose and verse, is contained innbsp;later mss., composed and transcribed from time to timenbsp;down to the beginning of the last century. The briefnbsp;tales contained in the older mss. form the germs of thenbsp;later and more elaborate stories.

M. H. D�Arbois de Jubainville has published, in his � Litt�rature Epique de I�lrlande � (the Epic Literature ofnbsp;Ireland), a most useful catalogue of ancient Irish romanticnbsp;tales, with the several libraries and manuscripts in whichnbsp;they are to be found : a work which is quite indispensablenbsp;to every student of Irish romantic literature. For a goodnbsp;and most useful survey of this ancient literature the readernbsp;is referred to Mr. Alfred Nutt�s � The Voyage of Bran,�nbsp;vol. i., pp. 115 et seq.

� Some of the tales are historical, i.e. founded on his-quot; torical events�history embellished with some fiction ; � while others are altogether fictitious�pure creations ofnbsp;� the imagination. But it is to be observed that even innbsp;� the fictitious tales, the main characters are nearly alwaysnbsp;� historical, or such as were considered so. The old Shana-� chies wove their fictions round Concobar Mac Nessa andnbsp;quot; his Red Branch Knights, or Finn and his Fena, or Luganbsp;� of the long arms and his Dedannans, or Conn thenbsp;�� Hundred fighter, or Cormac Mac Art; like the Welshnbsp;� legends of Arthur and his Round Table, or the Arabiannbsp;� Romances of Haroun al Raschid. The greater numbernbsp;� of the tales are in prose, but some are in verse; and innbsp;quot; many of the prose tales the leading characters are oftennbsp;� made to express themselves in verse, or some strikingnbsp;quot; incident of the story is related in a poetical form. These

quot; verse fragments are mostly quotations from an older � poetical version of the same tale.�¹

From this great body of stories it would be easy to select a large number, powerful in conception andnbsp;execution, high and dignified in tone and feeling, allnbsp;inculcating truthfulness and manliness, many of themnbsp;worthy to rank with the best literature of their kind innbsp;any language. The Stories of the Sons of Usna, thenbsp;Children of Lir, the Fingal Ronain, the Voyage of Maeldune,nbsp;Da Derga�s Hostel, the Boroma, and the Fairy Palace of thenbsp;Quicken Trees, are only a few instances in point.

As to the general moral tone of the ancient Irish tales : it is to be observed that in all early literatures, Irishnbsp;among the rest, sacred as well as profane, there is muchnbsp;plain speaking of a character that would now be considered coarse, and would not be tolerated in our presentnbsp;social and domestic life. But on the score of moralitynbsp;and purity the Irish tales can compare favourably withnbsp;the corresponding literature of other countries ; and theynbsp;are much freer from objectionable matter than the worksnbsp;of many of those early English and Continental authorsnbsp;which are now regarded as classics. Taken as a bodynbsp;they are at least as pure as Shakespeare�s Plays ; and thenbsp;worst of them contain very much less grossness than somenbsp;of the Canterbury Tales. Dr. Whitley Stokes, in hisnbsp;Preface to the � Destruction of Da Derga�s Hostel,� speaksnbsp;with good reason of the quot; pathos and beauty � of that finenbsp;story; and his remarks on the series of short stories innbsp;the Acallmih na Seanorach, or � Colloquy with the Ancientnbsp;Men,� deserve to be quoted in full:�� The tales arenbsp;� generally told with sobriety and directness : they evincenbsp;� genuine feeling for natural beauty, a passion for music,nbsp;� a moral purity, singular in a mediaeval collection ofnbsp;� stories, a noble love for manliness and honour. Some

� of them seem to me admirable for their unstudied quot; pathos.�* On the same point Professor Kuno Meyerfnbsp;justly remarks :�The � literature of no nation is free fromnbsp;quot; occasional grossness ; and considering the great antiquitynbsp;� of Irish literature, and the primitive life which it reflects,nbsp;� what will strike an impartial observer most is not itsnbsp;� license or coarseness, but rather the purity, loftiness, andnbsp;� tenderness which pervade it.�

Irish Romantic Literature is intimately interwoven with native Topography, as much so at least as that ofnbsp;Greece or Rome, and much more so than the Germannbsp;or Norse Tales. Some particular spots, residences, ornbsp;monuments are assigned as the scenes of almost all thenbsp;battles, feasts, burials, or other memorable events ; and thenbsp;chief places through which armies on the march passed arenbsp;laid down with great precision. J Most of those places, asnbsp;well as the residences of the kings and great heroes of thenbsp;olden time, are known to this day, and not only retainnbsp;their old names, but are marked by such monumentalnbsp;remains as might be expected; of which many examplesnbsp;will be found in various parts of this book.

The tales were brought into direct touch with the people, not by reading�for there were few books outsidenbsp;libraries, and few people were able to read them�butnbsp;by recitation; and the Irish of all classes, like thenbsp;Homeric Greeks, were excessively fond of hearing talesnbsp;and poetry recited. There were, as we have seen, professional shanachies and poets whose duty it was tonbsp;know by heart numerous old tales, poems, and historicalnbsp;pieces, and to recite them, at festive gatherings, for thenbsp;entertainment of the chiefs and their guests : and it has

* Irische Texte, iv.. Pref. xii. t In the Preface to his � Liadain and Cuirithir.�nbsp;t On this special point, see Miss Hull�s � Cuchullin Saga,� Appendixnbsp;II., p. 301, and the map prefixed to the work,

been already observed that every intelligent person was supposed to know a reasonable number of them, so as tonbsp;be always ready to take a part in amusing and instructingnbsp;his company. The tales of those times correspond withnbsp;the novels and historical romances of our own day, andnbsp;served a purpose somewhat similar. Indeed they servednbsp;a much higher purpose than the generality of our novels;nbsp;for in conjunction with poetry they were the chief agencynbsp;in education�education in the best sense of the word�anbsp;real healthful informing exercise for the intellect. Asnbsp;remarked elsewhere they conveyed a knowledge of historynbsp;and geography, and they inculcated truthful and honourable conduct. Moreover this education was universal; fornbsp;though few could read, tiie knowledge and recitation ofnbsp;poetry and stories reached the whole body of the people.¹nbsp;The racaire [rackera] or reciter generally sang the poeticalnbsp;parts of the tale to the music of a harp, when a harp wasnbsp;at hand and when he was able to play, as stated at p. 445,nbsp;stipra.

� This ancient institution of story-telling held its ground � both in Ireland and in Scotland down to a very recentnbsp;� period; and it is questionable if it is even yet quitenbsp;� extinct. Within my own memory, this sort of entertain-� ment was quite usual among the farming classes of thenbsp;� south of Ireland. The family and workmen, and anynbsp;� neighbours that chose to drop in, would sit round thenbsp;� kitchen fire after the day�s work�or perhaps gather in anbsp;� barn on a summer or autumn evening�to listen to somenbsp;� local shanachie reciting one of his innumerable Gaelicnbsp;� tales. �f In old times people were often put to sleep bynbsp;a shanachie reciting a tale in a drowsy monotonous sortnbsp;of recitative. I

For the educational function of the tales, see also pp. 418, 426, supra. f See Pref. to Old Celtic Romances, from which the above extract isnbsp;taken : and Preface to Carmichael�s Carmina Gadelica.nbsp;i See O'Grady, Silva Gad. : Pref. xxi, par. v.

Much of this ancient Romantic Literature has been recently translated. The Battle of Moylena and the Battlenbsp;of Moyrath are the subjects of two historic tales, both ofnbsp;which have been published, the former edited by O�Currynbsp;and the latter by O�Donovan, both with valuable notes.nbsp;What are called the � Three Tragic Stories of Erin,� viz.,nbsp;the Fate of the Children of Lir, the Fate of the Sons ofnbsp;Usna, and the Fate of the Sons of Turenn, have beennbsp;published in the Atlantis, translated and edited by O�Curry ;nbsp;who also translated the Sick-bed of Cuchulainn in thenbsp;same periodical. Some few others have been publishednbsp;with translations in the Kilkenny Archaeological Journal,nbsp;and in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy.

In the Revue Celtique, Irische Texte, Zeitschrift fiir Celt. Phil., Folklore, and other periodicals, both Britishnbsp;and Continental, a great number have been translated bynbsp;Dr. Whitley Stokes and by Prof. Kuno Meyer. Severalnbsp;have also been translated into French and German bynbsp;Windisch, D�Arbois de Jubainville, Zimmer, and others.nbsp;The Irish Texts Society of London have published thenbsp;Feast of Bricriu, with English translation ; which however had been previously translated into French bynbsp;M. De Jubainville in his � L�Epopee Celtique en Irlande,�nbsp;and into German by Dr. Windisch in Ir. Texte, vol. ii. Innbsp;Dr. Hayes 0�Grady�s � Silva Gadelica � are text and translation of twenty-seven. Six volumes of tales, chiefly of thenbsp;Cycle of Finn, have been published with translations bynbsp;the Ossianic Society. The best of them is � The Pursuitnbsp;of Dermot and Grania,� which has been literally translatednbsp;by Standish Hayes O�Grady. Miss Eleanor Hull hasnbsp;given a good abstract of the Red Branch Knights talesnbsp;in her book, � The Cuchullinn Saga.� I have myselfnbsp;published in my � Old Celtic Romances � free translationsnbsp;�without texts�of thirteen ancient tales (includingDermot

and Grania above-mentioned). A translation, on similar lines, of �The Fate of the Sons of Usna� has been latelynbsp;included in the same book. Lady Gregory hasnbsp;told the principal stories of the Red Branch Knights innbsp;simple, quaint English�following pretty closely on thenbsp;originals�in her � Cuchulain of Muirthemne.� All thesenbsp;will be found mentioned in the List of Authorities at thenbsp;end of this book. Translations and versions still continuenbsp;to appear, showing no signs of falling off, but rather anbsp;tendency to increase.*

Already a good beginning has been made in the creation of a modern literature founded on these ancient sagas.nbsp;Five English poetical epics have been published, foundednbsp;on five of them � Congal,� on the Battle of Moyrath,nbsp;and � Conary,� on the Destruction of Da Derga�s Hostel,nbsp;both by Sir Samuel Ferguson; �The Foray of Queennbsp;Meave,� on the Tain-bo-Quelne, by Mr. Aubrey de Vere ;nbsp;and � Deirdre,� on the Fate of the Sons of Usna, andnbsp;� Blanid,� on the Death of Curoi Mac Dara, both by mynbsp;brother Dr. Robert Dwyer Joyce. When Tennyson readnbsp;for the first time the adventures of Maeldune, in � Oldnbsp;Celtic Romances,� he made it the subject of a beautifulnbsp;poem, which he called � The Voyage of Maeldune.� Andnbsp;there exist still, in this fine old literature, ample materialsnbsp;untouched. The harvest is abundant, but the labourersnbsp;are wanted.

* Of the whole of the five or six hundred ancient Irish Tale.s, Prof. Kuno Meyer, in the Preface to his � Liadain and Curithir,� estimatesnbsp;that about 150 have been, so far, published with translations.

Fig. 136.�Sculpture on. Chancel Arch, Moi\astery Church, Glendalough. (From Petrie�s Round Towers, 1845.)

T, in some of its branches, was cultivated, as we shall see, in Pagan Ireland; but itnbsp;attained its highest perfection in Christiannbsp;times. In its Christian connexion it begannbsp;to flourish early. We know that St.nbsp;Patrick, in the fifth century, kept, as part ofnbsp;his household, smiths, braziers, and other artists.nbsp;St. Daig or Dagoeus (d. A.D. 587), who is mentionednbsp;farther on, was a scriptor librorum peritissimus, ' a mostnbsp;skilful writer of books,� and was equally celebrated as anbsp;metal-work artist; and St. Ultan (7th or 8th cent.) wasnbsp;renowned as a scriptor et pictor librorum peritissimus, � anbsp;most accomplished writer and illuminator of books.�* Innbsp;Ireland art was practised chiefly in four different branches :

��Ornamentation and Illumination of Manuscript-books; Metal-work ; Stone-carving ; and Building. In leather-work also the Irish artists attained to great skill, as wenbsp;may see in several exquisite specimens of book-bindingnbsp;still preserved, of which two are figured at pp. 32 and 488,nbsp;supra. Art in general reached its highest perfection innbsp;the period between the end of the ninth and the beginning

of the twelfth century.* Pen work seems to have somewhat outstripped its sister arts ; for some of the finest examples of ornamental penmanship and illuminationnbsp;still preserved belong to the seventh, eighth, and ninthnbsp;centuries.

The special style of pen ornamentation which, in its most advanced stage, is quite characteristic of the Celticnbsp;people of Ireland, was developed in the course of centuriesnbsp;by successive generations of artists who brought it tonbsp;marvellous perfection. It was mainly, though not exclusively, the work of ecclesiastics, and it was executed fornbsp;the most part in monasteries. Its most marked characteristic is interlaced work formed by bands, ribbons, and cords,nbsp;which are curved and twisted and interwoven in the most,nbsp;intricate way, something like basketwork infinitely variednbsp;in pattern. These are intermingled and alternated withnbsp;zigzags, waves, spirals, and lozenges ; while here and therenbsp;among the curves are seen the faces or forms of dragons,nbsp;serpents, or other strange-looking animals, their tails ornbsp;ears or tongues not unfrequently elongated and woven tillnbsp;they become merged and lost in the general design ; andnbsp;sometimes human faces, or full figures of men or of angels.nbsp;But vegetable forms are very rare. This ornamentationnbsp;was commonly used in the capital letters, which arenbsp;generally very large : one capital of the Book of Kellsnbsp;covers a whole page. The pattern is often so minute andnbsp;complicated as to require the aid of a magnifying glass tonbsp;examine it. The penwork is throughout illuminated innbsp;brilliant colours, in preparing the materials of which thenbsp;scribes were as skilful as in making their ink (p. 479,nbsp;supra) for in some of the old books the colours, especiallynbsp;the red, are even now very little faded after the lapse ofnbsp;so many centuries. The several colours were differentlynbsp;prepared. The yellow was laid on thin and transparent.nbsp;The red was mixed with a gummy substance that pre-

vented it from sinking in, and in great measure from fading : while others have a thick body of some skilfullynbsp;prepared material.¹

The Book of Kells, a vellum manuscript of the Four Gospels in Latin, is the most beautifully written book innbsp;existence. The first notice of it occurs in the Annals, atnbsp;1006, where it is recorded that � the great Gospel ofnbsp;Columkille �� the principal relic of the western world, onnbsp;account of its unequalled cover,� was stolen out of thenbsp;sacristy at Kells (in Meath). It was found soon after ; butnbsp;the thief had removed the gold cover. Its exact age is unknown ; but judging from the style of the penmanship andnbsp;from other internal evidence, we may conclude that it wasnbsp;probably written in the seventh or early in the eighthnbsp;century. Each verse begins with an ornamental capital;nbsp;and upon these capitals, which are nearly all differently designed, the artist put forth his utmost efforts.nbsp;Miss Stokes, who has carefully examined the Book ofnbsp;Kells, thus speaks of it:�� No effort hitherto made tonbsp;� transcribe any one page of this book has the perfectionnbsp;� of execution and rich harmony of colour which belongsnbsp;� to this wonderful book. It is no exaggeration to saynbsp;� that, as with the microscopic works of nature, the strongernbsp;� the magnifying power brought to bear upon it, the morenbsp;� is this perfection seen. No single false interlacement ornbsp;� uneven curve in the spirals, no faint trace of a tremblingnbsp;� hand or wandering thought can be detected. This is thenbsp;� very passion of labour and devotion, and thus did thenbsp;� Irish scribe work to glorify his book.�t

Professor J. O. Westwood of Oxford, who examined the best specimens of ancient pen work all over Europe,nbsp;speaks even more strongly. In his little work on thenbsp;Book of Kells, he writes ;�� It is the most astonishing

From the German scholar, Dr. Keller, in Ulst. Journ. of Arch., gt;/ui. 221 ; see also Miss Stokes, Early Christian Art, ii, 12.nbsp;t Miss Stokes, Early Christian Architecture, 127.

[Fac-simile of one page of the Book of Mac Durnan, exactly as it left the hand of the Irish scribe. A.D. R50- The words, which are much contracted, are the beginning ofnbsp;the Gospel of Saint Mark, in Latin. For further reference to this frontispiece, seenbsp;pp. 14 493. ^^\.~Frogt;n Westwood�s Fac.-sim. 0/Ang.-Sax. and Irish MSS.^

book of the Four Gospels which exists in the world � (p. 5) : � How men could have had eyes and tools to worknbsp;� them [the designs] out, I am sure I, with all the skill andnbsp;� knowledge in such kind of work which I have been exer-� cising for the last fifty years, cannot conceive � (p. lo).nbsp;� I know pretty well all the libraries in Europe where suchnbsp;� books as this occur, but there is no such book in any ofnbsp;� them ; , . . there is nothing like it in all the books whichnbsp;� were written for Charlemagne and his immediate suc-� cessors � (p. ii).

Speaking of the minute intricacy and faultless execution of another Irish book, Mr. Westwood says :�� I have � counted [with a magnifying glass] in a small spacenbsp;quot; scarcely three quarters of an inch in length by less thannbsp;� half an inch in width, in the Book of Armagh, no less thannbsp;� 158 interlacements of a slender ribbon pattern formed ofnbsp;� white lines edged with black ones.� The Book of Durrownbsp;and the Book of Armagh, both in Trinity College, Dublin ;nbsp;the Book of Mac Durnan, in the Lambeth Library ; thenbsp;Stowe Missal in the R. I. Academy ; and the Garland ofnbsp;Howth in Trinity College�all written in the 7th, 8th, andnbsp;gth centuries�are splendidly ornamented and illuminated ;nbsp;and of the Book of Armagh, some portions of the penworknbsp;surpass even the finest parts of the Book of Kells.*

Giraldus Cambrensis, when in Ireland in 1185, saw a copy of the Four Gospels in St. Brigit�s nunnery in Kildare which so astonished him that he has recorded�in anbsp;separate chapter of his book�a legend that it was writtennbsp;under the direction of an angel. His description wouldnbsp;exactly apply now to the Book of Kells. But in those

* Many of the most beautiful pages and letters of the Book of Kells, as well as of numerous other ancient Irish manuscripts, have been reproduced by Sir John T. Gilbert, ll.d., in the Facsimiles of National Manuscripts of Ireland (in five volumes), which may be seen in the publicnbsp;libraries. Subsequently there appeared a much more extensive series ofnbsp;reproductions of the Book of Kells in fifty photographic plates, publishednbsp;by Hodges amp; Figgis, of Dublin, edited by the Rev. Dr. Abbott, s.f.t.c.d.

Latin coords 7viih contractions as they stand in theInitium Avangelii dni nri ihu chri filii ^i sicut scrip quot;7 in esaia �pfeta Ecce mitto anguelum meumnbsp;Latin -words fully nvrittennbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Initium Aevangelii domini nostri ihesu christi filii dei sicut

Translation.�beginning of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ Son of God as it is written in Esaia the prophet Behold I send my angel.

times there were many such books, as indeed is indicated �among other entries�by the record of the Four Mastersnbsp;above. Here the book is singled out for special commendation, not on account of its penwork, but for � its unequalled cover,� implying that the beautiful penmanshipnbsp;was so usual in books at the time as not to need specialnbsp;notice in this particular volume. Giraldus�s words are :�nbsp;quot; Almost every page is illustrated by drawings illuminatednbsp;� with a variety of brilliant colours. In one page you seenbsp;� the countenance of the Divine Majesty supernaturallynbsp;� pictured ; in another the mystic forms of the evangelists :nbsp;� here is depicted the eagle, there the calf : here the facenbsp;� of a man, there of a lion ; with other figures in almostnbsp;� endless variety. ... You will find them [the pictures] sonbsp;� delicate and exquisite, so finely drawn, and the work ofnbsp;� interlacing so elaborate, while the colours with which theynbsp;quot; are illuminated are so blended, that you will be ready tonbsp;� assert that all this is the work of angelic and not ofnbsp;� human skill.�* One can hardly be surprised at Giraldus�snbsp;legend ; for whoever looks closely into some of the elaboratenbsp;pages of the Book of Kells�even in the photographicnbsp;reproductions�will be inclined to wonder how any humannbsp;head could have designed, or how any human hand couldnbsp;have drawn them. This exquisite art was also practisednbsp;successfully by the Gaels of Scotland ; but the discussionnbsp;of this does not fall within my province.

The men who produced these books must have worked without the least hesitation or uncertainty, and with unwavering decision, the result of long practice. So far asnbsp;we know there were then no magnifying glasses : andnbsp;perhaps it may not be out of place to remark that it wasnbsp;in general only persons with short sight�such people asnbsp;have now to use concave spectacles�that could follownbsp;up for a lifetime this art of minute ornamentation andnbsp;illumination.

But this peculiar work did not originate in Ireland. In pagan times indeed the Irish practised a sort of ornamentation consisting of zigzags, lozenges, circles both

single and in concentric groups, spirals of both singlenbsp;and double lines, and othernbsp;such patterns, which arenbsp;found among most primitivenbsp;peoples, and which in Irelandnbsp;may be seen on bronze andnbsp;gold ornaments preserved innbsp;museums, and on sepulchralnbsp;stone monuments, such asnbsp;those at New Grange andnbsp;Loughcrew.* Even in thosenbsp;primitive ages, however, theynbsp;showed much artistic tastenbsp;and skill. Many small objects,nbsp;such as horn combs, foundnbsp;under earns in Loughcrew,nbsp;are � in the words of Mr.nbsp;Fergussont��engraved bynbsp;� compass with circles andnbsp;� curves of a high order ofnbsp;�art�; and �on one, in cross-� hatch lines, is the represen-� tation of an antlered stag �:nbsp;all executed in pagan times.nbsp;Specimens of tasteful pagannbsp;designs, some of them beautifully executed, may be seennbsp;on some of the stone monuments figured in chap, xxxi., sect. 5 ; and on the goldnbsp;ornaments shown in chap, xxii., sect. 3.

* On this see Mr. Coffey on the Origins of Prehistoric Ornament in Ireland : Journ. Roy. Soc, Autiqcj., Irel., iSga-iSgq. f Rude Stone Monuments, 218,

But in all this pre-Christian ornamentation there is not the least trace of interlaced work. This beautiful artnbsp;originated in the East�in Byzantium after the fall of thenbsp;first empire�and was brought to Ireland�no doubt bynbsp;Irish monks�in the early ages of Christianity. In Irelandnbsp;it continued to be cultivated for centuries, while meantimenbsp;it died out on the Continent. But remains of the primitivenbsp;art are to this day preserved in its original home, and innbsp;the surrounding countries. � Interlaced patterns and knot-work ��observes Miss Stokes in her � Early Christian Artnbsp;in Ireland � (p. 33)�� strongly resembling Irish designs,nbsp;� are commonly met with at Ravenna, in the older churchesnbsp;� of Lombardy, and at Sant� AbbOndio, at Como, and notnbsp;� unfrequently appear in Byzantine mss., while in thenbsp;� carvings on the Syrian churches of the second and thirdnbsp;� centuries, as well as the early churches of Georgia, suchnbsp;� interlaced ornament is constantly used.�*

But if the Irish did not originate this art, they made it, as it were, their own, after adopting it, and cultivated it tonbsp;greater perfection than was ever dreamed of in Byzantiumnbsp;or Italy. Combining the Byzantine interfacings with thenbsp;familiar pagan designs, they produced a variety of patterns,nbsp;and developed new and intricate forms of marvellousnbsp;beauty and symmetry. �Besides all this��again to quotenbsp;Miss Stokes�� the interlacings, taken by themselves,nbsp;� gradually undergo a change in character under thenbsp;� hand of the Irish artist. They become more inex-� tricable, more involved, more infinitely varied in theirnbsp;� twistings and knottings, and more exquisitely precisenbsp;� and delicate in execution than they are ever seen to benbsp;� on Continental works, so far as my experience goes.�nbsp;Dr. Ferdinand Keller,f who has made a most carefulnbsp;* The reader will find this branch of the subject well and instructively-discussed in � Rambles and Studies in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Dalmatia ��pages 280 to 295�with many illustrations, by the well-knownnbsp;Scotch antiquarian, Dr. Robert Munro.

examination of the Continental specimens of Irish cali-graphy and illumination, is quite as strongly enthusiastic in his expressions of admiration as Mr. Westwood andnbsp;Miss Stokes.

It is curious that long after this style of writing and ornamentation had died out on the Continent, it wasnbsp;revived and brought into fashion there again throughnbsp;the influence of the Irish Missionaries. For the}^ carriednbsp;their beautiful art�improved and almost re-created bynbsp;their own inventive genius�wherever they went, andnbsp;taught it to the Anglo-Saxons and Britons in England,nbsp;and to the people of all those Continental countries theynbsp;frequented. Mr. Westwood and Dr. Keller both expressnbsp;the opinion that the Irish style of penmanship wasnbsp;generally adopted on the Continent, and continued tonbsp;prevail there until the revival of art in the thirteenth andnbsp;fourteenth centuries. To this day numerous exquisitenbsp;specimens of the skill and taste of those Irish artists arenbsp;preserved in the libraries of England, France, Germany,nbsp;and Italy : of which one lovely example�-now in Bavarianbsp;�may be seen described and figured by Dr. W. Wattenbachnbsp;in a Paper written by him in German, and translated intonbsp;French, in the first volume of Revue Celtique.* One ofnbsp;Dr. Wattenbach�s illustrations is copied here by permissionnbsp;of the editor of Revue Celtique. Several others, with thenbsp;full colours restored, will be found in Dr. Keller�s Papernbsp;above referred to. Through ignorance of the real originnbsp;of this beautiful style of writing, ornamenting, and illuminating manuscripts, it was at one time often designatednbsp;� Celtic � (which is too wide a term), and not unfrequentlynbsp;� Anglo-Saxon � (because it was sometimes found in Anglo-Saxon MSS. written by scribes who had learned from the

* The French Title of the Paper is :�quot; Sur un Evang�liare a Miniatures d�Origine Irlandaise, dans la Biblioth�que Princi�re d�Oettingen-Wallerstein � (Rev. Celt., i. 27). This Paper is translated into English, with two illustrations copied, by Miss Stokes, in Kilk. Archaeol. Joqrnalnbsp;for 1870-71, p. 3^2.

Irish) : but now it is universally recognized as Irish, so that it is commonly known as opus Hibernicum.

eruxc'

While the Irish artists evolved from within this unex-amplea excellence of ornamentation, their attempts at miniature drawing, as well as at sculpturing the humannbsp;figure, are conventional and imperfect; a circumstance

which will hardly surprise us when we remember that conventionality in figure-drawing and sculpture held thenbsp;ancient Egyptian artists in slavery for thousands of years,nbsp;and that their attempts at depicting natural figures andnbsp;scenes remained artificial and imperfect to the end. Butnbsp;the Irish artists, though their figures were rude, were highlynbsp;successful in imparting expression to the human face, asnbsp;may be seen by Petrie�s remarks at p. 570, infra.

Before entering on the subject of artistic metal-work, it may be well to say a few words on the two metals chieflynbsp;employed�gold and silver�and on the glassy metallicnbsp;combination�enamel.

Gold.�It is certain that gold and silver mines were worked in this country from the most remote antiquity;nbsp;and that gold was found anciently in much greaternbsp;abundance than it has been in recent times. Our oldestnbsp;traditions record not only the existence of the mines, butnbsp;also the names of the kings who had them worked, andnbsp;even those of the artificers. According to the bardicnbsp;annals, the monarch Tigernmas [Tiernmas] was the firstnbsp;that smelted gold in Ireland, and with it covered drinking-goblets and brooches; the mines were situated in thenbsp;Foithre [fira], or woody districts, east of the Liffey ; andnbsp;the artificer was Uchadan, who lived in that part of thenbsp;country.

Whatever amount of truth there may be in this old legend, it proves that the Wicklow gold mines were as wellnbsp;known in the far distant ages of antiquity as they were innbsp;the end of the eighteenth century, when the accidental discovery of a few pieces of gold in the bed of a stream revivednbsp;the long-lost knowledge, and caused such an exciting searchnbsp;for several years. This stream, which is now called thenbsp;Gold Mine river, flows from the mountain of Croghannbsp;Kinshella, and joins the Ovoca near the Wooden Bridge

hotel. On account of the abundance of gold in Wicklow in old times, the people of Leinster sometimes got the namenbsp;of Laignig-an-�ir (Lynee-an-ore), the � Lagenians of thenbsp;gold.�* But other parts of the country produced gold also,nbsp;as, for instance, the district of 0�Gonneloe near Killaloe,nbsp;and the neighbourhood of the Moyola river in Derry, fnbsp;There were gold districts also in Antrim, Tyrone, Dublin,nbsp;Wexford, and Kildare.]; In accordance with all this, wenbsp;have, in the annals, records which show that gold wasnbsp;everywhere within reach of the wealthy, and was usednbsp;by them in personal decoration and in works of art. Evennbsp;till late times Ireland produced gold, as well as silver, andnbsp;exported them. The � Libel of English Policie � (aboutnbsp;1430), p. 199, gives a list of exports, among which � ofnbsp;silver and golde there is the oore� (vol. ii., p. 433, below):nbsp;and it goes on to say that the ore was raised from Irishnbsp;mines, and that it was rich and excellent.

But though the home produce was abundant, it hardly kept pace with the demand; for the higher classes hadnbsp;quite a passion for gold ornaments ; and some of ournbsp;oldest traditions record the importation of gold, andnbsp;articles of gold ; just as horses, cloaks, and bronze articlesnbsp;were imported. For example, we are told in a legend innbsp;the Book of Leinster, that Credne, the great Dedannannbsp;caird or artificer, was drowned while bringing golden orenbsp;from Spain.� A poem in the same old book speaks ofnbsp;� torques of gold from foreign lands � ;|! and another legendnbsp;describes a lady�s chair as all ablaze with � Alpine gold.�*!]nbsp;These old records are corroborated by Giraldus in anbsp;passage implying that there were native gold mines, butnbsp;the people were too idle to work them effectively�one of

Wilde, Catal. Gold, page 4, and note; and pp. 97-100 : Kinahan, Geol. of Irel., chap. xxi.

his usual sour indictments : and he then goes on to say� with undoubted truth :�quot; Even gold, of which they requirenbsp;� large quantities, and which they desire so eagerly, as tonbsp;� indicate their Spanish origin, is brought hither [fromnbsp;� Spain] by merchants� (Top. Hib. III. x.). In anothernbsp;place he remarks that gold abounds in Ireland.

The general truthfulness of these traditions and records is fully borne out by the great quantities of golden ornaments found in every part of the country, which will benbsp;spoken of in vol. ii., p. 222. Near the village of Cullen, onnbsp;the borders of Limerick and Tipperary, there is a bognbsp;which has been long celebrated for the quantities ofnbsp;manufactured gold found in it. During the last twonbsp;centuries innumerable golden articles of various kindsnbsp;have been dug up from the bottom of this bog, as wellnbsp;as many of the implements used by the old goldsmiths innbsp;their work, such as crucibles, bronze ladles, amp;c. ; fromnbsp;which it is probable, as O�Curry remarks, that this placenbsp;was anciently�long before the bog was formed, and whennbsp;the land was clothed with wood�inhabited by a race ofnbsp;goldsmiths, who carried on the manufacture there fornbsp;generations.* It may be added that the bog of Cullennbsp;is still proverbial all over Munster for its riches ;�

How much Ireland was richer than Britain in gold is well illustrated by the fact that, while the total weight ofnbsp;the gold ornaments in the British Museum, collected fromnbsp;England, Wales, and Scotland (excluding those fromnbsp;Ireland), is not more than 50 oz., those in the collectionnbsp;in the National Museum in Dublin weigh about syooz.J

* Man. amp; Cust., il. 205, et seq. For more about ancient workshops, see vol. II. page 320.

t See Mr. George Coffey�s Paper, Journ. Soc. Antiqq. Irel., 1895, p. 23. In this Article the weight of the Brit. Mus. gold is given as 2o oz. ; but

Dr. Frazer�s Paper in Proc. Roy. Ir. Acad, for 1893-6, p. 779, suggesting that the gold for Irish ornaments wasnbsp;imported from Eastern Russia, and a subsequent paper innbsp;the Journ. of the Soc. Antiqq., Ireland (1897, p. 59),nbsp;assigning Roman gold coins plundered from the Britonsnbsp;as the source of the Irish supply, do not need any seriousnbsp;notice.

Silver.�^As in the case of gold, we have also very ancient legends about silver. Our old legendary histories tell usnbsp;that King Enna Ahgthech, who reigned about a centurynbsp;and a half after Tigernmas, was the first that made silvernbsp;shields in Ireland, which he distributed among his chieftainnbsp;friends. The legend goes on to say that they were madenbsp;at a place called A rgetros or Silverwood, situated at Rath-beagh on the Nore, in Kilkenny, which was said to derivenbsp;its name from those silver shields. In several parts of thenbsp;country there are mines of lead mixed with a considerablenbsp;percentage of silver ; one, for instance, at Silvermines innbsp;Tipperary. Like gold, silver also appears to have beennbsp;occasionally imported from Spain. In the house of Gergnbsp;there were drinking-bowls with rims ornamented withnbsp;silver brought from Spain (Leahy, 28).

The Irish word for silver is airget [arrigif] : it is a Celtic word cognate with the Lat. argentum. Two othernbsp;native terms for silver, cimh and cerb, are given in Cormac�snbsp;Glossary (39, 47) � but both had fallen out of use in thenbsp;tenth century. On account of the abundance of gold, itsnbsp;market value in Ireland compared with that of silver�nbsp;which was difficult to obtain�was very much less than itnbsp;is now.*

Mr. Coffey informs me that a corselet weighing 30 oz, was accidentally omitted. See also Ridgeway, Origin of Currency, Appendix C.

* For more information about gold and silver, see Brash�s article in Kilk. Arch. Journ., 1870-71, p. 509 : Hyde, Lit. Hist., chap. xii. ; Prof.nbsp;O�Reilly�s Paper on the Milesian Colonisation of Ireland in relation tonbsp;Gold Mining, in Proc. Roy. Ir. Acad, for 1900 ; and M. Henri Gaidoz, Denbsp;1�Exploitation des M�taux en Gaule, in the Revue Arch�ologique, 1868.

Enamel and Enamel Work.�On many of the specimens of metal-work preserved in the National Museum may benbsp;seen enamel patterns worked with exquisite skill, showingnbsp;that the Irish artists were thorough masters of this branchnbsp;of art. Their enamel was a sort of whitish or yellowishnbsp;transparent glass as a foundation, coloured with differentnbsp;metallic oxides. It was fused on to the surface of thenbsp;heated metal, where it adhered, and was worked while softnbsp;into various patterns. Red or crimson enamel, whichnbsp;seems to have been a fai^ourite, was called cruan, fromnbsp;the Irish word cm, � blood.� 0�Davoren, a late authority,nbsp;quoting from older works, v^aguely defines cruan, � a kindnbsp;of old brazier work.� In other old glossaries the word isnbsp;explained huidhe ocus dears, � yellow and red,� as much asnbsp;to say that cruan was of an orange or crimson colour.�quot;

The art of enamelling was common to the Celtic people of Great Britain and Ireland, in pre-Christian as well as innbsp;Christian times ; and beautiful specimens have been foundnbsp;in both countries, some obviously Christian, and others, asnbsp;their designs and other characteristics show, belonging tonbsp;remote pagan ages. Many objects showing exquisitenbsp;enamel work, variously coloured, all found in Ireland, havenbsp;been described, and several of them figured, by Miss Stokesnbsp;in the article mentioned below. The art was taken upnbsp;and improved by the Christian artists, who used it innbsp;metal-work with the interlaced ornamentation, similar tonbsp;that in the Book of Kells and other manuscripts.

A few years ago a great block of cruan or red enamel weighing lolb., formed of glass coloured with red oxiaenbsp;of copper�being the raw material intended for futurenbsp;work�was found under one of the raths at Tara, and isnbsp;now in the National Museum. On this a Paper was contributed to vol. xxx.. Transactions of the R. I. Acad., b}/

* See V. Ball and Miss Stokes in the Paper mentioned in the text : Bk. of Rights, 267 : Stokes in Trip. Life, Introd. cxivi, note 2 : and Dr.nbsp;William Stokes�s Life of Petrie, 420.

Mr. Valentine Ball, giving the history of the find, along with a description and chemical analysis of the block,nbsp;followed by a series of � Observations on the use of Rednbsp;Enamel in Ireland,� by Miss Margaret Stokes.

Cruan is often mentioned in the oldest Irish records. For instance, in the story of Bruden Da Derga in the Booknbsp;of the Dun Cow, we read of � thrice fifty dark grey steeds,nbsp;with thrice fifty bridles of cruan on them.�* As bearingnbsp;out the correctness of such old descriptions as this, wenbsp;find in the National Museum portions of bridles and othernbsp;horse-trappings, most beautifully enamelled in variousnbsp;rich colours, one of which may be seen pictured by Missnbsp;Stokes in the above-mentioned Paper, and another in thenbsp;Kilkenny Archeological Journal, vol. for 1856-57, p. 423.nbsp;In the Tripartite Life we read that when Bishop Muinisnbsp;settled in Forgney, St. Patrick left him a cross of {i.e. ornamented with) cruan moithni, with the four ardda, or points-of-the-compass, of cruan m�in, marked on it.f These oinbsp;course were different kinds of cruan, but beyond thisnbsp;we know nothing. The enamel work of Christian artistsnbsp;is seen in perfection in the Cross of Cong, the Ardaghnbsp;Chalice, and the Tara Brooch.

The pagan Irish, like the ancient Britons, practised from time immemorial�long before the introduction ofnbsp;Christianity�the art of working in bronze, silver, gold,nbsp;and enamel; an art which had become highly developednbsp;in Ireland by the time St. Patrick and his fellow-missionaries arrived. Some of the antique Irish articles madenbsp;in pagan times show great mastery over metals, andnbsp;admirable skill in design and execution.]: This primitive

* Bruden Da Derga, 51 : DU, 85, a, 27 to 32. For more about ornamented bridles, see vol. ir. p. 416.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;1i Trip. Life, 86, 87.

{ See on this Miss Stokes, Early Christian Art in Ireland, pp. 53 to 56. See also description and illustrations of Gold Gorgets in chap. xxii.nbsp;(vol. n. pp. 233 to 240), infra.

art was continued into Christian times, and was brought to its highest perfection in the tenth and eleventh centuries.nbsp;� As in writing ��says the German scholar Dr. Wattenbachnbsp;�� so likewise in music, in goldsmith�s work of all kinds,nbsp;� and in carving, the Scots [Irishl have been celebratednbsp;� from olden times, and in those arts they have also beennbsp;�the teachers of the industrious monks of St. Gall.��*nbsp;Artistic metal work continued to flourish to about the

end of the twelfth century, but gradually declined after that, owing to the general disorganisation of society consequent on the Anglo-Norman Invasion, and to the wantnbsp;of encouragement. A great variety of gold ornaments maynbsp;be seen in the National Museum, many of beautiful workmanship ; which will be noticed in vol. ii., pp. 222-263.

The ornamental designs of metal work executed by Christian artists were generally similar to those used in

manuscripts (for, as has been observed, interlaced ornamentation, whether in penwork, on stone, or in metals, came in with Christianity), and the execution was distinguished by the same exquisite skill and masterlynbsp;precision. The pre-Christian artists exercised their skillnbsp;in making and ornamenting shields ; swords ; sword-hilts ;nbsp;chariots ; brooches ; bridles, amp;c., amp;c. : our oldest recordsnbsp;testify to the manufacture of these articles by skillednbsp;artists in remote pagan times : and the numerous exquisitenbsp;specimens of their handiwork in our museums fully corroborate those accounts. In addition to these the Christiannbsp;artists�who were chiefly, but not exclusively, ecclesiastics*nbsp;�made crosses ; crosiers ; chalices ; bells ; brooches ;nbsp;shrines or boxes to hold books or bells or relics ; and book-satchels, in which the two materials, metal and leather,nbsp;were used. Specimens of all these�many of them of verynbsp;remote antiquity�may be seen in the National Museumnbsp;in Dublin. The three most remarkable, as well as thenbsp;most beautiful and most elaborately ornamented objectsnbsp;in this museum, are the Ardagh Chalice, the Tara Brooch,nbsp;and the Cross of Cong, all made by Christian artists*nbsp;But many of the articles in the Museum, belonging tonbsp;pagan times, both of gold and of mixed metals, especiallynbsp;the golden gorgets, exhibit elaborate and beautifulnbsp;workmanship.

The Ardagh Chalice, which is 7 inches high and 9J inches in diameter at top, was found some years agonbsp;buried in the ground under a stone in an old Us at Ardagh,nbsp;in the county Limerick. Beyond this nothing is known ofnbsp;its history. It is elaborately ornamented with designs innbsp;metal and enamel; and, judging from its shape and fromnbsp;its admirable workmanship, it was probably made somenbsp;short time before the tenth century. It is very fullynbsp;described in a Paper by the late Earl of Dunravennbsp;(Feb. 22, i86g) in vol. xxiv. of the Trans, of the R. I.

Academy, and in two communications from Dr. W. K. Sullivan, and Mr. Edmond Johnson of Dublin, bothnbsp;included in Lord Dunraven�s Paper.

The Tara brooch was found in 1850 by a child on the strand near Drogheda. It is ornamented all over withnbsp;amber, glass, and enamel, and with the characteristic Irishnbsp;filigree or interlaced work in metal. From its style ofnbsp;workmanship it seems obviously contemporaneous with

the Ardagh Chalice.* In the old Irish romances, we constantly read that the mantle of both men and women was

of these old brooches are preserved, but the one now under notice is by far the most perfect and beautiful of all. Nonbsp;drawing can give any adequate idea of the extraordinarynbsp;delicacy and beauty of the work on this brooch, whichnbsp;is perhaps the finest specimen of ancient metal-worknbsp;remaining in any country.

The Cross of Cong, which is 2 feet 6 inches high, was a processional cross, made to enshrine a piece of the truenbsp;cross. It is all covered over with elaborate ornamentationnbsp;of pure Celtic design, and a series of inscriptions in thenbsp;Irish language along the sides gives its full history. It wasnbsp;made by order of Turlogh O�Conor king of Connaught,nbsp;for the church of Tuam, then governed by Archbishopnbsp;Muredach O�Duffy. The accomplished artist, who finishednbsp;his work in 1123, and who deserves to be remembered tonbsp;all time, was Mailisa Mac Braddan 0�Hechan.

Some of the finest of the metal work is exhibited on the shrines, of which many specimens are preserved in thenbsp;National Museum in Dublin. Of these, two have alreadynbsp;been mentioned, those of St. Maidoc and St. Patrick�s bell.nbsp;An engraving of this last splendid specimen of ancientnbsp;Irish metal-work forms the Frontispiece of our Secondnbsp;Volume. Another very remarkable one, probably madenbsp;in the beginning of the twelfth century, is the shrine ofnbsp;St. Manchan of Lemanaghan in King�s County, now andnbsp;from time immemorial kept in the Roman Catholic Churchnbsp;of Boher, in the parish of Lemanaghan. It is profuselynbsp;decorated with the usual Irish ornamentation ; and therenbsp;were originally fifty-two bronze figures of laymen andnbsp;ecclesiastics formed in high relief, fastened on the twonbsp;sloping sides, of which only ten remain. Five of thesenbsp;figures are pictured elsewhere in this book (vol. ii., p. 204).nbsp;A restored model, heavily gilt, as the shrine itself originallynbsp;was, with the whole fifty-two figures, may be seen in thenbsp;National Museum.*

* This shrine is fully described and illustrated by the Rev. James Graves in the Kilk. Arch. Journ. for 1874-5, p. 134.

In 1896 Mr. Edmond Johnson, of Dublin, a practical goldsmith and jeweller, made a detailed examination ofnbsp;some Irish gold ornaments belonging to remote pre-Christian times ; and wrote a most useful and interestingnbsp;memorandum on the modes of working in use among thenbsp;ancient Irish goldsmiths.* He believes that the fuel usednbsp;must have been birch charcoal, which gave the highestnbsp;temperature within reach of those old cairds. With thenbsp;appliances then available, neither coal nor anthracite gavenbsp;sufficient heat to melt gold : and he says that he remembered birch charcoal used for this purpose in his father�snbsp;workshop. A furnace of about one cubic foot internalnbsp;measurement would�as he states�be sufficient: it wasnbsp;filled with the charcoal, having the crucible buried in thenbsp;centre of the glowing mass : and even with this, somenbsp;flux, such as nitre or borax, would be required to meltnbsp;the gold. It would, he says, be necessary to have a smallnbsp;orifice at the base for a bellows of considerable power;nbsp;which agrees with our own inference (in volume ii., pagesnbsp;305-308), about an ordinary forge-fire, that the orificenbsp;for the bellows-pipe was in the centre of the bottom, or innbsp;the bottom of one of the side-flags. Mr. Johnson showsnbsp;that such tube-shaped articles as the fibula or Bunne-do-at\�all of pagan times�were made of several pieces,nbsp;each of which was first cast roughty and then hammerednbsp;on shaped anvil-surfaces into the required form. Afternbsp;the pieces had been made to accurately fit each other,nbsp;they were � sweated,� or welded together by surfacemelting�never soldered. Mr. Johnson�s observation aboutnbsp;the practice of shaping gold by hammering is corroboratednbsp;by the old records. In the Book of the Dun Cow thenbsp;gi-pne or frontlet worn by the charioteer Loeg is compared, for its colour, to gold hammered over the edge ofnbsp;an anvil.I

* Proc. Roy. Ir. Acad., 1893-1896, p. 780. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f See vol. ii., p. 241.

The ornamentation, which consists�as already observed�of lines, circles, spirals, lozenges, amp;c., was not done by engraving with a sharp tool, but by hammernbsp;and chisel. Some concentric rings on the buttons ornbsp;cups at the two ends of the fibulre are so true thatnbsp;they must�he says�have been turned on a lathe ; whichnbsp;also agrees with the statements as to the knowledge andnbsp;use of the lathe in chap, xxiv., sect. 5, infra.

Mr. Johnson states that the tools and appliances necessary to produce these gold ornaments were :�nbsp;furnace, charcoal, crucible, mould for the roughly-castnbsp;ingot, flux, bellows, several hammers, anvils, swage-anvilnbsp;{i.e. an anvil shaped for moulding by hammering), chisels

for impressing ornament, sectional tool for producing concentric rings, [also a lathe] : all these, it is to benbsp;remembered, in remote pagan times. Certain beautifulnbsp;ornaments on one of the specimens quite puzzled Mr.nbsp;Johnson as to how they were produced with the toolsnbsp;then at the disposal of workmen : none of his workmen�nbsp;some of the best goldworkers anywhere to be found�nbsp;could produce them with the tools in question.*

A stone-carver was called tollaid [tullee], from toll, � a hole�: tollaini, � I bore, pierce, perforate.� Stone-carvers arenbsp;mentioned in the eighth-century Milan Irish glosses : onaib

tollaidib bite oc cumtach son ; � by the stone-cutters engaged in building.'* Artistic stone-carving is chiefly exhibitednbsp;in the great stone crosses, of which about fifty-five stillnbsp;remain in various parts of Ireland. One peculiarity of thenbsp;Irish Celtic-cross is a circular ring round the intersection,nbsp;binding the arms together. This peculiar shape wasnbsp;developed in Ireland ; and once formed, it remained fixednbsp;from the eighth or ninth century to the twelfth. Thirty-two of the fifty-five existing crosses are richly ornamented ;nbsp;and eight have inscriptions with names of persons whonbsp;have been identified as living at various times from a.d.nbsp;904 to 1150. Miss Stokes gives the dates of the highnbsp;stone crosses as extending over a period from the tenth tonbsp;the thirteenth century inclusive. Besides the ornamentation, most of the high crosses contain groups of figuresnbsp;representing various subjects of sacred history, such as thenbsp;Crucifixion, the fall of man, Noah in the ark, the sacrificenbsp;of Isaac, the fight of David and Goliath, the arrest of ournbsp;Lord, the crucifixion of St. Peter head downward. Evenbsp;presenting the apple to Adam, the journey to Egypt, amp;c.

These sculptures were � iconographic,� that is to say, they were intended to bring home to the minds of thenbsp;unlettered people the truths of religion and the facts ofnbsp;Scripture history by vivid illustration : something like thenbsp;representations of the � Stations of the Cross � in Romannbsp;Catholic churches of the present day. No doubt thenbsp;preachers, in their discourses, directed attention to thesenbsp;representations : and perhaps they often lectured standingnbsp;at the foot of the cross with the people ranged in front, thenbsp;preacher pointing to the several sculptured groups as henbsp;went on, and as occasion required. It is probable that thenbsp;groups were painted in colours so as to bring them outnbsp;more distinctly.

This practice of teaching by pictorial or sculptured representation was common in all Christian countries, andnbsp;* Stokes and Strachan, Thesaurus, 1. 449.

High Cross of Monasterboicc : 27 feet high : formed of three pieces�the shaft, the cross with circle, and the top. (From Mis.s Stokes's Harly ChrLstian Art in Irelirul.) Of another of the threenbsp;Monasterboice crosses�quot; Muredach's Cross� (i�5 feet high)�a reproduction in exact facsiniilcnbsp;stands in the large central hall of the National ^^useum, Dublin.

prevails everywhere at the present day. � The churches,� writes Miss Stokes,* � were to be the books of the un-� learned, as St. John Damascene has said of sculpturednbsp;� images:�� The learned have them as a kind of booknbsp;� which is for the use of the unlearned and ignorant.��

As for the ornamentation on the high crosses, it is still of the same general Celtic character that we find in metalwork and in illuminated manuscripts ; and it exhibits the

* In hev Paper on Christian Iconography in Ireland, -which the reader may consult for further information on this point (see hist of Authorities, infra].

same masterly skill and ease both in design and execution. A few high crosses of the Irish shape are found in thenbsp;south of Scotland, and in the north of England ; but theynbsp;are obviously imitations of those of Ireland, made by Irishnbsp;artists or under the influence of Irishmen.

The progress made by the ancient Irish in sculpture may be best described in the substance of Petrie�s words asnbsp;recorded by Dr. William Stokes. Many evidences, Petrienbsp;observes, may be found of the Irish having possessed greatnbsp;proficiency in this art before the tenth century. This isnbsp;shown chiefly in the carved tombstones and in the stonenbsp;crosses. Statues, properly so called, were not introducednbsp;for some centuries later. Monumental effigies appear tonbsp;have been brought in by the Anglo-Normans. And again :nbsp;true it is that in the drawing of the human figure, as seennbsp;in the older mss. and in sculptures, whether in stone or innbsp;metal, it is easy to perceive a deficient power of executionnbsp;and design; but even with �such defects, the old Irishnbsp;artists are often most successful in expression. The bas-reliefs of ecclesiastics and of holy women in their earlynbsp;costumes on the Shrine of St. Maidoc are of an executionnbsp;marvellously delicate ; the expression of the countenancesnbsp;is in a high degree felicitous and varied ;* and to come tonbsp;later times, the crowned effigies of O�Brien and O�Conor,nbsp;at Corcomroe and Roscommon Abbeys, exhibit a power ofnbsp;sculpture which may compare with anything of the samenbsp;date in England. The same admirable quality of expression may be seen in the figure of the Saviour on the Crossnbsp;of Tuam, and in many other examples.!

* For example see two of these figures depicted in vol. ii., p. 179, expressing sorrow after the Crucifixion.

�f Stokes�s Life of Petrie, pp. 269, 297. See also Petrie�s Letter at p. 404 of the same book. On the subject of Irish crosses, see O�Neill�snbsp;Irish Crosses : Mr. Brash�s article on Irish Sculptured Crosses, in the Kilk.nbsp;Arch. Journ., 1872-3 ; and especially Miss Stokes�s book on the Highnbsp;Crosses of Castledermot and Durrow, and her Early Christian Art innbsp;Ireland. From these two last books the greater part of the informationnbsp;given above about the High Crosses has been taken.

Churches and Round Towers have been noticed in chap. X. ; and Dwelling Houses and Fortresses will benbsp;treated Of in chap. xx. For more about Workers innbsp;stone, see vol. ii., p. 321.

RISK Musicians were celebrated for their skill from the very earliest ages. Our native literature�-whether referring to pagan or Christian times�nbsp;abounds in references to music and to skilfulnbsp;musicians, who are always spoken of in termsnbsp;of the utmost respect. Everywhere through thenbsp;Records we find evidences that the ancient Irishnbsp;people, both high and low, were passionatelynbsp;fond of music ; it entered into their daily life : formednbsp;part of their amusements, meetings, and celebrations ofnbsp;every kind. In the Visions�such as those of Adamnan�nbsp;music is always one of the delights of heaven ; and one ofnbsp;the chief functions of the angels who attend on God isnbsp;to chant music of ineffable sweetness for Him, which theynbsp;do generally while in the shape of white birds. Thenbsp;legend mentioned at page 395, supra, of a person beingnbsp;entranced for centuries with the singing of a bird, whilenbsp;imagining the time was only a few hours, is indicative ofnbsp;intense appreciation of music ; and an equally strikingnbsp;example is found in the Saltair na Rann, where the hardnbsp;lot of Adam and Eve for a whole year after their expulsion

from Paradise is described, when they were � without proper food, fire, house, music, or raiment.� Here musicnbsp;is put in among the necessaries of life, so that it was anbsp;misery to be without it. In Christian times � music ��nbsp;says Dr. Keller�� was cultivated by them [the Irish] asnbsp;an art intimately connected with public worship � andnbsp;another distinguished German scholar. Dr. Wattenbach,nbsp;has been quoted (p. 560, supra) as also bearing testimonynbsp;to their musical skill.

In the early ages of the church many of the Irish ecclesiastics took great delight in playing on the harp;nbsp;and in order to indulge this innocent and refining taste,nbsp;they were wont to bring with them in their missionarynbsp;wanderings a small portable harp. This fact is mentionednbsp;not only in the Lives of some of the Irish saints, but alsonbsp;by Giraldus Cambrensis.f Figures of persons playing onnbsp;harps are�as we shall see�common on Irish stonenbsp;crosses, and also on the shrines of ancient reliquaries.nbsp;It appears from several authorities that the practice ofnbsp;playing on the harp as an accompaniment to the voice wasnbsp;common in Ireland as early as the fifth or sixth century.

During the long period when learning flourished in Ireland, Irish professors and teachers of music would seemnbsp;to have been as much in request in foreign countries asnbsp;those of literature and philosophy. In the middle ofnbsp;the seventh century, Gertrude, daughter of Pepin, mayornbsp;of the palace, abbess of Nivelle in Belgium, engagednbsp;SS. Foillan and Ultan, brothers of the Irish saint Fursanbsp;of Peronne, to instruct her nuns in psalmody. J In thenbsp;latter half of the ninth century the cloister schools ofnbsp;St. Gall were conducted by an Irishman, Maengal ornbsp;Marcellus, a man deeply versed in sacred and secularnbsp;literature, including music. Under his teaching the musicnbsp;school there attained its highest fame ; and among his

disciples was Notker Balbulus, one of the most celebrated musicians of the middle ages.*

That the cultivation of music was not materially interrupted by the Danish troubles appears from severalnbsp;authorities. Warton, in his � History of English Poetry.�fnbsp;says :�� There is sufficient evidence to prove that thenbsp;� Welsh bards were early connected with the Irish. Evennbsp;� so late as the eleventh century the practice continuednbsp;� among the Welsh bards of receiving instruction in thenbsp;� bardic profession [of poetry and music] from Ireland.�nbsp;The Welsh records relate that Gryffith ap Conan, king ofnbsp;Wales, whose mother was an Irishwoman, and who wasnbsp;himself born in Ireland, brought over to Wales�aboutnbsp;the year 1078�a number of skilled Irish musicians,nbsp;who, in conference with the native bards, reformed thenbsp;instrumental music of the Welsh.]:

But the strongest evidence of all�evidence quite conclusive as regards the particular period�is that ofnbsp;Giraldus Cambrensis, who seldom had a good word fornbsp;anything Irish. He heard the Irish harpers in 1185, andnbsp;gives his experience as follows :�� They are incomparablynbsp;� more skilful than any other nation I have ever seen. Fornbsp;� their manner of playing on these instruments, unlike thatnbsp;� of the Britons [or Welsh] to which I am accustomed, isnbsp;� not slow and harsh, but lively and rapid, while the melodynbsp;� is both sweet and sprightly. It is astonishing that in sonbsp;� complex and rapid a movement of the fingers the musicalnbsp;� proportions [as to time] can be preserved ; and thatnbsp;quot; throughout the difficult modulations on their variousnbsp;� instruments, the harmony is completed with such a sweetnbsp;� rapidity. They enter into a movement and conclude itnbsp;� in so delicate a manner, and tinkle the little strings sonbsp;quot; sportively under the deeper tones of the bass strings�nbsp;� they delight so delicately and soothe with such gentleness,

� that the perfection of their art appears in the conceal-� ment of art.�*

For centuries after the time of Giraldus music continued to be cultivated uninterruptedly, and there was an unbroken succession of great professional harpers.nbsp;That they maintained their ancient pre-eminence downnbsp;to the seventeenth century there is abundant evidence,nbsp;both native and foreign, to prove. Among those whonbsp;were massacred with Sir John Bermingham, in 1328, wasnbsp;the blind harper Mulrony Mac Carroll, � chief minstrelnbsp;of Ireland and Scotland,� � of whom it�s reported that nonbsp;man in any age ever heard, or shall hereafter hear, a betternbsp;timpanist [harper].�f The Scotch writer, John Major,nbsp;early in the sixteenth century, speaks of the Irish as mostnbsp;eminent in the musical art. Richard Stanihurst (1584)nbsp;mentions in terms of rapturous praise an Irish harper ofnbsp;his day named Cruise; and Drayton (1613) has thenbsp;following stanza in his � Polyolbion � :�

� The Irish I admire And still cleave to that lyre.nbsp;As our Muse�s mother ;nbsp;And think till I expire,nbsp;Apollo�s such another.�

The great harpers of those times are, however, mostly lost to history. It is only when we arrive at the seventeenth century that we begin to be able to identify certainnbsp;composers as the authors of existing airs. The oldestnbsp;harper of great eminence coming within this descriptionnbsp;is Rory Dali (blind) 0�Cahan, who, although a musiciannbsp;from choice and taste, was really one of the chiefs of thenbsp;Antrim family of 0�Cahan. He was the composer ofnbsp;many fine airs, some of which we still possess. He visitednbsp;Scotland with a retinue of gentlemen about the year 1600,nbsp;where he died after a short residence, and many of his airs

are still favourites among the Scotch people, who claim them�and sometimes even the author himself�as theirnbsp;own.

Thomas 0�Connallon was born in the county Sligo early in the seventeenth century. He seems to have beennbsp;incomparably the greatest harper of his day, and composed many exquisite airs. We have still extant a shortnbsp;and very beautiful Irish ode in praise of his musical performances, written by some unknown contemporary bard,nbsp;which has been several times translated.* After his death,nbsp;which happened in or about 1700, his brother Laurencenbsp;travelled into Scotland, where he introduced several of thenbsp;great harper�s compositions.

A much better known personage was Turlogh 0�Carolan or Carolan : born in Nobber, county Meath, about 1670 ;nbsp;died in 1738. He became blind in his youth from annbsp;attack of smallpox, after which he began to learn thenbsp;harp ; and ultimately he became the greatest Irish musicalnbsp;composer of modern times. Like the bards of old, he wasnbsp;a poet as well as a musician. Many of his Irish songs arenbsp;published in � Hardiman�s Irish Minstrelsy � and elsewhere.nbsp;A large part of his musical compositions are preserved, andnbsp;may be found in various published collections of Irish airs.nbsp;Carolan belonged to a respectable family, and, like Rorynbsp;Dali, became a professional musician from taste rather thannbsp;from necessity. He always travelled about with a pair ofnbsp;horses, one for himself and the other for his servant whonbsp;carried his harp ; and he was received and welcomed everywhere by the gentry, Protestant as well as Catholic.

The Harp is mentioned in the earliest Irish literature ; it is constantly mixed up with our oldest legends andnbsp;historical romances ; and it was in use from the remotest

* A beautiful tran.slation, but too free, by the Rev. James Wills, may be seen in the Dub. Pen. Journ., 1. 112 : and a much closer one by Sirnbsp;Samuel Ferguson in his Lays of the Western Gael.

pagan times. It was called crott or eruit, which always glosses cithara in Zeuss. A later term for a harp isnbsp;cldirsech, which is now the name in general use. Severalnbsp;harps are sculptured on the high crosses, some of whichnbsp;are depicted here and at p. 582, farther on, from which wenbsp;can form a good idea of their shape and size in old times.nbsp;From all these, and from several incidental expressionsnbsp;found in the literature, we can see that the harps of thenbsp;ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries were of medium sizenbsp;or rather small, the average height being about 30 inches :nbsp;and some were not much more than half this height.nbsp;Probably those of the early centuries were of much the

Figures 149 and 150, Harp-players sculptured on the Moiiasterboice High Crosses. (From Wood-Martin�s Pagan Ireland.) Figure 151, Harper on west face of High Cross of Castledermot, of about the end of tenth century. (From Miss Stokes's High Crosses of Castledermot and Durrow.)

same size�from 16 to 36 inches. Very small harps were often used for singing with. In the story of Felimnbsp;Mac Criffan, king of Munster in the ninth century, alreadynbsp;noticed (p. 445), we read of a poet singing to a little instrument of eight strings : and from the manner in which it isnbsp;mentioned, it was evidently a type in common use. Thenbsp;specimens of harps belonging to later ages�Includingnbsp;� Brian Boru�s harp � noticed below�are all small�stillnbsp;about thirty inches. But in more recent times it was thenbsp;fashion to make them larger.

The ordinary harp of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries�as we know by many specimens remaining�

had generally thirty strings, comprehending a little more than four octaves ; but sometimes it had double thatnbsp;number.* Several harps of the old pattern are still preserved in museums in Dublin and elsewhere, the mostnbsp;interesting of which is the one now popularly knownnbsp;as Brian Boru�s harp in Trinitynbsp;College, Dublin. This is thenbsp;oldest harp in Ireland�probablynbsp;the oldest in existence. Yet itnbsp;did not belong to Brian Boru;nbsp;for Dr. Petrie�s investigationtnbsp;has rendered it highly probablenbsp;that it was not made before thenbsp;end of the fourteenth century.

It is thirty-two inches high ; it had thirty strings; and the ornamentation and general workmanship are exquisitely beautiful.

No specimen of the Irish harp used in the middle ages has beennbsp;preserved. Irish harpers alwaysnbsp;played with the fingers or fingernails. The harp was the instrument of the higher classes, amongnbsp;whom harp-playing was a verynbsp;usual accomplishment. Speakingnbsp;of recent times, Crofton Crokernbsp;and Hardiman]; tell us that in thenbsp;eighteenth century almost every one [of the higher classes]nbsp;played on the Irish harp. In very early ages a professionalnbsp;harper was honoured beyond all other musicians: in social

* See Ferguson�s article �Of the Antiquity of the Harp and Bagpipe in Ireland,� in Bunting�s Ancient Irish Music (1840), p. 37.

tin his memoir of this harp, in Bunting�s Anc. Mus. ofirel., 1840, p. 42. O�Ctirry (Man. amp; Cust., Ii., Lects. xxxii. and xxxiii.) believes it to be older;nbsp;but he does not refer it to the time of Brian Boru-

position he ranked�according to the Brehon Law�with a chief of the bo-airc class (p. 157, supra). A harper moreover was the only musician that was entitled to honour-price on account of his music.*

The Irish had a small stringed instrument called a Timpan, which had only a few strings�from three to eight.nbsp;It was played with a bow, or with both a bow and plectrum,nbsp;or with the finger-nail; and the strings were probablynbsp;stopped with the fingers of the left hand, like those of anbsp;violin or guitar. That the bow was used in playing itnbsp;appears evident from a short quotation from the Brehonnbsp;Laws given by 0�Curry,f in which it is stated that thenbsp;timpanist used � a [bended] wand furnished with hair � :nbsp;and he gives another quotation (p. 364) that plainly pointsnbsp;to the use of the finger-nail. This little instrument wasnbsp;evidently a great favourite, for we constantly meet withnbsp;such expressions as the quot; sweet-stringed timpan.� Giraldusnbsp;mentions the harp and the timpan by the names � cithara �nbsp;and � tympanum � : but the timpan is noticed in two nativenbsp;authorities much older : Cormac�s Glossary and Saltairnbsp;na Rann. From the explanation of the name given bynbsp;Cormac (p. 163), we see that the frame�-like that of thenbsp;harp�was made of willow, and that it had brass strings.

The instrument usually denoted�outside Ireland� by the Latin tympanum, or in its shortened form tympan,nbsp;we know was a drum of some sort; and to Irish antiquarians it has been a puzzle how the word came to benbsp;applied in Ireland to a stringed instrument. Probablynbsp;the Irish timpan was really a small flat tympanum ornbsp;drum, with a short neck added, furnished with three ornbsp;more strings, stretched across the flat face and along thenbsp;neck, and tuned and regulated by pins or keys and anbsp;bridge�something like the modern guitar or banjo, butnbsp;with the neck much shorter. The drum�with a fewnbsp;small openings in the side�gave resonance ; and probablynbsp;* Br. Laws, v. 107, bot.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f Man. amp; Cust., ii. 363.

during the playing, the body, or the stretched membrane of the drum, was struck now and then with the hand, asnbsp;players now occasionally strike the body of the guitar �nbsp;so that to some extent it still preserved the character ofnbsp;a drum. There can be hardly a doubt that Giraldus�snbsp;�� tympanum � was the Irish timpan ; and he wouldnbsp;scarcely have given it that name unless it was really anbsp;drumshaped instrument�a drum furnished with neck andnbsp;strings.

There was a small harp called a ceis [kesh], which was used to accompany the ordinary harp, and which will benbsp;again mentioned farther on (p. 587). On one panel of thenbsp;north high cross of Castledermot is a figure seated playingnbsp;on a small harp, which is represented as about sixteennbsp;inches high : it is square-shaped : the top corner farthestnbsp;from the player is sharp : the other three corners are muchnbsp;rounded�so that the bottom of the little instrument formsnbsp;almost a semicircle. Possibly this may be intended tonbsp;represent a ceis : but then there is no player with a largernbsp;instrument near this harper : as we might expect in casenbsp;of a ceis.

The harp�as well as the timpan�was furnished with brass strings, as is seen by the explanation of � ceis,� asnbsp;meaning, in one of its applications, � a small pin whichnbsp;fastens the brazen string of the harp.�* The tuning-keynbsp;was made with a wooden handle tipped with steel, likenbsp;the modern piano-key. It was called crann-gUsa {' tuning-wood �) ; and it was considered so important�inasmuch asnbsp;the harp was silent without it�that provision was made innbsp;the Brehon Law�^with penalties�for its prompt return innbsp;case the owner lent it.f Both harp and timpan, when notnbsp;in use, were kept in a case, commonly of otter skins, callednbsp;a coim�t (� case � or � keeper �), and crott-bolg (� harp-bag �).Jnbsp;A harper was called cruiiire (cruttera) : the word senmaire

[shennimar�] was sometimes applied to a musician in general, from senm, ' sound ' (Trip. Life, 142, 12).

The bagpipes were known in Ireland from the earliest times ; the form used was something like that now commonly known as the Highland pipes�slung from thenbsp;shoulder, the bag inflated by the mouth. The other formnbsp;�resting on the lap, the bag inflated by a bellows�whichnbsp;is much the finer instrument, is of modern invention.

The bagpipes were in very general use, especially among the lower classes.nbsp;The ancient name of the whole instrument or set was tinne [2-syll.] : and sonbsp;Dr. Stokes renders this word in thenbsp;passage of the Bruden Da Derga wherenbsp;King Conari�s nine pipers are described.* The pipers themselves arenbsp;called in the same passage, cuslennach,nbsp;from cusle (now cuisle), � a pipe ��one ofnbsp;the pipes of the tinne. As there werenbsp;nine players here, we can see that thenbsp;custom then probably was, as it is nownbsp;in Scotland, to have a body of pipersnbsp;playing together. That the pipes ornbsp;tinne of those days were much the samenbsp;as the Scotch or Highland pipes of ournbsp;time, may be inferred from the descriptive epithetnbsp;cetharch�ire (kehercora) applied to the set of pipes in thenbsp;above-mentioned passage. This term means � four-tuned �nbsp;(from cethir, � four,� and coir, ' tuning �), and�as Dr. Stokesnbsp;remarks�quot; seems to refer to the tuning of the chanter,nbsp;� of the two shorter reed-drones, and of the longest drone,nbsp;� four in all.�

The simple pipe�as we might expect�was much in use, blown by the mouth at the end : the note being producednbsp;either by a whistle as in the modern flageolet, or by a reed

as in the clarionet. It was called bunne or huinne [2-syll.], which means a � pipe � or � tube � of any kind.¹ An ancientnbsp;Irish glossator, annotating the words of a Latin commentary on the Psalms of David, explains the words tubanbsp;corneta (� horn-shaped tube �) of the text by an Irishnbsp;phrase, which is in English :�[tuba-corneta] quot; a buinnenbsp;which was in the shape of a horn � (Zeuss, 499, 41). Thenbsp;single pipe was also called cuisle or cuislenn.

We obtain a good idea of the shape and size of those pipes from several representations on the high crosses.nbsp;Some are quite straight; others very slightly curved upwards, i.e. having the convex side downwards while beingnbsp;played. All get gradually larger from the mouthpiece tonbsp;the end : and they are represented of various lengths fromnbsp;about 14 inches up to 24. On the south-east cross ofnbsp;Monasterboice, three men are shown playing on thesenbsp;pipes. On one of the Clonmacnoise crosses a man isnbsp;playing a triple pipe, i.e. having three tubes in closenbsp;contact, apparently with a single mouthpiece : the lengthsnbsp;represented as about 24, 20, and 16 inches, respectively.!nbsp;It is to be presumed that there was a double-tubed instrument as well as single and triple. One of the men shownnbsp;in fig. 155 plays on a compound pipe, which seems double.nbsp;These pipes noticed here as figured on the crosses, thoughnbsp;trumpet-shaped, were not trumpets : and, doubtless, the}^nbsp;were made of wood. We often meet expressions in thenbsp;tales showing that the music of this simple pipe�whethernbsp;single, double, or triple�was in great favour, and wasnbsp;considered very sweet:�Bindithir re ceolaih cuislindinbsp;bindjoghar a gotha ocus a Gaedeilgi na hingine : � sweetnbsp;as pipe-tunes was the melodious sound of the maiden�s

In the Glosses, the Latin tibia (a pipe or flute) is commonly explained by huinne (Z., 13,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;; 67,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;: see the word in another sense discussed in

A player on the buinne was called a buinnire [3-syll.]. In the arrangements for seating the guests at the banquetsnbsp;of Tara,¹ the buinnire and the cornaire, or horn-blower,nbsp;were placed at the same table. There was a sort ofnbsp;musical pipe called anbsp;cuisech or ciiisig, differingnbsp;in some way from thenbsp;buinne'^ �. and anothernbsp;called a feddn or whistle,nbsp;the player on which wasnbsp;a feddnach-X

In several of the eighth-century quotations of Zeuss a pipe-player is called erochair-chetlaid [erohar-kailee], whichnbsp;always glosses tibicen, a �pipe-player�; from erochair, i.e.nbsp;crjis, � a [hollow] plant-stem �; and cetlaid.

Petne�s Tava, p. 206; where bumiiri is mistranslated �footmen� : but that was more than sixty years ago, when the eminent men who dealt withnbsp;those difficult old texts had few or none of the aids available to scholars ofnbsp;the present day. On the humne, see also O�Curry, Man. amp; Gust., II. 306.nbsp;t O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., II. 310, 313, 325.nbsp;t Ibid., 328, 368, 376 ; also Br. Laws, V. 108, 109.

cantar, � a musician or player.� These archaic explanations indicate that the primitive pipe was the hollow stem ofnbsp;some plant, such as the elder or boortree, from which boysnbsp;sometimes make musical pipes at the present day.

The Irish had curved bronze trumpets and horns, of various shapes and sizes, which, judging from the greatnbsp;numbers found buried in clay and bogs, must have beennbsp;in very general use. They are indeed found in far greaternbsp;numbers in Ireland than in any other country. In 1750nbsp;thirteen were found in a place between Cork and Mallow;nbsp;in 1787 three were turned up in Limerick ; four in 1794 innbsp;a bog on the edge of Loughnashade, beside the old palacenbsp;of Emain ; among the great workshop find at Dooros-Heath (see this in Index) were thirteen trumpets ; severalnbsp;were found in a bog near Killarney in 1835 ; four in a bognbsp;in Antrim in 1840 ; three in Cavan in 1847. The fact thatnbsp;they are so often found in numbers together would indicatenbsp;their military use. The Irish probably derived their fondness for trumpets from their ancestors the Gauls, who, wenbsp;know from the best authorities, used them in great numbersnbsp;in battle.

In the National Museum in Dublin there is a collection of twenty-six trumpets, varying in length from about 18 inches up to 8 feet; besides portions of others morenbsp;or less imperfect. Fig. 157 will give a good idea of theirnbsp;shapes. Some have the blowing aperture in the side,nbsp;while others were blown from the end. It is not knownnbsp;how the side aperture was used : no trumpeter of thenbsp;present day could produce a musical note by blowingnbsp;through it. The smaller ones were cast in one piece, annbsp;operation which, considering the thinness of the casting,nbsp;the tubular shape, and the extent of surface, required muchnbsp;skill and delicate adjustment of moulds. The very longnbsp;ones were not cast, but formed of thin hammered bronze.nbsp;The two shown at the bottom of the figure are like eachnbsp;other in construction. The smaller one is six feet long ; it

has a circular ornamented plate at the large end, which is shown separately in fig. 159. The large one at the bottom,nbsp;which, so far as we know, is the finest specimen evernbsp;found in any country, measures 8i feet in length, andnbsp;had probably an ornamented plate, as in fig. 159. Thenbsp;mouth-pieces of both have been lost. Each consists ofnbsp;two parts, made separately, and carefully jointed, as seennbsp;in the figure. The bronze was hammered thin and bendednbsp;into shape till the two edges were in close contact allnbsp;along the concave side. The edges were then joined, notnbsp;by soldering, but by means of thin narrow bronze straps

extending along the whole length, and riveted at both sides of the joining. It is difficult to understand hownbsp;the riveting was done in such a long and slender tube.nbsp;The rivets are very small and placed close together�nbsp;six or seven to the inch�fixed with absolute uniformity,nbsp;exhibiting the most perfect and beautiful example ofnbsp;riveting ever found in Ireland. The three smaller trumpets shown in the figure were made by casting.

A few of those in the Museum are plain, but most are ornamented. One prevailing ornament is a circle of projecting conical buttons or studs, similar to those seen on

the caldrons and on the gold gorgets : they appear on two of the small trumpets in the figure. There is nothing rudenbsp;in the construction of these trumpets. On the contrary,nbsp;they all exhibit great taste in design, and consummatenbsp;skill in workmanship, a circumstance that must excitenbsp;our wonder when we recollect their great antiquity ; fornbsp;according to the opinion of those who have studied suchnbsp;remains, not only in Ireland but all over Europe, some ofnbsp;them at least belong to a period long prior to the Christiannbsp;era.

The most common name for a trumpet is stoc; but there were several other names :�co7'/i, buabaill^ adharc,nbsp;dudag, gall-trompa, and barra-btiadh [borra-boo]. Thesenbsp;no doubt denoted trumpetsnbsp;or horns of different kinds.

O�Curry believes that the corn (i.e. �horn�) was the longnbsp;trumpet blown from the end,nbsp;the stoc being the shorternbsp;one. A trumpeter was usually called stocaire [stuckera];nbsp;a horn-blower, cornaire

Among the household of every king and chief there was a band of trumpeters, who were assigned their propernbsp;places at feasts and meetings. Trumpets were used fornbsp;various purposes:�in war (p. 147, supra)', in hunting; fornbsp;signals during meetings and banquets; as a mark ofnbsp;honour on the arrival of distinguished visitors ; and suchnbsp;like. For war purposes, trumpeters�as already noticed�nbsp;had different calls for directing movements (p. 148, supra).nbsp;Trumpeters and horn-blowers sometimes imitated the

See Petrie�s article on -trumpets in Dub. Pen. Journ., II. 27 ; Wilde on Trumpets in his Catalogue (p. 623); and O�Cntry, Man. amp; Cnst., Ii. 307.nbsp;In all these articles references are given to other authorities.

voices and cries of animals. In Cormac�s Glossary (p. 91), under the word � Grace � [Grauke], we read that this wordnbsp;means �raven-conversation,� i.e. the croaking, or language,nbsp;of ravens ; and immediately afterwards it is stated thatnbsp;trumpeters produced imitations of these sounds on horns.nbsp;(See also Man. amp; Gust, ll. 368.)

The ancient Irish were very fond of a craebh-ciuil [crave-cule], or � musical branch,� a little branch on whichnbsp;were suspended a number of diminutive bells, which produced a sweet tinkling when shaken; a custom found

also in early times on the Continent. Thenbsp;musical branch figuresnbsp;much in Irish romanticnbsp;literature. A performernbsp;called cnam-fer ornbsp;�bone-man� is mentionednbsp;in the �Fair of Carman�nbsp;among the musicians.nbsp;The term probably refers to sounding-bonesnbsp;or castanets. In thenbsp;same poem (which is innbsp;the Book of Leinster)nbsp;is named a fidil ornbsp;fiddle: but we cannot tell what was its shape or how itnbsp;was played.¹

In early Irish literature, whether in the native language or in Latin, music and poetry are often confounded, sonbsp;that one sometimes finds it impossible to determine tonbsp;which of the two the passages under notice refer. The

O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust , II. 305, gives the names of twenty musical instruments mentioned in Irish records, and discusses them all at length innbsp;Lectures xxx.-xxxviii.

confusion no doubt arose from the circumstance that the same man was formerly often both poet and musician.nbsp;Music is indeed often specially mentioned, but always verynbsp;vaguely ; and the airs that tradition has handed down arenbsp;almost the only means we have of forming an opinion ofnbsp;the state of musical education in those old times. It is tonbsp;be observed that writers of our own day, when treating ofnbsp;Irish music, are quite as much in the habit of confoundingnbsp;poetry and music as were those of a thousand years ago,nbsp;and with less excuse.

There was not in Ireland, any more than elsewhere, anything like the modern developments of music. Therenbsp;were no such sustained and elaborate compositions asnbsp;operas, oratorios, or sonatas. The music of ancient Irelandnbsp;consisted wholly of short airs, each with two strains ornbsp;parts�seldom more. But these, though simple in comparison with modern music, were constructed with suchnbsp;exquisite art that of a large proportion of them it maynbsp;be truly said no modern composer can produce airs of anbsp;similar kind to equal them.

The ancient Irish must have used harmony, as appears from Giraldus�s mention�in the passage quoted at p. 573nbsp;�of the little strings tinkling under the deeper tones ofnbsp;the bass strings : and this is borne out by several wordsnbsp;and expressions in native Irish writings. There are atnbsp;least seven native words for concerted singing or playing,nbsp;indicating how general was the custom:�c�mseinm,nbsp;c�icetul, aidhse, cep�c or cep�g, claiss, clais-cetul, andnbsp;foacanad.

C�mseinm is from c�m, ' together,� and seinm, ' playing ; � � playing together.� This word occurs in an instructive illustrative note by the commentator on the Amra, explaining ceis (kesh), in one of its applications, as � anbsp;small eruit or harp that accompanies a large eruit innbsp;eomseinm or concerted playing � ;* showing a harmonicnbsp;f Stokes in Rev. Celt., xx. 165.

combination of instrumental music. As c�mseinm was applied to the music of instruments, coicetul refers to thenbsp;voice, meaning, as it is explained in Cormac�s Glossarynbsp;(p. 43), � singing together,� from cetul, ' singing.� When thenbsp;poets had been freed at Drumketta by the intercession ofnbsp;St. Columba (p. 456, supra), the Preface to the Amra tellsnbsp;us that � they made a mighty music [by all singing together] for Columba [to honour him] : and aidbse [ive-she]nbsp;is the name of that music.� And in another part of thenbsp;Preface it is said that � they used to make that music \i.e.nbsp;aidhse] singing simultaneously � [in-oenfhecht]¹ ^{2 3 4} In onenbsp;of the old glosses of the Amra, it is stated that among thenbsp;people of Alban or Scotland the aidbse or chorus-singingnbsp;was called cep�g (keppoge). But this word was used innbsp;Ireland too : Ferloga, in the Tale of Mac Datho�s Pig, saysnbsp;to Concobar ;�� The young women and girls of Ulsternbsp;shall sing a cep�c round me each evening � : and Amerginnbsp;the poet, lamenting the death of Aithirne (p. 453, supra),nbsp;says :�� I will make a cep�c here, and I will make hisnbsp;lamentation.�! It appears from all these references thatnbsp;the aidbse or cep�c was a funeral song. Claiss (closh), Lat.nbsp;classis, means a � choir,� a number of persons singingnbsp;together.! Iri one of the Zeuss Glosses persons are mentioned as singing the Psalms for clais,� i.e. � in choir � ; andnbsp;from this again comes clais-cetul, � choir-singing.�|| Thenbsp;Latin succino (i.e. sub-cano, � I sing under,� or in subordination to another�I accompany) is glossed in Zeussnbsp;(429, 16 ; 880, 27), by the Irish foacanim, which has preciselynbsp;the same meaning, from joa, � under � ; and canim, ' I sing.�nbsp;The existence of this native word foacanim indicates verynbsp;clearly that it was usual lor one person to accompanynbsp;another. Moreover, � singing under � (/o), or subordi-

Hib. Minora, 64, ,3. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;{ Windisch in Ir. Texte, 1. 425, quot; Claiss.�

Corm. Gloss., 35, � Clais.� nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;|| Stokes, Lives of SS., line 3749.

nate to, another, could not mean singing in unison or in octave, but what we now mean by the expression � singingnbsp;a second,� i.e. in simple harmony.

Ce�l, � music,� and hinnius, � melody or sweetness,� are, in the old writings, distinguished from cuibdius, this lastnbsp;being a further development, to be understood no doubtnbsp;as harmony. Thus in an ancient passage quoted bynbsp;Prof. Kuno Meyer in � Hibernia Minora � (p. 27), it is saidnbsp;that � David added hinnius and cuibdius to the Psalms,�nbsp;meaning apparently that he put melody to the words,nbsp;and harmony to the melody. And farther on in the samenbsp;passage :�� The Holy Spirit inspired in Asaph�s mind thenbsp;� ce�l or music [i.e. the melody merely], and the sense thatnbsp;quot; are in the Psalm ; and David added cuibdius or harmonynbsp;� to them.� That cuibdius means � harmony � appears alsonbsp;from 0�Davorens� Glossary�which was compiled fromnbsp;ancient authorities�where he defines rinn, a certain kindnbsp;or arrangement of music, as [ce�l'\ co cuibdius ina aghaidh,nbsp;[music] � with cuibdius against it.�* It is to be noticed,nbsp;too, that in Cormac�s Glossary (p. 163, 2) the word sym-fhonia is used as applicable to the music of the timpan.

In some of the above examples the � singing or playing together � might mean merely in unison or in octaves ; butnbsp;coupling all the Irish expressions with that of Cambrensis,nbsp;we must conclude that the Irish harpers and singers usednbsp;harmony, though no doubt it was of a very simple kind.

The Irish musicians had three styles, the effects of which the old Irish romance-writers describe with muchnbsp;exaggeration, as the Greeks describe the effects producednbsp;by the harp of Orpheus. Of all three we have numerousnbsp;well-marked examples descending to the present day.nbsp;The Gen-traige [gan-tree], which incited to merriment andnbsp;laughter, is represented by the lively dance-tunes andnbsp;other such spirited pieces. The Gol-traige [gol-tree]nbsp;expressed sorrow ; represented b}^ the keens or death-* Three Irish Glossaries, no : O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., n. 252.

tunes, many of which are still preserved. The Suan-traige [suan-tree] produced sleep. This style is seen in ournbsp;lullabies or nurse-tunes, of which we have numerousnbsp;beautiful specimens. Two of these styles�sorrow-musicnbsp;and mirth-music�are explained in Cormac�s Glossarynbsp;(pp. 89, 90). Probably the oldest example of the wordsnbsp;of a lullaby that has come down to us is that composednbsp;by Muirenn for her son Finn when he was six years old :nbsp;of which the Psalter of Cashel copy of the story, � Thenbsp;Boyish Exploits of Finn ��as old an authority as Cormac�snbsp;Glossary�preserves the first line, and unfortunately onlynbsp;the first:�Codail re suandn saime : � Sleep [my child] withnbsp;pleasant slumber* � : which is the same as the beginning ofnbsp;some of our modern Irish nurse-songs.

Among the higher classes, both young and old were often lulled to sleep with music and song, so that thenbsp;Suan-tree must have been in constant requisition. In thenbsp;� Battle of Rossnaree � (p. 21), taken from the Book ofnbsp;Leinster, we are told that the guests in Dundalgan � werenbsp;� put into their sleeping-rooms and lay on their couches :nbsp;� and tunes and songs and eulogies were sung to them �nbsp;[till they fell asleep]. The custom of lulling people�ofnbsp;all ages�to sleep by music or singing is very frequentlynbsp;noticed in the tales, though it was oftenest used withnbsp;children ; and it continued to our own time, as I have thenbsp;best reason to remember.

The Irish had also what may be called occupation-tunes. The young girls accompanied their spinning with songs�nbsp;both air and words made to suit the occupation. Specialnbsp;airs and songs were used during working-time by smiths,nbsp;by weavers, and by boatmen : and we have still a quot; Smith�snbsp;Song,�the notes of which imitate the sound of the hammersnbsp;on the anvil,f like Handel�s � Harmonious Blacksmith.�

t See for this air (which was contributed by me) Petrie�s Anc. Mus. of Ireland, p. 171.

At milking-time the girls were in the habit of chanting a particular sort of air, in a low gentle voice. These milking-songs were slow and plaintive, something like the nurse-tunes, and had the effect of soothing the cows and ofnbsp;making them submit more gently to be milked. Thisnbsp;practice was common down to fifty or sixty years ago :nbsp;and I remember seeing cows grow restless when the songnbsp;was interrupted, and become again quiet and placid whennbsp;it was resumed. The old practice also prevailed innbsp;Scotland, and probably has not yet quite died out there.nbsp;Martin (p. 155) says that in his time�1703�when a cownbsp;was enraged by the loss of her calf, � the last remedie us�dnbsp;� to pacifie her is to use the sweetest voice and sing all thenbsp;� time of milking her.� And referring to our own time,nbsp;Carmichael, in his � Carmina Gadelica � (i. 258), says :�nbsp;� The cows become accustomed to these lilts and will notnbsp;� give their milk without them, nor, occasionally, withoutnbsp;� their favourite airs being sung to them � : and so generallynbsp;is this recognised that�as he tells us�girls with goodnbsp;voices get higher wages than those that cannot sing.

While ploughmen were at their work, they whistled a peculiarly wild, slow, and sad strain, which had as powerful an effect in soothing the horses at their hard work asnbsp;the milking-songs had on the cows. Plough-whistles alsonbsp;were quite usual down to 1847 : and often when a merenbsp;boy, did I listen enraptured to the exquisite whistling ofnbsp;Phil Gleeson on a calm spring-day behind his plough.nbsp;There were, besides, hymn-tunes : and young people usednbsp;simple airs for all sorts of games and sports. In mostnbsp;cases, words suitable to the several occasions were sungnbsp;with lullabies, laments, and occupation-tunes. Like thenbsp;kindred Scotch, each tribe had a war-march whichnbsp;inspirited them when advancing to battle. Specimensnbsp;of all these may be found in the collections of Bunting,nbsp;Petrie, Joyce, and others. We have evidence that thesenbsp;occupation-tunes were in use at a very early time : for

in Cormac�s Glossary (p. 69) it is stated that while the Fena were cooking their open-air dinner after their day�snbsp;hunting, they chanted a kind of music called esnad.

The music of Ireland, like our ballad-poetry, has a considerable tendency to sadness. The greater number of the keens, lullabies, and plough-whistles, and many of ournbsp;ordinary tunes, are in the minor mode, which is essentiallynbsp;plaintive, even though it is often used in lively tunes : andnbsp;the same plaintive character is impressed on many of thenbsp;major airs by a minor seventh note. This tendency tonbsp;sadness was the natural outcome of the miseries endurednbsp;by the people during long centuries of disastrous wars andnbsp;unrelenting penal laws. But it is a mistake to supposenbsp;that the prevailing character of Irish music is sad ; by farnbsp;the largest proportion of the airs are either light-heartednbsp;dance-tunes or song-airs full of energy and spirit, withoutnbsp;a trace of sadness.

In early times they had no means of writing down music ; and musical compositions were preserved in thenbsp;memory and handed down by tradition from generationnbsp;to generation ; but in the absence of written record manynbsp;were lost. While we have in our old books the Irishnbsp;words of numerous early odes and lyrics, we know nothingnbsp;of the music to which they were sung. It was only in thenbsp;seventeenth or eighteenth century that people began tonbsp;collect Irish airs from singers and pla3^ers, and to writenbsp;them down.* Some attempts were made at home earlynbsp;in the eighteenth century : but later on more effectualnbsp;measures were taken. Several meetings of harpers�thenbsp;first in 1781�were held at Granard in the county Longford,

* Mr. Chappell, the well-known writer on Musical History, author of Popular [English] Music of the Olden Time, once told me in conversationnbsp;that in the British Museum there are copies of great numbers of Irishnbsp;airs, much older than any collections we have in Ireland. So there is anbsp;field for some zealous investigator and collector of Irish music.

under the patronage and at the expense of James Dungan, a native of Granard, then living at Copenhagen. Eachnbsp;meeting was terminated by a ball, at which prizes werenbsp;distributed to those who had been adjudged the bestnbsp;performers. Dungan himself was present at the last ball,nbsp;when upwards of i,ooo guests, as we are told, assembled.

A few years later, a meeting to encourage the harp was organised in Belfast by a society of gentlemen under thenbsp;leadership of Dr. James Mac Donnell. This meeting, whichnbsp;was held in Belfast in 1792, and which was attended bynbsp;almost all the nobility and gentry of the neighbourhood,nbsp;was followed by more practical results than those held atnbsp;Granard. The harpers of the whole country had beennbsp;invited to attend. But the confiscations, the penal laws, andnbsp;the social disturbances of the preceding century and a halfnbsp;had done their work. The native gentry who loved musicnbsp;and patronised the harpers were scattered and ruined, andnbsp;the race of harpers had almost died out. Only ten respondednbsp;to the call, many of them very old and most of them blind,nbsp;the decayed representatives of the great harpers of old.nbsp;Edward Bunting, a local musician, was appointed to meetnbsp;them ; and after they had all exhibited their skill in public,nbsp;and prizes had been awarded to the most distinguished, henbsp;took down the best of the airs they played.

This was the origin of Bunting�s well-known collection of Irish music. He published three volumes, the first innbsp;1796, the second in 1809, and the third in 1840. Anothernbsp;collection, edited by George Petrie, was published bynbsp;Holden of Dublin about the year 1840. A volume ofnbsp;Carolan�s airs was published by his son in 1747 andnbsp;republished by John Lee of Dublin in 1789 ; but manynbsp;of Carolan�s best airs are omitted from this collection ;nbsp;and it poorly represents the great composer. A largenbsp;number of Irish airs were printed in four volumes of anbsp;Dublin periodical called � The Citizen � in 1840 andnbsp;1841 : and these were followed up by a special volume

of airs by the editor. In 1844 was published � The Music of Ireland,� by Frederick W. Horncastle, of the Chapelnbsp;Royal, Dublin, a number of airs with accompanimentsnbsp;and English words ; most of the airs had been alreadynbsp;published, but some appeared then for the first time,nbsp;among which is one very beautiful suantree called � Thenbsp;Fairies� Lullaby.�

In 1855 a large volume of Irish music hitherto unpublished was edited, under the auspices of � The Society for the Preservation and Publication of the Melodies ofnbsp;Ireland,� by Dr. George Petrie : and the first numbernbsp;{i.e. the fourth part) of a volume was printed, but nevernbsp;published. A volume of airs never before published wasnbsp;edited by me in 1873, collected by myself from singersnbsp;and players in the course of many years. A second instalment of the Petrie collection was printed in 1877, edited bynbsp;F. Hoffman. These are the principal original collectionsnbsp;of Irish music extant; other collections are mostly copiednbsp;from them. About 1870 Bussell of Dublin issued a largenbsp;collection of Irish airs, edited by Dr. Francis Robinson,nbsp;with a good Introduction on Irish Music by Georgenbsp;Farquhar Graham : all the airs in this had been publishednbsp;before. Later on two volumes of the Dance Music ofnbsp;Ireland were edited by Mr. R. M. Levey of Dublin ; somenbsp;of which then appeared for the first time. Dr. Charlesnbsp;Villiers Stanford has quite recently (1902-3) edited thenbsp;whole of Petrie�s collection, about 1800 airs�the simplenbsp;melodies without accompaniments�which include manynbsp;of those of Petrie�s already published with numerousnbsp;others that had never previously seen the light. Thisnbsp;work, as Dr. Stanford observes in his short Preface,nbsp;forms quot; a vast treasure-house of folk-song.�

The man who did most in modern times to draw attention to Irish music was Thomas Moore. He composed his exquisite songs to old Irish airs ; and songs andnbsp;airs were published in successive numbers or volumes.

beginning in 1807. They at once became popular, not only in the British Islands, but on the Continent and innbsp;America ; and Irish music was thenceforward studied andnbsp;admired where it would have never been heard of but fornbsp;Moore. The whole collection of songs and airs�wellnbsp;known as � Moore�s Melodies ��is now published in onenbsp;small cheap volume.

We know the authors of many of the airs composed within the last 200 years : but these form the smallestnbsp;portion of the whole body of Irish music. All the restnbsp;have come down from old times, scattered fragments ofnbsp;exquisite beauty, that remind us of the refined musicalnbsp;culture of our forefathers. To this last class belong suchnbsp;well-known airs as Savourneen Dheelish, Shule Aroon,nbsp;Molly Asthore, The Boyne Water, Garryowen, Patrick�snbsp;Day, Eileen Aroon, Langolee (Dear Harp of my Country),nbsp;The Groves of Blarney (The Last Rose of Summer), amp;c.,nbsp;amp;c. To illustrate what is here said, I may mention thatnbsp;of about 120 Irish airs in all quot; Moore�s Melodies,� we knownbsp;the authors of less than a dozen : as to the rest, nothingnbsp;is known either of the persons who composed them or ofnbsp;the times of their composition.

As the Scotch of the western coasts and islands of Scotland were the descendants of Irish colonists, preserving the same language and the same traditions, and asnbsp;the people of the two countries kept up intimate intercourse with each other for many centuries, the nationalnbsp;music of Scotland, is as might be expected, of much thenbsp;same general character as that of Ireland. The relationship of Irish and Scotch music may be stated as follows.nbsp;There is in Scotland a large body of national melodies,nbsp;composed by native musicians, airs that are Scotch innbsp;every sense, and not found in Irish collections. In Ireland there is a much larger body of airs, acknowledgednbsp;on all hands to be purely Irish, and not found in Scotchnbsp;collections. But outside of these are great numbers of airs

common to the two countries, and included in both Scotch and Irish collections. In regard to a considerable proportionnbsp;of them, it is now impossible to determine whether they arenbsp;originally Irish or Scotch. A few are claimed in Irelandnbsp;that are certainly Scotch ; but a very large number claimednbsp;by Scotland are really Irish, of which the well-known airnbsp;Eileen Aroon or Robin Adair is an example.

From the earliest times it was a common practice among the Irish harpers to travel through Scotland. Hownbsp;close was the musical connexion between the two countriesnbsp;is hinted at by the Four Masters, when in recording thenbsp;death of Mulrony Mac Carroll they call him the quot; chiefnbsp;minstrel of Ireland and Scotland � : and there is abundantnbsp;evidence to show that this connexion was kept up tillnbsp;the close of the eighteenth century. Ireland was long thenbsp;school for Scottish harpers, as it was for those of Wales :nbsp;� Till within the memory of persons still living, the schoolnbsp;� for Highland poetry and music was Ireland ; and thithernbsp;� professional men were sent to be accomplished in thesenbsp;� arts.�* Such facts as these sufficiently explain why sonbsp;many Irish airs have become naturalised in Scotland.

It is not correct to separate and contrast the music of Ireland and that of Scotland as if they belonged tonbsp;two different races. They are in reality an emanationnbsp;direct from the heart of one Celtic people; and theynbsp;form a body of national melody superior to that of anynbsp;other nation in the world, j

* Jameson�s ed. of Letters from the North of Scotland (i8i8), vol. ii., p. 65, note.

t Those who wish to follow up the study of Irish music and its literature will find much information in the following works O�Curry�s Lectures on the subject in his Manners and Customs, and the corresponding portion of Sullivan�s Introduction; Dr. William Stokes�s Life ofnbsp;Petrie : Petrie�s Ancient Music of Ireland, including the Preface : Bunting�s Prefaces to his three volumes, including Ferguson�s and Petrie�snbsp;Essays, in the third volume ; Lynch, Cambrensis Eversus, chap. iv. :nbsp;Joyce�s Ancient Irish Music and Irish Music and Song : Graham�s Introduction to Robinson�s collection of Irish airs. Remark also what is said ofnbsp;Irish music preserved in the British Museum, in the note at p. 592, supra,

Fig. i6o.�Ornament on top of Devcnish Round Tower. (From Petrie�s Round Towers.)

EDICINE and Surgery were carefully studied in Ireland from the very earliest times. Therenbsp;was a distinct professional class of physiciansnbsp;who underwent a regular course of educationnbsp;and practical training, and whose qualifications and privileges were universally recognised. Those intended fornbsp;the profession were usually educated by being apprenticednbsp;to a physician of standing, in whose house they livednbsp;during their pupilage, and by whom they were instructed.nbsp;This profession, like others in ancient Ireland, became innbsp;great measure hereditary in certain families; but it doesnbsp;not seem to have become specialised to any extent, so thatnbsp;the same person commonly practised both as a physiciannbsp;and as a surgeon. The ancient Irish name for a physiciannbsp;is Haig [leea], which is radically the same as the oldnbsp;English word leech.

The Irish, like the Greeks and other ancient nations, had their great mythical physicians, of whom the mostnbsp;distinguished was the Dedannan leech-god Diancechtnbsp;[Dianket]. His name signifies � vehement power,� andnbsp;marvellous stories are related of his healing skill; similarnbsp;to those of some old Greek physicians. He is celebratednbsp;in many ancient authorities, including Cormac�s Glossary

(p. 56) : and he is mentioned prominently in some eighth-century copies of Irish incantations for health and long life given by Zeuss in his � Grammatica Celtica,� showingnbsp;his wide-spread reputation twelve hundred years ago. Henbsp;had a son Midach and a daughter Airmeda, both of whomnbsp;in some respects excelled himself; and in the story of thenbsp;Second Battle of Moytura* we are told that he grew atnbsp;last so jealous of Midach that he killed him. And afternbsp;a time there grew up from the young physician�s gravenbsp;365 herbs from the 365 joints and sinews and members ofnbsp;his body, each herb with mighty virtue to cure diseases ofnbsp;the part it grew from. His sister Airmeda plucked up thenbsp;herbs, and carefully sorting them, wrapped them up innbsp;her mantle. But the jealous old Diancecht came andnbsp;mixed them all up, so that now no leech has completenbsp;knowledge of their distinctive qualities � unless ��adds thenbsp;story�� the Holy Spirit should teach him � : this lastnbsp;remark inserted by some Christian redactor. The notionnbsp;that there are 365 joints, sinews, and members in thenbsp;human body is found elsewhere, as in the old Irish religious treatise called Na Arrada,] which, according to thenbsp;editor (Kuno Meyer), was composed probably not laternbsp;than the eighth century. As the Dedannans had theirnbsp;Diancecht, so all the other mythical colonies had theirnbsp;physicians, who are named in the legends. J

Coming to a later period, but still beyond the fringe of authentic history, we find in several authorities a recordnbsp;of the tradition that in the second century before Christ,nbsp;Josina, the ninth king of Scotland, was educated in Irelandnbsp;by the native physicians, and that he wrote a treatise � Onnbsp;the virtues and power of herbs. �� Whatever credit we maynbsp;attach to this tradition, it shows that the Irish physiciansnbsp;had a reputation abroad for great skill at a very earlynbsp;period.

t Or quot; De Arreis quot; : in Rev. Celt., xv. � Harris�s Ware, Writers, p. 306

Medical doctors figure conspicuously in the Tales of the Red Branch Knights. A whole medical corps accompanied the Ulster army during the war of the Tain. Theynbsp;were under the direction of Fingin Faithliaig¹ (the � prophetic leech � : pron. faw-lee), King Concobar�s physician,nbsp;who had his residence at Ferta Fingin on the brow ofnbsp;Slieve Fuaid in Armagh. Each man of his companynbsp;carried, slung from his waist, a bag full of medicaments;nbsp;and at the end of each day�s fighting, whether betweennbsp;numbers or individuals, the leeches came forward andnbsp;applied their salves, f At the battle of Crinna, foughtnbsp;A.D. 226, a Munster chief named Teige was badly wounded,nbsp;after which he remained at Tara under the care of a skilfulnbsp;physician, also named Fingin Faithliaig, who ultimatelynbsp;cured him.| These legendary records are mentioned tonbsp;show how well the profession was recognised in Irelandnbsp;even from the far distant times of tradition and romance.

The medicine bag carried by a physician was called Us [lace] : and how general was the custom is indicated bynbsp;the expression in the Amra, that the state of Columba�snbsp;companions after his death was like that of a physiciannbsp;attempting to cure without his Us ; as much as to saynbsp;that a leech without his medicine bag was quite helpless.nbsp;Occasionally the medicine bag was called a fey-holg, ' man-bag � ; but this term more commonly means the bag fornbsp;keeping a set of chessmen.

The first notice of an individual physician we find in the annals of Christian times occurs under a.d. 860, wherenbsp;the death is recorded of Maelodar 0�Tinnri, � the bestnbsp;physician in Ireland � ; but from that period downwardsnbsp;the annals record a succession of eminent physicians,nbsp;whose reputation, like that of the Irish scholars of othernbsp;professions, reached the Continent. Even so late as the

For all about him, see O�Curry, MS. Mat., 641, and Man. amp; Cust., II. 97 : also LL, 8q. 6.

beginning of the seventeenth century, when medicine had been successfully studied in Ireland for more than anbsp;thousand years, Van Helmont of Brussels, a distinguishednbsp;physician and writer on medical subjects, gave a brief butnbsp;very correct account of the Irish physicians of his time,nbsp;their books and their remedies, aiid praised them for theirnbsp;skill. He says ;�

quot; The Irish nobility have in every family a domestic physician, who has a tract of land free for his remuneration, and who is appointed,nbsp;not on account of the amount of learning he brings away in his headnbsp;from colleges, but because he can cure disorders. These doctors obtain their medical knowledge chiefly from books belonging to particularnbsp;families left them by their ancestors, in which are laid down thenbsp;symptoms of the several diseases, with the remedies annexed : whichnbsp;remedies are vernacula�the productions of their own country. Accordingly the Irish are better managed in sickness than the Italians,nbsp;who have a physician in every village.�¹

From the earliest times reached by our records the kings and great Irish families had physicians attached tonbsp;their households, whose office was, as in other professions,nbsp;hereditary. In the tenth century the physicians, like thenbsp;rest of the community, took family-names : and therenbsp;are abundant notices in Irish writings of the householdnbsp;hereditary physicians of most of the leading chiefs.nbsp;The 0�Callanans were physicians to the Mac Carthys ofnbsp;Desmond ; the O�Cassidys, of whom individuals of eminencenbsp;are recorded,! to the Maguires of Fermanagh ; the 0�Lees,nbsp;to the 0�Flahertys of Connaught; and the 0�Hickeys, tonbsp;the O�Briens of Thomond, to the 0�Kennedys of Ormond,nbsp;and to the Macnamaras of Clare. J From what a remotenbsp;time the two last-mentioned families�the 0�Lees and

Translated from Van Helmont�s Confessio Authoris, p. 13 ; Am-stelod, Ed. Elzev., 1648. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f As in EM, at a.d. 1322, 1335, 1450,1504.

% For more about medical families, see O�Donovan, FM, vol. i. p. 494: Gough�s Camden, Ed. 1789, in. 665 ; an article in Duffy�s Mag., ii. 273,nbsp;unsigned, but written, as I believe, by Dr. William Wilde : and Censusnbsp;of Ireland for 1831, Report on Tables of Peaths.

0�Hickeys�drew their hereditary leechcraft may be inferred from the very names of the two ancestors fromnbsp;whom the family names were derived. At whatever timenbsp;these two men lived, they must have sprung into celebritynbsp;on account of their skill in medicine : so much so thatnbsp;their ordinary names were changed to icidhe [eekee], thenbsp;� healer,� and Haig [leea], the � leech � ; and O�Lee signifiesnbsp;the descendant of the leech, and O�Hickey of the healer.nbsp;Their profession, like that of the other medical families,nbsp;was transmitted from father to son for hundreds of years,nbsp;till it finally died out in times comparatively recent: anbsp;good example of the extraordinary tenacity with whichnbsp;families clung to hereditary offices in Ireland.

The 0�Shiels were physicians to the Mac Mahons of Oriel, and to the Mac Coghlans of Delvin, in the presentnbsp;King�s County : and their hereditary estate here, which isnbsp;near the village of Ferbane, is still called Ballyshiel,nbsp;� O�Shiel�s town.� Colgan states that in his time�nbsp;seventeenth century�the 0�Shiels were widely spreadnbsp;through Ireland, and were celebrated for their skill innbsp;natural science and medicine. Owen 0�Shiel was greatlynbsp;distinguished as a physician in the same century; henbsp;attended the army of Owen Roe O�Neill, and fell fightingnbsp;on the Catholic side in a battle fought near Letterkennynbsp;in 1650.* Only quite recently�in 1889�Dr. Shiel, annbsp;eminent physician of Ballyshannon, left by his will a largenbsp;fortune to found a hospital for the poor in that town. Sonbsp;that even still the hereditary genius of the family continuesnbsp;to exercise its benign influence.

The amount of remuneration of a family leech depended on his own eminence and on the status of the king ornbsp;chief in whose household he lived. The stipend usuallynbsp;consisted of a tract of land and a residence in the neighbourhood, held free of all rent and tribute, togethernbsp;with certain allowances and perquisites : and the physiciannbsp;* See the article in Puffy's Mag. referred to in last note,

might practise for fee outside his patron�s household. Five hundred acres of land was a usual allowance : and some ofnbsp;these estates�now ordinary townlands�retain the familynbsp;names to this day: such as Farrancassidy in Fermanagh,nbsp;the ferann or land of the O�Cassidys; and Ballyshiel,nbsp;already mentioned. The household physician to a king�nbsp;who should always be an ollave-leech, that is, one who hadnbsp;attained the highest rank in the profession (p. 65, supra)nbsp;�^held a very dignified position, and indeed lived like anbsp;prince, with a household and dependents of his own. Henbsp;was always among the king�s immediate retinue, and wasnbsp;entitled to a distinguished place at table. The practice ofnbsp;keeping physicians as well as other professional men in thenbsp;households of chiefs continued till the end of the sixteenthnbsp;or the beginning of the seventeenth century, when the oldnbsp;Irish order began to be broken up everywhere.

Speaking generally, the best physicians were those attached to noble households. Those unattached livednbsp;by their fees ; the amounts for the several operations ornbsp;attendances being defined by the Brehon Laws.* Anbsp;qualified physician�as we have said�kept pupils ornbsp;graduates who lived in his house and accompanied himnbsp;in his visitations to learn his methods. If he had tonbsp;remain for any time in the house of the patient, he wasnbsp;entitled to diet for himself and for his pupils, besides hisnbsp;fees.f From an entry in the Brehon Law we infer thatnbsp;in going his rounds he himself usually rode on horseback,nbsp;like the ollave poet; for the law (ii. 119) states that whennbsp;a physician was distrained, one of the things that might benbsp;taken was his echlaisc or whip.

We have already seen (p. 207) that a man who inflicted a wound had, on conviction, to pay a certain eric-fine tonbsp;the wounded person. A leech who, through carelessness,nbsp;or neglect, or gross want of skill, failed to cure a wound,

* See Br. Laws, iii. /177 : iv. 301 : and Sullivan, Introd., 280. t Census, 1S51, Table of Deaths, p. 23.

had to pay the same fine to the patient as if he had inflicted the wound with his own hand. When a physician treated a wound, a certain time was allowed to testnbsp;whether he had made a good cure. If it broke out afreshnbsp;before the end of the testing-time, the cure was regarded asnbsp;unsuccessful; and the leech had to return the fee and paynbsp;the usual eric-fine. Moreover, if, during treatment, he andnbsp;his pupils had lived in the patient�s house, he had to refundnbsp;the cost of maintenance. But he might provide againstnbsp;these penalties�as is stated below�by first obtainingnbsp;a guarantee of immunity. The testing-time for a woundnbsp;of the hand or arm was a year; for a wound of the leg anbsp;little more ; for a wound of the head, i.e. probably a fracture of the skull, three years. After the testing-time thenbsp;physician and the wounded were both exempt, no matternbsp;what happened.*

Those who had gone through the prescribed course of study and training were technically and legally qualifiednbsp;physicians, and were probably able to produce a certificatenbsp;or diploma of qualification. A person might also set up asnbsp;a leech and practise without any regular qualification�annbsp;� unlawful physician,� as he was called, meaning not legallynbsp;recognised. There was no law to prevent this ; but suchnbsp;persons were subject to certain disabilities and dangers notnbsp;incurred by the regular practitioner : something like quacknbsp;doctors of the present time. A qualified physician performing a serious surgical operation, such as removingnbsp;a bone, a joint, or a limb, had previously to get a guaranteenbsp;of immunity: if he neglected this, he was liable to thenbsp;usual damages in case of failure�taking the element ofnbsp;time into consideration. The unqualified practitionernbsp;had of course to take the same precautions or abidenbsp;the consequences ; and he should also give notice that henbsp;was not a regular physician. In lighter operations, such

* Br. Laws, in. 347-9, 533, 535 ; and Table of Deaths, 1851, p. 23: see also Br. Laws, v., pp, 147, 149, 4^7, 489-

as blood-letting, extracting a small splinter, amp;c., the regular physician was free from liability without anynbsp;guarantee : while if there was no guarantee, the othernbsp;was liable if unsuccessful.*

It is worthy of remark that in our legendary history female physicians are often mentioned. Though thenbsp;several accounts of these are shadowy enough, thenbsp;legends must have had some foundation : and at anynbsp;rate we see that in ancient Ireland the idea was abroadnbsp;which is so extensively coming into practice in our ownnbsp;day.t

The physicians of ancient Ireland, like those of other countries, derived a large part of their special learningnbsp;from books, which in those times were all manuscripts.nbsp;The Irish medical mss. were written on vellum in a peculiarnbsp;hand generally easy to recognise, small, neat, and regular.nbsp;The members of each medical family had generally theirnbsp;own special book, which was handed down reverently fromnbsp;father to son, and which, at long intervals, when it hadnbsp;become damaged and partly illegible through age, wasnbsp;carefully transcribed into a new volume. Several of thesenbsp;venerable leech-books are still preserved, as mentionednbsp;farther on.

But besides these special books belonging to particular families, there were many others, which were copied andnbsp;multiplied from time to time ; so that the chief medicalnbsp;families had libraries containing such medical knowledgenbsp;as was then available. Many medical tracts, too, arenbsp;found scattered through the large miscellaneous mss. ; fornbsp;instance, the Yellow Book of Lecan contains four suchnbsp;tracts. The very early medical works in Ireland shared

in the general destruction of books spoken of at p. 489, supra, and those that remain are of comparatively latenbsp;date.¹ The oldest medical manuscript in Ireland appearsnbsp;to be one copied in 1352, mentioned below; but there arenbsp;others older in the British Museum. Of those remaining,nbsp;a vast number, written from the thirteenth to the beginningnbsp;of the eighteenth century, are preserved in the librariesnbsp;of Dublin, London, and Oxford, forming a collection ofnbsp;medical literature in Irish, probably the largest in existence in any one tongue.

Many of the manuscripts consist of the works of classical medical authors, to which the Irish physiciansnbsp;obviously had fuU access; such as the Aphorisms ofnbsp;Hippocrates, the works of Galen, Rhazes, Avicenna,nbsp;Serapion, Dioscorides, amp;c. Some were copies of one ornbsp;more of those in Latin; but many were translations intonbsp;Irish : and all, whether Latin or Irish, were accompaniednbsp;with native commentaries.f The great bulk of the Irishnbsp;medical literature is made up of these texts and commentaries : and the Irish physicians of each generation addednbsp;the knowledge derived from other books or from their ownnbsp;experience. It may be interesting to give a brief description of a few of the existing mss., which will serve asnbsp;examples of all.

The manner in which these books were generally compiled, and the motives of the compilers, may be gathered from the following translation of a prefatory statement innbsp;Irish by the writer of a medical manuscript of the yearnbsp;1352, now in the Royal Irish Academy,�a statementnbsp;breathing a noble spirit worthy of the best traditions ofnbsp;the faculty :�

� May the merciful God have mercy on us all. I have here collected practical rules from several works, for the honour of God, for

In the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, there is a Catalogue of the Academy�s Med. mss. drawn up by O�Curry.

the benefit of the Irish people, for the instruction of my pupils, and for the love of my friends, and of my kindred. I have translated themnbsp;from Latin into Gaelic from the authority of Galen in the last Booknbsp;of his Practical Pantheon, and from the Book of the Prognostics ofnbsp;Hippocrates. These are things gentle, sweet, profitable, and of littlenbsp;evil, things which have been often tested by us and by our instructors.nbsp;I pray God to bless those doctors who will use this book ; and I lay itnbsp;on their souls as an injunction, that they extract not sparingly fromnbsp;it; that they fail not on account of neglecting the practical rulesnbsp;[herein contained] ; and more especially that they do their duty devotedly in cases where they receive no pay [on account of the povertynbsp;of the patients]. I implore every doctor, that before he begins hisnbsp;treatment he remember God the father of health, to the end that hisnbsp;work may be finished prosperously. Moreover let him not be innbsp;mortal sin, and let him implore the patient to be also free fromnbsp;grievous sin. Let him offer up a secret prayer for the sick person,nbsp;and implore the Heavenly Father, the physician and balm-giver fornbsp;all mankind, to prosper .the work he is entering upon and to save himnbsp;from the shame and discredit of failure.�¹

The Book of the 0�Hickeys, now in the Royal Irish Academy, commonly known as the � Lily of Medicine,� isnbsp;a translation into Irish of a Latin work, Lilium MedicincB,nbsp;originally written by Bernard Gordon�a Continentalnbsp;physician�in 1303. This manuscript was at one timenbsp;greatly celebrated among the Irish doctors.

The Book of the 0�Lees in the Royal Irish Academy is a large-sized vellum manuscript, written in 1443, partly innbsp;Latin and partly in Irish. The pages are curiously rulednbsp;and divided, so that the writing forms patterns resemblingnbsp;astrological figures. It is a complete system of medicine,nbsp;treating, among other things, of putrid fevers ; of abscessesnbsp;and pustules ; of wounds, poisons, and hydrophobia ; ofnbsp;affections of the brain, eye, stomach, and other parts ; ofnbsp;the period of life and time of year vgt;^hen certain diseases

Census, Table of Deaths, 1851, p. 31. It should be remembered that this Preface was written at a time when�in England, as elsewhere�nbsp;quot; it was not usual [for physicians] to give gratuitous advice to the poornbsp;in any circumstances, however pressing quot; {Social England, iii, p. 149).

usually come on ; and of the temperature or quot; cardinal point � that influences them.*

The Book of the 0�Shiels, now also in the Royal Irish Academy, which was transcribed in 1657 from somenbsp;manuscript of unknown date, not now in existence,nbsp;consists partly of translations and partly of dissertationsnbsp;on the medical properties of herbs. It contains a systemnbsp;of medical science still more complete and scientific thannbsp;even the Book of the 0�Lees.

The Book of Mac Anlega was transcribed in 1512 by Melaghlin Mac Anlega (whose name�:Mac Anlega�nbsp;signifies the ' son of the physician �) from an older booknbsp;lent him by one of the 0�Mulconrys, a family noted fornbsp;their Irish scholarship. It is a commentary on ancientnbsp;classical writers on medicine, those named at p. 605, andnbsp;others.

The general names for disease, sickness, or ailment, were galar (still used), aincess, and sometimes teidm [taim].nbsp;Other words now in use are hre�itecht, �agcruas, and aicid.nbsp;All the chief diseases and epidemics we are now acquaintednbsp;with were known and studied by the Irish physicians. Innbsp;early times great plagues were of frequent occurrence allnbsp;over the world ; and Ireland was not exempt. A pestilencenbsp;or any great mortality was denoted by several words, thenbsp;most usual being tarn or lamk [tauv]. Teidm [taim] wasnbsp;often used : but this was also applied to any severe seizurenbsp;in an individual, such as colic. Duinehath [dinnevah] isnbsp;� a plague,� literally � man-death.� Dihath and dr are oftennbsp;used in the same sense, as in h�-dihath and bo-dr, bothnbsp;denoting cattle-plague, from b�, � a cow.� In later timesnbsp;the word flaig [plaw], a plague, was borrowed from Latin

* See, for a curious account of this book, lar Connaught, pp. 70, 71, where the legend is given that it was brought from I-Brazil or Fairyland,nbsp;and that the person who found and brought it�one of the O�Lees�nbsp;though previously ignorant of medicine, at once became a great physiciannbsp;by reading it. See also Table of Deaths, 1842, p. iv.

plaga. Lastly, a terrible pestilence of any kind was sometimes designated by the expressive word scuab, � a besom or broom.'

The victims of a plague were commonly buried in one spot, which was fenced round and preserved as in anbsp;manner sacred for ever after. In Cormac�s Glossarynbsp;(p. i6o) it is stated that the place of such wholesalenbsp;interment was called tamhlachta or tamhlacht. i.e. ' plague-grave,� from tamh and lacht, a monument or memorialnbsp;over the dead. Tamhlacht, which is still a living word,nbsp;has given name to the village of Tallaght near Dublin,nbsp;where the Parthalonian colony, who all died of a plague innbsp;one week, were interred. On the side of Tallaght hill arenbsp;to be seen to this day a number of pagan graves andnbsp;burial mounds.¹ Just by the chapel of Shanbally nearnbsp;Monkstown below Cork, there is a large rock with somenbsp;ancient remains on its top ; it is called on the Ordnancenbsp;map Carrigaplau, representing the Irish Carraig-a�-phlaigh,nbsp;� the rock of the plague �; but the popular anglicised namenbsp;is Carrigafly, which better represents the pronunciation,nbsp;the p being aspirated as it ought. Probably thenbsp;victims of some long-forgotten local plague were interrednbsp;here.

One of the popular fancies regarding a plague was that it was a malignant living thing which roamed about thenbsp;country, bringing sickness and death wherever it went.nbsp;When the deadly plague called Cromm Connaill, in thenbsp;sixth century, made its way to Kerry, the terrified peoplenbsp;sent for St. Mac Creichef to save them. He celebratednbsp;Mass, and prayed, and sounded his little consecrated bell,nbsp;whereupon the people saw a fiery bolt from heaven comingnbsp;towards them : and it fell on the Cromm Connaill so thatnbsp;it killed it and reduced its body to ashes. J This notion

has trickled down through generations to our own day. Many years ago an intelligent peasant�a delightful oldnbsp;shanachie�told me that on one occasion, before his time,nbsp;when the plague in its fearful career was approaching anbsp;certain townland, the people, in great terror, sent a wisenbsp;old herb-leech to stand guard on the hither bank of thenbsp;river that separated them from the next territory. Andnbsp;when the evil thing approached and was about to cross,nbsp;the old man chanted in a loud voice a sort of incantationnbsp;commanding it to proceed no farther ; on which it turnednbsp;back and the townland was saved. My informant repeatednbsp;for me the incantation�in Irish verse�but I had not thenbsp;forethought to take it down.

The Irish annalists more often attribute the plague to demons. We find the following entry in Tigernach�snbsp;Annals :�

[a.d. 1084.] nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;quot; A great pestilence \teidm mor\ in this year, which

killed a fourth of the men of Ireland. It began in the south and spread throughout the four quarters of Ireland. The causa causansnbsp;of that pestilence was this � demons came out of the northern islesnbsp;of the world, to wit, three battalions, and in each battalion therenbsp;were thirty and ten hundred and two thousand [3030 each], as O�ngusnbsp;Oc the son of the Dagda [p. 260, supra'l, related to Gilla Lugan, whonbsp;used to haunt the fairy mound [side} every year on Samain nightnbsp;[the eve of the first of November]. And he himself beheld at Maistiunbsp;the battalion of them which was destroying Leinster. Even so, theynbsp;were seen by Gilla Lugan�s son : and wherever their heat or furynbsp;reached, there their venom [nem} was taken. For there was anbsp;sword of fire out of the gullet of each of them, and every one of themnbsp;was as high as the clouds of heaven. So that is the cause of thenbsp;pestilence.�*

So also the Four Masters under a.d. 986 :�quot; Druidical � or magical sickness was caused by demons in the east ofnbsp;quot; Ireland, which caused mortality of men plainly beforenbsp;� people�s eyes.� The idea of disease inflicted by demons

found its way into the legends of the saints. Adamnan relates that in the time of St. Columba, a host of demonsnbsp;invaded the island of Tirree and brought pestilentialnbsp;diseases to the monastery there ; of which many of thenbsp;monks sickened, and some died.

Within historic times, the most remarkable and destructive of all the ancient plagues was the Blefed, ornbsp;Buide-Connaill [boy-connell] or yellow plague, whichnbsp;swept through Ireland twice, in the sixth and seventhnbsp;centuries, and which we know from outer sources desolated all Europe about the same time. The Irish recordsnbsp;abound in notices of its ravages. There is a curious legendnbsp;in the Life of St. Mochua, that when the Sil-Murray werenbsp;suffering from this pestilence, the saint cured them, andnbsp;transferred the yellow colour of their skin to his crosier,nbsp;which was thence called the Bachal-hhuidhe, the � yellownbsp;crosier.�¹

Many other special plagues are recorded in the annals. During the fourteenth century the country was hardlynbsp;ever free from pestilence of some kind. The worst of allnbsp;was the Black Death, which, judging of its ravages by thenbsp;appalling description of Friar Clyn,t was as destructive innbsp;Ireland as elsewhere. In 1375 and 1378 certain personsnbsp;are recorded to have died of fiolun [filloon], a scorbuticnbsp;or scrofulous disease of the skin and joints this is stillnbsp;a living word, and is used to denote sometimes scurvynbsp;and sometimes king�s evil. The Four Masters and othernbsp;annalists record the prevalence in 1361 of a plague callednbsp;Cluithe-an-righ [cluhanree], or � the king�s game � ; butnbsp;what was the nature of the disease or why so called isnbsp;not known. In 1404, the Annals of Loch-C� noticenbsp;numerous diseases that broke out that year, especially

t Clyn�s Annals, 1348 ; published by the Irish Archseol. Society, 1849. See also on this, Joyce, Short History of Ireland, p. 316.

galar-na-leptae, the � bed distemper,� which Hennessy thinks was a sort of ague.

The idea that a plague could not travel over sea farther than nine waves was very general, both in pagan andnbsp;Christian times. It has been already related (p. 308,nbsp;supra) how St. Colman, with his companions, fled fromnbsp;the yellow plague to an island somewhere near Cork, sonbsp;as to put a distance of nine waves between them andnbsp;the mainland.

There are several terms in Irish for cutaneous diseases of the nature of leprosy. Of these samthrusc is applied tonbsp;a great epidemic of the sixth century, which was a sort ofnbsp;mange or scaly leprosy.* Clam and trosc were also innbsp;common use for some form of the same disease, as well asnbsp;for a leper. But the most general word for leprosy is lohor,nbsp;cognate with Latin lepra. In the oldest Irish writings, asnbsp;in the eighth-century glosses of Zeuss, lobor is used in thenbsp;sense simply of infirmus, or � sick � : but later on it camenbsp;to be applied in a special sense to a leper. We are told innbsp;Cormac�s Glossary (p. 27) that the word bill also denotednbsp;a leper.

Some cutaneous disease, very virulent and infectious, known by names�such as lobor�that indicate a beliefnbsp;that it was leprosy, existed in Ireland from a very earlynbsp;date ; but Wildef and other experts of our day, doubt ifnbsp;it was true leprosy. Whatever it was, it would seem tonbsp;have been a well-recognised disease in the fifth century ;nbsp;for we are told, in one of the Lives of St. Patrick, that atnbsp;one time he maintained a leper in his own house. Afternbsp;his time our literature, especially the Lives of the Saints,nbsp;abounds with notices of the disease. We read in thenbsp;historical tale of the Boruma that immediately before thenbsp;Battle of Dunbolg, the young warrior Ron Kerr, havingnbsp;smeared himself all over with a calf�s blood mixed with

dough of rye, so as to look like a leper, went in this disguise as a spy into the enemy�s camp, from which henbsp;brought back a report to his own commander, Branduff,nbsp;king of Leinster.* We have other instances of the samenbsp;sort of disguise :f from which we can infer that this diseasenbsp;was painfully common and familiar, and that the skin ofnbsp;those afflicted with it presented a squamous or scalynbsp;appearance with blood oozing through the sores.

The annals record several individual deaths by leprosy: and sometimes it broke out as an epidemic which carriednbsp;off great numbers. From the time of St. Patrick till thenbsp;seventeenth century the country appears never to* havenbsp;been free from it. Gerard Boate (p. loi) states that innbsp;his time (1645) it had disappeared ; and he attributes itsnbsp;former prevalence to the habit of eating salmon out ofnbsp;season. He tells us that it was specially prevalent innbsp;Munster : and his assertion would seem to derive somenbsp;support from an incidental expression in an Irish authoritynbsp;very much older than his time, the Book of Rights (p. 49),nbsp;where the mountainous district of Slieve Tougher in Kerrynbsp;is called Luachair-na-lubhair, ' Tougher of the lepers.�

In the middle ages lepers were treated everywhere in Europe with great consideration and tenderness. In consequence of this, in Ireland at least, they gave themselvesnbsp;airs and became impudent and exacting. We are told innbsp;the Life of St. Fechin that a leper full of disease fromnbsp;crown to sole once came to him at Fore and made anbsp;very preposterous and impudent request : � for ��adds thenbsp;narrative�quot; he was wanton [og macnus] as is the mannernbsp;of lepers.�!

Though the Irish physicians derived a large part of their information from the writings of foreigners, yet they

t See O�Curry, MS. Mat., 528 : Rev. Celt., xvl. 282 : and Courtship of Emer, 152, g.

t Rev. Celt., xii. 343. For another instance see Stokes, Three Irish Homilies, p. 79. See also Stokes in Introd. to Trip. Life, p. cxcvi.

had native names for most of the indigenous diseases, which is one of the circumstances indicating that thenbsp;science was of home-growth�a fact also attested by thenbsp;native traditions and records. Many examples of nativenbsp;Irish medical nomenclature might be adduced in additionnbsp;to those already given : but I will content myself with thenbsp;following:�

The annals record several outbreaks of smallpox and many individual deaths from it. It was known by twonbsp;names, both still in use in different parts of the country :�nbsp;holgacJi or � pustule disease � {bolg, � a bag or pustule �), andnbsp;galar-brecc, the � speckled disease.�*

Consumption was but too well known, then as now. A person in consumption was called anfohracht or anbohracht,nbsp;which in Cormac�s Glossary (p. 6) is explained, � a personnbsp;without bracht or fat � ; and in the Brehon Laws (i. 141 bot.)nbsp;� one who has no juice of strength.� Murkertagh O�Brien,nbsp;the powerful king of Munster, who is counted among thenbsp;kings of Ireland, was struck down by a wasting disease�nbsp;evidently consumption�till he became an anbohracht,nbsp;which O�Donovan (FM, a.d. 1114) translates � a livingnbsp;skeleton � : so that he retired to the Monastery of Lismore,nbsp;where he died in 1114. A usual term for consumption wasnbsp;serg, that is, � withering or decaying.�

One of the eighth-century Irish incantations noticed at p. 631, farther on, is against galar fuail, disease of thenbsp;bladder or kidney�literally � disease of the urine.� Thatnbsp;diseases of this class were studied and understood is indicated by the fact that in an Irish mediaeval tract, copiednbsp;about the year 1500 from an original some centuriesnbsp;older, renal calculus is designated in Irish, Lecc in ardin,nbsp;� stone in the kidney.� In the same tract, which has beennbsp;edited by Dr. Stokes,t chiragra, or � gout in the hand,� isnbsp;explained in Irish by crufan na Idm, � cramp or spasm of

the hands � ; and ophthalmia is galar sula, � disease of the eye.� This word cmpdn [cruppaun], � a spasm or seizure,�nbsp;is still used in parts of Ireland to denote a paralytic affection in cattle : it was also applied to convulsions. In thenbsp;Tripartite Life and other old documents, colic is designatednbsp;by tregat, modern treaghaid, which is still a spoken word.nbsp;[a.d. 986] � a colic \treghaic[\ in the east of Ireland � causednbsp;� by demons, which inflicted slaughter on people; andnbsp;� they [the demons] appeared clearly before men�s eyes.�*nbsp;One of the early kings of Ireland was called Aed Uaridnechnbsp;(a.d. 603 to 611), or � Aed of the shivering disease,� nonbsp;doubt ague.f Palsy was known by the descriptivenbsp;name crith-ldm [crih-lauv], � trembling of the hands,�nbsp;from crith, � shaking,� and Idm or Idmh, � a hand.�l Epilepsy, or � falling sickness,� was called in Irish galarnbsp;Foil, � Paul�s sickness,� from a notion, prevalent in Irelandnbsp;as elsewhere, that St. Paul, after one of his visions, was subject to such a collapse of the nervous system as resemblednbsp;or was identical with an epileptic fit. A person subjectnbsp;to falling sickness was called by the expressive namenbsp;talmaidheach [tallaveeagh], � prone to the earth,� fromnbsp;talanih, � the earth.��

St. Camin of Inis-Celtra died in 653 of teine-huin, � fire of swelling ��St. Anthony�s fire or erysipelas�whichnbsp;withered away all his body, so that his bones fell asundernbsp;as they laid him in the grave. In one of Zeuss�s eighth-century glosses, cancer is explained by two Irish words,nbsp;tuthle and ailse, the latter of which is still in use in thenbsp;same sense : and elsewhere in the same glosses anothernbsp;native word for the same disease occurs, urphadu]]nbsp;Diarrhoea was called in Irish huinnech, i.e. � flux,� fromnbsp;huinne, � wave or stream.�^ Under a.d. 785,^ the Annals

* Tigernach, in Rev. Celt., xvil. 345. See also Trip. Life, p. 228, and p. 229.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f Silva Gad., 418 : ,FM, a.d. 601.

{ Mac Carthy, Cod.-Pal.-Vat., p. 61. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;� O�Donovan, Suppl. O�R., 707.

II Zeuss, 73, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;; 81, ,; 264,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;; 266, , ; 266, 46; 775, 44.

of Ulster record the ravages of a plague called scamach, which in the Annals of Clonmacnoise is anglicisednbsp;skawaghe : possibly some skin disease of a squamous ornbsp;scaly nature.*

Our annals teem with accounts of great cattle-plagues or murrains; commonly called ho-dibad [bo-yeeva] ornbsp;� cow-destruction � : and sometimes bo-baith] and bo-drnbsp;[baith. � death � : dr, � slaughter �). Special cattle diseasesnbsp;were baccach, the dry murrain (literally � lameness �) :nbsp;moilgarb, a cutaneous disease of some kind, previouslynbsp;unknown, broke out among cattle, a.d. 987. There was

another kind of cattle disease called conach, believed to be produced by swallowing a sort of caterpillar with thatnbsp;name. This disease was treated by causing the animal tonbsp;drink water in which a conach�that is, a metallic amuletnbsp;in the shape of the caterpillar�^had been steeped. Thenbsp;closeness with which animal diseases were studied is indicated by the number of native names for horse-distempers,nbsp;of which the following are given by the glossator on thenbsp;Senchus M�r, but without any explanation:�odbach,nbsp;adbuch, iudha-fothuch, lec-os-cru, and delgniuch; whilenbsp;many others incident to animals in general will be found innbsp;the MS. referred to in the note on this passage in the law.Jnbsp;* FM, A.D. 781, note 0. -f Corm. Gloss., p. zi. J Br. Laws, m., p. 7,

It should be mentioned that a Paper by H. Cameron Gillies, MD., on quot; Gaelic Names of Diseases and of diseasednbsp;States,� in the � Caledonian Medical Journal,� and reprinted as a pamphlet in 1898, contains a great deal ofnbsp;information on this subject. It is written from a Scotchnbsp;rather than from an Irish standpoint, which makes it allnbsp;the more interesting to the Irish student.

Hospitals.�The idea of a hospital, or a house of some kind for the treatment of the sick or wounded, was familiarnbsp;in Ireland from remote pagan times. In some of the talesnbsp;of the Tain we read that in the time of the Red Branchnbsp;Knights there was a hospital for the wounded at Emainnbsp;called Br�inbherg, the � house of sorrow.'* But coming tonbsp;historic times, we know that there were hospitals all overnbsp;the country, many of them in connexion with monasteries.nbsp;Some were for sick persons in general; some were special,nbsp;as, for instance, leper-houses. Monastic hospitals andnbsp;leper-houses are very often mentioned in the annals. Thesenbsp;were charitable institutions, supported by, and under thenbsp;direction and management of, the monastic authorities.

But there were secular hospitals for the common use of the people of the tuath or district: hence they were callednbsp;forus tuaithe [tooha], the � house of the territory.�! Thesenbsp;came under the direct cognisance of the Brehon Law, whichnbsp;laid down certain general regulations for their management. Patients who were in a position to do so werenbsp;expected to pay for food, medicine, and the attendancenbsp;of a physician. In all cases cleanliness and ventilationnbsp;seem to have been well attended to ; for it was expresslynbsp;prescribed in the law that any house in which sick personsnbsp;were treated should be free from dirt, should have fournbsp;open doors�� that the sick man may be seen from everynbsp;side ��and should have a stream of water running acrossnbsp;Keating, 271.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;j Forus tuaithe, Br, Laws, iv. 302, 5; 303,

it through the middle of the floor.* These regulations� rough and ready as they were, though in the right direction�applied also to a house or private hospital kept by anbsp;doctor for the treatment of his patients. The regulationnbsp;about the four open doors and the stream of water may benbsp;said to have anticipated by a thousand years the presentnbsp;open-air treatment for consumption. Even when onlynbsp;one person was under cure in a house, if he belonged tonbsp;the higher classes, who could afford to pay for all necessarynbsp;accommodation, we generally find much the same arrangements carried out. The Munster chief, Cormac Cas, afternbsp;being wounded in the head in a battle fought in thenbsp;third century, was treated in a house of this kind atnbsp;Duntryleague, in the County Limerick, f

If a person wounded another or injured him bodily in any way, without justification, he�or his fine or immediate circle of relations if he himself was out of reach�nbsp;was obliged by the Brehon Law to pay for � Sick maintenance � (called othrus or folach-othrusa), i.e. the cost ofnbsp;maintaining the wounded man in a hospital, either whollynbsp;or partly, according to the circumstances of the case, tillnbsp;recovery or death ; which payment included the fees ofnbsp;the physician, and one or more attendants according tonbsp;the rank of the injured person, j: This provision, so far asnbsp;it went, answered to the modern arrangement of insurancenbsp;companies to give a weekly allowance during illness causednbsp;by accident. The injured person might either go to anbsp;hospital or be treated at home. But in some cases at leastnbsp;the aggressor might choose either to select his own homenbsp;as the place of treatment of the person he had wounded, ornbsp;to send him the determined amount of expenses and letnbsp;him choose his own place of treatment.� Those of thenbsp;very high grades of society never went to a hospital in

Corm. Gloss., 132 (� Othras �) : Br. Laws, i. 131 ; ni. 357; 471, et seq. ; iv. � Sick Maintenance,� in Index : Sull., Introd., 23^.

case of sick maintenance : they were always treated in their own houses ; the cost of nursing and medical attendance being defrayed by the wounder, who in this casenbsp;had his choice either to send a nursetender (a man in thenbsp;case cited in the law), or pay the cost of maintaining one.

If the patient went to a hospital, his mother was to go with him, if she was living, and available ;* and it is to benbsp;presumed the cost of her support also was defrayed bynbsp;the aggressor. Moreover, it was his duty to see that thenbsp;patient was properly treated :�that there were the usualnbsp;four doors and a stream of water; that the bed wasnbsp;properly furnished; that the physician�s orders werenbsp;strictly carried out�for example, the patient was not tonbsp;be put into a bed forbidden by the doctor, or given prohibited food ; and � dogs and fools and female scolds �nbsp;were to be kept away from him lest he might be worried, fnbsp;If the wounder neglected this duty, he was liable tonbsp;penalty. From the frequent mention of sick maintenancenbsp;in the law, it is obvious that the custom was very generalnbsp;and universally recognised.

Leper hospitals were established in various parts of Ireland, generally in connexion with monasteries, so thatnbsp;they became very general, and are often noticed in thenbsp;annals. In the time of Henry VIII. all such charitablenbsp;institutions in connexion with monasteries were suppressed, among them that attached to the priory ofnbsp;St. John�s, Dublin. The former prevalence of hospitals ofnbsp;several kinds is attested by the number of places to whichnbsp;they have given names that remain to this day; such asnbsp;Hospital, Spittal, Spiddal, Leopardstown, properly Lepers-town, near Dublin. amp;c.|

Medicated Baths.�In Irish historical tales, which we know were to a great extent legendary, we read that the

J A list of leper hospitals, formerly in connexion with monasteries, is given in Part ii. of the Census, of 1851,

mythical physicians often used medicated baths to heal the wounded. The earliest example of this was in the secondnbsp;battle of Moytura fought by the Dedannans against thenbsp;Fomorians, where the wonderful skill of Dianket wasnbsp;brought into play. He selected near the battlefield anbsp;well called sldn [slaun], i.e. � health-giving/ into which henbsp;put a number of sanative herbs gathered in every part ofnbsp;Ireland ; and over these again he and his daughter andnbsp;his two sons chanted incantations. During the battle allnbsp;the wounded Dedannans were brought from the field andnbsp;plunged into this bath, from which they came out wholenbsp;and sound and ready to join battle again.*

While Eremon was king of Ireland, the king of Leinster and his people were sorely harassed by a neighbouring British people who used poisoned weapons, so thatnbsp;the least wound they inflicted was followed by certainnbsp;death. At last, the king, by the advice of a druid, prepared a bath on the eve of the next battle, into which wasnbsp;poured the milk of 150 white hornless cows. During thenbsp;battle, as fast as the king�s men were wounded theynbsp;were plunged into this bath, which at once healed them ;nbsp;and by this means the poison tribe were defeated andnbsp;slaughtered.! In the old epic of the Tain we are toldnbsp;that Fingin, Concobar macNessa�s physician�the. faith.nbsp;Haig or � prophet-leech,��cured the wounded Ulstermennbsp;by means of baths medicated at one time with the marrownbsp;of a great number of cows, and at another with medicinalnbsp;herbs.!

This is, of course, all legend, though we may infer from it that medicated baths of some kind were in use in thenbsp;time of the writers. The ordinary bath was used fornbsp;some skin-diseases ; for instance, for leprosy, as we learnnbsp;from an incidental expression in Cormac�s Glossarynbsp;(p. 73). Under the word fothrucud (� a bath �) he says in

explanation :�� bathing for sick persons : and it is for lepers {doinnl�bm) that it is oftenest practised.�

Trefining.�In the Battle of Moyrath, fought a.d. 637� the same battle from which Sweeny ran away distractednbsp;(p. 225, supra)�a young Irish chief named Cennfaeladnbsp;[Kenfaila] had his skull fractured by a blow of a sword,nbsp;after which he was a year under cure at the celebratednbsp;school of Tomregan in the present County Cavan. Thenbsp;injured portion of the skull and a portion of the brain werenbsp;removed, which so cleared his intellect and improved hisnbsp;memory lhat on his recovery he became a great scholarnbsp;and a great jurist, whose name�quot; Kennfaela the Learned �nbsp;�is to this day well-known in Irish literature.* He wasnbsp;the author of the Uraicept na n-eces [Oorakeft-nan-aigas],nbsp;or � Primer of the Poets,� a work still in existence. Certainnbsp;Legal Commentaries which have been published, formingnbsp;part of the Book of Acaill (Br. Laws, iii.), have also beennbsp;attributed to him ; and he was subsequently the founder ofnbsp;a famous school at Derryloran in Tyrone.

The old Irish writer of the Tale accounts for the sudden improvement in Kennfaela�s memory by saying that hisnbsp;brain of forgetfulness was removed. It would be hardlynbsp;scientific to reject all this as mere fable. What reallynbsp;happens in such cases is this. Injuries of the head arenbsp;often followed by loss of memory, or by some othernbsp;mental disturbance, which in modern times is cured, andnbsp;the mind restored to its former healthful action�butnbsp;nothing beyond�by a successful operation on skull andnbsp;brain. The effects of such cures, which are sufficientlynbsp;marvellous, have been exaggerated even in our own day ;nbsp;and in modern medical literature physicians of somenbsp;standing have left highly-coloured accounts of suddennbsp;wonderful improvements of intellect following injuries ofnbsp;the head after cure. Kennfaela�s case comes well within

* Moyrath, 279 to 285, text and notes ; also Br, Laws, jji, 89 ; and O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust., i. 9:?,

historic times : and the old Irish writer�s account seems merely an exaggeration of what was a successful cure.nbsp;Kennfaela was no doubt a man of exceptional ability,nbsp;which was turned into a new channel�or rather into itsnbsp;proper channel�when he was forced to give up thenbsp;profession of arms, with a result that astonished his contemporaries. No doubt a similar explanation will applynbsp;to the modern cases, in many of which the exaggerationnbsp;is at least as great as in the story of Kennfaela�in somenbsp;instances much greater indeed. We must bear in mindnbsp;that the mere existence in Irish literature of this story, andnbsp;of some others like it, shows that this critical operation�nbsp;trefining or trepanning�was well known and recognised,nbsp;not only among the faculty but among the general public.nbsp;In those fighting times, too, the cases must have beennbsp;sufficiently numerous to afford surgeons good practice.

Stitching Wounds.�The art of closing up wounds by stitching was known to the old Irish surgeons. In thenbsp;story of the death of King Concobar mac Nessa we are toldnbsp;that the surgeons stitched up the wound in his head withnbsp;thread of gold, because his hair was golden colour.*

Cupping and Probing.�Cupping was commonly practised by the Irish physicians, who for this purpose carried about with them a sort of horn called a gipne or gibne, asnbsp;doctors now always carry a stethoscope. This practice wasnbsp;well established long before the tenth century ; for innbsp;Cormac�s Glossary (p. 91), we find the word gibne explainednbsp;adarc lege, a � leech�s [cupping] hom.� An actual case ofnbsp;cupping is mentioned in the Acallamh.f where the femalenbsp;leech Bebinn had the venom drawn from an old unhealednbsp;wound on Cailte�s leg, by means of two fedans or tubes ; bynbsp;which the wound was healed. It is stated in the text thatnbsp;these were � the fedans of Modarn�s daughter Binn � [anbsp;former lady-doctor], from which we may infer that they

were something more than simple tubes�that they were of some special construction cunningly designed for thenbsp;operation. On this passage Stokes directs attention tonbsp;the Iliad, iv. 218 : and here we find a parallel case amongnbsp;the Homeric Greeks, where the physician Machaon healednbsp;an arrow-wound on Menelaus by sucking out the noxiousnbsp;blood and applying salves. The lady-physician Bebinn alsonbsp;treated Cailte for general indisposition by administeringnbsp;five successive emetics at proper intervals, of which thenbsp;effects of each are fully described in the old text. Bebinnnbsp;prepared the draughts by steeping certain herbs in water :nbsp;each draught was different from all the others, and actednbsp;differently; and the treatment restored the patient tonbsp;health.* A probe (/rafg) was another instrument regardednbsp;as requisite for a physician, like the gipne, for, in the Brehonnbsp;Law (ii. 119) the probe and the whip are named as articlesnbsp;belonging to a doctor that might be seized in distraint.

The Caesarean Operation was known and practised, when Eithne, daughter of King Eochaidh Feidlech, wasnbsp;with child, she was drowned by her sister's son Lugaidnbsp;Sriab n-Derg, who caused the child�afterwards callednbsp;Furbaide�to be cut from her womb.f

Sleeping-Draught.�In one of the oldest of the Irish Tales�the original version of the � Wooing of Emer �j:�nbsp;it is stated that the warrior-lady Scathach gave Cuculainnnbsp;a sleeping-draught {deoch suain) to keep him from going tonbsp;battle : it was strong enough to put an ordinary person tonbsp;sleep for twenty-four hours : but Cuculainn woke up afternbsp;one hour. This shows that at the early period when thisnbsp;story was written�seventh or eighth century�the Irishnbsp;had a knowledge of sleeping-potions, and knew how tonbsp;regulate their strength.

* Silva Gad., 252 (Irish text, 222) : the translation does not reproduce the details given in its text.

t Rennes Dind., Rev. Celt., xvi. 39 ; see LL, igg, a, 45; O�Donovan, Suppl. O�R., quot; Glaise � : and O�Curry, Man. amp; Cust.j i. 290.

Materia Medica.�I have stated that some of the medical manuscripts contain descriptions of the medical propertiesnbsp;of herbs. But besides these there are regular treatisesnbsp;on materia medica, one of which has been translated bynbsp;Dr. Stokes.* It consists of a long list of herbs and othernbsp;substances, with a description of their medical qualities andnbsp;their application to various diseases. Another similarnbsp;treatise has been translated by the late Joseph 0�Longan,nbsp;the accomplished scribe of the Royal Irish Academy, fnbsp;This is a description of the curative qualities of variousnbsp;substances, with directions how to prepare and administernbsp;them, the Latin names being given, and also the Irishnbsp;names in cases of native products.

The chief part of the Irish pharmacopoeia consisted of herbs, which are classified, according to the old system,nbsp;into � moist and dry,� � hot and cold � ; but a few mineralsnbsp;are included, such as iron, copperas, and alum : all produced at home. In the quot; Battle of Moyrath � (p. 103) wenbsp;are told that at the accession of King Domnall to the sovereignty of Ireland, a.d. 627, the country was unusuallynbsp;prosperous, one of the evidences being the great knowledgenbsp;of the virtues of herbs the physicians had attained�annbsp;entry which shows that such knowledge was considered anbsp;test of a leech�s skill. The Irish doctors had the reputationnbsp;�outside Ireland�of being specially skilled in medicinalnbsp;botany.

Various Curative Applications.�^The following are a few examples of the applications for the cure of diseasesnbsp;adopted by Irish physicians within historic times, takennbsp;from 0�Longan�s translation of the Irish treatise onnbsp;Materia Medica already spoken of. They illustrate thenbsp;odd mixture of sound knowledge and superstition commonnbsp;in those times, not only among Irish physicians, but amongnbsp;those of all countries. Magic, charms, and astrological

observations, as aids in medical treatment, were universal among physicians in England down to the seventeenthnbsp;century.

Dysentery.�Make 3^ 11). of iron red-hot, and plunge it into 3 quarts of new milk till it cools. Do this three times till the milk is boiled downnbsp;to three pints. Half a pint taken in. the morning and half a pint innbsp;the evening will cure.

St. Antony's Fire or Erysipelas (Irish, Teine Dhia and Teine Buirr). �Take sorrel (Irish samhadh : Latin names also given), � which doctorsnbsp;say is cold in the first degree and dry in the second degree � ; breaknbsp;it up together with another substance (named but not identified),nbsp;and apply it as a plaster. Another cure,�Boil the house-leek (Irish,nbsp;lusra-an-teoiteain : � herb of burning �¹), and squeeze its juice on thenbsp;diseased part. Another cure.�Rub the diseased part with the bloodnbsp;of a black cat.

An ulcerated Wound.�Break up sorrel, and mix it with apple-juice ; put this on the wound.

Swelling and Inflammation of the Eyes.�Break up sorrel, and mix it with the white of an egg : apply this, and it will reduce the inflammation.

Diarrhoea : in Irish, � Flux of the Belly.��Boil sorrel with red wine, and drink in doses.

A Sprain.�Break the roots of marsh-mallows : mix with hog�s lard ; and apply as a plaster.

A Woman�s sore Breast.�Boil [in certain proportions] hog�s lard, flour, beeswax, and the white of a hen-egg in strong ale; and apply asnbsp;a plaster.

For Persons injured by Fairies.�Take the following twenty-five herbs [which are all named] : while pulling them, certain prayersnbsp;are to be said. Boil them in the water of a spring-well (not thenbsp;water from a running stream). Be careful not to let a drop of thenbsp;mixture fall, and not to put it on the ground, till the patient has drunknbsp;it all.

A sore Eye.�Take yarrow and the daisy plant, and bruise and squeeze the juice out of them; put into a little bottle with the milknbsp;of a woman who has given birth to a daughter, and a grain of whitenbsp;copperas, also the red blossom of the common eye-bright. Let thenbsp;mixture stand till the next evening, and then wash the sore eyenbsp;with it.

So called from the belief that it will preserve a house from fire if set growing on the roof.

Vapour Bath and Sweating-House.�We know that the Turkish bath is of recent introduction in these countries.nbsp;But the hot-air and vapour bath was well known in Ireland,nbsp;and was used as a cure for rheumatism down to a fewnbsp;years ago. I have not found it referred to in any ancientnbsp;authorities ; though its use came down from old times; andnbsp;the masonry of the Inishmurray sweating-house, representednbsp;here, has all the appearance�as Mr. Wakeman remarks

��of being as old as any of the other primitive buildings in the island. The structures in which these baths were givennbsp;are known by the name of Tigh �n alluis [Teenollish],nbsp;� sweating-house � {alius, � sweat'). They are still wellnbsp;known in the northern parts of Ireland ; and several havenbsp;been described by Mr. Milligan, Mr. Wakeman, and thenbsp;Rev. D. B. Mulcahy.¹ They are small houses, entirelynbsp;of stone, from five to seven feet long inside, with a low

See Kilk. Archaeol. Journ., 1885-6, p. 211 ; 1889, p. 268 ; 1890-91, pp. 165, 589.

little door through which one must creep : always placed remote from habitations : and near by is commonly a poolnbsp;or tank of water. They were used in this way. A greatnbsp;fire of turf was kindled inside till the house became heatednbsp;like an oven ; after which the embers were swept out:nbsp;and vapour was produced by throwing water on the hotnbsp;stones. Then the person, wrapping himself in a blanket,nbsp;crept in and sat down on a bench of sods, after which thenbsp;door was closed up. He remained there an hour or so tillnbsp;he was in a profuse perspiration; and then creeping out,nbsp;plunged right into the cold water, after emerging fromnbsp;which he was well rubbed till he became warm. Afternbsp;several baths at intervals of some days he usually got cured,nbsp;Persons are still living who used these baths or saw themnbsp;used.

The following curious memorandum by the late Prof. Henry Hennessy, f.r.s., is in the Kilkenny Arch. Journalnbsp;for 1885-6 ;�� What are called Turkish baths in Irelandnbsp;� and Great Britain have been designated Roman-Irishnbsp;� baths in Germany and Bohemia. I saw baths designatednbsp;� � R�mische-Irische bader � at Prague and Nuremberg innbsp;� 1870.� These, however, are of recent introduction intonbsp;Germany in imitation of the hot-air and vapour baths innbsp;Dr. Barter�s establishment at Blarney near Cork, whichnbsp;he opened in i860, after the model of similar baths henbsp;had himself seen in the East.

Fairy Bath.�In Ireland they had fairy-baths, made with fairy-herbs, and these descended from old times.nbsp;In the Agallamh it is related how two ladies, sisters, hadnbsp;been repudiated by their husbands for two other women.nbsp;But Cailte gave them a bundle of fairy-herhs with directionsnbsp;how to use them. They washed in a bath in which thesenbsp;had been steeped, and sought out their husbands, whosenbsp;love was revived by the virtue of the herbs ; and the twonbsp;wives were restored to their homes.*

Within our own time medicated fairy-baths were in use. Sometimes children waste away by some internalnbsp;disease, which in certain parts of the country is attributed to the fairies. The friends prepare a bath innbsp;which they steep the lusmore, or fairy-thimble [digitalisnbsp;purpurea), an herb of potent virtue in fairy-cures; andnbsp;in this they bathe the little sufferer in full expectationnbsp;of a cure.

Popular Herb-Knowledge.�^The peasantry were skilled in the curative qualities of herbs and in preparing andnbsp;applying them to wounds and local diseases; and theirnbsp;skill has in a measure descended to the peasantry of thenbsp;present day. There were � herb-doctors,� of whom thenbsp;most intelligent, deriving their knowledge chiefly fromnbsp;Irish manuscripts, had considerable skill and did a goodnbsp;practice. But these were not recognised among the profession : they were amateurs without any technical qualification¹ ^{2 3 4} : and they were subject to the disabilities alreadynbsp;mentioned (p. 603). From the peasantry of two centuriesnbsp;ago, Threlkeld and others who wrote on Irish botany,nbsp;obtained a large part of the useful information they havenbsp;given us in their books, f Popular cures were generallynbsp;mixed up with much fairy superstition, which may perhapsnbsp;be taken as indicating their great antiquity and pagannbsp;origin.

Poison.�How to poison with deadly herbs was known. The satirist Cridenbel died by swallowing something putnbsp;into his food by the Dagda, whom the people thennbsp;accused of killing him by giving him a deadly herb [trenbsp;luib eccineol).% After Cobthach C�el Breg had murderednbsp;his brother Loegaire Lore, he had Loegaire�s son Ailillnbsp;murdered also by paying a fellow to poison him.�

Healing-Stones.�There were healing-stones preserved in various places ; one for instance in the little church ofnbsp;Relig near Bruckless in Donegal, which the peoplenbsp;brought to their sick friends with much faith in itsnbsp;curative power.¹ An amulet of this kind�a roundnbsp;stone of agate two inches in diameter�has been preserved from time immemorial in the family of Fitzgerald,nbsp;formerly seneschals of Imokilly in Cork. It is sometimesnbsp;called cloch-omra, the � amber-stone,� and often the � murrain stone � ; for the water in which it has been steepednbsp;when given to cattle is believed to benbsp;a cure for murrain. The water is alsonbsp;often given for hydrophobia, both tonbsp;human beings and to the lower animals, fnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;A similar talisman�an oval

crystal stone�is preserved by the family of M'Carthy of the Glen innbsp;Cork ; and it is still lent out to thenbsp;neighbouring farmers for sick cattle.[;nbsp;In the church of St. Gobinet at Bally-vourney in Cork is a marvellous medicine stone ; and several other talismansnbsp;of a similar kind are preserved bynbsp;families in various parts of Ireland.�nbsp;Martin found medical stones very common in thenbsp;western islands of Scotland in 17031|; and they werenbsp;used all over Scotland until very recently. The readernbsp;will here be reminded of the Lee-penny stone in � Thenbsp;Talisman,� the curative virtue of which was almost identical with that of the Imokilly stone. No doubt this

� For others see Wood-Martin, Pagan Ireland, 156 : and Kilk. Arch. Journ., 1889, p. 72. See also Windele�s article on � Irish Medical Superstition � in Kilk. ArchEeol. Journ., 1864-6, p. 306.

CHAP. XVin] MEDICINE AND MEDICAL DOCTORS 629 custom was originally brought to Scotland from Ireland,nbsp;like most other early Scottish popular customs.

The use of medical stones probably descended from pagan times : but, like many another pagan custom, itnbsp;was adopted by some of the early saints. In Adamnan�snbsp;� Life of St. Columba � (ii. xxxiii.), we read that on onenbsp;occasion Columba took up a white stone from the rivernbsp;Ness, and having blessed it, he said to his companions ;�

� Mark this white stone, by which the Lord will many cures of the sick among the heathen people.�nbsp;the narrative goes onnbsp;to say that manynbsp;persons got cured ofnbsp;deadly ailments bynbsp;drinking the water innbsp;which it had beennbsp;steeped. Holy wellsnbsp;credited with miraculous curative virtuesnbsp;have already beennbsp;noticed ; an additional

Prayers, Incantations, and Charms.�Prayers to individual saints for special diseases, and many incantations andnbsp;charms used for similar purposes, some in Irish, some innbsp;Latin, are met with in Irish manuscripts of the seventh,nbsp;eighth, and ninth centuries : the Latin often in verse, thenbsp;Irish commonly in a sort of rhythmic prose. Aed mac Brienbsp;(Aed or Hugh the son of Brec), bishop, was the tutelarynbsp;saint of the Kinelea, a tribe who occupied what is nownbsp;known as the barony of Moycashel in Westmeath. Henbsp;was descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, and diednbsp;in the year 589. From him is named the present parish ofnbsp;Rahugh (Hugh�s or Aed�s rath) near Tullamore ; for thenbsp;chief of the tribe presented him with his rath or fort

within which Aed built a church: and the old fort and the ruins of Bishop Aed�s church are to be seen to thisnbsp;day. A legend in his Life relates that once a man whonbsp;was afflicted with a violent headache came to him fornbsp;relief: and the saint, not being able to cure him in anynbsp;other way, took the headache himself and sent the mannbsp;away relieved. Hence it came to pass, as the legendnbsp;goes on to say, that persons were in the habit of invokingnbsp;this saint�s name for a headache. St. Aed mac Brie is stillnbsp;invoked for a headache by the people of Westmeath. Near

the ruins of the old monastery of Rahugh is his holy well ; and in the same place is a large stone, still called Bishopnbsp;Hugh�s stone�for, according to local tradition, the saintnbsp;was accustomed to pray on it�to which the people of thenbsp;surrounding districts have been, time out of mind, in thenbsp;habit of resorting for the relief of headache. A centurynbsp;and a half ago an accidental discovery linked this modernnbsp;practice with remote antiquity. In the middle of thenbsp;eighteenth century a continental scholar, Mone, archivenbsp;director of Carlsruhe, published a short Latin poem which

he found in a manuscript preserved in the monastery of Reichenau on an island in Lake Constance. It is a prayernbsp;written by an Irishman in the eighth century�copied innbsp;all probability from an older book�invoking � Aidusnbsp;Sanctus mech Brich � for relief from a headache. Thisnbsp;venerable and highly interesting document, as well as thenbsp;legend of the saint�s life, shows that the practice of invokingnbsp;St. Aed for a headache has continued from the time of hisnbsp;death to this day, a period of thirteen centuries.¹

In an eighth-century manuscript in the monastery of St. Gall in Switzerland are several prayers, charms, andnbsp;incantations for various diseases, some in Irish, some innbsp;Latin, which have been printed by Zeuss (p. 949). Onenbsp;(in Irish) is for galar fuail, ' disease of the urine �; anothernbsp;for long life ; and another (in Latin) for headache. Thisnbsp;last is not addressed to any particular saint. It invokesnbsp;� the eye of Isaia, the tongue of Solomon, the mindnbsp;� of Benjamin, the heart of Paul, the faith of Abraham,�nbsp;amp;c., ending with � Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominusnbsp;Deus Sabaoth �; to which this direction in Irish is

For further information about Aed mac Brie, see Dr. Reeves, quot; On the Hymnus Sancti Aidi,� Proc. Roy. Ir. Acad., vii. 91 ; the Rev. Prof.nbsp;George Stokes, � On St. Hugh and his Church,� Journ. Roy. Soc. Antiqq.nbsp;Ireland, 1896, 325 : and Joyce, Irish Names of Places, ii. 86.

O rex, o rector regminis, o cultor coeli carminisnbsp;o persecutor murmorisnbsp;o deus alti agminis.

A ido sanctus mech Brich benibula posco puro precamina,nbsp;ut refrigerat fluininanbsp;mei capitis calida.

added ;�� This is sung every day about thy head against � headache. After singing it thou puttest thy spittle intonbsp;� thy palm and thou puttest it round thy two temples andnbsp;� on the back of thy head, and thereat thou singest thynbsp;� Pater Noster thrice, and thou puttest a cross of thynbsp;� spittle on the crown of thy head, and then thou makestnbsp;quot; this sign [the letter] � on thy head.�

In some of these incantations there are invocations to the pagan Irish leech-god Diancecht (who is stated to havenbsp;bequeathed one particular salve) and to his brother thenbsp;smith-god Goibniu.¹

Incantations and charms for diseases are also used in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, where indeednbsp;the custom is now more general than it is in thenbsp;mother country. Many of these will be found � all innbsp;Scotch Gaelic and translated�in Carmichael�s � Carminanbsp;Gadelica,� vol. ii., pp. 2 to 21, and p. 124. One of them isnbsp;ar galar fuail, � against disease of the urine � or gravel:nbsp;which, although different in words from that printed bynbsp;Zeuss from a manuscript written twelve centuries ago, isnbsp;identical with it in tone and spirit.

In Stokes and Strachan�s Thesaurus Palasohibernicus, vol. ii., PP-248, 249, 250, will be found originals and translations of all the above mentioned Irish Spells and Incantations, and many others.

fig.			FIG,	PAGE
I. Page of Book of Durrow,	Frontispiece		27. Ornamental stone carving.	71
2. Great Tower, Clontnacnoise,	Title Page		28. Capital L from Book of Kells, .	72
	PAGE		29. Dundalgan, Cuculainn�s residence, .	84
3- Sculpture in Cormac�s Chapel,		vii	30. Rath-Keltair at Downpatrick, .	85
lt;� Ornament from Book of Kells,		XV	31. Group of warriors from High Cross,	102
5- Ornament from Book of Kells,		xxi	32. Flint arrow-head.....	104
6. Ornament from Book of Kells,		3	33. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,	105
7. Castledermot Church and	Round		34. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,	105
Tower, ....		8	33. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do..	105
8. Holy Well of St. Dicuil,	Lure,		36. Arrow-head on original handle.	105
France ....		9	37. Bronze head of battle-mace,	106
9* Drumcliff Round Tower, .		II	38. Bronze spear-head,	107
10. Group of Torques,		13	39, Do., nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;do.,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	107
II. Circular bronze disc, .		20	40. Bronze harlann.	109
12. Ancient Irish brooch.		21	41. Do., do., nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	109
13. Bronze caldron, .		21	42. Bronze spear-head, leaf-shaped,	no
14. Hollow gold ball.		21	43. Firbolg spear-head, . nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;�	III
15. Bronze article, use unknown,		22	44. Dedannan spear-head.	. Ill
16. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;do.,		22	45. Fishing-spear, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	II2
I?. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;do.,		22	46. Bronze sword, ....	. II6
18. Ancient ferryboat.		28	47. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	II6
I9. Ruins on Inishcaltra,		31	48. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	II6
20. Ancient Irish bookbinding,		32	49. Bronze dagger, ....	. II7
21. Group of gold ornaments, .		33	50. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	. 117
22. Aill-na-Meeran at Ushnagh,		37	51. Bronze scabbard,	� 117
23. Cloister, Cong Abbey,		42	52. Stone celt in original handle.	. II8
24. O�Neills� Inauguration Chair,		46	53, Bronze Celt, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	. II9
25. 0�Conors� Inauguration Mound,		47	54. Pure copper celt,	. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;119
26. Kings and Archers,		59	55. Bronze celt, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	. II9

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL I nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;XXIU
FIG.	PAGE	FIG.		PAGE
^40. Ornamental page of Gospel, .	- 553	154.	Harp-and Pipe-Players, .	582
�41. The Ardagh Chalice,	. 5�0	155.	Do., nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;do., .nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;�	582
^42. The Tara Brooch,	. 562	156.	Do., nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;do......	582
^43- The Cross of Cong, .	- 563	157.	Group of Trumpets,	584
^44- Ornament carved on Bone,	. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;566	158.	Riveting on Trumpets,	585
^45- nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.^nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;do.,	. 566	159-	Ornamental Plate of Trumpet,	586
^46. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;do..	. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;566	160.	Ornament, Devenish Round Tower,	597
^47. The Cross of Monasterboice, .	. 568	I6I.	Conach (Medical Charm),	615
^48. Interlaced Stone Ornament, .	. 569	162.	Sweating-House, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;�	C25
^49- Harp Player ....	. 576	163.	Healing-Stone, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.	628
^50. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Do.,nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;5?6	164.	Garnavilla Amulet (front).	G29
Do., nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;....	. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;5^6	165.	Do., nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;(side),	629
^32. Ancient Irish Harp, .	. 577	166.	Toberaraght, a Healing Holy V ell.	630
^53. Piper nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;.....	. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;580	167.	Ornament from Book of Kelk, nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;�	632

A PRELIMINARY BIRD'S-EYE VIEW		��	��	27
CHAPTER III
monarchical GOVERNMENT				36
Section
I. Territorial Subdivision,				36
2, Classes of Kings				41
3. Election and Inauguration,				43
4. Eevenue and Authority,				50
5. Privileges,				55
6. Limitations and Restrictions,				60
7. Household, Retinue, and Court	Officers,			61
S, List of Over-Kings,				68

363

A. G. van HAMEL

»,

»;

. .5'-

4lt;

A SOCIAL HISTORY

ANCIENT IRELAND

P. JOYCE,

Condon

LONGMANS, GREEN amp; CO.

PREFACE

CONTENTS OF VOL. I

PART I

GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER II

CHAPTER IV

CHAPTER V

CHAPTER VI

CHAPTER VII

CHAPTER VIII

CONTENTS

PART II

CONTENTS

CHAPTER XVI

art,

CHAPTER XVII

Section

CHAPTER XVI ri

medicine and medical doctors.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. I

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL I

. .;-gt;,v.*;�i-r -

lil

.i

LAYING THE FOUNDATION

35

37

43

45

5. Privileges.

57

59

63

65

opponent of Ireland�s early claims to distinction. Writing of the reign of Tuathal the Legitimate, king of Ireland innbsp;the second century, Dr. Petrie observes: �

So far Pinkerton as quoted by Petrie.

70 GOVERNMENT, MILITARY SYSTEM, AND LAW [PART I

CHAP. Ill]

MONARCPIICAL GOVERNMENT

71

674

763

770

833

956

75

79

89

93

97

99

� feet.�t

CHAPTER V

�n

�ixims�pt^ t'^aiwoipirirectuipt-T:lt;miriMbir'lt;��----

reocca nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ruA^snf^

icoiji opeuit

* Br. Laws, i. 289, 291. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;f Ibid., 1. 293, top ; n. ii, 13.

t Ibid., II. 5, last par. ; ii, top line. � Ibid., 1. 269, 305 ; ii. ii.

PART II

5- Worship of Idols.

293

334

335

337

339

343

345